Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
On-Line Electrocardiogram Lossless Compression Using Antidictionary Codes for a Finite Alphabet

An antidictionary is particularly useful for data compression, and on-line electrocardiogram (ECG) lossless compression algorithms using antidictionaries have been proposed. They work in real-time with constant memory and give better compression ratios than traditional lossless data compression algorithms, while they only deal with ECG data on a binary alphabet. This paper proposes on-line ECG lossless compression for a given data on a finite alphabet. The proposed algorithm gives not only better compression ratios than those algorithms but also uses less computational space than they do. Moreover, the proposed algorithm work in real-time. Its effectiveness is demonstrated by simulation results.
Automatic gap detection at restoration margins with an optical sensor in vitro.

PURPOSE To develop and validate a software program which automatically detects gaps of cylindrical fillings in bovine dentin by using an optical sensor (FRT MicroProf), evaluate 8 different adhesive systems with the defined parameters, and compare the results with that of SEM quantitative marginal analysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS An optical measuring head with strong wavelength dependency on its focal length splits white light into its colors. The surface height can be measured from the wavelength of the reflected light (resolution: x/y 1 to 2 microm, z 10 nm). A profile of the surface is taken by scanning the measuring point radially from the center of the filling over the restoration margins. An algorithm detects gaps and calculates their depths and widths. Eight adhesive systems (AdheSE, Clearfil SE, Excite, iBond, Optibond Solo Plus, Prompt L-Pop, Touch and Bond, Xeno III) were applied in cylindrical cavities (n = 8, ø = 4 mm, depth 2.5 mm, C-factor 3.5) in bovine dentin together with Tetric Ceram. In the control group, no adhesive system was used. After 24 h of storage in distilled water at 37 degrees C, the surface was polished with 4000-grit abrasive paper, and then epoxy resin replicas were produced. The evaluation criteria were as follows: the percentage of continuous margin along the entire margin (SEM, 500X) and the percentage of gap-free profiles to total profiles (FRT MicroProf), the latter being evaluated by using 100, 300 and 1000 profiles per sample. Two groups (Touch and Bond, Optibond Solo Plus) with 16 samples were selected to evaluate reproducibility and the occurrence of voids adjacent to the restoration margins. For each adhesive, a paired t-test was applied to evaluate the differences between both test methods for each adhesive. A linear regression analysis procedure was used to evaluate the overall agreement between the two test methods. RESULTS The mean deviation between three consecutive measurements was 2.75%. Ten percent of all profiles showed voids adjacent to the restoration margins; 92% of the voids were excluded by setting the threshold value of the gap width at 20 microm. In less than 1% of the profiles, the concurrent presence of gap and void resulted in the nondetection of gaps. It was found that 100 profiles per sample are sufficient to characterize a sample as compared to SEM analysis. Except for the control group, the paired t-test did not reveal any statistically significant difference between the two test methods for either adhesive (p < 0.05). Regression analysis for all 72 data points yielded R2 = 0.72 (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION The results of the quantitative marginal analysis by means of the FRT optical sensor are comparable to those obtained by SEM. The advantages of this method include (1) saving of operator time, (2) independence of operator's experience and bias, and (3) additional information about the gap width and depth.
Cross-sectional comparison of age-related changes in the quadriceps femoris in Japanese basketball players

Abstract Background This study examines age-related changes in the quadriceps femoris (QF), subdivided into the vastus medialis oblique (VMO), vastus medialis (VM), rectus femoris (RF), vastus intermedius (VI) and vastus lateralis (VL) in basketball players. Subjects Seventy male basketball players were divided into four groups according to age (12–13, 14–15, 16–17, and 18–20 years). Methods Ultrasonography was used to measure muscle architecture of the VMO, VM, RF, VI and VL. We created cubic approximate expressions and calculated inflexion points to evaluate peak growth age of each muscle head. Results Significant interactions were observed for all QF parts (p < 0.01–0.001). Muscle thickness (MT) in all QF parts was significantly lower in 12–13-year olds than in 18–20-year olds (p < 0.01–0.001). Significant differences were recognised between 12–13 and 16–17-year olds in VM (p < 0.001), RF (p < 0.001) and VL (p = 0.007). MT was significantly lower in 14–15-year olds than in 16–17-year olds in the VM (p = 0.007) and RF (p = 0.026) and in 18–20 year olds in the VM (p < 0.001), RF (p = 0.036) and VI (p < 0.001). Peak growth age was estimated for each QF part (VMO, 155.0 months; VM, 187.8 months; RF, 212.2 months, VI, 188.9 months; VL, 181.1 months). Conclusion QF parts have different growth rates due to differing functions in each muscle head.
Controlling fashion: Enabling controls in creative teams in fashion firms

