Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Confining QCD strings, Casimir scaling, and a Euclidean approach to high-energy scattering

We compute the chromo-field distributions of static color-dipoles in the fundamental and adjoint representation of SU(Nc) in the loop-loop correlation model and find Casimir scaling in agreement with recent lattice results. Our model combines perturbative gluon exchange with the non-perturbative stochastic vacuum model which leads to confinement of the color-charges in the dipole via a string of color-fields. We compute the energy stored in the confining string and use low-energy theorems to show consistency with the static quark-antiquark potential. We generalize Meggiolaro's analytic continuation from parton-parton to gauge-invariant dipole-dipole scattering and obtain a Euclidean approach to high-energy scattering that allows us in principle to calculate S-matrix elements directly in lattice simulations of QCD. We apply this approach and compute the S-matrix element for high-energy dipole-dipole scattering with the presented Euclidean loop-loop correlation model. The result confirms the analytic continuation of the gluon field strength correlator used in all earlier applications of the stochastic vacuum model to high-energy scattering.
Syphilis test availability and uptake at medical facilities in southern China.

OBJECTIVE To examine syphilis testing capacity, screening coverage rates and types of syphilis tests used in medical facilities in southern China. METHODS Eleven of the 14 municipalities in Guangdong province participated. Data on syphilis testing capacity, screening coverage and types of syphilis tests used were collected from all types of public medical facilities offering prenatal care (n = 109). A total of 494 680 women who delivered during 2004-2008 were studied. FINDINGS In 2008, 54 196 pregnant women (43.1%) were not screened for syphilis. Among such women, 32 863 (60.6%) attended clinics without any syphilis testing capacity and 21 333 (39.4%) attended clinics that performed testing but were not screened. The likelihood of not having syphilis test capacity was much higher for hygiene stations (odds ratio, OR: 10; 95% confidence interval, CI: 4-25), services at the township level (OR: 33; 95% CI: 10-100) and services with ≤ 1000 deliveries per year (OR: 1.002; 95% CI: 1.001-1.003). These same service characteristics correlated with lower screening coverage rates (P < 0.01). Only one antenatal clinic had the capacity to conduct both treponemal and non-treponemal tests for diagnosing syphilis. CONCLUSION Syphilis screening is available in very few of the basic medical facilities offering prenatal care where most neonates in southern China are delivered. In light of this and of the increasing incidence of syphilis in the area, expanding point-of-care rapid syphilis testing is a priority.
Adrenalectomy-induced enhancement of CRF and vasopressin immunoreactivity in parvocellular neurosecretory neurons: anatomic, peptide, and steroid specificity

Following adrenalectomy (ADX), corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and vasopressin immunoreactivity are jointly expressed by a population of parvocellular neurosecretory neurons in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVH). Because these cells stain positively for CRF, but not for vasopressin, after pretreatment with colchicine, the results suggest the existence of state-dependent alterations in the expression of peptides by neuroendocrine neurons. The present study sought to determine whether other neuropeptides (e.g., neurotensin, met- enkephalin) that have been colocalized with CRF in the parvocellular division of the PVH are influenced similarly by ADX; whether the enhancement of CRF and/or vasopressin immunoreactivity after ADX is limited to neurons of the PVH; and what factors might be involved in the regulation of the expression of these peptides in the PVH. The results confirmed that CRF and vasopressin immunoreactivity are both enhanced, and may be colocalized in a substantial population of parvocellular neurosecretory neurons after ADX; no comparable enhancement of staining for met-enkephalin or neurotensin was observed. The effect of ADX on CRF immunoreactivity was not limited to cells in the PVH, as neurons in the cerebral cortex, amygdala, and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis also showed heightened CRF immunostaining after ADX; vasopressin immunoreactivity was never colocalized with CRF in these extrahypothalamic sites. Hypophysectomy produced an enhancement of CRF and vasopressin staining in the PVH that was comparable to that seen after ADX, implicating adrenal steroids as primary regulators of peptide expression in this system. Corticosteroid replacement studies in ADX rats indicated that lower doses of dexamethasone attenuated, and higher doses essentially abolished, the expected enhancement of both CRF and vasopressin immunoreactivity after ADX. The relative potency of steroids in mitigating these effects was dexamethasone greater than corticosterone greater than deoxycorticosterone greater than aldosterone. Collectively, these results indicate that the ADX-induced enhancement of CRF and vasopressin immunoreactivity in parvocellular neurosecretory neurons is at least somewhat specific to these peptides and to this cell type. Both peptides would appear to be regulated similarly by adrenal steroids, with glucocorticoids playing a primary role.
A Morphological Processor for Malayalam Language

