Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Seroprevalence and economic impact of eradicating zoonotic brucellosis in Malaysia: a case study of Melaka state of Malaysia.

Aim: A study was carried out to elucidate the seroprevalence of brucellosis in small and large ruminants in Melaka state of Malaysia and estimate the economic impact of zoonotic brucellosis in Malaysia using available data. Materials and Methods: Data was collected during culling exercises by the Department of Veterinary Services of Malaysia as a result of surveillance using CFT as a confirmatory test for brucellosis. Results:The average compensation in 4 years per district of Melaka state was RM12248.875(USD 3874.75) and the total compensation paid in 4 years was RM146,986.50(USD45,865.24) with year 2009 having the highest compensation amount of RM 58,914.40 (USD18,383.48). The estimated total economic losses due to brucellosis stands at about RM200,607,946.80 (USD 62,926,060.84) in a year for the whole of Malaysia. The odds of brucellosis in large ruminants (cattle/buffaloes) was significantly 1.6 times more compared to small ruminants (goats/sheep) in Melaka (P
Resource Allocation for CoMP With Multiuser MIMO-OFDMA

In this paper, we propose new resource allocation schemes with (or without) adaptive modulation for coordinated multipoint (CoMP) with multiuser multiple-input multiple-output orthogonal frequency-division multiple-access (MIMO-OFDMA). In the proposed schemes, a practical linear pre- and postprocessing technique is used to cancel interuser interference and decompose a single-user MIMO channel into parallel noninterfering spatial layers. The transmit power is allocated to spatial layers with (or without) adaptive modulation under the total base station (BS) power constraint and the per-BS power constraint. The set of users for each subcarrier is determined by the exhaustive search user allocation, the sum rate-based user allocation, and the random user allocation. Simulation results show that the proposed schemes enhance the sum rate.
Nanomaterials in Targeting Cancer Stem Cells for Cancer Therapy

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) have been identified in almost all cancers and give rise to metastases and can also act as a reservoir of cancer cells that may cause a relapse after surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy. Thus they are obvious targets in therapeutic approaches and also a great challenge in cancer treatment. The threat presented by CSCs lies in their unlimited proliferative ability and multidrug resistance. These findings have necessitated an effective novel strategy to target CSCs for cancer treatment. Nanomaterials are on the route to providing novel methods in cancer therapies. Although, there have been a large number of excellent work in the field of targeted cancer therapy, it remains an open question how nanomaterials can meet future demands for targeting and eradicating of CSCs. In this review, we summarized recent and highlighted future prospects for targeting CSCs for cancer therapies by using a variety of nanomaterials.
An Overview of Methods Employed by Hackers and Crackers

This paper describes how hackers and crackers break into systems and manage to compromise their security. It discusses some of the security problems that have surfaced as a result of poor design in the recent past, and that are likely to show up in the future. Bad design of operating systems, inherent flaws in the design of protocols and vulnerabilities in utility programs provide gateways to hackers and crackers. We describe these methods in detail and propose some defenses against these methods.
Directed vs. undirected monotone contact networks for threshold functions

We consider the problem of computing threshold functions using directed and undirected monotone contact networks. Our main results are the following. First, we show that there exist directed monotone contact networks that compute T/sub k//sup n/, 2/spl les/k/spl les/n-1, of size O(k(n-k+2)log(n-k+2)). This bound is almost optimal for small thresholds, since there exists an /spl Omega/(knlog (n/(k-1))) lower bound. Our networks are described explicitly; the previously best upper bound known, obtained from the undirected networks of Dubiner and Zwick, used non-constructive arguments and gave directed networks of size O(k/sup 3.99/nlog n). Second, we show a lower bound of O(nlogloglog n) on the size of undirected monotone contact networks computing T/sub n-1//sup n/, improving the 2(n-1) lower bound of Markov. Combined with our upper bound result, this shows that directed monotone contact networks compute some threshold functions more easily than undirected networks. <<ETX>>
FINE STRUCTURE OF THE MEDIAL NUCLEUS OF THE TRAPEZOID BODY OF THE BAT WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO TWO TYPES OF SYNAPTIC ENDINGS

