Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Estimating kinetic parameters from dynamic contrast‐enhanced t1‐weighted MRI of a diffusable tracer: Standardized quantities and symbols

We describe a standard set of quantity names and symbols related to the estimation of kinetic parameters from dynamic contrast‐enhanced T1‐weighted magnetic resonance imaging data, using diffusable agents such as gadopentetate dimeglumine (Gd‐DTPA). These include a) the volume transfer constant Ktrans (min−1); b) the volume of extravascular extracellular space (EES) per unit volume of tissue ve (0 < ve < 1); and c) the flux rate constant between EES and plasma kep (min−1). The rate constant is the ratio of the transfer constant to the EES (kep = Ktrans/ve). Under flow‐limited conditions Ktrans equals the blood plasma flow per unit volume of tissue; under permeability‐limited conditions Ktrans equals the permeability surface area product per unit volume of tissue. We relate these quantities to previously published work from our groups; our future publications will refer to these standardized terms, and we propose that these be adopted as international standards. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 10:223–232, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Abundances and Physical Conditions in the Interstellar Gas toward HD 192639

We present a study of the abundances and physical conditions in the interstellar gas toward the heavily reddened star HD 192639 [E(B-V) = 0.64], based on analysis of Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) and Hubble Space Telescope/Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph spectra covering the range from 912 to 1361 Å. This work constitutes a survey of the analyses that can be performed to study the interstellar gas by combining data from different instruments. Low-velocity (-18 to -8 km s-1) components are seen primarily for various neutral and singly ionized species such as C I, O I, S I, Mg II, Cl I, Cl II, Mn II, Fe II, and Cu II. Numerous lines of H2 are present in the FUSE spectra, with a kinetic temperature for the lowest rotational levels T01 = 90 ± 10 K. Analysis of the C I fine-structure excitation implies an average local density of hydrogen nH = 16 ± 3 cm-3. The average electron density, derived from five neutral/first ion pairs under the assumption of photoionization equilibrium, is ne = 0.11 ± 0.02 cm-3. The relatively complex component structure seen in high-resolution spectra of K I and Na I, the relatively low average density, and the measured depletions all suggest that the line of sight contains a number of diffuse clouds, rather than a single dense, translucent cloud. Comparisons of the fractions of Cl in Cl I and of hydrogen in molecular form suggest a higher molecular fraction, in the region(s) where H2 is present, than that derived considering the average line of sight. In general, such comparisons may allow the identification and characterization of translucent portions of such complex lines of sight. The combined data also show high-velocity components near -80 km s-1 for various species that appear to be predominantly ionized and may be due to a radiative shock. A brief overview of the conditions in this gas will be given.
Human fetal testis: source of estrogen and target of estrogen action.

BACKGROUND Estrogens are involved in masculine fertility and spermatogenesis. However, little is known about estrogen involvement in human testicular organogenesis. Therefore the aim of this study was to investigate the cellular sources and targets of estrogens and their variations in the human testis during fetal development. Expression profiles of aromatase (CYP19) and estrogen receptors (ER) alpha and beta were analysed in human fetal testes at various gestational stages by immunohistochemistry and quantitative RT-PCR. METHODS Fifty-four archival paraffin-embedded and four frozen fetal testes were studied by immunohistochemistry and real-time PCR. Tissue quality was confirmed by histology and expression of specific functional markers: androgenic enzymes for Leydig cells, anti-Müllerian hormone for Sertoli cells and Steel factor receptor for germ cells. RESULTS We demonstrate that the human fetal testes express aromatase and ERbeta simultaneously in Sertoli, Leydig and germ cells but are devoid of ERalpha. Quantification of positive cells indicates a window of protein expression, especially between 13 and 22-24 weeks. Quantitative RT-PCR confirmed that the human fetal testis expresses CYP19 and ERbeta but not ERalpha mRNA. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that locally produced estrogens influence human testicular development through autocrine and paracrine mechanisms, most notably during the period of maximal testicular susceptibility to endocrine disruptors.
Transvesical prostatectomy in the management of benign prostatic hyperplasia in a developing country.

