Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Adaptive Decoupling Predictive Temperature Control Using Neural Networks for Extrusion Barrels in Plastic Injection Molding Machines

In the paper, an adaptive decoupling predictive temperature control using neural networks (NN) is presented for extrusion barrels in plastic injection molding machines. Due to weakly coupling effects, the extrusion barrels are approximated by decoupling linear system models together with independent NN models. These decoupling system parameters and NN models are experimentally determined using the recursive least-squares estimation (RLSE) approach with forgetting factor. The adaptive decoupling predictive PI control laws together with NN compensating terms are developed by minimizing a generalized predictive cost function. A real-time control algorithm is then proposed to achieve temperature control of extrusion barrels. Experimental results on a laboratory-built extrusion barrel are conducted to illustrate the usefulness and applicability of the proposed method are well exemplified by conducting.
Werkzeug für aktivitätsbasierte Modellierung von Tätigkeiten

In Reengineering-Prozessen ist zur geeigneten Gestaltung des Zielsystems umfassendes Wissen über die zu unterstützenden Prozesse notwendig. Insbesondere für modellbasierte Neuentwicklungen kommt einer möglichst formalen Beschreibung der bisherigen Abläufe groÿe Bedeutung zu; dies beinhaltet die Abstraktion von einzelnen Aktionen zu semantisch aussagekräftigen Aufgaben, die aus der Domäne analysiert wurden. Dieser Beitrag stellt eine werkzeuggestützte Methode vor, um aus Anwendungs-Protokollen von AltSystemen und während der Analyse generierten beispielhaften Aktions-Sequenzen Aufgabenmodelle zu erstellen, die als Grundlage für Design-Modelle des neu zu scha enden Systems dienen.
Mercury physicochemical and biogeochemical transformation in the atmosphere and at atmospheric interfaces: a review and future directions.

Atmosphere and at Atmospheric Interfaces: A Review and Future Directions Parisa A. Ariya,*,†,‡ Marc Amyot, Ashu Dastoor, Daniel Deeds,‡ Aryeh Feinberg,† Gregor Kos,‡ Alexandre Poulain, Andrei Ryjkov, Kirill Semeniuk, M. Subir, and Kenjiro Toyota †Department of Chemistry and ‡Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, McGill University, 801 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3A 2K6 Department of Biological Sciences, Universite ́ de Montreál, 90 avenue Vincent-d’Indy, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3C 3J7 Air Quality Research Division, Environment Canada, 2121 TransCanada Highway, Dorval, Quebec, Canada, H9P 1J3 Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, 30 Marie Curie, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1N 6N5 Department of Chemistry, Ball State University, 2000 West University Avenue, Muncie, Indiana 47306, United States Air Quality Research Division, Environment Canada, 4905 Dufferin Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M3H 5T4
QT dispersion and RR variations on 12-lead ECGs in patients with congestive heart failure secondary to idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy.

Increased QT dispersion, which has been proposed as a marker of ventricular repolarization inhomogeneity, may predispose to ventricular arrhythmias. Data on QT dispersion in patients with congestive heart failure are scarce. In this study, conventional 12-lead ECGs were recorded in 135 consecutive patients with congestive heart failure secondary to idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. Seventy-five patients were excluded from QT interval assessments due to one or more of the following reasons: (1) low amplitude of the T wave (n = 3), (2) atrial fibrillation (n = 26) and (3) bundle branch block (n = 46). QT dispersion was calculated as (1) QT-range: the difference between the maximum and minimum QT intervals on any of the 12 leads and (2) QT-SD: the standard deviation of the QT interval in all the 12 leads. RR intervals were measured in leads II, aVL, V2 and V5. QT-SD (20.85 +/- 5.00 ms) was significantly (r = 0.8997, P < 0.001) related to QT-range (65.65 +/- 15.77 ms), but not to the QT interval. Neither QT-range nor QT-SD was significantly related to age, left ventricular dimensions, left ventricular end diastolic pressure, left ventricular ejection fraction or left ventricular wall thickness. There was no significant difference in QT dispersion between survivors and those who died (n = 8) or were transplanted (n = 9) during 34 +/- 23 month follow-up. No significant difference in QT dispersion was observed between patients with and without ventricular tachycardia (> or = three consecutive beats) detected on 24-h Holter ECGs. RR interval variation was significantly lower in patients who died compared with survivors (standard deviation: 10.37 +/- 3.61 vs 36.02 +/- 35.03 ms, P < 0.001; coefficient of variance: 1.87 +/- 0.7% vs 4.50 +/- 4.9%, P = 0.001). This was also true in patients with bundle branch block. These observations suggest that QT dispersion in idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy is not significantly related to either QT interval or cardiac size and function and does not predict death. The application of QT dispersion assessment is limited by the commonly encountered atrial fibrillation and bundle branch block in this patient population. However, reduced RR variation on standard 12-lead ECGs has important prognostic implications in these patients.
Prevalence of endoscopic reflux esophagitis among Koreans

