Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A wavelet-based heart rate variability analysis for the study of nonsustained ventricular tachycardia

It has been reported that the sympathovagal balance (SB) can be quantified by heart rate (HR) via the low-frequency (LF) to high-frequency (HF) spectral power ratio LF/HF. In this paper, an investigation of the relationship between the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and non-sustained ventricular tachycardia (NSVT) is presented. A wavelet transform (WT)-based approach for short-time heart rate variability (HRV) assessments is proposed for this aspect of analysis. The study was conducted on an RR-interval database consisting of 87 NSVT, 61 ischemic and five normal episodes. First, instantaneous SB estimates were generated by the proposed method. Then, waveforms of the WT-based SB evolutions were quantitatively examined. Numerical results showed that while a majority of SB waveforms (about 71%) derived from the non-NSVT population (i.e., ischemic and normal) appeared to come near oscillating with certain fixed levels, approximate 75% of SB evolutions underwent significantly rapid increases prior to the onset of NSVT, suggesting that an abrupt sympathovagal imbalance might partly account for the occurrence of NSVT.
From the epididymis to the egg: participation of CRISP proteins in mammalian fertilization

Mammalian fertilization is a complex process that involves different steps of interaction between the male and female gametes. In spite of its relevance, the molecular mechanisms underlying this process still remain to be elucidated. The present review describes the contribution of our laboratory to the understanding of mammalian fertilization using Cysteine-RIch Secretory Proteins (CRISP) as model molecules. Substantial evidence obtained from in vitro assays and knockout models shows that epididymal CRISP1 associates with the sperm surface with two different affinities during maturation, and participates in the regulation of signaling pathways during capacitation as well as in both sperm-zona pellucida interaction and gamete fusion. These observations can be extended to humans as judged by our findings showing that the human homolog of the rodent protein (hCRISP1) is also involved in both stages of fertilization. Evidence supports that other members of the CRISP family secreted in the testis (CRISP2), epididymis (CRISP3-4) or during ejaculation (CRISP3) are also involved in sperm-egg interaction, supporting the existence of a functional redundancy and cooperation between homolog proteins ensuring the success of fertilization. Together, our observations indicate that CRISP proteins accompany spermatozoa along their transit through both the male and female reproductive tracts. We believe these results not only contribute to a better mechanistic understanding of fertilization but also support CRISP proteins as excellent candidates for future research on infertility and contraception.
Cooperative control of multiple UAVs for forest fire monitoring and detection

This paper proposes to use multiple cooperative unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for forest monitoring, fire detection and tracking of its propagation. The proposed algorithm solves the problems of forest fire by including three stages of search, confirmation and observation. During the search stage, the UAVs team moves in a certain formation shape in a leader-follower approach, a distributed sliding mode formation control is designed to keep the desired formation shape during this stage. Once a fire is detected, all sensory data will be sent to the ground station. A new reference trajectory is calculated according to the fire spread model for generating an elliptic fire perimeter. The team begins following the new fire trajectory, afterward the leader will send reconfiguration commands to followers. Therefore, a distributed reconfigurable controller is designed based on sliding mode control (SMC) which converts the formation problem from 2-D Cartesian frame of reference to the Polar frame of reference. This algorithm is used for evenly distributing and tracking UAVs team for elliptical fire perimeter. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated using a six degree-of-freedom (DOF) quadrotor dynamic model and a simplified fire front model.
Joint modelling of longitudinal and time-to-event data with application to predicting abdominal aortic aneurysm growth and rupture

Shared random effects joint models are becoming increasingly popular for investigating the relationship between longitudinal and time‐to‐event data. Although appealing, such complex models are computationally intensive, and quick, approximate methods may provide a reasonable alternative. In this paper, we first compare the shared random effects model with two approximate approaches: a naïve proportional hazards model with time‐dependent covariate and a two‐stage joint model, which uses plug‐in estimates of the fitted values from a longitudinal analysis as covariates in a survival model. We show that the approximate approaches should be avoided since they can severely underestimate any association between the current underlying longitudinal value and the event hazard. We present classical and Bayesian implementations of the shared random effects model and highlight the advantages of the latter for making predictions. We then apply the models described to a study of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) to investigate the association between AAA diameter and the hazard of AAA rupture. Out‐of‐sample predictions of future AAA growth and hazard of rupture are derived from Bayesian posterior predictive distributions, which are easily calculated within an MCMC framework. Finally, using a multivariate survival sub‐model we show that underlying diameter rather than the rate of growth is the most important predictor of AAA rupture.
Remembering the Past to Imagine the Future: A Cognitive Neuroscience Perspective

