Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quality-of-Service Support for Multimedia Applications

A major project at Lancaster University is the development of network infrastructures capable of supporting the quality-of-service (QoS) requirements of a wide range of distributed multimedia applications. The project includes more than thirty researchers and covers not only the network support but also the enabling technologies. The authors believe that QoS development cannot be done in isolation from the applications to be supported, which must form an integral part of the project. They focus on three application areas: interactive teaching and learning, mobile systems, and virtual reality. They chose applications that stretch network support to its limit. To realize the full potential of these distributed multimedia applications, the underlying network must satisfy all these requirements concurrently. They give a brief overview of their activities to this end and discuss the need for QoS support.
Target speech GMM-based spectral compensation for noise robust speech recognition

Abstract To improve speech recognition performance in adverse condi-tions, a noise compensation method is proposed that applies atransformation in the spectral domain whose parameters are op-timized based on likelihood of speech GMM modeled on thefeature domain. The idea is that additive and convolutionalnoises have mathematically simple expression in the spectraldomain while speech characteristics are better modeled in thefeature domain such as MFCC. The proposed method worksas a feature extraction front-end that is independent from de-coding engine, and has ability to compensate for non-stationaryadditive and convolutional noises with a short time delay. Itincludes spectral subtraction as a special case when no param-eter optimization is performed. Experiments were performedusing the AURORA-2J database. It has been shown that signif-icantly higher recognition performance is obtained by the pro-posed method than spectral subtraction. Index Terms : noisy speech recognition, spectrum, Gaussianmixture model
Lane changing models based on artificial potential field

In order to accurately simulate vehicles' running states of lane changing and more effectively reflect its characteristics, based on the driving experience, this paper introduced three changing rules and their corresponding lane changing benefits and safety factors, and summarized the lateral and longitudinal motion of vehicles as the interaction result between lane changing benefits and safety factors in the lane changing process. Taking the basic idea of artificial potential field for reference, the lane changing benefits and safety factors are abstracted respectively as the attractive and repulsive force perceived by drivers, and then the lane changing model corresponding to each lane changing rule was established after analyzing. Finally, the measured data were used to calibrate and test the parameters of lane changing model of different rules. The results showed that the testing errors of the models are within a reasonable range, and the changing trend of lane changing of different rules can be well fitted.
Radiation dose in breast CT imaging with monochromatic x-rays: simulation study of the influence of energy, composition and thickness

Recent developments have shown that high resolution phase contrast x-ray computed tomography (CT) of the breast can be performed at clinically compatible doses. Results have yet been obtained in vitro on full breasts, and the clinical translation of the technique seems more and more possible. This work presents a method to quickly estimate the average dose in the organ using the software GATE. The influence of different parameters on the dose distribution, like breast composition and thickness, and for preclinical test, the presence of a skin/PMMA external layer, has been investigated. Several correction factors, to be applied to the given dose database, are also introduced to allow the use of these results in geometries different from those studied here. An energy optimization study is presented that considers also the influence on the energy choice of x-ray detector. A simple analytical method to estimate the best energy that minimizes the dose-transmittance ratio in CT imaging is presented and compared with the results of simulations.
Fabrication of PCSS Based on AFM and Photolithograph

Several ten nanometers width TiOx wires was fabricated on the surface of 3~5nm thick Ti lines which covers GaAs substrate. TiOx wires are fabricated by atomic force microscope (AFM), and the Ti lines are fabricated by photolithograph method. Oxide is used as insulator/energy barrier between the electrodes to substitute the air gap of traditional type photoconductive semiconductive switches (PCSS). The electrodes and substrate's materials are Ti-Au and LT-GaAs respectively. The simulation result indicated that the voltage or current output characteristic of the PCSS is different from the traditional switch. In this paper, this phenomenon is analyzed and the method to avoid such kind of non-linearity output is discussed.
Computer-aided diagnosis of prostate cancer in the peripheral zone using multiparametric MRI

