Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Structure-preserving Interpolation of Temporal and Spatial Image Sequences Using an Optical Flow-based Method

Summary Objectives: Modern tomographic imaging devices enable the acquisition of spatial and temporal image sequences. But, the spatial and temporal resolution of such devices is limited and therefore image interpolation techniques are needed to represent images at a desired level of discretization. This paper presents a method for structure-preserving interpolation between neighboring slices in temporal or spatial image sequences. Methods: In a first step, the spatiotemporal velocity field between image slices is determined using an optical flow-based registration method in order to establish spatial correspondence between adjacent slices. An iterative algorithm is applied using the spatial and temporal image derivatives and a spatiotemporal smoothing step. Afterwards, the calculated velocity field is used to generate an interpolated image at the desired time by averaging intensities between corresponding points. Three quantitative measures are defined to evaluate the performance of the interpolation method. Results: The behaviorand capability of the algorithm is demonstrated by synthetic images. A population of 17 temporal and spatial image sequences are utilized to compare the optical flow-based interpolation method to linear and shape-based interpolation. The quantitative results show that the optical flow-based method outperforms the linear and shape-based interpolation statistically significantly. Conclusions: The interpolation method presented is able to generate image sequences with appropriate spatial or temporal resolution needed for image comparison, analysis or visualization tasks. Quantitative and qualitative measures extracted from synthetic phantoms and medical image data show that the new method definitely has advantages over linear and shape-based interpolation.
Natural history of respiratory tract infection patterns in basically healthy individuals.

Two hundred and twenty-seven individuals followed up from birth for 5 to 34 years were analyzed for incidence of "mild" and "more severe" respiratory tract infections. Group data were compared with those of other studies. Records showed consistent patterns for individual subjects through growth. Individuals born between 1930 and 1945 and those born between 1946 and 1962 were similar in frequency of infections. Similarity of incidence of respiratory infections in family groups was found. Tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy (T and A) was associated with a slightly higher than average incidence of "mild" respiratory tract infections, but surgery was more closely linked with bursts of frequent "more severe" infection in girls. In both sexes there was a statistically significant decrease in "more severe" respiratory tract infections following T and A. The proportion of the group in whom T and A was performed remained constant through the 32 years.
Occurrence of red complex microorganisms and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans in patients with diabetes.

AIM The aim of the present study was to analyze the occurrence of Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis), Tannerella forsythia (T. forsythia), Treponema denticola (T. denticola), and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (A. actinomycetemcomitans) in patients with diabetes. METHODS Periodontal and diabetic parameters and subgingival biofilm samples were obtained from 60 patients with diabetes and 62 patients without diabetes. By using polymerase chain reaction, the prevalence of red complex microorganisms (P. gingivalis, T. forsythia, and T. denticola) and A. actinomycetemcomitans were determined. Descriptive and non-parametric statistical analyses between groups were performed (Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney U-test, and Fisher's exact test). RESULTS Patients with diabetes presented significantly higher periodontal attachment loss levels compared to patients without diabetes. Red complex microorganisms were detected in lower frequencies in patients with diabetes. The detection of A. actinomycetemcomitans was higher in patients with diabetes and periodontitis compared to systemically-healthy patients without periodontitis (P < 0.05). P. gingivalis was associated with periodontitis in non-diabetic patients (P < 0.05), whereas A. actinomycetemcomitans was associated with periodontitis in diabetic patients (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS The findings of the present study indicate that there might be differences in the subgingival microbiota between diabetic and non-diabetic patients. In addition, P. gingivalis and A. actinomycetemcomitans were associated with periodontitis in patients without diabetes and patients with diabetes, respectively.
Pauli graphs when the Hilbert space dimension contains a square: Why the Dedekind psi function?

