Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Key parameters of the swimming start and their relationship to start performance

Abstract The swimming start is typically broken into three sub-phases; on-block, flight, and underwater phases. While overall start performance is highly important to elite swimming, the contribution of each phase and important technical components within each phase, particularly with the new kick-start technique, has not been established. The aim of this study was to identify technical factors associated with overall start performance, with a particular focus on the underwater phase. A number of parameters were calculated from 52 starts performed by elite freestyle and butterfly swimmers. These parameters were split into above-water and underwater groupings, before factor analysis was used to reduce parameter numbers for multiple regression. For the above-water phases, 81% of variance in start performance was accounted for by take-off horizontal velocity. For the underwater water phase, 96% of variance was accounted for with time underwater in descent, time underwater in ascent and time to 10 m. Therefore, developing greater take-off horizontal velocity and focussing on the underwater phase by finding the ideal trajectory will lead to improved start performance.
Context Modeling for MRI Denoising in the Undecimated Wavelet Domain

In Magnetic Resonance Imaging(MRI), the acquired complex valued data obtained as the inverse Fourier transform of the raw k-space data are corrupted by Gaussian distributed noise. In this letter, we present an adaptive neighborhood selection algorithm by accounting for the spatial context information, calculated in the undecimated wavelet domain. A modified Wiener filter is approached by a novel bivariate thresholding, considering local signal variance by valid information from the selected neighborhood windows. In contrast to the previously proposed methods in the literature, our scheme can preserve edges more effectively while suppressing noise and artifacts; moreover, both the SNR and RAISE are improved obviously.
Consistency verification in transaction-based optimistic steering of distributed computations

We present an optimistic approach for consistent, interactive steering of distributed computations. In contrast to conservative approaches, the optimistic steering approach assumes that next steerable points are consistent and invokes steering updates without concern for the state of any other process. This approach is expected to perform well since it eliminates the need for blocking processes. Furthermore, we introduce a novel transaction-based computation model. We view the local computation of a process as a sequence of local transactions and a distributed computation as a set of partially ordered global transactions. This abstraction not only gives users a simple and high-level view of distributed computation, but also simplifies reasoning about consistency problems by reducing the amount of information to be handled. Using the Higher KdV (HiKdV) equation simulation program, we evaluate the performance of the optimistic steering approach. Our experiments show that when the percentages of consistency on the first attempt are large enough, the optimistic approach will achieve better performance; otherwise, the conservative approach will be better.
Temperature and desiccation effects on the antipredator behavior of Centruroides vittatus (Scorpiones: Buthidae)

Abstract Temperature can profoundly affect many physiological processes, including muscle performance. Many ectotherms appear sensitive to this relationship, choosing times and locations of activity permitting high body temperatures and, thus, quick escape from predators. High body temperatures, however, can lead to dehydration, which in turn affects muscle performance. Striped bark scorpions Centruroides vittatus Say 1821 provide an ideal model for assessing the effects of temperature and water loss on two potentially important antipredator behaviors, sprinting and stinging. Scorpions had significantly higher sprint speeds at warmer temperatures, with males significantly faster than females. Additionally, sting latency was longer and sting rate lower when scorpions were cooler. Intriguingly, females appear capable of stinging at a higher rate than males. Desiccation allowed the scorpions to sprint significantly faster than control (hydrated) scorpions, probably due to weight loss. The influence of temperature on sprinting and stinging might thus explain bark scorpions' preference for maintaining high body temperatures during periods when they are exposed to predation. When inactive, however, scorpions may benefit from maintaining lower body temperatures to decrease resting metabolic rate and desiccation.
Sonographic appearance of rotator cuff tears.

DISCUSSION The supraspinatus tendon is the most common tendon to be involved in rotator cuff tears, followed next in frequency by tears of the infraspinatus tendon. Infraspinatus tendon tears, when present, almost always occur in conjunction with supraspinatus tendon tears and rarely occur alone. Supraspinatus tendon tears most commonly occur close to, or at, the insertion site of the tendon, with the anterior fibers being most commonly involved. Tears can be either complete or partial (incomplete) and partial tears can be subdivided into full-thickness and partial-thickness tears. Partial tears are characteristically more painful than complete tears, and partial tears are quite common in the older population, with an incidence of approximately 32% to 37% after the age of 40. There are 3 types of partial-thickness tears, classified depending on their location: articular surface, interstitial (not seen at arthroscopy), and bursal surface tears. Rotator cuff tears characteristically present with weakness, decreased range of motion, and pain with abduction and flexion; however, the presentation is also dependent on the type and the etiology of the tear. In younger patients, rotator cuff tears commonly present with an acute onset of pain, occurring in athletes after repetitive overhead movements or after trauma. In older patients, tears are commonly a sequela of impingement syndrome, presenting with an insidious onset of pain. The best diagnostic clue of a rotator cuff tear on ultrasound is discontinuity of the tendon, with retraction of the tendon from the insertion site. Fluid will fill the gap, which will most commonly be anechoic; however, the fluid may be echogenic and demonstrate comet tail artifacts secondary to blood with gas locules. The convexity of the subdeltoid/ subacromial bursal surface will be focally flattened or concave at the site of the tendon tear. There will also be unexplained fluid within the bursa. The supraspinatus insertion is 15mm wide; therefore, tears extending posteriorly greater than 15 mm in length are assumed to also involve the infraspinatus tendon. Small partial-thickness tears, especially intrasubstance tears, can sometimes prove to be a diagnostic dilemma on ultrasound. Intrasubstance tears characteristically demonstrate a linear irregular hypoechoic area within the tendon; however, superimposed tendinosis can further complicate the diagnosis of intrasubstance tears.
An adaptive controller scheme implemented on multiple links VSC-HVDC for effective damping of low frequency power oscillations