This study evaluated a computer-assisted diagnosis (CADx) system for determining a likelihood measure of prostate cancer presence in the peripheral zone (PZ) based on multiparametric magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, including T2-weighted, diffusion-weighted and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI at 1.5 T. Based on a feature set derived from grey-level images, including first-order statistics, Haralick features, gradient features, semi-quantitative and quantitative (pharmacokinetic modelling) dynamic parameters, four kinds of classifiers were trained and compared : nonlinear support vector machine (SVM), linear discriminant analysis, k-nearest neighbours and naïve Bayes classifiers. A set of feature selection methods based on t-test, mutual information and minimum-redundancy–maximum-relevancy criteria were also compared. The aim was to discriminate between the relevant features as well as to create an efficient classifier using these features. The diagnostic performances of these different CADx schemes were evaluated based on a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. The evaluation database consisted of 30 sets of multiparametric MR images acquired from radical prostatectomy patients. Using histologic sections as the gold standard, both cancer and nonmalignant (but suspicious) tissues were annotated in consensus on all MR images by two radiologists, a histopathologist and a researcher. Benign tissue regions of interest (ROIs) were also delineated in the remaining prostate PZ. This resulted in a series of 42 cancer ROIs, 49 benign but suspicious ROIs and 124 nonsuspicious benign ROIs. From the outputs of all evaluated feature selection methods on the test bench, a restrictive set of about 15 highly informative features coming from all MR sequences was discriminated, thus confirming the validity of the multiparametric approach. Quantitative evaluation of the diagnostic performance yielded a maximal area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.89 (0.81–0.94) for the discrimination of the malignant versus nonmalignant tissues and 0.82 (0.73–0.90) for the discrimination of the malignant versus suspicious tissues when combining the t-test feature selection approach with a SVM classifier. A preliminary comparison showed that the optimal CADx scheme mimicked, in terms of AUC, the human experts in differentiating malignant from suspicious tissues, thus demonstrating its potential for assisting cancer identification in the PZ.
Mapping of the vaccinia virus DNA polymerase gene by marker rescue and cell-free translation of selected RNA

The previous demonstration that a phosphonoacetate (PAA)-resistant (PAAr) vaccinia virus mutant synthesized an altered DNA polymerase provided the key to mapping this gene. Marker rescue was performed in cells infected with wild-type PAA-sensitive (PAAs) vaccinia by transfecting with calcium phosphate-precipitated DNA from a PAAr mutant virus. Formation of PAAr recombinants was measured by plaque assay in the presence of PAA. Of the 12 HindIII fragments cloned in plasmid or cosmid vectors, only fragment E conferred the PAAr phenotype. Successive subcloning of the 15-kilobase HindIII fragment E localized the marker within a 7.5-kilobase BamHI-HindIII fragment and then within a 2.9-kilobase EcoRI fragment. When the latter was digested with ClaI, marker rescue was not detected, suggesting that the PAAr mutation mapped near a ClaI site. The sensitive ClaI site was identified by cloning partial ClaI-EcoRI fragments and testing them in the marker rescue assay. The location of the DNA polymerase gene, about 57 kilobases from the left end of the genome, was confirmed by cell-free translation of mRNA selected by hybridization to plasmids containing regions of PAAr vaccinia DNA active in marker rescue. A 100,000-dalton polypeptide that comigrated with authentic DNA polymerase was synthesized. Correspondence of the in vitro translation product with purified vaccinia DNA polymerase was established by peptide mapping.
Characteristics of the daily behavior and activity patterns of the adult housefly with special reference to time-keeping device.

