Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Fully Automatic Tool for Counting Virchow-Robin Spaces in Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Lacunar Stroke Study

Virchow-Robin Spaces surround the perforating arteries of the brain and sometimes they become dilated. Studies suggest that those structures are correlated with some conditions such as lacunar strokes, small vessel diseases, multiple sclerosis or even normal aging. However, the majority of those studies are based on the detection of those structures by a human expert, in some regions of interest, which is prone to the subjectivity of the person doing the task. Moreover, dilated Virchow-Robin Spaces may look similar to lacunar strokes, making them difficult to identify. Few works have been proposed on the computational detection of dilated Virchow-Robin Spaces. In this paper, we propose a fully automatic tool, capable of preprocessing the magnetic resonance images, extract the most relevant regions of interest and detect dilated Virchow-Robin Spaces. Such a tool may be useful to eliminate human subjectivity, but also to improve the reproducibility of the studies, leading to more reliable correlations. An application to visualize and count the detected structures was also built, with the aim of helping in a study of the correlation of lacunar strokes, Virchow-Robin Spaces and vascular dementia.
PHASE RECONSTRUCTION OF SPECTROGRAMS BASED ON A MODEL OF REP EATED AUDIO EVENTS

Phase recovery of modified spectrograms is a major issue in au dio signal processing applications, such as source separat ion. This paper introduces a novel technique for estimating the phase s of components in complex mixtures within onset frames in the Ti meFrequency (TF) domain. We propose to exploit the phase repet itions from one onset frame to another. We introduce a referen c phase which characterizes a component independently of its act vation times. The onset phases of a component are then modeled a s the sum of this reference and an offset which is linearly depe ndent on the frequency. We derive a complex mixture model within on set frames and we provide two algorithms for the estimation o f the model phase parameters. The model is estimated on experimen tal data and this technique is integrated into an audio source se paration framework. The results demonstrate that this model is a prom ising tool for exploiting phase repetitions, and point out its pot ential for separating overlapping components in complex mixtures.
Error Protection of Packetized SPIHT Bit Streams for Image Transmission Over Noisy Channels

This paper presents a scheme for incorporating error-resilient mechanisms into a wavelet based image encoder. The scheme combines an effective packetization of wavelet coefficients along with a method for further partitioning of packetized data for protection against both packet losses and random bit errors. The partitioning allows for independent error protection and decoding of different sections of the bitstream with minimal amounts of redundancy. Uncorrectable errors are detected and corresponding coefficients are estimated by interpolation. Experimental results indicate high image quality for reconstructed images at various combinations of packet loss and bit error rates.
Postconcussive Symptoms Are Associated With Compensatory Cortical Recruitment During a Working Memory Task

BACKGROUND:The severity of sports-related concussion is often characterized by the number and severity of postconcussive symptoms (eg, headache, dizziness, difficulty concentrating). Although the level of postconcussive symptoms after injury is believed to index the severity of the neurological insult sustained, studies examining the relationship between symptom severity and neural functioning in concussed athletes remain rare. OBJECTIVE:This exploratory study examined the association between self-reported symptom severity and functional activation on a working memory task in a group of 16 recently concussed student athletes. METHODS:Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to examine the relationship of symptom severity to brain activation during a working memory task in 16 concussed subjects. RESULTS:Findings indicated that symptom severity was associated with regionally specific hyperactivation during a working memory task, even though symptom severity was not significantly related to task accuracy. CONCLUSION:The results add to a growing body of literature that demonstrates that functional neuroimaging may have the potential to serve as a sensitive biomarker of the severity of concussion and mild traumatic brain injury.
The Irrelevant Values Problem in the ID3 Tree

When a decision tree is represented by a collection of rules, the antecedents of individual rules may contain irrelevant conditions. To avoid generating rules with irrelevant conditions, we propose a new algorithm to remove irrelevant conditions of rules in the process of converting the decision tree to rules according to information on the decision tree. Since irrelevant conditions are removed from the resultant rules, the resultant rules are more general than those represented by the decision tree. As a side effect, the resultant rules are less likely to suffer from missing branches.
Transcriptional mapping of the vaccinia virus DNA polymerase gene

