Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Absolute optical cross section of individual fluorescent molecules.

Besides having revealed transitions masked in the bulk, optical spectroscopy of single molecules has enabled the observation of elementary molecular quantum events, such as the absorption and emission of a photon. Single photon transitions are quantified by a cross section that can be regarded as the photon capture area of a molecule. Therefore, absolute optical cross sections can readily be measured in the bulk from the decrease (by absorption) or the gain (by stimulated emission) of the number of photons in a beam. Unfortunately, this method is not applicable to individual molecules, because the resulting change in intensity is negligible. If the fluorescence quantum efficiency Qem is known, the molecular absorption cross section can be calculated from the fluorescence emission. However, this method re-introduces the hallmark of ensemble averaging, because Qem is known only from the bulk. As a result, the absolute photon capture area of a specific molecule has remained elusive. Here we report on the measurement of absolute cross sections of stimulated emission at room temperature. No a priori information about the individual molecule is needed. In addition, we demonstrate the instant control of a molecule.s excited state by light and thus, as a matter of fact, also the viability of pump–probe experiments with individual molecules at room temperature. Molecular optical absorption usually takes place from the vibrationally relaxed ground state S0 to a hot Franck–Condon state S1* of the first excited singlet state (Figure 1a). After vibrational relaxation, which occurs on a (sub)picosecond time scale, organic fluorophores emit within a few nanoseconds with a probability given by the fluorescence quantum yield. Alternatively, the S1! S0 transition can be enforced by light, that is by stimulated emission. Stimulated emission has been employed to probe the temporal evolution of the excited state in a pump–probe fashion, as well as to alter the fluorescence lifetime and anisotropy of organic fluorophores in solution. Furthermore, stimulated emission depletion (STED) of the excited state has been introduced in fluorescence microscopy to break the diffraction resolution barrier, but has recently also been used to measure cross sections in the bulk. We attained single molecule sensitivity with a scanning confocal setup fed by two synchronized pulse trains: a first pulse at a wavelength of l= 565 nm for excitation was followed by a red-shifted pulse at l= 778 nm for STED, both adapted to the spectrum (Figure 1b) of the xanthene dye JA 26 (1). Efficient STED demands a STED pulse duration t
Portable Automatic Conjecturing and Announcing System for RealTime Accident Detection

Abstract In this paper, we propose the portable automatic conjecturing and announcing system for real-time accident detection. There are six sensors with 3-axis accelerometers and the ZigBee transmission standard mounted on the patients’ specific region. After being transmitted to the mobile device through the ZigBee devices, the data are analyzed immediately. When the accident occurs, the mobile device could get the user’s location with Assisted Global Positioning System (AGPS) and transmit the information of accident to the medical staff through the 3rd-generation (3G) network. The medical staff will make a careful check of this accident with the patient again. In order to improve the limit of Regional Health Network (RHN), the environment constraints, the mobile computing capability, the power consumption and the device portability are considered in this system architecture we proposed.
The estimated full-scale intellectual abilities of U.S. Army aviators.

INTRODUCTION The intellectual abilities of U.S. Army aviators have received a paucity of research attention over the years. The resultant lack of idiographic and aggregate data on this population has a direct impact on the neuropsychologist's ability to make clinical recommendations regarding a return to cognitive baseline following a neurological insult. Similarly, no research has assessed the generalizability of U.S. Air Force (USAF) research on premorbid aviator intellectual abilities to U.S. Army aviators. METHODS To establish estimates of general intellectual abilities in U.S. Army aviators, 1050 rated U.S. Army aviators without a head injury history were randomly selected from an aeromedical database and coupled with corresponding personnel data that contained Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) scores. Estimated Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-IIII (WAIS-Ill) and Multidimensional Aptitude Battery (MAB) full-scale intellectual (FSIQ) abilities were computed. RESULTS Mean U.S. Army aviator intellectual abilities were found to fall in the high average to superior range, with a notably large range of scores. Significant differences between these results and those of previously published USAF aviators on the MAB were found. Significant differences based on gender were absent. Significant differences based on rank were found. DISCUSSION Findings suggest estimated U.S. Army aviator intellectual abilities exceed previously published findings, with the wide range and non-normal distribution of scores suggesting idiographic baseline data would be clinically ideal for today's U.S. Army aviators. Clinical and operational benefits of establishing baseline cognitive abilities are presented. In the absence of baseline data, estimating the WAIS-III FSIQ score is a viable alternative in determining one's premorbid intellectual abilities.
A Risk-based Real Options Framework for Flexible Technology Planning

Although the importance of R&D is well understood by technology-based firms, with the increasing uncertainty in technology development and market trends in recent years, managing uncertain R&D projects to enhance competitive technological position is still a major challenge for those firms. This research develops a technology planning framework that integrates R&D risk management with real options analysis enables technology-based firms to allocate their limited R&D resources with managerial flexibility for maximizing the expected market value of R&D project under uncertainty. The proposed technology planning framework consists of four stages: technology roadmapping, risk identification, risk response planning, and flexible plan optimization. Since technology development usually involves great uncertainty at early R&D stages, the Monte-Carlo simulation optimization technique is applied to evaluate and select optimal technology plans under different scenarios. The developed methodology is illustrated with a case study of ASIC power module technology development project in Taiwan.
Evaluation of seven tests for the rapid detection of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in Uganda.

