Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Enhanced susceptibility to oxidation and diminished vitamin E content of LDL from patients with stable coronary artery disease.

BACKGROUND Convincing evidence points to oxidative modification of LDL as an important trigger in a complex chain of events leading to atherosclerosis. We investigated the occurrence of enhanced susceptibility of LDL to oxidation and decreased vitamin E concentration in LDL as additional risk factors promoting atherosclerosis among patients with established coronary artery disease (CAD). METHODS We examined 132 patients with angiographically confirmed CAD and compared them with 111 healthy control individuals. We measured conjugated diene production to assess susceptibility of LDL to copper-mediated oxidation. Vitamin E content of LDL was measured by HPLC. RESULTS The mean lag time of LDL oxidation and LDL alpha-tocopherol/LDL-cholesterol ratio were lower in the patients with CAD (55 +/- 14 min and 2.4 +/- 1.0 mmol/mmol) than in the controls (63 +/- 13 min and 2.9 +/- 1.1 mmol/mmol; P <0.0001 and <0.001, respectively). Multiple stepwise regression analysis demonstrated the lag time (odds ratio, 1.96; 95% confidence interval, 1.34-2.87; P <0.0001) and concentration of vitamin E in LDL (odds ratio, 1.65; 95% confidence interval, 1.16-2.33; P <0.005) as independent determinants of CAD. Significant inverse Spearman rank correlations were found between lag time (r = -0.285; P <0.001) or concentration of vitamin E in LDL (r = -0.197; P <0.002) and severity of CAD. Lag times were not significantly correlated with serum C-reactive protein or ferritin. CONCLUSIONS Our data suggest that a short LDL oxidation lag time and a low concentration of vitamin E in LDL might be independent coronary risk factors for stable CAD in Iranian people.
Effects of Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) Essential Oil Inhalation on Cognitive Performance and Mood in Healthy Women

Objective: To evaluate the effects of inhalation of lemongrass ( Cymbopogon citratus ) essential oil on the cognitive function and mood in healthy female volunteers. Methods: All 30 participants of each group were required to inhale either lemongrass essential oil or a placebo (inactive control oil) for five minutes. Before and after the 5-minuite inhalation period, their cognitive function was assessed with a computerized battery of tests and the mood with a self-rated visual analogue; the blood pressure and heart rate were also measured. Differences in the cognitive function, mood, blood pressure and heart rate between the two groups were analyzed and tested using an independent t -test. Results: After the inhalation, the lemongrass essential oil enhanced their cognitive performance for the domains of the continuity of attention and the quality of memory ( P -value = 0.013 and 0.026, respectively), whereas the mood in terms of alertness and calmness was also increased ( P -value = 0.001 and 0.035, respectively). However, no significant change in the blood pressure and heart rate was observed. Conclusion: The lemongrass essential oil inhalation could improve the cognitive function and modulate mood of healthy women with no effect on the physiological status. However, the underlying mechanisms of these positive effects still require further studies. Keywords: Cymbopogon citratus, lemongrass, essential oil, cognitive performance, mood
Antenna azimuth position control with PID, fuzzy logic and sliding mode controllers

In our age, the most important technology that provides communication without selecting location and time is satellite communications undoubtedly. The antenna position control systems are used in providing that communication with high tracing accuracy. The goal of this study is to ensure the minimum angle deviation after the antenna is rotated. For this purpose, the antenna position control system is designed in MATLAB/Simulink and PID, fuzzy logic and sliding mode controllers are performed to the system. The simulation results are compared and the most suitable control method is determined.
AutoTutor: An evaluation of interface design , domain independence and dialogue modelling

This thesis is an analytical evaluation of AutoTutor an ITS that aims to simulate naturalistic tutorial dialogues. Features under consideration are the system’s domain independence, the interface design, the support of deep reasoning in the tutorial dialogue and student modelling. Tutors with similar credentials are studied in order to specify the requirements of such a system. A pilot study is described for the purposes of evaluating the actual performance of the tutor on the isolated features. The architecture and design of the system are analysed in detail through a porting procedure to a new domain. Concrete and feasible suggestions are put forward regarding the usability and extensibility of the system.
Computed tomography for detection of vulnerable coronary plaque – A Cassandra's dream?

