Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Testing for high‐risk HPV in cervical and tonsillar paraffin‐embedded tissue using a cartridge‐based assay

This study evaluates the suitability of Xpert HPV (Cepheid, Sunnyvale, CA, USA) test for cervical and tonsillar formalin‐fixed paraffin‐embedded (FFPE) tissue samples as compared to the tests currently used in diagnostics. Cervical biopsies and liquid cytology (LC) samples were collected from 48 women attending colposcopy. Biopsies were processed for histology and tested for hrHPV using Xpert HPV. LC samples were tested using Xpert and Hybrid Capture 2 (HC2; Qiagen, Hilden, Germany) tests. Also 29 archived tonsillar carcinoma samples were tested using Xpert, and the results were compared with histology and immunohistochemical p16INK4a (p16) staining. Among valid cervical LC samples 46.8% were hrHPV positive using Xpert test and 55.3% with HC2. The sensitivity of Xpert was 84.6% as compared to HC2, and overall test concordance was 91.5%. Test concordance between valid Xpert results from biopsies and LC samples was 84.6%. Among valid tonsillar samples 70.4% were hrHPV positive, and concordance of 96.3% was found between Xpert and p16 staining. To conclude, Xpert HPV test cartridge provides a convenient platform to test individual samples, including FFPE samples. Further studies are needed to establish whether test sensitivity is sufficient to reliably differentiate between hrHPV positive and hrHPV negative head and neck carcinomas.
Efficient buffer capacity and scheduler setting computation for soft real-time stream processing applications

Soft real-time applications that process data streams can often be intuitively described as dataflow process networks. In this paper we present a novel analysis technique to compute conservative estimates of the required buffer capacities in such process networks. With the same analysis technique scheduler settings can be verified. Unlike many other soft real-time analysis techniques, it is guaranteed that the desired throughput is obtained for the input stream that is used to characterize the application. Experiments with artificial test-cases indicate that the computed FIFO capacities become more conservative if the desired throughput gets closer to the maximum throughput. The run-time of our algorithm for an H263 video decoder test-case was 14 seconds.
Evaluation of the Possibility of Mucin Adsorption onto Implantation Materials

The aim of the work was the assessment of adsorption capabilities of selected animal mucins. In this work two animal mucins (mucin porcine stomach, type II and III), which were dissolved in phosphate buffered saline were evaluated. The tested materials, where the adsorption of glycoproteins takes place, were surfaces of two implantation materials: titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) and 316L steel. The standardized samples of materials were immersed in solution of mucin II and solution of mucin III aseptically prepared) for: 10 minutes, 120 minutes, 1 day and 5 days. The UV spectrophotometry method was used for analysis of the mucin concentrations as a simple and effective technique. The obtained results clearly indicate that the tested surfaces are covered by the mucins used for experiments. However, quantitative analyses of adsorbed mucins did not show significant differences, both between tested materials, and mucins.
Memory Heat Map: Anomaly detection in real-time embedded systems using memory behavior

In this paper, we introduce a novel mechanism that identifies abnormal system-wide behaviors using the predictable nature of real-time embedded applications. We introduce Memory Heat Map (MHM) to characterize the memory behavior of the operating system. Our machine learning algorithms automatically (a) summarize the information contained in the MHMs and then (b) detect deviations from the normal memory behavior patterns. These methods are implemented on top of a multicore processor architecture to aid in the process of monitoring and detection. The techniques are evaluated using multiple attack scenarios including kernel rootkits and shellcode. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that uses aggregated memory behavior for detecting system anomalies especially the concept of memory heat maps.
Self-assembled lamellar complexes of siRNA with lipidic aminoglycoside derivatives promote efficient siRNA delivery and interference

