Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Electrical Wave Propagation in an Anisotropic Model of the Left Ventricle Based on Analytical Description of Cardiac Architecture

We develop a numerical approach based on our recent analytical model of fiber structure in the left ventricle of the human heart. A special curvilinear coordinate system is proposed to analytically include realistic ventricular shape and myofiber directions. With this anatomical model, electrophysiological simulations can be performed on a rectangular coordinate grid. We apply our method to study the effect of fiber rotation and electrical anisotropy of cardiac tissue (i.e., the ratio of the conductivity coefficients along and across the myocardial fibers) on wave propagation using the ten Tusscher–Panfilov (2006) ionic model for human ventricular cells. We show that fiber rotation increases the speed of cardiac activation and attenuates the effects of anisotropy. Our results show that the fiber rotation in the heart is an important factor underlying cardiac excitation. We also study scroll wave dynamics in our model and show the drift of a scroll wave filament whose velocity depends non-monotonically on the fiber rotation angle; the period of scroll wave rotation decreases with an increase of the fiber rotation angle; an increase in anisotropy may cause the breakup of a scroll wave, similar to the mother rotor mechanism of ventricular fibrillation.
Longitudinal Associations between Triglycerides and Metabolic Syndrome Components in a Beijing Adult Population, 2007-2012

Background:Longitudinal associations between triglycerides (TG) and other metabolic syndrome (MetS) components have rarely been reported. The purpose was to investigate the longitudinal association between TG and other MetS components with time. Methods:The longitudinal study was established in 2007 on individuals who attended health check-ups at Beijing Tongren Hospital and Beijing Xiaotangshan Hospital. Data used in this study was based on 7489 participants who had at least three health check-ups over a period of 5-year follow up. Joint model was used to explore longitudinal associations between TG and other MetS components after adjusted for age. Results:There were positive correlations between TG and other MetS components except for high density lipoprotein (HDL), and the correlations increased with time. A negative correlation was displayed between TG and HDL, and the correlation also increased with time. Among all five pairs of TG and other MetS components, the marginal correlation between TG and body mass index (BMI) was the largest for both men and women. The marginal correlation between TG and fasting plasma glucose was the smallest for men, while the marginal correlation between TG and diastolic blood pressure was the smallest for women. Conclusions: The longitudinal association between TG and other MetS components increased with time. Among five pairs of TG and other MetS components, the longitudinal correlation between TG and BMI was the largest. It is important to closely monitor subjects with high levels of TG and BMI in health check-up population especially for women, because these two components are closely associated with development of hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other metabolic diseases.
Maximising Entropy Efficiently

Determining a prior probability function via the maximum entropy principle can be a computationally intractable task. However one can easily determine - in advance of entropy maximisation - a list of conditional independencies that the maximum entropy function will satisfy. These independencies can be used to reduce the complexity of the entropy maximisation task. In particular, one can use these independencies to construct a direct acyclic graph in a Bayesian network, and then maximise entropy with respect to the numerical parameters of this network. This can result in an efficient representation of a prior probability function, and one that may allow efficient updating and marginalisation. The computational complexity of maximising entropy can be further reduced when knowledge of causal relationships is available. Moreover, the proposed simplification of the entropy maximisation task may be exploited to construct a proof theory for probabilistic logic.
On the convergence of the generalized maximum likelihood algorithm for nonuniform image motion estimation

The generalized maximum likelihood algorithm is a powerful iterative scheme for waveform estimation. This algorithm seeks for the maximum likelihood estimates of the Karhunen-Loeve expansion coefficients of the waveform. The search for the maximum is performed by the steepest ascent routine. The objective of the paper is to obtain conditions that assure the stability in the mean for frame-to-frame image motion estimation. Sufficient conditions are established for the convergence of the algorithm in the absence of noise. Experimental results are presented that illustrate the behavior of the algorithm in the presence of various noise levels.
Simultaneously improving the mechanical strength and electromagnetic interference shielding of carbon/carbon composites by electrophoretic deposition of SiC nanowires

C/C composites with both high specific strength and excellent electromagnetic shielding efficiency are required for advanced space applications. For this purpose, SiC nanowires (SiCNWs) were introduced in C/C composites by electrophoretic deposition. The presence of SiCNWs in C/C induces the formation of a SiCNW/pyrocarbon coaxial structure, which refines the matrix and decreases the stress concentration of the matrix. The average flexural strength of C/C composites increases by ∼100% after adding SiC nanowires due to enhanced interlaminar bonding after introducing the nanowires. Meanwhile, the average electromagnetic shielding efficiency in the X band (8.2–12.4 GHz) increases from 35.6 dB to 60.5 dB with an optimized nanowire content. Reflection is the predominant mechanism for electromagnetic shielding while introducing SiC nanowires also enhances the electromagnetic absorption within the composites. As pyrocarbon in the SiCNW–pyrocarbon coaxial structure shows a higher degree of crystallization, the coaxial structure increases the electron loops in the matrix and greatly improves reflection at high frequency. Also, the absorption of electromagnetic waves inside the composites is enhanced by introducing SiCNWs due to the increase of electron hopping among interfaces. This work proves that introducing SiC nanowires is promising in fabricating lightweight C/C composites with excellent mechanical and electromagnetic properties.
Fast aggregation of student mixture models

