Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
General Relativistic Geodetic Spin Precession in Binary Pulsar B1913+16: Mapping the Emission Beam in Two Dimensions

We have carefully measured the pulse profile of the binary pulsar PSR B1913+16 at 21 cm wavelength for 20 years, in order to search for variations that result from general relativistic geodetic precession of the spin axis. The profile width is found to decrease with time in its inner regions, while staying essentially constant on its outer skirts. We fitted these data to a model of the beam shape and precession geometry. Four equivalent solutions are found, but evolutionary considerations and polarization data select a single preferred model. While the current data sample only a limited range of latitudes owing to the long precessional cycle, the preferred model shows a beam elongated in the latitudinal direction and hourglass-shaped.
Optical properties of aerosol mixtures derived from sun-sky radiometry during SAMUM-2

and airborne instruments allow the study of desert dust optical and microphysical properties in a closure experiment. The Meteorological Institute of the University of Munich deployed one sun-sky photometer and two tropospheric lidar systems. A travelling AERONET-Cimel sun-sky radiometer was also deployed. During the measurement period the aerosol scenario over Cape Verde mostly consisted of a dust layer below 2 km and a smoke-dust layer above 2–4 km a.s. l. The Saharan dust arrived at the site from the NE, whereas the smoke originated in the African equatorial region. This paper describes the main results of the Sun photometer observations, supported by lidar information. An analysis of the variations in the aerosol optical depth (AOD) in the range 340–1550 nm, the Ångström exponent, volume size distributions and single scattering albedo is presented. The aerosol mixtures are analysed by means of the fine mode fraction of the AOD provided by the sun-sky inversion data and the Spectral Deconvolution Algorithm. The mean AOD (500 nm) was 0.31, with associated low Ångström exponent of 0.46. Several types of events were detected within the data set, with prevalence of dust or mixtures as characterized by the Ångström exponents of extinction and absorption and the fine mode fraction. Aerosol properties derived from sunphotometry were compared to in situ measurements of size distribution, effective radius and single scattering albedo.
Toll-Like Receptors Expression and Signaling in Glia Cells in Neuro-Amyloidogenic Diseases: Towards Future Therapeutic Application

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are known to be expressed by innate immune response cells and to play a critical role in their activation against foreign pathogens. It was recently suggested that TLRs have an important role in the crosstalk between neurons and glial cells in the central nervous system (CNS). TLR signaling was reported to be associated with a yin-yang effect in the CNS. While TLR signaling was linked to neurogenesis, it was also found to be involved in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases. This paper will focus on TLR signaling in glial cells in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, prion diseases, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and Parkinson's disease. Understanding the pattern of TLR signaling in the glial cells may lead to the identification of new targets for therapeutic application.
Signaling and Control Requirements of Network Attachment Control Function for NGN

The paper shows an overview of the network attachment control function (NACF) in next generation network environments. In particular, we derive the requirements of the signaling and control protocol of network attachment control function (NACF) related to other transport functional entities. For example, ? provide to the functionalities of detecting the identity of its currently attached link and location, connection establishment and release, bearer resources configuration (including Quality of Service control), and other applications to interact with existing services and legacy networks.
Model Checking of Software Product Lines in Presence of Nondeterminism and Probabilities

Nowadays, Software Product Lines (SPLs) are being used in a variety of domains including safety-critical systems for which verification of the systems is a matter of concern. Formal modeling and verification of SPLs has been majorly investigated recently. Due to the potential large number of the products in a SPL, individual verification of all products could be costly or even impractical. Hence, there is a need for verification methods that can verify the whole family's behavior at once. In this paper, we focus on the probabilistic model checking of software product lines in which the behavior of individual products can be described in terms of Markov decision processes. We introduce a mathematical model, Markov Decision Process Family (MDPF), to compactly represent the behavior of the whole family. We also provide a model checking algorithm in order to verify MDPFs against properties expressed in probabilistic computational tree logic.
Late Occurrence of PML in a Patient Treated for Lymphoma with Immunomodulatory Chemotherapies, Bendamustine, Rituximab, and Ibritumomab Tiuxetan

PML caused by John Cunningham (JC) virus is a rare but an increasingly recognized entity. With the advent of newer immunomodulatory therapies with monoclonal antibodies, there is an increasing incidence of PML. Initially concern was restricted to patients treated for multiple sclerosis with natalizumab but more case reports are being reported during treatment for other conditions like Crohn's disease and lymphoma with agents such as rituximab. We report the case of a 66-year-old woman who developed PML a year after completion of therapy with rituximab, ibritumomab, and bendamustine.
Automatic Calibration of Hybrid Dynamic Vision System for High Resolution Object Tracking

