Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Individual Measurement and Significance of Carotid Intima, Media, and Intima–Media Thickness by B-Mode Ultrasonographic Image Processing

Objective—We assessed the clinical significance of intima (IT), media (MT), and intima–media (IMT) thickness of the common carotid artery using B-mode ultrasonographic image processing. Methods and Results—One hundred seventy consecutive patients underwent common carotid artery scanning using high-resolution ultrasonography. A total of 150 patients could be analyzed off-line using ultrasonographic image processing, devised for individual measurement of IT, MT, and IMT. By univariate analysis, IT (range, 0.27 to 0.41 mm) was associated with age, whereas MT (range, 0.27 to 0.74 mm) and IMT (range, 0.49 to 1.12 mm) were associated with age, fibrinogen, and creatinine. Among atherosclerosis risk factors, hypertension was associated with thickness of all 3 layers, whereas smoking was associated with IT only. By multivariate analysis, IT was associated with age, hypertension, and smoking, whereas MT and IMT were associated with age, hypertension, and blood urea nitrogen level. Conclusions—Carotid IT is associated with smoking, whereas age and hypertension are associated with thickness of all 3 arterial layers. Our results suggest a differential response of the vasculature to systemic risk factors.
A Comparative Evaluation of Algorithms for Auction-Based Cloud Pricing Prediction

Nowadays, cloud computing providers offer idle resources through an auction-based system in order to maximize resource utilization and economical revenue. Cloud computing consumers have the opportunity to take advantage of the resources offered at very low spot price in exchange for lower reliability in the provision of these resources. In this context, the Spot Price Prediction (SPP) is a well studied problem mainly formulated as a time series prediction, with particularities of auction-based cloud markets. This work presents a comparative evaluation of three different well-known prediction algorithms, applied for the first time to the SPP problem, against astate-of-the-art Three-Layer Perceptron (TLP) algorithm. In order to measure the accuracy of the evaluated algorithms, the following error metrics were considered: (1) Mean-Squared Error (2) Maximum Positive Error and (3) Mean Positive Error. Experimental results indicate that the Support Vector Poly Kernel Regression (SMOReg) algorithm outperforms other evaluated algorithms for the SPP problem, improving probabilities of obtaining resources in a highly dynamic spot market.
Efficacy of 904 nm gallium arsenide low level laser therapy in the management of chronic myofascial pain in the neck: A double‐blind and randomize‐controlled trial

A prospective, double‐blind, randomized, and controlled trial was conducted in patients with chronic myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) in the neck to evaluate the effects of infrared low level 904 nm Gallium‐Arsenide (Ga‐As) laser therapy (LLLT) on clinical and quality of life (QoL).
The Maltose Transport System of Escherichia coli Displays Positive Cooperativity in ATP Hydrolysis (*)

Maltose transport across the cytoplasmic membrane of Escherichia coli is catalyzed by a periplasmic binding protein-dependent transport system and energized by ATP. The maltose system, a member of the ATP-binding cassette or ABC transport family, contains two copies of an ATP-binding protein in a complex with two integral membrane proteins. ATP hydrolysis by the transport complex can be assayed following reconstitution into proteoliposomes in the presence of maltose binding protein and maltose. Mutations in the transport complex that permit binding protein-independent transport render ATP hydrolysis constitutive so that hydrolysis can also be assayed with the transport complex in detergent solution. We have used both of these systems to study the role of two ATP binding sites in ATP hydrolysis. We found that both the wild-type and the binding protein-independent systems hydrolyzed ATP with positive cooperativity, suggesting that the two ATP binding sites interact. Vanadate inhibited the ATPase activity of the transport complex with 50% inhibition occurring at 10 μM vanadate. In detergent solution, the degree of cooperativity in the binding protein-independent complex decreased with increasing pH. The loss of cooperativity was accompanied by a decrease in ATPase activity and a decrease in sensitivity to vanadate. Because reconstitution of the complex into a lipid bilayer prevented the loss of cooperativity, we expect that ATP hydrolysis is cooperative in vivo. The mutations leading to binding protein-independent transport do not significantly alter the affinity, cooperativity, vanadate sensitivity, or substrate specificity of the ATP binding sites during hydrolysis. These results justify the use of the binding protein-independent system to investigate the mechanism of transport and hydrolysis.
Orexin axons in the rat ventral tegmental area synapse infrequently onto dopamine and γ‐aminobutyric acid neurons

