gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Finger-Vein Image Enhancement Using a Fuzzy-Based Fusion Method with Gabor and Retinex Filtering (2014)

Because of the advantages of finger-vein recognition systems such as live detection and usage as bio-cryptography systems, they can be used to authenticate individual people. However, images of finger-vein patterns are typically unclear because of light scattering by the skin, optical blurring, and motion blurring, which can degrade the performance of finger-vein recognition systems. In response to these issues, a new enhancement method for finger-vein images is proposed. Our method is novel compared with previous approaches in four respects. First, the local and global features of the vein lines of an input image are amplified using Gabor filters in four directions and Retinex filtering, respectively. Second, the means and standard deviations in the local windows of the images produced after Gabor and Retinex filtering are used as inputs for the fuzzy rule and fuzzy membership function, respectively. Third, the optimal weights required to combine the two Gabor and Retinex filtered images are determined using a defuzzification method. Fourth, the use of a fuzzy-based method means that image enhancement does not require additional training data to determine the optimal weights. Experimental results using two finger-vein databases showed that the proposed method enhanced the accuracy of finger-vein recognition compared with previous methods.
Electroclinic effect at the<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mi>A</mml:mi><mml:mo>−</mml:mo><mml:mi>C</mml:mi></mml:math>phase change in a chiral smectic liquid crystal (1979)

When a smectic-$A$ phase is composed of chiral molecules, it exhibits an electroclinic effect, i.e., a direct coupling of molecular tilt to applied field. The pretransitional behavior of the electroclinic effect in the $A$ phase is used to study the critical behavior near the second-order, smectic-$A$---smectic-$C$ phase transition. This behavior is measured by monitoring the change in birefringence of a sample as the electroclinic effect causes a tilt of the molecules. A large pretransitional effect is measured, and constants describing the critical behavior are determined.
Structures of deacylated tRNA mimics bound to the E site of the large ribosomal subunit (2003)

During translation, tRNAs cycle through three binding sites on the ribosome: the A, the P, and the E sites. We have determined the structures of complexes between the Haloarcula marismortui large ribosomal subunit and two different E site substrates: a deacylated tRNA acceptor stem minihelix and a CCA-acceptor end. Both of these tRNA mimics contain analogs of adenosine 76, the component responsible for a large proportion of E site binding affinity. They bind in the center of the loop-extension of protein L44e, and make specific contacts with both L44e and 23S rRNA including bases that are conserved in all three kingdoms of life. These contacts are consistent with the footprinting, protection, and cross-linking data that have identified the E site biochemically. These structures explain the specificity of the E site for deacylated tRNAs, as it is too small to accommodate any relevant aminoacyl-tRNA. The orientation of the minihelix suggests that it may mimic the P/E hybrid state. It appears that the E site on the 50S subunit was formed by only RNA in the last common ancestor of the three kingdoms, since the proteins at the E sites of H. marismortui and Deinucoccus radiodurans large subunits are not homologous.
Lubricant Pickup of Ultra-Thin PFPE Lubricants With Different Backbone Structures (2011)

Lubricant pickups on different perfluoropolyether (PFPE)-lubricant (Z-tetraol, D-4OH, and QA-40) films were compared by using a slider surface analyzing (SSA) tester developed to observe the lubricant thickness mapping on the slider surfaces after the heads slide on the disk surfaces. These lubricants have the same four OH functional end-groups but different backbones. Z-tetraol showed the least lubricant pickup among the four lubricants. D-4OH and QA-40 showed considerable pickup at a large clearance of 30-mW back-off. The pickup volumes of each lubricant disk with a similar mobile lubricant thickness were different, and D-4OH showed the largest pickup volume among these lubricants. An MD simulation was performed to understand the difference in the lubricant pickup of the three types of lubricants. The intermolecular force between the slider and the lubricant molecules was different for these lubricants. This difference in the intermolecular force depended on the dipole-dipole interaction between the end-groups and the slider surface, and the dipole-dipole interaction was affected by the conformation of the lubricant molecules. Therefore, it is estimated that the lubricant pickup phenomenon is influenced by the conformation of the lubricant molecules, and D-4OH with a strong -OH function at the lubricant surface exhibited considerable lubricant pickup.
Robot control in a message passing environment: theoretical questions and preliminary experiments (2002)

