Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Degree Correlation on the synchronizability of networks of nonlinear oscillators

This paper is concerned with the investigation of the effects that the presence of degree correlation has on the synchronization of a network of coupled nonlinear oscillator. The main result is that disassortative networks are found to synchronize better. Specifically, synchronizability is enhanced in networks with various degree distribution, when nodes characterised by low degree are more likely to be connected to nodes with higher degree.
Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Bamboo Pulp Fiber Reinforced Polyethylene Composites

The purpose of this study was to investigate the mechanical and thermal properties of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) composites reinforced by bamboo pulp fibers (BPF). Using a twin-screw extruder, polymer composites were fabricated using BPF and bamboo flour (BF) as the reinforcement and HDPE as the matrix. Tensile and flexural tests of the HDPE composites were performed to determine the mechanical properties under different conditions. The thermal properties of HDPE composites were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). The results showed that BPF improved the mechanical and thermal properties of the polymer composites more than did BF. The tensile and flexural strength of composites with 30 wt% BPF were increased by 61.46% and 22.94%, respectively, while the tensile and flexural modulus were increased by 84.52% and 27.30%, respectively. Compared to composites with 50 wt% BF, the T5% of composites with 50 wt% BPF increased by 20.18 °C. As the BPF content increased, the storage modulus (E’) and loss modulus (E”) initially increased, followed by a decrease. Compared to the BF/HDPE composites, BPF/HDPE composites reinforced at 30 wt% had a higher storage modulus (E’) and loss modulus (E”) and lower damping parameter (tanδ).
Urate as a predictor of the rate of clinical decline in Parkinson disease.

BACKGROUND The risk of Parkinson disease (PD) and its rate of progression may decline with increasing concentration of blood urate, a major antioxidant. OBJECTIVE To determine whether serum and cerebrospinal fluid concentrations of urate predict clinical progression in patients with PD. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Eight hundred subjects with early PD enrolled in the Deprenyl and Tocopherol Antioxidative Therapy of Parkinsonism (DATATOP) trial. The pretreatment urate concentration was measured in serum for 774 subjects and in cerebrospinal fluid for 713 subjects. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Treatment-, age-, and sex-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for clinical disability requiring levodopa therapy, the prespecified primary end point of the original DATATOP trial. RESULTS The HR of progressing to the primary end point decreased with increasing serum urate concentrations (HR for highest vs lowest quintile = 0.64; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.44-0.94; HR for a 1-SD increase = 0.82; 95% CI, 0.73-0.93). In analyses stratified by alpha-tocopherol treatment (2000 IU/d), a decrease in the HR for the primary end point was seen only among subjects not treated with alpha-tocopherol (HR for a 1-SD increase = 0.75; 95% CI, 0.62-0.89; vs HR for those treated = 0.90; 95% CI, 0.75-1.08). Results were similar for the rate of change in the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale score. Cerebrospinal fluid urate concentration was also inversely related to both the primary end point (HR for highest vs lowest quintile = 0.65; 95% CI, 0.44-0.96; HR for a 1-SD increase = 0.89; 95% CI, 0.79-1.02) and the rate of change in the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale score. As with serum urate concentration, these associations were present only among subjects not treated with alpha-tocopherol. CONCLUSIONS Higher serum and cerebrospinal fluid urate concentrations at baseline were associated with slower rates of clinical decline. The findings strengthen the link between urate concentration and PD and the rationale for considering central nervous system urate concentration elevation as a potential strategy to slow PD progression.
Utility Accrual Real-Time Scheduling with Probabilistically-Assured Timeliness Performance

We present time/utility function (TUF) algorithms that provide probabilistic assurance on timeliness behavior. A TUF, which is a generalization of the classical deadline constraint, specifies the utility of completing an application activity as a function of that activity’s completion time. The algorithms consider a stochastic model where activity execution times and arrivals are probabilistically described. Further, activity time constrain ts are specified using TUFs. We consider the dual optimization objective of probabilistically satisfying applicati onspecified lower bounds on individual activity utility, and maximizing system-wide total utilities. We present algorithms that achieve this dual objective.
Association between Bone Mass and Dental Hypomineralization

