Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multiscale directional AM-FM demodulation of images using a 2D optimized method

We present an improved and optimized formulation for the estimation of the multiscale amplitude-modulation frequency-modulation (AM-FM) estimates when (i) non-separable filters are used and (ii) the variable spacing, local linear phase method is used. Also, we introduce the use of multiscale directional filterbanks for the feature extraction of images. Recently, AM-FM methods have shown promising results in a variety of medical image analysis applications. The 2D optimized AM-FM demodulation described here presents advantages for feature extraction at different frequency scales and orientations that can be used to detect different patterns, directions, or structures in an image. We test the new formulation using a Gaussian amplitude-modulated Quadratic frequency-modulated synthetic image and natural images. The results show that the optimized estimation produces better results, up to 4.9 times for the IF estimation and in 3 orders of magnitude for the IA estimation, for noise-free signals compared to the state-of-the-art methods.
Signature matching: a key to reuse

Software reuse is only effective if it is easier to locate (and appropriately modify) a reusable component than to write it from scratch. We present signature matching as a method for achieving this goal by using signature information easily derived from the component. We consider two kinds of software components, functions and modules, and hence two kinds of matching, function mathcing and module matching. The signature of a function is simply its type; the signature of a module is a multiset of user-defined types and a multiset of function signatures. For both functions and modules, we consider not just exact match, but also various flavors of relaxed match. We briefly describe an experimental facility written in Standard ML for performing signature matching over a library of ML functions.
Interplay between Solo and keratin filaments is crucial for mechanical force–induced stress fiber reinforcement

Solo (ARHGEF40) is a RhoA-targeting guanine nucleotide exchange factor that serves to promote stress fibers and precisely organize keratin networks. Solo binds to keratin-8/18 filaments. The interplay between Solo and keratin-8/18 filaments is crucial for tensile force–induced RhoA activation and consequent actin stress fiber reinforcement.
Effect of Self-regulation Training on Management of Type 2 Diabetes

Background: Diabetes is the most common metabolic disorder which is required to be taken under control. According to some studies, the impact of self-regulation on health has been considered as a monitoring strategy to achieve individual’s goals. Objectives: This study, which was performed in 2012, aimed at determining the consequences of self-regulation on controlling type 2 diabetes. Patients and Methods: In this double-blind clinical trial, 60 patients with type 2 diabetes - who were referred to Diabetes Clinic of Bisto-Dou Bahman Hospital in Gonabad, Iran - were divided randomly into case and control groups. Self-regulation questionnaire, nutritional information and physical activity checklists were completed by both groups once at the beginning and once at end of the training. Fasting blood sugar (FBS) of both groups were measured as well. Case group was trained for a month, whereas the control group received no special training. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 19 software, K-square and paired t-tests. Results: Comparing the case with the control group before and after the training showed that teaching patients self-regulatory strategies had significant impact on lowering blood sugar (-16.50 vs. -2.47, P < 0.001), observing dietary behaviors (5.97 vs. -0.87, P < 0.001) and increasing physical activities (6.2 vs. -0.73, P < 0.001) of the former group. Conclusions: Learning self-regulations has a role to play in controlling type 2 diabetes. Therefore, it is suggested to professionals in healthcare centers to educate patients about self-regulatory techniques and use them as auxiliary methods for keeping type 2 diabetes under control.
Brief treatment analysis for elopement in an outpatient clinic setting

Elopement is a potentially dangerous behavior that can result in accidental injury or death. Assessment and treatment of elopement in children has most frequently been examined using behavioral approaches. Most of these evaluations have typically been conducted in settings where assessment and treatment occurred over extended periods of time (such as inpatient units, residential treatment centers, or day treatment programs). As more children present for assessment and treatment of elopement in outpatient clinics, a need exists for efficient and pragmatic means of assessing and treating elopement. This study examined a novel way to assess and treat elopement behavior in young children in an outpatient setting. The purpose of the current study was to address three questions: (a) Could a brief methodological approach be used for rapidly assessing and treating elopement in young children within typical outpatient time constraints, (b) could a competing stimuli treatment including brief preference assessments, differential reinforcement of alternative behaviors, and response cost reduce elopement attempts and increase latency to elopement, and (c) could the initial treatment protocol be expanded to further clarify effective treatment strategies through component analyses? Data were collected within a brief multielement (across conditions) design combined with multiple baseline (across 2 participants). The results of this study suggested that (a) a brief methodological approach to assessing elopement can be successfully implemented within typical outpatient constraints, (b) the competing stimuli treatment can be used to reduce elopement attempts and increase latency to elopement in young children, (c) supplementing the initial protocol with a component analysis can further specify effective treatment strategies. These results extend the elopement literature by assessing and treating elopement within typical outpatient clinic setting time constraints.
Enhancing the real-time capabilities of the Linux kernel

