Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quantitative cerebral perfusion using dynamic susceptibility contrast MRI: Evaluation of reproducibility and age‐ and gender‐dependence with fully automatic image postprocessing algorithm

A novel approach for quantifying cerebral blood flow (CBF) is proposed that combines the bookend technique of calculating cerebral perfusion with an automatic postprocessing algorithm. The reproducibility of the quantitative CBF (qCBF) measurement in healthy controls (N = 8) showed a higher intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and lower coefficient of variation (COV) when calculated with automatic analysis (ICC/COV = 0.90/0.09) than when compared to conventional manual analysis (ICC/COV = 0.58/0.19). Also, the reproducibility in patients (N = 25) was successfully evaluated with the automatic analysis (ICC/COV = 0.81/0.14). In 175 consecutive clinical scans, we found 3.0% and 7.4% of qCBF decrease per decade in white matter (WM) (21.5 ± 6.66 ml/100 g‐min) and gray matter (GM) (49.6 ± 16.2 ml/100 g‐min), respectively. Cerebral blood volume (CBV) showed a significant 3.7% decrease per decade in GM (3.00 ± 0.94 ml/100 g) but not in WM (1.69 ± 0.40 ml/100 g). Mean transit time (MTT) increased by 1.9% and 3.8% per decade in WM (5.04 ± 0.88 s) and GM (4.14 ± 0.80 s), respectively. qCBF and MTT values between males (N = 85) and females (N = 90) were significantly different in GM. Women showed 11% higher qCBF as well as a higher decrease in qCBF with increasing age than men in the whole brain (WB). Our results supported the notion that population average empirical quantification of cerebral perfusion is subject to individual variation as well as age‐ and gender‐dependent variability. Magn Reson Med, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Automated Three-Dimensional Signature Model for Assessing Brain Injury in Emergent Stroke

This presentation will focus on the value of established and newer MR methods that can be applied to the diagnosis and management of ischemic stroke with emphasis on future applications of MR to provide previously unmet needs of the treating clinician and clinical trials. Time alone is an inadequate indicator of the therapeutic window, especially when the time of stroke onset is uncertain. Thus, there is a need to predict the evolution of stroke in a way that more precisely and with greater resolution identifies the progression of cellular damage at the moment of investigation. This also would be of value for thrombolysis when knowledge of the degree and extent of tissue necrosis and the consequent potential for brain hemorrhage is of the utmost importance. To provide this, we perform postprocessing of diffusion-, T1- and T2-weighted images to produce the apparent diffusion coefficient of water, and T1 and T2 maps that are then further processed to provide maps and quantitation of the tissue signatures of ischemic histopathology. By these means, we can accomplish objective volumetric analysis of infarct size and of the proportions of potentially viable and salvageable tissue. We will show how this has the potential to predict long-term stroke outcome and facilitate decision-making in terms of safety of reperfusion strategies and the appropriateness of cytoprotective treatment. The value of our approach is to replace time as the therapeutic window and extend the opportunity of treatment to those patients presenting beyond the stringent time limits employed in current investigative clinical trials. Further, used as a surrogate marker of clinical outcome, this form of stroke analysis may speed proof of principle clinical trials in small numbers of stroke patients.
Stochastic Well-Formed Colored Nets and Symmetric Modeling Applications

The class of stochastic well-formed colored nets (SWN's) was defined as a syntactic restriction of stochastic high-level nets. The interest of the introduction of restrictions in the model definition is the possibility of exploiting the symbolic reachability graph (SRG) to reduce the complexity of Markovian performance evaluation with respect to classical Petri net techniques. It turns out that SWN's allow the representation of any color function in a structured form, so that any unconstrained high-level net can be transformed into a well-formed net. Moreover, most constructs useful for the modeling of distributed computer systems and architectures directly match the "well-formed" restriction, without any need of transformation. A nontrivial example of the usefulness of the technique in the performance modeling and evaluation of multiprocessor architectures is included. >
Sequence of Central Nervous System Myelination in Human Infancy. I. An Autopsy Study of Myelination

