Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fast identification & modelling of osteoarthritic holes in the human knee with contour interpolated radial basis functions

In this article, we propose a new method for the fast 3D reconstruction of simulated osteoarthritic holes in a human patella. Initially, clean patella slices were extracted from MRI scans of the knee using Region-Based Segmentation (region-growing) and Bounding Box techniques. Osteoarthritic (OA) holes were then simulated in the patella slices. Our contour interpolation/RBF (CI/RBF) method was then used to detect the hole automatically and reconstruct 3D models of both the patella and OA hole separately. The method presented here proves fast, reliable and efficient for reconstructing a 3D model of the patella from MRI images with an extremely low error of 0.33%.
Managing nocturnal leg cramps--calf-stretching exercises and cessation of quinine treatment: a factorial randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND Quinine is a common treatment for nocturnal leg cramps but has potential side effects. An uncontrolled study suggested that calf-stretching exercises could prevent nocturnal leg cramps (night cramps) but these findings have never been confirmed. AIM To assess the effect of calf-stretching exercises and cessation of quinine treatment for patients with night cramps taking quinine. DESIGN OF STUDY Randomised controlled trial. SETTING Twenty-eight general practices in southern England. METHOD One hundred and ninety-one patients prescribed quinine for night cramps were randomised to one of four groups defined by two "advice" factors: undertake exercises and stop quinine. After 6 weeks they were advised that they could take quinine and undertake the exercises freely. Documentation of cramp at 12 weeks was achieved in 181 (95%) patients. Main outcome measures were: symptom burden score, and frequency of night cramps and quinine usage. RESULTS At 12 weeks there was no significant difference in number of cramps in the previous 4 weeks (exercise = 1.95, 95% confidence interval [CI] = -3.01 to 6.90; quinine cessation = 3.45, 95% CI = -1.52 to 8.41) nor symptom burden or severity of cramps. However, after 12 weeks 26.5% (95% CI = 13.3% to 39.7%) more patients who had been advised to stop quinine treatment reported taking no quinine tablets in the previous week (odds ratio [OR] = 3.32, 95% CI = 1.37 to 8.06), whereas advice to do stretching exercises had no effect (OR = 0.73, 95% CI = 0.27 to 1.98). CONCLUSIONS Calf-stretching exercises are not effective in reducing the frequency or severity of night cramps. Advising those on long-term repeat prescriptions to try stopping quinine temporarily will result in no major problems for patients, and allow a significant number to stop medication.
Utilizing the World Wide Web as an Encyclopedia: Extracting Term Descriptions from Semi-Structured Texts

In this paper, we propose a method to extract descriptions of technical terms from Web pages in order to utilize the World Wide Web as an encyclopedia. We use linguistic patterns and HTML text structures to extract text fragments containing term descriptions. We also use a language model to discard extraneous descriptions, and a clustering method to summarize resultant descriptions. We show the effectiveness of our method by way of experiments.
FF + FPG: Guiding a Policy-Gradient Planner

The Factored Policy-Gradient planner (FPG) (Buffet & Aberdeen 2006) was a successful competitor in the probabilistic track of the 2006 International Planning Competition (IPC). FPG is innovative because it scales to large planning domains through the use of Reinforcement Learning. It essentially performs a stochastic local search in policy space. FPG's weakness is potentially long learning times, as it initially acts randomly and progressively improves its policy each time the goal is reached. This paper shows how to use an external teacher to guide FPG's exploration. While any teacher can be used, we concentrate on the actions suggested by FF's heuristic (Hoffmann 2001), as FF-replan has proved efficient for probabilistic re-planning. To achieve this, FPG must learn its own policy while following another. We thus extend FPG to off-policy learning using importance sampling (Glynn & Iglehart 1989; Peshkin & Shelton 2002). The resulting algorithm is presented and evaluated on IPC benchmarks.
Stochastic model explains role of excitation and inhibition in binaural sound localization in mammals