The mainline Linux Kernel is not designed for hard real-time systems; it only fits the requirements of soft real-time systems. In recent years, a kernel developer community has been working on the PREEMPT-RT patch. This patch (that aims to get a fully preemptible kernel) adds some real-time capabilities to the Linux kernel. However, in terms of scheduling policies, the real-time scheduling class of Linux is limited to the First-In-First-Out (SCHED_FIFO) and Round-Robin (SCHED_RR) scheduling policies. These scheduling policies are however quite limited in terms of real-time performance. Therefore, in this paper, we report one important contribution for adding more advanced real-time capabilities to the Linux Kernel. Specifically, we describe modifications to the (PREEMPT-RT patched) Linux kernel to support real-time slot-based task-splitting scheduling algorithms. Our preliminary evaluation shows that our implementation exhibits a real-time performance that is superior to the scheduling policies provided by the current version of PREMPT-RT. This is a significant add-on to a widely adopted operating system.
A Gestational Profile of Placental Exosomes in Maternal Plasma and Their Effects on Endothelial Cell Migration

Studies completed to date provide persuasive evidence that placental cell-derived exosomes play a significant role in intercellular communication pathways that potentially contribute to placentation and development of materno-fetal vascular circulation. The aim of this study was to establish the gestational-age release profile and bioactivity of placental cell-derived exosome in maternal plasma. Plasma samples (n = 20 per pregnant group) were obtained from non-pregnant and pregnant women in the first (FT, 6–12 weeks), second (ST, 22–24 weeks) and third (TT, 32–38 weeks) trimester. The number of exosomes and placental exosome contribution were determined by quantifying immunoreactive exosomal CD63 and placenta-specific marker (PLAP), respectively. The effect of exosomes isolated from FT, ST and TT on endothelial cell migration were established using a real-time, live-cell imaging system (Incucyte). Exosome plasma concentration was more than 50-fold greater in pregnant women than in non-pregnant women (p<0.001). During normal healthy pregnancy, the number of exosomes present in maternal plasma increased significantly with gestational age by more that two-fold (p<0.001). Exosomes isolated from FT, ST and TT increased endothelial cell migration by 1.9±0.1, 1.6±0.2 and 1.3±0.1-fold, respectively compared to the control. Pregnancy is associated with a dramatic increase in the number of exosomes present in plasma and maternal plasma exosomes are bioactive. While the role of placental cell-derived exosome in regulating maternal and/or fetal vascular responses remains to be elucidated, changes in exosome profile may be of clinical utility in the diagnosis of placental dysfunction.
The gastric secretory response to a continuous insulin infusion in the dog

The gastric acid response to graded doses of insulin given by continuous infusion was studied in four dogs, each surgically provided with a gastric fistula. All doses of insulin resulted in a prolonged plateau of hypoglycaemia and the degree of hypoglycaemia correlated significantly (p <0·05) with the insulin dose, up to 0·15 u/kg hr. Similarly, graded doses of insulin (up to 0·15 u/kg hr) produced graded acid responses and both the peak acid output and the total acid output correlated significantly with blood glucose changes. No initial inhibitory phase of acid secretion followed the start of the infusion, but a dose-related delay in the onset of the acid response was observed. Our results indicate that insulin provides a quantitative glycopenic stimulus producing a quantitative vagal acid response.
Transient Downregulation of Melanopsin Expression After Retrograde Tracing or Optic Nerve Injury in Adult Rats.

