Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Saliency-based data compression for image sensors

As saliency models have revealed ability to predict where observers fixate during scene exploration, it is of great interest to embed a saliency model into an image sensor to apply a fixation-driven compression. Such perception-driven image sensor can allocate bit-rate budget according to the saliency level of a region. In this paper we present an original implementation of a saliency-based data compression framework to be integrated in image sensors. First, a video-rate compliant, compact saliency model is used to predict salient regions: only compact operators and little memory are required. Second, Haar wavelet-based compression is applied according to the block saliency value. Both saliency computation and data compression are carried out on-the-fly. Our experiments showed that no significant differences between original and compressed videos can visually be perceived.
Location of a Common Inhibitor Binding Site in the Cytoplasmic Vestibule of the Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator Chloride Channel Pore*

Chloride transport by the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) Cl– channel is inhibited by a broad range of organic anions that enter the channel pore from its cytoplasmic end, physically occluding the Cl– permeation pathway. These open channel blocker molecules are presumed to bind within a relatively wide pore inner vestibule that shows little discrimination between different large anions. The present study uses patch clamp recording to identify a pore-lining lysine residue, Lys-95, that acts to attract large blocker molecules into this inner vestibule. Mutations that remove the fixed positive charge associated with this amino acid residue dramatically weaken the blocking effects of five structurally unrelated open channel blockers (glibenclamide, 4,4′-dinitrostilbene-2,2′-disulfonic acid, lonidamine, 5-nitro-2-(3-phenylpropylamino)benzoic acid, and taurolithocholate-3-sulfate) when applied to the cytoplasmic face of the membrane. Mutagenesis of Lys-95 also induced amino acid side chain charge-dependent rectification of the macroscopic current-voltage relationship, consistent with the fixed positive charge on this residue normally acting to attract Cl– ions from the intracellular solution into the pore. These results identify Lys-95 as playing an important role in attracting permeant anions into the channel pore inner vestibule, probably by an electrostatic mechanism. This same electrostatic attraction mechanism also acts to attract larger anionic molecules into the relatively wide inner vestibule, where these substances bind to block Cl– permeation. Thus, structurally diverse open channel blockers of CFTR appear to share a common molecular mechanism of action that involves interaction with a positively charged amino acid side chain located in the inner vestibule of the pore.
Central nervous system atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor: results of therapy in children enrolled in a registry.

PURPOSE Atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor (AT/RT) of the CNS is an extremely rare and aggressive tumor of early childhood. The poor outcome with conventional infant brain tumor therapy has resulted in a lack of clear treatment guidelines. A registry has been established to create an outcomes database and to facilitate biology studies for this tumor. MATERIALS AND METHODS A standardized data sheet was provided to treating physicians listing the reports that were to be sent to the registry for abstraction. Follow-up information was sought twice yearly. RESULTS Information was complete for 42 patients. Median age at diagnosis was 24 months. Nine patients (21%) had disseminated disease at diagnosis. Sixteen tumors were infratentorial; 26 were supratentorial. Twenty patients (48%) received a primary complete resection. Primary therapy included chemotherapy in all patients, radiotherapy in 13 patients (31%), stem-cell rescue in 13 patients (31%), and intrathecal chemotherapy in 16 patients (38%). Recurrent or progressive disease was reported in nine and 19 patients, respectively. Twenty-seven patients (64%) are dead of disease (3 to 62 months from diagnosis) and one patient died of toxicity. Fourteen patients (33%) show no evidence of disease (9.5 to 96 months from diagnosis). The median survival is 16.75 months and the median event-free survival is 10 months. CONCLUSION Aggressive therapy has prolonged the natural history in a subset of children. Prospective multi-institutional and national clinical trials designed specifically for AT/RT are needed. Enrollment onto the AT/RT registry should be continued.
Decomposing the emotional Stroop effect

