Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of attenuated rubella virus vaccine in families.

Observations were maintained for a year on 642 children and 238 mothers from families of military personnel living in an open community on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Live attenuated rubella virus vaccine prepared with the HPV-77 strain in duck embryo cell cultures was administered to 197 and withheld from 160 children without hemagglutination-inhibition antibody. Antibody responses occurred in all vaccinees, but 13 required more than one injection. Levels were relatively stable during the study period but some increased, probably due to reinfection with natural virus. Most mothers were immune and evidence of transmission of vaccine virus was not obtained. Rubella occurred but was not observed in vaccinees. Immunity could not be determined by serum antibody titer at time of rash. In newborns, antibody rapidly declined for six months and was absent by nine months.
2 1 O ct 2 00 4 An LDPCC decoding algorithm based on Bowman-Levin approximation — Contrast with BP and CCCP —

Belief propagation (BP) and the concave convex procedure (CCCP) are methods that can be used successfully to minimize the Bethe free energy of graphical models. The mechanisms of these methods, however, have not been well elucidated. We propose a method based on the Bowman-Levin (BL) approximation, which is another equation of the extrema of the Bethe free energy, so that we can compare the mechanisms of these methods and develop potentially better algorithms. We validated the BL algorithm through the decoding problem of low density parity check codes (LDPCC), and found that BL empirically ascends the Bethe free energy by means of simple iterated substitutions; BP and CCCP, on the other hand, descend the Bethe free energy. We also found that the gradient method causes BL to successfully converge.
Clinical Scales Do Not Reliably Identify Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients With Large-Artery Occlusion

Background and Purpose— It remains debated whether clinical scores can help identify acute ischemic stroke patients with large-artery occlusion and hence improve triage in the era of thrombectomy. We aimed to determine the accuracy of published clinical scores to predict large-artery occlusion. Methods— We assessed the performance of 13 clinical scores to predict large-artery occlusion in consecutive patients with acute ischemic stroke undergoing clinical examination and magnetic resonance or computed tomographic angiography ⩽6 hours of symptom onset. When no cutoff was published, we used the cutoff maximizing the sum of sensitivity and specificity in our cohort. We also determined, for each score, the cutoff associated with a false-negative rate ⩽10%. Results— Of 1004 patients (median National Institute of Health Stroke Scale score, 7; range, 0–40), 328 (32.7%) had an occlusion of the internal carotid artery, M1 segment of the middle cerebral artery, or basilar artery. The highest accuracy (79%; 95% confidence interval, 77–82) was observed for National Institute of Health Stroke Scale score ≥11 and Rapid Arterial Occlusion Evaluation Scale score ≥5. However, these cutoffs were associated with false-negative rates >25%. Cutoffs associated with an false-negative rate ⩽10% were 5, 1, and 0 for National Institute of Health Stroke Scale, Rapid Arterial Occlusion Evaluation Scale, and Cincinnati Prehospital Stroke Severity Scale, respectively. Conclusions— Using published cutoffs for triage would result in a loss of opportunity for ≥20% of patients with large-artery occlusion who would be inappropriately sent to a center lacking neurointerventional facilities. Conversely, using cutoffs reducing the false-negative rate to 10% would result in sending almost every patient to a comprehensive stroke center. Our findings, therefore, suggest that intracranial arterial imaging should be performed in all patients with acute ischemic stroke presenting within 6 hours of symptom onset.
Research Based on Dependencies of Luminescent Properties of CdTe Quantum Dots with TGA as Surfactant

We investigated the optical characterization of luminescent thioglycolic acid (TGA) stabilized CdTe quantum dots (CdTe-QD) synthesized in water. The influence of stabilizing agents on the luminescent properties of water-soluble CdTe quantum dots (QDs) was described. It is found that QDs can be synthesized easily when TGA is chosen as stabilizing agent and TGA leads to preparation of highly luminescent QDs due to the secondary effects of bonds between Cd2+ and sulfhydryl groups. The absorption wavelength and PL stability of TGA-CdTe are also characterized. Size can be controlled between 2.0 nm to 4.0 nm. The TGA-CdTe QDs prepared at 2 h reaction time possess excellent luminescent properties.
Effects of Long-Term Storage on Potency of TM Biocontrol-1, the Registered Viral Insecticide of Orgyia pseudotsugata (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae)

