Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Automated detection of masses in digital mammograms based on pyramid

In this paper, a new approach to detect masses in digital mammograms is presented. Firstly, preprocessing procedure is carried out to enhance the contrast between mass and surrounding tissue based on the algorithm of exponential transformation, which maps a narrow range of high grey-level values into a wider range of output levels. After preprocessing, pyramid segmentation algorithm is used to segment suspicious regions. Six features extracted from the suspicious region are used as the input of classifier to discriminate masses from normal tissue regions. The binary decision tree is adopted as classifier due to its conceptual simplicity and computational efficiency. A set of 50 mammograms with 52 masses have been tested. We achieved a sensitivity rate of 86.5% at a 0.6 FP per image. The results show that the proposed method is quite effective.
Effect of dietary antioxidant and energy density on performance and anti-oxidative status of transition cows.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of dietary antioxidant and energy density on performance and anti-oxidative status in transition cows. Forty cows were randomly allocated to 4 dietary treatments in a 2x2 factorial design. High or low energy density diets (1.43 or 1.28 Mcal NE L /kg DM, respectively) were formulated with or without antioxidant (AOX, a dry granular blend of ethoxyquin and tertiary-butylhydroquinone; 0 or 5 g/cow per d). These diets were fed to cows for 21 days pre-partum. During the post-partum period, all cows were fed the same lactation diets, and AOX treatment followed as for the pre-partum period. Feeding a high energy diet depressed the DMI, milk yield, and 4% fat-corrected milk (FCM) of cows. However, AOX inclusion in the diet improved the milk and 4% FCM yields. There was an interaction of energy density by AOX on milk protein, milk fat and total solids contents. Feeding a high energy diet pre-partum increased plasma glucose and β-hydroxybutyrate, whereas dietary AOX decreased plasma β-hydroxybutyrate value during the transition period. There were also interactions between time and treatment for plasma glutathione peroxidase activity and malondialdehyde content during the study. Cows fed high energy diets pre-partum had higher plasma glutathione peroxidase activity 3 days prior to parturition, compared with those on low energy diets. Inclusion of AOX in diets decreased plasma glutathione peroxidase activity in cows 3 and 10 days pre-partum. Addition of AOX significantly decreased malondialdehyde values at calving. Energy density induced marginal changes in fatty acid composition in the erythrocyte membrane 3 days post-partum, while AOX only significantly increased cis-9, trans-11 conjugated linoleic acid composition. The increase in fluidity of the erythrocyte membrane was only observed in the high energy treatment. It is suggested that a diet containing high energy density pre-partum may negatively affect the anti-oxidative status, DMI and subsequent performance. Addition of AOX may improve the anti-oxidative status and reduce plasma P-hydroxybutyrate, eventually resulting in improved lactation performance; the response to AOX addition was more pronounced on the high energy diet.
The Spatial and Career Mobility of China's Urban and Rural Labor Force

ABSTRACT In this article, we provide a comprehensive examination of the spatial and career mobility of China's labor population. We integrate theories on stratification and social change and exploit the innovative design and measurement of the China Labor-force Dynamics Survey to minimize the undercoverage problem of the rural-urban migratory experience. Our analysis provides several fresh findings: (1) at-birth rural household registration (hukou) status leads to a greater probability of spatial mobility and career advancement than at-birth urban hukou status does; (2) education and gender differentiates rural-origin people, increasing the heterogeneity of urban labor and decreasing the heterogeneity of rural labor; (3) hukou policy relaxation favors later cohorts over earlier cohorts; and (4) among demographically comparable people, having experienced spatial mobility is correlated with having career advancement experience. Work organizations are found to be the arena where the two dimensions of mobility can happen jointly. Our findings provide a rich context for understanding the management and organization of Chinese labor.
Effects of Ovariectomy on Duodenal Calcium Transport in the Rat: Altered Ability to Adapt to Low-Calcium Diet 1

