Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Preliminary Results : Daytime Run

Wind turbines can be damaged by the inflow of high amplitude wind turbulence. The goal of this project is to determine if potentially damaging turbulent structures at hub height can be detected by infrasonic wind noise measurements at the ground. A large eddy simulation is used to model the atmospheric turbulence structures of interest and the resulting pressure fluctuations on the ground. Preliminary studies of the relationship between the time development of the pressure structures on the ground and the velocity fluctuations in the atmosphere are described. If elevated turbulent structures can be detected on the ground, the predictions will be used to design an optimized pressure sensing array for experimental tests. Related Work
H275Y Mutant Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 Virus in Immunocompromised Patients

Most oseltamivir-resistant pandemic (H1N1) 2009 viruses have been isolated from immunocompromised patients. To describe the clinical features, treatment, outcomes, and virologic data associated with infection from pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus with H275Y mutation in immunocompromised patients, we retrospectively identified 49 hematology–oncology patients infected with pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus. Samples from 33 of those patients were tested for H275Y genotype by allele-specific real-time PCR. Of the 8 patients in whom H275Y mutations was identified, 1 had severe pneumonia; 3 had mild pneumonia with prolonged virus shedding; and 4 had upper respiratory tract infection, of whom 3 had prolonged virus shedding. All patients had received oseltamivir before the H275Y mutation was detected; 1 had received antiviral prophylaxis. Three patients excreted resistant virus for >60 days. Emergence of oseltamivir resistance is frequent in immunocompromised patients infected with pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus and can be associated with a wide range of clinical disease and viral kinetics.
Assessment of future changes in water availability and aridity

Substantial changes in the hydrological cycle are projected for the 21st century, but these projections are subject to major uncertainties. In this context, the “dry gets drier, wet gets wetter” (DDWW) paradigm is often used as a simplifying summary. However, recent studies cast doubt on the validity of the paradigm and also on applying the widely used P − E (precipitation − evapotranspiration) metric over global land surfaces. Here we show in a comprehensive CMIP5‐based assessment that projected changes in mean annual P − E are generally not significant, except for high‐latitude regions showing wetting conditions until the end of the 21st century. Significant increases in aridity do occur in many subtropical and also adjacent humid regions. However, combining both metrics still shows that approximately 70% of all land area will not experience significant changes. Based on these findings, we conclude that the DDWW paradigm is generally not confirmed for projected changes in most land areas.
Evolutionary characteristics of A/Hangzhou/1/2013 and source of avian influenza virus H7N9 subtype in China.

A patient with an influenza-like illness was first admitted to a hospital in Shanghai on 19 February 2013, and another similar case appeared 8 days later. Both patients died after approximately 2 weeks. The National Health and Family Planning Commission of China officially affirmed the pathogen being a new avian influenza virus (AIV) H7N9 subtype. Up to 20 April, 87 cases in humans were confirmed, 17 of whom died [1]. This study investigated the source of the virus and evolution. We first conducted a homology analysis using MegAlign module of Lasergene7.0 software on an AIV isolate A/ Hangzhou/1/2013 (GenBank accession number KC853766) and found that its hemagglutinin (HA) gene was highly homologous to a strain A/duck/Zhejiang/12/ 2011 (H7N3) (accession number JQ906576) isolated in Hangzhou city (95.8% and 97.9% for nucleotide and derived amino acid sequences), which is likely the provider of HA gene of the H7N9 subtype. The neuraminidase (NA) gene of the AIV isolate A/Hangzhou/1/2013 (GenBank accession number KC853765) was highly homologous with the isolate A/mallard/ Czech Republic/13 438–29K/2010 (H11N9)
Impact of user mobility on transmit power control in ultra dense networks