Cells in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) facilitate motivated behaviors, and the activity of VTA neurons is regulated by dense projections from the lateral hypothalamic area (LHA). Orexin (Orx) neurons in the lateral and perifornical hypothalamus play important roles in arousal, feeding, and energy metabolism. Orx cells contribute substantially to the LHA projection to the rat midbrain. However, the morphological features of Orx fibers in the VTA and whether they synapse onto dopamine (DA) or γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurons have not yet been investigated. We utilized immunoperoxidase and immunogold‐silver staining to examine the morphological features and synaptic incidence of Orx‐labeled axons in the VTA. We then combined immunoperoxidase labeling for Orx with immunogold‐silver labeling for GABA or for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) in DA neurons. Electron microscopic analysis revealed that most Orx‐labeled axons in the VTA were passing fibers. The less common Orx varicosities were occasionally apposed to TH‐ or GABA‐labeled dendrites without synapsing. Only a small proportion of Orx‐positive axons synapsed onto dendrites or soma. The synapses included both asymmetric and symmetric types and targeted TH‐ and GABA‐labeled profiles with equal frequency. These findings suggest that most Orx fibers in the VTA are axons passing to caudal brainstem structures. However, Orx does mediate some direct synaptic influence on VTA DA and GABA neurons. Additional nonsynaptic effects are suggested by the presence of numerous dense‐cored vesicles. These studies have important implications for understanding the mechanisms whereby Orx can alter behavior through regulating VTA DA and GABA cell activity. J. Comp. Neurol. 503:668–684, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Clinical analysis of 45 patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome.

OBJECTIVE To explore the clinical and radiological features of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). METHODS Analysis of the clinical presentation, chest radiographs, course of disease and features of severe pneumonia in 45 SARS patients diagnosed at our hospital in Beijing between April 5 - 20, 2003. Also included is a summation of the clinical features of SARS. RESULTS (1) SARS appears to have high infectivity; (2) the most common symptom is fever; (3) the count of leukocyte is normal or decreased; (4) most patients (35/45, 77.8%) had experienced a 24-hour fever prior to the abnormal chest X-ray changes which showed progression of pulmonary infiltrates within 48 hours in 71.1% (32/45) of the patients and, (5) the percentage of patients who developed severe pneumonia (24.4%) is higher than those who developed typical pneumonia. CONCLUSION SARS is a disease with high infectivity and has its own clinical and radiological features. Early recognition, prompt isolation, and appropriate therapy are the key to combat this infection.
Decision Support System for Hot Spot Detection

Forest fires are an important problem for many countries. Prevention, surveillance and extinguishing tasks are costly and sometimes risky. This paper focuses on the surveillance of the fire embers once the fire is extinguished. This is a post-fire task which requires an important amount of terrestrial resources, especially if the weather conditions may provoke the re-ignition of the fire. We propose the use of an Unmanned Aerial System to support fire fighters’ decisions. Our proposal is to develop an intelligent system which can make or suggest tactical decisions to firemen on hot-spot surveillance. The Unmanned Aerial System consists of a small unmanned aircraft, a ground control station and several personal devices for the firemen on ground. All system elements are wirelessly connected. On board data acquisition and fast processing, together with an intelligent transmission and interpretation are the targets of the system.
Sex Differences in the Beneficial Cardiac Effects of Chronic Treatment with Atrial Natriuretic Peptide In Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

Introduction The aim of this study was to investigate both the effects of chronic treatment with atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) on systolic blood pressure (SBP), cardiac nitric oxide (NO) system, oxidative stress, hypertrophy, fibrosis and apoptosis in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), and sex-related differences in the response to the treatment. Methods 10 week-old male and female SHR were infused with ANP (100 ng/hr/rat) or saline (NaCl 0.9%) for 14 days (subcutaneous osmotic pumps). SBP was recorded and nitrites and nitrates excretion (NOx) were determined. After treatment, NO synthase (NOS) activity, eNOS expression, thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) and glutathione concentration were determined in left ventricle, as well as the activity of glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD). Morphological studies in left ventricle were performed in slices stained with hematoxylin-eosin or Sirius red to identify collagen as a fibrosis indicator; immunohistochemistry was employed for identification of transforming growth factor beta; and apoptosis was evaluated by Tunel assay. Results Female SHR showed lower SBP, higher NO-system activity and less oxidative stress, fibrosis and hypertrophy in left ventricle, as well as higher cardiac NOS activity, eNOS protein content and NOx excretion than male SHR. Although ANP treatment lowered blood pressure and increased NOS activity and eNOS expression in both sexes, cardiac NOS response to ANP was more marked in females. In left ventricle, ANP reduced TBARS and increased glutathione concentration and activity of CAT and SOD enzymes in both sexes, as well as GPx activity in males. ANP decreased fibrosis and apoptosis in hearts from male and female SHR but females showed less end-organ damage in heart. Chronic ANP treatment would ameliorate hypertension and end-organ damage in heart by reducing oxidative stress, increasing NO-system activity, and diminishing fibrosis and hypertrophy.
Walking and Climbing Service Robots for Safety Inspection of Nuclear Reactor Pressure Vessels

