Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Non-Invasive Fetal Monitoring: A Maternal Surface ECG Electrode Placement-Based Novel Approach for Optimization of Adaptive Filter Control Parameters Using the LMS and RLS Algorithms

This paper is focused on the design, implementation and verification of a novel method for the optimization of the control parameters (such as step size μ and filter order N) of LMS and RLS adaptive filters used for noninvasive fetal monitoring. The optimization algorithm is driven by considering the ECG electrode positions on the maternal body surface in improving the performance of these adaptive filters. The main criterion for optimal parameter selection was the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR). We conducted experiments using signals supplied by the latest version of our LabVIEW-Based Multi-Channel Non-Invasive Abdominal Maternal-Fetal Electrocardiogram Signal Generator, which provides the flexibility and capability of modeling the principal distribution of maternal/fetal ECGs in the human body. Our novel algorithm enabled us to find the optimal settings of the adaptive filters based on maternal surface ECG electrode placements. The experimental results further confirmed the theoretical assumption that the optimal settings of these adaptive filters are dependent on the ECG electrode positions on the maternal body, and therefore, we were able to achieve far better results than without the use of optimization. These improvements in turn could lead to a more accurate detection of fetal hypoxia. Consequently, our approach could offer the potential to be used in clinical practice to establish recommendations for standard electrode placement and find the optimal adaptive filter settings for extracting high quality fetal ECG signals for further processing. Ultimately, diagnostic-grade fetal ECG signals would ensure the reliable detection of fetal hypoxia.
Reversible optic neuropathy with OPA1 exon 5b mutation

A new c.740G>A (R247H) mutation in OPA1 alternate spliced exon 5b was found in a patient presenting with bilateral optic neuropathy followed by partial, spontaneous visual recovery. R247H fibroblasts from the patient and his unaffected father presented unusual highly tubular mitochondrial network, significant increased susceptibility to apoptosis, oxidative phosphorylation uncoupling, and altered OPA1 protein profile, supporting the pathogenicity of this mutation. These results suggest that the clinical spectrum of the OPA1‐associated optic neuropathies may be larger than previously described, and that spontaneous recovery may occur in cases harboring an exon 5b mutation. Ann Neurol 2008
Enhancement of Phloem exudation from cut petioles by chelating agents.

The photosynthetic assimilates in leaves of Perilla crispa attached to the plant were labeled by treating the leaves with (14)CO(2). When subsequently detached, these leaves exuded a negligible amount of radioactivity from the cut petiole into water. Ethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA), citric acid, and ethyleneglycol-bis (beta-aminoethyl ether) N,N'-tetraacetate greatly increased exudation of labeled assimilates into a solution bathing the petioles. The optimal concentration of EDTA was 20 mm, and maximal exudation took place between 2 and 4 hours after excision. Up to 22% of the radioactivity fixed in the leaf was exuded into an EDTA solution as compared to an export of 38% from attached leaves. The amount of radioactivity in the exudate was much reduced at low temperature. Presence of EDTA was required in the collecting solution for only 1 to 2 hours; upon transfer to water, exudation continued as in continuous presence of EDTA. Ca(2+) completely inhibited the effect of EDTA.Anatomical studies indicated that callose formation on the sieve plates near the cut surface of the petioles was less in leaves on EDTA than on water.More than 95% of the radioactivity exuded by detached leaves was present in the sugars verbascose, stachyose, raffinose, and sucrose, which are translocated in the phloem of Perilla. Labeled glucose, fructose, and galactinol were detected in the leaf blade and petiole, but not in exudates.The addition of EDTA to a solution bathing the petiole of detached leaves of Chenopodium rubrum and Pharbitis nil also increased the exudation of labeled assimilates. In these two species, label appeared only in a compound that cochromatographed with sucrose.It is concluded that the radioactive products in the solution are actually exuded by the phloem. Possibly EDTA chelates Ca(2+) that otherwise participates in the reactions that seal cut phloem.
Advancing test automation technology to meet the challenges of model-driven software development: report on the 3rd workshop on automation of software test