This study establishes the sequence of myelination in a population of autopsied infants from birth through the second postnatal year. Myelination was assessed in 62 precisely defined central nervous system (CNS) sites of 162 infants with diverse diseases who were autopsied from 1972 to 1984 at Children's Hospital, Boston. The degree of myelination was graded on an ordinal scale of 0–4 using the inferior cerebellar peduncle as an internal standard. This grading system is a modification of that used for fetal myelination in the National Collaborative Perinatal Project (NCPP). The data are summarized by 1) median degree of myelination for each age group and site; and 2) Ayer estimates for the age at which at least 10, 50, and 90% of infants reach a particular myelin degree in each site. “Marker” sites in the cerebrum are provided for the pathologist to compare myelination between an individual infant brain and the brains from our autopsy population. These data should be useful in identifying diverse peri- and postnatal conditions affecting myelination in human infancy. They also provide guidelines for the assessment of CNS myelination by sophisticated imaging techniques in living infants.
Recurrence of major depressive disorder in hospitalized children and adolescents.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the outcome of a sample of children and adolescents hospitalized with major depressive disorder (MDD) and to assess different duration and severity criteria to define recovery and recurrence. METHOD Fifty-nine of 70 children and adolescents were reevaluated 1 to 5 years later, and the intervening course of depression and other disorders was assessed using the Kiddie-Longitudinal interval Follow-up Evaluation (K-LIFE). RESULTS Ninety-eight percent of subjects had recovered from their index MDD episode within 1 year of their initial evaluation, but 61% had at least one recurrence during the follow-up period. Of those with recurrences, 47.2% had a recurrence within 1 year and 69.4% by 2 years from the offset of the index episode. Changing the criteria for recovery by increasing the length of time required to define recovery resulted in decreases in the number of episodes of recurrence reported. CONCLUSION MDD in children and adolescents is often an episodic disorder. Difference in definitions of recovery and recurrence affect the data reported. Consistent definitions of remission, recovery, relapse, and recurrence are needed. These data suggest that recovery may be defined after two consecutive months without symptoms and that episodes of MDD may be briefer, but more frequent, in children and adolescents than in adults.
Politiques actives du marché du travail et chômage - cadre d'analyse des aspects cruciaux de la conception des mesures

Cet article decrit un cadre d'analyse pour les politiques actives du marche du travail, lequel est ensuite utilise pour etudier diverses incidences de ces politiques sur la formation des salaires ainsi que sur la demande et l'offre de main-d'oeuvre. Les analyses empiriques des effets sur les salaires et l'emploi sont passees en revue. II apparait indispensable de respecter certaines regles pour assurer le succes des programmes mis en oeuvre: veiller a ce que les indemnites soient inferieures aux salaires observes sur le marche, mettre l'accent sur les activites de conseils et de placement, cibler les programmes et eviter que ceux-ci servent a prolonger la periode d'indemnisation du chomage. En conclusion, l'auteur estime que, dans la plupart des pays europeens, le developpement de mesures actives en faveur du marche du travail devrait apporter des ameliorations, mais que celles-ci resteront neanmoins limitees.
THE EARLY RECOGNITION OF DIABETES MELLITUS *