Nuclear reactor pressure vessels are often required regular inspection and maintenance in order to ensure the safety of the reactors. Failing to carry out proper maintenance could cause severe casualty. The usual way of carrying out inspection in these hazardous environments is using long reach fixed base manipulators. However, these manipulators suffer from low payload capacity and relatively large end point deflections. Also, the installation and the storage of these long manipulators could be costly. An alternative solution is to use walking-climbing robots, which overcome the problems encountered by the long reach manipulators. In this paper, two robots, NERO (Nuclear Electric Robot Operator) and SADIE (Sizewell A Duct Inspection Equipment) which have been applied successfully to inspect two Magnox reactors in the UK are described. The deployment and operational experience of these robots are also explained. Finally the applications and the usefulness of these robots for improving safety inspection of nuclear reactors in general are discussed in this paper.
The Oxford Handbook of the Social Science of Obesity

There is an urgent need to better understand the causes and consequences of obesity, and to learn what works to prevent or reduce obesity. The purpose of this volume is to accurately and conveniently summarize the findings and insights of obesity-related research from the full range of social sciences, including anthropology, economics, government, psychology, and sociology. The first section of the book explains how each social science discipline models human behavior (in particular, diet and physical activity), and summarizes the major strains of obesity research in that discipline. The second section provides important information for researchers, including a guide to publicly available social science data on obesity and an overview of the challenges to causal inference in obesity research. The third part of the book synthesizes social science research on specific causes and correlates of obesity, such as food advertising, food prices, and peers. The fourth section summarizes social science research on the consequences of obesity, such as lower wages, job absenteeism, and discrimination. The fifth and final section reviews the social science literature on obesity treatment and prevention, such as food taxes, school-based interventions, and medical treatments such as anti-obesity drugs and bariatric surgery. This volume is designed to meet the growing need of researchers for accurate and well-written summaries of the large amount of recent studies on this topic. This handbook will be of great use for researchers in every social science discipline, both bringing them up to date on the relevant research in their own discipline and allowing them to quickly and easily understand the cutting-edge research being produced in other disciplines. It is a volume that every obesity researcher will want to have on his or her shelf. These research summaries are valuable for researchers, public health officials, policymakers, nutritionists, and medical practitioners. Available in OSO: http://www.oxfordhandbooks. com/oso/public/content/oho_economics/9780199736362/toc.html
Measurement-based design and optimization of the heterogeneous LTE network architecture

In this paper, the authors designed algorithms and software for LTE coverage analysis and optimization is described. Thanks to that algorithm it is becoming to be possible to detect the poor LTE coverage. This problem is caused by planning the radio coverage in LTE networks using the theoretical models (Okumura-Hata, Walfisch-Ikegami, etc.) without the real conditions and actual hardware configuration. The part of the developed software is the mobile application which is able to get and to process measurement records taken from the base station signal. In addition, there is server software part which is developed for data processing and finding the `coverage holes' in the LTE networks. The recommendations for optimization the radio coverage were proposed under the data analysis. The optimization based on the adding the micro-cells instead of `coverage holes' where the layer of planned macro eNBs is overlaid with layers of low-power pico or micro eNBs. The results clearly show the efficiency of the mobile application co-working together with the server data processing.
Computing network coded data coverage in an opportunistic data dissemination network

We consider an opportunistic wireless network where data repositories provide mobile users access to locally-cached data objects. In this setting using network/erasure coding to disseminate large data objects can greatly improve the performance and robustness of the network, but it becomes more difficult to plan, coordinate, and analyze the distribution of information. We introduce a simplicial data structure, the coverage complex, that captures enough of both the structure of the code and the geometry of the network that it can be used to draw conclusions about network coded data coverage. We give a distributed algorithm for computing the coverage complex based on local information, prove results on using it for coverage testing, and study more complicated cases where coverage testing can fail.
Tele-operation of a robot arm with electro tactile feedback

Tactile feedback from a remotely controlled robotic arm can facilitate certain tasks by enabling the user to experience tactile or force sensations from the robot's interaction with the environment. However, equipping both the robot and the user with tactile sensing and feedback systems can be complex, expensive, restrictive and application specific. This paper introduces a new tele-operation haptic feedback method involving electro-tactile feedback. This feedback system is inexpensive, easy to setup and versatile in that it can provide the user with a diverse range of tactile sensations and is suitable for a variety of tasks. We demonstrate the potential of our electro-tactile feedback system by providing experimental results showing how electro-tactile feedback from a tele-operated robotic arm equipped with range sensors can help with avoiding obstacles in cluttered workspace. We also show how interactive tasks, like placing a peg in a hole, can be facilitated with electro-tactile feedback from force sensors.
SOFTCBIR: Object Searching in Videos Combining Keypoint Matching and Graduated Assignment