CONTEXT The surgical management of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is evolving away from open surgery. In developing countries however majority of cases are managed by transvesical prostatectomy (TP). AIMS This study aims to describe our experience regarding the efficacy, complication profile and outcome of TP in the management of BPH in Nigeria. SETTINGS AND DESIGN A descriptive, retrospective study carried out in three tertiary centers. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Two hundred and ninety-seven patients were studied. Parameters examined included age, clinical features, investigations, type of postoperative bladder irrigation, prostate gland volume, duration of hospital stay, complications and outcome. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED Simple means and percentages with SPSS 16. RESULTS Mean age was 65.2 ± 6.8 years (range 47-93 years). Presentation with severe lower urinary tract symptoms only occurred in 76 patients (25.7%); acute urinary retention was seen in 106 patients (35.7%). Chronic urinary retention, impaired renal function and haematuria occurred in 47 (15.8%), 37 (12.5%), and 31 patients (10.4%) respectively. On comorbidity, 63 patients (21.2%) were hypertensive and 24 patients (8.1%) had diabetes mellitus. Two hundred and twenty three patients (75%) had indwelling catheters at the time of surgery. Preoperative urinary catheter duration was 1 week-35 months. Mean duration of hospital stay was 8.8 days. Complications were transient urinary incontinence 33 patients (11.1%), urinary tract infection 38 patients (12.7%), and acute epididymoorchitis 15 patients (5.1%). Clot retention occurred in 40 patients (13.5%). Mortality rate was 1%. CONCLUSIONS TP remains useful in developing climes. There is a need to emphasize effective preoperative workup so as to limit morbidity. Emphasis on variety of techniques for hemostasis is necessary.
A new and efficient stemming technique for Arabic Text Categorization

Text preprocessing of Arabic Language is a challenge and crucial stage in Text Categorization (TC) particularly and Text Mining (TM) generally. Stemming algorithms can be used in Arabic text preprocessing to reduce multiple forms of the word to one form (root or stem). Arabic stemming algorithms can be classified, according to the desired level of analysis, as root-based approach (exp Khoja); stem-based approach (Larkey); and statistical approach (n-garm). Yet no a complete stemmer for this language is available: The existing stemmers not have a high performance. In this paper, in order to improve the accuracy of stemming and therefore the accuracy of our proposed TC system, an efficient hybrid method is proposed for stemming Arabic text. The effectiveness of the aforementioned four methods was evaluated and compared in term of the accuracy of the Naïve Bayesian classifier used in our TC system. The proposed stemming algorithm was found to supersede the other stemming ones: The obtained results illustrate that using the proposed stemmer enhances the performance of Arabic Text Categorization: the averages accuracies are: 74.41% for khoja, 59.71% for light stemming, 48.17% for n-grams, and 82.33% for our stemmer.
Pedagogical Practices: Nurturing and Maintaining Democratic Habits.

Pedagogical Practices: Nurturing and Maintaining Democratic Habits Lucretia Marie Hubler-Larimore This case study examined the pedagogical practices of four teachers of one public elementary school whose mission seeks to nurture and maintain democratic habits for participation in a democratic society. Historically, public schools have been charged with the duty of preparing young minds to live within in a democratic society and as such this argument has been cited as one of the fundamental reasons for providing public financial support of schools. The exploration of how pedagogical choices and curriculum development were used to create opportunities for experiencing democracy was considered within the specific social contexts of the school. Contexts considered included student composition, school organization, school size, school resources, and the effects of federal educational policy were measured vital to this case study. Findings included that democratic habits was an effective instructional tool but was limited due to the external contexts of federal educational policy.
Analysis of Retinal Peripapillary Segmentation in Early Alzheimer's Disease Patients

