Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Reconfigurable Ultrasound Transceiver ASIC With  $24\times40$  Elements for 3-D Carotid Artery Imaging

This paper presents an ultrasound transceiver application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designed for 3-D ultrasonic imaging of the carotid artery. This application calls for an array of thousands of ultrasonic transducer elements, far exceeding the number of channels of conventional imaging systems. The <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$3.6 \times 6.8$ </tex-math></inline-formula> mm<sup>2</sup> ASIC interfaces a piezo-electric transducer (PZT) array of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$24 \times 40$ </tex-math></inline-formula> elements, directly integrated on top of the ASIC, to an imaging system using only 24 transmit and receive channels. Multiple ASICs can be tiled together to form an even bigger array. The ASIC, implemented in a 0.18 <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> high-voltage (HV) BCD process, consists of a reconfigurable switch matrix and row-level receive circuits. Each element is associated with a compact bootstrapped HV transmit switch, an isolation switch for the receive circuits and programmable logic that enables a variety of imaging modes. Electrical and acoustic experiments successfully demonstrate the functionality of the ASIC. In addition, the ASIC has been successfully used in a 3-D imaging experiment.
Developing Interpretable Models with Optimized Set Reduction for Identifying High-Risk Software Components

Applying equal testing and verification effort to all parts of a software system is not very efficient, especially when resources are tight. Therefore, one needs to low/high fault frequency components so that testing/verification effort can be concentrated where needed. Such a strategy is expected to detect more faults and thus improve the resulting reliability of the overall system. The authors present the optimized set reduction approach for constructing such models, which is intended to fulfill specific software engineering needs. The approach to classification is to measure the software system and build multivariate stochastic models for predicting high-risk system components. Experimental results obtained by classifying Ada components into two classes (is, or is not likely to generate faults during system and acceptance rest) are presented. The accuracy of the model and the insights it provides into the error-making process are evaluated. >
FGF-2 Stimulates Periodontal Regeneration

The efficacy of the local application of recombinant human fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) in periodontal regeneration has been investigated. In this study, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted in 253 adult patients with periodontitis. Modified Widman periodontal surgery was performed, during which 200 µL of the investigational formulation containing 0% (vehicle alone), 0.2%, 0.3%, or 0.4% FGF-2 was administered to 2- or 3-walled vertical bone defects. Each dose of FGF-2 showed significant superiority over vehicle alone (p < 0.01) for the percentage of bone fill at 36 wks after administration, and the percentage peaked in the 0.3% FGF-2 group. No significant differences among groups were observed in clinical attachment regained, scoring approximately 2 mm. No clinical safety problems, including an abnormal increase in alveolar bone or ankylosis, were identified. These results strongly suggest that topical application of FGF-2 can be efficacious in the regeneration of human periodontal tissue that has been destroyed by periodontitis.
Sufficient Conditions for Existence of a Fixed Point in Stochastic Reward Net-Based Iterative Models

Stochastic Petri net models of large systems that are solved by generating the underlying Markov chain pose the problem of largeness of the state-space of the Markov chain. Hierarchical and iterative models of systems have been used extensively to solve this problem. A problem with models which use fixed-point iteration is the theoretical proof of the existence, uniqueness and convergence of the fixed-point equations, which still remains an "art". In this paper, we establish conditions, in terms of the net structure and the characteristics of the iterated variables, under which existence of a solution is guaranteed when fixed-point iteration is used in stochastic Petri nets. We use these conditions to establish the existence of a fixed point for a model of a priority scheduling system, at which tasks may arrive according to a Poisson process or due to spawning or conditional branching of other tasks in the system.
The Short-term Effects of Diammine Silver Fluoride on Tooth Sensitivity

Tooth sensitivity is a common clinical problem. This multi-center randomized clinical trial assessed the effectiveness and safety of topical diammine silver fluoride. From two sites (Lima and Cusco, Peru), 126 adults with at least one tooth sensitive to compressed air were randomly assigned to either the experimental treatment or sterile water, and pain was assessed by means of a 100-mm visual analogue scale at 24 hours and 7 days. The diammine silver fluoride reduced pain at 7 days at both sites. At the Lima site, the average change in pain scores between baseline and day 7 for the silver fluoride group was -35.8 (SD = 27.7) mm vs. 0.4 (SD = 16.2) mm for the control group (P < 0.001). In Cusco, the average change in pain scores for the silver fluoride group was −23.4 (SD = 21.0) mm and -5.5 (18.1) mm for the control group (P = 0.002). No tissue ulceration, white changes, or argyria was observed. A small number of participants in the silver fluoride group experienced a mild but transient increase in erythema in the gingiva near the tooth. No changes were observed in the Gingival Index. We concluded that diammine silver fluoride is a clinically effective and safe tooth desensitizer.
Landmarks recognition for autonomous aerial navigation by neural networks and Gabor transform

