Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Improvement of Image Quality and Diagnostic Performance by an Innovative Motion-Correction Algorithm for Prospectively ECG Triggered Coronary CT Angiography

Objective To investigate the effect of a novel motion-correction algorithm (Snap-short Freeze, SSF) on image quality and diagnostic accuracy in patients undergoing prospectively ECG-triggered CCTA without administering rate-lowering medications. Materials and Methods Forty-six consecutive patients suspected of CAD prospectively underwent CCTA using prospective ECG-triggering without rate control and invasive coronary angiography (ICA). Image quality, interpretability, and diagnostic performance of SSF were compared with conventional multisegment reconstruction without SSF, using ICA as the reference standard. Results All subjects (35 men, 57.6 ± 8.9 years) successfully underwent ICA and CCTA. Mean heart rate was 68.8±8.4 (range: 50–88 beats/min) beats/min without rate controlling medications during CT scanning. Overall median image quality score (graded 1–4) was significantly increased from 3.0 to 4.0 by the new algorithm in comparison to conventional reconstruction. Overall interpretability was significantly improved, with a significant reduction in the number of non-diagnostic segments (690 of 694, 99.4% vs 659 of 694, 94.9%; P<0.001). However, only the right coronary artery (RCA) showed a statistically significant difference (45 of 46, 97.8% vs 35 of 46, 76.1%; P = 0.004) on a per-vessel basis in this regard. Diagnostic accuracy for detecting ≥50% stenosis was improved using the motion-correction algorithm on per-vessel [96.2% (177/184) vs 87.0% (160/184); P = 0.002] and per-segment [96.1% (667/694) vs 86.6% (601/694); P <0.001] levels, but there was not a statistically significant improvement on a per-patient level [97.8 (45/46) vs 89.1 (41/46); P = 0.203]. By artery analysis, diagnostic accuracy was improved only for the RCA [97.8% (45/46) vs 78.3% (36/46); P = 0.007]. Conclusion The intracycle motion correction algorithm significantly improved image quality and diagnostic interpretability in patients undergoing CCTA with prospective ECG triggering and no rate control.
The prospect of higher taxes and weak job growth during the recovery from the great recession: macro versus micro Frisch elasticities

Labor input growth during the recovery of the U.S. economy from the Great Recession of 2008–2009 has been considerably lower than expected. A number of scholars have attributed this disappointing outcome to the prospect of higher taxes, induced by the fiscal imbalances that will materialize in coming decades under current policies. The paper examines this fiscal sentiment hypothesis from the perspective of a neoclassical growth model, under the assumption that the typical household's preferences can be represented by a utility function that implies a constant intertemporal (Frisch) elasticity of substitution for aggregate hours of work, and for a hypothetical tax regime that incorporates the Congressional Budget Office' s assessment of the U.S. fiscal situation. The paper finds that the empirical relevance of the fiscal sentiment hypothesis depends on whether this Frisch elasticity of labor supply is closer to the relatively large values needed to account for the observed volatility of labor input at business cycle frequencies, than to the lower values estimated by microeconomic and quasi-experimental studies.
Research and Development and Intraindustry Spillovers: an Empirical Application of Dynamic Duality

In this paper we estimate a model of production and investment based on the theory of dynamic duality and are particularly Interested in the effects of R&D spillovers and in calculating the social and private rates of return. We identify and estimate three effects associated with the intraindustry R&D spillover. First, costs decline as knowledge expands for the externality-receiving firms. Second, production structures are affected, as factor demands change in response to the spillover. Third, the rates of capital accumulation are affected by the R&D spillover. These cost-reducing, factor-biasing and capital adjustment effects of the spillover are estimated for four industries. The existence of R&D spillovers implies that the social and private rates of return to R&D capital differ. We estimate that the social return exceeds the private return in each industry. However, there is significant variation across industries in the differential between the social and private rates of return.
A Small Cordon in the Hand is Worth Two in the Bush: Long -Term Consequences of Road Pricing

