Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Immunosuppression by glucocorticoids leads to bronchoalveolar neutrophilia in patients with bronchial asthma

Cellular composition of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid was compared between two age-matched steroid-dependent intractable asthma (SDIA) groups : 17 group A patients (serum IgG level 1200mg/dl). 1. The levels of serum IgA and IgM were significantly decreased in group A compared to the levels in group B patients. 2. The number of blood lymphocytes was also significantly lower in group A than in group B patients. However, the number of blood neutrophils was not different between the two asthma groups. 3.The number of BAL lymphocytes was significantly lower in group A than in group B patients. 4. BAL neutrophilia (more than 1.5×10 (4)/ml) was observed in 6 of the 17(35.3%) patients in group A, but not observed in any patients in group B. The number of BAL neutrophils was significantly greater in group A than in group B patients. These results suggest that there is a correlation between immunosuppression by glucocorticoids and BAL neutrophilia in patients with bronchial asthma.
Cancer survival in Australia 1992–1997 : geographic categories and socioeconomic status

Cancer Survival in Australia 1992-1997 is the first national analysis of how cancer survival varies by socioeconomic status and geographic region. It presents an analysis of five-year relative survival proportions by geographic category and socioeconomic status for persons diagnosed with cancer during the years 1992-1997.This analysis is presented by age and sex for all cancers (Excluding non-melanocytic skin cancers) combined and for the following National Health Priority Area cancers - colorectal cancer, cancer of the lung, melanoma, cancer of the breast (females only), cancer of the cervix, cancer of the prostate, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.This report is the third in a series of three reports on relative survival after being diagnosed with cancer. It is an important reference for all those interested in the health of Australians.
The effects of resistance training on individuals with clusters of metabolic risk factors : focus on functional capacities, clinical outcomes and quality of life

The prevalence of high numbers of metabolic risk factors (HiMF) associated with the metabolic syndrome (MetS), type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) has increased considerably over the past two decades. Lifestyle factors including physical inactivity are major components in the development of HiMF. Middle-aged individuals with HiMF and T2DM are commonly characterised by reductions in muscle strength, muscle mass and also lower capacities to perform activities of daily living (ADL's), compared to individuals with low numbers of metabolic risk factors (LoMF). Study one investigated the differences in some characteristics between individuals with HiMF and LoMF. Study two compared the effects of 10 weeks of resistance exercise training (RT) on the capacity to perform ADL's and QoL for middle aged individuals with HiMF and LoMF. Study three examined the effect of RT on conventional and emerging metabolic risk factors for individuals with HiMF and LoMF. The final study investigated the effects of RT on the insulin signalling proteins, Akt (protein kinase B) and Akt substrate of 160 kDa (AS 160), and muscle glycogen stores for individuals with HiMF or LoMF.
Continuous Transdermal Alcohol Monitoring: A Primer for Criminal Justice Professionals

This publication describes how almost all offenders that have been convicted of impaired driving are ordered, as part of their sentencing or probation, to abstain from consuming alcohol. Despite the many alcohol testing methods (e.g., breath, blood, urine) that are available to monitor compliance of this abstinence, compelling offenders to remain sober has been an elusive goal and very difficult to enforce. Existing breath, blood, and urine testing protocols are used infrequently and are not consistently used because of staffing, resource and cost implications. A national survey of 890 probation officers in 41 states has recently found that officers spend less than 10% of their time engaged in random testing. As such, the ability of officers to enforce this condition is limited, and, not surprisingly, offenders are able to engage in undetected drinking behavior. Alcohol testing has evolved over the past decade and this has given rise to a new generation of testing devices. The most promising commercially available technology to date is called Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitoring (SCRAM). This device uses trandermal alcohol monitoring and allows for continuous monitoring of offenders on a 24/7 basis for the duration of the abstinence period. The rapid proliferation of these devices has created a need within the criminal justice profession for information regarding the research on continuous trandermal alcohol testing and monitoring and this publication is trying to fill this need. It provides a comprehensive review of the existing research on transdermal testing, describes current technologies, and it identifies the various ways in which transdermal alcohol testing can enhance the supervision of substance abusing offenders, providing, accurate assessments of alcohol use and compliance with the court-ordered abstinence.
Stress detection and relief using wearable physiological sensors

