Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A 5-Year Follow-Up Study of the Treatment of Macular Edema Due to Retinal Vein Occlusion Using Dexamethasone Intravitreal Implants.

PURPOSE To evaluate the long-term effects of intravitreal dexamethasone implants (IDIs) in eyes with macular edema (ME) due to retinal vein occlusion (RVO). METHODS We reviewed the records of 10 patients followed for 5 years after they received their first IDI. The main outcome measures included changes in best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), central macular thickness (CMT), and central macular volume (CMV), and the incidence of side effects. RESULTS Ten patients were included in the study with a mean follow-up of 65.51 months. Forty IDI injections were performed. An improvement in BCVA was observed after 92.5% of the IDI injections (P < 0.05), while the CMT and the CMV decreased significantly (P < 0.05) after 97.5% of the injections. After 27.5% of the injections, the intraocular pressure rose more than 10 mmHg and 3 of the 7 phakic patients required phacoemulsification surgery. CONCLUSION IDI is an effective therapy for the treatment of ME secondary to RVO with a favorable long-term safety profile.
LICKORISH INVARIANT AND QUANTUM OSP(1|2)

Lickorish’s method for constructing topological invariants of three-manifolds is generalized to the quantum supergroup setting. An invariant is obtained by applying this method to the Kauffman polynomial arising from the vector representation of Uq(osp(1|2)). A transparent proof is also given showing that this invariant is equivalent to the Uq(osp(1|2)) invariant obtained in an earlier publication.
Control of two-wheels inverted pendulum mobile robot using full order sliding mode control

The research on two-wheel inverted pendulum or commonly call balancing robot has gained momentum over the last decade in a number of robotic laboratories around the world This paper deals with the modeling of 2-wheels Inverted Pendulum and the design of Full Order Sliding Mode Control (FOSMC) for the system. The mathematical model of 2-wheels inverted pendulum system that is highly nonlinear is derived. The final model is then represented in state-space form and the system suffers from mismatched condition. A robust controller based on Sliding Mode Control is proposed to perform the robust stabilization and disturbance rejection of the system. A computer simulation study is carried out to access the performance of the proposed control law.
The slow component of axonal transport. Identification of major structural polypeptides of the axon and their generality among mammalian neurons

This study of the slow component of axonal transport was aimed at two problems: the specific identification of polypeptides transported into the axon from the cell body, and the identification of structural polypeptides of the axoplasm. The axonal transport paradigm was used to obtain radioactively labeled axonal polypeptides in the rat ventral motor neuron and the cat spinal ganglion sensory neuron. Comparison of the slow component polypeptides from these two sources using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide electrophoresis revealed that they are identical. In both cases five polypeptides account for more than 75% of the total radioactivity present in the slow component. Two of these polypeptides have been tentatively identified as tubulin, the microtubule protein, on the basis of their molecular weights. The three remaining polypeptides with molecular weights of 212,000, 160,000, and 68,000 daltons are constitutive, and as such appear to be associated with a single structure which has been tentatively identified as the 10- nm neurofilament. The 212,000-dalton polypeptide was found to comigrate in SDS gels with the heavy chain of chick muscle myosin. The demonstration on SDS gels that the slow component is composed of a small number of polypeptides which have identical molecular weights in neurons from different mammalian species suggests that these polypeptides comprise fundamental structures of vertebrate neurons.
A Complete Bibliography of Publications in Nordic Journal of Computing