Transcriptional analysis of the vaccinia virus DNA polymerase gene revealed the presence of overlapping RNAs. Cloned DNA fragments, previously shown to lie within the DNA polymerase gene (E. V. Jones and B. Moss, J. Virol. 49:72-77, 1984) hybridized to early RNA species of ca. 3,400 and 3,700 nucleotides. Nuclease S1 analysis was used to determine the direction of transcription and more precisely map the mRNAs. A single 5' end and two major and one minor 3' ends were detected.
Is the intensity of the highest fat oxidation at the lactate concentration of 2 mmol L−1? A comparison of two different exercise protocols

Background The exercise intensity eliciting highest fat oxidation is important for a variety of populations and its precise determination requires an adequate exercise protocol. The aim of this study was to compare fat oxidation, concentration of lactate and lactate threshold during an established exercise protocol using fixed workloads with a protocol based upon the subject's individual heart rate response to exercise.
Structural organization and sequence of the homeotic gene Antennapedia of Drosophila melanogaster.

The structure of the Drosophila melanogaster Antennapedia (Antp) gene has been investigated by the isolation and sequencing of different cDNAs and genomic clones. Northern analysis, S1 mapping and primer extension experiments reveal a complex and unusual gene structure. The gene is composed of two promoters, eight exons spanning >100 kb, and two termination processing regions. Four major polyadenylated transcripts were found, two of them starting at a second internal promoter in front of exon 3. All four transcripts have extremely long untranslated leader and trailer sequences in the range of 1‐2 kb. Despite the complex transcriptional organization, the open reading frame is the same in all transcripts, and starts in exon 5 giving rise to a protein of mol. wt. 42 800. The putative protein is rich in glutamine (18%) and proline (10%). The homeobox, a region which previously has been shown to be highly conserved among homeotic genes, is contained in the open reading frame and located in the last exon. Functional implications of the complex structure with respect to development and its relation to the mutant phenotypes are discussed.
Activation of c-myb expression by phytohemagglutinin stimulation in normal human T lymphocytes

The expression of c-myb in normal human T lymphocytes directly derived from a normal subject and not adapted to continuous growth in culture was found to be markedly increased after phytohemagglutinin stimulation. In the same cells, the expression of c-myc mRNA is a much earlier event compared with the appearance of c-myb mRNA, which takes place soon after that of histone H3 mRNA. The increase in c-myb expression was not due to a particular T-lymphocyte subset, as shown by in situ hybridization assays.
Monkey alcohol tissue research resource: banking tissues for alcohol research.

BACKGROUND An estimated 18 million adults in the United States meet the clinical criteria for diagnosis of alcohol abuse or alcoholism, a disorder ranked as the third leading cause of preventable death. In addition to brain pathology, heavy alcohol consumption is comorbid with damage to major organs including heart, lungs, liver, pancreas, and kidneys. Much of what is known about risk for and consequences of heavy consumption derive from rodent or retrospective human studies. The neurobiological effects of chronic intake in rodent studies may not easily translate to humans due to key differences in brain structure and organization between species, including a lack of higher-order cognitive functions, and differences in underlying prefrontal cortical neural structures that characterize the primate brain. Further, rodents do not voluntarily consume large quantities of ethanol (EtOH) and they metabolize it more rapidly than primates. METHODS The basis of the Monkey Alcohol Tissue Research Resource (MATRR) is that nonhuman primates, specifically monkeys, show a range of drinking excessive amounts of alcohol (>3.0 g/kg or a 12 drink equivalent per day) over long periods of time (12 to 30 months) with concomitant pathological changes in endocrine, hepatic, and central nervous system (CNS) processes. The patterns and range of alcohol intake that monkeys voluntarily consume parallel what is observed in humans with alcohol use disorders and the longitudinal experimental design spans stages of drinking from the EtOH-naïve state to early exposure through chronic abuse. Age- and sex-matched control animals self-administer an isocaloric solution under identical operant procedures. RESULTS The MATRR is a unique postmortem tissue bank that provides CNS and peripheral tissues, and associated bioinformatics from monkeys that self-administer EtOH using a standardized experimental paradigm to the broader alcohol research community. CONCLUSIONS This resource provides a translational platform from which we can better understand the disease processes associated with alcoholism.
Subtypes of Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Cannabis Use