Abstract Studies were undertaken to determine whether ovariectomy (ovx) would alter the ability of female rats to adapt to low dietary Ca intake by exhibiting an increase in duodenal active Ca transport. Intact and ovx female rats were fed diets containing 1.5, 0.50, or 0.02% Ca prior to measuring active Ca transport using everted duodenal sacs in vitro. In some experiments, ovx animals were pair-fed to intact animals of the same age consuming the same diet. When ovx animals were allowed to eat ad lib, we found that both growth rate and duodenal active Ca transport increased relative to age-matched, intact controls. However, when growth of ovx animals was maintained at the control rate by pair-feeding, ovx per se did not affect intestinal active Ca transport. Ovx did not alter circulating levels of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)2D). We found that intact females responded to the low-Ca (0.02%) diet with increased circulating 1,25(OH)2D levels and increased intestinal active Ca transport. Ovx animals exhibited the same increase in circulating concentrations of 1,25(OH)2D in response to low-Ca diet, but did not demonstrate increased duodenal active Ca transport. When ovx animals consumed the diet ad lib, they became larger and exhibited higher Ca transport rates than intact animals fed the high-Ca diet, but there was no difference in Ca transport between ovx animals fed diets containing different Ca contents. The results of these experiments demonstrate that in female rats, the ability to adapt to altered dietary Ca intake is dependent on intact ovarian function and is not necessarily directly related to circulating concentrations of 1,25(OH)2D.
Treating symptoms of female sexual arousal disorder with the Eros-Clitoral Therapy Device.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to determine the effect of the Eros-Clitoral Therapy Device (Eros-CTD) on the sexual function of women with and without symptoms of female sexual arousal disorder (FSAD). DESIGN Periodic survey of sexual function in women using the Eros-CTD over a six-week period. SUBJECTS A total of 19 women participated in the study--10 with symptoms of FSAD and nine without symptoms of FSAD--ranging in age from 28 to 65 years, with a mean age of 45.2 years. METHODS Ten patients with symptoms of FSAD and 10 without symptoms were instructed in the use of the small, portable vacuum device, Eros-CTD. One woman without symptoms of FSAD withdrew early in the study for personal reasons. The patients were instructed in the correct use of the device and were asked to complete one Female Intervention Efficacy Index (FIEI) each week. The patients also kept diaries of their use of the device, noting the frequency, length, and strength of vacuum. RESULTS There was a significant improvement in all symptoms of FSAD (P < .05), including increased sensation, improved vaginal lubrication, enhanced ability to orgasm, and greater overall satisfaction. Patients without FSAD also reported similar changes in sensation, lubrication, ability to orgasm, and overall satisfaction. LIMITATIONS This study was done on a small sample of self-selected patients, was of limited duration, and had no long-term follow-up. All of these factors should be considered in interpreting the data. CONCLUSION The Eros-CTD was safe and effective in improving symptoms of FSAD in this group of women. Further studies on the efficacy of the Eros-CTD are indicated.
Behavioural risk factors and HIV infection of injection drug users at detoxification clinics in Puerto Rico.

BACKGROUND The ethnic and geographical variations of AIDS prevalence among injection drug users (IDU) have highlighted the need to understand the role of the relevant risk factors in specific subpopulations of IDU. In this study we examine the factors related to seropositivity among IDU entering drug detoxification facilities in metropolitan San Juan, Puerto Rico. METHODS From October 1990 until August 1991, 390 IDU were interviewed. Four groups of risk factors were examined: sexual practices, drug injection behaviours, risk behaviours while in US Mainland cities, and while incarcerated. A stepwise logistic regression model was used to simultaneously assess the independent effects of the behavioural risk factors on HIV seropositivity. RESULTS Of the 342 IDU who were tested for HIV antibodies, 29.5% were seropositive. The behaviours found to be associated with seropositivity were: having sex with an IDU in the last 6 months; having injected drugs for over 5 years; and injecting with used needles while incarcerated. DISCUSSION Public health programmes will need to establish more effective collaborative links with correctional institutions in order to reduce the spread of HIV among IDU in Puerto Rico.
Effects of ETA Receptor Antagonism on Proinflammatory Gene Expression and Microcirculation Following Hepatic Ischemia/Reperfusion

Background: The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of a specific endothelinA receptor antagonist (ETA‐RA) on mRNA expression of genes encoding vasoactive mediators and proinflammatory cytokines and on the microhemodynamics (assessed by measurement of laser Doppler flow and tissue blood gases) following complete vascular exclusion of the porcine liver.
Sexual Behaviour Induces the Expression of Activity‐Regulated Cytoskeletal Protein and Modifies Neuronal Morphology in the Female Rat Ventromedial Hypothalamus

