Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Is There an Additional Value of Using Somatostatin Receptor Subtype 2a Immunohistochemistry Compared to Somatostatin Receptor Scintigraphy Uptake in Predicting Gastroenteropancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumor Response?

Background and Aims: It is unknown whether tumoral somatostatin receptor subtype 2a (sst2a) immunohistochemistry (IHC) has additional value compared to somatostatin receptor scintigraphy (SRS) uptake using OctreoScan® in predicting response to peptide receptor radiotherapy using 177Lu-octreotate (PRRT) in patients with gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs). The aims of this study were: (1) to establish the percentage of sst2a immunopositivity in GEP-NET samples of PRRT-treated patients, (2) to determine the relationship between best GEP-NET response using RECIST 1.0 criteria 1 year after PRRT and tumoral sst2a IHC, and (3) to compare characteristics of patients with sst2a IHC-negative and -positive tumors. Methods: All 73 consecutive patients were selected for PRRT based on a positive SRS. Radiological response was scored according to RECIST 1.0 criteria. sst2a status was detected on tumor samples by IHC. Results: In total, 93% of GEP-NET samples showed sst2a IHC positivity. No statistically significant relationship was observed between in vitro sst2a expression and in vivo best GEP-NET response 1 year after PRRT (p = 0.47). Sex, primary tumor site, disease stage, ENETS TNM classification, Ki-67 index, highest serum chromogranin-A level, and highest neuron-specific enolase level were not significantly different between patients with negative and positive sst2a tumoral IHC with the exception of age at diagnosis (p = 0.007). Conclusions: sst2a IHC of tumor samples has no additional value compared to SRS uptake using OctreoScan® in predicting tumor response after PRRT.
Properties of the thinnest cold HI clouds in the diffuse interstellar medium

We have obtained deep HI observations in the direction of 22 continuum sources without previously detected cold neutral medium (CNM). 18 CNM clouds were detected with the typical HI column density of $3\times10^{18}$ cm$^{-2}$. Our surprisingly high detection rate suggests that clouds with low HI column densities are quite common in the interstellar medium. These clouds appear to represent an extension of the traditional CNM cloud population, yet have sizes in hundreds to thousands of AUs. We present properties of the newly-detected CNM sample, and discuss several theoretical avenues important for understanding the production mechanisms of these clouds.
Pulsed Yb:KYW laser and UV generation

In this master thesis project, a pulsed UV laser was designed and constructed. Also, the effects of absorption in a volume Bragg grating were investigated. The laser was diode pumped and constructed with Yb:KYW as gain medium. The lasing was at a wavelength of 1029.2 nm with a spectral bandwidth of 0.23 nm, locked by a volume Bragg grating that was used as input coupler for spectral control. Passive Q‑switching was used to generate pulses by placing a Cr:YAG saturable absorber inside the cavity. The laser generated radiation with a maximum peak power of 3.8 kW at an average power of 0.35 W, a repetition rate of 4 kHz and a pulse width of 16 ns. The maximum average power was 1.3 W with a peak power of 2 kW at a repetition rate of 20 kHz and with a pulse width of 20 ns. Through extra‑cavity second harmonic generation using an LBO crystal, green light at a wavelength of 514.7 nm was generated. The maximum average power was 130 mW with an optical conversion efficiency from the fundamental of around 10 %. Then, the second harmonic and the fundamental wave were mixed to generate UV light, at a wavelength of about 343 nm, by using a second LBO crystal. The maximum average power of UV was about 23 mW with an optical efficiency, with respect to the green, of approximately 20 %. One limitation of the laser was that the Cr:YAG was bleached not only by the circulating laser field, but also by remaining pump light. This resulted in decreasing peak power with increasing pump power, thus limiting the nonlinear conversion efficiencies. Thermal fracture of the Cr:YAG was a limiting factor for the intra-cavity average power, while burning of the coating on the Yb:KYW crystal limited the maximum peak power. The effects on a laser when using too high power for the level of absorption in a volume Bragg grating were also investigated. The effects of both resonant and non-resonant beams were investigated. Since the intensity of a resonant beam decreases approximately exponentially in a volume Bragg grating, due to absorption, an uneven temperature distribution along the propagation axis is formed. This results in different thermal expansion and hence, results in a longitudinal chirp of the grating. The chirp caused a decrease in both reflectivity and spectral selectivity. The reflectivity of the particular grating used in these experiments decreased from 99.4 % to 93 %. In addition, it was experimentally shown that if a volume Bragg grating absorbs a non-negligible amount of a non-resonant beam, the thermal load will deform the volume Bragg grating. Therefore, it is not suitable to use such a grating the as input coupler of a laser cavity.
Spatial diversity, do users appreciate it?

