Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pathophysiological and clinical aspects of gastric hyperplastic polyps

Gastric polyps become a major clinical problem because of high prevalence and tendency to malignant transformation of some of them. The development of gastric hyperplastic polyps results from excessive proliferation of foveolar cells accompanied by their increased exfoliation, and they are macroscopically indistinguishable from other polyps with lower or higher malignant potential. Panendoscopy allows detection and differentiation of gastric polyps, usually after obtaining histopathological biopsy specimens. Unremoved gastric hyperplastic polyps may enlarge and sometimes spontaneously undergo a sequential progression to cancer. For this reason, gastric hyperplastic polyps larger than 5 mm in size should be removed in one piece. After excision of polyps with atypical focal lesion, endoscopic surveillance is suggested depending on histopathological diagnosis and possibility of confirming the completeness of endoscopic resection. Because of the risk of cancer development also in gastric mucosa outside the polyp, neighboring fragments of gastric mucosa should undergo microscopic investigations. This procedure allows for identification of patients who can benefit most from oncological endoscopic surveillance. If Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection of the gastric mucosa is confirmed, treatment strategies should include eradication of bacteria, which may prevent progression of intestinal metaplasia. The efficacy of H. pylori eradication should be checked 3-6 mo later.
A method for evaluating the impact of software configuration parameters on e-commerce sites

E-commerce systems are composed of many components with several configurable software parameters which, if properly configured, can optimize system performance. The cost and burden of implementing upgrades can be deferred by judicial tuning of these parameters. Tuning is a time consuming effort and energy has to be spent on the most relevant parameters. This paper provides a method to evaluate the statistical significance of configurable parameters in e-commerce systems, the interaction effects between each parameter and e-commerce function types, and a method to rank key configurable e-commerce system parameters that significantly impact overall system performance, and the performance of the most significant Web function types. Both on-line and off-line parameters at each of the e-commerce system layers---Web server, application server, and database server---are considered. The paper discusses the design of a practical and ad-hoc approach that involves conducting experiments on an e-commerce site compliant with the TPC-W benchmark. The performance metrics of interest include server's response time, system throughput, and probability of rejecting a customer's request. The paper also provides a set of useful guidelines for tuning the performance of e-commerce sites.
Orengedoku-to augmentation in cases showing partial response to yokukan-san treatment: a case report and literature review of the evidence for use of these Kampo herbal formulae

Background Yokukan-san, a Japanese traditional herbal (Kampo) prescription, has recently gathered increasing attention due to accumulating reports showing its remarkable efficacy in treating a wide variety of diseases refractory to conventional medicine as well as the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia. As yokukan-san has become broadly integrated with conventional medicine, augmentation therapy with other Kampo prescriptions has become necessary when the yokukan-san has been only partially efficacious. In this paper, we report three cases in which the addition of orengedoku-to, another Kampo formula, to yokukan-san was remarkably effective. Cases Case 1 was an 85-year-old man with Alzheimer-type dementia who had become aggressive during the past 2 years. Three milligrams of aripiprazole completely suppressed his problematic behaviors but had to be stopped because of extrapyramidal symptoms. In the second case, a 44-year-old man with methamphetamine-induced psychosis had suffered from serious tardive dystonia for 2 years. No conventional approach had improved his tardive dystonia. The third case was a 29-year-old engineer who often failed to resist aggressive impulses and was diagnosed with intermittent explosive disorder. He was prescribed 5 mg of olanzapine, which did not suppress his extraordinary anger and caused somnolence even though the dose was low. Interventions and outcomes Yokukan-san was complementarily added to the patients’ regular medication and exerted a definitive but partial effect in all cases. The addition of orengedoku-to to yokukan-san exerted the same efficacy as aripiprazole in controlling aggressiveness in Case 1, improved the tardive dystonia by 80% in Case 2, and was completely effective in controlling the patient’s aggressive impulses in Case 3. Conclusion Together with empirical evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of both yokukansan and orengedoku-to in reducing irritability, impulsivity, and aggression, these three cases suggest that orengedoku-to augmentation can be an effective option in cases that are partially responsive to yokukan-san treatment.
Permuted Estimators for Regenerative Simulations

In a previous paper we introduced a new variance-reduction technique for regenerative simulations based on permuting regeneration cycles. In this paper we apply this idea to large classes of other estimators. In particular, we derive permuted versions of likelihood-ratio derivative estimators for steady-state performance measures, importance-sampling estima-tors of the mean cumulative reward until hitting a set of states, and Tin estimators for steady-state ratio formulas. Empirical results are presented which show signiicant variance reductions in some cases.
Tree Skeleton Extraction from a Single Range Image