Inter-area power oscillation damping is of fundamental importance in today's era of sophisticated and highly complex power system. The present paper demonstrates a practical solution obtaining satisfactory performance in damping power system oscillations utilizing the flexible Voltage Source Converter-High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC-VSC) transmission technology in an optimal combination with a Power Oscillation Damping (POD) controller such as Nonlinear Autoregressive Moving Average (NARMA-L2), utilizing active power modulation technique. The primary focus of the control scheme is to improve the damping of lightly damped or even unstable modes of the interconnected AC/DC power system through modal identification and estimation techniques. The performance of aforesaid control technique is compared with that of conventionally tuned PI control scheme. The designed control scheme guarantees stability margins through eigenvalue analysis and non-linear time domain simulations during symmetrical and asymmetrical faults. The software platform under which the various simulation scenarios were implemented is MATLAB/Simulink.
Organic–Inorganic Halide Perovskites: Perspectives for Silicon-Based Tandem Solar Cells

We investigate the efficiency potential of organic-inorganic halide perovskite/crystalline silicon tandem solar cells, a new class of photovoltaic devices targeting long-term cost reductions by ultrahigh conversion efficiencies. Methyl ammonium lead triiodide perovskite solar cells are particularly interesting as the top cell in Si-based tandem devices due to their suitable band gap, high photovoltage, and low sub-bandgap absorption. We derive optical models for a perovskite/Si tandem cell with Lambertian light trapping in the perovskite top cell, as well as for a top cell in the single pass limit. We find that unlike for other thin-film device architectures, light trapping is not required for the triiodide perovskite/Si tandem to reach matched top and bottom cell currents. While a Lambertian top cell could be employed in a four-terminal tandem, a top cell in the single pass limit enables a current-matched monolithic device with realistic top cell thicknesses. We calculate a limiting efficiency of 35.67% for an ideal (no parasitic absorption, ideal contacts) monolithic tandem, assuming a top cell open-circuit voltage of 1100 mV.
Critical protective role of bacterial superoxide dismutase in Rhizobium–legume symbiosis

In nitrogen‐poor soils, rhizobia elicit nodule formation on legume roots, within which they differentiate into bacteroids that fix atmospheric nitrogen. Protection against reactive oxygen species (ROS) was anticipated to play an important role in Rhizobium–legume symbiosis because nitrogenase is extremely oxygen sensitive. We deleted the sodA gene encoding the sole cytoplasmic superoxide dismutase (SOD) of Sinorhizobium meliloti. The resulting mutant, deficient in superoxide dismutase, grew almost normally and was only moderately sensitive to oxidative stress when free living. In contrast, its symbiotic properties in alfalfa were drastically affected. Nitrogen‐fixing ability was severely impaired. More strikingly, most SOD‐deficient bacteria did not reach the differentiation stage of nitrogen‐fixing bacteroids. The SOD‐deficient mutant nodulated poorly and displayed abnormal infection. After release into plant cells, a large number of bacteria failed to differentiate into bacteroids and rapidly underwent senescence. Thus, bacterial SOD plays a key protective role in the symbiotic process.
Rapid development of glycan-specific, broad, and potent anti–HIV-1 gp120 neutralizing antibodies in an R5 SIV/HIV chimeric virus infected macaque

