Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
EFFICACY OF DORZOLAMIDE HYDROCHLORIDE IN THE MANAGEMENT OF CHRONIC CYSTOID MACULAR EDEMA IN PATIENTS WITH RETINITIS PIGMENTOSA

Purpose: To compare the effectiveness of topical dorzolamide hydrochloride (Trusopt, Merck and Co., Inc., West Point, PA), a carbonic anhydrase inhibitor, with that of oral acetazolamide (Diamox; Lederle Laboratories, Pearl River, NY) for the management of chronic cystoid macular edema in patients with retinitis pigmentosa. Methods: A prospective, double‐masked, crossover study was conducted in five patients with retinitis pigmentosa who had chronic cystoid macular edema. After baseline visual acuity was measured and a fluorescein angiogram was obtained, each patient was randomly assigned to receive either topical dorzolamide or a placebo for 4 weeks, followed by a crossover for the same period. Oral acetazolamide then was given separately to each patient for 2 weeks. Each phase of the study was followed by a washout period of 4 weeks, during which the patient was taken off all medications. At each visit, best corrected visual acuity was measured, a fluorescein angiogram was obtained, a subjective assessment of the effects on visual function, and any side effects of the medication or placebo were recorded in the form of a questionnaire by an independent observer. Results: Compared with baseline or placebo values, there was no measurable improvement in visual acuity on the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study charts with dorzolamide in any of the patients. The visual acuity in three of five patients, however, improved by seven letters or more with acetazolamide. Compared again with baseline or placebo values, fluorescein angiograms of two of five patients showed improvement in macular edema in both eyes with the use of dorzolamide, whereas all five showed improvement with acetazolamide. The improvement in macular edema was more marked with acetazolamide than with dorzolamide. The effect of dorzolamide given three times a day was the same as that when it was given five times a day. One patient indicated that dorzolamide was more effective than acetazolamide in improving visual function, three of five patients believed that acetazolamide was more effective, and one felt that both were equally effective. Conclusion: Dorzolamide provided improvement in cases of macular edema on fluorescein angiograms and subjective improvement of visual function in some patients with retinitis pigmentosa with cystoid macular edema. However, there was no measurable improvement in visual acuity with the topical use of this drug. Oral acetazolamide was found to be more effective than dorzolamide in managing macular edema and improving visual acuity.
Current balance method for the two-phase interleaved LLC-RDCX with parallel PWM output regulation

The interleaving technique is necessary for multiphase LLC resonant converters in high output current high power level applications. But the conventional frequency-controlled LLC converters will lose current sharing if all the phases are operating at the same switching frequency. In this paper, a two-phase interleaved LLC-Regulated DCX (LLC-RDCX) with parallel PWM output regulation is presented to solve the load-sharing problem. Two LLC-RDCXs operate at the same constant switching frequency. The current sharing of two phases is achieved by the PWM regulations of the assistant DC-DC stages. What's more, only partial energy is transferred through the assistant transformer, the high efficiency is also guaranteed. A 1kW, two-phase interleaved LLC-RDCX prototype is built to verify the feasibility and demonstrate the advantages.
The role of Micro-RNAs in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: From Molecular Biology to Treatment

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common cancer worldwide and the third leading cause of cancer deaths. microRNAs (miRNAs) are evolutionary conserved small non-coding RNA that negatively regulate gene expression and protein translation. Recent evidences have shown that they are involved in many biological processes, from development and cell-cycle regulation to apoptosis. miRNAs can behave as tumor suppressor or promoter of oncogenesis depending on the cellular function of their targets. Moreover, they are frequently dysregulated in HCC. In this review we summarize the latest findings of miRNAs regulation in HCC and their role as potentially diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for HCC. We highlight development of miRNAs as potential therapeutic targets for HCC.
Divergent MicroRNA Targetomes of Closely Related Circulating Strains of a Polyomavirus

ABSTRACT Hundreds of virus-encoded microRNAs (miRNAs) have been uncovered, but an in-depth functional understanding is lacking for most. A major challenge for the field is separating those miRNA targets that are biologically relevant from those that are not advantageous to the virus. Here, we show that miRNAs from related variants of the polyomavirus simian vacuolating virus 40 (SV40) have differing host target repertoires (targetomes) while their direct autoregulatory activity on virus-encoded early gene products is completely preserved. These results underscore the importance of miRNA-mediated viral gene autoregulation in some polyomavirus life cycles. More broadly, these findings imply that some host targets of virus-encoded miRNAs are likely to be of little selective advantage to the virus, and our approach provides a strategy for prioritizing relevant targets.
Cessation interventions in routine health care

