Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The cioAB genes from Pseudomonas aeruginosa code for a novel cyanide‐insensitive terminal oxidase related to the cytochrome bd quinol oxidases

The structural genes for the cyanide‐insensitive terminal oxidase (CIO) of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were sequenced. The locus comprised two open reading frames, cioA and cioB, coding for gene products of 488 and 335 amino acid residues with predicted molecular masses of 54 241 and 37 016 Da respectively. These genes were encoded by a 2.7 kb transcript and probably comprise an operon. Upstream of a major transcriptional start site is a −10 promoter region and, approximately at nucleotides −50 and +13, there are sequences homologous to the binding site of the transcriptional regulator Anr. The deduced amino acid sequences of CioA and CioB are homologous to the cytochrome bd quinol oxidases of Escherichia coli and Azotobacter vinelandii. However, no cytochrome d‐like signals were found in wild‐type P. aeruginosa strains. An atypical cytochrome d‐like signal was seen under low‐aeration growth conditions but only in strains in which the cioAB genes were present on a high‐copy‐number plasmid. The appearance of these cytochrome d‐like signals was not paralleled by a concomitant increase in CIO activity. These data support the hypothesis that the CIO of P. aeruginosa does not contain haem d. This raises the possibility that there is a family of bacterial quinol oxidases related to the cytochrome bd of E. coli that can differ in their haem composition from the E. coli paradigm.
In vivo measurements of lead in bone in long-term exposed lead smelter workers.

In-vivo measurements of lead concentrations in calcaneus (mainly trabecular bone) and tibia (mainly cortical bone) were performed by x-ray fluorescence (XRF) in 70 active and 30 retired lead smelter workers who had long-term exposure to lead. Comparison was made with 31 active and 10 retired truck assembly workers who had no known occupational exposure to lead. After physical examination, all participants provided blood and urine samples and answered a computerized questionnaire. Since 1950, blood lead has been determined repeatedly in lead workers at the smelter, which made it possible to calculate a time-integrated blood lead index for each worker. Lead concentrations in blood, urine, calcaneus, and tibia in active and retired lead workers were significantly higher than in the corresponding control groups (p < .001). The highest bone lead concentrations were found among retired lead workers (p < .001), which was the result of considerably higher lead exposure during 1940 to 1960. Lead concentrations in calcaneus in active lead workers were significantly higher than in tibia when expressed in ug of lead per gram of bone mineral, which suggests a quicker absorption over time in this mainly trabecular bone. The estimated biological half-times were 16 y in calcaneus (95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 11-29 y) and 27 y in tibia (95% CI = 16-98 y). A strong positive correlation was found between lead concentrations in calcaneus and tibia for all lead workers (r = 0.54; p < .001). A strong positive correlation was also found between the bone lead concentrations and the cumulative blood lead index. Blood lead, at the time of study, correlated well with bone lead concentrations in retired--but not in active--workers, reflecting the importance of the endogenous (skeletal) lead exposure. The findings in this study indicate that bone lead measurements by XRF can give a good index of long-term lead exposure. Tibia measurements offer a higher precision than calcaneus measurements. The method is of particular interest in epidemiologic studies of adverse health effects caused by long-term lead exposure.
Load balancing of irregular parallel applications on heterogeneous computing environments

