Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
First results in an MR imaging--compatible canine model of acute stroke.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The purpose of this work was to develop an MR imaging-compatible animal model of reversible embolic stroke. We hypothesize that real-time MR imaging of the brain can be performed during stroke thrombolysis and can provide real-time feedback and guidance on the success of thrombolysis. METHODS Embolic strokes were induced in 5 adult dogs by the use of autologous blood clots, with a sixth dog serving as an experimental control. Serial MR anatomic and physiologic imaging was performed to track the evolution of the stroke. The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and quantitative cerebral blood flow (qCBF) were compared in the normal and stroke regions. During and after the administration of a chemical thrombolytic agent, MR imaging was performed to assess the outcome of the treatment. RESULTS Strokes were successfully created in 5 animals. No ADC or qCBF changes were observed in the control animal. Both ADC and qCBF values were found to be significantly different in the region affected by the stroke. Restoration of flow was observed in 1 case. CONCLUSION We have successfully implemented an MR imaging-compatible canine model of reversible embolic stroke.
A Second Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans Autotransporter Adhesin Exhibits Specificity for Buccal Epithelial Cells in Humans and Old World Primates

ABSTRACT Previous work showed that the Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans adhesin Aae demonstrated species specificity and tissue tropism to buccal epithelial cells (BECs) derived from humans and Old World primates, but a second, lower-affinity adhesin was noted. This study was designed to determine if Omp100 (also known as ApiA), a surface-expressed A. actinomycetemcomitans adhesin, is that second adhesin and if so to investigate its tissue tropism and species specificity. A targeted mutagenesis protocol was used to construct an isogenic apiA mutant and an aae apiA double mutant with wild-type A. actinomycetemcomitans. In addition, Escherichia coli strain DH5α was used to express apiA to further assess binding parameters. Results indicated that the apiA mutant strain showed significantly less binding to BECs than its parent strain (P ≤ 0.05). Further, binding mediated by ApiA was specific to BECs from humans and Old World primates, as seen in both wild-type A. actinomycetemcomitans and E. coli expressing ApiA (P ≤ 0.05). Pretreatment of wild-type A. actinomycetemcomitans cells with anti-ApiA antiserum reduced binding in a dose-dependent manner. The aae apiA double mutant completely abrogated A. actinomycetemcomitans binding to both human and Old World primate BECs. Taken together, these studies indicate that ApiA and Aae, in concert, modulate binding of A. actinomycetemcomitans to human BECs. Since the BEC is a prominent reservoir for A. actinomycetemcomitans, identification of this second adhesin could lead to important therapeutic strategies.
Financial Sector Workers' Experiences of Managing Suicidal Clients

Background: Financial sector workers interface with indebted clients, who may be distressed and have heightened vulnerability to suicidality. Aim(s): This study examined the experiences of 10 Irish financial sector workers who had experiences of encountering distressed clients who discuss suicide. Method: Semistructured interviews (open-ended questions) were used. Results: Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) identified four themes, namely: (1) avoidance versus confrontation of reality (management of the debt); (2) role conflict (recovering the debt vs. supporting the client); (3) emotional impact and distancing from clients (coping with concerns for client welfare); (4) desire for support (practical and emotional training and support needs). Limitations: The frequency with which such clients were encountered was not assessed. Conclusion: These themes demonstrate the need to provide support to this group, and also the difficulties in providing training to manage suicidal clients in a context where the staff member's goal is to recover debt.
The Cell Wall Arabinose-Deficient Arabidopsis thaliana Mutant murus5 Encodes a Defective Allele of REVERSIBLY GLYCOSYLATED POLYPEPTIDE21[OPEN]