Tree skeleton computation is of significance in the geometric modeling of botanic trees and in the application of forestry. This paper describes an approach to extract branch skeletons from a single range image of a tree. A basis of this approach is that the trunk and branches are modeled by generalized circular cylinders, and the tree skeleton is defined as the connected curve-axes of these cylinders. In the proposed system, the range image is partitioned into patches at first based on the discontinuity of depth and axis direction, where each patch only contains points from the same branch. Then each patch is fitted with a series of circular cylinders. Finally the tree skeleton is generated by sequentially connecting the skeleton points of fitted cylinders. This work shows that cylinder fitting can be used to handle the incompleteness of input data, and generate accurate skeleton points and corresponding radii. The main contribution of this paper is that we proposed a new definition and computation of tree skeletons and introduced an efficient and robust cylinder fitting method. Experiment shows the effectiveness of this approach.
Binding properties of detergent-solubilized NCAM

An assay has been designed for the identification of NCAM-binding proteins present in an NP-40 detergent extract of brain membranes. This method, which is capable of analyzing both heterophilic and homophilic interactions, uses species-specific antibodies against NCAM in combination with radioiodination, so that after unlabeled chicken and iodinated frog brain membrane proteins were allowed to interact, the chicken NCAM could be specifically isolated by immunoaffinity adsorption. The radiolabeled frog proteins coisolated with chicken NCAM were then characterized by one- and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis in combination with immunoblotting. The only detectable NCAM-binding proteins were identified as the 140- and 180-kD forms of NCAM. The presence and absence of polysialic acid on NCAM did not change the amount or nature of the frog proteins immunopurified under these conditions. As an alternative for detecting heterophilic ligands, a simplified immunoprecipitation method was employed using either iodine or sulfate radiolabels. Again under these conditions only NCAM was detected. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that the major binding protein for NCAM is NCAM itself, and suggest that differences in polysialic acid content do not directly alter the properties of NCAM's homophilic binding site.
Effect of propofol on local field potential in rat prefrontal cortex during working memory task

Propofol may produce memory impairment during anesthesia procedure. Local field potentials (LFPs) are used with increasing frequency in recent years to link neural activity to perception and cognition. In this study, effect of propofol on LFPs in rat’s prefrontal cortex during working memory task was evaluated. Young (approximately 3 month) male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into two group: propofol rats and control rats. Propofol rats received propofol at 0.9 mg/Kg·min intravenously for 2 h. After 12 h, LFPs of all rats were measured simultaneously from multiple electrodes placed in prefrontal cortex while rats were performing a working memory task in Y-maze. LFPs instantaneous phase were obtained by applying Hilbert transform, and cross-correlation coherence of LFPs was calculated. The results indicate that propofol decreased the correct rate and crosscorrelation coherence of LFPs on the first two days (p 0.05). Our results suggest that propofol can impair cross-correlation coherence of LFPs in the first two days, but not long time.
When Does Computational Imaging Improve Performance?

A number of computational imaging techniques are introduced to improve image quality by increasing light throughput. These techniques use optical coding to measure a stronger signal level. However, the performance of these techniques is limited by the decoding step, which amplifies noise. Although it is well understood that optical coding can increase performance at low light levels, little is known about the quantitative performance advantage of computational imaging in general settings. In this paper, we derive the performance bounds for various computational imaging techniques. We then discuss the implications of these bounds for several real-world scenarios (e.g., illumination conditions, scene properties, and sensor noise characteristics). Our results show that computational imaging techniques do not provide a significant performance advantage when imaging with illumination that is brighter than typical daylight. These results can be readily used by practitioners to design the most suitable imaging systems given the application at hand.
Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone (CRH) Promotes Macrophage Foam Cell Formation via Reduced Expression of ATP Binding Cassette Transporter-1 (ABCA1)

Atherosclerosis, the major pathology of cardiovascular disease, is caused by multiple factors involving psychological stress. Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), which is released by neurosecretory cells in the hypothalamus, peripheral nerve terminals and epithelial cells, regulates various stress-related responses. Our current study aimed to verify the role of CRH in macrophage foam cell formation, the initial critical stage of atherosclerosis. Our quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase PCR (qRT-PCR), semi-quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR, and Western blot results indicate that CRH down-regulates ATP-binding cassette transporter-1 (ABCA1) and liver X receptor (LXR)-α, a transcription factor for ABCA1, in murine peritoneal macrophages and human monocyte-derived macrophages. Oil-red O (ORO) staining and intracellular cholesterol measurement of macrophages treated with or without oxidized LDL (oxLDL) and with or without CRH (10 nM) in the presence of apolipoprotein A1 (apoA1) revealed that CRH treatment promotes macrophage foam cell formation. The boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY)-conjugated cholesterol efflux assay showed that CRH treatment reduces macrophage cholesterol efflux. Western blot analysis showed that CRH-induced down-regulation of ABCA1 is dependent on phosphorylation of Akt (Ser473) induced by interaction between CRH and CRH receptor 1(CRHR1). We conclude that activation of this pathway by CRH accelerates macrophage foam cell formation and may promote stress-related atherosclerosis.
Reliability of Pubertal Self Assessment Method: An Iranian Study

