Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Compensating for bone interfaces and respiratory motion in high-intensity focused ultrasound

Bursts of focused ultrasound energy a thousand times more intense than diagnostic ultrasound have become a non-invasive option for treating cancer, from breast to prostate or uterine fibroid, during the last decade. Despite this progress, many issues still need to be addressed. First, the distortions caused by defocusing obstacles, such as the skull or ribs, on the ultrasonic therapeutic beam are still being investigated. Multi-element transducer technology must be used in order to achieve such transcranial or transcostal adaptive focusing. Second, the problem of motion artifacts, a key component in the treatment of abdominal lesions, has been shown significantly to influence the efficacy and treatment time. Though many methods have been proposed for the detection of organ motion, little work has been done to develop a comprehensive solution including motion tracking and feedback correction in real time. This paper is a review of the work achieved by authors in transcranial high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), transcostal HIFU and motion compensated HIFU. For these three issues, the optimal solution can be reached using the same technology of multi-element transducers devices able to work both in transmit and receive modes.
Evaluation of bending rigidity behaviour of ultrasonic seaming on woven fabrics

In recent years ultrasonic seaming that is shown as an alternative method to conventional seaming has been investigated by many researchers. In our study, bending behaviour of this alternative method is examined by changing various parameters such as fabric type, seam type, roller type and seaming velocity. For this purpose fifteen types of sewn fabrics were tested according to bending rigidity test standard before and after washing processes and results were evaluated through SPSS statistical analyze programme. Consequently, bending length values of the ultrasonically sewn fabrics are found to be higher than the bending length values of conventionally sewn fabrics and the effects of seam type on bending length are seen statistically significant. Also it is observed that bending length values are in relationship with the rest of the parameters excluding roller type.
TOPIC HIGHLIGHT

Chronic hepatitis B and C together with alcoholic and non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases represent the major causes of progressive liver disease that can eventually evolve into cirrhosis and its end-stage complications, including decompensation, bleeding and liver cancer. Formation and accumulation of fibrosis in the liver is the common pathway that leads to an evolutive liver disease. Precise definition of liver fibrosis stage is essential for management of the patient in clinical practice since the presence of bridging fibrosis represents a strong indication for antiviral therapy for chronic viral hepatitis, while cirrhosis requires a specific follow-up including screening for esophageal varices and hepatocellular carcinoma. Liver biopsy has always represented the standard of reference for assessment of hepatic fibrosis but it has some limitations being invasive, costly and prone to sampling errors. Recently, blood markers and instrumental methods have been proposed for the non-invasive assessment of liver fibrosis. However, there are still some doubts as to their implementation in clinical practice and a real consensus on how and when to use them is not still available. This is due to an unsatisfactory accuracy for some of them, and to an incomplete validation for others. Some studies suggest that performance of non-invasive methods for liver fibrosis assessment may increase when they are combined. Combination algorithms of non-invasive methods for assessing liver fibrosis may represent a rational and reliable approach to implement noninvasive assessment of liver fibrosis in clinical practice and to reduce rather than abolish liver biopsies. © 2009 The WJG Press and Baishideng. All rights reserved.
Exploiting coherence in hierarchical visibility algorithms

We present a series of simple improvements that make use of temporal and spatial coherence in the scope of hierarchical visibility algorithms. The hierarchy updating avoids visibility tests of certain interior nodes of the hierarchy. The visibility propagation algorithm reuses information about visibility of neighbouring spatial regions. Finally, the conservative hierarchy updating avoids visibility tests of the hierarchy nodes that are expected to remain visible. We evaluate the presented methods in the context of hierarchical visibility culling using occlusion trees. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
α-Dystrobrevin-1 recruits α-catulin to the α1D-adrenergic receptor/dystrophin-associated protein complex signalosome