Short title: Excitation and inhibition in binaural sound localization Summary Interaural time differences (ITDs), the differences of arrival time of the sound at the two ears, provide a major cue for low-frequency sound localization in the horizontal plane. The first nucleus involved in the computation of ITDs is the medial superior olive (MSO). We model the neural circuit of the MSO using a stochastic description of spike timing. The inputs to the circuit are stochastic spike trains with a spike timing distribution described by a given probability density function (beta density). The outputs of the circuit reproduce the empirical firing rates found in experiment in response to the varying ITD. The outputs of the computational model are calculated numerically and these numerical simulations are also supported by analytical calculations. We formulate a simple hypothesis concerning how sound localization works in mammals. According to this hypothesis, there is no array of delay lines as in the Jeffress' model, but instead the inhibitory input is shifted in time as a whole. This is consistent with experimental observations in mammals.
Light-year scale radio cores in four LINER galaxies

The LINER galaxies NGC2911, NGC3079, NGC3998, and NGC6500 were observed at 5 GHz with the European VLBI Network at a resolution of 5 milliarcsecond and found to possess at-spectrum, variable, high-brightness temperature (T-B > 10(8) K) radio cores. These radio characteristics reinforce the view that these LINERs host central engines associated with active galactic nuclei.
Factorization of Language Models through Backing-Off Lattices

Factorization of statistical language models is the task that we resolve the most discriminative model into factored models and determine a new model by combining them so as to provide better estimate. Most of previous works mainly focus on factorizing models of sequential events, each of which allows only one factorization manner. To enable parallel factorization, which allows a model event to be resolved in more than one ways at the same time, we propose a general framework, where we adopt a backing-off lattice to reflect parallel factorizations and to define the paths along which a model is resolved into factored models, we use a mixture model to combine parallel paths in the lattice, and generalize Katz's backing-off method to integrate all the mixture models got by traversing the entire lattice. Based on this framework, we formulate two types of model factorizations that are used in natural language modeling.
Corpus-based Ontology Learning for Word Sense Disambiguation

This paper proposes to disambiguate word senses by corpus-based ontology learning. Our approach is a hybrid method. First, we apply the previously-secured dictionary information to select the correct senses of some ambiguous words with high precision, and then use the ontology to disambiguate the remaining ambiguous words. The mutual information between concepts in the ontology was calculated before using the ontology as knowledge for disambiguating word senses. If mutual information is regarded as a weight between ontology concepts, the ontology can be treated as a graph with weighted edges, and then we locate the least weighted path from one concept to the other concept. In our practical machine translation system, our word sense disambiguation method achieved a 9% improvement over methods which do not use ontology for Korean translation.
Ising Model on Networks with an Arbitrary Distribution of Connections

We find the exact critical temperature T(c) of the nearest-neighbor ferromagnetic Ising model on an "equilibrium" random graph with an arbitrary degree distribution P(k). We observe an anomalous behavior of the magnetization, magnetic susceptibility and specific heat, when P(k) is fat tailed, or, loosely speaking, when the fourth moment of the distribution diverges in infinite networks. When the second moment becomes divergent, T(c) approaches infinity, the phase transition is of infinite order, and size effect is anomalously strong.
Analysis of Polymer Crystallization with a Multiscale Modeling Approach

The main objective of the presented work is to describe the crystallization kinetics of semi-crystalline thermoplastics with a multiscale model implemented into the COMSOL software and the in-house developed code SphäroSim. The filling and cooling simulations, implemented by using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and heat transfer (HT) modules of COMSOL, require the simultaneous solution of non-Newtonian multi-phase flow (polymer/air) and thermal fields in non-isothermal condition and transient regime. The simulation results are collected, converted into the OpenSource file format VTK (Visualization Toolkit) and transferred to the SphäroSim code after a matching operation with the COMSOL mesh. The SphäroSim code uses COMSOL results as input data to compute crystallization kinetics, using the COMSOL data as boundary conditions in the microstructure simulation. This allows the time resolved calculation of the crystallization process and a prediction of the final microstructure in the part which can be used in further simulations such as a structural analysis. The analytical parameters needed to connect crystallization kinetics with molecular material properties and applying the analytical scheme to the numerical simulation during filling and cooling in an injection moulding process are identified.
Deoxyribonucleic Acid Transferred from Ultraviolet-Irradiated Excision-Defective Hfr Cells of Escherichia coli K-12

