Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
MAPI: Active interface pressure sensor integrated into a seat

The purpose of MAPI project is to propose a method for interface pressure measurement. This method must be exact, easy to build, low cost, and must take into consideration viscoelastic characteristics of the skin and of human morphology. The main areas of the project is related to ergonomics of seating surfaces and prevention of pressure ulcers. An additional stage was performed by developing an electro-pneumatic interface pressure sensor directly integrated into a seat. The sensor is easy to use and presents acceptable characteristics. The average error is 2.58%, and the standard deviation is 1.66 mmHg. Spatial resolution is 3 cm. This first prototype will be improved, with better spatial resolution, and used for different pressure ulcer study and prevention tests.
Unfolding Method for Shabal on Virtex-5 FPGAs: Concrete Results

Recent cryptanalysis on SHA-1 family has led the NIST to call for a public competition named SHA-3 Contest. Efficient implementations on various platforms are a criterion for ranking performance of all the candidates in this competition. It appears that most of the hardware architectures proposed for SHA-3 candidates are basic. In this paper, we focus on an optimized implementation of the Shabal candidate. We improve the state-of-the-art using the unfolding method. This transformation leads to unrolling of the Shabal core. More precisely, our design can produce a throughput over 3 Gbps on Virtex-5 FPGAs, with a reasonable area usage.
Airway Epithelial Cell Cilia and Obstructive Lung Disease

Airway epithelium is the first line of defense against exposure of the airway and lung to various inflammatory stimuli. Ciliary beating of airway epithelial cells constitutes an important part of the mucociliary transport apparatus. To be effective in transporting secretions out of the lung, the mucociliary transport apparatus must exhibit a cohesive beating of all ciliated epithelial cells that line the upper and lower respiratory tract. Cilia function can be modulated by exposures to endogenous and exogenous factors and by the viscosity of the mucus lining the epithelium. Cilia function is impaired in lung diseases such as COPD and asthma, and pharmacologic agents can modulate cilia function and mucus viscosity. Cilia beating is reduced in COPD, however, more research is needed to determine the structural-functional regulation of ciliary beating via all signaling pathways and how this might relate to the initiation or progression of obstructive lung diseases. Additionally, genotypes and how these can influence phenotypes and epithelial cell cilia function and structure should be taken into consideration in future investigations.
Efficient node self-localization in large ad-hoc wireless networks using interlaced particle filters

Large self-organizing networks of wireless devices have shown potential in many emerging applications. While knowing the physical location of devices in enhances and enables many such applications, the locations of some or most of the wireless devices may be unknown and the devices may be mobile. Several recent works have examined using distance or RSS measurements to estimate the position of such wireless devices. In this work we examine methods to efficiently estimate and track the positions of a subset of mobile wireless nodes in the network and consider how well performance of these algorithms scale with network size. We consider position estimate error and convergence rate of these methods as the size of the network increases. We use simulations to show that a new localization method using interlaced particle filters converges faster and has higher estimation accuracy than existing algorithms.
Content Importance Models for Scoring Writing From Sources

Selection of information from external sources is an important skill assessed in educational measurement. We address an integrative summarization task used in an assessment of English proficiency for nonnative speakers applying to higher education institutions in the USA. We evaluate a variety of content importance models that help predict which parts of the source material should be selected by the test-taker in order to succeed on this task.
Improved AdaBoost-based fingerprint algorithm for WiFi indoor localization

Indoor localization have received increasing attention for location-based severs in indoor environment. In this paper, we propose an indoor localization technique based on improved AdaBoost algorithm. The accuracy of AdaBoost depends on the weak hypothesis form all the weak learning, if there is noise in the fingerprint map, the performance of AdaBoost will decline. Because of the variability of indoor environment, the noise can not be avoided. So the improved AdaBoost is proposed to ignore the individual unfocused points to develop the localization accuracy. Experimental results indicate that the proposed algorithm achieves high localization accuracy.
Telephone consultation cannot replace bedside infectious disease consultation in the management of Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia.

