gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Precision and Accuracy of Dual‐Energy X‐ray Absorptiometry for Determining in Vivo Body Composition of Mice (2000)

These data show that the precision of DXA for measuring TBMD, TBBM, FM, and LTM in mice ranges from a low of 0.84% to a high of 2.20% (CV). DXA accurately measured bone ash content but overestimated carcass FM and underestimated LTM. However, because of the close relationship between DXA-derived data and chemical carcass analysis for FM and LTM, prediction equations can be derived to more accurately predict body composition.
The Watershed Transform: Definitions, Algorithms and Parallelization Strategies (2000)

The watershed transform is the method of choice for image segmentation in the field of mathematical morphology. We present a critical review of several definitions of the watershed transform and the associated sequential algorithms, and discuss various issues which often cause confusion in the literature. The need to distinguish between definition, algorithm specification and algorithm implementation is pointed out. Various examples are given which illustrate differences between watershed transforms based on different definitions and/or implementations. The second part of the paper surveys approaches for parallel implementation of sequential watershed algorithms.
Explicit Model Predictive Controller Design for Thickness and Tension Control in a Cold Rolling Mill (2016)

This paper addresses modeling of a cold rolling mill and controller design based on explicit model predictive control(explicit MPC). The control objectives are to track the exit thickness to the reference with high accuracy with minimized strip tension deviation. In the simulation, good control is obtained when the disturbance entering the system is small enough. However, the thickness shows the offset from the reference in case of acceleration, because the approximation error of the linearized model increases and it is different from the model in the design of the controller. In order to compensate for the control offset, an additional integral logic using the estimation error of exit thickness is proposed. The validity of this approach was verified by simulation and offset free control was achieved.
Cryptococcus neoformans in Québec (1985–1986)/Cryptococcus neoformans in Québec (1985–1986) (1988)

Summary: Thirty three strains of Cryptococcus neoformans isolated from 33 patients were referred for diagnostic purposes to the Laboratoire de santé publique du Québec during 1985–86. The case histories of these patients were reviewed and the strains were examined for their morphological and biochemical characteristics as well as their susceptibility to 4 antifungal agents. The predominant sites for recovery of the organism were the respiratory tract (15), blood (14) and CSF (13). Twenty eight of these 33 patients had a diagnosis of cryptococcosis. Among these 28 patients, meningeal involvement was present in 13 cases and a serious underlying disease was present in 22 cases. Eleven patients had AIDS. The morphological and biochemical characteristics of all 33 strains corresponded in most aspects to the description of the species except for one strain which was urease negative. Typing of strains revealed that one isolate from an AIDS patient belonged to variety gattii of Cryptococcus neoformans. In vitro susceptibility testing indicated that all strains were susceptible to amphotericin B, 5‐fluorocytosine, ketoconazole and itraconazole. Zusammenfassung: Dreiunddreißig Cryptococcus neoformans ‐Stämme, isoliert aus 33 Patienten, wurden in den Jahren 1985 und 1986 zur Labordiagnostik an das Laboratoire de santé publique du Québec eingesandt. Die Krankengeschichten wurden analysiert und die Stämme nach morphologischen und biochemischen Kriterien charakterisiert und auf ihre Empfindlichkeit für 4 Antimykotika geprüft. Die Pilze wurden vorzugsweise aus dem Respirationstrakt (15), Blut (14) und Liquor (13) isoliert. Bei 28 Patienten bestand eine Cryptococcose. Von diesen 28 Patienten zeigten 13 reine meningeale Beteiligung, und 22 hatten eine ernste Grundkrankheit. Elf Patienten hatten AIDS. Die morphologischen und biochemischen Merkmale aller 33 Stämme stimmten in den meisten Aspekten mit der Species‐Beschreibung überein mit Ausnahme eines Stammes, der Urease‐negativ war. Die Stammtypisierung ergab, daß ein Isolat von eincm ATDS‐Patienten zur Varietät gattii von Cryptococcus neoformans gehörte. Die In vitro‐Testung ergab, daß alle Stämme für Amphotericin B, 5‐Fluorcytosin, Ketoconazol und Itraconazol empfindlich waren.
World TB Day 2017: Advances, Challenges and Opportunities in the “End-TB” Era (2017)

