Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Outdoor Air Pollution and Arterial Hypertension

Air pollution is a major environmental risk factor. There is accumulating evidence that air pollution could induce elevated blood pressure and potentiate hypertension. Acute elevations in the outdoor air pollution levels can trigger immediate or shortly delayed increases in arterial blood pressure. Moreover, few studies suggest that short-term increases in the levels of particulate and gaseous pollutants could lead to an acute onset of hypertension. Prolonged exposure to outdoor air pollution is associated with elevated blood pressure. Furthermore, some longitudinal studies have linked long-term exposure to air pollution with the incidence of hypertension. Various components of air pollution, such as inhalable particulate matter (PM 2.5 , PM 10 ), nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and ozone, have shown associations with blood pressure in some studies. The hypothesized underlying mechanisms include inflammatory reactions and oxidative stress in lungs and in systemic circu- lation, imbalance of autonomous nervous system, and pathologic changes in vascular endothelium. In addition to “ traditional ” susceptible groups such as elderly individuals or patients with chronic diseases, children and pregnant women could be especially susceptible to the adverse effects of air pollution. The interplay of air pollution with the related environmental exposures, such as traffic noise and climate change, should be investigated further.
The Acidity Distribution of Drops in a Deep Convective Cloud

A cloud model with detailed bin microphysics as well as aqueous‐phase chemistry is used to investigate how the acidity distribution of drops changes in a deep convective cloud. The results show that the concentration of hydrogen ion is higher in the relatively large droplets at the initial stage of the cloud, whereas it has an opposite dependence on the drop size at the later stage of the cloud. The spectrum distribution of drop acidity also highly varies with space, reflecting the different effects of macrophysical and microphysical processes on drop acidity. For the entire simulation period, evaporation process contributes the most to the decrease in pH values of drops, which is related to the decrease in cloud water. Condensation and collision‐coalescence play an important role in modifying the chemical rates of hydrogen ion production, leading to changes in the pH values. In addition, both higher concentration of sulfur dioxide and enhanced aerosol loading lead to lower pH values of drops, but the differences in pH values under different aerosol loadings vary with time and space, which is associated with the different contribution of microphysical processes. The sensitivity tests reveal that the changes of pH values by varying aerosol loadings could have a significant impact on sulfuric acid production through aqueous oxidation of sulfur dioxide.
Vision-based mobile robot localization and mapping using scale-invariant features

A key component of a mobile robot system is the ability to localize itself accurately and build a map of the environment simultaneously. In this paper, a vision-based mobile robot localization and mapping algorithm is described which uses scale-invariant image features as landmarks in unmodified dynamic environments. These 3D landmarks are localized and robot ego-motion is estimated by matching them, taking into account the feature viewpoint variation. With our Triclops stereo vision system, experiments show that these features are robustly matched between views, 3D landmarks are tracked, robot pose is estimated and a 3D map is built.
Behavioral selection in domestic assistance robots: A comparison of different methods for optimization of utility functions

In this paper, the performance of several evolutionary algorithms (EAs), involving different operators, is investigated in connection with the utility function (UF) method, a method for generating behavioral organization (selection) systems in autonomous robots. The standard UF method, which uses an ordinary genetic algorithm (GA) with fixed-length chromosomes is compared with modified evolutionary methods in which the chromosomes are allowed to vary in size. The results show that, contrary to expectations, the standard UF method performs at least as well as the modified methods, despite the fact that the latter have larger flexibility in exploring the space of possible utility functions. A tentative explanation of the results is given, by means of a simple, analytically tractable, behavioral organization problem.
Output Feedback Stabilization of a One-Dimensional Schrödinger Equation by Boundary Observation With Time Delay