The performance of real-time distributed control systems is shown to depend critically on both communication and computation costs. A taxonomy for distributed system performance measurement is introduced. A roughly accurate method of performance prediction for simple systems is presented. Experimental results demonstrate the effects of communication protocols on real-world system performance.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">></ETX>
PPARγ in dendritic cells and T cells drives pathogenic type-2 effector responses in lung inflammation (2017)

Type-2 immune responses are well-established drivers of chronic inflammatory diseases, such as asthma, and represent a large burden on public health systems. The transcription factor PPARγ is known to promote M2-macrophage and alveolar macrophage development. Here, we report that PPARγ plays a key role in both T cells and dendritic cells (DCs) for development of type-2 immune responses. It is predominantly expressed in mouse Th2 cells in vitro and in vivo as well as human Th2 cells from allergic patients. Using conditional knockouts, we show that PPARγ signaling in T cells, although largely dispensable for IL-4 induction, is critical for IL-33-driven Th2 effector function in type-2 allergic airway responses. Furthermore, we demonstrate that IL-4 and IL-33 promote up-regulation of PPARγ in lung-resident CD11b<sup>+</sup> DCs, which enhances migration to draining lymph nodes and Th2 priming capacity. Thus, we uncover a surprising proinflammatory role for PPARγ and establish it as a novel, important mediator of DC-T cell interactions in type-2 immunity.
Binding function in relation to injury risk in downhill skiing (1989)

Time-trend studies suggest that in the recent past, the use of modern equipment and adequately functioning ski bindings have had a preventive effect on injuries. The question of whether a further decrease of injury figures can still be expected from better binding adjustment is investigated in a case-control study (N = 1,148) conducted among Dutch skiers. Nonrelease of both bindings directly before injury was associated with a higher risk (odds ratio = 3.3) for lower extremity (LE) injury. Binding release before LE injury was highest (31%) among those for whom adjustment was performed and then confirmed with a test device. The proportion of nonrelease is highest for knee injuries. No effect on injury risk could be found for the time of adjustment, the method of adjustment, or the person performing the adjustment. Direct measurement of binding function seems indispensable. The use of rented or borrowed skis was associated with a higher risk (odds ratio = 1.9) for LE injury. The same holds for ignorance concerning the type of ski and the age of the skis and bindings. We concluded that binding adjustment still seems to be a risk factor open to manipulation. The efficacy of intervention aimed at better adjustment should be studied experimentally.
Phenolic P<sub>2</sub>/P<sub>3</sub> Core Motif as Thrombin Inhibitors — Design, Synthesis, and X‐Ray Co‐Crystal Structure. (2006)

Abstract ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 200 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract, please click on HTML or PDF.
Controlling Reactivity by Geometry in Retro-Diels–Alder Reactions under Tension (2017)

Mechanical force, with its ability to distort, bend, and stretch chemical bonds, is unique in the way it activates chemical reactions. In polymer mechanochemistry, the force is transduced in a directional fashion, and the efficiency of activation depends on how well the force is transduced from the polymer to the scissile bond in the mechanophore (i.e., mechanochemical coupling). We have investigated the effects of regio- and stereochemistry on the rate of force-accelerated retro-Diels-Alder reactions of furan/maleimide adducts. Four adducts, presenting an endo or exo configuration and proximal or distal geometry, were activated in solution by ultrasound-generated elongational forces. A combination of structural (<sup>1</sup>H NMR) and computational (CoGEF) analyses allowed us to interrogate the mechanochemical activation of these adducts. We found that, unlike its thermal counterpart where the reactivity is dictated by the stereochemistry, the mechanical reactivity is mainly dependent on the regiochemistry. Remarkably, the thermally active distal-exo adduct becomes inert under tension due to poor mechanochemical coupling.
Centralized and decentralized train scheduling for intermodal operations (2000)