Work on morphological analyzers (which are computer programmes) for Indian languages is conducted vigorously these days. Usually published in specialized journals, this rather technical work is briefly presented here to provide some insights to a wider readership into little-known aspects of current language work. The morphological strength of Malayalam as a major South Indian language justifies the use of thorough morphological processing, which is the first step in any natural language processing task. The project is aimed at building a morphological processor for language, with two main components: a morphological generator and a morphological analyzer. The computational model of the processor takes care of the processing of nouns, pronouns, verbs and modifiers. The results obtained are encouraging and the work can be extended to the creation of a full-fledged part-of-speech tagger for Malayalam and other Dravidian languages, since they all exhibit structural homogeneity.
Artificial learners of objects and names

Naming requires recognition. Recognition requires the ability to categorize objects and events. What mechanisms in the brain underlie the unfolding of these capacities? In this article, we describe a neural network model in which artificially created individuals are exposed to visual stimuli and vocal sounds and are tested in experiments like human children. The model simulates, in a biologically plausible way, the process by which infants learn how to recognize objects and words through experience.
A Continuous Petri Net Approach for Model Predictive Control of Traffic Systems

Traffic systems are often highly populated discrete event systems that exhibit several modes of behavior such as free flow traffic, traffic jams, stop-and-go waves, etc. An appropriate closed loop control of the congested system is crucial in order to avoid undesirable behavior. This paper proposes a macroscopic model based on continuous Petri nets as a tool for designing control laws that improve the behavior of traffic systems. The main reason to use a continuous model is to avoid the state explosion problem inherent to large discrete event systems. The obtained model captures the different operation modes of a traffic system and is highly compositional. In order to handle the variability of the traffic conditions, a model predictive control strategy is proposed and validated.
Effects of Slow-Release Caffeine and a Nap on Driving Simulator Performance after Partial Sleep Deprivation

A driving simulator was used to evaluate the effectiveness of a 30-min. nap and 300-mg slow-release caffeine as countermeasures to drivers' sleepiness induced by partial sleep deprivation. 12 participants were allowed 4.5 hr. time in bed at the laboratory. Driving performance then was measured twice—at 9 a.m. and at 1 p.m. —by a 45-min. driving task on a simulator. Subjective sleepiness/alertness and mood were assessed four times on the Stanford Sleepiness Scale and the Profile of Mood States. Driving performance was assessed as Lane Drifting, Speed Deviation, and Accident Liability. A 30-min. nap opportunity and 300 mg of slow-release caffeine both were successful in counteracting drivers' sleepiness. The remedial effect of slow-release caffeine lasted longer than that of the nap, that is, it was also effective in the afternoon session. This suggests that slow-release caffeine represents a valuable countermeasure that, in the case of partial sleep deprivation, is preferred to a nap when sleepiness has to be counteracted for a longer time.
Pore pressure in a wind‐swept rippled bed below the suspension threshold

Toward elucidating how a wavy porous sand bed perturbs a turbulent flow above its surface, we record pressure within a permeable material resembling the region just below desert ripples, contrasting these delicate measurements with earlier studies on similar impermeable surfaces. We run separate tests in a wind tunnel on two sinusoidal porous ripples with aspect ratio of half crest‐to‐trough amplitude to wavelength of 3% and 6%. For the smaller ratio, pore pressure is a function of streamwise distance with a single delayed harmonic decaying exponentially with depth and proportional to wind speed squared. The resulting pressure on the porous surface is nearly identical to that on a similar impermeable wave. Pore pressure variations at the larger aspect ratio are greater and more complicated. Consistent with the regime map of Kuzan et al. ( ), the flow separates, creating a depression at crests. Unlike flows on impermeable waves, the porous rippled bed diffuses the depression upstream, reduces surface pressure gradients, and gives rise to a slip velocity, thus affecting the turbulent boundary layer. Pressure gradients within the porous material also generate body forces rising with wind speed squared and ripple aspect ratio, partially counteracting gravity around crests, thereby facilitating the onset of erosion, particularly on ripples of high aspect ratio armored with large surface grains. By establishing how pore pressure gradients scale with ripple aspect ratio and wind speed, our measurements quantify the internal seepage flow that draws dust and humidity beneath the porous surface.
A control systems approach to HIV prevention with impulsive control input

We investigate a control method for HIV dynamics to boost the immune response using a model-based approach. The idea of impulsive control is discussed using a mathematical model. The HIV dynamic model includes the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of antiretroviral drugs. Consequently, the dosage of drugs are the control inputs. As they are administrated at discrete time instants this naturally yields an impulsive control problem for a nonlinear continuous-time system. Exploiting this model we emulate recently reported clinical experiments via numerical simulation and analyse the experimental results. It is noted that this modeling approach can help to provide a theoretical explanation of the clinical result. Throughout this paper it is pointed out that the protocol of the experiment could imply the enhancement of the immune response against HIV.
Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy Does Not Have a Clear Role in the Treatment of Poisoning

