Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Crystals Cd 1-x Zn x Te - a promising material for non-cryogenic semiconductor detectors: preparations, structure defectness and electrophysical properties

Relationship between preparation conditions of the raw charge, crucible material, growth regimes and structure defectness and electrophysical properties of crystals Cd1-xZnxTe has been studied. The crystals were grown both from the raw material which had been pre-synthesized in quartz ampoules and from the raw material synthesized from the elements directly in the growth furnace. It is shown that the best values of electric resistivity ρ (up to 10 11 Ohm⋅cm) and sensitivity to X-ray and gamma- radiation are obtained for crystals grown in crucibles of highly pure coal-graphite material from the pre- synthesized raw charge. Correlation has been established between values of ρ and crystal defectness: decrease of dislocation density by 10 4 times led to 10 7 times higher values of resistivity. Concentration of dislocation etching pits regularly decreased with higher purity of the raw material and optimization of crystal preparation technology.
Muscle strength and bone in healthy women: effect of age and gonadal status

OBJECTIVEThe aim of this work was to examine the effects of age and menopause on muscle strength and on the muscle-bone interaction.DESIGNOne hundred ninety-four healthy women (mean age 49.8 ± 12.6 SD years) were assessed. Maximal Voluntary Contraction (MVC, Newton, N) by Hand Grip Dynamometer, bone mineral density at one third of the radius (R-BMD) by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and phalangeal ultrasound by the DBM Sonic 1200 device were evaluated at the upper dominant limb. Ultrasonometric parameters considered were Amplitude-Dependent Speed of Sound (ADSoS) and Ultrasound Bone Profile Index (UBPI). RESULTSMVC significantly decreased with age (r2=−0.12, p<0.005). For each level of age, fertile women had a greater MVC compared to postmenopausal women (r2=0.015, p<0.005). In the whole sample, a statistically significant correlation between MVC and R-BMD (r=0.354, p<0.001) and between MVC and ADSoS (r=0.294) and UBPI (r=0.311)(p<0.001 for both) were observed.CONCLUSIONSWe conclude that age and menopausal status significantly contributed to the reduction of muscle strength. The decline of muscular strength significantly correlated with quantitative and qualitative bone features.
In vitro cytotoxic potential of Swietenia macrophylla King seeds against human carcinoma cell lines

Fruits of Swietenia macrophylla King (sky fruit) have been widely used in traditional medicine to treat various diseases including hypertension and diarrhea. The cytotoxic activity of the crude ethanol extract of the seeds of S. macrophylla and its fractions was assessed against selected human cancer cell lines, namely, HCT 116 (colon carcinoma), KB (nasopharyngeal epidermoid carcinoma), Ca Ski (cervical carcinoma) and MCF-7 (breast carcinoma) by using MTT assay. The S. macrophylla ethyl acetate fraction (SMEAF) showed the most potent activity against HCT116 cell line (IC50 = 35.35 μg/ml ± 0.50 ug/ml) in a dose- and time-dependent manner and was further investigated for its possible mechanisms using flow cytometric analysis. Annexin V and PI binding of treated HCT116 cells indicated apoptosis induction by SMEAF in a dose-dependent manner. The induction of apoptosis was further confirmed both by DNA fragmentation using TUNEL assay and the externalization of phosphatidylserine using Annexin V/PI stain. The cell cycle analysis revealed a prominent increase in sub-G1 population at concentrations of 0.05 mg/ml and above. Results also showed that SMEAF induced collapse of the mitochondrial membrane potential after 24 h and caused depletion in total intracellular glutathione. The result of the present investigation is the first report on the potential anticancer activity of S. macrophylla seeds and its possible mechanisms of action on cancer cell proliferation. Key words: Swietenia macrophylla, sky fruit, cytotoxicity, apoptosis.
GPSP: Graph Partition and Space Projection based Approach for Heterogeneous Network Embedding

In this paper, we propose GPSP, a novel Graph Partition and Space Projection based approach, to learn the representation of a heterogeneous network that consists of multiple types of nodes and links. Concretely, we first partition the heterogeneous network into homogeneous and bipartite subnetworks. Then, the projective relations hidden in bipartite subnetworks are extracted by learning the projective embedding vectors. Finally, we concatenate the projective vectors from bipartite subnetworks with the ones learned from homogeneous subnetworks to form the final representation of the heterogeneous network. Extensive experiments are conducted on a real-life dataset. The results demonstrate that GPSP outperforms the state-of-the-art baselines in two key network mining tasks: node classification and clustering.
Fusing Geometry and Appearance for Road Segmentation

