gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Model-based analysis of hand posture (1995)

Researchers have successfully recognized specific fingers of the hand by silhouette images and distinguished a small set of hand signs by contour features of images. However, the silhouette or contour features recovered from the images do not provide sufficient information to generate a 3D hand posture with the fingers positioned properly. This failure led to our study, which developed a new method employing a hand model that can automatically analyze 3D hand postures using static stereo images. Guided by internal constraints and external forces, the model is automatically fitted to the hand image. Our method differs from previous methods in that it captures 27 interacting hand parameters, including finger joint angles, enabling suitable reconstruction of 3D hand posture.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">></ETX>
Progress towards heterodyne-type single-mode fiber communication systems (1981)

The unique performances attached to the heterodyne (or coherent) optical detection process can be fully exploited with single-mode fiber transmission. Strong improvement over direct detection is expected in terms of bit error rate (BER) or in terms of repeater spacing, especially for 1.6 μm operation. The requirements of such a system are reviewed and interpreted in terms of individual components design. The emission frequency stability of laser diodes, the ability of single-mode fiber cables to maintain polarization, and the availability of direct light amplifiers are found to be the most critical points, and recent theoretical and experimental results are reported. It is concluded from these very promising results that a heterodyne-type communication system using single-mode fibers at 1.6 μm may offer repeater spacings of over 200 km in the near future.
Vitamin D in combination cancer treatment (2010)

As a steroid hormone that regulates mineral homeostasis and bone metabolism, 1α, 25-dihydroxycholecalciferol (calcitriol) also has broad spectrum anti-tumor activities as supported by numerous epidemiological and experimental studies. Calcitriol potentiates the anti-tumor activities of multiple chemotherapeutics agents including DNA-damaging agents cisplatin, carboplatin and doxorubicin; antimetabolites 5-fluorouracil, cytarabine, hydroxyurea, cytarabine and gemcitabine; and microtubule-disturbing agents paclitaxel and docetaxel. Calcitriol elicits anti-tumor effects mainly through the induction of cancer cell apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, differentiation, angiogenesis and the inhibition of cell invasiveness by a number of mechanisms. Calcitriol enhances the cytotoxic effects of gamma irradiation and certain antioxidants and naturally derived compounds. Inhibition of calcitriol metabolism by 24-hydroxylase promotes growth inhibition effect of calcitriol. Calcitriol has been used in a number of clinical trials and it is important to note that sufficient dose and exposure to calcitriol is critical to achieve anti-tumor effect. Several trials have demonstrated that safe and feasible to administer high doses of calcitriol through intermittent regimen. Further well designed clinical trials should be conducted to better understand the role of calcitriol in cancer therapy.
Road Surface State Recognition Based on SVM Optimization and Image Segmentation Processing (2017)

Adverse road condition is the main cause of traffic accidents. Road surface condition recognition based on video image has become a central issue. However, hybrid road surface and road surface under different lighting environments are two crucial problems. In this paper, the road surface states are categorized into 5 types including dry, wet, snow, ice, and water. Then, according to the original image size, images are segmented; 9-dimensional color eigenvectors and 4 texture eigenvectors are extracted to construct road surface state characteristics database. Next, a recognition method of road surface state based on SVM (Support Vector Machine) is proposed. In order to improve the recognition accuracy and the universality, a grid searching algorithm and PSO (Particle Swarm Optimization) algorithm are used to optimize the kernel function factor and penalty factor of SVM. Finally, a large number of actual road surface images in different environments are tested. The results show that the method based on SVM and image segmentation is feasible. The accuracy of PSO algorithm is more than 90%, which effectively solves the problem of road surface state recognition under the condition of hybrid or different video scenes.
Automatic artifact rejection during intraoperative recording of somatosensory evoked potentials (1984)

