Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of two versus three smears in identifying culture-positive tuberculosis patients in a rural African setting with high HIV prevalence.

SETTING Karonga district, northern Malawi. OBJECTIVE To compare the sensitivity and specificity of two versus three smears for the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis in a setting with high HIV prevalence. DESIGN A total of 1992 pulmonary tuberculosis suspects with three sputum smears taken over a 2-7 day period and at least one culture result were studied. Smears were auramine stained and examined using fluorescence microscopy, and positives were confirmed with Ziehl-Neelsen staining and light microscopy. Cultures were set up on Löwenstein-Jensen media. True negative and positive status was defined on the basis of culture. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of two and three smears were compared. RESULTS Compared to culture, the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of three smears were 70%, 98%, 92%, and 92%, respectively. Restriction to the first two smears gave similar results. Of those detected as smear-positive using three smears, at least 97% would have been detected by two. Among those with HIV serology results available, the sensitivity of two smears for detecting culture-positive tuberculosis was identical to that using three. CONCLUSION In this setting, using fluorescence and light microscopy, collecting two smears rather than three would only marginally reduce sensitivity and would slightly improve the specificity of diagnosis of tuberculosis; this is unaffected by HIV status. The potential for improving specificity is important because of the costs of misdiagnosis. In practice, both sensitivity and specificity may be increased due to the time saved by examining two rather than three smears.
Flexible Porous Piezoelectric Cantilever on a Pacemaker Lead for Compact Energy Harvesting

Self‐sustainable energy generation represents a new frontier to greatly extend the lifetime and effectiveness of implantable biomedical devices, such as cardiac pacemakers and defibrillators. However, there is a lack of promising technologies which can efficiently convert the mechanical energy of the beating heart to electrical energy with minimal risk of interfering with the cardiovascular functions. Here a unique design is presented based on existing pacemaker leads tailored for compact energy harvesting. This new design incorporates flexible porous polyvinylidene fluoride‐trifluoroethylene thin film within a dual‐cantilever structure, which wraps around the pacemaker lead with two free ends sticking out for harvesting energy from the heart's motion. Under various anchor methods of the lead, the maximum electrical output yields 0.5 V and 43 nA under the frequency of 1 Hz. It is found that adding a proof mass of 31.6 mg on the dual‐cantilever tip results in a 1.82 times power enhancement. The scalability of the design is also demonstrated, e.g., by connecting two such units in parallel, their simultaneous vibration can together contribute to energy conversion. Collectively, this study implies that sufficient electrical energy can be converted from the kinetic energy of a pacemaker lead especially at low frequencies to sustain operations.
Electronic spectroscopy of carbon chains

Gas phase electronic spectra allow direct comparisons between laboratory data and the wealth of astrophysical measurements that have been tabulated. Over the past decade a number of assorted carbon chain systems have been spectroscopically investigated, yielding an understanding of the transitions and trends apparent among their homologous series. This rigorous program begins with trapping unstable carbon chain ions and radicals in neon matrices, where origin bands and vibrational data are obtained. From these results one can then seek out the gas phase transitions in higher resolution in order to more accurately determine assignments and spectroscopic constants. To this purpose, laser spectroscopic methods are employed, including pulsed and cw cavity ringdown, resonant enhanced multiphoton ionisation, and more recently, a two-photon two-colour excitation/fragmentation approach to investigate trapped ions. From a comparison involving the electronic spectra of a number of carbon chain systems measured in the laboratory with diffuse interstellar band (DIB) absorptions, one concludes that species involving only a handful of carbon atoms can not be the carriers. However, larger carbon chains and ring species still remain viable. In this review, we consider which systems require further investigation, including these longer species, metal-capped chains and other cationic radicals.
Adaptive bit-interleaved coded modulation

Adaptive coded modulation is a powerful method for achieving a high spectral efficiency over fading channels. Previously proposed adaptive schemes have employed set-partitioned trellis-coded modulation (TCM) and have adapted the number of uncoded bits on a given symbol based on the corresponding channel estimate. However, these adaptive TCM schemes do not perform well in systems where channel estimates are unreliable, since uncoded bits are not protected from unexpected finding. In this paper, adaptive bit-interleaved coded modulation (BICM) is introduced. Adaptive BICM schemes remove the need for parallel branches in the trellis-even when adapting the constellation size, thus making these schemes robust to errors made in the estimation of the current channel fading value. This motivates the design of adaptive BICM schemes, which will lead to adaptive systems that can support users with higher mobility than those considered in previous work. In such systems, numerical results demonstrate that the proposed schemes achieve a moderate bandwidth efficiency gain over previously proposed adaptive schemes and conventional (nonadaptive) schemes of similar complexity.
Measuring measures for face sample quality