We propose a novel method for fusing geometric and appearance cues for road surface segmentation. Modeling colour cues using Gaussian mixtures allows the fusion to be performed optimally within a Bayesian framework, avoiding ad hoc weights. Adaptation to different scene conditions is accomplished through nearest-neighbour appearance model selection over a dictionary of mixture models learned from training data, and the thorny problem of selecting the number of components in each mixture is solved through a novel cross-validation approach. Quantitative evaluation reveals that the proposed fusion method significantly improves segmentation accuracy relative to a method that uses geometric cues alone.
Effective Thermal Conductivity of Rough Spheres Packed Bed

The effective thermal conductivity, ke , rigorously defined on the basis of the local volume averaging method, is an important parameter in porous media. The experimental and numerical results available in literature demonstrate that the ke value is influenced by several parameters such as thermal and mechanical properties of the multiphase porous medium, phase volumetric fractions, geometrical shape and spatial distribution of the solid matrix and, in particular, contact area between the solid particles. In the present paper, a numerical method to evaluate the effective thermal conductivity from the packing structure of a packed bed of mono-sized spheres is validated through the comparison with experimental data, obtained by the authors from an apparatus designed and build up for this purpose. The effects of the spheroid surface roughness is examined as the applied contact load and the solid matrix material vary. In particular packed beds of steel and aluminum spheroids saturated by a static gas (air) have been studied. Unfortunately, the lack of published results including an accurate measurement of the particle roughness does not allow the authors to compare their numerical results with other researchers’ experimental data. © 2003 ASME
Multivariate Calibration Models for Sorghum Composition using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

NREL developed calibration models based on near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy coupled with multivariate statistics to predict compositional properties relevant to cellulosic biofuels production for a variety of sorghum cultivars. A robust calibration population was developed in an iterative fashion. The quality of models developed using the same sample geometry on two different types of NIR spectrometers and two different sample geometries on the same spectrometer did not vary greatly.
Socio‐economic status and HbA1c in type 2 diabetes: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Up until now, differences in HbA1c levels by socio‐economic status (SES) have been identified, but not yet quantified in people with type 2 diabetes. The aim of this study was therefore to assess the difference in HbA1c levels between people with type 2 diabetes of different SES in a systematic review and meta‐analysis. A systematic literature search was conducted in MEDLINE, Embase, Ebsco, and the Cochrane Library until January 14, 2018. Included studies described adults with type 2 diabetes in whom the association between SES and HbA1c levels was studied. Studies were rated for methodological quality and data were synthesized quantitatively (meta‐analysis) and qualitatively (levels of evidence), stratified for type of SES variable, i.e., education, income, deprivation, and employment. Fifty‐one studies were included: 15 high, 27 moderate, and 9 of low methodological quality. Strong evidence was provided that people of low SES have higher HbA1c levels than people of high SES, for deprivation, education, and employment status. The pooled mean difference in HbA1c levels between people of low and high SES was 0.26% (95% CI, 0.09‐0.43) or 3.12 mmol/mol (95% CI, 1.21‐5.04) for education and 0.20% (95% CI, −0.05 to 0.46) or 2.36 mmol/mol (95%CI, −0.61 to 5.33) for income. In conclusion, our systematic review and meta‐analysis showed that there was an inverse association between SES and HbA1c levels in people with type 2 diabetes. Future research should focus on finding SES‐sensitive strategies to reduce HbA1c levels in people with type 2 diabetes.
Evaluating the Effect of Milk Protein Concentrates (MPC) Fortification on Rheological Properties of Nonfat Set Yogurt Using

