Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Surgical Anatomy of the Anterior Ethmoidal Canal in Ethmoid Roof

Objectives/Hypothesis This study was undertaken to examine three main relationships. First, the distance and angle from the anterior ethmoidal canal to the limen nasi and the sill were measured. Second, the location of the anterior ethmoidal canal was examined in relation to the lamellas and the skull base. Third, the existence of bony defects in the canal and the course of the canal through the anterior cranial fossa were studied.
AB0 blood group and risk of venous or arterial thrombosis in carriers of factor V Leiden or prothrombin G20210A polymorphisms

Several studies have shown an effect of AB0 blood group on hemostasis. Findings of this study indicate that non-00 group increases the risk and severity of venous thrombosis in carriers of prothrombotic polysmorphisms. See related perspective article on page 649. Background Routine analyses for thrombophilia include determination of the presence of factor V Leiden and prothrombin 20210A polymorphisms. However, the usefulness of these determinations is controversial and the clinical benefit remains questioned because of the moderate risk of associated thrombosis in carriers. In the search for clusters of thrombotic risk factors to estimate individual risk better, we studied the effect of AB0 blood group, a highly prevalent factor with mild prothrombotic features, on the risk and severity of venous and arterial thromboses in carriers of these polymorphisms. Design and Methods We genotyped the AB0 blood group in 981 carriers of factor V Leiden or prothrombin 20210A polymorphisms. In order to avoid the over-representation of a particular genotype and to suppress confounding factors, we included only non-related heterozygous carriers without additional genetic risk factors. We studied 609 patients with venous thromboembolism (287 with factor V Leiden, and 322 with prothrombin 20210A), 174 patients with myocardial infarction (78 with factor V Leiden, and 96 with prothrombin 20210A), and 198 controls (96 with factor V Leiden, and 102 with prothrombin 20210A). Results Non-OO blood group did not increase the risk of myocardial infarction in carriers of factor V Leiden or prothrombin 20210A. However, non-OO blood group contributed significantly to the expression of venous thrombosis associated with both factor V Leiden (OR: 1.76; 95%CI: 1.06–2.91) and prothrombin 20210A (OR: 2.17; 95%CI: 1.33–3.53). Exclusion of A2A2 and A2O from the non-00 blood group (because factor VIII-von Willebrand factor levels are similar in these and the 00 blood group) increased the thrombotic risk. Finally, non-OO blood group was associated with an earlier onset in symptomatic carriers of these polymorphisms. Conclusions Our study suggests that non-OO blood group increases the risk and severity of venous thrombosis in carriers of prothrombotic polymorphisms. Thus, AB0 phenotyping or genotyping analyses may be valuable components in assessing future thrombophilic risk profiles and might have implications for the policy of thrombosis prophylaxis and treatment.
Application of Convex Relaxation to Array Synthesis Problems

A general procedure to solve efficiently non convex array synthesis problems is presented. It is based on the SemiDefinite Relaxation (SDR) technique. The way to properly relax the constraints in order to formulate the synthesis of shaped beams, phase-only arrays and reconfigurable arrays as semidefinite programming problems is detailed. These so-approximated array synthesis problems are then convex, easy to implement and can be efficiently solved using off-the-shelf numerical routines. The conditions under which the relaxed problems provide the optimal solution to the original non convex synthesis problems are specified. Various representative numerical comparisons with arrays designed by other approaches show the validity of the proposed method and illustrate its potentialities.
Modeling speech with sum-product networks: Application to bandwidth extension

Sum-product networks (SPNs) are a recently proposed type of probabilistic graphical models allowing complex variable interactions while still granting efficient inference. In this paper we demonstrate the suitability of SPNs for modeling log-spectra of speech signals using the application of artificial bandwidth extension, i.e. artificially replacing the high-frequency content which is lost in telephone signals. We use SPNs as observation models in hidden Markov models (HMMs), which model the temporal evolution of log short-time spectra. Missing frequency bins are replaced by the SPNs using most-probable-explanation inference, where the state-dependent reconstructions are weighted with the HMM state posterior. According to subjective listening and objective evaluation, our system consistently and significantly improves the state of the art.
Publishing set-valued data via differential privacy