The Third Workshop on Automation of Software Test (AST 2008) at the 30th Interna¬tional Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE 2008) sets a special theme on model-based software testing. Nine full research papers and six short papers will be presented in four sessions at the workshop. This report summarizes the organization of the workshop as well as the sessions and papers to be presented at the workshop.
gamma-aminobutyric Acid(A) (GABA(A)) agonist 4,5,6, 7-tetrahydroisoxazolo[4,5-c]pyridin-3-ol persistently increases sleep maintenance and intensity during chronic administration to rats.

Many hypnotics, such as benzodiazepines, are agonistic modulators of gamma-aminobutyric acid(A) (GABA(A)) receptors. Such compounds increase the ability to fall and stay asleep, but inhibit rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep and deep non-REM sleep. However, tolerance to their hypnotic action may develop rapidly. Previous findings in rats and humans demonstrate that the gamma-aminobutyric acid(A) agonist 4, 5,6,7-tetrahydroisoxazolo[4,5-c]pyridin-3-ol (THIP) promotes deep non-REM sleep and increases non-REM sleep continuity. To investigate the effects of repeated administration, we assessed sleep in rats before, during, and after chronic dosing of THIP (3 mg/kg, once daily for 5 days; n = 9) or of placebo (n = 8). The substances were administered i.p. at the onset of darkness. The electroencephalogram (EEG) and electromyogram were recorded during the first 6 h after injection. During baseline recording, the placebo and the THIP group exhibited similar sleep patterns. After the first THIP injection, rats displayed more non-REM sleep, longer non-REM episodes, and higher levels of slow wave activity in the EEG within non-REM sleep than the placebo group rats. The effects were sustained during all treatment days. REM sleep was not affected. After drug withdrawal, the sleep patterns of the THIP and the placebo group were practically identical again. These observations suggest that THIP does not rapidly produce tolerance toward its sleep effects and abrupt drug withdrawal may not be associated with sleep disturbances. These findings confirm and extend the existing information suggesting that THIP may be promising for treatment of insomnia.
Social Media Usage in e-Government: Evidence from Suriname

Social Media has made its’ way of playing an important role in e-Government implementation strategies. Many governments include social media as a tool to approach and engage its’ citizens, to increase transparency, trust and online participation. Although social media is not yet fully understood by governments on how to effectively utilize social media as a tool to be beneficial to the government and the general public. This research focuses on the Social Media activity of the Government Departments of Suriname. With around 1.9 billion active users, Facebook is one of the largest social media platforms in the world. This study furthers analyzes how active social media accounts are being used by the departments and how online users respond to departmental online activities. In order to achieve the goal of this paper, the 14 social media accounts of Suriname government departments will be taken as a case study. Several accounts indicate that government to citizen engagement show much potential for citizens’ active online participation. While the use of social media in e-Government initiatives is a feasible approach to successful implementation, there are still some improvement governments should take into consideration to increase online participation and fulfilling the needs of their citizens.
Specificity of the Autolysin of Streptococcus (Diplococcus) pneumoniae

A Streptococcus (Diplococcus) pneumoniae autolysin, partially purified from cellular autolysates, was optimally active at pH 7.0 and was stimulated by monovalent cations. Addition of autolysin to walls resulted in the appearance of only N-terminal l-alanine, whereas no glycosidase activity was observed. Walls which had been solubilized by autolysin were separated by gel filtration into a low-molecular-weight peptide containing amino acids in the same ratios found in intact walls and a high molecular fraction containing the amino acid-deficient peptidoglycan backbone. Thus, the major activity is an N-acetylmuramyl-l-alanine amidase. In addition, walls undergoing spontaneous lysis revealed no glycosidase activity but showed an increase in only N-terminal alanine. Autolysin, which was bound to walls in saline, was almost completely removed when walls were washed in distilled water, and all of the activity was recovered in the water wash fluid.
Sialoblastoma: A Rare Submandibular Gland Neoplasm