The quality of input samples is a crucial issue for both verification and identification biometric systems. Literature offers many interesting hints in some contexts, like fingerprint matching, but it is still deficient in others, like face matching. This paper proposes new quality indices for face samples which are based either on the measure of pose or illumination distortion, or on the measure of face symmetry. Results show that they give better results than other proposals in literature.
Highly conductive, flexible and stretchable conductors based on fractal silver nanostructures

The emergence of flexible and stretchable conductors provides a direction for future development of wearable electronics, because they play a fundamental role in flexible and stretchable electronic devices. Herein, we fabricated a flexible and stretchable conductor by embedding fractal-structured silver particles in a PDMS substrate. The flexible and stretchable conductor can stretch up to 100% and bend and twist up to 180°, and it also possesses a good mechanical stability. Interestingly, the resistance of this conductor decreases under bending and twisting conditions. The change trend of resistance of the conductor can be negligible under 100 cycles of stretching at a strain of 30% and 100 tape test cycles. In addition, a flexible and stretchable LED circuit consisting of the conductor and a light emitting diode (LED) demonstrated that the conductor can be applied to flexible and stretchable electronic devices.
Selenocysteine, Pyrrolysine, and the Unique Energy Metabolism of Methanogenic Archaea

Methanogenic archaea are a group of strictly anaerobic microorganisms characterized by their strict dependence on the process of methanogenesis for energy conservation. Among the archaea, they are also the only known group synthesizing proteins containing selenocysteine or pyrrolysine. All but one of the known archaeal pyrrolysine-containing and all but two of the confirmed archaeal selenocysteine-containing protein are involved in methanogenesis. Synthesis of these proteins proceeds through suppression of translational stop codons but otherwise the two systems are fundamentally different. This paper highlights these differences and summarizes the recent developments in selenocysteine- and pyrrolysine-related research on archaea and aims to put this knowledge into the context of their unique energy metabolism.
Single-carrier systems with MMSE linear equalizers: Performance degradation due to channel and CFO estimation errors

We assess the impact of the channel and carrier frequency offset (CFO) estimation errors on the performance of single-carrier systems with MMSE linear equalizers. Performance degradation is caused by the fact that a mismatched MMSE linear equalizer is applied to channel output samples with imperfectly canceled CFO. We develop asymptotic expressions for the excess mean square error (EMSE) induced by the channel and CFO estimation errors. Under some realistic assumptions, we derive a simple EMSE approximation which reveals that performance degradation is mainly caused by the imperfectly canceled CFO. Furthermore, the EMSE is approximately proportional to the CFO estimation error variance, with the proportionality factor being independent of the training sequence. Thus, optimal training sequence (TS) design for CFO estimation is also highly relevant for joint channel and CFO estimation.
[Association of hypertension and diabetes mellitus with microangiopathic cerebral infarct patterns].

OBJECTIVE To test the hypothesis of a positive association of hypertension and diabetes mellitus with cerebral small-vessel disease infarct patterns. METHODS Using a prospective stroke database, the 152 patients with computertomographic signs of small-vessel disease (lacunes and/or leucoaraiosis)--including as a subgroup of 85 cases with multiple lacunes and/or leucoaraiosis-were compared with 106 patients featuring pial artery infarcts. Statistical analyses of the rates of hypertension and diabetes included univariate tests (odds ratios) and a logistic regression model comprising the additional variables hypercholesterolemia, cigarette smoking, carotid stenosis, atrial fibrillation, and left cardiac thrombus. RESULTS Multivariate testing revealed a significant association of hypertension and diabetes with multiple lacunar infarcts and/or leucoaraiosis (hypertension: odds ratio 2.0; 95% confidence interval 1.04-3.7; diabetes: odds ratio 1.9; 95% confidence interval 1.01-3.8), whereas for the total group of patients with small-vessel disease lesions no such effect was found. Among the other tested variables, only atrial fibrillation/left cardiac thrombus showed a significant negative association (odds ratio 0.5; 95% confidence interval 0.2-0.9) with lacunes/leucoaraiosis. CONCLUSION Independent of other risk factors and other possible causes of stroke, both hypertension and diabetes appear to be strong determinants of multiple lacunar infarcts and/or leucoaraiosis.
Best-fit models for predicting the geotechnical properties of FA–stabilised problematic soils used as materials for earth structures