In this article, we are concerned with the stabilization of a 1-D Schrodinger equation with boundary control and observation. The boundary observation is suffered from an arbitrary given time delay. We first show that the proportional output feedback control that stabilizes exponentially the time delay free system can not stabilize the corresponding time delay system anymore. We then use the observer and predictor to solve the stabilization problem of time delay system: the state is estimated in the time span where the observation is available; and the state is predicted in the time interval when the observation is not available. It is shown that the estimated state feedback stabilizes exponentially the time delay system. The numerical simulation is presented to illustrate the effect of the stabilizing controller.
Guidelines for the treatment of arterial insufficiency ulcers

1. Co-chaired panel 2. University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 3. University of Texas, San Antonio, TX 4. Sinai Hospital/Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD 5. GKT School of Medicine, King’s College, London, UK 6. University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, TX 7. Sequoia Hospital, Redwood City, CA 8. Maricopa Medical Center, Phoenix, AZ 9. Tufts-New England Medical Center, Boston, MA 10. Southampton University Hospitals Trust NHS, Southampton, UK 11. Penrose–St. Francis Health Services, Colorado Springs, CO 12. Beverly Surgical Associates, Beverly, MA 13. Saint Francis Memorial Hospital, San Francisco, CA 14. Northbay Center for Wound Care, Vacaville, CA, and 15. University of California, San Francisco, CA
Association of CD4+ T cell-dependent, interferon-gamma-mediated necrosis of the small intestine with genetic susceptibility of mice to peroral infection with Toxoplasma gondii

Since there is a remarkable difference in susceptibility to peroral infection with Toxoplasma gondii among inbred strains of mice, we performed studies to examine the mechanism(s) of this difference in susceptibility. After peroral infection with the ME49 strain of T. gondii, C57BL/6 (B6) mice all died whereas BALB/c mice all survived. At day 7 of infection (when B6 mice began dying), massive necrosis of the villi and mucosal cells in the ilea were observed in B6 but not in BALB/c mice. To analyze the role of T cells in resistance against death and development of necrosis in the ilea after infection, studies were performed using athymic nude and euthymic control B6 and BALB/c mice. Athymic B6 mice all died after infection, but surprisingly, they survived significantly longer than control B6 mice, indicating that T cells predispose to early death in these mice. Necrosis in the ilea was observed in control B6 but not in athymic B6 mice; however, significantly less numbers of tachyzoites were observed in the ilea of the former than the latter mice. These results indicate that necrosis in the ilea of the B6 mice was not due to destruction of tissue by tachyzoites but was mediated by T cells. This deleterious effect of T cells appears to contribute to early death in these mice. In contrast, T cells conferred resistance against death in BALB/c mice but did not cause necrosis in their ilea. To analyze the T cell subset(s) that induces necrosis of the ilea in B6 mice, we examined histological changes of the small intestines after infection of mutant mice deficient in different T cell subsets (with the same H-2b haplotype as B6 mice). Mice deficient in alpha/beta or CD4+ T cells did not develop necrosis in the ilea, whereas wild-type control mice and mice deficient in gamma/delta or CD8+ T cells did, suggesting that the cells that induce necrosis in the ilea after infection are CD4+ alpha/beta T cells. Since interferon (IFN)-gamma has been shown to be critical for survival of BALB/c mice after infection with T. gondii, we examined the role of this cytokine in resistance/susceptibility of infected B6 mice. Treatment of B6 mice with anti-IFN-gamma monoclonal antibody shortly before they developed illness prolonged time to death and prevented necrosis in the ilea in these mice. These results indicate that IFN- gamma mediates necrosis in the ilea of B6 mice after infection. This CD4+ T cell-dependent, IFN-gamma-mediated necrosis of the small intestines appears to be a mechanism that underlies the genetic susceptibility of B6 mice to peroral infection with T. gondii, whereas the same cytokine plays a critical role in the resistance of genetically resistant BALB/c mice.
Semantic-based service analysis and optimization

