Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Complex Video Scene Analysis Using Kernelized-Collaborative Behavior Pattern Learning Based on Hierarchical Representative Object Behaviors

This paper considers an unsupervised learning algorithm that can automatically discover key behavior patterns to characterize a complex video scene. For behavior features (bFs) extracted at multiple spatial-temporal scales, an optimization problem is formulated to cluster bFs in their scales while establishing a collaborative nonlinear relationship in the form of a kernel regression function among clustered bFs across different spatial scales. The relationship allows features extracted in one scale to be considered as contextual information in the analysis of another scale. This optimization problem is solved using linear programming to reduce computational complexity. The proposed algorithm is evaluated on four crowded traffic scenes and two sports video data sets. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm achieves a better performance compared with the current state-of-the-art algorithms in terms of video segmentation accuracy.
Screening of GABRB3 in French‐Canadian families with idiopathic generalized epilepsy

Mutations in the GABRB3 have been recently associated with childhood absence epilepsy (CAE) in families from Honduras and Mexico. In this study, we aimed to determine the frequency of mutation in this gene in our cohort of families with CAE and other related idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE) syndromes. We screened the open reading frame of GABRB3 in 183 French‐Canadian individuals with IGE, including 88 with CAE. A total of nine single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been identified, five of which are novel. The previously described P11S missense mutation was found in three affected and one unaffected individuals from a French‐Canadian family. However, the P11S variant was also found in one of our 190 control individuals of French‐Canadian origin, suggesting that this variant is rather a rare polymorphism in this population. Further screening of other IGE cohorts from various ethnic origins would help to confirm the association between this rare functional variant and epilepsy.
A Cluster RCT to Reduce Workers’ Sitting Time: Impact on Cardiometabolic Biomarkers

Purpose To evaluate the initial and long-term impacts on cardiometabolic health indicators of the Stand Up Victoria intervention—a 12-month, multicomponent workplace-delivered intervention that successfully reduced overall sitting time, primarily by increasing standing time. Methods Office worksites (≥1 km apart) from a single organization were cluster randomized to intervention (n = 7) or control (n = 7). Participants were 136 intervention and 95 control desk-based workers (5–39 per worksite; 68% women; mean ± SD age = 45.6 ± 9.4 yr). Outcomes, assessed at baseline (0 months), 3, and 12 months, were 14 individual biomarkers of body composition, blood pressure, glucose metabolism, lipid metabolism, and a composite overall cardiometabolic risk score. Intervention effects were assessed by linear mixed models, accounting for repeated measures and clustering, baseline values, and potential confounders. Missing data were multiply imputed. Significance was set at P < 0.05, two-tailed. Results No significant intervention effects were observed at 3 months. Significant effects, favoring intervention, were observed at 12 months for fasting glucose (−0.34; 95% confidence interval [CI], −0.65 to −0.03; P = 0.028 mmol·L−1) and the overall cardiometabolic risk score (−0.11, 95% CI, −0.29 to −0.00; P = 0.046). Other intervention effects were typically weakly in favor of the intervention group, but were nonsignificant and estimated with wide CI. Conclusions In “healthy” workers (not selected as having any specific health condition), a workplace intervention showed a small benefit for improving biomarkers of cardiometabolic risk, but only with 12 months of intervention and not for all biomarkers. Long-term facilitation of movement and standing at work may be a useful approach to reducing cardiovascular disease risk in the working population. The potential benefits for workers at high risk for cardiovascular disease (e.g., with diabetes) may be even greater and merit investigation.
Evaluation of alkaline phosphatase-labelled ipaH probe for diagnosis of Shigella infections