The aim of the paper was to present a concept and to develop a prototype in the form of a cap which uses a combination of physiological sensors that work in concert to not only detect high stress levels in a person during his daily routine and working env ironment, but also initiate immediate relief measures. The parameters used to detect stress were compared with resting heart rate and brainwave activity to determine whether the person wearing the cap is in a stressed condition. Stress alleviation was achieved using Auditory Stimulation and a Scalp Massage. Early detection of stress and its immediate remedy or reduction can play an important role in preventing mental health disorders. In order to make the product cost effective, the concept of sensing optimum amount of data to trigger a remedial action was given more importance than extensive data collection using large number of sensors. Integrating an IOT device will further allow information to be recorded and transmitted to a caregiver/doctor to prescribe remedial action and thus prevent the condition to take a pathological form or get complicated. The detailed analysis of the collected data can help people identify the precipitating factors for stress and thus aims at reduction of stress related illnesses.
Tuberculin skin testing in BCG-vaccinated populations of adults and children at high risk for tuberculosis in Taiwan.

CONTEXTE: Diverses populations a risque eleve d'infection tuberculeuse (TB) ou existe une couverture importante de vaccination par le bacille de Calmette-Guerin (BCG) dans l'Est de Taiwan. OBJECTIF: Investiguer l'utilite du test cutane tuberculinique (TST) pour le diagnostic de la TB dans les populations vaccinees par le BCG. SCHEMA: Enquete transversale. RESULTATS: La dimension de la reaction TST a ete enregistree chez 444 individus dont l'âge s'etale de 8 mois a 99 ans et dont 94,3% avaient des cicatrices suggerant une vaccination anterieure par le BCG. Le taux de TST positifs (≥10 mm) est augmente dans toutes les comparaisons entre les risques de TB eleves et les faibles risques de TB, notamment les contacts dans le menage (risque relatif [RR] 3,52; P < 0,0001) et les residents a risque intermediaire (RR 2,30; P = 0,030) par comparaison avec un groupe-controle a risque plus faible. La progresr sion de l'âge est associee generalement a des augmentations du taux de positivite du TST. Le sexe et le nombre de vaccinations par le BCG n'ont pas de relation avec le taux de positivite du TST. CONCLUSION: Les resultats de cette enquete suggerent que dans l'Est de Taiwan, une reaction TST positive correspond a une infection TB active ou latente plutot qu'aux vaccinations BCG anterieures. Des lors, une large couverture vaccinale par le BCG dans cette region ne semble pas limiter l'utilite du TST comme outil de diagnostic de la TB.
Development of food-based dietary guidelines for South Africa - the process.

This paper reviews the motivation behind and the process of development of positive practical affordable sustainable and culturally sensitive food-based dietary guidelines (FBDGs) to help South Africans over the age of 5 years to choose an adequate but prudent diet. The guidelines are based on the existing consumption of locally available foods and aim to address identified nutrition-related public health problems. The FBDGs consist of 10 short clear and simple messages which have been tested for comprehension appropriateness and applicability in consumer groups of different ethnic backgrounds in both rural and urban areas. (authors)
Cost-guaranteed H-infinity control for a class of nonlinear networked control systems with long time-delay

The H-infinity cost-guaranteed control problem is considered for a class of uncertain nonlinear networked control systems(NCSs)with long time-delay.Firstly,the NCS model with a random long time-delay is transformed into a discrete-time system model with uncertain parameters;and then,the Lyapunov stability theory and the linear matrix inequality(LMI)approach are employed to develop the existence condition and to design the H-infinity cost-guaranteed controller.Furthermore,the optimal robust H-infinity cost-guaranteed controller is obtained by solving the corresponding convex optimization problem.Finally,simulation results show the validity of the proposed control algorithm.
Treatment, rehabilitation and awareness of stroke in a region with limited resources A descriptive study in the West Bank, the occupied Palestinian territory

