Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nonlocal Phenomenology for Anisotropic Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence

A nonlocal cascade model for anisotropic magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence in the presence of a uniform magnetic field B is proposed. The model takes into account that (1) energy cascades in an anisotropic manner, and as a result a different estimate for the cascade rate in the direction parallel and perpendicular to the B field is made, and (2) the interactions that result in the cascade are between different scales. Eddies with wavenumbers k∥ and k⊥ interact with eddies with wavenumbers q∥, q⊥ such that a resonance condition between the wavenumbers q∥, q⊥ and k∥, k⊥ holds. As a consequence, energy from the eddy with wavenumbers k∥ and k⊥ cascades due to interactions with eddies located in the resonant manifold whose wavenumbers are determined by q∥ ≃ ϵ1/3k/B and q⊥ ≃ k⊥, and energy will cascade along the lines k∥ ≃ k0 + kϵ1/3/B. For a uniform energy injection rate in the parallel direction, the resulting energy spectrum is E(k∥,k⊥) ≃ ϵ2/3kk. For a general forcing, however, the model suggests a nonuniversal behavior. The connections with previous models, numerical simulations and weak turbulence theory are discussed.
Oxygen-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging versus computed tomography: multicenter study for clinical stage classification of smoking-related chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

RATIONALE Oxygen-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been proposed as a useful tool for assessing regional morphological and functional changes in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). OBJECTIVES To prospectively and directly compare the efficacy of O(2)-enhanced MRI and quantitative computed tomography (CT) for smoking-related pulmonary functional loss assessment and clinical stage classification of smoking-related COPD. METHODS One hundred sixty smokers were classified into four age- and gender-matched groups by using the GOLD criteria for smokers: Smokers without COPD (n = 40), Mild COPD (n = 40), Moderate COPD (n = 40), and Severe or Very Severe COPD (n = 40). All smokers underwent O(2)-enhanced MRI, multidetector-row CT, and pulmonary function test. Mean relative enhancement ratio on O(2)-enhanced MRI and CT-based functional lung volume (FLV) on quantitative CT were calculated. To compare the efficacy of O(2)-enhanced MRI and quantitative CT for pulmonary functional loss assessment, both indexes were correlated with pulmonary functional parameters. To determine the efficacy of two methods for clinical stage classification, the four clinical groups' mean relative enhancement ratio and CT-based FLV were statistically compared. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Correlations of both indexes with pulmonary functional parameters were significant (P < 0.0001). Pulmonary functional parameters and mean relative enhancement ratio for the four clinical groups showed significant differences (P < 0.05). CT-based FLVs of smokers without COPD and mild COPD were significantly different from those for moderate COPD and severe or very severe COPD (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS O(2)-enhanced MRI is effective for pulmonary functional loss assessment and clinical stage classification of smoking-related COPD and quantitative CT.
Prevalence and impact of dysmenorrhea on Hispanic female adolescents.

BACKGROUND Dysmenorrhea is the leading cause of short-term school absenteeism. It is associated with a negative impact on social, academic, and sports activities of many female adolescents. Dysmenorrhea has not previously been described among Hispanic adolescents, the fastest growing minority group in the United States. OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence of dysmenorrhea among Hispanic female adolescents; its impact on academic performance, school attendance, and sports and social activities; and its management. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS A total of 706 Hispanic female adolescents, in grades 9 through 12, completed a 31-item questionnaire about the presence, duration, severity, treatment, and limitations of dysmenorrhea at a local urban high school. RESULTS Among participants who had had a period in the previous 3 months, 85% reported dysmenorrhea. Of these, 38% reported missing school due to dysmenorrhea during the 3 months prior to the survey and 33% reported missing individual classes. Activities affected by dysmenorrhea included class concentration (59%), sports (51%), class participation (50%), socialization (46%), homework (35%), test-taking skills (36%), and grades (29%). Treatments taken for dysmenorrhea included rest (58%), medications (52%), heating pad (26%), tea (20%), exercise (15%), and herbs (7%). Fourteen percent consulted a physician and 49% saw a school nurse for help with their symptoms. Menstrual pain was significantly associated with school absenteeism and decreased academic performance, sports participation, and socialization with peers (P<.01). CONCLUSIONS Dysmenorrhea is highly prevalent among Hispanic adolescents and is related to school absenteeism and limitations on social, academic, and sports activities. Given that most adolescents do not seek medical advice for dysmenorrhea, health care providers should screen routinely for dysmenorrhea and offer treatment. As dysmenorrhea reportedly affects school performance and attendance, school administrators may have a vested interest in providing health education on this topic to their students. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2000;154:1226-1229.
3D tomographic reconstruction on HPC cluster of the Kongo Rikishi (Japanese wooden statue of the XIII century)

