Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Colour imaging using a scanning laser ophthalmoscope

New imaging techniques have opened up new possibilities for visualising the living human eye and can provide quantitative measurements of fundus features. One of the most important developments has been based on the scanning laser ophthalmoscope (SLO) which has the property of providing optical sections through the use of confocal optics.1 2 This can reveal three dimensional aspects of structures which would otherwise be invisible owing to the contrast degrading effects of overlying elements. The confocal SLO has had a major impact on research in ophthalmology and continues to break new ground in advancing the limits of seeing and measuring properties of the eye. The first widely used SLO was the Rodenstock device which provided facilities for confocal imaging, fluorescein and indocyanine green angiography, and psychophysical measurements such as microperimetry. These used a variety of lasers of different wavelengths to give real time video images. In comparison with photographic techniques, the spatial resolution of video images is inherently lower. This is because the horizontal scan lines which make up the image are limited to approximately 600 compared with the equivalent of 4000 or more for photographs. The mechanical limitations of the spinning …
Direct thrombin inhibitors

This review deals with a newly-developed category of antithrombotic drugs – the direct thrombin inhibitors. These agents interact with thrombin and block its catalytic activity on fibrinogen, platelets and other substrates. Heparin and its derivatives (low molecular weight heparins and the active pentasaccharide) inhibit thrombin and/or other coagulation serine proteases indirectly via antithrombin, and the warfarin-type drugs interfere with the synthesis of the precursors of the coagulation serine proteases. The direct thrombin inhibitors approved for clinical use at present (lepirudin, desirudin, bivalirudin, argatroban) and another in the advanced clinical testing stage (melagatran/ximelagatran), are the subject of this review. The chemical structure; kinetics of thrombin inhibition; pharmacokinetics and clinical use of each of these is discussed.
Uses of Aerial Photographs in Archaeological Field Work

Aerial photographs have been widely adopted in geology, physical geography, agriculture, soil conservation, and forestry, but it is surprising to find how rarely they have been thoroughly exploited in archaeology. This may be due to the fact that most of the literature dealing with the subject of aerial photographs and their uses has been directed to other fields, with very little appearing in archaeological literature. Possibly the earliest use of aerial photographs in archaeology is discussed in Crawford's Wessex from the Air (1928), while Reeves's “Aerial Photography and Archaeology” (1936), was probably the first work directed specifically to the American archaeologist. Both works deal more with locating sites from the air and taking aerial pictures of them than with aspects of mapping from aerial photographs or their use in reconnaissance work.
In silico Prediction of MicroRNAs in Plant Mitochondria

MicroRNAs are endogenous, short (~21 base), non-coding, post transcriptional, regulatory RNA molecules. These microRNAs (miRNAs) are complementary to their target messenger RNAs, and bind principally to its 3' UTR. The conserved nature of miRNAs, and their high sequence complementarities of miRNA and its targets in plants, provides the basis for the easy identification of miRNA and its targets. Presence of miRNA in plant mitochondria is scantily studied. Identification of miRNA targets in plant mitochondria might indicate the involvement of miRNA in mitochondrial gene regulation and nuclear mitochondrial interactions. In this study, we used a computational approach to predict miRNA targets in plant mitochondria. The mitochondrial gene targets identified for miRNAs are located both in mitochondrial and nuclear compartments. This observation points to a fairly early origin of miRNAs. Besides, most of the targets identified can have copies in two compartments and suggest the possibility of miRNA mediated regulation. This study unfurls the possibility of regulating the plant mitochondrial genes by amending the miRNA genes in the nuclear compartment.
Infrared imaging spectroscopy of Mars : H 2 O mapping and determinatio of CO 2 isotopic ratios

