Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Computer-aided detection system for masses in automated whole breast ultrasonography: development and evaluation of the effectiveness

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of a proposed computer-aided detection (CAD) system in automated breast ultrasonography (ABUS). Methods: Eighty-nine two-dimensional images (20 cysts, 42 benign lesions, and 27 malignant lesions) were obtained from 47 patients who underwent ABUS (ACUSON S2000). After boundary detection and removal, we detected mass candidates by using the proposed adjusted Otsu's threshold; the threshold was adaptive to the variations of pixel intensities in an image. Then, the detected candidates were segmented. Features of the segmented objects were extracted and used for training/testing in the classification. In our study, a support vector machine classifier was adopted. Eighteen features were used to determine whether the candidates were true lesions or not. A five-fold cross validation was repeated 20 times for the performance evaluation. The sensitivity and the false positive rate per image were calculated, and the classification accuracy was evaluated for each feature. Results: In the classification step, the sensitivity of the proposed CAD system was 82.67% (SD, 0.02%). The false positive rate was 0.26 per image. In the detection/segmentation step, the sensitivities for benign and malignant mass detection were 90.47% (38/42) and 92.59% (25/27), respectively. In the five-fold cross-validation, the standard deviation of pixel intensities for the mass candidates was the most frequently selected feature, followed by the vertical position of the centroids. In the univariate analysis, each feature had 50% or higher accuracy. Conclusion: The proposed CAD system can be used for lesion detection in ABUS and may be useful in improving the screening efficiency.
A fast algorithm for estimating the parameters of a quadratic FM signal

This paper describes a fast algorithm that can be used for estimating the parameters of a quadratic frequency modulated (FM) signal. The proposed algorithm is fast in that it requires only one-dimensional (1-D) maximizations. The optimal maximum likelihood method, by contrast, requires a three-dimensional (3-D) maximization, which can only be realized with an exhaustive 3-D grid search. Asymptotic statistical results are derived for all the estimated parameters. The amplitude estimate is seen to be optimal, whereas the phase parameters are, in general, suboptimal. Of the four phase parameter estimates, two approach optimality as the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) tends to infinity. The other two have mean-square errors that are within 50% of the theoretical lower bounds for high SNR. Simulations are provided to support the theoretical results. Extensions to multiple components and higher order FM signals are also discussed.
East German unemployment: the myth of the irrelevant labor market

This paper indicates that East Germany's unemployment problem originates primarily in the labor market, caused by the fast wage adjustment after German reunification. We model the resulting labor market "traps" in a search and matching framework, show that they are difficult to overcome, and provide empirical evidence. We argue that under these circumstances, demandside policies are effective mainly when they increase the economy's overall productivity and thereby help overcome the labor market traps.
Private Sector Participation and Health System Performance in Sub-Saharan Africa

Background The role of the private health sector in developing countries remains a much-debated and contentious issue. Critics argue that the high prices charged in the private sector limits the use of health care among the poorest, consequently reducing access and equity in the use of health care. Supporters argue that increased private sector participation might improve access and equity by bringing in much needed resources for health care and by allowing governments to increase focus on underserved populations. However, little empirical exists for or against either side of this debate. Methodology/Principal Findings We examine the association between private sector participation and self-reported measures of utilization and equity in deliveries and treatment of childhood respiratory disease using regression analysis, across a sample of nationally-representative Demographic and Health Surveys from 34 SSA economies. We also examine the correlation between private sector participation and key background factors (socioeconomic development, business environment and governance) and use multivariate regression to control for potential confounders. Private sector participation is positively associated with greater overall access and reduced disparities between rich and poor as well as urban and rural populations. The positive association between private sector participation and improved health system performance is robust to controlling for confounders including per capita income and maternal education. Private sector participation is positively correlated with measures of socio-economic development and favorable business environment. Conclusions/Significance Greater participation is associated with favorable intermediate outcomes in terms of access and equity. While these results do not establish a causal link between private sector participation and health system performance, they suggest that there is no deleterious link between private sector participation and health system performance in SSA.
A Lower Limit on the Age of the Universe