We study the commutation relations within the Pauli groups built on all decompositions of a given Hilbert space dimension q, containing a square, into its factors. Illustrative low-dimensional examples are the quartit (q = 4) and two-qubit (q = 22) systems, the octit (q = 8), qubit/quartit (q = 2 × 4) and three-qubit (q = 23) systems, and so on. In the single qudit case, e.g. q = 4, 8, 12, … , one defines a bijection between the σ(q) maximal commuting sets (with σ[q) being the sum of divisors of q) of Pauli observables and the maximal submodules of the modular ring , that arrange into the projective line and an independent set of size σ(q) − ψ(q) (with ψ(q) being the Dedekind psi function). In the multiple qudit case, e.g. q = 22, 23, 32, … , the Pauli graphs rely on symplectic polar spaces such as the generalized quadrangles GQ(2, 2) (if q = 22) and GQ(3, 3) (if q = 32). More precisely, in the dimension pn (p a prime) of the Hilbert space, the observables of the Pauli group (modulo the center) are seen as the elements of the 2n-dimensional vector space over the field . In this space, one makes use of the commutator to define a symplectic polar space W2n − 1(p) of cardinality σ(p2n − 1) that encodes the maximal commuting sets of the Pauli group by its totally isotropic subspaces. Building blocks of W2n − 1(p) are punctured polar spaces (i.e. a observable and all maximum cliques passing to it are removed) of size given by the Dedekind psi function ψ(p2n − 1). For multiple qudit mixtures (e.g. qubit/quartit, qubit/octit and so on), one finds multiple copies of polar spaces, punctured polar spaces, hypercube geometries and other intricate structures. Such structures play a role in the science of quantum information.
Activation of extracellular signal‐regulated kinase, ERK2, by p21ras oncoprotein.

To examine signal transduction events activated by oncogenic p21ras, we have studied kinases that are activated following the scrape loading of p21ras into quiescent cells. We observe rapid activation of 42 kDa and 46 kDa protein kinases. The 42 kDa kinase is the mitogen and extracellular‐signal regulated kinase ERK2, (MAP2 kinase), which is activated by phosphorylation on tyrosine and threonine in response to oncogenic p21ras, while the 46 kDa kinase is likely to be another member of the ERK family. Stimulation of these kinases by oncogenic p21ras does not require the presence of growth factors, showing that oncogenic p21ras uncouples kinase activation from external signals. In ras transformed cell lines, these kinases are constitutively activated. We propose that the kinases are important components of the signal transduction pathway activated by p21ras oncoprotein.
The inability of dibutyryl adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate to induce the decidual reaction in intact pseudopregnant mice.

The technique for assessing the ability of a compound to initiate the decidual response is simple and conclusive. It involves introducing the compound in solution into the uterine lumen of an intact rat or mouse during the `sensitive period' of pseudopregnancy (Finn & Keen, 1963; Hetherington, 1968). This technique was used to compare the ability of arachis oil, phosphate-buffered saline (PBS; Dulbecco & Vogt, 1954) and dibutyryl adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (dibutyryl cyclic AMP\p=m-\dcAMP)to initiate the decidual response after injection into the uterine lumen of the mouse at various times on the 4th day of pseudopregnancy. Pseudopregnancy was induced in A2G mice from a closed colony in the Department, by mating them with vasectomized males of the same strain, vaginal plugs being taken to indicate the 1st day of pseudopregnancy. Animals were allocated to fifteen groups, each comprising four to seven mice. On the 4th day at 09.30, 12.30 or 15.30 hours, a single intraluminal injection (by way of the uterotubal junction) of 0\m=. \02 ml arachis oil, PBS or a solution of dcAMP (Sigma) in PBS was given. Three concentrations of dcAMP were used: 1\m=. \25
The New Health-Related Top-Level Domains Are Coming: Will Cureforcancer.health Go to the Highest Bidder?

In 2012, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) opened a new round of applications for generic top-level domain (gTLD) names, receiving 1930 applications, of which at least 18 were related to health (eg, “.doctor”, “.health”, “.med”). The entry of new, commercial players applying to create health-related names reopens the debate on the role of international organizations, governments, non-governmental organizations, and other stakeholders regarding the safeguards and policies needed to protect consumers.
Do emotional states influence binge eating in the obese?