PURPOSE To investigate the effect of retrograde tracing or axotomy on melanopsin mRNA expression and immunodetection in albino and pigmented rat retinas. METHODS Groups were (1) intact-naïve retinas; (2) optic nerve crush (ONC) analyzed at 7 days (7d) or 2 months (2m); (3) Fluorogold (FG) tracing from the superior colliculi (SCi) analyzed at 7d or 2m; (4) tracing from the intact optic nerve (ON) with FG or hydroxystilbamidine methanesulfonate (OHSt), analyzed 3d later; and (5) sham tracing from the ON or sham surgery. Brn3a and melanopsin were double stained in whole mounts to quantify and assess the distribution of orthotopic and displaced Brn3a(+) retinal ganglion cells (Brn3a(+)RGCs) and melanopsin(+)RGCs (m(+)RGCs). Freshly dissected retinas were used for melanopsin mRNA quantitative PCR. RESULTS Tracing from the SCi did not affect the number of Brn3a(+)RGCs or m(+)RGCs counted in pigmented rats. However, only 55% of m(+)RGCs were immunodetected in albinos at 7d, although by 2m the m(+)RGCs counts returned to normal. Optic nerve tracing had a more dramatic effect (38% or 77% of m(+)RGCs were immunodetected in albino or pigmented rats) that occurred irrespectively of the tracer (OHSt or FG). This effect was not observed in the sham groups. After ONC, Brn3a(+)RGCs decreased to 37% and 8% by 7d and 2m, respectively. Melanopsin (+)RGC counts diminished to 30% at 7d, but recovered to 49% of controls by 2m. Melanopsin mRNA was downregulated after ON tracing or 7d after ONC, but did not differ from intact values 2m after ONC. CONCLUSIONS Following ON injury or retrograde tracing there is a transient melanopsin downregulation that should be taken into account when assessing m(+)RGC survival.
Annexin A1 Reduces Inflammatory Reaction and Tissue Damage Through Inhibition of Phospholipase A2 Activation in Adult Rats Following Spinal Cord Injury

Annexin A1 (ANXA1) has been suggested to be a mediator of the anti-inflammatory actions of glucocorticoids and more recently an endogenous neuroprotective agent. In the present study, we investigated the anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects of ANXA1 in a model of contusive spinal cord injury (SCI). Here we report that injections of ANXA1 (Ac 2-26) into the acutely injured spinal cord at 2 concentrations (5 and 20 μg) inhibited SCI-induced increases in phospholipase A2 and myeloperoxidase activities. In addition, ANXA1 administration reduced the expression of interleukin-1β and activated caspase-3 at 24 hours, and glial fibrillary acidic protein at 4 weeks postinjury. Furthermore, ANXA1 administration significantly reversed phospholipase A2-induced spinal cord neuronal death in vitro and reduced tissue damage and increased white matter sparing in vivo, compared to the vehicle-treated controls. Fluorogold retrograde tracing showed that ANXA1 administration protected axons of long descending pathways at 6 weeks post-SCI. ANXA1 administration also significantly increased the number of animals that responded to transcranial magnetic motor-evoked potentials. However, no measurable behavioral improvement was found after these treatments. These results, particularly the improvements obtained in tissue sparing and electrophysiologic measures, suggest a neuroprotective effect of ANXA1.
Risk of Rupture of Small Anterior Communicating Artery Aneurysms Is Similar to Posterior Circulation Aneurysms

