Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The spectrum of psychosis in multiple sclerosis: a clinical case series

Psychosis in the context of multiple sclerosis (MS) has previously been reported as a rare occurrence. However, recent epidemiological studies have found prevalence rates of psychosis in MS that are two to three times higher than those in the general population. Untreated psychosis in patients with MS can adversely impact on adherence to MS medication, levels of disability, and quality of life. This retrospective case series describes the spectrum of psychotic disorders occurring in association with MS using demographic, clinical, and neuroimaging data. In the discussion, we highlight the particular diagnostic and treatment challenges that such disorders can pose for clinicians and through our case vignettes provide examples of potential interventions for this complex patient population.
VLT adaptive optics imaging of QSO host galaxies and their close environment at z ∼ 2.5: Results from a pilot program

We report on ESO-VLT near-IR adaptive optics imaging of one radio-loud (PKS 0113-283) and two radio quiet (Q 0045-3337 and Q 0101-337) quasars at z > 2. In the first case we are able to resolve the QSO and find that it is hosted by an elliptical of absolute magnitude MK = −27.6. For the other two objects no extended emission has been unambiguously detected. This result, although restricted to a single object, extends up to z = 2.5 the finding that cosmic evolution of radio-loud quasar hosts follows the trend expected for luminous and massive spheroids undergoing passive evolution. For Q 0045-3337 our high resolution images show that it is located 1.2 arcsec from a K = 17.5 foreground disc galaxy, which may act as a gravitational lens, since the QSO most probably lies within the galaxy Einstein radius.
Activation of the Growth-Differentiation Factor 11 Gene by the Histone Deacetylase (HDAC) Inhibitor Trichostatin A and Repression by HDAC3

ABSTRACT Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors inhibit the proliferation of transformed cells in vitro, restrain tumor growth in animals, and are currently being actively exploited as potential anticancer agents. To identify gene targets of the HDAC inhibitor trichostatin A (TSA), we compared the gene expression profiles of BALB/c-3T3 cells treated with or without TSA. Our results show that TSA up-regulates the expression of the gene encoding growth-differentiation factor 11 (Gdf11), a transforming growth factor β family member that inhibits cell proliferation. Detailed analyses indicated that TSA activates the gdf11 promoter through a conserved CCAAT box element. A comprehensive survey of human HDACs revealed that HDAC3 is necessary and sufficient for the repression of gdf11 promoter activity. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays showed that treatment of cells with TSA or silencing of HDAC3 expression by small interfering RNA causes the hyperacetylation of Lys-9 in histone H3 on the gdf11 promoter. Together, our results provide a new model in which HDAC inhibitors reverse abnormal cell growth by inactivation of HDAC3, which in turn leads to the derepression of gdf11 expression.
Mixed Findings on IT Capability and Firm Performance and their Implications

Empirical testing for the positive association between information technology (IT) capability and firm performance has been a celebrated debate in IS research due to mixed findings; Bharadwaj (2000) and Santhanam and Hartono (2003) confirmed the positive impact of IT capability on firm performance, but Chae et al. (2014) suggested that there is no relationship between the IT capability and performance. Understanding what produces contradictory results is a timely and critical issue because a large body of the business value of IS research has employed IT capability as a key construct. This study examined the relationship by building multiple comparison groups in the same period. As a result, contrary to findings by Chae et al. (2014), this research indicated that IT capability had a significant impact on a firm’s financial performance.
Integrating Data-Driven Forecasting and Optimization to Improve the Operation of Distributed Energy Storage

Distributed energy technologies, such as residential energy storage, embedded generation, and microgrids, are likely to play an increasing role in future energy systems. Getting the most value from these distributed assets is often dependent on the ability to optimize their operation in a distributed manner. This distributed optimization, in turn, calls for effective short-term forecasts of the output of small-scale generating assets, and the demand of small-scale aggregations of users. This paper introduces the integration of data-driven forecasting and operational optimization methods into a single model, avoiding the need to explicitly produce forecasts. The method is tested against two empirical energy storage operational optimization problems, the minimization of peak energy drawn by a small aggregation of customers, and the minimization of the energy costs of a collection of households which have rooftop PV systems. The integrated forecasting and operational optimization approach performs well at the peak demand minimization problem for intermediate-sized aggregations (50 residential customers or more), while an approach with separate forecasting and optimization performed better on the energy cost minimization problem. These results suggest that the integrated approach can be effective in applications where (i) forecasting difficulty is intermediate, and (ii) the exact operational optimization formulation can be well approximated by a data-driven model trained on a small fraction of the available forecast training data.
Code mobility and Java RMI