BACKGROUND Infectious disease specialist (IDS) consultation improves the outcome of Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (SAB). Although telephone consultations constitute a substantial part of IDS consultations, their impact on treatment outcome lacks evaluation. METHODS We retrospectively followed 342 SAB episodes with 90-day follow-up, excluding 5 methicillin-resistant S. aureus SAB cases. Patients were grouped according to bedside, telephone, or no IDS consultation within the first week. Patients with fatal outcome within 3 days after onset of SAB were excluded to allow for the possibility of death occurring before IDS consultation. RESULTS Seventy-two percent of patients received bedside, 18% telephone, and 10% no IDS consultation. Patients with bedside consultation were less often treated in an intensive care unit during the first 3 days compared to those with telephone consultation (odds ratio [OR], 0.53; 95% confidence interval [CI], .29-.97; P = .037; 21% vs 34%), with no other initial differences between these groups. Patients with bedside consultation more often had deep infection foci localized as compared to patients with telephone consultation (OR, 3.11; 95% CI, 1.74-5.57; P < .0001; 78% vs 53%). Patients with bedside consultation had lower mortality than patients with telephone consultation at 7 days (OR, 0.09; 95% CI, .02-.49; P = .001; 1% vs 8%), at 28 days (OR, 0.27; 95% CI, .11-.65; P = .002; 5% vs 16%) and at 90 days (OR, 0.25; 95% CI, .13-.51; P < .0001; 9% vs 29%). Considering all prognostic markers, 90-day mortality for telephone-consultation patients was higher (OR, 2.31; CI, 95% 1.22-4.38; P = .01) as compared to bedside consultation. CONCLUSIONS Telephone IDS consultation is inferior to bedside IDS consultation.
Mining Customer Opinions on the Internet - A Case Study in the Automotive Industry

The Internet is increasingly changing from a medium of distribution to a platform of interaction. Customer discussions in Web 2.0 are a valuable source of information for companies. An opinion mining approach is presented which allows an auto-mated extraction, aggregation, and analysis of customer opinions on products by using text mining. Thus, strengths and weaknesses judged by customers can be detected at an early stage and starting points for product design and marketing can be identified. The application of the approach is illustrated by a case study coming from the automotive industry.
ABCA4 gene mutations in Japanese patients with Stargardt disease and retinitis pigmentosa.

PURPOSE To evaluate photoreceptor cell-specific adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-binding cassette transporter (ABCA4) gene mutations in Japanese patients with Stargardt disease (STGD) and the correlation of these mutations to clinical phenotypes. METHODS Serum was obtained from 10 unrelated Japanese patients with STGD and 96 unrelated Japanese patients with autosomal recessive retinitis pigmentosa (arRP). All 50 ABCA4 gene exons of the patients with STGD were screened for mutations by a combination of single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) direct-sequencing techniques. By restriction enzyme digestion, primer extension analysis, and PCR direct sequencing techniques, the patients with arRP were screened for three segregated, presumably null ABCA4 gene mutations observed in Japanese patients with STGD. RESULTS Three novel, presumably null mutations of the ABCA4 gene, IVS7-45_952delinsTCTGACC, IVS12+2T-->G, and 1894delA, were identified. The Arg2149stop mutation that had been found in a white patient with STGD in a prior study was also found in a Japanese patient. Two arRP-affected siblings and two unrelated patients with STGD were found to be homozygous for the same IVS12+2T-->G mutation, and three other arRP-affected siblings were carriers of the IVS12+2T-->G mutation and/or the IVS7-45_952delinsTCTGACC mutation. These three siblings with arRP showed only atrophic degeneration in the macula early after the onset of the disease, and STGD had been diagnosed. CONCLUSIONS Three novel ABCA4 gene mutations were identified in Japanese patients with STGD and arRP. Mutations in the ABCA4 gene can cause panretinal degeneration that changes its clinical appearance from STGD to arRP over time.
[Clinicopathologic features of delayed radiation-induced brain injury after radiotherapy for brain tumor].