Template matching in real-time is a fundamental issue in many applications in computer vision such as tracking, stereo vision and autonomous navigation. The goal of this paper is present a system for automatic landmarks recognition in video frames over a georeferenced high resolution satellite image, for autonomous aerial navigation research. The video frames employed were obtained from a camera fixed to a helicopter in a low level flight, simulating the vision system of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The landmarks descriptors used in recognition task were texture features extracted by a Gabor Wavelet filters bank. The recognition system consists on a supervised neural network trained to recognize the satellite image landmarks texture features. In activation phase, each video frame has its texture feature extracted and the neural network has to classify it as a predefined landmark. The video frames are also preprocessed to reduce their difference of scale and rotation from the satellite image before the texture feature extraction, so the UAV altitude and heading for each frame are considered as known. The neural network techniques present the advantage of low computational cost, been appropriate to real-time applications. Promising results were obtained, mainly during flight over urban areas.
Topical Skin Therapeutics

Dr Polano has decades of experience as a practicing dermatologist and basic science investigator, with a strong interest in the principles and practices of skin therapeutics. This slim, highly practical volume provides what has long been needed for the English reader—a succinct, accurate, and perceptive approach to a scientific method of prescribing topical medications. Dr Polano admirably succeeds in giving the student and resident the opportunity of quickly learning what to prescribe and why. The introduction, chapters, basic materials, and principles of formulation incisively give the fundamentals in a way that the pharmaceutical chemist, the pharmacist, and the physician can understand. The chapter "Noncorticosteroid Specific Drugs" admirably covers numerous agents, from acne and dandruff medications to tannic acid and tars. The chapter on corticosteroids combines both the basic science and practical recommendations. I know of no better, more efficient, and easy way to enter the field of topical skin therapeutics
TMJ Development and Growth Require Primary Cilia Function

Primary cilia regulate limb and axial skeletal formation and hedgehog signaling, but their roles in temporomandibular joint (TMJ) development are unknown. Thus, we created conditional mouse mutants deficient in ciliary transport protein Kif3a in cartilage. In post-natal wild-type mice, primary cilia were occasionally observed on the superior, inferior, or lateral side of condylar cells. Cilia were barely detectable in mutant chondrocytes but were evident in surrounding tissues, attesting to the specificity of chondrocyte Kif3a ablation. Mutant condyles from 3-month-old mice were narrow and flat along their antero-posterior and medio-lateral axes, were often fused with the articular disc, and displayed an irregular bony surface. The polymorphic layer in P15 mutants contained fewer Sox9-expressing chondroprogenitor cells because of reduced mitotic activity, and newly differentiated chondrocytes underwent precocious hypertrophic enlargement accompanied by early activation of Indian hedgehog (Ihh). Interestingly, there was excessive intramembranous ossification along the perichondrium, accompanied by local expression of the hedgehog receptor Patched-1 and up-regulation of Osterix and Collagen I. In summary, Kif3a and primary cilia are required for coordination of chondrocyte maturation, intramembranous bone formation, and chondrogenic condylar growth. Defects in these processes in Kif3a condylar cartilage are likely to reflect abnormal hedgehog signaling topography and dysfunction.
Topical treatment of anogenital human papillomavirus infection in male patients

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated anogenital warts have a prevalence of up to 78% in sexually active men. Some HPV subtypes bear a considerable oncogenic potential. Materials & methods: Original papers on the treatment of external anogenital warts were included in a meta-analysis to assess the most effective topical treatment. Results: Clearance rates were 0–6.5% for placebo treatment, 76.6% for podophyllotoxin 0.15% cream administered for 4 weeks, 61.5% for podophyllotoxin 0.5% solution (2–6 weeks) and 53.7% for imiquimod 5% cream (12–16 weeks). For male patients, the intent-to-treat analysis demonstrated statistically significant superiority of podophyllotoxin preparations versus imiquimod (p < 0.0001 and p < 0.005, respectively). Clearance rates of locally ablative treatments, such as surgery, cryotherapy, electrocautery and carbon dioxide laser, differed widely without clear superiority of a specific ablative technique. In HIV-positive patients, all treatment options yielded lower clea.
Nanofibrous Scaffolds for Dental and Craniofacial Applications

Tissue-engineering solutions often harness biomimetic materials to support cells for functional tissue regeneration. Three-dimensional scaffolds can create a multi-scale environment capable of facilitating cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation. One such multi-scale scaffold incorporates nanofibrous features to mimic the extracellular matrix along with a porous network for the regeneration of a variety of tissues. This review will discuss nanofibrous scaffold synthesis/fabrication, biological effects of nanofibers, their tissue- engineering applications in bone, cartilage, enamel, dentin, and periodontium, patient-specific scaffolds, and incorporated growth factor delivery systems. Nanofibrous scaffolds cannot only further the field of craniofacial regeneration but also advance technology for tissue-engineered replacements in many physiological systems.
Cross-Layer Dynamic Admission Control for Cloud-Based Multimedia Sensor Networks