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this experimental investigation was to test the hypothesis that negative affective states trigger disinhibited eating in the form of binge eating in subjects with binge eating disorder (BED). METHOD BED subjects and weight-matched non-eating disordered subjects (NED) attended a laboratory experiment during which they were randomly assigned to a negative or neutral mood induction procedure prior to being served a multi-item buffet. The dependent variable of interest was postmood induction caloric intake. RESULTS There were no significant differences in caloric intake between subjects in the negative and neutral mood conditions. However, negative affect was associated with eating episodes labeled binges, and associated with loss of control. DISCUSSION Our findings suggest that mood may be an important factor that discriminates overeating and binge eating.
Hemodynamic performance of the transplanted human heart.

C ardiac transplantation now offers a substantial probability of survival for one to two years following operation in carefully selected patients.lO Although normal exercise tolerance is sufficient evidence of adequate cardiac function from a therapeutic standpoint, precise evaluation of cardiac performance requires hemodynamic study. For this reason, cardiac catheterizations have been performed on all survivors in our series one year following operation. The studies were designed to search for any evidence of graft reinnervation and to attempt to understand the hemodynamic response to esercise of the clenervated human heart.
Genetic equilibrium despite habitat fragmentation in an Afrotropical bird

We examined the effects of habitat fragmentation of the white‐starred robin Pogonocichla stellata metapopulation in the Taita Hills archipelago, a hotspot for biodiversity which was fragmented ~40 years ago. Using seven microsatellite markers, we analysed the robin's genetic structure and tested for equilibrium between migration and drift (testing the probability of decreased dispersal) as well as between mutation and drift (test for recent reduction in effective population size, i.e. bottlenecks). This metapopulation was found to retain relatively high levels of genetic variability (HE between 0.63 and 0.71) and to be in migration–drift equilibrium, suggesting that increased isolation between fragments did not have much effect on the dispersal between them. Furthermore, this equilibrium test greatly enhanced the interpretation of parameters (e.g. FST) assumed to have reached an equilibrium value. In contrast to previous findings on the related and sympatric Taita thrush Turdus helleri (which is critically endangered), there were no indications for recent bottlenecks in any of the robin subpopulations. This difference can be attributed to the higher dispersal capacity of the robin compared with the thrush (deduced from both the genetic and capture–recapture data). Our results stress the importance of sustained dispersal for species conservation.
Push out bond strength of different obturation systems (An in vitro study)

ABSTARCT Background: The bond strength of the root canal sealers to dentin seems to be a very important property for maintaining the integrity and the seal of root canal filling. The aim of this study was to evaluate the shear bond strength of four different obturation systems using push-out test. Materials and methods: Forty straight palatal roots of the maxillary first molars teeth were used in this study, these roots were instrumented using crown down technique and ProTaper system, instrumentation were done with copious irrigation of 2.5% sodium hypochlorite and 17% buffered solution of EDTA was used as final irrigant followed by distilled water, roots were randomly divided into four groups according to the obturation system (ten teeth for each group): Group I: AH26 sealer and lateral condensation technique, Group II: AH26 sealer and single cone obturation technique, Group III: AH26 sealer and thermafil obturation technique and Group IV: RealSeal SE sealer and lateral condensation technique, the roots then stored in moist environment at 37°C for one week The roots were embedded in clear acrylic resin and each root sectioned into three levels apical, middle and cervical. The measurement of each section was taken to prepare the supporting jig for the sections and the punch used in pushout test, the bond strength was measured using computerized universal testing machine each section fixed in the machine so that the load applied from apical to cervical direction at 0.5mm/min. speed and the computer drew curve to show the higher bond force before dislodgment of the filling material. These forces were divided by the surface area to obtain the bond strength in MPa. Results: Statistical analysis was performed and the result showed avery highly significant differences between the four obturation systems at each level and there were non significant differences between all level apical, middle and cervical within each obturation system except a significant difference found between cervical and apical level in single cone obturation system. Conclusion: This study showed that the shear bond strength of AH26 sealer was higher than RealSeal SE sealer when the same obturation technique was used. The shear bond strength was affected by the obturation technique and lateral condensation technique showed higher bond strength than thermafil and single cone obturation technique when the same type of sealer was used and the bond strength was not or little affected by the tooth level.
A smart, low-cost AC charging system for electrical vehicles