It is widely believed that the induction of a broadly neutralizing antibody (bNAb) response will be a critical component of a successful vaccine against HIV. A significant fraction of HIV-infected individuals mount bNAb responses, providing support for the notion that such responses could be elicited through vaccination. Infection of macaques with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) or SIV/HIV chimeric virus (SHIV) has been widely used to model aspects of HIV infection, but to date, only limited bNAb responses have been described. Here, we screened plasma from 14 R5-tropic SHIV-infected macaques for broadly neutralizing activity and identified a macaque with highly potent cross-clade plasma NAb response. Longitudinal studies showed that the development of broad and autologous NAb responses occurred coincidentally in this animal. Serum-mapping studies, using pseudovirus point mutants and antigen adsorption assays, indicated that the plasma bNAbs are specific for epitopes that include carbohydrates and are critically dependent on the glycan at position 332 of Env gp120. The results described herein provide insight into the development and evolution of a broad response, suggest that certain bNAb specificities may be more rapidly induced by immunization than others, and provide a potential model for the facile study of the development of bNAb responses.
Revision of the dosimetric parameters of the CSM11 LDR Cs-137 source

Purpose The clinical use of brachytherapy sources requires the existence of dosimetric data with enough of quality for the proper application of treatments in clinical practice. It has been found that the published data for the low dose rate CSM11 Cs-137 source lacks of smoothness in some regions because the data are too noisy. The purpose of this study was to calculate the dosimetric data for this source in order to provide quality dosimetric improvement of the existing dosimetric data of Ballester et al. [1] Material and methods In order to obtain the dose rate distributions Monte Carlo simulations were done using the GEANT4 code. A spherical phantom 40 cm in radius with the Cs-137 source located at the centre of the phantom was used. Results The results from Monte Carlo simulations were applied to derive AAPM Task Group 43 dosimetric parameters: anisotropy function, radial dose function, air kerma strength and dose rate constant. The dose rate constant obtained was 1.094 ± 0.002 cGy h-1 U-1. The new calculated data agrees within experimental uncertainties with the existing data of Ballester et al. but without the statistical noise of that study. Conclusions The obtained data presently fulfills all the requirements of the TG-43U1 update and thus it can be used in clinical practice.
Nikolaus von Kues und der Dialog mit dem Islam

L'opposition a l'Islam est un des themes qui s'est impose en Europe durant le Moyen-Age. Nicolas de Cuse a plaide pour le dialogue dans ses ouvrages. Dans De Pace Fidei, il s'oppose a la violence faite au nom de la religion et expose une discussion fictive entre les communautes; dans Cribatio Alkorani il examine l'Islam et son fondateur cherchant a retrouver les points chretiens, cet effort etant limite selon l'A. par des erreurs d'interpretation et les a priori de Nicolas de Cuse
An algorithm for mapping burnt areas in Australia using SPOT-VEGETATION data

An algorithm has been developed to map burnt areas over the Australian continent using SPOT-VEGETATION (VGT) S1 satellite images. The algorithm is composed of a set of thresholds applied to each pixel's value of the VGT spectral channels, two spectral indices and their temporal difference. The threshold values have been derived by means of a supervised classification methodology based on the classification and regression trees algorithm. A procedure has also been developed specifically for preprocessing the daily S1 images for burnt area mapping purposes. The final product is composed of ten-day and monthly burnt area maps over Australia for the full year 2000.
Influence of alitretinoin on the pharmacokinetics of the oral contraceptive ethinyl estradiol/norgestimate

Background. Alitretinoin (9‐cis retinoic acid) is currently registered in many European countries and in Canada as the only licensed treatment for severe chronic hand eczema unresponsive to potent topical corticosteroids. Alitretinoin, like all retinoids, is teratogenic, and women of child‐bearing potential must strictly adhere to pregnancy‐prevention measures.
Rate optimization for relay-assisted downlink cellular systems using superposition coding

A downlink cellular system in which multiple relays assist the transmission of the base station is considered. Cooperation strategies based on superposition coding are derived for this network. Superposition coding is attained by sending each message to one or more relays while satisfying the rate constraints of the base station-to-relay links. The chain graph representation of achievable schemes is used to maximize the network throughput over the set of feasible transmission strategies based on superposition coding. Rate advantages as compared to the non-cooperative scenario are obtained under varying relay positions and available power at the base station and relay nodes.
Expression of oxidative stress and antioxidant defense genes in the kidney of inbred mice after intestinal ischemia and reperfusion.

