Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The origin and concentration of circulating microparticles differ according to cancer type and evolution: A prospective single‐center study

Microparticles are plasma membrane vesicles produced by apoptotic or activated cells and resting cancer cells. The concentration, origin and procoagulant properties of circulating microparticles are reported to differ according to pathological settings (inflammation, cancer and cardiovascular diseases). In case of cancer, different studies have reported a variation in the concentration of circulating microparticles, with an increase in procoagulant and tumor‐associated antigen‐bearing microparticles. However, the cancer specificity of these results remains unknown. The objective was to establish a specific signature of colorectal and pancreatic cancers (CRC, PC) by characterizing circulating microparticles. Patients presenting with CRC, PC, inflammatory bowel or pancreatic diseases, and healthy subjects, were prospectively included. Circulating microparticles were analyzed by flow cytometry, combining the analysis of Annexin V‐positive with characterization of their origin and determination of their procoagulant activities. We included 85, 36, 15, 18 and 20 patients presenting with CRC, PC, inflammatory bowel or pancreatic diseases, and healthy subjects, respectively. Here, we depict a specific signature, which differed between CRC, PC, associated inflammatory bowel and pancreatic diseases and healthy subjects. Furthermore, in patients with remission, this signature returned to the levels observed in associated inflammatory or healthy patients. Our results indicate that circulating microparticles differ depending on the evolution of a cancer. The analysis of the circulating microparticles reveals the specificity of the signature and can be used as a new complex biomarker reflecting the evolution of the disease.
Overview of Morpho Challenge in CLEF 2007

Morpho Challenge 2007 contained an evaluation of unsupervised morpheme analysis algorithms using information retrieval experiments utilizing data available in CLEF. The objective of the challenge was to design statistical machine learning algorithms that discover which morphemes (smallest individually meaningful units of language) words consist of. Ideally, these are basic vocabulary units suitable for dierent tasks, such as text understanding, machine translation, information retrieval, and statistical language modeling The evaluation of the submitted morpheme analysis was performed by two complementary ways: Competition 1: The proposed morpheme analyses were compared to a linguistic morpheme analysis gold standard by matching the morphemesharing word pairs. Competition 2: Information retrieval (IR) experiments were performed, where the words in the documents and queries were replaced by their proposed morpheme representations and the search was based on morphemes instead of words. This paper provides an overview of the IR evaluation. The IR evaluations were provided for Finnish, German, and English and participants were encouraged to apply their algorithm to all of them. The organizers performed the IR experiments using the queries, texts, and relevance judgments available in CLEF forum and morpheme analysis methods submitted by the challenge participants. The results show that the morpheme analysis has a significant eect in IR performance in all languages, and that the performance of the best unsupervised methods can be superior to the supervised reference methods. The challenge was part of the EU Network of Excellence PASCAL Challenge Program and organized in collaboration with CLEF.
Comparison of motor delays in young children with fetal alcohol syndrome to those with prenatal alcohol exposure and with no prenatal alcohol exposure.

BACKGROUND Researchers are increasingly considering the importance of motor functioning of children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). The purpose of this study was to assess the motor development of young children with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) to determine the presence and degree of delay in their motor skills and to compare their motor development with that of matched children without FAS. METHODS The motor development of 14 children ages 20 to 68 months identified with FAS was assessed using the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (VABS). In addition, 2 comparison groups were utilized. Eleven of the children with FAS were matched for chronological age, gender, ethnicity, and communication age to: (1) 11 children with prenatal alcohol exposure who did not have FAS and (2) 11 matched children without any reported prenatal alcohol exposure. The motor scores on the VABS were compared among the 3 groups. RESULTS Most of the young children with FAS in this study showed clinically important delays in their motor development as measured on the VABS Motor Domain, and their fine motor skills were significantly more delayed than their gross motor skills. In the group comparisons, the young children with FAS had significantly lower Motor Domain standard (MotorSS) scores than the children not exposed to alcohol prenatally. They also had significantly lower Fine Motor Developmental Quotients than the children in both the other groups. No significant group differences were found in gross motor scores. For MotorSS scores and Fine Motor Developmental Quotients, the means and standard errors indicated a continuum in the scores from FAS to prenatal alcohol exposure to nonexposure. CONCLUSIONS These findings strongly suggest that all young children with FAS should receive complete developmental evaluations that include assessment of their motor functioning, to identify problem areas and provide access to developmental intervention programs that target deficit areas such as fine motor skills. Fine motor delays in children with FAS may be related to specific neurobehavioral deficits that affect fine motor skills. The findings support the concept of an FASD continuum in some areas of motor development.
Cohort Profile Update: 2004 Pelotas (Brazil) Birth Cohort Study. Body composition, mental health and genetic assessment at the 6 years follow-up

