Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
In utero exposure to persistent organochlorine pollutants and reproductive health in the human male

Persistent organochlorine pollutants (POPs) are ubiquitous, bioaccumulative compounds with potential endocrine-disrupting effects. They cross the placental barrier thereby resulting in in utero exposure of the developing fetus. The objective of this study was to investigate whether maternal serum concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and p,p′-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p′-DDE) during pregnancy are associated with son's semen quality and reproductive hormone levels. During 2008–2009, we recruited 176 male offspring from a Danish cohort of pregnant women who participated in a study in 1988–1989. Each provided semen and blood samples that were analyzed for sperm concentration, total sperm count, motility, and morphology, and reproductive hormone levels, respectively. The maternal blood samples were collected in pregnancy week 30 and were analyzed for the concentrations of six PCBs (PCB-118, -138, -153, -156, -170, and -180) and p,p′-DDE. The potential associations between in utero exposure to ΣPCBs (pmol/ml), Σdioxin like-(DL) PCBs (PCB-118 and -156) (pmol/ml), and p,p′-DDE and semen quality and reproductive hormone levels were investigated using multiple regression. Maternal median (range) exposure levels of ΣPCB, ΣDL-PCB, and p,p′-DDE were 10.0 (2.1–35.0) pmol/ml, 0.8 (0.2–2.7) pmol/ml, and 8.0 (0.7–55.3) pmol/ml, respectively, reflecting typical background exposure levels in the late 1980s in Denmark. Results suggested that in utero exposure to ΣPCB, ΣDL-PCB, and p,p′-DDE was not statistically significantly associated with semen quality measures or reproductive hormone levels. Thus, results based on maternal PCB and p,p′-DDE concentrations alone are not indicative of long-term consequences for male reproductive health; however, we cannot exclude that these POPs in concert with other endocrine-modulating compounds may have adverse effects.
Distributed under Creative Commons Cc-by 4.0 the First South American Sandownid Turtle from the Lower Cretaceous of Colombia

Sandownids are a group of Early Cretaceous-Paleocene turtles that for several decades have been only known by cranial and very fragmentary postcranial elements. Here I report and describe the most complete sandownid turtle known so far, including articulated skull, lower jaw and postcranial elements, from the Early Cretaceous (upper Barremian-lower Aptian, >120 Ma), Paja Formation, Villa de Leyva town, Colombia. The new Colombian sandownid is defined here as Leyvachelys cipadi new genus, new species and because of its almost identical skull morphology with a previously reported turtle from the Glen Rose Formation, Texas, USA, both are grouped in a single and officially (ICNZ rules) defined taxon. Phylogenetic analysis including L. cipadi supports once again the monophyly of Sandownidae, as belonging to the large and recently redefined Pan-Chelonioidea clade. The morphology of L. cipadi indicates that sandownids were not open marine turtles, but instead littoral to shallow marine durophagous dwellers. Leyvachelys cipadi not only constitutes the first record of sandowinds in South America, but also the earliest global record for the group.
The Evolution of Interaction Networks in Massively Multiplayer Online Games

This article examines the co-evolution of players’ individual performance and their interaction network in a Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMOG). The objective is to test whether the application of theories from the real world is valid in virtual worlds. While the results indicate that the structural effects and demographic variables active in the real world influence the evolution of the players’ interaction network in MMOGs (e.g. transitivity, reciprocity, and homophily), they do not provide evidence that players’ structural embeddedness in the interaction network influences player performance. These findings have important implications for researchers and practitioners who need to understand social processes in MMOGs (e.g., when launching marketing campaigns in MMOGs) or who study MMOGs and then use their findings to draw conclusions about the real world (e.g., when analyzing the relationship between employee performance and network structure).
Methodology Used for "Software for Automated Linkage in Italy" (SALI)