The purpose of the study was to evaluate and compare the effects of fortification of yogurt with skim milk powder (SMP) and milk protein concentrate (MPC) on the rheological properties and viscosity of the yogurt. The SMP and MPC bases were formulated by adding different levels of SMP and MPC to common milk base of 8.8% total solids to an equivalent protein content (4.6%) in the final mixes. A control sample was prepared without any protein 2 fortification. The yogurts were analyzed for gel strength (yield value) and viscosity after one and five days of storage. MPC fortified yogurt had a higher gel strength and viscosity compared to SMP fortified yogurt. There was slight increase in the strength of yogurt gels in all samples on Day 5 compared to Day 1. The control sample was found to have the lowest gel strength and viscosity. Fortification with SMP or MPC did not affect rates of fermentation. The Graduate School University of Wisconsin-Stout Menomonie, WI Acknowledgments I sincerely thank Dr. Hans Zoerb, my research advisor for his advice and technical support in conducting experiments as well as editing research thesis and limitless time, whose help made it possible to complete my research work. His enormous knowledge, professional experience and constant encouragement were incredibly helpful. I would like to thank Dr. Carolyn Barnhart, for her great support during my graduate school period. I would also like to thank Dr. Carol Seaborn, for her guidance and help during my graduate study. I wish to express my sincere gratitude to Connie Galep and her assistants, who were of wonderful help in 3 providing experimental materials. I am also thankful to Dr. Sally Dresdow and Vicki Weber for their help. Last but not the least; I would like to thank my family members for their love, advice, moral and financial support during my entire graduate study at UW -Stout.
MAXIMUM-LIKELIHOOD ESTIMATION FOR LATENT FACTORMODELS

The online EM algorithm is a fast variant of the EM algorithm suitable for processing large streams of data. However the online EM algorithm is restricted to models in which an analytical expectation can be computed for the E-step. In this paper, we show that a new algorithm called the simulated online EM algorithm may be applied to a broad class of models used in signal processing and machine learning. These models, which are characterized by the presence of latent (or unobserved) positive factors, include in particular probabilistic variants of Non-Negative Matrix Factorization (NMF). We provide the main convergence properties of the simulated online EM algorithm and detail its application to the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) model.
Cellular accumulation and antioxidant activity of acetoxymethoxycarbonyl pyrrolidine nitroxides

Abstract Nitroxides are widely used in biology as antioxidants, spin labels, functional spin probes for pH, oxygen and thiol levels, and tissue redox status imaging using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR); however, biological applications of nitroxides is hindered by fast bioreduction to EPR-silent hydroxylamines and rapid clearance. In this work, we have studied pyrrolidine nitroxides with acetoxymethoxycarbonyl groups which can undergo hydrolysis by cellular esterases to hydrophilic carboxylate derivatives resistant to bioreduction. Nitroxides containing acetoxymethoxycarbonyl groups were rapidly absorbed by cells from the media, 3,4-bis-(acetoxymethoxycarbonyl)-proxyl (DCP-AM2) and 3-(2-(bis(2-(acetoxymethoxy)-2-oxoethyl)amino)acetamido)-proxyl (DCAP-AM2) showing the strongest EPR signal of the cellular fraction. Remarkably, the EPR parameters of 3,4-dicarboxy-proxyl (DCP) and its mono- and di-acetoxymethyl esters are different, and consequent intracellular hydrolysis of acetoxymethoxycarbonyl groups in DCP-AM2 can be followed by EPR. To elucidate intracellular location of the resultant DCP, the mitochondrial fraction has been isolated. EPR measurements showed that mitochondria were the main place where DCP was finally accumulated. TEMPO derivatives showed expectedly much faster decay of EPR signal in the cellular fraction, compared to pyrrolidine nitroxides. It was found that supplementation of endothelial cells with 50 nM of DCP-AM2 completely normalised the mitochondrial superoxide level. Moreover, administration of DCP-AM2 to mice (1.4 mg/kg/day) resulted in substantial nitroxide accumulation in the tissues and significantly reduced hypertension. We found that hydroxylamine derivatives of dicarboxyproxyl nitroxide DCP-AM-H can be used for the detection of superoxide in vivo in angiotensin II model of hypertension. Infusion of DCP-AM-H in mice leads to accumulation of persistent EPR signal of nitroxide in the blood and vascular tissue in angiotensin II-infused wild-type but not in SOD2 overexpressing mice. Our data demonstrate that acetoxymethoxycarbonyl group containing nitroxides accumulate in mitochondria and demonstrate site-specific antioxidant activity.
Listening to music with personal listening devices: monitoring the noise dose using a smartphone application

