Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A New Model for Studying the Revascularization of Skin Grafts In Vivo: The Role of Angiogenesis

Background: Models of skin graft revascularization are based mostly on histologic evaluations but lack the possibility of analyzing the vascular biology in vivo. The aim of the present study was therefore to develop an animal model that allows continuous monitoring of the microcirculation during skin graft healing. Methods: Skin and subcutaneous tissue were removed from the back of dorsal skinfold chamber preparations in mice, leaving one layer of striated muscle and subcutaneous tissue as a wound bed (n = 5). A corresponding full-thickness skin graft was harvested from the groin and sutured into the defect in the back of the chamber. To study graft healing, repetitive intravital microscopy was performed during the first 10 days after engraftment. Results: Capillary widening in the wound bed appeared at day 1 after grafting and increased until day 4. Capillary buds and sprouts first appeared at day 2. Blood filling of autochthonous graft capillaries occurred at day 3, resulting in almost complete restoration of the original skin microcirculation on day 5. This was achieved by interconnections between the microvasculature of the wound bed and the skin graft through a temporary angiogenic response. In principle, angiogenic blood vessel growth originated in the wound bed and was directed toward the graft. Conclusions: This new model allows for repetitive analysis of the microcirculation during skin graft healing. It provides ideal in vivo conditions to further delineate the exact mechanisms of blood vessel interconnection during the complex process of angiogenesis, and may also allow study of the vascularization of tissue-engineered skin substitutes.
AN AUDIT OF 149 CONSECUTIVE BREAST BIOPSIES IN IBADAN, NIGERIA

Objective: To study the outcomes of one hundred and forty nine consecutive breast biopsies in both male and female patients in one arm of the general surgery division of the department of surgery, university college hospital Ibadan. Methodology: A retrospective study of the case files and histopathology reports of 149 patients who had biopsies of the breast from May 1996 to September 2004. Results: The study showed that below the age of 30 years, there was no malignancy detected in 85 breast biopsies, however as the age increased it was seen that less than one out of four biopsies were malignant when the patients were aged between 31 and 40 years, rising to one out of four biopsies for the 41-50 and 51-60 age-groups. The 61-70 yielded roughly one out of three whilst two out of three breast biopsies were malignant in the 71-80 age-groups. Conclusions: Majority of breast lumps are benign and women have a probability of one chance in 10 that their biopsies may be malignant. However under 30 years this is unlikely. Above the age of 40 years the chance of malignancy rises to a one in four which will strongly support screening methods for women above 40 years. For record purposes, fibroadenoma is still the most common breast lesion in women under 30 years and invasive ductal carcinoma is the most common histopathological type of breast cancer in Ibadan, Nigeria.
New payload attribution methods for network forensic investigations

Payload attribution can be an important element in network forensics. Given a history of packet transmissions and an excerpt of a possible packet payload, a payload attribution system (PAS) makes it feasible to identify the sources, destinations, and the times of appearance on a network of all the packets that contained the specified payload excerpt. A PAS, as one of the core components in a network forensics system, enables investigating cybercrimes on the Internet by, for example, tracing the spread of worms and viruses, identifying who has received a phishing e-mail in an enterprise, or discovering which insider allowed an unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information. Due to the increasing volume of network traffic in today's networks, it is infeasible to effectively store and query all the actual packets for extended periods of time in order to allow analysis of network events for investigative purposes; therefore, we focus on extremely compressed digests of the packet activity. We propose several new methods for payload attribution, which utilize Rabin fingerprinting, shingling, and winnowing. Our best methods allow building practical payload attribution systems, which provide data reduction ratios greater than 100:1 while supporting efficient queries with very low false positive rates. We demonstrate the properties of the proposed methods and specifically analyze their performance and practicality when used as modules of a network forensics system ForNet. Our experimental results outperform current state-of-the-art methods both in terms of false positives and data reduction ratio. Finally, these approaches directly allow the collected data to be stored and queried by an untrusted party without disclosing any payload information nor the contents of queries.
The end of an era.