The medial nucleus of the trapezoid body has been studied electron microscopically in two species of bat, Miniopterus schreibersi fuliginosus and Vespertilio superans, which were perfused with three different kinds of fixatives, osmium tetroxide, glutaraldehyde, and formaldehyde. Two types of synaptic endings are observed in the nucleus: the abundant calyciferous endings and the less frequently occurring "small-vesicle endings. " The former endings vary greatly in size, and contain extended extracellular spaces between pre- and post-synaptic membranes. The latter endings are always small, without the extended extracellular spaces, and tend to lie side by side. In all of the materials perfused with three different fixatives, synaptic vesicles in the calyciferous endings are round in shape and larger than those in the small-vesicle endings. The shape of vesicles in the small-vesicle endings varies according to the kinds of fixatives used; round in osmium tetroxide-fixed materials, flattened in formaldehyde-fixed materials, and somewhat round or flattened in glutaraldehyde-fixed materials. It is suggested that the calyciferous endings are excitatory in nature and that the small-vesicle endings are inhibitory.
EMBEDDING KNOWLEDGE : ISSUES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES . Theme : The Social Processes of OL and

This paper investigates issues relating to the creation, maintenance and use of compled informaion systems such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. These systems may be considered to 'embed' rich knowledge concerning organizations and their environments. We investigate the notion of information systems embedding knowledge and conclude that the context within which the information system is created, maintained an used enables such embedding. Two different perspectives are used to investigate difficulties that may arise when the knowledge embedded in different systems is combined within organizations as a basis for action. The first approach models the 'mismatches' between the contents of different information systems, or memory media, within and organization. The second approach uses an analytic approach based on classification theory. In addition to developing two perspectives on problems associated with embedded knowledge possible strategies for alleviating such problems are discussed and directions for future research suggested.
Environmental Factors and Measures That Affect the Success of International Strategic Alliances

Strategic alliances help firms to enter new markets tactically, elude government restrictions quickly, distribute technologies effectively, and model leading firms swiftly. International strategic alliances (ISAs) are providing firms strategic flexibility, enabling them to respond to changing market conditions, and establishing effective passages for achieving global scale in enterprise operations. There are several key environmental factors that affect the success of the ISAs and those factors include cost saving in production and Research and Development (RD and the successful ISAs. Besides, the results indicated a negative relationship between culture distance and the successful ISAs.
A novel approach for evaluating applicability of existing empirical propagation models to coverage planning in 3.5 GHz WiMAX systems

Wireless technologies, developed within ICT at the end of XX, beginning of XXI century, are followed by adequate analytical support, which also made their implementation faster. At the beginning, their similarity with WiMAX concept launched the implementation of WiMAX systems in the scope of closely related research achievements. Therefore, this paper in a detailed and innovative way analyses possibility of using generalized analytical approaches (Cost 231, Erceg, SUI, ECC), developed primarily for GSM and UMTS systems engineering, in WiMAX coverage planning. Since direct usage of these approaches, in a global sense of applying, leads to inadmissible deviations of calculated parameters of relevance from homologue parameters present in physical reality, is made towards creating new models. Accordingly, authors are suggesting a new approach for evaluating applicability of existing empirical propagation models, using a coverage radius, or precisely, relative error of cell radius prediction. Great value of proposed approach is it's applicability during preliminary WiMAX system engineering and on drastically different types of topography (rural, urban and suburban), and therefore it's generalized nature. The fact that the same analytical frame, basically can be implemented globally, has provided the ground for taking a new step forward, opposite of using present partial solutions methodology, considering that these solutions, according to relevant literature are applicable for specific local topography only.
The Total and Appliance-Specific Conditional Demand for Electricity in the Household Sector