Progressively earlier recognition of the diabetic state is vital if progress is to be made toward the eventual control and prevention of the disease. The presence of mild diabetes mellitus may remain unrecognized in a large number of individuals for many years unless diagnostic laboratory procedures are freely employed in groups of individuals in whom experience has shown a high incidence of latent diabetes. Dependable diagnostic criteria are now available that make it possible to detect these previously unsuspected diabetic individuals. In addition, it is hoped that other means for detection of the diabetic state will be discovered that will give earlier evidence of its existence than is possible by present methods of testing. This discussion has two purposes, first, to consider the use and the criteria for the interpretation of the standard oral glucose tolerance test employed for the early detection of diabetes and second, to consider experience with the cortisone-glucose tolerance test as used for the possible prediction of future diabetes mellitus. The early recognition of diabetes mellitus depends upon the use and interpretation of proper laboratory procedures. In some cases the presence of latent diabetes will be recognized by routine performance of urinalysis and the determination of a single blood sugar level. In the mildest forms of the disease these procedures may be of little aid. In these cases the earliest recognizable abnormality may be a diminished ability to utilize a carbohydrate load as demonstrated by a glucose tolerance test. We have used the oral glucose tolerance test in our studies. For a t least 3 days preceding the test the subjects ingest a diet containing approximately 300 gm. carbohydrate per day plus maintenance calories. ' Although the ingestion of smaller amounts of carbohydrate is sufficient to prevent abnormal tests in normal subjects, a standardized high-carbohydrate preparatory diet is advised to ensure the reproducibility of the test. The loading dose of glucose used is 1.75 gm. /kg. of ideal body weight. Blood sugar levels are determined in venous blood by the Somogyi-Nelson technique. The criteria that we employ for the interpretation of the standard oral glucose tolerance test are illustrated in FIGURE 1.2 Carbohydrate tolerance is considered to be normal when the peak blood sugar value is less than 160 mg. / 100 ml. and the 2-hour value is less than 110 mg. /100 ml. We regard the combination of an 1-hour value of 160 mg. /100 ml. or above plus a 2-hour value of 120 mg. /100 ml. or above as diagnostic of the existence of the diabetic state. In borderline curves the level a t 1% hours is required to be 140 mg. /100 ml. or above to be diagnostic. This restriction eliminates a false diagnosis of
Diagnosis of human coronavirus infections in children using enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay

An enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed for diagnosing human coronavirus (HCV) infections in children. One hundred and seventy seven nose swabs, throat swabs, and nasopharyngeal aspirates were collected from 30 children suffering from acute respiratory infections. These samples were tested for HCV antigens by ELISA and 28.2% of the samples were shown to be HCV positive. These results indicate that our ELISA should prove useful in the diagnosis of HCV infections in children. Further studies are in progress to extend the ELISA to detect HCVs in experimentally and naturally acquired infections in adults.
The male advantage in child facial resemblance detection: Behavioral and ERP evidence

Males have been suggested to have advantages over females in reactions to child facial resemblance, which reflects the evolutionary pressure on males to solve the adaptive paternal uncertainty problem and to identify biological offspring. However, previous studies showed inconsistent results and the male advantage in child facial resemblance perception, as a kin detection mechanism, is still unclear. Here, we investigated the behavioral and brain mechanisms underlying the self-resembling faces processing and how it interacts with sex and age using event-related potential (ERP) technique. The results showed a stable male advantage in self-resembling child faces processing, such that males have higher detectability to self-resembling child faces than females. For ERP results, males showed smaller N2 and larger late positive component (LPC) amplitudes for self-resembling child faces, which may reflect face-matching and self-referential processing in kin detection, respectively. Further source analysis showed that the N2 component and LPC were originated from the anterior cingulate cortex and medial frontal gyrus, respectively. Our results support the male advantage in self-resembling child detection and further indicate that such distinctions can be found in both early and late processing stages in the brain at different regions.
Measurement of Organic Nitrogen and Phosphorus Fractions at Very Low Concentrations in Wastewater Effluents

The purpose of this study was to develop simple, accurate, and inexpensive measurement protocols for dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) and dissolved non‐reactive phosphorus (DNRP) at low levels in wastewater effluents. Two protocols are presented—one to measure DON exclusively, and the other to measure DON and DNRP simultaneously. Currently, DON and DNRP are calculated indirectly by subtracting the dissolved inorganic fractions from the total dissolved concentration, resulting in significant errors. To increase the accuracy of DON measurements, effluent sample pretreatment using ion exchange to remove nitrate was applied. Spectrometric methods were selected to measure the inorganic fractions—the second derivative UV spectroscopy method for nitrate, and the malachite green method for orthophosphate. These methods, combined with the optimized persulfate digestion of the samples, can be used to measure total dissolved nitrogen and phosphorus accurately. The measurement ranges attained were 0.05 to 3 mg N/L for DON and 0.01 to 0.5 mg P/L for DNRP.
In situ Polymerase Chain Reaction and Hybridization to Detect Low‐Abundance Nucleic Acid Targets