OBJECTIVE To study the clinicopathologic features of delayed radiation-induced brain injury after radiotherapy for brain tumor. METHODS The clinical, histopathologic and immunohistochemical features of 9 cases with delayed radiation-induced injury were evaluated. RESULTS The disease occurred from 6 months to 12 years after radiotherapy and often presented with headache and muscle weakness. Magnetic resonance imaging showed peripheral enhancing lesions with slight mass effect and surrounding edema. Microscopically, the major changes included coagulative necrosis, fibrinoid necrosis of vessels, vascular hyalinization with luminal stenosis and peripheral reactive gliosis. Immunostaining for hypoxia-inducible factors 1α was positive in reactive astrocytes. CONCLUSIONS Delayed radiation-induced brain injury is a relatively common complication of radiation therapy. The lesion was frequently misdiagnosed as brain tumor. Correct diagnosis relies on clinical, radiologic and pathologic correlation.
The effects of cytochalasins on actin polymerization and actin ATPase provide insights into the mechanism of polymerization.

Substoichiometric concentrations of cytochalasin D inhibited the rate of polymerization of actin in 0.5 mM MgCl2, increased its critical concentration and lowered its steady state viscosity. Stoichiometric concentrations of cytochalasin D in 0.5 mM MgCl2 and even substoichiometric concentrations of cytochalasin D in 30 mM KCl, however, accelerated the rate of actin polymerization, although still lowering the final steady state viscosity. Cytochalasin B, at all concentrations in 0.5 mM MgCl2 or in 30 mM KCl, accelerated the rate of polymerization and lowered the final steady state viscosity. In 0.5 mM MgCl2, cytochalasin D uncoupled the actin ATPase activity from actin polymerization, increasing the ATPase rate by at least 20 times while inhibiting polymerization. Cytochalasin B had a very much lower stimulating effect. Neither cytochalasin D nor B affected the actin ATPase activity in 30 mM KCl. The properties of cytochalasin E were intermediate between those of cytochalasin D and B. Cytochalasin D also stimulated the ATPase activity of monomeric actin in the absence of MgCl2 and KCl and, to a much greater extent, stimulated the ATPase activity of monomeric actin below its critical concentration in 0.5 mM MgCl2. Both above and below its critical concentration and in the presence and absence of cytochalasin D, the initial rate of actin ATPase activity, when little or no polymerization had occurred, was directly proportional to the actin concentration and, therefore, apparently was independent of actin-actin interactions. To rationalize all these data, a working model has been proposed in which the first step of actin polymerization is the conversion of monomeric actin-bound ATP, A . ATP, to monomeric actin-bound ADP and Pi, A* . ADP . Pi, which, like the preferred growing end of an actin filament, can bind cytochalasins.
Fractal Characteristic Analysis of Seismic Responses of SDOF Systems Subjected to Near-Fault Ground Motions

From the perspective of fractal geometry, the irregularity and complexity of near-fault ground motions and seismic responses of single degree of freedom (SDOF) are analyzed. Based on the box-counting method, the fractal dimensions of 30 acceleration time series of near-fault ground motions from Taiwan Chi-Chi earthquake and California Northridge earthquake are calculated. It is indicated that the acceleration time series of ground motions present the statistical fractal property, and the influence of characteristics of near-fault ground motions on their box dimensions is remarkable. Moreover, the box dimensions of ground motions reflect their frequency property to a large extent, and can be regarded as alternative index to represent their frequency content. Finally, for the time histories of seismic dynamic responses of elastic and inelastic SDOF systems subjected to near-fault ground motions, their box dimensions are computed to examine the fractal property.
Similarity measurement on leaf-labelled trees