High-resolution infrared imaging spectroscopy of Mars has been achieved at the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) on 21, 2003, using the Texas Echelon Cross Echelle Spectrograph (TEXES). The areocentric longitude was 206 ◦. Following the detection and mapping of hydrogen peroxide H 2O2 [Encrenaz et al., 2004. Icarus 170, 424–429], we have derived, using the same data set, a m water vapor abundance. The results appear in good overall agreement with the TES results and with the predictions of the Global Model (GCM) developed at the Laboratory of Dynamical Meteorology (LMD), with a maximum abundance of water vapor of 3 ±1.5×10−4 (17± 9 pr-μm). We have searched for CH 4 over the martian disk, but were unable to detect it. Our upper limits are consistent with e reports on the methane abundance on Mars. Finally, we have obtained new measurements of CO 2 is topic ratios in Mars. As compared the terrestrial values, these values are: ( 18O/17O)[M/E] = 1.03± 0.09; (13C/12C)[M/E] = 1.00± 0.11. In conclusion, in contrast with th analysis of Krasnopolsky et al. [1996. Icarus 124, 553–568], we conclude that the derived martian isotopic ratios do not show evid departure from their terrestrial values.  2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Aspartame use in Parkinson's disease

The artificial sweetener aspartame (Nutra Sweet) is hydrolyzed in the gut as phenylalanine (PA), a large neutral amino acid (LNAA). LNAAs compete with levodopa for uptake into the brain. To determine the effect of aspartame on levodopa-treated Parkinson's disease (PD) patients, we studied 18 PD patients with protein-sensitive motor fluctuations by administering in a double-blind and single-crossover design, on alternate days, aspartame (600 or 1,200 mg) and placebo. Every hour, we performed a motor examination and drew blood to estimate plasma LNAA, PA, and levodopa levels. Six-hundred mg of aspartame had no effect on plasma PA or motor status. Although 1,200 mg of aspartame significantly increased plasma PA, motor performance did not deteriorate. Aspartame consumption in amounts well in excess of what would be consumed by heavy users of aspartame-sweetened products has no adverse effect on PD patients.
Onset of Surface-Tension-Driven Bénard Convection.

Experiments with shadowgraph visualization reveal a subcritical transition to a hexagonal convection pattern in thin liquid layers that have a free upper surface and are heated from below. The measured critical Marangoni number (84) and observation of hysteresis ( $3%$) agree with theory. In some experiments, imperfect bifurcation is observed and is attributed to deterministic forcing caused in part by the lateral boundaries in the experiment.
How long is a piece of string? An exploration of multi-winner approval voting and ballot-length restrictions

Multi-winner approval elections are seen in a variety of settings ranging from academic societies and associations to public elections. In such elections, it is often the case that ballot-length restrictions are enforced; that is, where voters have a limit on the number of candidates which they can vote for. Despite this common feature, there does not seem to be any theoretical justification for ballot-length restrictions (Laslier and Van der Straeten, 2016). This work endogenously derives the set of voter best-response ballot lengths under complete information and with general assumptions on voter utilities and voting rules. These results provide justification for some ballot-length restrictions observed in practice, however when considering equilibrium outcomes our analysis shows that this justification is no longer valid. Equilibrium analysis is considered for voters with lazy and truth-bias second-order tendencies and the equilibrium solution concept is pure-Nash equilibria. The key insights show that ballot-length restrictions or institutional features which make voting costly may lead to instability in election outcomes when voters have diverse preferences, via the non-existence of equilibria. On the other hand, when equilibria do exist they satisfy desirable properties which are not guaranteed by equilibria attained under costless voting and in the absence of ballot-length restrictions. In summary our results highlight a stark trade-off between stable and desirable election outcomes.
A study on power flow control for distributed generator with EDLC

Power flow control for the distributed generator (DG) with Electric Double Layer Capacitor (EDLC) is studied. The DG system consists of a voltage type inverter for connection to the AC-line and a two-quadrant DC chopper for connection to the DC-bus. The inverter and the DC chopper can be controlled cooperatively to regulate active power flow. The active power from DG to AC line is regulated by the control method. And considering the power flow in DC-bus, the EDLC current is regulated to obtain proper balance of the power and DC-bus voltage by the control method. The control theory and considerations of effectiveness of the proposed control method in simulation are presented.
Furthering the link between the sarcomere and primary cardiomyopathies: Restrictive cardiomyopathy associated with multiple mutations in genes previously associated with hypertrophic or dilated cardiomyopathy