This unit presents a novel approach for detecting low‐abundance nucleic acid targets in nuclear and cytoplasmic regions by amplification of specific target sequences using an in situ polymerase chain reaction (ISPCR). If the target sequence is RNA, ISPCR is preceded by in situ reverse transcription. Following ISPCR, in situ hybridization is performed. An describes a variant in situ method for simultaneously reverse transcribing and amplifying RNA transcripts using recombinant Thermos thermophilos (rTth) polymerase. In situ hybridization and detection of amplified targets is also described.
Discriminating Input Variables for Fraud Detection using Radial Basis Function Network

Fraud is an adaptive crime; special methods of data gathering and analysis are required to combat fraud issues as criminals often quest for dubious techniques to evade detection. Radial basis function (RBF) network, was used to build base models that identifies and detect the risk of fraud in transactions. At first, it is imperative to isolate the basic factors that are predictive of fraud occurrences so as to determine the Information gain of each attribute. The input variables’ importance was ascertained to indicate how some of the input variables were distinguished as strong indicators or weak indicators of fraud. Hence, the relevant attributes were selected prior to examining the model’s performance. This study has found relevance among corporate business professionals and government agencies, to minimizing the time and cost of fraud detection. The researcher recommended that fraud mining processes be regularly updated at fixed time intervals to checkmate criminals.
Relaxed fuzzy Lyapunov approach for dynamic local model networks

This paper deals with the problem of stability analysis of dynamic local model networks. Established methods in this context are mainly based on Lyapunov stability theory and are targeted to be as little conservative as possible. In this respect it is essential to take into account the transitions between the different local models. For that purpose this paper presents and discusses a method to determine possible model transitions of such dynamic local model networks utilizing identification or simulation data. The effectiveness of the proposed method is shown by a simulation example in connection with the fuzzy Lyapunov approach as a stability criterion. The example demonstrates how identification data can be used to reduce the conservatism compared to standard approaches.
Effects of noradrenaline on rat paratracheal neurones and localization of an endogenous source of noradrenaline

1 Intracellular recording techniques were used to study the actions of exogenous noradrenaline (NA) on rat paratracheal neurones in situ. The receptor subtypes underlying these actions were investigated by application of selective adrenoceptor antagonists. 2 Application of NA (0.1–10 μm) by superfusion evoked a membrane depolarization in 85% (52 out of 61) of all paratracheal neurones studied. The response consisted of a slow depolarization which was sometimes accompanied by action potential discharge. In 26 out of 31 cells the response was associated with a change in input resistance of the cell membrane. In 22 out of 26 cells there was a 30% increase, whilst in a further 4 cells there was a 15% decrease in input resistance. The amplitude of the NA depolarization was concentration‐dependent. 3 The depolarization evoked by NA was reversibly antagonized by prazosin (1 μm) but unaffected by yohimbine (1 μm) or propranolol (1–10 μm). 4 High performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection (h.p.l.c.‐e.c.d.) was used to assay for NA and dopamine in samples containing mainly paratracheal ganglia and in samples of tracheal smooth muscle with mucosa. NA was present in all samples assayed at a level of 1.6 μg NA g−1 and 0.5 μg NA g−1 wet weight of the two sample types respectively. Dopamine was not detected in any samples of either ganglia or smooth muscle with mucosa. 5 It is concluded that NA‐evoked depolarizations of rat paratracheal neurones result from stimulation of α1‐adrenoceptors, and that local levels of NA may be sufficiently high to activate these receptors directly.
Embedded MR fluoroscopy: High temporal resolution real‐time imaging during high spatial resolution 3D MRA acquisition