Objective This investigation aims to evaluate the validity of a Persian Tanner Stages Self-Assessment Questionnaire. Methods In this cross sectional study, 190 male students aged 8-16 years selected from three layers of different regions of Tehran (North, Central and South) were enrolled. A Persian questionnaire illustrated with Tanner stages of puberty (genital development and pubic hair distribution) was prepared. Children were asked to select the illustration that best described their pubertal development. Tanner status of the children was also estimated by an independent physician using physical examination. The degree of agreement between subjects’ judgments with assessments made by the rater was compared through the calculation of the weighted kappa statistic coefficient. Findings We found a substantial agreement between self-assessment of pubertal development made by the children and doctor's assessment of genital development (kappa=0.63, P<0.0001) and also the pubic hair distribution (kappa= 0.74, P<0.0001). Although a large proportion of subjects in G4 (89.2%) and G5 (85.7%) were capable of accurately or almost accurately identifying their own Tanner sexual stages, some degree of disagreement was observed in G3 Tanner stage (%46.9). Conclusion Self-assessment of puberty should be used very cautiously and may not be a substitute method for routine evaluation of pubertal state especially for early and mid pubertal groups.
Scalar ether theory of gravity: a modification that seems needed

The construction of the scalar theory based on the concept of gravity as Archimedes' thrust is briefly summarized, emphasizing the two (extreme) possibilities that result from this concept for the gravitational rod contraction: it can either occur in only one direction, or be isotropic. A modified equation for the scalar field is stated for the new, isotropic case. The reasons to consider this case are: i) it is almost as natural as the other case, and ii) it should avoid the violation of the weak equivalence principle, found for a small extended body with the directional contraction. The dynamical equation stays unchanged.
A SEMI-ANALYTICAL MODEL OF VISIBLE-WAVELENGTH PHASE CURVES OF EXOPLANETS AND APPLICATIONS TO KEPLER- 7 B AND KEPLER- 10 B

Kepler has detected numerous exoplanet transits by measuring stellar light in a single visible-wavelength band. In addition to detection, the precise photometry provides phase curves of exoplanets, which can be used to study the dynamic processes on these planets. However, the interpretation of these observations can be complicated by the fact that visible-wavelength phase curves can represent both thermal emission and scattering from the planets. Here we present a semi-analytical model framework that can be applied to study Kepler and future visible-wavelength phase curve observations of exoplanets. The model efficiently computes reflection and thermal emission components for both rocky and gaseous planets, considering both homogeneous and inhomogeneous surfaces or atmospheres. We analyze the phase curves of the gaseous planet Kepler- 7 b and the rocky planet Kepler- 10 b using the model. In general, we find that a hot exoplanet’s visible-wavelength phase curve having a significant phase offset can usually be explained by two classes of solutions: one class requires a thermal hot spot shifted to one side of the substellar point, and the other class requires reflective clouds concentrated on the same side of the substellar point. Particularly for Kepler- 7 b, reflective clouds located on the west side of the substellar point can best explain its phase curve. The reflectivity of the clear part of the atmosphere should be less than 7% and that of the cloudy part should be greater than 80%, and the cloud boundary should be located at 11° ± 3° to the west of the substellar point. We suggest single-band photometry surveys could yield valuable information on exoplanet atmospheres and surfaces.
Regularity Properties of Optimal Maps Between Nonconvex Domains in the Plane

Given two bounded open subsets Ω, Λ ⊂ ℝ d , and two densities f and g concentrated on Ω and Λ, respectively, we investigate the regularity of the optimal map ∇ϕ sending f onto g. We show that, if f and g are both bounded away from zero and infinity, then we can find two open sets Ω′ ⊂ Ω and Λ′ ⊂ Λ such that f and g are concentrated on Ω′ and Λ′ respectively, and ∇ϕ: Ω′ → Λ′ is a homeomorphism. Moreover, if f and g are smooth, then ∇ϕ is a smooth diffeomorphism between Ω′ and Λ′. Finally, we give a quite precise description of the singular set of ϕ, showing that it is a 1-dimensional manifold of class C 1 out of a countable set.
Predicting Response Trajectories during Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy for Panic Disorder: No Association with the BDNF Gene or Childhood Maltreatment