A detailed numerical study was designed and conducted to estimate the absolute age and the uncertainty in age (with confidence limits) of the oldest globular clusters in our galaxy, and hence to put a robust lower bound on the age of the universe. Estimates of the uncertainty range and distribution in the input parameters of stellar evolution codes were used to produce 1000 Monte Carlo realizations of stellar isochrones, which were then used to derive ages for the 17 oldest globular clusters. A probability distribution for the mean age of these systems was derived by incorporating the observational uncertainties in the measured color-magnitude diagrams for these systems and the predicted isochrones. The dominant contribution to the width of the distribution (approximately ±5 percent) resulted from the observational uncertainty in RR-Lyrae variable absolute magnitudes. Subdominant contributions came from the choice of the color table used to translate theoretical luminosities and temperatures to observed magnitudes and colors, as well as from theoretical uncertainties in heavy element abundances and mixing length. The one-sided 95 percent confidence limit lower bound for this distribution occurs at an age of 12.07 × 109 years, and the median age for the distribution is 14.56 × 109 years. These age limits, when compared with the Hubble age estimate, put powerful constraints on cosmology.
Performance Comparisons of Semi-Supervised Learning Algorithms

We experimentally compare performances of five different methods for solving semisupervised learning tasks proposed recently. In particular, we compare the Low Density Separation (LDS) algorithm with the original Consistency Method (CM) and Gaussian Random Fields Model (GRFM) as well as with the applications of the latter two to the new input’s representation obtained by the graphdistance derived kernel. The experiments show that the efficiency of the method depends primarily upon whether one solves twoor multiclass recognition problem. For two-class problems, as long as the cluster assumption of data holds, LDS algorithm provides slightly smaller error, while for the multi-class semisupervised tasks both CM and GRFM show superior performances. For the two-class problems without cluster structure of the data LDS algorithm is superior to the other ones used here.
A proximal decomposition method for solving convex variational inverse problems

A broad range of inverse problems can be abstracted into the problem of minimizing the sum of several convex functions in a Hilbert space. We propose a proximal decomposition algorithm for solving this problem with an arbitrary number of nonsmooth functions and establish its weak convergence. The algorithm fully decomposes the problem in that it involves each function individually via its own proximity operator. A significant improvement over the methods currently in use in the area of inverse problems is that it is not limited to two nonsmooth functions. Numerical applications to signal and image processing problems are demonstrated.
IL‐33 links tissue cells, dendritic cells and Th2 cell development in a mouse model of asthma

IL‐33 is becoming a central molecule in allergic asthma that addresses various cascades of innate and adaptive immune responses that lead to inflammation in the lung. Its effects are exerted via its heterodimeric receptor that consists of ST2 and the ubiquitously expressed IL‐1 receptor accessory protein (ILRAcP). IL‐33 integrates both innate and adaptive immunity in a unique fashion via basophils, mast cells, eosinophils, innate lymphoid cells, NK and NKT cells, nuocytes, Th2 lymphocytes and a CD34pos precursor cell population. These actions of IL‐33 seem to be particularly strong and dominant in models with mucosal inflammation. A study in this issue of the European Journal of Immunology demonstrates that IL‐33 acts, in an ST2‐dependent manner, as a maturation factor for BM‐derived DCs via up‐regulation of CD80, CD40 and OX40L. This process is accompanied by the release of pro‐inflammatory cytokines, such as IL‐6, IL‐1β, TNF‐α and TARC/CCL17. IL‐33‐pre‐treated DCs were significantly more potent for the generation of allergen‐specific Th2‐type cells with IL‐5 and IL‐13 production. Intratracheal administration of OVA‐pulsed DCs with IL‐33 significantly enhances eosinophil numbers and mucous secretion. In conclusion, IL‐33 affects both the development of allergic sensitization and the development of lung inflammation in allergic asthma.
Glial‐Neuronal Interactions as Studied by Cerebral Metabolism of [2‐13C]Acetate and [1‐13C]Glucose: An Ex Vivo 13C NMR Spectroscopic Study