ABEL [99]. Abstracting [233]. Access [137, 78, 38]. Action [169, 241, 175]. Activities [251]. Acyclic [238]. Agents [131]. Aided [180]. ALFP [210]. Algebra [183, 174]. Algebraic [180, 211]. Algorithm [215, 112, 217, 236, 143, 146, 218, 85, 139, 187, 94, 182, 49, 91, 147, 23, 11, 31, 28, 26]. Algorithms [140, 74, 254, 56, 101, 158, 43, 192, 129, 177, 10, 30, 38]. Aliases [114]. Alignment [57]. All-Pairs [94]. amb [224]. AML [79]. Analysis [100, 242, 243, 199, 167, 34]. Analyzing [234]. ancestors [24]. Animation [122]. Application [205]. Applications [224, 229, 200]. Approach [243, 217, 199, 57, 234]. Approximate [67, 194, 83, 255, 253, 18]. Approximating [254, 178]. Approximation [74, 157, 158, 43, 143, 146, 192, 91, 17]. Approximations [75, 27].
Global Mineralogical and Aqueous Mars History Derived from OMEGA/Mars Express Data

Global mineralogical mapping of Mars by the Observatoire pour la Mineralogie, l'Eau, les Glaces et l'Activité (OMEGA) instrument on the European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft provides new information on Mars' geological and climatic history. Phyllosilicates formed by aqueous alteration very early in the planet's history (the “phyllocian” era) are found in the oldest terrains; sulfates were formed in a second era (the “theiikian” era) in an acidic environment. Beginning about 3.5 billion years ago, the last era (the “siderikian”) is dominated by the formation of anhydrous ferric oxides in a slow superficial weathering, without liquid water playing a major role across the planet.
Coherent-state path-integral calculation of the Wigner function

We consider a set of operators = (1,.,N) with diagonal representatives P(n) in the space of generalized coherent states |n: = ∫dµ(n) P(n)|nn|. We regularize the coherent-state path integral as a limit of a sequence of averages L over polygonal paths with L vertices n1,. ,L. The distribution of the path centroid = (1/L)∑l = 1LP(nl) tends to the Wigner function W(x), the joint distribution for the operators: W(x) = lim L→∞δN(x-)L. This result is proved in the case where the Hamiltonian commutes with . The Wigner function is non-positive if the dominant paths with path centroid in a certain region have Berry phases close to odd multiples of π. For finite L the path centroid distribution is a Wigner function convolved with a Gaussian of variance inversely proportional to L. The results are illustrated by numerical calculations of the spin Wigner function from SU(2) coherent states. The relevance to the quantum Monte Carlo sign problem is also discussed.
Point Selection Strategies for Lepp-Based Refinement Algorithms and New (Non-Delaunay) Lepp-Based Algorithms

We discuss a new simple Lepp-based algorithm for mesh refinement that use new simple point insertion strategies. We present an empirical study of the algorithm behavior to obtain good quality 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional meshes. The quality of the elements of the final meshes are measured by using quality metrics based on the shape of the elements and the minimal interior angle.
Association of Chronic Kidney Disease With Small Vessel Disease in Patients With Hypertensive Intracerebral Hemorrhage

Background Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has been closely associated with hypertension and stroke. Although studies have reported the relationship between CKD and cerebral small vessel disease (SVD), the link between CKD, hypertension, and SVD is uncertain. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between CKD and SVD in patients with strictly hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Methods 142 patients with acute hypertensive ICH were enrolled in this study. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed to assess imaging markers for SVD. Patients were categorized into three CKD groups based on the degree of kidney dysfunction [glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in milliliters per minute per 1.73 m2]: normal kidney function (GFR ≥ 90), mild kidney disease (60 ≤ GFR < 90), and moderate to severe kidney disease (GFR < 60). Results The prevalence rate of mild and moderate to severe CKD was 50 and 14.8%, respectively. The stage of CKD was associated with history of chronic hypertension (p = 0.046) as well as the prevalence rate of overall and deep cerebral microbleed (CMB) (p = 0.001 and p = 0.002, respectively). The stage of CKD was a significant risk factor for deep white matter hyperintensity (WMH) (OR 1.848; 95% CI 1.022–3.343, p = 0.042), overall CMB (OR 2.628; 95% CI 1.462–4.724, p = 0.001), lobar CMB (OR 2.106; 95% CI 1.119–3.963, p = 0.021), and deep CMB (OR 2.237; 95% CI 1.263–3.960, p = 0.006), even after adjustment for confounders. Conclusion In patients with hypertensive ICH, the prevalence of CKD is high even at the early stage of renal function impairment and is associated with the prevalence of CMB and deep WMH. These results reinforce the notion of a link between hypertensive vasculopathy, renal function impairment, and cerebral SVD.
Signal processing and data acquisition for hybrid pixel detectors