For the industry development of electric vehicles, apart from concerns on the development of electric vehicles, we also need to consider the issue of the construction of charging facilities. Firstly, this paper describes the importance of AC charging piles for electric vehicle development. And then, the structure and the problems of the current AC charging pile are discussed. After that, a new charging system for electric vehicles is given and its structure, functional block diagram, charging payment process and system reliability are discussed in detail. By studying existing AC charging piles on the market, the paper presents a smart, low-cost AC charging system to reduce the cost investigated by power grid companies and operational bodies when constructing a large number of AC charging piles. Compared with the conventional one, the proposed system has prominent features of low cost, small footprint and low investment.
Development of Novel Statistical Potentials Describing Cation-pi Interactions in Proteins and Comparison with Semiempirical and Quantum Chemistry Approaches

Novel statistical potentials derived from known protein structures are presented. They are designed to describe cation-pi and amino-pi interactions between a positively charged amino acid or an amino acid carrying a partially charged amino group and an aromatic moiety. These potentials are based on the propensity of residue types to be separated by a certain spatial distance or to have a given relative orientation. Several such potentials, describing different kinds of correlations between residue types, distances, and orientations, are derived and combined in a way that maximizes their information content and minimizes their redundancy. To test the ability of these potentials to describe cation-pi and amino-pi systems, we compare their energies with those computed with the CHARMM molecular mechanics force field and with quantum chemistry calculations at the Hartree-Fock level (HF) and at the second order of the Møller-Plesset perturbation theory (MP2). The latter calculations are performed in the gas phase and in acetone, in order to mimic the average dielectric constant of protein environments. The energies computed with the best of our statistical potentials and with gas-phase HF or MP2 show correlation coefficients up to 0.96 when considering one side-chain degree of freedom in the statistical potentials and up to 0.94 when using a totally simplified model excluding all side-chain degrees of freedom. These potentials perform as well as, or better than, the CHARMM molecular mechanics force field that uses a much more detailed protein representation. The good performance of our cation-pi statistical potentials suggests their utility in protein structure and stability prediction and in protein design.
AC-DC Bidirectional Single-Phase Step-Down Converter with High Power Factor

This paper presents a converter that allows the operation as rectifier or inverter, with high power factor, which the voltage output can be lower, equal or greater than the peak of the input voltage, besides that working with only a cell of conventional switching. The operation stages, equations, control strategy and design of the converter are presented. Finally, simulation results are shown for operation as rectifier and inverter
Short-term effects of particle size fractions on circulating biomarkers of in fl ammation in a panel of elderly subjects and healthy young adults

Systemic inflammation biomarkers have been associated with risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. We aimed to clarify associations of acute exposure to particulate matter (PM10 (PM < 10 mm), PM2.5-10 (PM 2.5e10 mm), PM2.5 (PM < 2.5 mm), PM1-2.5 (PM 1e2.5 mm), and PM1 (PM < 1 mm)) with systemic inflammation using panels of elderly subjects and healthy young adults. We followed a panel of 44 nonsmoking elderly subjects living in a retirement home and a panel of 40 healthy young adults living in a school dormitory in Tehran city, Iran from May 2012 to May 2013. Blood biomarkers were measured one every 7e8 weeks and included white blood cells (WBC), high sensitive Creactive protein (hsCRP), tumor necrosis factor-soluble receptor-II (sTNF-RII), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and von Willebrand factor (vWF). We measured hourly indoor and outdoor exposure to PM10, PM2.5-10, PM2.5, PM1-2.5, and PM1 mass concentration to derive weighted averages of personal exposure based on simultaneously collected time-activity data. The random intercept linear mixed effects model was used
A knowledge model for the interpretation and visualization of NLP-parsed discharged summaries