Background and problem: In the creative teams of fashion firms a two-way control problem for achieving strategic alignment arises, the first being the need to balance creative and commercial dimensions, and secondly the need to bring coherence to the creative work, both without diminishing the intrinsic motivation of individuals. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to investigate how the design features of enabling MCS in creative teams of fashion firms achieve strategic alignment without diminishing intrinsic motivation. Research question: How are the enabling MCS in the creative teams of fashion firms
Comprehensive autoencoder for prostate recognition on MR images

Automatic recognition of anatomical structures is an essential prerequisite in computer aided diagnoses (CAD) such as tissue segmentation, physiological signal measurement and disease classification. However, insufficient color and speckle information in medical images pose challenges to the recognition of anatomical structures. Such challenges are evident with prostate recognition on magnetic resonance (MR) images and thus remain an open problem, although prostate cancer is an important problem that are attracting increasing interests in medical imaging. In this study, we propose an automatic approach for prostate recognition on MR images. Firstly, compared to existing works which integrate autoencoder with a specific type of classifier, we let autoencoder itself serve as a classifier and therefore lessening the impact from irregular and complex background found in prostate recognition. Secondly, an image energy minimization scheme with consideration of the coherence information from neighboring pixels is proposed to improve the recognition results with clear boundary appearance. We evaluate our method in comparison with three widely applied classifiers and the phase of atlas-based seeds-selection in prostate segmentation on a public prostate database. Our experiment results demonstrate significant superiority of our method in terms of both precision and F-measure.
Alpha2-adrenoreceptor agonists are neuroprotective in a rat model of optic nerve degeneration.

PURPOSE The neurodegenerative progression of glaucoma is considered to be related not only to primary risk factors such as the elevation of intraocular pressure, but also to mediators of secondary neuronal degeneration. In the present study, the neuroprotective activity of the alpha2-adrenoreceptor agonists brimonidine, AGN 191103, and clonidine were examined in an animal model that simulates secondary neuronal degeneration of the optic nerve in a way thought to be independent of elevation of intraocular pressure. The beta-blocker timolol, currently used clinically to decrease intraocular pressure, was also examined for neuroprotective activity at dosages corresponding to the effective antihypertensive dosage. METHODS A single dose of each of the tested compounds was administered intraperitoneally immediately after partial crush injury of the rat optic nerve. Secondary degeneration was measured by determining injury-induced deficits with and without the drug. This was achieved electrophysiologically by measurement of compound action potential amplitude, and morphometrically by counting the retrogradely labeled retinal ganglion cells, representing viable optic nerve axons, in wholemounted retinas. RESULTS All three alpha2-adrenoreceptor agonists, but not timolol, exhibited neuroprotective effects. Treatment immediately after injury with each of these agonists resulted in a dose-dependent attenuation of the injury-induced decrease in compound action potential amplitude. Moreover, after treatment with 100 microg/kg brimonidine administered intraperitoneally, the loss of retinal ganglion cells 2 weeks after injury was three times lower than in saline-treated animals. CONCLUSIONS In addition to their known effect of lowering intraocular pressure, alpha2-adrenoreceptor agonists, unlike timolol, exert a neuroprotective effect. Use of the rat optic nerve model of partial crush injury can serve as a method of screening compounds that are potentially capable of alleviating the progression of secondary neuronal degeneration.
FingerSkate: making multi-touch operations less constrained and more continuous

Multi-touch operations are sometimes difficult to perform due to musculoskeletal constraints. We propose FingerSkate, a variation to the current multi-touch operations to make them less constrained and more continuous. With FingerSkate, once one starts a multi-touch operation, one can continue the operation without having to maintain both fingers on the screen. In a pilot study, we observe that participants could learn to FingerSkate easily and were utilizing the new technique actively.
Federal Research Funding for Family Medicine: Highly Concentrated, with Decreasing New Investigator Awards

A small proportion of National Institutes of Health and other federal research funding is received by university departments of family medicine, the largest primary care specialty. That limited funding is also concentrated, with roughly a quarter of all National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality funding awarded to 3 departments, almost half of that funding coming from 3 agencies, and a recent trend away from funding for new investigators.
DRFL: Directing robots to failures using a list

The individual failure of a sensor is a great problem that damages the life of the sensor network. The treatment of failed sensors is necessary to ensure the continuation of sensor network services. Among the strategies that can be used to repair the failures, is the placement of new sensors in the positions of failures using robots. In this paper, we present DRFL. DRFL (Directing Robots to Failures using a List) is a failure treatment solution based on a new robot exploration mechanism. So, robots follow a virtual grid graph to explore successfully the deployment area to discover the failures and repair them. Otherwise, sensors detect and calculate locally the positions of their failed neighbor sensors. To speed the robot exploration, we use a directions list, and a new calculation method of displacement distance. The evaluation of DRFL proves a significant improvement of failure discovery time, which improves the treatment time of failures.
Understanding ocean acidification impacts on organismal to ecological scales

