Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Calcium-binding protein-containing neuronal populations in mammalian visual cortex: a comparative study in whales, insectivores, bats, rodents, and primates.

This study is focused on comparative analysis of gamma-aminobutyric acid-positive (GABAergic) neuronal populations in primary visual cortex of totally aquatic toothed whales and select terrestrial mammals with different evolutionary histories and various ecological adaptations. The distribution of neuronal populations containing the calcium-binding proteins calbindin and parvalbumin, which are recognized markers for the GABAergic neurons in cerebral cortex, is compared in five species of toothed whales and in representatives (one species each) of insectivores, bats, rodents, and primates. Computerized image analysis has shown that overall quantitative characteristics of GABAergic cortical neurons in toothed whales are similar to those in other mammalian orders. Thus, GABA-positive neurons represent 26% of the total population of cortical neurons in the visual cortex of whales. Some 97% of GABA-positive cells contain calcium-binding proteins, which is numerically similar to these parameters found in primates and other mammals. On the other hand, the typology and laminar distribution of calcium-binding protein-containing neurons in the primary visual cortex of five whale species (Delphinapterus leucas, Globicephala melaena, Phocoena phocoena, Stenella coeruleoalba, and Tursiops truncatus) differ significantly from those of primates (Macaca mulatta) and rodents (Rattus rattus) and are similar to those found in insectivorous bats (Eptesicus fuscus) and hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus). In whales, bats, and hedgehogs a significant concentration of calbindin-positive, vertically oriented bipolar and bitufted neurons was found in layers I, II, and IIIc/V with their axons arranged in a three-dimensional network. In primates and rodents they are distributed evenly across all cortical layers and are predominantly multipolar or bitufted neurons found in all cortical layers with their axons oriented along the vertical axis of the cortical plate. The parvalbumin-positive neurons in all mammalian species, including toothed whales, are represented by variously sized multipolar non-pyramidal cells. As opposed to all other mammalian species, the major concentrations of parvalbumin-positive neurons in whales are found in layers IIIc/V and VI, whereas in other cortical layers there are only scattered parvalbumin-positive neurons. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Preliminary experience with the application of Gadolinium‐DTPA before MR imaging‐guided laser‐induced interstitial thermotherapy of brain tumors

The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential value of i.v. gadolinium‐diethylenetriamine penta‐acetic acid (Gd‐DTPA) applied before MRI‐guided laser‐induced interstitial thermotherapy (LITT) of brain tumors without original enhancement, especially in defining total lesion size during therapy. MRI‐guided LITT was performed on two patients with astrocytoma WHO II. For both patients, Gd‐DTPA was administered intravenously after a first irradiation period and LITT was continued after pulling back the light guide to coagulate the upper parts of the tumor. In both patients, the whole irreversible damaged zone of the second irradiation period after Gd‐DTPA showed an intense increase of signal intensity. The spatial expansion correlated with the diameter of an enhancing rim after Gd‐DTPA on follow‐up studies. Our preliminary results indicate that the application of Gd‐DTPA before MRI‐guided LITT may be of value in defining exactly the size of the irreversible damaged zone during therapy in nonenhancing brain tumors.
Towards Emotional Satisfaction in Social Network Services Use

This study examines the combined effect of positive and negative emotions on user satisfaction with social network services (SNSs). The sample consists of 582 individuals who use SNSs. Our results suggest that as the intensity of positive emotions increases, users are more satisfied with SNSs. This applies to low and medium levels of negative emotions. On the other hand, for all levels of positive emotions, as the intensity of negative emotions increases, there is no significant effect on satisfaction. Our findings suggest the dominating effect of positive emotions over the negative ones in SNSs. We conclude with a summary of theoretical and practical implications along with suggestions for future work.
Rift Valley Fever Virus Hepatitis: Light and Electron Microscopic Studies in the Mouse.

