Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Energy-Efficient Precision-Scalable ConvNet Processor in 40-nm CMOS

A precision-scalable processor for low-power ConvNets or convolutional neural networks is implemented in a 40-nm CMOS technology. To minimize energy consumption while maintaining throughput, this paper is the first to implement dynamic precision and energy scaling and exploit the sparsity of convolutions in a dedicated processor architecture. The processor’s 256 parallel processing units achieve a peak 102 GOPS running at 204 MHz and 1.1 V. It is fully C-programmable through a custom generated compiler and consumes 25–287 mW at 204 MHz and a scaling efficiency between 0.3 and 2.7 effective TOPS/W. It achieves 47 frames/s on the convolutional layers of the AlexNet benchmark, consuming only 76 mW. This system hereby outperforms the state-of-the-art up to five times in energy efficiency.
The Cutaneous Microcirculation: Ultrastructure and Microanatomical Organization

The cutaneous microcirculation is organized as two horizontal plexuses. One is situated 1–1.5 mm below the skin surface, and the other is at the dermal‐subcutaneous junction. Ascending arterioles and descending venules are paired as they connect the two plexuses. From the upper layer, arterial capillaries arise to form the dermal papillary loops that represent the nutritive component of the skin circulation. There are sphincter‐like smooth muscle cells at the point where the ascending arterioles divide to form the arteriolar component of the upper horizontal plexus. At the dermal subcutaneous junction, there are collecting veins with 2‐cusped valves that are oriented to prevent the retrograde flow of blood. Laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) has demonstrated vasomotion of red cell flux localized to the sites of ascending arterioles. The simultaneous recording by LDF of red cell flux and the concentration of moving red blood cells from individual sites allows one to construct by computer topographic maps of these two valves. The two maps, based on initial studies using correlative skin biopsy specimens, can define 1‐mm3 volumes of skin that are predominantly arteriolar in composition, predominantly venular in composition, or essentially devoid of all microvascular elements. The electron and light microscopic features that define the microvascular segments, when coupled with the ability of LDF to define the predominant microvascular segments under the probe, will allow one to study both the mechanisms of normal physiological states and the pathogenetic mechanisms underlying pathological skin disorders in which the microvasculature plays a predominant role.
Postrenal transplantation body composition: different evolution depending on gender.

OBJECTIVE Patients receiving regular hemodialysis have a lower body mass index, which is mainly caused by the reduction of fat mass and body cell mass (BCM) and the accompanying extracellular water (ECW) expansion. Kidney transplant (Tx) recipients normally regain subnormal renal filtration, and they must cope with significant therapeutic-associated metabolic side effects, which may compromise the recovery of normal nutritional status. We investigated the influence of renal function recovery on body fluid composition during the first period post-Tx, when immunosuppressive drugs doses are at their highest. We also analyzed the differences between males and females and compared them with healthy controls. METHODS Eighteen patients (11 males and 7 females) were studied. Biolectric impedance analysis was done pre-Tx and at months 1 and 3 post-Tx. We considered the following parameters: total body water, ECW, intracellular water, Na:K exchangeable ratio, phase angle, and BCM. The healthy group was evaluated three times in a year interval. RESULTS We observed differences between genders. Compared with healthy males, resistance, reactance, intracellular water, and BCM were greater and ECW was lower among Tx males at pre-Tx time. At months 1 and 3, we observed only different total body water in males compared with controls. Females did not display any differences in biolectric impedance analysis parameters compared with healthy controls, with the exception of lower reactance at month 1. CONCLUSIONS Compared with healthy subjects, uremic males presented body water disturbances pre-Tx. During the first 3 months post-Tx, males showed an incomplete recovery of bioelectric impedance analysis parameters with a greater total body water, probably the result of drug therapy side effects. Pre-Tx, Tx females at pre-Tx time had no differences as compared with healthy females.
Fractal dimension and lacunarity analysis of dental radiographs.