Spatial diversity is a relatively new branch of research in the context of spatial information retrieval. It tries to answer user's query with results that are not only relevant but also spatially diversified so that they are from many different locations. Although the assumption that spatially diversified results may meet users' needs better seems reasonable, there has been little hard evidence in the literature indicating so. In this paper, we will show our follow-up work on the novel approach to investigating user preference on spatial diversity by using Amazon Mechanical Turk.
Non-Markovian Rewards

In Markov Decision Processes (MDPs), the reward obtained in a state is Markovian, i.e., depends on the last state and action. This dependency makes it difficult to reward more interesting long-term behaviors, such as always closing a door after it has been opened, or providing coffee only following a request. Extending MDPs to handle non-Markovian reward functions was the subject of two previous lines of work. Both use LTL variants to specify the reward function and then compile the new model back into a Markovian model. Building on recent progress in temporal logics over finite traces, we adopt LDLf for specifying non-Markovian rewards and provide an elegant automata construction for building a Markovian model, which extends that of previous work and offers strong minimality and compositionality guarantees.
No Major Change in vCJD Agent Strain after Secondary Transmission via Blood Transfusion

Background The identification of transmission of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) by blood transfusion has prompted investigation to establish whether there has been any alteration in the vCJD agent following this route of secondary transmission. Any increase in virulence or host adaptation would require a reassessment of the risk analyses relating to the possibility of a significant secondary outbreak of vCJD. Since there are likely to be carriers of the vCJD agent in the general population, there is a potential for further infection by routes such as blood transfusion or contaminated surgical instruments. Methodology We inoculated both wild-type and transgenic mice with material from the first case of transfusion associated vCJD infection. Principal Findings The strain transmission properties of blood transfusion associated vCJD infection show remarkable similarities to the strain of vCJD associated with transmission from bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Conclusions Although it has been hypothesized that adaptation of the BSE agent through secondary passage in humans may result in a greater risk of onward transmission due to an increased virulence of the agent for humans, our data presented here in two murine models suggest no significant alterations to transmission efficiency of the agent following human-to-human transmission of vCJD.
Human detection and tracking with knee-high mobile 2D LIDAR

Human-robot interaction and safe operation requires human detection capability from a mobile robot. This paper presents a novel algorithm for detecting and tracking walking humans with a 2D LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) on a mobile robot. The horizontal LIDAR receives reflections of human legs taken from approximately the knee level. A list of predefined features are used for classifying the reflections as clusters, which are then tracked separately. If two clusters fulfill predefined conditions to be classified as legs, and if they are close enough, a human target is generated and tracked using the reflections of the legs. The probability of a human target to actually be a human is constantly evaluated based on numerous features. Experimental results performed with a mobile robot verify that the algorithm is able to detect and track people in typical indoor environment.
Spectral absorption properties of atmospheric aerosols