A function of memory that has been overlooked until recently concerns its role in allowing individuals to imagine or simulate possible future events. However, a growing number of recent studies show that imagining possible future events depends on much of the same cognitive and neural machinery as does remembering past events. This linkage has potentially important implications for understanding decision-making and performance under stress, which may impair the ability to make use of past experiences to simulate or predict upcoming events. This article considers recent neuroimaging, neuropsychological, and cognitive studies that reveal shared processes underlying remembering the past and imagining the future.
Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulator-Associated Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Improved Survival in Patients With Breast Cancer

AbstractSelective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM)-associated nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) might be related to treatment efficacy in patients with breast cancer because of circulating estrogen antagonism.The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between NAFLD and survival outcomes in patients with breast cancer who were treated with tamoxifen or toremifene.This single-center, retrospective, cohort study included 785 eligible patients who received tamoxifen or toremifene, after curative resection for breast cancer, at the Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center between January 2005 and December 2009. Data were extracted from patient medical records. All patients underwent abdominal ultrasonography, at least once, at baseline and at the annual follow-up. Patients who were diagnosed with NAFLD on ultrasonography were classified into the NAFLD or the non-NAFLD arm at the 3-year follow-up visit. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were conducted to evaluate any associations between NAFLD and disease-free survival (DFS) or overall survival (OS). One hundred fifty-eight patients were diagnosed with NAFLD. Patients who developed NAFLD had better DFS and OS compared with those who did not. Univariate analyses revealed that the 5-year DFS rates were 91.56% and 85.01% for the NAFLD and non-NAFLD arms, respectively (hazard ratio [HR], 0.59; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.37–0.96; log-rank P = 0.032). The 5-year OS rates were 96.64% and 93.31% for the NAFLD and non-NAFLD arms, respectively (HR, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.16–0.99; log-rank P = 0.039). Multivariate analysis revealed that NAFLD was an independent prognostic factor for DFS, improving the DFS rate by 41% compared with that in the non-NAFLD arm (HR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.36–0.96; P = 0.033). SERM-associated NAFLD was independently associated with improved DFS and might be useful for predicting treatment responses in breast cancer patients treated with SERMs.
A Chi-Square Methodology Applied in Deviations Control of Project Plan to Support the RIMAM Model

This paper describes a Hybrid Chi-Squared methodology of Project Plan deviations identification, including those for multiple deviations in a Project Plan system. The sampling methodology was used to analyze similarity, together with a statistical optimization methodology for Chi-Squared, to improve the existing methodology used to forecast data in the Project Plan phase. The created sampling methodology was utilized for learning activities of Project Plan, in order to detect deviations. This Chi-Squared methodology was employed by empirical results. The results have shown that the selection strategy identify better forecasting approach between two different proposals, aiming to provide the forecasting process of Project Plan, presenting better precisions based on the diagnose deviations detection, within this Chi-Squared methodology.
Adaptive versus nonadaptive strategies for quantum channel discrimination

We provide a simple example that illustrates the advantage of adaptive over nonadaptive strategies for quantum channel discrimination. In particular, we give a pair of entanglement-breaking channels that can be perfectly discriminated by means of an adaptive strategy that requires just two channel evaluations, but for which no nonadaptive strategy can give a perfect discrimination using any finite number of channel evaluations.
Fast Iterative Subspace Algorithms for Airborne STAP Radar

Space-time adaptive processing (STAP) is a crucial technique for the new generation airborne radar for Doppler spread compensation caused by the platform motion. We here propose to apply range cell snapshots-based recursive algorithms in order to reduce the computational complexity of the conventional STAP algorithms and to deal with a possible nonhomogeneity of the data samples. Subspace tracking algorithms as PAST, PASTd, OPAST, and more recently the fast approximate power iteration (FAPI) algorithm, which are time-based recursive algorithms initially introduced in spectral analysis, array processing, are good candidates. In this paper, we more precisely investigate the performance of FAPI for interference suppression in STAP radar. Extensive simulations demonstrate the outperformance of FAPI algorithm over other subspace trackers of similar computational complexity. We demonstrate also its effectiveness using measured data from the multichannel radar measurements (MCARM) program.
New characteristic difference method with adaptive mesh for one-dimensional unsteady convection-dominated diffusion equations

This article presents a kind of characteristic difference method with adaptive mesh for one-dimensional convection-dominated diffusion equations. The method can adaptively adjust the computational mesh according to the gradient of the solutions. Furthermore, the method in this article has second order accuracy for convective term and first order accuracy for diffusive term, which completely fits with the property of strong convection and weak diffusion for convection-dominated diffusion equations. Compared with the uniform mesh method, the method in this article has higher computational efficiency for linear and nonlinear convection-dominated diffusion equations.
The detrimental effect of stroke on motor adaptation