A device is described that performs automatic artifact rejection for somatosensory evoked response analysis in intraoperative and other electrically noisy environments. Although based on amplitude discrimination, rejection is not triggered by the large stimulus-dependent voltage transients associated with somatosensory evoked potentials. The device readily interfaces with commercially available evoked potential equipment.
Extracellular Tau and Its Potential Role in the Propagation of Tau Pathology (2017)

The pathological aggregation of tau protein is a hallmark of a set of neurodegenerative diseases collectively referred to as tauopathies. Tau aggregates independently in each neuron, but this aggregation can also occur in a non-cell autonomous manner in which aggregated tau is transmitted from one cell to another. Such trans-cellular propagation is initiated by the uptake of extracellular tau, which then seeds soluble tau in the recipient cells to spread the tau pathology. Accumulating evidence has demonstrated that tau is not only present in the cytoplasm of neurons but also actively released into the extracellular space. This finding has led to the idea that extracellular tau could be a novel therapeutic target to halt the propagation of tau pathology. From this perspective, the present review article focuses on recent advances in understanding the mechanisms regulating the levels of extracellular tau and discusses the role of such mechanisms in the propagation of tau pathology.
Performing Onboard Diagnostic System Checks as Part of a Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance Program (2001)

The Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 (CAA) requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set guidelines for states to follow in designing and running vehicle inspection and maintenance (I/M) programs. As well as distinguishing between basic and enhanced I/M programs, these guidelines must clarify how states are to meet other minimum design requirements set by the CAA. One such requirement that applies to both basic and enhanced I/M programs is the performance of Onboard Diagnostic (OBD) system checks as part of the required, periodic inspection.
Theoretical Models for Determining 222Rn and 220Rn Progeny Levels in Canadian Underground U Mines - A Comparison with Experimental Data (1985)

Use has been made of several theoretical models to predict radiation levels in underground U mines. The models used are the Evans model, the Thomas-Epps mine model, the isolated mine model, the mine tunnel with no air flow and the mine tunnel with air flow (Beckman and Holub). Calculations based on the above models have been extended to include 220Rn gas and its progeny, a common occurrence in some Canadian U mines. Theoretical predictions include 222Rn and 220Rn progenies working levels and concentrations, as well as some ratios of great practical interest. The main differences between the models are pointed out and comparison is made with experimental data gathered during the last 3 yr in several Canadian underground U mines. In general terms, the mine models reported in the literature and presented here are neither satisfactory nor clearly distinguishable for practical application on the basis of the experimental data so far collected. The reason for such lack of agreement lies mainly in the unrealistic assumptions on which the models are based. Compounded is the gross oversimplification of quite complex dynamic situations encountered in actual practice. Deficiencies inherent to the models are noted and suggestions to improve the applicability of mine models to practical situations are indicated.
Homologous recombination and retention of a single form of most genes shape the highly chimeric mitochondrial genome of a cybrid plant (2014)

The structure and evolution of angiosperm mitochondrial genomes are driven by extremely high rates of recombination and rearrangement. An excellent experimental system for studying these events is offered by cybrid plants, in which parental mitochondria usually fuse and their genomes recombine. Little is known about the extent, nature and consequences of mitochondrial recombination in these plants. We conducted the first study in which the organellar genomes of a cybrid - between Nicotiana tabacum and Hyoscyamus niger - were sequenced and compared to those of its parents. This cybrid mitochondrial genome is highly recombinant, reflecting at least 30 crossovers and five gene conversions between its parental genomes. It is also surprisingly large (41% and 64% larger than the parental genomes), yet contains single alleles for 90% of mitochondrial genes. Recombination produced a remarkably chimeric cybrid mitochondrial genome and occurred entirely via homologous mechanisms involving the double-strand break repair and/or break-induced replication pathways. Retention of a single form of most genes could be advantageous to minimize intracellular incompatibilities and/or reflect neutral forces that preferentially eliminate duplicated regions. We discuss the relevance of these findings to the surprisingly frequent occurrence of horizontal gene - and genome - transfer in angiosperm mitochondrial DNAs.
Phospholipase D in TCR-Mediated Signaling and T Cell Activation (2018)