Female sexual behaviour activates a distributed network within the brain, including the ventrolateral subdivision of the hypothalamic ventromedial nucleus (vlVMH), as demonstrated by behavioural studies performed in conjunction with the neuroanatomical analysis of immediate early gene (IEG) expression. However, it has been difficult to interpret mating‐induced IEG expression because the precise function of many IEGs remains poorly defined. One possible function for genomic activation of the vlVMH during mating behaviour is to establish synaptic remodelling. The present experiments tested the hypothesis that sexual behaviour rapidly induces the expression of a structural protein associated with synaptic plasticity and ultimately causes morphological changes in the vlVMH. First, the expression of activity‐regulated cytoskeletal protein (Arc), an IEG associated with neural plasticity, was assayed immunohistochemically in females after approximately 1 h of mating. The number of Arc‐labelled neurones in the vlVMH was greater in mated females compared to unmated controls. Second, VMH neurones were biolistically labelled for morphological measurements, including soma size, dendrite number and length and dendritic spine density. Dendritic spine density in the vlVMH was significantly reduced 5 days after mating in experienced females compared to sexually naïve females. There were no differences between these groups in soma size, dendrite length or dendrite number. Collectively, these studies suggest that mating behaviour produces short‐term changes in structural proteins and long‐term, selective changes in dendrite morphology, which then may influence future behaviours and/or physiology.
Copper binding to octarepeat peptides of the prion protein monitored by mass spectrometry

Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI‐MS) was used to measure the binding of Cu2+ ions to synthetic peptides corresponding to sections of the sequence of the mature prion protein (PrP). ESI‐MS demonstrates that Cu2+ is unique among divalent metal ions in binding to PrP and defines the location of the major Cu2+ binding site as the octarepeat region in the N‐terminal domain, containing multiple copies of the repeat ProHisGlyGlyGlyTrpGlyGln. The stoichiometries of the complexes measured directly by ESI‐MS are pH dependent: a peptide containing four octarepeats chelates two Cu2+ ions at pH 6 but four at pH 7.4. At the higher pH, the binding of multiple Cu2+ ions occurs with a high degree of cooperativity for peptides C‐terminally extended to incorporate a fifth histidine. Dissociation constants for each Cu2+ ion binding to the octarepeat peptides, reported here for the first time, are mostly in the low micromolar range; for the addition of the third and fourth Cu2+ ions to the extended peptides at pH 7.4, KD's are <100 nm. n‐terminal acetylation of the peptides caused some reduction in the stoichiometry of binding at both ph's. cu2+ also binds to a peptide corresponding to the extreme N‐terminus of PrP that precedes the octarepeats, arguing that this region of the sequence may also make a contribution to the Cu2+ complexation. Although the structure of the four‐octarepeat peptide is not affected by pH changes in the absence of Cu2+, as judged by circular dichroism, Cu2+ binding induces a modest change at pH 6 and a major structural perturbation at pH 7.4. It is possible that PrP functions as a Cu2+ transporter by binding Cu2+ ions from the extracellular medium under physiologic conditions and then releasing some or all of this metal upon exposure to acidic pH in endosomes or secondary lysosomes.
Mitosis Detection in Breast Cancer Histology Images via Deep Cascaded Networks

The number of mitoses per tissue area gives an important aggressiveness indication of the invasive breast carcinoma.However, automatic mitosis detection in histology images remains a challenging problem. Traditional methods either employ hand-crafted features to discriminate mitoses from other cells or construct a pixel-wise classifier to label every pixel in a sliding window way. While the former suffers from the large shape variation of mitoses and the existence of many mimics with similar appearance, the slow speed of the later prohibits its use in clinical practice.In order to overcome these shortcomings, we propose a fast and accurate method to detect mitosis by designing a novel deep cascaded convolutional neural network, which is composed of two components. First, by leveraging the fully convolutional neural network, we propose a coarse retrieval model to identify and locate the candidates of mitosis while preserving a high sensitivity.Based on these candidates, a fine discrimination model utilizing knowledge transferred from cross-domain is developed to further single out mitoses from hard mimics.Our approach outperformed other methods by a large margin in 2014 ICPR MITOS-ATYPIA challenge in terms of detection accuracy. When compared with the state-of-the-art methods on the 2012 ICPR MITOSIS data (a smaller and less challenging dataset), our method achieved comparable or better results with a roughly 60 times faster speed.
Efficacy and tolerability of quetiapine in patients with schizophrenia who switched from haloperidol, olanzapine or risperidone