The hardware, firmware and software required to perform digital signal processing and data acquisition for a prototype pixelated cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) nuclear spectroscopic detector developed at the Monash Centre for Synchrotron Science has been implemented and assessed. The system uses a modular PCI-Card design incorporating a CycloneII™ FPGA with three daughter boards facilitating analogue or digital interfaces. This system can operate in oscilloscope and multi-channel-analyzer (MCA) modes with multiple configurations for triggering and energy calculation.
A new transfer learning Boosting approach based on distribution measure with an application on facial expression recognition

In the machine learning community, most algorithms proposed, particularly for inductive learning, are based entirely on one crucial assumption: that the training and test data points are drawn or generated from the exact same distribution. If this condition is not fully satisfied, most learning algorithms or models are corrupted. In this paper, we propose a new instance based transductive transfer learning method based on Boosting framework by using a distribution measure approach. There follows a detailed description of this distribution measure approach. Subsequently, we describe our boosting transfer learning method in detail and report its performance in facial expression recognition tasks.
Real-time rigid body simulation based on volumetric penalty method

This paper proposes a new method for real-time rigid body simulations based on a volumetric penalty method. The penalty method, which employs a spring-damper model, is a simple and useful method for real-time simulation of multi-bodies. However the simple penalty method cannot handle face-face contact, because the simple penalty method cannot find the application point of the reflection force. We propose a distributed small spring-damper model to solve the problem. We analyze the intersecting part of bodies and integrate forces and torques from distributed spring-damper models. We implement the simulator and compare our simulator with the simple penalty method. It shows that our simulator solves the face-face contact problem. In addition, we attach a haptic interface to the simulator for interaction. It shows that we are able to interact with a virtual world by haptic interfaces.
Kinetic analysis of the triggered exocytosis/endocytosis secretory cycle in cultured bovine adrenal medullary cells

Cultured bovine adrenal medullary cells are an excellent preparation for quantitative analysis of the secretory exocytosis/endocytosis cycle. In this paper we examine the kinetics of endocytosis after stimulation of secretion. Membrane retrieval was monitored by uptake of the fluid phase marker horseradish peroxidase. Horseradish peroxidase was found to be suitable because it can be washed off completely, assayed quantitatively, and its uptake increases linearly with concentration. If this marker is present during stimulation, the rate of uptake is initially slower than catecholamine secretion but faster at a later time, suggesting that the formation of endocytotic vesicles follows exocytosis. To monitor the time-dependent concentration of secretory vesicle-plasma membrane fusion product (omega-profiles), secretion was halted at various time intervals after stimulation and the excess membrane allowed to transform into endocytotic vesicles in the presence of horseradish peroxidase. By adding horseradish peroxidase at various times after inhibition of secretion, the time course of membrane retrieval could be measured directly. All our results are consistent with a two-step kinetic model in which exocytosis and membrane retrieval are consecutive events. The estimated volumes of the compartments involved are roughly equal. The rate of endocytosis is strongly temperature-dependent but unaffected by extracellular calcium in the range of 10(-8)-2.5 X 10(-3) M, suggesting that calcium is not required at the site of endocytotic membrane fusion. Membrane retrieval is also unaffected by Lanthanum (1 mM) but is slowed by hypertonic media.
The lateral reticular nucleus; integration of descending and ascending systems regulating voluntary forelimb movements