This is an update of the 2004 Pelotas Birth Cohort profile, originally published in 2011. In view of the high prevalence of overweight and mental health problems among Brazilian children, together with the availability of state-of-the-art equipment to assess body composition and diagnostic tests for mental health in childhood, the main outcomes measured in the fifth follow-up (mean age 6.8 years) included child body composition, mental health and cognitive ability. A total of 3722 (90.2%) of the original mothers/carers were interviewed and their children examined in a clinic where they underwent whole-body dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), air displacement plethysmography and a 3D photonic scan. Saliva samples for DNA were obtained. Clinical psychologists applied the Development and Well-Being Assessment questionnaire and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children to all children. Results are being compared with those of the two earlier cohorts to assess the health effects of economic growth and full implementation of public policies aimed at reducing social inequalities in the past 30 years. For further information visit the programme website at [http://www.epidemio-ufpel.org. br/site/content/coorte_2004/questionarios.php]. Applications to use the data should be made by contacting 2004 cohort researchers and filling in the application form available at [http://www.epidemio-ufpel.org. br/site/content/estudos/formularios.php].
Alpha and gamma tocopherol metabolism in healthy subjects and patients with end-stage renal disease.

BACKGROUND The metabolism of alpha and gamma tocopherol, the major components of vitamin E, have not been studied in uremic patients. The major pathway of tocopherol metabolism is via phytyl side chain oxidation, leaving carboxyethyl-hydroxychromans (CEHC) as metabolites. Alpha and gamma CEHC are water soluble, renally excreted, with known potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidative properties. METHODS We examined serum alpha and gamma tocopherol and respective CEHC concentrations in 15 healthy subjects and 15 chronic hemodialysis patients. RESULTS Serum alpha tocopherol levels were similar in hemodialysis patients (12.03 +/- 1.34 microg/mL) and healthy subjects (11.21 +/- 0.20 microg/mL), while serum gamma tocopherol levels were significantly greater in hemodialysis patients (3.17 +/- 0.37 microg/mL) compared to healthy subjects (1.08 +/- 0.06 microg/mL, P < 0.0001). Serum alpha and gamma CEHC levels were tenfold and sixfold higher in hemodialysis patients compared to healthy subjects, respectively (both P < 0.0001). Serum alpha and gamma tocopherol levels and CEHC metabolites were also measured after supplementation of alpha- or gamma-enriched mixed tocopherols in both hemodialysis patients and healthy subjects. Tocopherol administration resulted in modest or nonsignificant changes in serum tocopherol concentrations, while markedly increasing serum CEHC concentrations in both healthy subjects and hemodialysis patients. Hemodialysis resulted in no change in the serum alpha or gamma tocopherol concentrations while decreasing serum alpha CEHC and gamma CEHC levels by 63% and 53%, respectively (both P = 0.001 versus predialysis). Fourteen-day administration of gamma-enriched but not alpha tocopherols lowered median C-reactive protein (CRP) significantly in hemodialysis patients (4.4 to 2.1 mg/L, P < 0.02). CONCLUSION First, serum alpha and gamma CEHC accumulate in uremic patients compared to healthy subjects; second, supplementation with tocopherols dramatically increases serum CEHC levels in both healthy subjects and hemodialysis patients; and, finally, CEHC accumulation may mediate anti-inflammatory and antioxidative effects of tocopherols in hemodialysis patients.
Cultured endothelial cell monolayers that restrict the transendothelial passage of macromolecules and electrical current