The Post Office at 20 Sandygate Road, Crosspool closed for the last time on the 24th November 2004. The business transferred to the Spar Supermarket where it opened with entirely new staff on the 27th November. It is with much sadness that customers and employees will miss this long established part of Crosspool society, and it was not willingly that the staff members have ‘deserted’ their customers.
Simultaneous Expression of Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone (GHRH) and Hepatitis B Surface Antigen/Somatostatin (HBsAg/SS) Fusion Genes in a Construct in the Skeletal Muscle Enhances Rabbit Weight Gain

Somatostatin (SS) and growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) are synthesized and secreted by the hypothalamus, which can control the synthesis and secretion of the growth hormone (GH) from the hypophysis as well as regulate the GH concentrations in animals and humans. In this article, we describe the regulation of animal growth using plasmid DNA encoding both the GHRH gene and the SS gene fused with the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) gene. We constructed a series of expression plasmids to express the GHRH and HBsAg-SS fusion genes individually as well as collectively. The fusion gene and GHRH were successfully expressed in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, as proven by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunoblotting tests. Poly D, L-lactide-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) plasmid-encapsulating microspheres were prepared and injected intramuscularly into the leg skeletal muscles of rabbits. Weight gain/day and the levels of insulinlike growth factor-I (IGF-I), SS, and hepatitis B surface antibody (HBsAb) were monitored. During days 30 postinjection, increase in weight gain/day and IGF- I concentration and decrease in SS were observed in treatment groups. From days 15 to 30 postinjection, the weight gain/day significantly increased (P < 0.05) by 129.13%, 106.8%, and 72.82% relative to the control group in the co-expression GHRH and fusion gene (named P-G-HS), fusion gene (named P-HS), and GHRH (named P-G) groups, respectively. And most importantly, the P-G-HS group showed significant weight gain/day (P < 0.05) relative to the P-G and P-HS groups. A significant increase in the IGF-I concentration and decrease in the SS level relative to the control group were also observed. The results indicated that the combination of plasmid-mediated GHRH supplementation and positive immunization against SS led to more robust weight gain/day in rabbits.
Coarticulation in Fluent Fingerspelling

In speech, the phenomenon of coarticulation (differentiation of phoneme production depending on the preceding or following phonemes) suggests an organization of movement sequences that is not strictly serial. In the skeletal motor system, however, evidence for comparable fluency has been lacking. Thus the present study was designed to quantify coarticulation in the hand movement sequences of sign language interpreters engaged in fingerspelling. Records of 17 measured joint angles were subjected to discriminant and correlation analyses to determine to what extent and in what manner the hand shape for a particular letter was influenced by the hand shapes for the preceding or the following letters. Substantial evidence of coarticulation was found, revealing both forward and reverse influences across letters. These influences could be further categorized as assimilation (tending to reduce the differences between sequential hand shapes) or dissimilation (tending to emphasize the differences between sequential hand shapes). The proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joints of the index and middle fingers tended to show dissimilation, whereas at the same time (i.e., during the spelling of the same letters) the joints of the wrist and thumb tended to show assimilation. The index and middle finger PIP joints have been shown previously to be among the most important joints for computer recognition of the 26 letter shapes, and therefore the dissimilation may have served to enhance visual discrimination. The simultaneous occurrence of dissimilation in some joints and assimilation in others demonstrates an unprecedented level of parallel control of individual joint rotations in an essentially serial task.
Carboplatin and Pegylated Liposomal Doxorubicin for Advanced Ovarian Cancer: Preliminary Activity Results of the MITO-2 Phase III Trial

Background: Based on the efficacy of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) in relapsed ovarian cancer, we are conducting a phase III study comparing carboplatin plus either paclitaxel or PLD as first-line therapy in advanced ovarian cancer. Because of limited phase I and II data on PLD plus carboplatin in this setting, we conducted an interim activity analysis. Patients and Methods: Patients with stage 1c-IV epithelial ovarian cancer were randomized to carboplatin AUC 5 plus either paclitaxel 175 mg/m2 or PLD 30 mg/m2 every 3 weeks for 6 cycles. The interim activity analysis was planned according to a single-stage phase II design with an auspicated 50% response rate; 50 patients eligible for response assessment were required. Response was defined according to RECIST (Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors). Results: A complete response was achieved in 14 patients (28%) and a partial response in 20 (40%), which produced an overall response rate of 68%. The activity exceeded the minimum required for study continuation. Stable disease was reported in an additional 10 patients (20%). Conclusions: The adopted schedule of PLD plus carboplatin demonstrates activity as a first-line treatment for advanced ovarian cancer.
The ECG T-Wave duration as an index of dispersion of ventricular repolarization: Insights from simulations

Dispersion of ventricular repolarization (DVR) is known to be an immediate precursor of potentially mortal arrhythmias. Recently, the duration of the ECG T-wave (TWD) has been proposed as an indicator of DVR. In this work, we have used computer simulations to quantify the relationship between the degree of DVR and the TWD. For this purpose, the Luo-Rudy dynamic (2000) model was used in combination with a monodomain model of the ventricular tissue to simulate the electrical activity of a ventricular strand. The results of the simulations show that the duration of the T-wave increases almost linearly with dispersion of ventricular repolarization, independently of the cause of the increased DRV. Thus, the T-wave duration could indeed be a good indicator of the DRV, as suggested by other experimental works.
Fat Oxidation, Hormonal and Plasma Metabolite Kinetics during a Submaximal Incremental Test in Lean and Obese Adults