Mutations in genes that encode components of the sarcomere are well established as the cause of hypertrophic and dilated cardiomyopathies. Sarcomere genes, however, are increasingly being associated with other cardiomyopathies. One phenotype more recently recognized as a disease of the sarcomere is restrictive cardiomyopathy (RCM). We report on two patients with RCM associated with multiple mutations in sarcomere genes not previously associated with RCM. Patient 1 presented with NYHA Class III/IV heart failure at 22 years of age. She was diagnosed with RCM and advanced heart failure requiring heart transplantation. Sequencing of sarcomere genes revealed previously reported homozygous p.Glu143Lys mutations in MYL3, and a novel heterozygous p.Gly57Glu mutation in MYL2. The patient's mother is a double heterozygote for these mutations, with no evidence of cardiomyopathy. Patient 2 presented at 35 years of age with volume overload while hospitalized for oophorectomy. She was diagnosed with RCM and is being evaluated for heart transplantation. Sarcomere gene sequencing identified homozygous p.Asn279His mutations in TPM1. The patient's parents are consanguineous and confirmed heterozygotes. Her father was diagnosed with HCM at 42 years of age. This is the first report of mutations in TPM1, MYL3, and MYL2 associated with primary, non‐hypertrophied RCM. The association of more sarcomere genes with RCM provides further evidence that mutations in the various sarcomere genes can cause different cardiomyopathy phenotypes. These cases also contribute to the growing body of evidence that multiple mutations have an additive effect on the severity of cardiomyopathies. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The value of hypertonic mannitol solution in decreasing brain mass and lowering cerebro-spinal-fluid pressure.

T HE value of a chemical or pharmacological agent that temporarily would lower cerebrospinal-fluid pressure and decrease the mass of the brain is apparent to neurosurgeons. Since Weed and 1VfcKibben 4e,47 demonstrated that various hypertonic solutions could accomplish these effects, many agents have been tested. 6,14,17,22,29,45,49,55 Each of these substances has been found to have certain disadvantages or toxic effects. The use of hypertonic urea for these purposes originally was proposed by FremontSmith and Forbes, 15 and Wolff and Forbes, 64 and was restudied by Fremont-Smith eta/. , ~3 Smythe et a/. , 39 and Javid and Settlage. ~5 This material was difficult to prepare for sterile intravenous injection, but when lyophilized urea and invert sugar became available it found wide acceptance. ~4,42,44 While hypertonic urea frequently is effective in lowering cerebrospinal-fluid pressure and decreasing the mass of the brain, there are certain theoretical and practical objections to its use. Urea is distributed throughout total body water, n.4~ although it does equilibrate relatively slowly with brain water and cerebrospinal fluid, s.33 Thus, unless the urea administered were excreted fairly rapidly, one would expect dissipation of its osmotic gradient as equilibration of urea with brain water and cerebrospinal fluid
Evaluation of Alternative Killing Agents for Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) in the Gravid Aedes Trap (GAT)

Abstract The Gravid Aedes Trap (GAT) uses visual and olfactory cues to attract gravid Aedes aegypti (L.) that are then captured when knocked down by a residual pyrethroid surface spray. However, the use of surface sprays can be compromised by poor availability of the spray and pesticide resistance in the target mosquito. We investigated several “alternative” insecticide and insecticide-free killing agents for use in the GAT. This included long-lasting insecticide-impregnated nets (LLINs), vapor-active synthetic pyrethroids (metofluthrin), canola oil, and two types of dry adhesive sticky card. During bench top assays LLINs, metofluthrin, and dry sticky cards had 24-h knockdown (KD) percentages >80% (91.2 ± 7.2%, 84.2 ± 6.8%, and 83.4 ± 6.1%, respectively), whereas the 24-h KD for canola oil was 70 ± 7.7%, which improved to 90.0 ± 3.7% over 48h. Importantly, there were no significant differences in the number of Ae. aegypti collected per week or the number of traps positive for Ae. aegypti between the sticky card and canola oil treatments compared with the surface spray and LLIN treatments in semifield and field trials. These results demonstrate that the use of inexpensive and widely available insecticide-free agents such as those described in this study are effective alternatives to pyrethroids in regions with insecticide-resistant populations. The use of such environmentally friendly insecticide-free alternatives will also be attractive in areas where there is substantial resistance to insecticide use due to environmental and public health concerns.
Increased prevalence of imprinting defects in patients with Angelman syndrome born to subfertile couples