Bovine microvascular endothelial cells (BMECs) proliferated to confluence on the stromal surface of human amniotic membrane that had been denuded of its natural epithelium. The resulting cultures had the following characteristics: (a) The endothelial cells formed a thin, continuous monolayer and, like their in vivo counterparts, contained basal adhesion plaques and large numbers of cytoplasmic vesicles and 10- nm filaments. In addition, the endothelial cells elaborated a basement membrane-like structure. (b) The borders of the BMECs reacted with AgNO3 to produce the "flagstone" pattern typical of endothelium stained with this reagent in vivo. (c) More than 90% of the zones of contact between endothelial cells examined 8 d after plating prevented passage of a macromolecular probe (wheat germ agglutinin conjugated to horseradish peroxidase) across the BMEC monolayer. (d) 8 d-old cultures displayed a transendothelial electrical resistance that averaged 69 +/- 28 omega X cm2. Monolayers of BMECs maintained on amnion thus resemble in vivo endothelium in several respects and should provide a useful and relevant model for the in vitro study of various phenomena that occur at the microvascular wall.
Nitrogen Metabolism and Growth Enhancement in Tomato Plants Challenged with Trichoderma harzianum Expressing the Aspergillus nidulans Acetamidase amdS Gene

Trichoderma is a fungal genus that includes species that are currently being used as biological control agents and/or as biofertilizers. In addition to the direct application of Trichoderma spp. as biocontrol agents in plant protection, recent studies have focused on the beneficial responses exerted on plants, stimulating the growth, activating the defenses, and/or improving nutrient uptake. The amdS gene, encoding an acetamidase of Aspergillus, has been used as a selectable marker for the transformation of filamentous fungi, including Trichoderma spp. , but the physiological effects of the introduction of this gene into the genome of these microorganisms still remains unexplored. No evidence of amdS orthologous genes has been detected within the Trichoderma spp. genomes and the amdS heterologous expression in Trichoderma harzianum T34 did not affect the growth of this fungus in media lacking acetamide. However, it did confer the ability for the fungus to use this amide as a nitrogen source. Although a similar antagonistic behavior was observed for T34 and amdS transformants in dual cultures against Rhizoctonia solani, Botrytis cinerea, and Fusarium oxysporum, a significantly higher antifungal activity was detected in amdS transformants against F. oxysporum, compared to that of T34, in membrane assays on media lacking acetamide. In Trichoderma-tomato interaction assays, amdS transformants were able to promote plant growth to a greater extent than the wild-type T34, although compared with this strain the transformants showed similar capability to colonize tomato roots. Gene expression patterns from aerial parts of 3-week-old tomato plants treated with T34 and the amdS transformants have also been investigated using GeneChip Tomato Genome Arrays. The downregulation of defense genes and the upregulation of carbon and nitrogen metabolism genes observed in the microarrays were accompanied by (i) enhanced growth, (ii) increased carbon and nitrogen levels, and (iii) a higher sensitivity to B. cinerea infections in plants treated with amdS transformants as detected in greenhouse assays. These observations suggest that the increased plant development promoted by the amdS transformants was at expense of defenses.
The IL1A genotype is associated with nasal polyposis in asthmatic adults

Background: Nasal polyposis (NP) is a chronic inflammatory disease often found coexisting with asthma. As this disorder tends to cluster in families, a genetic predisposition has been suggested. Interleukin‐1 (IL‐1) has been proposed to play a role in the pathogenesis of NP.
Factors Underpinning Caregiver Burden in Frontotemporal Dementia Differ in Spouses and their Children

