Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Intracisternal Cranial Root Accessory Nerve Schwannoma Associated with Recurrent Laryngeal Neuropathy

Intracisternal accessory nerve schwannomas are very rare; only 18 cases have been reported in the literature. In the majority of cases, the tumor origin was the spinal root of the accessory nerve and the tumors usually presented with symptoms and signs of intracranial hypertension, cerebellar ataxia, and myelopathy. Here, we report a unique case of an intracisternal schwannoma arising from the cranial root of the accessory nerve in a 58-year-old woman. The patient presented with the atypical symptom of hoarseness associated with recurrent laryngeal neuropathy which is noted by needle electromyography, and mild hypesthesia on the left side of her body. The tumor was completely removed with sacrifice of the originating nerve rootlet, but no additional neurological deficits. In this report, we describe the anatomical basis for the patient's unusual clinical symptoms and discuss the feasibility and safety of sacrificing the cranial rootlet of the accessory nerve in an effort to achieve total tumor resection. To our knowledge, this is the first case of schwannoma originating from the cranial root of the accessory nerve that has been associated with the symptoms of recurrent laryngeal neuropathy.
No Belief without Reason : Logics of Argument-Based Beliefs

The paper addresses how the information state of an agent relates to the arguments that the agent endorses. Information states are modeled in doxastic logic and arguments by recasting abstract argumentation theory in a modal logic format. The two perspectives are combined by an application of the theory of product logics, delivering sound and complete systems in which the interaction of arguments and beliefs is investigated.
The effect of PCL-TCP scaffold loaded with mesenchymal stem cells on vertical bone augmentation in dog mandible: a preliminary report.

Polycaprolactone-tricalcium phosphate (PCL-TCP), a new composite scaffold, has been shown to facilitate early revascularization and speed up bone regeneration process. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of PCL-TCP seeded with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) on healing of the vertical bone critical sized defect in dog's mandible. Bone marrow aspirate from dog humerous was cultured and the stemness of the cells was examined by differentiation staining methods and flow cytometric analysis. Third passage subculture cells (5 × 10⁵ cells) were loaded on 20 × 10 × 10 mm³ and incubated for 48 h. The presence of MSCs in the pores was evaluated by scanning electron microscope. Bilateral mandibular premolar teeth were extracted in four dogs and the buccal and lingual bone plates were reduced to make a vertical defect. Cell-loaded scaffolds were fixed in right side and left side received pure PCL-TCP scaffolds as a control side defects. Histomorphometric analysis after 8 weeks of the scaffold implantation showed higher amount of lamellar bone in the test side (48.63%) than control side (17.27%) (p < 0.05). The results suggest that PCL-TCP may be an appropriate scaffold for loading MSCs in bone regeneration.
Integrating the document object model with hyperlinks for enhanced topic distillation and information extraction

Topic distillation is the process of finding authoritative Web pages and comprehensive “hubs” which reciprocally endorse each other and are relevant to a given query. Hyperlinkbased topic distillation has been traditionally applied to a macroscopic Web model where documents are nodes in a directed graph and hyperlinks are edges. Macroscopic models miss valuable clues such as banners, navigation panels, and template-based inclusions, which are embedded in HTML pages using markup tags. Consequently, results of macroscopic distillation algorithms have been deteriorating in quality as Web pages are becoming more complex. We propose a uniform fine-grained model for the Web in which pages are represented by their tag trees (also called their Document Object Models or DOMs) and these DOM trees are interconnected by ordinary hyperlinks. Surprisingly, macroscopic distillation algorithms do not work in the finegrained scenario. We present a new algorithm suitable for the fine-grained model. It can dis-aggregate hubs into coherent regions by segmenting their DOMtrees. M utual endorsement between hubs and authorities involve these regions, rather than single nodes representing complete hubs. Anecdotes and measurements using a 28-query, 366000-document benchmark suite, used in earlier topic distillation research, reveal two benefits from the new algorithm: distillation quality improves, and a by-product of distillation is the ability to extract relevant snippets from hubs which are only partially relevant to the query.
Private Information, Human Capital, and Optimal "Home Bias" in Financial Markets

