Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Accelerated diffusion spectrum imaging in the human brain using compressed sensing

We developed a novel method to accelerate diffusion spectrum imaging using compressed sensing. The method can be applied to either reduce acquisition time of diffusion spectrum imaging acquisition without losing critical information or to improve the resolution in diffusion space without increasing scan time. Unlike parallel imaging, compressed sensing can be applied to reconstruct a sub‐Nyquist sampled dataset in domains other than the spatial one. Simulations of fiber crossings in 2D and 3D were performed to systematically evaluate the effect of compressed sensing reconstruction with different types of undersampling patterns (random, gaussian, Poisson disk) and different acceleration factors on radial and axial diffusion information. Experiments in brains of healthy volunteers were performed, where diffusion space was undersampled with different sampling patterns and reconstructed using compressed sensing. Essential information on diffusion properties, such as orientation distribution function, diffusion coefficient, and kurtosis is preserved up to an acceleration factor of R = 4. Magn Reson Med, 2011. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
SOME ENERGY RELATIONSHIPS IN ADIPOSE TISSUE

Reserve foodstuff in most plants is stored largely in the form of starch. Animals, on the other hand, use fat as their main food storage product. By conversion of starch to fat the animal organism achieves a more condensed energy parcel of foodstuff. This presumably facilitates the ability of the animal to move from place to place provided excessive fat depots are not deposited. The animal must, however, pay a price for its use of this condensed energy source, and the cost of this conversion process may now be calculated. The data which permit this calculation are provided by the work of Flatt and Ball' on adipose tissue and are given in TABLE 1. Here the changes in the flow of glucose carbon into fatty acids with COz which are produced by the addition of insulin to the'rat epididymal fat pad in uitro are shown, along with the concomitant changes in O2 consumption. Insulin increases some six-fold the flow of glucose carbon into fatty acids and COS produced in the pentose cycle and by decarboxylation of pyruvate. These products account for some 85 per cent of the total increase in glucose utilization caused by the addition of insulin. For the purposes at hand we shall neglect the 15 per cent that flows into other pathways such as glycogen, lactic acid and glycerophosphate. Using the difference between the control and insulin stimulated tissue we may calculate that 57 per cent of glucose carbon ends up as fatty acid. A similar value may be obtained from the insulin data alone. We may then say that 1 g. of glucose carbon or = 2.5 g. of glucose yields 0.57 g. of fatty acid carbon or
Drosophila melanogaster as a model to characterize fungal volatile organic compounds

Fungi are implicated in poor indoor air quality and may pose a potential risk factor for building/mold related illnesses. Fungi emit numerous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as alcohols, esters, ethers, ketones, aldehydes, terpenoids, thiols, and their derivatives. The toxicity profile of these VOCs has never been explored in a model organism, which could enable the performance of high throughput toxicological assays and lead to a better understanding of the mechanism of toxicity. We have established a reductionist Drosophila melanogaster model to evaluate the toxicity of fungal VOCs. In this report, we assessed the toxicity of fungal VOCs emitted from living cultures of species in the genera, Trichoderma, Aspergillus, and Penicillium and observed a detrimental effect on larval survival. We then used chemical standards of selected fungal VOCs to assess their toxicity on larval and adult Drosophila. We compared the survival of adult flies exposed to these fungal VOCs with known industrial toxic chemicals (formaldehyde [37%], xylene, benzene, and toluene). Among the tested fungal VOC standards, the compounds with eight carbons (C8) caused greater truncation of fly lifespan than tested non‐C8 fungal VOCs and industrial toxins. Our data validate the use of Drosophila melanogaster as a model with the potential to elucidate the mechanistic attributes of different toxic VOCs emitted by fungi and also to explore the potential link between reported human illnesses/symptoms and exposure to water damaged and mold contaminated buildings. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 29: 829–836, 2014.
Review: Cost of Reproductive Diseases and Conditions in Cattle1