RNA interference requires efficient delivery of small double-stranded RNA molecules into the target cells and their subsequent incorporation into RNA-induced silencing complexes. Although current cationic lipids commonly used for DNA transfection have also been used for siRNA transfection, a clear need still exists for better siRNA delivery to improve the gene silencing efficiency. We synthesized a series of cationic lipids characterized by head groups bearing various aminoglycosides for specific interaction with RNA. siRNA complexation with such lipidic aminoglycoside derivatives exhibited three lipid/siRNA ratio-dependent domains of colloidal stability. Fluorescence and dynamic light-scattering experiments showed that cationic lipid/siRNA complexes were formed at lower charge ratios, exhibited a reduced zone of colloidal instability, and had smaller mean diameters compared with our previously described guanidinium-based cationic lipids. Cryo-transmission electron microscopy and x-ray-scattering experiments showed that, although the final in toto morphology of the lipid/siRNA complexes depended on the aminoglycoside type, there was a general supramolecular arrangement consisting of ordered lamellar domains with an even spacing of 67 Å. The most active cationic lipid/siRNA complexes for gene silencing were obtained with 4,5-disubstituted 2-deoxystreptamine aminoglycoside derivatives and were characterized by the siRNA being entrapped in small particles exhibiting lamellar microdomains corresponding to siRNA molecules sandwiched between the lipid bilayers. These results clearly show that lipidic aminoglycoside derivatives constitute a versatile class of siRNA nanocarriers allowing efficient gene silencing.
Impaired leg vasodilation during dynamic exercise in healthy older women.

The purpose of the present study was to test the hypothesis that leg blood flow responses during leg cycle ergometry are reduced with age in healthy non-estrogen-replaced women. Thirteen younger (20-27 yr) and thirteen older (61-71 yr) normotensive, non-endurance-trained women performed both graded and constant-load bouts of leg cycling at the same absolute exercise intensities. Leg blood flow (femoral vein thermodilution), mean arterial pressure (MAP; radial artery), mean femoral venous pressure, cardiac output (acetylene rebreathing), and blood O2 contents were measured. Leg blood flow responses at light workloads (20-40 W) were similar in younger and older women. However, at moderate workloads (50-60 W), leg blood flow responses were significantly attenuated in older women. MAP was 20-25 mmHg higher (P < 0.01) in the older women across all work intensities, and calculated leg vascular conductance (leg blood flow/estimated leg perfusion pressure) was lower (P < 0.05). Exercise-induced increases in leg arteriovenous O2 difference and O2 extraction were identical between groups (P > 0.6). Leg O2 uptake was tightly correlated with leg blood flow across all workloads in both subject groups (r2 = 0.80). These results suggest the ability of healthy older women to undergo limb vasodilation in response to submaximal exercise is impaired and that the legs are a potentially important contributor to the augmented systemic vascular resistance seen during dynamic exercise in older women.
Darwinian Agriculture: When Can Humans Find Solutions Beyond The Reach of Natural Selection?

Progress in genetic improvement of crop yield potential has slowed since 1985. Simultaneously, more sustainable management of agricultural ecosystems is needed. A better understanding of natural selection can help solve both problems. We illustrate this point with two specific examples. First, the genetic legacy of crop plants has been refined by millions of years of natural selection, often driven by competition among plants. We therefore suggest that most simple, tradeoff‐free options to increase competitiveness (e.g., increased gene expression, or minor modifications of existing plant genes) have already been tested by natural selection. Further genetic improvement of crop yield potential over the next decade will mainly involve tradeoffs, either between fitness in past versus present environments, or between individual competitiveness and the collective performance of plant communities. Eventually, we may develop the ability to predict the consequences of genetic alterations so radical that they have not yet been tested by natural selection. Second, natural selection acts mainly at the level of genes, individuals, and family groups, rather than ecosystems as a whole. Consequently, there is no reason to expect the structure of natural ecosystems (diversity, spatial, or temporal patterns) to be a reliable blueprint for agricultural ecosystems. Natural ecosystems are nonetheless an important source of information that could be used to improve agriculture.
U-Learning Model Design Based on Ubiquitous Environment