Background and Aim: Although reflux esophagitis is believed to be common in the Western population, very few epidemiologic data on reflux esophagitis in Koreans are available. The aims of this study were to evaluate the prevalence of endoscopic reflux esophagitis in patients who came for a physical check‐up at Korea University Hospital, and to study the relationship between various factors relevant to reflux disease.
Association of the Caveola Vesicular System with Cellular Entry by Filoviruses

ABSTRACT The filoviruses Ebola Zaire virus and Marburg virus are believed to infect target cells through endocytic vesicles, but the details of this pathway are unknown. We used a pseudotyping strategy to investigate the cell biology of filovirus entry. We observed that specific inhibitors of the caveola system, including cholesterol-sequestering drugs and phorbol esters, inhibited the entry of filovirus pseudotypes into human cells. We also measured slower cell entry kinetics for both filovirus pseudotypes than for pseudotypes of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), which has been recognized to exploit the clathrin-mediated entry pathway. Finally, visualization by immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy revealed that the filovirus pseudotypes colocalized with the caveola protein marker caveolin-1 but that VSV pseudotypes did not. Collectively, these results provide evidence suggesting that filoviruses use caveolae to gain entry into cells.
A multicenter, randomized trial of prophylactic fluconazole in preterm neonates.

BACKGROUND Invasive candida infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in preterm infants. We performed a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of fluconazole for the prevention of fungal colonization and infection in very-low-birth-weight neonates. METHODS During a 15-month period, all neonates weighing less than 1500 g at birth from eight tertiary Italian neonatal intensive care units (322 infants) were randomly assigned to receive either fluconazole (at a dose of either 6 mg or 3 mg per kilogram of body weight) or placebo from birth until day 30 of life (day 45 for neonates weighing <1000 g at birth). We performed weekly surveillance cultures and systematic fungal susceptibility testing. RESULTS Among infants receiving fluconazole, fungal colonization occurred in 9.8% in the 6-mg group and 7.7% in the 3-mg group, as compared with 29.2% in the placebo group (P<0.001 for both fluconazole groups vs. the placebo group). The incidence of invasive fungal infection was 2.7% in the 6-mg group and 3.8% in the 3-mg group, as compared with 13.2% in the placebo group (P=0.005 for the 6-mg group and P=0.02 for the 3-mg group vs. the placebo group). The use of fluconazole did not modify the relationship between colonization and the subsequent development of invasive fungal infection. Overall mortality was similar among groups, as was the incidence of cholestasis. No evidence for the emergence of resistant candida species was observed, but the study did not have substantial power to detect such an effect. CONCLUSIONS Prophylactic fluconazole reduces the incidence of colonization and invasive candida infection in neonates weighing less than 1500 g at birth. The benefit of treating candida colonization is unclear. (Current Controlled Trials number, ISRCTN85753869 [controlled-trials.com]).
A generalized framework for autonomous formation reconfiguration of multiple spacecraft