OBJECTIVE As the occlusal forces transmitted to the jaw bones during mastication might be different in dentate and edentulous regions, there might be different radiographical trabecular bone texture in these regions. Image analysis procedures are promising techniques which are used to detect structural changes of bone texture on radiographs. In this study, the differences of fractal dimension (FD) and lacunarity measurements of radiographical trabecular bone between dentate and edentulous regions were investigated. METHODS Direct digital radiographs of premolar-molar region were taken from 51 patients who were included in our study. Two rectangular regions of interest (ROIs) with the same dimensions (37x119 pixels) were created on these radiographs; one in the edentulous region and the other one in the dentate region. The ROIs were segmented as black and white areas. Box-counting fractal dimension and lacunarity of these regions were calculated. RESULTS Paired samples t-test and Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated. It was found that there were differences between dentate and edentulous regions for FD and lacunarity (P=0.000). There is a negative correlation between FD and lacunarity (-0.643, P<0.01), positive correlation between dentate and edentulous regions and FD (0.819, P<0.01), and a negative correlation between lacunarity and dentate and edentulous regions (-0.541, P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS The differences of occlusal forces generated in dentate and edentulous regions during mastication cause some alterations in trabecular bone structure, and fractal dimension and lacunarity can reveal these alterations quantitatively.
Macrophage‐derived chemokine (MDC)

Macrophage‐derived chemokine (MDC) is a CC chemokine paradigmatic of emerging aspects of chemokine immunobiology. It is constitutively expressed, yet microbial products and cytokines regulate its expression with divergent effects of type II (IL‐4 and IL‐13) and type I (interferon) cytokines. Processing of the mature protein by dipeptidyl peptidase IV/CD26 provides a further level of regulation. It acts on diverse cellular targets including dendritic cells (DC), NK cells, and T cell subsets. Among these, MDC is a potent attractant for CCR4 expressing polarized Th2 and Tc2 cells, and evidence is consistent with a role of this chemokine as an amplification loop of polarized type II responses. Emerging indications on the involvement of MDC in diverse pathologies, ranging from allergic reactions to HIV infection and neoplasia, are discussed.
Mechanical lithotripsy and/or stenting in management of difficult common bile duct stones.

BACKGROUND Mechanical lithotripsy and/or stent insertion is the alternative therapeutic approach in difficult endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) case. This study was designed to investigate the appropriate treatment for extraction of bile duct stones in difficult cases of ERCP. METHODS Between 2000 and 2008, 744 ERCP procedures were performed in 592 patients with choledocholithiasis in our endoscopy unit. The demographic features, and clinical and laboratory findings were collected from a prospectively held database. Bile duct calculi were extracted by basket and/or balloon catheter following ERCP and sphincterotomy. Patients with retained stones were regarded as difficult cases. These patients were treated with mechanical lithotripsy and those with incomplete clearance of stones underwent stent placement. RESULTS Two hundred and forty-five patients (41%) were male and 347 (59%) were female with a mean age of 58 years (range 19-95 years). Stones were impacted in 27 patients (5%). Stone extraction was performed by basket and/or balloon catheter in 610 ERCP procedures, and lithotripsy was performed in 70 ERCP procedures. Forty-four patients underwent stent insertion, and 20 underwent stent replacement. Morbidity occurred in 39 patients (5%), with no mortality associated with the procedure. Hemorrhage occurred in 9 patients and basket impaction in 4. Mild pancreatitis and cholangitis developed in 12 and 11 patients, respectively. CONCLUSION Difficult cases of bile duct stones can be treated successfully with lithotripsy, and a stent should be applied when the common bile duct cannot be cleared completely.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus-associated primary effusion lymphoma: An exceedingly rare entity in cerebrospinal fluid

Primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) in patients with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection may involve pleural, pericardial, and peritoneal cavities. PEL involving the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is exceedingly rare, and to our knowledge has only been reported in two cases. We report another case of PEL diagnosed in CSF from a 61-year-old male with Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome that presented with neurological symptoms. Imaging studies of his brain showed leptomeningeal/periventricular enhancement, but no mass lesion. His CSF demonstrated human herpesvirus-8 positive pleomorphic lymphoplasmacytoid cells of null cell phenotype. This case highlights that albeit rare, PEL should be included in the differential diagnosis when large atypical cells are encountered in CSF of HIV-positive patients, even when such patients have no history of lymphoma. As in this case, ancillary studies are required to make an accurate diagnosis of PEL in CSF cytology.
Distal Biceps Tendon Repair

Background A variety of techniques have been described for distal biceps tendon reattachment—bone tunnel with transosseous sutures, suture anchors, and interference screw techniques. Hypothesis There will be no significant difference between the mean failure strength, maximum strength, and stiffness of the intact specimen and repair techniques tested: bone tunnel with transosseous sutures and interference screw. Study Design Controlled laboratory study. Methods Nine matched pairs of fresh-frozen human cadaveric elbows were prepared. The intact tendon was pulled from the radial tuberosity; the right and left elbows were randomized to bone tunnels with transosseous sutures or interference screw repair techniques. The repaired specimens were pulled using the same regimen for the intact tendon. Failure strength, maximum strength, and stiffness were measured and compared. Results The mean failure strength, maximum strength, and stiffness of intact tendons were 204.3 ± 76.9 N, 221.7 ± 65.9 N, and 30.1 ± 12.4 N/mm, respectively; for the interference screw specimens, 178.0 ± 54.5 N, 192.1 ± 53.1 N, and 30.4 ± 9.5 N/mm, respectively; and for the bone tunnel specimens, 124.9 ± 22.8 N, 206.6 ± 49.8 N, and 15.9 ± 5.6 N/mm, respectively. There were no significant differences between measures in the intact and interference screw specimens. Mean failure strength and stiffness of the bone tunnel specimens were significantly lower than those of the intact and interference screw specimens; there was no significant difference between the maximum strengths of the treatments. Interference screw failure occurred abruptly with little plastic deformation in nearly all specimens with the tendon and screw pulling out as a unit, often involving fracture of the radial wall. Two of the bone tunnels failed at the bony bridge; the remainder lost bone-tendon contact as the distal tendon was shredded by the suture. Conclusion The results suggest interference screw fixation repair is nearly as strong and stiff as the intact tendon and stronger than the bone tunnel repair technique. Clinical Relevance The interference screw provides better stiffness and failure strength compared with the bone tunnel technique for distal biceps tendon repair. Given the superior mechanical properties, the interference screw technique is recommended as the treatment of choice for biceps tendon rupture repair.
Low complexity two-stage soft demapper for rotated constellation in DVB-T2

The rotated constellation with cyclic Q-delay provides the diversity gain for the signal space over the fading channel when properly demapped at the receiver. However, the implementation of optimal soft demapper is impractical due to the exponentially increasing complexity with modulation order. In this paper, we propose a two-stage soft demapper with low complexity applicable to the DVB-T2 receiver design. It is motivated by the observation that 2D LLR contours have special patterns depending on faded I and Q channel information. Simulation results show that the proposed demapper substantially reduces the computational complexity, 87.5% from the optimal solution for rotated 64 QAM under Rayleigh channel with 5% erasures, while maintaining the optimal BER performance for a given channel condition. The superiority over previous low complexity soft-demapper is also discussed.
Neural correlates of perception of emotional facial expressions in out-patients with mild-to-moderate depression and anxiety. A multicenter fMRI study