In recent years, congestion pricing has made an important leap from theory to practice. Short-term analysis of implemented road pricing policies demonstrates their benefits, and many studies compared pros and cons of various pricing schemes. At the same time, there are widespread concerns that road pricing might hurt downtown businesses and otherwise negatively affect economic development. Yet, long-term effects of road pricing remain largely unknown. In this paper, we evaluate and compare long-run economic effects of three cordon-based road pricing schemes applied to the Washington, DC metropolitan area. In order to conduct this analysis, we employ a spatially disaggregated general equilibrium model of a regional economy that incorporates decisions of residents, firms and developers, integrated with a spatially disaggregated strategic transportation planning model that features mode, time period, and route choice. We find that all cordon pricing schemes increase welfare of the residents as well as lead to GDP growth. At the optimum, the larger cordon and a double cordon lead to higher benefits than the small cordon encompassing downtown core. Nevertheless, the small cordon seems to be a safer bet: when the toll charge is set suboptimally, the net benefits from the small cordon compared to the optimum change negligibly, while the net benefits from the larger cordon decline sharply as the charge deviates from the optimal level.
Therapeutic Options for Variant Renal Cancer

Variant or nonclear cell renal cell cancer is a rare disease constituting only ∼5% to 8% of the metastatic renal cell cancer population. Pathological criteria for the three main variant subtypes, papillary, chromophobe, and collecting duct, have been specified. Nonetheless, there may be subtypes within these variants, many poorly differentiated tumors cannot be reliably classified, and expertise in recognizing specific subtypes is not widespread. Expression analysis and other molecular techniques are beginning to clarify and standardize the pathological classification scheme. Because these classifications are relatively new and the number of patients with any one subtype is limited, little is known about appropriate therapies for patients with metastatic disease. Retrospective series strongly suggest that immunotherapy is not effective in any nonclear cell subtype. Case reports suggest that cytotoxic chemotherapy used for transitional cell cancers may be helpful in patients with collecting duct cancers. A central registry of patients with variant renal cell cancer should be created in which response to various therapies is recorded. Such a registry could provide support for a more formal multi-institutional study investigating a specific drug or regimen.
Microarray gene selection using self-organizing map

Accuracy, precision, and rapidity of disease prediction are important for disease evaluation in clinic and laboratory studies because different diseases would have different drugs and treatments. This study presents a new technique for cancer prediction from DNA microarray data. The prediction composes of two main steps that are the step of the important gene selection by using statistic methodology and the step of clustering cancer data by using self-organizing map. The experimental DNA microarray data sets are carcinoma, leukemia, and lung cancer. The experimental results are the rules of gene with 100% accuracy for cancer prediction.
An investigation into resistance practices at an SME consultancy

Purpose Prior research emphasizes that organizational founders have a good deal of influence in organizational development and, where ICTs are involved, a generic strategy is usually deployed by managers in order to deal with any resistance that might occur. Cognisant of this, we investigated the role played by a Managing Director of an SME consultancy in an ICT project associated with organizational development. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on an ethnography of a ICT related change management initiative which, theoretically, takes into account though from the social shaping of technology – speifically the idea that technologies in their broadest sense are subject to ongoing work beyond the design stage. Findings We argue that Markus’ Interaction Theory of resistance still has relevance today and we extend it by emphasizing the problem of homogenizing users and downplaying their ability to appropriate resistance strategies in situ. Research limitations/implications Our study is based upon one group of individual’s experiences. Further case studies of resistance success are required which further highlight how such this is achieved and why. Practical implications Those engaged with organisational development projects need to be better educated as to the reasons for resistance, particularly positive ones, and the methods by which this might take place. Originality/value This study conceptualises strategies for ‘overcoming’ resistance as managerial technologies. Conceptualising them in this way, shows the deployement of such technologies to be a complicated and active process where the audience for such things are involved in how they are received and appropriated to suite differing agendas.
Global stability of vaccine-age/staged-structured epidemic models with nonlinear incidence