Formation flying scenarios involve the coordinated control of multiple spacecraft to achieve specific scientific measurements for a mission. Formation reconfiguration is the process that allows science data acquisition by aligning each spacecraft in a desired configuration. Formation reconfiguration is thus a necessary step to enable the science goals of formation flying missions, and involves combining knowledge derived from many diverse fields in order to adequately formulate the problems that exist and develop robust solutions to address them. For that reason, control of autonomous flying formations is a very broad problem space, and there is considerable research in many of the different sub areas that are encompassed by this field. In this paper, we suggest a framework to define a generalized structure for combining divergent solutions to formation flying control, with a focus on developing a system capable of autonomous reasoning for formation flying reconfiguration. We also explore selected areas of research that are relevant to addressing the reconfiguration problem. In this paper, we discuss a generalized framework that can incorporate all necessary aspects of reconfiguration, from constraint satisfaction to cooperative autonomous control CAC, into an autonomous control system. This framework allows the control process that is currently handled on the ground to be handled by the fleet in space. The integration of multiple technologies into a generalized framework can assist the fleet by allowing independent spacecrafts to determine how to maneuver in situations where due to time and/or communication constraints they can not depend on ground control for assistance.
How in the World Did We Ever Get into That Mode? Mode Error and Awareness in Supervisory Control

New technology is flexible in the sense that it provides practitioners with a large number of functions and options for carrying out a given task under different circumstances. However, this flexibility has a price. Because the human supervisor must select the mode best suited to a particular situation, he or she must know more than before about system operations and the operation of the system as well as satisfy new monitoring and attentional demands to track which mode the automation is in and what it is doing to manage the underlying processes. When designers proliferate modes without supporting these new cognitive demands, new mode-related error forms and failure paths can result. Mode error has been discussed in human-computer interaction for some time; however, the increased capabilities and the high level of autonomy of new automated systems appear to have created new types of mode-related problems. We explore these new aspects based on results from our own and related studies of human-automation interaction. In particular, we draw on empirical data from a series of studies of pilot-automation interaction in commercial glass cockpit aircraft to illustrate the nature, circumstances, and potential consequences of mode awareness problems in supervisory control of automated resources. The result is an expanded view of mode error that takes into account the new demands imposed by more automated systems.
Bronchial artery ligation modifies pulmonary edema after exposure to smoke with acrolein.

Pulmonary edema can follow smoke inhalation and is believed to be due to the multiple chemical toxins in smoke, not the heat. We have developed a synthetic smoke composed of aerosolized charcoal particles to which one toxin at a time can be added to determine whether it produces pulmonary edema. Acrolein, a common component of smoke, when added to the synthetic smoke, produced a delayed-onset pulmonary edema in dogs in which the extravascular lung water (EVLW) as detected by a double-indicator technique began to rise after 42 +/- 2 (SE) min from 148 +/- 16 to 376 +/- 60 ml at 165 min after smoke exposure. The resulting pulmonary edema was widespread macroscopically but appeared focal microscopically with fibrin deposits in alveoli adjacent to small bronchi and bronchioles. Bronchial vessels were markedly dilated and congested. Monastral blue B when injected intravenously leaked into the walls of the bronchial vessels down to the region of the small bronchioles (less than or equal to 0.5 mm ID) of acrolein-smoke-exposed dogs but not into the pulmonary vessels. Furthermore, ligation of the bronchial arteries delayed the onset of pulmonary edema (87 +/- 3 min, P less than 0.05) and lessened the magnitude (232 +/- 30 ml, P less than 0.05) at 166 +/- 3 min after acrolein-smoke exposure. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Psychoactive substances and paranormal phenomena: A comprehensive review