Set-valued data provides enormous opportunities for various data mining tasks. In this paper, we study the problem of publishing set-valued data for data mining tasks under the rigorous differential privacy model. All existing data publishing methods for set-valued data are based on partition-based privacy models, for example k-anonymity, which are vulnerable to privacy attacks based on background knowledge. In contrast, differential privacy provides strong privacy guarantees independent of an adversary's background knowledge and computational power. Existing data publishing approaches for differential privacy, however, are not adequate in terms of both utility and scalability in the context of set-valued data due to its high dimensionality. We demonstrate that set-valued data could be efficiently released under differential privacy with guaranteed utility with the help of context-free taxonomy trees. We propose a probabilistic top-down partitioning algorithm to generate a differentially private release, which scales linearly with the input data size. We also discuss the applicability of our idea to the context of relational data. We prove that our result is (∈, δ)-useful for the class of counting queries, the foundation of many data mining tasks. We show that our approach maintains high utility for counting queries and frequent itemset mining and scales to large datasets through extensive experiments on real-life set-valued datasets.
RNA-Seq Analysis Reveals a Negative Role of KLF16 in Adipogenesis

In this study, we performed high throughput RNA sequencing at the preadipocyte (D0) and differentiated adipocyte (D7) stages of primary brown preadipocyte differentiation in order to characterize the transcriptional events regulating differentiation and function. Compared to the preadipocyte stage (D0), 6,668 genes were identified as differentially expressed genes (DEGs) with a fold change of ≥ 2.0 at the differentiated adipocyte stage (D7). Several adipogenic genes including peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ) and CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein-α (C/EBPα), and Krüppel-like factor (KLF) family genes were differentially expressed at D0 and D7. Since KLF16 gene expression was downregulated at day 7 and its adipogenic function has not been characterized, we investigated its role in adipogenesis. Knockdown of KLF16 stimulated the differentiation of both brown and 3T3-L1 preadipocytes, and led to increased PPARγ expression. However, overexpression of KLF16 had opposite effects. Furthermore, KLF16 downregulated PPARγ expression in brown adipocytes and inhibited its promoter activity. These results indicate that KLF16 inhibits adipogenesis through downregulation of PPARγ expression.
Strategic Complements, Substitutes, and Ambiguity: The Implications for Public Goods

Abstract We examine the effect of ambiguity in symmetric games with aggregate externalities. We find that ambiguity will increase/decrease the equilibrium strategy in games with strategic complements/substitutes and positive externalities. These effects are reversed in games with negative externalities. We consider some economic applications of these results to Cournot oligopoly, bargaining, macroeconomic coordination, and voluntary donations to a public good. In particular we show that ambiguity may reduce free-riding. Comparative statics analysis shows that increases in uncertainty will increase donations, to a public good. Journal of Economic Literature C72, D81, H41.
Proteomic Analyses Reveal a Role of Cytoplasmic Droplets as an Energy Source during Epididymal Sperm Maturation

A small portion of cytoplasm is generally retained as the cytoplasmic droplet (CD) on the flagellum of spermatozoa after spermiation in mice. CDs are believed to play a role in osmoadaptation by allowing water entrance or exit. However, many lines of evidence suggest that CDs may have roles beyond osmoregulation. To gain more insights, we purified CDs from murine epididymal spermatozoa and conducted proteomic analyses on proteins highly enriched in CDs. Among 105 proteins identified, 71 (68%) were enzymes involved in energy metabolism. We also found that sperm mitochondria underwent a reactivation process and glycolytic enzymes were further distributed and incorporated into different regions of the flagellum during epididymal sperm maturation. Both processes appeared to require CDs. Our data suggest that the CD represents a transient organelle that serves as an energy source essential for epididymal sperm maturation.
Periodic microcirculatory flow in patients with sickle-cell disease.

