Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tailored optimal posttreatment surveillance for cancer recurrence

A substantial rise in the number of cancer survivors has led to urgent management questions regarding effective posttreatment imaging‐based surveillance strategies for cancer recurrence. Current surveillance guidelines provided by a number of professional societies all warn against overly aggressive surveillance, especially for low‐risk patients, but all fail to provide more specific directions to accommodate underlying heterogeneity of cancer recurrence. Therefore it is imperative to develop data‐driven strategies that can tailor the surveillance schedules to recurrence risk in this era of stricter insurance regulations, provider shortages, and rising costs of health care. Due to a lack of statistical methods for optimizing surveillance scheduling in presence of competing risks, we propose a general approach that uses an intuitive loss function for optimization of early detection of recurrence before death. The proposed strategies can tailor to patient risks of recurrence, in terms of both intensity and amount of surveillance. Using general three‐state Markov models, our method is flexible and includes earlier works as special cases. We illustrate our method in both simulation studies and an application to breast cancer surveillance.
Dipterocarp seedling population dynamics in Bornean primary lowland forest during the 1997-8 El Niño-Southern Oscillation

Dipterocarp seedling populations arising from a 1996 mast fruiting in closed-canopy primary lowland rain forest in Sabah, Malaysia, were monitored through the 1997-8 El Niño event to investigate the effects of drought and other factors on dipterocarp regeneration. Of particular interest was the influence of herbivory and its relation to drought, since water stress is known to influence herbivore performance. For seedlings with less than 10% leaf damage, mortality during a 6-mo period spanning the driest part of the drought was three times higher than mortality in the previous and subsequent 6-mo periods (∼10% vs. ∼30%). Leaf production was also higher during this period. Survival was positively related to leaf number and negatively related to leaf damage. Dryobalanops lanceolata was the tallest and leafiest species, and had low levels of leaf damage. Depending on sample period, abscission of leaves with more than 50% damage was between two and three times more likely than those with less than 10% damage. Mortality of seedlings defoliated by more than 50% was around twice that of seedlings defoliated by less than 10%. However, fewer than 10% of seedlings were defoliated by more than 50% at any time. The effect of defoliation did not seem to be altered by drought. Defoliation levels increased after the drought, perhaps due to a resurgence of insect populations. Drought may become a more important influence on dipterocarp regeneration in future, since El Niño events are thought to be increasing in frequency.
Discriminação de variedades de citros em imagens CCD/CBERS-2

This paper was aimed at evaluating the possibility of discriminating citrus varieties in CCD imageries from CBERS-2 satellite ("China-Brazil Earth Resouces Satellite"). The study area is located in Itirapina, Sao Paulo State. For this study, three CCD images from 2004 were acquired (May 30, August 16, and September 11). In order to acquire a better understanding and for explaining the variability of the spectral behavior of the citrus areas in orbital images (like as the CCD/CBERS-2 images) a model that integrates the elements of the citrus scene is proposed and discussed. The images were classified by Isoseg and MaxVer classifiers. According to kappa index, it was possible to obtain classifications qualified as 'very good'. The best results were obtained with the images from the dry season.
Mechanistic insights into the evolution of the differential expression of tandemly arrayed cone opsin genes in zebrafish

The genome of many organisms contains several loci consisting of duplicated genes that are arrayed in tandem. The daughter genes produced by duplication typically exhibit differential expression patterns with each other or otherwise experience pseudogenization. Remarkably, opsin genes in fish are preserved after many duplications in different lineages. This fact indicates that fish opsin genes are characterized by a regulatory mechanism that could intrinsically facilitate the differentiation of the expression patterns. However, little is known about the mechanisms that underlie the differential expression patterns or how they were established during evolution. The loci of green (RH2)‐ and red (LWS)‐sensitive cone opsin genes in zebrafish have been used as model systems to study the differential regulation of tandemly arrayed opsin genes. Over a decade of studies have uncovered several mechanistic features that might have assisted the differentiation and preservation of duplicated genes. Furthermore, recent progress in the understanding of the transcriptional process in general has added essential insights. In this article, the current understanding of the transcriptional regulation of differentially expressed tandemly arrayed cone opsin genes in zebrafish is summarized and a possible evolutionary scenario that could achieve this differentiation is discussed.
Results and Guidelines From a Repeated-Measures Design Experiment Comparing Standing and Seated Full-Body Gesture-Based Immersive Virtual Reality Exergames: Within-Subjects Evaluation

