Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Management impact of FDG-PET in dementia: results from a tertiary center memory clinic.

BACKGROUND 2-[18F]fluoro-2-Deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) may assist the diagnosis of dementia but it is an expensive investigation. OBJECTIVE To obtain management impact data for FDG-PET in dementia. METHODS This was a prospective study of 194 consecutive patients referred from a memory clinic for FDG-PET at the discretion of the dementia specialists. Diagnosis and management plans formulated at a multidisciplinary patient review meeting were compared before and after the release of PET findings. RESULTS FDG-PET had moderate to high impact on the diagnosis and management in 85 (44%) participants. Diagnosis changed from probable neurodegenerative disease in 27 patients to a non-degenerative diagnosis and vice versa in 12 patients. PET changed the type of dementia in another 29 (15%) participants and prescription of cholinesterase inhibitors in 33 patients (17%). Number of uncertain diagnoses reduced from 58 to 35 (p < 0.001, χ2 = 15.12), differential diagnoses reduced from 127 to 55 (p = 0.003) and very probable diagnoses increased from 5 to 42 (p ≤ 0.001, χ2 = 1.01). Mini-Mental State Examination score was higher in those where PET had high diagnostic impact (26.3 ± 3.1 versus 23.9 ± 5.1, p ≤ 0.05). The degree of impact correlated with the pre-scan level of diagnostic uncertainty (ρ = -0.258, p < 0.001). DISCUSSION The management impact was higher in those with greater diagnostic uncertainty and in those with less severe cognitive impairment. The findings suggest that FDG-PET is a useful adjunct for the management of suspected dementing disorders in appropriately selected patients.
The LMS algorithm with delayed coefficient adaptation

The behavior of the delayed least-mean-square (DLMS) algorithm is studied. It is found that the step size in the coefficient update plays a key role in the convergence and stability of the algorithm. An upper bound for the step size is derived that ensures the stability of the DLMS. The relationship between the step size and the convergence speed, and the effect of the delay on the convergence speed, are also studied. The analytical results are supported by computer simulations. >
Towards the User: Extending the Job Characteristics Model to Measure Job Satisfaction for ERP Based Workplaces - A Qualitative Approach

Over the past years the widely spread use of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems has significantly changed the way of working. The close correlation between task fulfillment and ERP use has an essential effect on the software users and their job satisfaction. To understand job satisfaction is an important success factor for all firms because it impacts the behavior of the employees. The job characteristics model (JCM) derived by Hackman and Oldham explains job satisfaction by looking at the characteristics of the tasks. Because of the significant impact of technologies, such as ERP systems, we argue that the model has to be extended towards a user-centered view and found technology characteristics explaining job satisfaction, too. We use a qualitative approach to define these unknown constructs and derived an extended model which has to be tested and verified by further research.
Some new methods for affixing sections to glass slides. I. Aqueous adhesives.

As a new aqueous adhesive to affix sections to glass slides, hydrolyzed vinyltriethoxysilane--either pure, in combination with polyvinyl alcohol or with specially prepared aqueous polyacrylate solutions--was applied. The silane proved to be very effective in enhancing bonding to the glass surface. As a general aqueous adhesive, a solution of 2% polyvinyl alcohol (m.w. 108,000; 99.7% hydrolyzed) with 0.2% hydrolyzed vinyltriethoxysilane is recommended. This stock solution is diluted 1:10 to 1:50 and used directly to float sections onto slides on a warming plate.
Learning Prosodic Focus from Continuous Speech Input:A Neural Network Exploration

This study uses connectionist modeling to explore whether and how infants might learn prosodic focus directly from continuous speech input. Focus is a communicative function that serves to put emphasis on a particular part of an utterance, and it is mainly encoded by pitch variations. The acquisition of focus entails two major difficulties. The first is that focus-related pitch patterns are confounded by other linguistic functions that also use pitch for their encoding, such as lexical tone in a tone language. Second, speakers have different pitch ranges, which further confounds the focus related pitch patterns. In three simulations using self-organizing neural networks, we explored how focus may be learned from continuous acoustic signals in Mandarin that were produced with co-occurring lexical tones and by multiple speakers. We used sentence-sized F0 contours as well as their velocity profiles (D1) as training input. Results show that both F0 and D1 contours provide information for focus learning, but only the D1-trained network adequately handled the variability introduced by cross-gender differences. The recognition rate was analogous to human performance. Implications of these findings for theories of language acquisition and adult speech perception are discussed.
Theoretical study of mutual control mechanism between magnetization and polarization in multiferroic materials