This paper proposes a new approach to object searching in video databases, SoftCBIR, which combines a keypoint matching algorithm and a graduated assignment algorithm based on softassign. Compared with previous approaches, SoftCBIR is an innovative combination of two powerful techniques: 1) An energy minimization algorithm is applied to match two groups of keypoints while accounting for both their similarity in descriptor space and the consistency of their geometric configuration. The algorithm computes correspondence and pose transformation between two groups of keypoints iteratively and alternately toward an optimal result. The objective energy function combines normalized distance errors in descriptor space and in the spatial domain. 2) Initial individual keypoint matching relies on Approximate K-Nearest Neighbor (ANN) search. ANN achieves much more accurate initial keypoint matching results in the descriptor space than K-means labeling. Experiments prove the e! ectiveness of our approach, and demonstrate the performance improvements rising from the combination of the two proposed techniques in the SoftCBIR algorithm.
Springer Series in Surface Sciences

An improved coating for diode array targets is disclosed wherein a resistive sea is coated over the diode array. The resistive sea has a thickness of from 10 to 1000A and a resistivity of from 5 x 105 to 109 ohm-centimeters. The resistive sea comprises an electronically conductive borate glass containing an oxide of a metal, e.g. iron, vanadium, cobalt, etc. This layer has been found to serve a protective function and, in particular, serves to prevent an increase in the dark current of the array due to "aging" effects or due to vacuum baking of the array in preparation for use as an image intensifier.
A Multi-Channel, Flex-Rigid ECoG Microelectrode Array for Visual Cortical Interfacing

High-density electrocortical (ECoG) microelectrode arrays are promising signal-acquisition platforms for brain-computer interfaces envisioned, e.g., as high-performance communication solutions for paralyzed persons. We propose a multi-channel microelectrode array capable of recording ECoG field potentials with high spatial resolution. The proposed array is of a 150 mm2 total recording area; it has 124 circular electrodes (100, 300 and 500 μm in diameter) situated on the edges of concentric hexagons (min. 0.8 mm interdistance) and a skull-facing reference electrode (2.5 mm2 surface area). The array is processed as a free-standing device to enable monolithic integration of a rigid interposer, designed for soldering of fine-pitch SMD-connectors on a minimal assembly area. Electrochemical characterization revealed distinct impedance spectral bands for the 100, 300 and 500 μm-type electrodes, and for the array's own reference. Epidural recordings from the primary visual cortex (V1) of an awake Rhesus macaque showed natural electrophysiological signals and clear responses to standard visual stimulation. The ECoG electrodes of larger surface area recorded signals with greater spectral power in the gamma band, while the skull-facing reference electrode provided higher average gamma power spectral density (γPSD) than the common average referencing technique.
Cortical Dynamics of 3-D Figure-Ground Perception of 2-D Pictures

This article develops the FACADE theory of :3-D vision and figure-ground separation to explain data concerning how 2-D pictures give ri;;e to 3-D percepts of occluding and occluded objects. These percept;; include pop-out of occluding figures and amodal completion of occluded figures in response to line drawings, to Bregman-Kanizsa displays in which the relative contrasts of occluding and occluded surfaces are reversed, to White displays from which either transparent or opaque occlusion percepts can obtain, to Egusa and Kanizsa square displays in which brighter regions look closer, and to Kanizsa stratification displays in which bistable reversals of occluding and occluded surfaces occurs, and in which real contoms and illusory contours compete to alter the reversal percept. The model describes how changes in contrast can alter a percept without a change in geometry, and conversely. More generally it shows how geometrical and contrastive properties of a picture can either coopera.te or compete when forming the boundaries and surface representations that subserve conscious percepts. Spatially long-range cooperation and spatially short-range competition work together to separate the boundaries of occluding figures from their occluded neighbors. This boundary ownership process is sensitive to image 'I'-junctions at which occluded figures contact occluding figures, but there are no explicit T-junction detectors in the network. Rather, the contextual balance of boundary cooperation and competition strengthens some boundaries while breaking others. These boundaries control the filling-in of color within multiple, depth-sensitive surface respresentations. Feedback between surface and boundary representations strengthens consistent boundaries while inhibiting inconsistent ones. It is suggested how both the boundary and the surface repre;;entations of occluded objects may be amoclally completed, even while the surface representations of unoccluclecl object:; become visible through modal completion. Distinct functional roles for conscious modal and arnodal representations in object recognition, spatial attention, and reaching behaviors are discussed. Model interactions are interpreted in terms of visual, temporal, ancl parietal cortex. Model concepts provide a. mechanistic neural explanation and revision of such Gestalt principles as good continuation, stratification, and non-accidental solution.