Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessment of myocardial matrix expansion with cardiac magnetic resonance: entering a new area of cardiac risk stratification in type 2 diabetes mellitus?

This editorial refers to ‘Myocardial extracellular volume fraction quantified by cardiovascular magnetic resonance is increased in diabetes and associated with mortality and incident heart failure admission’[†][1], by T.C. Wong et al. , on page 657 Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) may lead not only to early development of accelerated coronary artery disease (CAD) but also to cardiomyopathy (CMP), both of which confer an excess morbidity and mortality in these patients.1–3 As there is a continuous increase in the prevalence of DM in industrialized nations, it raises a considerable public health concern. Subclinical markers of early functional and structural vasculopathy such as an impairment of coronary circulatory function,4 increased carotid intima-media thickeness (IMT),5 and coronary artery calcification6 have all been demonstrated independently to predict the initiation and/or progression of CAD and subsequent cardiovascular events. More recently, cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) assessment of increased extracellular volume (ECV) fraction of the left ventricle, which can be assumed to probe features of adverse myocardial remodelling, predicted mortality and heart failure-related events in an independent fashion in a general cardiovascular risk cohort.7 It is important to consider that, despite the standard use of preventive antidiabetic medication, DM is still associated with a greater coronary atherosclerotic burden, accelerated CAD progression, and CMP manifestation than in those individuals with cardiovascular risk but without a hyperglycaemic state.3,8 This emphasizes the necessity for additional diagnostic and medical therapeutic strategies aiming to prevent or inhibit the progression of diabetes-induced vasculopathy and/or CMP and, thereby, to improve cardiovascular outcome. Nowadays, CMR has evolved as a unique imaging tool to identify and characterize subclinical and clinically manifest alterations of the myocardial tissue. CMR in concert with intravenous use of gadolinium is commonly applied for determining myocardial perfusion with the first-pass technique as well … [1]: #fn-2
LUCID: a corpus of spontaneous and read clear speech in British English

This paper describes LUCID, the London UCL Clear Speech in Interaction Database, which contains spontaneous and read speech in clear and casual speaking styles for 40 Southern British English speakers. The problem-solving task used to collect the spontaneous speech, the DiapixUK task, is also described, along with ways of using the task to elicit different types of clear speech without explicit instruction, e,g. using different „barriers‟ to communication. Applications of the corpus and of the task materials for future research projects are discussed. The corpus and materials will be available online to the research community at the end of the project.
Yuhania: a unique angiosperm from the Middle Jurassic of Inner Mongolia, China

Abstract Despite increasing claims of pre-Cretaceous angiosperms, whether there really are angiosperms in the Jurassic is apparently still an open question for many people before further evidence is available. This question can only be answered by studying more Jurassic plant fossils. Here we report a fossil angiosperm, Yuhania daohugouensis gen. et sp. nov, from the Middle Jurassic of Inner Mongolia, China. The plant includes connected stem, leaves, flowers, aggregate fruits, fruitlets, and seeds within fruitlets. The leaves are helically arranged along the curving stem, linear in shape, with 5–6 parallel veins. The aggregate fruit is pedicellate, composed of over 20 carpels/fruitlets helically arranged. Each fruitlet encloses a seed. The reproductive organs in various stages are found in the same plant, allowing us to understand the development of Yuhania. The occurrence of Yuhania in the Middle Jurassic re-confirms the Jurassic history for angiosperms that has been suggested by other independent research and adds to the on-going study on the early evolution of angiosperms.
Safety of the Gadolinium-Based Contrast Agents for Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Focusing in Part on Their Accumulation in the Brain and Especially the Dentate Nucleus

AbstractThe established class of intravenous contrast media for magnetic resonance imaging is the gadolinium chelates, more generally referred to as the gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs). These can be differentiated on the basis of stability in vivo, with safety and tolerability of the GBCAs dependent upon chemical and biologic inertness. This review discusses first the background in terms of development of these agents and safety discussions therein, and second their relative stability based both on in vitro studies and clinical observations before and including the advent of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis. This sets the stage for the subsequent focus of the review, the current knowledge regarding accumulation of gadolinium in the brain and specifically the dentate nucleus after intravenous administration of the GBCAs and differentiation among agents on this basis. The information available to date, from the initial conception of these agents in 1981 to the latest reports concerning safety, demonstrates a significant difference between the macrocyclic and linear chelates. The review concludes with a discussion of the predictable future, which includes, importantly, a reassessment of the use of the linear GBCAs or a subset thereof.
Interplay of Insurance and Financial Risks with Bivariate Regular Variation