This paper investigates the relationship between psychoactive substances and so-called paranormal phenomena falling within the study of parapsychology. It is primarily concerned with extrasensory perception (ESP)—telepathy, precognition, and clairvoyance—as well as out-of-body experiences (OBEs) and near-death experiences (NDEs). Psychokinesis (PK), aura vision, encounter experiences, and sleep paralysis only make a very limited contribution to this review as they are seldom related to psychoactive drugs within the parapsychological literature. The paper borrows widely, but by no means exhaustively, from parapsychology as well as transpersonal studies, anthropology, ethnobotany, phytochemistry, psychiatry, psychotherapy, psychopharmacology, and neurobiology, particularly neurochemistry. It is organized into neurochemical models of paranormal experience (section 1), field reports of intentional and spontaneous phenomena incorporating anthropological, historical and clinical cases, and personal accounts (section 2), surveys of paranormal belief and experience (section 3), experimental research (section 4), and a methodological critique of the experimental research with recommendations for further work (section 5).
Ensemble lymph node detection from CT volumes combining local intensity structure analysis approach and appearance learning approach

This paper presents an ensemble lymph node detection method combining two automated lymph node detection methods from CT volumes. Detecting enlarged abdominal lymph nodes from CT volumes is an important task for the pre-operative diagnosis and planning done for cancer surgery. Although several research works have been conducted toward achieving automated abdominal lymph node detection methods, such methods still do not have enough accuracy for detecting lymph nodes of 5 mm or larger. This paper proposes an ensemble lymph node detection method that integrates two different lymph node detection schemes: (1) the local intensity structure analysis approach and (2) the appearance learning approach. This ensemble approach is introduced with the aim of achieving high sensitivity and specificity. Each component detection method is independently designed to detect candidate regions of enlarged abdominal lymph nodes whose diameters are over 5 mm. We applied the proposed ensemble method to 22 cases using abdominal CT volumes. Experimental results showed that we can detect about 90.4% (47/52) of the abdominal lymph nodes with about 15.2 false-positives/case for lymph nodes of 5mm or more in diameter.
Pilot study of the effects of a heat-retaining knee sleeve on joint pain, stiffness, and function in patients with knee osteoarthritis.

OBJECTIVE To identify changes in joint pain, stiffness, and functional ability in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) after use of a knee sleeve that prevents loss of body heat by the joint. METHODS Subjects with symptomatic knee OA (n = 52) were randomized to 2 treatment groups: verum sleeve (specially fabricated to retain body heat) or placebo sleeve (standard cotton/elastane sleeve). Subjects wore the sleeve over the more painful OA knee for at least 12 hours daily for 4 weeks. Pain, stiffness, and functional impairment (Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index [WOMAC]) in the index knee were measured at baseline and after 4 weeks of wear, after which sleeve use was discontinued. Telephone followup interviews were conducted 2 and 4 weeks later. RESULTS After 4 weeks of sleeve wear, subjects in the active treatment group reported a 16% decrease in mean WOMAC pain score relative to baseline (P = 0.001). Those who wore the placebo sleeve reported a 9.7% decrease from baseline (P = 0.002). The difference between treatment groups was not statistically significant (P = 0.12). However, it was found that the 12 subjects who believed correctly that they had received the verum sleeve reported a highly significant decrease in WOMAC pain score (-27.5% relative to baseline, P = 0.0001). In comparison, subjects who received the verum sleeve but believed they had received the placebo sleeve exhibited only a marginally significant improvement in pain (-13.0% relative to baseline, P = 0.07). In the placebo group, the modest improvement in pain scores appeared unrelated to the subject's impression of the type of sleeve worn. CONCLUSION This pilot study was insufficiently powered to be a definitive trial of the heat-retaining sleeve. Given the magnitude of changes in knee pain in the active treatment group, heat retention merits further scientific investigation as a treatment modality for patients with knee OA.
A phase III trial of recombinant human erythropoietin therapy in nonanemic orthopedic patients subjected to aggressive removal of blood for autologous use: dose, response, toxicity, and efficacy

BACKGROUND: Previous clinical trials have shown that the use of recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO) can facilitate autologous blood donation and reduce allogeneic blood transfusions in autologous blood donors who are anemic at first donation. However, the role of EPO therapy in nonanemic patients remains undefined. To identify this role, a randomized, controlled, multicenter dose‐escalation trial was conducted in patients whose initial hematocrit was > 39 percent (0.39).
Symmetry and Asymmetry of Human Spatial Memory