The majority of acute coronary syndromes occur without warning due to rupture of coronary atherosclerotic plaques. Coronary lesions prone to rupture reveal several high-risk features that can be identified before the development of devastating clinical events, using modern imaging modalities. Recent advances in coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) allow the identification, quantification, and risk stratification of coronary plaques. Unquestionably, attempts to identify high-risk plaques by CCTA provide a unique opportunity to implement targeted preventive measures and improve prognosis. This review highlights insights into the ability of CCTA for the identification of vulnerable plaque and prediction of future coronary events that might affect future diagnosis and management of coronary artery disease.
Stormwater Runoff and Water Quality Modeling in Urban Maryland

Title of Document: STORMWATER RUNOFF AND WATER QUALITY MODELING IN URBAN MARYLAND Jing Wang, Master of Science, 2015 Directed By: Dr. Barton A. Forman, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Urbanization significantly affects storm water runoff through the creation of new impervious surfaces such as highways, parking lots, and rooftops. Such changes can adversely impact the downstream receiving water bodies in terms of physical, chemical, and biological conditions. In order to mitigate the effects of urbanization on downstream water bodies, stormwater control measures (SCMs) have been widely used (e.g., infiltration basins, bioswales). A suite of observations from an infiltration basin installed adjacent to a highway in urban Maryland was used to evaluate stormwater runoff attenuation and pollutant removal rates at the wellinstrumented SCM study site. In this study, the Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) was used to simulate the performance of the SCM. An automatic, split-sample calibration framework was developed to improve SWMM performance efficiency. The results indicate SWMM can accurately reproduce the hydraulic response of the SCM (in terms of reproducing measured inflow) during spring, fall, and winter, but is less accurate in reproducing measured outflow during summer time. Similar results were found for the modeled (and observed) inflow water quality constituent, total suspended solids (TSS). STORMWATER RUNOFF AND WATER QUALITY MODELING IN URBAN MARYLAND
A stop-and-go queueing framework for congestion management

A framework for congestion management in integrated services packet networks based on a particular service discipline, called stop-and-go queueing, is proposed. In this framework, loss-free and bounded-delay transmission is provided to the class of traffic with stringent delay and loss requirements, e.g., real-time traffic, while the bursty traffic without such requirements is treated on a different basis to achieve high transmission efficiency. Loss-free and bounded-delay transmission is accomplished by means of an admission policy which ensures smoothness of the traffic at the network edge, and the stop-and-go queueing which maintains the traffic smoothness throughout the network. Both the admission policy and the stop-and-go queueing are based on a time framing concept, addressed in a previous paper. This concept is further developed here to incorporate several frame sizes into the strategy, thereby providing the necessary flexibility in accommodating throughput and end-to-end delay requirements of different connections on an as-needed basis.
In-Field Attack Proof of Injected False Data in Sensor Networks

In a large-scale sensor network individual sensors can be compromised to inject bogus sensing reports. While SEF can filter out the outfield false reports, it is incapable of detecting the in-field compromised nodes, which may collect sufficient number of keyed message authentication codes (MAC). An in-field attack proof mechanism is presented in this paper. The MAC delivery mechanism makes the MACs follow the direction of increasing signal strength, and the skipping out mechanism helps the MACs walk out of the compromised nodes. As the report is forwarded, each node along the way verifies the correctness of the MACs probabilistically and drops those with invalid MACs. As the in-field compromised node is prevented from gathering enough MACs, the report generated by it can be detected and dropped en-route. Analysis and simulation show that IAP can drop bogus reports injected by an in-field compromised node in many cases.
An Inducible Expression System to Measure Rhodopsin Transport in Transgenic Xenopus Rod Outer Segments

We developed an inducible transgene expression system in Xenopus rod photoreceptors. Using a transgene containing mCherry fused to the carboxyl terminus of rhodopsin (Rho-mCherry), we characterized the displacement of rhodopsin (Rho) from the base to the tip of rod outer segment (OS) membranes. Quantitative confocal imaging of live rods showed very tight regulation of Rho-mCherry expression, with undetectable expression in the absence of dexamethasone (Dex) and an average of 16.5 µM of Rho-mCherry peak concentration after induction for several days (equivalent to >150-fold increase). Using repetitive inductions, we found the axial rate of disk displacement to be 1.0 µm/day for tadpoles at 20 °C in a 12 h dark /12 h light lighting cycle. The average distance to peak following Dex addition was 3.2 µm, which is equivalent to ~3 days. Rods treated for longer times showed more variable expression patterns, with most showing a reduction in Rho-mCherry concentration after 3 days. Using a simple model, we find that stochastic variation in transgene expression can account for the shape of the induction response.
Appling a Novel Cost Function to Hopfield Neural Network for Defects Boundaries Detection of Wood Image

A modified Hopfield neural network with a novel cost function was presented for detecting wood defects boundary in the image. Different from traditional methods, the boundary detection problem in this paper was formulated as an optimization process that sought the boundary points to minimize a cost function. An initial boundary was estimated by Canny algorithm first. The pixel gray value was described as a neuron state of Hopfield neural network. The state updated till the cost function touches the minimum value. The designed cost function ensured that few neurons were activated except the neurons corresponding to actual boundary points and ensured that the activated neurons are positioned in the points which had greatest change in gray value. The tools of Matlab were used to implement the experiment. The results show that the noises of the image are effectively removed, and our method obtains more noiseless and vivid boundary than those of the traditional methods.
Sublethal effects of chronic exposure to an organochlorine compound on northern leopard frog (Rana pipiens) tadpoles