Abstract Objectives. To monitor listening habits to personal listening devices (PLDs) using a smartphone application and to compare actual listening habits to self-report data. Design. Two stages: self-report listening habits questionnaire, and real-time monitoring of listening habits through a smartphone application. Study sample. Overall 117 participants aged 18–34 years (mean 25.5 years) completed the questionnaire, and of them, 40 participants (mean age: 25.2 years) were monitored for listening habits during two weeks. Results. Questionnaire main findings indicated that most of the participants reported listening for 4–7 days a week, for at least 30 min at high listening levels with volume control settings at 75–100%. Monitored data showed that actual listening days per week were 1.5–6.5 d, with mean continuous time of 1.56 h, and mean volume control setting of 7.39 (on a scale of 1–15). Eight participants (22%) were found to exceed the 100% noise dose at least once during the monitoring period. One participant (2.7%) exceeded the weekly 100% daily noise dose. Correlations between actual measurements and self-report data were low to moderate. Conclusions. Results confirmed the feasibility of monitoring listening habits by a smartphone application, and underscore the need for such a tool to enable safe listening behaviour.
Vascular parkinsonism sensitive to rotigotine therapy is found in aged patients: a clinical case description

Previous and recent papers have pointed out several discussions about the so called ‘Vascular Parkinsonism’ (VP), particularly about some distinctive characteristics with respect to the Idiopathic Parkinson Disease (IPD); differences commonly described are sudden onset of extrapyramidal symptoms after a stroke, main involvement of lower limbs in diffuse brain microinfarcts (lower body parkinsonism), low, short in time or absent response to classic IPD therapy in all kinds of vascular brain pathologies. But few published studies have also emphasized some relationship linking brain morphological signs of vascular damage in elder patients suffering from diagnosed IPD, both ‘normally’ responding to classic Levodopa therapy or not. (www.actabiomedica.it)
Pulmonary artery size as a predictor of outcomes in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

IPF patients have heightened propensity for pulmonary hypertension, which portends a worse outcome. Presence of pulmonary hypertension may be reflected in an enlarged pulmonary artery. We investigated pulmonary artery size measured on high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) as an outcome predictor in IPF. We retrospectively reviewed all IPF patients evaluated at a tertiary-care centre between 2008 and 2013. Pulmonary artery and ascending aorta diameters were measured from chest HRCT with pulmonary artery:ascending aorta diameter (PA:A) ratio calculations. Outcome analysis defined by either death or lung transplant based on pulmonary artery size and PA:A ratio over 60 months was performed. Independent effects of different variables on overall outcomes were evaluated using the Cox proportional hazards model. 98 IPF patients with available HRCT scans had a mean pulmonary artery diameter and PA:A ratio of 32.8 mm and 0.94, respectively. Patients with a PA:A ratio >1 had higher risk of death or transplant compared with a PA:A ratio ≤1 (p<0.001). A PA:A ratio >1 was also an independent predictor of outcomes in unadjusted and adjusted outcomes analyses (hazard ratio 3.99, p<0.001 and hazard ratio 3.35, p=0.002, respectively). A PA:A ratio >1 is associated with worse outcomes in patients with IPF. HRCT PA:A ratio measurement may assist in risk stratification and prognostication of IPF patients. Pulmonary artery measurements on imaging can be utilised for risk stratification and prognostication in IPF http://ow.ly/WNO2h
MicroRNA‐326 and microRNA‐200c: Two novel biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Multidrug resistance (MDR) is considered as the major obstacle for treating pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non coding RNAs which may potentially regulate response to chemotherapy. In this study, total RNA was isolated from bone marrow samples of 46 children with de novo ALL and 16 controls. Quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction was used to investigate the expression profile of the predicted miRNAs; miR‐326 and miR‐200c, and their predicted targets ABCA2, and ABCA3 transporters. The presence of minimal residual disease was studied using PCR‐SSCP (single‐strand conformation polymorphism) 1 year after treatment. The association between the miRNA expression and drug resistance was analyzed statistically. Results showed a significant down‐regulation of both miR‐326 and miR‐200c expressions in ALL patients compared with non‐cancer controls (P = 0.0002, AUC = 0.813 and P = 0.035, AUC = 0.79, respectively). A considerable negative association between miR‐326 expression and MDR was identified which could raise the risk of chemoresistance by 4.8‐ fold. The expression profiles of miR‐326 and ABCA2 transporter were inversely correlated. Data revealed, a novel diagnostic role for miR‐326 and miR‐200c as potential biomarkers of pediatric ALL. Down‐regulation of miR‐326 was introduced, for the first time, as a prognostic factor for drug resistance in childhood ALL. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that ABCA2 transporter is proposed as a target gene for miR‐326, through which it can exert its impact on drug resistance. These data may provide novel approaches to new therapeutics and diagnostics.
Changes in technical efficiency of the broiler production in Poland, 1994–2013