Today, more programmers than ever before are charged with the development and main­ tenance of distributed object­oriented applications. These tasks are dif cult to tackle alone, as distribution introduces myriad complications and opportunities for failure that are not encountered in centralised programs. Fortunately, the programmer is not alone. Several frameworks exist that attempt to transparently take care of many of the dif cul­ ties and small annoyances of distributed application development. However, by automating the activities required by distributed programs, such as mar­ shaling data for network transfer, we make it harder to understand the behaviour of these programs at source­code level. To rectify this, this thesis gives a formal semantics for a distributed object­oriented language. We call this language DJ, and it models key fea­ tures of the Java Remote Method Invocation framework. Importantly, it facilitates the marshaling of executable code as well as data, allowing the programmer to create higher­ order functions that can be stored and used as and when needed by an application. A signi cant contribution of this thesis is establishing type safety for this language. This requires the speci cation of a non­trivial number of invariant properties that dis­ tributed applications must preserve, capturing important sanity conditions such as en­ suring that local references do not leak to remote sites. We develop a theory of behavioural equivalence for DJ. Given as a set of semantically sound transformation rules that can be applied to source code and run­time terms, this theory judges two programs to be equivalent if they can be transformed into one an­ other. We then apply our technique to establishing the correctness of arguably typical distributed program optimisations. We conclude this thesis by proposing an extension to DJ, called DJ+, that models the concurrency features of Java. Type safety for this language is established using extended invariant properties.
Insulin Resistance Is Not Conserved in Myotubes Established from Women with PCOS

Background Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder among premenopausal women, who often develop insulin resistance. We tested the hypothesis that insulin resistance in skeletal muscle of patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is an intrinsic defect, by investigating the metabolic characteristics and gene expression of in vitro differentiated myotubes established from well characterized PCOS subjects. Methods Using radiotracer techniques, RT-PCR and enzyme kinetic analysis we examined myotubes established from PCOS subjects with or without pioglitazone treatment, versus healthy control subjects who had been extensively metabolically characterized in vivo. Results Myotubes established from PCOS and matched control subjects comprehensively expressed all insulin-sensitive biomarkers; glucose uptake and oxidation, glycogen synthesis and lipid uptake. There were no significant differences between groups either at baseline or during acute insulin stimulation, although in vivo skeletal muscle was insulin resistant. In particular, we found no evidence for defects in insulin-stimulated glycogen synthase activity between groups. Myotubes established from PCOS patients with or without pioglitazone treatment also showed no significant differences between groups, neither at baseline nor during acute insulin stimulation, although in vivo pioglitazone treatment significantly improved insulin sensitivity. Consistently, the myotube cultures failed to show differences in mRNA levels of genes previously demonstrated to differ in PCOS patients with or without pioglitazone treatment (PLEK, SLC22A16, and TTBK). Conclusion These results suggest that the mechanisms governing insulin resistance in skeletal muscle of PCOS patients in vivo are not primary, but rather adaptive. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00145340
HARMONIC MORPHISMS BETWEEN SEMI-RIEMANNIAN MANIFOLDS

A smooth map f: M → N between semi-riemannian manifolds is called a har- monic morphism if f pulls back harmonic functions (i.e., local solutions of the Laplace-Beltrami equation) on N into harmonic functions on M. It is shown that a harmonic morphism is the same as a harmonic map which is moreover horizontally weakly conformal, these two notions being like- wise carried over from the riemannian case. Additional characterizations of harmonic morphisms are given. The case where M and N have the same dimension n is studied in detail. When n = 2 and the metrics on M and N are indefinite, the harmonic morphisms are characterized essentially by preserving characteristics.
Comparison of the phenotype of Chinese versus Dutch Caucasian women presenting with polycystic ovary syndrome and oligo/amenorrhoea.

BACKGROUND Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a complex disorder with variable prevalence and clinical presentation in different populations, which may be mediated by geographical and ethnic background. METHODS We performed a comparison of phenotypic characteristics between 547 Chinese and 427 Dutch women with PCOS and oligo/amenorrhoea attending University Reproductive Centers in China and the Netherlands. RESULTS Chinese women presenting with a clinical diagnosis of PCOS were observed to have a higher incidence of hyperandrogenism (HA) (P < 0.001) and amenorrhoea (P < 0.001) compared with Dutch women, but no difference was observed in the incidence of polycystic ovaries (PCOs). Using population-specific cut-off values, Chinese women with PCOS demonstrated a higher incidence of increased BMI (P < 0.001), waist circumference (WC) (P < 0.001) and waist-hip ratio (P < 0.001) than Dutch women. In both groups, HA was associated with increased age, fasting insulin, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and serum LH while PCOs correlated with BMI, WC, HOMA-IR, fasting insulin and elevated total testosterone. Associations specific for ethnic background were found between LH and HA, and between both BMI and HOMA-IR, and PCOs. CONCLUSIONS Reproductive and metabolic characteristics differed between the two ethnic groups. Chinese women were found to present more frequently with a phenotype associated with increased risk of metabolic complications later in life, compared with Dutch Caucasian women. Ethnicity seems to determine part of the specific phenotypical presentation of PCOS.
The compositions and properties of spray dried tuna flavor powder produced from tuna precooking juice

