Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Subtle health impairment and socioeducational attainment in young adult patients with congenital hypothyroidism diagnosed by neonatal screening: a longitudinal population-based cohort study.

CONTEXT Screening programs resulting in the early treatment of patients with congenital hypothyroidism (CH) have successfully improved neurodevelopmental outcome, but little is known about long-term health. OBJECTIVES The aim of the study was to assess health status, and socioeconomic attainment, for a population-based registry of young adult patients. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS All 1748 eligible patients diagnosed during the first decade after the introduction of neonatal screening in France were invited to participate in this study at a median age of 23.4 yr. Completed questionnaires were obtained from 1202 of the selected patients. The comparison group included 5817 subjects from the last French Decennial Health Survey. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Health indicators including medical conditions, hearing and visual status, sociodemographic characteristics, and quality of life were measured. RESULTS Patients with CH were significantly more likely than their peers to report associated chronic diseases (5.7 vs. 2.9%), hearing impairment (9.5 vs. 2.5%), visual problems (55.4 vs. 47.9%), and being overweight with a body mass index of at least 25 kg/m(2) (22.8 vs. 15.7%) (P < 0.0001). Furthermore, fewer patients attained the highest socioeconomic category (14.6 vs. 23.1%) and were in full-time employment (39.9 vs. 44.8%) (P < 0.0001). They were more likely to still be living with their parents and had a lower health-related quality of life than their healthy peers, particularly for mental dimensions, with a mean difference for the mental summary component of 0.35 SD score (P < 0.0001). CH severity at diagnosis, treatment adequacy, and the presence of other chronic health conditions were the main determinants of educational achievement and health-related quality of life scores. CONCLUSION These findings highlight the need for careful monitoring of neurosensory functioning, weight, and long-term treatment adequacy throughout childhood and adulthood.
Phosphate recovery from wastewater via reversible adsorption

Eutrophication and the resulting formation of harmful algal blooms causes huge economic and environmental damages. Phosphorus (P) has been identified as a major limiting nutrient for eutrophication. Phosphorous concentration greater than 100 µg P/L is usually considered high enough for causing eutrophication. The strictest regulations however aim to restrict the concentration below 10 µg P/L. Orthophosphate (or phosphate) is the bioavailable form of phosphorus. Adsorption is often suggested as technology to reduce phosphate to concentrations less than 100 and even 10 µg P/L with the advantages of a low-footprint, minimal waste generation and the option to recover the phosphate. In this thesis, the optimum properties of a phosphate adsorbent are identified and studied. Limitations of porous adsorbents having high surface areas are discussed and the optimum pore size distribution for phosphate adsorbents is determined. The role and mechanism of biogenic iron oxides in phosphate removal is discussed. Optimum methods for regenerating the adsorbent and improving the adsorbent reusability is studied. An economic assessment for phosphate adsorption is done, highlighting the main cost factors and identifying the research gaps needed to better understand these factors. A scenario analysis comparing the economics of low-cost one-time use adsorbents vs more expensive reusable adsorbents is made. A cost comparison of different technologies and the conditions where adsorption is favorable is highlighted. Suggestions for future studies are made based on the current findings.
Self-Assessment of Individual Differences in Language Switching

