Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
USE OF CHARGE COUPLED DEVICE CAMERA FOR IMAGING OF INTRACELLULAR PHTHALOCYANINES

Abstract— A highly sensitive charge‐coupled device (CCD) camera, linked to a computerized image processor, has been used to obtain fluorescence images of chloro‐aluminum sulfonated phthalocyanine (ClAlSPc), and its mono‐ to tetra‐sulfonated constituents, in cells recovered from the peritoneal cavity of dye‐treated mice. Immunofluorescence and cytochemistry showed that cells which preferentially took up ClAlSPc and its sulfonated species were predominantly of the monocyte‐macrophage series. While this technique may be of use in determining the nature of those cells capable of taking up light sensitive dyes and, perhaps, the intracellular location of such agents, the possibility that photoinactiv‐ation by dye aggregation could reduce the sensitivity of this procedure is discussed.
Augmented Reality-Based Manual Assembly Support With Visual Features for Different Degrees of Difficulty

This research investigates different visual features for augmented reality (AR)–based assembly instructions. Since the beginning of AR research, one of its most popular application areas has been manual assembly assistance. A typical AR assembly application indicates the necessary manual assembly operations by generating visual representations of parts that are spatially registered with, and superimposed on, a video representation of the physical product to be assembled. Research in this area indicates the advantages of this type of assembly instruction presentation. This research investigates different types of visual features for different assembly operations. The hypothesis is that in order to gain an advantage from AR, the visual features used to explain a particular assembly operation must correspond to its relative difficulty level. The final goal is to associate different types of visual features to different levels of task complexity. A user study has been conducted in order to compare different visual features at different operation complexity levels. The results support the hypothesis.
Transcatheter edge‐to‐edge repair of anterior mitral flail through a dehisced annuloplasty ring

Recurrent mitral regurgitation (MR) due to mitral annuloplasty ring dehiscence is an uncommon late complication of surgery, and is associated with an increased risk of heart failure and mortality. We report the first application of MitraClip for recurrent primary MR and annuloplasty ring dehiscence in a patient with prohibitive surgical risk.
Head movement in normal subjects during simulated PET brain imaging with and without head restraint.

UNLABELLED Head movement during brain imaging is recognized as a source of image degradation in PET and most other forms of medical brain imaging. However, little quantitative information is available on the kind and amount of head movement that actually occurs during these studies. We sought to obtain this information by measuring head movement in normal volunteers. METHODS Head position data were acquired for 40 min in each of 13 supine subjects with and without head restraint. These data were then used to drive a mathematically simulated head through exactly the same set of movements. The positions of point sources embedded in this head were computed at each location and these data summarized as movement at FWHM in each of the three coordinate directions. RESULTS Head movement increased with the length of the sampling interval for studies of either type (with or without head restraint), but the amount and rate of increase with restraint was much smaller. In contrast, head movement during consecutive, short sampling intervals was small and did not increase with time. Spatial gradients in head movement were detected within each study type, and significant spatial differences in head movement were found between study types. CONCLUSIONS Head movements in normal, supine subjects, though small, can cause the effective resolution of a brain imaging study to appear to vary in space and time. These effects can be reduced significantly with head restraint and may also be reduced by dividing the acquisition of a single image into a sequence of short images (instead of a single long image), aligning these images spatially and summing the result.
Conceptual knowledge representation: A cross-section of current research

ABSTRACT How is conceptual knowledge encoded in the brain? This special issue of Cognitive Neuropsychology takes stock of current efforts to answer this question through a variety of methods and perspectives. Across this work, three questions recur, each fundamental to knowledge representation in the mind and brain. First, what are the elements of conceptual representation? Second, to what extent are conceptual representations embodied in sensory and motor systems? Third, how are conceptual representations shaped by context, especially linguistic context? In this introductory article we provide relevant background on these themes and introduce how they are addressed by our contributing authors.
The Effects of Economic Transition on Mortality in Shanghai, China

Much research has linked an increase in adult mortality with the socioeconomic transition of former European socialist societies after 1989. Few studies examine corresponding experiences in China, however. Using the death certificates of Shanghai residents, we examined any such sudden mortality change and crisis when China went through economic transformation. We explored trends in life expectancy at birth and age-specific mortality in Shanghai. We applied Arriaga’s decomposition method to analyze the contributions of specific ages and the causes to the changes in life expectancy. We used harmonic regression models to assess the statistical significance of rising and falling mortality over time. The analysis shows that, coinciding with the economic transition of 1992–1996, the previously steady improvement of life expectancy in Shanghai slowed down. Mortality among working-age males (20–44 years old) increased (P
Serendipitous 2MASS Discoveries near the Galactic Plane: A Spiral Galaxy and Two Globular Clusters