We have applied the technique of laser-Doppler velocimetry to compare patterns of cutaneous blood flow in the forearms of patients with stable sickle-cell disease, with the patterns in normal subjects matched for age, race, and sex, and in patients with anemia due to beta+-thalassemia. The mean resting blood flow in the patients with sickle-cell disease was comparable to that of the control groups but was associated with large, local oscillations in flow with periods of 7 to 10 seconds and peak-to-trough magnitudes about half the mean flow. Oscillations occurred simultaneously at sites separated by 1 cm but were independent in phase and frequency. Since these laser-Doppler measurements represent the average flow pattern in about 1 mm3 of skin (i.e., in approximately 50 to 70 capillary loops), these results suggest that microcirculatory flow in patients with sickle-cell disease proceeds by synchronization of rhythmic flow in large domains of microvessels. These findings indicate that periodic flow may be a compensatory mechanism to offset the deleterious altered rheology of erythrocytes containing polymerized hemoglobin S, and suggest that laser-Doppler velocimetry may be a useful method to investigate microvascular physiology in patients with sickle-cell disease.
Immunodiagnosis of toxocarosis in humans: evaluation of a new enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit

Excretory/secretory (E/S) antigen derived from second-stage larvae of Toxocara canis maintained in defined medium in vitro has been well established worldwide for the immunodiagnosis of human toxocarosis by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Such an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, based on the detection of human anti-T. canis (E/S antigen) serum immunoglobulin G, has recently been commercialized by Biokema-Affinity Products (Crissier-Lausanne, Switzerland). This commercial test kit was evaluated with regard to its application in a routine diagnostic laboratory and the reliability of the results. Of 78 patients with suspected clinical toxocarosis, 71 had anti-T. canis antibodies (positive serological result) corresponding to a diagnostic sensitivity of 91%; 14% of serum samples (n = 199) from patients with protozoan or with helminthic infections also showed positive reactions mainly related to infections with Trichinella, Strongyloides, and Fasciola species. An epidemiological study with 1,000 serum samples from randomly selected healthy blood donors and children in Switzerland demonstrated a seroprevalence of 2.7%. The test kit under evaluation had an overall diagnostic sensitivity of 91% and a relative specificity of 86%, the latter being related to some protozoan and helminthic infections. Because of the scarcity of such infections, potential cross-reactivity does not play a major role under the conditions found in the middle part of Europe. In conclusion, the application of the test kit provided for use in this study can be recommended for routine diagnostic use.
Expression of HSP-65 in jejunal epithelial cells in patients clinically suspected of coeliac disease.

BACKGROUND Coeliac disease (CD) can be classified both clinically and biologically an autoimmune disease. A close relationship obtains between heat shock proteins (HSPs) and numerous autoimmune diseases. HSPs are overexpressed when protecting the host against environmental insult. We sought here to establish whether dietary gluten is such a stress stimulus in patients clinically suspected of CD, and whether the expression of HSP-65 associates with densities of intraepithelial gammadelta+ T cells and/or with expression of mucosal HLA-DR. METHODS Seventy-eight children with clinical suspicion of CD underwent a jejunal biopsy. Monoclonal antibodies were used to stain jejunal epithelial HSP-65, intraepithelial lymphocytes and mucosal HLA-DR. Serum IgA-class endomysial autoantibodies (EMA) were measured by an indirect immunofluorescence method. CD susceptibility HLA DQA1*0501 and DQB1*0201 alleles (HLA DQ2) were determined. RESULTS Enhanced expression of epithelial cell mitochondrial HSP-65 was found in 80% (16/20) of coeliacs and in 24% (14/58) of children excluded for the disease, but in only 7% (2/28) of control subjects (p < 0.001, p = 0.049, respectively). Children with enhanced expression of HSP-65 had significantly higher gammadelta+ T cell densities than those with normal HSP-65 expression. A clear association between HSP-65 and serum IgA-class EMA were also ascertained in patients with normal jejunal mucosal morphology. HLA DQ2 positivity did not correlate with the HSP-65 expression. CONCLUSIONS Gluten might be an environmental insult not only in CD patients but also in some patients excluded for the disease on biopsy. Enhanced expression of epithelial cell stress proteins might be an indicator of such an insult.
Local variation in helminth burdens of Egyptian spiny mice (Acomys cahirinus dimidiatus) from ecologically similar sites: relationships with hormone concentrations and social behaviour