SETTINGS National Tuberculosis (TB) Reference Laboratory and Department of Medical Microbiology, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda. OBJECTIVE To evaluate head-to-head rapid tests for drug susceptibility testing (DST) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis against rifampicin (RMP) and isoniazid (INH) in a resource-limited setting. METHODS Thirty-one well-characterised strains of M. tuberculosis were tested with the nitrate reductase assay (NRA), microscopic observation drug susceptibility (MODS), MGIT 960 (Mycobacterium Growth Indicator Tube 960), Genotype MTBDRplus, Alamar blue, MTT and resazurin assays. The proportion method on Löwenstein-Jensen medium was used as the reference test. RESULTS NRA correctly identified the resistant strains, with 100% sensitivity and specificity. MGIT 960 detected all multidrug-resistant strains but missed one RMP-monoresistant strain. Genotype MTBDRplus detected all RMP-resistant strains, but the sensitivity for detection of INH resistance was lower (88%). Sensitivity and specificity ranged from 86% to 100% for MODS and from 57% to 100% for the Alamar blue, MTT and resazurin assays. Test results were obtained within 2-14 days. CONCLUSION In the study setting, NRA, MGIT 960 and Genotype MTBDRplus gave excellent detection of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, with significantly shorter time to results compared to conventional testing.
Spectral embedding-based multiview features fusion for content-based image retrieval

Abstract. In many computer vision applications, an object can be described by multiple features from different views. For instance, to characterize an image well, a variety of visual features is exploited to represent color, texture, and shape information and encode each feature into a vector. Recently, we have witnessed a surge of interests of combining multiview features for image recognition and classification. However, these features are always located in different high-dimensional spaces, which challenge the features fusion, and many conventional methods fail to integrate compatible and complementary information from multiple views. To address the above issues, multifeatures fusion framework is proposed, which utilizes multiview spectral embedding and a unified distance metric to integrate features, the alternating optimization is reconstructed by learning the complementarities between different views. This method exploits complementary property of different views and obtains a low-dimensional embedding wherein the different dimensional subspace. Various experiments on several benchmark datasets have verified the excellent performance of the proposed method.
Variation among hospitals in coronary-angiography practices and outcomes after myocardial infarction in a large health maintenance organization.

BACKGROUND Wide geographic variation in the use of coronary angiography after myocardial infarction has been documented internationally and within the United States. An associated variation in clinical outcomes has not been consistently demonstrated. METHODS We assessed the risk of death from heart disease and of any heart disease event (death, reinfarction, or rehospitalization) over a follow-up period of one to four years in 6851 patients hospitalized with acute myocardial infarction at 16 Kaiser Permanente hospitals from 1990 through 1992. The percentage of patients who underwent angiography within three months after infarction ranged from 30 to 77 percent. We selected a subcohort of 1109 patients from three hospitals with higher rates of angiography and four with lower rates for a record review to assess the severity of infarction, the number of coexisting conditions, treatments received, and the appropriateness and necessity of angiography, using established criteria. RESULTS The rates of angiography were inversely related to the risk of death from heart disease (P= 0.03) and the risk of heart disease events (P<0.001) among the 16 hospitals after adjustment for age, sex, race, coexisting conditions, and the location of the infarction (subendocardial vs. transmural). In the subcohort, 440 patients met criteria indicating that angiography was necessary and 669 did not. Among the former, patients treated at hospitals with higher rates of angiography had a lower risk of death and of any heart disease event than those treated at hospitals with lower rates (hazard ratios, 0.67 and 0.72, respectively). Among the latter, the apparent benefits of being treated at hospitals with higher angiography rates were smaller (hazard ratios, 0.85 to 0.90 for death and any heart disease event, respectively). CONCLUSIONS During the one to four years after myocardial infarction, patients treated at hospitals with higher rates of angiography had more favorable outcomes than those treated at hospitals with lower rates. This association was stronger among patients for whom published criteria indicated that angiography was necessary.
Reduced programmed cell death in brains of serotonin transporter knockout mice