The current study examined the association between subtypes of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and cannabis use within a sample of 2811 current users. Data were collected in 2012 from a national U.S. survey of cannabis users. A series of logistic regression equations and chi-squares were assessed for proportional differences between users. When asked about the ADHD symptoms they have experienced when not using cannabis, a higher proportion of daily users met symptom criteria for an ADHD diagnoses of the subtypes that include hyperactive–impulsive symptoms than the inattentive subtype. For nondaily users, the proportions of users meeting symptom criteria did not differ by subtype. These results have implications for identifying which individuals with ADHD might be more likely to self-medicate using cannabis. Furthermore, these findings indirectly support research linking relevant cannabinoid receptors to regulatory control.
Estrogen-Induced Disruption of Neonatal Porcine Uterine Development Alters Adult Uterine Function1

Abstract In the pig, estradiol-17β valerate (EV) exposure from birth (Postnatal Day [PND] 0) disrupts estrogen receptor-α (ER)-dependent uterine development and increases embryo mortality in adults. To determine effects of neonatal EV exposure on adult uterine morphology and function, 36 gilts received corn oil (CO) or EV from PND 0 to PND 13. Cyclic and pregnant (PX) adults from each treatment group were hysterectomized on Day 12 after estrus/mating. Treatment and pregnancy effects were determined for uterine weight and horn volume, uterine luminal fluid (ULF) protein and estradiol content, endometrial incorporation of 3H-leucine (3H-Leu) into nondialyzable product, and endometrial mRNA levels for ER, progesterone receptor (PR), uteroferrin (UF), retinol-binding protein (RBP), and keratinocyte growth factor (KGF). Adults cycled normally and had similar numbers of corpora lutea. Uteri of PX gilts contained tubular/filamentous conceptuses, and ULF estradiol content was unaffected by treatment. However, pregnancy increased uterine weight and size only in CO gilts (Treatment × Status, P < 0.01). Treatment reduced ULF protein content (P < 0.01), endometrial 3H-Leu incorporation (P < 0.05), and the pregnancy-associated increase in ULF protein (Treatment × Status, P < 0.01). Treatment did not affect endometrial ER or PR mRNA levels but attenuated the pregnancy-associated increase in UF mRNA (Treatment × Status; P < 0.01), increased RBP (P < 0.10), and decreased KGF mRNA levels (P < 0.05). These results establish that transient postnatal estrogen exposure affects porcine uterine responsiveness to potentially embryotrophic signals and that estrogen-sensitive postnatal uterine organizational events are determinants of uterine size and functionality.
Modulation of the Bystander Effects Induced by Soluble Factors in HaCaT Cells by Different Exposure Strategies

Abstract The aim of this investigation was to explore whether the occurrence and the magnitude of radiation-induced, medium-mediated bystander effects could be influenced by the time of transfer of secreted bystander factors. HaCaT cells were exposed to 0.1 and 1.0 Gy of γ radiation. These doses did not induce a significant reduction in the clonogenic survival of irradiated cells compared to controls. Bystander cells either were co-cultured with irradiated cells or received medium from irradiated cells. The bystander effects analyzed included end points related to survival (clonogenic potential and cell proliferation) and DNA damage (micronucleus induction and γ-H2AX formation). The bystander effects we investigated either were lacking or varied from potentially protective to detrimental responses in relation to the dose of radiation and the time between irradiation of donor cells and bystander exposure. Our results suggest that the experimental time schedule is important for both the occurrence and the detection of bystander effects in vitro.
Phase III trial of standard-dose intravenous cisplatin plus paclitaxel versus moderately high-dose carboplatin followed by intravenous paclitaxel and intraperitoneal cisplatin in small-volume stage III ovarian carcinoma: an intergroup study of the Gynecologic Oncology Group, Southwestern Oncology Gr