Computed Tomography is a non-destructive technique for which the object volume is reconstructed from a large series of radiographs acquired at different angles. Information can be retrieved as 2D cross section images allowing the inspection and the classification of the object; moreover, by processing tomographic data, a 3D numerical model of the full-volume sample can be obtained for virtual reality applications or digital archives storage. Computed Tomography is well known, specially in the medical field. However, it is a complex technique as soon as one wants to use it in a different way than in medicine (that means different scale, different energy range, different material composition and so on). The Kongo Rikishi is a Japanese wooden statue (over 200 cm of height) of the XIII century. The restoration has been carried out by the Conservation and Restoration Center La Venaria Reale, Turin, Italy. An high resolution Computed Tomography has been realized by the X-Ray Imaging Group of the Physics Department of Bologna University, Italy. To investigate the whole statue volume, up to 36 shootings are needed and for each of them 720 radiographs are acquired. To obtain the final volume (120 GB) 20 days of calculation are needed with a standard PC. In this work we will show the Proof of Concept that we have done using the Microsoft HPC cluster in Redmond. The Microsoft HPC environment has proved to be dramatically powerful and easy to use letting us reach important results quickly. Simply running many copies of the same software on different chunks of data using 20 cores has lead to an impressive speedup: up to a speed factor of 28. The same code, running on a new generation cluster of 32 cores, completed the elaborations with a speed rate factor of 75. These extraordinary results permit to reconstruct the volume in 6 hours instead of 20 days, making possible the real-time investigation of cultural objects.
Prostate cancer: ESMO Clinical Practice Guidelines for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up.

The age-standardised incidence of prostate cancer in the European Union (EU) was 65/100 000 men in 2008, ranging in different member states from 18 per 100 000 in Greece to 126 per 100 000 in Ireland depending predominantly on the prevalence of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening [1]. Agestandardised mortality rates are predominantly between 15 and 37 per 100 000 [2]. It is the most common cancer in men with an estimated 382 000 cases occurring during 2008 in Europe. The mortality in the EU is 30.6/100 000 men/year and almost 90 000 deaths from prostate cancer occurred in Europe in 2008, making it the third most common cancer death in men [2]. Subclinical prostate cancer is common in men >50 years. Population-based screening of healthy men between 55 and 69 years old using PSA testing reduces prostate cancer mortality by an estimated 20%. Six trials and a meta-analysis have been published evaluating the role of screening, of which three were originally designed to evaluate prostate cancer mortality [3, 4]. After a median follow-up of 11 years the European screening trial demonstrated a relative reduction in the risk of prostate cancer mortality of 21% for the screened population (29% if adjusted for non-compliance). However, 1055 men needed to be invited for screening and 37 patients needed to be treated to prevent one patient from dying from prostate cancer. At 11 years follow-up, there was no reduction in overall mortality between the screened and non-screened population. In a further evaluation of the European screening study, it was shown that the benefit of screening was diminished by loss of qualityadjusted life years [5]. Recommendation: population-based screening for prostate cancer reduces prostate cancer mortality at the expense of a high over-treatment rate [I, B]. diagnosis
B7-H4 Expression Promotes Tumorigenesis in Ovarian Cancer