We have determined the solar spectral absorption optical depth of atmospheric aerosols for specific case studies during several field programs (three cases have been reported previously; two are new results). We combined airborne measurements of the solar net radiant flux density and the aerosol optical depth with a detailed radiative transfer model for all but one of the cases. The field programs (SAFARI 2000, ACE Asia, PRIDE, TARFOX, INTEX-A) contained aerosols representing the major absorbing aerosol types: pollution, biomass burning, desert dust and mixtures. In all cases the spectral absorption optical depth decreases with wavelength and can be approximated with a power-law wavelength dependence (Absorption Angstrom Exponent or AAE). We compare our results with other recent spectral absorption measurements and attempt to briefly summarize the state of knowledge of aerosol absorption spectra in the atmosphere. We discuss the limitations in using the AAE for calculating the solar absorption. We also discuss the resulting spectral single scattering albedo for these cases.
Block Copolymers as a Tool for Nanomaterial Fabrication

In this review the latest developments regarding the use of self‐assembled copolymers for the fabrication of nanomaterials will be presented and their real potential evaluated. Most of the strategies reported so far are herewith classified under two main approaches: a) use of block copolymers as nanostructured materials, either “as they are” or through a selective isolation of one or more component blocks, and b) as templates for the synthesis of metallic or semiconducting nanomaterials. The problems of the orientation and large‐scale order of self‐organizing block copolymer mesophases will be also introduced, due to their importance as a route towards further improvements of the nanofabrication means.
Improving VoIP Capacity in Multi-Rate IEEE 802.11e WLANs via Relay

In order to improve the Voice over IP (VoIP) capacity of a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), we develop a relay-aided solution, which includes a relay-aided admission control scheme, a packet aggregation scheme, and a protocol for packet relay without sacrificing the voice quality. Basically, our admission control scheme utilizes relay stations to admit as many VoIP sessions as possible. When a new VoIP session requests admission, the admission controller checks whether it can be admitted by either using relay or communicating with the AP directly. Moreover, to overcome the overhead increased due to relaying small-size VoIP packets, we employ a packet aggregation scheme for VoIP packet transmissions between the AP and relay stations. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed relay-aided VoIP provisioning scheme can significantly improve the VoIP capacity without compromising the service quality of the admitted VoIP sessions.
Robust Output-feedback Control of Inverted Pendulum

This paper addresses a study of the application of classic control theory and Hinfin control theory in stabilizing control of inverted pendulum system and designs output-feedback robust controller based on those theories above. The researching results of this paper are applied to linear inverted pendulum experiment equipment produced by Googol Technology LTD. so as to verify the effectiveness of the control law. The results of experiments prove that the controller via this method has a good control effect.
fMRI investigation of the cognitive structure of the Concealed Information Test

We studied the cognitive basis of the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) pattern of deception in three participants performing the Concealed Information Test (CIT). In all participants, the prefrontoparietal lie activation was similar to the pattern derived from the meta-analysis (N = 40) of our previously reported fMRI CIT studies and was unchanged when the lie response was replaced with passive viewing of the target items. When lies were replaced with irrelevant responses, only the left inferior gyrus activation was common to all subjects. This study presents a systematic strategy for testing the cognitive basis of deception models, and a qualitative approach to single-subject truth-verification fMRI tests.
Comparison of Plaque Sealing With Paclitaxel-Eluting Stents Versus Medical Therapy for the Treatment of Moderate Nonsignificant Saphenous Vein Graft Lesions: The Moderate VEin Graft LEsion Stenting With the Taxus Stent and Intravascular Ultrasound (VELETI) Pilot Trial