Background Anxiety disorders are highly prevalent and result in low quality of life and a high social and economic cost. The efficacy of cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) for anxiety disorders is well established, but a substantial proportion of patients do not respond to this treatment. Understanding which genetic and environmental factors are responsible for this differential response to treatment is a key step towards “personalized medicine”. Based on previous research, our objective was to test whether the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism and/or childhood maltreatment are associated with response trajectories during exposure-based CBT for panic disorder (PD). Method We used Growth Mixture Modeling to identify latent classes of change (response trajectories) in patients with PD (N = 97) who underwent group manualized exposure-based CBT. We conducted logistic regression to investigate the effect on these trajectories of the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism and two different types of childhood maltreatment, abuse and neglect. Results We identified two response trajectories (“high response” and “low response”), and found that they were not significantly associated with either the genetic (BDNF Val66Met polymorphism) or childhood trauma-related variables of interest, nor with an interaction between these variables. Conclusions We found no evidence to support an effect of the BDNF gene or childhood trauma-related variables on CBT outcome in PD. Future studies in this field may benefit from looking at other genotypes or using different (e.g. whole-genome) approaches.
Multiple Dimensional Fault Tolerant Schemes for Crypto Stream Ciphers

To enhance the security and reliability of thewidely-used stream ciphers, a 2-D and a 3-D mesh-knightAlgorithm Based Fault Tolerant (ABFT) schemes for streamciphers are developed which can be universally applied to RC4 and other stream ciphers. Based on the ready-made arithmetic unit in stream ciphers, the proposed 2-D ABFT scheme is able to detect and correct any simple error, and the 3-D mesh-knight ABFT scheme is capable of detecting andcorrecting up to three errors in a data matrix with liner computation and bandwidth overhead. The proposed schemes provide one-to-one mapping between data index and check sum group so that error can be located and recovered by easier logic and simple operations.
Stochastic fluid model for P2P caching evaluation

In this paper we propose a stochastic fluid model to analyze the performance of Squirrel, a P2P cooperative Web cache. This work provides a scalable and insightful extension of our previous analysis of Squirrel. This new model provides a closed-form expression for the hit probability when documents are equally popular. Realistic object popularity is also addressed through a clustering approximation. The accuracy of this model is validated by a comparison with discrete-event simulations. Our model allows us to study the impact of various parameters on the performance of the Squirrel system. In particular, we emphasize the importance of taking object popularity into account. We also investigate the impact of clients announcing their departure on the resulting hit probability.
Spreading of a granular mass on a horizontal plane

The transient surface flow occurring when a cylindrical pile of dry granular material is suddenly allowed to spread on a horizontal plane is investigated experimentally as a function of the released mass M, the initial aspect ratio a of the granular cylinder pile, the properties of the underlying substrate (smooth or rough, rigid or erodible) and the bead size. Two different flow regimes leading to three different deposit morphologies are observed as a function of the initial aspect ratio a, whatever the substrate properties and the bead size. For a≲3, the granular mass spreads through an avalanche on its flanks producing either truncated cone or conical deposits. For a≳3, the upper part of the column descends conserving its shape while the foot of the pile propagates radially outward. The obtained deposit looks like a “Mexican hat” and the slope angle at the foot of the deposit is observed to saturate at a value of the order of 5°. For a given ground and bead size, the flow dynamics and the deposit morph.
The Low-Potency, Voltage-Dependent HERG Blocker Propafenone—Molecular Determinants and Drug Trapping

The molecular determinants of high-affinity human ether-a-go-go-related gene (HERG) potassium channel blockade by methanesulfonanilides include two aromatic residues (Phe656 and Tyr652) on the inner helices (S6) and residues on the pore helices that face into the inner cavity, but determinants for lower-affinity HERG blockers may be different. In this study, alanine-substituted HERG channel mutants of inner cavity residues were expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes and were used to characterize the HERG channel binding site of the antiarrhythmic propafenone. Propafenone's blockade of HERG was strongly dependent on residue Phe656 but was insensitive or weakly sensitive to mutation of Tyr652, Thr623, Ser624, Val625, Gly648, or Val659 and did not require functional inactivation. Homology models of HERG based on KcsA and MthK crystal structures, representing the closed and open forms of the channel, respectively, suggest propafenone is trapped in the inner cavity and is unable to interact exclusively with Phe656 in the closed state (whereas exclusive interactions between propafenone and Phe656 are found in the open-channel model). These findings are supported by very slow recovery of wild-type HERG channels from block at -120 mV, but extremely rapid recovery of D540K channels that reopen at this potential. The experiments and modeling suggest that the open-state propafenone binding-site may be formed by the Phe656 residues alone. The binding site for propafenone (which may involve π-stacking interactions with two or more Phe656 side-chains) is either perturbed or becomes less accessible because of closed-channel gating. This provides further evidence for the existence of gating-induced changes in the spatial location of Phe656 side chains.