Recent case reports have suggested that infertility treatment with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) may increase the risk of imprinting defects leading to Angelman syndrome (AS). Although imprinting defects account for only 4% of patients with AS, we have found four cases among 16 AS patients born to subfertile couples, who conceived with or without infertility treatment (25%; relative risk (RR) 6.25; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.68 to 16.00). The risk in untreated couples with time to pregnancy (TTP) exceeding 2 years was identical to that of those treated by ICSI or by hormonal stimulation alone (RR 6.25; 95% CI 0.70 to 22.57). It was twice as high in couples who had received treatment and also had TTP >2 years (RR 12.5; 95% CI 1.40 to 45.13). Our findings suggest that imprinting defects and subfertility may have a common cause, and that superovulation rather than ICSI may further increase the risk of conceiving a child with an imprinting defect.
New methodology for on-chip RF reliability assessment

This work presents a systematic approach to investigate transistor reliability at high frequencies with on-chip stress circuits. The problem of state-of-the art on-chip stress circuits is that the actual stress signal at the device cannot be verified by measurements. However, due to the exponential voltage dependency of transistor reliability mechanisms it is important to know the exact voltage of the generated stress signals. Therefore our RF reliability assessment methodology uses two test structures, one to generate AC stress signals on-chip and one to monitor these signals with an on-chip oscilloscope. The methodology is applied to study the frequency dependency of PBTI, NBTI and hot carrier degradation in a 28 nm high-k technology.
MLP-HMM two-stage unsupervised training for low-resource languages on conversational telephone speech recognition

This paper focuses on speech recognition applications where there is a limited amount of manually labelled training data in the target language, but plentiful unlabelled data. We investigate approaches based on unsupervised training: following the traditional method, we proposed a more effective and efficient data selection principle considering confidence scores as well as phone frequency. In addition, we transfer the HMM-based unsupervised training to MLP feature level at the first time, and obtain much more robust MLP-based features. Taking into account that HMM or MLP based unsupervised trainings are focused on model or feature level of speech recognition systems, we combined these two approaches finally, and proposed a more optimized strategy to get further improved unsupervised trained system in the low-resource applications. In our experiments, we get significant improvements of about 12% relative versus a conventional baseline in this low-resource scenario.
Registration technique for spatial curves based on multi-view reconstruction

A registration algorithm for spatial curves based on multi-view reconstruction is presented. Firstly the local segments of a spatial curve are reconstructed and fitted into Non-Uniform Rational B-Spline NURBS curves from multiple viewpoints. The intermediary planar targets are used to unify the local reconstruction coordinate systems. After determination of overlapping curves and corresponding points, all the local reconstructed spatial curves are registered in high precision. A reconstruction experiment towards a tube's central line is carried out on the proposed multi-view reconstruction system. The experiment's results show that the registration error of the proposed algorithm for spatial curves is 0.0273 mm.
Irritant thresholds in subjects withcolophony allergy

The factors which determine individual susceptibility to the development of allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) are not well defined. Since it is known that the presence of skin irritation is well‐documented as a promoter of sensitization, the sensitivity to irritation of subjects with ACD has been compared with a normal control group. Whilst 78% of those with a positive patch test reaction to the contact allergen colophony (colophonium) responded to a concentration of no higher than 2.5% sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), only 44% of the matched control group reacted at this level of SLS. Thus, the results are consistent with the hypothesis that individuals with enhanced susceptibility to skin irritation are also more liable to develop allergic skin reactivity.
Typing in Pure Type Systems