We consider two classes of infinitely dimensional epidemic models with non- linear incidence, where one assumes that the rate of a vaccinated individual losing im- munity depends on the vaccine-age and another assumes that, before the vaccine begins to wane, there is a period during which the vaccinated individuals have complete im- munity against the infection. The first model is given by a coupled ordinary-hyperbolic differential system and the second class is described by a delay differential system. We calculate their respective basic reproduction numbers, and show they characterize the global dynamics by constructing the appropriate Lyapunov functionals.
The interaction between strigolactones and other plant hormones in the regulation of plant development

Plant hormones are small molecules derived from various metabolic pathways and are important regulators of plant development. The most recently discovered phytohormone class comprises the carotenoid-derived strigolactones (SLs). For a long time these compounds were only known to be secreted into the rhizosphere where they act as signaling compounds, but now we know they are also active as endogenous plant hormones and they have been in the spotlight ever since. The initial discovery that SLs are involved in the inhibition of axillary bud outgrowth, initiated a multitude of other studies showing that SLs also play a role in defining root architecture, secondary growth, hypocotyl elongation, and seed germination, mostly in interaction with other hormones. Their coordinated action enables the plant to respond in an appropriate manner to environmental factors such as temperature, shading, day length, and nutrient availability. Here, we will review the current knowledge on the crosstalk between SLs and other plant hormones—such as auxin, cytokinin, abscisic acid (ABA), ethylene (ET), and gibberellins (GA)—during different physiological processes. We will furthermore take a bird's eye view of how this hormonal crosstalk enables plants to respond to their ever changing environments.
PROUD: a probabilistic approach to processing similarity queries over uncertain data streams

We present PROUD -- A PRObabilistic approach to processing similarity queries over Uncertain Data streams, where the data streams here are mainly time series streams. In contrast to data with certainty, an uncertain series is an ordered sequence of random variables. The distance between two uncertain series is also a random variable. We use a general uncertain data model, where only the mean and the deviation of each random variable at each timestamp are available. We derive mathematical conditions for progressively pruning candidates to reduce the computation cost. We then apply PROUD to a streaming environment where only sketches of streams, like wavelet synopses, are available. Extensive experiments are conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of PROUD and compare it with Det, a deterministic approach that directly processes data without considering uncertainty. The results show that, compared with Det, PROUD offers a flexible trade-off between false positives and false negatives by controlling a threshold, while maintaining a similar computation cost. In contrast, Det does not provide such flexibility. This trade-off is important as in some applications false negatives are more costly, while in others, it is more critical to keep the false positives low.
Sincell: Bioconductor package for the statistical assessment of cell-state hierarchies from single-cell RNA-seq data

Summary Cell differentiation processes are achieved through a continuum of hierarchical intermediate cell-states that might be captured by single-cell RNA seq. Existing computational approaches for the assessment of cell-state hierarchies from single-cell data might be formalized under a general framework composed of i) a metric to assess cell-to-cell similarities (combined or not with a dimensionality reduction step), and ii) a graph-building algorithm (optionally making use of a cells-clustering step). Sincell R package implements a methodological toolbox allowing flexible workflows under such framework. Furthermore, Sincell contributes new algorithms to provide cell-state hierarchies with statistical support while accounting for stochastic factors in single-cell RNA seq. Graphical representations and functional association tests are provided to interpret hierarchies. Sincell functionalities are illustrated in a real case study where its ability to discriminate noisy from stable cell-state hierarchies is demonstrated. Availability and implementation Sincell is an open-source R/Bioconductor package available at http://bioconductor.org/packages/3.1/bioc/html/sincell.html. A detailed manual and vignette describing functions and workflows is provided with the package. Contact: antonio.rausell@isb-sib.ch
AUTOMATIC ACTIVATION OF SEMANTIC REPRESENTATION DURING SECOND LANGUAGE PROCESSING