Abstract: Mice were injected intravenously with [2‐13C]‐acetate or [1‐13C]glucose and killed after 5, 15, or 30 min. Another group of animals was injected three times subcutaneously during 30 min with [2‐13C]acetate to achieve a steady‐state‐like situation. Brain extracts were analyzed by 13C NMR spectroscopy, and the percent enrichment of various carbon positions was calculated for amino acids, lactate, and glucose. Results obtained with [2‐13C]acetate, which is metabolized by glia and not by neurons, showed that glutamine originated from a glial tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA cycle) that loses 65% of its intermediates per turn of the cycle. This TCA cycle was associated with pyruvate carboxylation, which may replenish virtually all of this loss, as seen from the labeling of glutamine from [1‐13C]glucose. From the C‐3/C‐4 labeling ratios in glutamine and glutamate and from the corresponding C‐3/C‐2 labeling ratio in GABA obtained with [2‐13C]acetate, it was concluded that the carbon skeleton of glutamine to some extent was passed through TCA cycles before glutamate and GABA were formed. Thus, astrocytically derived glutamine is not only a precursor for transmitter amino acids but is also an energy substrate for neurons in vivo. Furthermore, the neuronal TCA cycles may be control points in the synthesis of transmitter amino acids. Injection of [2‐13C]acetate led to a higher 13C enrichment of the C‐2 in glutamate and of the corresponding C‐4 in GABA than in the C‐3 of either compound. This could reflect cleavage of [2‐13C]‐citrate and formation of [3‐13C]oxaloacetate and acetyl‐CoA, i.e., the first step in fatty acid synthesis. [3‐13C]‐Oxaloacetate would, after entry into a TCA cycle, give the observed labeling of glutamate and GABA.
Spatial development analysis of the Danube region in Serbia in the function of sustainable development

The Danube river represents one of the most important European development potentials and the stemming point leading towards the European Integration. Although the water testings of the Danube river show that the Danube is, on its way out from the country, of better quality that on its entering, and that the presiding state of parametres of the living environment had deteriorated and is endangered by possible influences of anthropogenic origin which represent limiting factor of development of this area. This paper analizes the Danube significance in the territorial development of Serbia which is the main axis of development with the best developmental possibiities and economic potentials. The paper also shows that an evaluation of Danube river basin developmental potential has been carried out, which states the fact that inequalities in the degree of the region development and the evaluation of the living environment together with the identification of the worst pollutants, imply that the worst pollutants can be found in the regions which belong to the group of the stabile regions. The categorization of the living environment has been carried out on the basis of the condition evaluation and analysis a ccording to the Spatial Plan of the Republic of Serbia after which the precaution measures are installed , on whose basis the further sustainable development of this area would be realized.
Surviving ischemia: adaptive responses mediated by hypoxia-inducible factor 1.

While the other Perspectives in this series provide readers with state-of-the-art overviews of responses to ischemia on an organ-by-organ basis, I focus here on a single transcription factor, hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1), and its role in the physiologic responses to hypoxia and ischemia. Whether in the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs, or muscle, HIF-1 is essential for ischemia-induced angiogenesis, as described by Isner (this Perspective series, ref. 1), and it may also be a critical mediator of late-phase preconditioning, as described by Williams and Benjamin (this Perspective series, ref. 2). For these reasons, HIF-1 and the genes under its control may represent novel therapeutic targets for ameliorating the effects of ischemia in a variety of clinical settings.
Synergistic Antimicrobial Activity of Metabolites Produced by a Nonobligate Bacterial Predator