Background Although full-body seated exercises have been studied in a wide range of settings (ie, homes, hospitals, and daycare centers), they have rarely been converted to seated exergames. In addition, there is an increasing number of studies on immersive virtual reality (iVR) full-body gesture-based standing exergames, but the suitability and usefulness of seated exergames remain largely unexplored. Objective This study aimed to evaluate the difference between playing a full-body gesture-based iVR standing exergame and seated exergame in terms of gameplay performance, intrinsic motivation, and motion sickness. Methods A total of 52 participants completed the experiment. The order of the game mode (standing and sitting) was counterbalanced. Gameplay performance was evaluated by action or gesture completion time and the number of missed gestures. Exertion was measured by the average heart rate (HR) percentage (AvgHR%), increased HR%, calories burned, and the Borg 6-20 questionnaire. Intrinsic motivation was assessed with the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI), whereas motion sickness was assessed via the Motion Sickness Assessment Questionnaire (MSAQ). In addition, we measured the fear of falling using a 10-point Likert scale questionnaire. Results Players missed more gestures in the seated exergame than in the standing exergame, but the overall miss rate was low (2.3/120, 1.9%). The analysis yielded significantly higher AvgHR%, increased HR%, calories burned, and Borg 6-20 rating of perceived exertion values for the seated exergame (all P<.001). The seated exergame was rated significantly higher on peripheral sickness (P=.02) and sopite-related sickness (MSAQ) (P=.004) than the standing exergame. The score of the subscale “value/usefulness” from IMI was reported to be higher for the seated exergame than the standing exergame. There was no significant difference between the seated exergame and standing exergame in terms of intrinsic motivation (interest/enjoyment, P=.96; perceived competence, P=.26; pressure/tension, P=.42) and the fear of falling (P=.25). Conclusions Seated iVR full-body gesture-based exergames can be valuable complements to standing exergames. Seated exergames have the potential to lead to higher exertion, provide higher value to players, and be more applicable in small spaces compared with standing exergames. However, gestures for seated exergames need to be designed carefully to minimize motion sickness, and more time should be given to users to perform gestures in seated exergames compared with standing exergames.
Ectoparasitos de animais silvestres no Maranhão

The objective of this study was to identify the ectoparasites of wild animals received by the Center of Wild Animals of Sao Luis, Maranhao, Brazil. The ectoparasites identified were: the lice Acidoproctus sp. , Trinoton sp. , Ciconiphilus sp. , Austromenopon sp. , Quadraceps sp. , Saemundssonia sp. , and Trichodectes canis; the ticks Amblyomma rotundatum and Rhipicephalus sanguineus; the fleas Ctenocephalides felis, and larvae of Cochliomyia hominivorax. The data presented register the infestation of wild mammals, reptiles and birds by ectoparasites.
Motion control applications: observer based DC motor parameters estimation for novices

Estimation of motor inertia and friction components is a complex and challenging task in motion control applications where small size DC motors (<100W) are used for precise control. It is essential to estimate the accurate friction components and motor inertia, because the parameters provided by the manufacturer are not always accurate. This research proposes a Sensorless method of determining DC motor parameters, including moment of inertia, torque coefficient and frictional components using the Disturbance Observer (DOB) as a torque sensor. The constant velocity motion test and a novel Reverse Motion Acceleration test were conducted to estimate frictional components and moment of inertia of the motor. The validity of the proposed novel method was verified by experimental results and compared with conventional acceleration and deceleration motion tests. Experiments have been carried out to show the effectiveness and viability of the estimated parameters using a Reaction Torque Observer (RTOB) based friction compensation method.
A method for improved pedestrian gesture recognition in self-driving cars

