Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A novel bi-directional deformable fluid actuator

The deformable fluid actuators available on the market, i.e. pneumatic muscles and pneumatic springs, are designed to mainly exert compressive or tensile forces. This paper deals with a novel fluid deformable actuator, with three membranes, called BiFAc3, whose particular feature is the ability to exert both tensile and compressive forces. The structure of the actuator is based on three cylindrical coaxial nonisotropic membranes connected to two end plates, whose original shape allows the independent supply of the three internal chambers. The first part of the paper deals with the internal structure and the geometry of the actuator, describes the operating principle and presents a prototype. The second part presents a modelling methodology that can be used to design and analyse the actuator in dynamic applications. The mathematical model of the actuator is based on three different levels of complexity which correspond to three consecutive design stages. The model has been experimentally validated: it is a useful tool for the choice of the actuator’s geometrical dimensions, in order to satisfy specific applicative requirements.
Interactive data exploration with a supercomputer

An experiment in exploratory data visualization using a massively parallel processor is described. In exploratory data visualization, it is typically not known what is being looked for: instead, the data are explored with a variety of visualization techniques that can illuminate its nature by demonstrating patterns in it. With this approach, the authors were able to find new features in some of their oldest datasets and to create more vivid presentations of familiar features in these datasets. Their experience has also led to a better understanding of the nature of the exploratory visualization and has resulted in some formal representations of the interaction process in this environment. <<ETX>>
Development of a Smartphone App for Visualizing Heart Sounds and Murmurs

Background: Auscultation is one of the basic techniques for the diagnosis of heart disease. However, the interpretation of heart sounds and murmurs is a highly subjective and difficult skill. Objectives: To assist the auscultation skill at the bedside, a handy phonocardiogram was developed using a smartphone (Samsung Galaxy J, Android OS 4.4.2) and an external microphone attached to a stethoscope. Methods and Results: The Android app used Java classes, “AudioRecord,” “AudioTrack,” and “View,” that recorded sounds, replayed sounds, and plotted sound waves, respectively. Sound waves were visualized in real-time, simultaneously replayed on the smartphone, and saved to WAV files. To confirm the availability of the app, 26 kinds of heart sounds and murmurs sounded on a human patient simulator were recorded using three different methods: a bell-type stethoscope, a diaphragm-type stethoscope, and a direct external microphone without a stethoscope. The recorded waveforms were subjectively confirmed and were found to be similar to the reference waveforms. Conclusions: The real-time visualization of the sound waves on the smartphone may help novices to readily recognize and learn to distinguish the various heart sounds and murmurs in real-time.
Polymorphisms of KDR gene are associated with coronary heart disease.

OBJECTIVES Our purpose was to determine whether the common polymorphisms (SNP-604, SNP1192, and SNP1719) in KDR are associated with risk of coronary heart disease. BACKGROUND Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptor KDR (kinase insert domain-containing receptor/fetal liver kinase-1, also called VEGFR2) play critical roles in angiogenesis and vascular repair, which are involved in the progress of coronary heart disease. METHODS The association of the 3 polymorphisms with risk of coronary heart disease was determined in 2 independent case-control studies: one comprised of 665 patients with coronary heart disease and 1,015 control subjects, and the other comprised of 369 patients and 625 control subjects. The SNP functions of KDR gene were studied by using luciferase reporter assays, determination of serum levels of KDR, and ligand-binding assays. RESULTS The 2 independent population studies showed that the 3 polymorphisms were associated with risk of coronary heart disease with odds ratios of 1.37 for SNP-604 (p = 0.006), 1.41 for SNP1192 (p = 0.011), and 1.37 for SNP1719 (p = 0.007) in the first population, and 1.40 for SNP-604 (p = 0.015), 1.75 for SNP1192 (p = 0.003), and 1.50 for SNP1719 (p = 0.010) in the second population. The SNP-604C-bearing KDR promoter exhibited 68% of lower transcription activity than the SNP-604T-bearing promoter. The SNP1192 and SNP1719 could obviously influence the efficiency of VEGF binding to KDR. CONCLUSIONS The KDR polymorphisms may serve as novel genetic markers for the risk of coronary heart disease.
Detection of DNA Damage Using Comet Assay Image Analysis