α1D-Adrenergic receptors (ARs) are key regulators of cardiovascular system function that increase blood pressure and promote vascular remodeling. Unfortunately, little information exists about the signaling pathways used by this important G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR). We recently discovered that α1D-ARs form a “signalosome” with multiple members of the dystrophin-associated protein complex (DAPC) to become functionally expressed at the plasma membrane and bind ligands. However, the molecular mechanism by which the DAPC imparts functionality to the α1D-AR signalosome remains a mystery. To test the hypothesis that previously unidentified molecules are recruited to the α1D-AR signalosome, we performed an extensive proteomic analysis on each member of the DAPC. Bioinformatic analysis of our proteomic data sets detected a common interacting protein of relatively unknown function, α-catulin. Coimmunoprecipitation and blot overlay assays indicate that α-catulin is directly recruited to the α1D-AR signalosome by the C-terminal domain of α-dystrobrevin-1 and not the closely related splice variant α-dystrobrevin-2. Proteomic and biochemical analysis revealed that α-catulin supersensitizes α1D-AR functional responses by recruiting effector molecules to the signalosome. Taken together, our study implicates α-catulin as a unique regulator of GPCR signaling and represents a unique expansion of the intricate and continually evolving array of GPCR signaling networks.
Utility-based Computing Model for Grid

Within service-oriented Grids, resources may be advertised and traded as services and participants need to have economic incentive. Grid can be seen as a multi-agent system, agent are rational and state their QoS requirements in the form of a utility function which maximize is his goal. In this paper, we propose utility-based computing model for grid. We consider the problem of task scheduling subject to time and budget constrains as joint utility function, and scheduling object is to maximize total attained utility. This scheduling problem can be shown to be NP-hard, thus we present a joint utility function scheduling algorithm (JUFS) for this problem. The performance of model is analyzed by SPNP software package. The numerical results show that JUFS can provide user more utility.
Identification and Population Structure ofBurkholderia stabilis sp. nov. (formerly Burkholderia cepacia Genomovar IV)

ABSTRACT The Burkholderia cepacia complex currently comprises five genomic species, i.e., B. cepacia genomovar I,B. multivorans (formerly known as B. cepaciagenomovar II), B. cepacia genomovar III, B. cepacia genomovar IV, and B. vietnamiensis (also known as B. cepacia genomovar V). In the absence of straightforward diagnostic tests for the identification of B. cepacia genomovars I, III, and IV, the last two genomic species were not formally classified as novel Burkholderia species (genomovar I contains the type strain and therefore retains the nameB. cepacia). In the present study, we describe differential biochemical tests and a recA gene-based PCR assay for the routine identification of strains currently known as B. cepacia genomovar IV and propose formal classification of this organism as Burkholderia stabilis sp. nov. B. stabilis can indeed be differentiated from all other B. cepacia complex strains by the absence of beta-galactosidase activity, from strains of B. cepacia genomovars I and III and B. vietnamiensis by the inability to oxidize sucrose, and from B. multivorans by the lack of growth at 42°C. In addition, analysis with the recA gene-derived primers BCRG41 (5′-ACCGGCGAGCAGGCGCTT-3′) and BCRG42 (5′-ACGCCATCGGGCATGGCA-3′) specifically allows the detection of B. stabilis strains in a conventional PCR assay. Examination of a set of 21 B. stabilis strains by means of random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis typing suggested that the genome of this organism is highly conserved, which is in sharp contrast to the generally accepted genomic diversity, variability, and plasticity among B. cepacia strains.
Effect of the polymer-based, paclitaxel-eluting TAXUS Express stent on vascular tissue responses: a volumetric intravascular ultrasound integrated analysis from the TAXUS IV, V, and VI trials.