4 Background 6 Health care in the occupied Palestinian territory 8 Aim 9 Material and methods 10 Sample 10 Data collection procedures 11 Statistical methods 12 Ethics 13 Results 14 Observation study 14 Questionnaire study 23 Discussion 26 Limitations 29 Conclusions 29 Populärvetenskaplig sammanfattning 30 Acknowledgments 31 References 32 Appendix 1 – Questionnaire 34 Appendix 2 – Protocol 35
Notes and Solutions for : Pattern Recognition by Sergios Theodoridis and

Here you’ll find some notes that I wrote up as I worked through this excellent book. I’ve worked hard to make these notes as good as I can, but I have no illusions that they are perfect. If you feel that that there is a better way to accomplish or explain an exercise or derivation presented in these notes; or that one or more of the explanations is unclear, incomplete, or misleading, please tell me. If you find an error of any kind – technical, grammatical, typographical, whatever – please tell me that, too. I’ll gladly add to the acknowledgments in later printings the name of the first person to bring each problem to my attention.
Clinical use of the serum bactericidal test to guide therapy in pediatric patients with penicillin and cephalosporin-nonsusceptible pneumococcal meningitis

Abstract We report four pediatric patients with penicillin and cephalosporin-nonsusceptible pneumococcal meningitis who were treated with dexamethasone for the first four days of vancomycin therapy. Serum and cerebrospinal fluid bactericidal tests were performed to measure in vivo activity of vancomycin in the presence of dexamethasone. Favorable outcome was achieved in all four patients.
A hybrid analytical-numerical algorithm for computation of scattering from a 3D PEC target above a dielectric rough surface

This paper presents a hybrid analytical-numerical iterative algorithm,which combines the Kirchhoff Approximation(KA) for rough surface and the Method of Moment(MoM) for target,to compute the electromagnetic scattering from a three-dimensional(3D) PEC target above a dielectric rough surface.The coupling surface integral equations(SIEs) for the composite model are derived based on the Green's function of half-space and the Huygens surface equivalence principle.The KA expression for the scattering field of rough surface is derived based on the tangential plane approximation and the right helix relationship.The iteration of KA and MoM takes account the interactions between target and the underlying rough surface.Since is only one numerical integral of induced current on the target performed by KA computation,much memory and computation time is reduced.Convergence and effectivity of the hybrid KA-MoM algorithm is numerically validated,and the effectivity condition is derived.With Monte-Carlo method to generate randomly rough surface samples,an example of bistatic scattering from an irregular hexahedral target above a Gauss rough surface is numerically simulated.Dependences of bistatic scattering pattern upon the surface dielectric property and the target geometry are discussed.
Advancements for A* and RRT in 3D path planning of UAVs

Advancements in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) design, actuator and sensory systems and control are making such devices financially available to a wide spectrum of users with various demands and expectations. To mitigate with this ever increasing demand robust, efficient and application–specific path planning is important. This paper presents advancements over the A* and the smoothing algorithms presented in, 1 utilising the same test scenarios. Analysis of results in 1 showed a ripple in path length as the resolution changes for all scenarios considered and less than 0.1% path length improvements after certain amount of smoothing iterates. To attenuate the path length ripple, the A* ripple reduction algorithm was developed. Results show a reduction of more than 46% in terms of standard deviation with respect to the original A* algorithm without any increase in the mean path length for all scenarios. Secondly, the smoothing algorithm developed in 1 was improved to stop smoothing based on the rate of smoothing of previous iterates. Results show more than 10 multiple less path smoothing time maintaining a path length reduction especially for simple scenarios. These advancements further portray the discussed path planning algorithms as candidates to the realisation of online 3D UAV path planning.
Research on Uncertainty of Flatness Orientation Error Base on New Generation GPS