Abstract We investigate a spectrum of decision-making approaches, from centralized to decentralized, within the context of scheduling direct and indirect (via a hub) trains and assigning containers to trains for the rail (linehaul) portion of the intermodal trip. The goal is to minimize operating costs, including a fixed charge for each train, variable transportation and handling costs for each container and yard storage costs, while meeting on-time delivery requirements. If shipping requirements are known, a centralized solution provides for better coordination, thereby reducing costs. However, information may not be available to support centralized decision-making. We present several methods for obtaining good solutions, and show that carefully-designed decentralized approaches may perform as well as centralized approaches for our problem.
On the Capacity of Secure Network Coding (2004)

We consider the problem of using a multicast network code to transmit information securely in the presence of a &amp;quot;wire-tap &amp;quot; adversary who can eavesdrop on a bounded number of network edges. Cai &amp; Yeung (ISIT, 2002) gave a method to alter any given linear network code into a new code that is secure. However, their construction is in general inefficient, and requires a very large field size; in many cases this is much greater than the field size required by standard network code construction algorithms to achieve the min-cut capacity (without a security guarantee). In this paper we generalize and simplify the method of Cai &amp; Yeung, and show that the problem of making a linear network code secure is equivalent to the problem of finding a linear code with certain generalized distance properties. We show that if we give up a small amount of overall capacity, then a random code achieves these properties using a much smaller field size-- in some cases a field of constant size suffices-- than the construction of Cai &amp; Yeung. We add further support to this approach by showing that if we are not willing to give up any capacity, then a large field size may sometimes be required to achieve security.
All-optical add-drop node for packet-switched networks (2005)

We demonstrated all-optical packet add/drop for all-optical packet-switched networks. Intelligent all-optical add-drop of packets is performed based on all-optical processing of packet headers. The header and payload rates are 5 Gb/s and 10 Gb/s respectively.
[Experimental studies on a compartment syndrome caused by a tourniquet]. (1988)

The muscle proteins of rabbits with the compartment syndrome caused by tourniquet were studied by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and the compartment pressure post-ischemia was measured. The post-ischemic pressure in the anterior compartment increased more than that in the deep-posterior compartment. The phoretic patterns of structural and soluble proteins changed after ischemia, and their degeneration appeared to depend on the degree of pressure increase. In ischemic contracture, the patterns of myosin light chains of type 1 fibers changed to those of type 2 fibers. This indicated the possibility of fiber type transformation from type 1 to type 2 in ischemic contracture.
Applications of Sugar Nitrones in Synthesis:  The Total Synthesis of (+)-Polyoxin J<sup>1</sup> (1997)

A convergent synthesis of the peptidyl nucleoside antibiotic (inhibitor of chitin biosynthesis) polyoxin J (2) by coupling of 5-O-carbamoyl polyoxamic acid (3) and thymine polyoxin C (4) is described. These compounds were prepared by chain elongation and amination of sugar-derived aldehydes employing their nitrones as iminium derivatives and the furan ring as a masked carboxyl. Thus, the stereoselective addition of 2-lithiofuran to the l-threose derived N-benzyl nitrone 5 followed by reduction of the resulting hydroxylamine to amine, carbamoylation of the free hydroxy group, and oxidative cleavage of the furan ring to the carboxylate group gave a protected derivative of 3 (30%). The same method was followed for the synthesis of the ribofuranosyl α-amino acid nucleoside 4 (12.6%) starting from the d-ribose derived nitrone 6. The final coupling was performed by the N-hydroxysuccinimide active ester method in DMSO with the Hünig base (i-Pr2EtNH) using a derivative of 3 and unprotected 4.
PDE modeling and control of a flexible two-link manipulator (2005)

