Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Design and Implementation of a Cyber Physical System for Building Smart Living Spaces

Recently, the integrated control systems with computing, Internet, and the electronic equipment with embedded sensors or identification device, called Cyber Physical Systems (CPSs), have gradually attracted more and more attention in a variety of different areas. It is efficient to manage, control, monitor, and query on machinery, equipment, and personnel state. Based on the CPS technology, creating smart living space becomes an important trend of future development. However, the electronic devices nowadays execute different communication protocols, such as Bluetooth, Zigbee, RF, and infrared, and even some traditional devices have no communication function. As a result, the real-time information and status of devices in smart spaces could not be effectively integrated, and thus will increase the difficulties to establish smart living space with CPSs. To improve this problem, this paper designs and implements an Intelligent Control Box to convert different wireless signals. The developed Intelligent Control Box can be treated as a multiple control platform which integrates the systems of lighting, air conditioning, access control, video surveillance, alarm, and so on, further decreasing the difficulties in establishing smart living space with CPSs.
Reduced-order multi-objective ℋ∞ control of an overhead crane test setup

A novel convex approach for reduced-order multi-objective controller synthesis is presented, and experimentally validated on an overhead crane test setup. For this setup, a discrete-time linear time-invariant model is identified. Starting from a full-order controller for the identified model, reducedorder multi-objective ℋ∞ controllers are designed by successively solving convex optimization problems. Experimental validation results on the test setup sustain the practical potential of the proposed controller design approach.
Myocardial remodelling and recovery in dilated cardiomyopathy

Myocardial reverse remodeling has been reported to occur in 25–70% of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy. It is not yet fully understood whether remodeling represents disease remission or cure and which hearts retain this capacity to recover. In this review article we discuss the capacity for recovery in DCM, the prognostic implications of this recovery and potential clinical and imaging predictors for myocardial remodeling.
Self-determined shapes and velocities of giant near-zero drag gas cavities

A gas cavity can reduce the hydrodynamic drag on a falling sphere in liquid to near zero by providing perfect slip conditions. Minimizing the retarding force on a solid moving in liquid is the canonical problem in the quest for energy saving by friction and drag reduction. For an ideal object that cannot sustain any shear stress on its surface, theory predicts that drag force will fall to zero as its speed becomes large. However, experimental verification of this prediction has been challenging. We report the construction of a class of self-determined streamlined structures with this free-slip surface, made up of a teardrop-shaped giant gas cavity that completely encloses a metal sphere. This stable gas cavity is formed around the sphere as it plunges at a sufficiently high speed into the liquid in a deep tank, provided that the sphere is either heated initially to above the Leidenfrost temperature of the liquid or rendered superhydrophobic in water at room temperature. These sphere-in-cavity structures have residual drag coefficients that are typically less than 110 those of solid objects of the same dimensions, which indicates that they experienced very small drag forces. The self-determined shapes of the gas cavities are shown to be consistent with the Bernoulli equation of potential flow applied on the cavity surface. The cavity fall velocity is not arbitrary but is uniquely predicted by the sphere density and cavity volume, so larger cavities have higher characteristic velocities.
Spectrum of RB1 Mutations in Argentine Patients: 20-years Experience in the Molecular Diagnosis of Retinoblastoma