The objectives of this observational study were to (1) compare spousal and child caregiver burden; (2) compare co-resident and live-out child caregiver burden; and (3) investigate factors influencing spousal and child caregiver burden. Data was collected from 90 caregivers of people with frontotemporal degeneration (FTD) recruited from the Frontotemporal Dementia Research Group (Frontier) at Neuroscience Research, Australia. Of this caregiver group, 43 were spousal caregivers and 47 were child caregivers. Caregiver burden and emotional state were evaluated using the short Zarit Burden Interview and the short version of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21. The Social Network Index was applied to ascertain the social network of the caregiver, while the Intimate Bond Measure was used to evaluate the current quality of the relationship between the caregiver and the person with dementia. The Frontotemporal Dementia Rating Scale was used to assess severity of dementia. Spousal and child caregivers experienced similar levels of burden, depression, anxiety, and stress, regardless of disease severity. Co-resident child caregivers had smaller social networks and greater burden than live-out caregivers. Dementia severity was key in spousal caregiver burden, whereas caregiver depression was most important in child caregiver burden. Child and spousal caregivers of individuals with FTD share similar levels of burden, influenced by different factors. Future interventions need to account for these differences.
End-to-End Delay Analysis for Wireless Control Networks under EDF Scheduling

OF THE THESIS End-to-End Delay Analysis for Wireless Control Networks under EDF Scheduling by Chengjie Wu Master of Science in Computer Science Washington University in St. Louis, August 2013 Research Advisor: Professor Chenyang Lu Process industries are starting to adopt multi-hop and multi-channel wireless control networks (WCNs) for process control applications. To meet the stringent real-time performance requirements of control systems, there is a critical need for fast end-to-end delay analysis to support online admission control of periodic real-time flows. While recent results on delay analysis for WCNs have focused on fixed-priority scheduling, this thesis presents the first end-to-end delay analysis for real-time flows in WCNs that schedule transmissions based on the Earliest Deadline First (EDF) policy, a widely used dynamic scheduling policy in real-time systems. This analysis provides safe end-to-end delay bounds for real-time flows and can be used for efficient admission control at run time. Simulations based on both random topologies and the topology of a wireless testbed demonstrate the effectiveness of our analysis for online admission control of real-time flows.
A Fast and Efficient Ensemble Clustering Method

Ensemble of clustering methods is recently shown to perform better than conventional clustering methods. One of the drawback of the ensemble is, its computational requirements can be very large and hence may not be suitable for large data sets. The paper presents an ensemble of leaders clustering methods where the entire ensemble requires only a single scan of the data set. Further, the component leaders complement each other while deriving individual partitions. A heuristic based consensus method to combine the individual partitions is presented and is compared with a well known consensus method called co-association based consensus. Experimentally the proposed methods are shown to perform well
Functional electrical stimulation using microstimulators to correct foot drop : a case study 1

This paper presents a case study that tested the feasibility and efficacy of using injectable microstimulators (BIONs®) in a functional electrical stimulation (FES) device to correct foot drop. Compared with surface stimulation of the common peroneal nerve, stimulation with BIONs provides more selective activation of specific muscles. For example, stimulation of the tibialis anterior (TA) and extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles with BIONs produces ankle flexion without excessive inversion or eversion of the foot (i.e., balanced flexion). Efficacy was assessed using a 3-dimensional motion analysis of the ankle and foot trajectories during walking with and without stimulation. Without stimulation, the toe on the affected leg drags across the ground. BION stimulation of the TA muscle and deep peroneal nerve (which innervates TA and EDL) elevates the foot such that the toe clears the ground by 3 cm, which is equivalent to the toe clearance in the less affected leg. The physiological cost index (PCI) measured effort during walking. The PCI equals the change in heart rate (from rest to activity) divided by the walking speed; units are beats per metre. The PCI is high without stimulation (2.29 ± 0.37, mean ± SD) and greatly reduced with surface (1.29 ± 0.10) and BIONic stimulation (1.46 ± 0.24). Also, walking speed increased from 9.4 ± 0.4 m/min without stimulation to 19.6 ± 2.0 m/min with surface and 17.8 ± 0.7 m/min with BIONic stimulation. These results suggest that FES delivered by a BION is an alternative to surface stimulation and provides selective control of muscle activation.
Critical events, entropy, and the grain boundary character distribution