Linkage of epidemiological registries can provide cost-effective information on the associations between different diseases or exposures in the population under study and on completeness of surveillance system databases. We describe the program SALI (software for automated linkage in Italy) aimed at matching individual records from medium-sized registries (in the order of 100,000 records), where the desired outcome is to miss as few links as possible and, because of low link-likelihood (< 1%), a manual revision of matched pairs is feasible. SALI, developed in CA-Clipper language, uses registry files in dBase format. It requires only name, surname, and date of birth as key fields, and it allows for spelling errors in Italian or other Latin languages through a specific algorithm. Furthermore, a double-blind procedure ensures data confidentiality. The main linkage procedure is based on four stages, two automatic ones, and two where the operator can decide through specific windows whether to accept stage-selected matches. SALI takes into account possible errors in key fields thus reducing false negatives. It was used to solve the problem of linkage between AIDS and cancer registries in Italy. It can be used with every IBM-compatible computer system, assuring uniquely high portability.
Pharmacokinetic Comparison of Two Piperaquine-Containing Artemisinin Combination Therapies in Papua New Guinean Children with Uncomplicated Malaria

ABSTRACT Pharmacokinetic differences between piperaquine (PQ) base and PQ tetraphosphate were investigated in 34 Papua New Guinean children aged 5 to 10 years treated for uncomplicated malaria with artemisinin-PQ (ART-PQ) base or dihydroartemisinin-PQ (DHA-PQ) tetraphosphate. Twelve children received ART-PQ base (two daily doses of 3 mg of ART and 18 mg of PQ base as granules/kg of body weight) as recommended by the manufacturer, with regular clinical assessment and blood sampling over 56 days. PQ concentrations in plasma samples collected from 22 children of similar ages with malaria in a previously published pharmacokinetic study of DHA-PQ tetraphosphate (three daily doses of 2.5 mg of ART and 20 mg of PQ tetraphosphate as tablets/kg of body weight) were available for comparison. The disposition of ART was also assessed in the 12 children who received ART-PQ base. Plasma PQ was assayed by high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection, and ART was assayed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Multicompartment pharmacokinetic models for PQ and ART were developed using a population-based approach. ART-PQ base was well tolerated, and initial fever abatement and parasite clearance were prompt. There were no differences between the two treatments in the values for the PQ area under the concentration-time curve from time zero to infinity (AUC0–∞), with medians of 49,451 (n = 12) and 44,556 (n = 22) μg · h/liter for ART-PQ base and DHA-PQ tetraphosphate, respectively. Recurrent parasitemia was associated with lower PQ exposure. Using a two-compartment ART model, the median AUC0–∞ was 1,652 μg · h/liter. There was evidence of autoinduction of ART metabolism (relative bioavailability for the second dose, 0.27). These and previously published data suggest that a 3-day ART-PQ base regimen should be further evaluated, in line with World Health Organization recommendations for all artemisinin combination therapies.
Fragment-based image completion

We present a new method for completing missing parts caused by the removal of foreground or background elements from an image. Our goal is to synthesize a complete, visually plausible and coherent image. The visible parts of the image serve as a training set to infer the unknown parts. Our method iteratively approximates the unknown regions and composites adaptive image fragments into the image. Values of an inverse matte are used to compute a confidence map and a level set that direct an incremental traversal within the unknown area from high to low confidence. In each step, guided by a fast smooth approximation, an image fragment is selected from the most similar and frequent examples. As the selected fragments are composited, their likelihood increases along with the mean confidence of the image, until reaching a complete image. We demonstrate our method by completion of photographs and paintings.
Molecular Docking Screening Using Agonist-Bound GPCR Structures: Probing the A2A Adenosine Receptor