Visual object recognition and tracking require a good resolution of the object to accurately model its appearance. In addition, tracking systems must be able to robustly recover moving target trajectory, and possibly cope with fast motion and large displacements. Wide angle static cameras capture a global view of the scene but they suffer from a lack of resolution in the case of a large distance between the objects and the sensor. On the contrary, dynamic sensors such as Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) cameras are controlled to focus on a 3D point in the scene and give access to high resolution images by adapting their zoom level. However, when a PTZ camera focuses on a target, its very limited field of view makes the tracking difficult. To overcome these limitations, hybrid sensor systems composed of a wide angle static camera and a dynamic camera can be used. Coupling these two types of sensors enables the exploitation of their complementary desired properties while limiting their respective drawbacks. Calibration is required to enable information exchange between the two sensors to produce collaborative algorithms. The calibration of our system is difficult because of changes of both intrinsic (focal length, central point, distortion) and extrinsic (position, orientation) parameters of the dynamic sensor during system exploitation. Two approaches for dynamic stereo sensor calibration are possible: • Strong calibration involves a complete modeling of the system. Intrinsic parameters of each camera and extrinsic parameters are estimated. This approach enables the projection of 3D points, expressed in the world frame, in 2D points expressed in each image frame. • Weak calibration does not target to estimate intrinsic or extrinsic parameters. The objective is only to estimate the direct relation between pixels of the different sensors. From a pixel in the first camera, which is the projection of a given 3D point, the calibration gives the projection of the same 3D point to the second camera. In this approach, the recovery of 3D point coordinates is not more difficult.
TransMR: Data-Centric Programming Beyond Data Parallelism

MapReduce and related data-centric programming models have proven to be effective for a variety of large-scale distributed computations, in particular, those that manifest data parallelism. The fault-tolerance model underlying these programming environments relies on deterministic replay, which makes data-sharing (side-effects) across computations harder to support. This significantly limits the application scope of MapReduce and related models. This paper: (i) investigates data sharing (side-effects) in programming models operating on distributed key-value stores, specifically, the inconsistencies between the fault recovery mechanisms in execution and storage layers; (ii) defines semantics for a novel programming model, TransMR (Transactional MapReduce), which addresses these inconsistencies; and (iii) demonstrates broad application scope and enhanced performance through data-sharing across computations for a prototype implementation of the proposed semantics.
The Demand for College Education in Postwar Japan

Since World War II the number of Japanese college applications has expanded at an impressive rate. This paper concentrates on evaluating the extent to which economic factors underlie this expansion. Salient among the findings are results suggesting that an important segment of the population, whom we call "marginal investors," respond sensitively to shortrun economic factors governing higher education. These factors include direct college costs, the household liquidity constraints, and the probability of entering a large firm. It also appears that the quality of college education has been an important determinant of postwar demand for college education in Japan.
Incentive Compatibility and the Bargaining Problem

Collective choice problems are studied from the Bayesian viewpoint. It is shown that the set of expected utility allocations which are feasible with incentive-compatible mechanisms is compact and convex, and includes the equilibrium allocations for all other mechanisms. The generalized Nash solution proposed by Harsanyi and Selten is then applied to this set to define a bargaining solution for Bayesian collective choice problems.
Image processing for super-resolution localization in fluorescence microscopy

Localization of a single fluorescent particle with sub-diffraction limit accuracy is a key merit in fluorescence microscopy. Implementation of nonlinear filtering algorithms prior the localization process can improve the localization accuracy of standard existing methods and also enable the localization of overlapping particles, allowing the use of increased fluorophore activation density, and thereby increased data collection speed. In this paper we present the use of an image decomposition algorithm termed K-factor which reduces an image into a nonlinear set of contrast-ordered decompositions whose joint product reassembles the original image. The K-factor technique is implemented on the images, prior to the localization of the fluorescent probes. Numerical simulations of fluorescence data with random probe positions, and especially at high densities of activated fluorophores demonstrated an improvement in the localization precision with compare to single fitting techniques. Implanting the proposed concept also on experimental data of cellular structures yielded the theoretically predicted resolution enhancement.
Delay of left ventricular longitudinal expansion with diastolic dysfunction: impact on load dependence of e′ and longitudinal strain rate