At our institution, a Natural Language Processing (NLP) tool called MedLEE is used on a daily basis to parse medical texts including complete discharge summaries. MedLEE transforms written text into a generic structured format, which preserves the richness of the underlying natural language expressions by the use of concept modifiers (like change, certainty, degree and status). As a tradeoff, extraction of application-specific medical information is difficult without a clear understanding of how these modifiers combine. We report on a knowledge model for MedLEE modifiers that is helpful for a high level interpretation of NLP data and is used for the generation of two distinct views on NLP-parsed discharge summaries: A physician view offering a condensed overview of the severity of patient problems and a data mining view featuring binary problem states useful for machine learning.
Uptake and retention of metals by cell walls of Bacillus subtilis

Isolated walls of Bacillus subtilis Marburg, prepared in a manner which avoided metal contamination other than by the growth medium, were incubated in dilute metal solutions, separated by membrane filtration (0.22 mum), and monitored by atomic absorption to give uptake data for 18 metals. Substantial amounts of Mg2+, Fe3+, Cu2+, Na+, and K+ (amounts which were often visible as Au3+, and Ni2+ (the higher atomic-numbered elements also visible as electron scattering), and small amounts of Hg2+, Sr2+, Pb2+, and Ag+ were taken into the wall. Some (Li+, Ba2+, Co2+, and Al3+) were not absorbed. Most metals which had atomic numbers greater than 11 and which could be detected by electron microscopy appeared to diffusely stain thin sections of the wall. Magnesium, on the other hand, partitioned into the central region, and these sections of walls resisted ruthenium red staining, which was not true for the other metals. Areas of the walls also acted as nucleation sites for the growth of microscopic elemental gold crystals when incubated in solutions of auric chloride. Retention or displacement of the metals was estimated by a "chromatographic" method using the walls cross-linked by the carbodiimide reaction to adipic hydrazide agarose beads (which did not take up metal but reduced the metal binding capacity of the walls by ca. 1%) packed in a column. When a series of 12 metal solutions was passed through the column, it became evident that Mg2+, Ca2+, Fe3+, and Ni2+ were strongly bound to the walls and could be detected by both atomic absorption and by their electron-scattering power in thin sections, qhereas the other metals were fisplaced or replaced. Partial lysozyme digestion of the walls (causing a 28% loss of a [3H]diaminopimelic acid label) greatly diminished the Mg2+ retention but not that of Ca2+, Fe3+, or Ni2+, indicating that there are select sites for various cations.
Influence of Coagulation Factor Zymogens on the Infectivity of Adenoviruses Pseudotyped with Fibers from Subgroup D

ABSTRACT Recent evidence supports a role for vitamin K-dependent coagulation zymogens in adenovirus serotype 5 (Ad5, subgroup C) infection of hepatocytes. Here, we assessed the effect of virus-zymogen interaction on cellular transduction using a panel of fiber (f)-pseudotyped viruses derived from subgroup D (f47, f33, f24, f45, f17, f30). Each virus directly bound factor X (FX) as determined by surface plasmon resonance, resulting in enhanced cell surface binding. Infection of HepG2 cells was promoted by FX but not by FVII or FIX, while transduction of CHO cells was blocked in heparan sulfate proteoglycan-deficient cells. This suggests a broad role for FX in adenovirus infectivity.
Multi model control solution for some classes of hysteretic processes

The paper proposes a multiple model structure as control solution for some classes of hysteretic processes. This is developed using the nonlinear geometric characteristic of the process and a classical multiple model control algorithm. The components of the proposed structure are designed based on experimental tests, classic identification and closed loop pole placement methods. The applicability of the different implementations of the structure, suitable for each class of studied hysteretic processes, is demonstrated with a real-time control application implementing RST numerical algorithms. The software and the obtained results are presented and commented in terms of efficiency, advantages and disadvantages.