The mutual control mechanism between magnetization and polarization in multiferroic materials is studied. The system contains a ferromagnetic sublattice and a ferroelectric sublattice. To describe the magneto–electric coupling, we propose a linear coupling Hamiltonian between ferromagnetism and ferroelectricity without microscopic derivation. This coupling enables one to retrieve the hysteresis loops measured experimentally. The thermodynamic properties of the system are calculated, such as the temperature dependences of the magnetization, polarization, internal energy and free energy. The ferromagnetic and ferroelectric hysteresis loops driven by either a magnetic or an electric field are calculated, and the magnetic spin and pseudo-spin are always flipped synchronously under the external magnetic and electric field. Our theoretical results are in agreement with the experiments.
Infection with Murine Retrovirus Confers Resistance to the Neurotoxin 1‐Methyl‐4‐Phenylpyridinium Ion in PC12 Cells

Abstract: High concentrations of the dopaminergic neurotoxin l‐methyl‐4‐phenylpyridinium ion (MPP+) are toxic to the catecholaminergic cell line PC 12, derived from rat pheochromocytoma. Prolonged exposure of wild‐type PC 12 cells to 500 μM MPP+ yields toxin‐resistant colonies at a frequency of 2 ± 10‐‐4. These spontaneously arising MPP+‐resistant cells are morphologically quite distinct from wild‐type PC 12 cells, and are lacking in most of their characteristic catecholaminergic properties. In contrast, among PC12 cells infected with the murine retrovirus ZIPNEOSV(X), 20% are resistant to the toxin MPP+, a resistance frequency approximately 1,000 times higher than for uninfected cells. The morphology and catecholaminergic phenotype of the virus‐infected MPP+ resistant cells are quite similar to those of wild‐type PC 12 cells. The results presented in this study suggest a unique mechanism of MPP+ resistance in the infected PC 12 cells which may be conferred by the presence and/or expression of the retrovirus ZIPNEOSV(X).
Allergic contact dermatitis and vulvar dermatoses

Vulval itch and discomfort are often intractable symptoms and the response to standard therapy can be unsatisfactory. There is some evidence that vulvar sensitivity to irritants is higher than that of forearm skin, but the incidence of relevant allergic contact sensitivity amongst this patient population is unknown. The patch‐test data over a 5‐year period of 135 patients with persistent vulval symptoms were reviewed and 63 patients had positive results. Of these, 39 had positive results considered to be relevant to their clinical condition. Medicaments and their constituents were responsible for most of these reactions and more than half the patients had multiple allergies.
Single stage soft-switching tri-port converter for integrating renewable source and storage with grid through galvanic isolation

The paper presents a single stage soft-switching tri-port converter for integrating renewable sources like PV, and battery storage with grid through high-frequency isolation. The proposed tri-port converter can be easily configured to connect to single or three-phase ac grids and is capable of realizing soft-switching across the entire range of operating load levels. The single stage approach reduces the semiconductor requirement rating while the soft-switching feature realizes higher efficiencies, compared with the state-of-art approach. This paper presents the concept, principle of operation, simulation and experimental results for this new topology.
Hemodynamic Parameters During Normal and Hypertensive Pregnancy in Rats: Evaluation of Renal Salt and Water Transporters