A method termed “embedded fluoroscopy” for simultaneously acquiring a real‐time sequence of 2D images during acquisition of a 3D image is presented. The 2D images are formed by periodically sampling the central phase encodes of the slab‐select direction during the 3D acquisition. The tradeoffs in spatial and temporal resolution are quantified by two parameters: the “redundancy” (R), the fraction of the 3D acquisition sampled more than once; and the “effective temporal resolution” (T), the time between temporal updates of the central views. The method is applied to contrast‐enhanced MR angiography (CE‐MRA). The contrast bolus dynamics are portrayed in real time in the 2D image sequence while a high‐resolution 3D image is being acquired. The capability of the 2D acquisition to measure contrast enhancement with only a 5% degradation of the spatial resolution of the 3D CE‐MR angiogram is shown theoretically. The method is tested clinically in 15 CE‐MRA patient studies of the carotid and renal arteries. Magn Reson Med 4:690–698, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
High-Density Shift-Register-Based Rapid Single-Flux-Quantum Memory System for Bit-Serial Microprocessors

We demonstrated a high-density shift-register-based random access memory system based on rapid single-flux-quantum (RSFQ) logic. This memory system was developed to be integrated with bit-serial RSFQ microprocessors, which are called the CORE e series. It is composed of a shift-register array to store data, a decoder to select the shift register pointed to by a given address, and mergers to output data. To achieve high density, we introduced a new memory system structure and designed compact storage elements and other peripheral components. We integrated two 256-bit memory systems (32 entries for 8-bit data and instructions each) with a CORE e microprocessor and fabricated it using the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology 10-kA/cm2 Advanced Process. The area occupied by each memory system is 2.69 mm2. We obtained correct operations for all of the addresses in low-frequency tests. The typical measured bias margin was 86%-106%.
Left Ventricular Papillary Muscle Mass: Relationship to Left Ventricular Mass and Volumes by Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Objective: To evaluate the effect of papillary muscle mass on the calculation of left ventricular (LV) function and mass and to determine the relationship between papillary muscle mass with body size and sex. Methods: Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging examinations from 50 men and 50 women were randomly selected from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis database. The contours of the papillary muscles were traced manually, and the LV wall contours were outlined semiautomatically based on short-axis images. Papillary muscle mass, LV mass, and volumes were calculated. Results: Inclusion of the papillary muscles results in significantly higher total LV mass values (P < 0.001) and lower end-diastolic volume values (P < 0.001) compared with measurements excluding papillary muscles from the LV mass. Papillary muscle mass accounts for 8.9% of the total LV mass and is correlated with LV wall mass (r = 0.81, P < 0.001). Conclusion: Papillary muscle mass significantly affects LV volumes and mass determined by cine magnetic resonance imaging.
Intravascular Danger Signals Guide Neutrophils to Sites of Sterile Inflammation

Inflammation Response in Living Color Besides responding to microbial infection, our immune system also plays an important role in responding to sterile injury, for example, during trauma or organ necrosis. In a mouse model of sterile liver inflammation, McDonald et al. (p. 362) used dynamic in vivo imaging to visualize the innate immune response, which is dominated by neutrophils. Neutrophils were rapidly recruited to the site of inflammation through intravascular channels. Adenosine triphosphate generated from necrotic cells at the injury site and the Nlrp3 inflammasome were required for neutrophils to exit the circulation into the vascular endothelium, where they used integrins to adhere. A luminal chemokine gradient guided integrin-dependent, intravascular migration toward the site of injury. Finally, formyl peptides provided a signal to override the chemokine gradient and draw neutrophils into the site of injury. In vivo dynamic imaging reveals the underlying mechanisms of recruitment of neutrophils into injured tissue. Neutrophils are recruited from the blood to sites of sterile inflammation, where they contribute to wound healing but may also cause tissue damage. By using spinning disk confocal intravital microscopy, we examined the kinetics and molecular mechanisms of neutrophil recruitment to sites of focal hepatic necrosis in vivo. Adenosine triphosphate released from necrotic cells activated the Nlrp3 inflammasome to generate an inflammatory microenvironment that alerted circulating neutrophils to adhere within liver sinusoids. Subsequently, generation of an intravascular chemokine gradient directed neutrophil migration through healthy tissue toward foci of damage. Lastly, formyl-peptide signals released from necrotic cells guided neutrophils through nonperfused sinusoids into the injury. Thus, dynamic in vivo imaging revealed a multistep hierarchy of directional cues that guide neutrophil localization to sites of sterile inflammation.