Title of dissertation: AUTOMATIC ACTIVATION OF SEMANTIC REPRESENTATION DURING SECOND LANGUAGE PROCESSING Written by: Sun Young Ahn, Doctor of Philosophy, 2015 Directed by: Professor Nan Jiang Department of Second Language Acquisition The present study is motivated by two questions. First, can late learners of a second language (L2), who begin learning after puberty and are unbalanced bilinguals, activate or visualize the meaning of an L2 word or sentence as quickly as do first language (L1) speakers? Second, if so, what factors—such as L2 proficiency and the amount of its use—contribute to developing native–like efficient processing in L2? To address these questions, the degrees of automatic semantic activation were compared between L1 and L2 speakers through emotional involvement during word recognition and mental imagery generation during sentential reading. To this end, a total of 60 late–advanced L2 Korean speakers participated in the emotional Stroop Task and the sentence–based picture recognition task along with 36 L1 Korean speakers. The results revealed that the emotional Stroop effect was not statistically significant in the late L2 group but was significant in the L1 group; whereas the sentence–picture congruency effect was significant in both L2 and L1 groups with similar degrees. This means that late L2 Korean speakers could activate sentence meaning during L2 sentential reading as automatically as L1 speakers but could not activate word meaning as efficiently as L1 speakers. Different degrees of semantic activation among the L2 group across experiments compared to L1 speakers can be considered as cross–task variation; that is, L2 speakers exhibited native–like patterns when semantic activation was promoted but did not when constrained in the tasks (in a sentence– based picture recognition task and an emotional Stroop task, respectively). Furthermore, the results showed that the effect of L2 use was positively significant both on the emotional Stroop effect and the sentence–picture congruency effect. These findings suggest that the degree of automatic semantic activation during L2 word recognition, as well as sentence reading can be improved with increased L2 use, despite the late starting age of L2 acquisition. Overall, the present study found positive evidence that late L2 speakers may achieve native–like efficiency in reading comprehension in L2, assisted with the extensive L2 use in addition to high proficiency in L2. AUTOMATIC ACTIVATION OF SEMANTIC REPRESENTATION DURING SECOND LANGUAGE PROCESSING
Association of Cdk5 and Soluble Oligomeric Species of β-amyloid Induced Tau Hyperphosphorylation

Background, alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease with deteriorating memory loss in the aged population. Currently, its exact pathogenesis remains elusive. Some studies have shown that soluble oligomeric Aβ (β-amyloid), inducing hyperphosphorylation of tau, may be the initial link to AD pathogenesis. However, it is poorly known how Aβ influences tau phosphorylation; Results, in this study, soluble oligomeric Aβ42 peptide was injected into the hippocampus of mice with saline as a control. Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining showed that Aβ42 was mainly deposited in the Cornu Ammonis area 1 (CA1). Within 7 to 21 days after the operation, the area of Aβ42 decreased gradually. Compared to the control, the expression of phosphorylated tau (p-tau) was significantly increased, suggesting that soluble Aβ oligomers activated phosphorylation of tau and increased total tau. Meanwhile, we found that elevated Cdk5, mainly in the CA1 area and subgranular zone (SGZ), correlates with increased phosphorylation of tau. Conclusions, thus, the results suggest that hyperphosphorylation of tau induced by soluble amyloid Aβ is associated with an increased level of Cdk5.
ReBiS - Reconfigurable Bipedal Snake robot

Robots capable of switching between snake-like and bipedal motion have advantages of greater manoeuvrability. This paper introduces ReBiS (Reconfigurable Bipedal Snake) robot, a novel modular design mechanism which can quickly transform between various configurations without rearrangement of modules. This paper documents the design as well as the gaits implemented on ReBiS. Possible gaits are divided into three categories; snake gaits, transforming gaits and walking gaits. An example gait, belonging each of the three categories, is implemented and presented here. Experimental verification demonstrated that the reconfiguration of this robot is swift and without reshuffling of modules.
The Response of Worker Effort to Piece Rates: Evidence from the British Columbia Tree-Planting Industry