Cloud-based communications system is now widely used in many application fields such as medicine, security, environment protection, etc. Its use is being extended to the most demanding services like multimedia delivery. However, there are a lot of constraints when cloud-based sensor networks use the standard IEEE 802.15. 3 or IEEE 802.15. 4 technologies. This paper proposes a channel characterization scheme combined to a cross-layer admission control in dynamic cloud-based multimedia sensor networks to share the network resources among any two nodes. The analysis shows the behavior of two nodes using different network access technologies and the channel effects for each technology. Moreover, the existence of optimal node arrival rates in order to improve the usage of dynamic admission control when network resources are used is also shown. An extensive simulation study was performed to evaluate and validate the efficiency of the proposed dynamic admission control for cloud-based multimedia sensor networks.
Isolation of Protein-Tyrosine Phosphatase-like Member-a Variant from Cementum

Cementum has been shown to contain unique polypeptides that participate in cell recruitment and differentiation during cementum formation. We report the isolation of a cDNA variant for protein-tyrosine phosphatase-like (proline instead of catalytic arginine) member-a (PTPLA) from cementum. A cementifying fibroma-derived λ-ZAP expression library was screened by panning with a monoclonal antibody to cementum attachment protein (CAP), and 1435 bp cDNA (gb AC093525.3) was isolated. This cDNA encodes a 140-amino-acid polypeptide, and its N-terminal 125 amino acids are identical to those of PTPLA. This isoform, designated as PTPLA-CAP, results from a read-through of the PTPLA exon 2 splice donor site, truncating after the second putative transmembrane domain. It contains 15 amino acids encoded within the intron between PTPLA exons 2 and 3, which replace the active site for PTPLA phosphatase activity. The recombinant protein, rhPTPLA-CAP, has Mr 19 kDa and cross-reacts with anti-CAP antibody. Anti-rhPTPLA-CAP antibody immunostained cementum cells, cementum, heart, and liver. Quantitative RT-PCR showed that PTPLA was expressed in all periodontal cells; however, PTPLA-CAP expression was limited to cementum cells. The rhPTPLA-CAP promoted gingival fibroblast attachment. We conclude that PTPLA-CAP is a splice variant of PTPLA, and that, in the periodontium, cementum and cementum cells express this variant.
Audiological Assessment of the Aphasic Patient

The speech and language rehabilitation for an aphasic patient, as well as the assessment of his communicative deficits, relies substantially on auditory input. Because a hearing loss can affect patient performance during both phases of his treatment program, an audiological evaluation is a logical first step in determining the rehabilitative needs of the aphasic patient. As with any patient, the audiological evaluation serves the following two main functions: (1) it determines whether or not a lesion within the auditory system distorts a signal reaching the cortex, and (2) it determines the degree of the auditory deficit that is amenable to medical or audiologic management. Such management might include medical attention to active otological disorders or audiological attention to amplification and hearing-aid orientation. Only after these deficits are treated will speech and language intervention be optimally effective.
Camera Calibration: A Quick and Easy Way to Determine the Scale Factor

The author presents a quick and easy solution to the camera calibration problem of finding the scale factor that arises because of a difference between the scanning frequency of the camera sensor plane and the scanning frequency of the image capture board frame buffer. The method presented is based on the observation that the scale factor is related to the distortion in an image of a circle: this is a distortion that can easily be measured by considering the occluding boundary of a precisely fabricated sphere, such as a ball bearing. Implementation results are presented. >
Perceptual Organization for Scene Segmentation and Description

A data-driven system for segmenting scenes into objects and their components is presented. This segmentation system generates hierarchies of features that correspond to structural elements such as boundaries and surfaces of objects. The technique is based on perceptual organization, implemented as a mechanism for exploiting geometrical regularities in the shapes of objects as projected on images. Edges are recursively grouped on geometrical relationships into a description hierarchy ranging from edges to the visible surfaces of objects. These edge groupings, which are termed collated features, are abstract descriptors encoding structural information. The geometrical relationships employed are quasi-invariant over 2-D projections and are common to structures of most objects. Thus, collations have a high likelihood of corresponding to parts of objects. Collations serve as intermediate and high-level features for various visual processes. Applications of collations to stereo correspondence, object-level segmentation, and shape description are illustrated. >
Unsupervised Segmentation of Textured Images by Edge Detection in Multidimensional Feature