A partial differential equation (PDE) model for a flexible two-link manipulator is derived and transformed to a form appropriate for the development of stable control designs. Stable control of this nonlinear infinite dimensional two-link system is then achieved by a novel control design developed using passivity and Lyapunov-based methods. A two-link hardware experimental setup is used to validate the analytical PDE model and the proposed stable control design scheme.
Evaluation of Water Quality by Environmental Factors and Phytoplankton Community in the Yongjiang River, China (2015)

Objective: Environmental factors were monitored annually at 13 sections in the Yongjiang river, Ningbo and China, the structures characteristics and the seasonal changes of the phytoplankton community from the sections were studied by using four different indexes. Methodology: The study showed there were 114 phytoplanktons species belonging to 6 phyla, 41 families and 80 genus. The phytoplankton community was dominated by the species of green algae and diatoms in the river. The 1st dominant species was Oscillatoria sp. and followed by Melosira sp. The peak of the abundance presented in spring in most cases. Results: There was a significant difference among the sections in phytoplankton community compositions and among the seasons at each section according to the two-way ANOSIM similarity analysis. The combination of environmental factor, which affected the water quality mainly was COD Cr , TP and TN/TP. Conclusion: Both species diversity index and total pollution indexes in phytoplankton communities displayed that the Yongjiang river was polluted.
AI application for process regulation and servo control (1987)

The paper demonstrates how AI and fuzzy logic techniques can be combined to implement real-time, regulatory and servo control of a simple process unit. The knowledge base for the regulatory controller was designed to provide smooth control near the set point, `typical' feedback control in the intermediate region and as much control as necessary (available) to prevent the controlled variable from exceeding user-specified constraints. The servo controller implemented fast open-loop set-point changes by using two-level bang-bang control, and the knowledge base included rules to learn the switching parameters online. The controllers were implemented, in Prolog, on an IBM PC and interfaced to an actual process using an industrial PID controller as an interface. Experimental results showed that control performance met the objectives better than a conventional fixed-gain PID controller.
Implementation techniques for fast polynomial arithmetic in a high-level programming environment (2006)

Though there is increased activity in the implementation of asymptotically fast polynomial arithmetic, little is reported on the details of such effort. In this paper, we discuss how we achieve high performance in implementing some well-studied fast algorithms for polynomial arithmetic in two high-level programming environments, AXIOM and Aldor.Two approaches are investigated. With Aldor we rely only on high-level generic code, whereas with AXIOM we endeavor to mix high-level, middle-level and low-level specialized code. We show that our implementations are satisfactory compared with other known computer algebra systems or libraries such as Magma v2.11-2 and NTL v5.4.
Recent Trends in Stimulant Medication Use Among U.S. Children (2006)

Objective: Stimulant medications, such as methylphenidate and amphetamines, are commonly prescribed to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Stimulant use increased fourfold from 1987 (0.6%) to 1996 (2.4%) among subjects 18-year-old and younger in the U.S. The aim of this study was to determine whether pediatric use of stimulants continued to rise during the period 1997–2002. Method: The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) database for the years 1997–2001 was analyzed. The MEPS is a yearly survey of a nationally representative sample of civilian, noninstitutionalized U.S. households, conducted by the U.S. Agency for Health Care Research and Quality. Previously reported estimates from the 1996 MEPS and the 1987 National Medical Expenditure Survey, the predecessor to MEPS, were also replicated to compare recent trends to changes between 1987 and 1996. Results: The prevalence use of stimulants among subjects under 19 years of age was 2.7% (95% C.I. 2.3–3.1) in 1997 and 2.9% (95% C.I. 2.5–3.3) in 2002, with no statistically significant change during these 6 years. Likewise, when pooling data across years and comparing the rate in 1997–1998 (2.8%) with the rate in 2001–2002 (3.0%), no statistically significant changes emerged. Use was highest among 6–12 year olds (4.8% in 2002), as compared with 3.2% among 13–19 year olds and 0.3% among children under 6. An estimated 2.2 million (95% C.I. 1.9–2.6) children received stimulant medication in 2002 as compared to 2.0 million (95% C.I. 1.7–2.3) in 1997. Conclusions: The steep increase in the utilization of stimulants among children 18 years and younger that occurred over the 1987–1996 period attenuated in the following years through 2002, and has remained stable among very young children.
Lithium Electrochemical Deintercalation from O2-LiCoO[sub 2] (2002)