Serotonin (5-HT) is known to reduce apoptosis in vitro and in rodent models of brain ischemia. Modulation of programmed cell death during neural development was assessed in early postnatal brains of serotonin transporter (5-HTT) knockout mice, characterized by elevated extracellular 5-HT levels. The number of apoptotic cells visualized at postnatal day-1 (P1) by ISEL+ or TUNEL staining was significantly reduced in the striatum, thalamus/hypothalamus, cerebral cortex and hippocampus of 5-HTT knockout mice, compared to wild type and heterozygote mice, with differences displaying an increasing fronto-caudal gradient and regional specificity. These findings underscore 5-HT roles in the regulation of programmed cell death during brain development, and spur interest into pharmacological interventions aimed at relieving pathological apoptosis by potentiating serotoninergic neurotransmission.
Fall events among people with stroke living in the community: circumstances of falls and characteristics of fallers.

OBJECTIVES To describe the frequency and circumstances of falls among a community sample of people with stroke and to compare characteristics of fallers and nonfallers. DESIGN Cross-sectional, observational study. SETTING Community. PARTICIPANTS Forty-one community-dwelling people with stroke (26 men, 15 women; mean age, 69.7 +/- 11.6y), of which 23 had right-hemisphere infarction, 16 left-hemisphere infarction, and 2 had a brainstem lesion. Time since onset of stroke ranged from 3 to 288 months (mean, 50mo). INTERVENTIONS Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Standardized tests were used to measure mobility, upper limb function, activities of daily living (ADL ability), and mood. Information about fall events was collected by using a questionnaire. RESULTS Twenty-one participants (50%) were classed as fallers, of whom 10 had fallen repeatedly. No significant differences were found between fallers and nonfallers on any of the measures used. However, those who had 2 or more falls (n = 10) had significantly reduced arm function (P = .018) and ADL ability (P = .010), compared with those who had not fallen or experienced near falls (n = 5). Loss of balance, misjudgment, and foot dragging during walking, turning, and sit to stand were reported by fallers as the suspected causes and activities leading to falls. CONCLUSIONS The high risk of falling among people with stroke was evident in this community-based sample. Repeat fallers had greater mobility deficits and significantly reduced arm function and ADL ability than those who did not report any instability.
Process Mining of Five Dutch Municipalities ’ Building Permit Application Process : The Value Added in E-Government The BPI Challenge 2015

An increasing number of countries have been making sizable investments in e-government to achieve efficiency in national administration and improvement of satisfaction in nationwide services. Process mining can create new insights for e-government initiatives by analyzing event logs stored in e-government IT systems. To validate the added value of process mining in e-government, we analyze real life event logs of five Dutch municipalities’ building permit application process by using process mining and other analytical techniques. To fully understand and analyze the logs, we used a variety of data analysis techniques and powerful tools such as Disco, Weka, Oracle DBMS. We offer evidence-based answers to the questions and demonstrate the added value of process mining in e-government. Finally, concluding remarks and recommendations for improvements are discussed.
New class of level statistics in quantum systems with unbounded diffusion.

We point out a new class of level statistics where the level-spacing distribution follows an inverse power law p(s)\ensuremath{\sim}${\mathit{s}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{\ensuremath{\beta}}}$, with \ensuremath{\beta}=3/2. It is characteristic of level clustering rather than level repulsion and appears to be universal for systems exhibiting unbounded quantum diffusion on 1D lattices. A relaxation of this class is met in a model of Bloch electorns in a magnetic field, where we find a purely diffusive spread of wave packets without the quantum limitations known from chaotic systems like the kicked rotator.
Explicit filtering to obtain grid-spacing-independent and discretization-order-independent large-eddy simulation of compressible single-phase flow

Abstract In large-eddy simulation (LES), it is often assumed that the filter width is equal to the grid spacing. Predictions from such LES are grid-spacing dependent since any subgrid-scale (SGS) model used in the LES equations is dependent on the resolved flow field which itself varies with grid spacing. Moreover, numerical errors affect the flow field, especially the smallest resolved scales. Thus, predictions using this approach are affected by both modelling and numerical choices. However, grid-spacing-independent LES predictions unaffected by numerical choices are necessary to validate LES models through comparison with a trusted template. First, such a template is created here through direct numerical simulation (DNS). Then, simulations are conducted using the conventional LES equations and also LES equations which are here reformulated so that the small-scale-producing nonlinear terms in these equations are explicitly filtered (EF) to remove scales smaller than a fixed filter width; this formulation is called EFLES. First, LES is conducted with four SGS models, then EFLES is performed with two of the SGS models used in LES; the results from all these simulations are compared to those from DNS and from the filtered DNS (FDNS). The conventional LES solution is both grid-spacing and spatial discretization-order dependent, thus showing that both of these numerical aspects affect the flow prediction. The solution from the EFLES equations is grid independent for a high-order spatial discretization on all meshes tested. However, low-order discretizations require a finer mesh to reach grid independence. With an eighth-order discretization, a filter-width to grid-spacing ratio of two is sufficient to reach grid independence, while a filter-width to grid-spacing ratio of four is needed to reach grid independence when a fourth- or a sixth-order discretization is employed. On a grid fine enough to be utilized in a DNS, the EFLES solution exhibits grid independence and does not converge to the DNS solution. The velocity-fluctuation spectra of EFLES follow those of FDNS independent of the grid spacing used, in concert with the original concept of LES. The reasons for the different predictions of conventional LES or EFLES according to the SGS model used, and the different characteristics of the EFLES predictions compared to those from conventional LES are analysed.
Functional MRI in Multiple Sclerosis