Smoking cessation interventions are widely underused in primary and secondary care despite being effective and easy to deliver (see earlier articles in this series). Smoking causes much greater harm than, say, hypertension (which is generally identified and managed entirely in primary care by health professionals working to agreed routine, systematic, and structured protocols), yet few primary healthcare teams manage smoking as methodically as they approach hypertension. Maximising the delivery of cessation interventions to smokers wanting to quit can probably achieve more in terms of years of life saved and provide better value for money (see later article in this series) than almost any other simple medical intervention. Example of record sheet for noting information on smoking status and intervention. The sheet can be inserted into paper records; computer templates enable a similar electronic record to be kept The first step towards developing a systematic approach for the management of smoking is to treat smoking as a “vital sign. ” To do this, health professionals must regularly inquire about patients' smoking status and have a methodical approach towards documenting and updating this in medical records. This information needs to be recorded in a prominent place so that it can be seen whenever medical records are accessed during consultations. In paper records, a summary card can be used, and, in electronic records, smoking status data should be lodged with other important summary information on a patient's health. Recording information where it is easily noticed prompts health professionals to raise the topic of smoking more frequently with patients. The minimum information to record is whether the patient smokes and the date on which this was ascertained. It is also useful to record the average number of cigarettes smoked each day, not least because those who smoke more heavily are more likely to benefit from …
Needle guidance using laser generated leaky acoustic waves

Needle guidance using B-mode ultrasound is performed to visualize both anatomical structures and the needle position in clinical applications such as tissue biopsy and drug delivery. However, the transducer-needle orientation is limited due to reflection of the acoustic waves. Last year, we proposed a method to exploit the use of leaky acoustic waves for needle visualization. The method uses laser pulses irradiating on the top of the needle to generate acoustic waves. These acoustic waves propagate along the needle surface which then leak into surrounding medium that can be detected by a ultrasound transducer. The needle position can be calculated based on phase velocities of two different wave modes. The objective of the current research is to further investigate performance of the proposed method and to develop improvement schemes to overcome previous limitations.
Data Processing of Point Clouds for Object Detection for Structural Engineering Applications

This research investigates the use of high‐resolution three‐dimensional terrestrial laser scanners as tools to capture geometric range data of complex scenes for structural engineering applications. Laser scanning technology is continuously improving, with commonly available scanners now able to capture over 1,000,000 points per second with an accuracy of ∼0.1 mm. This research focuses on developing the foundation toward the use of laser scanning to structural engineering applications, including structural health monitoring, collapse assessment, and post‐hazard response assessment. One of the keys to this work is to establish a process for extracting important information from raw laser‐scanned data sets such as the location, orientation, and size of objects in a scene, and location of damaged regions on a structure. A methodology for processing range data to identify objects in the scene is presented. Previous work in this area has created an initial foundation of basic data processing steps. Existing algorithms, including sharp feature detection and segmentation are implemented and extended in this work. Additional steps to remove extraneous and outlying points are added. Object detection based on a predefined library is developed allowing generic description of objects. The algorithms are demonstrated on synthetic scenes as well as validated on range data collected from an experimental test specimen and a collapsed bridge. The accuracy of the object detection is presented, demonstrating the applicability of the methodology. These additional steps and modifications to existing algorithms are presented to advance the performance of data processing on laser scan range data sets for future application in structural engineering applications such as robust determination of damage location and finite element modeling.
Characterization and testing of microelectromechnical accelerometers

Analog and Mixed Signal circuits pose a greater challenge in semiconductor testing than digital circuits due to the complexity of test requirements and the extremely large test vector sample space [? ]. MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS) are an emerging field combining mechanical components with semiconductor circuitry on-chip. Conventional testing and characterization methods for MEMS are very resource intensive. Alternate Testing, or Indirect Testing is a methodology used to identify and implement economical, fast and less complex tests to replace conventional complex, specification based tests [? ]. This paper describes a methodology to characterize and test the mechanical subsystem of an accelerometer using its electrical sub-system. We use a novel pseudo-mechanical impetus to obtain an analog output which is then used for parameter mapping to characterize both electrical and mechanical subsystems in a purely electrical test. Measurements on commercial accelerometers demonstrate that the results of electrical tests correlates well with those from mechanical tests, providing an accurate low-cost solution for high-volume manufacturing test of accelerometers.
Fast and reliable iris segmentation algorithm