Cerebellar control of movements is dependent on mossy fiber input conveying information about sensory and premotor activity in the spinal cord. While much is known about spino-cerebellar systems, which provide the cerebellum with detailed sensory information, much less is known about systems conveying motor information. Individual motoneurones do not have projections to spino-cerebellar neurons. Instead, the fastest route is from last order spinal interneurons. In order to identify the networks that convey ascending premotor information from last order interneurons, we have focused on the lateral reticular nucleus (LRN), which provides the major mossy fiber input to cerebellum from spinal interneuronal systems. Three spinal ascending systems to the LRN have been investigated: the C3-C4 propriospinal neurones (PNs), the ipsilateral forelimb tract (iFT) and the bilateral ventral flexor reflex tract (bVFRT). Voluntary forelimb movements involve reaching and grasping together with necessary postural adjustments and each of these three interneuronal systems likely contribute to specific aspects of forelimb motor control. It has been demonstrated that the command for reaching can be mediated via C3-C4 PNs, while the command for grasping is conveyed via segmental interneurons in the forelimb segments. Our results reveal convergence of ascending projections from all three interneuronal systems in the LRN, producing distinct combinations of excitation and inhibition. We have also identified a separate descending control of LRN neurons exerted via a subgroup of cortico-reticular neurones. The LRN projections to the deep cerebellar nuclei exert a direct excitatory effect on descending motor pathways via the reticulospinal, vestibulospinal, and other supraspinal tracts, and might play a key role in cerebellar motor control. Our results support the hypothesis that the LRN provides the cerebellum with highly integrated information, enabling cerebellar control of complex forelimb movements.
Bounding on rough terrain with the LittleDog robot

A motion planning algorithm is described for bounding over rough terrain with the LittleDog robot. Unlike walking gaits, bounding is highly dynamic and cannot be planned with quasi-steady approximations. LittleDog is modeled as a planar five-link system, with a 16-dimensional state space; computing a plan over rough terrain in this high-dimensional state space that respects the kinodynamic constraints due to underactuation and motor limits is extremely challenging. Rapidly Exploring Random Trees (RRTs) are known for fast kinematic path planning in high-dimensional configuration spaces in the presence of obstacles, but search efficiency degrades rapidly with the addition of challenging dynamics. A computationally tractable planner for bounding was developed by modifying the RRT algorithm by using: (1) motion primitives to reduce the dimensionality of the problem; (2) Reachability Guidance, which dynamically changes the sampling distribution and distance metric to address differential constraints and discontinuous motion primitive dynamics; and (3) sampling with a Voronoi bias in a lower-dimensional “task space” for bounding. Short trajectories were demonstrated to work on the robot, however open-loop bounding is inherently unstable. A feedback controller based on transverse linearization was implemented, and shown in simulation to stabilize perturbations in the presence of noise and time delays.
The Association between Maternal HIV Status and Low Birth Weight Offspring, Malawi DHS 2010