Abstract Populations of Egyptian spiny mice (Acomys cahirinus dimidiatus) in a fragmented montane wadi system in the Sinai showed significant differences in the abundance of gut helminths. Differences in parasite load between populations were positively associated with measures of androgen activity but showed no significant relationship with glucocorticoid activity. Social discrimination tests with adult males from different wadis showed that those from sites with greater helminth abundance were less likely to investigate odours from other males and were less aggressive when subsequently interacting with the odour donors. Subjects showed markedly more investigation towards the odours of males from distant wadis compared with those from their own or immediately neighbouring wadi, but were less aggressive when confronted with odour donors from distant wadis. Despite this, there was a positive relationship between the amount of investigation towards distant male odour and subsequent aggression towards the male. While aggressiveness was positively associated with measures of androgen and glucocorticoid activity, no significant relationship emerged with individual helminth infection. Thus aggressiveness appeared to relate to overall local population levels of infection rather than individual challenge.
Efficacy of Preoperative Itraconazole in Allergic Fungal Rhinosinusitis

Introduction Criterion standard treatment of allergic fungal sinusitis (AFS) is primary surgery followed by adjuvant therapy. Even after good surgery, recurrence rates vary from 10 to 79%. Antifungals, e.g., itraconazole, and steroids have shown varying success rates in delaying recurrences given after surgery. Itraconazole decreases the need for steroids given as a primary treatment in allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis. This study investigated the efficacy of itraconazole given preoperatively for allergic fungal rhinosinusitis. Methodology A prospective study was carried out from July 2011 to November 2013 with 27 patients with histologically proven AFS, who were given itraconazole for 1 month in the preoperative period and operated after completion of the course of itraconazole. They were compared with 25 matched controls of patients with AFS who were operated on directly without preoperative itraconazole. Both groups were given oral steroids in tapering doses for 6 weeks during the postoperative period and followed up at regular intervals. Evaluations were done by using symptomatic (Sino-Nasal Outcome Test [SNOT-20]), radiologic (Lund Mackay scores), and endoscopic (Kupferberg nasal endoscopic grades) parameters. Results Symptomatology scores (SNOT-20) decreased significantly (p = 0.000) with itraconazole. There was a decrease (p = 0.007) in the Lund Mackay scores that reached up to 0. There was complete resolution of disease in 15% of the patients. Reductions in hyperdensities were noted on computed tomography in all the patients after preoperative itraconazole. Polyp sizes decreased and nasal endoscopic grades improved after itraconazole. Postoperative fungal cultures were positive in 60% of the patients in the preoperative itraconazole group compared with 76% of the patients in the control group, which indicated a decreased fungal burden. Conclusion We found improvements in clinical, radiologic, and endoscopic parameters in AFS after preoperative itraconazole administration, which decreased the disease load significantly and also reduced the extent of surgery in the short-term follow-up. It may prove to be a good preoperative adjunct that needs further research
Fostering quality teaching and learning in higher education through academic staff development: Challenges for a multi-campus university