Large-scale heterogeneous distributed computing environments (such as Computational Grids and Clouds) offer the promise of access to a vast amount of computing resources at a relatively low cost. In order to ease the application development and deployment on such complex environments, high-level parallel programming languages exist that need to be supported by sophisticated runtime systems. One of the main problems that these runtime systems need to address is dynamic load balancing that ensures that no resources in the environment are underutilised or overloaded with work. This thesis deals with the problem of obtaining good speedups for irregular applications on heterogeneous distributed computing environments. It focuses on workstealing techniques that can be used for load balancing during the execution of irregular applications. It specifically addresses two problems that arise during work-stealing: where thieves should look for work during the application execution and how victims should respond to steal attempts. In particular, we describe and implement a new Feudal Stealing algoritm and also we describe and implement new granularity-driven task selection policies in the SCALES simulator, which is a work-stealing simulator developed for this thesis. In addition, we present the comprehensive evaluation of the Feudal Stealing algorithm and the granularity-driven task selection policies using the simulations of a large class of regular and irregular parallel applications on a wide range of computing environments. We show how the Feudal Stealing algorithm and the granularity-driven task selection policies bring significant improvements in speedups of irregular applications, compared to the state-of-the-art work-stealing algoithms. Furthermore, we also present the implementation of the task selection policies in the Grid-GUM runtime system [AZ06] for Glasgow Parallel Haskell (GpH) [THLPJ98], in addition to the implementation in SCALES, and we also present the evaluation of this implementation on a large set of synthetic applications.
The EU's Information Deficit: Comparing Political Knowledge across Levels of Governance

Abstract Over the last 20 years, several scholars have argued that the legitimacy of the European Union (EU) suffers from an alarming level of public apathy toward EU affairs. Such critiques often assume that the public is largely ignorant about EU politics. However, we have yet to empirically determine the extent to which Europeans understand the EU or to identify the conditions that lead the public to become better informed about European politics. Given the higher salience of national issues and the greater media attention devoted to national politics, I theorize that most individuals indeed know more about their national government than the EU. Using data from Eurobarometer 61.0 and the 2009 European Election Study, I find individuals indeed perform worse on knowledge batteries at the European level. To better explain the public's understanding of EU affairs, I then model a number of micro- and macro-level predictors of knowledge and find that some of the usual suspects (such as education and the media) influence EU knowledge. Implications are drawn for the study of political behaviour in multilevel political systems.
Adaptive postfiltering of transform coefficients for the reduction of blocking artifacts

This paper proposes a novel postprocessing technique for reducing blocking artifacts in low-bit-rate transform-coded images. The proposed approach works in the transform domain to alleviate the accuracy loss of transform coefficients, which is introduced by the quantization process. The masking effect in the human visual system (HVS) is considered, and an adaptive weighting mechanism is then integrated into the postfiltering. In low-activity areas, since blocking artifacts appear to be perceptually more detectable, a large window is used to efficiently smooth out the artifacts. In order to preserve image details, a small mask, as well as a large central weight, is employed for processing those high-activity blocks, where blocking artifacts are less noticeable due to the masking ability of local background. The quantization constraint is finally applied to the postfiltered coefficients. Experimental results show that the proposed technique provides satisfactory performance as compared to other postfilters in both objective and subjective image quality.
Various glutathione S-transferase isoforms in the rat cochlea

The localization of three glutathione S-transferase (GST) isoforms in the rat cochlea was examined using specific antibodies against each isoform. GST immunoreactivities were found in particular parts of the cochlea, including the intermediate cells and the basal cells of the stria vascularis and various types of fibrocytes in the spiral ligament. The different cell types showed varying combinations of GST isoforms. The GST immunopositive cells identified in the present study may play a central role in the metabolism and inactivation of endogenous and exogenous ototoxic compounds. The specific arrangements also indicated a possible contribution to the detoxification process in the form of a blood–labyrinth barrier.
Gesture Recognition from Data Streams of Human Motion Sensor Using Accelerated PSO Swarm Search Feature Selection Algorithm

