Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Signalment, Clinical Presentation, Concurrent Diseases, and Diagnostic Findings in 28 Dogs with Dynamic Pharyngeal Collapse (2008–2013)

Background Most information about pharyngeal collapse in dogs is anecdotal and extrapolated from human medicine. A single case report describing dynamic pharyngeal collapse in a cat has been published, but there is no literature describing this disease process in dogs. Objective To describe the signalment, clinical presentation, concurrent disease processes, and imaging findings of a population of client‐owned dogs with pharyngeal collapse. Animals Twenty‐eight client‐owned dogs with pharyngeal collapse. Methods Radiology reports of dogs for which fluoroscopy of the respiratory system was performed were reviewed retrospectively. Patients with a fluoroscopic diagnosis of pharyngeal collapse were included in the study population. Data regarding clinical signs, diagnostic, and pathologic findings were evaluated. Results Twenty‐eight dogs met the inclusion criteria. The median age of affected patients was 6.6 years, whereas median body condition score was 7/9. The most common clinical signs were coughing (n = 20) and stertor (n = 5). In 27 of 28 cases, a concurrent or previously diagnosed cardiopulmonary disorder was detected. The most common concurrent disease processes were mainstem bronchi collapse (n = 18), tracheal collapse (n = 17), and brachycephalic airway syndrome (n = 8). Fluoroscopy identified complete pharyngeal collapse in 20 of 28 dogs. Conclusions Pharyngeal collapse is a complex disease process that likely is secondary to long‐term negative pressure gradients and anatomic and functional abnormalities. Based on the findings of this study, pharyngeal fluoroscopy may be useful diagnostic test in patients with suspected tracheal and mainstem bronchial collapse to identify concurrent pharyngeal collapse.
Applying the neuroscience of creativity to creativity training

This article investigates how neuroscience in general, and neuroscience of creativity in particular, can be used in teaching “applied creativity” and the usefulness of this approach to creativity training. The article is based on empirical data and our experiences from the Applied NeuroCreativity (ANC) program, taught at business schools in Denmark and Canada. In line with previous studies of successful creativity training programs the ANC participants are first introduced to cognitive concepts of creativity, before applying these concepts to a relevant real world creative problem. The novelty in the ANC program is that the conceptualization of creativity is built on neuroscience, and a crucial aspect of the course is giving the students a thorough understanding of the neuroscience of creativity. Previous studies have reported that the conceptualization of creativity used in such training is of major importance for the success of the training, and we believe that the neuroscience of creativity offers a novel conceptualization for creativity training. Here we present pre/post-training tests showing that ANC students gained more fluency in divergent thinking (a traditional measure of trait creativity) than those in highly similar courses without the neuroscience component, suggesting that principles from neuroscience can contribute effectively to creativity training and produce measurable results on creativity tests. The evidence presented indicates that the inclusion of neuroscience principles in a creativity course can in 8 weeks increase divergent thinking skills with an individual relative average of 28.5%.
A New Burst-DFA model for SCADA Anomaly Detection

In Industrial Control Systems (ICS/SCADA), machine to machine data traffic is highly periodic. Past work showed that in many cases, it is possible to model the traffic between each individual Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) and the SCADA server by a cyclic Deterministic Finite Automaton (DFA), and to use the model to detect anomalies in the traffic. However, a recent analysis of network traffic in a water facility in the U.S, showed that cyclic-DFA models have limitations. In our research, we examine the same data corpus; our study shows that the communication on all of the channels in the network is done in bursts of packets, and that the bursts have semantic meaning---the order within a burst depends on the messages. Using these observations, we suggest a new burst-DFA model that fits the data much better than previous work. Our model treats the traffic on each channel as a series of bursts, and matches each burst to the DFA, taking the burst's beginning and end into account. Our burst-DFA model successfully explains between 95% and 99% of the packets in the data-corpus, and goes a long way toward the construction of a practical anomaly detection system.
An exercise in modeling a real software process