We measure the elasticity of worker effort with respect to changes in the piece rate using panel data collected from the payroll records of a British Columbia tree-planting firm. Our data contain information on daily worker productivity and the piece rate received over a five-month period. Using a structural model to control for the endogeneity of the piece rate, we estimate this elasticity to be approximately 2.14. We also calculate a nonstructural lower bound to this elasticity equal to 0.77. Structural estimation also allows us to perform policy experiments and to compare firm profits under alternative compensation systems. Our results suggest that profits would increase by at least 17 percent were the firm to implement the optimal static contract as predicted by principal-agent theory. This increase in profits would be due to capturing worker rents after the revelation of private information over ability. Yet, only a negligible proportion of these rents could be captured while inducing workers to reveal ability truthfully, suggesting that dynamic considerations were important in determining the firm's actual choice of contract.
A Novel Visual-Region-Descriptor-based Approach to Sketch-based Image Retrieval

A novel Visual-Region-Descriptor-based approach is developed in this paper to facilitate more effective Sketch-based Image Retrieval (SBIR), which can be treated as a problem of bilateral visual mapping and modeled as an inter-related correlation distribution over visual semantic representations of sketches and images. For crossing the matching barrier between binary query sketches and full color natural images, we focus on constructing a visual pre-analysis via the sketch-like representation transformation to improve the general sketch-image resemblance, creating a special visual region descriptor to obtain better visual feature generation for sketches and images, and a dynamic sketch-image matching scheme to achieve more precise characterization of the correlations between sketches and images. Such a visual-region-descriptor-based SBIR pattern can not only enable users to present whatever they imagine in their mind on the sketch query panel but also return the most similar images to the picture in users' mind. Very positive results were obtained in our experiments using a large quantity of public data.
Maximum likelihood methods for bearings-only target localization

We develop four maximum likelihood (ML) methods to localize a moving target using a network of acoustical sensor arrays. Each array transmits a direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimate to a central processor, which employs one of the localization techniques. The four ML approaches use different target signal models where the time retardation factor for the target position and the degradation of the target signal through the air may or may not be included in the model. We compare these methods along with a linear least squares approach through a number of simulations at various signal to noise levels.
The acute effects of L‐theanine in comparison with alprazolam on anticipatory anxiety in humans

L‐Theanine (δ‐glutamylethylamide) is one of the predominant amino acids ordinarily found in green tea, and historically has been used as a relaxing agent. The current study examined the acute effects of L‐theanine in comparison with a standard benzodiazepine anxiolytic, alprazolam and placebo on behavioural measures of anxiety in healthy human subjects using the model of anticipatory anxiety (AA). Sixteen healthy volunteers received alprazolam (1 mg), L‐theanine (200 mg) or placebo in a double‐blind placebo‐controlled repeated measures design. The acute effects of alprazolam and L‐theanine were assessed under a relaxed and experimentally induced anxiety condition. Subjective self‐reports of anxiety including BAI, VAMS, STAI state anxiety, were obtained during both task conditions at pre‐ and post‐drug administrations. The results showed some evidence for relaxing effects of L‐theanine during the baseline condition on the tranquil–troubled subscale of the VAMS. Alprazolam did not exert any anxiolytic effects in comparison with the placebo on any of the measures during the relaxed state. Neither L‐theanine nor alprazalam had any significant anxiolytic effects during the experimentally induced anxiety state. The findings suggest that while L‐theanine may have some relaxing effects under resting conditions, neither L‐theanine not alprazolam demonstrate any acute anxiolytic effects under conditions of increased anxiety in the AA model. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.