Based on information from USDA National Animal Health Reporting System early State pilot studies and more recent national studies, the cost of reproductive diseases and conditions was estimated for beef and dairy cattle. We estimate the total yearly cost of female infertility, abortions/stillbirths, dystocia, retained placentas, and metritis/pyometra to be $441 to $502 million for beef producers and $473 to $484 million for dairy producers with an aggregate national total of approximately $1 billion annually. This loss is over six times more costly than that resulting from respiratory diseases. Three-fourths of the cost for reproductive diseases and conditions can be attributed to female infertility and dystocia and the failure to produce a healthy calf that will survive the first 24 h of life. Aggregate national costs are roughly evenly divided between beef and dairy; per cow costs are more than three times greater for dairy cows ($52.60) than for beef cows ($14.00). Approximately equal national costs are attained because there are more than three times more beef cows than dairy cows. One factor contributing to the greater cost for dairy cows is lost milk production associated with dystocia and retained placentas. Lost milk production accounts for one-third of the costs associated with reproductive diseases and conditions in dairy cattle. We conclude from this review and our resulting estimates that focusing on developing strategies to increase the probability of conception, minimize dystocia, and produce a healthy calf that survives beyond the first 24 h of birth must continue to receive high priority in both dairy and beef cattle management and research.
Cybercrime Deterrence and International Legislation: Evidence from Distributed Denial of Service Attacks

We estimate the impact of enforcing the Convention on Cybercrime (COC) on deterring distributed denial of service (DDOS) attack. Our data set comprises a sample of real random spoof-source DDOS attacks recorded in 106 countries in 177 days in 2004–2008. We find that enforcing the COC decreases DDOS attack by at least 11.8%, but a similar deterrence effect does not exist if the enforcing countries make a reservation on international co-operation. We also find evidence of network and displacement effects in COC enforcement. Our findings imply attackers in the cyberspace are rational, motivated by economic incentives and strategic in choosing attack targets. We draw related implications.
The Joint Contract to Coordinate Price Changing Apparel Supply Chain

Apparel supply chain has the characteristics of flexibility and uncertainty because of the seasonal feature of the apparel products. Coordination between partners in apparel supply chain has abstracted more and more attention in operations management field. The supply chain contract is an effective way to coordinate supply chain. In this paper, we will focus on the research of the joint contract to coordinate price changing apparel supply chain. At the beginning, the general concentrated apparel supply chain coordination model will be discussed. Then, the single buy back contract is applied to coordinate the apparel supply chain under fixed retail price condition. At the end, considering the price changing feature of apparel product, the join contract is proposed to coordinate the apparel supply chain and share revenue among supply chain partners.
Outcomes of hospitalizations for myocardial infarctions and cerebrovascular accidents in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

OBJECTIVE Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have increased risks of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and cerebrovascular accident (CVA), but it is not known whether they have worse outcomes after AMI or CVA compared with patients without SLE. This study compared in-hospital mortality, length of stay, and other measures of severity (congestive heart failure or need for coronary artery bypass grafting after AMI; discharge to a skilled nursing facility after CVA) between patients with SLE and patients without SLE who were hospitalized for AMI or CVA. METHODS Data on all patients hospitalized in California with either AMI or CVA from 1996 to 2000 were abstracted from a state hospitalization database. Outcomes after AMI were compared between 519 patients with SLE and 214,771 patients without SLE, and outcomes after CVA were compared between 905 patients with SLE and 293,326 patients without SLE. Analyses were performed separately for men and women. RESULTS Among women with AMI, there were no differences in the risk of in-hospital mortality, long length of stay, or congestive heart failure between patients with SLE and those without SLE, but women with SLE were less likely to undergo coronary artery bypass grafting. Outcomes after AMI did not differ between men with SLE and men without SLE. Among women with CVA, there were no differences in outcomes between patients with SLE and patients without SLE. Men with SLE were almost twice as likely to have a long length of stay after CVA than were men without SLE. CONCLUSION Outcomes after AMI and CVA are generally similar between patients with SLE and those without SLE.
Assessment of Brand Image and Brand Attachment Amongst Cell Phone Users