The low arabinose mur5 mutant has a missense mutation in the RGP2 UDP-Ara mutase, which makes the furanose form of arabinose in Arabidopsis. Traditional marker-based mapping and next-generation sequencing was used to determine that the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) low cell wall arabinose mutant murus5 (mur5) encodes a defective allele of REVERSIBLY GLYCOSYLATED POLYPEPTIDE2 (RGP2). Marker analysis of 13 F2 confirmed mutant progeny from a recombinant mapping population gave a rough map position on the upper arm of chromosome 5, and deep sequencing of DNA from these 13 lines gave five candidate genes with G→A (C→T) transitions predicted to result in amino acid changes. Of these five, only insertional mutant alleles of RGP2, a gene that encodes a UDP-arabinose mutase that interconverts UDP-arabinopyranose and UDP-arabinofuranose, exhibited the low cell wall arabinose phenotype. The identities of mur5 and two SALK insertional alleles were confirmed by allelism tests and overexpression of wild-type RGP2 complementary DNA placed under the control of the 35S promoter in the three alleles. The mur5 mutation results in the conversion of cysteine-257 to tyrosine-257 within a conserved hydrophobic cluster predicted to be distal to the active site and essential for protein stability and possible heterodimerization with other isoforms of RGP.
Estimation of mixtures of probabilistic PCA with stochastic EM for the 3D biplanar reconstruction of scoliotic rib cage

In this paper, we present a robust method for estimating the model parameters in a mixture of probabilistic principal component analyzers. This method is based on the stochastic version of the expectation maximization (SEM) algorithm. Parameters of this mixture model are herein used to constrain the 3D reconstruction problem of scoliotic rib cage from a pair of planar and conventional calibrated radiographic images (postero-anterior with normal incidence (I/sub PA/) and lateral (I/sub LAT/)). More precisely, the proposed PPCA mixture model is herein robustly exploited for dimensionality reduction and to get a set of probabilistic prior models associated to each detected class of pathological deformations observed on a representative training scoliotic rib cage population. By using an appropriate likelihood and for each considered class-conditional prior model, the proposed 3D reconstruction is stated as an energy function minimization problem, which is solved with a stochastic optimization algorithm. The optimal 3D reconstruction then corresponds to the class of deformation and parameters leading to the minimal energy. This 3D method of reconstruction has been successfully tested on several biplanar radiographic images, yielding very promising results.
Contribution of Invariant Residues to the Function of Rgg Family Transcription Regulators

ABSTRACT The Rgg family of transcription regulators is widely distributed among gram-positive bacteria, yet how these proteins control transcription is poorly understood. Using Streptococcus pyogenes RopB as a model, we demonstrated that residues invariant among Rgg-like regulators are critical for function and obtained evidence for a mechanism involving protein complex formation.
Can Playing the Computer Game “Tetris” Reduce the Build-Up of Flashbacks for Trauma? A Proposal from Cognitive Science

Background Flashbacks are the hallmark symptom of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Although we have successful treatments for full-blown PTSD, early interventions are lacking. We propose the utility of developing a ‘cognitive vaccine’ to prevent PTSD flashback development following exposure to trauma. Our theory is based on two key findings: 1) Cognitive science suggests that the brain has selective resources with limited capacity; 2) The neurobiology of memory suggests a 6-hr window to disrupt memory consolidation. The rationale for a ‘cognitive vaccine’ approach is as follows: Trauma flashbacks are sensory-perceptual, visuospatial mental images. Visuospatial cognitive tasks selectively compete for resources required to generate mental images. Thus, a visuospatial computer game (e.g. “Tetris”) will interfere with flashbacks. Visuospatial tasks post-trauma, performed within the time window for memory consolidation, will reduce subsequent flashbacks. We predicted that playing “Tetris” half an hour after viewing trauma would reduce flashback frequency over 1-week. Methodology/Principal Findings The Trauma Film paradigm was used as a well-established experimental analog for Post-traumatic Stress. All participants viewed a traumatic film consisting of scenes of real injury and death followed by a 30-min structured break. Participants were then randomly allocated to either a no-task or visuospatial (“Tetris”) condition which they undertook for 10-min. Flashbacks were monitored for 1-week. Results indicated that compared to the no-task condition, the “Tetris” condition produced a significant reduction in flashback frequency over 1-week. Convergent results were found on a clinical measure of PTSD symptomatology at 1-week. Recognition memory between groups did not differ significantly. Conclusions/Significance Playing “Tetris” after viewing traumatic material reduces unwanted, involuntary memory flashbacks to that traumatic film, leaving deliberate memory recall of the event intact. Pathological aspects of human memory in the aftermath of trauma may be malleable using non-invasive, cognitive interventions. This has implications for a novel avenue of preventative treatment development, much-needed as a crisis intervention for the aftermath of traumatic events.
An extremely low power 2 GHz CMOS LC VCO for wireless communication applications