ABSTRACT Background: Retinoblastoma is a hereditary cancer of childhood caused by mutations in the RB1 tumor suppressor gene. An early diagnosis is critical for survival and eye preservation, thus identification of RB1 mutations is important for unequivocal diagnosis of hereditary retinoblastoma and risk assessment in relatives. Methods: We studied 144 families for 20 years, performing methodological changes to improve detection of mutation. Segregation analysis of polymorphisms, MLPA, FISH and cytogenetic assays were used for detection of “at risk haplotypes” and large deletions. Small mutations were identified by heteroduplex/DNA sequencing. Results: At risk haplotypes were identified in 11 familial and 26 sporadic cases, being useful for detection of asymptomatic carriers, risk exclusion from relatives and uncovering RB1 recombinations. Ten large deletions (eight whole gene deletions) were identified in six bilateral/familial and four unilateral retinoblastoma cases. Small mutations were identified in 29 cases (four unilateral retinoblastoma patients), being the majority nonsense/frameshift mutations. Genotype-phenotype correlations confirm that the retinoblastoma presentation is related to the type of mutation, but some exceptions may occur and it is crucial to be considered for genetic counseling. Three families included second cousins with retinoblastoma carrying different haplotypes, which suggest independent mutation events. Conclusion: This study enabled us to obtain information about molecular and genetic features of patients with retinoblastoma in Argentina and correlate them to their phenotype.
Binding of Harmine Derivatives to DNA: A Spectroscopic Investigation

Harmine belongs to a group of β-carboline alkaloids endowed with antitumor properties. Harmine and its derivatives are thought to bind to DNA and interfere with topoisomerase activities. We investigated the base-dependent binding of harmine, and three of its synthetic anticancer-active derivatives to the genomic DNA from calf thymus and two synthetic 20-mer double helices, the poly(dG-dC)·poly(dG-dC) and the poly(dA-dT)·poly(dA-dT), by means of UV-Vis and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopies. The data show that the DNA binding and stabilising properties of the investigated derivatives are base pair-dependent. These results could be used as a guide to design and develop further bioactive analogues.
Effect of exercise performance by elderly women on balance ability and muscle function

[Purpose] The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of an exercise intervention on the balance ability and muscle function of elderly women. [Subjects] The subjects were randomly divided into a control group (n=10) and an exercise group (n=10). [Methods] The subjects participated in an elastic band exercise program lasting for 8 weeks, exercising for 40 minutes, four days a week with resting terms of 60 sec. Subjects used a band corresponding to 60% of the strength of the color band with which repetitive exercise was possible up to twelve times. The subjects performed elastic band exercises, with variations to the number of band exercises according to the improvement of their physical fitness levels. When fifteen repetitive elastic band exercises could be performed with no damage of the body, we changed the band for one which was one level up from the former one and subjects used the same band for the upper body and lower body. [Results] Leg muscular strength measured as sit-stand repetitions in 30 s significantly increased in the exercise group after the intervention compared to before the intervention. Leg muscular endurance measured as the number of knee ups in 2 minutes significantly increased in the exercise group after the intervention compared to before the intervention. Balance measured by one-leg standing time with the eyes open significantly improved in the exercise group after the intervention compared to before the intervention. [Conclusion] Balance ability and muscle function significantly improved in the exercise group and showing that the intervention is effective at improving balance, muscle strength, and muscle endurance of elderly women.
"Language construction in an autistic child: thoughts regarding language acquisition and language therapy": translation, update, and commentary on a 1977 case report.

A 1977 Swiss case study is presented in English translation: a mute child with infantile autism is taught to speak starting at the relatively late age of 6. The author, who is the primary therapist and the child's father, details the conditioning procedure, discusses theoretical considerations in speech acquisition, and outlines the limits of the training. The author and translator update the child's status and add commentary.
In search of the point-of-contact: contextualized technology refreshes ICT teaching in Tanzania

Meaningful learning of information and communication technology (ICT) requires students to understand ICT concepts in their own cultural or societal context. In this study, we hypothesized that grounding ICT education in the local context and using concretizing tools, like programming visualization and intelligent building blocks (I-BLOCKs), would benefit students. We investigated this hypothesis by first developing an introductory ICT course in programming, which applied these strategies, and then by analyzing the results of the course. The course was held at Tumaini University, Iringa University College, Tanzania, in the fall of 2004. Altogether 27 teacher-trainees participated in the course. The outcomes of the course showed that the students understood the main concepts that were taught. They were also able to apply the methods of creative problem solving that were taught in the course. It was also found that students' algorithmically-oriented understanding was not at the desired level and that the course, as well as the future curriculum, needs further development in this particular area.
A Dutch to SQL database interface using Generalized Quantifier Theory