Background and Purpose— According to the International Study of Unruptured Intracranial Aneurysms (ISUIA), anterior circulation (AC) aneurysms of <7 mm in diameter have a minimal risk of rupture. It is general experience, however, that anterior communicating artery (AcoA) aneurysms are frequent and mostly rupture at <7 mm. The aim of the study was to assess whether AcoA aneurysms behave differently from other AC aneurysms. Methods— Information about 932 patients newly diagnosed with intracranial aneurysms between November 1, 2006, and March 31, 2012, including aneurysm status at diagnosis, its location, size, and risk factors, was collected during the multicenter @neurIST project. For each location or location and size subgroup, the odds ratio (OR) of aneurysms being ruptured at diagnosis was calculated. Results— The OR for aneurysms to be discovered ruptured was significantly higher for AcoA (OR, 3.5 [95% confidence interval, 2.6–4.5]) and posterior circulation (OR, 2.6 [95% confidence interval, 2.1–3.3]) than for AC excluding AcoA (OR, 0.5 [95% confidence interval, 0.4–0.6]). Although a threshold of 7 mm has been suggested by ISUIA as a threshold for aggressive treatment, AcoA aneurysms <7 mm were more frequently found ruptured (OR, 2.0 [95% confidence interval, 1.3–3.0]) than AC aneurysms of 7 to 12 mm diameter as defined in ISUIA. Conclusions— We found that AC aneurysms are not a homogenous group. Aneurysms between 4 and 7 mm located in AcoA or distal anterior cerebral artery present similar rupture odds to posterior circulation aneurysms. Intervention should be recommended for this high-risk lesion group.
A meta-analysis on alcohol drinking and gastric cancer risk.

BACKGROUND Whether an association between alcohol drinking and gastric cancer risk exists is an open question. In order to provide a definite quantification of the association between alcohol drinking and gastric cancer risk, we conducted a meta-analysis of available data. PATIENTS AND METHODS We carried out a PubMed search of articles published up to June 2010 and identified 44 case-control and 15 cohort studies, including a total of 34 557 gastric cancer cases. We derived meta-analytic estimates using random-effects models, taking into account correlation between estimates. We carried out a dose-risk analysis using nonlinear random-effects meta-regression models. RESULTS Compared with nondrinkers, the pooled relative risk (RR) was 1.07 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01-1.13] for alcohol drinkers and 1.20 (95% CI 1.01-1.44) for heavy alcohol drinkers (≥4 drinks per day). The pooled estimates were apparently higher for gastric noncardia (RR for heavy drinkers=1.17, 95% CI 0.78-1.75) than for gastric cardia (RR=0.99, 95% CI 0.67-1.47) adenocarcinoma. The dose-risk model estimated a RR of 0.95 (95% CI 0.91-0.99) for 10 g/day and 1.14 (95% CI 1.08-1.21) for 50 g/day. CONCLUSIONS This meta-analysis provides definite evidence of a lack of association between moderate alcohol drinking and gastric cancer risk. There was, however, a positive association with heavy alcohol drinking.
Creation and test of a questionnaire for self-assessment of melanoma risk factors

The objective of this study was to create a self-administrated questionnaire for people to enable them to assess their own melanoma risk factors. To test the validity of this questionnaire in a large prospective study, the answers given by the patient were systematically checked by his or her general practitioner. In this prospective study, the choice of questions was based on a review of the literature. The validity of the questionnaire was assessed by testing 1500 consecutive patients attending a consultation with their general practitioner. Considerable variations concerning the prevalence of different melanoma risk factors were noticed in the population: 44.1% had a phototype I or II, 41% had severe sunburn during infancy, 29.9% had freckling tendency, 22% had more than 50 naevi and 1.4% a personal history of melanoma. In total, 45% had more than one melanoma risk factor. The accuracy of the answers given by the patients was assured by the correction given by their general practitioners. The percentage of correct answers given by the patients was 79.9% for the phototype, 90.6% for freckling tendency, 86.6% for the number of naevi, 96.5% for severe sunburn during infancy and 98.1 and 95.8% for personal and familial history of melanoma. This study confirms that individuals with multiple risk factors for melanoma are common among patients consulting their general practitioners. Furthermore, self-screening with the self-assessment questionnaire is easily feasible and is accurate for identifying high-risk individuals. This tool might be useful for carrying out melanoma-targeted screening.
Reconciling the Roles of Kinetic and Thermodynamic Factors in Membrane–Protein Insertion

