Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Robust 96.6-dB-SNDR 50-kHz-Bandwidth Switched-Capacitor Delta-Sigma Modulator for IR Imagers in Space Instrumentation †

Infrared imaging technology, used both to study deep-space bodies’ radiation and environmental changes on Earth, experienced constant improvements in the last few years, pushing data converter designers to face new challenges in terms of speed, power consumption and robustness against extremely harsh operating conditions. This paper presents a 96.6-dB-SNDR (Signal-to-Noise-plus-Distortion Ratio) 50-kHz-bandwidth fourth-order single-bit switched-capacitor delta-sigma modulator for ADC operating at 1.8 V and consuming 7.9 mW fit for space instrumentation. The circuit features novel Class-AB single-stage switched variable-mirror amplifiers (SVMAs) enabling low-power operation, as well as low sensitivity to both process and temperature deviations for the whole modulator. The physical implementation resulted in a 1.8-mm2 chip integrated in a standard 0.18-μm 1-poly-6-metal (1P6M) CMOS technology, and it reaches a 164.6-dB Schreier figure of merit from experimental SNDR measurements without making use of any clock bootstrapping, analog calibration, nor digital compensation technique. When coupled to a 2048×2048 IR imager, the current design allows more than 50 frames per minute with a resolution of 16 effective number of bits (ENOB) while consuming less than 300 mW.
A 0.18/spl mu/m CMOS implementation of an area efficient precise exception handling unit for processing-in-memory systems

This paper describes the implementation of theexception handling mechanism in the second prototype version of the Data-Intensive Architecture (DIVA) processing-inmemory (PIM) chip. This implementation features architectural simplicity, low area (54289 p 2 ) , delay (2.643 nanosecond) and power consumption (7.6 milliwatts), and effective hardware support for complex cases of exception handling. This work provides a description of handling memory-access, execution and communication-related exceptions in an area- and powerefficient manner, which are key design specifications for DIVA. The current implementation has been tested by verifying various exceptions on DIVA-I1 PIM chips running at 140MHz in the memory system of a HP Itanium2-based Long¿s Peak server. The generic nature of the DIVA exceptions and their classification makes the current implementation suitable and easy for use in diverse microarchitectures with little modification.
Systematic review of targeted axillary dissection in node-positive breast cancer treated with neoadjuvant systemic therapy: variation in type of marker and timing of placement

Abstract Background In node-positive (cN+) breast cancer treated with neoadjuvant systemic therapy, combining sentinel lymph node biopsy and targeted lymph node excision, that is targeted axillary dissection, increases accuracy. Targeted axillary dissection procedures differ in terms of the targeted lymph node excision technique. This systematic review aimed to provide an overview of targeted axillary dissection procedures regarding definitive marker type and timing of placement: before neoadjuvant systemic therapy (1-step procedure) or after neoadjuvant systemic therapy adjacent to a clip placed before the neoadjuvant therapy (2-step procedure). Methods PubMed and Embase were searched, to 4 July 2023, for RCTs, cohort studies, and case–control studies with at least 25 patients. Studies of targeted lymph node excision only (without sentinel lymph node biopsy), or where intraoperative localization of the targeted lymph node was not attempted, were excluded. For qualitative synthesis, studies were grouped by definitive marker and timing of placement. The targeted lymph node identification rate was reported. Study quality was assessed using a National Institutes of Health quality assessment tool. Results Of 277 unique records, 51 studies with a total of 4512 patients were included. Six definitive markers were identified: wire, 125I-labelled seed, 99mTc, (electro)magnetic/radiofrequency markers, black ink, and a clip. Fifteen studies evaluated one-step procedures, with the identification rate of the targeted lymph node at surgery varying from 8 of 13 to 47 of 47. Forty-one studies evaluated two-step procedures, with the identification rate of the clipped targeted lymph node on imaging after neoadjuvant systemic therapy varying from 49 to 100%, and the identification rate of the targeted lymph node at surgery from 17 of 24 to 100%. Most studies (40 of 51) were rated as being of fair quality. Conclusion Various targeted axillary dissection procedures are used in clinical practice. Owing to study heterogeneity, the optimal targeted lymph node excision technique in terms of identification rate and feasibility could not be determined. Two-step procedures are at risk of not identifying the clipped targeted lymph node on imaging after neoadjuvant systemic therapy.
Examining the causal association between psoriasis and bladder cancer: A two‐sample Mendelian randomization analysis