Abstract The article presents the results of bioassaying 39 samples of TM Biocontrol-1, a viral insecticide, from 10 different lots and various sizes of vacuum-sealed packages that were stored at −10°C for 5–15 yr. This is the first study to present potency data for a registered virus product stored for this length of time. Laboratory bioassays in insects from the same colony from which the TM Biocontrol-1 was produced showed that the stored viral insecticide is still effective, although it lost ≈30% of its effectiveness during storage. A direct correlation of this loss with the length of time in storage is not apparent. Bioassays also showed that there are significant differences in the susceptibility of Douglas-fir tussock moth, Orgyia pseudotsugata (McDunnough), larvae from different geographic regions to OpMNPV (family Baculoviridae, genus Nucleopolyhedrovirus) infection. Package size did not affect the potency of stored TM Biocontrol-1. There were no clear, significant differences in the effectiveness among lots of TM Biocontrol-1 processed by different organizations.
Indirect measurement of the carotid arterial pressure from vibrocardiographic signal: Calibration of the waveform and comparison with photoplethysmographic signal

The detection of arterial Blood Pressure waveform provides important information about the subject health status. Laser Doppler Vibrometry (LDV) is a non-contact technique with high sensitivity able to detect mechanical movements of the arterial wall; several previous studies have shown that LDV is able to characterize cardiac activity. Photoplethysmogram (PPG) quantifies the digital volume artery pulse, which has been demonstrated to be closely related to the pressure signal measured by an arterial tonometer. In this paper, an indirect measurement of carotid arterial pressure by means of LDV is presented. Moreover, a comparison between LDV and PPG is conducted in order to estimate the time interval between opening and closing of the aortic valve, that is the Left Ventricular Ejection Time (LVET). Results show an average reduction of around 20% of the systolic pressure derived from LDV signal measured over the carotid artery with respect to the systolic pressure measured at brachial level (i.e. peripheral pressure value). Finally, the comparison between LDV and PPG in the estimation of LVET shows a mean percentage deviation <;10%. So, in conclusion, it can be stated that LDV technique has the potential of providing a displacement waveform that, adequately calibrated, can furnish significant information about pressure waveform.
Exploring Determinants for Mobile Learning User Acceptance and Use: An Application of UTAUT

The purpose of this study is to investigate factors that have potential to influence the adoption of mobile learning using WhatsApp a mobile instant messaging (MIM) application. The study was conducted at a University of Technology in South Africa. Student-centric learning and hedonic motivation were incorporated with the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). Marital status was employed as the moderating condition for the five theoretical constructs that influenced behavioral intention to use WhatsApp for academic purposes. A questionnaire, based on a five point likert scale was administered to 196 participants and an 81% response rate was attained. Overall, the results indicated that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, student-centric learning and hedonic motivation have positive association with behavioral intention to use mobile learning. However, facilitating condition was not considered in this study, as well as moderating conditions from the original UTAUT. The study provides valuable insight on how marital status moderate factors that influence mobile learning adoption.
Look ma, no mouse!

magine taking a virtual flight over theYosemite Valley. You are in control of theflight—you soar up through the clouds,dive deep into the ravines, flying inwhichever direction you please—all bysimply moving your hand through the air.No gloves to wear and no complex key-board commands to remember. You haveabsolutely no devices to control—you point a fin-ger, pretend your hand is a fighter jet, and just fly.Today’s home computers are becoming increas-ingly powerful while also becoming very afford-able. Complex real-time animations that requiredhigh-end graphics workstations a few years ago cannow be done on home computers equipped withinexpensive graphics cards. A whole suite of inter-active 3D applications is now accessible to theaverage user. Examples range from molecular sim-ulators to 3D presentation tools that allow manip-ulation of virtual objects. However, what has notchanged is the complex interface to these applica-tions. 3D fly-thru’s, for example, require intricatemaneuvers and learning the input controls isextremely painstaking unless, of course, you are ateenager. The problem is with the way we com-municate with computers.Traditional computer interfaces (keyboard,mouse, joystick) are not always appropriate forinteracting with 3D applications. First of all, theycontrol too few parameters. For instance, whileplacing an observer in a 3D space requires sixdegrees of freedom, a mouse allows us to controlonly two. The issue here is not only the number ofparameters but also the ease with which theseparameters can be manipulated. Certain newdevices like the SpaceBall
Y-configuration stent combined with iodine-125 seeds strand for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma with tumor thrombosis in portal vein branches

Rationale: Currently, the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) associated with portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT) is a challenge. Percutaneous puncture endovascular placement of iodine-125 (125I) seeds strand and stent is reported to treat HCC with tumor thrombus effectively. However, it is proved to be only suitable for the main portal vein (MPV) thrombus. Patient concerns: A 42-year-old male patient was referred to our institution after experiencing right upper abdominal distention without abdominal pain, nausea, or vomiting for 2 weeks. The patient had a history of hepatitis B virus infection over a 20 year period. Diagnosis: After a full evaluation, the patient was diagnosed with primary HCC with a tumor thrombus in both main and branch portal veins. Interventions: We used a Y-configuration stent combined with 125I seeds strand to treat the tumor thrombus in both main and branch portal veins. Outcomes: The patient's liver function and the stent patency period were improved. More importantly, the patient had an acceptable survival time. Lessons: A Y-configuration stent makes it possible to treat tumor thrombosis in portal vein branches (PVBs). However, the long-term curative effects of Y-configuration stents need to be verified.
On the Equivalence of the LC-KSVD and the D-KSVD Algorithms