Mesoscale experiment and simulation permit harvesting information about both geometric features and texture in polycrystals. The grain boundary character distribution (GBCD) is an empirical distribution of the relative length [in two dimensions (2D)] or area (in 3D) of an interface with a given lattice misorientation and normal. During the growth process, an initially random distribution of boundary types reaches a steady state that is strongly correlated to the interfacial energy density. In simulation, it is found that if the given energy density depends only on lattice misorientation, then the steady-state GBCD and the energy are related by a Boltzmann distribution. This is among the simplest nonrandom distributions, corresponding to independent trials with respect to the energy. In this paper, we derive an entropy-based theory that suggests that the evolution of the GBCD satisfies a Fokker-Planck equation, an equation whose stationary state is a Boltzmann distribution. Cellular structures coarsen according to a local evolution law, curvature-driven growth, and are limited by space-filling constraints. The interaction between the evolution law and the constraints is governed primarily by the force balance at triple junctions, the natural boundary condition associated with curvature-driven growth, and determines a dissipation relation. A simplified coarsening model is introduced that is driven by the boundary conditions and reflects the network level dissipation relation of the grain growth system. It resembles an ensemble of inertia-free spring-mass dashpots. Application is made of the recent characterization of Fokker-Planck kinetics as a gradient flow for a free energy in deriving the theory. The theory predicts the results of large-scale two-dimensional simulations and is consistent with experiment.
Stopped Training and Other Remedies for Overfitting

Overrtting is the most serious problem in neural network training; stopped training is the most common solution to this problem. Yet the neural network literature contains little systematic investigation of the properties of stopped training and no comparisons with statistical methods of dealing with overrtting. This paper presents the results of simulations designed to investigate these issues.
Trigeminal interpolaris/caudalis transition neurons mediate reflex lacrimation evoked by bright light in the rat

Abnormal sensitivity to bright light can cause discomfort or pain and evoke protective reflexes such as lacrimation. Although the trigeminal nerve is probably involved, the mechanism linking luminance to somatic sensory nerve activity remains uncertain. This study determined the effect of bright light on second‐order ocular neurons at the ventral trigeminal interpolaris/caudalis transition (Vi/Vc) region, a major termination zone for trigeminal sensory fibers that innervate the eye. Most Vi/Vc neurons (80.9%) identified by responses to mechanical stimulation of the ocular surface also encoded bright light intensity. Light‐evoked neural activity displayed a long latency to activation (> 10 s) and required transmission through the trigeminal root ganglion. Light‐evoked neural activity was inhibited by intravitreal injection of phenylephrine or l‐NG‐nitro‐arginine methyl ester (L‐NAME), suggesting a mechanism coupled to vascular events within the eye. Laser Doppler flowmetry revealed rapid light‐evoked increases in ocular blood flow that occurred prior to the increase in Vi/Vc neural activity. Synaptic blockade of the Vi/Vc region by cobalt chloride prevented light‐evoked increases in tear volume, whereas blockade at the more caudal spinomedullary junction (Vc/C1) had no effect. In summary, Vi/Vc neurons encoded bright light intensity and were inhibited by drugs that alter blood flow to the eye. These results support the hypothesis that light‐responsive neurons at the Vi/Vc transition region are critical for ocular‐specific functions such as reflex lacrimation, whereas neurons at the caudal Vc/C1 junction region probably serve other aspects of ocular nociception.