By allowing for imperfectly informed markets and the role of private information, we offer new insights about observed deviations of portfolio concentrations in domestic relative to foreign risky assets, or "home bias", from what standard finance models predict. Our model ascribes the "bias" to endogenous information acquisition bolstered by investors' human capital. We develop discriminating hypotheses about the influence of "specific" and "general" human capital endowments and direct and opportunity costs of managing risky assets in determining whether to hold these assets, and how the assets' portfolio shares vary across investors and financial markets. These hypotheses are supported by numerical and econometric analyses of panel data from the US over 1992-2007, and 23 international financial markets over 2001-2007. The results indicate the existence of differences across countries in the degree to which home asset prices are "information-revealing", which may be relevant for fully understanding the global financial crisis of 2007-09.
Countdown to 2015: a case study of maternal and child health service delivery challenges in five districts of Punjab.

OBJECTIVE To identify the challenges confronting the Pakistan province of Punjab in delivering maternal and child health services at the district level. METHODS The qualitative assessment was done from May 15 to June 15, 2010, comprising 5 focus group discussions, 5 in-depth interviews with district managers, 49 in-depth interviews with providers, and direct observation of 19 facilities providing comprehensive emergency obstetric care in the districts of Multan, Muzaffargarh, Bahawalpur, Khanewal and Jhelum. Using skilled birth attendance coverage as an indicator, Punjab districts were stratified into three socio-economic strata, and from these the five-districts were selected. RESULTS Distribution of basic emergency obstetric care facilities by population size was found to be inadequate in all districts. Quality of care was compromised by lack of staff and equipment. No anaesthetist was available in majority of the district hospitals and tehsil facilities. Half of the teshil headquarter hospitals were devoid of staff nurses. Vital medicines used in obstetric care were not available. Partograph was not being used in any of the tehsil-level facilities. Chlorine solution was not present in any of the facilities. Governance issues included multiplicity of command channels, delays in receipt of medicines and political interference. CONCLUSION If the province has to achieve the related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), related to maternal and child health, the existing facilities are not adequate. To achieve progress, proven and innovative approaches will have to be put in place that may influence the continuum of care from the household to the health facility.
Assessment of fetal antioxidant and oxidant status during different anesthesia techniques for elective cesarean sections

Background: We aimed to investigate the effects of general, spinal and epidural anesthesia on fetal total antioxidant status (TAS) and total oxidant status (TOS), and oxidative stress index (OSI) during elective cesarean section in this study. Materials and Methods: Forty-seven parturients scheduled for elective cesarean section were randomly allocated into three groups: Group spinal (n = 15), group epidural (n = 17), and group general (n = 15), This prospective randomized study was performed in Faculty of Medicine, Turgut Ozal University, Turkey. After the baby was delivered; TAS, TOS levels, and arterial blood gases parameters were analyzed in an umbilical arterial blood sample. OSI values are calculated by a ratio of TOS to the TAS. Results: The levels of TAS and TOS in umbilical arterial blood sample were not statistically different among three. However, OSI values were significantly different among the three groups (P = 0.042). Median OSI values is 24 (interquartile range [IQR], 2-37) in group spinal, 19 (IQR, 4-44) in group epidural, and 8 (IQR, 4-36) in group general. There was no significant difference in OSI values in the comparison of group spinal with group general and group epidural, but it was significantly lower in group general when compared with group epidural with Bonferroni correction (P = 0.017). Umbilical cord arterial blood gas values (pH, PaCO2, PaO2, SaO2, HCO3, and CtO2), glucose, lactate, and hemoglobin levels were similar in three groups. Conclusion: General anesthesia may be more favorable than epidural in those undergoing cesarean section when fetal oxidative status gains importance.
Aspiration cytology of the thyroid.

information system still collects simple data. The press release that accompanies the Department of Health and Social Security's bulletin misleads when it suggests that activity represents quality. It does no such thing. The DHSS should be more aware ofthe need to measure effectiveness of health service activities to encourage improvement in the quality ofhealth care. ROBERT R WEST Senior Lecturer in Epidemiology, University ofWales College of Medicine, Cardiff CF4 4XN
Changes associated with the development of resistance to imatinib (STI571) in two leukemia cell lines expressing p210 Bcr/Abl protein