Sparse and redundant representations, where signals are modeled as a combination of a few atoms from an overcomplete dictionary, is increasingly used in many image processing applications, such as denoising, super resolution, and classification. One common problem is learning a “good” dictionary for different tasks. In the classification task the aim is to learn a dictionary that also takes training labels into account, and indeed there exist several approaches to this problem. One well-known technique is D-KSVD, which jointly learns a dictionary and a linear classifier using the K-SVD algorithm. LC-KSVD is a recent variation intended to further improve on this idea by adding an explicit label consistency term to the optimization problem, so that different classes are represented by different dictionary atoms. In this work we prove that, under identical initialization conditions, LC-KSVD with uniform atom allocation is in fact a reformulation of D-KSVD: given the regularization parameters of LC-KSVD, we give a closed-form expression for the equivalent D-KSVD regularization parameter, assuming the LC-KSVD's initialization scheme is used. We confirm this by reproducing several of the original LC-KSVD experiments.
Carvedilol for primary prophylaxis of variceal bleeding in cirrhotic patients with haemodynamic non-response to propranolol

Objective Non-selective β-blockers or endoscopic band ligation (EBL) are recommended for primary prophylaxis of variceal bleeding in patients with oesophageal varices. Additional α-adrenergic blockade (as by carvedilol) may increase the number of patients with haemodynamic response (reduction in hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) of ≥20% or to values <12 mm Hg). Design Patients with oesophageal varices undergoing measurement of HVPG before and under propranolol treatment (80–160 mg/day) were included. HVPG responders were kept on propranolol (PROP group), while non-responders were placed on carvedilol (6.25–50 mg/day). Carvedilol responders continued treatment (CARV group), while non-responders to carvedilol underwent EBL. The primary aim was to assess haemodynamic response rates to carvedilol in propranolol non-responders. Results 36% (37/104) of patients showed a HVPG response to propranolol. Among the propranolol non-responders 56% (38/67) eventually achieved a haemodynamic response with carvedilol, while 44% (29/67) patients were finally treated with EBL. The decrease in HVPG was significantly greater with carvedilol (median 12.5 mg/day) than with propranolol (median 100 mg/day): −19±10% versus −12±11% (p<0.001). During a 2 year follow-up bleeding rates for PROP were 11% versus CARV 5% versus EBL 25% (p=0.0429). Fewer episodes of hepatic decompensation (PROP 38%/CARV 26% vs EBL 55%; p=0.0789) and significantly lower mortality (PROP 14%/CARV 11% vs EBL 31%; p=0.0455) were observed in haemodynamic responders compared to the EBL group. Conclusions Carvedilol leads to a significantly greater decrease in HVPG than propranolol. Using carvedilol for primary prophylaxis a substantial proportion of non-responders to propranolol can achieve a haemodynamic response, which is associated with improved outcome with regard to prevention of variceal bleeding, hepatic decompensation and death.
Snapshots of the Brain in Action: Local Circuit Operations through the Lens of γ Oscillations

γ oscillations (20–80 Hz) are associated with sensory processing, cognition, and memory, and focused attention in animals and humans. γ activity can arise from several neural mechanisms in the cortex and hippocampus and can vary across circuits, behavioral states, and developmental stages. γ oscillations are nonstationary, typically occurring in short bouts, and the peak frequency of this rhythm is modulated by stimulus parameters. In addition, the participation of excitatory and inhibitory neurons in the γ rhythm varies across local circuits and conditions, particularly in the cortex. Although these dynamics present a challenge to interpreting the functional role of γ oscillations, these patterns of activity emerge from synaptic interactions among excitatory and inhibitory neurons and thus provide important insight into local circuit operations.
Touchbugs: actuated tangibles on multi-touch tables

We present a novel approach to graspable interfaces using Touchbugs, actuated physical objects for interacting with interactive surface computing applications. Touchbugs are active tangibles that are able to move across surfaces by employing vibrating motors and can communicate with camera based multi-touch surfaces using infrared LEDs. Touchbug's embedded inertial sensors and computational capabilities open a new interaction space by providing autonomous capabilities for tangibles that allow goal directed behavior.
Wnt-3a and Dvl Induce Neurite Retraction by Activating Rho-Associated Kinase