Language switching is omnipresent in bilingual individuals. In fact, the ability to switch languages (code switching) is a very fast, efficient, and flexible process that seems to be a fundamental aspect of bilingual language processing. In this study, we aimed to characterize psychometrically self-perceived individual differences in language switching and to create a reliable measure of this behavioral pattern by introducing a bilingual switching questionnaire. As a working hypothesis based on the previous literature about code switching, we decomposed language switching into four constructs: (i) L1 switching tendencies (the tendency to switch to L1; L1-switch); (ii) L2 switching tendencies (L2-switch); (iii) contextual switch, which indexes the frequency of switches usually triggered by a particular situation, topic, or environment; and (iv) unintended switch, which measures the lack of intention and awareness of the language switches. A total of 582 Spanish–Catalan bilingual university students were studied. Twelve items were selected (three for each construct). The correlation matrix was factor-analyzed using minimum rank factor analysis followed by oblique direct oblimin rotation. The overall proportion of common variance explained by the four extracted factors was 0.86. Finally, to assess the external validity of the individual differences scored with the new questionnaire, we evaluated the correlations between these measures and several psychometric (language proficiency) and behavioral measures related to cognitive and attentional control. The present study highlights the importance of evaluating individual differences in language switching using self-assessment instruments when studying the interface between cognitive control and bilingualism.
Multiple Cytochrome P450–Isoenzymes mRNA Are Expressed in Dendritic Cells

Monocytes and dendritic cells (DC) play a critical role in antigen processing and presentation in vivo. Several allergic reactions such as allergic dermatitis as well as drug allergy are mediated most often by small molecular weight compounds. Those haptens must be bound to high molecular weight compounds in order to become antigenic according to the generally accepted hapten concept of Landsteiner. Most haptens however are chemically inert and require metabolic activation. Human cytochrome P450 (CYP) isoenzymes are known to metabolize small molecular weight compounds to highly reactive species which are able to bind to proteins which is considered as a prerequisite for the sensitization by those small molecular weight compounds [1]. In our own studies we were able to show that the response of lymphocytes of sensitized patients to pphenylenediamine is increased after adding murine liver microsomes which contain CYP-dependent isoenzymes in the lymphocyte transformation test [2]. Recently it has been shown that eugenol which is a frequent sensitizer does not sensitize CYP1A1 knockout mice whereas the wild-type mice are sensitized to eugenol suggesting that CYP1A1-dependent metabolites of eugenol are the nominative antigen [3]. Therefore in this study we were interested in which CYP isoenzymes were present in antigen-presenting cells such as DC and compared the results with the presence of these isoenzymes in other antigen-presenting cells such as monocytes.
Stream cipher based on quasigroup string transformations in Zp*

In this paper we design a stream cipher that uses the algebraic structure of the multiplicative group $\bbbz_p^*$ (where p is a big prime number used in ElGamal algorithm), by defining a quasigroup of order $p-1$ and by doing quasigroup string transformations. The cryptographical strength of the proposed stream cipher is based on the fact that breaking it would be at least as hard as solving systems of multivariate polynomial equations modulo big prime number $p$ which is NP-hard problem and there are no known fast randomized or deterministic algorithms for solving it. Unlikely the speed of known ciphers that work in $\bbbz_p^*$ for big prime numbers $p$, the speed of this stream cipher both in encryption and decryption phase is comparable with the fastest symmetric-key stream ciphers.
Radiation-driven implosion of molecular cloud cores

We present the first three-dimensional calculations of radiation-driven implosion of molecular clouds, including self-gravity and ionization. We discuss the effects of initial density perturbations on the dynamics of ionizing globules, and show that the onset of gravitational collapse can be significantly delayed for a multiple of the implosion time-scale. We demonstrate that radiation-driven implosion could be an efficient process for injecting disordered kinetic energy into molecular clouds in the vicinity of massive stars.
The effect of charge on the fibre and paper properties of bleached industrial kraft pulps