Decreased thickness of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) may reflect retinal neuronal-ganglion cell death. A decrease in the RNFL has been demonstrated in Alzheimer's disease (AD) in addition to aging by optical coherence tomography (OCT). Twenty-three mild-AD patients and 28 age-matched control subjects with mean Mini-Mental State Examination 23.3 and 28.2, respectively, with no ocular disease or systemic disorders affecting vision, were considered for study. OCT peripapillary and macular segmentation thickness were examined in the right eye of each patient. Compared to controls, eyes of patients with mild-AD patients showed no statistical difference in peripapillary RNFL thickness (P > 0.05); however, sectors 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, and 11 of the papilla showed thinning, while in sectors 1, 5, 6, 7, and 10 there was thickening. Total macular volume and RNFL thickness of the fovea in all four inner quadrants and in the outer temporal quadrants proved to be significantly decreased (P < 0.01). Despite the fact that peripapillary RNFL thickness did not statistically differ in comparison to control eyes, the increase in peripapillary thickness in our mild-AD patients could correspond to an early neurodegeneration stage and may entail the existence of an inflammatory process that could lead to progressive peripapillary fiber damage.
Down-Regulation of miRNA-128 Contributes to Neuropathic Pain Following Spinal Cord Injury via Activation of P38

Background Neuropathic pain (NPP) arises from a lesion or dysfunction of the somatosensory nervous system. Recent studies have demonstrated multiple microRNAs (miRNAs) play key roles in NPP development. This study aimed to investigate the effects of miR-128 on microglial cells. Material/Methods We established a compressive spinal cord injury (SCI) model and collected the spinal cord segment-derived conditioned medium (CM). We then measured the expression of miR-128 in the murine microglial cell line BV2 treated with CM-SCI or CM obtained from control (CM-NC). Furthermore, lentivirus production of miR-128 and scrambled control were transfected into BV2 cells, which were first treated with CM-SCI or CM-NC. Moreover, the effects of miR-128 on cell viability, M1/M2 microglial gene expression, inflammatory cytokines concentration, and the protein expression of P38 and phosphorylated P38 (P-P38) were investigated. Results The expression of miR-128 was downregulated in murine microglial BV2 cells treated with CM-SCI. Overexpression of miR-128 markedly promoted the viability of murine microglial cells. In addition, miR-128 overexpression significantly decreased the expression levels of microglial M1 phenotypic markers CD86 and CD32, and increased the expression levels of M2 phenotypic markers Arg1 and CD206. Furthermore, miR-128 overexpression obviously decreased the concentration of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6. We found that miR-128 overexpression significantly downregulated the expression levels of P38 andP-P38. Conclusions Our findings indicate that down-regulation of miR-128 in murine microglial cells may contribute to the development of NPP following SCI via activation of P38. MiR-128 may be a potential intervention target for NPP.
Extended Selection Mechanisms in Genetic Algorithms

Common selection mechanisms used in Evolutionary Algorithms are combined to form some generalized variants of selection. These are applied to a Genetic Algorithm and are subject to an experimental comparison. The feature of extinctiveness as introduced in Evolution Strategies is identiied to be the main reason for a considerable speedup of the search in case of unimodal objective functions .
Multi-agent Negotiation Model Based on RBF Neural Network Learning Mechanism

Aiming at the problem that negotiation agentpsilas learning algorithm is lack of learning ability for the negotiation history information, this paper introduces RBF neutral network technology in multi-Agent negotiation, establishes a Bilateral-Multi-Issue Negotiation Model, and defines a corresponding negotiation algorithm and utility evaluation functions. Negotiation agents learn to change the belief of the environment and other agents by using RBF neutral network, thus to determine the inference strategy in negotiation. It is proved by the experiment that this method can improve the efficiency of the mutual negotiation markedly.
Genomic Porosity between Invasive Chondrostoma nasus and Endangered Endemic Parachondrostoma toxostoma (Cyprinidae): The Evolution of MHC IIB Genes