This paper presents the treatment of quantification as it was implemented in a prototype of a natural language relational database interface for Dutch. It is shown how the theoretical 'generalized quantifier' apparatus introduced in formal semantics by Barwise and Cooper can be tuned to implementational feasibility. Compared to the traditional treatment of quantification, the alternative presented here offers greater expressive power, greater similarity to natural language and, as a consequence, the possibility of a more straightforward translation from natural language to formal representation.
Interleukin-6/Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 (STAT3) Pathway Is Essential for Macrophage Infiltration and Myoblast Proliferation during Muscle Regeneration*

Background: Interleukin-6 (IL-6), as a multifunctional cytokine, was involved in the inflammation microenvironment of muscle regeneration. Results: In mice lacking IL-6, less macrophage recruitment and decreased myoblast proliferation impairs muscle regeneration. Conclusion: In monocytes/macrophages, activation of the IL-6/STAT3 pathway is critical to macrophage migration and myoblast proliferation during muscle regeneration. Significance: IL-6/STAT3 pathway is essential for muscle regeneration. Inflammation and microenvironment play a crucial role in muscle regeneration. IL (interleukin)-6, as a multifunctional cytokine is involved in the processes. However, the causative effect of IL-6 in muscle regeneration remains unclear. In a mouse model of cardiotoxin-induced muscle injury/regeneration, infiltrated monocytes/macrophages produce a high level of IL-6 started on 1 day (24 h) after injury. In IL-6 knock-out (−/−) mice, the muscle regeneration procedure was impaired along with decreased myogenic determination factor (MyoD) and myogenin mRNA level and increased interstitial fibrosis. The IL-6−/− mice exhibited less macrophage infiltration, lower inflammatory cytokine (IL-1β, inducible NO synthase, Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1, and IL-10) and chemokine (CCL2, CCL3, and CCL5) expression, and inhibited myoblast proliferation. In vitro, IL-6 deficiency or Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 (STAT3) knockdown in activated macrophage attenuated the expression of CCL2, CCL3, but not CCL5, which resulted in less macrophage migration. Moreover, inflammatory macrophages promoted myoblast proliferation in an IL-6-dependent manner. Finally, adoptive transfer IL-6+/+ BM cells into IL-6−/− mice rescued the impaired regeneration with improved MyoD and myogenin expression. Taken together, IL-6 expression and the activated STAT3 signaling pathway in monocytes/macrophages is a critical mediator of macrophage migration and myoblast proliferation during muscle regeneration.
3. Foundations of Care and Comprehensive Medical Evaluation

The foundations of care include self-management education, nutrition, counseling, physical activity, smoking cessation, immunizations, psychosocial care, and medications (covered in other sections). The comprehensive medical evaluation includes the initial and ongoing evaluations, assessment of complications, management of comorbid conditions, and engagement of the patient throughout the process.
A CMOS AM demodulator for instrumentation applications

This paper describes the design of a CMOS IC AM demodulator.Design details of the monolithic implementation ofa highly accurate synchronous rectifier in a standard 0.35 µmCMOS process on a ±2.5 V voltage supply are presented.The derived circuit implements an envelope detector with a ±1.5 V output swing on a 15 pF load. Small distortion(THD = .60 dB) and low noise (SNR = 84.7 dB) aresome attractive features of the proposed design.
MRI in breast cancer therapy monitoring