Crystal structures of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) have recently revealed the molecular basis of ligand binding and activation, which has provided exciting opportunities for structure-based drug design. The A2A adenosine receptor (A2AAR) is a promising therapeutic target for cardiovascular diseases, but progress in this area is limited by the lack of novel agonist scaffolds. We carried out docking screens of 6.7 million commercially available molecules against active-like conformations of the A2AAR to investigate whether these structures could guide the discovery of agonists. Nine out of the 20 predicted agonists were confirmed to be A2AAR ligands, but none of these activated the ARs. The difficulties in discovering AR agonists using structure-based methods originated from limited atomic-level understanding of the activation mechanism and a chemical bias toward antagonists in the screened library. In particular, the composition of the screened library was found to strongly reduce the likelihood of identifying AR agonists, which reflected the high ligand complexity required for receptor activation. Extension of this analysis to other pharmaceutically relevant GPCRs suggested that library screening may not be suitable for targets requiring a complex receptor-ligand interaction network. Our results provide specific directions for the future development of novel A2AAR agonists and general strategies for structure-based drug discovery.
First dating results for the Middle Pleistocene industries (Acheulean – Early Middle Palaeolithic) in the Pyrenees – Garonne region: a multi methods geochronological approach (TL, OSL and TT-OSL) of the Duclos and Romentères sites

The recent development work of the A65 highway has given the opportunity to broaden the corpus of Lower and Middle Palaeolithic open-air sites known in the southern Aquitaine basin. The sites of Duclos (Auriac, Pyrenees-Orientales) and Romenteres (Le Vignau, Landes), discovered in this context, have yielded an abundant lithic record which has been attributed to the Acheulean of Iberian type for the earlier and, essentially, to the Early Middle Palaeolithic for the latter. The archaeological levels are intercalated in sequences that comprise aeolian silts and colluvial units separated by interglacial luvisols. The pedostratigraphic context of the two sites has provided a rare opportunity to propose a reliable chronostratigraphic framework in this area. To achieve this objective, a study combining several methods of luminescence dating was conducted to complete the geomorphological data. Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) and Thermically Transferred OSL (TT-OSL) dating methods were applied in order to determine the ages of sedimentary quartz grains and thus, of the sampled deposits. In parallel, heated flint and quartzite samples were dated by thermoluminescence (TL). The Pyrenees-Garonne Acheulean industry of Duclos has been attributed to the boundary between Marine Isotopic Stages (MIS) 7 and 6 while the human occupations of Romenteres date from MIS 6 for the most recent series (Early Middle Palaeolithic) and from MIS 9 and 8 for the older.
RF Performance and Small-Signal Parameter Extraction of Junctionless Silicon Nanowire MOSFETs

This paper presents a radio-frequency (RF) model and extracted model parameters for junctionless silicon nanowire (JLSNW) metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) using a 3-D device simulator. JLSNW MOSFETs are evaluated for various RF parameters such as cutoff frequency fT, gate input capacitance, distributed channel resistances, transport time delay, and capacitance by the drain-induced barrier lowering effect. Direct comparisons of high-frequency performances and extracted parameters are made with conventional silicon nanowire MOSFETs. A non-quasi-static RF model has been used, along with SPICE to simulate JLSNW MOSFETs with RF parameters extracted from 3-D-simulated Y-parameters. The results show excellent agreements with the 3-D-simulated results up to the high frequency of fT.
Solar stereoscopy where are we and what developments do we require to progress

Observations from the two STEREO-spacecraft give us for the first time the possibility to use stereoscopic methods to reconstruct the 3-D solar corona. Classical stere- oscopy works best for solid objects with clear edges. Con- sequently an application of classical stereoscopic methods to the faint structures visible in the optically thin coronal plasma is by no means straight forward and several problems have to be treated adequately: 1) First there is the problem of identifying one-dimensional structures - e.g. active region coronal loops or polar plumes- from the two individual EUV- images observed with STEREO/EUVI. 2) As a next step one has the association problem to find corresponding structures in both images. This becomes more difficult as the angle between STEREO-A and B increases. 3) Within the recon- struction problem stereoscopic methods are used to compute the 3-D-geometry of the identified structures. Without any prior assumptions, e.g., regarding the footpoints of coronal loops, the reconstruction problem has not one unique solu- tion. 4) One has to estimate the reconstruction error or ac- curacy of the reconstructed 3-D-structure, which depends on the accuracy of the identified structures in 2-D, the separa- tion angle between the spacecraft, but also on the location, e.g., for east-west directed coronal loops the reconstruction error is highest close to the loop top. 5) Eventually we are not only interested in the 3-D-geometry of loops or plumes, but also in physical parameters like density, temperature, plasma flow, magnetic field strength etc. Helpful for treating some of these problems are coronal magnetic field models extrap- olated from photospheric measurements, because observed EUV-loops outline the magnetic field. This feature has been used for a new method dubbed "magnetic stereoscopy". As examples we show recent application to active region loops.
DELAR: A Device-Energy-Load Aware Relaying Framework for Heterogeneous Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