Background Depression has been associated with limbic hyperactivation and frontal hypoactivation in response to negative facial stimuli. Anxiety disorders have also been associated with increased activation of emotional structures such as the amygdala and insula. This study examined to what extent activation of brain regions involved in perception of emotional faces is specific to depression and anxiety disorders in a large community-based sample of out-patients. Method An event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) paradigm was used including angry, fearful, sad, happy and neutral facial expressions. One hundred and eighty-two out-patients (59 depressed, 57 anxiety and 66 co-morbid depression-anxiety) and 56 healthy controls selected from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA) were included in the present study. Whole-brain analyses were conducted. The temporal profile of amygdala activation was also investigated. Results Facial expressions activated the amygdala and fusiform gyrus in depressed patients with or without anxiety and in healthy controls, relative to scrambled faces, but this was less evident in patients with anxiety disorders. The response shape of the amygdala did not differ between groups. Depressed patients showed dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) hyperactivation in response to happy faces compared to healthy controls. Conclusions We suggest that stronger frontal activation to happy faces in depressed patients may reflect increased demands on effortful emotion regulation processes triggered by mood-incongruent stimuli. The lack of strong differences in neural activation to negative emotional faces, relative to healthy controls, may be characteristic of the mild-to-moderate severity of illness in this sample and may be indicative of a certain cognitive-emotional processing reserve.
Calnexin and the Immunoglobulin Binding Protein (BiP) Coimmunoprecipitate with AMPA Receptors

Abstract : To identify proteins that interact with α‐amino‐3‐hydroxy‐5‐methyl‐4‐isoxazolepropionate (AMPA) receptors, we carried out coimmunoprecipitation analyses on detergent‐solubilized rat forebrain membranes. Membranes were solubilized with Triton X‐100, and immunoprecipitation was done using subunit‐specific antibodies to GluR1, GluR2/3, and GluR4 attached to protein A‐agarose. Proteins bound to the antibodies were analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate‐polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis followed by silver staining and western blotting. With solubilization in low ionic strength buffer, several coimmunoprecipitating proteins, with Mr = 17,000‐100,000, were identified in silver‐stained gels. Western blots were then probed with antibodies to a series of candidate proteins that were chosen based on the molecular masses of the copurifying proteins. Two of these were identified as the molecular chaperones calnexin (90 kDa) and the immunoglobulin binding protein (BiP ; 78 kDa). Immunoprecipitation with antibodies to calnexin and BiP demonstrated that glycosylated AMPA receptor subunits were associated. The relationship between AMPA receptors and calnexin and BiP was further studied with immunocytochemistry of the hippocampus. Both calnexin and BiP labeling was present not only in the cell body but also in dendrites of hippocampal pyramidal neurons, where double‐label immunofluorescence also showed the presence of AMPA receptor subunits.
Cell Polarity Reversal Distinguishes True Micropapillary Growth From Retraction Artifact in Invasive Urothelial Carcinoma

Focal micropapillary features in invasive urothelial carcinoma is sometimes difficult to distinguish from retraction artifact morphologically. Cell polarity reversal has been demonstrated in micropapillary tumors by epithelial membrane antigen (EMA) immunostaining. We have previously described the use of E-cadherin as a cell polarity marker in ovarian micropapillary serous borderline tumors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the utility of immunohistochemistry for EMA and E-cadherin in differentiating micropapillary urothelial carcinoma from retraction artifact. We identified 29 invasive urothelial carcinomas with micropapillary features and 30 invasive urothelial carcinomas without reported micropapillary features but with areas of retraction artifact. Cell polarity reversal was considered present if E-cadherin showed membranous apical cup-like staining or if EMA demonstrated a well-defined basal staining towards the stroma. Twenty-seven of 29 cases (93%) of urothelial carcinoma with micropapillary features demonstrated EMA or E-cadherin staining patterns consistent with cell polarity reversal. Staining consistent with micropapillary architecture was identified with both markers in 20 of these 27 cases (74%). Six cases showed reversal of polarity by E-cadherin alone, whereas 1 case showed polarity reversal by EMA alone. Retraction artifacts showed circumferential staining by E-cadherin and lacked well-defined basal staining by EMA. Three cases originally classified as with retraction artifact showed reversal of cell polarity by both EMA and E-cadherin and were reclassified as micropapillary. Our data show that pathologists can reliably make this distinction in most cases. However, in some cases with ambiguous features, EMA and E-cadherin immunostaining may aid in resolving this diagnostic dilemma.
Covalent Dimerization of CD28/CTLA-4 and Oligomerization of CD80/CD86 Regulate T Cell Costimulatory Interactions*