In management systems, the focus is moving from managing the Quality of Service (QoS) of end-user service sessions to managing their Quality of Experience (QOE). To do this, the user experience and context of those sessions much be modelled, analysed, and optimised to ensure end user experience matches expectations as closely as possible. In this thesis, we introduce the Aesop approach, which uses semantic-based techniques to autonomically optimize end-user service delivery. The Aesop knowledge base models the end-user service management domain in a manner that is aware of the temporal properties of concepts. The autonomic Aesop Engine runs efficient semantic algorithms that implement the MAPE functions using those temporal properties to operate on small partitioned subsets of the knowledge base. The effectiveness and performance of the Aesop approach was evaluated on a HAN test bed. A significant improvement was observed on the compliance levels of high priority sessions in all experimental scenarios, with compliance levels more than doubled in some cases. A case study demonstrated that Aesop was also applicable in the Mobile Broadband Access domain.
An Open-Source Environment for Compiling Typed Unification Grammars into Speech Recognisers

We present REGULUS, an Open Source environment which compiles typed unification grammars into context free grammar language models compatible with the Nuance Toolkit. The environment includes a large general unification grammar of English and corpus-based tools for creating efficient domain-specific recognisers from it. We will demo applications built using the system, including a speech translator and a command and control system for a simulated robotic domain, and show how the development environment can be used to edit and extend them.
Compiling high throughput network processors

Gorilla is a methodology for generating FPGA-based solutions especially well suited for data parallel applications with fine grain irregularity. Irregularity simultaneously destroys performance and increases power consumption on many data parallel processors such as General Purpose Graphical Processor Units (GPGPUs). Gorilla achieves high performance and low power through the use of FPGA-tailored parallelization techniques and application-specific hardwired accelerators, processing engines, and communication mechanisms. Automatic compilation from a stylized C language and templates that define the hardware structure coupled with the intrinsic flexibility of FPGAs provide high performance, low power, and programmability. Gorilla's capabilities are demonstrated through the generation of a family of core-router network processors processing up to 100Gbps (200MPPS for 64B packets) supporting any mix of IPv4, IPv6, and Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) packets on a single FPGA with off-chip IP lookup tables. A 40Gbps version of that network processor was run with an embedded test rig on a Xilinx Virtex-6 FPGA, verifying for performance and correctness. Its measured power consumption is comparable to full custom, commercial network processors. In addition, it is demonstrated how Gorilla can be used to generate merged virtual routers, saving FPGA resources.
Liposomal budesonide for dry powder inhaler: Preparation and stabilization

The purpose of the study was to prepare stable liposomally entrapped budesonide (BUD) for a dry powder inhaler (DPI) formulation. BUD liposomes composed of egg phosphatidyl choline and cholesterol were prepared by lipid film hydration technique and sonicated to have the desired size (<5 μm). A rapid method was used for separation of free drug by centrifugation at a lower centrifugal force (G value). Liposomal dispersion was subjected to lyophilization after blending BUD with cryoprotectant in varying bulk and mass ratios, and percent drug remaining entrapped after lyophilization was optimized. Comparative drug retention studies on storage of DPI formulations were carried out in accordance with International Conference on Harmonization guidelines. Critical relative humidity of the formulations was determined and reported as one of the manufacturing controls. Sucrose was found to be the most effective cryoprotectant when present on both sides of the lamellae of liposomes in a bulk strength of 500 mM and mass ratio of lipid:sugar; 1∶10. Blending of sorbolac before lyophilization showed better retention of encapsulated drug (95.59%). The respirable fraction of the product (20.69±1.50%) was comparable with that of the control (26.49±1.52%), suggesting that the liposomal BUD can be successfully delivered throughout the broncho-pulmonary tree. The findings demonstrate that liposome of BUD can be prepared with a high entrapment value, stabilized by lyophilization, and delivered as an aerosolized DPI. The stability studies of lyophilized product suggests a shelf-life of one year when stored under refrigeration (2°C–8°C).
Atmospheric and Marine Corrosion: Influential Environmental Factors and Models