We present the basic properties of three objects near the Galactic Plane—a large galaxy and two candidate globular clusters—discovered in the Two Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS) data set. All were noted during spot checks of the data during 2MASS quality assurance reviews. The galaxy is a late-type spiral galaxy (Sc–Sd), ∼ 11 Mpc distant, at l = 236. °82, b = -1. °86. From its observed angular extent of 6. ′3 in the near infrared, we estimate an extinction-corrected optical diameter of ∼ 9. ′5, making it larger than most Messier galaxies. The candidate globular clusters are ∼ 2′–3′ in extent and are hidden optically behind foreground extinctions of AV ∼ 18–21 mag at l ∼ 10°, b ∼ 0°. These chance discoveries were not the result of any kind of systematic search, but they do hint at the wealth of obscured sources of all kinds, many previously unknown, that are in the 2MASS data set.
Variable Joint-Velocity Limits of Redundant Robot Manipulators Handled by Quadratic Programming

In this paper, a variable joint-velocity limits (VJVL)-constrained minimum-velocity-norm (MVN) scheme (termed VJVL-constrained MVN scheme) is proposed and investigated for redundant manipulators, i.e., the JVL change with the end-effector and joints movement. The scheme is then formulated as a quadratic program (QP), which is subject to an equality constraint and a bound constraint, and such a QP problem is solved by a discrete QP solver, i.e., a numerical algorithm. In addition, experimental results performed on a planar six degrees-of-freedom (6-DOF) push-rod (PR) redundant robot manipulator substantiate the physical realizability and efficacy of such a VJVL-constrained MVN scheme and the corresponding discrete QP solver. Furthermore, the position-error analyses verify the accuracy of the proposed scheme on redundant manipulators.
Chagas Cardiomyopathy in New Orleans and the Southeastern United States.

BACKGROUND Chagas disease (CD), caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, affects 6-7 million people worldwide annually, primarily in Central and South America, and >300,000 people in the United States. CD consists of acute and chronic stages. Hallmarks of acute CD include fever, myalgia, diaphoresis, hepatosplenomegaly, and myocarditis. Symptoms of chronic CD include pathologic involvement of the heart, esophagus, and colon. Myocardial involvement is identifiable by electrocardiogram and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging showing inflammation and left ventricular wall functional abnormalities. CASE REPORTS We present two cases of CD identified in a single hospital in the Southeastern United States. Case 1 presents a patient with symptoms of anginal chest pain and associated shortness of breath with myocardial involvement suggestive of ischemic infarction but normal coronary arteries. Case 2 describes a patient with no physical symptoms and echocardiogram with ejection fraction of 50% with posterolateral and anterolateral wall hypokinesis but normal coronary arteries. CONCLUSION With a growing number of immigrants from Central and South America in the United States, it is imperative for clinicians to include CD as part of the differential diagnosis for patients presenting with heart disease who have a history of exposure to T. cruzi endemic areas.
ASSESSING MULTILOCUS INTROGRESSION PATTERNS: A CASE STUDY ON THE MOUSE X CHROMOSOME IN CENTRAL EUROPE

Multilocus hybrid zone (HZ) studies predate genomics by decades. The power of early methods is becoming apparent and now large datasets are commonplace. Relating introgression along a chromosome to evolutionary process is challenging: although reduced introgression regions may indicate speciation genes, this pattern may be obscured by asymmetric introgression of linked invasive genes. Further, HZ movement may form salients and leave islands in its wake. Barton's concordance was proposed 24 years ago for assessing introgression where geographic patterns are complex. The geographic axis of introgression is replaced with the hybrid index. We compare this, a recently proposed genomic clines approach, and two‐dimensional (2D) geographic analyses, for 24 X chromosome loci of 2873 mice from the central‐European house mouse HZ. In 2D, 14 loci show linear contact, seven precisely matching previous studies. Four show introgression islands to the east of the zone, suggesting past westward zone movement, two show westward salients. Barton's concordance both recovers and refines this information. A region of reduced introgression on the central X is supported, despite X centromere‐proximal male‐biased westward introgression matching a westward 2D geographic salient. Genomic clines results are consistent regarding introgression asymmetries, but otherwise more difficult to interpret. Evidence for genetic conflict is discussed.
Markers for Diagnosis and Progression in Bladder Cancer