Introduction: It has been previously shown that B7-H4, one of the B7 family members that serve as negative regulators of T cell function, has altered expression levels in a variety of cancers, overexpression of B7-H4 promotes cellular transformation. However, there is still lack of adequate evidence to establish a direct connection between B7-H4 expression and malignant transformation. Methods: Herein, we constructed pE-green fluorescent protein-N1/B7-H4 mammalian expression vector and transfected into B7-H4-negative human ovarian cancer cell line SKOV3. Cellular proliferation, apoptosis, adhesion, motility, and invasion were examined in vitro. Cells injected subcutaneously into severe combined immunodeficient mouse were analyzed for the possible functions of B7-H4 in ovarian tumorigenesis in vivo. Results: Fluorescence microscopy studies confirmed that the B7-H4-green fluorescent protein localizes in the cytoplasm of SKOV3/B7-H4 cells, whereas green fluorescent protein is uniformly distributed throughout the cell. B7-H4 promoted cellular proliferation rate and increased cell adhesion, migration, and invasion. In addition, SKOV3 cells expressing B7-H4 gained growth advantage in the xenograft model in vivo. Conclusions: These studies demonstrate that B7-H4 directly promotes malignant transformation of ovarian cancer cell line, and provides a potential therapeutic strategy for targeting B7-H4 to inhibit progression of human ovarian cancers.
Bilan des productions expérimentales d'huîtres plates de 2005 à 2010 au Laboratoire de Génétique et Pathologie de La Tremblade

L’objectif de ce rapport est de detailler les productions d’huitres plates europeennes, Ostrea edulis, dans le cadre des projets de recherche developpes autour de l’amelioration genetique de cette espece. Nous avons choisi de synthetiser les actions de recherche dans un premier temps puis la production des huitres et les experimentations dans un ordre chronologique.
Pro: transcatheter aortic valve implantation should be performed with general anesthesia.

p c p r d w w m TRANSCATHETER AORTIC VALVE IMPLANTATION (TAVI) should be performed under general anesthesia (GA). Presently, GA has been shown to be the most commonly used anesthesia technique.1-4 In Europe at present, aortic valve access via the transapical, transfemoral, and transaxillary approaches is used in conjunction with the 2 clinically used aortic valve prostheses. Cribier et al5 are acknowledged for the first successful imlantation in 2002. Since then, there has been rapid developent in the field of TAVI,6-10 along with the publication of rospective multicenter studies11,12 providing evidence of reduced morbidity and mortality. These techniques are still recommended for high-risk patients13 who frequently are considred ineligible for surgery. The breakthrough development of hese catheter-based techniques has fundamentally changed the pproach to the treatment of aortic valve stenosis in high-risk atients. The treatment of aortic valve stenosis with TAVI equires a multidisciplinary team approach involving a cardiac urgeon, a cardiologist, and a cardiac anesthesiologist. The anesthesia team and the selection of the anesthesia echnique are important for the outcome of these high-risk atients. The transapical and the transaxillary approaches neessitate GA because of the minithoracotomy and the need for echanical ventilation. On the one hand, GA provides a quiet nd pain-free patient for transfemoral and transapical TAVI. he airway is maintained throughout the procedure, and there s no risk of emergency intubation, especially in patients with difficult airway and monitored anesthetic care (MAC) mangement. Ender et al14 and Hantschel et al15 have shown that fast-track GA is favorable for the cardiac surgical patient, even for the high-risk population, such as patients considered for TAVI. MAC with local anesthesia of the groin plus sedation is feasible for the transfemoral approach16-18 and is integrated into the clinical practice of some centers. There is ongoing scientific and clinical debate regarding the optimal anesthesia technique with the transfemoral aortic valve implantation regardless of the valve used. The theoretic advantages of the MAC technique include continuous neurologic assessment of the awake patient, earlier mobilization, and, potentially, a faster recovery, which may reduce the length of stay in high-dependency units and the overall hospital stay due to the fact that the patient is not intubated. Furthermore, the hemodynamic changes may be
Pediatric Exposures to Lead , Arsenic , Cadmium , and Methyl Mercury