Extracorporeal removal of drugs and other poisons is occasionally indicated in the management of intoxications. The available modalities include hemodialysis and several methods of continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT), including continuous venovenous hemofiltration with or without dialysis augmenting drug removal. A growing literature promoting CRRT for extracorporeal removal has been published and is reviewed here. Estimates of clearance achieved by these techniques uniformly demonstrate that hemodialysis achieves higher clearances. CRRT may be appropriate for more hypotensive and unstable patients, though these might be the patients most in need of a more rapidly effective technique. For the most part, these case reports have not demonstrated that CRRT was necessary because of hemodynamic instability. Hemodialysis remains the first choice among modalities of extracorporeal removal with CRRT reserved for patients who truly cannot tolerate hemodialysis.
A Comparison of Diets Supplemented with a Feed Additive Containing Organic Acids, Cinnamaldehyde and a Permeabilizing Complex, or Zinc Oxide, on Post-Weaning Diarrhoea, Selected Bacterial Populations, Blood Measures and Performance in Weaned Pigs Experimentally Infected with Enterotoxigenic E. coli 

Simple Summary This experiment was conducted to assess the effects of three diets on diarrhoea, performance (weight change, feed intake and feed conversion ratio), selected bacterial populations and blood measures of weaner pigs infected with enterotoxigenic E. coli. The three diets were: base diet (no antimicrobial compounds), base diet containing zinc oxide, and base diet containing a feed additive (blend of organic acids, cinnamaldehyde and permeabilizing complex). Only feeding zinc oxide decreased diarrhoea, with zinc oxide-fed pigs performing better than base diet-fed pigs. Zinc oxide-fed pigs performed similarly to pigs fed the organic acids, cinnamaldehyde and permeabilizing complex. Significant interactions between treatment and day after weaning were found for some bacterial populations, although the implications of such findings require further examination. Abstract The effects of feeding a diet supplemented with zinc oxide (ZnO) or a blend of organic acids, cinnamaldehyde and a permeabilizing complex (OACP) on post-weaning diarrhoea (PWD) and performance in pigs infected with enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) were examined. Additionally, changes in selected bacterial populations and blood measures were assessed. A total of 72 pigs weaned at 22 d of age and weighing 7.2 ± 1.02 kg (mean ± SEM) was used. Treatments were: base diet (no antimicrobial compounds); base diet + 3 g ZnO/kg; base diet + 1.5 g OACP/kg. Dietary treatments started on the day of weaning and were fed ad libitum for 3 weeks. All pigs were infected with an F4 ETEC on d 4, 5 and 6 after weaning. The incidence of PWD was lower in pigs fed ZnO (p = 0.026). Overall, pigs fed ZnO grew faster (p = 0.013) and ate more (p = 0.004) than the base diet-fed pigs, with OACP-fed pigs performing the same (p > 0.05) as both the ZnO- and base diet-fed pigs. Feed conversion ratio was similar for all diets (p > 0.05). The percentage of E. coli with F4 fimbriae was affected a day by treatment interaction (p = 0.037), with more E. coli with F4 fimbriae found in pigs fed ZnO on d 11 (p = 0.011) compared to base diet-fed pigs. Only significant time effects (p < 0.05) occurred for blood measures. Under the conditions of this study, inclusion of OACP gave statistically similar production responses to pigs fed ZnO, however pigs fed ZnO had less PWD compared to OACP- and the base diet-fed pigs.
Role of p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase in Axotomy-Induced Apoptosis of Rat Retinal Ganglion Cells