The corrosion of metals exposed to the atmosphere and marine environments is expensive to our societies in terms of structure safety and durability. In this paper, the effects of environmental factors on atmospheric and marine corrosion are reviewed as well as the accelerating models. It is revealed that relative humidity, temperature, sulfur dioxide, and chloride are the major influential factors to atmospheric corrosion. Generally, the increase of these factors would cause the increase of corrosion rate and the accelerating effects are nonlinear in most cases. Interactive effects exist between different factors and the mechanis ms are complicated. In marine environment, salin ity, temperature, dissolved dioxide, pH, oxidation reduction potential and water velocity can in fluence the corrosion process simultaneously in even more sophisticated mechanisms. Meanwhile, as the marine environmental factors that mentioned above are strongly dependent on each other, it is difficult to analyse the marine environmental factors and the corrosion rate.
Intravesical therapy for bladder cancer

Introduction: Transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) is the gold standard initial diagnostic intervention for bladder cancer and provides diagnostic, therapeutic and prognostic benefit in non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). However, TURBT alone is inadequate for optimal management of NMIBC, as patients will experience recurrence or progression depending on tumor characteristics. Adjuvant intravesical therapy with either immunotherapy or chemotherapy has been shown to reduce recurrence and/or progression in appropriately selected patients through immunostimulation or direct cell ablation. Areas covered: This review will discuss risk stratification of patients with NMIBC and role of intravesical therapies in reducing recurrence and progression of disease in these patients. A Medline search was performed to identify the best available evidence available from various systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and clinical trials on various immunotherapy and chemotherapy agents. In addition, the main aspects of drug pharmacology (mechanism of action, dosing and administration) and side effects will be reviewed. Expert opinion: The selection of the appropriate intravesical agent for NMIBC is complex and is dependent on risk stratification and intravesical agent toxicity. Intravesical induction and maintenance immunotherapy with Bacillus Calmette–Guerin (BCG) is the preferred and most effective agent for patients with high-risk NMIBC (carcinoma in situ and high-grade disease) and reduces both recurrence and progression.
SEIR Linearity Testing of Precision A/D Converters in Nonstationary Environments With Center-Symmetric Interleaving

This paper describes an approach for analog-to-digital converter (ADC) linearity testing that can tolerate environmental nonstationarity and use low-precision test signals. The effects of stimulus errors on ADC testing results will be identified and removed by exploiting the functional relationship of input signals. The effects of environmental nonstationarity will be suppressed by interleaving input signals with a center-symmetric pattern. This approach can be applied to testing of ADCs of very high performance, such as 16-bit or higher resolution and more than 1 MSPS sampling rates, to which there is hardly a well-established solution for full-code testing. Simulation and experimental results show that a 16-bit ADC can be tested to one-least-significant-bit accuracy by using input signals of seven-bit linearity in an environment with more than 100-ppm/min nonstationarity. The proposed method can help control the cost of ADC production tests, extend the test coverage of current solutions, and enable built-in self-tests and test-based self-calibrations.
Composition of the Vaginal Microbiota in Women of Reproductive Age – Sensitive and Specific Molecular Diagnosis of Bacterial Vaginosis Is Possible?

