Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Novel Technologies for Mapping and Ablation of Complex Arrhythmias

1.1 The burden of complex arrhythmias Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia, affecting about 9% of the population over 70 years of age (Feinberg, Blackshear et al. 1995). It is characterised by an irregular pulse, leading to symptoms of shortness of breath, dizziness, palpitations, chest pain, lethargy and an increased risk of stroke (Kannel, Abbott et al. 1982). Current widely accepted indications for catheter ablation of AF are significant symptoms uncontrolled by anti-arrhythmic medications, however more recent European Guidelines have suggested catheter ablation may be used as a first line treatment for symptomatic paroxysmal AF in patients with no or minimal heart disease. Randomised trials from 2003 2010 have shown a range of success rates for catheter ablation of AF from 56 89% (freedom from AF off antiarrhythmic drugs) compared to the use of AADs alone ranging from 4 43% (Camm, Kirchhof et al. ; Kannel, Abbott et al. 1982). Atrial tachycardia (AT) is relatively rare, accounting for 5-15% of all supraventricular tachycardias (SVTs). It can be encountered in patients with a structurally normal heart or those with underlying structural or scar-related heart disease. In patients with structurally normal hearts, atrial tachycardia is associated with a low mortality rate. However spontaneous resolution of symptomatic episodes is uncommon. Prolonged episodes (typically months or years) of continuous atrial tachycardia can be problematic leading to irreversible changes of the atria, including negative remodeling with atrial enlargement and myopathy causing symptomatic congestive cardiac failure. In addition, prolonged episodes can make reversion and maintenance of normal sinus rhythm more difficult. In recent years, the significance of AT in the initiation and perpetuation of atrial fibrillation has become apparent. Paradoxically AT occurs in up to 50% of patients undergoing extensive ablation for persistent AF. Sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT) is a significant cause of morbidity and sudden death especially in patients with underlying structural heart disease. Coronary heart disease is the most common cause of clinically documented VT occurring in 76–82% of the patients (CASCADE Study 1993; Kuch et al 2000; AVID Study 1997; CIDS Study 2000). Although implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) prevent sudden cardiac death and antiarrhythmic drugs reduce the frequency of VT episodes, drug side-effects and repeated device therapies can have a major impact on quality of life (Moss et al 2004, Poole et al 2008, Schron et al 2002). Recurrent VT develops in 40-60% of patients receiving an ICD for ischaemic cardiomyopathy
THE SEPARATION OF CELLULOSE-BINDING DOMAIN FROM ENDOGLUCANASE EGL-II BY PROTEOLYSIS METHOD

Protein molecule of endoglucanase Egl-II is consisted of two domains, namely cellulose-binding domain (CBD) which serves in promoting the adsorption of the enzyme to the insoluble crystalline cellulose and cellulase catalytic domain which is responsible for the hydrolysis reaction. In this study, CBD of endoglucanase Egl-II was separated from the intact protein by degradation using the papain and then separation by ultrafiltration methods. The CBD resulted can be used to modify the waste paper fibers. The results of electrophoresis before degradation showed that endoglucanase Egl-II has a molecular weight about 57.5 kDa. The electrophoregram after protein degradation and separation of CBD from the endoglucanase Egl-II showed that CBD was separated from the intact protein with a molecular weight about 21 kDa. The yield of CBDs were 59.51%. It can be concluded that CBD of endoglucanase Egl-II can be separated from the intact protein. Keywords : endoglucanase Egl-II, cellulose-binding domain, papain, ultrafiltration. ABSTRAK Molekul protein dari endoglukanase Egl-II terdiri dari dua domain, yaitu cellulose-binding domain (CBD) yang berfungsi untuk mempromosikan adsorpsi enzim ke selulosa kristalin dan domain katalitik yang bertanggung jawab dalam reaksi hidrolisis. Dalam studi ini, CBD dari endoglukanase Egl-II telah dipisahkan dari protein utuhnya setelah didegradasi dengan papain. Pemisahan CBD dari campuran hasil degradasi dilakukan dengan metode ultrafiltrasi. CBD yang dihasilkan dapat digunakan untuk memodifikasi serat kertas bekas. Hasil elektroforesis sebelum degradasi menunjukkan endoglukanase Egl-II memiliki massa molekul sekitar 57,5 kDa. Dari elektroforegram setelah degradasi protein dan pemisahan CBD dari endoglukanase Egl-II memperlihatkan bahwa CBD telah terpisah dari protein utuhnya dan memiliki massa molekul sekitar 21 kDa. Rendemen CBD adalah 59,51%. CBD dari endoglukanase Egl-II dapat dipisahkan dengan metode ini. Kata kunci : endoglukanase Egl-II, cellulose-binding domain , papain, ultrafiltrasi.
FMRI for the assessment of functional connectivity

