Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quantitative Analysis of the Major Temporal Arcade in Retinal Fundus Images of Preterm Infants for Detection of Plus Disease

Monitoring the openness of the major temporal arcade (MTA) and how it changes in the presence of plus disease could assist in the detection and treatment of retinopathy of prematurity. We present image processing techniques, including Gabor filters and a form of the generalized Hough transform, for the detection and modeling of the MTA via a graphical user interface (GUI). An arcade angle measure was also obtained via the GUI for comparative analysis. Using a database of 19 cases with plus disease and 91 cases with no plus disease, an area under the receiver operating characteristics of Az = 0.70 was obtained using the results of dual-parabolic modeling in diagnosis of plus disease. The arcade angle measure provided similar results.
Discrete Image Model and Segmentation for Microstructure Features Identification in Ductile Irons

Ductile irons offer a wide range of mechanical proper ties at a lower cost than the older malleable iron. These properties mainly depend on the shape characteristics of the met al matrix microstructure and on the graphite elements morphology; these geometrical features are currently evaluated by the e xp rts visual inspection. This work provides an auto matic procedure for a reliable estimation of standard parameters of th e material microstructure morphology based on a nove l image segmentation technique. The procedure has been validated versus standard segmentation techniques, and successf ully tested on specimens of different kinds of ductile irons of a t ypical production.
Polarized cells, polar actions

The recognition of polar bacterial organization is just emerging. The examples of polar localization given here are from a variety of bacterial species and concern a disparate array of cellular functions. A number of well-characterized instances of polar localization of bacterial proteins, including the chemoreceptor complex in both C. crescentus and E. coli, the maltose-binding protein in E. coli, the B. japonicum surface attachment proteins, and the actin tail of L. monocytogenes within a mammalian cell, involve proteins or protein complexes that facilitate bacterial interaction with the environment, either the extracellular milieux or that within a plant or mammalian host. The significance of this observation remains unclear. Polarity in bacteria poses many problems, including the necessity for a mechanism for asymmetrically distributing proteins as well as a mechanism by which polar localization is maintained. Large structures, such as a flagellum, are anchored at the pole by means of the basal body that traverses the peptidoglycan wall. But for proteins and small complexes, whether in the periplasm or the membrane, one must invoke a mechanism that prevents the diffusion of these proteins away from the cell pole. Perhaps the periplasmic proteins are retained at the pole by the presence of the periseptal annulus (35). The constraining features for membrane components are not known. For large aggregates, such as the clusters of MCP, CheA, and CheW complexes, perhaps the size of the aggregate alone prevents displacement. In most cases of cellular asymmetry, bacteria are able to discriminate between the new pole and the old pole and to utilize this information for localization specificity. The maturation of new pole to old pole appears to be a common theme as well. Given numerous examples reported thus far, we propose that bacterial polarity displays specific rules and is a more general phenomenon than has been previously recognized.
Expression and regulation of interleukin‐10 and interleukin‐10 receptor in rat astroglial and microglial cells

Activated glial cells crucially contribute to brain inflammatory responses. Interleukin‐10 (IL‐10) is an important modulator of glial cell responses in the brain. In the present study we describe the expression of IL‐10 and the IL‐10 receptor (IL‐10R1) in primary cocultures of rat microglial and astroglial cells. Using quantitative RT‐PCR and ELISA, we show that IL‐10 mRNA expression and subsequent IL‐10 secretion is time‐dependently induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). IL‐10R1, however, is constitutively expressed in glial cell cocultures, as shown by RT‐PCR and immunocytochemistry. Radioligand binding studies using 125I‐IL‐10 reveal that rat glial cells express a single binding site with an apparent affinity of approximately 600 pm for human IL‐10. Observations in enriched cultures of either microglial or astroglial cells indicate that both cell types express IL‐10 mRNA and are capable of secreting IL‐10. Both cell types also express IL‐10R1 mRNA and protein. However, in glial cell cocultures immunoreactive IL‐10R1 protein is predominantly observed in astrocytes, suggesting that microglial expression of IL‐10R1 in cocultures is suppressed by astrocytes. In addition, exogenous IL‐10 is highly potent in down‐regulating LPS‐induced IL‐1β and IL‐10 mRNA, and, at a higher dose, IL‐10R1 mRNA in untreated and LPS‐treated cultures, suggesting that IL‐10 autoregulates its expression and inhibits that of IL‐1β at the transcriptional level. Together the findings support the concept that IL‐10, produced by activated microglial and astroglial cells, modulates glia‐mediated inflammatory responses through high‐affinity IL‐10 receptors via paracrine and autocrine interactions.
Study on method for image retrieval based on feature fusion