Article history: Reactive species such as free radicals are constantly produced in vivo and DNA is the very important target of oxidative stress. Oxidative DNA damage is considered as a predictive biomarker to monitor the risk of development of many diseases. The comet assay is widely used for specifying oxidative DNA damage at a single cell level. The analysis of comet assay output images, however, poses considerable challenges. The comet assay, also known as single-cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE), is a simple, sensitive and reliable method for studying DNA damage caused by physical and chemical agents. So the comet assay is a well-established, simple, versatile, visual, rapid, and sensitive method used extensively to assess DNA damage quantitatively and qualitatively at single cell level. The comet assay is most frequently used to analyze white blood cells or lymphocytes in human bio monitoring studies. So through the analysis of comet assay image we can detect edge of damaged DNA comet isolating it from undamaged DNA. Keyword: Comet assay; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Nucleobase; Genotoxicity;
SGNET : automated protocol learning for the observation of malicious threats

Un des prealables au developpement de defenses fiables pour la protection d'un reseau informatique est la collection de donnees quantitatives sur les menaces qui le visent depuis l'Internet. Ce besoin de « connaitre notre ennemi » induit un interet croissant pour la collecte et l'exploitation des informations sur les activites malveillantes observables. La creation de bases de donnees recensant ces evenements n'est pas une tâche facile. En effet, il faut pouvoir tenir compte de la diversite quantitative et spatiale des attaques. La collecte des donnees doit etre pratiquee sur une grande echelle car les sources et destinations d'attaques ne sont pas uniformement reparties sur l'espace des adresses IP. En meme temps, les techniques de collecte de donnees doivent etre suffisamment sophistiquees pour extraire une quantite suffisante d'informations sur chaque activite et permettre des deductions sur les phenomenes observes. Il faut donc pouvoir deployer un grand nombre de capteurs et chacun de ces capteurs doit etre a meme de fournir des informations riches. Ce travail propose une solution qui concilie facilite de deploiement et richesse de collecte. Il introduit de nouvelles techniques pour construire des systemes de collecte de donnees simples mais evolutives, capables de fournir des informations detaillees sur les evenements observes. Ces techniques sont mises en pratique dans un systeme distribue qui a recueilli des informations sur une periode de 8 mois dans 23 differents reseaux situes dans le monde entier (Europe, Australie, Etats Unis). Ces informations ont ete organisees dans un base de donnees, et une methode d'analyse a ete proposee et validee sur ces donnees.
Accuracy in locating glass transitions: aging and gamma sterilization of vulcanized thermoplastic elastomers

Abstract We have studied nine thermoplastic vulcanizate elastomers (TPVs) in four series: as made, after accelerated aging, after γ irradiation, after both irradiation and aging. The materials exhibit two glass transitions, one seen in crosslinked regions and the other in un-crosslinked amorphous regions. Three techniques of determination of glass transitions have been used and the results compared, all three based on dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA): as a peak in the loss modulus E’’; as a peak in tan δ; and as the midpoint of the rapid decrease in the storage modulus E’. We recommend the last method for both fundamental and practical reasons.
Accuracy of Estimated Blood Loss in Predicting Need for Transfusion after Delivery

Abstract Objective The definition of postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) was developed more than 50 years ago. Since then, the obstetric population has changed dramatically. We sought to determine how well we estimated blood loss (EBL) and find thresholds predicting need for transfusion. Study Design We performed a prospective cohort study from 2010 to 2012, comparing those who needed transfusion postpartum and those who did not. EBL, calculated EBL (cEBL), and change in hematocrit were calculated for patients who did not receive transfusion, and EBL was calculated for those who did receive transfusion, stratified by delivery type. Receiver operator curves were created and optimal thresholds of EBL to predict transfusion were estimated. Results Among 4,804 patients, transfusion was required for 0.65% of vaginal and 8.7% of cesarean deliveries. Median EBL was higher in women requiring transfusion. A weak correlation was noted between EBL and cEBL for all deliveries. Thresholds of 500 mL blood loss for vaginal delivery and 1,000 mL for cesarean had the best predictive ability for transfusion. Conclusion In this modern obstetric, cohort EBL is weakly correlated with cEBL, suggesting that accuracy of clinical estimates of blood loss is modest. However, EBL predicts need for transfusion, with optimal thresholds of 500 mL for a vaginal delivery and 1,000 mL in a cesarean. This validates the traditional definitions of PPH in our modern population.
A Design of Dual-Frequency Dual-Sense Circularly-Polarized Slot Antenna