The influence of fibre charge on fibre and paper properties was investigated using five industrially produced hardwood (Betula verrucosa) and five softwood (Pinus sylvestris) ECF and TCF bleached kraft pulps. All pulps had been dried before the experiments. The relationship between total charge and tensile strength of paper could be explained as follows : (1) The swelling of the rewetted fibres (and fines) increases with increasing charge. (2) Fibre flexibility increases with increasing swelling. (3) Increasing flexibility promotes the conformability of the fibres. This results in the formation of a denser paper sheet with higher relative bonded area (RBA) and higher tensile strength. The fibre-fibre bond strength did not vary much between these fully bleached fibres. Both the swelling and wet fibre flexibility of hardwood increased more rapidly with charge than in the case of softwood. In both cases, swelling increased with charge even at such high ionic strengths that the effects of the osmotic pressure created when ionizable groups dissociate from fibres (Donnan equilibrium) were suppressed. It could be concluded that the swelling of rewetted fibres was governed by the following factors: (1) the swelling of fibre polysaccharides hemicellulose), (2) the Donnan equilibrium, (3) the extent to which interfibrillar bonding increases when the fibres are dried (hornification), and (4) the ability of the fibre walls to resist the swelling pressure. The charge affected not only the Donnan equilibrium but also hornification, which decreased as the content of ionizable groups in the fibres increased. Swelling was greater for hardwood than for softwood fibres because the charge on hardwood fibres was higher, but also because the cell walls were thinner and contained more hemicellulose, i.e. their elastic response to swelling was weaker. For softwood, fibre flexibility and bonding properties were influenced not only by the charge content but also by fibre coarseness. For the hardwood samples investigated, the morphological properties of the fibres did not vary greatly. It seems that in terms of pulp and paper properties, the charge on the fibre is of greater importance for bleached hardwood than for bleached softwood kraft pulp. The amount of energy required to reach a certain bonding level by beating decreased considerably when the mechanical action was combined with a high concentration of ionizable groups. This may be due to both the swelling pressure created by ionization and to decreasing hornification. It is evident that the properties of the fibre network in the paper formed by bleached kraft pulp can be managed mechanically by controlling the amount of the charge (ionizable groups) or by a combination of these factors.
A new scheme of coupling VCOs for the purpose of injection locking frequency divider

The coupling of oscillators is reviewed. A new scheme of coupling of VCOs is proposed in which no extra elements are needed to couple the VCOs, which leads to a lower phase noise and power consumption. Based on simulation results, a lock-in range from 15.7 GHz to 18.7 GHz for a divide-by-3, and from 16.4 GHz to 17 GHz for a divide-by-5 were achieved with a 180 nm CMOS technology with a Vdd=1.8 V.
Exploiting Availability Prediction in Distributed Systems

Loosely-coupled distributed systems have significant scale and cost advantages over more traditional architectures, but the availability of the nodes in these systems varies widely. Availability modeling is crucial for predicting per-machine resource burdens and understanding emergent, system-wide phenomena. We present new techniques for predicting availability and test them using traces taken from three distributed systems. We then describe three applications of availability prediction. The first, availability-guided replica placement, reduces object copying in a distributed data store while increasing data availability. The second shows how availability prediction can improve routing in delay-tolerant networks. The third combines availability prediction with virus modeling to improve forecasts of global infection dynamics.
Visualization and quantitative analysis of extrachromosomal telomere-repeat DNA in individual human cells by Halo-FISH

Current methods for characterizing extrachromosomal nuclear DNA in mammalian cells do not permit single-cell analysis, are often semi-quantitative and frequently biased toward the detection of circular species. To overcome these limitations, we developed Halo-FISH to visualize and quantitatively analyze extrachromosomal DNA in single cells. We demonstrate Halo-FISH by using it to analyze extrachromosomal telomere-repeat (ECTR) in human cells that use the Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres (ALT) pathway(s) to maintain telomere lengths. We find that GM847 and VA13 ALT cells average ∼80 detectable G/C-strand ECTR DNA molecules/nucleus, while U2OS ALT cells average ∼18 molecules/nucleus. In comparison, human primary and telomerase-positive cells contain <5 ECTR DNA molecules/nucleus. ECTR DNA in ALT cells exhibit striking cell-to-cell variations in number (<20 to >300), range widely in length (<1 to >200 kb) and are composed of primarily G- or C-strand telomere-repeat DNA. Halo-FISH enables, for the first time, the simultaneous analysis of ECTR DNA and chromosomal telomeres in a single cell. We find that ECTR DNA comprises ∼15% of telomere-repeat DNA in GM847 and VA13 cells, but <4% in U2OS cells. In addition to its use in ALT cell analysis, Halo-FISH can facilitate the study of a wide variety of extrachromosomal DNA in mammalian cells.
High Genetic and Epigenetic Stability in Coffea arabica Plants Derived from Embryogenic Suspensions and Secondary Embryogenesis as Revealed by AFLP, MSAP and the Phenotypic Variation Rate