Six experiments investigated the limiting conditions on and the causes of asymmetries in estimates of euclidean distance. Participants estimated distances between locations on recently learned maps or between buildings on their college campus. Estimates between landmarks and neighboring nonlandmarks were often asymmetric, but estimates between other pairs of locations were typically symmetric. These and other results were inconsistent with the predictions of models that attribute asymmetries to stimulus or to retrieval bias. A contextual scaling model of asymmetry is proposed. According to this model, asymmetries in proximity judgments are caused by general principles of human memory and judgment: (a) Stimuli differ in the contexts they establish in working memory and (b) magnitude estimates are scaled by the context in which they are made.
Allografts about the Knee in Young Patients with High-Grade Sarcoma

Reconstruction after resections for high-grade sarcomas about the knee in children and adolescents is a challenging problem because of the large soft tissue and skeletal defects, the effects of adjuvant therapy, and the potential for long-term use of the limb. One hundred sixteen patients, all 18 years or younger, with osteosarcoma or Ewing’s sarcoma located between the middle femur and middle tibia, were treated with chemotherapy, resection, and allograft reconstruction. One hundred three patients with osteosarcoma and 13 patients with Ewing’s sarcoma had 105 Stage II and 11 Stage III tumors. There were 72 osteoarticular grafts (39 femur, 33 tibia), 28 intercalary grafts (19 femur), seven allograft-prosthetic composites (all femur,) and nine allograft-arthrodeses (seven femur, two tibia). At latest followup, 49% of all of the allograft reconstructions were rated good or excellent, 14% were rated as fair, and 37% were failures. Sixteen percent had an infection develop. Twenty-seven percent of patients had a fracture, 34% had a nonunion, and 14 patients eventually required amputation. Reconstruction of large bone defects about the knee in young patients who are being treated with chemotherapy is difficult. Although complications significantly affect outcome, allografts are a viable option for reconstruction in children with high-grade sarcomas about the knee.
On the Other Hand - Cognitive Prostheses

Opinion used in Europe as an arithmetical prosthesis. In the 13th century, Leo-nard Fibonnacci introduced into Europe the Hindu-Arabic system of numbers and the arithmetic algorithms they made possible. One of the first books after the Bible printed with moveable type was an Arithmetic. Even so, the algorithms were not easy and not widely disseminated. Most 17th century tradesman could not multiply. Today, every shop assistant W hen hands are wringing, they are often wrung over the information revolution: the computer, the web, robots, the automation of manufacturing will all conspire to separate the rich and quick from the poor and slow, hurrying the trend to an informed, skilled, and employed elite living among an uninformed, unskilled, and unemployed majority. But both history and an understanding of human-machine interaction argue otherwise. Any number of forces may work towards the stratification of society, but the computer is not one of them. Computers , especially intelligent ones, are the great equalizers. Humanity has always recognized that the powers of mind are limited, and has always made devices to compensate for those limitations. Our most obvious cognitive limitation is memory, and writing is a device for storing information outside the head so that it does not have to be remembered. Instead, the human brain need only store the code for reading. As soon as it could be economically reproduced and distributed, writing became in Europe an irresistible force for equality: within three centuries after Guttenberg, modern science had been created, ecclesiastical authority had been reduced, the divine right of kings had vanished, and democratic forms of government had emerged. Calculation shows the same history. Roman enumeration methods made addition, multiplication and division impossible except for the gifted. To compensate, the abacus was turning the screws, or someone driving a car not really moving along the highway? With a power screwdriver anyone can drive the hardest screw; with a calculator, anyone can get the numbers right; with an aircraft anyone can fly to Paris; and with Deep Blue, anyone can beat the world chess champion. Cognitive prostheses undermine the exclusiveness of expertise by giving non-experts equivalent capacities. As with any good tool, the effect is to make all of us more productive , more skillful, more equal. One day last year one of our fathers, Joe Glymour, told us with mixed pleasure and anxiety that he was beginning a game of postcard chess against …