Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clinical pilot study of intense ultrasound therapy to deep dermal facial skin and subcutaneous tissues.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the clinical safety of intense ultrasound in the treatment of the dermis and subcutaneous tissues of the face and neck in terms of skin inflammation, pain, adverse events, and histologic features. DESIGN In an open-label, phase 1 study, patients scheduled to undergo a rhytidectomy were enrolled into immediate (face-lift surgery within 24 hours of intense ultrasound treatment) and delayed (face-lift surgery 4-12 weeks after treatment) treatment groups. Intense ultrasound treatments were performed as a series of several linear exposures delivered 1.5 to 2.0 mm apart with the use of 1 of 3 available handpieces with different focal depths. Subject pain ratings and standardized digital photographs were obtained at uniform points. Photographs were blindly rated for inflammation. Histologic evaluation of treated tissues was performed with nitroblue tetrazolium chloride viability stain. RESULTS Fifteen subjects with a mean +/- SD age of 53 +/- 7 years were enrolled. Seven subjects were nonrandomly assigned to the immediate group and 8 were in the delayed group. On histologic examination, thermal injury zones were consistently identified in the dermis at exposure levels greater than 0.5 J as focal areas of denatured collagen. At this threshold level or above, most patient exposures were associated with transient superficial skin erythema and slight to mild discomfort on a standardized pain scale. No other adverse effects were noted in any case. Thermal injury zones were produced in the expected linear pattern and were consistent in size and depth from zone to zone. Increasing source power did not increase the depth of the epicenter of the thermal injury zone. Epidermis was spared in all cases. CONCLUSION In this first clinical study of intense ultrasound therapy to facial tissues, the intense ultrasound system allowed for the safe and well-tolerated placement of targeted, precise, and consistent thermal injury zones in the dermis and subcutaneous tissues with sparing of the epidermis.
Tracer coupling of intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells to amacrine cells in the mouse retina

Intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) are a subtype of ganglion cell in the mammalian retina that expresses the photopigment melanopsin and drives non‐image‐forming visual functions. Three morphological subtypes of ipRGCs (M1, M2, and M3) have been described based on their dendritic stratifications in the inner plexiform layer (IPL), but the question of their potential interactions via electrical coupling remains unsettled. In this study, we have addressed this question in the mouse retina by, injecting the tracer Neurobiotin into ipRGCs that had been genetically labelled with the fluorescent protein, tdTomato. We confirmed the presence of the M1–M3 subtypes of ipRGCs based on their distinct dendritic stratifications. All three subtypes were tracer coupled to putative amacrine cells situated within the ganglion cell layer (GCL) but not the inner nuclear layer (INL). The cells tracer coupled to the M1 and M2 cells were shown to be widefield GABA‐immunoreactive amacrine cells. We found no evidence of homologous tracer coupling of ipRGCs or heterologous coupling to other types of ganglion cells. J. Comp. Neurol. 518:4813–4824, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The discrete fractional Fourier transform

We propose and consolidate a definition of the discrete fractional Fourier transform which generalizes the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) in the same sense that the continuous fractional Fourier transform (FRT) generalizes the continuous ordinary Fourier Transform. This definition is based on a particular set of eigenvectors of the DFT which constitutes the discrete counterpart of the set of Hermite-Gaussian functions. The fact that this definition satisfies all the desirable properties expected of the discrete FRT, supports our confidence that it will be accepted as the definitive definition of this transform.
Derivation of the children’s head injury algorithm for the prediction of important clinical events decision rule for head injury in children