The advantage of modern brain imaging techniques is the ability to non-invasively investigate human brain function during mental work. Therefore, most functional neuroimaging studies have investigated brain activity evoked by certain types of stimulation or tasks. Related brain function is then localized by contrasting task-states, or often, with a baseline-state acquired during rest. However, in wakeful human subjects this resting condition cannot be associated with neutral brain activity, in part, because there is always a relatively high level of neuronal background activity. Thus, the question arises whether spontaneous fluctuations of resting brain activity can be dismissed as stochastic noise, or whether they contain functionally relevant information. In the past decade, numerous studies have investigated brain activity during the resting state. Background activity has been shown to fluctuate spontaneously, i.e. unrelated to any obvious task, and that these fluctuations are not random. Rather, this spontaneous activity is characterized by several distinct pattern of correlated brain activity, so called: “resting state networks”. Network activity, usually derived from temporal correlation of neuronal activity measured in different brain regions (“functional connectivity”), describes the functional relationship between brain regions. Functional connectivity networks have been identified by different methods, such as positron emission tomography (PET), optical imaging, magnetoand electroencephalography (M/EEG), whereas by far most studies made use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data. Traditionally, functional connectivity measures rely on correlation analyses, however in recent years the analytic tools for describing the functional organization of the brain has increased dramatically. This chapter will provide insight into different ways to assess functional connectivity from resting-state fMRI data and describe applications of functional connectivity analyses to specific scientific questions. We will start with a description of the BOLD-effect, the underlying neurophysiological parameter in resting-state fMRI, followed by a resume of the use of BOLD in functional neuroimaging, stating its history from simple "baseline-taskcontrasts" to the nowadays widely-used concept of functional connectivity. In the following sub-chapters, we will briefly describe analytic categories as applied to resting-state fMRI data, including “seed-based functional connectivity”, “independent component analysis (ICA)”, “clustering”, “multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA)”, “graph theory” and “centrality”. Finally, we will discuss two specific applications of functional connectivity
Reducing Alkali Chloride-Induced High Temperature Corrosion by Sulphur Containing Additives – A Combined Laboratory and Field Study

In order to achieve a more sustainable society renewable fuels such as biomass and waste are attractive alternatives to fossil fuels for power production. However, fireside corrosion is a serious concern in boilers combusting biomass or waste. The high corrosion rates are often linked to large amounts of alkali chlorides in the flue gas. One way of mitigating the corrosion is to change the corrosive environment in the boiler, e.g. by increasing the availability of SOx(g) in order to sulphate the alkali chlorides to less corrosive alkali sulphates. However, the reaction releases the corrosive gas HCl and the presence of high concentrations of SO2 is often associated with increased corrosion rates. Hence, this thesis aims to investigate the interplay between different corrosion mechanisms by connecting the reaction kinetics to the corrosion attacks. The results showed that the presence of KCl accelerated the corrosion of the stainless steel 304L by two types of corrosion attack: general corrosion and steel grain boundary attack. The general corrosion has been proved to be initiated by chromate formation while the steel grain boundary attack is suggested to be accelerated by HCl, released from the chromate formation reaction. Increasing the availability of SOx(g) in the flue gas was shown to decrease the corrosion rate. If the alkali chlorides were sulphated in the flue gas a non-corrosive deposit was formed on the steel and the corrosion attack was negligible. However, during a simultaneous presence of SOx(g) and alkali chlorides (e.g. KCl(s)) on the steel surface, competing reactions such as sulphation of the alkali chloride and chromate formation occurred. The chromate formation resulted in a general corrosion attack. However, the oxide growth was significantly reduced due to the fast simultaneous sulphation of the alkali chlorides. In contrast, the steel grain boundary attack increased in the presence of SO2. It is proposed that this attack is accelerated by HCl released from the sulphation reaction as well as metal sulphides formation in the steel grain boundaries.
Towards Free-Form Kinetic Structures