Characteristics of the daily behavior and activity patterns of the adult housefly were investigated with special reference to time-keeping device. (1) Two of three strains and four of eight colonies of flies showed similar resting behavior patterns to those of the standard Takatsuki colony, whereas two colonies exhibited markedly different patterns. The remaining one strain and two colonies of flies displayed intermediate resting behavior patterns. Flight activity patterns exhibited by all strains and colonies of flies were essentially similar to those of the Takatsuki colony. The general behavioral pattern exhibited by male adults in groups was different from that of females due to the increased mating activity. Female flies exhibited decreased stability in settling on the ceiling of the container as they grew older, while the number of landing on the ceiling increased during the first few days of adult life and then stayed rather constant. (2) The flies were entrained to a 24-hr photoperiod with a 12-hr photophase. The circadian rhythm with 12-hr active phase persisted in individual flies for more than two weeks in continuous darkness, although in some cases changes in both the period of the rhythm and duration of the active phase occurred simultaneously. The flies in groups also continued to keep rhythmic behavior in continuous darkness at least for a week. Most individual rhythmic flies displayed only once the characteristic nighttime resting behavior at the expected onset of scotophase, while the individual flies held under continuous illumination from their emergence did not exhibit any sign of circadian rhythms. Individual flies kept in the actograph chamber also showed a rapid disappearance of the activity rhythm under continuous illumination. (3) In the flies subjected to a 24-hr photoperiod with a 14to 20-hr photophase, the resting phase of the rhythm was moved ahead by about 1-4 hr. The time change correlated to the duration of the previous photophase. Majority of flies ignored the photoperiod with a 22-hr photophase. In the flies exposed to a 24-hr photoperiod with a photophase shorter than 6 hr, the resting phase was delayed by a few hours. This result accounted for the inexplicable resting behavior of flies in nature under long-day conditions. A single dark period of 6 hr or longer, interrupting continuous illumination, initiated the overt periodicity in the flies. The time of the onset of resting behavior was inversely related to the duration of a single dark period. (4) A single dark stimulus for the resetting was effective only when given after the critical time, viz, at 9 hr after the onset of illumination; whereas a cyclical change in the direct response to a single dark stimulus was manifested by the rhythmic flies, maximal response occurring at the onset of the resting phase and the minimal one immediately after the onset of light.
Not All hERG Pore Domain Mutations Have a Severe Phenotype: G584S Has an Inactivation Gating Defect with Mild Phenotype Compared to G572S, Which Has a Dominant Negative Trafficking Defect and a Severe Phenotype

Introduction: Mutations in the pore domain of the human ether‐a‐go‐go‐related gene (hERG) potassium channel are associated with higher risk of sudden death. However, in many kindreds clinical presentation is variable, making it hard to predict risk. We hypothesized that in vitro phenotyping of the intrinsic severity of individual mutations can assist with risk stratification.
Efficacy of ibandronate in metastatic bone disease: review of clinical data.

Metastatic bone disease affects many cancer patients and has a significant disease burden because of complications such as pathologic fractures and severe pain, which affect patient mobility and quality of life. Bisphosphonates are the current standard of care for treating metastatic bone disease. Available agents have shown varying degrees of efficacy in clinical trials, and treatment potential can be limited by efficacy, tolerance, or toxicity issues. Ibandronate (Bondronat); F. Hoffman-La Roche Ltd., Basel, Switzerland, http://www.roche. com) is a highly potent, single-nitrogen bisphosphonate that is available in i.v. and oral formulations. In phase III trials in breast cancer patients, both formulations reduced the incidence of skeletal complications associated with metastatic bone disease and had significant and sustained effects on bone pain and patient quality of life. Open-label studies of loading-dose ibandronate administered over consecutive days suggest it also may be useful for relieving severe or opioid-resistant metastatic bone pain. New trials have been designed or are in progress that may extend the clinical indications of ibandronate for patients with metastatic bone disease.
[Application of hyperthermic intraoperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy in patients with gastric cancer].

