Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Higher Implantation Rate Using Modified Quarter Laser-Assisted Zona Thinning in Repeated Implantation Failure

Background/Aims: Some embryo implantation problems in patients with recurrent implantation failure may be explained by the inability of the embryo to hatch out of its zona pellucida. In this case-control study, a study group which had received modified quarter laser-assisted zona thinning (mQLAZT) was compared with a control group which had not received mQLAZT with respect to reproductive outcome. Methods: Cycles from patients with a 4th fresh embryo transfer (ET) after 3 previously failed ET cycles (no β-hCG detected) were included. Cases (group A, n = 53) included ET cycles from patients who received a 4th ET with fresh embryos after mQLAZT. Controls (group B, n = 86) included ET cycles from patients who had a 4th ET without mQLAZT. The clinical implantation rate and live birth rate per embryo transferred were measured. Results: The clinical implantation rate with positive fetal heart beat per embryo transferred was significantly higher (p = 0.035) in group A (22/107 or 21%) than in group B (18/166 or 11%). Conclusion: The data of this case-control study suggest that mQLAZT can be effective in the treatment of patients with recurrent implantation failure, but need to be confirmed by randomized trials.
Mystery of the Disappearing Allergen: Published Allergens Rarely Seen Again

Patch testing is an important tool in the diagnosis of allergic contact dermatitis. Although this technique can be accurate, occasionally the results may be inconclusive. A previously positive result to an allergen may become negative upon repeat testing, and this may complicate the process of achieving a definitive diagnosis. There are some potential explanations for such inconsistencies, including the Excited Skin Syndrome, irritant reactions, a need to repeat the diagnostic algorithm, “rogue” reactions, and “contact allergy. ” These explanations should be taken into account when interpreting these results. However, further knowledge is needed to solve the mystery of an allergen that subsequently disappears.
Motor learning in childhood reveals distinct mechanisms for memory retention and re-learning

Adults can easily learn and access multiple versions of the same motor skill adapted for different conditions (e.g., walking in water, sand, snow). Following even a single session of adaptation, adults exhibit clear day-to-day retention and faster re-learning of the adapted pattern. Here, we studied the retention and re-learning of an adapted walking pattern in children aged 6–17 yr. We found that all children, regardless of age, showed adult-like patterns of retention of the adapted walking pattern. In contrast, children under 12 yr of age did not re-learn faster on the next day after washout had occurred—they behaved as if they had never adapted their walking before. Re-learning could be improved in younger children when the adaptation time on day 1 was increased to allow more practice at the plateau of the adapted pattern, but never to adult-like levels. These results show that the ability to store a separate, adapted version of the same general motor pattern does not fully develop until adolescence, and furthermore, that the mechanisms underlying the retention and rapid re-learning of adapted motor patterns are distinct.
Using Uneven Margins SVM and Perceptron for Information Extraction

The classification problem derived from information extraction (IE) has an imbalanced training set. This is particularly true when learning from smaller datasets which often have a few positive training examples and many negative ones. This paper takes two popular IE algorithms -- SVM and Perceptron -- and demonstrates how the introduction of an uneven margins parameter can improve the results on imbalanced training data in IE. Our experiments demonstrate that the uneven margin was indeed helpful, especially when learning from few examples. Essentially, the smaller the training set is, the more beneficial the uneven margin can be. We also compare our systems to other state-of-the-art algorithms on several benchmarking corpora for IE.
Pulmonary cryptococcosis: An unusual presentation

Cryptococcal infection of the lung is usually asymptomatic in immunocompetent hosts. Symptomatic cryptococcal lung infection presenting as an endobronchial mass lesion in an immunocompetent host is rare. We report our experience with an immunocompetent young patient presenting with an endobronchial mass lesion caused by cryptococcal infection. This male patient presented with left sided collapse, consolidation on computed tomography scanning, and was found to have a polypoid lesion in the left main bronchus. The diagnosis was confirmed by bronchial biopsy and the patient responded well to parenteral antifungal therapy. The case report is followed by a review of pulmonary cryptococcosis including clinical features, diagnosis, and treatment.
Efficient Asymptotic Approximation in Temporal Difference Learning

