Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quantitative Ultrasound Assessment of Cervical Microstructure

The objective of this preliminary study was to determine whether quantitative ultrasound (QUS) can provide insight into, and characterization of, uterine cervical microstructure. Throughout pregnancy, cervical collagen reorganizes (from aligned and anisotropic to disorganized and isotropic) as the cervix changes in preparation for delivery. Premature changes in collagen are associated with premature birth in mammals. Because QUS is able to detect structural anisotropy/isotropy, we hypothesized that it may provide a means of noninvasively assessing cervical microstructure. Thorough study of cervical microstructure has been limited by lack of technology to detect small changes in collagen organization, which has in turn limited our ability to detect abnormal and/or premature changes in collagen that may lead to preterm birth. In order to determine whether QUS may be useful for detection of cervical microstructure, radiofrequency (rf) echo data were acquired from the cervices of human hysterectomy specimens (n = 10). The angle between the acoustic beam and tissue was used to assess anisotropic acoustic propagation by control of transmit/receive angles from −20° to +20°. The power spectrum of the echo signals from within a region of interest was computed in order to investigate the microstructure of the tissue. An identical analysis was performed on a homogeneous phantom with spherical scatterers for system calibration. Power spectra of backscattered rf from the cervix were 6 dB higher for normal (0°) than steered (±20°) beams. The spectral power for steered beams decreased monotonically (0.4 dB at +5° to 3.6 dB at +20°). The excess difference (compared to similar analysis for the phantom) in normally-incident (0°) versus steered beams is consistent with scattering from an aligned component of the cervical microstructure. Therefore, QUS appears to reliably identify an aligned component of cervical microstructure; because collagen is ubiquitously and abundantly present in the cervix, this is the most likely candidate. Detection of changes in cervical collagen and microstructure may provide information about normal versus abnormal cervical change and thus guide development of earlier, more specific interventions for preterm birth.
Age-related macular disease in rural southern Italy.

OBJECTIVE To report the prevalence of age-related maculopathy (ARM) in Salandra, a small, isolated southern Italian community, to test the hypothesis that an environmental factor, scarce in such a remote community but ubiquitous in modern industrial societies, might modify the risk of developing ARM. DESIGN Population-based cross-sectional survey. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Prevalence of advanced age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) (geographic atrophy or exudative maculopathy) and ARM (large, soft drusen or retinal pigment epithelium changes, or both) defined by fundus biomicroscopy and 30 degrees stereoscopic, macular photography. Self-sustenance was assessed by interview of participants and local shop retailers. The degree of genetic isolation was computed using a model that fits the genetic population structure with the frequency distribution of surnames in the community. RESULTS A full ophthalmic examination was undertaken in 366 (63.5%) of 576 eligible participants, 354 (96.7%) of whom had clinical or photographic assessment for the presence of ARMD and 310 (84.6%) of whom had drusen characteristics graded on color transparencies for ARM. The overall prevalence of ARMD was 1.1%. Drusen larger than 50 microns and more numerous than 10 were found in 4.5% of subjects. Salandra was the birthplace of 87.2% of participants and for 77.3% of both parents of each subject. People in the community tended to consume homegrown products. CONCLUSION The prevalence of ARM may be lower in this self-sustained farming community than elsewhere in the industrialized world.
Role of epitope density in the induction of tolerance and immunity with thymus‐independent antigens. III. Interaction of epitope density and receptor avidity

The induction of B cell tolerance to 2,4‐dinitrophenyl conjugates of polysaccharide antigens (levan or dextran) was studied in mice primed with keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) or 2,4,6‐trinitrophenylated KLH. The relationship of the epitope density of the tolerogen with avidity of B cell receptors (as judged indirectly by a plaque inhibition assay) was investigated. It was found that high avidity precursors (IgG) were tolerized by antigen of much lower epitope density, and at lower concentration, than were low avidity precursors (especially IgM cells). IgA cells were intermediate in behavior. These results suggest that the epitope density effect acts by ensuring a necessary degree and/or energy of antigen binding.
Bone marrow minimal disseminated disease (MDD) and minimal residual disease (MRD) in childhood T‐cell lymphoblastic lymphoma stage III, detected by flow cytometry (FC) and real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RQ‐PCR)