Bladder cancer is a common disease that is often detected late and has a high rate of recurrence and progression. The current standard of care for the primary detection and follow-up of NMIBC consists of urethro-cystoscopy associated with cytology. However, several clinical risk factors have been claimed to predict recurrence and progression, these factors have a predictive value on a population basis, but no parameter has been found that reliably predicts how an individual patient’s tumor will behave. In the last years many markers have been described in order to decrease the number of cystoscopies and try to provide individualized risk-stratified decision-making. We have focused our review in tumor markers for primary diagnosis, surveillance of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer, and predicting progression to muscle-invasive disease. After our review, we can conclude that to the date no non-invasive biomarker has proven to be sensitive and specific enough to replace cystoscopy, neither in the diagnosis nor in the follow-up. On the other hand, promising results have been reported of potential biomarkers for predicting recurrence, early progression and poor response to BCG, new studies should be promoted to validate these results and make possible to incorporate markers as a new tool in clinical guidelines.
Preserving Self: Theorizing the Social and Psychological Processes of Living With Parkinson Disease

The purpose of this constructivist grounded theory article is to identify, explore, and theorize the social and psychological processes used by people with Parkinson disease. Analytic procedures generated the five-stage theory of Preserving self of people with Parkinson disease: (a) making sense of symptoms, (b) defining turning points, (c) experiencing identity dilemmas, (d) reconnecting the self, and (e) envisioning a future. Reminders of former selves and capabilities were painful; participants desperately sought normalcy. Participants developed creative methods for maintaining independence but frequently overestimated their abilities and took risks. Participants were 15 men and 10 women (ages 40–95), most of whom lived with their families. Disease status was ascertained through medication logs and two scales: Hoehn and Yahr staging and Activities of Daily Living. Data included 62 in-depth interviews, nonparticipant observation, and participant photos, videos, and related documents. Recommendations were derived from the theory to support processes of Preserving Self as interventions designed to reduce the loss of self and to enhance Preserving self. These recommendations included developing relationships, teaching expected and unexpected feelings and behaviors, and involvement with sensory integrating activities.
Optimal design and parallel implementation of FIR filters with variable magnitude and fractional-delay responses

This paper proposes a weighted least-squares (WLS) method for designing variable one-dimensional (1-D) FIR digital filters with simultaneously variable magnitude and variable non-integer phase-delay responses. First, the coefficients of a variable FIR filter are represented as the two-dimensional (2-D) polynomials of a pair of spectral parameters; one is for tuning the magnitude response, and the other is for varying its non-integer phase-delay response. Then the optimal coefficients of the 2-D polynomials are found by minimizing the total weighted squared error of the variable frequency response. Finally, it is shown that the resulting variable FIR filter can be implemented in a parallel form, which is suitable for high-speed signal processing.
Assessment of Dust Aerosol Optical Depth and Shortwave Radiative Forcing over the Northwest Pacific Ocean in Spring Based on Satellite Observations

Abstract Dust aerosol optical depth (AOD) and its accompanying shortwave radiative forcing (RF) are usually simulated by numerical models. Here, by using 9 months of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aerosol product data in combination with Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System Single Scanner Footprint (CERES/SSF) data, dust AOD and its shortwave RF were estimated over the cloud—free north—West (NW) Pacific Ocean in the springs of 2004, 2005, and 2006. The results showed that in this region, the mean dust AOD and its shortwave RF were 0.10 and –5.51 W m-2, respectively. In order to validate the dust AOD derived by MODIS, results from the Goddard Global Ozone Chemistry Aerosol Radiation and Transport (GOCART) model were also used here. The correlation coefficient between the monthly averaged dust AOD derived by MODIS measurements and the model simulation results was approximately 0.53. Since the estimates of the dust AOD and its shortwave RF obtained in this study are based mainly on satellite data, they offer a good reference for numerical models.
Kinematic accuracy analysis of robot based on local POE

Linear kinematics model based on POE formula has been widely applied to the error compensation of robot. In this paper, we employed a calibration model in the Local POE frame where all the joint axes are repressed in their respective local frames. The major advantage of this formula is that the local coordinate frames can be arbitrarily assigned onto their corresponding links. For analyzing the applicability of linear model, this paper builds envelope model of error distribution using linear and second-order error model. Meanwhile, this paper analyzes Kuka Youbot robot's error distribution through the established model. The results show that the second-order model could be neglected in comparison with first-order model, when nominal error values of the joint angles are less than 0.1 degree. Hence, linear error model is enough precise in most real applicable environments.
Charge imaging and manipulation using carbon nanotube probes

Due to their high aspect ratio, well-defined cylindrical structure, and good electrical conductivity, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are ideal probes for “true” local imaging of electric domain structures at the nanoscale. By performing force–distance measurements and tip-shape profiling with a uniformly charged oxide square, we clearly demonstrate the local nature of the CNT tip for electrostatic force microscopy. We show that CNTs can be used to probe long-range electrostatic forces with a lateral resolution better than 5 nm.
MCMC Modular Ensemble Tracking