This paper presents an experiment done with modeling the process manual of a real organization with a process modeling language, the E PML, with the support of a drawing tool, called E p-draw. The resulting process model template consists of 161 user defined classes and 585 associations. These classes and associations are being reused for subsequent similar experiments.
Beyond sex differences: new approaches for thinking about variation in brain structure and function

In the study of variation in brain structure and function that might relate to sex and gender, language matters because it frames our research questions and methods. In this article, we offer an approach to thinking about variation in brain structure and function that pulls us outside the sex differences formulation. We argue that the existence of differences between the brains of males and females does not unravel the relations between sex and the brain nor is it sufficient to characterize a population of brains. Such characterization is necessary for studying sex effects on the brain as well as for studying brain structure and function in general. Animal studies show that sex interacts with environmental, developmental and genetic factors to affect the brain. Studies of humans further suggest that human brains are better described as belonging to a single heterogeneous population rather than two distinct populations. We discuss the implications of these observations for studies of brain and behaviour in humans and in laboratory animals. We believe that studying sex effects in context and developing or adopting analytical methods that take into account the heterogeneity of the brain are crucial for the advancement of human health and well-being.
Effect of Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Alpha Activators on Tumor Necrosis Factor Expression in Mice during Endotoxemia

ABSTRACT Inflammatory mediators orchestrate the host immune and metabolic response to acute bacterial infections and mediate the events leading to septic shock. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) has long been identified as one of the proximal mediators of endotoxin action. Recent studies have implicated peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα) as a potential target to modulate regulation of the immune response. Since PPARα activators, which are hypolipidemic drugs, are being prescribed for a significant population of older patients, it is important to determine the impact of these drugs on the host response to acute inflammation. Therefore, we examined the role of PPARα activators on the regulation of TNF expression in a mouse model of endotoxemia. CD-1 mice treated with dietary fenofibrate or Wy-14,643 had fivefold-higher lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced TNF plasma levels than LPS-treated control-fed animals. Higher LPS-induced TNF levels in drug-fed animals were reflected physiologically in significantly lower glucose levels in plasma and a significantly lower 50% lethal dose than those in LPS-treated control-fed animals. Utilizing PPARα wild-type (WT) and knockout (KO) mice, we showed that the effect of fenofibrate on LPS-induced TNF expression was indeed mediated by PPARα. PPARα WT mice fed fenofibrate also had a fivefold increase in LPS-induced TNF levels in plasma compared to control-fed animals. However, LPS-induced TNF levels were significantly decreased and glucose levels in plasma were significantly increased in PPARα KO mice fed fenofibrate compared to those in control-fed animals. Data from peritoneal macrophage studies indicate that Wy-14,643 modestly decreased TNF expression in vitro. Similarly, overexpression of PPARα in 293T cells decreased activity of a human TNF promoter-luciferase construct. The results from these studies suggest that any anti-inflammatory activity of PPARα in vivo can be masked by other systemic effects of PPARα activators.
Rank-Based miRNA Signatures for Early Cancer Detection

We describe a new signature definition and analysis method to be used as biomarker for early cancer detection. Our new approach is based on the construction of a reference map of transcriptional signatures of both healthy and cancer affected individuals using circulating miRNA from a large number of subjects. Once such a map is available, the diagnosis for a new patient can be performed by observing the relative position on the map of his/her transcriptional signature. To demonstrate its efficacy for this specific application we report the results of the application of our method to published datasets of circulating miRNA, and we quantify its performance compared to current state-of-the-art methods. A number of additional features make this method an ideal candidate for large-scale use, for example, as a mass screening tool for early cancer detection or for at-home diagnostics. Specifically, our method is minimally invasive (because it works well with circulating miRNA), it is robust with respect to lab-to-lab protocol variability and batch effects (it requires that only the relative ranking of expression value of miRNA in a profile be accurate not their absolute values), and it is scalable to a large number of subjects. Finally we discuss the need for HPC capability in a widespread application of our or similar methods.
Facetwise Analysis of XCS for Problems With Class Imbalances