There is increasing evidence that the severity of the clinical manifestations of multiple sclerosis (MS) does not simply depend on the extent of tissue destruction, but rather represents a complex balance among tissue damage, tissue repair, and cortical reorganization. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) provides information about the extent and nature of brain plasticity, which follows MS structural injury and might have the potential to limit the clinical manifestations of the disease. An altered recruitment of regions normally devoted to the performance of a given task and/or the recruitment of additional areas, which are not typically activated by healthy people for performing that given task, have been described in patients with MS, independent of their clinical phenotype when investigating the visual, cognitive, and motor systems. These functional changes have been related to the extent and severity of brain damage within and outside T2‐visible lesions and to the involvement of specific central nervous system (CNS) structures, including the spinal cord and the optic nerve. Brain functional changes have been shown to be dynamic over time, not only after an acute relapse, but also in clinically stable patients. An increased recruitment of the cerebral networks might represent a first step of cortical reorganization with the potential to maintain a normal level of function in the course of MS. The progressive failure of these mechanisms might, on the one hand, result in the activation of previously silent “second‐order” compensatory areas, and, on the other, contribute to the clinical manifestations of the disease.
High level compilation for gate reconfigurable architectures

A continuing exponential increase in the number of programmable elements is turning management of gate-reconfigurable architectures as “glue level. The physical hardware in gate-reconfigurable architectures is all low level—individual wires, bit-level functions, and single bit registers—hence one should look to the fetch-decode-execute machinery of traditional computers mechanisms that interpret instructions—instructions that are generated requires leveraging these mechanisms without introducing the overhead of machine-level interpretation. In this dissertation, I solve this fundamental problem by specializing architectural mechanisms with respect to input programs. This solution is the key to efficient compilation of high-level programs to gate reconfigurable architectures. My approach to specialization includes several novel techniques. I develop, with others, extensive bitwidth analyses that apply to registers, pointers, and arrays. I use pointer analysis and memory disambiguation to target devices with blocks of embedded memory. My approach to memory parallelization generates a spatial hierarchy that enables easier-to-synthesize logic state machines with smaller circuits and no long wires. My space-time scheduling approach integrates the techniques of high-level synthesis with the static routing concepts developed for single-chip multiprocessors. Using DeepC, a prototype compiler demonstrating my thesis, I compile a new benchmark suite to Xilinx Virtex FPGAs. Resulting performance is comparable to a custom MIPS processor, with smaller area (40 percent on average), higher evaluation speeds (2.4×), and lower energy (18×) and energy-delay (45×). Specialization of advanced mechanisms results in additional speedup, scaling with hardware area, at the expense of power. For comparison, I also target IBM's standard cell SA-27E process and the RAW microprocessor. Results include sensitivity analysis to the different mechanisms specialized and a grand comparison between alternate targets. (Copies available exclusively from MIT Libraries, Rm. 14-0551, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. Ph. 617-253-5668; Fax 617-253-1690.)
Public attitudes to financial incentive models for organs: a literature review suggests that it is time to shift the focus from ‘financial incentives’ to ‘reciprocity’

Waiting lists for organs have stimulated interest in the use of financial incentives for organ donation (FIs), but the literature does not contain an adequate overview of studies of public attitudes toward this mode of procurement. We conducted a literature review of international peer‐reviewed research published between 2002 and 2012 on how members of the public position themselves toward FIs. We identified and analyzed 23 studies using MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Sociological Abstracts and cross‐reference search. The search included whole organs, donation, quantitative and empirical qualitative social scientific studies on, public attitudes (excluding professionals and medical students). The review reveals a broad divergence of public opinions on financial incentives. However, quantitative studies showed a low overall level of acceptance of payment for organs in living donation (LD); only a slightly higher one for deceased donation (DD); and a general preference for alternative forms, such as removal of disincentives or expressions of social reciprocity. Across different national and methodological settings we observed a considerable preference of noncommercial forms. This does not preclude the opportunity to consider various types of acknowledgement of economic value given in return for the organ. This provides reason to shift the focus from incentives to reciprocity.