Studies on Mixtures of Student (t-)distributions have demonstrated their ability to conduct clustering tasks with valuable robustness to outliers, compared to their Gaussian mixture counterparts. Concurrently, distributed clustering has motivated much interest in methods for building a partition by consensus of multiple partitions. This paper addresses the latter need by aggregating mixtures of Student distributions. It involves minimizing iteratively an approximate KL divergence between mixtures, which themselves approximate each Student component as a finite Gaussian mixture.
Molecular structure of the Dr adhesin: nucleotide sequence and mapping of receptor-binding domain by use of fusion constructs

The Dr hemagglutinin of uropathogenic Escherichia coli mediates adherence to the upper urinary tract. E. coli strains which express this adhesin bind to the Dr blood group antigen and mediate mannose-resistant hemagglutination (MRHA). Chloramphenicol inhibits MRHA produced by the Dr hemagglutinin and may act as an analog for the tissue receptor at the adhesin-binding site. The nucleotide sequence of the Dr hemagglutinin fimbrial subunit was determined and found to have significant homology with that of F1845, a fimbrial adhesin associated with diarrhea, and with the afimbrial adhesin AFA-I of uropathogenic E. coli. Chimeric adhesin determinants consisting of the Dr structural subunit and F1845 accessory genes or of the F1845 structural subunit and Dr accessory genes were constructed. The Dr and F1845 determinants were shown to have a close structural relationship, with functional differences concentrated in the fimbrial subunit. Oligonucleotide-directed site-specific mutagenesis was used to facilitate construction of a hybrid adhesin subunit gene containing the amino terminus of F1845 fused to the carboxy terminus of the Dr structural gene. The resulting construct confers chloramphenicol-resistant hemagglutination when introduced into an E. coli strain expressing the cloned Dr hemagglutinin. The chloramphenicol sensitivity or resistant phenotype of MRHA produced by this family of adhesins is determined solely by the fimbrial subunit gene. Domains responsible for the chloramphenicol sensitivity of Dr-mediated MRHA reside within the amino-terminal portion of the fimbrial subunit.
High-Performance Data Management and Efficient Aggregate Query Answering on Environmental Sensor Networks by Computational Grids

Data representation and query models are important limitations in managing sensor network data, since streams produced by sensors are theoretically unbounded. A possible solution consists in adopting the so-called data compression paradigm, which aims at computing compressed representations of summarized repositories collected from sensors, and then using these representations to efficiently answer aggregate queries. In this paper, we present a Grid framework based on the data compression paradigm, which allows us to provide facilities in both managing and querying sensor network data. We also present our experience in the context of a real-life system focused on the management of environmental sensor network data.
Adhesion And Wear Of Nanoscale Polymer Contacts

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a powerful tool for high resolution surface measurements, nanolithography, and tip-based nanomanufacturing. An understanding of the nanoscale tribological behavior of the tip-sample contact, including adhesion and wear, is critical in these applications. In this dissertation, the adhesion and wear of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) in contact with an ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) AFM tip is investigated using a combination of AFM-based nanomechanics experiments and finite element analysis (FEA). A novel AFM-based method, which combines pull-off force measurements and characterization of the 3D geometry of AFM tip, was developed to quantify the properties of the adhesive traction-separation relationship of UNCD-PMMA contacts. Adhesion range and strength, as well as work of adhesion, of the contacts were determined. Characterizing and understanding nanoscale wear of polymers has proven difficult in the past due to experimental complications associated with debris produced in the tests and the failure of traditional empirical wear relations, such as Archard’s law. Here, nanoscale AFM-based line and raster wear experiments were performed on patterned PMMA structures, which had gaps that allow debris to be captured. Results from the line wear tests indicate that the relationship between height loss rate and stress is well described by a transition state theory wear model. The wear parameters obtained from line wear tests were applied to predict the volume loss in raster wear tests. Despite the significant differences in the loading and sliding geometry between line and raster wear experiments, the raster wear behavior was accurately predicted from the parameters obtained from line wear tests. In addition, experiments at varying temperatures were performed to study the temperature dependence of polymer wear. The results suggest that transition state theory overestimates the effect of temperature on wear for PMMA. Modified models considering viscoelastic relaxation of PMMA and atom-by-atom attrition were applied to describe the measured wear behavior. Finally, an iterative FEA method was developed for simulations of wear. These simulations were used to examine the evolution of geometry and stress during the wear process as a function of contact conditions, such as friction and surface roughness. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Mechanical Engineering & Applied Mechanics First Advisor Kevin T. Turner
Long-Term Effectiveness and Safety of Lisdexamfetamine Dimesylate in School-Aged Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