Human motion sensing technology gains tremendous popularity nowadays with practical applications such as video surveillance for security, hand signing, and smart-home and gaming. These applications capture human motions in real-time from video sensors, the data patterns are nonstationary and ever changing. While the hardware technology of such motion sensing devices as well as their data collection process become relatively mature, the computational challenge lies in the real-time analysis of these live feeds. In this paper we argue that traditional data mining methods run short of accurately analyzing the human activity patterns from the sensor data stream. The shortcoming is due to the algorithmic design which is not adaptive to the dynamic changes in the dynamic gesture motions. The successor of these algorithms which is known as data stream mining is evaluated versus traditional data mining, through a case of gesture recognition over motion data by using Microsoft Kinect sensors. Three different subjects were asked to read three comic strips and to tell the stories in front of the sensor. The data stream contains coordinates of articulation points and various positions of the parts of the human body corresponding to the actions that the user performs. In particular, a novel technique of feature selection using swarm search and accelerated PSO is proposed for enabling fast preprocessing for inducing an improved classification model in real-time. Superior result is shown in the experiment that runs on this empirical data stream. The contribution of this paper is on a comparative study between using traditional and data stream mining algorithms and incorporation of the novel improved feature selection technique with a scenario where different gesture patterns are to be recognized from streaming sensor data.
A Novel Absolute Magnetic Rotary Sensor

To measure the angular position of motors, robot joints, etc., an absolute magnetic rotary position sensor is developed, which possesses small-size, light, robust, and easy-to-integrate properties. The sensor consists of two inductors, i.e., a code disc and a signal processing part. Both of the two inductors are embedded with a big planar spiral copper coil and four smaller copper coils by employing microelectromechanical system (MEMS) technology, and there are two circles of regular copper sheets listing on the surface of the code disc. In addition, mathematical analyses of the inductor structure as well as the relationships of position and dimension among the coils and the copper sheet are addressed. Finite-element simulation results demonstrate that one group of the optimal sine and cosine signals can be generated by each inductor. Then, the absolute position measurement method is validated by a mathematical method. Finally, experiments are performed on the high-speed and the low-speed testing platforms to assess effectiveness and accuracy of the sensor.
Quantity quotient reporting. A proposal for a standardized presentation of laboratory results

Abstract Laboratory results are reported in different units (despite international recommendations for SI units) together with different reference limits, of which several exist for many quantities. It is proposed to adopt the concept of the intelligence quotient and to report quantitative results as a quantity quotient (QQ) in laboratory medicine. This quotient is essentially the difference (measured result minus mean or mode value of the reference interval) divided by the observed biological variation CVo. Thus, all quantities are reported in the same unit system with the same reference limits (for convenience shifted to e.g., 80–120). The critical difference can also be included in this standardization concept. In this way the information of reference intervals and the original result are integrated into one combined value, which has the same format for all quantities suited for quotient reporting (QR). The proposal of QR does not interfere with neither the current concepts of traceability, SI units or method standardization. This proposal represents a further step towards harmonization of reporting. It provides simple values which can be interpreted easily by physicians and their patients. Clin Chem Lab Med 2009;47:1203–6.
Carotid Endarterectomy: Can We Select Surgical Candidates at High Risk for Stroke and Low Risk for Perioperative Complications?

DESPITE EVIDENCE OF the efficacy of carotid endarterectomy from the large randomized multicenter trials completed in the 1990s, the physician who treats patients with carotid artery stenosis still is faced with a difficult management decision. More recently, subgroup analyses have been conducted of asymptomatic and symptomatic patients enrolled in these trials to identify clinical and radiological factors that increase the rates of morbidity and mortality associated with surgery, as well as those that increase the risk of stroke without surgery. Knowledge of these factors is important to recommend the best course of action for the individual patient. In this article, we summarize the conclusions of some of the subgroup analyses from the major carotid endarterectomy trials.
A new head-mounted display-based augmented reality system in neurosurgical oncology: a study on phantom