It is known that for an insurer who invests in the financial market, the financial investments may affect its solvency as severely as do insurance claims. This conclusion is usually reached under an assumption of independence or asymptotic independence between insurance risk and financial risk. Such an assumption seems reasonable if the insurer focuses on the traditional insurance business that does not interact much with the capital market. However, we shall argue that at least for insurers who participate in financial guarantee insurance and as a result cause systemic risk, asymptotic dependence between insurance and financial risks needs to be considered. Under a bivariate regular variation structure, we investigate the interplay of insurance and financial risks, and show that the asymptotic dependence introduces extra risk for the insurer’s solvency.
Electrostatic RF MEMS tunable capacitors with analog tunability and low temperature sensitivity

This work presents novel RF MEMS tunable capacitors with very low temperature sensitivity. The designs have separate and interdigitated RF and actuation electrodes which prevents dielectric charging under high actuation voltages. It also increases the capacitance ratio and the tunable analog range. Two devices with different mechanical operating principles are fabricated on a quartz substrate and result in a capacitance ratio 2.8–3.3 (C<inf>min</inf>=90–100 fF, C<inf>max</inf>=280–310 fF) and with a Q > 100 at 5 GHz. The designs also exhibit measured pull-in voltage variation of < 50 mV/°C at 20–120°C.
Starting points' effects on risk-taking behavior

We formally represent the effects of prior gains and losses in a simple dynamic preference calculus based on prospect theory's value function and thoughts adapted from aspiration level theories. We investigate our predictions in questionnaire experiments. Since we document a strong effect of prior gains and losses in our main study on entrepreneurial decision making, findings are consistent with a difference between the actual status quo and temporarily invariant aspiration levels. However, the general level of willingness to pay (WTP), differences between gain and loss domains, and preference orders within the gain domain are inconsistent with prospect theory's prediction. In the loss domain, results are less straightforward but only interpretable on the joint basis of prospect theory, starting point formula, and an additional survival point. Altogether, results are a challenge to prescriptive as well as descriptive models of decision making relying on context-independent value functions. Implications for a further development of descriptive decision theoretic models based on aspiration levels to account for dynamic starting points effects are discussed.
Back-to-Back: A Novel Approach for Real Time 3D Hand Gesture Interaction

In this paper, we present Back-to-Back, a novel real time hand gesture interface for 3D interaction based on double cameras. Back-to-Back dexterously makes use of the geometric complement of two back-to-back cameras. Held in hand, Backto-Back could deduce hand’s 3D motion in real time. The basic idea is to extract good corner points from the image sequences captured by two cameras separately and track them while moving. By comparing the motions of two groups of points, the hand’s translation and rotation could be deduced accurately as well as other motion parameters. Back-to-Back is a prototype for gestural interaction on mobile devices equipped with two cameras. To further demonstrate its usability, we then analyze the requirements of 3D navigation task and design a strategy to navigate in 3D Space naturally by using Back-to-Back. Keywords-Double Cameras, Hand Gesture, 3D Interaction, Natural User Interface, Real Time Interaction.
Wire Rope Fault Detection in a Hoisting Winch System by Motor Torque and Current Signature Analysis

The aim of this paper is to analyze theoretically and experimentally the stator current and load torque of a three-phase induction machine in a hoisting winch system. This is performed in order to show how these variables are influenced by the wire rope faulty conditions. When the wire rope is subject to axial and torsional loads, the outer strands can be separated from the core in a permanent way and make the rope less reliable. The term “birdcaging” is used to describe this type of phenomenon by giving a permanent appearance of a wire rope forced into compression. In a hoisting winch system, the rope is bent over a drum and a pulley, and it is torsionally stressed by the fleet angle between them. In this paper, the effect of the fleet angle is observed in the stator current and the load torque in order to detect the “birdcaging” effect. This study is performed on a 22-kW three-phase squirrel-cage induction machine driving a reduced scale winch system, and it presents an original noninvasive way to detect a wire rope fault condition.
Possible explanation for the different trends of asthma and allergy in East and West Germany and immigrants

I have read the article by Dr Wichmann on 'possible explanation for the different trends of asthma and allergy in east and west Germany' with great interest [1]. I think that the term 'western lifestyle' includes differences among the communities in factors such as daily salt intake, breast feeding, fish consumption, active and passive smoking, occupational environment, outdoor herbal flora, sick building syndrome, public awareness on asthma and allergy, in addition to the factors listed by the author. Furthermore, some of the characteristics the author has noted like 'similar ethnic background, similar housing and living conditions and one language until 1945' which represent the differentiation of a community by time, might resemble the situation in some of the communities which have encountered emigration. Immigrants living in the USA [2], Tokelauan children [3] south east Asian immigrants in Australia [4] and Turkish immigrants in Sweden and Belgium [5-8] demonstrate this.
Twins or Strangers? Differences and Similarities between Industrial and Academic Science