TD(λ) is an algorithm that learns the value function associated to a policy in a Markov Decision Process (MDP). We propose in this paper an asymptotic approximation of online TD(λ) with accumulating eligibility trace, called ATD(λ). We then use the Ordinary Differential Equation (ODE) method to analyse ATD(λ) and to optimize the choice of the λ parameter and the learning stepsize, and we introduce ATD, a new efficient temporal difference learning algorithm.
The Stellar Initial Mass Function in Primordial Galaxies

In the context of star formation through fragmentation of an extremely metal deficient protogalactic cloud, the gravitational collapse of filamentary gas clouds is explored with one-dimensional numerical hydrodynamics coupled with nonequilibrium chemistry of H2 and HD. It is found that the cloud evolution is governed mainly by the initial central density (nc, 0) and H2 abundance (x). In particular, the evolution of low-density filaments (nc, 0 ≲ 105 cm-3) bifurcates at a threshold H2 abundance of x ≃ 3 × 10-3, beyond which HD cooling overwhelms H2 cooling. The contraction of a filament with nc, 0 ≲ 105 cm-3 and x ≳ x is strongly decelerated when the central density (nc) reaches a critical density of HD at which LTE level populations are achieved, and therefore the filament is expected to fragment at ~107 cm-3. The fragment mass is lowered to be ≈10 M☉. In contrast, the contraction of a filament with nc, 0 ≲ 105 cm-3 and x ≲ x is regulated by H2 cooling. In this case, the filament tends to fragment at lower density as ~104 cm-3 owing to the low critical density of H2, and the fragment mass is as high as ≈102 M☉. For a high-density filament with nc, 0 ≳ 105 cm-3, the temperature stays at a relatively high value because both H2 and HD cooling saturate, and the cloud evolution is governed by H2 cooling. The contraction of a high-density filament is accelerated by effective three-body H2 formation when the density reaches 108-109 cm-3. Fragmentation is not expected to take place until the cloud becomes opaque in H2 lines at nc, 0 ~ 1012-1013 cm-3, so that the fragment mass is reduced to 1-2 M☉. As a result, the stellar initial mass function could be bimodal and deficient in sub-solar mass stars, where the high-mass peak is around 10 or 102 M☉, dependent on nc, 0 and x. If the protogalactic clouds are ionized by UV radiation or strong shocks, the H2 abundance could exceed x ≃ 3 × 10-3 by reactions of H + e → H- + hν and H + H- → H2 + e. The high-mass peak would then be O(10) M☉.
Scalable QoS-Based Event Routing in Publish-Subscribe Systems

This paper proposes a distributed and scalable publish-subscribe broker with support for QoS. The broker, called IndiQoS, leverages on existing mechanisms to reserve resources in the underlying network and on an overlay network of peer-to-peer rendezvous nodes, to automatically select QoS-capable paths. By avoiding flooding of either QoS reservations or link-state information, IndiQoS is able to scale with respect to network size and number of reservations. Experimental results show the validity of our approach
Lessons learned over a decade of pediatric robotic ureteral reimplantation

The da Vinci robotic system has improved surgeon dexterity, ergonomics, and visualization to allow for a minimally invasive option for complex reconstructive procedures in children. Over the past decade, robot-assisted laparoscopic ureteral reimplantation (RALUR) has become a viable minimally invasive surgical option for pediatric vesicoureteral reflux (VUR). However, higher-than-expected complication rates and suboptimal reflux resolution rates at some centers have also been reported. The heterogeneity of surgical outcomes may arise from the inherent and underestimated complexity of the RALUR procedure that may justify its reclassification as a complex reconstructive procedure and especially for robotic surgeons early in their learning curve. Currently, no consensus exists on the role of RALUR for the surgical management of VUR. High success rates and low major complication rates are the expected norm for the current gold standard surgical option of open ureteral reimplantation. Similar to how robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery has gradually replaced open surgery as the most utilized option for prostatectomy in prostate cancer patients, RALUR may become a higher utilized surgical option in children with VUR if the adoption of standardized surgical techniques that have been associated with optimal outcomes can be adopted during the second decade of RALUR. A future standard of RALUR for children with VUR whose parents seek a minimally invasive surgical option can arise if widespread achievement of high success rates and low major complication rates can be obtained, similar to the replacement of open surgery with robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostectomy as the new strandard for men with prostate cancer.
Affective and Behavioral Assessment for Adaptive Intelligent Tutoring Systems