This paper addresses energy conservation, a fundamental issue of paramount importance in heterogeneous mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) consisting of powerful nodes (i.e., P-nodes) as well as normal nodes (i.e., B-nodes). By utilizing the inherent device heterogeneity, we propose a cross-layer designed Device-Energy-Load Aware Relaying framework, named DELAR, to achieve energy conservation from multiple facets, including power-aware routing, transmission scheduling and power control. In particular, we design a novel power-aware routing protocol that nicely incorporates device heterogeneity, nodal residual energy information and nodal load status to save energy. In addition, we develop a hybrid transmission scheduling scheme, which is a combination of reservation-based and contention-based medium access control schemes, to coordinate the transmissions. Moreover, the novel notion of "mini-routing" is introduced into the data link layer and an Asymmetric MAC (A-MAC) scheme is proposed to support the MAC-layer acknowledgements over unidirectional links caused by asymmetric transmission power levels between powerful nodes and normal nodes. Furthermore, we present a multi-packet transmission scheme to improve the end-to-end delay performance. Extensive simulations show that DELAR can indeed achieve energy saving while striking a good balance between energy efficiency and other network performance metrics.
Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in domestic goats in Multan, Punjab, Pakistan

The present study was conducted to investigate the seroprevalence of Toxoplasma (T.) gondii in goats. Out of 200 goats 104 were seropositive showing an overall prevalence of 52%. T. gondii was more prevalent (55%) in female goats as compared to male goats (25%) with statistical significance (P<0.05). Results regarding the relationship between different breeds of goats and T. gondii revealed that the prevalence of toxoplasmosis was highest (57.14%) in Beetal and lowest (46.03%) in Teddy goats with statistical significance (P<0.05). Toxoplasmosis had highest prevalence (77.27%) in age group of (6075months) and lowest prevalence (39.32%) was recorded in age group of (12-27months) showing the statistical significance (P<0.05). Results regarding the relationship between body weight of animals and T. gondii showed that parasite had highest prevalence (60.71%) in body weight group of (45-59kg) and lowest prevalence (34.54%) in body weight group of (15-29kg) with statistical significance (P<0.05).
In Vitro Retina as an Experimental Model of the Central Nervous System

Abstract Methods are described for isolating adult rabbit retina and maintaining it in a medium designed to resemble CSF. Morphologic, metabolic, and electrophysiologic measurements obtained on the in vitro retinas showed that they remained in a nearly physiological state for at least 8 h, and even after 2 days in vitro they still exhibited a high level of metabolic activity and electrical responsiveness to light. Physiological activity was modified by photic stimulation, and data are presented to document changes in metabolism in response to the changes in function. The isolated retina appears to offer a number of unusual advantages for studying relationships between function and metabolism in organized mammalian central nervous tissue
Paroxetine treatment of delusional disorder, somatic type

A 77‐year‐old female showed delusion of infestation in the oral cavity. She was treated by paroxetine 20 mg/day, and the hypochondriacal delusion disappeared after 8 weeks. Hypoperfusion in the left temporal and parietal lobes which was observed when she had the delusion was normalized after resolution of the delusion. This report suggests that paroxetine may be effective for delusional disorder, somatic type. It also supports the previous views that this disorder is associated with serotonergic dysfunction and hypoperfusion in the temporal and parietal lobes. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Clustering Support and Replication Management for Scalable Network Services