Although various mechanisms have been recognized as being associated with the development of resistance to imatinib mesylate in vitro and in clinical situations, their relative significance and contributions remain poorly understood, as is the sequence of events leading to the selection of the resistant phenotype. Experimental in vitro systems involving well defined cell lines and conditions can be used to some advantage to answer specific questions and to develop in vitro models of imatinib resistance that would reflect its potential heterogeneity.
Mechanisms of Motility Change on Trinitrobenzenesulfonic Acid-Induced Colonic Inflammation in Mice

Ulcerative colitis is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) characterized by recurrent episodes of colonic inflammation and tissue degeneration in human or animal models. The contractile force generated by the smooth muscle is significantly attenuated, resulting in altered motility leading to diarrhea or constipation in IBD. The aim of this study is to clarify the altered contractility of circular and longitudinal smooth muscle layers in proximal colon of trinitrobenzen sulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced colitis mouse. Colitis was induced by direct injection of TNBS (120 mg/kg, 50% ethanol) in proximal colon of ICR mouse using a 30 G needle anesthetized with ketamin (50 mg/kg), whereas animals in the control group were injected of 50% ethanol alone. In TNBS-induced colitis, the wall of the proximal colon is diffusely thickened with loss of haustration, and showed mucosal and mucular edema with inflammatory infiltration. The colonic inflammation is significantly induced the reduction of colonic contractile activity including spontaneous contractile activity, depolarization-induced contractility, and muscarinic acetylcholine receptor-mediated contractile response in circular muscle layer compared to the longitudinal muscle layer. The inward rectification of currents, especially, important to Ca2+ and Na+ influx-induced depolarization and contraction, was markedly reduced in the TNBS-induced colitis compared to the control. The muscarinic acetylcholine-mediated contractile responses were significantly attenuated in the circular and longitudinal smooth muscle strips induced by the reduction of membrane expression of canonical transient receptor potential (TRPC) channel isoforms from the proximal colon of the TNBS-induced colitis mouse than the control.
Identifying the addressee in human-human-robot interactions based on head pose and speech

In this work we investigate the power of acoustic and visual cues, and their combination, to identify the addressee in a human-human-robot interaction. Based on eighteen audio-visual recordings of two human beings and a (simulated) robot we discriminate the interaction of the two humans from the interaction of one human with the robot. The paper compares the result of three approaches. The first approach uses purely acoustic cues to find the addressees. Low level, feature based cues as well as higher-level cues are examined. In the second approach we test whether the human's head pose is a suitable cue. Our results show that visually estimated head pose is a more reliable cue for the identification of the addressee in the human-human-robot interaction. In the third approach we combine the acoustic and visual cues which results in significant improvements.
Estimation of Thermal Conductivity of Nanofluids Using MD-Stochastic Simulation Based Approach

The thermal conductivity of a fluid can be significantly enhanced by dispersing nano-sized particles in it, and the resultant fluid is termed as "nanofluid". A theoretical model for estimating the thermal conductivity of a nanofluid has been proposed here. It is based on the mechanism that evenly dispersed nanoparticles within a nanofluid undergo Brownian motion in course of which the nanoparticles repeatedly collide with the heat source. During each collision a rapid heat transfer occurs owing to the solidsolid contact. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation of the collision of nanoparticles with the heat source has shown that there is a pulselike pick up of heat by the nanoparticles within 20-100 ps, the extent of which depends not only on thermal conductivity of the nanoparticles, but also on the elastic and other physical properties of the nanoparticle. After the collision the nanoparticles undergo Brownian motion in the base fluid and release the excess heat to the surrounding base fluid within 2-10 ms. The Brownian motion and associated temperature variation of the nanoparticles have been modeled by stochastic analysis. Repeated occurrence of these events by the suspended nanoparticles significantly contributes to the characteristic thermal conductivity of the nanofluids, which has been estimated by the present model for a ethylene glycol based nanofluid containing Cu-nanoparticles of size ranging from 8 to 20 nm, with Gaussian size distribution. The prediction of the present model has shown a reasonable agreement with the experimental data available in literature. Keywords—Brownian dynamics, Molecular dynamics, Nanofluid, Thermal conductivity.
University of Groningen Characterization of Well-Posedness of Piecewise-Linear Systems