The emotional Stroop effect refers to the phenomenon that participants are faster in responding to the ink colour of neutral than of negative word stimuli, possibly reflecting fast and automatic allocation of attention towards negative stimuli. However, this interpretation was challenged by McKenna and Sharma (2004) who found that the emotional Stroop effect reflected a generic slowdown after negative stimuli. In fact, they even found reversed effects in a design in which neutral stimuli more often followed negative stimuli and vice versa. Yet, besides reversing the emotional Stroop effect this contingency might in fact have counteracted the fast effect, which was usually interpreted as the emotional Stroop effect. To decompose the emotional Stroop effect we used a design in which the foregoing and the current valence were uncorrelated and in which the fast and slow effects could be computed independently from each other. We found evidence for both fast and slow effects and discuss the practical implications for researchers using the emotional Stroop task as a measurement and the theoretical implications for researchers interested in the underlying cognitive mechanisms that contribute to the emotional Stroop effect.
G protein‐coupled oestrogen receptor 1 (GPER1)/GPR30: a new player in cardiovascular and metabolic oestrogenic signalling

Oestrogens are important sex hormones central to health and disease in both genders that have protective effects on the cardiovascular and metabolic systems. These hormones act in complex ways via both genomic and non‐genomic mechanisms. The genomic mechanisms are relatively well characterized, whereas the non‐genomic ones are only beginning to be explored. Two oestrogen receptors (ER), ERα and ERβ, have been described that act as nuclear transcription factors but can also associate with the plasma membrane and influence cytosolic signalling. ERα has been shown to mediate both anti‐atherogenic effects and pro‐survival effects in pancreatic β‐cells. In recent years, a third membrane‐bound ER has emerged, G protein‐coupled receptor 30 or G protein‐coupled oestrogen receptor 1 (GPER1), which mediates oestrogenic responses in cardiovascular and metabolic regulation. Both GPER1 knock‐out models and pharmacological agents are now available to study GPER1 function. These tools have revealed that GPER1 activation may have several beneficial effects in the cardiovascular system including vasorelaxation, inhibition of smooth muscle cell proliferation, and protection of the myocardium against ischaemia/reperfusion injury, and in the metabolic system including stimulation of insulin release and protection against pancreatic β‐cell apoptosis. Thus, GPER1 is emerging as a candidate therapeutic target in both cardiovascular and metabolic disease.
Arm area measurements as indices of nutritional reserves and body water in African newborns.

Although application of non-invasive techniques for early evaluation of body water, calorie and protein reserves has been available for more than two decades, there is a dearth of information on the evaluation of extracellular water, protein and calorie reserves in the African newborn. A cross-sectional study of arm area measurements was undertaken in 510 term new-born infants consisting of 318 infants who were normal weight term infants (NWTI) with a mean birth weight of 2898.5 +/- 287.7 g and 192 low birth weight term infants (LBWTI) with a mean birth weight of 2176.5 +/- 194.7 g. The triceps skin fold thickness (TSF), the arm fat area (AFA), percentage of arm area (AFA%) and arm water area (AWA) were significantly greater in females than males weighing > 2500 g at birth (P < 0.05), though the mean birth weight and mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) were similar (P > 0.05). With the exception of AFA%, all measured and calculated indices were significantly lower in LBWTI than in the NWTI irrespective of sex (P < 0.05). The measurements may aid detection of newborns at risk of developing malnutrition in an area of the world where childhood undernutrition is common.
Energy management strategy for a full hybrid electric vehicle based on Cruise

An energy management strategy for a full hybrid electric vehicle (FHEV) assisted by integrated starter generator (ISG) is proposed in order to improve the efficiency of the engine. Firstly, a compound structure is selected as the configuration of ISG-FHEV and vehicle models are established based on Cruise. Then, on the basis of experiment results, fuel consumption map under different speed and different torque, external characteristic of engine and steady operating efficiency 2-D map are obtained respectively in Cruise V2010. Using engine steady operating efficiency map, an energy management strategy for ISG-FHEV is designed by means of steady management strategy based on rules. At last, ISG-FHEV designed by ourselves and parallel hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) of traditional two axles are both simulated under CYC_UDDS driving cycle in Cruise V2010. Simulation results show that fuel consumption to travel 100 km decreases 9.98%, engine efficiency increases 8.8%, and total motor efficiency of ISG-FHEV is up 11.5% compared with of PHEV of traditional double axes.
Issue Cycles in Corporate Sustainability Reporting: A Longitudinal Study