Background: A quarter of all patients presenting to emergency departments are children. Although there are several large, well-conducted studies on adults enabling accurate selection of patients with head injury at high risk for computed tomography scanning, no such study has derived a rule for children. Aim: To conduct a prospective multicentre diagnostic cohort study to provide a rule for selection of high-risk children with head injury for computed tomography scanning. Design: All children presenting to the emergency departments of 10 hospitals in the northwest of England with any severity of head injury were recruited. A tailor-made proforma was used to collect data on around 40 clinical variables for each child. These variables were defined from a literature review, and a pilot study was conducted before the children’s head injury algorithm for the prediction of important clinical events (CHALICE) study. All children who had a clinically significant head injury (death, need for neurosurgical intervention or abnormality on a computed tomography scan) were identified. Recursive partitioning was used to create a highly sensitive rule for the prediction of significant intracranial pathology. Results: 22 772 children were recruited over 2½ years. 65% of these were boys and 56% were <5 years old. 281 children showed an abnormality on the computed tomography scan, 137 had a neurosurgical operation and 15 died. The CHALICE rule was derived with a sensitivity of 98% (95% confidence interval (CI) 96% to 100%) and a specificity of 87% (95% CI 86% to 87%) for the prediction of clinically significant head injury, and requires a computed tomography scan rate of 14%. Conclusion: A highly sensitive clinical decision rule is derived for the identification of children who should undergo computed tomography scanning after head injury. This rule has the potential to improve and standardise the care of children presenting with head injuries. Validation of this rule in new cohorts of patients should now be undertaken.
Acacia ferruginea inhibits inflammation by regulating inflammatory iNOS and COX-2

Abstract Inflammation is a local defensive reaction of a host to cellular injury or infection. Prolonged inflammation can contribute to pathogenesis of many disorders. Identification of naturally occurring phytoconstituents that can suppress inflammatory mediators can lead to the discovery of anti-inflammatory therapeutics. Acacia ferruginea is used traditionally to treat numerous ailments including hemorrhage, irritable bowel syndrome and leprosy. The present study evaluated the anti-inflammatory activity of A. ferruginea extract against acute (carrageenan) and chronic (formaldehyde) inflammation in Balb/c mice. Pre-treatment with A. ferruginea extract (10 mg/kg BW) for 5 consecutive days via intraperitonial (IP) administration significantly inhibited subsequent induction of paw edema in both models; the effects were comparable to that of the standard drug indomethacin. The results also showed the A. ferruginea extract significantly inhibited nitric oxide (NO) synthesis and iNOS expression (as measured in serum), diminished inflammation in – and neutrophil infiltration to – the paw tissues and led to a reduction in the number of COX-2+ immunoreative cells (as evidenced by histologic and immunohistochemical analyses) in the paws relative to those in paws of mice that received the irritants only. Further, in vitro studies showed the extract could significantly scavenge free radicals generated as in DPPH and NO radical generating assays. Taken together, the results showed that A. ferruginea extract imparted potent anti-oxidant and -inflammatory effects, in part by maintaining oxidative homeostasis, inhibiting NO synthesis and suppressing iNOS and COX-2 expression and so could potentially be exploited as a potential plant-based medication against inflammatory disorders.
ELECTRON SHOCK SURFING ACCELERATION IN MULTIDIMENSIONS: TWO-DIMENSIONAL PARTICLE-IN-CELL SIMULATION OF COLLISIONLESS PERPENDICULAR SHOCK

Electron acceleration mechanisms in high-Mach-number collisionless shocks propagating in a weakly magnetized medium is investigated using a self-consistent two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation. Simulation results show that strong electrostatic waves are excited via the electron–ion electrostatic two-stream instability at the leading edge of the shock transition region as in the case of earlier one-dimensional simulations. We observe strong electron acceleration that is associated with the turbulent electrostatic waves in the shock transition region. The electron energy spectrum in the shock transition region exhibits a clear power-law distribution with spectral index of 2.0-2.5. By analyzing the trajectories of accelerated electrons, we find that the acceleration mechanism is very similar to shock-surfing acceleration of ions. In contrast to the ion shock surfing, however, the energetic electrons are reflected by electron-scale electrostatic fluctuations in the shock transition region and not by the ion-scale cross-shock electrostatic potential. The reflected electrons are then accelerated by the convective electric field in front of the shock. We conclude that the multidimensional effects as well as the self-consistent shock structure are essential for the strong electron acceleration at high-Mach-number shocks.
Evaluation of the Effective Factors on State of Women Aged Between 18-49 Years to Continue and Discontinue the Use of Contraceptive Method