This study was to utilize the waste from canned tuna processing (tuna precooking juice) for producing dried tuna flavor powder. Tuna precooking juice was centrifuged and concentrated to 15% total soluble solid (TSS). Maltodextrin (DE 9) was added to increase the TSS of tuna precooking concentrate to 20, 22, 24 and 26%, then dried by spray dryer at 180 o C inlet air temperature. The compositions and properties of spray dried tuna flavor powder were determined. Color of spray dried tuna flavor powders was pale brown. The composition of tuna flavor powders consisted of 4.63±0.2 to 7.46±0.3% moisture, 28.49±0.5 to 42.06±0.1 % protein and 3.44±0.3 to 4.25±0.3% ash. TBARS value of the powders was 0.51±0.08 to 0.62±0.05 mg MDA/kg sample. Bulk density of the powders was increased with increasing maltodextrin levels. All spray dried tuna flavor powders showed high in solubility. Based on compositions and properties, tuna flavor powders should produce from tuna precooking concentrate with 22% TSS.
Hardening nanostructures in an AlZnMg alloy

The formation of nanoscale and sub-nanoscale solute aggregates (clusters, Guinier–Preston zones and precipitates) in an AlZnMg alloy (Al–2.1 at.% Zn–1.5 at.% Mg) has been followed by a combination of experimental techniques with the aim of correlating the properties of the aggregates with their thermal history. The choice of thermal treatments was guided by the results of mechanical and calorimetric characterizations, supported by transmission electron microscopy for the identification of the morphology of the aggregates. Positron annihilation spectroscopy (using two variants of this technique, coincidence Doppler broadening and lifetime spectroscopy) was adopted for determining the local chemistry in the proximity of open volume defects. The geometrical parameters of the distribution (size, volume fraction, numerical density of the solute aggregates) were obtained by small-angle X-ray scattering. The results of the investigation provide new information regarding: two families of vacancy-rich clusters formed during or immediately after quenching; Guinier–Preston zones formed at 95°C after room-temperature pre-ageing; growth of η′ and η phases at 150°C; solute clusters formed at room-temperature in conditions of secondary ageing after preliminary heating at 150°C.
Biannual Fluoride Varnish Applications and Caries Incidence in Preschoolers: A 24-month Follow-Up Randomized Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial

Sound evidence on the effectiveness of fluoride varnishes (FV) to reduce caries incidence in preschool children is lacking. Objective: To assess whether the application of FV in preschool children at 6-month intervals decreases the incidence of caries and produces any adverse effects. Methods: A randomized, examiner- and patient-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group design, clinical trial, comprising 1- to 4-year-old children, 100 in each group (FV or placebo varnish, PV), was conducted in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Two trained pediatric dentists performed the clinical examinations (kappa = 0.85). Dental caries was recorded at the d2 (cavitated enamel) and d3 (dentine) levels using the International Caries Diagnosis and Assessment System. Results: At baseline, the mean age of the participants was 2.4 years (SD 0.9) and the mean d3mfs was 0.8 (SD 1.9). Most of the children brushed their teeth with fluoride toothpaste and consumed fluoridated tap water. After 24 months, 89 and 92 children of the test and the control groups were analyzed, respectively. A total of 32 (35.9%) children in the FV group and 43 (46.7%) in the PV group presented new dentine caries lesions (χ2 test; p = 0.14), showing relative and absolute risk reductions of 23% (95% CI: -9.5 to 45.9) and 11% (95% CI: -3.5 to 25.0). The mean caries increment differences between the test and control groups were -0.8 (95% CI: -2.0 to 0.4) at the d2 level and -0.7 (95% CI: -1.9 to 0.4) at the d3 level. Only 2 minor complaints regarding the intervention were reported. Conclusion: Although safe and well accepted, twice-yearly professional FV application, during 2 years, did not result in a significant decrease in caries incidence.
Loop modeling: Sampling, filtering, and scoring

We describe a fast and accurate protocol, LoopBuilder, for the prediction of loop conformations in proteins. The procedure includes extensive sampling of backbone conformations, side chain addition, the use of a statistical potential to select a subset of these conformations, and, finally, an energy minimization and ranking with an all‐atom force field. We find that the Direct Tweak algorithm used in the previously developed LOOPY program is successful in generating an ensemble of conformations that on average are closer to the native conformation than those generated by other methods. An important feature of Direct Tweak is that it checks for interactions between the loop and the rest of the protein during the loop closure process. DFIRE is found to be a particularly effective statistical potential that can bias conformation space toward conformations that are close to the native structure. Its application as a filter prior to a full molecular mechanics energy minimization both improves prediction accuracy and offers a significant savings in computer time. Final scoring is based on the OPLS/SBG‐NP force field implemented in the PLOP program. The approach is also shown to be quite successful in predicting loop conformations for cases where the native side chain conformations are assumed to be unknown, suggesting that it will prove effective in real homology modeling applications. Proteins 2008. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Anatomical connections of the nucleus prepositus of the cat