Lead, arsenic, cadmium, and methyl mercury are nonessential and potentially highly toxic metals. They may be found in minute and variable but measurable amounts in food, drinking water, and/or ambient air. Because each of the metals has been identified as a serious environmental contaminant in various parts of the world, much research effort has been devoted to them, especially during the past two decades. This review focuses on the pediatric aspects of overexposure to lead, arsenic, cadmium, and methyl mercury in food, drinking water, ambient air, soil, and dust.
Peripheral blood CD4+ and CD8+ T cell type 1 and type 2 cytokine production in atopic asthmatic and normal subjects

Background Increased production of IL‐4 and IL‐5 and decreased production of IFN‐γ by CD4+ T cells has been implicated in asthma pathogenesis. However, CD8+ T cells also produce type 1 and type 2 cytokines and the relative roles of CD4+ and CD8+ T cell cytokine production in asthma have not been previously studied.
The correlation between the hyperacusis questionnaire and uncomfortable loudness levels is dependent on emotional exhaustion

Abstract Objective: To validate the hyperacusis questionnaire (HQ) in different strata of emotional exhaustion (EE). Design: HQ-scores and uncomfortable loudness levels (ULLs) were assessed in 348 individuals (140 men and 208 women) with low, intermediate, and high EE-levels. Results: Four individuals (1.1%) met the critical value for hyperacusis according to the HQ. An exploratory factor analysis extracted three factors from the HQ accounting for 57.6% of the variance. Internal consistency was acceptable for all subscales and for the total score, with Crohnbach's alpha ranging from 0.65 to 0.86. When controlling for hearing loss, significant correlations between the HQ and ULLs were found on both ears in those with intermediate (right: −0.328; left: −0.320) and high EE (right: −0.349; left: −0.393), but not with low EE (right: −0.204; left: −0.196). All correlations were negative, indicating that higher HQ-scores are correlated with lower ULLs. The strongest correlations were found for the social dimension, indicating that social aspects may correspond best to audiological parameters (ULLs) of hyperacusis. Conclusions: The results emphasize the need to take other factors, such as emotional exhaustion (long-term stress), into consideration when assessing hyperacusis with a questionnaire.
Ectoparasite impacts on Gerbillus andersoni allenbyi under natural conditions

To assess ectoparasite impact on individuals and populations of Gerbillus andersoni allenbyi under natural conditions, I addressed the following questions. Do ectoparasites affect their host fitness and, if so, how? Do ectoparasites affect host population level? Does this parasite–host interaction support the traditional concept of parasite evolution towards avirulence? For this purpose, host infestation, infection, survival, haematological indices, and physical condition were recorded. A field experiment which included manipulating host infestation while recording host survival was conducted to determine the causal relations between these variables. G. a. allenbyi was infested by 2 fleas (Synosternus cleopatrae and Stenoponia tripectinata), 5 mesostigmatid mites (Androlaelaps centrocarpus, A. hirsti, A. insculptus, A. marshalli and Hirstionyssus carticulatus), 1 tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus), and 1 louse (Polyplax gerbilli). Ectoparasite burden significantly reduced host survival and red blood cell indices (red cell concentration, haemoglobin concentration and haematocrit). Ectoparasite burden did not significantly affect white blood cell concentration. Gerbils were not infected by haemoparasites or gut helminths which potentially could cause anaemia. The causal relationship between S. cleopatrae burden and host survival was established by manipulation of host infestation. Both ectoparasite removal and initial level of infestation significantly affected host survival. Ectoparasites that caused anaemia were not associated with host physical condition (PC), measured as weight/length3. None of the red blood cell indices was correlated with host PC. These results suggest both that host PC was not affected by ectoparasite burden and that exsanguination leading to anaemia was the main effect of the ectoparasites. Ectoparasite pressure on the host population (based on the ectoparasite effects as estimated by statistical models, combined with dispersion of the infestation within the host population) changed seasonally and was greatest when host density was the highest. A large segment of the gerbil population was affected by ectoparasites during the entire year. An explanation for the evolution of parasite virulence, contrasting parasites that evolve towards increased virulence with parasites that evolve towards avirulence is presented. This classification is primarily based on whether parasite impact is equated with a higher efficiency of host exploitation, or whether it is a ‘side effect’ of parasite biology.
Genotype differences in susceptibility and resistance development of hepatitis C virus to protease inhibitors telaprevir (VX‐950) and danoprevir (ITMN‐191)