A single-feed dual-frequency dual-sense circularly-polarized (CP) printed slot antenna etched on a single substrate is proposed. This antenna is composed of an annular slot and a cross slot, which produce two different frequency bands. The lower band and the upper band are controlled by the annular slot and the cross slot respectively. By introducing asymmetry on both annular slot and cross slot, CP radiation at the two frequencies can be obtained. The method of impedance matching has been discussed in detail. The key parameters of the design are investigated to show how to obtain dual-frequency and dual circular polarization. Two antenna prototypes are fabricated and measured, experimental results show that good CP radiation performances are obtained at both frequencies.
DEMOCRACIA ASOCIATIVA Y VIRTUDES CÍVICAS COMO RESPUESTA AL PRIVATISMO LIBERAL CIUDADANO

Se percibe desde la decada de los 60 y 70 una imagen extendida en la mayor parte de las democracias liberales consolidadas de desintegracion del orden civil, de crisis de la disciplina social, de debilidad de los lideres politicos y de alienacion de los ciudadanos (Crozier, Huntington y Watanuki, 1975). Un descenso en la confianza hacia las instituciones que tradicionalmente han soportado el edificio liberal es notable en muchos paises de los cinco continentes (Pharr, Putnam y Dalton, 2000). La practica totalidad de los cientificos sociales coinciden en prescribir un cuadro clinico de la democracia no muy alentador (Nye et al., 1997; Norris, 1999). Se la suele senalar como termino desgastado, debil, liviano, sin sustantividad, de fachadas, alejado de los principios y de los ciudadanos y aquejado de innumeros males que si bien no parecen poner en peligro la estabilidad del sistema si que debilitan, y cada vez con mayor incidencia y fatalidad, la salud y calidad de vida del mismo (Vazquez, 2004: 15). Sin embargo, mas alla del marco liberal, una importante tradicion en teoria politica destaca el papel de la democracia participativa por encima de la democracia representativa. Segun la misma deberiamos mantener una interaccion cara a cara en la mayor medida posible, trabajando conjuntamente con nuestros vecinos, autogobernarnos en lugar de delegar en los representes electos la toma de decisiones en nuestro nombre (Berry, 1999: 367). Sera efectivamente gracias a la difusion del concepto de sociedad civil desde algunos paises del centro y del este de Europa, cuando se comienza a tomar conciencia del efectivo potencial de los ciudadanos voluntariamente unidos (Mokrzycki, 1994; Vojoveda, 1999, Sztompka, 2000). Se entendia ya entonces la sociedad civil como el espacio publico en las sociedades democraticas que mediaba entre el gobierno y el mercado, y donde los ciudadanos podian libremente debatir ideas, servir a distintas causas, investigar, protestar, ayudar
The development of a fuzzy logic controller that drives a passive compliant manipulator

A fuzzy logic controller that drives a crank turning apparatus is presented. A crank turning operation with unknown initial conditions is an example of a contact operation a mechanical manipulator often finds challenging. The apparatus presented in this manuscript uses a fuzzy logic controller that results in a simple structure and a readily realizable algorithm. Computer simulations and experimental studies demonstrate favorable results offering an effective control algorithm. Q 1998 John Wiley & Sons,
Guidelines for management of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: an updated and revised edition.

非酒精性脂肪性肝病(NAFLD)是一种与胰岛素抵抗(insulin resistance,IR)和遗传易感密切相关的代谢应激性肝脏损伤,其病理学改变与酒精性肝病(ALD)相似,但患者无过量饮酒史,疾病谱包括非酒精性单纯性脂肪肝(nonalcoholic simple fatty liver,NAFL)、非酒精性脂肪性肝炎(NASH)及其相关肝硬化和肝细胞癌~([1-2]). NAFLD是21世纪全球重要的公共健康问题之一,亦是我国愈来愈重视的慢性肝病问题~([3]). 为进一步规范NAFLD的诊断和治疗,中华医学会肝病学分会脂肪肝和酒精性肝病学组组织有关专家,在参考国内外最新研究成果和相关诊疗共识的基础上~([4-9]),按照循证医学的原则,对2006年制定的 "~([10])进行更新. 其中推荐的意见所依据的证据等级共分为3个级别5个等次~([11]),文中以括号内罗马数字表示。
Congenital Heart Disease ong-Term Outcome ( Up to 15 Years ) of alloon Angioplasty of Discrete Native oarctation of the Aorta in Adolescents and Adults