Design a fast and reliable iris segmentation algorithm for less constrained iris images is essential to build a robust iris recognition system. Daugman's integrodifferential operator (IDO) is one of powerful iris segmentation mechanisms, but in contrast consumes a large portion of the computational time for localising the rough position of the iris centre and eyelid boundaries. To address this problem, a fast iris segmentation algorithm is proposed. First, the circular Gabor filter is adopted to find the rough position of the pupil centre. Second, the iris and pupil circles are localised using the IDO taken into account that the real centres of the iris and pupil are in the small area around the rough position of the pupil centre. Third, the upper and lower eyelid boundaries are extracted using the live-wire technique. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed iris segmentation algorithm significantly minimises the required time to segment the iris without affecting the segmentation accuracy. Moreover, the comparison results with state-of-the-art iris segmentation algorithms show the superiority of the proposed algorithm in terms of segmentation accuracy and recognition performance. The challenging UBIRIS.v1 iris image database is utilised to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm.
Product Proliferation: An Empirical Analysis of Product Line Determinants and Market Outcomes

Considering the number of new product introductions and available product varieties today, the practice of product proliferation is visibly evident in many diverse industries. Given its prevalence in practice, understanding the determinants and implications of firm proliferation strategies clearly has important managerial relevance. Previous theoretical research has identified three primary effects of a proliferation strategy: (1) a broad product line can increase the overall demand faced by the firm, (2) a broad product line can affect supply by increasing costs, and (3) broad product lines can have strategic consequences (e.g., long product lines can deter entry, thereby allowing an incumbent firm to raise prices). However, despite the theoretical interest in this common business practice, there has been very little empirical research on this topic. Moreover, no empirical study has simultaneously considered all three of the possible effects associated with a proliferation strategy. Consequently, in this paper we propose a three-equation simultaneous system that captures both the determinants and market outcomes of a firm's product line decisions. In particular, we specify market share, price, and product line length equations, which are estimated by three stage least squares. Using this structure, we empirically study the personal computer industry over the period 1981-1992. Our empirical results demonstrate that proliferation strategies do not have a unidimensional explanation. We find that product proliferation decisions have both demand (market share) and supply (price) implications. Our empirical results also suggest that the firm-level net market share impact of product proliferation in the personal computer industry is negative (i.e., the cost increases associated with a broader product line dominate any potential demand increases). Asexpected, we find that structural competitive factors play an important role in the determinants and market outcomes ofa firm's product line decisions. However, we do not find evidence of firms using proliferation strategies to deter entry in this industry. Finally, we also demonstrate that some of the empirical conclusions from previous research are reversed once product line length is specified as endogenous in the share and price specifications.
Icosahedral inclusions (carboxysomes) of Nitrobacter agilis

The icosahedral bodies of Nitrobacter agilis are about 120 nm in diameter and, as viewed by electron microscopy, consist of an outer shell enclosing 10-nm particles. The inner 10-nm particle is the enzyme D-ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase. The bodies isolated from cells incubated 1 month without nitrite had a specific activity for the enzyme of 0.54 mu mol of CO2 fixed per min per mg of protein.
HCI in Context - What the Words Reveal about It

Information and communication technologies are ever more present in our lives. Considerations about daily, emotional and contextual issues have been necessary in the HCI agenda for a design that is suitable for contemporary devices and uses, and also for an increasingly diversified audience. Based on an analysis of titles found in the full program of two major conferences in the field of HCI (ACM CHI and IFIP Interact), this work intends to identify the main focuses of the contributions over the last few years. Results of analysis based on tag cloud representations and comparison of collected data are presented and discussed; they reveal gaps, similarities and differences between what has been discussed in those forums and the trends indicated by research references in the field.
A Novel Continuum Manipulator Design Using Serially Connected Double-Layer Planar Springs