Ultra dense network (UDN) is considered as a promising solution to support high throughput applications with lower operational cost. However, user mobility is even tricky for UDNs, especially in high-speed cases. While handover issues have been widely studied, the impact of high mobility on resource allocation needs to be further studied. In this paper, we investigate the impact of user mobility on transmit power control (TPC) and propose two kinds of mobility-aware TPC schemes which are adaptive to user's speed intelligently: mobility-aware constant TPC (MC-TPC), mobility-aware sub-slotted TPC (MS-TPC). Investigating the distance distribution between the moving user and its access base station (BS), we derive the analytical expressions of system outage probability (OP) and energy efficiency (EE) in the mobile environment to characterize the performance of the proposed and referenced TPC schemes. Numerical results show that the proposed mobility-aware TPCs significantly improve system reliability in terms of OP and data rate, especially with the proper sub-slots division. Meanwhile, in exchange for high reliability, EE degrades within a reasonable range with the increase of moving speed.
Call and response: experiments in sampling the environment

Monitoring of environmental phenomena with embedded networked sensing confronts the challenges of both unpredictable variability in the spatial distribution of phenomena, coupled with demands for a high spatial sampling rate in three dimensions. For example, low distortion mapping of critical solar radiation properties in forest environments may require two-dimensional spatial sampling rates of greater than 10 samples/m2 over transects exceeding 1000 m2. Clearly, adequate sampling coverage of such a transect requires an impractically large number of sensing nodes. This paper describes a new approach where the deployment of a combination of autonomous-articulated and static sensor nodes enables sufficient spatiotemporal sampling densityo ver large transects to meet a general set of environmental mapping demands. To achieve this we have developed an embedded networked sensor architecture that merges sensing and articulation with adaptive algorithms that are responsive to both variabilityin environmental phenomena discovered bythe mobile sensors and to discrete events discovered byst atic sensors. We begin byde scribing the class of important driving applications, the statistical foundations for this new approach, and task allocation. We then describe our experimental implementation of adaptive, event aware, exploration algorithms, which exploit our wireless, articulated sensors operating with deterministic motion over large areas. Results of experimental measurements and the relationship among sampling methods, event arrival rate, and sampling performance are presented.
Centralized control system in interdomain routing environments

Currently, most multihomed-to-multiple providers need to control the flow of interdomain traffic for both performance and economical reasons. This is usually done by manual configuration of the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) on routers to control interdomain traffic. In this paper, we approach the solution to the traffic engineering problem with BGP-based traffic engineering techniques and reservationbased control for priority traffic. We propose a centralized control system placed inside the autonomous systems (AS) which controls the interdomain traffic. The manual control reserves capacity for priority IP traffics on allocated links. The control processes for the remaining IP traffics are performed automatically. The utilization, drop rate, and performances of links are investigated. The simulation results show that the proposed control system is able to avoid possible link congestion, increase utilization, decrease drop rate, and can also reserve capacity of links for priority IP traffics.
Echocardiographic evaluation of percutaneous valve repair in patients with mitral regurgitation using the CARILLON system.