ABSTRACT Issue cycles in media reporting and in the coverage of environmental news in particular have been studied since the 1970s. This study seeks to extend existing theory on issue-attention lifecycles from the news-media domain to the corporate domain by exploring how companies operationalize environmental sustainability over time. Using computer-assisted text analysis, this study investigates 744 corporate environmental reports in a 10-year longitudinal design in order to study how the attention that companies pay to a set of 13 environmental issues shifts over this period. The results indicate discernible issue cycles for almost all of the issues studied. Some issues are in a phase of heightened awareness, others in a punctuated equilibrium following specific events, and even others in a phase of decline. The issue cycles identified suggest that companies pursue their environmental strategies consistently, but shift attention to particular issues as a response to high-profile environmental events. Policy-makers therefore need to be aware of the slowness of changes in corporate environmental strategies.
Tacrolimus Concentration/Dose Ratio is Associated with Renal Function After Liver Transplantation.

BACKGROUND The calcineurin inhibitor (CNI) tacrolimus (Tac) is an effective immunosuppressant used after liver transplantation (LTx), but is often associated with CNI nephrotoxicity. Currently, there is no simple clinical predictor for CNI nephrotoxicity after LTx. We hypothesized that the Tac metabolism rate - defined as the blood concentration normalized by its daily dose (the C/D ratio) - is associated with post-LTx renal impairment. MATERIAL AND METHODS We analyzed the relationship between the C/D ratio and post-transplant renal function in 179 patients who underwent LTx between 2000 and 2012 and were initially immunosuppressed with Tac, mycophenolate mofetil, and prednisolone. Six months after LTx, 115 patients were categorized into 1 of 2 groups based on their Tac C/D ratio (<1.09 or ≥1.09): fast (n=58) or slow (n=57) metabolizers. The renal function was determined 36 months after LTx using the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) as described by Cockcroft and Gault. RESULTS At the time of LTx there was no statistically significant difference between the eGFR of fast and slow metabolizers. Six months (P=0.016), 12 months (P=0.001), and 36 months (P=0.018) after LTx, fast Tac metabolizers had significantly more impaired renal function than slow metabolizers. Because of a presumption of CNI nephrotoxicity, 32.8% of fast metabolizers and 14.0% of slow metabolizers were switched from Tac to other immunosuppressants (P=0.027). CONCLUSIONS In this study, the Tac metabolism rate appears to influence renal function after LTx, suggesting that a C/D ratio of <1.09 is associated with increased CNI nephrotoxicity in LTx recipients.
Different dosages of intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide injections for macular edema secondary to central retinal vein occlusion.

PURPOSE To study the effect of intravitreal injections of triamcinolone acetonide (TA) for the treatment of macular edema secondary to central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) in a sample of Chinese patients from Shaanxi province. METHODS The 50 eyes from 50 patients were separated into three TA treatment groups: 17 patients were given 4mg /0.1ml, 19 patients were given 8mg /0.2ml, and 14 patients were given 16mg /0.4ml. Patients were followed up for 12 months. Foveal thickness, intraocular pressure (IOP), and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) were measured. RESULTS Macular edema responded well both anatomically and functionally to the TA injections. After the initial intravitreal injection, macular edema recurred at 2-4 months in the low-dose group (4 mg), at 3-5 months in the medium-dose group (8 mg), and at 6-9 months in the high-dose group (16 mg). No significant difference in BCVA or in foveal thickness were observed between the first intravitreal injection and the re-injection. There was no increase in IOP after re-injection of 16mg TA, if the patient did not have an elevated IOP after the initial intravitreal injection of 4/8 mg TA. CONCLUSION A low dosage of TA(4 mg) administered via intravitreal injection might be useful as an initial treatment for macular edema secondary to CRVO. A higher dosage of TA (16mg) can be used if there is no IOP elevation with the initial TA injection.
Novel insights into the effects of diabetes on gastric motility