Global contamination with organochlorine compounds (OCs) has posed developmental and reproductive problems in wildlife worldwide. However, little is known about the impact of OCs or other pollutants on amphibians, despite mounting concerns about amphibian population declines and developmental deformities in the wild. Wildlife populations may be affected critically by sublethal impacts of anthropogenic disturbances, yet little research has focused on such effects in amphibians. In the current study, northern leopard frog (Rana pipiens) tadpoles were chronically exposed to a polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congener, 77‐TCB, and effects on behavior, morphology, competitive performance, and corticosterone content were determined. R. pipiens activity levels and feeding rates were decreased by 77‐TCB exposure, but morphology of mouthparts and body proportions were unaffected. 77‐TCB enhanced growth and altered competitive interactions between R. pipiens and wood frog (Rana sylvatica) tadpoles. R. pipiens tadpoles exposed to 77‐TCB showed decreased whole‐body corticosterone content compared to controls both before and after injection with adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). All of the factors examined in the current study play critical roles in tadpole development, growth, survivorship, and eventual reproductive success, suggesting negative population‐level consequences for amphibians in PCB‐contaminated habitats. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Environ Toxicol 16: 287–297, 2001
On Some Asymptotic Formulas in The Theory of The "Factorisatio Numerorum"

ON SOME ASYMPTOTIC FORMULAS IN THE THEORY OF THE "FACTORISATIO NUMERORUM" BY P. ERDÖS (Received December 2, 1940) Let 1 < a, < a2 < . be a sequence of integers . Denote by f (n) the number of representations of n as the product of the a's, where two representations are considered equal only if they contain the same factors in the same order . As far as I know the first papers written on the subject are those of L . Kalmár,' who proved by using the methods of analytic number theory that if at _ k + l then
Microstrip Low-Pass Filter Using Hexagonal Patch with Wide Stopband

In this present paper, a micro strip low-pass filter using hexagonal capacitive patch with the upper cut-off frequency equal to 2 GHz is analyzed and designed. The proposed filter shows significant reduction in the effective area on the substrate along with an improved pass-band performance and a wide stop-band. To verify the analysis, the structure has been simulated using two popular software packages: a) IE3D and b) Sonnet Lite both based on the method of moments technique and the performance of the filter is in the good agreement
Using a Pronunciation Dictionary and Phonetic Rules for Name Matching Applications

Phonetic matching is used to identify strings that are likely to have similar pronunciation, regardless of their spelling. The well-known phonetic matching techniques such as Soundex, although simple to compute, are in practice less effective than nonphonetic measures such as edit distances. In this paper we analyse the problem of phonetic matching to explain why Soundex-like techniques are unlikely to work well, and propose a more sophisticated technique for phonetic matching based on information derived from a pronunciation dictionary. This technique is not yet efficient enough for a production system, but is more effective than Soundex and Phonix.
Different Server Architecture for Mobile Presence Services

In today’s internet world use of Smartphones and PDAs are increase enormously which leads to the use of internet communication by the means of instant messaging which is the crucial part of the online social networking. This paper focus on different server architectures needed for MPS. MPS are the services like facebook, AIM, Microsoft Msn etc. which provide the each and every update of the friends of an user who is using the service like log in/log out ,recent updation made by friends to user and user to every other friend listed in user’s friend list, different activities etc. This paper enlists the different architectures for MPS and their brief comparison along with features and flaws. Index Term: Mobile presence services (MPS), Instant Messaging (IM).
The L1-Type Cell Adhesion Molecule Neuroglian Influences the Stability of Neural Ankyrin in the Drosophila Embryo But Not Its Axonal Localization

Ankyrins are linker proteins, which connect various membrane proteins, including members of the L1 family of neural cell adhesion molecules, with the submembranous actin–spectrin skeleton. Here we report the cloning and characterization of a second, novelDrosophila ankyrin gene (Dank2) that appears to be the result of a gene duplication event during arthropod evolution. The Drosophila L1-type protein neuroglian interacts with products from both Drosophilaankyrin genes. Whereas the previously described ankyrin gene is ubiquitously expressed during embryogenesis, the expression ofDank2 is restricted to the nervous system in theDrosophila embryo. The absence of neuroglian protein in a neuroglian null mutant line causes decreased levels of Dank2 protein in most neuronal cells. This suggests that neuroglian is important for the stability of Dank2 protein. However, neuroglian is not required for Dank2 axonal localization. In temperature-sensitiveneuroglian mutants in which neuroglian protein is mislocated at the restrictive temperature to an intracellular location in the neuronal soma, Dank2 protein can still be detected along embryonic nerve tracts.
Automatic removal of ocular artifacts from EEG data using adaptive filtering and Independent Component Analysis