BACKGROUND Dilated cardiomyopathy is characterised by significant enlargement of cardiac chambers, which can lead to functional mitral regurgitation. Surgery is a widely accepted treatment of secondary mitral regurgitation. Conventional cardiac surgery has a high procedural risk and therefore new techniques for percutaneous repair of mitral valve are being developed. The CARILLON system is one of devices that is implanted into the coronary venous system, which enables tension of the mitral ring in order to improve coaptation of the leaflets. AIM Echocardiographic analysis of the CARILLON system implantation efficacy evaluated directly and one month after implantation. METHODS The study in included 9 patients, aged 58.56 +/- 6 years, with severe functional mitral regurgitation, who fulfilled the following echocardiographic criteria: large central jet ł 4 cm(2) or ł 20% of the left atrium area or wall-impinging eccentric jet reaching the pulmonary veins, vena contracta (VC) ł 0.30 cm, effective regurgitant orifice area (ERO) ł 0.2 cm(2), regurgitant volume (RV) ł 30 ml or regurgitant fraction (RF) > 30%. Exclusion criteria were: concomitant severe tricuspid valve insufficiency, significant organic mitral valve pathology, chronic atrial fibrillation, foreign body in the coronary sinus, or thrombus in the left atrial appendage. The prerequsite for implanting the device was a significant reduction in the mitral regurgitation jet observed by transesophageal echo-cadiography (TEE), seen during the procedure. After one month, a transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) was performed to evaluate mitral regurgitation by analysing the same parameters assessed before implanting CARILLON to the coronary sinus. RESULTS A significant improvement of VC after the procedure, in comparison to the value before the procedure (0.43 +/- 0.12 vs. 0.66 +/- 0.14 cm, p < 0.05), was observed. This improvement was lower one month after the implantation of the device (0.35 +/- 0.1 cm, p < 0.005). The ratio of the jet area to the left atrial area was reduced from 54.96 +/- 11.18% to 38.57 +/- 9.79% (p < 0.005) and sustained after a month at 36.33 +/- 10.15% (p < 0.005). Other echocardiographic parameters of evaluation of mitral regurgitation tended to improve, however the differences did not reach statistical significance. The ERO in subsequent studies was: 0.25 +/- 0.09 cm(2), 0.23 +/- 0.07 cm(2), and 0.24 +/- 0.07 cm(2), and RV decreased from 33.06 +/- 11.81 ml before the procedure, to 32.33 +/- 7.84 ml one month after the procedure. CONCLUSIONS The CARILLON system implantation to the coronary venous system in patients with secondary mitral regurgitation can lead to the improvement of selected echocardiographic indices of mitral regurgitation.
Real Projective Plane Mapping for Detection of Orthogonal Vanishing Points

This paper deals with the detection of orthogonal vanishing points. The aim is to efficiently cope with the clutter edges in real-life images and to determine the camera orientation in the Manhattan world reliably. We are using a modified scheme of the Cascaded Hough Transform where only one Hough space is accumulated – the space of the vanishing points. The parameterization of the vanishing points – the “diamond space” – is based on the PClines line parameterization and it is defined as a mapping of the whole real projective plane to a finite space. Our algorithm for detection of vanishing points operates directly on edgelets detected by an edge detector, skipping the common step of grouping edges into straight lines or line segments. This decreases the number of configuration parameters and reduces the complexity of the algorithm. Evaluated on the York Urban DB, our algorithm yields 98.04 % success rate at 10◦ angular error tolerance, which outperforms comparable existing solutions. Our parameterization of vanishing points is in all aspects linear; it involves no goniometric or other non-linear operations and thus it is suitable for implementation in embedded chips and circuitry. The iterative search scheme allows for finding orthogonal triplets of vanishing points with high accuracy and low computational costs. At the same time, our approach can be used without the orthogonality constraint.
Cross-sectional review of the response and treatment uptake from the NHS Health Checks programme in Stoke on Trent

Background As part of national policy to manage the increasing burden of chronic diseases, the Department of Health in England has launched the NHS Health Checks programme, which aims to reduce the burden of the major vascular diseases on the health service. Methods A cross-sectional review of response, attendance and treatment uptake over the first year of the programme in Stoke on Trent was carried out. Patients aged between 32 and 74 years and estimated to be at ≥20% risk of developing cardiovascular disease were identified from electronic medical records. Multi-level regression modelling was used to evaluate the influence of individual- and practice-level factors on health check outcomes. Results Overall 63.3% of patients responded, 43.7% attended and 29.8% took up a treatment following their health check invitation. The response was higher for older age and more affluent areas; attendance and treatment uptake were higher for males and older age. Variance between practices was significant (P < 0.001) for response (13.4%), attendance (12.7%) and uptake (23%). Conclusions The attendance rate of 43.7% following invitation to a health check was considerably lower than the benchmark of 75%. The lack of public interest and the prevalence of significant comorbidity are challenges to this national policy innovation.
Ouabain-Insensitive Sodium Movements in the Human Red Blood Cell