This study presents a set of twelve monthly cross section regression analyses of the household demand for electricity. The methodology to be used is based upon a conditional demand framework which can be used to disaggregate the total household demand for electricity into the component demand functions for electricity through the media of particular appliances, even though no direct observations on specific appliance energy usage exist. The latter demand functions are used to estimate the monthly and annual average energy use for these appliances as well as the corresponding price and income elasticities.
Differential tuning and population dynamics of excitatory and inhibitory neurons reflect differences in local intracortical connectivity

Neuronal responses during sensory processing are influenced both by the organization of intracortical connections and the statistical features of sensory stimuli. How these intrinsic and extrinsic factors govern activity of excitatory and inhibitory populations is unclear. Using twophoton calcium imaging in vivo and intracellular recordings in vitro, we investigated the dependencies between synaptic connectivity, feature selectivity and network activity in pyramidal cells (PCs) and parvalbumin-expressing fast-spiking (PV/FS) interneurons in mouse visual cortex. In PC populations, patterns of neuronal correlations were largely stimulus-dependent, indicating that their responses were not strongly dominated by functionally biased recurrent connectivity. In contrast, visual stimulation only weakly modified co-activation patterns of PV/FS cells, consistent with the observation that these broadly tuned interneurons received very dense and strong synaptic input from nearby PCs with diverse feature selectivities. Therefore feedforward and recurrent network influences determine the activity of excitatory and inhibitory ensembles in fundamentally different ways.
Analysis of Factors Contributing to the Low Survival of Cervical Cancer Patients Undergoing Radiotherapy in Kenya

Background In contrast to the developed nations, invasive cervical cancer (ICC) is the most common womens malignancy in Kenya and many other locations in sub-Saharan Africa. However, studies on survival from this disease in this area of the world are severely restricted by lack of patient follow-up. We now report a prospective cohort study of ICC in Kenyan women analysing factors affecting tumour response and overall survival in patients undergoing radiotherapy. Methods and Findings Between 2008 and 2010, 355 patients with histologically confirmed ICC were recruited at the Departments of Gynaecology and Radiotherapy at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH). Structured questionnaires were completed recording socio-demographics, tumour response and overall survival following treatment with combinations of external beam radiation (EBRT), brachytherapy and adjuvant chemotherapy. Of the 355 patients, 42% (146) were lost to follow-up while 18% (64) died during the two year period. 80.5% of patients presented with advanced stage IIB disease or above, with only 6.7% of patients receiving optimal combined EBRT, brachytherapy and adjuvant chemotherapy. Kaplan Meier survival curves projected two year survival at <20%. Conclusion Cervical cancer is preventable yet poverty, poor education, lack of cancer awareness coupled with an absence of regular screening programs, late patient presentation, sub-optimal diagnosis and treatments are major factors contributing to the alarmingly low survival rate of cervical cancer patients in Kenya. It is concluded that simple cost-effective changes in clinical practice could be introduced which would have a marked impact on patient survival in this setting.
GALEX UV properties of the polar ring galaxy MCG-05-07-001 and the shell galaxies NGC 1210 and NGC 5329

