Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Use of urea and creatinine levels in vaginal fluid for the diagnosis of preterm premature rupture of membranes and delivery interval after membrane rupture

Abstract Objective: To determine whether urea and creatinine measurements in vaginal fluid could be used to diagnose preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM) and predict delivery interval after PPROM. Methods: A prospective study conducted with 100 pregnant women with PPROM and 100 healthy pregnant women between 24 + 0 and 36 + 6 gestational weeks. All patients underwent sampling for urea and creatinine concentrations in vaginal fluid at the time of admission. Receiver operator curve analysis was used to determine the cutoff values for the presence of PPROM and delivery within 48 h after PPROM. Results: In multivariate logistic regression analysis, vaginal fluid urea and creatinine levels were found to be significant predictors of PPROM (p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively) and delivery within 48 h after PPROM (p = 0.012 and p = 0.017, respectively). The optimal cutoff values for the diagnosis of PPROM were >6.7 mg/dl for urea and >0.12 mg/dl for creatinine. The optimal cutoff values for the detection of delivery within 48 h were >19.4 mg/dl for urea and >0.23 mg/dl for creatinine. Conclusion: Measurement of urea and creatinine levels in vaginal fluid is a rapid and reliable test for diagnosing and also for predicting delivery interval after PPROM.
IS CONVERSATION A DYING ART

Most of us use some form of social media every day– and whether it’s for personal communication, selfpromotion or marketing, we use it conscientiously. Humans are creatures of habit, but they’re also prejudiced and impatient. Those two traits alone are the reasons why social networks thrive. People want the news fast and they want to talk about it now. Technological advancements have made it easier for people to express themselves and relay news through social media platforms. We all live in a plugged -in world where communication is a child’s play. But one of the biggest casualties of this connected world has been the art of conversation. We simply don’t have the patience to talk to anyone anymore or even listen to others. We live in a self-absorbed world. We love talking, arguing, and debating in our own heads.The Indian social media scene represent s a fast-emerging and influential domain of information exchange involving nearly 60% of the 83 million Internet users in the country. While Face book and Orkut continue to dominate the social media scene, Twitter and some other Indian micro blogging websites are also becoming very popular. Facebook and other social media channels are redefining how and what we communicate with potentially equally negative consequences and the one major concern is the art of dying conversation.
Development of Micro Air Vehicle Based on Aerodynamic Modeling Analysis in Tunnel Tests

This paper presents development of an electrically powered Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) prototype based on aerodynamic analysis in wind tunnel and water tunnel tests. Two airframe models in triangle and square wing planforms, each with a wingspan of 100mm, are analyzed with a small-scale low speed wind tunnel to examine the practical characteristics at the low Reynolds number. The test in a water tunnel is further carried out to investigate the relationship between the vortex aerofoil design and turbulences created. The testing results show that the triangle wing aerofoil appears greater maximum lift coefficient and little occurrence of vortex and turbulences. Based on the verified wing planform in the tunnel tests, a MAV prototype was further designed and fabricated, with successful tests in the real flight.
RKKY interaction and Kondo screening cloud for strongly correlated electrons.

The RKKY law and the Kondo screening cloud around a magnetic impurity are investigated for correlated electrons in 1D (Luttinger liquid). We find slow algebraic distance dependences, with a crossover between both types of behavior. Monte Carlo simulations have been developed to study this crossover. In the strong coupling regime, the Knight shift is shown to increase with distance due to correlations.
Measurement and Diagnosis of Address Misconfigured P2P Traffic