The National demands on quality and concentration by Higher Education Institutions to meet these demands compromise the provision of quality teaching, thereby hindering the quality of learning. Also, many systems of external quality assurance are cumbersome, bureaucratic and time-consuming for academics and their effect in improving quality is generally not yet conclusively demonstrated. Compliance with external requirements on quality initiatives results to lack of time towards staff development, and in some cases making it difficult for staff development. This paper reports on challenges faced by one Higher Education Institution in promoting the quality of teaching and learning through academic staff development. This is a case study of a multi-campus higher education institution in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Qualitative interpretive paradigm informed the investigation. Semi-structured interview was conducted with the Teaching Development Consultant coordinating staff development to generate data. Findings revealed that although staff development can enhance quality teaching and learning there are challenges to achieving quality. These challenges are presented in this paper. In conclusion, some recommendations on how quality in teaching and learning can be promoted and maintained through academic staff development are suggested. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014. v5n25p272
Single-particle cryoEM reconstructions: Meeting the challenge

Tremendous progress has been made in recent years in the acquisition and treatment of electron micrographs of biological samples. These developments now allow retrieving much higher-resolution information from the scrutinized object than was possible until recently. In the case of highly symmetric particles, this approach is providing electron density maps comparable to those obtained by X-ray crystallography at least for large assemblies of equivalent sizes. Such accomplishments were made recently with icosahedral viruses, a bacteriophage (1) and an insect virus (2), and now, as reported in this issue of PNAS (3), this approach has revealed the details of the triple-layered architecture of the medically important rotavirus. This work follows from the recent 3D reconstruction of the double-layered rotavirus subparticles at the same level of resolution (4). There has indeed been steady methodological progress in this field. The first 3D fold of a structural protein of a human virus determined by EM, the hepatitis B virus (HBV) core protein, was reported ≈12 years ago (5, 6). The EM map of the HBV core particles obtained at the time was of sufficient quality to resolve the secondary structure elements of an α-helix-rich HBV core protein. From these pioneering studies, we have now moved to an era in which the quality of the EM maps permits the tracing of entire polypeptide chains for much larger proteins. Although the reported high-resolution 3D reconstructions are still special cases because of their high symmetry, the advances are not necessarily limited to symmetrical particles, but are likely to apply to any rigid macromolecular assembly, provided that enough high-quality images are available to reconstruct the object.
Exploring Halo Substructure with Giant Stars: A Diffuse Star Cloud or Tidal Debris around the Milky Way in Triangulum-Andromeda

We report here the discovery of an apparent excess of 2MASS M giant candidates with dereddened 0.85 < J - Ks < 1.2 spanning a considerably large area of the celestial sphere between, at least, 100° < l < 150° and -20° > b > -40° and covering most of the constellations of Triangulum and Andromeda. This structure does not seem to be preferentially distributed around a clear core, but rather lies in a tenuous, clumpy cloudlike structure tens of kiloparsecs away. The reduced proper-motion diagram, as well as spectroscopy of a subsample, shows these excess stars to be real giants, not contaminating dwarfs. Radial velocity measurements indicate among those M giants the presence of a coherent kinematical structure with a velocity dispersion σ < 17 km s-1. Our findings support the existence of a quite dispersed stellar structure around the Milky Way that, because of its coreless and sparse distribution, could be part of a tidal stream or a new kind of satellite galaxy.
Proceedings of the 2nd Workshop on Ontology Learning and Population: Bridging the Gap between Text and Knowledge

Ontology Learning is up to now dominated by techniques which use text as input. There are only few methods which use a different data source. The techniques which use highly structured data as input have the disadvantage that such data sources are rare. On the other side, there are enormous amounts of Web content present today. We present the XTREEM (Xhtml TREE Mining) methods which enable Ontology Learning from Web Documents. Those methods rely on the semi-structure of Web Documents. The added value of Web document markup is exploited by the XTREEM methods. We show methods for the acquisition of terms, synonyms and semantic relations. The XTREEM techniques are based on the structure of Web documents; they are domain and language independent. There is no need for NLP software nor for training. They do not rely on domain or document collection specific resources or background knowledge, such as patterns, rules or other heuristics; nor do they rely on manually assembling a document collection.