AIMS The TAXUS Express stent has been shown to reduce angiographic restenosis, repeat revascularizations, and neointimal hyperplasia when compared with bare metal stent (BMS) control (TAXUS IV, V, and VI) in individual TAXUS trials. Since intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) methodology and core laboratory were consistent among all three TAXUS trials, an integrated analysis of 956 patients across all IVUS cohorts can be performed providing superior power. METHODS AND RESULTS In the TAXUS randomized trials, patients received an Express BMS or paclitaxel-eluting TAXUS Express stent. Volumetric analysis was performed on a selected subgroup at implantation and 9 months. Compared with BMS control, TAXUS increased 9-month lumen volumes (144 +/- 79 vs. 179 +/- 95 mm(3); P < 0.0001) due to reduced neointimal volume (66 +/- 49 vs. 27 +/- 30 mm(3); P < 0.0001). This corresponded to a 61% decrease in net lumen volume obstruction (31 +/- 15 vs. 12 +/- 12 mm(3); P < 0.0001). Lumen loss was similar between groups for the proximal 5 mm outside the stent but was reduced in TAXUS at the distal edge (P = 0.0056). Neointimal hyperplasia was significantly reduced in the double-strut region of overlapping TAXUS vs. BMS control and in high-risk patients with diabetes, long lesions, multiple stents, and multiple overlapping stents. Late-acquired incomplete stent apposition (ISA) was more common with moderate-release TAXUS stents. Importantly, there were no major adverse cardiac events or stent thromboses in any late-acquired ISA patient through 2 years. Univariate and multivariable analyses revealed that longer lesion length and previous myocardial infarction are risk factors for late-acquired ISA. CONCLUSION Integrated analysis of the TAXUS trials shows that the paclitaxel-eluting TAXUS Express stent effectively inhibits in-stent neointimal proliferation, even in high-risk and overlapping stent patients.
Domain Directed Dialogs for Decision Processes

The search for a standardized optimum way to communicate using natural language dialog has involved a lot of research. However, due to the diversity of communication domains, we think that this is extremely difficult to achieve and different dialogue management techniques should be applied for different situations. Our work presents the basis of a communication mechanism that supports decision processes, is based on decision trees, and minimizes the number of steps (turn-takes) in the dialogue. The initial dialog workflow is automatically generated and the user's interaction with the system can also change the decision tree and create new dialog paths with optimized cost. The decision tree represents the chronological ordering of the actions (via the parent-child relationship) and uses an object frame to represent the information state (capturing the notion of context). This paper presents our framework, the formalism for interaction and dialogue, and an evaluation of the system compared to relevant dialog planning frameworks (i.e. finite state diagrams, frame-based, information state and planning-based dialogue systems).
Texture Enhanced Histogram Equalization Using TV-${\rm L}^{1}$ Image Decomposition

Histogram transformation defines a class of image processing operations that are widely applied in the implementation of data normalization algorithms. In this paper, we present a new variational approach for image enhancement that is constructed to alleviate the intensity saturation effects that are introduced by standard contrast enhancement (CE) methods based on histogram equalization. In this paper, we initially apply total variation (TV) minimization with a L1 fidelity term to decompose the input image with respect to cartoon and texture components. Contrary to previous papers that rely solely on the information encompassed in the distribution of the intensity information, in this paper, the texture information is also employed to emphasize the contribution of the local textural features in the CE process. This is achieved by implementing a nonlinear histogram warping CE strategy that is able to maximize the information content in the transformed image. Our experimental study addresses the CE of a wide variety of image data and comparative evaluations are provided to illustrate that our method produces better results than conventional CE strategies.
High Plasma Concentration of Factor VIIIc Is a Major Risk Factor for Venous Thromboembolism