Single-feature-based image retrieval system of content-based video retrieval system has a lower performance. In this paper, a algorithm of image retrieval based on NMI invariable feature of dominant color and texture feature is proposed. The shape information and the spatial distribution of dominant color can be described by the NMI invariable feature of dominant color. so the content feature of image can be attained easily and effectively. In order to enhance retrieval efficiency use improved gray level co-occurrence matrix(GLCM) extracted the texture feature. Combination of two types of characteristics is done. And this paper uses the method of similarity measurement for the multi-features. Experiment results show that the algorithm has a better performance.
Clinical Courses of Children With Acute Lobar Nephronia Correlated With Computed Tomographic Patterns

Background: Acute lobar nephronia (ALN) is a complicated acute renal infection that is part of the progression of the inflammatory process of acute pyelonephritis that can progress to renal abscess if left untreated. We examined the place of ALN in the spectrum of upper urinary tract infections. Methods: The medical records of all patients diagnosed with ALN by computed tomography (CT) were reviewed retrospectively in terms of their demographic characteristics, clinical presentations, and laboratory findings. The patterns of the ALN lesions were checked on all contrast-enhanced CT films and the volume of the CT lesions (the extent of renal involvement) was estimated in every patient. Then, the correlation between the clinical presentation and CT lesions was examined. Results: Two distinct CT patterns of ALN lesions were observed in 127 patients: 94 simple ALN and 33 complicated ALN. Simple ALN appeared as striated or wedge-shaped, poorly defined regions of homogeneously decreased nephrographic density, whereas the lesions of complicated ALN showed heterogeneously decreased nephrographic density after contrast enhancement. The volume fraction of the CT lesions correlated well with the duration of fever before (P = 0.006) and after (P < 0.001) treatment in patients with simple ALN, while only the correlation between the fever duration after treatment and the volume fraction of the CT lesions (P < 0.001) was significant in patients with complicated ALN. Patients with complicated ALN were generally older (P = 0.004) and febrile longer after starting antibiotic treatment (P < 0.001). All treatment failures were in the complicated ALN group. Conclusions: Children with ALN comprise 2 groups with different clinical presentations and treatment responses: simple ALN and complicated ALN. We suggest that simple ALN be regarded as a continuation of acute pyelonephritis and require 2 weeks of antibiotic treatment, while complicated ALN is a distinct more severe form requiring a 3-week or longer therapy regimen as the treatment of choice.
Health care utilization and costs of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in U.S. Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 years and older.