Background and Objective Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common vaginal disorder, characterized by depletion of the normal lactobacillus-dominant microbiota and overgrowth of commensal anaerobic bacteria. This study aimed to investigate the composition of the vaginal microbiota in women of reproductive age (healthy women and women with BV), with the view of developing molecular criteria for BV diagnosis. Materials and Methods Vaginal samples from 163 women (79 control, 73 BV and 11 intermediate (Lactobacillary grade II flora) cases) were analyzed using 454 pyrosequencing of the hypervariable regions V3–V4 of the 16S rRNA gene and 16 quantitative bacterial species/genus-specific real-time PCR assays. Sensitivities and specificities of potential BV markers were computed using the Amsel criteria as reference standard for BV. The use of quantitative thresholds for prediction of BV, determined for both relative abundance measured with 454 pyrosequencing and bacterial load measured with qPCR, was evaluated. Results Relative to the healthy women, the BV patients had in their vaginal microbiota significantly higher prevalence, loads and relative abundances of the majority of BV associated bacteria. However, only Gardnerella vaginalis, Atopobium vaginae, Eggerthella, Prevotella, BVAB2 and Megasphaera type 1 detected at or above optimal thresholds were highly predictable for BV, with the best diagnostic accuracy shown for A. vaginae. The depletion of Lactobacillus species combined with the presence of either G. vaginalis or A. vaginae at diagnostic levels was a highly accurate BV predictor. Conclusions Quantitative determination of the presence of G. vaginalis, A. vaginae, Eggerthella, Prevotella, BVAB2 and Megasphaera type 1 as well as the depletion of Lactobacillus was highly accurate for BV diagnosis. Measurements of abundance of normal and BV microbiota relative to total bacteria in vaginal fluid may provide more accurate BV diagnosis, and be used for test-of-cure, rather than qualitative detection or absolute counts of BV related microorganisms.
Santa Claus schedules jobs on unrelated machines

One of the classic results in scheduling theory is the 2-approximation algorithm by Lenstra, Shmoys, and Tardos for the problem of scheduling jobs to minimize makespan on unrelated machines, i.e., job j requires time pij if processed on machine i. More than two decades after its introduction it is still the algorithm of choice even in the restricted model where processing times are of the form pij ∈ pj, ∞. This problem, also known as the restricted assignment problem, is NP-hard to approximate within a factor less than 1.5 which is also the best known lower bound for the general version. Our main result is a polynomial time algorithm that estimates the optimal makespan of the restricted assignment problem within a factor 33/17 + ε ~ 1.9412 + ε, where ε > 0 is an arbitrarily small constant. The result is obtained by upper bounding the integrality gap of a certain strong linear program, known as configuration LP, that was previously successfully used for the related Santa Claus problem. Similar to the strongest analysis for that problem our proof is based on a local search algorithm that will eventually find a schedule of the mentioned approximation guarantee, but is not known to converge in polynomial time.
Intratester and Intertester Reliability of Toe Pressure Measurements in People with and Without Diabetes Performed by Podiatric Physicians.

BACKGROUND Toe pressures and the toe brachial index (TBI) represent possible screening tools for peripheral arterial disease; however, limited evidence is available regarding their reliability. The aim of this study was to determine intratester and intertester reliability of toe systolic pressure and the TBI in participants with and without diabetes performed by podiatric physicians. METHODS Two podiatric physicians performed toe and brachial pressure measurements on 80 participants, 40 with and 40 without diabetes, during two testing sessions using photoplethysmography and Doppler probe. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and 95% limits of agreement were determined. RESULTS In people with diabetes, intratester reliability of toe pressure measurement was excellent for both testers (ICCs, 0.84 and 0.82). Reliability of the TBI was good (ICCs, 0.72 and 0.75) and brachial pressure fair (ICCs, 0.43 and 0.55). The intertester reliability of toe pressure (ICC, 0.82) and the TBI (ICC, 0.80) was excellent. Intertester reliability of brachial pressure was reduced in people with diabetes (ICC, 0.49). In age-matched participants, intratester reliability of toe pressure measurement was excellent for both testers (ICCs, 0.83 and 0.87), and reliability of the TBI (ICCs, 0.74 and 0.80) and brachial pressure (ICCs, 0.73 and 0.78) was good to excellent. Intertester reliability of toe pressure (ICC, 0.84), the TBI (ICC, 0.81), and brachial pressure (ICC, 0.77) was excellent. CONCLUSIONS Toe pressures and the TBI demonstrated excellent reliability in people with and without diabetes and can be an effective component of lower-extremity vascular screening. However, wide limits of agreement relative to blood pressure values for both cohorts indicate that results should be interpreted with caution.