Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sensor, Signal, and Imaging Informatics

Summary Objective: To summarize significant contributions to sensor, signal, and imaging informatics published in 2016. Methods: We conducted an extensive search using PubMed® and Web of Science® to identify the scientific contributions published in 2016 that addressed sensors, signals, and imaging in medical informatics. The three section editors selected 15 candidate best papers by consensus. Each candidate article was reviewed by the section editors and at least two other external reviewers. The final selection of the six best papers was conducted by the editorial board of the Yearbook. Results: The selected papers of 2016 demonstrate the important scientific advances in management and analysis of sensor, signal, and imaging information. Conclusion: The growing volume of signal and imaging data provides exciting new challenges and opportunities for research in medical informatics. Evolving technologies provide faster and more effective approaches for pattern recognition and diagnostic evaluation. The papers selected here offer a small glimpse of the high-quality scientific work published in 2016 in the domain of sensor, signal, and imaging informatics.
Siting and sizing distributed storage for microgrid applications

Energy storage systems have a key role to play in increasing the uptake of distributed renewable energy generation. In many places, reduced feed-in tariffs and declining solar incentives are making behind-the-meter energy storage a favourable option for many distributed generation owners. Parts of the grid that have sufficient local generation can be operated as microgrids. In most cases, the temporal profiles of demand and generation do not align well, making energy storage design a critical step in proper microgrid design. Moreover, significant economic and operational benefits can be achieved by appropriately sizing and operating energy storage systems in microgrids. In this work we provide a framework that can be used for the sizing, positioning and operation of batteries in ways that both reduce the cost of operating a master-slave microgrid while also maintaining a high quality of service for the network. We formulate a mixed integer linear program based optimization algorithm that considers various operational and capital costs, as well as relevant network-related constraints. The performance of our algorithm is validated using a case-study simulation.
Are three weeks hypofractionated radiation therapy (HFRT) comparable to six weeks for newly diagnosed glioblastoma patients? Results of a phase II study

Background The current standard of care for newly diagnosed glioblastoma (GBM) is surgical resection, followed by radiation therapy (RT) with concurrent and adjuvant temozolomide chemotherapy (TMZ-CHT). The patients outcome is still poor. In this study we evaluated hypofractionated radiation therapy (HFRT), instead of standard fractionated radiation therapy, with concomitant and adjuvant TMZ chemotherapy, in terms of safety and effectiveness. Methods Patients with newly diagnosed GBM, Karnofsky performance scale (KPS) ≥70, and tumor up to 10 cm underwent maximal feasible surgical resection were treated. HFRT consisted of 60 Gy, in daily fractions of 4 Gy given 5 days per week for 3 weeks. The primary endpoints were overall survival (OS), progression free survival (PFS), and incidence of radiation induced brain toxicity. Secondary endpoint was the evaluation of neurocognitive function. Results A total of 97 patients were included in this phase II study. The median age was 60.5 years (range 23-77 years). Debulking surgery was performed in 83.5% of patients, HFRT was completed in all 97 patients, concurrent and adjuvant TMZ in 93 (95.9%). The median number of TMZ cycles was six (range 1-12 cycles). No severe toxicity occurred and the neuropsychological evaluation remained stable. At a median follow up time of 15.2 months the median OS time, 1,2-year OS rate were 15.9 months (95% CI 14-18), 72.2% (95% CI 62.1-80) and 30.4% (95% CI 20.8-40.6). Age, KPS, MGMT methylation status, and extent of surgical resection were significant factors influencing the outcome. Conclusion HFRT with concomitant and adjuvant TMZ chemotherapy is an effective and safe treatment.
Oscillation Analysis and Wide-Area Damping Control of DFIGs for Renewable Energy Power Systems Using Line Modal Potential Energy

In this paper, a line modal potential energy (LMPE) method is proposed for the interarea oscillation analysis and damping control of doubly fed induction generators (DFIGs). This paper presents a novel attempt to design the damping control loop using the LMPE approach from the network viewpoint. First, an LMPE function containing a DFIG output line is constructed. The distribution characteristics of the LMPE in a network are analyzed in different modes, and the dominant mode of the system is identified. In addition, this approach provides the basis for damping regulation. Second, the wide-area control signals and control locations are selected. Third, a damping controller for DFIGs based on LMPE and extended state observer-${\rm{H}}_{{\rm{\infty }}}$ control is designed, and this design is shown to have a certain anti-interference ability. The proposed method can be used for submode analysis and oscillation suppression. Finally, the correctness of the LMPE method is verified through the analysis and simulation of a four-generator, two-area system and an actual power system in China .
Computational approaches and software tools for genetic linkage map estimation in plants