For the vast majority of membrane proteins, insertion into a membrane is not direct, but rather is catalyzed by a protein-conducting channel, the translocon. This channel provides a lateral exit into the bilayer while simultaneously offering a pathway into the aqueous lumen. The determinants of a nascent protein’s choice between these two pathways are not comprehensively understood, although both energetic and kinetic factors have been observed. To elucidate the specific roles of some of these factors, we have carried out extensive all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of different nascent transmembrane segments embedded in a ribosome-bound bacterial translocon, SecY. Simulations on the μs time scale reveal a spontaneous motion of the substrate segment into the membrane or back into the channel, depending on its hydrophobicity. Potential of mean force (PMF) calculations confirm that the observed motion is the result of local free-energy differences between channel and membrane. Based on these and other PMFs, the time-dependent probability of membrane insertion is determined and is shown to mimic a two-state partition scheme with an apparent free energy that is compressed relative to the molecular-level PMFs. It is concluded that insertion kinetics underlies the experimentally observed thermodynamic partitioning process.
Segmentation and Recognition of Continuous Gestures

A novel method is introduced to segment and recognize time-varying human gestures from continuous video streams. Motion is represented by a 3D spatio-temporal surface based upon the evolution of a contour over time. The warping paths between the input signal and a set of gesture models are obtained using continuous dynamic programming and the boundary of a gesture is located by analyzing all possible gesture candidates during a specific period of time. Correlation and mutual information are employed to select the best candidate when more than one gesture is recognized at the same time period. The system has been implemented and tested on continuous gesture sequences containing 8 different gestures performed by 4 subjects. The results demonstrate that the proposed method is very effective, achieving a recognition rate of 95.9%.
Delayed Reaction Kinetics and the Stability of Spikes in the Gierer-Meinhardt Model

A linear stability analysis of localized spike solutions to the singularly perturbed two-component Gierer--Meinhardt (GM) reaction-diffusion (RD) system with a fixed time delay $T$ in the nonlinear reaction kinetics is performed. Our analysis of this model is motivated by the computational study of Lee, Gaffney, and Monk [Bull. Math. Bio. , 72 (2010), pp. 2139--2160] on the effect of gene expression time delays on spatial patterning for both the GM model and some related RD models. It is shown that the linear stability properties of such localized spike solutions are characterized by the discrete spectra of certain nonlocal eigenvalue problems (NLEP). Phase diagrams consisting of regions in parameter space where the steady-state spike solution is linearly stable are determined for various limiting forms of the GM model in both 1-dimensional and 2-dimensional domains. On the boundary of the region of stability, the spike solution is found to undergo a Hopf bifurcation. For a special range of exponents in th.
Ethyl pyruvate ameliorates distant organ injury in a murine model of acute necrotizing pancreatitis*

Objective:Ethyl pyruvate has been shown to be an effective anti-inflammatory agent in a variety of in vitro and in vivo model systems. Herein, we used a murine model of acute pancreatitis to compare the effects of treatment with either Ringer’s lactate solution or ethyl pyruvate solution on several physiologic and biochemical variables related to disease severity. Design:Experimental animal study. Setting:University laboratory. Subjects:C57Bl/6 mice. Interventions:Pancreatitis was induced by feeding the animals a choline-deficient diet supplemented with 0.5% ethionine for 24 hrs and then challenging the animals with seven hourly 50 μg/kg intraperitoneal injections of cerulein and a single intraperitoneal injection of Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (4 mg/kg). Measurements and Main Results:When mice were treated with ethyl pyruvate (40 mg/kg intraperitoneally every 6 hrs for 48 hrs) instead of Ringer’s lactate solution starting 2 hrs after the injection of lipopolysaccharide, long-term survival was improved from one of ten to six of ten (p = .057). When mice were treated with a 40 mg/kg dose of ethyl pyruvate just before the first dose of cerulein and then injected with a second 40 mg/kg dose 6 hrs later, serum concentrations of alanine aminotransferase measured 10 hrs after the first cerulein dose were significantly lower than in mice with pancreatitis treated with Ringer’s lactate solution. In this model of acute pancreatitis, the same dosing regimen for ethyl pyruvate also ameliorated bacterial translocation to mesenteric lymph nodes and leakage of fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled albumin from blood into bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Treatment with ethyl pyruvate decreased pancreatic expression of tumor necrosis factor and interleukin-6 messenger RNA and nuclear factor-κB DNA binding in nuclear extracts prepared from pancreatic tissue. Conclusion:Treatment with ethyl pyruvate ameliorated the local inflammatory response and decreased local and distant organ injury in a murine model of necrotizing pancreatitis.