Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Toward Understanding Myometrial Regulation: Metabolomic Investigation Reveals New Pathways of Oxytocin and Ritodrine Activity on the Myometrium

In recent times, additional pathways involved in the regulation of the myometrium have been suggested. This also holds true for the effect of drugs such as oxytocin (OT) and β-adrenergic agonists on the myometrium. Knowledge of these additional pathways will certainly prove useful in designing better therapies for pathologies of the myometrium. This study was therefore aimed at investigating the possibility of other pathways involved in the activities of both OT and ritodrine (RIT; a β-adrenergic agonist) in the myometrium by utilizing metabolomics and bioinformatics. High-resolution Fourier transform mass spectrometry (HRFTMS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy coupled with functional uterine assays were used for an innovative assessment. In vitro pharmacological assay of OT (1 nmol/L) and RIT (0.1 nmol/L) on isolated mice uteri mounted in 3 mL organ baths was performed. Mice uteri, treated with OT or RIT, as well as the physiological buffer in which the uterine tissues were immersed, were rapidly collected and analyzed using HRFTMS, proton (1H)-NMR, and bioinformatics. Resulting data were analyzed via pairwise chemometric comparison models, with P ≤ . 05 considered statistically significant. In addition to previously known metabolites, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, γ-aminobutyric acid, and sphingosine were significantly associated with the activity of OT, whereas the activity of RIT was associated with a downstream involvement of prostaglandin F1 and phosphatidylinositol signaling. These findings add evidence to the reports on additional regulation of myometrial activity by these drugs and suggest newer pathways for therapeutic manipulation.
Managed care and primary physician satisfaction.

BACKGROUND We examined whether physician compensation, financial incentives, and care management tools were associated with primary physician job and referral satisfaction. Our study was guided by a conceptual model of physician satisfaction derived from published evidence. METHODS A cross-sectional survey was performed of 495 primary physicians (family practitioners, general practitioners, general internists) in the Seattle metropolitan area in 1997. RESULTS Bivariate analyses revealed that salary compensation, productivity bonuses, and withholds for referrals were associated with job and referral dissatisfaction. However, after controlling for physician, practice, and office characteristics, only the association between salary payment and job dissatisfaction remained significant. Practice in offices with more physicians had the strongest association with physician job dissatisfaction. CONCLUSIONS Although managed care features are correlated with physician job and referral dissatisfaction, the source of dissatisfaction may originate from being an employed physician in a large medical group with more physicians, which may be more likely to impose bureaucratic controls that limit physician autonomy.
Interactive Guidance and Navigation for Facilitating Image-Based 3 D Modeling

Here we present an interactive guidance and navigation system that assists user in acquiring pictures for image based 3D modeling. To reconstruct an object’s 3D model, user follows our instruction to take a set of images for an object in different angles, we calculate their relative viewing positions and spare point cloud data using structure from motion technique. After we obtain sufficient number of images, we use Patch-based Multi-View Stereo (PMVS) [1] software to generate dense point cloud data. When displaying dense point cloud, we provide user an interface to eliminate those noise data points yielded from background construction or re-projection errors. Afterwards we reconstruct surface mesh as output. Our system provides informative message for failures while calculating camera poses and helps user how to resolve those problems. Furthermore, we assess the quality of camera poses reconstruction and generated point cloud to reveal the lack of angles for captured images and guide user to remedy those information.
The Sales Comparison Approach and Timberland Valuation

The sales comparison approach is a valuation technique that has been used only secondarily in valuing timberland. Buyers, sellers, and appraisers have relied on the income approach to value timberland because the data are easy to locate. The sales comparison approach, however, is rated to be an excellent indicator of market value. This article summarizes various adjustments that can be applied to sales to assist in the use of this method.
A NOVEL METHOD FOR FABRICATING CONDUCTIVE MICROFIBERS FOR MICROBIAL FUEL CELLS

The increasing demand for energy resources has urged scientists to focus on improving the renewable energy sources. Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have received an increasing attention. Both energy conversion mechanism and electrode type have attributed to affect the efficiency of the microbial fuel cells. Electrodes as one of the most important components of the microbial fuel cells have been widely investigated. While most of the electrode materials are carbon based, there is very little effort on introducing novel materials for this purpose. This paper intends to shed an insight on the effect of using a new cathode material on the performance of microbial fuel cells. We employ hydrodynamic forces to control both molecular organization and microstructure size and shape in order to create highly structured microfibers. A microfluidic sheath flow device is used for the fabrication processes. The core flow is acrylate solution and UV light cures the photoinitiator to start the polymerization process. The exiting stream goes inside a water bath, where the sheath flow dissolves in the DI water and the core flow forms the microfibers. Controlled self-assembly can be used to deposit a thin layer of functionalized metal nanoparticles on the polymeric structure made from microfibers to enhance their electric conductivity. A conductive and porous network formed by the microfibers can be used as an efficient cathode material in microbial fuel cells. Furthermore, using this fabrication technique we can make microfibers with different shapes and sizes.
DGIS-BASED DIGITAL RECONSTRUCTION AND DYNAMIC VISUALIZATION OF TIMBER-FRAME BUILDING CLUSTER