One of the basic issues in the study of hybrid systems is the well-posedness (existence and uniqueness of solutions) problem of discontinuous dynamical systems. The paper addresses this problem for a class of piecewise-linear discontinuous systems under the definition of solutions of Carathéodory. The concepts of jump solutions or of sliding modes are not considered here. In this sense, the problem to be discussed is one of the most basic problems in the study of well-posedness for discontinuous dynamical systems. First, we derive necessary and sufficient conditions for bimodal systems to be well-posed, in terms of an analysis based on lexicographic inequalities and the smooth continuation property of solutions. Next, its extensions to the multi-modal case are discussed. As an application to switching control, in the case that two state feedback gains are switched according to a criterion depending on the state, we give a characterization of all admissible state feedback gains for which the closed loop system remains wellposed.
Evidence for glucocorticoid-mediated hypertension after uninephrectomy

Recently, evidence was presented that uninephrectomy induces salt‐sensitive hypertension in rats. The increase in blood pressure was abrogated by a mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist but not by an aldosterone synthase inhibitor. Here, we hypothesize that mineralocorticoid receptor activation occurred by an 11beta‐hydroxy‐glucocorticosteroid, as a consequence of dysregulated 11beta‐hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase enzymes. Therefore, 3‐week‐old Sprague‐Dawley rats were either uninephrectomized or sham operated and given a normal (0.4%) or high (8%)‐salt diet. At week 8, a telemetric device was implanted, and during week 13 blood pressure continuously measured and urine was collected. The animals were sacrificed thereafter and liver and kidney were harvested. Steroid metabolites were analyzed by GC‐MS and mRNA assessed by PCR. Uninephrectomy caused a distinct salt‐sensitive hypertension. The increase in blood pressure correlated significantly with a decline in the apparent activity of 11beta‐hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 2 and an increase of 11beta‐hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 1, when urinary corticosterone metabolites were considered. These results were mirrored by the corresponding metabolite ratios assessed in renal and liver tissue. Changes in enzyme activities were in part explained by changes in the mRNA content. In conclusion, mineralocorticoid receptor‐dependent salt sensitivity after UNX in rats appears to be mediated by glucocorticoids.
UNSUPERVISED NON STATIONARY IMAGE SEGMENTATION USING TRIPLET MARKOV CHAINS

This work deals with the unsupervised Bayesian hidden Markov chain restoration extended to the non stationary case. Unsupervised restoration based on “ExpectationMaximization” (EM) or “Stochastic EM” (SEM) estimates considering the “Hidden Markov Chain” (HMC) model is quite eff icient when the hidden chain is stationary. However, when the latter is not stationary, the unsupervised restoration results can be poor, due to a bad match between the real and estimated models. In this paper we present a more appropriate model for non stationary HMC, via recent Triplet Markov Chains (TMC) model. Using TMC, we show that the classical restoration results can be significantly improved in the case of non stationary data. The latter improvement is performed in an unsupervised way using a SEM parameter estimation method. Some application examples to unsupervised image segmentation are also provided.
Wnt signalling antagonizes stress granule assembly through a Dishevelled-dependent mechanism