To commemorate World TB Day March 24th, 2017 The International Journal of Infectious Diseases highlights the Advances, Challenges and Opportunities in the "End-TB" Era through publishing 42 articles by a distinguished global authorship. The series of articles review progress being made in achieving TB control, reviews innovations in drugs, diagnostics, vaccines and operational issues, and highlight remaining gaps and future challenges that need to be overcome to achieve the 'End TB' targets. There is little doubt from current WHO morbidity and mortality statistics,1 that TB is the most common infectious cause of death worldwide; far surpassing both HIV and malaria.
Granulocyte oxygen radicals as potential suppressors of hemopoiesis: potentiating roles of lactoferrin and elastase; inhibitory role of oxygen radical scavengers. (1987)

In vitro studies suggest intact endothelial cells and their released growth factors are required for optimal growth and differentiation of hematopoietic cells in culture. Conversely, processes that damage endothelium might, therefore, suppress hematopoiesis. We have studied mechanisms by which stimulated inflammatory cells, particularly granulocytes, damage endothelium and suggest these studies may provide new insights into the hematopoietic suppression of inflammatory diseases. We demonstrate that the granulocyte lysosomal constituent, lactoferrin, which has independently been shown to inhibit in-vitro hematopoiesis, may act by amplifying granulocyte-mediated toxic oxidant damage to endothelium. Its deleterious effects are twofold: 1) it releases iron that catalyses the Haber-Weiss reaction, thereby producing highly toxic hydroxyl radicals; and 2) its highly positive charge facilitates its absorption to target membranes that traffics oxygen-radical damage directly to endothelium. In addition, we demonstrate that another granulocyte lysosomal component, elastase, also perturbs endothelium--not so much by direct lytic effect, but by proteolysing matrix proteins that serve to attach endothelium to its substratum. Thus, elastase promotes endothelial lift-off. Plasma alpha-1-antiproteinase, a potent antielastase, should be protective, but is inactivated by the same granulocyte oxidants that directly lyse endothelial cells. However, antielastase activity can be preserved by antioxidants and a novel, innocuous one--methionine--is described. It is oxidized as a surrogate for the critical-site methionine of alpha-1-proteinase inhibitor, preserving in the process antielastase activity. Our results suggest that strategies to reduce production of inflammatory cell toxic oxygen radicals with reagents such as antilactoferrin antibody or iron chelators might be useful adjuncts in maintaining in vitro hematopoiesis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Novel biomarker for pulmonary vascular disease in systemic sclerosis patients (2021)

Anti-p4.2 Ab are able to identify SSc patients at high risk of developing PVD even in the absence of PF. Patients with high anti-p4.2 Ab levels should be strictly monitored for PVD onset and eventually PAH.
Detection of Majorana Kramers pairs using a quantum point contact (2015)

We propose a setup that integrates a quantum point contact (QPC) and a Josephson junction on a quantum spin Hall sample, experimentally realizable in InAs/GaSb quantum wells. The confinement due to both the QPC and the superconductor results in a Kramers pair of Majorana zero-energy bound states when the superconducting phases in the two arms differ by an odd multiple of $π$ across the Josephson junction. We investigate the detection of these Majorana pairs with the integrated QPC, and find a robust switching from normal to Andreev scattering across the edges due to the presence of Majorana Kramers pairs. This transport signature is expected to be exhibited in measurements of differential conductance and/or current cross-correlation at low bias.
Improving the critical current density in Bi-2223 wires via a reduction of the secondary phase content (2003)

Progress in the performance of multifilamentary composite Bi-2223 wire fabricated at American Superconductor is reviewed. Critical current (I/sub c/) performance of 175 A at 77 K and self-field and critical current density (J/sub c/) performance of 22.1 kA/cm/sup 2/ (77 K, 0.1 T perpendicular to the tape plane) have been measured for short samples of Bi-2223 wire (standard size is 0.21/spl times/4.0/spl times/100 mm). Microstructure analysis by SQUID magnetometry, transmission XRD and TEM shows a large amount of residual 2212 intergrowth remaining in Bi-2223 grains. Residual 2212 intergrowth is seen to correlate with self-field J/sub c/ at 77 K across a range of experimental samples, suggesting that higher levels of performance will be achieved by further reducing residual 2212.
Combined static and dynamic mutability analysis (2007)