Red blood cells exposed to ouabain are capable of net Na outflux against an electrochemical gradient; the net outflux is inhibited by the diuretic, furosemide. In ouabain-treated cells, both the unidirectional Na outflux and the unidirectional Na influx are inhibited by furosemide. Furosemide also inhibits the ouabain-sensitive Na-Na exchange accomplished by the Na-K pump in K-free solutions. From the interaction of extracellular K, furosemide, and ouabain with the transport system, it seems possible that the ouabain-insensitive Na outflux is accomplished by the same mechanism that is responsible for the ouabain-sensitive Na-K exchange. The ouabain-insensitive Na outflux is increased by extracellular Na, and the influx increases as the intracellular Na increases. In fresh cells, high extracellular K concentrations decrease the ouabain-insensitive Na outflux and increase the ouabain-insensitive Na influx. When the rate constant for sodium outflux and the rate constant for sodium influx in ouabain-treated cells are plotted against the extracellular K concentration, the curves obtained are mirror images of each other. In starved cells, extracellular K increases the ouabain-insensitive Na outflux as does extracellular Na, and it has little effect on the Na influx.
Paracetamol use in pregnancy and wheezing in early childhood

Background: We recently reported links between frequent paracetamol (acetaminophen) use and wheezing and asthma in adults and children, but data are lacking on possible effects of prenatal exposure on wheezing in early childhood. Methods: In the population based Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) women were asked twice during pregnancy (at 18–20 weeks and 32 weeks) about their usage of paracetamol and aspirin. Six months after birth, and at yearly intervals thereafter, mothers were asked about wheezing and eczema symptoms in their child. The effects of paracetamol and aspirin use in pregnancy on the risk in the offspring of wheezing at 30–42 months (n=9400) and eczema at 18–30 months (n=10 216) and on their risk of different wheezing patterns (defined by presence or absence of wheezing at <6 months and at 30–42 months) were examined. Results: Paracetamol was taken frequently (most days/daily) by only 1% of women. After controlling for potential confounders, frequent paracetamol use in late pregnancy (20–32 weeks), but not in early pregnancy (<18–20 weeks), was associated with an increased risk of wheezing in the offspring at 30–42 months (adjusted odds ratio (OR) compared with no use 2.10 (95% CI 1.30 to 3.41); p=0.003), particularly if wheezing started before 6 months (OR 2.34 (95% CI 1.24 to 4.40); p=0.008). Assuming a causal relation, only about 1% of wheezing at 30–42 months was attributable to this exposure. Frequent paracetamol use in pregnancy was not associated with an increased risk of eczema. Frequent aspirin use in pregnancy was associated with an increased risk of wheezing only at <6 months. Conclusions: Frequent use of paracetamol in late pregnancy may increase the risk of wheezing in the offspring, although such an effect could explain only about 1% of the population prevalence of wheezing in early childhood.
Prevention of Post-ERCP Pancreatitis

Pancreatitis is the most common complication of ERCP. It can be associated with substantial morbidity. Hence, the minimization of both the incidence and severity of post-ERCP pancreatitis is paramount. Considerable efforts have been made to identify factors that may be associated with an increased risk of this complication. In addition, both procedure- and pharmacological-related interventions have been proposed that may prevent this complication. This paper outlines these interventions and presents the evidence to support their use in the prevention of post-ERCP pancreatitis.
Blob-Tree Metamorphosis

Implicit surfaces have proved to be a particularly well suited and efﬁcient model for animating and morphing shapes of arbitrary topologies. The Blob-Tree model is characterized as a hierarchical combination of skeletal primitives organized in a tree. The nodes hold blending, boolean and warping operators, which allows the design of complex objects. In this paper, we address the metamorphosis of the Blob-Tree. This appears a difﬁcult task as the tree data-structures of the initial and ﬁnal shapes are completely different in the general case, and consequently cannot be matched easily. We propose an original technique that solves the correspondence process and creates an intermediate generic Blob-Tree model whose instances interpolate the initial and ﬁnal shapes. The animator may control the correspondence between features and can specify both the speed of transformation and the trajectory of the nodes and the leaves of the generic Blob-Tree model. This provides him with a tight control over the transformation so as to achieve good visual effects.
Soluble TNF‐α receptors bind and neutralize over‐expressed transmembrane TNF‐α on macrophages, but do not inhibit its processing