An extremely low power low phase noise CMOS LC voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) has been fully integrated in a commercial 0.18 mum CMOS process. To achieve low power and low phase noise, a complementary NMOS and PMOS cross-coupled differential LC structure is used. The LC tank is composed of octagonal-shaped inductors with 2 mum Al metal and standard NMOS varactors. The measured phase noise is -111 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz offset from a 1.87 GHz carrier when the VCO core consumes only a 0.5 mW power from 0.9 V supply. The power consumption of 0.5 mW is the lowest reported in the literature for LC VCOs. This VCO has a figure of merit of -180 dBc/Hz and achieves a 7 % tuning range with a control voltage ranging from 0 ~ 1.4 V, while maintaining a tuning sensitivity of 93 MHz/V over its entire frequency range
Preparasi Dan Karakterisasi Edible Film Dari Poliblend Pati Sukun-Kitosan

Biodegradable and renewable plastic such as edible film is one of solution the environmental problem. The main raw material is from starch, because of it is abundant and varied in Indonesia, one of them is breadfruit starch which has enough high starch content (60 %). But edible film based on starch give less mechanical properties and less water resistance. In this research the edible film was made from poliblend of breadfruit starch-chitosan with sorbitol addition. The Method was done, preparation and characterization of breadfruit starch then preparation and characterization of edible film. The characteristic result of breadfruit starch was obtained for total starch content 76.39 %, content of amylose and amylopecktin were 26.76 % and 73.24 % respectively, the gelatinitation temperature of breadfruit starch was 73.98 oC, water content 22,38 % and the degree of brightness showed bright characteristic and pale grey colour. The characteristic result of edible film showed the increasing of chitosan concentration, the tensile strength and water resistance tended to rise. Generally the best result of edible film was on breadfruit starch-chitosan formulation 6:4 g/g by the value of water uptake was 212.98 %, tensile strength was 16.34 MPa, elongation was 6,00 % and modulus young was 2,72 MPa. However, the result of mhorphology analysis showed that the edible film of breadfruit starch-chitosan formulation 6:4 are still pores and cracks.
Reliability tests of ultrasonic and thermosonic wire bonds

This paper presents analysis of mechanical strength and reliability of wire bonds in context of the applied bonding technique, wire material and substrate type used as well as bonding parameters. The investigation conducted includes a selection of parameters affecting process of effective wire bonds forming by 53XX F&K Delvotec Bonder and implementation of wire bonds with ultrasonic and thermosonic techniques, using various substrates combined with gold and aluminum 25 μm diameter wires. Furthermore, reliability and quality test made by bond pull technique have been presented and discussed.
A Probabilistic WKL Rule for Incremental Feature Learning and Pattern Recognition

Recent advances in machine learning and computer vision have led to the development of several sophisticated learning schemes for object recognition by convolutional networks. One relatively simple learning rule, the Winner-Kill-Loser (WKL), was shown to be efficient at learning higher-order features in the neocognitron model when used in a written digit classification task. The WKL rule is one variant of incremental clustering procedures that adapt the number of cluster components to the input data. The WKL rule seeks to provide a complete, yet minimally redundant, covering of the input distribution. It is difficult to apply this approach directly to high-dimensional spaces since it leads to a dramatic explosion in the number of clustering components. In this work, a small generalization of the WKL rule is proposed to learn from high-dimensional data. We first show that the learning rule leads mostly to V1-like oriented cells when applied to natural images, suggesting that it captures second-order image statistics not unlike variants of Hebbian learning. We further embed the proposed learning rule into a convolutional network, specifically, the Neocognitron, and show its usefulness on a standard written digit recognition benchmark. Although the new learning rule leads to a small reduction in overall accuracy, this small reduction is accompanied by a major reduction in the number of coding nodes in the network. This in turn confirms that by learning statistical regularities rather than covering an entire input space, it may be possible to incrementally learn and retain most of the useful structure in the input distribution.
Bayesian Networks for Inverse Inference in Manufacturing Bayesian Networks