Michigan-style learning classifier systems (LCSs) are online machine learning techniques that incrementally evolve distributed subsolutions which individually solve a portion of the problem space. As in many machine learning systems, extracting accurate models from problems with class imbalances-that is, problems in which one of the classes is poorly represented with respect to the other classes-has been identified as a key challenge to LCSs. Empirical studies have shown that Michigan-style LCSs fail to provide accurate subsolutions that represent the minority class in domains with moderate and large disproportion of examples per class; however, the causes of this failure have not been analyzed in detail. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to carefully examine the effect of class imbalances on different LCS components. The analysis focuses on XCS, which is the most-relevant Michigan-style LCS, although the models could be easily adapted to other LCSs. Design decomposition is used to identify five elements that are crucial to guaranteeing the success of LCSs in domains with class imbalances, and facetwise models that explain these different elements for XCS are developed. All theoretical models are validated with artificial problems. The integration of all these models enables us to identify the sweet spot where XCS is able to scalably and efficiently evolve accurate models of rare classes; furthermore, facetwise analysis is used as a tool for designing a set of configuration guidelines that have to be followed to ensure convergence. When properly configured, XCS is shown to be able to solve highly unbalanced problems that previously eluded solution.
Disruption of Gene for Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase Reduces Progression of Cerebral Aneurysms

Background and Purpose— The rupture of a cerebral aneurysm is a major cause of subarachnoid hemorrhage, but the mechanism of its development remains unclear. Inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) is expressed in human and rat cerebral aneurysms, and aminoguanidine, a relatively selective inhibitor of iNOS, can decrease the number of the aneurysms in rats. In this study we applied our new mouse model of cerebral aneurysms to the iNOS gene knockout mice and observed experimental cerebral aneurysms in these animals to elucidate the role of iNOS in the process of cerebral aneurysm formation. Methods— Eight C57/Bl6 mice and 16 iNOS knockout mice received a cerebral aneurysm induction procedure. Four months after the operation, the mice were killed, their cerebral arteries were dissected, and the region of the bifurcation of the anterior cerebral artery/olfactory artery was examined histologically and immunohistochemically. Results— No significant difference was seen in the incidence of cerebral aneurysms between iNOS+/+ and iNOS−/− mice. However, the size of advanced cerebral aneurysms and the number of apoptotic smooth muscle cells were significantly greater in iNOS+/+ mice than in iNOS−/− mice. Conclusions— Inducible NOS is not necessary for the initiation of cerebral aneurysm. However, the results of this study suggest that regulation of iNOS may have therapeutic potential in the prevention of the progression of cerebral aneurysms.
Tracking concept drift of software projects using defect prediction quality

Defect prediction is an important task in the mining of software repositories, but the quality of predictions varies strongly within and across software projects. In this paper we investigate the reasons why the prediction quality is so fluctuating due to the altering nature of the bug (or defect) fixing process. Therefore, we adopt the notion of a concept drift, which denotes that the defect prediction model has become unsuitable as set of influencing features has changed - usually due to a change in the underlying bug generation process (i.e., the concept). We explore four open source projects (Eclipse, OpenOffice, Netbeans and Mozilla) and construct file-level and project-level features for each of them from their respective CVS and Bugzilla repositories. We then use this data to build defect prediction models and visualize the prediction quality along the time axis. These visualizations allow us to identify concept drifts and - as a consequence - phases of stability and instability expressed in the level of defect prediction quality. Further, we identify those project features, which are influencing the defect prediction quality using both a tree induction-algorithm and a linear regression model. Our experiments uncover that software systems are subject to considerable concept drifts in their evolution history. Specifically, we observe that the change in number of authors editing a file and the number of defects fixed by them contribute to a project's concept drift and therefore influence the defect prediction quality. Our findings suggest that project managers using defect prediction models for decision making should be aware of the actual phase of stability or instability due to a potential concept drift.
Genetic analysis of individual piglet traits together with juvenile IGF-1 and performance traits