Embryogenic suspensions that involve extensive cell division are risky in respect to genome and epigenome instability. Elevated frequencies of somaclonal variation in embryogenic suspension-derived plants were reported in many species, including coffee. This problem could be overcome by using culture conditions that allow moderate cell proliferation. In view of true-to-type large-scale propagation of C. arabica hybrids, suspension protocols based on low 2,4-D concentrations and short proliferation periods were developed. As mechanisms leading to somaclonal variation are often complex, the phenotypic, genetic and epigenetic changes were jointly assessed so as to accurately evaluate the conformity of suspension-derived plants. The effects of embryogenic suspensions and secondary embryogenesis, used as proliferation systems, on the genetic conformity of somatic embryogenesis-derived plants (emblings) were assessed in two hybrids. When applied over a 6 month period, both systems ensured very low somaclonal variation rates, as observed through massive phenotypic observations in field plots (0.74% from 200 000 plant). Molecular AFLP and MSAP analyses performed on 145 three year-old emblings showed that polymorphism between mother plants and emblings was extremely low, i.e. ranges of 0–0.003% and 0.07–0.18% respectively, with no significant difference between the proliferation systems for the two hybrids. No embling was found to cumulate more than three methylation polymorphisms. No relation was established between the variant phenotype (27 variants studied) and a particular MSAP pattern. Chromosome counting showed that 7 of the 11 variant emblings analyzed were characterized by the loss of 1–3 chromosomes. This work showed that both embryogenic suspensions and secondary embryogenesis are reliable for true-to-type propagation of elite material. Molecular analyses revealed that genetic and epigenetic alterations are particularly limited during coffee somatic embryogenesis. The main change in most of the rare phenotypic variants was aneuploidy, indicating that mitotic aberrations play a major role in somaclonal variation in coffee.
Improving Static Analysis Accuracy on Concurrent Ada Progra: Complexity Results and Empirical Findings

This paper presents several techniques for improving the accuracy of static analysis of concurrent Ada programs. We determine the cost of building the program representations used to perform the analysis and examine the complexity of performing analysis on those representations. Inaccuracies in the static analysis are reflected in spurious results, which can be generated if the analysis considers paths through the program that are infeasible, or if the effects of aliasing lead to consideration of task communications that can not actually occur. We present three techniques to counter the effects of infeasible path consideration and aliasing and determine the cost of using these techniques. We present empirical results that demonstrate the improvements in accuracy and, in some cases, the reduction in the search space that result from application of our techniques.
Evaluation of Outcome of Treatment of Congenital Clubfoot

Abstract: The study was undertaken to determine whether existing systems of outcome evaluation of clubfoot are comparable; to determine the relationship between the shape of the foot, its function, and radiological tarsal relationships; and to identify which objective variables used in the assessment of clubfeet are reproducible. Fifty treated idiopathic clubfeet were assessed by the scoring systems of Laaveg and Ponseti, McKay, Magone, and Ghanem and Seringe. Although there was a good correlation between the scores, there was very poor agreement between the grading of feet by these different systems. The feet were also evaluated using a new scoring system that has 3 domains of evaluation, viz, morphological, functional, and radiological. Comparison of the scores in each of these domains showed that there was a correlation between morphology, function, and radiological measurements of tarsal alignment. Several of the criteria used in this new scoring system were reproducible.
H.264/AVC motion estimation implmentation on Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA)