Despite overlapping features of T‐cell lymphoblastic lymphoma (T‐LLy) and T‐cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T‐ALL), which respond favorably to T‐ALL treatment, clinical and biological differences exist. We retrospectively assessed the prevalence of submicroscopic bone marrow (BM) minimal disseminated disease (MDD) at diagnosis and the early response to treatment (minimal residual disease—MRD) and their prognostic significance in 17 children with stage III T‐LLy treated according to Berlin‐Frankfurt‐Munster (BFM) non‐Hodgkin lymphoma protocols.
A compact single layer monopulse microstrip antenna array

A compact single layer monopulse microstrip patch antenna array for the application of monopulse radar has been designed, manufactured and tested. The array, the monopulse comparator and the feed network are placed on the same layer, resulting in a very compact structure. The limitation of this structure is discussed. The effects of spurious radiation and blockage caused by the comparator on the sidelobe level are estimated. A space mapping (SM) technique is applied to design microstrip subarray. The bandwidth (VSWR<2) of the antenna is 5.6%, the operating frequency is between 13.85-15.1 GHz and the designed central frequency is 14.25 GHz. Our measurements show that, both for the E plane and for the H plane, the sidelobe levels of the sum pattern are less than -17 dB, and the null depths of the difference pattern are less than -30 dB. The maximum gain at the operating frequencies is 24.5 dBi.
Hypoalbuminaemia in critically ill children: incidence, prognosis, and influence on the anion gap

Aims: Hypoalbuminaemia has significance in adult critical illness as an independent predictor of mortality. In addition, the anion gap is predominantly due to the negative charge of albumin, thus hypoalbuminaemia may lead to its underestimation. We examine this phenomenon in critically ill children, documenting the incidence, early evolution, and prognosis of hypoalbuminaemia (<33 g/l), and quantify its influence on the anion gap. Methods: Prospective descriptive study of 134 critically ill children in the paediatric intensive care unit (ICU). Paired arterial blood samples were taken at ICU admission and 24 hours later, from which blood gases, electrolytes, and albumin were measured. The anion gap (including potassium) was calculated and then corrected for albumin using Figge’s formula. Results: The incidence of admission hypoalbuminaemia was 57%, increasing to 76% at 24 hours. Neither admission hypoalbuminaemia, nor extreme hypoalbuminaemia (<20 g/l) predicted mortality; however, there was an association with increased median ICU stay (4.9 v 3.6 days). After correction for albumin the incidence of a raised anion gap (>18 mEq/l) increased from 28% to 44% in all samples (n = 263); this discrepancy was more pronounced in the 103 samples with metabolic acidosis (38% v 73%). Correction produced an average increase in the anion gap of 2.7 mEq/l (mean bias), with limits of agreement of ±3.7 mEq/l. Conclusion: Admission hypoalbuminaemia is common in critical illness, but is not an independent predictor of mortality. However, failure to correct the anion gap for albumin may underestimate the true anion gap, producing error in the interpretation of acid-base abnormalities. This may have treatment implications.
Ultrasound-based robot position estimation

A novel 3-D ultrasound position sensor provides low-cost, high-precision measurements of the Cartesian position of a robot wrist within a the robot's workspace. These measurements can, for instance, be used in a taskspace feedback loop to reduce the kinematic error. The basic idea is to mount ultrasound senders on the manipulator wrist and compute the 3-D Cartesian position of these sensors using 1-D range measurements between the senders and an array of ultrasound receivers at fixed, known locations. The main obstacle to precise range measurements is the presence of air turbulences and convection currents. This gives rise to noise which is spatially and temporally correlated. A stochastic model of this noise is presented and backed by experiments. It is proposed that the changing 3-D Cartesian position of the moving wrist is tracked by the sensor using a modified extended Kalman filter which incorporates the stochastic noise model and information derived from a static reference sender.
Decentralized control of a line interactive Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)

The decentralized control of a line interactive UPS through p-ω and q-V droop control requires measurement only of variables local to the UPS and does not require a communication link. The droop control strategy has been known to result in unstable systems for large gain constants. This paper begins with a behavioral approach to system representation and presents the transfer function of the controlled system. By determining the location of the poles and zeros of the open loop transfer function, comments are made about the stability of the controlled system for various gains. The value of control gain that causes instability can be determined analytically. Simulations in Scilab are used to show the change in the poles of the controlled system with changes in control gain. Experimental results have been presented to show the operation of the line interactive UPS in transient state.
Current Perspectives for the use of Gonane Progesteronergic Drugs in the Treatment of Central Hypoventilation Syndromes