Misconfigured P2P traffic caused by bugs in volunteer-developed P2P software or by attackers is prevalent. It influences both end users and ISPs. In this paper, we discover and study address-misconfigured P2P traffic, a major class of such misconfiguration. P2P address misconfiguration is a phenomenon in which a large number of peers send P2P file downloading requests to a ``random'' target on the Internet. On measuring three Honeynet datasets spanning four years and across five different /8 networks, we find address-misconfigured P2P traffic on average contributes 38.9% of Internet background radiation, increasing by more than 100% every year. In this paper, we design the P2PScope, a measurement tool, to detect and diagnose such unwanted traffic. We find, in all the P2P systems, address misconfiguration is caused by resource mapping contamination, i.e., the sources returned for a given file ID through P2P indexing are not valid. Different P2P systems have different reasons for such contamination. For eMule, we find that the root cause is mainly a network byte ordering problem in the eMule Source Exchange protocol. For BitTorrent misconfiguration, one reason is that anti-P2P companies actively inject bogus peers into the P2P system. Another reason is that the KTorrent implementation has a byte order problem. We also design approaches to detect anti-P2P peers without false positives.
Silicon Microsystems for Automotive Applications

The integration of microelectronic and micromechanical devices into one system the microsystem technology is rapidly gaining importance in automobiles. According to market studies the content of electronics as well as of microsystems in automobiles is increasing more than proportionally. The major driving forces are the environmental requirements, safety and comfort. The microsystem technology contributes in these areas due to the reduction of costs, weight and size as well as improved reliability and functionality. Sensor systems for the measurement of manifold air intake pressure, mass flow, acceleration for ABS and airbag and yaw rate will be discussed in detail. In the nineties a new technology, the surface micromachining, is emerging. This technology is being made available to small and medium size companies as well as to universities and research institutes by a foundry-service-scheme sponsored by the European Union.
Automated Detection of Optic Disc Using Fundus Image

Glaucoma is an eye disease which damages the optic nerve in the eye. It is the world second leading disease which causes blindness. It can be diagnosed through measurement of optic disc area. Fluid pressure within the eye rises which damages the optic nerve in the eye. Automatic calculation of optic disc boundary is challenging due to the interweavement of blood vessels with surrounding tissues around the disc. A variable level set algorithm of optic disc ellipse optimization improves the accuracy of boundary. The algorithm used is demonstrated on various data sets collected from Aravind Eye hospital from Pondicherry. The area of the optic disc obtained is better than the results of other data sets. This further leads to a large clinical evaluation of the algorithm involving various data sets.
UNDERSTANDING THE EFFECTS OF SLEEP DEPRIVATION ON EXECUTIVE FUNCTION, COMPLEX TASK PERFORMANCE AND SITUATION AWARENESS

Both sleep deprivation and loss of situation awareness (SA) have been cited as primary causal factors contributing to the accident and injury rate in the military and civilian sector (e.g., transportation). Despite the numerous references to both factors as causal in nature, much of the literature on the effects of sleep deprivation on executive function is anecdotal. Research has produced mixed results regarding the nature and extent of performance degradation on a variety of lower-level and executive function tasks. Similarly, although SA has been cited as a significant contributor to operational performance, there is still considerable debate over the definition and construct validity of SA. Thus, a 29-hour hour sleep deprivation study was conducted to analyze the effects of sleep deprivation on both lower-order cognitive tasks (e.g., attention and working memory) and executive function tasks (e.g., reasoning, planning, decision making, and SA). In conjunction with the sleep deprivation analysis, the relationships among lower level cognition, executive function, and situation awareness were analyzed to form hypotheses about the SA construct and its relationship to complex task performance. Forty-eight participants were administered a series of cognitive tasks during baseline and sleep deprived testing sessions. Paired t-tests and additional post hoc analyses were conducted to determine the effects of sleep deprivation on cognition. Regression and factor analysis were used analyze the relationship among lower-order cognition, executive function, situation awareness, and complex task performance. Paired t-test results showed degraded vigilance in response to sleep deprivation, but did not indicate degraded executive function. Results of additional post-hoc analyses on executive function data indicated a trend toward degraded decision making and a trend toward increased planning errors in response to sleep deprivation. The results of the regression and factor analyses provided initial support for a dynamic, process definition of SA and illustrated the importance of considering SA as part of information processing as a whole in order to improve performance prediction. Based on the results of this
Differential expression of cell cycle regulators in CDK5-dependent medullary thyroid carcinoma tumorigenesis

Medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) is a neuroendocrine cancer of thyroid C-cells, for which few treatment options are available. We have recently reported a role for cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK5) in MTC pathogenesis. We have generated a mouse model, in which MTC proliferation is induced upon conditional overexpression of the CDK5 activator, p25, in C-cells, and arrested by interrupting p25 overexpression. Here, we identify genes and proteins that are differentially expressed in proliferating versus arrested benign mouse MTC. We find that downstream target genes of the tumor suppressor, retinoblastoma protein, including genes encoding cell cycle regulators such as CDKs, cyclins and CDK inhibitors, are significantly upregulated in malignant mouse tumors in a CDK5-dependent manner. Reducing CDK5 activity in human MTC cells down-regulated these cell cycle regulators suggesting that CDK5 activity is critical for cell cycle progression and MTC proliferation. Finally, the same set of cell cycle proteins was consistently overexpressed in human sporadic MTC but not in hereditary MTC. Together these findings suggest that aberrant CDK5 activity precedes cell cycle initiation and thus may function as a tumor-promoting factor facilitating cell cycle protein expression in MTC. Targeting aberrant CDK5 or its downstream effectors may be a strategy to halt MTC tumorigenesis.
Transcriptional Co-activator LEDGF Interacts with Cdc7-Activator of S-phase Kinase (ASK) and Stimulates Its Enzymatic Activity*

Lens epithelium-derived growth factor (LEDGF) is an important co-factor of human immunodeficiency virus DNA integration; however, its cellular functions are poorly characterized. We now report identification of the Cdc7-activator of S-phase kinase (ASK) heterodimer as a novel interactor of LEDGF. Both kinase subunits co-immunoprecipitated with endogenous LEDGF from human cell extracts. Truncation analyses identified the integrase-binding domain of LEDGF as essential and minimally sufficient for the interaction with Cdc7-ASK. Reciprocally, the interaction required autophosphorylation of the kinase and the presence of 50 C-terminal residues of ASK. The kinase phosphorylated LEDGF in vitro, with Ser-206 being the major target, and LEDGF phosphorylated at this residue could be detected during S phase of the cell cycle. LEDGF potently stimulated the enzymatic activity of Cdc7-ASK, increasing phosphorylation of MCM2 in vitro by more than 10-fold. This enzymatic stimulation as well as phosphorylation of LEDGF depended on the protein-protein interaction. Intriguingly, removing the C-terminal region of ASK, involved in the interaction with LEDGF, resulted in a hyperactive kinase. Our results indicate that the interaction with LEDGF relieves autoinhibition of Cdc7-ASK kinase, imposed by the C terminus of ASK.
What's new in the pathogenesis of the coagulopathy in acute promyelocytic leukemia?

Purpose of reviewAcute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is associated with a complex coagulopathy. In spite of substantial recent improvements in treatment regimens, hemorrhagic death remains the main cause of induction failure. In this review, we delineate recent understanding of the pathophysiology and management of the hemorrhagic diathesis of APL. Recent findingsLaboratory and clinical data suggest that the malignant leukocytes mediate the hemorrhagic diathesis associated with APL through multiple mechanisms which lead to a combination of consumptive coagulopathy and primary hyperfibrinolysis. Exposure of tissue factor and Annexin II by the leukemic blasts is the main determinants of these processes. Promyelocyte-derived microparticles have recently been implicated in the coagulopathy as well. Total white cell count and platelet count have emerged as good general predictors of hemorrhagic death, along with the different routine hemostatic parameters. Prompt treatment with all-trans retinoic acid, with or without arsenic trioxide, is the most important step in preventing bleeding complications. Repletion of coagulation factors and platelets with blood products remains the mainstay of supportive treatment, whereas the role of recombinant soluble thrombomodulin is currently being investigated. SummaryThe coagulopathy of APL is multifactorial, with both disseminated intravascular coagulation and primary hyperfibrinolysis mediated largely by the malignant leukocytes.
An interpolation-free FFBP algorithm for spotlight SAR processing