Abstract : Rift Valley fever virus produces a necrotizing hepatitis in mice that is similar to certain other virus hepatitides. The virus infects the hepatic parenchymal cells and new virus is formed in the cytoplasm within a membrane- limited system resembling the Golgi apparatus. Unique structural alterations of the ergastoplasm are associated with this process and may be manifestations of metabolic dysfunction. The acidophilic nuclear inclusion is not formed of virus matrix or virus particles and may represent a degenerative phenomenon. Changes in the Kupffer cells follow infection of the parenchymal cells.
Effects of Administration of Alpha-Melanocyte Stimulating Hormone (α-MSH) on Some Hematological Values of Alloxan-induced Diabetic Rats

This study was designed to evaluate the role of alpha- melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH) on heart rate and some hematological values in alloxan induced diabetic rats. 40 male white rats were divided into four experimental groups: control, diabetic, α-MSH-treated and α-MSH-treated diabetic. At the end of the experimental period (3weeks), animals in all four groups were fasted for 12 hrs and blood samples were taken for the determination of plasma insulin, Glucagon, glucose levels, RBC and WBC (red and white blood cell) counts, packed cell volume (PCV), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and hemoglobin (Hb) concentration. It was found that (α-MSH) increased the lowered RBC and WBC counts, PCV and neutrophil percentage in diabetic rats. However the WBC counts of the (α-MSH) treated diabetic group was still lower than the control and (α-MSH) group. (α-MSH) also decreased the elevated heart rate, ESR and glucose concentration of diabetic rats. The hormone was investigated for hypoglycemic effect in diabetic rats and induced not significant reduction in serum glucose from (19.83±1.25 MmolL) in diabetic group to (15.7±1.10 MmolL) in (α-MSH)-treated diabetic group. However the blood glucose still higher than the control and (α-MSH) group, serum insulin increased from (0.55±0.08 ng mL-1) in control group to (0.65±0.06 ng mL-1) in α-MSH-treated group and still higher than control in α-MSH-treated diabetic (0.59±042 ng mL-1) and serum Glucagon increased in diabetic, α-MSH-treated and α-MSH-treated diabetic groups. It is concluded that treatment (α-MSH) might decrease the diabetes-induced disturbances of heart rate and some hematological parameters of alloxan-induced diabetic rats.
From the Olive Flower to the Drupe: Flower Types, Pollination, Self and Inter-Compatibility and Fruit Set

Although the tree development directs the olive tree yield we focus here to describe the main phases, stages and key steps from blossoming to harvest. The olive tree produces much more flowers than all other trees, however, fruit set and final harvest are limited by several parameters. Most articles in literature deal with the physiological aspects of the transformation of the olive flower into the drupe. Little attention has been given to genetic involvements that underlay the physiology and the biochemistry. A comprehensive survey of the literature as much as we can is given with genetic commentaries based upon recent genetic progresses made in the field. The olive tree derived from the oleaster and the oleaster belongs to an intertropical (Asian, African) genus and a major difference between northern species (Fraxinus, Syringa, Ligus‐ trum) is the bare axillary buds at the basis of leaves. This explains why the olive is more susceptible to freeze than other Oleaceae as Fraxinus. Olive flower buds appear on one-yearold twig in terminal position or at the axillary of the leaves.
State-ofthe-art , challenges , and future trends in security constrained optimal power flow

This paper addresses the main challenges to the security constrained optimal power flow (SCOPF) computations. We first discuss the issues related to the SCOPF problem formulation such as the use of a limited number of corrective actions in the post-contingency states and the modeling of voltage and transient stability constraints. Then we deal with the challenges to the techniques for solving the SCOPF, focusing mainly on: approaches to reduce the size of the problem by either efficiently identifying the binding contingencies and including only these contingencies in the SCOPF or by using approximate models for the post-contingency states, and the handling of discrete variables. We finally address the current trend of extending the SCOPF formulation to take into account the increasing levels of uncertainty in the operation planning. For each such topic we provide a review of the state of the art, we identify the advances that are needed, and we indicate ways to bridge the gap between the current state of the art and these needs. ∗Corresponding author Email addresses: capitane@montefiore.ulg.ac.be (F. Capitanescu), camel@us.es (J.L. Martinez Ramos), patrick.panciatici@rte-france.com (P. Panciatici), kirschen@uw.edu (D. Kirschen), alejandromm@us.es (A. Marano Marcolini), ludovic.platbrood@gdfsuez.com (L. Platbrood), l.wehenkel@ulg.ac.be (L. Wehenkel) Preprint submitted to Electric Power Systems Research May 2, 2011
Alteracoes limnologicas no Rio Paraguai ("dequada") e o fenomeno natural de mortandade de peixes no Pantanal Mato-Grossense - MS.