The purpose of this research is for the establishment of Ubiquitous learning (U-learning) based synchronous, asynchronous and hybrid mode. This paper proposed the implementation of learning between student and teacher of service provider in u-space, which is not limited to traditional e-learning system. Student-focused testing services include: excellent test paper creation/deletion/registration; 7 phase framework; database development; and PDA page design. This system allows students to be supported with an electronic input, authentication, distribution, monitor, gathering, grading and inquiring phase and supports learning session dependent multicasting. The devices used include PDAs, mobile phones, portable computers and tablet PDAs. This system is to become a more capable student learning environment so that student can get student’s learning done more efficiently. The development of a ubiquitous learning environment combines the advantages of an adaptive learning environment with the benefits of ubiquitous computing and the flexibility of mobile devices.
Study of hydroxyl carbonate apatite formation on bioactive glass coated dental ceramics by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM)

Some dental ceramics were coated with a bioactive glass and resulted the formation of a stable and well bonded with the ceramic substrate thin layer. After immersion in a solution with ion concentrations similar to those of human blood plasma the development of hydroxy carbonate apatite layer on the surface of bioactive glass may be observed. The objective of this study was to investigate structural surface changes of bioactive glass, after exposure in a simulated body fluid for a different number of days. The roughness and topography of the hydroxyapatite surface were investigated by Confocal Scanning Laser Microscopy. The chemical composition was analyzed by Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy measurements.
2d-3d Vascular Registration between Digital Subtraction Angiographic (dsa) and Magnetic Resonance Angiographic (mra) Images

In this paper, we propose a 2D-3D vascular registration algorithm based on an efficient rendering method for generating 2D projected images from a segmented 3D MRA volume. At the preprocessing stage, vessels are segmented and represented by a number of spheres with centers on the skeleton points of the vessels and radii equal to the distance from the skeleton points to their closest boundary. To generate projected images for 2D-3D registration, instead of using the conventional ray-casting technique, the spheres are projected to the projection plane. The discrepancy between the projected image and the reference DSA image is measured by the sum of squared differences. Experimental results show that our method is computationally efficient. Moreover, based on manually selected markers, it is shown that the accuracies of our proposed method and the conventional ray-casting based registration method are comparable.
Electromigration failure mechanism studies on copper interconnects

Electromigration (EM) studies revealed a strong correlation between the observed failure scenario and local microstructural properties at the via-to-line-transition, in particular that of the liner. "Early" failure modes were found to have not only smaller failure times but also a lower current density exponent. The influence of specific processes on the occurrence of certain failure modes is discussed.
Update Summarization Based on Co-Ranking with Constraints

Update summarization is an emerging summarization task of creating a short summary of a set of news articles, under the assumption that the user has already read a given set of earlier articles. In this paper, we propose a new co-ranking method to address the update summarization task. The proposed method integrates two co-ranking processes by adding strict constraints. In comparison with the original co-ranking method, the proposed method can compute more accurate scores of sentences for the purpose of update summarization. Evaluation results on the most recent TAC2011 dataset demonstrate that our proposed method can outperform the original co-ranking method and other baselines.
Validity and reliability of the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Children (PAQ-C) and Adolescents (PAQ-A) in individuals with congenital heart disease