The effect of diastolic dysfunction (DD) on the timing of left ventricular (LV) diastolic longitudinal and circumferential expansion and their load dependence is not known. This study evaluated the timing of the peak early diastolic LV inflow velocity (E), mitral annular velocity (e′), and longitudinal and circumferential global strain rates (SRE) in 161 patients in sinus rhythm. The intraventricular pressure difference (IVPD) from the left atrium to the LV apex was obtained using color M‐mode Doppler data to integrate the Euler equation. The diastolic function was graded according to the guidelines. In normals (N = 57), E, e′, longitudinal SRE, and circumferential SRE occurred nearly simultaneously during the IVPD. With DD (N = 104), e′ and longitudinal SRE were delayed occurring after the IVPD (e′: 18 ± 23 msec, longitudinal SRE: 13 ± 21 msec from the IVPD), whereas circumferential SRE (−8 ± 28 msec) and E (−2 ± 13 msec) were not delayed. The normal dependence of e′ and longitudinal SRE on IVPD was reduced in DD; while the relation of circumferential SRE and E to IVPD were unchanged in DD. Thus, normally, the LV expands symmetrically during early diastole and both longitudinal and circumferential expansions are related to the IVPD. With DD, early diastolic longitudinal LV expansion is delayed, occurring after the IVPD and LV filling, resulting in their relative independence from the IVPD. In contrast, with DD, circumferential SRE and mitral inflow are not delayed and their normal relation to the IVPD is unchanged.
On a Body Sway Model while Maintaining Upright Posture during Exposure to a Stereoscopic Movie on a Liquid Crystal Display

It is known that a mathematical model of the body sway can be developed by a stochastic process. The authors have succeeded in finding the nonlinearity in the potential function. Regarding to the mathematical model, we applied an index, sparse density (SPD), of stationary stabilograms for detecting instability due to the motion sickness (simulator sickness), which occurs when a human attempts to maintain an upright posture. In this study, subjects in a standing position were stimulated by stereoscopic movies on a liquid crystal display (LCD). We also measured the degree of determinism in the dynamics of the sway of the center of gravity of the subjects. The Double-Wayland algorithm was used as a novel method. As a result, the dynamics of the body sway in the presence of the stimulus as well as in its absence were considered to be stochastic. The structural changes in the potential function during exposure to the conventional three-dimensional images could be detected by using the SPD.
Maple-opt: a simultaneous technology mapping, placement, and global routing algorithm FPGAs with performance optimization

In this paper, we propose a new FPGA design algorithm, Maple-opt, in which technology mapping, placement, and global routing are executed so that the delay of each critical signal path in an input circuit is within a specified upper bound imposed on it. The basic algorithm of Maple-opt is top-down hierarchical bi-partitioning of regions. Technology mapping onto logic-blocks of FPGAs, their placement, and global routing are determined simultaneously in each hierarchical process. This simultaneity leads to less congested layout for routing. In addition to that, Maple-opt computes a lower bound of delay for each path with a constraint value and determines critical paths based on the difference between the lower bound and the constraint value dynamically in each hierarchical process. Two delay reduction processes are executed for the critical paths; one is routing delay reduction and the other is logic-block delay reduction. Routing delay reduction is realized such that, when bi-partitioning a region, each constrained path is assigned to one subregion. Logic-block delay reduction is realized such that each constrained path is mapped onto fewer logic-blocks. Experimental results for some benchmark circuits show its efficiency and effectiveness.
Dietary Fiber in Management of Diabetes

Current evidence suggests that high-fiber diets, especially of the soluble variety, and soluble fiber supplements may offer some improvement in carbohydrate metabolism, lower total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and have other beneficial effects in patients with non-insulindependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). Diets enriched with wheat bran and guar gum induce 10–20% reductions in serum cholesterol and LDL in both normoand hypercholesterolemic subjects and have the ability to blunt the hypertriglyceridemic effects of diets high in carbohydrate and low in fiber. In insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) the situation is less clear, but a decrement of the circadian glucose profile has been shown. Americans, in general, consume too little fiber. With the need to restrict fat and reduce protein, an increase in carbohydrates is mandatory. A practical goal would be to establish the present level of fiber intake (15–30 g/day) and to gradually increase it. An intake of up to 40 g of fiber per day or 25 g/1000 kcal of food intake appears beneficial; in many individuals on weight-reducing diets higher levels may be unacceptable because of gastrointestinal side effects. The level of maximum benefit has not been determined. Fiber supplementation appears beneficial only if given with a diet comprising approximately half of the calories as carbohydrate. Foods should be selected with moderate to high amounts of dietary fiber from a wide variety of choices to include both soluble and insoluble types of fiber. Insufficient data are available on the long-term safety of high-fiber supplements. People at risk for deficiencies, such as postmenopausal women, the elderly, or growing children, may require supplements of calcium and trace minerals. People with upper gastrointestinal dysfunction are at risk of bezoar formation and cautioned against a diet high in fiber of the leafy vegetable type. Careful attention must be paid to insulin dose because hypoglycemia can result if there is a radical change in fiber intake and insulin dose is not reduced appropriately. Care must be exercised in the use of “novel” fibers, including the wood celluloses, because little is known of their safety and efficacy.
Skull Stripping Using Geodesic Active Contours in Magnetic Resonance Images