In the design of kinetic structures, in particular when complex three dimensional and non regular configurations are involved, the functionality is frequently related to a global displacement capability of the assembly rather than the local displacements of elements. In the present paper the morphogenesis of KRS was included into a larger optimization procedure in order to translate overall design requirements into local displacements of elements. This method can be described now as a generalized procedure for the generation of free-form kinetic structures.
On development of search engine for geodata

PROCHAZKA, D. : On development of search engine for geodata. Acta univ. agric. et silvic. Mendel. Brun. , 2010, LVIII, No. 6, pp. 389–398 Effective management and sharing of geodata is one of the priorities of the European Union (INSPIRE activity) and companies all around the world. Many different companies and organisations publish their geodata using web mapping services. This situation leads to a multiple publishing of similar or completely same geodata. On the other hand, there is frequently a problem how to determine an appropriate mapserver with the required data. This paper presents a geodata search engine which solves the problem how to access geodata more effectively. Presented solution aggregates data from the different mapservers and provides an interface according to the Open Geospatial Consortium Web Map Server specification. This allows to use our solution in the standard GIS tools as common mapserver. Completely new feature is a request which allows to select map layers which fulfills specified criteria. Selection could be given by keywords in a map layer description and by defining a bounding box on Earth surface. Response is a list of appropriate layers sorted according to their relevance. Presented solution could be among other applications significant source of information for many data mining techniques. It allows to interconnect processed data with their space-temporal context. geodata, mapserver, WMS, Web Map Service, searching, metadata
Bootstrapping the OIS curve in a South African bank

The financial crisis in 2007 highlighted the credit and liquidity risk present in interbank (LIBOR) rates, and resulted in changes to the pricing and valuation of financial instruments. The shift to Overnight Indexed Swap (OIS) discounting and multi-curve framework led to changes in the construction of interest rate zero curves, with the OIS curve being central to this methodology. Developed markets, such as the European (EUR), were able to adopt this framework due to the existence of a liquid OIS market. In the case of the South African (ZAR) market, the lack of such tradeable instruments poses the issue of how to construct or infer the OIS curve. Jakarasi et al. (2015) proposed a method to infer the OIS curve through the statistical relationship between SAFEX ROD and 3M JIBAR. The extension of the statistical relationship used by Jakarasi et al. (2015) to more statistically rigorous models, capable of capturing more information relating to the relationship between the rates, arises from the expected cointegrating relationship exhibited between rates. This dissertation investigates the implementation of such statistical models to infer the OIS curve in the ZAR market.
Stochastic integrated vendor-buyer model with unstable lead time and setup cost

This paper presents a new vendor-buyer system where there are different objectives for both sides. The proposed method of this paper is different from the other previously published works since it considers different objectives for both sides. In this paper, the vendor’s emphasis is on the crashing of the setup cost, which not only helps him compete in the market but also provides better services to his customers; and the buyer’s aim is to reduce the lead time, which not only facilitates the buyer to fulfill the customers’ demand on time but also enables him to earn a good reputation in the market or vice versa. In the light of the above stated facts, an integrated vendor-buyer stochastic inventory model is also developed. The propsed model considers two cases for demand during lead time: Case (i) Complete demand information, Case (ii) Partial demand information. The proposed model jointly optimizes the buyer’s ordered quantity and lead time along with vendor’s setup cost and the number of shipments. The results are demonstrated with the help of numerical examples.
Characterizing bumblebees activity patterns using computer vision