ABSTRACT Dvl is a key protein that transmits the Wnt signal to the canonical β-catenin pathway and the noncanonical planar cell polarity (PCP) pathway. We studied the roles of Rho-associated kinase (Rho-kinase), which is activated by Dvl in the PCP pathway of mammalian cells. The expression of Dvl-1, Wnt-1, or Wnt-3a activated Rho-kinase in COS cells, and this activation was inhibited by the Rho-binding domain of Rho-kinase. The expression of Dvl-1 in PC12 cells activated Rho and inhibited nerve growth factor (NGF)-induced neurite outgrowth. This inhibition was reversed by a Rho-kinase inhibitor but not by a c-Jun N-terminal kinase inhibitor. Dvl-1 also inhibited serum starvation-dependent neurite outgrowth of N1E-115 cells, and expression of the Rho-binding domain of Rho-kinase reversed this inhibitory activity of Dvl-1. Dvl-1 mutants that did not activate Rho-kinase did not inhibit the neurite outgrowth of N1E-115 cells. Furthermore, the purified Wnt-3a protein activated Rho-kinase and inhibited the NGF-dependent neurite outgrowth of PC12 cells. Wnt-3a-dependent neurite retraction was also prevented by a Rho-kinase inhibitor and a Dvl-1 mutant that suppresses Wnt-3a-dependent activation of Rho-kinase. These results suggest that Wnt-3a and Dvl regulate neurite formation through Rho-kinase and that PC12 and N1E-115 cells are useful for analyzing the PCP pathway.
Guaranteeing end-to-end deadlines in distributed client-server applications

The paper presents a scheme for guaranteeing the scheduling of real-time computations in a distributed environment. The authors propose a process model where only true (local or end-to-end) deadlines need to be specified. They assume all local interactions among processes are based on shared memory communication, protected by priority ceiling semaphores. Remote interactions are client-server blocking communications. The result is both a scheduling policy and a methodology to guarantee the integrated scheduling of processes and network messages. Both processes and messages are scheduled according to a fixed-priority scheme that can easily be implemented on most operating systems and a few network protocols. The procedure that checks the schedulability of the distributed computation against end-to-end deadlines is simple enough to be proposed as a scheme for a dynamic guarantee.
IncMR: Incremental Data Processing Based on MapReduce

MapReduce programming model is widely used for large scale and one-time data-intensive distributed computing, but lacks flexibility and efficiency of processing small incremental data. IncMR framework is proposed in this paper for incrementally processing new data of a large data set, which takes state as implicit input and combines it with new data. Map tasks are created according to new splits instead of entire splits while reduce tasks fetch their inputs including the state and the intermediate results of new map tasks from designate nodes or local nodes. Data locality is considered as one of the main optimization means for job scheduling. It is implemented based on Hadoop, compatible with the original MapReduce interfaces and transparent to users. Experiments show that non-iterative algorithms running in MapReduce framework can be migrated to IncMR directly to get efficient incremental and continuous processing without any modification. IncMR is competitive and in all studied cases runs faster than that processing the entire data set.
Role-Playing Game-Based Learning in Mathematics

Computer based role-playing games are able to provide a fun and motivating environment for teaching and learning of certain subjects. Role- playing games allow students to assume the role of a character in the game world and to determine the actions of their characters based on the characterization. This would provide an exciting and motivating strategy for students to practice skills that they have already learned. This paper describes the development of a role-playing game in learning mathematics. Due to its interactive and stimulating nature, the game is suitable for school children in learning this subject. The focus of the game is on decimals since most school children have difficulties in understanding this topic. This game is able to engage these children and at the same time assist them in learning the topic. Spiral methodology together with Flash 8, Photoshop CS2 and vector image editor have been employed in the development of the game. Educational elements have also been added from time to time without compromising the enjoyment of playing the game. A heuristic evaluation was conducted and the positive results have been obtained.
A Fault-Tolerant Permanent-Magnet Traction Module for Subway Applications

A fault-tolerant permanent-magnet traction module is proposed for subway application, which has three different operation modes: normal, isolation, and fault-tolerant mode. In normal mode, 2 three-phase permanent-magnet synchronous machines (PMSMs) are controlled by 2 three-leg voltage-source inverters (VSIs), respectively. The proposed module can output maximum torque and reach the maximum velocity. When one leg fails, the corresponding PMSM is isolated from the fault VSI and the fault subway train operates in isolation mode, in which the traction effort is reduced but the maximum velocity can be maintained under light load. However, the fault subway train will stop if the load is heavy. To avoid the stop, the fault subway train is switched into fault-tolerant mode, in which the healthy VSI and fault VSI are reconfigured to 1 five-leg VSI by a fault-tolerant bridge. Due to lower phase-phase voltage apportionment ratio, the fault-tolerant mode is not used until the velocity is decreased to half of the maximum velocity. In fault-tolerant mode, the nonadjacent selection principle is proposed to prevent the common leg from overcurrent damage. The subway train equipped with the proposed module can maintain basic operation performances if any leg fails. The performances are analyzed and the effectiveness is verified by experimental results.