ABSTRACT Introduction: Lisdexamfetamine dimesylate (LDX), a prodrug stimulant, is indicated for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children 6–12 years of age and in adults. In shortterm studies, once-daily LDX provided efficacy throughout the day. This study presented here was conducted to assess the long-term safety, tolerability, and effectiveness of LDX in 6- to 12-year-olds with ADHD. Methods: This open-label, multicenter, singlearm study enrolled children with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition-Text Revision criteria for ADHD. Following 1-week screening and washout periods, subjects were titrated to LDX 30, 50, or 70 mg/day over 4 weeks and placed on maintenance treatment for 11 months. The ADHD Rating Scale and Clinical Global Impression-Improvement scale measured effectiveness. Results: Of 272 subjects receiving LDX, 147 completed the study. Most adverse events were mild to moderate and occurred during the first 4 weeks. There were no clinically meaningful changes in blood pressure or electrocardiographic parameters. From baseline to endpoint, mean ADHD Rating Scale scores improved by 27.2 points (P<.0001). Improvements occurred during each of the first 4 weeks, and were maintained throughout. Based on Clinical Global Impression-Improvement scale scores, >80% of subjects at endpoint and >95% of completers at 12 months were rated “improved. ” Conclusion: Long-term 30, 50, and 70 mg/day LDX was generally well tolerated and effective in children with ADHD.
Reachability and control synthesis for piecewise-affine hybrid systems on simplices

In this paper, we consider the synthesis of control laws for piecewise-affine hybrid systems on simplices. The construction is based on the solution to the control-to-facet problem at the continuous level, and on dynamic programming at the discrete level. The construction is given as an explicit algorithm using only linear algebra and reach-set computations for automata; no numerical integration is required. The method is conservative, in that it may fail to find a control law where one exists, but one cannot hope for a sharp algorithm for control synthesis since reachability for piecewise-affine hybrid systems is undecidable.
Epidemiological study of an outbreak due to multidrug-resistant Enterobacter aerogenes in a medical intensive care unit

In 1993, 63 isolates of Enterobacter aerogenes were collected from 41 patients in a medical intensive care unit (ICU). During the same period, only 46 isolates from 32 patients were collected in the rest of the hospital. All isolates were analyzed by antibiotic resistance phenotype, and 77 representative isolates were differentiated by plasmid restriction analysis, ribotyping, and arbitrarily primed (AP)-PCR. The extended-spectrum beta-lactamases produced by 22 strains were characterized by determination of their isoelectric points and by hybridization of plasmid DNA with specific probes. The isolates were divided into 25 antibiotic resistance phenotypes, either susceptible (group I) or resistant (group II) to aminoglycosides, and exhibited three phenotypes of resistance to beta-lactams: chromosomally derepressed cephalosporinase alone or associated with either extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (mainly of the SHV-4 type) or imipenem resistance. The results of the tests divided the 77 representative isolates (group I, n = 21; group II, n = 56) into 15 plasmid profiles, 14 ribotypes, and 15 AP-PCR patterns. Although the resistant isolates (group II) exhibited different plasmid profiles, ribotyping and AP-PCR analysis demonstrated an identical chromosomal pattern, indicating an epidemiological relatedness. They were mainly found in the medical ICU and occasionally in other units. The susceptible strains (group I) had various and distinct markers and were mainly isolated in units other than the medical ICU. In conclusion, the presence of a nosocomial outbreak in an ICU and the spread of a multidrug-resistant epidemic strain throughout the hospital was confirmed. Ribotyping and AP-PCR represent discriminatory tools for the investigation of nosocomial outbreaks caused by E. aerogenes.
A TCP starvation problem in combining TCP and max-weight scheduling of cross-layer algorithms in WMNs

In this paper, we investigate the problem coming from the adaptation of legacy protocol TCP to the cross-layer protocols that is likely happen in future Internet. We point out named a TCP starvation problem in combining TCP and max-weight scheduling of cross-layer algorithms in wireless mesh networks. TCP starvation occurs when neighbor nodes are already scheduled with large queue length. To overcome TCP starvation as denoted in this paper, we propose a simple remedy named fake-ACK algorithm.
Aqueous Extract from Vitis vinifera Tendrils is Able to Enrich Keratinocyte Antioxidant Defences