In this paper, an interpolation-free fast factorized back-projection (IF-FFBP) algorithm is proposed for high-resolution spotlight synthetic aperture radar (SAR) processing. Different from the original FFBP utilizing two-dimensional image-domain interpolation for sub-aperture fusion, IF-FFBP finishes the image merging steps using chirp-z transform and circular shifting. Under the restriction of the applicable scope, IF-FFBP yields enhanced efficiency over the 4 times upsampling interpolation based FFBP, and keeps the high precision simultaneously. Finally, Real-data experiment verifies the efficiency superiorities of the FIM-FFBP.
Vigilance or Vigilantes: The Paulsgrove Riots and Policing Paedophiles in the Community Part 1: The Long Slow Fuse

This article utilises data collected from a three-year ethnographic study of the Paulsgrove demonstrations against a local child sex offender and the local authorities, which took place in August 2000. It reassesses Silke's (2001) examination of the demonstrations, which suggested several ‘policing strategies' for dealing with vigilantism. In doing so we offer an alternative account of the demonstrations, outlining an 18-month aetiology which provides a wider understanding of the motivations of the protestors, as well as critically examining Silke's account of how the police deal with collective behaviour. We conclude that by examining the rationales for engaging in the protests one is able to gain a stronger understanding of the dynamics of crowd behaviour; which inevitably would be advantageous for future operational strategies for police officers charged with maintaining order on the streets.
Development of the Leapfrog methodology for evaluating hospital implemented inpatient computerized physician order entry systems

The 1999 Institute of Medicine report raised public awareness of the frequency and cost of adverse drug events in medicine. In response, in November 2000 a coalition of healthcare purchasers announced the formation of the Leapfrog Group, an organization dedicated to making “great leaps forward” in the safety and quality of health care in America. Their first target—computerized physician order entry (CPOE)—was selected specifically for its potential to reduce harm to patients from medications. The Leapfrog inpatient CPOE standard included a requirement that the organization operating CPOE should demonstrate via a test that their inpatient CPOE system can alert physicians to at least 50% of common serious prescribing errors. This paper outlines the development of this test which evaluates the ability of implemented CPOE systems to prevent the occurrence of medication errors that have a high likelihood of leading to adverse drug events. A framework was developed to include 12 different categories of CPOE based decision support that could prevent prescribing errors leading to adverse drug events. A scoring system was developed based on the known frequency and severity of adverse drug events. Simulated test patients and accompanying simulated test medication orders were developed to evaluate the ability of a CPOE system to intercept prescribing errors in all 12 decision support categories. The test was validated at a number of inpatient sites using both commercially available and custom developed CPOE systems. A web based application was developed to allow hospitals to self-administer the evaluation.
ACO approaches for large scale information retrieval

This paper presents two ACO algorithms for information retrieval. Unlike existing works, the proposed algorithms address the problem for large scale data sets. The algorithms and a classical information retrieval method have been implemented for comparison purposes. Experimentations have been conducted on Smart collections and random benchmarks. Numerical results show that for small collections of documents the classical approach is faster than ACO algorithms whereas for large scale data, ACO is much more interesting in terms of runtime and performs as well as the exhaustive search. The novel outcome of this study consists in determining the frontier in terms of collection size from which ACO outperforms the classical information retrieval algorithm especially from the runtime point of view.
A study on speech rate as a prosodic feature in spontaneous narrative