RATIONALE Management of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is resource-intensive. Because an increasing prevalence of IPF was found among the elderly in the United States, it is important to understand the economic burden associated with the disease in this population. OBJECTIVES To compare health care resource utilization and costs between patients with IPF and matched control subjects without IPF in Medicare, the largest U.S. payer covering the elderly. METHODS Administrative claims from a 5% random sample of Medicare beneficiaries (aged 65+) from years 2000 to 2011 were analyzed. Incident patients with IPF were identified on the basis of International Classification of Diseases, ninth revision, Clinical Modification diagnosis codes, with at least 1 year of enrollment before (preindex) and after (postindex) the first diagnosis (index date). Up to five beneficiaries without IPF were matched to each patient with IPF, based on age, sex, race, and region. Annual health care resource utilization and medical costs (excluding outpatient drug costs) during the preindex and postindex periods were compared between patients with IPF and matched control subjects. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS A total of 7,855 patients with IPF were matched to 38,856 control subjects. Compared with matched control subjects during the preindex period, patients with IPF had an 82% higher risk of hospitalization (28.8 vs. 15.8%), and 72% higher total medical costs ($10,124 vs. $5,888). Compared with matched control subjects during the postindex period, patients with IPF had a 134% higher risk of hospitalization (48.7 vs. 20.8%), similar increased risk of emergency room visits (39.6 vs. 17.5%), and 134% higher total medical costs ($20,887 vs. $8,932). CONCLUSIONS In the U.S. Medicare population, patients with IPF incurred substantial health care resource utilization. The annual IPF-attributable medical cost to the U.S. health care system, excluding medication costs, is estimated at close to $2 billion.
Comparison of wavelet based watermarking techniques Using SVD

Watermarking is a mechanism to provide security with audio or video. In this study we discuss video mechanism in which information can be hidden directly by modifying intensity values or frequency components of an image. Intensity values of an image can be modified directly, for modifying frequency components image need to transform image using different transformation techniques. Important properties of watermark include imperceptibility and robustness. Singular values of an image have very good stability when small values are added to the image, it does not effect the quality with great variation. Singular values correspond to intensity and singular vectors represent geometric characteristics. Here we made a study of hiding information using different hybrid watermarking techniques, SVD with DWT, RDWT,CWT at various levels of transformations in low, high, mid bands of frequencies. The quality of watermarked data and extracted watermark is calculated using PSNR and NCC by applying various attacks. Depending on the level of transformation and band in which watermark is embedded for some attacks the image was robust and for some it was not. Information can also be hidden in R G B or Y U V color spaces. Watermark extracted from three channels is studied, it was found that some of the channels were vulnerable to many attacks and some were not. Performance evaluation was made by applying various attacks.
Orientation control of multiple underwater vehicles with symmetry-breaking potentials

We present a control strategy for stable orientation alignment of autonomous vehicles traveling together as a coordinated group in three-dimensional space. The control law derives from an artificial potential that depends only on the relative orientation of pairs of vehicles. The result is a controlled system of coupled rigid bodies with partially broken rotational symmetry. Semidirect product reduction theory is used to study the closed-loop dynamics, and the energy-Casimir method is applied to the reduced dynamics to prove stability of an alignment of vehicles translating in parallel along the same body axis. For clarity, the theory is described in detail for the case of two underwater vehicles, and the extension to an arbitrary number of underwater vehicles is summarized.
Activation of latent transforming growth factor‐β1 is induced by mannose 6‐phosphate/insulin‐like growth factor‐II receptor