Protease inhibitors (PIs) have proven to be effective adjuncts to interferon/ribavirin treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections. Little clinical or in vitro data exists, however, on their effectiveness for nontype 1 genotypes that predominate in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and most of Asia. NS3 protease and NS4A genes from genotypes 1‐6 were inserted into the JFH clone to generate replication‐competent intergenotype chimeras. Susceptibility to PIs was determined by replication and infectivity assays. To study resistance development, chimeras were cultured in subinhibitory concentrations of PIs and mutations phenotypically characterized. Marked differences in susceptibility of different genotypes to danoprevir (ITMN‐191) and telaprevir (VX‐950) were observed. Genotypes 1, 4, and 6 showed median inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of 2‐3 nM, >100‐fold lower than genotypes 2/3/5 (250‐750 nM). Telaprevir susceptibilities varied over a 4‐fold range, with genotypes 1 and 2 being most susceptible and genotypes 4 and 5 most resistant. Culture of genotypes 1‐6 in PIs induced numerous mutations in the NS3 protease domain, highly variable between genotypes. Introduction of danoprevir and BILN 2061‐induced mutations into the original clones by site‐directed mutagenesis (n = 29) all conferred resistant phenotypes, with particularly large increases (1‐2 log greater IC50 values) in the initially susceptible genotypes 1/4/6. Most introduced mutations and showed little or no effect on replicative fitness. Conclusion: Major differences were found between genotypes in their susceptibility and resistance development to PIs. However, equal sensitivities of genotypes 1, 4, and 6 to danoprevir and a broader efficacy range of telaprevir between genotypes than initially conceptualized provide strong evidence that PIs might be effectively used beyond their genotype 1 target group. (HEPATOLOGY 2011;)
Parkinson disease and use of stem cells for therapeutic approaches of Parkinson disease

Parkinson's disease involves a progressive loss of midbrain dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, which causes motor symptoms such as dysfunctional bradykinesia, rigidity and tremor. Genetic mutations in Parkinson disease are infrequent and important because they represent potential therapeutic targets. Unfortunately, there is currently no treatment to stop the progression of the disease but only few improvements in symptoms are accessible by current treatments based on levodopa and dopaminergic therapy. Embryonic stem cells, Neural stem cells, Mesenchymal stem cell and induce pluripotent stem cell are a good source for dopaminergic neurons and can be used for cellular therapeutic approaches. Mesenchymal stem cells are thought to be among the easiest to harvest stem cells from individual sources. Embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells have more advantages than other two. Embryonic stem cells remain highly proliferative after in vivo expansion. They can generate dopaminergic neurons and survive after transplantation. Along with it, induced pluripotent stem cells generate unlimited Parkinson's disease patient specific cells. They show some degree of functional recovery after transplantation. Hence, these two have potential to enhance the success rate of clinical trial in Parkinson disease and to tolerate adverse effects of transplantation. This review will provide an insight into therapeutic approaches of Parkinson disease by the help of different types of stem cells.
Document skew detection using minimum-area bounding rectangle

Detection of document skew is an important step in document image analysis. The paper presents a new method for calculation of document skew. The method forms large connected components by a smoothing algorithm and calculates the document skew by finding the orientation of the minimum-area bounding rectangle of one of several connected components. Connection of text to non-text in the smoothing step does not degrade the performance of the method. The smoothing parameters are determined automatically and no manual adjustment is necessary. The method is not limited in the range of detectable skew angles and the achievable accuracy. Experimental results show the high performance of the algorithm in detecting document skew for a variety of documents with different levels of complexity.