Apart from basic drivers like need, want and demand of the customer; several other significant factors are responsible not only for the sale of the product but also on relationship perspective such as brand name, brand image and brand attachment. Researchers and marketing practitioners have been interested in brand attachment and related intellectual queries like what, why of its origin and how they evolve. Researchers have also examined effects they have on consumers and the market, and when and why they cease to exist. Brand image constructs discuss with customers' emotional or societal needs continuously. It is the approach people feel about a brand conceptually, rather than what they think the brand does. The present study set the objective to analyze the relationship of brand image and brand attachment with the concern of cell phone users. Prior to achieving objective of this study, we analyze the validity and reliability of brand image and brand attachment scale. To achieve the objective of this research we state proposition based on an extensive literature search. With applying the appropriate statistical test, we analyze the relationship between brand image and brand attachment. The present study has significant implication for branding scholars as well as for brand manager.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INDIVIDUAL PRICE RESPONSE OF BEER CONSUMERS AND THEIR DEMOGRAPHIC/PSYCHOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS

The knowledge of market behavior, especially, the knowledge of consumers’ responses to price (changes) is crucial for companies. The wrong prediction of price responses for a new product introduction or a product modification may result in extreme monetary losses, which may peril companies’ survival. The importance of this topic for both theoretical and practical purpose is well documented and several studies have broached consumers’ price responses. However, tiny focus was laid on variables, e.g., demographic or psychographic, that may affect the price reaction behavior of a consumer. Such factors, that influence the individual reaction on price changes, are important when the target audience exhibits a specific demographic or psychografic pattern. The evaluation of those factors will lead to a better understanding of the internal process on ”why” consumers react on price changes like they do.
The NSF Firefly CubeSat mission: Rideshare mission to study energetic electrons produced by lightning

The NSF Firefly CubeSat is a 3U mission designed to perform cutting-edge science, as a secondary payload1,2. Firefly will be the first dedicated mission launched to study Terrestrial Gamma ray Flashes (TGFs), their link to lightning, and their effect in producing energetic electrons that may become stably trapped in the inner radiation belt. Firefly demonstrates the capability of small missions such as CubeSat to do important, focused science, with maximal student involvement, and with a minimal budget and available resources. This presentation will focus on the Firefly mission design, as well as important lessons learned in the development, testing, and design. Future developments in CubeSat-class spacecraft for measurements of energetic radiation will be discussed.
Coordinated Multipoint ( CoMP ) Transmission Design for Cloud-RANs with Limited Fronthaul Capacity Constraints

In this paper, we consider the CoMP transmission design for the downlink cloud radio access network (CloudRAN). Our design aims to optimize the set of remote radio heads (RRHs) serving each user as well as the precoding and transmission powers to minimize the total transmission power while maintaining the fronthaul capacity and users’ QoS constraints. The fronthaul capacity constraint involves a non-convex and discontinuous function which renders the optimal exhaustive search method unaffordable for large networks. To address this challenge, we propose two low-complexity algorithms. The first pricing-based algorithm solves the underlying problem through iteratively tackling a related pricing problem while appropriately updating the pricing parameter. In the second iterative linearrelaxed algorithm, we directly address the fronthaul constraint function by iteratively approximating it with a suitable linear form using a conjugate function and solving the corresponding convex problem. For performance evaluation, we also compare our proposed algorithms with two existing algorithms in the literature. Finally, extensive numerical results are presented which illustrate the convergences of our proposed algorithms and confirm that our algorithms significantly outperform the state-of-the-art existing algorithms.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in a young adult with idiopathic hypopituitarism. Possible relation to the administration of cadaveric human growth hormone.