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) transfer from 3H-thymine-labeled Hfr cells has been measured by determining the amount of radioactivity remaining after selective lysis of the donor cells in the mating mixture. DNA transfer was less effectively reduced by ultraviolet irradiation of excision-defective Hfr cells than was the yield of recombinants. The buoyant density of DNA transferred from unirradiated and irradiated Hfr cells was equivalent to that of double-stranded DNA. Mating-dependent DNA synthesis in the recipient has been measured by mating Hfr cells deficient in thymidine kinase with irradiated thymine-requiring F− cells in the presence of 3H-thymine. The extent of such DNA synthesis approximated the amount of DNA transferred from unirradiated donors. Neither DNA transfer nor mating-dependent DNA synthesis could be reliably measured when both parents were irradiated. It is proposed that transferred Hfr DNA is replicated in the recipient and that this replication still occurs when the Hfr DNA contains dimers.
Stable silencing of β-lactoglobulin (BLG) gene by lentivirus-mediated RNAi in goat fetal fibroblasts

β-lactoglobulin (BLG), a dominant allergen in goat milk, is difficult to remove by traditional biochemical methods. Its elimination from goat milk by genetic modification therefore poses a major challenge for modern goat breeders. A shRNA targeting BLG mRNA with high interference efficiency was identified, with which lentiviral vectors were used for mediating stable shRNA interference in goat-fetal fibroblast cells. Apart from high efficiency in the knockdown of BLG expression in these cells, lentivector-mediated RNAi manifested stable integration into the goat genome itself. Consequently, an in vitro model for goat BLG-content control was compiled, and a goat-cell line for accompanying transgenetic goat production created.
cDNA suppression subtraction library for screening down-regulated genes in gastric carcinoma.

AIM To establish cDNA suppression subtraction library with a high subtraction efficiency by counterpart normal gastric mucosa mixture mRNA subtracting gastric cancer cells mixture mRNA for screening down-regulated genes in gastric carcinoma. METHODS RNA of gastric cancer tissues and counterpart normal gastric mucosa were respectively isolated in five patients with gastric cancer, and their mRNA was purified. cDNA suppression subtraction library was established by counterpart normal gastric mucosa mixture mRNA (tester) subtracting gastric cancer tissues mixture mRNA (driver) of five patients with gastric carcinoma. The library plasmids were transformed into competent bacteria DH5a after ligation of the library cDNA fragments with T vectors. Library plasmids were extracted after picking colonies and shaking bacteria overnight. Its subtraction efficiency was confirmed by PCR and reverse hybridization of a nylon filter onto which the colonies of bacteria were transferred with probes of reverse transcription products cDNA of gastric cancer tissues mRNA and counterpart normal gastric mucosa mRNA labeled with alpha- (32)P dCTP. RESULTS mRNA purified from total RNA of gastric cancer tissues and counterpart normal gastric mucosa in five patients with gastric carcinoma revealed a good quality. cDNA suppression subtraction library constructed for screening down-regulated genes in gastric carcinoma represented a high subtraction efficiency. 86 % of differential expression in down-regulated genes between counterpart normal gastric mucosa and gastric carcinoma was confirmed. CONCLUSION cDNA suppression subtraction library with a high subtraction efficiency for screening down-regulated genes in gastric carcinoma is successfully established.
Atomic displacements due to the vacancy mechanism