A post hoc analysis of the SPECTRUM trial was carried out to evaluate whether the improvements in efficacy and tolerability gained on switching to quetiapine occurred consistently for patients previously treated with either: haloperidol (n = 43); olanzapine (n = 66); or risperidone (n = 55) monotherapy. Patients were initiated with quetiapine to 400 mg/day over 7 days, and then flexibly dosed (300–750 mg/day) for 11 weeks. The mean (SD) modal dose of quetiapine was 501 (138) mg/day in the haloperidol subgroup, 472 (147) mg/day in the olanzapine subgroup and 485 (141) mg/day in the risperidone subgroup at the study endpoint. Switching to quetiapine induced significant improvements from baseline in PANSS scores, with least square mean changes in total scores of −32.5, −15.4, and −18.5 for patients previously treated with haloperidol, olanzapine and risperidone, respectively, (all p < 0.001 vs baseline). Significant improvements were also noted in CDSS scores, particularly for patients clinically depressed at baseline (all p < 0.001 vs baseline). There were significant reductions in EPS on the SAS and BAS for all subgroups (all p < 0.001 vs baseline). Switching to quetiapine produced efficacy and tolerability benefits regardless of whether their previous antipsychotic was haloperidol, olanzapine or risperidone. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A quantitative analysis of the submentalis muscle electromyographic amplitude during rapid eye movement sleep across the lifespan

The current definition of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep without atonia has no quantitative character, and cut‐off values above which the level of electromyographic tone can be considered to be ‘excessive’ are unclear. The aim of this study was to analyse the characteristics of chin electromyographic amplitude by means of an automatic approach in a large group of normal controls, subdivided into different age groups. Eighty‐eight normal controls were included, subdivided into six age groups: preschoolers (≤6 years); schoolers (6–10 years); preadolescents (10–13 years); young adults (24–40 years); middle‐aged (58–65 years); and old (>65 years). The average amplitude of the rectified submentalis muscle electromyographic signal was used for the computation of the REM sleep Atonia Index. Chin muscle activations were detected, and their amplitude, duration and interval analysed. REM sleep Atonia Index showed a progressive and rapid increase from the preschool age to school and preadolescent age, reaching the maximum in the young adult group; after this age a small decline was observed in the middle‐aged and old subjects. Conversely, the number of movements per hour in REM sleep showed a ‘U’‐shaped distribution across these age groups, with the minimum in the preadolescent group and the two extremes (preschool age and old) showing similar average levels of activity. Our results show that REM sleep atonia develops continuously during the lifespan, and undergoes complex changes with different developmental trajectories for REM atonia and electromyographic activations during REM sleep. Different mechanisms might subserve these two phenomena and their differential developmental dynamics.
Azimuthal Transmission Lines for Inductive Voltage Adders With Four PFLs Driving Simultaneously or Separately

In this paper, an inductive cell driven by four pulse forming lines (PFLs), capable of operating at two modes to create a single pulse or four separate pulses, is proposed. A single hardware configuration of azimuthal lines must meet the different requirements of the two operating modes. The optimizations and tradeoffs of azimuthal lines for these two modes are presented. Four candidate azimuthal line configurations that are compatible with either mode are proposed. The cell output voltage and azimuthal uniformity of feed currents are simulated, respectively. The simulation results indicate that the cylinder azimuthal line with four equidistant tabs connected to the cathode palates is the most suitable configuration. As the input pulses are 1000 kV and 25-ns rise time, at the mode with four PFLs driving simultaneously, the cell would produce a pulse with a peak of 865 kV and a rise time of 46 ns into 1.5-Ω load. Meanwhile, it could create four separate pulses of 980 kV and 32-ns rise time into 5-Ω load with each PFL driving separately. In this case, the azimuthally asymmetric coefficient is calculated to be 25.6%. In addition, the voltage of undriven ports, i.e., the voltage applied across the separating switches, is estimated to be about 1150 kV.
Energy and nitrogen intake, expenditure and retention at 32° in growing fowl given diets with a wide range of energy and protein contents