The presence of many enteropathogens which are not easily detectable by routine stool culture has led to the development of alternative diagnostic methods. One of these techniques, nucleic acid probe hybridization, has been used to identify Shigella spp. and enteroinvasive Escherichia coli (EIEC) in stool specimens through the detection of genetic material encoded by a specific large approximately 200-kbp virulence-related plasmid. In the present study, an alkaline phosphatase-labelled oligonucleotide probe developed to detect the gene for ipaH, a repetitive genetic sequence thought to be present on both the virulence-related plasmid and the chromosomes of all strains of Shigella and EIEC, was tested in a developing-country setting through a prospective clinical trial. In a group of 219 Peruvian adults and children with acute gastroenteritis, the ipaH probe detected 85% of cases of shigellosis and demonstrated a specificity of 95% when compared with simultaneous detection by several stool culture techniques. Additionally, three cases of EIEC infection which could not be diagnosed by culture methods alone were detected with the ipaH probe and were confirmed by plasmid analysis and Sereny testing. These preliminary results suggest that, with further research, the ipaH probe should prove to be a useful and rapid adjunct in the diagnosis of acute gastroenteritis in developing countries.
Transfer and Evaluation of an Automated, Low-Cost Real-Time Reverse Transcription-PCR Test for Diagnosis and Monitoring of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Infection in a West African Resource-Limited Setting

ABSTRACT There is an urgent need for low-cost human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) viral load (VL) monitoring technologies in resource-limited settings. An automated TaqMan real-time reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) assay was transferred to the laboratory of the Centre de Diagnostic et de Recherches sur le SIDA, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, and assessed for HIV-1 RNA VL testing in 806 plasma samples collected within four ANRS research programs. The detection threshold and reproducibility of the assay were first determined. The quantitative results obtained with this assay were compared with two commercial HIV-1 RNA kits (the Versant version 3.0 and Monitor version 1.5 assays) in specimens harboring mainly the circulating recombinant form 02 strain (CRF02). The clinical evaluation of this test was done in different situations including the early diagnosis of pediatric infection and the monitoring of antiretroviral-treated patients. The quantification limit of our method was 300 copies/ml. The HIV-1 RNA values obtained by real-time PCR assay were highly correlated with those obtained by the Versant kit (r = 0.901; P < 0.001) and the Monitor test (r = 0.856; P < 0.001) and homogeneously distributed according to HIV-1 genotypes. For the early diagnosis of pediatric HIV-1 infection, the sensitivity and specificity of the real-time PCR assay were both 100% (95% confidence intervals of 93.7 to 100.0 and 98.3 to 100.0, respectively), compared to the Versant results. Following initiation of antiretroviral treatment, the kinetics of HIV-1 RNA levels were very comparable, with a similar proportion of adults and children below the detection limit during follow-up with our technique and the Versant assay. The TaqMan real-time PCR ($12 per test) is now routinely used to monitor HIV-1 infection in our laboratory. This technology should be further evaluated in limited-resource countries where strains other than CRF02 are prevalent.
Is Foreign Exchange Intervention Effective?: The Japanese Experiences in the 1990s

This paper examines Japanese foreign exchanges interventions from April 1991 to March 2001 based on newly disclosed official data. All the yen-selling (dollar-purchasing) interventions were carried out when the yen/dollar rate was below 125, while all the yen-purchasing (dollar-selling) interventions were carried out when the yen/dollar was above 125. The Japanese monetary authorities, by buying the dollar low and selling it high, have produced large profits, in terms of realized capital gains, unrealized capital gains, and carrying (interest rate differential) profits, from interventions during the ten years. Profits amounted to 9 trillion yen (2% of GDP) in 10 years. Interventions are found to be effective in the second half of the 1990s, when daily yen/dollar exchange rate changes were regressed on various factors including interventions. The US interventions in the 1990s were always accompanied by the Japanese interventions. The joint interventions were found to be 20-50 times more effective than the Japanese unilateral interventions. Japanese interventions were found to be prompted by rapid changes in the yen/dollar rate and the deviation from the long-run mean (say, 125 yen). The interventions in the second half were less predictable than the first half.
Hippocampal Subfield Atrophy in Multi-Domain but Not Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment

Background/Aims: To investigate differences in hippocampal (HP) subfields and the adjoining perirhinal and entorhinal cortices (PRC and ERC) between amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and multi-domain amnestic MCI (mdMCI) patients, and controls. Methods: Nineteen patients characterized as aMCI were compared with 24 mdMCI patients and 31 controls by means of an automatic HP segmentation procedure. Results: We found significant atrophy of the PRC and ERC in aMCI relative to controls, whereas a more pronounced pattern of atrophy in most subfields, including total HP volume, was found in the mdMCI group. The mdMCI group also had a significant cornu ammonis sector 4 region with dentate gyrus, subiculum and total HP atrophy relative to aMCI. Conclusion: The aMCI group showed atrophy in the PRC and ERC, whereas significantly more affection of the HP subfields was evident in mdMCI. The mdMCI group may thus represent clinical progression relative to aMCI coupled with HP subfield affection.
Implementation of fracture liaison service in a New Zealand public hospital: Waitemata district health board experience.

AIM To analyse the performance of a Fracture Liaison Service (FLS) at Waitemata District Health Board (WDHB), and to detail how systematic secondary fracture prevention can be delivered in a secondary healthcare setting in New Zealand. METHOD Clinical details of patients supervised by the WDHB FLS during the calendar year 2014 were reviewed and analysed. Additional information including treatment compliance and re-fracture rates were sought a year after initial intervention. RESULTS During the 12-month period, 301 patients with fragility fracture were seen by the WDHB FLS. All patients had clinical and laboratory assessment, one-to-one education by the FLS co-ordinator. One hundred and twenty-one patients had dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) performed. One hundred and thirty-four of 226 treatment naive patients were started or recommended to be started on a bone protection therapy, bisphosphonate in almost all cases, and another 25 of 75 patients had adjustment made to their current therapy. Of those who were started or continued on treatment, adherence rate was 70% at a mean follow-up of 12 months. CONCLUSION An effective secondary fracture prevention programme, such as a FLS, can be successfully implemented in a New Zealand district hospital setting.
Cellular anatomy, physiology and epileptiform activity in the CA3 region of Dcx knockout mice: a neuronal lamination defect and its consequences

We report data on the neuronal form, synaptic connectivity, neuronal excitability and epileptiform population activities generated by the hippocampus of animals with an inactivated doublecortin gene. The protein product of this gene affects neuronal migration during development. Human doublecortin (DCX) mutations are associated with lissencephaly, subcortical band heterotopia, and syndromes of intellectual disability and epilepsy. In Dcx−/Y mice, CA3 hippocampal pyramidal cells are abnormally laminated. The lamination defect was quantified by measuring the extent of the double, dispersed or single pyramidal cell layer in the CA3 region of Dcx−/Y mice. We investigated how this abnormal lamination affected two groups of synapses that normally innervate defined regions of the CA3 pyramidal cell membrane. Numbers of parvalbumin (PV)‐containing interneurons, which contact peri‐somatic sites, were not reduced in Dcx−/Y animals. Pyramidal cells in double, dispersed or single layers received PV‐containing terminals. Excitatory mossy fibres which normally target proximal CA3 pyramidal cell apical dendrites apparently contact CA3 cells of both layers in Dcx−/Y animals but sometimes on basilar rather than apical dendrites. The dendritic form of pyramidal cells in Dcx−/Y animals was altered and pyramidal cells of both layers were more excitable than their counterparts in wild‐type animals. Unitary inhibitory field events occurred at higher frequency in Dcx−/Y animals. These differences may contribute to a susceptibility to epileptiform activity: a modest increase in excitability induced both interictal and ictal‐like discharges more effectively in tissue from Dcx−/Y mice than from wild‐type animals.
Isolation and identification of α-amylase producing Bacillus sp. from dhal industry waste

A bacterial strain was isolated from dhal industry red gram waste and identified as Bacillus. A thermostable extracellular amylase was partially purified from the strain. Optimum temperature and pH for the enzyme were found to be 60 degrees C and 6.5, respectively. The maximum amylase production was achieved with maltose as carbon source. Among the nitrogen sources, peptone and yeast extract produced maximum amylase.
Processing of Viral DNA Ends Channels the HIV-1 Integration Reaction to Concerted Integration