Abstract An integral expression is derived for the displacement probability of an atom during an atom-vacancy encounter. The analysis is based on a random walk with a one-step memory and is applicable to both self-diffusion and solute diffusion. The integral expression involves parameters which are the probability of a step of the atom occurring in a particular direction relative to the direction of the previous step. These parameters are obtained in terms of lattice generating functions by considering the random walk of a vacancy on an imperfect lattice.
Protective and Therapeutic Capacity of Human Single-Chain Fv-Fc Fusion Proteins against West Nile Virus

ABSTRACT West Nile virus has spread rapidly across the United States, and there is currently no approved human vaccine or therapy to prevent or treat disease. Passive immunization with antibodies against the envelope protein represents a promising means to provide short-term prophylaxis and treatment for West Nile virus infection. In this study, we identified a panel of 11 unique human single-chain variable region antibody fragments (scFvs) that bind the envelope protein of West Nile virus. Selected scFvs were converted to Fc fusion proteins (scFv-Fcs) and were tested in mice for their ability to prevent lethal West Nile virus infection. Five of these scFv-Fcs, 11, 15, 71, 85, and 95, protected 100% of mice from death when given prior to infection with virus. Two of them, 11 and 15, protected 80% of mice when given at days 1 and 4 after infection. In addition, four of the scFv-Fcs cross-neutralized dengue virus, serotype 2. Binding assays using yeast surface display demonstrated that all of our scFvs bind to sites within domains I and II of West Nile virus envelope protein. These recombinant human scFvs are potential candidates for immunoprophylaxis and therapy of flavivirus infections.
Microstructural accommodation of excess Ru in epitaxial SrRuO3 films

The microstructures of Ru-excess SrRuO3 films, which were grown epitaxially on SrTiO3(001) substrates by ion-beam sputtering, were studied by transmission electron microscopy. The excess Ru can be accommodated by forming extended defects on the {100} planes, faulted dislocation loops, by making RuO2 double layers. However, the most stable crystalline phase of the excess Ru in SrRuO3 film was metallic Ru with a hexagonal structure. The orientation relationship between the Ru precipitates, the SrTiO3 substrate, and the SrRuO3 film can be described as follows: (011)Ru//(002)STO//(002)SRO and [100]Ru//[110]STO//[110]SRO where the subscripts STO and SRO indicate SrTiO3 and SrRuO3 respectively. Owing to the difference between the crystal symmetries of Ru and SrTiO3, the precipitates showed different in-plane alignments along two perpendicular directions on the substrate and accordingly different anisotropic growth morphologies. The precipitates degrade the film surface by making deep trenches and act as sources for defect generation.
Secure multiplex coding to attain the channel capacity in wiretap channels

It is known that a message can be transmitted safely against any wiretapper via a noisy channel without a secret key if the coding rate is less than the so-called secrecy capacity $C_S$, which is usually smaller than the channel capacity $C$. In order to remove the loss $C - C_S$, we propose a multiplex coding scheme with plural independent messages. In this paper, it is shown that the proposed multiplex coding scheme can attain the channel capacity as the total rate of the plural messages and the perfect secrecy for each message. The coding theorem is proved by extending Hayashi's proof, in which the coding of the channel resolvability is applied to wiretap channels.
Direct and indirect extrusion of aluminium alloys

Abstract The extrusion of Al and an Al–Cu alloy has been investigated using both direct and indirect extrusion modes. The friction conditions obtaining in the two processes are analysed and discussed. The increment ofpressure necessary to cause breakthrough of extrudate is shown to exist in the indirect process, and its magnitude and nature are compared with the direct process. The total pressure requirements for the two processes are analysed and presented as functions of the material constants. It is shown that good surface quality is obtainable more readily by using the indirect route, and equations are presented illustrating the dependence of this feature on the temperature-compensated strain rate. Limit diagrams are presented for 2014 alloy and their interpretation discussed.
Reduced-order modeling of large passive linear circuits by means of the SyPVL algorithm