Because of the flexibility and the measurement merits of the random orientation of CMM,the mathematic model of the flatness directional tolerance based on the least square method is given in this paper.The evaluation method of the directional tolerance is put forward according to the new GPS theory.So the evaluation results based on the new method above can not only meet the requirement of the new GPS criterion,but also can guarantee the integrality of the evaluation result of flatness.Thus,the veracity of the evaluation can be improved.
Retrieval of aerosol optical depth based on 400-1000 nm dense dark vegetation algorithm

From the viewpoint of the satellite remote sensing,the uncertainty of aerosol is the main difficulty for atmospheric correction in visible and near-infrared band.Retrieving the optical parameters of aerosol from remote sensing image itself and then correcting the atmospheric effect with them has been emphasized for a long time.According to the characteristics of radiation transfer of visible and near-infrared band in the atmosphere,a Dense Dark Vegetation(DDV) algorithm based on the linear relationship between red band(660 nm) and near-infrared band(830 nm) of DDV was proposed in order to retrieve the aerosol optical characteristic.The main idea of the method was that on the assumption of clear atmosphere,atmospheric correction for remote sensing image was implemented for reduction of atmospheric effect in infrared band using MODTRAN radiation transmission model,and further dark pixels were searched with multiple iteration method and their apparent reflectance in infrared band was calculated according to the linear relationship between red and infrared band and used to retrieve aerosol optical characteristics.For PHI aero high-spectral images,this method was applied to retrieve the optical depth of aerosol.The retrieval principle,processing step,and error analysis are given.
Comparative analysis between non-linear wavelet based image denoising techniques

Digital images have been a major form of transmission of visual information, but due to the presence of noise, the image gets corrupted. Thus, processing of the received image needs to be done before being used in an application. Denoising of image involves data manipulation to remove noise in order to produce a good quality image retaining different details. Quantitative measures have been used to show the improvement in the quality of the restored image by the use of various thresholding techniques by the use of parameters mainly, MSE (Mean Square Error), PSNR (Peak-Signal-to-Noise-Ratio) and SSIM (Structural Similarity index). Here, non-linear wavelet transform denoising techniques of natural images are studied, analyzed and compared using thresholding techniques such as soft, hard, semi-soft, LevelShrink, SUREShrink, VisuShrink and BayesShrink. On most of the tests, PSNR and SSIM values for LevelShrink Hard thresholding method is higher as compared to other thresholding methods. For instance, from tests PSNR and SSIM values of lena image for VISUShrink Hard, VISUShrink Soft, VISUShrink Semi Soft, LevelShrink Hard, LevelShrink Soft, LevelShrink Semi Soft, SUREShrink, BayesShrink thresholding methods at the variance of 10 are 23.82, 16.51, 23.25, 24.48, 23.25, 20.67, 23.42, 23.14 and 0.28, 0.28, 0.28, 0.29, 0.22, 0.25, 0.16 respectively which shows that the PSNR and SSIM values for LevelShrink Hard thresholding method is higher as compared to other thresholding methods, and so on. Thus, it can be stated that the performance of LevelShrink Hard thresholding method is better on most of tests.
Evaluation of an intracapsular technique for the treatment of cranial cruciate ligament rupture