Physics based simulations of manufacturing processes are used for prediction of material properties and defects in a number of industrial applications. However, a practising engineer often requires the solution to an "inverse problem" - prediction of inputs for the desired outcome. The inverse problem is usually solved by constrained optimisation. Extensive simulation during optimisation is avoided through response surfaces constructed from simulations. But the design space is often so large that even with response surfaces, optimisation might not be possible. Moreover, these problems are typically ill-posed, so discriminative models such as artificial neural networks do not work well. In this paper, we investigate the application of conditional linear Gaussian Bayesian networks to address the inverse problem with multi-pass wire drawing process as a case study. We propose an approach to systematically find all solutions and rank them according to their likelihood.
Pressure Distributions on the Buttocks and Thighs by Electrical Stimulation in the Sitting Posture

Pressure distributions on the buttocks and thighs by the functional electrical stimulation on the gluteus maximus, sartorius and hamstring in the seating posture were analyzed for ten healthy young volunteers in order to determine which muscle can be stimulated for pressure ulcer prevention. Muscles were stimulated every 5 seconds over 30 seconds by the MP150 stimulator. Pressure distribution and ground reaction forces on the stimulated buttocks and thighs increased when the gluteus maximus was stimulated. Pressure on the stimulated thigh slightly decreased when stimulating sartorius and hamstring individually. With a simultaneous stimulation of the gluteus maximus and sartorius, pressures on the stimulated buttocks and thighs increased significantly, but pressure on the opposite buttock decreased significantly. With a simultaneous stimulation of the sartorius and hamstring, both pressure on the stimulated thigh and the ground reaction force significantly decreased.
Intermittent Hypoxia-Induced Cognitive Deficits Are Mediated by NADPH Oxidase Activity in a Murine Model of Sleep Apnea

Background In rodents, exposure to intermittent hypoxia (IH), a hallmark of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), is associated with neurobehavioral impairments, increased apoptosis in the hippocampus and cortex, as well as increased oxidant stress and inflammation. Excessive NADPH oxidase activity may play a role in IH-induced CNS dysfunction. Methods and Findings The effect of IH during light period on two forms of spatial learning in the water maze and well as markers of oxidative stress was assessed in mice lacking NADPH oxidase activity (gp91phox _/Y) and wild-type littermates. On a standard place training task, gp91phox _/Y displayed normal learning, and were protected from the spatial learning deficits observed in wild-type littermates exposed to IH. Moreover, anxiety levels were increased in wild-type mice exposed to IH as compared to room air (RA) controls, while no changes emerged in gp91phox _/Y mice. Additionally, wild-type mice, but not gp91phox _/Y mice had significantly elevated levels of NADPH oxidase expression and activity, as well as MDA and 8-OHDG in cortical and hippocampal lysates following IH exposures. Conclusions The oxidative stress responses and neurobehavioral impairments induced by IH during sleep are mediated, at least in part, by excessive NADPH oxidase activity, and thus pharmacological agents targeting NADPH oxidase may provide a therapeutic strategy in sleep-disordered breathing.
Analysis and implementation of a bridgeless sepic AC/DC converter with power factor correction and extended gain

In this paper, a bridgeless Sepic AC/DC converter is proposed. The absence of an input rectifier bridge can reduce the conduction loss and the proposed topology separates the input PFC current and output current, which reduces the switch current stress and improves system thermal management compared with the traditional Sepic converter. In addition, the switches in the proposed topology all have semi-soft switching function to reduce the switching losses. Furthermore, the proposed converter has an output voltage multiplier stage. Based on the circuit analysis, a feasible control scheme is developed to achieve better input current shaping and output voltage regulation. Finally, a prototype system is constructed and the control scheme is implemented using DSP TMS320F28335. Both simulation and experimental results verify the validity of the proposed bridgeless Sepic AC/DC converter and the feasible control scheme.
Wpływ wilgotności na wybrane właściwości mechaniczne ziarniaków owsa i jęczmienia