T lymphocyte receptors CD28 and CTLA-4 bind costimulatory molecules CD80 (B7-1) and CD86 (B7-2) on antigen-presenting cells and regulate T cell activation. While distinct functional roles have been ascribed to each of these molecules, little is known about how they interact. To better characterize these interactions, we have used surface plasmon resonance to perform equilibrium and kinetic binding analyses of extracellular fragments of CD28/CTLA-4/CD80/CD86. We show that CTLA-4 and CD28 binding are both characterized by rapid kinetic on-rates and rapid dissociation rates. Native disulfide-linked homodimers of CD28 and CTLA-4 bound with two kinetically distinct binding sites, one of high avidity and slow dissociation and one of low avidity and more rapid dissociation. Monomeric CTLA-4 bound only with low affinity and rapid dissociation. Therefore, covalent dimerization of CTLA-4 is required for its high avidity binding. Oligomerization of CD80/CD86 is also required for high avidity CTLA-4 binding since CTLA-4 bound with low avidity to monomeric CD86. This contrasts with the ability of CD80/CD86 on antigen-presenting cells to bind CTLA4Ig with high avidity and predicts their organization as oligomers or clusters that permit multivalent binding. Thus, covalent receptor dimerization and ligand oligomerization are two key features of the CD28/CTLA-4/CD80/CD86 receptor system that control ligand binding and may regulate signal transduction by controlling the duration of receptor occupancy.
Correlation between antioxidant effect mechanisms and polyphenol content of Rosa canina

Rosa canina L. is a member of Rosaceae family, which is well-known for its high phenolic contents. These compounds are known to possess antioxidant, antimutagenic and anticarcinogenic effects. However, they have yet to pass controlled clinical trials for efficacy, and their potential for prooxidant activity is an understudied field of research. In order to estimate the correlations between phenolic contents and antioxidant/proxidant effect mechanisms, different concentrations of R. canina fruit extracts were examined in this study. R. canina showed antioxidant activities at all concentrations with respect to the reducing power, hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity and superoxide anion radical scavenging (O2ः-) activity assays, whereas a negative correlation was observed with the metal ion chelating activity and free radical scavenging activity [1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazil (DPPH) % inhibition] assays at higher concentrations with the phenolic content of R. canina. These results suggest that R. canina may act not only as an antioxidant, but also as a prooxidant with the effects depending on its concentrations.
Influence of palatal surface shape of dentures on food perception

The purpose of this study was to clarify the influence of the palatal surface shape of dentures on food perception. Eighteen healthy dentulous subjects (mean age, 24 years ） were investigated. Four types of experimental plate were used: i) a Tailor-made plate, ii) an Average-model plate, iii) a Smooth plate, and iv) a Wrinkle plate. Test foods consisted of Bavarian cream cubes containing 1-3 mustard seeds and 6 raw carrot pieces of different shapes. The Bavarian cream cubes with 3 seeds were used for analysis. The other foods were used as dummy foods. Subjects were required to wear experimental plates and press test foods placed on the anterior area of the tongue against the experimental plates. We measured time required to perceive number of spherical bodies, rate of correct answers, and level of perception with each type of experimental plate using a 100-mm visual analogue scale. The results showed a significant difference in response time between the Average-model plate and the other experimental plates, with response time longest for the Average-model plate. On the other hand, no significant differences in rate of correct answers regarding number of spherical bodies or level of perception were found among the experimental plates. When incisive papilla, palatine suture and palatal rugae based on the standard Japanese shape were replicated on the palatal surface of the plates, the time required for food perception during ingestion was prolonged in comparison to plates with other palatal surface shapes.