There is a surge of research interest in the field of “continuum robotics. ” Robots created under this paradigm offer many advantages and represent unique features in terms of flexibility, dexterity, safety, and weight reduction. This paper introduces a novel continuum manipulator that integrates multiple layers of compliant planar springs-a structure that provides several notable advantages over existing designs. First, it possesses precise linear large-displacement motion. In this context, we utilize the linear output motion of each layer of springs. With the serial connection of multiple conjoined layers, the manipulator demonstrates linear predictable bending even when executing large bends. An analytical method is provided to study the compliance characteristics of the planar spring and derive the compliance matrix to represent the force-deflection relationships, allowing an accurate motion prediction. Second, compared with work elsewhere, this structure demonstrates an effective way of decoupling bending from contraction and expansion. It reduces the uncontrolled compression when generating normal deflections, thus controlling robot bending is simplified. Third, the reachable workspace of the end effector is enlarged by means of varying the length of the continuum manipulator via controlled contraction and expansion. A 3-D printed prototype of this continuum manipulator is experimentally evaluated. The conducted experiments demonstrated validity of our approach.
Quantitative trait loci mapping of floral and leaf morphology traits in Arabidopsis thaliana: evidence for modular genetic architecture

Summary Morphological variation within organisms is integrated and often modular in nature. That is to say, the size and shape of traits tend to vary in a coordinated and structured manner across sets of organs or parts of an organism. The genetic basis of this morphological integration is largely unknown. Here, we report on quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis of leaf and floral organ size in Arabidopsis thaliana. We evaluate patterns of genetic correlations among traits and perform whole‐genome scans using QTL mapping methods. We detected significant genetic variation for the size and shape of each floral and leaf trait in our study. Moreover, we found large positive genetic correlations among sets of either flower or leaf traits, but low and generally nonsignificant genetic correlations between flower and leaf traits. These results support the hypothesis of independent floral and vegetative modules. We consider co‐localization of QTL for different traits as support for a pleiotropic basis of morphological integration and modularity. A total of eight QTL affecting flower and three QTL affecting leaf traits were identified. Most QTL affected either floral or leaf traits, providing a general explanation for high correlations within and low correlations between modules. Only two genomic locations affected both flower and leaf growth. These results are discussed in the context of the evolution of modules, pleiotropy, and the putative homologous relationship between leaves and flowers.
Bacillus Calmette-Guérin in the management of superficial bladder cancer

Intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is the mainstay of superficial bladder cancer treatment. We performed a literature search through Medline/Pubmed using key words ‘Bacillus Calmette-Guérin’, ‘intravesical’, ‘bladder neoplasm’ and ‘immunotherapy’ for published data in the English language from 1970 to 2007 to review the current status of intravesical therapy and practice recommendations. The exact mechanism of action of intravesical BCG is yet to be elucidated. However, it appears that it is mediated by the local immune response, mainly through T-helper cell response. It reduces the recurrence rate by an average of 40% and progression by more than 20% in papillary tumors over the patients without BCG therapy. However, progression prevention is seen only in series which have used maintenance therapy at least for one year. It is effective in CIS of bladder with a response rate of more than 40% and prevention of progression in one-fourth patients. Most acceptable dose, induction treatment and maintenance therapy protocols are discussed. However, these are yet to be confirmed in large randomized trials. Intravesical BCG is well tolerated in most of the patients with mild to moderate side-effects in induction therapy; however, most patients do not complete maintenance therapy due to side-effects which is the most common concern at the present time.
Improved Tropical Modes of Variability in the NCEP Climate Forecast System (Version 2) via a Stochastic Multicloud Model

AbstractA stochastic multicloud model (SMCM) convective parameterization, which mimics the interactions at subgrid scales of multiple cloud types, is incorporated into the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Climate Forecast System, version 2 (CFSv2), model (CFSsmcm) in lieu of the preexisting simplified Arakawa–Schubert (SAS) cumulus scheme. A detailed analysis of the tropical intraseasonal variability (TISV) and convectively coupled equatorial waves (CCEW) in comparison with the original (control) model and with observations is presented here. The last 10 years of a 15-yr-long climate simulation are analyzed. Significant improvements are seen in the simulation of the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) and most of the CCEWs as well as the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) intraseasonal oscillation (MISO). These improvements appear in the form of improved morphology and physical features of these waves. This can be regarded as a validation of the central idea behind the SMCM according to which org.