A sialoblastoma is a rare congenital epithelial tumor that arises in a major salivary gland. To our knowledge, only 24 cases of sialoblastoma have been previously reported in the English-language literature. We report a new case, that of a 15-month-old boy who presented with a submandibular mass. Surgical excision of the mass was undertaken. Intraoperatively, the mass appeared to be adjacent to the submandibular gland, but it had not invaded it. The mass was excised, and the submandibular gland was left in place. Pathology identified the tumor as a sialoblastoma. However, pathology also revealed that residual tumor was present at the surgical margin. The patient was returned to the operating room for excision of the left submandibular gland and the level I lymph nodes. Following revision surgery, the surgical margins were negative. The patient remained disease-free at the 1-year follow-up. Despite the need for revision surgery, this case provides support for the idea that surgery alone is sufficient for curative treatment.
Radio frequency coil technology for small‐animal MRI

A review of the theory, technology, and use of radio frequency (RF) coils for small‐animal MRI is presented. It includes a brief overview of MR signal‐to‐noise (S/N) analysis and discussions of the various coils commonly used in small‐animal MR: surface coils, linear volume coils, birdcages, and their derivatives. The scope is limited to mid‐range coils, i.e. coils where the product (fd) of the frequency f and the coil diameter d is in the range 2–30 MHz‐m. Common applications include mouse brain and body coils from 125 to 750 MHz, rat body coils up to 500 MHz, and small surface coils at all fields. In this regime, all the sources of loss (coil, capacitor, sample, shield, and transmission lines) are important. All such losses may be accurately captured in some modern full‐wave 3D electromagnetics software, and new simulation results are presented for a selection of surface coils using Microwave Studio 2006 by Computer Simulation Technology, showing the dramatic importance of the ‘lift‐off effect’. Standard linear circuit simulators have been shown to be useful in optimization of complex coil tuning and matching circuits. There appears to be considerable potential for trading S/N for speed using phased arrays, especially for a larger field of view. Circuit simulators are shown to be useful for optimal mismatching of ultra‐low‐noise preamps based on the enhancement‐mode pseudomorphic high‐electron‐mobility transistor for optimal coil decoupling in phased arrays. Cryogenically cooled RF coils are shown to offer considerable opportunity for future gains in S/N in smaller samples. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The anabolic effects of chorionic gonadotropin in normal young men.

It is now possible to ascribe an anabolic effect to the testicular secretion involving the deposition of protein and bone salts in somatic structures (1, 2). Such processes may be interpreted as contributing to the physiological spurts in height and weight during puberty and adolescence (1). As growth ceases and the youth moves toward the nitrogen equilibrium of maturity the influences of anabolic forces that operated clearly enough during active growth become uncertain. It may be presumed that the amounts of testicular secretion necessary to maintain the functions of the genitalia are no longer sufficient to exert progressive anabolic force elsewhere. Yet there is no indication that the capacity of somatic tissues to respond to androgens has reached its uttermost limit with the assumption of adult life. The anabolic effects of testosterone propionate may be well demonstrated to some degree and for a while in normal young men (3, 4) and even in advanced age (5). A multiplicity of subjects of all ages and with a variety of diseases have been found sensitive to testosterone propionate. Although the clinical circumstances have been too numerous and too complex for treatment here, ample evidence exists that serious resistance to the anabolic effects of the androgens must be rare indeed. The question now arises as to whether the secretory capacity of the mature testis is ever suf-
Ramsey Theory and Repeated Communication Complexity (Review)

We summarize the 1995 paper of Alon and Orlitsky, “Repeated Communication and Ramsey Graphs” [1], in which the authors characterize the capacity of channels with adversarial noise which is unbounded in the amount of noise, but rather in the type of noise. A second problem they address is dual-source coding, in which the task is to minimize the amount of information needed to transmit one party’s information, given that the receiving party has some “relevant” information. The authors relate these values to well-studied problems in graph theory and show, among others, that there exist channels in which the amount of information per use transmittable over multiple uses is exponentially larger than in one use alone, and there exists exist channels where one instance transmitted require arbitrarily many bits but any subsequent instances require only a little over one bit per instance. We make a few observations concerning improvements of their results.
Central Banking and Bitcoin: Not yet a threat