Background— The presence of moderate saphenous vein graft (SVG) lesions is a major predictor of cardiac events late after coronary artery bypass grafting. We determined the effects of sealing moderate nonsignificant SVG lesions with paclitaxel-eluting stents (PES) on the prevention of SVG atherosclerosis progression. Methods and Results— Patients with at least 1 moderate SVG lesion (30% to 60% diameter stenosis) were randomized either to stenting the moderate SVG lesion with a PES (n=30, PES group) or to medical treatment alone (n=27, medical treatment group). Patients had an angiographic and intravascular ultrasound evaluation of the SVG at baseline and at 12-month follow-up. The primary end points were (1) the ultrasound SVG minimal lumen area at follow-up and (2) the changes in ultrasound atheroma volume in an angiographically nondiseased SVG segment. Mean time from coronary artery bypass grafting was 12±6 years, and mean low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level was 73±31 mg/dL. A total of 70 moderate SVG lesions (39±7% diameter stenosis) were evaluated. Significant disease progression occurred in the medical treatment group at the level of the moderate SVG lesion (decrease in minimal lumen area from 6.3±3.0 to 5.6±3.1 mm2; P<0.001), leading to a severe flow-limiting lesion or SVG occlusion in 22% of the patients compared with none in the PES group (P=0.014). In the PES group, mean minimal lumen area increased (P<0.001) from 6.1±2.2 to 8.6±2.9 mm2 at follow-up (P=0.001 compared with the medical treatment group at 12 months). There were no cases of restenosis or stent thrombosis. No significant atherosclerosis progression occurred at the nonstented SVG segments. At 12-month follow-up, the cumulative incidence of major adverse cardiac events related to the target SVG was 19% in the medical treatment group versus 3% in the PES group (P=0.091). Conclusions— Stenting moderate nonsignificant lesions in old SVGs with PES was associated with a lower rate of SVG disease progression and a trend toward a lower incidence of major adverse cardiac events at 1-year follow-up compared with medical treatment alone, despite very low low-density lipoprotein cholesterol values. This pilot study supports further investigation into the role of plaque sealing in SVGs. Clinical Trial Registration— URL: http://www.clinicaltrials. gov. Unique identifier: NCT002289835.
Data-driven Dialectology

Most studies of language variation proceed from the geographic or social distribution of single elements (features), and find it difficult to proceed further. Data-driven dialectology, and more generally, data-driven variationist studies, begin instead from an aggregate view of language variation and reap immediate benefits in dealing with well-known exceptions in the distributions of single features and in avoiding the need to select which features to use as the basis of characterizations. But the major advance is the opportunity to characterize general tendencies in linguistic variation.
A Configurable Networks-on-Chip Router Using Altera FPGA and NIOS2 Embedded Processor

In this paper, we introduce a communication IP for System-on-Chip (SoC) namely Configurable Network-on-Chip Router (CNoC-Router), which can perform various kinds of topology configuration for an on-chip network. With the flexible topology configuration and an adaptive routing scheme, CNoC-Router can enable a network with high performance using a relatively easy control. Synthesizable Register-Transfer-Level (RTL) coding was designed and verified with ModelSim. Furthermore, a prototype based on Altera FPGA with a NIOS2 embedded processor has been implemented to demonstrate its practice. Keywords—Embedded Processor; Field Programmable Gate Array; Networks on Chip; Router; System on Chip
Effect of precipitate free zones on low cycle fatigue life of Al–Zn–Mg alloy

AbstractThe effect of precipitate free zones (PFZs) on the low cycle fatigue (LCF) life of an Al–4·70 wt-%Zn-2·80 wt-%Mg alloy at room temprature was investigated. The alloy used in the present study was uniquely prepared to have different widths of PFZ, whlle keeping the distribution and size of predominant precipitates in the matrix or on grain boundaries almost constant. As the width of the PFZ increased from 0·073 to 0·3 μm,the LCF life was observed to increase to some extent. However, the tensile properties such as yield strength, tensile strength, and elongation remained approximately unchanged. Studies using transmission electron mlcroscopy show that the extent of planar slip decreases with increasing PFZ width throughout cyclic deformation. Thls result suggests that the increase in LCF life is probably due to relaxation of the local stress in the soft PFZ regions.MST/2093
Exploring spatiotemporal patterns by integrating visual analytics with a moving objects database system

In previous work, we have proposed a tool for Spatiotemporal Pattern Query. It matches individual moving object trajectories against a given movement pattern. For example, it can be used to find the situations of Missed Approach in ATC data (Air Traffic Control systems, used for tracking the movement of aircrafts), where the landing of the aircraft was interrupted for some reason. This tool expresses the pattern as a set of predicates that must be fulfilled in a certain temporal order. It is implemented as a Plugin to the Secondo DBMS system. Although the tool is generic and flexible, domain expertise is required to formulate and tune queries. The user has to decide the set of predicates, their arguments, and the temporal constraints that best describe the pattern. This paper demonstrates a novel solution where a Visual Analytics system, V-Analytics, is used in integration with this query tool to help a human analyst explore such patterns. The demonstration is based on a real ATC data set.
Presence of Pathogenicity Island Genes in Enterococcus faecalis Isolates from Pigs in Denmark