OBJECTIVES This study evaluated the long-term follow-up results of balloon angioplasty (BA) in adolescent and adult patients with discrete coarctation of the aorta. BACKGROUND Although the immediate and intermediate term results of BA for patients with aortic coarctation (AC) have been encouraging, there is a paucity of data on long-term follow-up results. METHODS This basis of this study was follow-up of 49 patients (mean age, 22 7 years) undergoing BA for discrete AC at median interval of 10.2 years, including cardiac catheterization, magnetic resonance imaging, and Doppler echocardiography. RESULTS No early or late deaths occurred. Balloon angioplasty produced a reduction in peak AC gradient from 66 23 mm Hg (95% confidence interval [CI]: 59.5 to 72.7) to 10.8 7 mm Hg (95% CI: 8.8 to 12.5) (p 0.0001). Follow-up catheterization 12 months later revealed a residual gradient of 6.2 6 mm Hg (95% CI: 4.4 to 7.9) (p 0.001). Four patients (7.5%) with suboptimal initial outcome with peak gradient 20 mm Hg had successful repeat angioplasty. Aneurysm developed at the site of dilation in four patients (7.5%). Magnetic resonance imaging follow-up results revealed no new aneurysm or appreciable changes in the size of pre-existing aneurysms, and no recoarctation was observed. Also, no appreciable changes in the Doppler gradient across the AC site were noted. The blood pressure had normalized without medication in 31 (63%) of the 49 patients. CONCLUSIONS Long-term results of BA for discrete AC are excellent and should be considered as first option for treatment of this disease. (J Am Coll Cardiol 2004;43:1062–7) © 2004 by the American College of Cardiology Foundation
Molecular and biological properties of the vascular endothelial growth factor family of proteins.

I. Introduction THE establishment of a vascular supply is a critical requirement for cellular inflow of nutrients, outflow of waste products, and gas exchange in most tissues and organs (1). In endocrine glands, the vascularization not only serves such needs but also provides a pathway for the specific secretory products (2, 3). Furthermore, in the anterior pituitary (4–6) and in the adrenal medulla (7, 8), an unusual angioarchitecture, where a portal capillary plexus delivers venous blood originating from an adjacent gland, is intimately involved in the control of the secretory activity. In the adrenal medulla, this vascular design may even determine the ultimate secretory product (8). Not surprisingly, the cardiovascular system is the first organ system to develop and reach a functional state in an embryo (9–12). In the human, primitive blood vessels appear as early as day 15, and a circulation with a beating heart is already established by the end of the third week.
Interaction of the RNP1 Motif in PRT1 with HCR1 Promotes 40S Binding of Eukaryotic Initiation Factor 3 in Yeast

ABSTRACT We found that mutating the RNP1 motif in the predicted RRM domain in yeast eukaryotic initiation factor 3 (eIF3) subunit b/PRT1 (prt1-rnp1) impairs its direct interactions in vitro with both eIF3a/TIF32 and eIF3j/HCR1. The rnp1 mutation in PRT1 confers temperature-sensitive translation initiation in vivo and reduces 40S-binding of eIF3 to native preinitiation complexes. Several findings indicate that the rnp1 lesion decreases recruitment of eIF3 to the 40S subunit by HCR1: (i) rnp1 strongly impairs the association of HCR1 with PRT1 without substantially disrupting the eIF3 complex; (ii) rnp1 impairs the 40S binding of eIF3 more so than the 40S binding of HCR1; (iii) overexpressing HCR1-R215I decreases the Ts− phenotype and increases 40S-bound eIF3 in rnp1 cells; (iv) the rnp1 Ts− phenotype is exacerbated by tif32-Δ6, which eliminates a binding determinant for HCR1 in TIF32; and (v) hcr1Δ impairs 40S binding of eIF3 in otherwise wild-type cells. Interestingly, rnp1 also reduces the levels of 40S-bound eIF5 and eIF1 and increases leaky scanning at the GCN4 uORF1. Thus, the PRT1 RNP1 motif coordinates the functions of HCR1 and TIF32 in 40S binding of eIF3 and is needed for optimal preinitiation complex assembly and AUG recognition in vivo.
A Brief Review of Classifiers used in OCR Applications