The blockchain technology underlying Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is attracting growing interest. This column argues that if transactions facilitated by this technology become per-vasive, it will have implications for the conduct (and success) of central bank monetary policy. Central banks should embrace the technologies that underpin cryptocurrencies, or risk being cut out from intermediation and surveillance and also risk payment service providers moving to other currency areas with an institutional environment that is more appealing for buyers and sellers.
Patient expectations for management of chronic non‐cancer pain: A systematic review

Chronic pain is a major economic and social health problem. Up to 79% of chronic pain patients are unsatisfied with their pain management. Meeting patients’ expectations is likely to produce greater satisfaction with care. The challenge is to explore patients’ genuine expectations and needs. However, the term expectation encompasses several concepts and may concern different aspects of health‐care provision.
Grounding Effects of HV and MV Underground Cables Associated with Urban Distribution Substations

The paper derives a model for the evaluation of the performances of composite grounding systems of urban main distribution substations and associated cable networks. The effects of the cables upon the dangerous voltages, transferred potentials, and ground fault current distribution are encompassed, including the conductive and magnetic coupling among grounding system elements as well as the nonlinearity of cables sheaths impedances. An application example is presented and some experimental data.
Changes in respiratory function after one and three hours of exposure to formaldehyde in non-smoking subjects.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the changes in respiratory function within one hour and three hours of exposure to formaldehyde and investigate the relation between exposure to formaldehyde and acute changes in respiratory function. METHOD: Respiratory function of 50 non-smoking medical students exposed to formaldehyde in a gross anatomy laboratory were compared with respiratory function of 36 non-exposed, non-smoking physiotherapy students. Formaldehyde concentrations were measured in the breathing zone of each exposed subject and in the general work environment. RESULTS: Formaldehyde concentrations in the breathing zone of exposed subjects generally exceeded recommended standards. On average, the variables of respiratory function of both the exposed and the control subjects increased significantly within one hour and from one to three hours after exposure. The increase in respiratory function of the exposed subjects was significantly less than that of the control subjects. There was no meaningful correlation between concentration of formaldehyde in the breathing zone and changes in the respiratory function of exposed subjects. CONCLUSION: As the increase in the respiratory function of the subjects can be attributable to normal diurnal variation, the significantly lower increase in respiratory function of the exposed group than in the control group is probably due to exposure to formaldehyde. The results of this study do not, however, support a dose-response relation.
Discovering emerging topic about the East Japan Great Earthquake in video sharing website

Once a disaster occurs, people discuss various topics in social media such as electronic bulletin boards, SNSs and video sharing website, and their decision-making tends to be affected by discussions in social media. Under this circumstances, a mechanism to detect topics in social media has become important. This paper targets the East Japan Great Earthquake, and proposes a method for topic discovering from the emergent time series. In this paper, our proposed method analyzes user comments in video sharing websites, and adopts directed graphs to show topic structures in social media. Then clusters are formed using modularity measure which expresses the quality of division of a network into modules or communities. Topic structures are visualized dynamically, so that we can understand emerging topics easily. An experimental result using actual user comments in the video sharing website is shown as well.
Perception toward Permission- based E-mails in Banks

In order to reach consumers at the right time with the most appropriate message, it is crucial that marketers understand consumer behavior first and then properly encode their message, followed by right frequency and time management to ensure success. Financial services companies who send to customers permission-based e-mails, reap bonus in form of enhanced credibility and brand loyalty. Permission-based e-mail marketing is a useful tool of contemporary marketing. The aim of the study is to gauge the perception toward permission-based e-mails. This empirical study focuses on various variables affecting the perception of respondents. The results show “Privacy,” “Content,” and “Promptness” are important variables in permission-based e-mail by banks. Finally, the results and their implications are discussed.
Chinese paper-cut generated from human portrait