Tumor necrosis factor a (TNF‐α) is initially synthesized as a type II integral membrane protein (transmembrane TNF‐α) after macrophage activation. In this study we have investigated some aspects of the regulation of expression and biological activity of transmembrane TNF‐α by both soluble TNF‐α receptors (sTNF‐αR) and inhibitors of TNF‐α processing. We show, using the technique of receptor‐mediated ligand precipitation (RMLP), that a dimeric construct of the type I sTNF‐αR binds to transmembrane TNF‐α, expressed on the mouse macrophage cell line RAW264.7, under cell culture conditions. This interaction between sTNF‐αR and transmembrane TNF‐α does not prevent processing and release of soluble TNF‐α. A specific hydroxamic acid‐based inhibitor of processing, BB1101 (British Biotech), was found to increase the total cellular levels of whole‐cell, 26‐kDa, precursor TNF‐α by 2.2‐fold. However, the inhibitor increased the levels of precursor TNF‐α present solely on the cell surface (i.e., transmembrane TNF‐α) by 5.1‐ to 7.5‐fold. This increase in the levels of transmembrane TNF‐α on the activated human monocytoid cell line mono mac 6 was associated with a similar (6.7‐fold) increase in TNF‐α‐mediated cytotoxicity toward the human adenocarcinoma cell line Colo 205, which is sensitive only to the transmembrane form of TNF‐α. Mono mac 6 cells, expressing transmembrane TNF‐α, were found to be killing the Colo 205 target cells through apoptosis. This cytotoxicity could be neutralized by pre‐incubating the mono mac 6 cells with either sTNF‐αR or polyclonal anti‐TNF‐α serum. J. Leukoc. Biol. 66: 1005–1013; 1999.
Effect of Extraction Technique on Composition of Volatile Constituents of Oleoresin from Pinus Brutia Ten.

In this study, volatile constituents of oleoresin from Pinus brutia Ten. were extracted by solid phase microextraction (SPME) and hydrodistillation. Gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC/MS) was performed to determine volatile constituents of turpentine oil (obtained by hydrodistillation) and extract from oleoresin (obtained by SPME). Eleven volatile compounds constituted the total of turpentine oil obtained by hydrodistillation, whereas SPME extract contained 32 volatile compounds. Three distinctive volatile constituents in the turpentine oil were α-pinene (49.12 %), β-pinene (19.12 %) and Δ3-carene (15.33 %). They were represented in the amount of 44.35 %, 18.59 % and 14.58 % in the SPME extract. The volatile constituents of turpentine oil were monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes. Monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, terpene oxides, alcohols, aldehydes, esters and ethers were identifi ed as main groups in the SPME extract by GC/MS. The results of chromatographic analysis showed that solid phase microextraction was a more effective extraction technique than hydrodistillation for isolating volatile constituents from oleoresin.
Influence of the masticatory function on the swallowing in the healthy elderly A influência da função mastigatória na deglutição orofaríngea em idosos saudáveis

Purpose: Verify if the masticatory characteristics influence the findings of the oropharyngeal swallowing in the elderly. Methods: Data from 47 healthy elderly subjects (29 female and 18 male) were analyzed and evaluated by the application of the mastication clinical protocol and the functional clinical examination of the oropharyngeal swallowing. The mastication evaluation was recorded in video; the mastication type, the bolus formation, and the mastication time were analyzed. During the clinical evaluation of the swallowing, patientsperformance was verified when food with different consistencies was tested. After this evaluation, subjects were classified according to the dysphagia level. Data was analyzed in a descriptive way using comparison and correlation statis- tical tests. Results: The average mastication time was 32.45 seconds. Most subjects presented bilateral mastication (62%), adequate bolus formation (75%) and about half (47%) had moderate oropharyngeal dysphagia. According to the statistic analysis, there was no correlation among the level of swallowing dysfunction, the mastication type and the bolus formation. However, there was a statistically significant moderate positive correlation between the level of swallowing dysfunction and the mastication time. Conclusion: It was verified that a relationship between the mastication time and the dysphagia level exists. However, no influence of mastication type and bolus formation on the swallowing of the elderly was found in this study.