p38 is a member of the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase superfamily and mediates intracellular signal transduction. Recent studies suggest that p38 is involved in apoptotic signaling in several cell types, including neurons. In the mammalian retina, ∼50% of the retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) die by apoptosis during development. Additionally, transection of the optic nerve close to the eye bulb causes apoptotic cell death of RGCs in adulthood. We investigated the role of p38 in axotomy-induced apoptosis of RGCs. One day after axotomy, activated (phosphorylated) p38 was visualized by immunocytochemistry in the nuclei of RGCs, but not in control retinas. Phosphorylated p38 was first detected on immunoblots 12 hr after axotomy, reached a maximum at 1 d, and then decreased. To investigate possible roles of p38 in RGC death, a p38 MAP kinase inhibitor, SB203580, was administered intravitreally at the time of axotomy and repeated at 5 and 10 d. Assayed 14 d after axotomy, SB203580 increased the number of surviving RGCs in a dose-dependent manner (the minimum effective concentration was 1.6 μm). Furthermore, MK801, a selective inhibitor of NMDA receptors, not only showed protective effects against RGC apoptosis but also attenuated p38 MAP kinase activation in a dose-dependent manner. Our findings imply that p38 is in the signaling pathway to RGC apoptosis mediated by glutamate neurotoxicity through NMDA receptors after damage to the optic nerve. p38 inhibitors could be potentially useful for the treatment of optic nerve trauma and neurodegenerative diseases that affect RGCs, such as glaucoma.
Measurements of Anteroposterior and Intersidal Asymmetry in Patients with Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the anteroposterior and intersidal asymmetric weight bearing and plantar pressure in patients with mild diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Design A total of 102 subjects were enrolled in this study. Plantar pressure and anteroposterior and intersidal weight-bearing patterns on a foot plate were measured using Gaitview while standing and during dynamic walking. The subjects were evaluated with nerve conduction study, vibration sensory threshold (VST), and Diabetic Neuropathy Symptom (DNS) scores. Results The subjects were classified into normal nerve conduction study and mild diabetic peripheral neuropathy groups according to the results of the nerve conduction study tests. The two groups differed significantly in asymmetric weight-bearing pattern, DNS score, and VST. The sensitivities of anteroposterior and intersidal asymmetry were similar to those of DNS score and VST, with significant correlations between asymmetric weight bearing and VST and DNS scores. In contrast, highest plantar pressure did not differ significantly in the two groups and was not significantly correlated with nerve conduction study, VST, or DNS score. Conclusions Measurements of asymmetric weight bearing may indicate the clinical significance of mild diabetic peripheral neuropathy similar as other screening tools. Asymmetric weight-bearing pattern may be useful for evaluating patients in the early period of diabetes mellitus because proper management would prevent further complications and improve quality-of-life.
Abstract 5093: Genome wide DNA copy number analysis of serous type ovarian carcinomas identifies genetic markers predictive of clinical outcome

Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer death in women. Ovarian cancers display a high degree of complex genetic alterations involving many oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. Analysis of the association between genetic alterations and clinical endpoints such as survival will lead to improved patient management via genetic stratification of patients into clinically relevant subgroups. In this study, we aim to define subgroups of high-grade serous ovarian carcinomas that differ with respect to prognosis and overall survival. Genome-wide DNA copy number alterations (CNAs) were measured in 72 clinically annotated, high-grade serous tumors using high-resolution oligonucleotide arrays. Two clinically annotated, independent cohorts were used as validation sets. Unsupervised hierarchical clustering of copy number data resulted in two clusters with significant difference in progression free survival (PFS) and marginal difference in overall survival (OS). GISTIC analysis of the two clusters identified altered regions unique to each cluster. Supervised clustering of two independent large cohorts of high-grade serous tumors using the classification scheme derived from the two initial clusters validated our results and identified 8 genomic regions that are distinctly different among the subgroups. These 8 regions map to 8p21.3, 8p23.2, 12p12.1, 17p11.2, 17p12, 19q12, 20q11.21 and 20q13.12; and harbor potential oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes that are likely to be involved in the pathogenesis of ovarian carcinoma. We have identified a set of genetic alterations that could be used for stratification of high-grade serous tumors into clinically relevant treatment subgroups. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 5093. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-5093
Dietary intake of fat and fibre according to reference values relates to higher gut microbiota richness in overweight pregnant women

Abstract The diet–microbiota–metabolism relationships during pregnancy are mostly unknown. We explored the effect of the habitual diet and adherence to the dietary reference values on gut microbiota composition and diversity. Further, the association of gut microbiota with serum lipidomics and low-grade inflammation was evaluated. Overweight and obese women (BMI 30·7 (sd 4·4) kg/m2, n 100) were studied at early pregnancy (≤17 weeks). Intakes of nutrients were calculated from 3-d food diaries. Faecal microbiota composition was analysed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Fasting serum lipidomic profiles were determined by NMR. High-sensitivity C-reactive protein, glycoprotein acetylation (GlycA) and lipopolysaccharide activity were used as markers for low-grade inflammation. The recommended dietary intake of fibre and fat was related to higher gut microbiota richness and lower abundance of Bacteroidaceae. Correlations were observed between gut microbiota richness and GlycA and between a few microbiota genera and serum lipoprotein particles. As a conclusion, adherence to the dietary reference intake of fat and fibre was associated with beneficial gut microbiota composition, which again contributed to lipidomic profile. Higher gut microbiota richness and nutrient intakes were linked to a lower level of low-grade inflammation marker GlycA. This finding offers novel insights and opportunities for dietary modification during pregnancy with potential of improving the health of the mother and the child.