Summary Background Established risk factors, including deficiencies of protein C, protein S or antithrombin and the factor V Leiden and prothrombin mutation, are present in about one third of unselected patients with venous thromboembolism. In addition to these inherited thrombophilic defects, elevated plasma levels of factor VIIIc have been suggested to be important in the pathogenesis of (recurrent) venous thromboembolism. The objective of this study was to assess the relevance of factor VIIIc plasma concentration in consecutive patients with venous thromboembolism. Method We studied the prevalence of elevated plasma levels of factor VIIIc in 65 patients with a proven single episode and in 60 matched patients with documented recurrent venous thromboembolism. The reference group consisted of 60 ageand sex-matched patients who were referred for suspected venous thromboembolism, which was refuted by objective testing and longterm clinical follow-up. To minimalize the influence of the acute phase, blood was obtained at least 6 months after the thromboembolic event and results were adjusted for fibrinogen and C-reactive protein. Factor VIIIc was re-determined several years after the first measurement in a subset of patients to evaluate the variability over time. To study a possible genetic cause, a family study was done. Findings In the control, single and recurrent episode group, the prevalences of plasma levels of factor VIIIc above 175 IU/dl (90th percentile of controls) were 10% (95% CI: 4 to 21%), 19% (95% CI: 10 to 30%) and 33% (95% CI: 22 to 47%), respectively. For each 10 IU/dl increment of factor VIIIc, the risk for a single and recurrent episode of venous thrombosis increased by 10% (95% CI: 0.9 to 21%) and 24% (95% CI: 11 to 38%), respectively. Both low and high plasma levels of factor VIIIc were consistent over time (R = 0.80, p = 0.01). A family study indicated a high concordance for elevated factor VIIIc plasma concentrations among first degree family members. Adjustment for fibrinogen, C-reactive protein and known thrombophilic risk factors did not change the observed association of elevated factor VIIIc with thrombosis. Interpretation Elevated plasma levels of factor VIIIc are a significant, prevalent, independent and dose-dependent risk factor for venous thromboembolism. It also predisposes to recurrent venous thromboembolism.
Heterogeneous and Homogeneous Robot Group Behavior

When working with groups of robots it may be very difficult to determine what characteristics the group requires in order to perform a task most efficiently-i.e., in the least time. Some researchers have used groups of behaviorally differentiated robots-where the robots do not perform the same actions-and others have used behaviorally homogeneous groups. None of this research, however, explicitly compares the behavior of heterogeneous and homogeneous groups of robots to determine which performs a task more efficiently. The research described here makes such a comparison and aims at developing guidelines to aid in the design of the heterogeneous/homogeneous characteristics that will allow a group of robots to perform a task efficiently. There are a number of issues that arise when one tries to define the homogeneous/heterogeneous nature of a group. These issues are mentioned in (Brooks 1991): Individuality and Cooperation: Individuality deals with how the behaviors of the various classes of robots differ and how many classes of robots there are, while cooperation deals with how these classes interact. Interference and Density Dependence: Any time more than one robot is present in a system there is the possibility that one will interfere with the actions of another. It is important to determine how many robots of each class, and how many total, produce the most efficient solution. Communication: Communication may be used to help coordinate the actions of individual robots or the classes they belong to. It can therefore impact all of the previous issues. Our research begins to explore some of these issues by implementing a hoarding task. The task requires the robots to search an 11 by 14 foot enclosure for pucks (small metal cylinders), collect them and bring them to a particular corner designated as Home (see figures). For this experiment we use four identical IS Robotics R2e robots. One experiment is with a homogeneous group. All of the robots are behaviorally identical (i.e. they belong to the same class) and there is no explicit communication between them. Each robot searches for pucks
Development of a mobile robot moving on a handrail —Control for preceding a person keeping a distance

In this paper, we propose a unique robot that moves on a handrail installed at corridors of buildings like hospitals. The robot guides the guests of the building. Because it moves on the handrail along the corridor, it naturally moves along the corridor without conflicting other people and needs less cost for estimating its position compared with human-sized mobile robots. We propose a method to control this robot so that it precedes a few steps before the person to be guided. We examine two methods: one is a method to keep a fixed distance from the person, and the other one is a method where the robot keeps moving slowly even when the robot and the person is distant. From the experiment, the latter method was more efficient than the former method.
Contributions of the classical and alternate complement pathways to the biological effects of endotoxin.