We outline a method for measuring in an efficient way an overall degree of similarity between different leaf-labelled trees. In particular, we consider rooted trees, either unordered or ordered and not necessarily carrying the same labels. The trees to be compared are first represented in the form of matrices whose entries are in the interval [O,1] and the actual comparison strategy then relies on a one-parameter class of fuzzy similarity measures that are applied to the matrices. Various tests have been carried out to compare the new method with existing ones and to measure its robustness with regard to varying parameters. feature-space), and the most frequently used similarity measures are the ones based on cardinalities of the sets involved. By far the most popular of these similarity measures is known as Jaccard's coefficient [5], which for given ordinary sets A and B is defined as: Clearly, this similarity measure, which is in terms of strings the ratio between the count of the bits on in both object A and object B and the count of the bits on in objects A or B, is symmetric and reflexive. Another well-known symmetric and reflexive similarity measure is the so-called simple matching coefficient [8], defined as:
Filamin Is Required for Ring Canal Assembly and Actin Organization during Drosophila Oogenesis

The remodeling of the actin cytoskeleton is essential for cell migration, cell division, and cell morphogenesis. Actin-binding proteins play a pivotal role in reorganizing the actin cytoskeleton in response to signals exchanged between cells. In consequence, actin-binding proteins are increasingly a focus of investigations into effectors of cell signaling and the coordination of cellular behaviors within developmental processes. One of the first actin-binding proteins identified was filamin, or actin-binding protein 280 (ABP280). Filamin is required for cell migration (Cunningham et al. 1992), and mutations in human α-filamin (FLN1; Fox et al. 1998) are responsible for impaired migration of cerebral neurons and give rise to periventricular heterotopia, a disorder that leads to epilepsy and vascular disorders, as well as embryonic lethality. We report the identification and characterization of a mutation in Drosophila filamin, the homologue of human α-filamin. During oogenesis, filamin is concentrated in the ring canal structures that fortify arrested cleavage furrows and establish cytoplasmic bridges between cells of the germline. The major structural features common to other filamins are conserved in Drosophila filamin. Mutations in Drosophila filamin disrupt actin filament organization and compromise membrane integrity during oocyte development, resulting in female sterility. The genetic and molecular characterization of Drosophila filamin provides the first genetic model system for the analysis of filamin function and regulation during development.
The IT Organization Modeling and Assessment Tool: Correlating IT  Governance Maturity with the Effect of IT

Does good IT governance improve the effect of IT? This paper presents the IT Organization Modeling and Assessment Tool (ITOMAT) which has been created to overcome operationalization and subjectivity weaknesses in the Control Objectives for Information and related Technology (COBIT) framework. ITOMAT was applied to assess IT governance maturity in four case studies. Simultaneously, external metrics of the effect of IT were collected and correlated to the maturity levels. Based on the correlations, a model linking internal and external measures was created. The model can be used to predict the effect of IT given the maturity levels of IT processes.
The Future of Contrast-Enhanced Mammography.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this article is to discuss facilitators of and barriers to future implementation of contrast-enhanced mammography (CEM) in the United States. CONCLUSION CEM provides low-energy 2D mammographic images analogous to digital mammography and contrast-enhanced recombined images that allow assessment of neovascularity similar to that offered by MRI. The utilization of CEM in the United States is currently low but could increase rapidly given the many potential indications for its clinical use.
Rough Neighborhood Covering Reduction for robust classification

Neighborhood Covering Reduction (NCR) is an effective tool to learn rules from structural data for classification. However, the existing neighborhood covering model is not robust enough. A neighborhood is constructed according to the nearest heterogeneous samples. This strategy over focuses on the boundary samples and makes the model sensitive to noise. To tackle this problem, we proposed a Rough Neighborhood Covering Reduction method (RCR) for robust classification. In RCR method, we construct an approximation of neighborhood based on rough sets and further design a reduction algorithm to filter out neighborhoods to form flexible covering of data space for classification. Abundant experiments verify the robustness of the proposed method, which achieves precise and stable classification results on noisy data.
Role of Sex Hormones on Brain Mitochondrial Function, with Special Reference to Aging and Neurodegenerative Diseases