This study was conducted to further explore the mechanism of transforming growth factor β1 (TGF‐β1) activation, which plays a critical role in many physiological and pathological conditions. We have previously shown that the large (270 kDa), but not small (40 kDa), mannose 6‐phosphate receptors facilitate the cellular response to latent TGF‐β1 released from genetically modified cells. In this study, we explored the role of cell membrane associated transglutaminase and plasmin in mannose 6‐phosphate receptor induced latent TGF‐β activation using MS and MS‐9 cells bearing either no receptors or the 270 kDa mannose 6‐phosphate/insulin‐like growth factor II receptors, respectively. As a source of latent TGF‐β1, PA317 cells were transfected with either pLin‐TGF‐β1 vector or pLin retroviral vector with no TGF‐β1 insert using calcium phosphate precipitation. The latency and bioactivity of TGF‐β1 in conditioned medium derived from transfected PA317 cells were evaluated by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay and mink lung epithelial cell growth inhibition assay, respectively. The level of latent TGF‐β1 was 13‐fold higher (20.1 ± 0.4 vs. 1.5 ± 0.03 ng/ml) in conditioned medium from pLin‐TGF‐β1 transfected cells than that of control. The latency and bioactivity of TGF‐β1 released from pLin‐TGF‐β1 transfected cells were confirmed by evaluation of 3H‐thymidine incorporation in Mv1Lu epithelial cells treated with non‐ and heat‐activated 10% conditioned medium. The results showed a significantly lower 3H‐thymidine incorporation in Mv1Lu epithelial cells treated with heat‐activated PA317 conditioned medium (4% of control) relative to those treated with either control or nonheated conditioned medium. This inhibition was abrogated by addition of 40 μg/ml of TGF‐β1 neutralizing antibody. The level of 3H‐thymidine incorporation was then evaluated in MS‐9 cells receiving Dulbecco's modified Eagle medium containing either 0% 10%, 30% or 50% volumes of nonactivated PA317 conditioned medium for 24 hours. The results showed a markedly lower proliferation in response to 30% and 50% conditioned medium used in MS‐9 cells. Under similar experimental conditions, addition of only mannose 6‐phosphate, but not fructose 6‐phosphate or mannose 1‐phosphate, at 1 mM concentration restored the MS‐9 cell proliferative response to latent TGF‐β1. The inhibitory effects of latent TGF‐β1 on MS‐9 cell proliferation were restored by addition of either TGF‐β1 neutralizing antibody or cystamine, a transglutaminase inhibitor. In contrast, addition of aprotinin, a plasmin inhibitor, had a marginal influence on inhibitory effects of latent TGF‐β1 on MS‐9 cell proliferation. Interestingly, a mixture of latent TGF‐β1 + MS‐9 cell membranes, but not MS cell membranes, also inhibited the mink lung epithelial cell proliferation (34% of control). These findings indicate that mannose 6‐phosphate/insulin‐like growth factor II receptors are involved in latent TGF‐β activation and that is at least partly dependent on cell membrane associated transglutaminase, but not on plasmin.
Listeria grayi bacteremia in a heart transplant recipient

Abstract: Bacteria belonging to the genus Listeria have been isolated from food products of animal, plant, and fish origin, and are associated with infections in immunocompromised hosts, pregnant women, and infants. The species Listeria grayi has rarely been reported as a human pathogen. It has a unique antibiotic sensitivity profile. We describe a case of L. grayi bacteremia in a heart transplant recipient. The organism demonstrated a reduced sensitivity to ampicillin. The patient was successfully treated with a combination of vancomycin and ciprofloxacin.
Integrated analysis of miRNAs and transcriptomes in Aedes albopictus midgut reveals the differential expression profiles of immune‐related genes during dengue virus serotype‐2 infection

Mosquito microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in host‐virus interaction, and have been reported to be altered by dengue virus (DENV) infection in Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae). However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms of Aedes albopictus midgut—the first organ to interact with DENV—involved in its resistance to DENV. Here we used high‐throughput sequencing to characterize miRNA and messenger RNA (mRNA) expression patterns in Aedes albopictus midgut in response to dengue virus serotype 2. A total of three miRNAs and 777 mRNAs were identified to be differentially expressed upon DENV infection. For the mRNAs, we identified 198 immune‐related genes and 31 of them were differentially expressed. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analyses also showed that the differentially expressed immune‐related genes were involved in immune response. Then the differential expression patterns of six immune‐related genes and three miRNAs were confirmed by real‐time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Furthermore, seven known miRNA‐mRNA interaction pairs were identified by aligning our two datasets. These analyses of miRNA and mRNA transcriptomes provide valuable information for uncovering the DENV response genes and provide a basis for future study of the resistance mechanisms in Aedes albopictus midgut.
Divorce Law and Women&Apos;S Labor Supply

Divorce law changes made in the 1970s affected marital formation, dissolution, and bargaining within marriage. By altering the terms of the marital contract these legal changes impacted the incentives for women to enter and remain in the labor force. Whereas earlier work had suggested that the impact of unilateral divorce on female employment depended critically on laws governing property division, I show that these results are not robust to alternative specifications and controls. I find instead that unilateral divorce led to an increase in both married and unmarried female labor force participation, regardless of the pre-existing laws regarding property division.
Electrical stimulation in cerebral palsy: a review of effects on strength and motor function.