Background. While it is evident that stroke impairs motor control, it remains unclear whether stroke impacts motor adaptation, the ability to flexibly modify movements in response to changes in the body and the environment. The mixed results in the literature may be due to differences in participants' brain lesions, sensorimotor tasks, or a combination of both. Objective. We first sought to better understand the overall impact of stroke on motor adaptation and then delineated the impact of lesion hemisphere and sensorimotor task on adaptation poststroke. Methods. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of 17 studies comparing individuals poststroke to neurotypical controls, with each group consisting of over 200 participants. Results. We found that stroke impairs motor adaptation (d = -0.64; 95% CI [-1.06, -0.22]), and that the extent of this impairment did not differ across sensorimotor tasks but may vary with the lesioned hemisphere. Specifically, we observed greater evidence for impaired adaptation in individuals with left hemisphere lesions compared to those with right hemisphere lesions. Conclusions. This review not only clarifies the detrimental effect of stroke on motor adaptation but also underscores the need for finer-grained studies to determine precisely how various sensorimotor learning mechanisms are impacted. The current findings may guide future mechanistic and applied research at the intersection of motor learning and neurorehabilitation.
Adjusting for Confounding Factors in Quasi-experiments: Another Reanalysis of the Westinghouse Head Start Evaluation

sources of preexisting differences and what portion to attribute to the program? What analytic technique should be used, and under what assumptions can a reasonable mathematical model be specified? Or should an evaluator disregard quantitative approaches altogether? After all, Lord (1967) points out that in such situations "no logical or statistical procedures can be counted on to make proper allowances for uncontrolled pre-existing differences between groups" (p. 305). While there are no unequivocal answers to these questions, under certain situations
Sectorless ATM — A concept to increase en-route efficiency

Feasibility of a new air traffic management concept is examined which might increase the efficiency of en-route operations by up to 100%. The concept follows the idea of a sector-less airspace organization. Aircraft entering the airspace (e.g. the German airspace or the entire European Airspace) will be assigned to one controller who is in charge of controlling the aircraft from entry point (or TMA exit point) to exit point of the airspace (or TMA entry point). First simple real time simulations revealed very promising results. The concept seems to enable an easy transition into a user preferred trajectory (direct-to) operations whilst at the same time increasing ATCO's efficiency and airspace capacity.
A Proposal for Quantum Rational Secret Sharing

A rational secret sharing scheme is a game in which each party responsible for reconstructing a secret tries to maximize his utility by obtaining the secret alone. Quantum secret sharing schemes, either derived from quantum teleportation or from quantum error correcting code, do not succeed when we assume rational participants. This is because all existing quantum secret sharing schemes consider that the secret is reconstructed by a party chosen by the dealer. In this paper, for the first time, we propose a quantum secret sharing scheme which is resistant to rational parties. The proposed scheme is fair (everyone gets the secret), correct and achieves strict Nash equilibrium.
Nonlinear optics.

Recent advances in the field of nonlinear optical phenomena are reviewed with particular emphasis placed on such topics as parametric oscillation, self-focusing and trapping of laser beams, and stimulated Raman, Rayleigh, and Brillouin scattering. The optical frequency radiation is treated classically in terms of the amplitudes and phases of the electromagnetic fields. The interactions of light waves in a material are then formulated in terms of Maxwell's equations and the electric dipole approximation. In this method, non-linear susceptibility tensors are introduced which relate the induced dipole moment to a power series expansion in field strengths. The tensor nature and the frequency dependence of the nonlinearity coefficients are considered. The various experimental observations are described and interpreted in terms of this formalism.
Fe(III)‐mediated cellular toxicity

Because it can undergo reversible changes in oxidation state, iron is an excellent biocatalyst but also a potentially deleterious metal. Iron‐mediated toxicity has been ascribed to Fe(II), which reacts with oxygen to generate free radicals that damage macromolecules and cause cell death. However, we now report that Fe(III) exhibits microbicidal activity towards strains of Salmonella enterica, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae defective in the Fe(III)‐responding PmrA/PmrB signal transduction system. Fe(III) bound to a pmrA Salmonella mutant more effectively than to the isogenic wild‐type strain and exerted its microbicidal activity even under anaerobic conditions. Moreover, Fe(III) permeabilized the outer membrane of the pmrA mutant, rendering it susceptible to vancomycin, which is normally non‐toxic to Gram‐negative species. On the other hand, Fe(III) did not affect the viability of a mutant defective in Fur, the major regulator of cytosolic iron homeostasis, which is hypersensitive to Fe(II)‐mediated toxicity. A functional pmrA gene was necessary for bacterial survival in soil. Our results indicate that Fe(III) exerts its microbicidal activity by a mechanism that is oxygen independent and different from that mediated by Fe(II).
Insulin-Dependent Adipogenesis in Stromal ST2 Cells Derived from Murine Bone Marrow