ABSTRACT In the pursuit of self-driving vehicles, pedestrian recognition plays an integral role. The following work proposes a pedestrian gesture recognition method based on a k-nearest neighbour algorithm combined with pyramid residual module to reduce computation and improve real-time performance of gesture recognition. The method was formulated using a data from Udacity, and subsequently compared with other recognition methods. The experimental results showed that the accuracy of the new method was as high as 92%, which is an improvement over the conventional histogram of oriented gradient method. The proposed method was further verified by other indicators, demonstrating its robustness and generality.
SUSCEPTIBILITY OF SITOPHILUS GRANARIUS AND S. ORYZAE (COLEOPTERA: CURCULIONIDAE) TO HIGH TEMPERATURE AFTER EXPOSURE TO SUPRA‐OPTIMAL TEMPERATURE

S. granarius and S. oryzae were exposed to 32° and 35° for 2, 7 and 14 days and 1, 2 and 7 days, respectively, and mortality tested at 40°. Under these conditions maximum acclimation of S. granarius was achieved after 14 days at 32° and 2 days at 35°, while S. oryzae maximum acclimation occurred after 2 days at 32° and 1 day at 35°. Longer exposure at 32° for S. oryzae and for both species at 35°, appeared to reverse the process. Rearing S. granarius for three and five generations at 30°, raised its tolerance to the test temperature. Rearing S. oryzae for three generations at 30° did not have any significant effect on that species.
Automatic classification of regular and irregular capnogram segments using time- and frequency-domain features: A machine learning-based approach.

BACKGROUND The quantitative features of a capnogram signal are important clinical metrics in assessing pulmonary function. However, these features should be quantified from the regular (artefact-free) segments of the capnogram waveform. OBJECTIVE This paper presents a machine learning-based approach for the automatic classification of regular and irregular capnogram segments. METHODS Herein, we proposed four time- and two frequency-domain features experimented with the support vector machine classifier through ten-fold cross-validation. MATLAB simulation was conducted on 100 regular and 100 irregular 15 s capnogram segments. Analysis of variance was performed to investigate the significance of the proposed features. Pearson's correlation was utilized to select the relatively most substantial ones, namely variance and the area under normalized magnitude spectrum. Classification performance, using these features, was evaluated against two feature sets in which either time- or frequency-domain features only were employed. RESULTS Results showed a classification accuracy of 86.5%, which outperformed the other cases by an average of 5.5%. The achieved specificity, sensitivity, and precision were 84%, 89% and 86.51%, respectively. The average execution time for feature extraction and classification per segment is only 36 ms. CONCLUSION The proposed approach can be integrated with capnography devices for real-time capnogram-based respiratory assessment. However, further research is recommended to enhance the classification performance.
The impacts of Delphi communication structure on small and medium sized asynchronous virtual teams