The Association between Maternal HIV status and Low Birth Weight Offspring, Malawi DHS 2010 By Sterner Moses Msamila INTRODUCTION: Low birth weight (LBW) is a public health problem in developing countries including Malawi. It is an intermediate endpoint of maternal lifestyles and health status, and a powerful predictor of newborn’s survival. Over 30 risk factors have been associated with LBW, but the role of maternal HIV infection as an underlying factor for LBW is not yet well established. Understanding whether or not maternal HIV status is a risk factor for LBW is key in the prevention of LBW and its life time health effects. AIM: The purpose of this study was to examine the association between maternal HIV status and LBW in Malawi using DHS 2010 data. METHODS: This study analyzed 7716 mother-child pairs from the 2010 Malawi Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data using SAS 9.4 program. Student’s t-test and Chi-square test were applied, for continuous and categorical variables respectively, to compare maternal and child characteristics by HIV status and LBW status separately. Bivariate logistic regression was performed and crude odds ratios were determined to ascertain the relative measure of effect of maternal and fetal characteristics on outcome variable (LBW). Then, multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the association between maternal HIV infection and LBW adjusting for covariates. Statistical assessment of interaction between HIV infection and covariates on LBW was made. A p-value of <0 . 05 or 95% confidence intervals were used to determine statistical significance throughout all the analyses performed. RESULTS: The proportion of LBW infants was 9.45% in total, with 13.60% among HIV positive women and 9.26% among HIV negative women (p 0.0337). A multivariable logistic regression model showed that HIV positive mother was 77% more likely [odds ratio (OR) 1.77, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.17-2.67] than HIV negative mother to give birth to LBW infant. The odds of LBW also increased among teenage women (OR = 1.86; 95% CI = 1.47, 2.35), women without education (OR = 1.66; 95% CI = 1.13, 2.43), low income (OR = 1.37; 95% CI = 1.05, 1.78), and Chewa ethnicity (OR = 1.92; 95% CI = 1.39, 2.66). However, LBW was not associated with child sex, marital status, or prenatal care. Though not statistically significant, the association between HIV infection and LBW was modified by increase in age, unmarried marital status, and inadequate prenatal care. DISCUSSION: These findings are consistent with other previous studies that showed that maternal HIV status is a significant risk factor for LBW. CONCLUSION: The study has substantiated the need to recognize HIV-positive pregnant mothers as high risk obstetric patients who need extra support and care during pregnancy and delivery, and the need to intervene with supplemental nutritional interventions during antenatal clinics and strengthen HIV prevention among women of child bearing age to reduce LBW infants.
Financial development and the transmission of monetary shocks

We investigate whether the financial system dampens or exacerbates monetary shocks of inflation uncertainty to the economy. Our GMM-estimates for 88 countries over a period of 25 years show that inflation uncertainty has a positive and significant impact on the volatility of economic growth. More importantly, we find that financial development dampens the negative effects of inflation uncertainty on the volatility of economic growth. This confirms the importance of a well-developed financial sector.
Cooperative Communication and Networking

144 INTRODUCTION The field of telecommunication networks involves exchange of information messages among a collection of terminals, links, and nodes that are connected together. The field has advanced tremendously and has generated many breakthroughs in research and technology innovations in the past century. The fundamental goals that have driven communications and networking research and technology developments are mainly to solve two problems: how to increase communication rates over a communication link connecting two nodes and how to increase the communication reliability to minimize the errors in information delivery. The first goal often refers to spectral efficiency, measured by bits per second per hertz. The second goal often refers to information Cooperative Communication and Networking
Open-Ended Artificial Evolution

Of all the issues discussed at Alife VII: Looking Forward, Looking Backward, the issue of whether it was possible to create an artificial life system that exhibits open-ended evolution of novelty is by far the biggest. Of the 14 open problems settled on as a result of debate at the conference, some 6 are directly, or indirectly related to this issue. Most people equate open-ended evolution with complexity growth, although a priori these seem to be different things. In this paper I report on experiments to measure the complexity of Tierran organisms, and show the results for a size-neutral run of Tierra. In this run, no increase in organismal complexity was observed, although organism size did increase through the run. This result is discussed, offering some signposts on path to solving the issue of open ended evolution.
A comparison of first- and second-order HMMs in the task of predicting the next locations of mobile individuals

The analysis of human location histories is currently getting an increasing attention, due to the widespread usage of geopositioning technologies such as the GPS, and also of online location-based services that allow users to share this information. Tasks such as the prediction of human movement can be addressed through the usage of these data, in turn offering support for more advanced applications, such as adaptive mobile services with proactive context-based functions. This paper addresses the problem of predicting human mobility on the basis of Hidden Markov Models (HMMs), an approach that allows us to account with location characteristics as unobservable parameters, and also to account with the effects of each individual's previous actions. We report on a series of experiments with both regular and second-order HMMs. The experiments were made with a real-world location history dataset from the LifeMap project, and the results show that a high prediction accuracy, relative to the dificulty of the task, can be achieved when considering relatively small regions.