No Pantanal, ocorre um fenomeno natural de deterioracao da qualidade da agua, denominado regionalmente como "Dequada", relacionado a decomposicao da grande massa de materia organica submersa no inicio do processo de inundacao. Sua magnitude e dependente das caracteristicas do pulso de inundacao, ou seja, caracteristicas da fase de seca anterior e do periodo de inundacao subsequente (volume e velocidade). De acordo com essa magnitude, pode provocar mortandade massiva de peixes (podendo alcancar a ordem de milhares de toneladas), docorrente da deplecao de oxigenio e do aumento da concentracao de gas carbonico, resultantes dos processos de oxidacao da materia organica, tanto nos campos inundados, quanto na coluna d'agua dos rios. Os peixes moribundos apresentam comportamento tipico de estresse respiratorio. Outros fatores, como gas sulfidrico, amonia, aluminio, sodio e potassio (solidos dissolvidos), alteracoes de pH e compostos provenientes da atividade fitoplanctonica foram descardados, pois nao foram encontrados em niveis considerados toxicos para peixes. Pesticidas e matais pesados nao foram analisados, mas seus niveis dificilmente poderiam ser responsaveis por mortandades tao grandes em uma area tao extensa, onde a atividade antropica ainda e reduzida. Em 1995, o fenomeno foi muito expressivo, devido a rapidez e ao grande volume da onda de cheia, chegando a provocar a total anoxia e/ou manter sub hipoxia o rio Paraguai por mais dois meses e apresentar valores de gas carbonico dissociado de ate 79mg/L, nunca antes obtidos.
Multivariate Analysis of Risk Factors for Acute Rejection in Early Corticosteroid Cessation Regimens Under Modern Immunosuppression

The purpose of this study was to define risk factors for acute rejection with early corticosteroid withdrawal (CSWD; within 7 days posttransplant) in renal transplantation. Data from prospective, IRB‐approved early CSWD trials were analyzed. Overall acute rejection rate in 308 patients was 17.1%. Acute rejection rates and observed risks (OR) in patients with individual risk factors were: repeat transplants 38.6%; current PRA >25%; 29.4%; African Americans 23.5%; delayed graft function (DGF) 26.1%; HLA DR mismatches >0 17.9%; female gender 19.7%; Thymoglobulin induction 15.3%; type 1 diabetes 30.8%; type 2 diabetes 11.1%; deceased donor recipients 21%; and living donor recipients 14%. Logistic regression analysis provided the following risks (OR) for acute rejection: repeat transplant 2.51; current PRA > 25% 1.53; African Americans 1.47; DGF 1.58; HLA DR mismatches > 0 1.61; female gender 1.43; Thymoglobulin induction 0.61; type 1 diabetes 2.23, type 2 diabetes 0.5, deceased donor recipients 1.11, and living donor recipients 0.9. Risk factors for acute rejection under early corticosteroid withdrawal are similar to those previously defined under chronic corticosteroid therapy. These observations provide implications for future CSWD trials including: use of T cell depleting antibody induction therapy (thymoglobulin) to reduce acute rejection risk, 2) enrollment stratification for high risk groups, and 3) modified immunosuppression for high risk groups.
Behavioural and physiological responses of sheep to 16 h transport and a novel environment post-transport.