Two cyprinid species, Parachondrostoma toxostoma, an endemic threatened species, and Chondrostoma nasus, an invasive species, live in sympatry in southern France and form two sympatric zones where the presence of intergeneric hybrids is reported. To estimate the potential threat to endemic species linked to the introduction of invasive species, we focused on the DAB genes (functional MHC IIB genes) because of their adaptive significance and role in parasite resistance. More specifically, we investigated (1) the variability of MHC IIB genes, (2) the selection pattern shaping MHC polymorphism, and (3) the extent to which trans-species evolution and intergeneric hybridization affect MHC polymorphism. In sympatric areas, the native species has more diversified MHC IIB genes when compared to the invasive species, probably resulting from the different origins and dispersal of both species. A similar level of MHC polymorphism was found at population level in both species, suggesting similar mechanisms generating MHC diversity. In contrast, a higher number of DAB-like alleles per specimen were found in invasive species. Invasive species tended to express the alleles of two DAB lineages, whilst native species tended to express the alleles of only the DAB3 lineage. Hybrids have a pattern of MHC expression intermediate between both species. Whilst positive selection acting on peptide binding sites (PBS) was demonstrated in both species, a slightly higher number of positively selected sites were identified in C. nasus, which could result from parasite-mediated selection. Bayesian clustering analysis revealed a similar pattern of structuring for the genetic variation when using microsatellites or the MHC approach. We confirmed the importance of trans-species evolution for MHC polymorphism. In addition, we demonstrated bidirectional gene flow for MHC IIB genes in sympatric areas. The positive significant correlation between MHC and microsatellites suggests that demographic factors may contribute to MHC variation on a short time scale.
Prioritized Detection of Personally Familiar Faces

We investigated whether personally familiar faces are preferentially processed in conditions of reduced attentional resources and in the absence of conscious awareness. In the first experiment, we used Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) to test the susceptibility of familiar faces and faces of strangers to the attentional blink. In the second experiment, we used continuous flash interocular suppression to render stimuli invisible and measured face detection time for personally familiar faces as compared to faces of strangers. In both experiments we found an advantage for detection of personally familiar faces as compared to faces of strangers. Our data suggest that the identity of faces is processed with reduced attentional resources and even in the absence of awareness. Our results show that this facilitated processing of familiar faces cannot be attributed to detection of low-level visual features and that a learned unique configuration of facial features can influence preconscious perceptual processing.
Short-Term Stock Price Reversals May Be Reversed

In present study, I explore intraday behavior of stock prices. In particular, I try to shed light on the dynamics of stock price reversals and namely, on the short-term character the latter may possess. For each of the stocks currently making up the Dow Jones Industrial Index, I calculate intraday upside and downside volatility measures, following Becker et al. (2008) and Klossner et al. (2012), as a proxy for reversed overreactions to good and bad news, respectively. I document that for all the stocks in the sample, mean daily returns following the days when a stock's upside volatility measure was higher or equal to its downside volatility measure are higher than following the days when the opposite relationship held, indicating that stock prices display a short-run 'reversals of reversals' behavior following corrected, or reversed, overreactions to news. Furthermore, I construct seven different portfolios built upon the idea of daily adjusting a long position in the stocks that according to 'reversals of reversals' behavior are expected to yield high daily returns, and a short position in the stocks, whose daily returns are expected to be low. All the portfolios yield significantly positive returns, providing an evidence for the practical applicability of the 'reversals of reversals' pattern in stock prices.
A Simple Model to Predict Loss Ratios in the Domestic Stock Property--Liability Insurance Industry

We evaluate the relative contributions of exogenous macroeconomic variables and industry-specific variables for predicting the aggregated property-casualty insurance loss ratio using multiple linear regression models. Our work was motivated by Grace and Hotchkiss (1995), who used only economic exogenous variables in a similar analysis. We find that the macroeconomic variables that we consider contributed little to the explanation and prediction of the propertycasualty insurance loss ratio, and that a simple model with just two industry variables predicted a transformed version of loss ratio very well.
Deregulation and Managed Competition in Network Industries