Abstract Background Previous epidemiological observational studies have potentially associated psoriasis with bladder cancer, but the results are inconsistent, and the causality remains unknown. The present study aimed to examine whether there are causal associations between psoriasis and bladder cancer using bidirectional two‐sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis. Materials and Methods A two‐sample MR analysis was conducted using publicly available genome‐wide association study (GWAS) data for individuals diagnosed with psoriasis and bladder cancer. The inverse variance weighted (IVW) method was the primary method. The complementary methods used included the weighted median, MR‐Egger, weighted mode, and simple mode methods. Heterogeneity and pleiotropy of the MR results were detected. Moreover, leave‐one‐out sensitivity analysis was also employed to evaluate the robustness and validity of the findings. Results No significant causal association was detected between psoriasis incidence and the risk of bladder cancer using the IVW method (OR = 0.999, 95% CI 0.977–1.022; P = 0.956). Similarly, the IVW model revealed no evidence of a causal relationship between bladder cancer and the risk of psoriasis (OR = 0.979, 95%CI = 0.873–1.098; P = 0.716). The results of the complementary methods were consistent with those of the IVW method. There was no notable horizontal pleiotropy or heterogeneity (P > 0.05) in our MR analysis. The results of sensitivity analysis confirmed that the MR estimates were not driven by single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Conclusion This study does not support a causal relationship between psoriasis and bladder cancer.
N A ] 2 5 A ug 2 00 9 On the applicability of compressed sensing to ill-conditioned and noisy systems

The influence of noise and the effects of ill-conditioning of the measurement matrix on the effectiveness of l1-based recovery of sparse signals in high dimensional spaces is investigated. Even for moderately ill-conditioned systems it is found that such a method performs much worse than for random matrix based problems that are often presented. On the other hand, when considering different noise levels for a fixed condition number, the relative accuracy remains constant. Index Terms Compressed sensing, ill-conditioned systems, l1-norm penalization, noise, sparsity
A Singular Parabolic Anderson Model

We consider the heat equation with a singular random potential term. The potential is Gaussian with mean 0 and covariance given by a small constant times the inverse square of the distance. Solutions exist as singular measures, under suitable assumptions on the initial conditions and for sufficiently small noise. We investigate various properties of the solutions using such tools as scaling, self-duality and moment formulae. This model lies on the boundary between nonexistence and smooth solutions. It gives a new model, other than the superprocess, which has measure-valued solutions.
Refractive Epipolar Geometry for Underwater Stereo Matching

A fundamental component of stereo vision is that of epipolar geometry. It tells us that the corresponding point of a pixel in one image is restricted to a line in another image. This constraint reduces both the complexity of finding stereo correspondences and also the chance of making incorrect matches. When a refractive surface is introduced, which is in underwater imaging, this constraint no longer holds. Instead, the corresponding point of a pixel in one image is now restricted to a curve, not a line. In this paper we investigate the impact of a planar refractive interface has on underwater imaging and stereo matching. We address the issue of 3D point projection in a refractive medium, including cases where the refractive interface is not parallel with the camera's imaging plane. A novel method for calibrating the parameters of a planar refractive interface in the local image space is proposed. We show how to compute the refractive epipolar curve for a pixel, which allows us to generate a matching cost volume that compensates for the effects of refraction. Our experimental results show that our new approach can significantly improve the results of underwater stereo matching over previous approaches.
EML4-ALK Fusion Gene and Efficacy of an ALK Kinase Inhibitor in Lung Cancer

Purpose: The EML4-ALK fusion gene has been detected in ∼7% of Japanese non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC). We determined the frequency of EML4-ALK in Caucasian NSCLC and in NSCLC cell lines. We also determined whether TAE684, a specific ALK kinase inhibitor, would inhibit the growth of EML4-ALK-containing cell lines in vitro and in vivo. Experimental Design: We screened 305 primary NSCLC [both U.S. (n = 138) and Korean (n = 167) patients] and 83 NSCLC cell lines using reverse transcription-PCR and by exon array analyses. We evaluated the efficacy of TAE684 against NSCLC cell lines in vitro and in vivo. Results: We detected four different variants, including two novel variants, of EML4-ALK using reverse transcription-PCR in 8 of 305 tumors (3%) and 3 of 83 (3.6%) NSCLC cell lines. All EML4-ALK-containing tumors and cell lines were adenocarcinomas. EML4-ALK was detected more frequently in NSCLC patients who were never or light (<10 pack-years) cigarette smokers compared with current/former smokers (6% versus 1%; P = 0.049). TAE684 inhibited the growth of one of three (H3122) EML4-ALK-containing cell lines in vitro and in vivo, inhibited Akt phosphorylation, and caused apoptosis. In another EML4-ALK cell line, DFCI032, TAE684 was ineffective due to coactivation of epidermal growth factor receptor and ERBB2. The combination of TAE684 and CL-387,785 (epidermal growth factor receptor/ERBB2 kinase inhibitor) inhibited growth and Akt phosphorylation and led to apoptosis in the DFCI032 cell line. Conclusions:EML4-ALK is found in the minority of NSCLC. ALK kinase inhibitors alone or in combination may nevertheless be clinically effective treatments for NSCLC patients whose tumors contain EML4-ALK.
Adenovirus-mediated expression of CXCL10 in the central nervous system results in T-cell recruitment and limited neuropathology