Adaptive Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) aim at helping students going through the resolution of a given problem in a principled way according to the desired outcomes, the intrinsic capabilities of the student, and the particular context in which the exercise takes place. These systems should be capable of acting according to mistakes, boredness, distractions, etc. Several works propose different models to represent the problem being solved, the student solving it and the tutor guidance to the desired solution. The system complexity requires non trivial models whose corresponding parameters need to be estimated with differents kinds of data, usually requiring heavy and difficult sensing and recognition tasks. In this work, we present some of the work in progress in the BIG-AFF project. Between other issues, we deal with the use of low cost and low intrusive devices to gather contextual data to losely drive the actions of an ITS without constructing a fully structured student model with corresponding affective and behavioral states. The idea is to improve the students’ learning outcome and satisfaction by progressively learning how to adapt the ITS in terms of the sensed data.
Influence of the Size Factor of a Mobile Robot Moving Toward a Human on Subjective Acceptable Distance

Service robots working around humans are expected to become widespread in the next decade. There have been numerous works for developing autonomous mobile robots, starting as early as the 1980s. For example, Crowley developed the Intelligent Mobile Platform (IMP) which moved around a known domain according to given commands (Crowley, 1985). The issue in the earlier works was how to navigate a robot in a room. HelpMate (Evans et al., 1989) was a mobile platform intended to be used in hospitals for carrying medical records, meal trays, medications, etc. In the 1990s, robots were developed which were equipped with manipulators and executed tasks such as moving objects. Bishoff (1997) developed a mobile robot called HERMES, which is an upper-body humanoid equipped with two arms with hands and an omni-directional vehicle. HERMES recognizes objects around it using stereo vision, and executes tasks such as moving an object from one place to another. Recently, service robots that can execute more complicated tasks using three-dimensional distance sensors and more powerful actuators have been actively developed (Borst et al., 2009; Graf et al., 2009; Droeschel et al., 2011). Along with the development of such service robots, service robot contests have been held such as RoboCup@Home League (RoboCup Federation, 2011), in which mobile service robots compete for accuracy, robustness and safety of task execution in home-like environments. We have also developed an experimental care service robot called IRIS (Hiroi et al., 2003). This robot understood a patient’s commands through spoken dialogue and face recognition, and performed several care tasks such as carrying bottles or opening/closing curtains in a real environment. The other feature of IRIS was its safety; IRIS was equipped with various devices for physical safety, such as arms with torque limiters (Jeong et al., 2004). Safety is the most important issue for this kind of robot, and there have been many studies on keeping a robot safe for humans. Here, we consider two kinds of “safety. ” The first one is the physical safety of avoiding collisions between a robot and humans; physical safety is the most important requirement for a mobile robot working around humans. The other is mental safety, which means ensuring that the robot does not frighten people around it. Mental safety is as important as physical safety; if a robot’s appearance or behavior is frightening, it will not be accepted by people even if it is physically harmless.
Retracted article: Microstructure characterisation and tensile properties of 18Cr-4.5Al-0.3Zr- oxide dispersion strengthened steel

ABSTRACTThe 18Cr–4.5Al–0.3Zr–oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) steel was fabricated by mechanical alloying (MA) and spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique. A microstructural characterisation was performed on an 18Cr–4.5Al–0.3Zr–ODS steel using high angle annual dark field (HAADF) and synchrotron small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). HAADF and SAXS results showed that high-density nanoscale oxides are formed in 18Cr–4.5Al–0.3Zr–ODS steel. The oxides in the specimen can be roughly divided into two categories according to their compositions: (1) core/shell structure oxides with Al–O oxide cores and Y shells; (2) nm-scale trigonal-phase Y4Zr3O12 oxides. In addition, tensile testing results revealed that the specimen exhibited better tensile strength and ductility as compared with another commercial ODS steels with similar composition.
Low-frequency 1/f noise in MoS2 transistors: Relative contributions of the channel and contacts