Knowing which method parameters may be mutated during a method's executionis useful for many software engineering tasks. We present an approach todiscovering parameter reference immutability, in which several lightweight, scalable analyses are combined in stages, with each stage refining the overall result. The resulting analysis is scalable and combines the strengths of its component analyses. As one of the component analyses, we present a novel, dynamic mutability analysis and show how its results can be improved by random input generation. Experimental results on programs of up to 185 kLOC show that, compared to previous approaches, our approach increases both scalability and overall accuracy
A Self-Organizing Learning Array System for Power Quality Classification Based on Wavelet Transform (2005)

This paper proposed a novel approach for the Power Quality (PQ) disturbances classification based on the wavelet transform and self organizing learning array (SOLAR) system. Wavelet transform is utilized to extract feature vectors for various PQ disturbances based on the multiresolution analysis (MRA). These feature vectors then are applied to a SOLAR system for training and testing. SOLAR has three advantageous over a typical neural network: data driven learning, local interconnections and entropy based self-organization. Several typical PQ disturbances are taken into consideration in this paper. Comparison research between the proposed method, the support vector machine (SVM) method and existing literature reports show that the proposed method can provide accurate classification results. By the hypothesis test of the averages, it is shown that there is no statistically significant difference in performance of the proposed method for PQ classification when different wavelets are chosen. This means one can choose the wavelet with short wavelet filter length to achieve good classification results as well as small computational cost. Gaussian white noise is considered and the Monte Carlo method is used to simulate the performance of the proposed method in different noise conditions.
Decision making using simulation: solving sequential decision-making problems under virtual reality simulation system (2001)

A large class of problems of sequential decision-making can be modeled as Markov or Semi-Markov Decision Problems, which can be solved by classical methods of dynamic programming. However, the computational complexity of the classical MDP algorithms, such as value iteration and policy iteration, is prohibitive and will grow intractably with the size of problems. Furthermore, they require for each action the one step transition probability and reward matrices, which is often unrealistic to obtain for large and complex systems. Here, we provide the decision-maker a sequential decision-making environment by establishing a virtual reality simulation system, where the uncertainty property of system can also be shown. In order to obtain the optimal or near optimal policy of sequential decision problem, simulation optimization algorithms as infinitesimal perturbation analysis are applied to complex queuing systems. We present a detailed study of this method on the sequential decision-making problem in Boeing-737 assembling process.
Evaluation of magnesium alloys for use as an intraluminal tracheal for pediatric applications in a rat tracheal bypass model (2018)

Tracheal stenting currently using non-degradable stents is commonplace for treatment of trauma, prolonged intubation related adult airway obstructions, and pediatric patients-associated tracheal stenosis conditions. Degradable tracheal stent placement will avoid complications of stent removal and restenosis. Widespread reports exist on degradable magnesium alloys success for orthopedic and cardiovascular applications but none to date for intra tracheal use. This research explores the use of pure Mg, AZ31, and Mg-3Y alloys for degradable tracheal stent assessment. In vitro evaluation of magnesium, prototype stents in a bioreactor simulate the airway environment and corrosion. Micro-CT imaging and biocompatibility evaluation helped assess the 24-week degradation of intraluminal alloy stents following implantation in a rat tracheal in vivo bypass model. Histological analysis indicate tissue response of the harvested stented trachea segments after each time point. Corrosion studies for each alloy indicate significant differences between the simulated and control in vitro conditions. AZ31 exhibited the lowest volume loss of 6.8% in saline, while pure Mg displayed the lowest volume loss of 4.6% in simulated airway fluid (SAF), both at 1-week time points. Significant differences in percentage of total volume lost after 6 months were determined between the alloys over time. MgY alloy displayed the slowest corrosion losing only 15.1% volume after 24 weeks of immersion. Additionally, in vitro magnesium alloy corrosion was not significantly different from the percentage of total volume lost in vivo at 1-week time point. The study demonstrates promise of magnesium alloys for intraluminal tracheal stent application albeit viability of a clinically translatable model warrants further studies. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater 107B: 1844-1853, 2019.
Shape Optimization of Symmetric Cylinder Shape on Buoyancy Using Fourier Series Approximation (2010)