In the present study, the authors evaluated the contributions of the CXC chemokine ligand (CXCL)10 to leukocyte recruitment into the central nervous system (CNS) and disease development. Instillation of a replication-deficient adenovirus that expresses CXCL10 (AdCXCL10) into the CNS of C57BL/6 mice resulted in a rapid (day 3) and prolonged (day 21) infiltration of both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells as compared to mice infected with an adenovirus vector containing β-galactosidase (Adβgal). Despite increased T-cell infiltration into the CNS of AdCXCL10-infected mice, production of proinflammatory chemokines normally associated with the recruitment of activated T cells into the CNS was muted and mice developed limited neuropathology. Therefore, these results indicate that T-cell infiltration in the absence of appropriate activation is not sufficient to induce pathology within the CNS and that additional signals other than CXCL10 are required for induction of an immune-mediated neurologic disease.
Sustainability of Urban Infrastructures

The scope of the paper is to overview the different approaches for evaluation of urban infrastructure sustainability. In this context, urban infrastructure covers transportation, energy, water, sewage and information networks as well as waste management and blue-green infrastructure, in terms of both the supply and demand side. A common effort of partners in the European project “C8—Best Practice in Sustainable Urban Infrastructure”, developed under the Cooperation in Science and Technology program (COST), in brief COST C8, was focused on defining the methods, indicators and criteria for evaluation of sustainability, and resulted in a guidebook for decision-makers in local authorities. Here, the COST C8 matrix for simple sustainability assessment of urban infrastructure is applied to The Path (POT) case—a circular memorial and recreational park around the city of Ljubljana, Slovenia. The applicability and acceptance of the matrix in 43 other cases of sustainable urban infrastructure, collected in the COST C8 project, is presented and discussed.
RACK1 promotes autophagy via the PERK signaling pathway to protect against traumatic brain injury in rats

Abstract Aims Neuronal cell death is a primary factor that determines the outcome after traumatic brain injury (TBI). We previously revealed the importance of receptor for activated C kinase (RACK1), a multifunctional scaffold protein, in maintaining neuronal survival after TBI, but the specific mechanism remains unclear. The aim of this study was to explore the mechanism underlying RACK1‐mediated neuroprotection in TBI. Methods TBI model was established using controlled cortical impact injury in Sprague–Dawley rats. Genetic intervention and pharmacological inhibition of RACK1 and PERK‐autophagy signaling were administrated by intracerebroventricular injection. Western blotting, coimmunoprecipitation, transmission electron microscopy, real‐time PCR, immunofluorescence, TUNEL staining, Nissl staining, neurobehavioral tests, and contusion volume assessment were performed. Results Endogenous RACK1 was upregulated and correlated with autophagy induction after TBI. RACK1 knockdown markedly inhibited TBI‐induced autophagy, whereas RACK1 overexpression exerted the opposite effects. Moreover, RACK1 overexpression ameliorated neuronal apoptosis, neurological deficits, and cortical tissue loss after TBI, and these effects were abrogated by the autophagy inhibitor 3‐methyladenine or siRNAs targeting Beclin1 and Atg5. Mechanistically, RACK1 interacted with PERK and activated PERK signaling. Pharmacological and genetic inhibition of the PERK pathway abolished RACK1‐induced autophagy after TBI. Conclusion Our findings indicate that RACK1 protected against TBI‐induced neuronal damage partly through autophagy induction by regulating the PERK signaling pathway.
Estimating the Quality of Reprogrammed Cells Using ES Cell Differentiation Expression Patterns

Somatic cells can be reprogrammed to a pluripotent state by over-expression of defined factors, and pluripotency has been confirmed by the tetraploid complementation assay. However, especially in human cells, estimating the quality of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell(iPSC) is still difficult. Here, we present a novel supervised method for the assessment of the quality of iPSCs by estimating the gene expression profile using a 2-D “Differentiation-index coordinate”, which consists of two “developing lines” that reflects the directions of ES cell differentiation and the changes of cell states during differentiation. By applying a novel liner model to describe the differentiation trajectory, we transformed the ES cell differentiation time-course expression profiles to linear “developing lines”; and use these lines to construct the 2-D “Differentiation-index coordinate” of mouse and human. We compared the published gene expression profiles of iPSCs, ESCs and fibroblasts in mouse and human “Differentiation-index coordinate”. Moreover, we defined the Distance index to indicate the qualities of iPS cells, which based on the projection distance of iPSCs-ESCs and iPSCs-fibroblasts. The results indicated that the “Differentiation-index coordinate” can distinguish differentiation states of the different cells types. Furthermore, by applying this method to the analysis of expression profiles in the tetraploid complementation assay, we showed that the Distance index which reflected spatial distributions correlated the pluripotency of iPSCs. We also analyzed the significantly changed gene sets of “developing lines”. The results suggest that the method presented here is not only suitable for the estimation of the quality of iPS cells based on expression profiles, but also is a new approach to analyze time-resolved experimental data.
Algorithms for Computing an Optimal Protein Threading with Profiles and Distance Restraints