Skull stripping is an important image processing step in many neuroimaging studies. In this paper, a novel scheme based on a level sets representation of the geodesic active contour (GAC) is employed to detect the boundary of the skull. This approach is based on the relation between active contours and the computation of geodesics (minimal length curves). The contour is evolved from inside the MR image under the influence of geometric measures of the MR image. Before the application of GAC, the MR image is roughly done into two regions, brain and nonbrain. The centroid of the brain region is obtained which is used for drawing an ellipse situated well inside the brain region. This ellipse is the initial contour. After the model converges to a stable solution, the obtained mask is processed using morphological operators. This mask is then used to give the final segmented output.
25-Hydroxyvitamin D3, arterial calcifications and cardiovascular risk markers in haemodialysis patients.

BACKGROUND Decreased vitamin D serum levels have been recently related to arterial stiffening and vascular calcifications in haemodialysis (HD) patients, but the pathophysiology of this association is not yet clear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between vascular calcifications, cardiovascular risk factors [including brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), pulse pressure (PP) and left ventricular mass index] and 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25(OH)D3) and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)(2)D3] serum levels. METHODS We performed a cross-sectional study with 223 prevalent HD patients, 48% females, 27% diabetics, with the mean age of 62.7 +/- 15.3 years and the mean HD time of 42.9 +/- 39.3 months. Forty-seven percent of the patients were taking active forms of vitamin D. RESULTS Serum levels of [25(OH)D3] were low (21.6 +/- 12.2 ng/mL) and negatively correlated with age (r = -0.31, P < 0.001), diabetes mellitus (DM) (r = -0.20, P = 0.004), C-reactive protein (r = -0.25, P < 0.001), log(10) BNP (r = -0.22, P = 0.002), PP > 65 mmHg (r = -0.21, P = 0.003) and vascular calcifications (r = -0.26, P < 0.001). Levels of [25(OH)D3] were positively correlated with [1,25(OH)(2)D3] (r = 0.25, P < 0.001) and albumin (r = 0.23, P = 0.001). On multivariate analysis, levels of [25(OH)D3] were independently associated with DM (P < 0.001), lower albumin levels (P = 0.003), higher BNP values (P = 0.005), PP > 65 mmHg (P = 0.006) and a higher vascular calcification score (>or= 3) (P = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that lower levels of [25(OH)D3] are a cardiovascular risk marker in HD patients, since they are strongly associated with higher BNP levels, increased PP and with the presence of vascular calcifications. The exact role of [25(OH)D3] deficiency on cardiovascular morbi-mortality needs to be clarified in large randomized controlled trials.
Michigan Economic Impact Model for Intelligent Transportation Systems

Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) are important for the future of the transportation systems industry. Although widely regarded as a new and powerful contribution to transportation systems, ITS however, may have a substantial effect on other industries as well. The aim of this study is to understand the impact that ITS may have on the Michigan economy. The methodical approach used to evaluate this impact is called Leontif’s Input-Output model. The Input-Output model considers all industries as intertwined and models the impact that ITS can make on these industries. The savings in reduced time delays and fuel costs are quantified. This overall cost reduction factor is used to compute multipliers for each industry. Multipliers are then calculated using a RIMS II model that aggregates all industries using 2-digit NAICS codes. In addition, another model incorporating specific industries using 6-digit NAICS codes is also suggested using IMPLAN. Work done in partial fulfillment of the requirements of Michigan State University MTH 844, advised by Thomas E. Borton, PhD, President of ITS Michigan, and Dr. Erik Bird, Department of Mathematics, Michigan State University.
Improving Reconstructed Image Quality in a Limited-Angle Positron Emission Tomography System

Limited-angle positron emission tomography systems can be placed next to the anatomical area of interest, improving their spatial resolution and diagnostic sensitivity. However, the incomplete angular sampling makes the reconstruction process susceptible to image artifacts and anisotropic spatial resolution. In this work, I show that combining total variation (TV) minimization with the maximum likelihood expectation maximization (MLEM) algorithm in the image reconstruction process can lead to greatly improved image quality for datasets with limited angular sampling range.
Autoregressive conditional root model

In this paper we develop a time series model which allows long-term disequilibriums to have epochs of non-stationarity, giving the impression that long term relationships between economic variables have temporarily broken down, before they endogenously collapse back towards their long term relationship. This autoregressive root model is shown to be ergodic and covariance stationary under some rather general conditions. We study how this model can be estimated and tested, developing appropriate asymptotic theory for this task. Finally we apply the model to assess the purchasing power parity relationship.