Breast MRI has several roles in the clinical management of breast cancer, including as a screening method for high‐risk women, as a diagnostic tool used as an adjunct to mammography and ultrasound, and for the staging of disease extent prior to treatment. In addition to these uses, MRI is also employed to track small changes in tumor size and microenvironment. MRI has produced several early indicators of treatment response in clinical trials over the last 10 years, including initial lesion pattern, changes in lesion size, kinetic parameters, apparent diffusion coefficient and T2 value; the related technique of 1H MRS has also shown that choline concentration, T2 value and water‐to‐fat ratio are response indicators. In addition to measuring anatomical changes in the lesion size, as performed in traditional radiology, MRI has the ability to track vascular and cellular changes using dynamic contrast‐enhanced MRI and diffusion‐weighted MRI, respectively. By adding 1H MRS to MRI examinations, metabolic changes can also be determined. These functional imaging techniques allow studies to focus on early time points relative to neoadjuvant treatment. Early treatment response predictors may allow therapy to be tailored to individual patients and thus aid in the realization of the goal of personalized medicine. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A Boosted Manifold Learning for Automatic Face Recognition

Manifold learning is an effective dimension reduction method to extract nonlinear structures from high dimensional data. Recently, manifold learning has received much attention within the research communities of image analysis, computer vision and document data analysis. In this paper, we propose a boosted manifold learning algorithm towards automatic 2D face recognition by using AdaBoost to select the best possible discriminating projection for manifold learning to exploit the strength of both techniques. Experimental results support that the proposed algorithm improves over existing benchmarks in terms of stability and recognition precision rates.
Melasma update

Melasma is an acquired pigmentary disorder characterized by symmetrical hyperpigmented macules on the face. Its pathogenesis is complex and involves the interplay of various factors such as genetic predisposition, ultraviolet radiation, hormonal factors, and drugs. An insight into the pathogenesis is important to devise treatment modalities that accurately target the disease process and prevent relapses. Hydroquinone remains the gold standard of treatment though many newer drugs, especially plant extracts, have been developed in the last few years. In this article, we review the pathogenetic factors involved in melasma. We also describe the newer treatment options available and their efficacy. We carried out a PubMed search using the following terms “melasma, pathogenesis, etiology, diagnosis, treatment” and have included data of the last few years.
Association of ABCB1 polymorphisms and ulcerative colitis susceptibility.

OBJECTIVE Multi-drug resistance gene 1 (ABCB1) is closely related to bowel diseases. Therefore, our study was aimed to evaluate the correlation between ABCB1 polymorphisms (C1236T and C3435T) and ulcerative colitis (UC) susceptibility. METHODS A total of 61 UC patients and 64 healthy people participated in the study. Genotyping was conducted with the method of polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). χ(2) test was used to evaluate the association of ABCB1 gene polymorphisms (C1236T and C3435T) and UC susceptibility. RESULTS For ABCB1 C1236T polymorphism, the frequencies of CC genotype and C allele were found higher in the cases than those in the controls (CC: 36.1% vs. 20.3%; C: 58.2% vs. 41.4%), which indicated that the CC genotype and C allele might increase the risk for UC (OR = 3.39, 95% CI = 1.28-8.97; OR = 1.97, 95% CI = 1.19-3.26). However, there were no statistical differences in the genotype or allele distribution of ABCB1 C3435T between the case and control group. CONCLUSION The CC genotype and C allele of ABCB1 C1236T polymorphisms are significantly associated with UC susceptibility, so we conclude that ABCB1 C1236T polymorphisms might serve as genetic-susceptibility factors for UC. While, no remarkable relationship is observed between ABCB1 C3435T polymorphisms and UC.
Sliver exudation

A sliver is a tetrahedron whose four vertices lie close to a plane and whose projection to that plane is a convex quadrilateral with no short edge. Slivers are notoriously common in 3-dimensional Delaunay triangulations even for well-spaced point sets. We show that if the Delaunay triangulation has the ratio property introduced in [15] then there is an assignment of weights so the weighted Delaunay triangulation contains no slivers. We also give an algorithm to compute such a weight assignment.
Layer-Dependent Short-Term Synaptic Plasticity Between Excitatory Neurons in the C2 Barrel Column of Mouse Primary Somatosensory Cortex