Object Tracking has become a recurrent problem in video-surveillance and is a important domain in computer vision. It was recently approached using classification techniques and still more recently using boosting methods. We propose here a new object tracking method, based on Ensemble Tracking and integrating two main improvements. The first one lies on the separation of the heterogeneous feature space into a set of homogenous subspaces (modules) and on the application of an Ensemble Tracking-based algorithm on each module. The second one deals with the new tracking problem induced by this separation by building a specific particle filter, weighting each module in order to estimate both position and dimensions of the tracked object and the linear combination of modular decisions leading to the most discriminative observation. Our method is tested on challenging sequences. We prove its performance and we compare its robustness with the state of the art.
Antenna architecture of a nano-satellite for Radio Astronomy

Recent technological advancements have led to the emergence of a new miniaturized satellite platforms and this opened up the path for a whole new range of applications. The Orbiting Low Frequency Antennas for Radio Astronomy (OLFAR) project is one of these applications, and aims to develop a low-frequency radio telescope for the 0.3 MHz to 30 MHz band. It uses a swarm of 50 or more identical nano-satellites to synthesize a very large aperture to explore the ultra-long electromagnetic (EM) waves in this frequency band. The swarm will act similar to a wireless sensor network (WSN) that samples the cosmic noise, processes the data in a distributed manner, and then sends the data to a base station (BS) for further processing and analysis. The satellites will have a very simple architecture (characteristic of a WSN node) that will focus on three main functionalities: radio observation, data processing, and distribution (inter-satellite and downlink). However, the complexity of the application results in strict requirements for the design of the satellites components, especially for the antenna systems. Starting from OLFAR's requirements and limitations, three separate antenna systems for scientific observation, inter-satellite link (ISL) and data downlink are designed and integrated into a nano-satellite platform.
Comparing hospitals that perform coronary artery bypass surgery: the effect of outcome measures and data sources.

OBJECTIVES The relative quality of hospital care often is judged by comparing risk-adjusted rates of adverse outcomes. This study evaluated whether hospital quality comparisons are affected by the choice of outcome and the use of administrative data instead of clinical data. METHODS The data were collected from 2687 coronary artery bypass surgery patients from 17 hospitals. All patients were on Medicare. For 10 hospitals with 94 to 713 patients, risk-adjusted outcomes for death, major complications, and any complications were derived from a clinically rich database and an administrative database. RESULTS The correlations between adjusted hospital rankings derived from the clinical and administrative databases were not significant: . 48 for mortality, . 21 for major complications, and -. 14 for any complication. When only the clinical database was used, the correlation between risk-adjusted hospital rankings for mortality and major complications was . 77 (P < .01) and the correlation between major complications and any complication was -. 45. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest assessing quality of care by the use of administrative data may not be adequate and that quality assessment by the use of clinical data may depend greatly on the outcome chosen.
Compact Bandpass Filter With Multiple Coupling Paths in Limited Space for Ku-Band Application

A compact bandpass filter (BPF) for Ku-band application is proposed in this letter. The proposed filter is composed of five quarter-wavelength (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\boldsymbol {\lambda }{/4}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) stepped-impedance resonators, which are in staggered arrangement. Folded narrow feedlines are used to introduce multiple coupling paths in limited space. Two symmetrical cascaded quadruplet like (CQ-like) structures are formed and devoted to generate two transmission zeros (TZs) located in both the upper and lower sides of the center frequency <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$(f_{{\mathbf {0}}})$ </tex-math></inline-formula>. Two other TZs are generated by the coupling path between folded narrow feedlines. Two TZs in upper rejection band can be adjusted to special locations to strength the suppression in these points. A prototype of the proposed filter was fabricated and good agreement between simulation and measurement is achieved. The proposed BPF owns the advantages of high selectivity, compact size, low insertion loss, and low cost.
Accounting Conservatism and Corporate Investment Decisions : Evidence from a Structural Assessment

We investigate whether accounting conservatism solves the misalignment of interest between managers and shareholders by increasing hurdle rates used by managers during project selections. We argue that accounting conservatism raises managerial cautiousness in project screening. By incorporating bad news timely into earnings, conservative accounting system increases the likelihood of early termination of unsuccessful projects, increasing personal costs of the manager and thus deterring managers from investing in projects merely to enjoy private benefits. Using a structural model and GMM estimation, we find that conservative accounting increases hurdle rates and such increases are more pronounced for firms that exhibit higher degree of agency problem. We also find conservatism adds value to firms when investment is under consideration. Our work sheds lights on the literature attempting to identify the relation between accounting conservatism and managers’ investment decisions.