This paper discusses the analysis of large linear electrical networks consisting of passive components, such as resistors, capacitors, inductors, and transformers. Such networks admit a symmetric formulation of their circuit equations. We introduce SyPVL, an efficient and numerically stable algorithm for the computation of reduced-order models of large, linear, passive networks. SyPVL represents the specialization of the more general PVL algorithm, to symmetric problems. Besides the gain in efficiency over PVL, SyPVL also preserves the symmetry of the problem, and, as a consequence, can often guarantee the stability of the resulting reduced-order models. Moreover, these reduced-order models can be synthesized as actual physical circuits, thus facilitating compatibility with existing analysis tools. The application of SyPVL is illustrated with two interconnect-analysis examples.
An Even Faster and More Unifying Algorithm for Comparing Trees via Unbalanced Bipartite Matchings

A widely used method for determining the similarity of two labeled trees is to compute a maximum agreement subtree of the two trees. Previous work on this similarity measure has only been concerned with the comparison of labeled trees of two special kinds, namely, uniformly labeled trees (i.e., trees with all their nodes labeled with the same symbol) and evolutionary trees (i.e., leaf-labeled trees with distinct symbols for distinct leaves). This paper presents an algorithm for comparing trees that are labeled in an arbitrary manner. In addition to this generality, this algorithm is faster than the previous algorithms.Another contribution of this paper is on maximum weight bipartite matchings. We show how to speed up the best known matching algorithms when the input graphs are node-unbalanced or weight-unbalanced. Based on these enhancements, we obtain an efficient algorithm for a new matching problem called the hierarchical bipartite matching problem, which is at the core of our maximum agreement subtree algorithm.
A super-precision evaluation method of ultra-low expansion glasses using the line-focus-beam ultrasonic material characterization system

A super-precision evaluation method of the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of ultra-low expansion glasses was developed using the line-focus-beam ultrasonic material characterization (LFB-UMC) system. Evaluation was demonstrated for TiO2-SiO2 glass. The sensitivity and resolution in the velocity measurement of leaky surface acoustic waves (LSAWs) in CTE were estimated to be 4.40 (ppb/K)/(m/s) and ±0.77 ppb/K for ±2σ (σ: standard deviation) at 225 MHz. LSAW velocity differences caused by different TiO2 concentrations and distributions or striae in the specimens were successfully detected and evaluated, providing two-dimensional information under the nondestructive and noncontact measurement condition. This ultrasonic method is much more accurate than conventional methods, for evaluating CTE on the surface of ultra-low-expansion glass materials needed for extreme ultra-violet lithography (EUVL) systems.
Generating parity check equations for bounded-distance iterative erasure decoding

A generic (r,m)-erasure correcting set is a collection of vectors in F2 r which can be used to generate, for each binary linear code of codimension r, a collection of parity check equations that enables iterative decoding of all correctable erasure patterns of size at most m. That is to say, the only stopping sets of size at most m for the generated parity check equations are the erasure patterns for which there is more than one manner to fill in the erasures to obtain a codeword. We give an explicit construction of generic (r,m)-erasure correcting sets of cardinality Sigmai=0 m-1(i r-1). Using a random-coding-like argument, we show that for fixed m, the minimum size of a generic (r,m)-erasure correcting set is linear in r
The Extent of the Market and Stages of Agricultural Specialization

This paper provides empirical evidence of nonlinearity in the relationship between crop specialization in a village economy and the extent of the market (size of the urban market) relevant for the village. The results suggest that the portfolio of crops in a village economy becomes more diversified initially as the extent of the market increases. However, after the market size reaches a threshold, the production structure becomes specialized again. This evidence on the stages of agricultural diversification is consistent with the stages of diversification identified in the recent literature for the economy as a whole and also for the manufacturing sector. The evidence highlights the importance of improving farmers' access to markets through investment in transport infrastructure and removal of barriers to trading.
Applying System Combination to Base Noun Phrase Identification

We use seven machine learning algorithms for one task: identifying base noun phrases. The results have been processed by different system combination methods and all of these outperformed the best individual result. We have applied the seven learners with the best combinator, a majority vote of the top five systems, to a standard data set and managed to improve the best published result for this data set.