The competitive transformation of telecommunications and other network industries in the United States has caused governmental policy makers to be increasingly concerned with the fairness of the deregulatory process. This Essay offers a set of concrete guidelines that regulators of network industries should follow in removing regulatory controls: To achieve the productive and allocative benefits of competition and to ensure that the transition from regulation to competition is accomplished fairly, regulators should observe the principles of economic incentive, equal opportunity, and impartiality. Economic incentives allow incumbent firms to maintain their quality of service and innovation and investment, and allow them to recover stranded costs for past, present, and future regulatory obligations. Regulators can ensure equal opportunity by ensuring that regulation falls evenly on both competitive entrants and incumbents. Impartiality in increasing competition can be achieved by regulators refraining from market interventions that favor particular competitors. Only by treating incumbents and entrants symmetrically and resisting the temptation to manage competition will the regulators ensure that the deregulatory process in network industries will yield all of the benefits of market competition.
Diffusion-aware personalized social update recommendation

Many Internet users have encountered serious information overload problem on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, where users can consume the streams of social updates from their social connections. Traditional methods solving this problem include collaborative filtering and information diffusion modeling. Both methods answer the "who will adopt what" question from different perspective, while either of them only captures single-faceted knowledge of evidences. In this paper, we solve the personalized social update recommendation problem by proposing a framework which integrates the advantages of collaborative filtering and the characteristics of diffusion processes. The main contributions of this paper are three folds. First, we propose a plenty of diffusion features which capture the characteristics of diffusion processes. Second, we build a joint model which takes the advantages of both collaborative filtering and the characteristics of diffusion processes for recommendation. Finally, experiments on two real-world datasets show that our joint model outperforms the methods capturing single-faceted knowledge and several other baselines.
Cardiopulmonary exercise testing for heart failure patients: a hodgepodge of techniques, parameters and interpretations. In other words, the need for a time-break.

This editorial refers to ‘Enhanced prognostic value from cardiopulmonary exercise testing in chronic heart failure by non-linear analysis: oxygen uptake efficiency slope’‡ by L. Ceri Davies et al., on page 684 It is reported in several papers, and is widely accepted by most scientists, that cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) is the best way to evaluate exercise capacity and, more importantly, to identify the prognosis of chronic heart failure patients.1 However, several technical issues can effectively influence the results obtained by CPET. Some of these issues are known, but frequently forgotten or ignored, and some are simply unknown. I will report a few examples. First, we have known since the work of Elborn et al. 2 that for properly determined peak oxygen consumption (VO2) in heart failure patients, a familiarization procedure is needed. Unfortunately, it is unclear how often this is done in either clinical practice or research studies. It seems to me that familiarization procedures are almost never done or, in any case, are almost never reported with the underlying concept that nobody is paying for the second test. Secondly, we have known … *Corresponding author. Tel: +39 02 58002299; fax: +39 02 58011039. E-mail address : piergiuseppe.agostoni{at}ccfm.it
Elevated Circulating CD 19 + Lymphocytes Predict Survival Advantage in Patients with Gastric Cancer

Gastric cancer (GC) is not only the second most common cancer, but also is the second most common cause of cancer-related death in the world, and it remains difficult to cure in developing countries, primarily because most patients present with advanced disease (Bertuccio et al., 2009; Babaei et al., 2010; Lee et al., 2011; Zhang et al., 2011). Even patients who present in the most favorable condition and who undergo curative surgical resection often die of recurrent disease (Duncavage et al., 2010; Dozois et al., 2011). Although preoperative tumor staging is useful to select the appropriate therapeutic strategy for GC patients, clinical tumor staging alone cannot predict patients’ prognosis (Shimada et al., 2010; Cao et al., 2011; Feng et al., 2011). It has been reported that some immune-related biomarkers for diagnosis/prognosis and therapy monitoring of GC patients (Aburatani 2005; Tan et al., 2009). The host immune response to cancer cells is also associated with tumor progression (Hamaï et al., 2010). Once the tumor grow in vivo, the body’s immune system may generate anti-tumor response involved in various ways to eliminate tumor cells or control tumor growth (Costache et al., 2010; Abès et al., 2011). Human anti-tumor immunologic mechanisms include cellular and humoral immune responses, with T lymphocyte