Ocean acidification (OA) research seeks to understand how marine ecosystems and global elemental cycles will respond to changes in seawater carbonate chemistry in combination with other environmental perturbations such as warming, eutrophication, and deoxygenation. Here, we discuss the effectiveness and limitations of current research approaches used to address this goal. A diverse combination of approaches is essential to decipher the consequences of OA to marine organisms, communities, and ecosystems. Consequently, the benefits and limitations of each approach must be considered carefully. Major research challenges involve experimentally addressing the effects of OA in the context of large natural variability in seawater carbonate system parameters and other interactive variables, integrating the results from different research approaches, and scaling results across different temporal and spatial scales.
Miltefosine: oral treatment of leishmaniasis

The well-known problems of classic treatment of the leishmaniases with pentavalent antimony (reduced efficacy), difficulties of administration and increasing frequency and severity of adverse events have stimulated the search for new drugs to treat these diseases. Other injectable, oral and topical drugs have not been consistently effective, especially in the modern World. Beginning in 1998, Indian researchers conducted several trials with hexadecylphosphocholine (miltefosine) in patients with visceral leishmaniasis, and in 1999, clinical studies were initiated in Colombia for cutaneous disease. More than 2500 patients have been treated, including patients with diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis, mucosal disease and patients coinfected with HIV. Cure rates between 91 and 100% were reached with a dose of 2.5 mg/kg/day for 28 days, with no difference between treatment-naive and relapsing patients. Mild gastrointestinal events were present in 35–60% of patients and 10–20% had mild transaminase and creatinine elevations. Miltefosine has potent leishmanicidal activity as a consequence of its interference in parasite metabolic pathways and the induction of apoptosis. Miltefosine is the first effective and safe oral agent with the potential to treat all major clinical presentations of leishmaniasis.
The 2016 Global Strategy for the conservation and use of Musa genetic resources - key strategic elements

The Global Strategy for the Conservation and Use of Musa Genetic Resources (hereafter referred to as the ‘Global Strategy’) has been expanded in 2016 by Musa genetic resources and breeding experts within the framework of the Global Musa Genetic Resources Network, MusaNet. MusaNet’s mandate is to oversee the further development and monitoring of the implementation of the Global Strategy. The updated Global Strategy aims to provide a clear framework and roadmap to be used by the Musa community for the efficient and effective conservation of the globally important collections of Musa and to strengthen the utilization of the genetic resources toward an increased use of available diversity. It includes recommendations and priorities indicated in several consultation processes following the 2006 Global Musa Strategy and particularly the expertise and key groups represented, including the Regional Research Networks (BAPNET, BARNESA, Innovate Plantain and MusaLAC) and global networks such as ProMusa. The Global Strategy covers numerous topics dealing with Musa genetic resources, with the 12 chapters divided into four main parts: Diversity, Identity, Management and Use. Each chapter contains the sections titled Where we are now, Where do we want to go and How will we get there. For Musa researchers, including taxonomists and breeders, but also end users such as farmers, decisions on the management of banana diversity are often made with limited information. With this in mind, the Global Strategy is a core reference on the taxonomy, characterization, evaluation and genetic improvement of cultivars, leading to actions such as the selection of new and improved cultivars. The use of a more diverse genepool can lead to higher production while at the same time promote ecosystem services such as resilience to pest and disease and the effects of climate change.
Towards Emerging Multimodal Cognitive Representations from Neural Self-Organization

The integration of multisensory information plays a crucial role in autonomous robotics. In this work, we investigate how robust multimodal representations can naturally develop in a self-organized manner from co-occurring multisensory inputs. We propose a hierarchical learning architecture with growing self-organizing neural networks for learning human actions from audiovisual inputs. Associative links between unimodal representations are incrementally learned by a semi-supervised algorithm with bidirectional connectivity that takes into account inherent spatiotemporal dynamics of the input. Experiments on a dataset of 10 full-body actions show that our architecture is able to learn action-word mappings without the need of segmenting training samples for ground-truth labelling. Instead, multimodal representations of actions are obtained using the co-activation of action features from video sequences and labels from automatic speech recognition. Promising experimental results encourage the extension of our architecture in several directions. Keywords—Human action recognition, multimodal integration, self-organizing networks.
Modulation of the Cardiac Sodium Channel Nav1.5 by Fibroblast Growth Factor Homologous Factor 1B*