The mitochondria have a fundamental role in both cellular energy supply and oxidative stress regulation and are target of the effects of sex steroids, particularly the neuroprotective ones. Aging is associated with a decline in the levels of different steroid hormones, and this decrease may underline some neural dysfunctions. Besides, modifications in mitochondrial functions associated with aging processes are also well documented. In this review, we will discuss studies that describe the modifications of brain mitochondrial function and of steroid levels associated with physiological aging and with neurodegenerative diseases. A special emphasis will be placed on describing and discussing our recent findings concerning the concomitant study of mitochondrial function (oxidative phosphorylation, oxidative stress) and brain steroid levels in both young (3-month-old) and aged (20-month-old) male and female mice.
Regulation of CNS synapses by neuronal MHC class I

Until recently, neurons in the healthy brain were considered immune-privileged because they did not appear to express MHC class I (MHCI). However, MHCI mRNA was found to be regulated by neural activity in the developing visual system and has been detected in other regions of the uninjured brain. Here we show that MHCI regulates aspects of synaptic function in response to activity. MHCI protein is colocalized postsynaptically with PSD-95 in dendrites of hippocampal neurons. In vitro, whole-cell recordings of hippocampal neurons from β2m/TAP1 knockout (KO) mice, which have reduced MHCI surface levels, indicate a 40% increase in mini-EPSC (mEPSC) frequency. mEPSC frequency is also increased 100% in layer 4 cortical neurons. Similarly, in KO hippocampal cultures, there is a modest increase in the size of presynaptic boutons relative to WT, whereas postsynaptic parameters (PSD-95 puncta size and mEPSC amplitude) are normal. In EM of intact hippocampus, KO synapses show a corresponding increase in vesicles number. Finally, KO neurons in vitro fail to respond normally to TTX treatment by scaling up synaptic parameters. Together, these results suggest that postsynaptically localized MHCl acts in homeostatic regulation of synaptic function and morphology during development and in response to activity blockade. The results also imply that MHCI acts retrogradely across the synapse to translate activity into lasting change in structure.
A Variational Technique for Element Free Analysis of Static and Dynamic Fracture Mechanics

In this paper a variational technique is developed to calculate stress intensity factors with high accuracy using the element free Glerkin method. The stiffness and mass matrices are evaluated by regular domain integrals and the shape functions to determine displacements in the domain are calculated with radial basis function interpolation. Stress intensity factors were obtained by a boundary integral with a variation of crack length along the crack front. Based on a static reference solution, the transformed stress intensity factors in the Laplace space are obtained and Durbin inversion method is utilised in order to determine the physical values in time domain. The applications of proposed technique to two and three dimensional fracture mechanics are presented. Comparisons are made with benchmark solutions and indirect boundary element method.
The model of making a price match based on automatic negotiated price for electronic commerce

The paper proposes a new sealed bargaining mechanism based on the electronic business negotiation model focusing on the opaqueness of information on demand and supply. With the supply and demand function to analyse the underlying rules of behaviours during the course of the price change, the paper proves a series of intersecting chord theorems concerning concave supply and demand function, upon which a transaction mechanism for price negotiating purposes meaning that manufacturers and distributors submit the supply and demand according to gradual node recursive algorithm after the first offer made at the e-commerce platform. Therefore, it proves the principle that negotiated price is converged to the equilibrium price of supply and demand. It is concluded that through simulating the process of negotiated pricing under the concave demand and supply functions, it is possible to settle on the equilibrium price of market after a few pricing negotiations, ultimately fulfilling the goal of optimal pricing in opacity market.