ABSTRACT 1. The effects of changes in technical efficiency on the increase of broiler production are presented for the period 1994–2013 based on the panel data from seven farms located in southern and central Poland. A total of 766 cycles were analysed. 2. The Cobb–Douglas production function was used to assess the changes of output elasticities as well as technical changes in broiler production, for 5-year sub-periods separately. 3. Technical indices of broiler production significantly improved between years 1994–2013: feed conversion ratio decreased from 2.50 kg/kg to 1.78 kg/kg, mortality rate from 8.8% to 4.0% and daily weight gain increased from 37.1 g/d to 58.7 g/d, respectively. 4. Before accession to the EU, there was a substantial increase of fixed capital connected with modernisation of buildings and equipment. In the period 1994–2013, inputs of fixed capital per kilogram of livestock increased by 72% and at the same time the input of labour decreased by 56%. 5. Technical changes in years 1994–1998 contributed to a rapid production increase at a rate of 4.6% annually and only by up to 0.7% annually during 2009–2013. The slowdown of production rate increase after 2009 was partially caused by decreasing the stocking density.
Treatment and outcome of adult‐onset neuroblastoma

Adult‐onset neuroblastoma is rare and little is known about its biology and clinical course. There is no established therapy for adult‐onset neuroblastoma. Anti‐GD2 immunotherapy is now standard therapy in children with high‐risk neuroblastoma; however, its use has not been reported in adults. Forty‐four adults (18–71 years old) diagnosed with neuroblastoma between 1979 and 2015 were treated at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Five, 1, 5 and 33 patients had INSS stage 1, 2, 3 and 4 diseases, respectively. Genetic abnormalities included somatic ATRX (58%) and ALK mutations (42%) but not MYCN‐amplification. In the 11 patients with locoregional disease, 10‐year progression‐free (PFS) and overall survival (OS) was 35.4 ± 16.1% and 61.4 ± 15.3%, respectively. Among 33 adults with stage 4 neuroblastoma, 7 (21%) achieved complete response (CR) after induction chemotherapy and/or surgery. Seven patients with primary refractory neuroblastoma (all with osteomedullary but no soft tissue disease) received anti‐GD2 antibodies, mouse or humanized 3F8. Antibody‐related adverse events were similar to those in children, response rate being 71.4%. In patients with stage 4 disease at diagnosis, 5‐year PFS was 9.7± 5.3% and most patients who were alive with disease at 5 years died of neuroblastoma over the next 5 years, 10‐year OS being only 19.0 ± 8.2%. Patients who achieved CR after induction had superior PFS and OS (p = 0.006, p = 0.031, respectively). Adult‐onset neuroblastoma appeared to have different biology from pediatric or adolescent NB, and poorer outcome. Complete disease control appeared to improve long‐term survival. Anti‐GD2 immunotherapy was well tolerated and might be beneficial.
Short-term Intensive Immunosuppression: A Randomized, Three-arm Study of Intravenous Pulse Methylprednisolone and Cyclophosphamide in Macular Serpiginous Choroiditis

ABSTRACT Purpose: To compare the efficacy of pulse cyclophosphamide with pulse dexamethasone in acute macular serpiginous choroiditis (SC). Methods: A total of 30 patients with macular SC were prospectively randomized into three treatment groups: group D (pulse dexamethasone); group C (pulse cyclophosphamide); and combination (pulse group DCP) administered for 3 days. Macular SC was defined as any active lesion involving/threatening macula. Results: A total of 30 patients were enrolled, with 10 patients in each group. Lesions completely healed at median duration of 2 weeks in each group, with significant improvement in visual acuity compared with pretreatment levels (p<0.05). Pulse cyclophosphamide was most effective in faster healing of lesions compared with other groups. There was no difference in gain in visual acuity between any of the groups (p = 0.32). Conclusions: Cyclophosphamide may be an effective treatment modality for acute macular SC, though it may not have a long-term effect on disease relapse.