The effect of a novel lairage environment on the ability of sheep to recover from 16 h of transport was investigated. Sheep were transported from grass paddocks to either novel outside paddocks or inside pens, and housed groups were transported to either familiar or novel inside pens. During transport, sheep from outside paddocks lay down less than those from inside pens. In sheep transported to inside pens, those from outside paddocks spent more time lying and spent less time eating; hay and water intakes during the first 12 h post-transport were lower than those previously kept inside. There was no obvious effect of a novel environment post-transport on blood biochemistry, suggesting that the lower post-transport feed and water intakes in a novel environment did not have a significant effect on the ability of the sheep to recover from the feed and water deprivation associated with transport.
Collaborative Filtering with Noisy Ratings

User ratings on items are noisy in real-world recommender systems, which raises challenges to matrix approximation (MA)-based collaborative ﬁltering (CF) algorithms — the learned models will be easily biased to the noisy training data and yield low generalization performance. This paper proposes a noise-resilient matrix approximation (NORMA) method, which can achieve less biased matrix approximation and thus more accurate collaborative ﬁltering. In NORMA, an adaptive weighting strategy is proposed to decrease the gradient updates of noisy ratings, so that the learned MA models will be less prone to the noisy ratings. Theoretical analyses show that NORMA can achieve better generalization performance than standard matrix approximation methods. Experimental studies on real-world datasets demonstrate that NORMA can outperform state-of-the-art matrix approximation-based collaborative ﬁltering methods in recommendation accuracy.
Antibodies to Pneumococcal Proteins PhtD, CbpA, and LytC in Filipino Pregnant Women and Their Infants in Relation to Pneumococcal Carriage

ABSTRACT This study focuses on the immunogenicity of the following three pneumococcal vaccine candidate proteins in Filipino infants, all inducing protection in animal models: pneumococcal histidine triad protein D (PhtD), choline binding protein A (CbpA), and the lysozyme LytC. The immunoglobulin G antibody concentrations to PhtD, its putative, protective, and exposed C-terminal fragment (PhtD C), CbpA, and LytC were measured by enzyme immunoassay in 52 serum samples from pregnant women, 39 cord blood samples, and consecutive serum samples (n = 263) from 52 newborns between 6 weeks and 10 months of age scheduled to be taken at six time points. A nasopharyngeal swab to detect pneumococcal carriage was taken parallel to the serum samples. The antibody concentrations in the cord blood samples were similar to those in the samples from the mothers. In infant sera, the geometric mean antibody concentrations (GMCs) for all three proteins decreased until the age of 18 weeks and started to increase after that age, suggesting that the infants' own antibody production started close to the age of 4 to 5 months. The increase in GMCs by age, most clear-cut for CbpA, was associated with pneumococcal carriage. Anti-PhtD concentrations were higher than anti-PhtD C concentrations but correlated well (r of 0.89 at 10.5 months), suggesting that antibodies are directed to the supposedly exposed and protective C-terminal part of PhtD. Our results show that young children are able to develop an antibody response to PhtD, CbpA, and LytC and encourage the development of pneumococcal protein vaccines for this age group.
New insights into intracellular locations and functions of heme oxygenase-1.

SIGNIFICANCE Heme oxygenase-1 (HMOX1) plays a critical role in the protection of cells, and the inducible enzyme is implicated in a spectrum of human diseases. The increasing prevalence of cardiovascular and metabolic morbidities, for which current treatment approaches are not optimal, emphasizes the necessity to better understand key players such as HMOX1 that may be therapeutic targets. RECENT ADVANCES HMOX1 is a dynamic protein that can undergo post-translational and structural modifications which modulate HMOX1 function. Moreover, trafficking from the endoplasmic reticulum to other cellular compartments, including the nucleus, highlights that HMOX1 may play roles other than the catabolism of heme. CRITICAL ISSUES The ability of HMOX1 to be induced by a variety of stressors, in an equally wide variety of tissues and cell types, represents an obstacle for the therapeutic exploitation of the enzyme. Any capacity to modulate HMOX1 in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases should be tempered with an appreciation that HMOX1 may have an impact on cancer. Moreover, the potential for heme catabolism end products, such as carbon monoxide, to amplify the HMOX1 stress response should be considered. FUTURE DIRECTIONS A more complete understanding of HMOX1 modifications and the properties that they impart is necessary. Delineating these parameters will provide a clearer picture of the opportunities to modulate HMOX1 in human disease.
Pseudotumor cerebri appearing with unilateral papilledema after trabeculectomy.