Summary Treatment of cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) rupture using fascial replacement techniques have yielded good clinical results, with 85% to 93% of dogs returning to clinical soundness or intermittent lameness as evaluated by surgeons or owners, but have not been evaluated by force plate analysis long-term. The purpose of this study is to document the long-term clinical and radiographic outcome of dogs having CCL rupture stabilized with an underand- over fascial graft technique by owner assessment, clinical examination, force plate analysis, plain film radiography, and scintigraphy. Twenty dogs with previously repaired unilateral CCL rupture were used for the study. Although client satisfaction was high, force plate analysis revealed significantly lower vertical forces and impulses in the operated versus unoperated limbs. Radiographs and bone scans revealed significant bony changes and synovitis in the operated stifle relative to the unoperated stifle at a median of 17.5 months following repair. Lameness persists in dogs having undergone CCL repair using the under-and-over fascial graft technique; whether this lameness is secondary to progression of osteoarthritis or is a result of surgical repair is unknown. The under-and-over fascial strip technique for stabilization of cranial cruciate ligament-deficient stifles has been evaluated using force plate analysis and nuclear scintigraphy. A median of 17.5 months following surgery, dogs are bearing less weight on the operated limbs as compared to the unoperated limbs. Significant synovitis and bony changes are present when compared to the unoperated limb as evaluated by scintigraphy. Despite these changes, clients are satisfied with the results of surgical repair.
Transplante de clulas-tronco hematopoticas em gamopatias monoclonais

O transplante de celulas-tronco hematopoeticas (TCTH) e um procedimento de fundamental importância na estrategia terapeutica das gamopatias monoclonais. No mieloma multiplo, em particular, o TCTH autologo esta indicado como estrategia de primeira linha para pacientes ate 70 anos de idade. Nesta capitulo serao discutidas as indicacoes, estrategias e recomendacoes envolvendo o TCTH em gamopatias monoclonais, amiloidose e POEMS, frutos da Reuniao de Consenso da Sociedade Brasileira de Transplante de Medula Ossea.
Goddard's Astrophysics Science Divsion Annual Report 2014

The Astrophysics Science Division (ASD, Code 660) is one of the world's largest and most diverse astronomical organizations. Space flight missions are conceived, built and launched to observe the entire range of the electromagnetic spectrum, from gamma rays to centimeter waves. In addition, experiments are flown to gather data on high-energy cosmic rays, and plans are being made to detect gravitational radiation from space-borne missions. To enable these missions, we have vigorous programs of instrument and detector development. Division scientists also carry out preparatory theoretical work and subsequent data analysis and modeling. In addition to space flight missions, we have a vibrant suborbital program with numerous sounding rocket and balloon payloads in development or operation. The ASD is organized into five labs: the Astroparticle Physics Lab, the X-ray Astrophysics Lab, the Gravitational Astrophysics Lab, the Observational Cosmology Lab, and the Exoplanets and Stellar Astrophysics Lab. The High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center (HEASARC) is an Office at the Division level. Approximately 400 scientists and engineers work in ASD. Of these, 80 are civil servant scientists, while the rest are resident university-based scientists, contractors, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and administrative staff. We currently operate the Swift Explorer mission and the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. In addition, we provide data archiving and operational support for the XMM mission (jointly with ESA) and the Suzaku mission (with JAXA). We are also a partner with Caltech on the NuSTAR mission. The Hubble Space Telescope Project is headquartered at Goddard, and ASD provides Project Scientists to oversee operations at the Space Telescope Science Institute. Projects in development include the Neutron Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) mission, an X-ray timing experiment for the International Space Station; the Transiting Exoplanet Sky Survey (TESS) Explorer mission, in collaboration with MIT (Ricker, PI); the Soft X-ray Spectrometer (SXS) for the Astro-H mission in collaboration with JAXA, and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST), the highest ranked mission in the 2010 decadal survey, is in a pre-phase A study, and we are supplying study scientists for that mission.
The ESO Slice Project (ESP) galaxy redshift survey - III. The sample

The ESO Slice Project (ESP) is a galaxy redshift survey extending over about 23 square degrees, in a region near the South Galactic Pole. The survey is complete to the limiting magnitude and consists of 3342 galaxies with redshift determination. The ESP survey is intermediate between shallow, wide angle samples and very deep, one–dimensional pencil beams; the spanned volume is Mpc3 at the sensitivity peak (). In this paper we present the description of the observations and of the data reduction, the ESP redshift catalogue and the analysis of the quality of the velocity determinations.