Genetic maps are an important component within the plant biologist's toolkit, underpinning crop plant improvement programs. The estimation of plant genetic maps is a conceptually simple yet computationally complex problem, growing ever more so with the development of inexpensive, high-throughput DNA markers. The challenge for bioinformaticians is to develop analytical methods and accompanying software tools that can cope with datasets of differing sizes, from tens to thousands of markers, that can incorporate the expert knowledge that plant biologists typically use when developing their maps, and that facilitate user-friendly approaches to achieving these goals. Here, we aim to give a flavour of computational approaches for genetic map estimation, discussing briefly many of the key concepts involved, and describing a selection of software tools that employ them. This review is intended both for plant geneticists as an introduction to software tools with which to estimate genetic maps, and for bioinformaticians as an introduction to the underlying computational approaches.
Stimuli-Responsive Hydrogels: An Interdisciplinary Overview

Stimuli-responsive hydrogels formed by various natural and synthetic polymers are capable of showing distinctive changes in their properties with external stimuli like temperature, pH, light, ionic changes, and redox potential. Some hydrogels are developed to exhibit dual responsiveness with external stimuli such as pH and temperature. The stimuli-responsive hydrogels find a wide variety of biomedical applications including drug delivery, gene delivery, and tissue regeneration. The advanced functionalities can be imparted to textile materials by integrating stimuli-responsive hydrogels into them and stimuli-responsive hydrogels including thermoresponsive, pH-responsive, and dual-responsive improve moisture and water retention property, environmental responsiveness, esthetic appeal, display, and comfort of textiles. Stimuli-responsive hydrogels loaded with various kinds of drugs are applied for textile-based transdermal therapy as these hydrogels as drug carriers show controlled and sustained drug release. In this chapter, drug delivery and textile applications of thermoresponsive, pH-responsive, and dual-responsive (pH and temperature) hydrogels are discussed and analyzed.
Ecohydrological impacts of woody‐plant encroachment: seasonal patterns of water and carbon dioxide exchange within a semiarid riparian environment

Across many dryland regions, historically grass‐dominated ecosystems have been encroached upon by woody‐plant species. In this paper, we compare ecosystem water and carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes over a grassland, a grassland–shrubland mosaic, and a fully developed woodland to evaluate potential consequences of woody‐plant encroachment on important ecosystem processes. All three sites were located in the riparian corridor of a river in the southwest US. As such, plants in these ecosystems may have access to moisture at the capillary fringe of the near‐surface water table. Using fluxes measured by eddy covariance in 2003 we found that ecosystem evapotranspiration (ET) and net ecosystem exchange of carbon dioxide (NEE) increased with increasing woody‐plant dominance. Growing season ET totals were 407, 450, and 639 mm in the grassland, shrubland, and woodland, respectively, and in excess of precipitation by 227, 265, and 473 mm. This excess was derived from groundwater, especially during the extremely dry premonsoon period when this was the only source of moisture available to plants. Access to groundwater by the deep‐rooted woody plants apparently decouples ecosystem ET from gross ecosystem production (GEP) with respect to precipitation. Compared with grasses, the woody plants were better able to use the stable groundwater source and had an increased net CO2 gain during the dry periods. This enhanced plant activity resulted in substantial accumulation of leaf litter on the soil surface that, during rainy periods, may lead to high microbial respiration rates that offset these photosynthetic fluxes. March–December (primary growing season) totals of NEE were −63, −212, and −233 g C m−2 in the grassland, shrubland, and woodland, respectively. Thus, there was a greater disparity between ecosystem water use and the strength of the CO2 sink as woody plants increased across the encroachment gradient. Despite a higher density of woody plants and a greater plant productivity in the woodland than in the shrubland, the woodland produced a larger respiration response to rainfall that largely offset its higher photosynthetic potential. These data suggest that the capacity for woody plants to exploit water resources in riparian areas results in enhanced carbon sequestration at the expense of increased groundwater use under current climate conditions, but the potential does not scale specifically as a function of woody‐plant abundance. These results highlight the important roles of water sources and ecosystem structure on the control of water and carbon balances in dryland areas.
Justice from the Ground Up: Distributive Inequities, Grassroots Resistance, and the Transformative Politics of the Environmental Justice Movement

In this Article, Professor Foster examines the environmental justice movement from the "ground up "-from the perspective of the predominantly poor, African-American residents of Chester, Pennsylvania who attempted to stop the clustering of waste facilities in their community. From this perspective, Professor Foster evaluates the manner in which the phenomenon of environmental injustice is framed, the efficacy of reforms in environmental decision-making processes, and the strategies and possibilities of grassroots efforts in achieving environmental justice. She argues that the distributive paradigm that often frames discussions of environmental injustice obscures the mechanisms and processes underlying inequitable outcomes, thwarting a full understanding of the phenomenon. Case studies such as Chester, however, illustrate that disproportionate exposure to environmental hazards result from a set of ongoing social processes that structure the political economy of poor communities of color. These grassroots struggles provide a window into the social relations and processes underlying distributive inequities and, thus, assist reformers in identifying the types of policy reforms likely to help achieve environmental justice. Professor Foster argues that
Probabilistic structure discovery in time series data