Objective: To determine whether alterations in extracellular volume expansion observed during normal and hypertensive pregnancy run in parallel to changes in the mRNA expression of renal transporters. Methods: Wistar rats were divided into four groups: control (C, n = 5); pregnancy (P, n = 5); Nω-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME; 50 mg/kg/d)-treated control (H, n = 6); and pregnant rats (HP, n = 6). Hemodynamic studies were performed on day 14 of pregnancy, at which time we also analyzed of the sodium transporters (NHE3, Na/K/2Cl and Na/Cl), potassium channel (ROMK2) and water channel (AQP2). Results: As expected, P rats presented high cardiac output (CO) and normal blood pressure (BP), whereas H rats presented lower CO and elevated BP. A significant (threefold) increase in total vascular resistance and a decrease in stroke volume were observed in the HP group. Hypertension resulting from nitric oxide (NO) synthesis inhibition blunted systemic hemodynamic adaptations during pregnancy. Compared with C rats, mRNA expression of ROMK2 in P rats was lower, whereas that of AQP2 was higher. Expression of AQP2 was significantly higher in H than in C or HP groups. Expression of BSC and NHE3 was lower in the HP than in the P group. The NO inhibition also provoked renal transporter alterations in HP. Conclusions: Our results suggest that tubule transporter variants may mediate the hemodynamic adaptations seen during pregnancy, although we cannot rule out the hypothesis that other factors are also mediating hemodynamic changes.
Simulation of a Piezoelectric MEMS Accelerometer using Finite Element Modeling with Freefem++

In this paper, a two-dimensional finite element model of a piezoelectric MEMS accelerometer is developed and analyzed using FreeFem++. First, a steady state equation of the thermal conduction is solved to obtain the temperature field. Then the quasi-stationary Cauchy-Navier’s equations with thermal stresses present are solved to determine the distribution of the total stresses. As a result, the electric displacement along the vertical direction of the PZT piezoelectric layer is calculated using the constitutive equation of the piezoelectric material. Finally, the total output electric charge on the two top electrodes are determined. The influences of thicknesses of the silicon diaphragm and the PZT layer, as well as the areas of the top two electrodes on the total output charge are studied. The effects of the temperature field are also studied and finally a modal analysis of the accelerometer is performed. The simulation results obtained via finite element modelling has the potential of helping the design of piezoelectric MEMS accelerometers and thus, improve their performances.
Surface properties of plasma-functionalized graphite-encapsulated gold nanoparticles prepared by a direct current arc discharge method

The graphite-encapsulated gold nanoparticles (Au@C NPs) fabricated by a direct current arc discharge method were surface-functionalized by an inductively-coupled radio frequency ammonia plasma with a particle explosion technique for enhancing surface modification efficiency. To investigate the structural and surface properties of Au@C NPs, characterizations using x-ray diffraction, high resolution transmission electron microscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy have been conducted on the untreated and plasma treated Au@C NPs. Based on the experimental results, we give insight into the possible formation of Au ions in the interface between the graphite layers and gold core particles of the Au@C NPs. Finally, the role of the plasma treatment on the surface functionalization of Au@C NPs with amino groups is discussed.
CD4+Ki67+ lymphocytes in HIV‐infected patients are effector T cells accumulated in the G1 phase of the cell cycle

Entry into the cell cycle represents a fundamental step before generating an effector immune response. The relationship between the cell cycle and antigen‐driven T cell response remains, however, poorly understood in virus infection, including HIV. We have identified a critical fraction of CD4+CD45RO+ memory T lymphocytes that express the Ki67 antigen in chronically HIV‐infected patients. A high accumulation of Ki67 protein is detected in CD4+CD45RO+Ki67+ cells that are in the G1 phase of the cell cycle (92 ± 5 %) but not in S and G2 + M phases, in contrast to normal individuals. Of these cells, 20 – 60 % are spontaneously producing IL‐2 and IFN‐γ, unlike CD4+CD45RO+ that do not express Ki67. In addition, HIV‐p24 antigen is detectable only in a small fraction CD4+Ki67+ cells. In conclusion, CD4+Ki67+ lymphocytes are circulating effector cells accumulated in the G1 phase of the cell cycle and may be involved in the immune surveillance during HIV infection.
Cost-effectiveness of using CYP2C19 genotype to guide selection of clopidogrel or ticagrelor in Australia.