This study aimed to compare fat oxidation, hormonal and plasma metabolite kinetics during exercise in lean (L) and obese (O) men. Sixteen L and 16 O men [Body Mass Index (BMI): 22.9±0.3 and 39.0±1.4 kg.m−2] performed a submaximal incremental test (Incr) on a cycle-ergometer. Fat oxidation rates (FORs) were determined using indirect calorimetry. A sinusoidal model, including 3 independent variables (dilatation, symmetry, translation), was used to describe fat oxidation kinetics and determine the intensity (Fatmax) eliciting maximal fat oxidation. Blood samples were drawn for the hormonal and plasma metabolite determination at each step of Incr. FORs (mg.FFM−1.min−1) were significantly higher from 20 to 30% of peak oxygen uptake () in O than in L and from 65 to 85% in L than in O (p≤0.05). FORs were similar in O and in L from 35 to 60% . Fatmax was 17% significantly lower in O than in L (p<0.01). Fat oxidation kinetics were characterized by similar translation, significantly lower dilatation and left-shift symmetry in O compared with L (p<0.05). During whole exercise, a blunted lipolysis was found in O [lower glycerol/fat mass (FM) in O than in L (p≤0.001)], likely associated with higher insulin concentrations in O than in L (p<0.01). Non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) were significantly higher in O compared with L (p<0.05). Despite the blunted lipolysis, O presented higher NEFA availability, likely due to larger amounts of FM. Therefore, a lower Fatmax, a left-shifted and less dilated curve and a lower reliance on fat oxidation at high exercise intensities suggest that the difference in the fat oxidation kinetics is likely linked to impaired muscular capacity to oxidize NEFA in O. These results may have important implications for the appropriate exercise intensity prescription in training programs designed to optimize fat oxidation in O.
Interactive visual method for motion and model reuse

We consider a repository of animation models and motions that can be reused to generate new animation sequences. For instance, a user can retrieve an animation of a dog kicking its leg (in air) and manipulate the result to generate a new animation where the dog is kicking a ball. In this particular example, inverse kinematics technique can be used to retarget the kicking motion of a dog to a ball. This approach of reusing models and motions to generate new animation sequences can be facilitated by operations such as querying of animation databases for required models and motions, and manipulation of the query results to meet new constraints. However, manipulation operations such as motion retargeting are quite complex in nature. Hence, there is a need for visualizing the queries on animation databases as well as the manipulation operations on the query results.In this paper, we propose a visually interactive method for reusing motions and models, by adjusting the query results from animation databases for new situations while at the same time, keeping the desired properties of the original models and motions. Here, a user first queries for animation objects, i.e., geometric models and motions. Then, the user interactively makes new animations by visually manipulating the query results. Depending on the orders in which the GUIs (Graphical User Interfaces) are invoked and the parameters are changed, the system automatically generates a sequence of operations, a list of SQL-like syntax commands, and applies it to the query results of motions and models. With the help of visualization tools, the user can view the changes before accepting them.
A New Data Layout for Set Intersection on GPUs

Set intersection is the core in a variety of problems, e.g. frequent item set mining and sparse boolean matrix multiplication. It is well-known that large speed gains can, for some computational problems, be obtained by using a graphics processing unit (GPU) as a massively parallel computing device. However, GPUs require highly regular control flow and memory access patterns, and for this reason previous GPU methods for intersecting sets have used a simple bitmap representation. This representation requires excessive space on sparse data sets. In this paper we present a novel data layout, "BatMap", that is particularly well suited for parallel processing, and is compact even for sparse data. Frequent item set mining is one of the most important applications of set intersection. As a case-study on the potential of BatMaps we focus on frequent pair mining, which is a core special case of frequent item set mining. The main finding is that our method is able to achieve speedups over both Apriori and FP-growth when the number of distinct items is large, and the density of the problem instance is above 0.01. Previous implementations of frequent item set mining on GPU have not been able to show speedups over the best single-threaded implementations.
Clinical effect of nemifitide, a novel pentapeptide antidepressant, in the treatment of severely depressed refractory patients