Some scholars view academic and industrial science as qualitatively different knowledge production regimes. Others claim that the two sectors are increasingly similar. Large-scale empirical evidence regarding similarities and differences, however, has been missing. Drawing on prior work on the organization of science, we first develop a framework to compare and contrast the two sectors along four key dimensions: (1) the nature of research (e.g., basic versus applied); (2) organizational characteristics (e.g., degree of independence, pay); (3) researchers' preferences (e.g., taste for independence); and (4) the use of alternative disclosure mechanisms (e.g., patenting and publishing). We then compare the two sectors empirically using detailed survey data from a representative sample of over 5,000 life scientists and physical scientists employed in a wide range of academic institutions and private firms. Building on prior work that has emphasized different "research missions", we also examine how the nature of research is related to other characteristics of science within and across the two sectors. Our results paint a complex picture of academic and industrial science. While we find significant industry-academia differences with respect to all four dimensions, we also observe remarkable similarities. For example, both academic institutions and private firms appear to allow their scientists to stay actively involved in the broader scientific community and provide them with considerable levels of independence in their jobs. Second, we find significant differences not just between industrial and academic science but also within each of the two sectors as well as across fields. Finally, while the nature of research is a significant predictor of other dimensions such as the use of patenting and publishing, it does not fully explain the observed industry-academia differences in those dimensions. Overall, our results suggest that stereotypical views of industrial and academic science may be misleading and that future work may benefit from a richer and more nuanced description of the organization of science.
Kompetenzstufen der Lehrerkooperation: Ein empirisches Beispiel für das Latent-Growth-Curve-Modell

Der Kompetenzerwerb wird oft als ein Prozess mit Stufen beschrieben. Die Transformation dieses offensichtlich einfachen deskriptiven Modells in ein statistisches Modell, das sich fur empirische Untersuchungen eignet, hat sich als schwierig erwiesen. Es wird ein Modell fur die Untersuchung von Kompetenzstufen basierend auf einer zugrundeliegenden kontinuierlichen Beschreibungsdimension beschrieben. Durch dieses Modell, das aus dem Latent- Growth-Curve-Modell hervorgegangen ist, werden Kompetenzstufen als Ausschnitte aus einer Verlaufskurve aufgefasst, wobei latente Variablen erster Ordnung die Stufen als Konstante und lineare Komponente reprasentieren. Dieses Kompetenzstufenmodell mit den Stufen Differenzierung, Koordination, Interaktion und Integration wird auf Daten zu Kompetenzstufen der Lehrerkooperation angewendet. Das Ergebnis bestatigt das Modell mit der erwarteten Abfolge von Kompetenzstufen, wahrend alle anderen moglichen Kombinationen der Kompetenzstufen zuruckgewiesen werden konnten. Auserdem wurde ein linearer Zuwachs von Stufe zu Stufe aufgezeigt.
Examen de las aptitudes, intereses y estilos de aprendizaje de los estudiantes superdotados y talentosos

Todo estudiante tiene sus puntos fuertes o fuerzas potenciales que se pueden usar como base para un aprendizaje eficaz y una productividad creativa. El Modelo de Enriquecimiento Escolar (SEM) (Reis y Renzulli, 1985) se centra en dichos puntos fuertes ofreciendo a los estudiantes opciones para desarrollar su propio potencial. Mediante componentes de distribución de servicios como la Compactación del Curriculum y Grupos de Enriquecimiento, se asegura que los estudiantes se enfrenten a experiencias de aprendizaje de alto nivel y desafiantes. Un tercer componente, la Carpeta Completa del Talento (TTP), sirve como estructura mediante la cual pueden organizarse todos los demás elementos del modelo. Este artículo resume el manual (Purcell y Renzulli, 1998) que describe cómo documentar las habilidades, intereses y estilos de aprendizaje de los estudiantes superdotados, y cómo esta información puede utilizarse para tomar decisiones adecuadas para desarrollar los talentos de los estudiantes con alto potencial.
Electronic-structural dynamics in graphene