Electrochemical deintercalation of Li from the metastable O2-LiCoO2 phase has been investigated up to the composition Li0.15CoO2. The single-phase domains that separate the voltage plateaus observed have been characterized by X-ray diffraction. The succession of phases observed upon deintercalation results from reversible sheet gliding or lithium/vacancy ordering, leading to the sequence 02, T#2, T#2', 06, 02, 02. In particular, the T#2 stacking, similar to the T2 phase reported by Dahn and co-workers for the Li2/3Ni1/3Mn2/3O2 phases, corresponds to oxygen ions not sitting on the three positions of a triangular lattice, hence the # character is used. It exhibits very distorted tetrahedral sites for Li. The 06 stacking exhibits two kinds of CoO6 octahedra, which might allow Co3+/Co4+ ordering in alternate sheets. The most deintercalated O2-Li0.15CoO2 phase has never been reported before. Electronic properties and 7Li magic-angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance show a transition to a metallic state for x< 0.94 (appearance of the T#2 phase with x = 0.72). These stacking changes are proposed to result from the minimization of electrostatic repulsion, except for T#2' (x = 0.50), which is believed to result from a Li/vacancy ordering.
Association of anti–ribosomal P protein antibodies with neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus (1996)

Our results, obtained from the highly specific ELISA using HSA-ribosomal P peptide conjugates, confirm the correlation of serum anti-P with lupus psychosis. The data also suggest that differences in the purity of the ribosomal P peptides used might be a major reason for the conflicting results in the literature regarding the association of anti-P with lupus psychosis.
Career Development in a Changing Environment (1988)

External consultants play a special role in helping organisations solve problems. The intervention described was in response to the turmoil occurring within a large telecommunications firm following major organisational restructuring. To prevent a large‐scale loss of high‐potential managers and long‐term supervisors, a firm of consultants was called in. A workshop was designed which would permit participants to identify their strengths as well as their developmental needs. The programme is described, and its successes and shortcomings assessed.
Promoting healthy eating: the role of pre-operative assessment (2008)

This project supports the need for healthcare professionals to address the problem of obesity at every opportunity. Those at risk can be identified through comprehensive pre-operative assessment by appropriately trained staff. All children should have their height, weight and BMI recorded when they attend the hospital. Regular audit will identify trends in obesity and action taken to comply with government's targets to halt childhood obesity by 2010.
Use of RNA Interference to Prevent Lethal Murine West Nile Virus Infection (2005)

West Nile virus causes fatal encephalitis in humans, mice, and other vertebrates. In the present study, we demonstrate that small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) inhibit West Nile virus replication in vitro. Moreover, the administration of siRNAs to mice by hydrodynamic injection 24 h before challenge with an intraperitoneal inoculum of West Nile virus reduced the viral load and afforded partial protection from lethal infection. These data show the efficacy of the prophylactic use of siRNAs against a viral infection in vivo and suggest new strategies to combat West Nile virus.
Scattering of Light by a Red Blood Cell (1998)

The optical parameters of a red blood cell suspended in the blood plasma and, namely, the scattering and absorption cross sections and the scattering phase function describing the small-angle distribution of the scattered light are calculated. Dependence of the optical parameters on all possible values of size, shapes, orientations, hemoglobin concentration, and oxygenation degree is considered. The data are calculated with the so-called straight-ray approximation. The accuracy of the approximation is estimated by comparison with the Mie theory. © 1998 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.