Streszczenie. W pracy przedstawiono wyniki badan wplywu wilgotności ziarniakow owsa i jeczmienia na ich wybrane wlaściwości mechaniczne. Stwierdzono, wyraźny spadek sily ściskającej, pracy deformacji i wskaźnika odporności na ściskanie wraz ze wzrostem wilgotności obu badanych gatunkow ziarniakow. Natomiast w przypadku spoistości zaobserwowano spadek jej wartości dla ziarniakow jeczmienia i wzrost dla ziarniakow owsa. Slowa kluczowe: jeczmien, owies, ziarniak, sila ściskająca, deformacja, praca, spoistośc
The Race for the Photonic Chip: Colloidal Crystal Assembly in Silicon Wafers

This paper surveys recent developments in engineering physics approaches and self-assembly chemistry methodologies for creating 3D photonic crystals and how this has led to in-wafer patterned colloidal crystals. These materials are comprised of single crystal micrometer scale features of silica colloidal crystals that have controlled thickness, area, and orientation and are embedded within a single crystal silicon wafer. Two processes for growing opal-patterned chips are described. One is based upon microfluidic and the other spin coating driven self-assembly of colloidal silica micro-spheres within a lithographic patterned silicon wafer.
Shared and unique responses of plants to multiple individual stresses and stress combinations: physiological and molecular mechanisms

In field conditions, plants are often simultaneously exposed to multiple biotic and abiotic stresses resulting in substantial yield loss. Plants have evolved various physiological and molecular adaptations to protect themselves under stress combinations. Emerging evidences suggest that plant responses to a combination of stresses are unique from individual stress responses. In addition, plants exhibit shared responses which are common to individual stresses and stress combination. In this review, we provide an update on the current understanding of both unique and shared responses. Specific focus of this review is on heat–drought stress as a major abiotic stress combination and, drought–pathogen and heat–pathogen as examples of abiotic–biotic stress combinations. We also comprehend the current understanding of molecular mechanisms of cross talk in relation to shared and unique molecular responses for plant survival under stress combinations. Thus, the knowledge of shared responses of plants from individual stress studies and stress combinations can be utilized to develop varieties with broad spectrum stress tolerance.
A physicomimetics control framework for swarms of Autonomous Surface Vehicles

Teams of autonomous cooperating vehicles are well-suited for meeting the challenges associated with mobile marine sensor networks. Swarms built using a physicomimetics approach exhibit predictable behavior - an important benefit for extended duration deployments of autonomous ocean platforms. By using a decentralized control framework, we minimize energy consumption via short-range communication and self-contained on-board data processing, all without a specified leader. We introduce the task of autonomous surface vehicle (ASV) navigation inside a bioluminescent plume to motivate future study of how the agility and scalability of our physics-based solution can benefit a mobile distributed sensor network.
Robust matching and recognition using context-dependent kernels

The success of kernel methods including support vector machines (SVMs) strongly depends on the design of appropriate kernels. While initially kernels were designed in order to handle fixed-length data, their extension to unordered, variable-length data became more than necessary for real pattern recognition problems such as object recognition and bioinformatics. We focus in this paper on object recognition using a new type of kernel referred to as "context-dependent". Objects, seen as constellations of local features (interest points, regions, etc.), are matched by minimizing an energy function mixing (1) a fidelity term which measures the quality of feature matching, (2) a neighborhood criterion which captures the object geometry and (3) a regularization term. We will show that the fixed-point of this energy is a "context-dependent" kernel ("CDK") which also satisfies the Mercer condition. Experiments conducted on object recognition show that when plugging our kernel in SVMs, we clearly outperform SVMs with "context-free" kernels.