ABSTRACT A naturally occurring, gram-negative, nonobligate predator bacterial strain 679-2, exhibits broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity that is due, in part, to the production of three extracellular compounds. Antimicrobial-activity-directed fractionation of a culture of strain 679-2 against a panel of microorganisms has led to the isolation of three compounds: pyrrolnitrin, maculosin, and a new compound, which we have named banegasine. Although pyrrolnitrin is well known in the literature, it has not been found in cells with the herbicide maculosin. Further, this is the first report of production of maculosin by a prokaryote. Both maculosin and banegasine, which displayed no antimicrobial activities alone, were found to potentiate the antimicrobial activity of pyrrolnitrin. Based on 16S rRNA sequence, cellular fatty acid composition, and biochemical and cultural characteristics, strain 679-2 appears to represent a new genus and species of eubacteria, Aristabacter necator. The potent, broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity of predator strain 679-2 may be due to synergism between metabolites.
Influence of pasture sward height and concentrate supplementation on intake, digestibility, and grazing time of lactating beef cows.

To establish the effect of sward height (SH) and concentrate supplementation on performance of grazing cattle, 24 crossbred Angus beef cows (535 kg BW) and calves (114 kg BW) were grouped by weight and calving date. They were randomly assigned to two SH treatments, either 4 to 8 cm or 8 to 11 cm, and fed three levels of supplement, high, low, or none, consisting of 6.24, 3.12, and 0 kg x animal(-1) x d(-1), respectively. The experiment was repeated over three 15-d periods in 1996: May (P1), June/July (P2), and August (P3). No SH x supplement level x period or SH x supplement level interactions (P > 0.10) were evident for responses tested. Cows on lower SH had greater (P < 0.08) DMI but spent an additional 1.3 h/d (P < 0.01) grazing compared with cows on higher SH. Sward height had no influence (P > 0.10) on forage DM digestibility (DMD). Forage DMI, DMD, and grazing time (GT) decreased (P < 0.05) as supplementation increased. Nonetheless, supplemented cows consumed more total DMI (P < 0.08) than unsupplemented cows. Cows consumed 2.4 kg/d more forage DM (P < 0.01) in P1 and P2 than in P3. Cows grazed 1.3 h/d (P < 0.01) less in P1 than in P2 and P3. Grazing efficiency (DMI/h GT) declined as supplementation increased and grazing season advanced to P3 (P < 0.01). Decreased forage DMI and grazing efficiency with increasing supplementation suggests that supplemented cattle should be able to maintain productivity while grazing at SH lower than unsupplemented cattle.
Strategies for Object Manipulation using Foveal and Peripheral Vision

Visual feedback is used extensively in robotics and application areas range from human-robot interaction to object grasping and manipulation. There have been a number of examples of how to develop different components required by the above applications and very few general vision systems capable of performing a variety of tasks. In this paper, we concentrate on vision strategies for robotic manipulation tasks in a domestic environment. In particular, given fetch-and-carry type of tasks, the issues related to the whole detect-approach-grasp loop are considered. We deal with the problem of flexibility and robustness by using monocular and binocular visual cues and their integration. We demonstrate real-time disparity estimation, object recognition and pose estimation. We also show how a combination of foveal and peripheral vision system can be combined in order to provide a wide, low resolution and narrow, high resolution field of view.
Equilibrium discovery and preplay communication in an experimental market

This paper offers an experimental investigation of equilibrium discovery and coordination in three market mechanisms: i) a pure call auction, ii) a call auction preceded by a non—binding preopening period, and iii) a call auction preceded by binding preopening orders. The non binding preopening period offers traders the opportunity to place manipulative orders. After observing attempts to manipulate, participants learn to distrust cheap talk. Hence, preplay communication does not enhance coordination on Pareto dominant outcomes. In contrast, when preopening orders are binding, they improve significantly the ability to coordinate on high gains from trade. We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of Paris Europlace. We are also grateful for insightful comments to the participants of the joint UCL-Birbeck theory seminar and the Mannheim University Symposium on Behavioral Economics.
Shifting the pH Profile of Aspergillus niger PhyA Phytase To Match the Stomach pH Enhances Its Effectiveness as an Animal Feed Additive