OBJECTIVE To explore the effect of hyperthermic intraoperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIIC) on the postoperative metastatic rate and survival rate of advanced gastric cancer (AGC). METHODS In HIIC group, patients received HIIC (mitomycin C 30 mg and cisplatin 100 mg were added into 2000 ml distilled water, heated to 42 approximately 45 degrees C, perfused to abdominal cavity for 30 min and then sucked) and intravenous chemotherapy after operation (5- FU 10 approximately 15 mg/kg, mitomycin C 0.1 approximately 0.15 mg/kg, adriamycin 0.5 approximately 1 mg/kg i.v drip, once a week for 2 approximately 3 weeks). In control group, patients received intravenous chemotherapy only. The postoperative metastatic rate and survival rate (1- , 3- and 5- year) of patients were compared between 92 cases of AGC undergone HIIC and 120 cases of AGC without HIIC (control group). RESULTS The peritoneal recurrence rates after operations occurred within two years were 14.1% and 37.5% in HIIC group and control group respectively (P < 0.01). The 1- , 3- , and 5- year survival rates in HIIC group were 98.9%, 68.5%, and 52.2% and in control group 95.0%, 56.7% and 37.5% respectively. The 3- , and 5- year survival rates were significantly different between the two the groups (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION HIIC can kill isolated intraperitoneal cancer cells, reduce peritoneal recurrence rate after operations, raise significantly survival rate of patient, and improve the prognosis of AGC.
eliability and validity of the Exercise elf-Regulatory Efficacy Scale * for individuals ith chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

To request a copy of the Ex-SRES instrument, a one-page ummary of its psychometrics and scoring syntax, please send a elf-addressed envelope with return postage to the correspondng author. eprint requests: Amy H. T. Davis, RN, PhD, Assistant Professor, ollege of Nursing, University of Arizona, 1305 N. Martin, Tucson, Z 85721-0203. 147-9563/$ – see front matter opyright © 2007 by Mosby, Inc. i 10.1016/j.hrtlng. 2006.08. 007
Immunization with the Recombinant PorB Outer Membrane Protein Induces a Bactericidal Immune Response against Neisseria meningitidis

ABSTRACT Infections with Neisseria meningitidis are characterized by life-threatening meningitis and septicemia. The meningococcal porin proteins from serogroup B meningococci have been identified as candidates for inclusion in vaccines to prevent such infections. In this study, we investigated the vaccine potential of the PorB porin protein free of other meningococcal components. The porB gene from a strain of Neisseria meningitidis expressing the class 3 outer membrane porin protein (PorB3) was cloned into the pRSETB vector, and the protein was expressed at high levels in a heterologous host Escherichia coli. The recombinant protein was purified to homogeneity by affinity chromatography and used for immunization after incorporation into liposomes and into micelles composed either of zwitterionic detergent or nondetergent sulfobetaine. The immunogenicity of these preparations was compared to recombinant PorB protein adsorbed to Al(OH)3 adjuvant as a control. Although sera raised against the protein adsorbed to Al(OH)3 reacted with the purified recombinant protein, sera raised against liposomes and micelles showed greater activity with native protein, as measured by enzyme immunoassay with outer membranes and by whole-cell immunofluorescence. Reactivity with native protein was considerably enhanced by incorporation of the adjuvant monophosphoryl lipid A into the liposome or micelle preparations. Recognition of the native protein was in a serotype-specific manner and was associated with the ability of the antisera to promote high levels of serotype-specific complement-mediated killing of meningococci. These results demonstrate that the PorB protein should be considered as a component of a vaccine designed to prevent serogroup B meningococcal infection.
Studying protein-carbohydrate interactions by amide hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry.

Protein-carbohydrate interactions play a significant role in biological processes. Presented here is the novel application of amide hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (amide exchange-MS) to the study of the interaction between a protein and its carbohydrate substrate. The degree of deuterium incorporation into hen egg lysozyme was monitored with and without substrate to verify that a carbohydrate can provide sufficiently stable protection of the amide hydrogen atoms in a protein's backbone from exchange with deuterated solvent. The substrate protected a number of amide hydrogens from exchange, implying that protein-carbohydrate binding systems will be compatible with amide exchange-MS. Endopolygalacturonase-II (EPG-II) from Aspergillus niger, a pectin-degrading enzyme, was chosen as the first carbohydrate-binding system to be extensively studied using quenched amide exchange-MS. Monitoring the changes in deuterium incorporation of EPG-II in the presence and absence of an oligomer of galacturonic acid implied the location of substrate binding. This study demonstrates the ability of amide exchange-MS to investigate protein-carbohydrate interactions.
Interplay of SOX and POU Factors in Regulation of the Nestin Gene in Neural Primordial Cells