Timber-frame buildings in T’ang style play an important role in the Chinese architectural history. So far, however, there are only a few T’ang buildings and also a few literatures that record the arts and crafts about them. It becomes a critical task to research and protect ancient architecture by computer and information technology. As a key technology, Three-Dimensional Geographic Information System (3DGIS) is considered as a sophisticated 3D digital information system platform for the digital architectural heritage in this paper. A dynamic visualization system based on 3D GIS for T’ang timber-frame buildings is presented particularly. The design of the system framework is introduced at first. For the purpose of real-time photorealistic visualization, combination of the levels of detail (LOD) strategy and CAD data is discussed in detail; and LOD models are planned in 4 levels according to the different distance from the building to the viewpoint. Then integrated database management and real-time applications are available. The database management engine supports the seamless integration and efficient access of digital elevation model (DEM) database, 3D city models, attribute database, and media database; especially the LOD-R-tree and dynamic data loading are designed to accelerate data access. Moreover, occlusion culling and progressive rendering are applied to data preprocess for enhancing rendering frequency. Finally, a practical application shows the feasibility of the 3DGIS-based interactive dynamic visualization system as an efficient tool for the protection and research of ancient architecture.
Experimental mineral dissolution in Berea Sandstone reacted with CO 2 or SO 2-CO 2 in NaCl brine under CO 2 sequestration conditions

A comparison of the geochemical changes induced in sandstone by either pure or impure CO2 at geological CO2 storage conditions was investigated. Samples of Berea Sandstone were batch reacted in 1% w/v NaCl brine saturated with pure CO2 or mixed SO2-CO2 gas for 360 hours at 50 oC and 10 MPa. Geochemical analysis of incremental water samples showed increases in the concentrations of elements such as calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese, and silicon throughout experiments, likely being the products of carbonate and reactive silicate dissolution. Scanning electron microscope images taken of specific points of interest before and after batch reactions confirmed dissolution of carbonates, but showed no reaction for minerals such as K-feldspar. The magnitude of apparent mineral reaction was higher for the mixed gas SO2-CO2-brine experiment, with geochemical modelling also indicating greater dissolution of reactive silicates such as chlorite, and potential precipitation of amorphous silica.
A new method of real-time monitoring of cutting tool status bases on HHT

The machine tool is the main execution unit in the cyber-physical system (CPS system), which can improve the product quality by dynamic monitoring and real-time perception of its wear status. In order to realise the online signal acquisition and monitoring of tool wear status, the spindle power signal acquisition system was implemented. The cutting force signal is used as contrast analysis. The HHT method and wavelet transform method are introduced to construct the tool wear coefficients, which are corresponding to the tool wear status. Compared with the wavelet transform, it is proved that Hilbert-Huang transform can restrain the noise signal effectively and improve the accuracy of the monitoring. Finally, the new tool wear monitoring method is applied to drilling 45# steel and titanium alloy TC4 to catch the tool wear state, and the power signal is used to carry out comprehensive online tool state monitoring. It is accurate and practical in the drilling test, which shows prospective usage in the near future.
2D independent actuator control based on a Proportional Derivative Active Force Control

This paper presents a control method for 2D independent actuators using PDAFC (Proportional Derivative Active Force Control). PD is used to stabilize the actuators, where as AFC is used to reject disturbance uncertainty by estimating disturbance torque value of actuator. Simulation result shows that PDAFC can minimize disturbance uncertainly effect. To test the performances of a control system actuator given disorder sinuses and pulse. Actuator position of the Pitch angular at the time of the system in a state of steady amounting to 39.78 degrees without disturbance. actuator with sine disturbance, position pitch angular is 41.53 degrees and 51.69 degrees with pulse disturbance. Actuator position of the roll angular at the time of the system in a state of steady amounting to 39.59 degrees without disturbance. actuator with sine disturbance, position roll angular is 39.61 degrees and 44.27 degrees with pulse disturbance.
Chapter 2 Overview of Planetarium Education