CREUTZFELDT—JAKOB disease, a transmissible subacute degeneration of the central nervous system, is generally considered a disease of older adults.1 We recently evaluated a 20-year-old man with idiopathic hypopituitarism and insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus in whom Creutzfeldt—Jakob disease developed. Since early childhood he had received cadaveric human growth hormone, as well as insulin, thyroid hormone, and more recently testosterone. Case Report The patient, a 20-year-old man, was referred to the University of California, San Francisco, for evaluation of progressive gait instability. His history was complicated by multiple deficiencies of pituitary hormones from infancy, as well as insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Hypopituitarism was suggested .
Ordinal Optimization for Power Systems

The inherent complexity of large scale power system makes the optimization problems very complicated for power system planning and operation. Ordinal optimization theory is developed to efficiently find good enough solutions with high probability for simulation-based optimization problems. Vector ordinal optimization theory is particularly useful in finding a good enough solution subset for multi-objective optimization problems. In this paper, we illustrate the principles of the ordinal optimization theory and the vector ordinal optimization theory, and also discuss the potential applications of the theories in power system optimization problems
Surgical Anatomy of the Nuchal Muscles in the Posterior Cervicothoracic Junction: Significance of the Preservation of the C7 Spinous Process in Cervical Laminoplasty

Study Design. An anatomic study investigated the attachment of the nuchal muscles to the spinous process. Objective. To investigate the anatomic details of the attachment of the nuchal muscles to the spinous process, and which muscles are spared, and to what extent, when the C7 spinous process is preserved in the cervical laminoplasty. Summary of Background Data. In previous studies, it was reported that the incidence of postoperative axial pain was lower in C3–C6 laminoplasty than in C3–C7 laminoplasty, emphasizing the effectiveness of the former procedure where discission of the nuchal muscles that are attached to the C7 spinous process is avoided. However, there have been no detailed anatomic studies of the attachment of the nuchal muscles to the spinous process at the cervicothoracic junction. Methods. The anatomy of the speculum rhomboideum of the trapezius, rhomboideus minor, rhomboideus major, serratus posterior superior, splenius capitis, and splenius cervicis to the spinous processes of the cervicothoracic junction were studied using 50 cadavers. Results. The possibility of total discission of the speculum rhomboideum of the trapezius was 0% with C3–C6 laminoplasty and 18% with C3–C7 laminoplasty. More than 50% preservation of the speculum rhomboideum of the trapezius is possible in 72% in C3–C6 laminoplasty and 16% in C3–C7 laminoplasty. In C3–C7 laminoplasty, the possibility of partial preservation of the rhomboideus minor, serratus posterior superior, and splenius capitis at the spinous process was 0%, 66%, and 29%, respectively. The rhomboideus major in 16% and the splenius cervicis in 56% could be completely preserved without partial discission of the muscle attachment. On the other hand, in C3–C6 laminoplasty, the muscles that were spared without complete discission of the muscular attachment at the spinous process were the rhomboideus minor in 35%, the serratus posterior superior in 100% and the splenius capitis in 67%. The rhomboideus major in 76% and the splenius cervicis in 80% were completely spared without partial discission of the muscular attachment. Conclusion. The current study confirmed that C3–C6 laminoplasty in which the C7 spinous process is preserved reduces invasion of the nuchal muscles.
Effects of hCG and cyclic AMP on aromatization in purified Leydig cells of immature and mature rats.