ABSTRACT Recent data from the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial/Epidemiology of Diabetic Interventions and Complications cohort indicate that the disease burden of gastroparesis in diabetes remains high, consistent with the outcome of cross-sectional studies in type 1 and 2 diabetes. An improved understanding of the pathogenesis of diabetic gastroparesis at the cellular level has emerged in the last decade, particularly as a result of initiatives such as the National Institute of Health funded Gastroparesis Clinical Research Consortium in the US. Management of diabetic gastroparesis involves dietary and psychological support, attention to glycaemic control, and the use of prokinetic agents. Given that the relationship between upper gastrointestinal symptoms and the rate of gastric emptying is weak, therapies targeted specifically at symptoms, such as nausea or pain, are important. The relationship between gastric emptying and postprandial glycaemia is complex and inter-dependent. Short-acting glucagon-like peptide-1 agonists, that slow gastric emptying, can be used to reduce postprandial glycaemic excursions and, in combination with basal insulin, result in substantial reductions in glycated haemoglobin in type 2 patients.
A client mobile application for Chinese-Spanish statistical machine translation

This show and tell paper describes a client mobile application for Chinese-Spanish machine translation. The system combines a standard server-based statistical machine translation (SMT) system, which requires online operation, with different input modalities including text, optical character recognition (OCR) and automatic speech recognition (ASR). It also includes an index-based search engine for supporting off-line translation.
Comparison of high-dose with low-dose aspirin in patients with mechanical heart valve replacement treated with oral anticoagulant.

BACKGROUND There are no reported studies on the safety and efficacy of low-dose aspirin with low-intensity oral anticoagulation in patients with heart valve replacement. In this study, we compared the use of 100 mg/d aspirin with 650 mg/d aspirin in the prevention of systemic embolism and vascular death in patients with heart valve replacement who were being treated with oral anticoagulants with a target international normalized ratio (INR) of 2.0 to 3.0. METHODS AND RESULTS Four hundred nine of 416 consecutive patients who had cardiac valve replacement were randomized in open allocation into one of two groups; both groups were treated with oral anticoagulant therapy with a target INR of 2.0 to 3.0. Two hundred seven patients who received 100 mg/d aspirin for an average of 24.1 months were compared with 202 patients who received 650 mg/d aspirin for an average of 21.7 months in a randomized-treatment, open-allocation study. There were no significant differences in systemic embolism, vascular death, or total death rates between the low- and high-dose aspirin treatment groups (0.5 and 1.1, 1.2 and 0.5, and 4.6 and 2.5 per 100 patients/y, respectively). The total number of hemorrhagic events was 13.4 per 100 patients/y in the high-dose aspirin group and 7.9 per 100 patients/y in the low-dose aspirin group (P = .035), but the rate of bleeding was influenced by dipyridamole in the 650-mg aspirin group. CONCLUSIONS In patients with mechanical heart valve replacements, low-dose aspirin (100 mg/d) in conjunction with oral anticoagulants at an INR of 2.0 to 3.0 is as effective as the use of high-dose aspirin (650 mg/d) in the prevention of systemic embolism.
A 1-V, 5.5-GHz, CMOS LNA With Multiple Magnetic Feedback

A CMOS low-noise amplifier that utilizes multiple monolithic transformer magnetic feedback to simultaneously neutralize the gate-drain overlap capacitance of the amplifying transistor and achieve high gain at high frequencies when driving an on-chip capacitance is presented. The multiple transformer topology permits negative and positive feedback to be applied constructively, allowing for a stable design with adequate gain and large reverse isolation without noise figure (NF) degradation. Simulation results indicate voltage conversion gain of 17 dB, NF of 1.6 dB, and best-case third-order input intercept point of 13 dBm. The design is being implemented in a 0.13-mum CMOS technology
The immunobiology and immunopathology of chlamydial infections