Heavier piglets are more likely to survive until weaning (see review by Le Dividich, 1999). Piglets with a larger birthweight have a higher pre-weaning growth rate (Bilkei and Biro, 1999) and better lifetime performance (Rydhmer et al., 1989). Overall, these phenotypic relationships indicate the importance of considering the role of piglet birth weights in breeding programs. In addition, further piglet weight traits may be recorded during lactation or at weaning. These traits provide further information about the combined potential of the piglet to grow and the mother to nurse a litter. As such piglet traits recorded after birth are of importance. However, cross-fostering is often practiced in nucleus herds and may limit the use of piglet traits recorded after birth.
Perineural but not systemic low-dose dexamethasone prolongs the duration of interscalene block with ropivacaine: a prospective randomized trial

Purpose To determine the effects of intravenous and perineural dexamethasone on the duration of interscalene brachial plexus block (ISB) with ropivacaine in patients undergoing arthroscopic shoulder surgery. Patients and methods In this prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, patients presenting for arthroscopic shoulder surgery with an ISB were randomized to receive ropivacaine 0.75% (group C), ropivacaine 0.75% plus perineural dexamethasone 4 mg (group Dperi), or ropivacaine 0.75% plus intravenous dexamethasone 4 mg (group Div). The primary outcome was the duration of analgesia, defined as the time between performance of the block and the first request for analgesic. Results Thirty-nine patients were randomized. The median times of sensory block in groups C, Dperi, and Div were 11.2 hours (interquartile range [IQR] 8.0–15.0 hours), 18.0 hours (IQR 14.5–19.0 hours), and 14.0 hours (IQR 12.7–15.1 hours), respectively. Significant differences were observed between groups Dperi and C (P=0.001). Kaplan–Meier analysis for the first analgesic request showed significant differences between groups Dperi and C (P=0.005) and between groups Dperi and Div (P=0.008), but not between groups C and Div. Conclusion Perineural but not intravenous administration of 4 mg of dexamethasone significantly prolongs the duration of effective postoperative analgesia resulting from a single-shot ISB with ropivacaine 0.75%.
Stochasticity and Determinism: How Density-Independent and Density-Dependent Processes Affect Population Variability

A persistent debate in population ecology concerns the relative importance of environmental stochasticity and density dependence in determining variability in adult year-class strength, which contributes to future reproduction as well as potential yield in exploited populations. Apart from the strength of the processes, the timing of density regulation may affect how stochastic variation, for instance through climate, translates into changes in adult abundance. In this study, we develop a life-cycle model for the population dynamics of a large marine fish population, Northeast Arctic cod, to disentangle the effects of density-independent and density-dependent processes on early life-stages, and to quantify the strength of compensatory density dependence in the population. The model incorporates information from scientific surveys and commercial harvest, and dynamically links multiple effects of intrinsic and extrinsic factors on all life-stages, from eggs to spawners. Using a state-space approach we account for observation error and stochasticity in the population dynamics. Our findings highlight the importance of density-dependent survival in juveniles, indicating that this period of the life cycle largely determines the compensatory capacity of the population. Density regulation at the juvenile life-stage dampens the impact of stochastic processes operating earlier in life such as environmental impacts on the production of eggs and climate-dependent survival of larvae. The timing of stochastic versus regulatory processes thus plays a crucial role in determining variability in adult abundance. Quantifying the contribution of environmental stochasticity and compensatory mechanisms in determining population abundance is essential for assessing population responses to climate change and exploitation by humans.
Clinical Presentation of Left Atrial Cardiac Myxoma: A Series Of 112 Consecutive Cases