Due to the rapid growth of graphics processing unit (GPU) processing capability, using GPU as a coprocessor to assist the central processing unit (CPU) in computing massive data becomes essential. In this paper, we present an efficient block-level parallel algorithm for the variable block size motion estimation (ME) in H.264/AVC with fractional pixel refinement on a computer unified device architecture (CUDA) platform, developed by NVIDIA in 2007. The CUDA enhances the programmability and flexibility for general-purpose computation on GPU. We decompose the H.264 ME algorithm into 5 steps so that we can achieve highly parallel computation with low external memory transfer rate. Experimental results show that, with the assistance of GPU, the processing time is 12 times faster than that of using CPU only.
Relations of Balance Function and Gross Motor Ability for Children with Cerebral Palsy

To investigate the relations between the balance function and gross motor ability, we recruited 15 children with cerebral palsy from 5 to 12 years in age. Balance function was tested by the Smart Balance Master System and by clinical tests. The Motor Age test was used to test gross motor ability. Analysis showed that postural stability in eyes open, eyes closed, and swaying vision conditions (visual surrounding swaying with body sway), the duration of one leg standing, and the duration of maintaining a heel-to-toe position were significantly correlated with gross motor ability. Postural stability in the eyes-closed condition was the best predicting factor and could explain 64% of the variability of gross motor ability. Whether the training of postural stability in eyes-closed condition can improve the gross motor function needs further study.
Carbon Monoxide Abrogates Ischemic Insult to Neuronal Cells via the Soluble Guanylate Cyclase-cGMP Pathway

Purpose Carbon monoxide (CO) is an accepted cytoprotective molecule. The extent and mechanisms of protection in neuronal systems have not been well studied. We hypothesized that delivery of CO via a novel releasing molecule (CORM) would impart neuroprotection in vivo against ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI)-induced apoptosis of retinal ganglion cells (RGC) and in vitro of neuronal SH-SY5Y-cells via activation of soluble guanylate-cyclase (sGC). Methods To mimic ischemic respiratory arrest, SH-SY5Y-cells were incubated with rotenone (100 nmol/L, 4 h) ± CORM ALF186 (10–100 µmol/L) or inactivated ALF186 lacking the potential of releasing CO. Apoptosis and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production were analyzed using flow-cytometry (Annexin V, mitochondrial membrane potential, CM-H2DCFDA) and Western blot (Caspase-3). The impact of ALF186± respiratory arrest on cell signaling was assessed by measuring expression of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and soluble guanylate-cyclase (sGC) and by analyzing cellular cGMP levels. The effect of ALF186 (10 mg/kg iv) on retinal IRI in Sprague-Dawley rats was assessed by measuring densities of fluorogold-labeled RGC after IRI and by analysis of apoptosis-related genes in retinal tissue. Results ALF186 but not inactivated ALF186 inhibited rotenone-induced apoptosis (Annexin V positive cells: 25±2% rotenone vs. 14±1% ALF186+rotenone, p<0.001; relative mitochondrial membrane potential: 17±4% rotenone vs. 55±3% ALF186+rotenone, p<0.05). ALF186 increased cellular cGMP levels (33±5 nmol/L vs. 23±3 nmol/L; p<0.05) and sGC expression. sGC-inhibition attenuated ALF186-mediated protection (relative mitochondrial membrane potential: 55±3% ALF186+rotenone vs. 20±1% ODQ+ALF186+rotenone, p<0.05). ALF186 protected RGC in vivo (IRI 1255±327 RGC/mm2 vs. ALF186+IRI 2036±83; p<0.05) while sGC inhibition abolished the protective effects of ALF186 (ALF186+IRI 2036±83 RGC/mm2 vs. NS-2028+ALF186+IRI 1263±170, p<0.05). Conclusions The CORM ALF186 inhibits IRI-induced neuronal cell death via activation of sGC and may be a useful treatment option for acute ischemic insults to the retina and the brain.