We have previously shown that fibroblast growth factor homologous factor 1B (FHF1B), a cytosolic member of the fibroblast growth factor family, associates with the sensory neuron-specific channel Nav1.9 but not with the other sodium channels present in adult rat dorsal root ganglia neurons. We show in this study that FHF1B binds to the C terminus of the cardiac voltage-gated sodium channel Nav1.5 and modulates the properties of the channel. The N-terminal 41 amino acid residues of FHF1B are essential for binding to Nav1.5, and the conserved acidic rich domain (amino acids 1773–1832) in the C terminus of Nav1.5 is sufficient for association with this factor. Binding of the growth factor to recombinant wild type human Nav1.5 in human embryonic kidney 293 cells produces a significant hyperpolarizing shift in the voltage dependence of channel inactivation. An aspartic acid to glycine substitution at position 1790 of the channel, which underlies one of the LQT-3 phenotypes of cardiac arrythmias, abolishes the interaction of the Nav1.5 channel with FHF1B. This is the first report showing that interaction with a growth factor can modulate properties of a voltage-gated sodium channel.
Optimizing signal strength in-situ using an evolvable antenna system

With the rise in wireless data communications, it is increasingly important that antennas be able to deliver the strongest and most consistent signal possible to a receiver. The evolvable antenna system in this paper shows that an evolutionary algorithm and a reconfigurable antenna can be used to optimize received signal strength in "real" surroundings and outperform a conventional antenna.
Development of a New Cabled Observatory "Tokai SCANNER"

A new cabled observatory Tokai SCANNER (Tokai Submarine Cabled Network Observatory for Nowcast of Earthquake Recurrences) was completed in April 2007. The system is located off the coast of Toyohashi-city where huge earthquakes are anticipated and continuous long-term monitoring is needed to promote seismic study. A new junction box which is equipped with underwater mateable connectors was installed at the end of the cable. The cable itself will be also applied to electromagnetically study for the inner structure of crust. This paper describes the outline of the Tokai SCANNER and initial evaluation results of the component units.
Transient relay function of midline thalamic nuclei during long-term memory consolidation in humans

To test the hypothesis that thalamic midline nuclei play a transient role in memory consolidation, we reanalyzed a prospective functional MRI study, contrasting recent and progressively more remote memory retrieval. We revealed a transient thalamic connectivity increase with the hippocampus, the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), and a parahippocampal area, which decreased with time. In turn, mPFC-parahippocampal connectivity increased progressively. These findings support a model in which thalamic midline nuclei serve as a hub linking hippocampus, mPFC, and posterior representational areas during memory retrieval at an early (2 h) stage of consolidation, extending classical systems consolidation models by attributing a transient role to midline thalamic nuclei.
Impact of Service Quality on Students’ Satisfaction in a Ghanaian Public Tertiary Institution

This study aims at exploring the relationship between service quality dimensions and overall service quality dimensions (tangibility, responsiveness, reliability, assurance and empathy) and students satisfaction. Additionally, this study also looks at the critical factors in service quality dimensions that contribute most to the satisfaction of the students. The data was collected using a set of questionnaire from 798 undergraduate students who offered various bachelor degrees in a public higher education institution in Ghana. The study provides empirical evidences of these relationships. The results of this study affirms the results of Parasuraman’s SERVQUAL (1985) study, which related to the factors contributing to students’ satisfaction. The outcome of the study amplifies the assertion that service quality (tangibility, responsiveness, reliability, assurance and empathy) has a positive impact on student’s overall satisfaction.
The Impact of Transformational Leadership and Social Interaction on Organizational Performance in the Viewpoint of Knowledge Management: An Empirical Study in Banking Sector of Pakistan

This research examines the impact of transformational leadership (TL) and social interaction (SI) on organizational performance (OP) in the perspective of knowledge management (KM) within Pakistan’s banking sector. In developing countries, knowledge management (KM) is highly practiced but in Pakistan it is a new concept and at the initial stages of its implementation. The situation of Pakistan’s banking sector is better than other services sectors. Therefore, Pakistan’s banking sector is opted as population of the study. Using the simple random sampling technique, 350 questionnaires were distributed in different bank’s branches. The questionnaires were filled by two officer’s rank of employee, i.e., top level managers and middle level managers. Totally, 270 questionnaires were fully completed and used for final analysis. The overall response rate was 77%. Different statistical techniques were applied on the collected data, i.e., Reliability analysis, Pearson’s correlation, Regression analysis and Sobel test. The results indicated that there is a positive relationship among transformational leadership, social interaction, knowledge management, and organizational performance. Furthermore, knowledge management acted as partially mediator between transformational leadership, social interaction and organizational performance. Additionally, current research provides guidelines to the management of banking sector of developing countries specially Pakistan that how transformational leadership, social interaction and knowledge management can improve the organizational performance.