We report on the results of the low-frequency (1/f, where f is frequency) noise measurements in MoS2 field-effect transistors revealing the relative contributions of the MoS2 channel and Ti/Au contacts to the overall noise level. The investigation of the 1/f noise was performed for both as fabricated and aged transistors. It was established that the McWhorter model of the carrier number fluctuations describes well the 1/f noise in MoS2 transistors, in contrast to what is observed in graphene devices. The trap densities extracted from the 1/f noise data for MoS2 transistors, are 2 × 1019 eV−1cm−3 and 2.5 × 1020 eV−1cm−3 for the as fabricated and aged devices, respectively. It was found that the increase in the noise level of the aged MoS2 transistors is due to the channel rather than the contact degradation. The obtained results are important for the proposed electronic applications of MoS2 and other van der Waals materials.
A biochemical rationale for the anticancer effects of Hsp90 inhibitors: Slow, tight binding inhibition by geldanamycin and its analogues

Heat shock protein (Hsp)90 is emerging as an important therapeutic target for the treatment of cancer. Two analogues of the Hsp90 inhibitor geldanamycin are currently in clinical trials. Geldanamycin (GA) and its analogues have been reported to bind purified Hsp90 with low micromolar potency, in stark contrast to their low nanomolar antiproliferative activity in cell culture and their potent antitumor activity in animal models. Several models have been proposed to account for the ≈100-fold-greater potency in cell culture, including that GA analogues bind with greater affinity to a five-protein Hsp90 complex than to Hsp90 alone. We have determined that GA and the fluorescent analogue BODIPY-GA (BDGA) both demonstrate slow, tight binding to purified Hsp90. BDGA, used to characterize the kinetics of ligand–Hsp90 interactions, was found to bind Hsp90α with koff = 2.5 × 10−3 min−1, t1/2 = 4.6 h, and Ki* = 10 nM. It was found that BDGA binds to a functional multiprotein Hsp90 complex with kinetics and affinity identical to that of Hsp90 alone. Also, BDGA binds to Hsp90 from multiple cell lysates in a time-dependent manner with similar kinetics. Therefore, our results indicate that the high potency of GA in cell culture and in vivo can be accounted for by its time-dependent, tight binding to Hsp90 alone. In the broader context, these studies highlight the essentiality of detailed biochemical characterization of drug–target interactions for the effective translation of in vitro pharmacology to cellular and in vivo efficacy.
Overview of short-circuit contribution of various Distributed Generators on the distribution network

Apart from the positive technical consequences like reducing losses, the increasing penetration of distributed generation (DG) units connected to the distribution network, has lead to the increase of the short-circuit (sc) currents and the fault level. Therefore it is important to know the contribution of each unit. This paper presents the available analytical equations to calculate the short-circuit current, and makes a comparison between the IEC 60909 and the results obtained by the simulations in a test network that incorporates these units.
Extraembryonic Origin of Circulating Endothelial Cells

Circulating endothelial cells (CEC) are contained in the bone marrow and peripheral blood of adult humans and participate to the revascularization of ischemic tissues. These cells represent attractive targets for cell or gene therapy aimed at improving ischemic revascularization or inhibition of tumor angiogenesis. The embryonic origin of CEC has not been addressed previously. Here we use quail-chick chimeras to study CEC origin and participation to the developing vasculature. CEC are traced with different markers, in particular the QH1 antibody recognizing only quail endothelial cells. Using yolk-sac chimeras, where quail embryos are grafted onto chick yolk sacs and vice-versa, we show that CEC are generated in the yolk sac. These cells are mobilized during wound healing, demonstrating their participation to angiogenic repair processes. Furthermore, we found that the allantois is also able to give rise to CEC in situ. In contrast to the yolk sac and allantois, the embryo proper does not produce CEC. Our results show that CEC exclusively originate from extra-embryonic territories made with splanchnopleural mesoderm and endoderm, while definitive hematopoietic stem cells and endothelial cells are of intra-embryonic origin.
Post-stroke depression and expressed emotion