Context. Systems of shells and polar rings in early-type galaxies are considered “bona fide” tracers of mass accretion and/or mergers. Their high frequency in low density environments suggests that these processes could drive the evolution of at least a fraction of the early-type galaxy population. Aims. We investigate the star formation histories of this type of galaxies. Their UV emission is important for testing whether these galaxies host ongoing or recent star formation and how this formation varies across the galaxy. Methods. We used far- and near- ultraviolet, optical, near-infrared images, neutral hydrogen HI maps, and line-strength indices to investigate the nuclear and outer regions of these galaxies as well as the regions where fine structures are present. Results. The GALEX near UV (NUV) and far UV (FUV) images of MCG-05-07-001 and NGC 1210 show complex tidal tails and debris structures. The far UV morphology of both galaxies appears so different from the optical morphology that the early-type classification may not apply. In both GALEX bands, the polar ring of MCG-05-07-001 is the dominant feature, whereas an extended tidal tail dominates the FUV bands of NGC 1210. In MCG-05-07-001 and NGC 1210, there is a strong correlation between structures detected in the FUV and NUV bands and in HI. In contrast, NGC 5329 does not show evidence of shells in the GALEX bands. We try to constrain the age of the accretion episode or merger that produced the shells and polar rings with the aid of composite stellar populations that take the presence of dust into account. The presence of HI in both MCG-05-07-001 and NGC 1210 argues in favour of wet mergers. Models suggest the presence of very young stellar populations in MCG-05-07-001: the observations could be explained in the framework of a conspicuous burst of star formation that occurred ≤1 Gyr ago and involved a large fraction of the galaxy mass. Our models suggest that also the nuclei of NGC 1210 and NGC 5329 could have been rejuvenated by an accretion episode about 2–4 Gyr ago.
Characterization and Properties of Hydrogels Made from Neutral Soluble Chitosans

The current paper focuses on the preparation and some characteristics of viscoelastic hydrogels, ViscoGels™, made from chitosans having a random acylation pattern. Three different chitosan batches with a high fraction of acetylation were selected based on their Mw, and the impact of degree of cross-linking on these chitosan samples has been studied with respect to the properties of the final hydrogels. Rheological long term (12 month) stability and gelling kinetics data are presented together with results from swelling studies at different pH. Finally, an example illustrating these gels potential as drug delivery vehicles is presented and discussed.
A New Method to Predict the Pupularity of the Microblog

This paper proposes a new approach to predict the popularity of content in the Chinese microblogging website Sina Weibo. There are four operations in Sina Weibo, include post, repost-only, repost-and-comment, and comment-only. We model these operations as a bipartite graph, which takes the temporal factor into account by assigning edge weight as an exponential decay function. We then propose a regularization framework on this model to predict the original post's future popularity. Experimental results show that our method outperforms other methods in predicting the post's future popularity, especially for short-term prediction.
An Algebraic Approach to Conflict Resolution in Planning

This paper presents an algebra for conflict resolution in nonlinear planning. A set of conflicts in a plan is considered as a constraint network. Each node in the network represents a conflict, and is associated with a set of alternative ways for resolving it. Thus, resolving conflicts in a plan corresponds to selecting a set of consistent resolution methods so that, after they are applied to the plan, every conflict can be removed. The paper discusses the representional issues related to the conflict resolution, presents an algebra for resolving conflicts, and illustrates that some modified algorithms for preprocessing networks of constraints can greatly enhance the efficiency of conflict resolution.
Video-based face authentication using appearance models and HMMs

In this paper, we propose a novel face authentication scheme using the active appearance model (AAM) and the hidden Markov model (HMM). The proposed face authentication system can be divided into two parts. First, the AAM is used to extract the low-dimensional feature vectors including combined texture and shape information of individual face images. The extracted feature vectors are further classified into several clusters using vector quantization. The clustered feature vectors are then characterized using HMMs to make full use of the temporal information across the face images. After all parameters in the HMMs are calculated, we can dynamically determine the thresholds for face authentication. An iterative algorithm is also proposed to automatically determine a suitable number of HMM states and a suitable number of observation classes to achieve good authentication accuracy. The experimental results show the efficacy of the proposed method
Blind Source Separation for MOving Speech Signals Using Blockwise ICA and Residual Crosstalk Subtraction

SUMMARY This paper describes a real-time blind source separation (BSS) method for moving speech signals in a room. Our method employs frequency domain independent component analysis (ICA) using a blockwise batch algorithm in the first stage, and the separated signals are refined by postprocessing using crosstalk component estimation and non-stationary spectral subtraction in the second stage. The blockwise batch algorithm achieves better performance than an online algorithm when sources are fixed, and the postprocessing compensates for performance degradation caused by source movement. Experimental results using speech signals recorded in a real room show that the proposed method realizes robust real-time separation for moving sources. Our method is implemented on a standard PC and works in realtime.
Ablation of atrial tachycardias with radiofrequency current after surgical repair of complex congenital heart defects.