The hydrophobicity of water striders and fisher spiders shows the geometrical property of microsetae with elaborate nanogrooves. Studying such geometrical morphology naturally leads to the question: what is an optimal shape for buoyancy? In this paper, we present a methodology to find suboptimal shapes for star-shaped cross-sectional rods, which maximizes the buoyant force by modeling the cross-sectional shapes with Fourier series representation in the polar coordinate. We provide four suboptimal cross-sectional shapes and their experimental results. Our results support the importance of the geometrical shape for buoyant force and might be helpful in designing water repelling devices.
Design of vanadium compounds as insulin enhancing agents (2000)

Vanadium compounds, in vitro, stimulate glucose uptake and inhibit lipid breakdown, in a manner remarkably reminiscent of insulin’s effects. In vivo, vanadium enhances insulin’s plasma glucose and lipid-lowering properties, leading to normalization of diabetic symptoms in the presence of only minimal endogenous insulin. The coordination chemistry of vanadium has great versatility for adjustment of pharmacological characteristics. Vanadium compounds are generally also very redox active, which is both advantageous and detrimental for optimizing biochemical function. In this perspective, we review and comment on how these properties have been revealed, what questions have arisen along the way, and where future investigations may be headed. While this is not a comprehensive overview of all available compounds touted as ‘insulin enhancing agents’, it will focus on those which are distinctive in some way, or which are representative of the larger library of vanadium compounds, including all currently known relevant oxidation states of vanadium.
Management of all three phases of wound healing through the induction of fluorescence biomodulation using fluorescence light energy (2019)

Research on photobiomodulation (PBM) has led to the development of various light-generating devices that can benefit a wide range of clinical indications. A novel approach of inducing PBM is through application of a Fluorescence Biomodulation (FB) System consisting of a blue light (peak wavelength between 440 and 460 nm) which activates topical photoconverter substrates containing specialized chromophores that generate fluorescence light energy (FLE). In clinical trials, FLE has been shown to modulate both healthy and disease-affected skin/soft tissue, providing a unique method for managing inflammatory skin conditions and accelerating healing. To better understand the biological impact of FB-induced FLE, we studied this system in vitro on dermal human fibroblasts (DHFs) and in vivo in canine deep pyoderma. In vitro data from stimulated DHFs exposed to an FB System showed a significant decrease in IL-6 production by 130.14% after 24 hr (p&lt;0.001), compared to control groups. In canines with chronic deep pyoderma, the use of FB plus standard of care (SOC) treatment significantly reduced time to clinical resolution compared to controls that received SOC alone (p&lt;0.001). Biopsies from lesional areas showed enhanced mitochondrial biogenesis in the FB lesions versus the SOC lesions, as supported by a significant increase in the number and size of mitochondria (89.31% and 90.15% respectively; p&lt;0.0001). Significant modulation of inflammatory pathways, epithelialization, and angiogenesis were also demonstrated. These results support the use of FB Systems for skin conditions impacted by inflammation and offer a promising therapeutic solution to support its use in other medical conditions.
The effect of house indoor temperature on measured and predicted energy savings (1988)

In many major residential weatherization studies, the average measured energy savings have been less than the predicted savings. Additionally, large scatter in the measured energy savings has been observed. Changes in the indoor temperatures of the houses before and after weatherization have often been cited as a possible explanation for these results. This paper draws upon results from two studies conducted by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in an attempt to determine if the variation and lower than expected performance in energy savings are attributable to house indoor temperature levels. 9 refs., 2 figs., 4 tabs.
FLEX: load balancing and management strategy for scalable Web hosting service (2002)