One of the principal indicators showing the health level of the woman is the family planning [1]. Family Planning (FP) concept is defined as all couples and individuals’ having desired number of children, deciding intervals between them freely, and having information. education and tools needed for this purpose [2]. By using FP practices it is tried: to prevent the unintended pregnancies, to terminate the pregnancies healthily, and to enable the couples to have the children in the desired number and at the desired time and intervals [3]. Today the family planning is an integral part of the general woman health and safe maternity programs [4]. Not using the contraceptive methods at the sufficient level brings along many health problems and social problems [5]. Thousands of mothers and children lose their lives every year because of the deficiency of the FP practices [3]. The unintended pregnancy is an important health problem for women all over the world [6]. According to literature; more than 100 million sexual intercourses take place every day in the world, about one million of such figure result in pregnancy, 25 % of the pregnancies are unplanned pregnancies and 25% are unintended pregnancies [7].
Matrix metalloproteinases in the pathophysiology and progression of gynecological malignancies: could their inhibition be an effective therapeutic approach?

Background: MMPs are a group of zinc-dependent endopeptidases implicated in the degradation of extracellular matrix components. Angiogenesis, wound healing and tissue remodeling are the main processes in which MMPs have been implicated. MMPs also seem to play a role in the pathophysiological processes during tumorigenesis and are thought to have predictive value for clinical outcome. Alterations in the regulation of MMP expression are considered to be of significant importance in the development and progression of gynecological malignancies. Objectives/methods: This study provides a literature review on the involvement of MMPs in the development and progression of gynecological malignancies, their clinical significance and the potential use of natural and/or synthetic MMP Inhibitors (MMPIs) as a more targeted therapeutic approach to these neoplasms. Results/conclusions: There is mounting evidence that MMPs play an important role in development and progression of gynecological malignancies. Current results provide the basis for further investigation of their role in malignancies, the therapeutic potential of their inhibition and the side-effects that can be expected from the modulation of matrix remodeling during therapeutic intervention. Focused research on the combination of MMPIs with cytotoxic and/or antiangiogenic compounds might provide the key to more successful therapeutic approaches towards gynecological and other malignancies.
VACUUM STRUCTURE, LORENTZ SYMMETRY AND SUPERLUMINAL PARTICLES (I)

If textbook Lorentz invariance is actually a property of the equations describing a sector of the excitations of vacuum above some critical distance scale, several sectors of matter with different critical speeds in vacuum can coexist and an absolute rest frame (the vacuum rest frame) may exist without contradicting the apparent Lorentz invariance felt by ”ordinary” particles (particles with critical speed in vacuum equal to c , the speed of light). Sectorial Lorentz invariance, reflected by the fact that all particles of a given dynamical sector have the same critical speed in vacuum, will then be an expression of a fundamental sectorial symmetry (e.g. preonic grand unification or extended supersymmetry) protecting a parameter of the equations of motion. Furthermore, the sectorial Lorentz symmetry may be only a low-energy limit, in the same way as the relation ω (frequency) = cs (speed of sound) k (wave vector) holds for low-energy phonons in a crystal. We study the consequences of such a scenario, using an ansatz inspired by the Bravais lattice as a model for some vacuum properties. It then turns out that: a) the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin cutoff on high-energy cosmic protons and nuclei does no longer apply; b) high-momentum unstable particles have longer lifetimes than expected with exact Lorentz invariance, and may even become stable at the highest observed cosmic ray energies or slightly above. Some cosmological implications of superluminal particles are also discussed.
Intimate Partner Violence Against Women Among North Korean Refugees: A Comparison With South Koreans