THE IMPACTS OF DELPHI COMMUNICATION STRUCTURE ON SMALL AND MEDIUM SIZED ASYNCHRONOUS VIRTUAL TEAMS by Hee-Kyung Cho The improvement of Internet technology has motivated distributed work groups to collaborate without meeting face to face. Although asynchronous meetings through Webbased group communications systems enable groups dispersed temporarily and geographically to collaborate more flexibly, parallel and non-linear communication among dispersed members also challenge effective and efficient group coordination. Moreover, the Web-based asynchronous meeting is distinguished not only from the faceto-face meeting but also from the synchronous computer-supported meeting in terms of coordination process. However, previous asynchronous group communications or virtual team research focused more on the comparison of this new type of meeting with the faceto-face meeting. Not many research efforts have been exerted to improve the productivity of this new form of meeting and find ways to overcome its disadvantages. Facilitation was proved effective to enhance the productivity of synchronous meetings. However the effect of structured discussion through facilitation was not clear in asynchronous meeting settings even though facilitation is a common practice in asynchronous group communication systems. This study examined the effect of a facilitated structure in improving the productivity of asynchronous decision-making groups. Delphi was chosen as the facilitated structure because it has been widely used as the paper-and-pencil-based structure to facilitate dispersed experts in collecting their opinions. In this study a computer-based Delphi structure was implemented through asynchronous ComputerMediated Communication. A 2X2 controlled experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of Delphi structure on the effectiveness of small-sized (5-6 members) and mediumsized (10-12 members) asynchronous computer-supported groups. The formal facilitation using Delphi structure was effective to improve the productivity of asynchronous groups in generating more ideas. On the contrary; informal leadership by group coordinators seems to have played a more important role in producing better reports. In terms of per person ideas, small-sized groups were more productive, even though medium-sized groups produced more total ideas than small-sized groups. The superiority of Delphi groups and small-sized groups is related to their higher equality of participation. This result suggests that in asynchronous meetings, equal participation of group members in discussion is important in improving idea generation productivity while in synchronous meetings, the process loss of production blocking plays a crucial role. THE IMPACTS OF DELPHI COMMUNICATION STRUCTURE ON SMALL AND MEDIUM SIZED ASYNCHRONOUS VIRTUAL TEAMS
Identification of diagnostic and prognostic lncRNA biomarkers in oral squamous carcinoma by integrated analysis and machine learning.

BACKGROUND Patients with oral squamous carcinoma (OSCC) present difficulty in precise diagnosis and poor prognosis. OBJECTIVE We aimed to identify the diagnostic and prognostic indicators in OSCC and provide basis for molecular mechanism investigation of OSCC. METHODS We collected sequencing data and clinical data from TCGA database and screened the differentially expressed mRNAs (DEmRNAs) and lncRNAs (DElncRNAs) in OSCC. Machine learning and modeling were performed to identify the optimal diagnostic markers. In order to determine lncRNAs with prognostic value, survival analysis was performed through combing the expression profiles with the clinical data. Finally, co-expressed DEmRNAs of lncRNAs were identified by interacted network construction and functional annotated by GO and KEGG analysis. RESULTS A total of 1114 (345 up- and 769 down-regulated) DEmRNAs and 156 (86 up- and 70 down-regulated) DElncRNAs were obtained in OSCC. Following the machine learning and modeling, 15 lncRNAs were identified to be the optimal diagnostic indicators of OSCC. Among them, FOXD2.AS1 was significantly associated with survival rate of patients with OSCC. In addition, Focal adhesion and ECM-receptor interaction pathways were found to be involved in OSCC. CONCLUSIONS FOXD2.AS1 might be a prognostic marker for OSCC and our study may provide more information to the further study in OSCC.
Extremely High Frequency (EHF) Bands for Future Broadcast Satellite Services: Opportunities and Challenges

The exploitation of the bandwidth portions in the millimeter wave domain, namely extremely high frequencies (EHFs) will open new perspectives to future satellite services, in particular for high quality TV broadcasting and multimedia content delivery. The present work aims at surveying the opportunities and challenges of EHF exploitation for broadband satellite applications in the broadcast framework. Theoretical capacity evaluation confirms that EHF satellite links can offer unprecedented data-rates, clearly superior than that actually provided by Ku and Ka-bands. However, some crucial issues are still to be solved, mainly in terms of mitigation of tropospheric propagation impairments and appropriate waveform design. Link and capacity analysis will be the basis for the investigation of future application scenarios of broadcast EHF satcoms, namely high-definition TV (HDTV) and ultra-HDTV, with particular emphasis to 4K and 8K video formats.
An acute case of iron toxicity on newborn piglets from Vitamin E/Se deficient sows