Summary Cells often respond to diverse environmental stresses by inducing stress granules (SGs) as an adaptive mechanism. SGs are generally assembled as a result of aggregation of mRNAs stalled in a translational pre-initiation complex, mediated by a set of RNA-binding proteins such as G3BP and TIA-1. SGs may serve as triage centres for storage, translation re-initiation or degradation of specific mRNAs. However, the mechanism involved in the modulation of their assembly/disassembly is unclear. Here we report that Wnt signalling negatively regulates SG assembly through Dishevelled (Dvl), a cytoplasmic Wnt effector. Overexpression of Dvl2, an isoform of Dvl, leads to impairment of SG assembly through a DEP domain dependent mechanism. Intriguingly, the Dvl2 mutant K446M, which corresponds to an analogous mutation in Drosophila Dishevelled DEP domain (dsh1) that results in defective PCP pathway, fails to antagonize SG assembly. Furthermore, we show that Dvl2 exerts the antagonistic effect on SG assembly through a mechanism involving Rac1-mediated inhibition of RhoA. Dvl2 interacts with G3BP, a downstream component of Ras signalling involved in SG assembly, and functional analysis suggests a model wherein the Dvl-Rac1-RhoA axis regulates G3BP's SG-nucleating activity. Collectively, these results define an antagonistic effect of Wnt signalling on SG assembly, and reveal a novel role for Wnt/Dvl pathway in the modulation of mRNA functions.
Antiphospholipid antibodies limit trophoblast migration by reducing IL‐6 production and STAT3 activity

PROBLEM Women with antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) are at risk of recurrent miscarriage and pre-eclampsia. aPL target the placenta by binding to beta(2)-glycoprotein I (beta(2) GPI) expressed by the trophoblast. The objective of this study was to evaluate if and how aPL affect first trimester trophoblast migration. METHOD OF STUDY First trimester trophoblast cells were treated with anti-beta(2) GPI monoclonal antibodies. Migration was determined using a two-chamber assay. Interleukin (IL)-6 production was evaluated by RT-PCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) activation was assessed by western blot. RESULTS Trophoblast cells constitutively secreted IL-6 in a time-dependent manner and this directly correlated with STAT3 phosphorylation. In the presence of anti-beta(2) GPI Abs, trophoblast IL-6 mRNA levels and secretion was downregulated in a Toll-like receptor 4/MyD88-independent manner and this correlated with a reduction in phosphorylated STAT3 levels. In addition, the anti-beta(2) GPI Abs reduced the migratory potential of trophoblast. Heparin was able to reverse aPL-dependent inhibition of trophoblast IL-6 secretion and migration. CONCLUSION This study demonstrates that aPL limit trophoblast cell migration by downregulating trophoblast IL-6 secretion and STAT3 activity. As heparin was unable to prevent these effects, our findings may explain why women with antiphospholipid syndrome, treated with heparin, remain at risk of developing obstetrical syndromes, associated with impaired deep placentation, such as pre-eclampsia.
On Irreducible Maps and Slices

We consider the problem of enumerating d-irreducible maps, i.e., planar maps all of whose cycles have length at least d, and such that any cycle of length d is the boundary of a face of degree d. We develop two approaches in parallel: the natural approach via substitution, where these maps are obtained from general maps by a replacement of all d-cycles by elementary faces, and a bijective approach via slice decomposition, which consists in cutting the maps along shortest paths. Both lead to explicit expressions for the generating functions of d-irreducible maps with controlled face degrees, summarized in some elegant ‘pointing formula’. We provide an equivalent description of d-irreducible slices in terms of so-called d-oriented trees. We finally show that irreducible maps give rise to a hierarchy of discrete integrable equations which include equations encountered previously in the context of naturally embedded trees.
Feedback Compression Schemes for Downlink Carrier Aggregation in LTE-Advanced

Abstract-With full channel state information (CSI) available, it has been shown that carrier aggregation (CA) in the downlink can significantly improve the data rate experienced at the user equipments (UE) [1], [2], [3], [4]. However, full CSI feedback in all component carriers (CCs) requires a large portion of the uplink bandwidth and the feedback information increases linearly with the number of CCs. Therefore, the performance gain brought by deploying CA could be easily hindered if the amount of CSI feedback is not thoroughly controlled. In this paper we analyze several feedback overhead compression schemes in CA systems. To avoid a major re-design of the feedback schemes, only CSI compression schemes closely elated to the ones specified in LTE-Release 8 and LTE-Release 9 are considered. Extensive simulations at system level were carried out to evaluate the performance of these feedback schemes in various traffic load conditions. Different scenarios were considered to answer the questions of when and why these CSI feedback compression schemes can be applied in CA.