The ubiquity of the Internet and various intranets has brought about widespread availability of online services and applications accessible through the network. Cluster-based network services have been rapidly emerging due to their cost-effectiveness in achieving high availability and incremental scalability. We present the design and implementation of the Neptune middleware system that provides clustering support and replication management for scalable network services. Neptune employs a loosely connected and functionally symmetric clustering architecture to achieve high scalability and robustness. It shields the clustering complexities from application developers through simple programming interfaces. In addition, Neptune provides replication management with flexible replication consistency support at the clustering middleware level. Such support can be easily applied to a large number of applications with different underlying data management mechanisms or service semantics. The system has been implemented on Linux and Solaris clusters, where a number of applications have been successfully deployed. Our evaluations demonstrate the system performance and smooth failure recovery achieved by proposed techniques.
Visuo-tactile interactions in the congenitally deaf: a behavioral and event-related potential study

Auditory deprivation is known to be accompanied by alterations in visual processing. Yet not much is known about tactile processing and the interplay of the intact sensory modalities in the deaf. We presented visual, tactile, and visuo-tactile stimuli to congenitally deaf and hearing individuals in a speeded detection task. Analyses of multisensory responses showed a redundant signals effect that was attributable to a coactivation mechanism in both groups, although the redundancy gain was less in the deaf. In line with these behavioral results, on a neural level, there were multisensory interactions in both groups that were again weaker in the deaf. In hearing but not deaf participants, somatosensory event-related potential N200 latencies were modulated by simultaneous visual stimulation. A comparison of unisensory responses between groups revealed larger N200 amplitudes for visual and shorter N200 latencies for tactile stimuli in the deaf. Furthermore, P300 amplitudes were also larger in the deaf. This group difference was significant for tactile and approached significance for visual targets. The differences in visual and tactile processing between deaf and hearing participants, however, were not reflected in behavior. Both the behavioral and electroencephalography (EEG) results suggest more pronounced multisensory interaction in hearing than in deaf individuals. Visuo-tactile enhancements could not be explained by perceptual deficiency, but could be partly attributable to inverse effectiveness.
Draft Genome Sequence of Pseudomonas plecoglossicida Strain NB2011, the Causative Agent of White Nodules in Large Yellow Croaker (Larimichthys crocea)

ABSTRACT We describe the draft genome sequence of Pseudomonas plecoglossicida strain NB2011, the causative agent of white nodules in cultured large yellow croaker (Larimichthys crocea) in China. The draft genome sequence of the bacterium consists of 5.41 million bp, with a G+C content of 62.8%. A total of 4,952 genes were identified.
THE EARLIEST VASCULAR PLANT OR A LATER ROOTING SYSTEM? PINNATIRAMOSUS QIANENSIS FROM THE MARINE LOWER SILURIAN XIUSHAN FORMATION, GUIZHOU PROVINCE, CHINA

Abstract Pinnatiramosus qianensis Geng, a plant with a complex, extensive, pinnate branching system and pitted tracheids from marine Llandovery (lower Silurian) rocks in Guizhou Province, challenges long-held theories on the origin and early evolution of vascular plants in the Silurian and Devonian periods. This has led to the hypothesis that the fossils are not syngenetic with the entombing rock but represent the rooting systems of much younger plants, possibly of Permian age. Permian strata overly the Llandovery rocks unconformably in the succession. Leafless axes with less ordered branching occur closer to the boundary and may have had a similar source. Existing and new material of Pinnatiramosus has been subjected to detailed analyses in an attempt to resolve the problem. This has involved examination of the branching systems with respect to the surrounding matrix, comparative morphological descriptions of the systems, and anatomical investigations based on compression and permineralized fossils. The latter in particular indicate an endogenous origin of the lateral branches, typical of roots. Collectively such evidence is highly suggestive of roots of younger plants growing through lithified sediments—plants whose affinity and age remain to be determined but which show an amazing capacity to fill two-dimensional space efficiently, accompanied by an avoidance strategy that is also seen in recent angiosperms.