Existing methods for structure discovery in time series data construct interpretable, compositional kernels for Gaussian process regression models. While the learned Gaussian process model provides posterior mean and variance estimates, typically the structure is learned via a greedy optimization procedure. This restricts the space of possible solutions and leads to over-confident uncertainty estimates. We introduce a fully Bayesian approach, inferring a full posterior over structures, which more reliably captures the uncertainty of the model.
Multidrug-Resistant Gram-Negative Pneumonia and Infection in Intensive Care Unit

Multidrug-resistant (MDR) pneumonia can be problematic and challenging to treat in an era of increasing resistance and limited treatment armamentarium. Multidrug-resistant pathogens are associated with increased morbidity and mortality, thus early empiric appropriate antibiotics are critical for survival. Many factors play a role in the selection, optimization, and duration of therapy that should be made on an individual basis. New technologies such as “rapid diagnostics” may provide the clinician with early phenotypic or genotypic result, thus improving early appropriate therapy. The increasing antibiotic resistance is a global threat to patients worldwide and is an economic burden. In the United States, drug-resistant bacteria cause approximately 2 million cases of ill- nesses and contribute to 23,000 deaths each year. The inappropriate use of antibiotics has contributed to the healthcare burden that ranges from $27 to $42 billion annually. As a result, several governmental agencies have placed forth regulatory mandates to enforce antimicrobial stewardship programs in acute care hospitals. Education will be vital across all healthcare disciplines to ultimately ensure optimal prescribing and reduce the emergence of resistance.
Early ischaemic preconditioning requires Akt- and PKA-mediated activation of eNOS via serine1176 phosphorylation.

AIMS The role of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS)/NO signalling is well documented in late ischaemic preconditioning (IPC); however, the role of eNOS and its activation in early IPC remains controversial. This study investigates the role of eNOS in early IPC and the signalling pathways and molecular interactions that regulate eNOS activation during early IPC. METHODS AND RESULTS Rat hearts were subjected to 30-min global ischaemia and reperfusion (I/R) with or without IPC (three cycles 5-min I and 5-min R) in the presence or absence of the NOS inhibitor l-NAME, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitor LY294002 (LY), and protein kinase A (PKA) inhibitor H89 during IPC induction or prior endothelial permeablization. IPC improved post-ischaemic contractile function and reduced infarction compared with I/R with this being abrogated by l-NAME or endothelial permeablization. eNOS(Ser1176), Akt(Ser473), and PKA(Thr197) phosphorylation was increased following IPC. I/R decreased eNOS(Ser1176) phosphorylation, whereas IPC increased it. Mass spectroscopy confirmed eNOS(Ser1176) phosphorylation and quantitative Western blots showed ∼24% modification of eNOS(Ser1176) following IPC. Immunoprecipitation demonstrated eNOS, Akt, and PKA complexation. Immunohistology showed IPC-induced Akt and PKA phosphorylation in cardiomyocytes and endothelium. With eNOS activation, IPC increased NO production as measured by electron paramagnetic resonance spin trapping and fluorescence microscopy. LY or H89 not only decreased Akt(Ser473) or PKA(Thr197) phosphorylation, respectively, but also abolished IPC-induced preservation of eNOS and eNOS(Ser1176) phosphorylation as well as cardioprotection. CONCLUSION Thus, Akt- and PKA-mediated eNOS activation, with phosphorylation near the C-terminus, is critical for early IPC-induced cardioprotection, with eNOS-derived NO from the endothelium serving a critical role.
Rapid-Response Framework for Defensive Driving Based on Internet of Vehicles Using Message-Oriented Middleware

With the rapid development of automatic driving and advanced driver assistance systems, vehicle safety has improved greatly. These systems mainly use sensors installed on the vehicle and help drivers deal with human operation errors. Traffic accidents are inherently unpredictable, and it is difficult to prevent mistakes made by others. Therefore, the concept of defensive driving has attracted much interest. Defensive driving aims to increase drivers’ self-awareness to prevent accidents. Future self-driving vehicles should integrate defensive driving to improve driver safety. This paper proposes a framework based on the risk evaluation value of defensive driving that rapidly transmits information about high-accident-likelihood zones to drivers or vehicles by using Internet of Vehicles technology. This should enable drivers or self-driving vehicles to predict risks and operate vehicles safely. To send alert messages in a timely manner, it is essential to overcome the challenge of processing real-time data during driving. We design five kinds of services in this rapid response framework, including raw data receiver, warning area decision, accident pattern recognition, message generator, and user profile to analyze driver information using distributed system architecture. Message-oriented middleware is used for communication between services. This framework identifies high-accident-likelihood zones by using density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise, simplifying the process of association calculation. After the calculation, this framework uses the weighted severity index to weight and compare risk severities. According to our experimental results, the service-oriented middleware design increases the speed and stability of information transmission.
A Predictive Model for Acute Admission in Aged Population