An aqueous extract of V. vinifera L. tendrils was evaluated for its ability to enrich the antioxidant capacity of cultured cells. The long-time antioxidant capability of the extract was measured by in vitro chemical methods, and its influence on reduced glutathione levels and plasma membrane oxido reductase activity was determined in cultured human keratinocytes (NCTC 2544). Keratinocytes are cells normally exposed to oxidative stress, and for this reason adequately equipped with antioxidant defences. However, it has long been suggested that exogenous antioxidants may play an important role in minimizing the adverse effects of oxidative stress on skin. We demonstrated that V. vinifera tendril aqueous extract was able to increase, in a time- and dose-dependent manner, the reduced glutathione concentration and activity of trans plasma membrane oxido reductase as an indirect evaluation of the intracellular redox status of the cells demonstrating a relevant antioxidant activity of this phytocomplex.
Finding Patterns in a Knowledge Base using Keywords to Compose Table Answers

We aim to provide table answers to keyword queries using a knowledge base. For queries referring to multiple entities, like "Washington cities population" and "Mel Gibson movies", it is better to represent each relevant answer as a table which aggregates a set of entities or joins of entities within the same table scheme or pattern. In this paper, we study how to find highly relevant patterns in a knowledge base for user-given keyword queries to compose table answers. A knowledge base is modeled as a directed graph called knowledge graph, where nodes represent its entities and edges represent the relationships among them. Each node/edge is labeled with type and text. A pattern is an aggregation of subtrees which contain all keywords in the texts and have the same structure and types on node/edges. We propose efficient algorithms to find patterns that are relevant to the query for a class of scoring functions. We show the hardness of the problem in theory, and propose path-based indexes that are affordable in memory. Two query-processing algorithms are proposed: one is fast in practice for small queries (with small numbers of patterns as answers) by utilizing the indexes; and the other one is better in theory, with running time linear in the sizes of indexes and answers, which can handle large queries better. We also conduct extensive experimental study to compare our approaches with a naive adaption of known techniques.
Arbitrary Placement Array Coil System

A multiple RF coil system was developed for use in an arbitrary polarized NMR imaging system to maximize signal to noise ratio over a given field of view. Conceptual coil conductor patterns were formulated, a theoretical analysis of magnetic field patterns was performed, and mutual inductance between coils was calculated and minimized. A prototype based on the theoretical work was constructed. Test results with the prototype were acquired to verify the theoretical work performed.
IPTV over P2P streaming networks: the mesh-pull approach

IPTV, an emerging Internet application, would revolutionize the entertainment and media industries; however, IPTV also has the potential to overwhelm the Internet backbone and access networks with traffic. To date, IPTV over P2P streaming networks has advanced significantly using two different approaches: tree-push versus mesh-pull. In particular, the mesh-pull streaming approach has achieved a number of successful commercial deployments. In this article, we examine the current progress in the research and development of mesh-pull P2P streaming systems. We provide an overview of the general mesh-pull streaming architecture and review various challenges, design issues, and interesting research problems in this approach. We discuss the construction costs for providing an IPTV service with service guarantees. We outline a measurement technique for monitoring the video playback quality of mesh-pull streaming systems. We emphasize that the future P2P IPTV systems should be designed to meet the expectations of users for quality-of-experience. We also identify a few other important issues for IPTV over P2P streaming networks, including the traffic pressure on ISPs, various security concerns, and the necessity to re-examine the most appropriate P2P architecture. Insights obtained in this study will be valuable for the development and deployment of future P2P IPTV systems.
Implementation of compact VLSI FitzHugh-Nagumo neurons

In this paper we show a low power and very compact VLSI implementation of a FitzHugh-Nagumo neuron for large network implementations. The circuit consists of only 17 small transistors and two capacitors and consumes less than 23 muW. It is composed of a nonlinear resistor and a lossy active inductor. We demonstrate that a simple low Q active inductor can be used instead of a complex one because the parasitic series resistor can be easily embedded to the FitzHugh-Nagumo model. We also perform a statistical analysis to check the robustness of the circuit against mismatch.
Quadratic regularization projected alternating Barzilai – Borwein method for constrained optimization

In this paper, based on the regularization techniques and projected gradient strategies, we present a quadratic regularization projected alternating Barzilai–Borwein (QRPABB) method for minimizing differentiable functions on closed convex sets. We show the convergence of the QRPABB method to a constrained stationary point for a nonmonotone line search. When the objective function is convex, we prove the error in the objective function at iteration k is bounded by a k+1 for some a independent of k. Moreover, if the objective function is strongly convex, then the convergence rate is R-linear. Numerical comparisons of methods on box-constrained quadratic problems and nonnegative matrix factorization problems show that the QRPABB method is promising.