The modern digital planetarium, with its inherent ability to show the universe as a real-time three-dimensional model, as opposed to the old-style, earth-centered view of the optical star projector, provides unique opportunities for a fresh look at education research in the planetarium. Now reaching a level of maturity in the second decade of its use, where digital tools are becoming commonplace, the digital planetarium offers a chance to ask old questions with a new perspective that has real datasets of the entire known map of the universe. Can students identify constellations in the night sky better if they learn in a planetarium or in the classroom? Can students better predict planetary retrograde loops if they have watched planets move using spatially different viewpoints in a digital planetarium? Which astronomy topics are best taught in the planetarium? How much do students enjoy learning in the planetarium? Do classes held in a planetarium improve attention and retention? Do visits to the planetarium increase the number of students entering the science and engineering pipeline? How do students make sense of the celestial sphere? These, and countless other questions, dominate the realm of planetarium education research. Sometimes asking these questions results in refereed journal publications or in doctoral dissertations that add to the academic literature base stored in university libraries. Other times, asking these questions results in evidence-based talks given at professional planetarium society conferences that consequently urge commercial planetarium program developers to dramatically change the way that information is presented to audiences. These developers come up with new user friendly tools, which make learning in the planetarium more durable and effective. And, sometimes, like in much of scientific inquiry, study results end up creating more questions than actually providing solid actionable answers. This chapter provides a brief introduction to the major methods and underlying foundations adopted by the broad community of scholarly planetarium education researchers in their academic pursuits.
Multivariate Visualization of Socio-Economic Indicators Using Geographic Maps

National data on several socio-economic indicators are being collected and disseminated by various agencies including World Bank and United Nations. These indicators are typically visualized using well-known bivariate techniques including geographic maps, line graphs, bar graphs, and scatter plots, with some notable exceptions such as the visualization of four variables on a scatter plot by adding glyph sizes and colors. Judicious use of multivariate visualization of several global indicators may allow useful insights. In this work, we introduce a novel visualization technique that allows pseudo-coloring of the boundary of a country based on an indicator. Boundaries of neighboring countries are separated using a displacement method along normals. This visualization coupled with three standard techniques of pseudo-coloring a country, glyph size, and glyph color, and judicious use of opacity allows us to display four variables simultaneously on a geographic map effectively. Working with sociologists, we applied our techniques to investigate global socio-economic indicators available in reliable databases. We have built a flexible, interactive, real-time visualization system that allows extensive investigation of these indicators by sociologists and computer scientists working together. Flexibility of our visualization platform allows us to map a fifth variable using cartograms. Our system also supports real-time animation of indicators over time. We have demonstrated that the multivariate visualization of global indicators provides valuable insights in many cases not easily available otherwise.
CSIR at TREC 2008 Expert Search Task: Modeling Expert Evidence in Expertise Retrieval

In this paper, we described our method for the expert search task in TREC 2008. First, we proposed an adaption to the language modeling method for expert search, which considers the probability of query generation separate- ly using each kind of expert evidence (full name, abbreviated name, and email address). Current expert search models can be easily integrated into our method. Our experiments indicated that our method can make use of the ambiguous evi- dence in expert search (abbreviated name), which often casued a drop in effects in other methods. Besides, we also used a probabilistic measure to detect phrase in query, but it did not make better effectiveness.
TOWARDS THE DETECTION OF PIANO PEDALLING TECHNIQUES FROM AUDIO SIGNAL

A particular direction in Automatic Music Transcription is to retrieve the playing techniques from music performances. This paper presents a framework for piano pedalling technique detection. We focus on instrumentspecific analyses in order to make better use of knowledge about the physics and acoustics of pianos. A dataset has been created for training and testing purposes. We propose to train statistical models by integrating acoustic features, describing how signals are affected by various pedal effects, with a harmonic change value, revealing the likelihood of a pedal transition point according to musical grammars. The onset/offset time and the depth of a pedalling are expected to be derived from the trained models.
Utilization of blast movement measurements in grade control

Metal mining operations, in particular gold mining operations, use intensive ore control procedures in order to manage the extraction of ore zones from benches containing both ore and waste material. Typical grade control procedures rely on blast hole samples to indicate ore grade. Statistical techniques and geological controls are then used to create two-dimensional polygons, which indicate zones of material designated as ore. These ore-polygons are calculated using preblast material locations and are generally not corrected for rock movement caused by blasting. This lack of correction appears to exacerbate the material mischaracterization problem of sending ore to the waste dump and/or waste to the mill. One Nevada gold mining company has estimated that this could be a $10 million per year problem for their operations. U sing a simplified vector field algorithm, a method of taking point movement data and interpolating post-blast positions for all nodes in a polygon has been developed. Currently working in 2-dimentions (X -Y), this algorithm utilizes the movement vectors calculated from preand post-blast positions of targets placed in a blast, to generate a spatial transformation function for any point on the bench. This transformation is then applied to the nodes of the ore-polygons to produce modified dig lines ore polygons reflecting distortion and movement resulting from the blast. The method as implemented uses common mine planning routines and is performed using the Surpac software suite. The method may be adapted to use any pre-and post-blast point movement data available, and most mine planning suites include the simple interpolation algorithms used.
An efficient hardware implementation of H.264 TQ/IQT module