Speech rate is examined in this paper as a prosodic feature employed in thesignaling of spontaneous narrative structure. Assuming that narratives have a structural systemin itself, and that interactants mark their moves and their more global activities in order to makethem unambiguous (JEFFERSON, 1978; SACKS, 1972), the present paper examines speech ratephenomena, from an acoustic-experimental approach, in 17 spontaneous narratives, usingone of the most influential models for narrative analysis - the Labovian Evaluative Model(LABOV, 1972) - as framework for the analysis. The prosodic variable under investigation isanalyzed on two different levels: at specific points in the narratives corresponding to sectionboundaries (local level), and within different sections in the narratives as a whole (global level). The results indicate that speech rate operates exclusively on the global level, by generating acyclical pattern of varying rates corresponding to the individual, linear sections that make upnarrative texts. Speech rate does not characterize narrative sections and is not manipulatedon the local level in order to mark narrative boundaries.
The Human Metapneumovirus Small Hydrophobic Protein Has Properties Consistent with Those of a Viroporin and Can Modulate Viral Fusogenic Activity

ABSTRACT Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) encodes three glycoproteins: the glycoprotein, which plays a role in glycosaminoglycan binding, the fusion (F) protein, which is necessary and sufficient for both viral binding to the target cell and fusion between the cellular plasma membrane and the viral membrane, and the small hydrophobic (SH) protein, whose function is unclear. The SH protein of the closely related respiratory syncytial virus has been suggested to function as a viroporin, as it forms oligomeric structures consistent with a pore and alters membrane permeability. Our analysis indicates that both the full-length HMPV SH protein and the isolated SH protein transmembrane domain can associate into higher-order oligomers. In addition, HMPV SH expression resulted in increases in permeability to hygromycin B and alteration of subcellular localization of a fluorescent dye, indicating that SH affects membrane permeability. These results suggest that the HMPV SH protein has several characteristics consistent with a putative viroporin. Interestingly, we also report that expression of the HMPV SH protein can significantly decrease HMPV F protein-promoted membrane fusion activity, with the SH extracellular domain and transmembrane domain playing a key role in this inhibition. These results suggest that the HMPV SH protein could regulate both membrane permeability and fusion protein function during viral infection. IMPORTANCE Human metapneumovirus (HMPV), first identified in 2001, is a causative agent of severe respiratory tract disease worldwide. The small hydrophobic (SH) protein is one of three glycoproteins encoded by all strains of HMPV, but the function of the HMPV SH protein is unknown. We have determined that the HMPV SH protein can alter the permeability of cellular membranes, suggesting that HMPV SH is a member of a class of proteins termed viroporins, which modulate membrane permeability to facilitate critical steps in a viral life cycle. We also demonstrated that HMPV SH can inhibit the membrane fusion function of the HMPV fusion protein. This work suggests that the HMPV SH protein has several functions, though the steps in the HMPV life cycle impacted by these functions remain to be clarified.
Characterizing the dynamics of symmetry breaking in genetic programming

This paper introduces a metric that measures symmetry in tree graphs, which allows for a statistical characterization of GP solutions by their architectural "shapes. " A case study is given that applies this metric to 80.4 million trees to identify trends in GP runs. Results provide a first quantitative look at the dynamics of symmetry breaking.
Parallel Concept Drift Detection with Online Map-Reduce

Empirical evidence shows that massive data sets have rarely (if ever) a stationary underlying distribution. To obtain meaningful classification models, partitioning data into different concepts is required as an inherent part of learning. However, existing state-of-the-art approaches to concept drift detection work only sequentially (i.e. in a non-parallel fashion) which is a serious scalability limitation. To address this issue, we extend one of the sequential approaches to work in parallel and propose an Online Map-Reduce Drift Detection Method (OMR-DDM). It uses the combined online error rate of the parallel classification algorithms to identify changes in the underlying concept. For reasons of algorithmic efficiency it is built on a modified version of the popular Map-Reduce paradigm which permits for using preliminary results within mappers. An experimental evaluation shows that the proposed method can accurately detect concept drift while exploiting parallel processing. This paves the way to obtaining classification models which consider concept drift on massive data.