We developed methods to characterize patterns of activity of bumblebees, specifically Bombus Impatiens, to assess the health of the community and the hive. Since 1987 bumblebees have been used as an alternative for the production of tomatoes in protected agriculture. Currently, 70% of the bumblebees used in greenhouses are produced in Mexico. It is worrisome to observe a sharp decline in some populations of pollinators, considering the recommendations presented by experts, we decided to implement Computer Vision systems that will help monitor and asses the well-being of bumblebees. Two main results are presented. For detecting bumblebees, we adapted two of the most widely used classifiers, namely HOG + SVM and the Viola-Jones classifier, to automatically detect bumblebees flying freely inside a greenhouse while pollinating flowers, monitoring the activity and daily schedule at the hive, under normal conditions. Our experimental results show that the HOG + SVM performs better. Then, we developed a method to automatically measure the flapping frequency of bumblebees in free flight using a high-speed camera and a catadioptric system rendering a virtual stereo system. By using a catadioptric system we avoid occlusions and camera synchronization while providing redundancy. In our method, we have made use of background subtraction to detect moving objects, then we used Fourier analysis observing the optical flow to estimate the wingbeat frequency. Our experiments show that wingbeat can be measured accurately and efficiently.
Extract from wild strain of mushroom Ganoderma lucidum as natural antioxidant.

Recently, much attention has been paid to revealing natural biomaterials for clinical purposes since use of synthetic antioxidants is restricted due to their carcinogenicity. Among various natural antioxidants, polysaccharides, in general, have strong antioxidant activities and can be explored as novel potential antioxidants. The aim of this work was to examine the antioxidant properties of hot water extracted polysaccharides from Ganoderma lucidum in the form of mature fruit bodies, collected from the Bojcinska forest near Belgrade, the Republic of Serbia. Antioxidant properties were assayed in vitro, by the conjugated diene method, reducing power, scavenging abilities against 1.1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals and chelating ability on ferrous ions. At concentrations of 1 mg/ml, the scavenging ability of G. lucidum polysaccharide extract on DPPH radicals was 74.7 %. At 1 mg/ml, the radical scavenging ability of the positive controls BHT, ascorbic acid and α-tocopherol were 11.5, 77.1 and 79.4 %, respectively. The antioxidant activity of the polysaccharide extract increased as the concentration increased to 78.0% at 20 mg/ml. Antioxidant activities of ascorbic acid and α-tocopherol were 63.8 % and 65.4% at 20 mg/ml. Polysaccharide extract from G. lucidum showed steady increase in the reducing activity as concentrations increased to 2.9 at 20 mg/ml. Ascorbic acid, used as a positive control, had a reducing power of 3.9 at 5 mg/ml. Chelating effects of the polysaccharide extract on ferrous ion increased with the increased concentrations. At 0.1-20 mg/ml, the chelating ability of G. lucidum polysaccharide extract was between 10.3-87.8%. The chelating effect of the synthetic metal chelator EDTA was 100% at 0.1-20 mg/ml, while citric acid did not prove to be good chelating agent for ferrous ions in this assay since its chelating ability was 10.3% at 20 mg/ml.
The Interaction of Air Pollutant Molecules with Germanene and Silicene: a Density Functional Theory Study

We investigate the adsorption of atmospheric pollutants on germanene and silicene using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. In this study, we use carbon monoxide (CO) and nitric oxide (NO) as the pollutant molecules. Electronic properties of germanene and silicene are explored to obtain a good understanding in the adsorption process. Our calculation results show both germanene and silicene provide an identical mechanism of adsorption. Germanene and silicene adsorb CO and NO spontaneously with physisorption and chemisorption types for CO and NO molecules, respectively. We also conduct the Mulliken charges calculations to evaluate the transformation of atomic charges due to the adsorption process. From Mulliken charge calculation results we can confirm the existence of charge transfer between the adsorbent materials and the pollutant molecules. This phenomenon lies behind the occurrence of the adsorption process.
Effect of coagulant‐flocculant reagents on aerobic granular biomass