The interactions of endotoxin with sera from normal guinea pigs and sera from C4-deficient (C4D) guinea pigs that had a complete block in function of the classical complement sequence were examined. Endotoxin fixed the late components of complement (C3-C9) in both normal and C4D sera, demonstrating the existence of an alternate pathway that bypasses the early components of complement. Activation of the alternate pathway generates normal quantities of chemotactic factors, and the kinetics of chemotactic-factor generation is normal. The alternate pathway can opsonize bacteria and mediate the bactericidal reaction, although a difference in kinetics was observed. However, injection of endotoxin into normal and C4D animals revealed that activation of the classical pathway was an absolute requirement for thrombocytopenia and for induction of the hypercoagulable state.
An Analysis of Link Adaptation Algorithm based On Link Quality Metrics for IEEE 802.16 Systems

The combination of multiple antennas and multicarrier code division multiple access (MC-CDMA) is a strong candidate for the downlink of future mobile communications. The study of such systems, in scenarios that model real-life transmissions is an additional step towards an optimised achievement. Channel estimation is employed to improve its performance by characterising the channel. In this paper turbo aided iterative channel estimation (ICE) technique is proposed for orthogonal space-time block coded (STBC) MC-CDMA systems with multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) channel in the downlink. Simulations with a realistic outdoor MIMO channel model, over a wide range of data rates shows that turbo aided ICE outperforms ICE.
CFD Simulation of Supercritical Flow and Heat Transfer in a Three Rod Wire Wrapped Bundle

This paper presents the results from an ongoing effort for assessing the CFD capability in simulating supercritical fluid flows in rod bundles. In the present study, a test from three-rod wire wrapped bundle experiment performed at University of Ottawa using CO2 at 8.6 MPa was simulated using CFD. Five turbulence models were compared to assess their capability in predicting the sheath temperature variation along the length of the heated bundle. The mesh refinement was performed to minimize the effect of mesh sizes on the CFD predicted results. Using a correct mesh size and an appropriate turbulence model, the CFD model was then assessed against measurements. The CFD model used in this study correctly predicted the experimental trends of sheath temperature variation along the heated length of the bundle. However, the exact degree of temperature increase was under predicted by up to 15 C.
Transventricular Impedance During Fibrillation

Transventricular impedance during fibrillation was measured with two methods: 1) by injecting a low constant sinusoidal current (obtaining a Z value), and 2) by using the time constant of an exponential defibrillatory discharge (giving an R value). One group of eight dols (Group 300) was normothermic and another group of 14 dogs (Group 400) was hypothermic. The left anterior descending coronary artery was ligated in both groups. For Group 300 (values in ohms), Z = 29.5 (SD 5.1), R = 30.9 (SD 4.7). The paired t-test gave a statistically significant difference (p 0.1 percent). For Group 400, Z = 34.5 (SD 7.3); R = 33.8 (SD 5.8), also with a significant difference, but at a lower level (p 5 percent). Nonetheless, from the practical point of view of calculating the voltage to be applied after establishing an adequate dose current, they (the differences) do not seem to have any important quantitative weight, supporting method 1 (for its easiness) to estimate transventricular impedance in this particular application.
Three-Dimensional Measurement of Intervertebral Kinematics in Vitro Using Optical Motion Analysis

Abstract Measurement of the stiffness of spinal motion segments is widely used for evaluating the stability of spinal implant constructs. A three-dimensional motion analysis technique has been developed that allows accurate measurement of the relative movement of the vertebral bodies about a well-defined anatomical axis system. The position of marker clusters on each vertebra is tracked using digital infrared cameras (Qualisys AB, Gothenburg). Landmarks are identified using a marked pointer, and an anatomical coordinate system is defined for each vertebra. The transformation relating the upper and lower vertebrae is calculated, using the joint coordinate system approach of Grood and Suntay to find the rotations and translations in each anatomical plane. The stiffness of vertebrectomy constructs was investigated using a Synex vertebral body replacement and an anterior rod with one or two screws in each vertebral body, with or without damage to the posterior longitudinal ligament (PLL). A moment of 2 N m was applied about each anatomical axis, and the range of motion about each axis was calculated. The range of motion in flexion-extension and lateral bending was significantly greater with only one screw. When the PLL was cut, there was no significant increase in the range of motion.