ABSTRACT The effect of fly ash (FA) on geotechnical properties of high plasticity clayey soils (known as problematic soils) has been investigated by several researchers. However, few studies have been developed to predict the geotechnical properties of FA–stabilised problematic soils. This study was undertaken in order to develop best-fit models for predicting the Atterberg limits (liquid limit; LL and plasticity index; PI), unconfined compressive strength (UCS), free swell index (FS), optimum moisture content (OMC) and maximum dry density (MDD) of FA-stabilised high plasticity clayey soils. For this purpose, many data sources were collected from several laboratory studies published in the literature over the past. All the developed models were validated and found to have a good ability where they can be used as a reliable tool to predict all the LL, PI, UCS, FS, MDD and OMC of FA-stabilised high plasticity clayey soils. In addition, the suggested models showed that the accurate prediction of all the studied physico-mechanical properties was highly beneficial for the engineering construction enabling it to avoid the cumbersome tests in the laboratory. From these results, the obtained equations may be useful in practices of civil engineering projects and in designing earth structures such as roadway subgrades, road embankments, trench backfills, landfill liners and earth dams.
Vortex dipole in a trapped two-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensate

We study the conservative dynamics and stationary configurations of a vortex-antivortex pair in a harmonically trapped two-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensate. We establish the conceptual framework for understanding the stationary states and the topological defect trajectories, through considerations of different mechanisms of vortex motion and the bifurcation of solitonlike stationary solutions. Our insights are based on Lagrangian-based variational calculations, numerical solutions of both the time-dependent and time-independent Gross-Pitaevskii equations, and exact solutions for the noninteracting case.
Energy-Constrained Optimal Quantization for Wireless Sensor Networks

As low power, low cost, and longevity of transceivers are major requirements in wireless sensor networks, optimizing their design under energy constraints is of paramount importance. To this end, we develop quantizers under strict energy constraints to effect optimal reconstruction at the fusion center. Propagation, modulation, as well as transmitter and receiver structures are jointly accounted for using a binary symmetric channel model. We first optimize quantization for reconstructing a single sensor's measurement, and deriving the optimal number of quantization levels as well as the optimal energy allocation across bits. The constraints take into account not only the transmission energy but also the energy consumed by the transceiver's circuitry. Furthermore, we consider multiple sensors collaborating to estimate a deterministic parameter in noise. Similarly, optimum energy allocation and optimum number of quantization bits are derived and tested with simulated examples. Finally, we study the effect of channel coding on the reconstruction performance under strict energy constraints and jointly optimize the number of quantization levels as well as the number of channel uses.
Nearly all hereditary paragangliomas in The Netherlands are caused by two founder mutations in the SDHD gene

Hereditary paragangliomas or glomus tumors are usually benign slow‐growing tumors in the head and neck region. The inheritance pattern of hereditary paraganglioma is autosomal dominant with imprinting. Recently, we have identified the SDHD gene encoding subunit D of the mitochondrial respiratory chain complex II as one of the genes involved in hereditary paragangliomas. Here, we demonstrate that two founder mutations, Asp92Tyr and Leu139Pro, are responsible for paragangliomas in 24 and 6 of the 32 independently ascertained Dutch paraganglioma families, respectively. These two mutations were also detected among 20 of 55 isolated patients. Ten of the isolated patients had multiple paragangliomas, and in eight of these SDHD germline mutations were found, indicating that multicentricity is a strong predictive factor for the hereditary nature of the disorder in isolated patients. In addition, we demonstrate that the maternally derived wild‐type SDHD allele is lost in tumors from mutation‐carrying patients, indicating that SDHD functions as a tumor suppressor gene. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Surface roughness: A review of its measurement at micro-/nano-scale

Abstract The measurement of surface roughness at micro-/nano-scale is of great importance to metrological, manufacturing, engineering, and scientific applications given the critical roles of roughness in physical and chemical phenomena. The surface roughness of materials can significantly change the way of how they interact with light, phonons, molecules, and so forth, thus surface roughness ultimately determines the functionality and property of materials. In this short review, the techniques of measuring micro-/nano-scale surface roughness are discussed with special focus on the limitations and capabilities of each technique. In addition, the calculations of surface roughness and their theoretical background are discussed to offer readers a better understanding of the importance of post-measurement analysis. Recent progress on fractal analysis of surface roughness is discussed to shed light on the future efforts in surface roughness measurement.
Lower Trapezius Flap for Reconstruction of Posterior Scalp and Neck Defects after Complex Occipital-Cervical Surgeries