Phospholipase D (PLD) is an enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine, the major phospholipid in the plasma membrane, to generate an important signaling lipid, phosphatidic acid. Phosphatidic acid is a second messenger that regulates vesicular trafficking, cytoskeletal reorganization, and cell signaling in immune cells and other cell types. Published studies, using pharmacological inhibitors or protein overexpression, indicate that PLD plays a positive role in TCR-mediated signaling and cell activation. In this study, we used mice deficient in PLD1, PLD2, or both to assess the function of these enzymes in T cells. Our data showed that PLD1 deficiency impaired TCR-mediated signaling, T cell expansion, and effector function during immune responses against <i>Listeria monocytogenes</i>; however, PLD2 deficiency had a minimal impact on T cells. Biochemical analysis indicated that PLD1 deficiency affected Akt and PKCθ activation. In addition, it impaired TCR downregulation and the secondary T cell response. Together, our results suggested that PLD1 plays an important role in T cell activation.
Elementary Number Theory in Nine Chapters (1999)

This book is intended to serve as a one-semester introductory course in number theory. Throughout the book a historical perspective has been adopted and emphasis is given to some of the subject's applied aspects; in particular the field of cryptography is highlighted. At the heart of the book are the major number theoretic accomplishments of Euclid, Fermat, Gauss, Legendre, and Euler, and to fully illustrate the properties of numbers and concepts developed in the text, a wealth of exercises have been included. It is assumed that the reader will have 'pencil in hand' and ready access to a calculator or computer. For students new to number theory, whatever their background, this is a stimulating and entertaining introduction to the subject.
Improving QoS in High-Speed Mobility Using Bandwidth Maps (2011)

It is widely evidenced that location has a significant influence on the actual bandwidth that can be expected from Wireless Wide Area Networks (WWANs), e.g., 3G. Because a fast-moving vehicle continuously changes its location, vehicular mobile computing is confronted with the possibility of significant variations in available network bandwidth. While it is difficult for providers to eliminate bandwidth disparity over a large service area, it may be possible to map network bandwidth to the road network through repeated measurements. In this paper, we report results of an extensive measurement campaign to demonstrate the viability of such bandwidth maps. We show how bandwidth maps can be interfaced with adaptive multimedia servers and the emerging vehicular communication systems that use on-board mobile routers to deliver Internet services to the passengers. Using simulation experiments driven by our measurement data, we quantify the improvement in Quality of Service (QoS) that can be achieved by taking advantage of the geographical knowledge of bandwidth provided by the bandwidth maps. We find that our approach reduces the frequency of disruptions in perceived QoS for both audio and video applications in high-speed vehicular mobility by several orders of magnitude.
Accelerated Profile HMM Searches (2011)

Profile hidden Markov models (profile HMMs) and probabilistic inference methods have made important contributions to the theory of sequence database homology search. However, practical use of profile HMM methods has been hindered by the computational expense of existing software implementations. Here I describe an acceleration heuristic for profile HMMs, the "multiple segment Viterbi" (MSV) algorithm. The MSV algorithm computes an optimal sum of multiple ungapped local alignment segments using a striped vector-parallel approach previously described for fast Smith/Waterman alignment. MSV scores follow the same statistical distribution as gapped optimal local alignment scores, allowing rapid evaluation of significance of an MSV score and thus facilitating its use as a heuristic filter. I also describe a 20-fold acceleration of the standard profile HMM Forward/Backward algorithms using a method I call "sparse rescaling". These methods are assembled in a pipeline in which high-scoring MSV hits are passed on for reanalysis with the full HMM Forward/Backward algorithm. This accelerated pipeline is implemented in the freely available HMMER3 software package. Performance benchmarks show that the use of the heuristic MSV filter sacrifices negligible sensitivity compared to unaccelerated profile HMM searches. HMMER3 is substantially more sensitive and 100- to 1000-fold faster than HMMER2. HMMER3 is now about as fast as BLAST for protein searches.
Nearly optimal time-independent reversal of a spin chain (2022)