North Korean refugees in South Korea have been reported as at higher risk of intimate partner violence (IPV). However, few studies have examined risk factors of IPV among North Korean refugees. This study aimed to report the prevalence of IPV against women among North Korean refugees, and compared the risk factors of IPV against women between South Koreans and North Korean refugees in South Korea. Data from a nationwide survey about domestic violence in South Korea were used. The rate of IPV against women by North Korean refugees was 57.1%, which is considerably higher than that of South Koreans (9.9%). The regression analysis indicated that North Korean refugees perpetrated partner violence against women more frequently than South Koreans, even after controlling for socioeconomic factors. Child abuse victimization and witnessing IPV between parents were the main factors of IPV against women among South Koreans. On the other hand, stress and a tolerant attitude toward using violence were significantly associated with IPV against women among North Korean refugees. The findings suggested that stress management and education on reducing tolerance to violence should be provided to prevent IPV against women among North Korean refugees.
Classification of hyperspectral data from urban areas based on extended morphological profiles

Classification of hyperspectral data with high spatial resolution from urban areas is investigated. A method based on mathematical morphology for preprocessing of the hyperspectral data is proposed. In this approach, opening and closing morphological transforms are used in order to isolate bright (opening) and dark (closing) structures in images, where bright/dark means brighter/darker than the surrounding features in the images. A morphological profile is constructed based on the repeated use of openings and closings with a structuring element of increasing size, starting with one original image. In order to apply the morphological approach to hyperspectral data, principal components of the hyperspectral imagery are computed. The most significant principal components are used as base images for an extended morphological profile, i.e., a profile based on more than one original image. In experiments, two hyperspectral urban datasets are classified. The proposed method is used as a preprocessing method for a neural network classifier and compared to more conventional classification methods with different types of statistical computations and feature extraction.
SABBAC: online Structural Alphabet-based protein BackBone reconstruction from Alpha-Carbon trace

SABBAC is an on-line service devoted to protein backbone reconstruction from alpha-carbon trace. It is based on the assembly of fragments taken from a library of reduced size, selected from the encoding of the protein trace in a hidden Markov model-derived structural alphabet. The assembly of the fragments is achieved by a greedy algorithm, using an energy-based scoring. Alpha-carbon coordinates remain unaffected. SABBAC simply positions the missing backbone atoms, no further refinement is performed. From our tests, SABBAC performs equal or better than other similar on-line approach and is robust to deviations on the alpha-carbon coordinates. It can be accessed at .
Dynamic modeling of electric vehicle movable loads based on driving pattern analysis

With the electrification of transportation, a growing number of electric vehicles (EVs) will emerge as new loads in power system. Comparing to traditional stationary loads, EV charging loads can be regarded as movable loads connecting among buses of a power system. The random moving and charging process of EVs is inherited from the stochastic driving pattern of EV drivers. Moreover, EVs closely link power system and transportation system. An effective traffic management will alleviate the impact of massive EV charging loads on power system. This paper propose a technique to model the stochastic moving feature of EV charging loads based on driving pattern analysis. Graph theory is used to bridge the transportation and transmission network. The spatial and temporal distributions of expected nodal EV charging loads are determined by Monte Carlo simulation (MCS). The system studies show that number of daily trips plays a key role in EV charging loads modeling.
Triply deuterated ammonia in NGC 1333