PURPOSE To compare the progression-free and overall survival in small-volume residual ovarian cancer after treatment with intravenous (IV) cisplatin and paclitaxel or an experimental regimen of IV carboplatin followed by IV paclitaxel and intraperitoneal cisplatin. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients were randomized to receive either IV paclitaxel 135 mg/m(2) over 24 hours followed by IV cisplatin 75 mg/m(2) every 3 weeks for six courses or IV carboplatin (area under curve 9) every 28 days for two courses, then IV paclitaxel 135 mg/m(2) over 24 hours followed by intraperitoneal (IP) cisplatin 100 mg/m(2) every 3 weeks for six courses. RESULTS Of the 523 patients who entered this trial, 462 were determined to be assessable, with prognostic factors well balanced between the treatments. Neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, and gastrointestinal and metabolic toxicities were greater in the experimental arm. As a result, 18% of the patients received < or = two courses of IP therapy. Progression-free survival was superior for patients randomized to the experimental treatment arm (median, 28 v 22 months; relative risk, 0.78; log-rank P =.01, one-tail). There was a borderline improvement in overall survival associated with this regimen (median, 63 v 52 months; relative risk, 0.81; P =.05, one-tail). CONCLUSION An experimental regimen including moderately high-dose IV carboplatin followed by IP paclitaxel and IV cisplatin yielded a significant improvement in progression-free survival when compared with a standard regimen of IV cisplatin and paclitaxel. Because the improvement in overall survival was of borderline statistical significance and toxicity was greater, the experimental arm is not recommended for routine use. However, the results provide direction for further clinical investigation in small-volume ovarian cancer.
The Mass-Conservative Cell-Integrated Semi-Lagrangian Advection Scheme on the Sphere

A mass-conservative cell-integrated semi-Lagrangian (CISL) scheme is presented and tested for 2D transport on the sphere. The total mass is conserved exactly and the mass of each individual grid cell is conserved in general. The scheme is based on a general scheme developed by Machenhauer and Olk that has increased cost effectiveness without loss of accuracy, compared to the CISL scheme of Rancic´. A regular latitude-longitude grid is used on the sphere and upstream trajectories from the corner points of the regular grid cells (the Eulerian cells) define the corner points of the departure cells. The sides in these so-called Lagrangian cells are generally defined as straight lines in a (l, m) plane, where l is the longitude and m is the sine of the latitude. The mass distribution within each Eulerian grid cell is defined by quasi-biparabolic functions, which are used to integrate analytically the mass in each Lagrangian computational cell. The auxiliary computational cells are polygons with each side parallel to the coordinate axis. Also, the computational cells have the same area as the Lagrangian cells they approximate. They were introduced in order to simplify the analytical integrals of mass. Near the poles, the east and west sides of certain Lagrangian cells cannot be approximated by straight lines in the ( l, m) plane, and are instead represented by straight lines in polar tangent plane coordinates. Each of the latitudinal belts of Lagrangian cells in the polar caps are split up into several latitudinal belts of subcells, which can be approximated by computational cells as in the case of cells closer to the equator. One latitudinal belt in each hemisphere, which encloses the Eulerian pole (singular belt), is treated in a special way. First the total mass in the singular belt is determined and then it is redistributed among the cells in the belt using weights determined by a traditional SL scheme at the midpoints of the cells. By this procedure the total mass is still conserved while the conservation is only approximately maintained for the individual cells in the singular belt. These special treatments in the polar caps fit well into the general structure of the code and can be implemented with minor modifications in the code used for the rest of the sphere. Compared to two other conservative advection schemes implemented on the sphere the CISL scheme used here was found to be competitive in terms of accuracy for the same resolution. In addition the CISL scheme has the advantage over these schemes that it is applicable for Courant numbers larger than one. In plane geometry the scheme of Rancichad an overhead factor of 2.5 in CPU time compared to a traditional bicubic semi- Lagrangian scheme. This factor is reduced to 1.1 for the Machenhauer and Olk scheme on the plane while on the sphere the factor is found to be 1.28 for the present scheme. This overhead seems to be a reasonable price to pay for increased accuracy and exact mass conservation.
Subjective responses to synthesised speech with lexical emotional content: the effect of the naturalness of the synthetic voice