Objective To assess the criterion validity, internal consistency, reliability and cut-point for the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Children (PAQ-C) and Adolescents (PAQ-A) in children and adolescents with congenital heart disease–a special population at high cardiovascular risk in whom physical activity has not been extensively evaluated. Methods We included 84 participants (13.6±2.9 yrs, 50% female) with simple (37%), moderate (31%), or severe congenital heart disease (27%), as well as cardiac transplant recipients (6%), from BC Children’s Hospital, Canada. They completed the PAQ-C (≤11yrs, n = 28) or–A (≥12yrs, n = 56), and also wore a triaxial accelerometer (GT3X+ or GT9X) over the right hip for 7 days (n = 59 met valid wear time criteria). Results Median daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity was 46.9 minutes per day (IQR 31.6–61.8) and 25% met physical activity guidelines defined as ≥60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per day. Median PAQ-score was 2.6 (IQR 1.9–3.0). PAQ-Scores were significantly related to accelerometry-derived metrics of physical activity (rho = 0.44–0.55, all p<0.01) and sedentary behaviour (rho = -0.53, p<0.001). Internal consistency was high (α = 0.837), as was reliability (stability) of PAQ-Scores over a 4-months period (ICC = 0.73, 95%CI 0.55–0.84; p<0.001). We identified that a PAQ-Score cut-point of 2.87 discriminates between those meeting physical guidelines and those that do not in the combined PAQ-C and–A samples (area under the curve = 0.80 (95%CI 0.67–0.92). Conclusion Validity and reliability of the PAQ in children and adolescents with CHD was comparable to or stronger than previous studies in healthy children. Therefore, the PAQ may be used to estimate general levels of physical activity in children and adolescents with CHD.
Biotransformation of Glyceryl Trinitrate by Rat Hepatic Microsomal Glutathione S-Transferase 1

Although the biotransformation of organic nitrates by the cytosolic glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) is well known, the relative contribution of the microsomal GST (MGST1) to nitrate biotransformation has not been described. We therefore compared the denitration of glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) by purified rat liver MGST1 and cytosolic GSTs. Both MGST1 and cytosolic GSTs catalyzed the denitration of GTN, but the activity of MGST1 toward GTN was 2- to 3-fold higher. To mimic oxidative/nitrosative stress in vitro, we treated enzyme preparations with hydrogen peroxide, S-nitrosoglutathione, and peroxynitrite. Both oxidants and nitrating reagents increased the activity of MGST1 toward the GST substrate, 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (CDNB) whereas these treatments inhibited GTN denitration by MGST1. Alkylation of the sole cysteine residue of MGST1 by N-ethylmaleimide markedly increased enzyme activity with CDNB as substrate but decreased the rate of GTN denitration. In aortic microsomes from GTN-tolerant animals, there was a decreased abundance of MGST1 dimers and trimers. In hepatic microsomes from GTN-tolerant animals, GTN biotransformation was unaltered whereas the rate of CDNB conjugation was doubled, suggesting that chronic GTN exposure causes structural modifications to the enzyme, resulting in increased activity to certain substrates. Collectively, these data indicate that MGST1 contributes significantly to the biotransformation of GTN and that chemical modification of the microsomal enzyme has differential effects on the catalytic activity toward different substrates.
Variceal recurrence after endoscopic sclerotherapy associated with the perforating veins in lower esophagus independently.

BACKGROUND/AIMS The perforating veins as a lateral blood supply route for esophageal varices in lower esophagus are associated with the recurrence of esophageal varices after sclerotherapy, but not vessels at the esophagogastric junction as an ascending blood supply route. To date, however, frequency of association perforating veins alone with variceal recurrence has not been investigated. To clarify the influence of perforating veins alone on variceal recurrence after endoscopic injection sclerotherapy, we studied the prevalence of variceal recurrence in patients with perforating veins detected by endoscopic ultrasonography after treatment. METHODOLOGY Forty-two patients who underwent injection sclerotherapy and received endoscopic ultrasonography after treatment to evaluate the effect on the collaterals around the esophagus, were studied. Subjects were classified in four groups according to endosonographic findings as follows: group A: perforating veins (+) and vessels at esophagogastric junction (+), group B: perforating veins (+) and vessels at esophagogastric junction (-), group C: perforating veins (-) and vessels at esophagogastric junction (+), group D: perforating veins (-) and vessels at esophagogastric junction (-). RESULTS Variceal recurrence was observed in 60% (6/10) of patients in group A, 64.3% (9/14) of patients in group B, 33.3% (1/3) of patients in group C, 0% (0/15) of patients in group D, respectively. The prevalence of variceal recurrence was compared between the 4 groups. No significant difference between group A or C and B was noted, and there was a significant difference between group A or B and D. CONCLUSIONS These results suggested that perforating veins are highly associated with variceal recurrence after sclerotherapy even if perforating veins are independent.
A Business Model Type for the Internet of Things