The aim of this study was to examine the association between the bone mass (bone mineral content [BMC]) and hypomineralized second primary molars (HSPMs)/molar incisor hypomineralization (MIH) in 6-y-old children. This cross-sectional study was embedded in the Generation R Study, a population-based prospective cohort study, starting from fetal life until adulthood in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The European Academy of Pediatric Dentistry criteria were used to score the intraoral photographs on the presence or absence of HSPMs and MIH. Bone mass was measured with a dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan. Intraoral photographs and DXA scans were available in 6,510 6-y-old children. Binary logistic regression models were used to study the association between the bone mass and HSPMs/MIH. In total, 5,586 children had their second primary molars assessed and a DXA scan made; 507 children were diagnosed with HSPM. Of 2,370 children with data on their permanent first molars, 203 were diagnosed with MIH. In the fully adjusted model, children with lower BMC (corrected for bone area) were more likely to have HSPMs (odds ratio, 1.13; 95% confidence interval, 1.02 to 1.26 per 1–standard deviation decrease). A lower BMC (corrected for bone area) was not associated with MIH (odds ratio, 1.02; 95% confidence interval, 0.87 to 1.20 per 1–standard deviation decrease). We observed a negative association between BMC (corrected for bone area) and HSPMs. No association was found between BMC (corrected for bone area) and MIH. Future research should focus on investigating the mechanism underlying the negative association between the bone mass and HSPMs. Our study, in a large population of 6-y-old children, adds the finding that BMC (corrected for bone size) is associated with HSPMs but not with MIH in childhood.
Grounding Spatio-Semantic Referring Expressions for Human-Robot Interaction

The human language is one of the most natural interfaces for humans to interact with robots. This paper presents a robot system that retrieves everyday objects with unconstrained natural language descriptions. A core issue for the system is semantic and spatial grounding, which is to infer objects and their spatial relationships from images and natural language expressions. We introduce a two-stage neural-network grounding pipeline that maps natural language referring expressions directly to objects in the images. The first stage uses visual descriptions in the referring expressions to generate a candidate set of relevant objects. The second stage examines all pairwise relationships between the candidates and predicts the most likely referred object according to the spatial descriptions in the referring expressions. A key feature of our system is that by leveraging a large dataset of images labeled with text descriptions, it allows unrestricted object types and natural language referring expressions. Preliminary results indicate that our system outperforms a near state-of-the-art object comprehension system on standard benchmark datasets. We also present a robot system that follows voice commands to pick and place previously unseen objects.
A novel model for splicing detection

With the advent of digital technology, digital image has gradually taken the place of the original analog photograph, and the forgery of digital image has become more and more easy and indiscoverable. Image splicing is a commonly used technique in image tampering. To implement image splicing detection a blind, passive and effective splicing detection scheme was proposed in this paper. Image splicing detection can be treated as a two-class pattern recognition problem, the model was based on moment features and some image quality metrics (IQMs) extracted from the given test image, which are sensitive to spliced image. Artificial neural network (ANN) is chosen as a classifier to train and test the given images. This model can measure statistical differences between original image and spliced image. Experimental results demonstrate that this new splicing detection algorithm is effective and reliable; indicating that the proposed approach has a broad application prospect.
Electron Microscopy of the Separated Outer Tegument of the Sparganum and Its Antigenicity

The author reported previously on separation of the outer tegument of the spargana (plerocercoids of Spirometra mansoni) using high concentration of urea solution. To determine which layer of the tegument is separated by this method, an electron microscopic analysis has been processed in this study. It was confirmed that the basement layer of the tegument is separated from the parenchyme of the sparganum. In addition, the antigenicity of the separated outer tegument against the human sparganosis patient sera was evaluated. Numerous antigenic proteins, including 16 and 55 kDa proteins, were noticed in the separated tegument; however, there were no diagnostic 31/36 kDa molecules in this tegument. The molecules reactive with the patient sera in the tegument are to be characterized in future studies.
Phase II Study of Combination Therapy with S-1 and Irinotecan for Advanced Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer: West Japan Thoracic Oncology Group 3505