Acute hospital admission among the elderly population is very common and have a high impact on the health services and the community, as well as on the individuals. Several studies have focused on the possible risk factors, however, predicting who is at risk for acute hospitalization associated with disease and symptoms is still an open research question. In this study, we investigate the use of machine learning algorithms for predicting acute admission in older people based on admission data from individual citizens 70 years and older who were hospitalized in the acute medical unit of Svendborg Hospital in Denmark.
Liquid detergent composition with abrasive particles

1. A liquid composition for washing dishes by hand, comprising: a. one or more agents to facilitate suspending, selected from the group consisting of crystalline wax structurants amido gellants, microfiber cellulose derivatives dibenzilidenpoliolatsetalya and mixtures thereof; and b. Polymer particles prepared from a polymer foam material, said polymeric material is selected from the group consisting of polyurethane, derivatives of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), aliphatic polyesters, derivatives of polylactic acid (PLA), polystyrene, melamine-formaldehyde, polyacrylate, polyolefin, polyvinyl and smesey.2. Composition according to Claim. 1, characterized in that said polymeric foam material has a density less than about 100 kg / m.3. Composition according to Claim. 1, characterized in that said polymeric foam material has a structure with open yacheykami.4. Composition according to Claim. 1, characterized in that said polymer particles are polyurethane chastitsami.5. Composition according to Claim. 1, characterized in that said polymeric particles are present at a level of from about 0.1% to about 20% by weight sostava.6. Composition according to Claim. 1, characterized in that said polymeric particles are present at a level of from about 0.3% to about 10% by weight sostava.7. Composition according to Claim. 1, characterized in that said polymeric particles are present at a level of from about 0.5% to about 3% by weight sostava.8. Composition according to Claim. 1, characterized in that said polymeric particles have a Vickers hardness HV of about 3 to about 50 kg / mm.9. Composition according to Claim. 1, Otley
FOOD HABITS OF LARGHA SEAL PUPS IN THE PACK ICE AREA HIDEHIRO KATO

The stomach contents from largha seal (ice-breeding harbor seals) collected in the pack ice areas off the eastern Hokkaido and the east coast of Sakhalin were examined. Analyses revealed that fishes, cephalopods, euphausiids and decapods were principal foods. Among them, fishes were primary foods as well as Theragra chalcogramma, secondary cephalopods as well as squids and octopus. The result of stomach contents analyses suggested that this seal used many organisms of wide range as foods in the pack ice areas. Although there are no definite trends of changes in foods by age among the older seals, specialized feeding on euphausiids was found in newly weaned pups. Euphausiids appeare to be not only available but also indispensable foods for pups after the weaning, this would be evolved feeding adapted to the pack ice condition.
Imaging the Endoplasmic Reticulum within Individual Mammalian Cells with Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry

1. Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 S. Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA. 2. Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 S. Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA. 3. Physical Electronics, Inc., 18725 Lake Dr. E. , Chanhassen, MN, 55317, USA. 4. Department of Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.
Three dose regimens of fulvestrant in postmenopausal Japanese women with advanced breast cancer: results from a double-blind, phase II comparative study (FINDER1).

BACKGROUND FINDER1 compared efficacy, tolerability and pharmacokinetics (PK) of three fulvestrant dose regimens in postmenopausal Japanese women with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive locally advanced/metastatic breast cancer recurring or progressing after prior endocrine therapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS The primary end point of this randomised, multicentre, phase II study was objective response rate (ORR) and the secondary end points included time to progression (TTP), clinical benefit rate (CBR), PK profiles and tolerability. Postmenopausal women with ER-positive advanced breast cancer were randomised to 28-day cycles of fulvestrant approved dose (AD), loading dose (LD) or high dose (HD) until disease progression. RESULTS Hundred and forty-three patients (median age 61 years) received fulvestrant AD (n = 45), LD (n = 51) or HD (n = 47). ORR was similar across dose regimens: 11.1%, 17.6% and 10.6% for AD, LD and HD, respectively, with overlapping confidence intervals. TTP and CBR were also similar between groups (median TTP: 6.0, 7.5 and 6.0 months, respectively; CBR: 42.2%, 54.9% and 46.8% for AD, LD and HD, respectively). C(max) and area under the plasma concentration-time curve were dose proportional and PK steady state was reached earlier with LD and HD than with AD. All three doses were well tolerated, with a similar adverse-event profile and no emerging safety concerns. CONCLUSION Fulvestrant AD, LD and HD had similar efficacy and tolerability profiles in postmenopausal Japanese women with ER-positive advanced breast cancer.