The Caltech Submillimeter Observatory has detected triply deuterated ammonia, ND3, through its JK =1 a! 0 s transition near 310 GHz. Emission is found in the NGC 1333 region, both towards IRAS 4A and a position to the South-East where DCO + peaks. In both cases, the hyperne ratio indicates that the emission is optically thin. Column densities of ND3 are 3 610 11 cm 2 for Tex = 10 K and twice as high for Tex = 5 K. Using a Monte Carlo radiative transfer code and a model of the structure of the IRAS source with temperature and density gradients, the estimated ND3 abundance is 3:2 10 12 if ND3/H2 is constant throughout the envelope. In the more likely case that ND3/H2D + is constant, ND3/H2 peaks in the cold outer parts of the source at a value of 1:0 10 11 . To reproduce the observed NH3/ND3 abundance ratio of1000, grain surface chemistry requires an atomic D/H ratio of0.15 in the gas phase, >10 times higher than in recent chemical models. More likely, the deuteration of NH3 occurs by ion-molecule reactions in the gas phase, in which case the data indicate that deuteron transfer reactions are much faster than proton transfers.
Generalization Ability of Folding Networks

The information theoretical learnability of folding networks, a very successful approach capable of dealing with tree structured inputs, is examined. We find bounds on the VC, pseudo-, and fat shattering dimension of folding networks with various activation functions. As a consequence, valid generalization of folding networks can be guaranteed. However, distribution independent bounds on the generalization error cannot exist in principle. We propose two approaches which take the specific distribution into account and allow us to derive explicit bounds on the deviation of the empirical error from the real error of a learning algorithm. The first approach requires the probability of large trees to be limited a priori and the second approach deals with situations where the maximum input height in a concrete learning example is restricted.
Adolescent aggressive behavior: Status and stimulation goals in relation to the peer context

The literature suggests that status goals are one of the driving motivations behind bullying behavior, yet this conjecture has rarely if ever been examined empirically. This study assessed status goals in three ways, using dyadic network analysis to analyze the relations and goals among 10-11 and 14-15 year olds in 22 school classes (N boys = 225; N girls = 277). As a validation bullies were contrasted with victims. Bullies had direct status goals (measured with the Interpersonal Goal Inventory for Children) and showed dominance as measured with proactive aggression. Moreover, as predicted from a goal-perspective, bullying behavior was related to prestige in terms of perceived popularity. In contrast, victims lacked status goals, were only reactively aggressive, and low on prestige. That being popular is not the same as being liked could be shown by the fact that bullies were just as rejected as victims by their classmates. Eighth grade bullies had more direct status goals than fourth grade bullies, possibly indicating that striving for the popularity component of status increases in early adolescence. This chapter is based upon: Sijtsema, J.J., Veenstra, R. , Lindenberg, S. , & Salmivalli, C. (2009). Empirical test of bullies' status goals: Assessing direct goals, aggression, and prestige. Aggressive Behavior, 35, 57-67.
Predictive Biomarkers in Colorectal Cancer: From the Single Therapeutic Target to a Plethora of Options

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most frequent cancers and is a leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Treatments used for CRC may include some combination of surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and targeted therapy. The current standard drugs used in chemotherapy are 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin in combination with irinotecan and/or oxaliplatin. Most recently, biologic agents have been proven to have therapeutic benefits in metastatic CRC alone or in association with standard chemotherapy. However, patients present different treatment responses, in terms of efficacy and toxicity; therefore, it is important to identify biological markers that can predict the response to therapy and help select patients that would benefit from specific regimens. In this paper, authors review CRC genetic markers that could be useful in predicting the sensitivity/resistance to chemotherapy.
The role of theory

This volume provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date collection of theoretical perspectives regarding the sources of and propensity for nuclear proliferation. The authors probe the broader questions of why states pursue or abstain from nuclear weapons, as well as finer methodological issues involving concept definition and development, hypothesis testing, and generalization of findings. They draw upon both the extensive body of qualitative analysis and the inchoate but important work of a quantitative nature. Although the chapters do not all focus specifically on the relationship between one state's nuclear behavior and that of another, collectively the essays provide a better understanding of the limits of reactive proliferation as well as the circumstances under which weapons diffusion is most likely to occur. They also offer compelling arguments about what must be done in order to improve proliferation prognoses and propose new conceptual approaches toward that end.