We analyzed a series of 112 consecutive cases of left atrial myxoma diagnosed in a single French hospital (72 women and 40 men; age range, 5-84 yr) over 40 years, from 1959 to 1998. Symptoms of mitral valve obstruction, the first arm of the classic triad of myxoma presentation, were present in 75 patients (67%), with mostly cardiac failure or malaise. Symptoms of embolism, the second frequent presentation in the classic triad, were observed in 33 cases (29%) with 1 or several locations, essentially cerebral emboli with stroke. Males are statistically at greater risk than females of developing embolic complications. The third arm of the classic triad consists of constitutional symptoms (34%) with fever, weight loss, or symptoms resembling connective tissue disease, due to cytokine (interleukin-6) secretion. Younger and male patients have more neurologic symptoms, and female patients have more systemic symptoms. Seventy-two patients (64%) had cardiac auscultation abnormalities, essentially pseudo-mitral valve disease (53.5%) and more rarely the suggestive tumor plop (15%). The most frequent electrocardiographic sign was left atrial hypertrophy (35%), whereas arrhythmias were uncommon. The greater number of myxoma patients (98) diagnosed preoperatively after 1977 reflects the introduction of echocardiography as a noninvasive diagnostic procedure. However, there was no significant reduction in the average time from onset of symptoms to operation between patients seen in the periods before and after 1977. The tumor diameter ranged from 1 to 15 cm with a weight of between 15 and 180 g (mean, 37 g). The myxoma surface was friable or villous in 35% of the cases, and smooth in the other 65% cases. Myxomas in patients presenting with embolism have a friable surface; those in patients with cardiac symptoms, pseudo-mitral auscultation signs, tumor plop, and electrocardiogram or radiologic signs of left atrium hypertrophy and dilatation are significantly the larger tumors. The long-term prognosis is excellent, and only 4 deaths occurred among our 112 cases over a median follow-up of 3 years. The recurrence rate is low (5%), but long-term follow-up and serial echocardiography are advisable especially for young patients.
Natriuretic Peptides and Nitric Oxide Stimulate cGMP Synthesis in Different Cellular Compartments

Cyclic nucleotide-gated (CNG) channels are a family of ion channels activated by the binding of cyclic nucleotides. Endogenous channels have been used to measure cyclic nucleotide signals in photoreceptor outer segments and olfactory cilia for decades. Here we have investigated the subcellular localization of cGMP signals by monitoring CNG channel activity in response to agonists that activate either particulate or soluble guanylyl cyclase. CNG channels were heterologously expressed in either human embryonic kidney (HEK)-293 cells that stably overexpress a particulate guanylyl cyclase (HEK-NPRA cells), or cultured vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) was used to activate the particulate guanylyl cyclase and the nitric oxide donor S-nitroso-n-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP) was used to activate the soluble guanylyl cyclase. CNG channel activity was monitored by measuring Ca2+ or Mn2+ influx through the channels using the fluorescent dye, fura-2. We found that in HEK-NPRA cells, ANP-induced increases in cGMP levels activated CNG channels in a dose-dependent manner (0.05–10 nM), whereas SNAP (0.01–100 μM) induced increases in cGMP levels triggered little or no activation of CNG channels (P < 0.01). After pretreatment with 100 μM 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX), a nonspecific phosphodiesterase inhibitor, ANP-induced Mn2+ influx through CNG channels was significantly enhanced, while SNAP-induced Mn2+ influx remained small. In contrast, we found that in the presence of IBMX, both 1 nM ANP and 100 μM SNAP triggered similar increases in total cGMP levels. We next sought to determine if cGMP signals are compartmentalized in VSMCs, which endogenously express particulate and soluble guanylyl cyclase. We found that 10 nM ANP induced activation of CNG channels more readily than 100 μM SNAP; whereas 100 μM SNAP triggered higher levels of total cellular cGMP accumulation. These results suggest that cGMP signals are spatially segregated within cells, and that the functional compartmentalization of cGMP signals may underlie the unique actions of ANP and nitric oxide.