Abstract Purpose: Benefits of minimally invasive neurosurgery mandate the development of ergonomic paradigms for neuronavigation. Augmented Reality (AR) systems can overcome the shortcomings of commercial neuronavigators. The aim of this work is to apply a novel AR system, based on a head-mounted stereoscopic video see-through display, as an aid in complex neurological lesion targeting. Effectiveness was investigated on a newly designed patient-specific head mannequin featuring an anatomically realistic brain phantom with embedded synthetically created tumors and eloquent areas. Materials and methods: A two-phase evaluation process was adopted in a simulated small tumor resection adjacent to Broca’s area. Phase I involved nine subjects without neurosurgical training in performing spatial judgment tasks. In Phase II, three surgeons were involved in assessing the effectiveness of the AR-neuronavigator in performing brain tumor targeting on a patient-specific head phantom. Results: Phase I revealed the ability of the AR scene to evoke depth perception under different visualization modalities. Phase II confirmed the potentialities of the AR-neuronavigator in aiding the determination of the optimal surgical access to the surgical target. Conclusions: The AR-neuronavigator is intuitive, easy-to-use, and provides three-dimensional augmented information in a perceptually-correct way. The system proved to be effective in guiding skin incision, craniotomy, and lesion targeting. The preliminary results encourage a structured study to prove clinical effectiveness. Moreover, our testing platform might be used to facilitate training in brain tumour resection procedures.
Sensitivity and Specificity of QEEG in Children with Attention Deficit or Specific Developmental Learning Disorders

The sensitivity and specificity of QEEG-based discriminant functions were evaluated in populations of children diagnosed with specific developmental learning disorders and those with attention deficit disorders. Both populations of children could be distinguished from each other, and from the normal population, with high levels of accuracy. Pretreatment QEEG could be utilized to distinguish ADD/ADHD children who responded to dextroamphetamine from those who responded to methylphenidate, again with high levels of accuracy. This paper provides a replication of all presented discriminant functions, and should provide the research basis for the generalized utilization of QEEG in the initial evaluation of children with learning and/or attention disorders.
Defining Success in Infant Penetrating Keratoplasty for Developmental Corneal Opacities

Background and Purpose Neonatal corneal opacities (NCO) are one of the common causes of visual impairment in infants. We present the two infants with penetrating keratoplasty (PKP) for unilateral NCO with different visual and graft outcomes, and illustrate the importance of timing of surgery, importance of visual rehabilitation, and the lack of necessity of a clear graft to achieve reasonable visual function in infants with NCO. Patients and Methods Two infants with unilateral NCO (Peters anomaly) underwent PKP at age of 5.5 weeks (Case One) and 16 weeks (Case Two). Postoperative optical correction, amblyopia therapy, visual and graft outcomes were recorded. Results At the last follow-up (9.5 years in both the cases), Case One achieved a best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of 20/80 with −22 D of contact lens. The graft had a small clear zone centrally but otherwise was opacified to some extent. Case Two achieved a BCVA of 20/125 at 30 cms eccentrically with a clear graft. Case Two was uncooperative for amblyopia therapy and optical treatment. Conclusion For a successful visual outcome in NCO, early PKP, aggressive amblyopia therapy, optical correction, and commitment from the parents for long-term follow-up and demanding treatment are required.
An optical model of the appearance of blemishes in digital photographs

Changing the lens of a DSLR camera has the drawback of allowing small dust particles from the environment to be attracted onto the sensors' surface. As a result, unwanted blemishes may compromise the normally high quality of photographs. The particles can be removed by physically cleaning the sensor. A second, more general approach is to locate and remove the blemishes from digital photos by employing image processing algorithms. This paper presents a model that allows computing the physical appearance (actual size, shape, position and transparency) of blemishes in a photograph as a function of camera settings. In order to remove these blemishes with sufficient accuracy, an initial algorithm calibration must be performed for any given pair camera-lens. The purpose of this step is to estimate some parameters of the model that are not readily available. To achieve this, a set of "calibration images" must be carefully taken under conditions that will allow the blemishes to become easily identifiable. Then, based on the metadata stored in the photo's header, the actual appearance of the blemishes in the given photograph is computed and used in the automatic removing algorithm. Computing formulas and results of our experiments are also included.
High-speed low-power logic gates using floating gates