Heat production (HP) and the intake and retention of energy and nitrogen were measured in growing broiler fowl kept at 32° and given diets with metabolizable energy contents from 8 to 15 MJ/kg and crude protein (N × 6·25; CP) contents of 130 and 210 g/kg. The temperature of 32° was chosen for comparison with earlier measurements at 20° to minimize heat produced for the maintenance of body temperature. The effects of diet composition were observed when the same birds were taken from 20 to 32°. The tendency for energy intake to increase with dietary energy concentration was less at 32 than at 20°. The lower heat increments measured for the high-fat diets did not, therefore, confer an increased ability to sustain higher energy intake at 32°. HP was about 17% lower at 32 than at 20°; the change in HP between 20 and 32° was not significantly influenced by diet composition. The absence of significant effects of diet composition on HP, combined with the significant trend in energy intake, produced significant differences (related both to dietary energy and dietary protein concentrations) in total energy retention and in the partition of retained energy between protein and fat. As at 20°, variation in energy retention and in the composition of retained energy were the main responses to variation in dietary CP concentration and energy intake; a significantly higher energy cost of unit protein accretion on the low-CP diets was insufficient to produce an elevation in total HP because the higher unit energy cost was balanced by a lower absolute rate of protein accretion.
Cooperation of E2F-p130 and Sp1-pRb Complexes in Repression of the Chinese Hamster dhfr Gene

ABSTRACT In mammalian cells reiterated binding sites for Sp1 and two overlapping and inverted E2F sites at the transcription start site regulate the dhfr promoter during the cell growth cycle. Here we have examined the contributions of the dhfr Sp1 and E2F sites in the repression of dhfr gene expression. In serum-starved cells or during serum stimulation, the Chinese hamsterdhfr gene was not derepressed by trichostatin A (TSA), an inhibitor of histone deacetylases (HDAC). Immunoprecipitation experiments showed that HDAC1 and hypophosphorylated retinoblastoma protein (pRb) are associated with Sp1 in serum-starved CHOC400 cells. In transfection experiments, reporter plasmids containing the reiterated dhfr Sp1 sites were stimulated 10-fold by TSA, while a promoter containing four dhfr E2F sites and a TATA box was responsive to E2F but was completely unaffected by TSA. HDAC1 did not coprecipitate with p130-E2F DNA binding complexes, the predominant E2F binding activity in cell extracts after serum starvation, suggesting that p130 imposes a TSA-insensitive state on thedhfr promoter. In support of this notion, recruitment of GAL4-p130 to a dihydrofolate reductase-GAL4 reporter rendered the promoter insensitive to TSA, while repression by GAL4-pRb was sensitive to TSA. Upon phosphorylation of pRb and p130 after serum stimulation, the Sp1-pRb and p130-E2F interactions were lost while the Sp1-HDAC1 interaction persisted into S phase. Together these studies suggest a dynamic model for the cooperation of pRb and p130 in repression ofdhfr gene expression during withdrawal from the cell cycle. We propose that, during initial phases of cell cycle withdrawal, the binding of dephosphorylated pRb to Sp1-HDAC1 complexes and complexes of E2F-1 -to -3 with DP results in transient, HDAC-dependent suppression of dhfr transcription. Upon withdrawal of cells into G0, recruitment of p130 to E2F-4–DP-1 complexes at the transcription start site results in a TSA-insensitive complex that cooperates with Sp1-HDAC-pRb complexes to stably repressdhfr promoter activity in quiescent cells.
Na¨ıve but Efﬁcient – Using Greedy Strategies for Exploration, Inspection and Search

: For operating in initially unknown and dynamic environments, autonomous mobile robots need abilities to explore their workspace and construct an environment model as well as to perform searches in that model and re-explore the environment to keep the model up-to-date. This paper focuses on the efﬁciency of using simple frontier-based greedy strategies for exploration and search that provide an autonomous mobile robot with these abilities.