We propose a time-independent Hamiltonian protocol for the reversal of qubit ordering in a chain of N spins. Our protocol has an easily implementable nearest-neighbor, transverse-field Ising model Hamiltonian with timeindependent, nonuniform couplings. Under appropriate normalization, we implement this state reversal three times faster than a naive approach using SWAP gates, in time comparable to a protocol of Raussendorf [Phys. Rev. A 72, 052301 (2005)] that requires dynamical control. We also prove lower bounds on state reversal by using results on the entanglement capacity of Hamiltonians and show that we are within a factor 1.502(1 + 1/N ) of the shortest time possible. Our lower bound holds for all nearest-neighbor qubit protocols with arbitrary finite ancilla spaces and local operations and classical communication. We give numerical evidence that the fast reversal protocols are more robust to noise than a SWAP-based reversal. Finally, we extend our protocol to an infinite family of nearest-neighbor, time-independent Hamiltonian protocols for state reversal. This includes chains with nearly uniform coupling that may be especially feasible for experimental implementation.
Solving quantified boolean formulas (2008)

Abstract\n\nSolving Quantified Boolean Formulas\n\nHorst Samulowitz\t\n\nDoctor of Philosophy\n\nGraduate Department of Computer Science\n\nUniversity of Toronto\n\n2008\n\n\n\nMany real-world problems do not have a simple \n\nalgorithmic solution and casting these\n\nproblems as search problems is often not only \n\nthe simplest way of casting them, but also\n\nthe most efficient way of solving them.\n\nIn this thesis we will present several \n\ntechniques to advance search-based algorithms\n\nin the context of solving quantified boolean \n\nformulas (QBF). QBF enables complex realworld\n\nproblems including planning, two-player games \n\nand verification to be captured in a compact \n\nand quite natural fashion. We will discuss \n\ntechniques ranging from straight forward \n\npre-processing methods utilizing strong rules \n\nof inference to more sophisticated online \n\napproaches such as dynamic partitioning.\n\nFurthermore, we will show that all of the \n\npresented techniques achieve an essential\n\nimprovement of the search process when \n\nsolving QBF. At the same time the displayed\n\nempirical results also reveal the \n\northogonality of the different techniques \n\nwith respect to performance. Generally \n\nspeaking each approach performs well on a \n\nparticular subset of benchmarks, but performs \n\npoorly on others. Consequently, an adaptive \n\nemployment of the available techniques that\n\nmaximizes the performance would result in \n\nfurther improvements.\n\nWe will demonstrate that such an adaptive \n\napproach can pay off in practice, by\n\npresenting the results of using machine \n\nlearning methods to dynamically select the \n\nbest variable ordering heuristics during \n\nsearch.
Results of a Multicenter Randomized Phase II Trial of Thalidomide and Prednisone Maintenance Therapy for Multiple Myeloma after Autologous Stem Cell Transplant (2004)

We report a multicenter, randomized phase II trial conducted to assess the tolerability of combined thalidomide and prednisone maintenance in multiple myeloma. Eligibility required administration of melphalan (200 mg/m2) with blood stem cell support within 1 year of treatment onset and initiation of maintenance within 60 to 100 days after stem cell infusion. All patients received 50 mg of prednisone by mouth on alternate days and thalidomide at a starting dose of either 200 or 400 mg daily by mouth. The primary end point was the incidence of dropout or dose reduction due to treatment toxicity within 6 months. Sixty-seven patients were enrolled. Median follow-up is 36.8 months. The primary end point was reached by 31% of patients on the 200 mg of thalidomide arm and 64% of patients on the 400 mg of thalidomide arm. Allowing for dose reduction, 76% of patients assigned to the 200 mg of thalidomide arm and 41% of patients assigned to the 400 mg of thalidomide arm remained on any maintenance therapy 18 months after registration. Eighty-eight percent of all patients dose-reduced thalidomide and 72% of all patients dose-reduced prednisone within 2 years of beginning maintenance. The median progression-free survival post-transplant is 32.3 months, or 42.2 months from diagnosis. Only the 200 mg of thalidomide arm of this trial met our definition of a tolerable maintenance therapy, defined as no dose reductions or discontinuation due to toxicity in at least 65% of patients for a minimum of 6 months, thus establishing a dosing schedule for phase III trials.
Connexins and Integrins in Exosomes (2019)