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of combination therapy with the oral fluoropyrimidine formulation S-1 and irinotecan for patients with advanced NSCLC. Experimental Design: Chemotherapy-naive patients with advanced NSCLC were treated with i.v. irinotecan (150 mg/m2) on day 1 and with oral S-1 (80 mg/m2) on days 1 to 14 every 3 weeks. Results: Fifty-six patients (median age, 63 years; range, 40-74 years) received a total of 286 treatment cycles (median, 5; range, 1-15). No complete responses and 16 partial responses were observed, giving an overall response rate of 28.6% [95% confidence interval (95% CI), 17.3-42.2%]. Twenty-four patients (42.9%) had stable disease and 12 patients (21.4%) had progressive disease as the best response. The overall disease control rate (complete response + partial response + stable disease) was thus 71.4% (95% CI, 57.8-82.7%). Median progression-free survival was 4.9 months (95% CI, 4.0-6.4 months), whereas median overall survival was 15 months. Hematologic toxicities of grade 3 or 4 included neutropenia (25%), thrombocytopenia (3.6%), and anemia (3.6%), with febrile neutropenia being observed in four patients (7.1%). The most common nonhematologic toxicities of grade 3 or 4 included anorexia (14.3%), fatigue (8.9%), and diarrhea (8.9%). There were no deaths attributed to treatment. Conclusions: The combination of S-1 and irinotecan is a potential alternative option with a favorable toxicity profile for the treatment of advanced NSCLC. This nonplatinum regimen warrants further evaluation in randomized trials.
Evaluation of 15 Local Plant Species as Larvicidal Agents Against an Indian Strain of Dengue Fever Mosquito, Aedes aegypti L. (Diptera: Culicidae)

The adverse effects of chemical insecticides-based intervention measures for the control of mosquito vectors have received wide public apprehension because of several problems like insecticide resistance, resurgence of pest species, environmental pollution, toxic hazards to humans, and non-target organisms. These problems have necessitated the need to explore and develop alternative strategies using eco-friendly, environmentally safe, bio-degradable plant products which are non-toxic to non-target organisms too. In view of this, 15 plant species were collected from local areas in New Delhi, India. Different parts of these plants were separated, dried, mechanically grinded, and sieved to get fine powder. The 200 g of each part was soaked in 1000 mL of different solvents separately and the crude extracts, thus formed, were concentrated using a vacuum evaporator at 45°C under low pressure. Each extract was screened to explore its potential as a mosquito larvicidal agent against early fourth instars of dengue vector, Aedes aegypti using WHO protocol. The preliminary screening showed that only 10 plants possessed larvicidal potential as they could result in 100% mortality at 1000 ppm. Further evaluation of the potential larvicidal extracts established the hexane leaf extract of Lantana camara to be most effective extract exhibiting a significant LC50 value of 30.71 ppm while the Phyllanthus emblica fruit extract was found to be least effective with an LC50 value of 298.93 ppm. The extracts made from different parts of other five plants; Achyranthes aspera, Zingiber officinalis, Ricinus communis, Trachyspermum ammi, and Cassia occidentalis also possessed significant larvicidal potential with LC50 values ranging from 55.0 to 74.67 ppm. Other three extracts showed moderate toxicity against A. aegypti larvae. Further investigations would be needed to isolate and identify the primary component responsible for the larvicidal efficiency of the effective plants.
The Poorly Membrane Permeable Antipsychotic Drugs Amisulpride and Sulpiride Are Substrates of the Organic Cation Transporters from the SLC22 Family