Retroviral DNA made by reverse transcription is blunt-ended, and the viral integrase protein must remove two nucleotides from each 3′ end prior to integration into chromosomal DNA. Under most reaction conditions for integration in vitro, the majority of the reaction products are “half-site” products that result from integration of only one viral DNA end into one strand of the target DNA. Preprocessed DNA substrates are more efficient substrates for half-site reactions than are blunt-ended substrates, which require the removal of two nucleotides prior to integration. In contrast, we find that blunt-ended DNA is a better substrate for the biologically relevant reaction of concerted integration of pairs of viral DNA ends. The reaction pathway is channeled to concerted integration, and half-site integration products are reduced with blunt-ended DNA substrate that must first be processed by integrase. In addition, the terminal nucleotide requirements for concerted integration are more stringent than for the half-site reaction. Longer DNA is more efficient for the concerted reaction than is shorter DNA that is capable of efficient half-site integration. This suggests that nonspecific interactions of integrase with viral DNA distant from the termini contribute to the assembly of a complex that is competent for concerted integration. Finally, differential effects of mutation of a residue in the C-terminal domain of integrase on concerted versus half-site integration implicate protein-protein interactions involving this domain as important for concerted integration.
Resource Scarcity and the Reform Model: The Management of Retrenchment in Cincinnati and Oakland

The pluralist model of urban politics implicitly assumes expanding resources. In pluralist systems, resource expansion builds security and optimism about the future so that interest groups can bargain over increments without fear that their established expenditure base will be threatened. Growth in resources allows political maneuvering and bargaining to take place within the bonds of civility and provides politicians with the rewards necessary to integrate new groups into the political system, thereby promoting political stability. In contrast, resource decline endangers the viability of pluralist systems. ' When public officials lose the slack resources necessary to maintain bargaining among established coalitions or to satisfy the demands of new interest groups, the probability increases that the political system will slide into a period of helpless indecision marked by episodes of intense conflict. Unless there is some local solution to the dual problems of resource decline and political fragmentation the troubled jurisdiction will likely experience a period of recentralization of power in external authorities and a loss of local autonomy. The pattern in which financial problems have created political crisis has been well documented in some of the most highly publicized cases of urban fiscal crisis.2 In these extreme cases elected officials have been unable to cut back expenditures due to the unyielding demands of interest groups and the fragmenting of authority. Instead of cutting back officials have been forced to deny the severity of their cities' financial problems, engage in excessive short-term borrowing, and hide deficits while hoping for an early increase in revenues. Despite their hopes, revenues have continued to decline while deficits have increased, causing severe cash flow problems, default on bonds or notes,
Effects of iron chlorosis and iron resupply on leaf xylem architecture, water relations, gas exchange and stomatal performance of field-grown peach (Prunus persica).

There is increasing evidence suggesting that iron (Fe) deficiency induces not only leaf chlorosis and a decline of photosynthesis, but also structural changes in leaf morphology, which might affect the functionality of leaves. In this study, we investigated the effects of Fe deficiency on the water relations of peach (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch. ) leaves and the responses of previously chlorotic leaves to Fe resupply via the root or the leaf. Iron deficiency induced a decline of maximum potential photosystem II (PSII) efficiency (F(V)/F(M)), of rates of net photosynthesis and transpiration and of water use efficiency. Iron chlorosis was associated with a reduction of leaf xylem vessel size and of leaf hydraulic conductance. In the course of the day, water potentials in chlorotic leaves remained higher (less negative) than in green leaves. In chlorotic leaves, normal stomatal functioning was disturbed, as evidenced by the lack of opening upon withdrawal of external CO(2) and stomatal closure after sudden illumination of previously darkened leaves. We conclude that the Fe deficiency induced limitations of xylem conductivity elicited a water saving strategy, which poses an additional challenge to plant growth on high pH, calcareous soils. Fertilisation with Fe improved photosynthetic performance but the proper xylem structure and water relations of leaves were not fully restored, indicating that Fe must be available at the first stages of leaf growth and development.
Development and mechanical characterization of solvent-cast polymeric films as potential drug delivery systems to mucosal surfaces