This paper proposes an efficient hardware architecture for H.264 integer transform, quantization, inverse quantization and integer transform module (TQ/IQT). The TQ/IQT architecture can be used for intra 16×16, intra 4×4 and inter prediction modes. It was described in VHDL and was validated and prototyped using a Altera Stratix II FPGA. The design operates at a maximum frequency of 270 MHz and achieves a throughput from 393 to 1686 Msamples/s depending of the prediction mode, permitting its use in H.264/AVC standard directed to HDTV.
VISCOELASTIC FLOWS IN 1-TO-4 SUDDEN EXPANSIONS

In this numerical study we present a systematic investigation of the flow of a FENE-CR liquid in a planar sudden expansion having an area ratio of 1:4. The governing equations are solved with a finite volume method and the interest is confined to steady state solutions in two dimensions. Symmetry about the ducts centre plane is not assumed. In terms of parametric variations, both the Reynolds number, characterising the inertia of the flow, and the Weissenberg number, characterising its viscoelasticity, were varied in a wide range. On the other hand, the extensibility parameter of the FENE-CR model was kept constant, at the value L=10. The results given comprise flow patterns, vortex size and strength, and pressure and velocity distribution along centreline.
PROBLEMS AND RESULTS FOR SURVEYING URBAN HISTORICAL CENTRES : SOME PILOT CASES OF SPANISH PLAZA MAYOR

Laser recording applied to urban centres provides a key tool for surveying and recovering the global geometry of historical centres. The application of laser devices provides three-dimensional models including architectonic and urban parameters, which are meaningful for buildings and urban typologies, and morphological analysis relative to the shape and dimension of public spaces. In this work we have developed a ground-based static laser-based methodology for robust and accurate 3D urban modelling of historical centres, based on coarse discrete 3D models from which we generate robust piecewise-linear and accurate piecewise-smooth models. Our main contributions are related locally with the compatibility between syntactic architectural elements and their semantic insertion in urban tissue and, globally, with the management of very large data and the semi-automatic identification of structural elements involving the urban and architectural morphology. The feedback between both local and global aspects is solved by designing a specific symbolic representation given by a topological graph, which is automatically generated from a lecture of planar cartographic representation. The graph provides a support for a memory management of high complexity. We have applied this approach for a laser surveying based on an ILRIS 3D (Optech) of large urban environments with historical contents, helping to understand the articulation of central urban spaces six centuries ago. Nevertheless the strong differences, it is possible to identify common syntactic elements helping to understand the articulation between urban spaces and to interpret urban environments with similar functionalities.
Utilization and outcomes of HbA1c testing: a population-based study

Improved glycemic control through blood glucose monitoring and pharmacotherapy is recommended to reduce the risk of microvascular complications in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus. [1][1],[2][2] Measurement of glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) has been advocated as a means of determining
Sodium–calcium exchange does not require allosteric calcium activation at high cytosolic sodium concentrations

The activity of the cardiac Na+–Ca2+ exchanger (NCX1.1) is allosterically regulated by Ca2+, which binds to two acidic regions in the cytosolically disposed central hydrophilic domain of the NCX protein. A mutation in one of the regulatory Ca2+ binding regions (D447V) increases the half‐activation constant (Kh) for allosteric Ca2+ activation from ∼0.3 to > 1.8 μm. Chinese hamster ovary cells expressing the D447V exchanger showed little or no activity under physiological ionic conditions unless cytosolic [Ca2+] was elevated to > 1 μm. However, when cytosolic [Na+] was increased to 20 mm or more (using ouabain‐induced inhibition of the Na+,K+‐ATPase or the ionophore gramicidin), cells expressing the D447V mutant rapidly accumulated Ca2+ or Ba2+ when the reverse (Ca2+ influx) mode of NCX activity was initiated, although initial cytosolic [Ca2+] was < 100 nm. Importantly, the time course of Ca2+ uptake did not display the lag phase that reflects allosteric Ca2+ activation of NCX activity in the wild‐type NCX1.1; indeed, at elevated [Na+], the D447V mutant behaved similarly to the constitutively active deletion mutant Δ(241–680), which lacks the regulatory Ca2+ binding sites. In cells expressing wild‐type NCX1.1, increasing concentrations of cytosolic Na+ led to a progressive shortening of the lag phase for Ca2+ uptake. The effects of elevated [Na+] developed rapidly and were fully reversible. The activity of the D447V mutant was markedly inhibited when phosphatidylinositol 4,5‐bisphosphate (PIP2) levels were reduced. We conclude that when PIP2 levels are high, elevated cytosolic [Na+] induces a mode of exchange activity that does not require allosteric Ca2+ activation.