AIMS This study aims to assess the cost-effectiveness in Australia of screening CYP2C19 loss-of-function (LoF) alleles to guide selection of clopidogrel or ticagrelor for individuals with acute coronary syndrome who are likely to undergo coronary stenting. METHODS Three treatment strategies were compared: universal clopidogrel therapy, universal ticagrelor therapy and genotyping CYP2C19 with use of ticagrelor for individuals with a LoF allele and clopidogrel for individuals without a LoF allele. Lifetime costs and quality-adjusted life years for each treatment strategy were estimated using a Markov model. The risks of events were primarily derived from the genetic substudy of the pivotal randomized controlled trial. RESULTS CYP2C19 genotyping resulted in greater effectiveness and was cost-effective when compared with universal use of clopidogrel. However, universal use of ticagrelor was the most effective strategy overall and the incremental cost-effectiveness compared with the genotyping strategy was generally within what is considered acceptable. CONCLUSION Ticagrelor is likely to be cost-effective even for individuals not carrying a CYP2C19 LoF allele.
Feature-enhanced recovery of low resolution radar imagery based on metrics structured experiment design regularization

We address a new structured descriptive experiment design regularization (DEDR) based approach for feature-enhanced recovery of scene power reflectivity maps from the low resolution imagery acquired with conventional low cost side looking radar systems operating in harsh sensing environments. The feature-enhanced RS scene recovery from the low resolution radar imagery is treated as a nonlinear inverse problem with model uncertainties. To alleviate the problem ill-posedness, we propose to aggregate the error ℓ2 squared norm minimization based DEDR estimation framework with the variational analysis (VA) inspired - ℓ2 -ℓ1 metrics structured (MS) regularization. The MS regularization level is aimed at exploiting the prior model information about the piecewise sparseness of the scene reflectivity gradient maps via aggregating the corresponding metrics structures in the image/solution space. The resulting fused DEDR-MS feature-enhanced sensing method is implemented in the implicit contractive mapping iterative mode. Our DEDR-MS method outperforms the most prominent competing radar image enhancement techniques that do not aggregate the DEDR with the VA inspired MS regularization both in the resolution-enhancement-over-noise-suppression and the convergence rates as verified in the reported computer simulations.
Demonstration of a Novel Two Source Region Tunnel FET

A novel silicon-on-insulator (SOI)-based tunnel FET (TFET) with two source regions (TSRs) is proposed and investigated by Sentaurus simulation. The incorporation of the TSR in the SOI platform augmented the effective tunneling area between source–channel junctions and hence boosts the drive current of the device. To restrain the leakage current at a lower value, we have introduced an isolator oxide which avoids the direct coupling of the source and the drain. The typical figure of merit of any device is its <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${I}_{ \mathrm{\scriptscriptstyle ON}}/{I}_{ \mathrm{\scriptscriptstyle OFF}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> ratio, which is <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\sim {9} \times {10}^{ {10}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> of our proposed structure. The impact of various device geometry variations has been studied and optimized accordingly through extensive simulation. We have also benchmarked our proposed TSR-TFET results with the modified L-shaped TFET, line tunneling-based TFET, and point tunneling-based TFET and procured better results over all the reference devices.
College students' norm perception predicts reported use of protective behavioral strategies for alcohol consumption.

OBJECTIVE This study examined whether college students' descriptive norm perceptions of protective behavioral drinking strategies explain variance in use of such strategies, controlling for covariates of students' gender, typical number of drinks, and negative drinking consequences. METHOD Derivation (n = 7,960; 55.2% women) and replication (n = 8,534; 54.5% women) samples of undergraduate students completed the Campus Alcohol Survey in classroom settings. Students estimated how frequently other students used each of nine protective behavioral strategies (PBS) and how frequently they themselves used each strategy. RESULTS All items assessing norm perception of PBS (NPPBS) had pattern matrix coefficients exceeding . 50 on a single factor, and all contributed to the overall scale reliability (Cronbach's alpha = .81). Hierarchical regression analyses indicated NPPBS explained significant variance in PBS, controlling for covariates, and explained an additional 7% of variance (p < .001). A Gender x Scale (PBS, NPPBS) repeated-measures analysis of variance revealed students believed peers used PBS less frequently than they themselves did (eta(p) (2) = . 091, p < . 001). Such social distancing was greater in women (omega(effect) (2) = . 151, p < . 001) than in men (omega(effect) (2) = . 001, p < . 001). CONCLUSIONS Consistent with the principle of false uniqueness, whereby individuals regard their own positive characteristics as rare, college students-especially women-underestimate how frequently other students use PBS. Such norm misperception may enhance students' feelings of competence and self-esteem. The positive relationship between NPPBS and PBS indicates students with high NPPBS are more likely to use the strategies themselves.
Two Digestive Trypsins Occur in Three Species of Neotropical Anophelines