Primary objectives: This study examined the role of expressed emotion (EE) in post-stroke depression (PSD) and the extent to which partner/spouse EE interacted with lesion laterality in PSD. The relationship between (i) lesion location and levels of PSD and (ii) levels of EE and levels of PSD were investigated. The role of perceived EE in PSD was also explored. Design: Cross-sectional, between-subjects design. Methods: Measures applied to stroke survivors included Extended Activities of Daily Living Scale (EADL), Post-Stroke Depression Rating Scale (PSDRS) and Level of Expressed Emotion Scale (LEE); spouses/partners completed the LEE. Results: The interaction between lesion laterality and levels of partner/spouse EE on PSD was not statistically significant (p = 0.63, F = 0.24, df = 1,56). However, a clear relationship was found between lesion laterality and PSD (p = 0.028). As levels of spouse/partner LEE scores increased, levels of PSD also increased (p = 0.039). Perceived EE scores illustrated a significant interaction between lesion laterality and levels of EE on PSD (p = 0.005, F = 8.591, df = 1,56). Conclusion: Whilst spouse/partner EE scores showed no interaction with lesion laterality to determine levels of PSD, a significant interaction was found when compared with stroke survivor perceived EE scores. Furthermore, left hemisphere (LHS) stroke survivors reported higher levels of depression than right hemisphere (RHS) stroke survivors. As levels of EE increased, PSD also increased, with LHS being greater than RHS.
D-Theory: Talking about Talking about Trees

Linguists, including computational linguists, have always been fond of talking about trees. In this paper, we outline a theory of linguistic structure which talks about talking about trees; we call this theory Description theory (D-theory). While important issues must be resolved before a complete picture of D-theory emerges (and also before we can build programs which utilize it), we believe that this theory will ultimately provide a framework for explaining the syntax and semantics of natural language in a manner which is intrinsically computational. This paper will focus primarily on one set of motivations for this theory, those engendered by attempts to handle certain syntactic phenomena within the framework of deterministic parsing.
Gynaecomastia correction: A review of our experience

Introduction: Gynaecomastia is a common problem in the male population with a reported prevalence of up to 36%. Various treatment techniques have been described but none have gained universal acceptance. We reviewed all gynaecomastia patients operated on by one consultant over a 7-year period to assess the morbidity and complication rates associated with the procedure. Materials and Methods: Clinical notes and outpatient records of all patients who underwent gynaecomastia correction at University Hospital North Staffordshire between 01/10/2001 to 01/10/2009 were retrospectively reviewed. A modified version of the Breast Evaluation Questionnaire was used to assess patients satisfaction with the procedure. Results: Twenty-nine patients and a total of 53 breasts were operated on during the study period. Patients underwent either liposuction alone (6 breasts - 11.3%), excision alone (37 breasts - 69.8%) or both excision and liposuction (10 breasts - 18.9%). Twelve operated breasts (22.6%) experienced some form of complication. Minor complications included seroma (2 patients), superficial wound dehiscence (2 patients) and minor bleeding not requiring theatre (3 patients). Two patients developed haematomas requiring evacuation in theatre. No cases of wound infection, major wound dehiscence or revision surgery were encountered. Twenty-six patients (89.7%) returned the patient satisfaction questionnaire. Patients scored an average 4.12 with regards comfort of their chest in different settings, 3.98 with regards chest appearance in different settings, and 4.22 with regards satisfaction levels for themselves and their partner/family. Overall complication rate was 22.6%. Grade III patients experienced the highest complication rate (35.7%), followed by grade II (22.7%) and grade I (17.6%). Overall complication rates among the excision only group was the highest (29.8%) followed by the liposuction only group (16.7%) and the liposuction and excision group (10.0%). There were high satisfaction rates amongst both patients and surgeon. Eleven patients (37.9%) had their outcome classified as ‘excellent’ by the operating surgeon, 16 patients (55.2%) as ‘good’, 1 (3.4%) as ‘satisfactory’ and 1(3.4%) as ‘poor’. Conclusion: Gynaecomastia is a complex condition which poses a significant challenge to the plastic surgeon. Despite the possible complications our case series demonstrates that outcomes of operative correction can be favourable and yield high levels of satisfaction from both patient and surgeon.