ABSTRACT Intermediate-filament Nestin and group B1 SOX transcription factors (SOX1/2/3) are often employed as markers for neural primordium, suggesting their regulatory link. We have identified adjacent and essential SOX and POU factor binding sites in the Nestin neural enhancer. The 30-bp sequence of the enhancer including these sites (Nes30) showed a nervous system-specific and SOX-POU-dependent enhancer activity in multimeric forms in transfection assays and was utilized in assessing the specificity of the synergism; combinations of either group B1 or group C SOX (SOX11) with class III POU proved effective. In embryonic day 13.5 mouse spinal cord, Nestin was expressed in the cells with nuclei in the ventricular and subventricular zones. SOX1/2/3 expression was confined to the nuclei of the ventricular zone; SOX11 localized to the nuclei of both subventricular (high-level expression) and intermediate (low-level expression) zones. Class III POU (Brn2) was expressed at high levels, localizing to the nucleus in the ventricular and subventricular zones; moderate expression was observed in the intermediate zone, distributed in the cytoplasm. These data support the model that synergic interactions between group B1/C SOX and class III POU within the nucleus determine Nestin expression. Evidence also suggests that such interactions are involved in the regulation of neural primordial cells.
Quality of Life in Patients With Chronic Rhinosinusitis and Sleep Dysfunction Undergoing Endoscopic Sinus Surgery: A Pilot Investigation of Comorbid Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

IMPORTANCE Patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) have reduced sleep quality linked to their overall well-being and disease-specific quality of life (QOL). Other primary sleep disorders also affect QOL. OBJECTIVE To determine the impact of comorbid obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) on CRS disease-specific QOL and sleep dysfunction in patients with CRS following functional endoscopic sinus surgery. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Prospective multisite cohort study conducted between October 2011 and November 2014 at academic, tertiary referral centers with a population-based sample of 405 adults. INTERVENTION Functional endoscopic sinus surgery for medically refractory symptoms of CRS. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Primary outcome measures consisted of preoperative and postoperative scores operationalized by the Rhinosinusitis Disability Index (RSDI) survey, the 22-item Sinonasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22), and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Obstructive sleep apnea was the primary, independent risk factor. RESULTS Of 405 participants, 60 (15%) had comorbid OSA. A total of 285 (70%) participants provided preoperative and postoperative survey responses, with a mean (SD) of 13.7 (5.3) months of follow-up. Significant postoperative improvement (P < .05) was reported across all mean disease-specific QOL measures for both participants with and without comorbid OSA. Participants without OSA reported significant greater improvement in unadjusted mean (SD) RSDI global scores (−25.0 [23.3] vs. −16.5 [22.1]; P = .03), RSDI physical (−10.7 [9.2] vs. −7.3 [9.1]; P = .03) and functional (−8.4 [8.7] vs. −5.1 [7.5]; P = .03) subdomain scores, and SNOT-22 rhinologic symptom domain scores (−9.1 [7.7] vs. −5.7 [6.9]; P = .008). Participants without OSA also reported greater improvements on mean (SD) PSQI global (−1.9 [4.0] vs. −0.5 [3.7]; P = .03), sleep quality (−0.4 [0.8] vs. −0.03 [0.7]; P = .02), and sleep disturbance (−0.4 [0.7] vs. −0.1 [0.7]; P = .03) scores. The majority of these associations were found to be durable after adjustment for alternate independent cofactors using stepwise linear regression modeling. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Patients with CRS and comorbid OSA have poor QOL with substantial disease-specific QOL improvements following surgery. Patients who present with CRS should be assessed for primary sleep disorders and, if identified, should be treated concurrently for both CRS and OSA to improve sleep dysfunction to optimize surgical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01332136.