INTRODUCTION Atrial tachycardias are a common problem following the surgical repair of complex congenital heart defects (CHD) and have a poor response to medication. The aim of this study was to describe the results of the treatment of such tachycardias with radiofrequency ablation in our hospital. METHODS A retrospective study was performed of the medical records and electronically stored data from electrophysiological studies (EPS) and ablation procedures in patients with atrial tachycardias following the surgical repair of CHD. Established electrophysiological techniques were used in all patients, while newer three-dimensional imaging methods were also employed in some cases. Ablation was carried out using a radiofrequency generator and catheters with a 4-10 mm terminal electrode. RESULTS Twenty-two patients aged 11-45 years (30.6 +/- 10.8), including 9 women, underwent an EPS and ablation of atrial tachycardias after the surgical repair of CHD. All had recurrent tachycardias refractory to antiarrhythmic medication. The anatomical diagnoses were tetralogy of Fallot (8), transposition of the great arteries (6), single ventricle (3), and other (5). Most patients had typical atrial flutter and/or incisional atrial reentrant tachycardia. The initial success rate of ablation for all arrhythmias was 88% in patients with tetralogy of Fallot, 83% for transposition of the great arteries, 66% for single ventricle, and 80% for the other diagnoses. Three-dimensional imaging was of significant assistance in mapping and ablation and in reducing the duration of fluoroscopy. Two vascular complications (femoral arteriovenous fistulae) were observed. The tachycardia recurrence rate was 54%. After repeated procedures, 59% of patients were free of arrhythmias and antiarrhythmic medications. No patient with a single ventricle remained free of arrhythmias during follow up, while in the other groups the arrhythmia/drug-free rate was 66-75%. Two patients with unsuccessful ablation died, one from heart failure and the other because of the tachycardia. CONCLUSIONS Atrial tachycardias in patients with surgically treated CHD are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Radiofrequency ablation has satisfactory results. In spite of the high relapse rate, a significant number of patients can become free of arrhythmias after repeat procedures.
AKUTNI RESPIRACIJSKI DISTRESNI SINDROM I DRUGI RESPIRACIJSKI POREMEĆAJI U SEPSI

Akutni respiracijski distresni sindrom (ARDS) se uobičajeno razvija u bolesnika s prisutnim rizičnim čimbenicima (npr. sepsa, pneumonija, akutni pankreatitis, politrauma, višestruke transfuzije krvi i krvnih pripravaka i sl.) koji aktiviraju sustavni upalni odgovor. Sepsa je jedan od najčešćih čimbenika koji može dovesti do razvoja ARDS-a. ARDS povezan sa sepsom pokazuje sporiji oporavak plućne funkcije uz manju uspješnost odvajanja bolesnika od strojne ventilacije. Vrlo je važno uz sve ostale mjere liječenja sepse obratiti posebnu pozornost optimalizaciji strojne respiracijske potpore u skladu s trenutnim stanjem pluća. Svake je godine dostupno sve više podataka o mogućnostima liječenja bolesnika s ARDS-om uz pomoć posebno prilagođenih načina strojne ventilacije pri čemu važnu ulogu imaju: izbor optimalnog poštednog modaliteta, primjena potpomognute ventilacije i adekvatno podešavanje pozitivnog tlaka na kraju izdaha (engl. positive end-expiratory pressure PEEP). Međutim, što iz ovih eksperimentalnih i kliničkih podataka možemo prenijeti u svakodnevnu kliničku praksu? U ovom članku izneseni su načini adekvatne prilagodbe poštedne ventilacije kao mjere s dokazanim učinkom na smanjenje mortaliteta ove skupine bolesnika ako se sustavno i dosljedno primjenjuje.