Connexins and integrins, the two structurally and functionally distinct families of transmembrane proteins, have been shown to be inter-connected by various modes of cross-talk in cells, such as direct physical coupling via lateral contact, indirect physical coupling via actin and actin-binding proteins, and functional coupling via signaling cascades. This connexin-integrin cross-talk exemplifies a biologically important collaboration between channels and adhesion receptors in cells. Exosomes are biological lipid-bilayer nanoparticles secreted from virtually all cells via endosomal pathways into the extracellular space, thereby mediating intercellular communications across a broad range of health and diseases, including cancer progression and metastasis, infection and inflammation, and metabolic deregulation. Connexins and integrins are embedded in the exosomal membranes and have emerged as critical regulators of intercellular communication. This concise review article will explain and discuss recent progress in better understanding the roles of connexins, integrins, and their cross-talk in cells and exosomes.
Programmed hydrolysis of nanoassemblies by electrostatic interaction-mediated enzymatic-degradation (2013)

Electrostatic interaction-mediated enzymatic-hydrolysis of poly(lactide)-containing nanoscale assemblies is described. At physiological pH, degradable core-shell morphologies with charged shells can readily attract or repel enzymes carrying opposite or similar charges, respectively.
Comparison of various macrolides on stimulation of human neutrophil degranulation <i>in vitro</i> (1996)

Macrolide antibiotics are taken up and concentrated by host cells, particularly phagocytes, and are likely candidates to modify cell functions. In this study, we extended our previous work concerning the effect of three 14-membered-ring macrolides (dirithromycin, erythromycin and erythromycylamine) on human neutrophil exocytosis, and found that three other erythromycin A derivatives (roxithromycin, clarithromycin and the azalide, azithromycin) also triggered neutrophil degranulation in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. After 30 min of incubation, the correlation coefficients for concentration-dependence for roxithromycin were 0.885, 0.739 and 0.750 (P < 0.005) and for clarithromycin were 0.795, 0.599, 0.733 (P < 0.02), respectively, for lysozyme, beta-glucuronidase and lactoferrin release. Although the underlying mechanism was not elucidated, these and previous data suggest that intracellular accumulation is a prerequisite. Furthermore, comparison of the characteristics of macrolide-induced exocytosis with those of exocytosis triggered by the synthetic chemotactic stimulus FMLP suggested that different mechanisms are involved. In keeping with this possibility, we showed that combined treatment (macrolides plus FMLP) resulted in totally additive exocytosis of azurophilic but not specific granules. The clinical relevance of our data remains to be ascertained.
Magnetic-Resonance Imaging of High-Pressure Carbon Dioxide Displacement: Fluid/Surface Interaction and Fluid Behavior (2018)

Summary Magnetic-resonance imaging (MRI) provides a wealth of information on petroleum-flooding-displacement mechanisms and in-situ pore-level behavior. This study demonstrates MRI methods that have potential for studying the mechanisms of carbon dioxide (CO2) displacement processes in Berea core plugs during the recovery of decane and heavy oil. The correlation between fluid saturation and transverse relaxation time (T2) revealed the contrast in decane/pore-surface interaction between miscible and immiscible drainage of decane by CO2. T2 profiles demonstrated changes in the composition and viscosity of the heavy oil caused by the extraction of light components by CO2.