Aromatization of testosterone to estradiol was assessed in purified Leydig cells of rats 15, 25, and 60-70 days old. Leydig cells obtained after purification by Metrizamide gradient centrifuga- tion were incubated for 4 h with a saturating concentration of (3 HI testosterone (0.6 iM). (3 HI - Estradiol was isolated and final identity established by recrystallization. Aromatization of (3 HI - testosterone to (3 HI estradiol was demonstrated in Leydig cells of all ages. Basal aromatase activity per 106 Leydig cells was highest in Leydig cells of 25-day-old rats, intermediate in Leydig cells of 1 5-day-old"cats, and lowest in Leydig cells of 60-70-day-old rats. At saturating concentrations of (3 HI testosterone, human chorionic gonadotropin or dibutyryl cyclic AMP acutely stimulated aromatization in Leydig cells of 25 and 60-70-day-old rats, but not of 15-day-old rats. A potent competitive inhibitor of aromatase, 7at-(4'-amino)phenylthioandrost-4-ene-3 ,1 7-dione, markedly inhibited estradiol production from testosterone in Leydig cells from all ages studied. These results demonstrate that Leydig cells of immature rats have the capacity for aromatization and that this step in steroidogenesis can be acutely stimulated by hCG and cAMP in Leydig cells of 25 and 60- 70-day-old rats. The similarity in degree of stimulation of aromatization by dibutyryl cyclic AMP and hCG suggests that acute stimulation of aromatization by hCG is mediated by cyclic AMP.
Poverty and Inequality Components: A Micro Framework

This paper explores the link between poverty and inequality through an analysis of the poverty impact of changes in income-component inequality and in between -an within- group inequality. This can help shed light on the theoretical and empirical linkages between poverty, growth and inequality. It might also help design policies to improve both equity and welfare. The tools are illustrated using the recent 2004 Nigerian national household survey. The analytical derived linkages are supported by the empirical illustration, and interesting insights also emerge from the empirical analysis. One such insight is that both the sign and the size of the elasticities can be quite sensitive to the choice of measurement assumptions (such as the choice of inequality and poverty aversion parameters, and that of the poverty line). The elasticities are also very much distributive-sensitive and dependent on the type of inequality-changing processes taking place. This also suggests that the response of poverty to growth can also be expected to be significantly context specific.
Enhanced Monte Carlo Estimates for American Option Prices

Monte Carlo simulation has trouble with American options because the exercise decision at a given date must compare the option's immediate exercise value against its continuation value. The option value if it is not exercised is a function of its value along all possible future price paths from that point on, and each path will present further exercise decisions with the same difficulty in resolving them. The authors propose a hybrid valuation technique that bridges Monte Carlo simulation and lattice methods. Instead of simulating price paths, they simulate whole price trees. The tree emanating from each point is used to assess the option continuation value for that date and stock price. While the results are accurate, inevitably the procedure requires a large number of computations. The authors then offer a variety of techniques that substantially increase efficiency.
Queuing algorithm to provide type-of-service for IP links

This memo is intended to explore how Type-of-Service might be implemented in the Internet. The proposal describes a method of queuing which can provide the different classes of service. The technique also prohibits one class of service from consuming excessive resources or excluding other classes of service. This is an "idea paper" and discussion is strongly encouraged.
The influence of system transparency on user stress levels

Within the context of human-automation interaction (HRI), transparency refers to how well a user can understand the reasoning and logic behind the actions an automated-aid. Transparency helps users understand the logic behind system decisions and mediates communication. Transparency also influences trust – a crucial dimension in effective HRI (Hancock, 2011). Effective and timely communication is critical to success in any kind of group effort (Stubbs & Wettergreen, 2007), so it is doubly important in mixed humanautomation teams, which understandably face unique teamwork challenges. Transparency supports communication by ensuring that human teammates correctly understand the intent, actions, and logic that a robot teammate is providing. Transparency can be operationalized through communication by varying the level or type of information provided by the system. Providing information via differing sensory modalities (auditory, visual, tactile) is one established solution to increase communication (Wickens, 1984). The purpose of this research is to examine how specific facets of transparency influence user stress in HRI. In this experiment we examine differences in stress based on transparency, manipulated through Level of Information (LOI) and communication modality provided by the robotic teammate. Since malfunction is ever-present in real-world environments and can also influence user stress, we also manipulated system performance by including malfunctions in the experimental trials. We predict stress will be greatest in conditions with a high LOI and where system malfunction is present. We will also evaluate differences in stress levels based on communication modality.