Chlamydiae are obligate intracellular bacterial pathogens of eukaryotic cells responsible for a wide variety of important human and animal infections. In humans, chlamydial infections are generally localised to superficial epithelial or mucosal surfaces, are frequently asymptomatic and may persist for long periods of time if untreated, inducing little protective immunity. Nevertheless, neutralising antibodies of limited efficacy are produced against the main chlamydial outer envelope protein, while gamma interferon (IFNγ) is chlamydiastatic and paradoxically may play a role both in chlamydial persistence and in protective immunity. Delayed hypersensitivity responses to chlamydiae caused by repeated or persistent infection are thought to be important in the development of the severe scarring sequelae characteristic of cicatricial trachoma and of chronic salpingitis. Chlamydial heat shock proteins bearing close homology with their human equivalents may be major targets for immunopathological responses and their expression is upregulated in IFNγ induced persistent infection. C. pneumoniae, a common cause of acute respiratory infection in humans, may persist in coronary arteries and is strongly implicated as a risk factor in atherosclerosis and in acute myocardial infarction. This paper reviews the immunology and immunopathology of chlamydial infections in the context of the unique biology of this fascinating but challenging group of organisms.
Bacterial FIC Proteins AMP Up Infection

A bacterial protein posttranslationally modifies and inactivates Rho family GTPases in host cells. Proteins containing FIC (filamentation induced by cyclic adenosine monophosphate) domains are found in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms, but their function has remained elusive. Recent studies indicate that bacterial FIC domain–containing proteins disrupt host cell processes after being delivered into eukaryotic host cells: The Vibrio parahaemolyticus VopS protein interferes with Rho guanine triphosphatase (GTPase) function, and the Legionella pneumophila AnkX protein disrupts the microtubule-dependent transport of vesicles. Analysis of the VopS protein revealed that the FIC domain covalently modifies Rac by transferring adenosine 5′-monophosphate (AMP) to a threonine residue in the switch 1 region of the protein. Thus, FIC domain–mediated AMPylation is involved in the posttranslational regulation of protein function, and this activity has been subverted by microbial pathogens to modulate cellular functions during infection.
EVALUATION OF SEMIAUTOMATED MEASUREMENT OF GEOGRAPHIC ATROPHY IN AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION BY FUNDUS AUTOFLUORESCENCE IN CLINICAL SETTING

Purpose: To assess intraobserver and interobserver agreement among physicians with different degrees of clinical experience, using a novel fundus autofluorescence semiautomated software for quantification of geographic atrophy in clinical setting. Methods: Fundus autofluorescence frames (excitation: 488 nm; emission: 500–700 nm) of 29 eyes (20 patients; mean age, 79.6 ± 6.2 years) with geographic atrophy secondary to age-related macular degeneration, and no signs of choroidal neovascularization, were analyzed using Region Finder, a semiautomated software embedded in Spectralis (Heidelberg Engineering, Heidelberg, Germany). For each study eye, semiautomated atrophy identification and quantification were independently performed, twice (in a 2-week time frame), by 3 readers with different degrees of clinical experience (2 fellows, and 1 resident). Intraobserver and interobserver agreements were assessed. Results: Mean difference in intraobserver agreement (Bland–Altman statistics) ranged from −0.17 mm2 to 0.13 mm2. Intraobserver agreement was excellent until the geographic atrophy threshold value of 15.72 mm2. Variability correlated with the size of atrophy. Mean difference in interobserver agreement (Bland–Altman statistics) ranged from −0.25 mm2 to 0.27 mm2, with no significant difference between senior and junior readers. Multifocal lesion or foveal involvement in atrophy was not the cause of disagreement. Conclusion: Region Finder is a reliable tool for the identification and quantification of geographic atrophy in patients with age-related macular degeneration, in a clinical setting even when performed by junior reader.