Abstract Trypsin activity increases in the midgut of Anopheles aquasalis, Anopheles albitarsis, and Anopheles darlingi after a bloodmeal. The activity returns to basal levels at the time the blood is completely digested. Affinity chromatography, reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) were used to sequentially purify the mosquito trypsins found in the midguts at 24 h after feeding. Amino-terminal sequencing of the purified trypsins showed the occurrence of two distinct trypsins in the midgut of each of the mosquitoes studied. The sequences obtained are similar to those of the trypsins of other hematophagous insects.
A new hybrid topology for network on chip

With the advancements in semiconductor chip manufacturing technology, it has been possible to put the various components of a system with more than one hundred processors, on a single chip. Network on chip (NoC) has been used as an effective communication platform for such systems. Due to the delays induced by routers and other equipment employed in NoC, the performance of communications for chips using this architecture is usually less than that of bus based versions. It is expected that a combined solution can provide benefits of both. In this paper, with the goal of reducing delays associated with on-chip communications, five new hybrid topologies have been proposed. Then, a dominant topology has been selected among the candidates and a method for routing, based on dominant topology, has been provided. Simulation results are presented to evaluate the proposed methods.
Detection of Mycobacterium avium subsp.paratuberculosis in Infected Tissues by New Species-Specific Immunohistological Procedures

ABSTRACT We have previously described the cloning and sequencing of a gene portion coding for the terminal part of a 34-kDa protein ofMycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis, the etiological agent of Johne’s disease (P. Gilot, M. De Kesel, L. Machtelinckx, M. Coene, and C. Cocito, J. Bacteriol. 175:4930–4935, 1993). The recombinant polypeptide (a362) carries species-specific B-cell epitopes which do not cross-react with other mycobacterial pathogens (M. De Kesel, P. Gilot, M.-C. Misonne, M. Coene, and C. Cocito, J. Clin. Microbiol. 31:947–954, 1993). The present work describes the preparation of polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies directed against a362 and the use of these immunoglobulins for histopathological diagnosis of Johne’s disease. The new immunohistological procedures herewith detailed proved to be able to identify M. avium subsp.paratuberculosis antigens in the intestinal tissues and lymph nodes of cattle affected by either the paucibacillary or pluribacillary form of the disease. They yielded negative responses not only with healthy animals but also with those affected by tuberculosis (Mycobacterium bovis). Both immunohistological procedures proved to be as sensitive as or more sensitive than Ziehl-Neelsen staining and, in addition, to be endowed with species specificity.
Modified swarm firefly algorithm method for directional overcurrent relay coordination problem

Computational intelligence method such as Nature Inspired Algorithms (NIA) or meta-heuristic algorithms based optimization methods known to be successful in coordination of directional overcurrent relay. It has also been reported that it outperformed the conventional approach. Due to its advantages, it has gained more popularity among the researchers. Some of the conventional optimization techniques such as linear programming method and non-linear programming method were proposed but these methods is time consuming and complex to achieve optimal solution. Thus, a search for better optimization technique to reduce computation burden has become urgency. This paper presents the implementation of Modified Swarm Firefly Algorithm (MSFA) in solving directional overcurrent relay coordination problem. The effect of population sizes were considered to investigate the performance of MSFA technique. The coordination of directional overcurrent relays is formulated as linear programming problem and the objective function is introduced to minimize the operating time of the primary relay. Operating time of the relay depends on time setting multiplier (TSM) which leads to no miscoordination between relay pairs. The proposed method have been applied and tested successfully on 8-Bus test system and 9-Bus test system. The results revealed that MSFA outperformed Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) in terms of computation time.