FLEX is a new scalable "locality aware" solution for achieving both load balancing and efficient memory usage on a cluster of machines hosting several Web sites. FLEX allocates the sites to different machines in the cluster based on their traffic characteristics. This aims to avoid the unnecessary document replication to improve the overall performance of the system. The desirable routing can be done by submitting the corresponding configuration files to the DNS server since each hosted Web site has a unique domain name. FLEX can be easily implemented on top of the current infrastructure used by Web hosting service providers. Using a simulation model and a synthetic trace generator, we compare the Round-Robin based solutions and FLEX over the range of different workloads. For generated traces, FLEX outperforms Round-Robin based solutions 2-5 times.
Contrast-Enhanced Subtraction MR Angiography in Occlusive Disease of the Pelvic and Lower Limb Arteries: Results of a Prospective Intraindividual Comparative Study with Digital Subtraction Angiography in 76 Patients (1999)

The consistency of the excellent depiction of the vascular territories of the distal aorta and the pelvic and lower limb arteries in a standardized setting suggests great potential for the use of MRA in the primary diagnosis of peripheral arterial occlusive disease.
A Maximum Principle for Beltrami Color Flow (2005)

We study, in this work, the maximum principle for the Beltrami color flow and the stability of the flow's numerical approximation by finite difference schemes. We discuss, in the continuous case, the theoretical properties of this system and prove the maximum principle in the strong and the weak formulations. In the discrete case, all the second order explicit schemes that are currently used violate, in general, the maximum principle. For these schemes we give a theoretical stability proof, accompanied by several numerical examples.
Global and partial effect assessment in metabolic syndrome explored by metabolomics (2022)

International audience
A rotationally-driven polyethylene terephthalate microdevice with integrated reagent mixing for multiplexed PCR amplification of DNA (2016)

We demonstrate the capabilities of a centrifugal polyethylene terephthalate toner (PeT) microdevice for genetic analysis of short tandem repeats (STR) <italic>via</italic> PCR amplification.
M-type ferrite composite as a microwave absorber with wide bandwidth in the GHz range (1999)

The electromagnetic wave absorption properties of Ba M-type (BaFe/sub 12-x/(Ti/sub 0.5/Mn/sub 0.5/)/sub x/O/sub 19/) ferrite-epoxy resin composites were investigated. After measuring the complex permittivities of the samples, the regions of complex permeabilities in which the reflection loss (R.L.) becomes less than -20 dB (-20 dB Regions), were calculated. Altering the conditions such as sintering temperature, particle size and the ratio of ferrite powder in the composite samples, resulted in frequency dependencies of permeabilities that agree well with the calculated -20 dB regions, and which lead to an expansion in bandwidth (frequency range (/spl Delta/f) of R.L. <-20 dB). The BaFe/sub 9/(Ti/sub 0.5/Mn/sub 0.5/)/sub 3/O/sub 19/ ferrite-resin composite, which was produced by sintering at 1573 K for 20 h, crushing into powder (150-300 /spl mu/m) and mixing with epoxy resin at a ratio of 70 mass%, exhibited a wide bandwidth (/spl Delta/f=7.2 GHz) from 13.75 GHz to 20.95 GHz. /spl Delta/f values of 1.4-5.4 GHz in the frequency range 6.35-15.65 GHz, were obtained by changing the composition of the BaFe/sub 12-x/(Ti/sub 0.5/Mn/sub 0.5/)/sub x/O/sub 19//epoxy resin composite from x=3.5 to 4.5.
Implementation of a microprocessor-based motor bus transfer scheme (2016)

Critical process loads need to be safeguarded against power system disturbances and erroneous operations caused by human factors. During such events, a fast synchronism-supervised transfer scheme is required to ensure continuous operation. This paper discusses the implementation of a fast motor bus transfer scheme using existing protective relays. The scheme is designed to respond to local and remote (upstream) events in the substation. This makes possible an attempt to initiate a fast transfer for events that are remote to the motor bus. On a failure to achieve a fast transfer, the scheme resorts to an in-phase transfer and, if that fails, finally a residual transfer. Real-time dynamic modeling was performed to simulate motor bus decay and reacceleration. This paper provides the results of the simulations and the response of the transfer scheme.