An algorithm for unsupervised texture segmentation is developed that is based on detecting changes in textural characteristics of small local regions. Six features derived from two, two-dimensional, noncausal random field models are used to represent texture. These features contain information about gray-level-value variations in the eight principal directions. An algorithm for automatic selection of the size of the observation windows over which textural activity and change are measured has been developed. Effects of changes in individual features are considered simultaneously by constructing a one-dimensional measure of textural change from them. Edges in this measure correspond to the sought-after textural edges. Experiments results with images containing regions of natural texture show that the algorithm performs very well. >
An Efficient Uniform Cost Algorithm Applied to Distance Transforms

The uniform-cost algorithm is a special case of the A*-algorithm for finding the shortest paths in graphs. In the uniform-cost algorithm, nodes are expanded in order of increasing cost. An efficient version of this algorithm is developed for integer cost values. Nodes are sorted by storing them at predefined places (bucket sort), keeping the overhead low. The algorithm is applied to general distance transformation. A constrained distance transform is an operation which calculates at each pixel of an image the distance to the nearest pixel of a reference set, distance being defined as minimum path length. The uniform-cost algorithm, in the constrained case, proves to be the best solution for distance transformation. It is fast, the processing time is independent of the complexity of the image, and memory requirements are moderate. >
The Effects of the European Early Promotion Project Training on Primary Health Care Professionals

This chapter explores the effects of the European Early Promotion project training on primary health care professionals, with regard to their knowledge, self-efficacy and ability to identify need in families, and to their satisfaction with the training received. A quasi-experimental group comparison design was developed, in which an Intervention and a Comparison group were assessed twice: the Intervention group before and after the special EEPP training and the Comparison at the same time interval but without the training. Overall results show a tendency for the Intervention group to improve in knowledge and perceived self-efficacy, and a significant improvement in their accuracy of need identification in families, compared with the Comparison group. These results were more prominent in Greece, Serbia and the UK than in Finland and Cyprus, whereas training satisfaction was high in all sites. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for early intervention as well as for training PHCPs to conduct preventative and promotional work with families.
A Novelty Detection Approach to Diagnose Damage in a Cracked Beam

In this article, an implementation of the so-called "novelty detection" method to monitor damage in structures is proposed. Whereas conventional damage identification procedures have the limitation of requiring a sufficiently precise mathematical model of the structure, the novelty detection approach requires no "a priori" model, making the method more applicable to systems of arbitrary complexity. The method, which is described in detail, has been applied to a cantilevered beam with a closing crack simulated by using a non-linear Finite Element model. The effects of measurement noise on the performance of the method has been analysed and sensitivity of the method to structural alterations assessed.
Remembering Juan Navia

Juan Navia died on September 4, 2010. Those who knew him as the director of the University of Alabama’s John J. Sparkman Center for International Public Health Education and later the dean of UAB School of Public Health watched him train and shape the next generation of global public health leaders with a kind heart and a firm, but gentle, hand. On this third anniversary of Professor Navia’s passing, in response to an invitation from the Journal of Dental Research to write an essay on an educator who influenced the professional trajectories of many people, we have put together an account of some of his contributions and attributes to highlight this remarkable leader’s accomplishments in and impact on dental public health and global nutrition.
On the Location Error of Curved Edges in Low-Pass Filtered 2-D and 3-D Images

The authors study the location error of curved edges in two- and three-dimensional images after analog and digital low-pass filtering. The zero crossing of a second derivative filter is a well-known edge localization criterion. The second derivative in gradient direction (SDGD) produces a predictable bias in edge location towards the centers of curvature while the linear Laplace filter produces a shift in the opposite direction. Their sum called PLUS (PLUS=Laplace+SDGD) leads to an edge detector that finds curved edges one order more accurately than its constituents. This argument holds irrespective of the dimension. The influence of commonly used low-pass filters (such as the PSF originating from diffraction limited optics using incoherent light (2-D), the Gaussian filter with variable cutoff point (D-D), and the isotropic uniform filter (D-D)) is studied. >
What Constitutes an Ideal Dental Restorative Material?

Intense environmental concerns recently have prompted dentistry to evaluate the performance and environmental impact of existing restoration materials. Doing so entices us to explore the ‘what if? ’ innovation in materials science to create more ideal restorative materials. Articulating a specification for our design and evaluation methods is proving to be more complicated than originally anticipated. Challenges exist not only in specifying how the material should be manipulated and perform clinically but also in understanding and incorporating implications of the skill of the operator placing the restoration, economic considerations, expectations patients have for their investment, cost-effectiveness, influences of the health care system on how and for whom restorations are to be placed, and global challenges that limit the types of materials available in different areas of the world. The quandary is to find ways to actively engage multiple stakeholders to agree on priorities and future actions to focus future directions on the creation of more ideal restorative materials that can be available throughout the world.