This paper presents a software package that renders artistic paper-cut of human portrait. It is an application software package suitable for the mobile devices, e.g., the iPad. The face fidelity is an essential factor in creating a portrait, while in the traditional algorithms, rendering portrait paper-cut is considerd as an inhomogeneous binarization process. Specifically, the binarization process is inhomogeneous for different facial areas, which always cannot correspond strictly to the grayscale, and lead to the edge being unsmoothed. In order to address this issue and make the portrait more similar to the person shown in a photograph, this paper presents an improved paper-cut algorithm. We first use a dynamic thresholding method to binarize the facial components, such as nose, eyes. Then, the principle of temple matching is employed to find a template for every facial component from a pre-prepared template library, which is closest to the real component. In addition, the software package on the iPad is not a simple migration from that on PC. Compared with the software on PC, our package has a friendly interface and is easier for operating. Experimental results show that we can get a more realistic portrait paper-cut using the package on the iPad.
Serum progesterone levels in the pregnant and postpartum laboratory mouse.

The serum progesterone concentration ([P])2 was measured in Swiss-Vancouver mice by a competitive protein-binding assay. Virgin females, 9–11 weeks old, were kept on a 14-hr light regime (on between 0600–2000) and bred between 2000– 0800 hr. Females were exsanguinated from the intra-orbital sinus between 0800–0900 hr on 17 of the 20 gestation days or within 5 hr postpartum. The mean [P] increased gradually from 4.9 ng⁄ml on Day 0 (plug day) to 14.7 ng⁄ml on Day 2. From Day 2 to Day 3 the [P] significantly increased (p < 0.05) to 45.5 ng⁄ml and this level was then maintained until Day 8. Between Day 8 and Day 9 the [P] decreased significantly to 19.0 ng⁄ml. The [P] on Day 10, 35.5 ng⁄ml, was significantly greater than that on Day 9 and it increased steadily until Day 16 when the highest levels, averaging 81.9 ng⁄ml, were found. The [P] on Day 18, 27.6 ng⁄ml, was significantly less than that on day 16. On Day 19, 4 hr before parturition, the [P], 7.3 ng⁄ml, was significantly less than that on Day 18; after .
An Efficiency Optimization Scheme for Bidirectional Inductive Power Transfer Systems

Unidirectional inductive power transfer systems allow loads to consume power, while bidirectional inductive power transfer (BIPT) systems are more suitable for loads requiring two-way power flow such as vehicle to grid applications with electric vehicles. Many attempts have been made to improve the performance of BIPT systems. In a typical BIPT system, the output power is controlled using the pickup converter phase shift angle, while the primary converter regulates the input current. This paper proposes an optimized phase-shift modulation strategy to minimize the coil losses of a series-series compensated BIPT system. In addition, a comprehensive study on the impact of power converters on the overall efficiency of the system is also presented. A closed-loop controller is proposed to optimize the overall efficiency of the BIPT system. Theoretical results are presented in comparison to both simulations and measurements of a 0.5 kW prototype to show the benefits of the proposed concept. Results convincingly demonstrate the applicability of the proposed system offering high efficiency over a wide range of output power.
An Energy-Balanced Cluster-Based Protocol for Wireless Sensor Networks

This paper proposes a novel energy-efficient clustering protocol for wireless sensor networks. It combines the benefits of using the k-means clustering algorithm with the, recently developed, LEACH with virtual forces LEACH-VF protocol. In this work, the k-means algorithm is employed to determine k centroids around which the clusters will be formed. After that, the virtual field force method is applied to these clusters to determine the most suitable positions for each node. The main target of such an approach is to improve the energy balance in the network and to extend the network lifetime. Simulation results show that the proposed protocol extends the time before the first node death, minimizes the variance of the average node energy, and reduces the distance that the sensor nodes travel within their respective clusters.