Clinical data were evaluated from an open-label, single-center, pilot study in patients with chronic refractory depression. The primary efficacy criterion was the change from baseline using the Montgomery–Asberg Depression Rating Scale. The secondary efficacy criteria were the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and the Clinical Global Impression-Improvement scale. Response to treatment (40–240 mg once per day by subcutaneous injection for 10–20 doses) was defined as more than 50% improvement in the Montgomery–Asberg Depression Rating Scale from baseline or Clinical Global Impression-Improvement ≤2 and lasting for at least two sequential weeks. Patients with a sustained response at the end point in the acute main treatment phase were enrolled for up to 2 years in a maintenance phase of the study to determine duration of response and to initiate retreatments upon relapse. Of the 25 patients with chronic refractory depression, 11 patients showed a response for Montgomery–Asberg Depression Rating Scale and one responded according to the secondary criterion Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. In seven of the 11 responders to Montgomery–Asberg Depression Rating Scale the effects were sustained for the remainder of the acute phase. Two additional sustained responders identified according to secondary criteria (Hamilton Depression Rating Scale or Clinical Global Impression-Improvement) were also enrolled in the maintenance phase. All nine sustained responders were retreated, as needed, in the maintenance phase of the study, ranging from 71 to 660 days. Mean duration of response following initial treatment and between retreatments was around 2 months. Pharmacokinetic data indicated dose-proportional systemic exposure to the drug.
The fail-stop controller AE11

Using on-chip fault detection measures the fail-stop controller. AE11 was developed for safety critical applications aiming at high volume production of automotive and railway electronics. The trade-off between high defect coverage, short reaction time to faults and low chip area overhead results in a combination of concurrent checking, built-in self-test and built-in current-monitoring (I/sub DDQ/-test).
Phospholipid inhibitors

Summary The antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is defined by the association of arterial and/or venous thrombosis and/or pregnancy complications with the presence of at least one among the main antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) (i. e., Lupus anticoagulants, LA, IgG and/ or IgM anticardiolipin antibodies, aCL, IgG and/or IgM antiβ2-glycoprotein I antibodies, aβ2-GPI). Several clinical studies have consistently reported that LA is a stronger risk factor for both arterial and venous thrombosis compared to aCL and aβ2-GPI. In particular, LA activity dependent on the first domain of β2-GPI and triple aPL positivity are associated with the risk of thrombosis and obstetrical complications. Asymptomatic aPL-positive subjects do not require primary thromboprophylaxis. Venous thromboembolism is the most common initial clinical manifestation of APS. To prevent its recurrence indefinite anticoagulation is recommended. Long duration treatment with warfarin or aspirin is used after a first cerebral arterial thrombosis. Low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) with or without aspirin is recommended to reduce the rate of obstetrical complications of APS pregnant women.
An Efficient One-Scan Sanitization For Improving The Balance Between Privacy And Knowledge Discovery

In this paper, we address the problem of protecting some sensitive knowledge in transactional databases. The challenge is on protecting actionable knowledge for strategic decisions, but at the same time not losing the great benefit of association rule mining. To accomplish that, we introduce a new, efficient one-scan algorithm that meets privacy protection and accuracy in association rule mining, without putting at risk the effectiveness of the data mining per se. Our experiments demonstrate that our algorithm is effective and achieves significant improvement over the other approaches presented in the literature. We report the main results of our performance evaluation and discuss some open research issues.
Planelets : a new analysis tool for planar feature extraction

Locally planar structures, formed by sweeping edges of objects, are commonly found in video sequences and convey most of the useful information. In this paper, the issue of efficient representation of such structures is addressed. We propose a novel representation tool which uses basis functions, termed as planelets, resembling planar structures and having compact support in space-time and spatiotemporal frequency. The representation is translation invariant, offers good directional selectivity, and can be computed efficiently. We show that the new representation, while being fast, produces video denoising results which compare favourably to one of the best known methods.
Association study of trauma load and SLC6A4 promoter polymorphism in posttraumatic stress disorder: evidence from survivors of the Rwandan genocide.

OBJECTIVE As exposure to different types of traumatic stressors increases, the occurrence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) increases. However, because some people exhibit either surprising resilience or high vulnerability, further influencing factors have been conjectured, such as gene-environment interactions. The SLC6A4 gene, which encodes serotonin transporter, has been identified as predisposing toward differential emotional processing between genotypes of its promoter polymorphism. METHOD We investigated 408 refugees from the Rwandan genocide and assessed lifetime exposure to traumatic events, PTSD (according to DSM-IV) status, and genotype of the SLC6A4 promoter polymorphism. The study was conducted from March 2006 to February 2007. RESULTS The prevalence of PTSD approached 100% when traumatic exposure reached extreme levels. However, persons homozygous for the short allele of the SLC6A4 promoter polymorphism showed no dose-response relationship but were at high risk for developing PTSD after very few traumatic events. This genotype influence vanished with increasing exposure to traumatic stressors. CONCLUSION We find evidence for a gene-environment interplay for PTSD and show that genetic influences lose importance when environmental factors cause an extremely high trauma burden to an individual. In the future, it may be important to determine whether the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions in PTSD is also modulated by the SLC6A4 genotype.