BACKGROUND: Technologies based on aerobic granular biomass are presented as a new alternative application to wastewater treatment due to its advantages in comparison with the conventional activated sludge processes. However, the properties of the aerobic granules can be influenced by the presence of residual amounts of coagulant-flocculant reagents, frequently used as pre-treatment before the biological process. In this work the effect of these compounds on aerobic granular biomass development was tested. RESULTS:Thepresenceofcoagulant-flocculantreagentsledtoaworsebiomassretentioncapacitywithalowerVSSconcentration compared with a control reactor (4.5 vs. 7.9 g VSS L −1 ) and with a higher SVI (70 vs. 40 mL (g TSS) −1 ) and diameter (5.0 vs. 2.3 mm). These reagents also caused a decrease in the maximum oxygen consumption rate, but the removal efficiencies of organic matter (90%) and nitrogen (60%) achieved were similar to those in the control reactor. CONCLUSION: The continuous presence of residual levels of coagulant-flocculant reagents from the pre-treatment unit negativelyaffectedtheformationprocessandthephysicalpropertiesoftheaerobicgranules;however,theremovaloforganic matter and nitrogen were not affected. c � 2012 Society of Chemical Industry
Intellectual capital: Characteristics and significance in the service sector

Intellectual capital is a main driver of creating value in the company by combining the use of human, structural and relational capital. It consists of knowledge and skills of employees, business culture, databases, company's reputation and relations with external partners. The aim of this paper is to point out the significance of intellectual capital and its impact on service creation and performance of service companies. Based on the applied inductive-deductive and qualitative method, we can come to the conclusion that human capital has a dominant role in service companies. The effect of human capital is conditioned by the existence of non-material infrastructure, i.e. structural capital. Creation of good competitive position of service companies can be achieved by developing relational capital. Therefore, service differentiation and good image of service companies in the environment can be achieved by owning and good management of intellectual capital, i.e. management of human, structural and relational capital.
Improving the principles of short-term electric load forecasting of the Irkutsk region

Forecasting of electric load (EL) is an important task for both electric power entities and large consumers of electricity [1]. Large consumers are faced with the need to compose applications for the planned volume of EL, and the deviation of subsequent real consumption from previously announced leads to the appearance of penalties from the wholesale market. In turn, electricity producers are interested in forecasting the demand for electricity for prompt response to its fluctuations and for the purpose of optimal infrastructure development. The most difficult and urgent task is the hourly forecasting of EL, which is extremely important for the successful solution of problems of optimization of generating capacities, minimization of power losses, dispatching control, security assessment of power supply, etc. Ultimately, such forecasts allow optimizing the cash costs for electricity and fuel or water consumption during generation. This paper analyzes the experience of the branch of JSC "SO UPS" Irkutsk Regional Dispatch Office of the procedure for short-term forecasting of the EL of the Irkutsk region.
Approximate recursive calculations of discrete Markov random fields

In this thesis we present an approximate recursive algorithm for calculations of discrete Markov random fields defined on graphs. We write the probability distribution of a Markov random field as a function of interaction parameters, a representation well suited for approximations. The algorithm we establish is a forward-backward algorithm, where the forward part recursively decomposes the probability distribution into a product of conditional distributions. Next we establish two different backward parts to our algorithm. In the first one we are able to simulate from the probability distribution, using the decomposed system. The second one enables us to calculate the marginal distributions for all the nodes in the Markov random field. All the approximations in our algorithm are controlled by a positive parameter, and when this parameter is equal to 0, our algorithm is by definition an exact algorithm. We investigate the performance of our algorithm by the CPU time, and by evaluating the quality of the approximations in various ways. As an example of the usage of our algorithm, we estimate an unknown picture from a degenerated version, using the marginal posterior mode estimate. This is a classical Bayesian problem.