A method to eliminate eye movement artifacts based on Independent Component Analysis (ICA) and Recursive Least Squares (RLS) is presented. The proposed algorithm combines the effective ICA capacity of separating artifacts from brain waves, together with the online interference cancellation achieved by adaptive filtering. The method uses separate electrodes localized close to the eyes (Fp1, Fp2, F7 and F8), that register vertical and horizontal eye movements, to extract a reference signal. Each reference input is first projected into ICA domain and then the interference is estimated using the RLS algorithm. This interference estimation is subtracted from the EEG components in the ICA domain. Results from experimental data demonstrate that this approach is suitable for eliminating artifacts caused by eye movements, and the principles of this method can be extended to certain other sources of artifacts as well. The method is easy to implement, stable, and presents a low computational cost.
e-Government and Security Evaluation Tools Comparison for Indonesian e-Government System

Electronic Government (e-Government) system nowadays are implemented by majority countries around the world with various reasons, such as to improve the efficiency of government's services to the citizens and increase the accountability of government's process and citizen's trust to avoid corruption. But during the development of e-Government system the security aspect is pushed aside to accommodate the continuous development. Indonesia as one of the countries that pushes hard the development and implementation of e-Government system in all government sectors currently has inadequate e-Government and security evaluation tools to help evaluate the performance and development of Indonesian e-Government system and its security aspect. This paper compares Indonesia's e-Government and its evaluation tools with the available evaluation tools that can be used to help evaluate the current level of Indonesian e-Government system and its security aspect.
A 12-Week Cycling Training Regimen Improves Gait and Executive Functions Concomitantly in People with Parkinson’s Disease

Background: There is increasing evidence that executive functions and attention are associated with gait and balance, and that this link is especially prominent in older individuals or those who are aﬄicted by neurodegenerative diseases that affect cognition and/or motor functions. People with Parkinson’s disease (PD) often present gait disturbances, which can be reduced when PD patients engage in different types of physical exercise (PE), such as walking on a treadmill. Similarly, PE has also been found to improve executive functions in this population. Yet, no exercise intervention investigated simultaneously gait and non-motor symptoms (executive functions, motor learning) in PD patients. Objective: To assess the impact of aerobic exercise training (AET) using a stationary bicycle on a set of gait parameters (walking speed, cadence, step length, step width, single and double support time, as well as variability of step length, step width and double support time) and executive functions (cognitive inhibition and flexibility) in sedentary PD patients and healthy controls. Methods: Two groups, 19 PD patients (Hoehn and Yahr ≤2) and 20 healthy adults, matched on age and sedentary level, followed a 3-month stationary bicycle AET regimen. Results: Aerobic capacity, as well as performance of motor learning and on cognitive inhibition, increased significantly in both groups after the training regimen, but only PD patients improved their walking speed and cadence (all p < 0.05; with no change in the step length). Moreover, in PD patients, training-related improvements in aerobic capacity correlated positively with improvements in walking speed (r = 0.461, p < 0.05). Conclusion: AET using stationary bicycle can independently improve gait and cognitive inhibition in sedentary PD patients. Given that increases in walking speed were obtained through increases in cadence, with no change in step length, our findings suggest that gait improvements are specific to the type of motor activity practiced during exercise (i.e., pedaling). In contrast, the improvements seen in cognitive inhibition were, most likely, not specific to the type of training and they could be due to indirect action mechanisms (i.e., improvement of cardiovascular capacity). These results are also relevant for the development of targeted AET interventions to improve functional autonomy in PD patients.
Targeted therapy in patients with radioiodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer ( DTC )

Papillary (PTC) and follicular (FTC) thyroid cancer (TC) belong to differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). The initial treatment of DTC is surgery followed by radioiodine remnant ablation. Although the prognosis of DTC is generally good, approximately 10-15% of DTC patients will devolp advanced disease and their disease will become radioiodine refractory. Even in radioiodine refractory patients the natural history of disease can be slowly progressive or indolent.The expanded knowledge of the the biological basis of DTC has opened new opportunities in therapy – targeted therapy, aimed at inhibiting specific molecular targets and pathways in tumor proliferation, survival and progression. We rewieved different tageted therapies in DTC. Sorafenib was the first and only targeted drug approved by FDA for progressive and radiodine-refractory DTC. Also, lenvatinib had promising efficacy results in phase III trial, probably even better than sorafenib, but with more treatment-related deaths. The timing of targeted therapy for DTC is of decisive importance. The potential benefit should be balanced with potential toxicity of targeted therapies.