Abstract Objectives To review the indications, techniques, and outcomes for a series of patients in whom the lower trapezius flaps was used for repair of complex posterior scalp and neck defects after posterior occipital-cervical surgeries. Design Retrospective case series. Setting Tertiary academic hospital. Participants A retrospective review of cases that required complex occipital-cervical repair was performed to identify patients who underwent reconstruction using the lower trapezius flap. Data collected included demographics, clinical presentations, surgical anatomy, operative techniques, and outcomes with review of the pertinent literature. Outcomes Nine patients who underwent reconstruction using the lower trapezius flap were identified. Prior surgical interventions included five complex tumor resections, two patients with multiple instrumented cervical spine surgeries, one patient with a craniotomy for attempted extracranial to intracranial arterial bypass for a basilar aneurysm repair, and a posterior occipital-cervical decompression after trauma. During the median follow-up period of 7 months, all nine single-stage reconstructions resulted in successful healing without major surgical complications. Conclusion Lower trapezius island flaps provide a reliable option for the reconstruction of complex scalp and neck defects that develop after complex occipital-cervical surgeries.
MIND : A Semantics-based Multimodal Interpretation Framework for Conversational Systems

To facilitate a full-fledged multimodal human-machine conversation, we are developing an intelligent infrastructure called Responsive Information Architect (RIA). As a part of this effort, we are building a semantics-based multi-modal interpretation framework called MIND (Multimodal Interpretation for Natural Dialog). MIND addresses both multimodal input understanding and discourse interpretation in a conversation setting. In particular, MIND has two unique features. First, MIND characterizes intention and attention of user inputs and the entire conversation from multiple dimensions. This fine grained semantic model provides a computational basis for multimodal interpretation. Second, MIND uses rich contexts such as conversation discourse, domain knowledge, visual context, user and environment models to facilitate multimodal understanding. This approach allows MIND to improve understanding of user inputs, including those abbreviated or imprecise ones.
Correcting noisy OCR: context beats confusion

We describe a system for automatic post OCR text correction of digital collections of historical texts. Documents, such as old newspapers, are often degraded, so even the best OCR tools can yield garbled text. When keywords are corrupted, text is invisible to search tools. Manual correction is not feasible for large collections. Our non-interactive OCR correction method uses a "noisy channel" approach. The error model uses statistically weighted multiple character edits and a novel visual correlation adjustment using low resolution "reverse OCR". The language model uses normal and also "gap" word 3-grams, plus some 5-grams. Word correction candidates are generated by a deep heuristic search of weighted edit combinations guided by a trie. Testing shows good improvements in word error rate. Experiments demonstrate resilience and justify the use of a deep candidate search.
On the design of Chant: a talking threads package

Lightweight threads are becoming increasingly useful for supporting parallelism and asynchronous control structures in applications and language implementations. However, lightweight thread packages for distributed memory systems have received little attention. We introduce the design of a runtime interface, called Chant, that supports communicating threads in a distributed memory environment. In particular, Chant is layered atop standard message passing and lightweight thread libraries, and supports efficient point-to-point and remote service request communication primitives. We examine the design issues of Chant, the efficiency of its point-to-point communication layer, and the evaluation of scheduling policies to poll for the presence of incoming messages. <<ETX>>
Saliency modeling via outlier detection

Abstract. Based on the fact that human attention is more likely to be attracted by different objects or statistical outliers of a scene, a bottom-up saliency detection model is proposed. Our model regards the saliency patterns of an image as the outliers in a dataset. For an input image, first, each image element is described as a feature vector. The whole image is considered as a dataset and an image element is classified as a saliency pattern if its corresponding feature vector is an outlier among the dataset. Then, a binary label map can be built to indicate the salient and the nonsalient elements in the image. According to the Boolean map theory, we compute multiple binary maps as a set of Boolean maps which indicate the outliers in multilevels. Finally, we linearly fused them into the final saliency map. This saliency model is used to predict the human eye fixation, and has been tested on the most widely used three benchmark datasets and compared with eight state-of-the-art saliency models. In our experiments, we adopt the shuffled the area under curve metric to evaluate the accuracy of our model. The experimental results show that our model outperforms the state-of-the-art models on all three datasets.
Robust profiled attacks: should the adversary trust the dataset?

Side-channel attacks provide tools to analyse the degree of resilience of a cryptographic device against adversaries measuring leakages (e.g. power traces) on the target device executing cryptographic algorithms. In 2002, Chari et al. introduced template attacks (TA) as the strongest parametric profiled attacks in an information theoretic sense. Few years later, Schindler et al. proposed stochastic attacks (representing other parametric profiled attacks) as improved attacks (with respect to TA) when the adversary has information on the data-dependent part of the leakage. Less than ten years later, the machine learning field provided non-parametric profiled attacks especially useful in high dimensionality contexts. In this study, the authors provide new contexts in which profiled attacks based on machine learning outperform conventional parametric profiled attacks: when the set of leakages contains errors or distortions. More precisely, the authors found that (i) profiled attacks based on machine learning remain effective in a wide range of scenarios, and (ii) TA are more sensitive to distortions and errors in the profiling and attacking sets.