Solvent-cast films from three polymers, carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), sodium alginate (SA), and xanthan gum, were prepared by drying the polymeric gels in air. Three methods, (a) passive hydration, (b) vortex hydration with heating, and (c) cold hydration, were investigated to determine the most effective means of preparing gels for each of the three polymers. Different drying conditions [relative humidity – RH (6–52%) and temperature (3–45°C)] were investigated to determine the effect of drying rate on the films prepared by drying the polymeric gels. The tensile properties of the CMC films were determined by stretching dumbbell-shaped films to breaking point, using a Texture Analyser. Glycerol was used as a plasticizer, and its effects on the drying rate, physical appearance, and tensile properties of the resulting films were investigated. Vortex hydration with heating was the method of choice for preparing gels of SA and CMC, and cold hydration for xanthan gels. Drying rates increased with low glycerol content, high temperature, and low relative humidity. The residual water content of the films increased with increasing glycerol content and high relative humidity and decreased at higher temperatures. Generally, temperature affected the drying rate to a greater extent than relative humidity. Glycerol significantly affected the toughness (increased) and rigidity (decreased) of CMC films. CMC films prepared at 45°C and 6% RH produced suitable films at the fastest rate while films containing equal quantities of glycerol and CMC possessed an ideal balance between flexibility and rigidity.
On the Barriers and Measures to the Transformation of S&T Achievements in High Institution

According to the investigation about the S.T achievements transformation in universities and colleges ,made by others ,it points out 4 barriers in the transformation of ST achievements universities' supplying enterprises' requirements,running mechanism and ST system. On the basis of the analysis, and suggests 3 measures to deal with th barriers : fully cooperation beteen universities and enterprises ,vigorous support of the government effective market participation.
Living with aortic stenosis: A phenomenological study of patients' experiences and subsequent health choices

Symptomatic aortic stenosis (AS) is an increasing phenomenon as more adults live longer. The gold standard for treating AS is surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR). Frequently, as older individuals with AS often have multiple comorbidities, a SAVR is determined to be too high risk. Therefore, a less invasive treatment option is available, namely a transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) or transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Such biomedical procedures have encouraged life extension and the decision to intervene commonplace with the aging population. Without an intervention, significant debilitating symptoms affect a person’s quality of life (QoL). Multiple quantitative studies evaluating QoL before and after a TAVI have been performed. However QoL has multiple attributes and is not a single construct. By limiting practice to these defined QoL measures, we exclude the human experience and what values individuals describe as important to them. The dilemma in the present medical model is influenced by two paradigms, evidence based medicine and patient centered medicine. Some people opt not to have a TAVI. This study aims to understand what it is like living with aortic stenosis as perceived by the participant and to gain a more meaningful understanding of why some individuals with AS choose not to have this procedure performed. Using a convenience sample of patients who declined a TAVI, a telephone interview with the person focused on their perceived QoL and the implications determining not to pursue a TAVI. In this qualitative phenomenological design, openended questions included: 1) What is it like to live with Aortic Stenosis. 2) Why did you choose not to have the TAVI? Interviews will explore emerging themes. Advanced practice nurses are in ideal positions for performing research to gain greater insight on the complexity of people’s health choices. As the incidence of AS occurs more frequently in the increasing aged population, TAVI offers a treatment option for those patients who are symptomatic with AS and are not surgical candidates. However, health care providers should focus on the illness, not the disease, and explore the patients’ biopsychosocial values with their medical needs. The information gathered in this study will help guide heath care providers with offering holistic health care incorporating both paradigms of evidence based practice and patient centered medicine options on treatment for people with symptomatic AS.