ST2 cells, a cloned stromal-cell line from mouse bone marrow have the phenotypes of osteoblasts and hematopoietic supporting cells, but little is known about the adipogenesis in this cell line. We found that treatment of ST2 cells with a cocktail, a combination of insulin, dexamethasone (DEX) and 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX), induced adipocyte differentiation. The cells were adipocytic, as seen by the accumulation of triglycerides and with lipid droplets stained with Oil Red O. Expressions of the adipogenic transcriptional factors peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptor γ and CCAAT-enhancer binding protein α were stimulated, triggering the expression of the late adipocyte-specific marker α-glycerophosphate-3-dehydrogenase. Unlike another bone marrow stromal cell line PA6, ST2 cells responded to the adipogenic effects of insulin, as do the extramedullary preadipocytes 3T3-L1. Like PA6 and 3T3-L1 cells, adipogenesis in ST2 cells was inhibited by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, retinoic acid, tumour necrosis factor α, and transforming growth factor β. Therefore, ST2 cells can differentiate into osteoblasts, adipocytes, and hematopoietic supporting cells, in which the process of adipogenesis differs from that of bone marrow preadipocytes PA6, and resembles that of the extramedullary preadipocytes 3T3-L1.
“Being in a Room with Like-Minded Men”: An Exploratory Study of Men's Participation in a Bystander Intervention Program to Prevent Intimate Partner Violence

The bystander approach suggests that individuals can intervene to interrupt situations leading to violence and has previously been used in sexual assault prevention. This article applies the bystander approach to interpersonal violence. An exploratory study was conducted to assess a workshop designed to prevent intimate partner violence that utilized the bystander approach with male participants. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to measure male participants' attitudes regarding bystander intervention behaviors and attitudes after participating in a workshop designed to encourage bystander intervention behaviors. A total of 41 men completed posttest surveys, and eight participated in face-to-face interviews. Important findings indicate that many participants expressed anxiety in social situations that inhibited bystander behavior and that many men desired more opportunities to talk in open forums such as the workshops with other like-minded men.
Compact Union of Disjoint Boxes: An Efficient Decomposition Model for Binary Volumes

This paper presents in detail the CompactUnion of Disjoint Boxes (CUDB), a decomposition modelfor binary volumes that has been recently but brieflyintroduced. This model is an improved version of aprevious model called Ordered Union of Disjoint Boxes(OUDB). We show here, several desirable features thatthis model has versus OUDB, such as less unitary basicelements (boxes) and thus, a better efficiency in someneighborhood operations. We present algorithms forconversion to and from other models, and for basiccomputations as area (2D) or volume (3D). We alsopresent an efficient algorithm for connected-componentlabeling (CCL) that does not follow the classical two-passstrategy. Finally we present an algorithm for collision (oradjacency) detection in static environments. We test theefficiency of CUDB versus existing models with severaldatasets.
MyD88 signalling in myeloid cells is sufficient to prevent chronic mycobacterial infection

Tuberculosis is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis that is responsible for almost 1.5 million deaths per year. Sensing of mycobacteria by the host's immune system relies on different families of receptors present on innate immune cells. Amongst them, several members of the TLR family are involved in the activation of immune cells by mycobacteria, yet the in vivo contribution of individual TLRs to the protective immune response remains controversial. On the contrary, MyD88, the adaptor molecule for most TLRs, plays a non‐redundant role in the protection against tuberculosis and mice with a complete germline deletion of MyD88 succumb very early to infection. MyD88 is expressed in both immune and non‐immune cells, but it is not clear whether control of mycobacteria requires ubiquitous or cell‐type specific MyD88 expression. Therefore, using novel conditional switch‐on mouse models, we aimed to investigate the importance of MyD88 signalling in DCs and macrophages for the induction of protective effector mechanisms against mycobacterial infection. We conclude that specific reactivation of MyD88 signalling in CD11c‐ or lysozyme M‐expressing myeloid cells during Mycobacterium bovis Bacille Calmette‐Guerin infection is sufficient to restore systemic and local inflammatory cytokine production and to control pathogen burden.
Laboratory analyses of two explanted hydrophobic acrylic intraocular lenses

Two three-piece hydrophobic acrylic intraocular lenses (IOLs) were explanted from two patients at 7 and 9 years, respectively, after implantation, because of poor fundus visualisation and/or a clinically significant decrease in visual acuity related to their opacified IOLs. In addition to light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, confocal laser scanning microscopy was used for the first time to observe the explanted IOLs. The clinical aspect seemed to correspond to the phenomenon of surface light scattering, while laboratory analyses showed dense glistenings in the central layer of the IOL optic, which had no change next to the surface. Further studies on these phenomena are needed.