Interest in the area of cerebral palsy (CP) and electrical stimulation continues to grow because it has potential as a passive, non-invasive, home-based therapy, which is claimed to result in gains in strength and motor function. If proved effective it might provide an alternative to resistive exercise techniques for children with poor selective muscle control, or indeed it might improve treatment compliance in those children who find exercise programmes difficult. Unfortunately, early reports on the efficacy of this intervention are undermined by poor methodology. A lack of consensus on optimal treatment parameters and variation in the physical abilities of the participants further confound interpretation of the literature.
An Improved Analysis for Approximating the Smallest k-Edge Connected Spanning Subgraph of a Multigraph

Khuller and Raghavachari [J. Algorithms, 21 (1996), pp. 434--450] present an approximation algorithm (the KR algorithm) for finding the smallest k-edge connected spanning subgraph (k-ECSS) of an undirected multigraph. They prove the KR algorithm has an approximation ratio < 1.85. We improve this bound to $\le 1+\sqrt{1/e}<1.61$ (for odd k we modify the base case of the KR algorithm). This is the best-known performance bound for a combinatorial approximation algorithm for the smallest k-ECSS problem for arbitrary k. Our analysis also gives the best-known combinatorial performance bound for any fixed value of $k\ge 3$, e.g., for even k the approximation ratio is $\le 1+(1-{1\over k})^{k/2}$. Our analysis is based on a laminar family of sets (similar to families used in related contexts) which gives a better accounting of edges added in previous iterations of the algorithm. We also present a polynomial time implementation of the KR algorithm on multigraphs, running in the time for O(nm) maximum flow computations, where n (m) is the number of vertices (edges, not counting parallel copies), respectively. This complements the implementation of Khuller and Raghavachari [J. Algorithms, 21 (1996), pp. 434--450] which uses time O((kn)2) and is efficient for small k.
Role of Molecular Chaos in Granular Fluctuating Hydrodynamics

We perform a numerical study of the fluctuations of the rescaled hydrodynamic trans- verse velocity field during the cooling state of a homogeneous granular gas. We are interested in the role of Molecular Chaos for the amplitude of the hydrodynamic noise and its relaxation in time. For this purpose we compare the results of Molecular Dynamics (MD, deterministic dynamics) with those from Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC, random process), where Molecular Chaos can be directly controlled. It is seen that the large time decay of the fluctuation's autocorrelation is always dictated by the viscosity coefficient predicted by granular hydrodynamics, independently of the numerical scheme (MD or DSMC). On the other side, the noise amplitude in Molecular Dy- namics, which is known to violate the equilibrium Fluctuation-Dissipation relation, is not always accurately reproduced in a DSMC scheme. The agreement between the two models improves if the probability of recollision (controlling Molecular Chaos) is reduced by increasing the number of virtual particles per cells in the DSMC. This result suggests that DSMC is not necessarily more efficient than MD, if the real number of particles is small (» 10 3 § 10 4 ) and if one is interested in accurately reproduce fluctuations. An open question remains about the small-times behavior of the autocorrelation function in the DSMC, which in MD and in kinetic theory predictions is not a straight exponential.
Aedes aegypti and Aedes aegypti-borne disease control in the 1990s: top down or bottom up. Charles Franklin Craig Lecture.

It is a great honor to be asked to present the Charles Franklin Craig Lecture of this Society. I initially accepted this responsibility with some trepidation, and after reviewing the list of previous Craig Lecturers, I became even more nervous about the prospects of addressing you. It is indeed an honor to be added to that list. I would like to express my sincere thanks to those responsible for my selection as the Craig lecturer, including the committee who selected me for this honor, the many collaborators who over the years have made my work much better than it would have otherwise been, and last, but not least, my wife Bobbie whose understanding and tireless support made it all possible. Charles Franklin Craig helped establish the viral etiology of dengue fever in 1907, so it is appropriate that I talk about this disease today.