We describe a patient with papilledema due to pseudotumor cerebri that was seen unilaterally following normalization of intraocular pressure (IOP) and discontinuation of systemic acetazolamide therapy following trabeculectomy. We hypothesize that the lamina cribrosa sclerae serves as a flexible barrier between intracranial pressure (ICP) and IOP and that alterations of the normal ICP/IOP ratio may lead to papilledema. To our knowledge, there have been no reports describing the development of unilateral papilledema following surgical reduction in IOP. Report of a Case. A 41-year-old obese white woman with a 9-year history of juvenile primary open-angle glaucoma underwent uncomplicated trabeculectomy in the left eye with supplemental 5-mg subconjunctival injections of 5-fluorouracil (50 mg/mL) because of progressive glaucomatous cupping. Preoperative IOP was 23 mm Hg in the right eye and 35 mm Hg in the left eye while receiving acetazolamide sequels, 500 mg twice daily, plus a combination of timolol maleate 0.5% and
Cross-Sector Partnerships to Address Social Issues: Challenges to Theory and Practice

Project-based cross-sector partnerships to address social issues (CSSPs) occur in four “arenas”: business-nonprofit, business-government, government-nonprofit, and trisector. Research on CSSPs is multidisciplinary, and different conceptual “platforms” are used: resource dependence, social issues, and societal sector platforms. This article consolidates recent literature on CSSPs to improve the potential for cross-disciplinary fertilization and especially to highlight developments in various disciplines for organizational researchers. A number of possible directions for future research on the theory, process, practice, method, and critique of CSSPs are highlighted. The societal sector platform is identified as a particularly promising framework for future research.
An Empirical Study of Hybrid DEA and Grey System Theory on Analyzing Performance: A Case from Indian Mining Industry

India, which has long been recognized as a well-endowed nation in natural mineral resources, is a major minerals producer. According to the report of Indian Ministry of Mines 2013, Indian mining and metals sector ranked the fourth among the mineral producer countries, behind China, United States, and Russia and had in fact led the economy into recovery from the global financial crisis. Since this industry has turned into a significant issue, this paper attempts to rank the performance of 23 Indian mining and metal companies and to evaluate and measure the productivity change of these sectors during different time periods (2010–2014). Besides, the authors would like to choose one advanced model of MPI to see the performance of these companies in the past-present period and the 4-year future period (2015–2018) by using forecasting results of Grey system theory. The results revealed that from the past to future period the National Mineral Development Corporation, Hindalco Industries Limited, and Coal India always keep their highest best rankings among 23 DMUs regarding performance scores. This study contributes better insights of Indian mining industry as it is the core of the economy.
Effects of Temperature on the Life History Parameters and Population Growth Rates of Hyalopterus pruni (Hemiptera: Aphididae)

ABSTRACT The mealy plum aphid, Hyalopterus pruni (Geoffroy) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) is a pest of prune trees in California. The impact of aphids as pests is well characterized by their population growth rate, a parameter integrating their age-specific development, survivorship, and fecundity. These population parameters were measured at five constants temperatures on potted prune trees. Development rates increased with temperature up to an optimum. The relationship between development rate and temperature was described by linear and nonlinear models. Developmental threshold temperature was greater for the nonlinear model than for the linear model. Thermal requirement for development and maximum lethal temperature determined by these models were similar to those for other aphids. The greatest proportional survivorship of nymphs occurred at 26°C. Mean daily fecundity was lowest at 14°C and highest at 22°C. Adult longevity decreased with temperature. Population growth rates for H. pruni were estimated from measurements of fecundity and development time and were highest at 22°C. This is the first study to document the temperature dependence of the life history parameters for H. pruni and the first to generate a degree-day model for the prediction of phenological events.