ABSTRACT Enterococcus faecalis isolates of porcine origin were screened for the presence of a previously identified pathogenicity island (PAI). By using the esp gene as a genetic marker for the presence of this PAI, 9 esp-positive and 10 esp-negative isolates of porcine origin were investigated by use of a designed oligonucleotide array. The results indicated the clustering of esp-positive strains by multilocus sequence typing (MLST), but surprisingly, all strains investigated contained parts of the PAI. None of the strains of animal origin investigated belonged to previously identified MLST complex 2, where most isolates from patients cluster. Five of the nine esp-positive E. faecalis isolates of animal origin belonged to the same PAI complex as human isolate MMH594 but differed in their sequence types, which strongly indicates the horizontal transfer of the PAI between enterococci of porcine and human origin.
GRIP1 mediates the interaction between the amino- and carboxyl-termini of the androgen receptor

Abstract The androgen receptor (AR) mediates transactivation of target genes by acting as a dimer in which its amino-terminal domain (AR-NTD) interacts with its carboxyl-terminal, ligand-binding domain (AR-LBD) (N/C interaction). Here we assessed if and how AR N/C interaction relates to AR transactivation activity and how the p160 coactivator GRIP1 participates in both processes. The concentration of dihydrotestosterone needed for half-maximal N/C interaction was approximately 10-fold higher than for half-maximal transactivation, indicating a disparity between the two processes. Although a mutation of an LXXLL-like motif, 23FQNLF27→23FQNAA27, in the AR-NTD abolished AR N/C interaction, it could be restored by the co-expression of the coactivator GRIP1. Co-expression of mutated forms of GRIP1, possessing alterations known to abolish either of the two AR interaction domains, could not restore AR N/C interaction, suggesting that wild-type GRIP1 normally bridges the two AR domains. Although AR transactivation activity can proceed without AR N/C interaction, we propose that part of the GRIP1 coactivation activity resides in its ability to bind both AR-NTD and -LBD, to stabilize the N/C complex and allow for secondary cofactors to be recruited more efficiently. Our results also indicate that AR N/C interaction enhances but is not necessary for AR transactivation activity.
Image focus measure based on Chebyshev moments

A new measure of image focus based on the discrete orthogonal Chebyshev moments is introduced. The low- and high-spatial-frequency components of an image can be represented as the low- and high-order Chebyshev moments, respectively. The focus measure is defined as the ratio of the norm of the high-order moments to that of low-order moments. It is shown that the focus measure is monotonic and unimodal with respect to image blurring. Additionally, it is invariant to contrast changes due to the differences in the intensities of illumination. The focus measure is tested for its discriminating power of images blurred to various degrees. Noise studies show that the focus measure is robust under Gaussian and salt-and-pepper noise. The performance of the proposed focus measure is compared with the existing focus measures.
The antecedents of IT-business alignment in manufacturing firms

Aligning information systems to business strategy is regarded as one of the most important issues in the MIS field. Successful IT strategic alignment means developing and sustaining a mutual relationship between IT strategy and business strategy – a relationship that benefits both parties. Aligning IT and business strategy is the key underlying determinant that must be addressed in order to guarantee high levels of return on IT investments. Focusing in the process approach toward alignment, this paper examines the underlying factors that can enhance the strategic alignment between IT strategy and business strategy. A theoretical model consisting these factors is developed. To empirically test the model, the data is collected using a sample of 1,012 CEOs of manufacturing companies in Australia. Two factors of management support and ICT capabilities were identified to have significant impact on alignment. Results also did not show a significant association between size and alignment indicating of the importance of alignment regardless of size in manufacturing sector.