PURPOSE To determine the gene expressions profile related to the oxidative stress and the antioxidant response in the kidneys of mice subjected to intestinal ischemia and reperfusion. METHODS Twelve inbred mice (C57BL/6) were randomly assigned to one of two groups: the control group (CG) underwent anesthesia and was observed for 120 min and the ischemia/reperfusion group (IRG), animals were anesthetized and subjected to laparotomy and ischemia for 60 minutes followed by 60 minutes of reperfusion. The expressions of 84 genes from the kidney were determined by the Reverse Transcription qualitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR). All genes that were up regulated by more than threefold using the algorithm [2(ΔΔCt)] were considered statically significant (p<0.05). RESULTS In the IRG group 29 (34.52%) of 84 genes, were up regulated by more than threefold. The genes that were differentially up regulated in the glutathione peroxidase cluster (10 genes): were Gpx2 and Gpx7. The genes that were up regulated in the peroxidase cluster (16 genes) were following: Duox1, Epx, Lpo, Mpo, Ptgs2, Rag2, Serpinb1b, Tmod1 and Tpo. The genes that up regulated in the reactive oxygen species cluster (16 genes): Il19, Il22, Nos2, Nox1, Noxa1, Noxo1, Recql4 and Sod2. The genes that were up regulated in the oxidative stress cluster (22 genes) were: Mpp4, Nudt15, Upc3 and Xpa. The genes that were up regulated in the oxygen carriers cluster (12 genes) were: Hbq1, Mb, Ngb, Slc38a1 and Xirp1. The peroxiredoxins genes (10) showed no consistent differential regulation. CONCLUSION The genes related to oxidative stress and antioxidant defense showed increased expression in renal tissue trigged intestinal ischemia and reperfusion.
New Oral Thiazolidinedione Antidiabetic Agents Act as Insulin Sensitizers

O f the 12 million people in the U.S. afflicted with NIDDM (1), nearly 40% are currently being treated with oral hypoglycemic agents (2); it is clearly imperative to seek optimal treatment for these patients. Development of treatment agents has followed principally from empirical observations of potent hypoglycemic actions. Intense recent research studies have produced an enhanced understanding of cellular derangements underlying the NIDDM condition. The identification of specific cellular deficits in NIDDM presents opportunities for development of targeted treatments. NIDDM is now known to involve several anomalies. These include I) aberrant pancreatic insulin secretion and 2) insulin resistance in peripheral tissues, with reduced glucose uptake particularly in muscle, and hepatic glucose overproduction (3-8). Although the order of appearance of these derangements during development of diabetes remains unknown, the overt diabetic condition is characterized by the coexistence of defective insulin secretion with insulin resistance. When fasting hyperglycemia becomes severe, i.e., >12 mM, the ability of insulin to suppress hepatic glucose production becomes impaired (7), and the insulin-resistant liver may thus be involved in maintaining the diabetic state. Candidate hypoglycemic agents could conceivably have corrective actions at any of these sites (Fig. 1). Sulfonylurea agents now used as oral therapy for NIDDM appear to act generally as secretagogues to increase the availability of insulin (1,9). Support for this finding comes from the observation that sulfonylurea drugs are not effective hypoglycemic agents in either insulin-dependent diabetic patients or in diabetic animal models lacking functional (3cells due to chemical destruction or surgical removal of the pancreas (1). An alternate NIDDM treatment strategy would be to use agents that act principally on target tissues as insulin sensitizers, thus overcoming insulin resistance. Compounds known as thiazolidinediones have been reported to have such actions. These agents are currently undergoing clinical trials for efficacy in treating NIDDM, and are the subject of this commentary.
Random Exemplar Hashing

We present a new method that addresses the problem of approximate nearest neighbor search via partitioning the feature space. The proposed random exemplar hashing algorithm can be used to generate binary codes of data to facilitate nearest neighbor search within large datasets. Inspired by the idea of using an ensemble of classifiers for discriminative learning, we devise an unsupervised learning algorithm to explore the feature space with respect to randomly selected exemplars. Experimental results on three large datasets show that our method outperforms the state-of-the-art, especially on the cases of longer binary codes.
Fast copper plating process for TSV fill

In next generation IC packaging, 3D interconnect has been considered to be the solution not only for footprint shrinkage, but also for integration of different functional devices into one package. The heart of 3D silicon-based technology is Cu filled vias which allow shortest chip-to-chip interconnections. The technology of choice today to make these Cu vias is by electroplating. Even though electroplating Cu for interconnects is a well known technology owing to its wide use in Cu damascene, it proves to be quite a different ball game for through silicon via fill, where via diameter changes from nm to tens of microns and via depth changes from sub microns to hundreds of microns. What we have learned from Cu damascene and what works there could not be applied directly to through silicon via fill. In this paper, we will describe the main hurdles to overcome in achieving a perfect, defect-free fill with minimum overburden and the methodologies to reduce the fill time.
Mammography Performance Benchmarks in an Era of Value-based Care.

Janie M. Lee, MD, MSc*,†, Diana L. Miglioretti, PhD‡, Elizabeth S. Burnside, MD, MPH, MS§, Elizabeth A. Morris, MD||, Robert A. Smith, PhD#, and Constance D. Lehman, MD, PhD** Janie M. Lee: jmlee58@uw.edu *Department of Radiology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Wash †Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, 825 Eastlake Ave East, Suite G2-600, Seattle, WA 98109 ‡Department of Public Health Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, Calif §Department of Radiology, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wis