Abstract Pure Type Systems (also called Generalized Type Systems) describe the functional structure of typed systems. They were introduced by S. Berardi and J. Terlouw in order to give a uniform and simple approach to the theory of typed lambda calculi underlying these systems. Among the systems which fall under this concept are the systems in Barendregt′s cube, various AUTOMATH systems (if the mechanism of definitions is regarded as belonging to a meta-language), and some logical systems. In Pure Type Systems the typing of terms is governed by sets of axioms and rules, different sets of axioms and rules giving rise to different systems. In Geuvers and Nederhof (J. Funct. Programming1(2), 155-189 (1991)) it is shown that in a subclass, the class of functional systems, the type of a term is unique up to β-equivalence. In functional systems also a "thickening lemma" is proved, which we call "strengthening": If Γ 1 , x:A, Γ 2 ⊢b:B and x∉FV(Γ 2 )∪FV(b)∪FV(B) then Γ 1 Γ 2 ⊢b:B. Strengthening has been proved for the AUTOMATH systems by van Daalen and for the theory ECC by Luo. We analyse typing in non-functional systems. We show that, although the type of a term in such systems is not unique, the various possible types have a simple common structure. In fact if a term has types A and B which are not β-equivalent, then A≥Π x 1 :C 1 . Π x m :C m . s 1 and B≥Π x 1 :C 1 . Π x m :C m . s 2 where s 1 and s 2 and are sorts. As a consequence strengthening holds too, and we have also uniqueness of domains: If Γ ⊢a:Π x:A 1 . B 1 and Γ ⊢a:Π x:A 2 . B 2 then A 1 = β A 2 . Finally we prove decidability: if all terms in a Pure Type System normalize and the set of sorts of that system is finite then the typing relation is decidable.
Les relations de travail dans les caisses populaires: affrontement ou coopération?

Compte tenu de l'important conflit de travail que les caisses populaires de la region de Montreal ont connu en 1985, l'A. a voulu savoir si le climat des relations de travail etait encore caracterise par un esprit d'affrontement, ou si avait surgi un nouvel esprit de cooperation. Cet article presente les resultats d'une recherche menee a partir d'entrevues avec des representants de la direction et du personnel de 77 caisses populaires de la region de Montreal. Presumant que le climat de travail etait caracterise par l'affrontement au momment du conflit de 1985, les donnees recueillies laissent plutot entrevoir des conditions propices a l'instauration d'un climat axe sur la cooperation, ou du moins sur la paix industrielle
Social Support and Social Undermining as Correlates for Alcohol, Drug, and Mental Disorders in American Indian Women Presenting for Primary Care at an Indian Health Service Hospital

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship of two types of social support (emotional and instrumental) and two types of social undermining (critical appraisal and isolation) with five categories of alcohol, drug, or mental disorders (ADM; any mood, any anxiety, any substance abuse, any disorder, and two or more disorders) in 169 American Indian women presenting for primary care at an Indian Health Service facility. Social support and social undermining are often treated as opposite poles, but in fact they are distinct factors with independent effects. The findings illustrate that social support and undermining variables have a significant relationship with ADM outcomes even when controlling for confounding demographic variables. Any substance abuse was associated with all four social variables, while two or more disorders were associated with instrumental support and isolation. Any anxiety (isolation), any mood (critical appraisal), and any disorder (isolation) were each associated with one social variable. Overall, social undermining appears to have a stronger relationship with mental health than with social support.
A Trajectory Mixture Density Network Inversion Map

This paper proposes a trajectory model which is based on a mixture density network trained with target features augmented with dynamic features together with an algorithm for estimating maximum likelihood trajectories which respects constraints between the static and derived dynamic features. This model was evaluated on an inversion mapping task. We found the introduction of the trajectory model successfully reduced root mean square error by up to 7.5%, as well as increasing correlation scores.
Goal directed reactive robot navigation with relocation using laser and vision

This paper presents a method to perform a goal directed reactive navigation in unknown indoor environments. Two sensors cooperate to accomplish this task: trinocular vision and 3D laser rangefinder. Trinocular vision selects the initial goal location for the navigation task. Laser is used to accomplish a reactive navigation to avoid the obstacles and to periodically relocate the goal with respect to the robot, so the dead-reckoning drift is compensated. An extended Kalman filter is used to solve the data association problem and to perform the goal relocation while the robot navigates. Experimental results involving a real mobile robot are presented, validating the proposed method.