The increasing pervasiveness of digital technologies, often referred to as the "Internet of Things" (IoT), offers a wealth of new services and business model opportunities across an ecosystem of partners -- and so it forces companies to rethink their current business models. To date, literature does yet not provide actionable, field-tested model theories for capturing, visualizing and analyzing firms' business models in digitally intensive business environments.The present paper (research in progress) therefore addresses the need for a business model type for the Internet of Things, which recognizes the affordances and impacts of digitization in order to allow companies to truly tap into new business model opportunities. We describe the design and evaluation of a type model, which enables researchers and practitioners alike to capture, visualize and analyze firms' current and future business models in IoT in a structured and actionable way. For our study we elected an iterative design science research approach, which prioritizes the utility of prototype artifacts. We feel confident of reaching at an empirically tested business model type, drawn from both Strategic Management and Information Systems research.
Improvement in tunability and dielectric loss of (Ba_0.5Sr_0.5)TiO_3 capacitors using seed layers on Pt/Ti/SiO_2/Si substrates

The absence of a low dielectric constant layer at the barium strontium titanate (BST)/Pt interface and a decreased roughness are critical issues in the production of (Ba_0.5Sr_0.5)TiO_3 thin films with high tunabilities and low losses. An improvement in dielectric properties was achieved by the insertion of seed layers at the BST/Pt interface by pulsed laser deposition. The higher tunability can be attributed to (100) texturing of the BST films, which is independent of grain size and grain morphologies, thus leading to a variation in seed layer thicknesses. The tunability and dielectric constant of 1600-Å-thick BST films showed a maximum of 53% and 720, respectively, at a seed layer thickness of 100 Å. Dielectric loss is dependent on the roughness of BST films and reached a minimum of 0.8% at a root mean square roughness of 28 Å. The maximum figures of merit, defined as the ratio of tunability to dielectric loss, of approximately 58 at 100 kHz and 198 kV/cm were obtained at a seed layer thickness of 70 Å. The optimized seed layer thickness for BST deposition onto Pt/Ti/SiO_2/Si substrates plays an important role in maintaining the high tunabilities and low loss, which are suitable for microwave device applications.
Tests of Concepts About Different Kinds of Minds: Predictions About the Behavior of Computers, Robots, and People

This research investigates adults' understanding of differences in the basic nature of intelligence exhibited by humans and by machines such as computers and robots. We tested these intuitions by asking participants to make predictions about the behaviors of different entities in situations where actions could be based on either goal-directed intentional thought or more mechanical nonintentional thought. Across several studies, adults made more intentional predictions about the behavior of humans than about the behavior of robots or computers. Although initial experiments demonstrated that participants made very similar predictions for computers and anthropomorphic robots, when asked to track robots' attention to objects, participants began to predict more intentional behaviors for the robot. A multiple regression demonstrated that differential behavioral predictions about mechanical and human entities were associated with ratings of goal understanding but not overall intelligence of current computers/robots. These findings suggest that people differentiate humans and computers along the lines of intentionality but initially equate robots and computers. However, the tendency to equate computers and robots can be at least partially overridden when attention is focused on robots engaging in intentional behavior.
Tree Visualisation and Navigation Clues for Information Visualisation

Information visualisation often requires good navigation aids on large trees, which represent the underlying abstract information. Using trees for information visualisation requires novel user interface techniques, visual clues, and navigational aids. This paper describes a visual clue: using the so‐called Strahler numbers, a map is provided that indicates which parts of the tree are interesting. A second idea is that of “folding” away subtrees that are too “different” in some sense, thereby reducing the visual complexity of the tree. Examples are given demonstrating these techniques, and what the further challenges in this area are.