This study aimed to investigate how the degree of naturalness and lexical emotional content of synthesised speech affects the subjective ratings of emotional experiences and how the naturalness of the voice affects the ratings of voice quality. Twenty-four participants listened to a set of affective words produced by three different speech synthesis techniques: formant synthesis, diphone synthesis and unit selection synthesis. The participants’ task was to rate their experiences evoked by the speech samples using three emotion-related bipolar scales for valence, arousal and approachability. The pleasantness, naturalness and clarity of the voices were also rated. The results showed that the affective words produced by the synthesisers evoked congruent emotion-related ratings in the participants. The ratings of the experienced valence and approachability were statistically significantly stronger when the affective words were produced by the more humanlike voices as compared to the more machinelike voice. The more humanlike voices were also rated as statistically significantly more natural, pleasant and clear than the less humanlike voice. Thus, our findings suggest that even machinelike voices can be used to communicate affective messages but that increasing the level of naturalness enhances positive feelings about synthetic voices and strengthens emotional communication between computers and humans.
Catalogues of hot white dwarfs in the Milky Way from GALEX's ultraviolet sky surveys: constraining stellar evolution

We present comprehensive catalogs of hot star candidates in the Milky Way, selected from GALEX far-UV (FUV, 1344-1786u and near-UV (NUV, 1771-2831u imaging. The FUV and NUV photometry allows us to extract the hottest stellar objects, in particular hot white dwarfs (WD), which are elusive at other wavelengths because of their high temperatures and faint optical luminosities. We generated catalogs of UV sources from two GALEX’s surveys: AIS (All-Sky Imaging Survey, depth ABmag�19.9/20.8 in FUV/NUV) and MIS (Medium-depth Imaging Survey, depth �22.6/22.7mag). The two catalogs (from GALEX fifth data release) contain 65.3/12.6 million (AIS/MIS) unique UV sources with errorNUV60.5mag, over 21,435/1,579 square degrees. We also constructed subcatalogs of the UV sources with matched optical photometry from SDSS (seventh data release): these contain 0.6/0.9million (AIS/MIS) sources with errors 60.3mag in both FUV and NUV, excluding sources with multiple optical counterparts, over an area of 7,325/1,103 square degrees. All catalogs are available online. We then selected 28,319 (AIS) / 9,028 (MIS) matched sources with FUV-NUV 0.1 isolates binaries with largely differing Teff ’s, and some intruding QSOs (more numerous at faint magnitudes). Available spectroscopy for a subsample indicates that hot-star candidates with NUV-r<0.1 (mostly “single” hot stars) have negligible contamination by non-stellar objects. We discuss the distribution of sources in the catalogs, and the effects of error and color cuts on the samples. The density of hot-star candidates increases from high to low Galactic latitudes, but drops on the MW plane due to dust extinction. Our hot-star counts at all latitudes are better matched by Milky Way models computed with an initial-final mass relation (IFMR) that favours lower final masses. The model analysis indicates that the brightest sample is likely composed of WDs located in the thin disk, at typical distances between 0.151kpc, while the fainter sample comprises also a fraction of thick disk and halo stars. Proper motion distributions, available only for the bright sample (NUV<18 mag), are consistent with the kinematics of a thin-disk population.