The afferent and efferent connections of the nucleus prepositus hypoglossi with brainstem nuclei were studied using anterograde and retrograde axonal transport techniques, and by intracellular recordings and injections of horseradish peroxidase into prepositus hypoglossi neurons.
Swarm formation in the desert locust Schistocerca gregaria: isolation and NMR analysis of the primary maternal gregarizing agent

SUMMARY Depending on their rearing density, female desert locusts Schistocerca gregaria epigenetically endow their offspring with differing phenotypes. To identify the chemical basis for such maternal transmission, we compared solitarious and gregarious locust egg pod foam using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). We revealed causal relationships between foam chemistry and hatchling phenotype (phase state) by iteratively applying HPLC fractions from gregarious locust egg foam extracts to solitarious eggs and assessing resulting hatchlings with a behavioural bioassay involving logistic regression. Selection and application of increasingly specific HPLC fractions allowed us to isolate compounds with gregarizing properties. Hatchling gregarization was triggered only by certain fractions and was dose dependent. In a final series of experiments, we characterized the most specific gregarizing fraction by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Here we present tentative structural features of the primary locust maternal gregarizing agent, which appears to be an alkylated l-dopa analogue. In addition, we propose a mechanism for phase-dependent regulation of this compound's activity.
FOLLOWING BLACK HOLE SCALING RELATIONS THROUGH GAS-RICH MERGERS

We present black hole mass measurements from kinematic modeling of high-spatial resolution integral field spectroscopy of the inner regions of nine nearby (ultra-)luminous infrared galaxies in a variety of merger stages. These observations were taken with OSIRIS and laser guide star adaptive optics on the Keck I and Keck II telescopes, and reveal gas and stellar kinematics inside the spheres of influence of these supermassive black holes. We find that this sample of black holes are overmassive (∼107–9 M ☉ ? > ) compared to the expected values based on black hole scaling relations, and suggest that the major epoch of black hole growth occurs in early stages of a merger, as opposed to during a final episode of quasar-mode feedback. The black hole masses presented are the dynamical masses enclosed in ∼25 pc, and could include gas which is gravitationally bound to the black hole but has not yet lost sufficient angular momentum to be accreted. If present, this gas could in principle eventually fuel active galactic nucleus feedback or be itself blown out from the system.
What to talk about and how? Selective Generation using LSTMs with Coarse-to-Fine Alignment

We propose an end-to-end, domain-independent neural encoder-aligner-decoder model for selective generation, i.e., the joint task of content selection and surface realization. Our model first encodes a full set of over-determined database event records via an LSTM-based recurrent neural network, then utilizes a novel coarse-to-fine aligner to identify the small subset of salient records to talk about, and finally employs a decoder to generate free-form descriptions of the aligned, selected records. Our model achieves the best selection and generation results reported to-date (with 59% relative improvement in generation) on the benchmark WeatherGov dataset, despite using no specialized features or linguistic resources. Using an improved k-nearest neighbor beam filter helps further. We also perform a series of ablations and visualizations to elucidate the contributions of our key model components. Lastly, we evaluate the generalizability of our model on the RoboCup dataset, and get results that are competitive with or better than the state-of-the-art, despite being severely data-starved.
CD++: a toolkit to develop DEVS models

The features of a toolkit for modeling and simulation based on the DEVS formalism are presented. The tool is built as a set of independent software pieces running on different platforms. Not only are the main characteristics of the environment presented, a focus on its use is also considered by inclusion of application examples for a variety of problems. Many models can be defined in an automated fashion, simplifying the construction of new models and easing their verification. The use of this formal approach has allowed the development of safe and cost‐effective simulations, significantly reducing development time. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Pulse electrodeposition of tin from sulphate bath

Abstract In the present work, the pulse electrodeposition of tin from sulphate bath containing SnSO4, H2SO4, phenol sulphonic acid, gelatin and β-napthol has been studied. The influences of pulsed current, duty cycle on the thickness, hardness and current efficiency of the tin deposit were studied. Electrochemical corrosion studies of the deposited tin on mild steel were conducted by potentiodynamic polarisation and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Cyclic voltammetry studies using potential sweep of 10 mV s–1 provide information about the potential ranges for tin deposition and stripping. The tin deposit on a brass substrate has been investigated using XRD, SEM and AFM. The XRD analysis revealed that the tin plated is Sn(200) and crystalline. The morphology of tin deposit is a typical fine grained and granular structure as seen from SEM and AFM.