We review our recent time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy experiments, which measure the transient electronic structure of optically driven graphene. For pump photon energies in the near infrared (ℏωpump=950 meV), we have discovered the formation of a population-inverted state near the Dirac point, which may be of interest for the design of THz lasing devices and optical amplifiers. At lower pump photon energies (ℏωpump<400 meV), for which interband absorption is not possible in doped samples, we find evidence for free carrier absorption. In addition, when mid-infrared pulses are made resonant with an infrared-active in-plane phonon of bilayer graphene (ℏωpump=200 meV), a transient enhancement of the electron-phonon coupling constant is observed, providing interesting perspective for experiments that report light-enhanced superconductivity in doped fullerites in which a similar lattice mode was excited. All the studies reviewed here have important implications for applications of graphene in optoelectronic devices and for the dynamical engineering of electronic properties with light.
The concepts of stress and stress system disorders. Overview of physical and behavioral homeostasis.

OBJECTIVE This article defines stress and related concepts and reviews their historical development. The notion of a stress system as the effector of the stress syndrome is suggested, and its physiologic and pathophysiologic manifestations are described. A new perspective on human disease states associated with dysregulation of the stress system is provided. DATA SOURCES Published original articles from human and animal studies and selected reviews. Literature was surveyed utilizing MEDLINE and the Index Medicus. STUDY SELECTION Original articles from the basic science and human literature consisted entirely of controlled studies based on verified methodologies and, with the exception of the most recent studies, replicated by more than one laboratory. Many of the basic science and clinical studies had been conducted in our own laboratories and clinical research units. Reviews cited were written by acknowledged leaders in the fields of neurobiology, endocrinology, and behavior. DATA EXTRACTION Independent extraction and cross-referencing by the authors. DATA SYNTHESIS Stress and related concepts can be traced as far back as written science and medicine. The stress system coordinates the generalized stress response, which takes place when a stressor of any kind exceeds a threshold. The main components of the stress system are the corticotropin-releasing hormone and locus ceruleus-norepinephrine/autonomic systems and their peripheral effectors, the pituitary-adrenal axis, and the limbs of the autonomic system. Activation of the stress system leads to behavioral and peripheral changes that improve the ability of the organism to adjust homeostasis and increase its chances for survival. There has been an exponential increase in knowledge regarding the interactions among the components of the stress system and between the stress system and other brain elements involved in the regulation of emotion, cognitive function, and behavior, as well as with the axes responsible for reproduction, growth, and immunity. This new knowledge has allowed association of stress system dysfunction, characterized by sustained hyperactivity and/or hypoactivity, to various pathophysiologic states that cut across the traditional boundaries of medical disciplines. These include a range of psychiatric, endocrine, and inflammatory disorders and/or susceptibility to such disorders. CONCLUSIONS We hope that knowledge from apparently disparate fields of science and medicine integrated into a working theoretical framework will allow generation and testing of new hypotheses on the pathophysiology and diagnosis of, and therapy for, a variety of human illnesses reflecting systematic alterations in the principal effectors of the generalized stress response. We predict that pharmacologic agents capable of altering the central apparatus that governs the stress response will be useful in the treatment of many of these illnesses.
The Design of Synchronization Mechanisms for Peer-to-Peer Massively Multiplayer Games

Massively multiplayer online games (MMG) are natural applications for peer-to-peer overlays (P2P). However, the absence of synchronization among the peers significantly limits games’ functionality and quality of service. Synchronization in P2P overlays faces problems including scalability, heterogeneous network latency and bandwidth, and non-collaborative participants. We believe these problems can be solved in the context of games, by relaxing the consistency requirements based on application semantics. This paper discusses two synchronization mechanisms that can potentially both achieve scalability in the P2P environment and observe real time requirements in massively multiplayer games.
Cross Temporal Recurrent Networks for Ranking Question Answer Pairs

Temporal gates play a significant role in modern recurrent-based neural encoders, enabling fine-grained control over recursive compositional operations over time. In recurrent models such as the long short-term memory (LSTM), temporal gates control the amount of information retained or discarded over time, not only playing an important role in influencing the learned representations but also serving as a protection against vanishing gradients. This paper explores the idea of learning temporal gates for sequence pairs (question and answer), jointly influencing the learned representations in a pairwise manner. In our approach, temporal gates are learned via 1D convolutional layers and then subsequently cross applied across question and answer for joint learning. Empirically, we show that this conceptually simple sharing of temporal gates can lead to competitive performance across multiple benchmarks. Intuitively, what our network achieves can be interpreted as learning representations of question and answer pairs that are aware of what each other is remembering or forgetting, i.e., pairwise temporal gating. Via extensive experiments, we show that our proposed model achieves state-of-the-art performance on two community-based QA datasets and competitive performance on one factoid-based QA dataset.