Background: Central alveolar hypoventilation syndromes (CHS) encompass neurorespiratory diseases resulting from congenital or acquired neurological disorders. Hypercapnia, acidosis, and hypoxemia resulting from CHS negatively affect physiological functions and can be life-threatening. To date, the absence of pharmacological treatment implies that the patients must receive assisted ventilation throughout their lives. Objective: To highlight the relevance of determining conditions in which using gonane synthetic progestins could be of po-tential clinical interest for the treatment of CHS. Methods: The mechanisms by which gonanes modulate the respiratory drive were put into the context of those established for natural progesterone and other synthetic progestins. Results: The clinical benefits of synthetic progestins to treat respiratory diseases are mixed with either positive outcomes or no improvement. A benefit for CHS patients has only recently been proposed. We incidentally observed restoration of CO2 chemosensitivity, the functional deficit of this disease, in two adult CHS women by desogestrel, a gonane progestin, used for contraception. This effect was not observed by another group, studying a single patient. These contradictory findings are probably due to the complex nature of the action of desogestrel on breathing and led us to carry out mechanistic studies in rodents. Our results show that desogestrel influences the respiratory command by modulating the GABAA and NMDA sig-naling in the respiratory network, medullary serotoninergic systems, and supramedullary areas. Conclusion: Gonanes show promise for improving ventilation of CHS patients, although the conditions of their use need to be better understood
Misconceptions of Regular Classroom Teachers about Physically Handicapped Students

Where parents argued that services were not sufficiently intensive, hearing officers tended to require additional services. Schools were frequently ordered to develop more explicit educational plans which presented goals, teaching techniques, the nature of services, and other specifics. In 13 of 49 cases, decisions indicated that after some or all of the testimony at a hearing, the parents and the school had agreed on new services or assessments for the child, which were then entered into the record. This suggests that there is room for negotiation when a dispute involves altered public school services and that a better process of communication between the parents and school personnel at an earlier point might have averted some of these appeals.
Increased Utilization of Wind Generation by Coordinating the Demand Response and Real-time Thermal Rating

Demand response (DR) will play an essential role in smart grids by contributing to the operational flexibility requirement arising from the increased penetration of intermittent renewable generation. However, DR activation could be hampered in the absence of intelligent network management. Real-time thermal rating (RTTR) functions as a smart network management tool for unlocking the network capacities by allowing the network to safely operate during overload states. This paper offers an optimal residential DR approach integrated with RTTR to balance the hourly wind power production. The proposed framework is modeled from the perspective of an electrical aggregator that manages the population of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) loads for wind power balancing considering the RTTR of a distribution network. The model schedules the HVAC loads without deterioration of the customers' temperature preferences. To demonstrate the performance of the proposed approach, simulations are performed on a typical Finnish distribution network plan. The results demonstrate the considerable benefits that can be realized by coordinating the DR and RTTR in a distribution network for wind generation balancing.
Poverty Decline, Agricultural Wages, and Non-Farm Employment in Rural India: 1983-2004

The authors analyze five rounds of National Sample Survey data covering 1983, 1987/8, 1993/4, 1999/0, and 2004/5 to explore the relationship between rural diversification and poverty. Poverty in rural India declined at a modest rate during this period. The authors provide region-level estimates that illustrate considerable geographic heterogeneity in this progress. Poverty estimates correlate well with region-level data on changes in agricultural wage rates. Agricultural labor remains the preserve of the uneducated and also to a large extent of the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. Although agricultural labor grew as a share of total economic activity over the first four rounds, it had fallen back to the levels observed at the beginning of the survey period by 2004. This all-India trajectory masks widely varying trends across states. During this period, the rural non-farm sector grew modestly, mainly between the last two survey rounds. Regular non-farm employment remains largely associated with education levels and social status that are rare among the poor. However, casual labor and self-employment in the non-farm sector reveal greater involvement by disadvantaged groups in 2004 than in the preceding rounds. The implication for poverty is not immediately clear - the poor may be pushed into low-return casual non-farm activities due to lack of opportunities in the agricultural sector rather than being pulled by high returns offered by the non-farm sector. Econometric estimates reveal that expansion of the non-farm sector is associated with falling poverty via two routes: a direct impact on poverty that is likely due to a pro-poor marginal incidence of non-farm employment expansion; and an indirect impact attributable to the positive effect of non-farm employment growth on agricultural wages. The analysis also confirms the important contribution to rural poverty reduction from agricultural productivity, availability of land, and consumption levels in proximate urban areas.
Annexin A2 is involved in pig (Sus scrofa)sperm‐oviduct interaction