Low power consumption is attractive because of portability and reliability considerations. One way to reduce this power consumption is lowering the supply voltage. However, low supply voltages leads to reduced time performance if the transistor threshold voltage is not scaled accordingly. To solve this, technologies with reduced threshold voltage devices have emerged. Instead, in this paper we resort to a circuit technique based on floating gate devices in order to lower the threshold voltage. It allows fast operation of logic gates at a low supply voltage in standard technologies. The feasibility of the proposed technique is shown experimentally by a fabricated test chip working at a supply voltage of 0.4 V.
The herring gull Larus argentatus as a likely transmitting agent of Salmonella montevideo to sheep and cattle

SUMMARY This paper presents evidence for the involvement of herring gulls (Larus argentatus) as vectors in the recent outbreaks of Salmonella montevideo in sheep and cattle in Scotland and suggests that the transfer can take place over considerable distances. The breeding area in Scotland of herring gulls which overwinter in N.E. England is remarkably similar to the geographical distribution of the outbreaks. This pattern, together with the feeding behaviour of herring gulls on farmland, the presence of S. montevideo in herring gulls just before their departure from the wintering area and the timing of the return just before the peak of outbreaks are all circumstantial evidence implicating this gull in the outbreaks. The rapid return of these gulls to their breeding areas means that S. montevideo can be transported long distances in one day and raises the possibility that the original source of S. montevideo could have been in N. E. England rather than in Scotland.
Production of antisera to synthetic benzyloxycarbonyl-C-peptide of human proinsulin.

Antisera to the C-peptide of human proinsulin were obtained by immunizing guinea pigs with synthetic benzyloxycarbonyl-C-peptide conjugated to human albumin with 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide. In three series of 10, the animals were injected with C-peptide conjugated to albumin in the molar ratio of 23 : 1, 15 : 1, and 4 : 1, respectively. Antibodies to human C-peptide were present in all the surviving 25 animals. Fifteen of the antisera were suitable for measuring C-peptide concentrations lower than 0.10 pmol/ml. The antisera demonstrated an increasing immunogenicity with increasing molar ratio of C-peptide to albumin in the conjugate. In the fourth series, ten guinea pigs immunized with benzyloxycarbonyl-C-peptide ionically bound to QAE-Sephadex A-25 did not produce detectable antibodies to C-peptide. A qualitative evaluation of the radioimmunoassay by use of the antiserum with the highest titer and sensitivity, "M 1230", revealed a mean intra-assay and inter-assay coefficient of variance of 3.2 and 9.6%, respectively.
Deaths due to respiratory tract infections in Africa: a review of autopsy studies

Purpose of review According to the WHO, lower respiratory tract infections are one of the most prevalent causes of death in Africa. Estimates based on verbal autopsies are inaccurate compared with the gold standard for determining cause of death, the anatomical postmortem. Here, we review all respiratory postmortem data available from Africa and assess disease prevalence by HIV status in both adults and children. Recent findings Pulmonary and extrapulmonary tuberculosis was detected in over 50% of HIV-infected adults, four to five-fold more prevalent than in HIV-uninfected cases. Overall tuberculosis was less prevalent in children, but was more prevalent in HIV-uninfected compared with HIV-infected children. Bacterial pneumonia was more prevalent in children than adults and was relatively unaffected by HIV status. Pneumocystis jirovecci and human cytomegalovirus pneumonia were detected almost exclusively in HIV-infected mortalities, twice as prevalent in children as in adults. Coinfections were common and correlation with premortem clinical diagnoses was low. Summary Respiratory tract infections are important causes of mortality in Africa. Of the 21 reviewed studies, only four studies (all adults) were undertaken in the last decade. There is hence an urgent need for new postmortem studies to monitor cause of death in new and emerging patient groups, such as those on antiretroviral therapy and HIV exposed uninfected children.