Variations in influx transport at the blood-brain barrier might affect the concentration of psychotropic drugs at their site of action and as a consequence might alter therapy response. Furthermore, influx transporters in organs such as the gut, liver and kidney may influence absorption, distribution, and elimination. Here, we analyzed 30 commonly used psychotropic drugs using a parallel artificial membrane permeability assay. Amisulpride and sulpiride showed the lowest membrane permeability (Pe < 1.5 × 10−6 cm/s) and will require influx transport to penetrate the blood-brain barrier and other physiological barriers. We then studied the uptake of amisulpride and sulpiride by the organic cation transporters of the SLC22 family OCT1, OCT2, OCT3, OCTN1, and OCTN2 Amisulpride was found to be transported by all five transporters studied. In contrast, sulpiride was only transported by OCT1 and OCT2. OCT1 showed the highest transport ability both for amisulpride (CLint = 1.9 ml/min/mg protein) and sulpiride (CLint = 4.2 ml/min/mg protein) and polymorphisms in OCT1 significantly reduced the uptake of both drugs. Furthermore, we observed carrier-mediated uptake that was inhibitable by known OCT inhibitors in the immortalized human brain microvascular endothelial cell line hCMEC/D3. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that amisulpride and sulpiride are substrates of organic cation transporters of the SLC22 family. SLC22 transporters may play an important role in the distribution of amisulpride and sulpiride, including their ability to penetrate the blood-brain barrier.
Stem cells and myocardial regeneration: cooperation wins over competition.

Antagonism between stem cells is not new. Competitive mechanisms are known to be critical for the modulation of organ homeostasis and regeneration. Competitive interaction within the niches results in survival of the fittest stem cells and death of the more vulnerable cells. An upregulation of c-myc transforms cells into supercompetitors capable of clonal expansion. The cluster of supercompetitors influences the behavior of the weakest surrounding cells, which are at a growth disadvantage.1 The presence of supercompetitors within niches regulates niche function, and the absence of supercompetitors may alter the preservation of stem cell self-renewal, leading to the generation of old dysfunctional niches.2 However, supercompetitor stem cells may fail to trigger apoptosis in the neighboring aging cells, promoting uncontrolled growth arrest and cellular senescence. This process may become excessive, favoring the formation of crowded niches where old stem cells predominate, opposing the activation of young functionally-competent stem cells. Thus, cooperative cell-to-cell communication may regulate more effectively the fate of stem cells within the niches, because the supporting cells transmit growth signals to stem cells according to the need of the organ and organism. Article see p 213 The concept of cooperation between stem cells and cardiomyocytes, functioning as supporting cells within the myocardial niches, has previously been documented,3 but the study by Williams et al4 in this issue of Circulation reports the cooperation between human mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) and human c-kit–positive cardiac stem cells (CSCs) after myocardial infarction in the swine heart. This clever approach has combined the regenerative potential of CSCs with the powerful secretory phenotype of MSCs. The low efficiency of transdifferentiation of MSCs has been overcome by the ability of the delivered CSCs to expand locally and create a large myocyte progeny, together with the required coronary microcirculation. Despite the significant growth reserve …
TURNING THE TIDES ON THE ULTRA-FAINT DWARF SPHEROIDAL GALAXIES: COMA BERENICES AND URSA MAJOR II

We present deep CFHT/MegaCam photometry of the ultra-faint Milky Way satellite galaxies: Coma Berenices (ComBer) and Ursa Major II (UMa II). These data extend to r ∼ 25, corresponding to 3 mag below the main-sequence turn-offs in these galaxies. We robustly calculate a total luminosity of MV = −3.8 ± 0.6 for ComBer and MV = −3.9 ± 0.5 for UMa II, in agreement with previous results and confirming that these galaxies are among the faintest of the known dwarf satellites of the Milky Way. ComBer shows a fairly regular morphology with no signs of active tidal stripping down to a surface brightness limit of 32.4 mag arcsec−2. Using a maximum likelihood analysis, we calculate the half-light radius of ComBer to be rhalf = 74 ± 4 pc (5.8 ± 0.′3) and its ellipticity ϵ = 0.36 ± 0.04. In contrast, UMa II shows signs of ongoing disruption. We map its morphology down to μV = 32.6 mag arcsec−2 and found that UMa II is larger than previously determined, extending at least ∼600 pc (1.°1 on the sky) and it is also quite elongated with an overall ellipticity of ϵ = 0.50 ± 0.2. However, our estimate for the half-light radius, 123 ± 3 pc (14.1 ± 0.′3) is similar to previous results. We discuss the implications of these findings in the context of potential indirect dark matter detections and galaxy formation. We conclude that while ComBer appears to be a stable dwarf galaxy, UMa II shows signs of ongoing tidal interaction.
Virtual reality : treatment efficacy and a tool to study reactivity in antisocial personality disorder