Summary A 270 sow herd cut down feed costs by lowering Vitamin E and Selenium that was changed from an organic to an inorganic form. Several months later two week newborn batches were affected by a deadly hemorragic clinical entity developed 6 hours after a normal iron dextran injection. The brand of the iron came from a 2 year supplier, a world renown manufacturer. A therapeutic diagnosis was applied satisfactorily.
Multi‐objective optimal scheduling strategy for wind power, PV and pumped storage plant in VSC‐HVDC grid

Zhangbei demonstration project will be the world's highest voltage level and largest capacity VSC-HVDC power grid, by which millions of kilowatts of renewable energy and pumped storage power will be supplied to Beijing. Due to the uncertainty of wind power and solar power, and the operating range restriction of pumped storage unit, it is urgent to find the solution to the problem of plan making of pumped storage generation and convertor substation after the Zhangbei demonstration project completes. This paper analyses the fluctuation characteristics of renewable energy generation in converter substation, based on the t-location scale, then proposes a multi-objective optimal scheduling strategy for wind power, PV, and pumped storage plant in VSC-HVDC grid, with maximum energy consumption and minimum power fluctuation at the load side and vicinity of the adjusting side as the target, considering the constraints from day-ahead forecasts, VSC-HVDC capacity, unit start-up–shutdown, and state conversion. Simulation results show that authors’ strategy can make use of pumped storage power plant to inhibit the fluctuation of renewable energy power and make the maximum renewable energy consumption within the allowed power fluctuation at the sides, attaining a good balance between energy consumption and grid security.
Effect of novel short‐arm human centrifugation‐induced gravitational gradients upon cardiovascular responses, cerebral perfusion and g‐tolerance

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of rotational axis position (RAP and thus g‐gradient) during short‐arm human centrifugation (SAHC) upon cardiovascular responses, cerebral perfusion and g‐tolerance. In 10 male and 10 female participants, 10 min passive SAHC runs were performed with the RAP above the head (P1), at the apex of the head (P2), or at heart level (P3), with foot‐level Gz at 1.0 g, 1.7 g and 2.4 g. We hypothesized that movement of the RAP from above the head (the conventional position) towards the heart might reduce central hypovolaemia, limit cardiovascular responses, aid cerebral perfusion, and thus promote g‐tolerance. Moving the RAP footward towards the heart decreased the cerebral tissue saturation index, calf circumference and heart rate responses to SAHC, thereby promoting g‐tolerance. Our results also suggest that RAP, and thus g‐gradient, warrants further investigation as it may support use as a holistic spaceflight countermeasure.
Automated False Positive Reduction and Feature Extraction of Kidney Stone Object in 3D CT Images

: CT imaging is widely used for a variety of diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. It is a best effective and efficient tool in kidney stones diagnostic and treatment strategies whenever contactless measurements of quality are necessary to examine different types of stones. Accurate segmentation is a key process in CT diagnostic imaging. But, there are some challenges to distinguish among stones, stents or nephrostomy tubes, calcification and bone fragments in stone diagnostic CT imaging. This study proposed and experimentally investigated a scheme to reduce false positive for stone detection and to extract meaningful structural information for diagnosis of kidney stones. Firstly, the interested object (stone) is segmented by Otsu’s thresholding method and morphological operation. Secondly, the parameters based on 3D morphological features are measured for stone detection. In false positive reduction, the unwanted disturbances (bone fragments, image noise, calcification and stents) are eliminated using novel volume-ratio based thresholding and SAV ratio based thresholding. Finally, it provided an output that identifies meaningful structural information (Surface-area-to-volume ratio, volume, location and density of kidney stone) for kidney stone diagnosis. Digitized transverse abdomen CT images from 35 patients with kidney stone cases were statistically analyzed and validated. The estimation of coordinate points in the stone region was measured independently by the expert radiologists to get the validated data for the analysis. The proposed algorithm was significantly reduced the false positives with 70% of overall accuracy. Moreover, it can present the meaningful information of the kidney stone. This may lead to more accurate stone management.