— The performance of a recognition system depends upon the classifiers used for classification purpose. Powerful is the discrimination ability of a classifier, better is its recognition performance. The generalization ability of a classifier is measured on the basis of its performance in classifying the test patterns. There are various factors which affect generalization. Moreover, the feature extraction method(s) used for training a classifier also affects the performance of a classifier. In this paper, a brief theoretical review of various classifiers is made. The various characters of each are covered. The classifiers covered are Bayes, Parzen, probabilistic, polynomial, discriminant, radial basis networks, multi layer perceptron(MLP), k-NN, SVM and SOM.
The Role of Momordica charantia in Reducing the Level of Glucose in Mice

Momordica charantia is a herbal plant that belongs to The family cucurbitaceous (Whitaker et al., 1990). It has been commonly consumed as a vegetable and used as a medicinal herb in India, China, Africa and in various parts of wounds, ulcer, eczema, jaundice, kidney stone, leprosy and scabies (Basch et al., 2003). The main constituents of Momordica charantia which are responsible for medicinal effects are triterpenes, steroids, alkaloids, in organics, lipids and phenolic compounds) Grover et al., 2004(. Phenolic compounds are categorized as secondary metabolites essential for growth and reproduction of plants. They are known as hydrophilic antioxidants, and are produced as a response for defending injured plants against pathogens. They potentially show antioxidant, anti mutagen, antitumor, anti-inflammatory and anti carcinogenic properties (Lee et al., 2003). Free radicals are known to be the major cause of various chronic and degenerative diseases, including aging, coronary heart disease, inflammation, diabetes mellitus and cancer (Cheng et al., 2003). Recently, natural foods and food derived antioxidants such as vitamins and phenol phytochemicals have received growing attention because they are known to function as chemo protective agents against the oxidative damage (Wu et al., 2008). International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 5 Number 8 (2016) pp. 470-478 Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas. com
Strategies for weighted combination of classifiers employing shared and distinct representations

We present a theoretical framework for combining soft decision outputs of multiple experts employing mixed (some shared and some distinct) representations of patterns to be classified. Using this framework combination strategies are developed and their error sensitivity studied We show that nonuniform weighting combination strategies can be derived by taking into account the confidence of experts in their output.
Efficient simulation model for DAC dynamic properties

This paper presents a simulation model for fast and efficient prediction of the dynamic properties of high-resolution current-steering Digital-to-Analog converters. Current source mismatch, limited output impedance of the current sources and timing errors are taken into account in the simulation model. No assumptions about distributions are required for these parameters. Experimental results show simulation time reductions up to 80 times for a 10 bit segmented DAC.
Safety Verification Methods for Human-Driven Vehicles at Traffic Intersections: Optimal Driver-Adaptive Supervisory Control

We design an optimal, driver-adaptive supervisor for collision avoidance at an intersection. The algorithm is able to identify optimal corrections to the human-decided inputs and to keep the system collision free. To determine the set of safe control actions, we exploit the notion of maximal controlled invariant set. We leverage results from scheduling theory to verify the safety of a given control input, and propose an efficient optimization algorithm providing optimal solutions with respect to the drivers’ intent. We also present an approximate supervisor algorithm that can be solved in polynomial time and has guaranteed error bounds. Finally, we validate our approach with simulation results, as well as on naturalistic data.
Inductorless, powerl-proportional, optical receiver front-end in TSMC 90 nm

This work presents the design and performance of an inductorless, power proportional tunable optical receiver front-end in TSMC 90nm CMOS technology. The proposed optical receiver front-end includes a transimpedance amplifier (TIA) and a post amplifier. The TIA uses the shunt feedback topology with a current controlling a MOSFET array, and the post amplifier uses a common source topology loaded with active inductors. The receiver front-end has the ability to tune from 1.25 Gb/s data rate to 15 Gb/s with proportional power dissipation and a constant gain of 84 dBΩ. The overall power dissipation varies from 0.94 mW to 7.46 mW as the data rate scales maintaining power dissipation below 800 fJ/bit at all data rates. The variable 3 dB bandwidth is from 886.1 MHz to 10.83 GHz with an input referred noise density from 4.307 pA/sqrt(Hz) to 14.27 pA/sqrt(Hz).