Neurons process information through spatiotemporal integration of synaptic input. Synaptic transmission between any given pair of neurons is typically a dynamic process with presynaptic action potentials (APs) evoking depressing or facilitating postsynaptic potentials when presynaptic APs occur within hundreds of milliseconds of each other. In order to understand neocortical function, it is therefore important to investigate such short-term synaptic plasticity at synapses between different types of neocortical neurons. Here, we examine short-term synaptic dynamics between excitatory neurons in different layers of the mouse C2 barrel column through in vitro whole-cell recordings. We find layer-dependent short-term plasticity, with depression being dominant at many synaptic connections. Interestingly, however, presynaptic layer 2 neurons predominantly give rise to facilitating excitatory synaptic output at short interspike intervals of 10 and 30 ms. Previous studies have found prominent burst firing of excitatory neurons in supragranular layers of awake mice. The facilitation we observed in the synaptic output of layer 2 may, therefore, be functionally relevant, possibly serving to enhance the postsynaptic impact of burst firing.
On mobile robot localization from landmark bearings

Deals with the problem of robot localization from noisy landmark bearings measured by the robot. We present a localization method which is based on linear constraints, one due to each bearing measurement. This linear system can be solved at low computational cost but yields not very accurate results. We therefore transform the system to an equivalent linear system which yields virtually optimal results at a small fraction of the cost of a nonlinear optimization method which usually achieves the optimal result. Experimental results showing the quality of the results and the low computational cost are presented.
Distinct and shared cognitive functions mediate event- and time-based prospective memory impairment in normal ageing

Prospective memory (PM) is the ability to remember to perform an action at a specific point in the future. Regarded as multidimensional, PM involves several cognitive functions that are known to be impaired in normal ageing. In the present study we set out to investigate the cognitive correlates of PM impairment in normal ageing. Manipulating cognitive load, we assessed event- and time-based PM, as well as several cognitive functions, including executive functions, working memory, and retrospective episodic memory, in healthy participants covering the entire adulthood. We found that normal ageing was characterised by PM decline in all conditions and that event-based PM was more sensitive to the effects of ageing than time-based PM. Whatever the conditions, PM was linked to inhibition and processing speed. However, while event-based PM was mainly mediated by binding and retrospective memory processes, time-based PM was mainly related to inhibition. The only distinction between high- and low-load PM cognitive correlates lies in an additional, but marginal, correlation between updating and the high-load PM condition. The association of distinct cognitive functions, as well as shared mechanisms with event- and time-based PM, confirm that each type of PM relies on a different set of processes.
Characterization of Axonal Spikes in Cultured Neuronal Networks Using Microelectrode Arrays and Microchannel Devices

Objective: Axonal propagation has a pivotal role in information processing in the brain. However, there has been little experimental study due to the difficulty of isolation of axons and recording their signals. Here, we developed dual chamber neuronal network interconnected with axons by integrating microchannel devices with microelectrode arrays (MEAs) to investigate axonal signals in developmental stage. Methods: The device was composed of two chambers and microchannels between them, and hippocampal neurons were cultured in both chambers. Neuronal activity was recorded for four weeks. Results: Large axonal signal was detected in microchannels, which were 137.0 ± 8.5 μV at 14 days in vitro (DIV). It was significantly larger than those in chambers with a similar range of signal-to-noise ratio. Detection efficiency of axonal spikes was analyzed by calculating the number of active electrodes over time. We found that active electrodes were detected earlier and their number increased faster in microchannels than those in chambers. Finally, we estimated the axonal conduction velocity and 73% of axons had the velocity in range of 0.2–0.5 m/s at 14 DIV. By estimating the velocity over the cultivation period, we observed that axonal conduction velocity increased linearly over time. Conclusion: Using MEAs and microchannel devices, we successfully detected large axonal signals and analyzed their detection efficiency and conduction velocity. We first showed the gradual increase in conduction velocity depending on cultivation days. Significance: The developed microchannel device integrated MEA may be applicable for the studies of axonal conduction in cultured neuronal networks.