Protein threading is one of the powerful methods for protein structure prediction. Some advances are recently made by the significant utilization of distance restraints. Xu et al. proposed a protein threading method in which distance constraints obtained from NMR experiments were taken into account [5]. Young et al. recently developed a novel experimental method to increase the predictive accuracy of the fold recognition method by using chemical cross-linking and time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometry to identify LYS-LYS cross-links [6]. Though Xu et al. considered protein threading with pairwise contact energy and constraints [5], threading with profiles is also known as a powerful method for protein structure prediction. In particular, PSI-BLAST is widely used both for sequence similarity search and protein structure prediction [3]. Therefore, we have recently developed two algorithms for computing optimal threadings with profiles and constraints [1]. In this short abstract, we show performances of these two algorithms.
Evaluation of Portable Point-of-Care CD4 Counter with High Sensitivity for Detecting Patients Eligible for Antiretroviral Therapy

Background Accurate, inexpensive point-of-care CD4+ T cell testing technologies are needed that can deliver CD4+ T cell results at lower level health centers or community outreach voluntary counseling and testing. We sought to evaluate a point-of-care CD4+ T cell counter, the Pima CD4 Test System, a portable, battery-operated bench-top instrument that is designed to use finger stick blood samples suitable for field use in conjunction with rapid HIV testing. Methods Duplicate measurements were performed on both capillary and venous samples using Pima CD4 analyzers, compared to the BD FACSCalibur (reference method). The mean bias was estimated by paired Student's t-test. Bland Altman plots were used to assess agreement. Results 206 participants were enrolled with a median CD4 count of 396 (range; 18–1500). The finger stick PIMA had a mean bias of −66.3 cells/µL (95%CI −83.4−49.2, P<0.001) compared to the FACSCalibur; the bias was smaller at lower CD4 counts (0–250 cells/µL) with a mean bias of −10.8 (95%CI −27.3−+5.6, P = 0.198), and much greater at higher CD4 cell counts (>500 cells/µL) with a mean bias of −120.6 (95%CI −162.8, −78.4, P<0.001). The sensitivity (95%CI) of the Pima CD4 analyzer was 96.3% (79.1–99.8%) for a <250 cells/ul cut-off with a negative predictive value of 99.2% (95.1–99.9%). Conclusions The Pima CD4 finger stick test is an easy-to-use, portable, relatively fast device to test CD4+ T cell counts in the field. Issues of negatively-biased CD4 cell counts especially at higher absolute numbers will limit its utility for longitudinal immunologic response to ART. The high sensitivity and negative predictive value of the test makes it an attractive option for field use to identify patients eligible for ART, thus potentially reducing delays in linkage to care and ART initiation.
Bioidentical Hormones : Why Are They Still Controversial ?

Health problems encountered during menopause may adversely affect a woman for the rest of her lifetime in the absence of appropriate hormone replacement. Yet maturing women today are often told by their doctors to limit prolonged use of hormone drugs, only long enough to obtain relief from menopausal symptoms and then no more. Unfortunately, this advice fails to recognize the critical differences between hormone drugs foreign to women’s bodies and hormones identical to those naturally produced by women’s bodies.
Jointly Optimal Congestion Control, Forwarding Strategy and Power Control for Named-Data Multihop Wireless Network

Named data networking (NDN) as a promising future network architecture has been widely considered as a very appropriate network protocol for multihop wireless network (MWN). In named-data MWN, congestion control, forwarding strategy, and power control are three coupled critical issues. There are already extensive works about cross-layer design for MWN with IP and they have demonstrated the advantage of cross-layer design. Enlightened by cross-layer designs for MWN with IP, in this paper, the joint congestion control, forwarding strategy, and power control problem for named-data MWN are studied, and it is modeled as a named-data network utility maximization (NDNUM) problem. In our NDNUM, we maximize data receiving rate related network utility minus power consumption, while consider NDN’s communication characteristics that are different from IP. Then a distributed iterative algorithm based on subgradient method is proposed in order to solve NDNUM. To the best of our knowledge, our algorithm is the first cross-layer design for congestion control and power control for named-data MWN. We show that network utility maximization not only can be used to facilitate cross-layer design for networks with end-to-end protocols but also can be used to design cross-layer mechanisms for information-centric network. From simulation, our algorithm outperforms existing congestion control mechanism in network throughput, resource utilization efficiency, and stabilization PIT size.