ABSTRACT Environmental pollution by phosphorus from animal waste is a major problem in agriculture because simple-stomached animals, such as swine, poultry, and fish, cannot digest phosphorus (as phytate) present in plant feeds. To alleviate this problem, a phytase from Aspergillus niger PhyA is widely used as a feed additive to hydrolyze phytate-phosphorus. However, it has the lowest relative activity at the pH of the stomach (3.5), where the hydrolysis occurs. Our objective was to shift the pH optima of PhyA to match the stomach condition by substituting amino acids in the substrate-binding site with different charges and polarities. Based on the crystal structure of PhyA, we prepared 21 single or multiple mutants at Q50, K91, K94, E228, D262, K300, and K301 and expressed them in Pichia pastoris yeast. The wild-type (WT) PhyA showed the unique bihump, two-pH-optima profile, whereas 17 mutants lost one pH optimum or shifted the pH optimum from pH 5.5 to the more acidic side. The mutant E228K exhibited the best overall changes, with a shift of pH optimum to 3.8 and 266% greater (P < 0.05) hydrolysis of soy phytate at pH 3.5 than the WT enzyme. The improved efficacy of the enzyme was confirmed in an animal feed trial and was characterized by biochemical analysis of the purified mutant enzymes. In conclusion, it is feasible to improve the function of PhyA phytase under stomach pH conditions by rational protein engineering.
Minimizing cost of provisioning in fault-tolerant distributed data centers with durability constraints

Many popular e-commerce applications run on geo-distributed data centers requiring high availability. Fault-tolerant distributed data centers are designed by provisioning spare compute capacity to support the load of failed data center, apart from ensuring data durability. The main challenge during the planning phase is how to provision spare capacity such that the total cost of ownership (TCO) is minimized. While the literature handled spare capacity provisioning by minimizing the number of servers, variation in electricity cost and PUE corroborate the need to minimize the operating cost for capacity provisioning. We develop an MILP model for spare capacity provisioning for geo-distributed data centers with durability requirements. We consider spare capacity provisioning problem with the objective of minimizing TCO. We model variation in the demand, fluctuation in electricity prices across locations, cost of state replication, carbon tax across different countries, and delay constraints while formulating the optimization model. Solving the model shows that TCO is reduced while leveraging the electricity price variation and demand multiplexing. The proposed model outperforms the CDN model by 50% and the minimum server model by 34%. Results also demonstrate the effect of power usage effectiveness (PUE), latency, number of data centers and demand on the TCO.
International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP): The Latest Incarnation of Almost Five Decades of Scientific Ocean Drilling Excellence

IODP (2013-2023) represents the latest phase of the longest running, most successful scientific collaboration in the history of the Earth sciences. IODP follows on from three earlier phases, the Deep-Sea Drilling Project (DSDP, 968-1983), the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP, 1983-2003) and the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP, 2003-2013). IODP is now a collaborative program, in which member countries (currently 25) provide a broad variety of drilling/coring/sampling capabilities to explore changes in the Earth system through geologic time. The United States (U.S.) supplies IODP's flagship the leased commercial drillship JOIDES Resolution. The "JR", as she is affectionately known by the thousands of scientists and students who have sailed aboard her on more than 100 drilling expeditions around the world, has been serving the scientific drilling community since 1984. To address deep objectives within sedimented continental margins and in the crust, where overpressured fluids may create a hazard to drilling safety, Japan contributes the riser-equipped Chikyu; that vessel has completed a number of important expeditions along the Japanese/Nankai margin, and has also investigated the zone of slip associated with the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. Finally, the European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling (ECORD) contributes "mission-specific platforms" (MSPs), e.g., lift-boats, jack-ups, special purpose drilling vessels, to address targets not suitable for the other platforms those in shallow water, like reefs and continental margins, and in ice-covered high latitudes.