The oviduct is a dynamic organ which modulates gamete physiology. Sperm‐oviduct interaction provides the formation of a sperm storage reservoir and allows the selection of sperm with certain qualities in eutherian mammals. In sows, the oviductal sperm binding glycoprotein (SBG) has been proposed to be involved in sperm selection. In this work, based on its affinity to sperm periacrosomal membrane proteins, we isolate another pig oviductal cell protein that interacts with sperm. Peptide identification by LC/MS–MS allowed the identification of this protein as annexin A2. The presence of this annexin, as well as annexin A1 and annexin A5 in sow oviductal cells was confirmed by Western blot with specific antibodies. The three proteins were localized in sow oviduct by immunohistochemistry, showing the presence of annexin A2 at the apical surface of the oviductal epithelial cells. Based on our data and the fact that annexins have been stated as candidate receptors of bovine sperm for sperm reservoir formation, we propose that this family of proteins is involved in sperm‐oviduct interaction, annexin A2 being the main sperm binding isoform in pig. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 76: 334–341, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Design of a holonomic omnidirectional vehicle

A novel design of a holonomic omnidirectional vehicle is introduced. The holonomic mechanism allows the vehicle to maneuver in an arbitrary direction from an arbitrary configuration on a plane. This significantly simplifies control problems and improves positioning accuracy. A fundamental method of obtaining omnidirectional motion with holonomic constraints with the floor, using a mechanism with spherical tires, is presented. Kinematic analysis of this mechanism gives the vehicle Jacobian relating actuator velocities to the vehicle velocity components. Analysis of lateral tire slip during vehicle rotation allows slip reduction methods. A prototype vehicle using this special mechanism and a computerized control system is designed and tested. In addition to rotation, the vehicle can perform very accurate translational motions, in two orthogonal directions, arbitrarily termed forward and sideways. Motions in these two degrees of freedom are decoupled from each other and are insensitive to variations in ground friction coefficient. <<ETX>>
Highly Available Database Management Systems

IntroductIon In the Internet age, real-time Web-based services are becoming more pervasive every day. They span virtually all business and government sectors, and typically have a large number of users. Many such services require continuous operation, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Any extended disruption in services, including both planned and unplanned downtime, can result in significant financial loss and negative social effects. Consequently, the systems providing these services must be made highly available. A Web-based service is typically powered by a multi-tier system, consisting of Web servers, application servers, and database management systems, running in a server farm environment. The Web servers handle direct Web traffic and pass requests that need further processing to the application servers. The application servers process the requests according to the predefined business logic. The database management systems store and manage all mission-critical data and application states so that the Web servers and application servers can be programmed as stateless servers. (Some application servers may cache information, or keep session state. However, the loss of such state may reduce performance temporarily or may be slightly annoying to the affected user, but not critical.) This design is driven by the demand for high scalability (to support a large number of users) and high availability (to provide services all the time). If the number of users has increased, more Web servers and application servers can be added dynamically. If a Web server or an application server fails, the next request can be routed to another server for processing. Inevitably, this design increases the burden and importance of the database management systems. However, this is not done without good reason. Web applications often need to access and generate a huge amount of data on requests from a large number of users. A database management system can store and manage the data in a well-organized and structured way (often using the relational model). It also provides highly efficient Highly Available Database Management Systems concurrency control on accesses to shared data. While it is relatively straightforward to ensure high availability for Web servers and application servers by simply running multiple copies in the stateless design, it is not so for a database management system, which in general has abundant state. The subject of highly available database systems has been studied for more than two decades, and there exist many alternative solutions & Alonso, 2005). In this article, …
PYRIDOXINE AND MYOCLONIC SEIZURES

Seizures diminished in one of three patients with the syndrome of infantile myoclonic seizures when treated with a tryptophan-deficient diet. (Low et al., 1958 1. Subsequently, many investigators have reported alterations in the pyridoxine-linked pathway from tryptophan to nicotinic acid in this syndrome. (French et al., 1965, References 33-39 and 41; Hughes et al., 1967). The ratio of urinary 3-hydroxykynurenine to 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid as well as xanthurenic aciduria with tryptophan loading were interpreted as indicators of kynureninase activity in 15 patients with infantile myoclonic seizures whose dietary intakes of pyridoxine were known to be normal (French et ul. ,