Part one is a meta-analytic review comparing the efficacy of virtual reality treatments (VRTs) and standard psychological therapies for achieving mental health symptom reduction. Outcomes from twenty-two randomised-controlled trials were quality assessed and meta-analysed. Results indicated that VRTs were equal to, and in some cases superior to comparative treatments, depending on the type of mental health problem being treated. Methodological and heterogeneity issues complicate interpretation. Continued methodologically robust research is required before recommendations for practice can be made with confidence. Part two presents an empirical study in which virtual reality (VR) was used to investigate emotional reactivity and aggression in antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). Fifteen individuals diagnosed with ASPD and twenty healthy volunteers took part in VR provocation. In response, ASPD participants showed greater negative emotional reactivity, less prosocial behaviour, and a trend towards more aggression than healthy volunteers. Findings tentatively support the notion that ASPD entails difficulties regulating emotions and inhibiting aggression under conditions of perceived threat. Modified large-scale replications are required to substantiate findings. Improved understanding could inform practices for assessing and treating risk of aggression/violence in this population. Part three is a critical appraisal of the empirical study. It describes my background interest in the research area and critiques a multi-method approach to measurement. The potential for VR to be used as a tool to assess and treat criminogenic risk in ASPD is discussed in more detail. It concludes with personal reflections, highlighting some of the ethical and risk management considerations raised by conducting research with this population.
Alternative pathway of cell death in Drosophila mediated by NF-κB transcription factor Relish

Photoreceptor cell death accompanying many retinal degenerative disorders results in irreversible loss of vision in humans. However, the precise molecular pathway that executes cell death is not known. Our results from a Drosophila model of retinal degeneration corroborate previously reported findings that the developmental apoptotic pathway is not involved in photoreceptor cell demise. By undertaking a candidate gene approach, we find that players involved in the immune response against Gram-negative bacteria are involved in retinal degeneration. Here, we report that the NF-κB transcription factor Relish regulates neuronal cell death. Retinal degeneration is prevented in genetic backgrounds that block Relish activation. We also report that the N-terminal domain of Relish encodes unique toxic functions. These data uncover a unique molecular pathway of retinal degeneration in Drosophila and identify a previously unknown function of NF-κB signaling in cell death.
IVIG reduced vascular oxidative stress in patients with Kawasaki disease.

BACKGROUND Oxidative stress (OS) contributes to the acute phase of Kawasaki disease (KD) in a manner that is as yet unknown. In the present study OS in the acute phase of KD was investigated by measuring urinary 8-iso-prostaglandin F2alpha (8-iso-PG) and evaluating its correlation to the efficacy of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) administration. METHODS AND RESULTS The 62 patients with acute phase of KD were enrolled, as well as 20 healthy children (HC) and 20 with acute febrile illness (FI). Urinary samples were obtained before and after administration of IVIG. The HC and FI groups also had inflammatory markers evaluated at the same time. The 8-iso-PG was significantly elevated in the 62 KD patients (719 +/-335 pg/mg Cr) without IVIG administration compared with those with FI (583 +/-213 pg/mg Cr) as well as HC (443 +/-288 pg/mg Cr) (P<0.01). 40 patients were given 3 different regimens of IVIG: 16 received 2 g/kg for 1 day; 17 received 1 g/kg for 1 day; 7 received 400 mg . kg(-1) . day(-1) for 5 days. All regimens of IVIG reduced the 8-iso-PG level at 7 days after initiation. CONCLUSIONS OS provokes vasculitis in KD, the activation of which was reduced by IVIG. The urinary level of 8-iso-PG is a useful marker of the effectiveness of IVIG in the acute phase of KD.