Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A combined experimental and theoretical study of the structural, electronic and vibrational properties of bulk and few-layer Td-WTe2

The recent discovery of non-saturating giant positive magnetoresistance has aroused much interest in Td-WTe2. We have investigated structural, electronic and vibrational properties of bulk and few-layer Td-WTe2 experimentally and theoretically. Spin–orbit coupling is found to govern the semi-metallic character of Td-WTe2 and its structural link with the metallic 1 T form provides an understanding of its structural stability. There is a metal-to-insulator switch-over in the electrical conductivity and a change in the sign of the Seebeck coefficient around 373 K. Lattice vibrations of Td-WTe2 have been analyzed using first-principles calculations. Out of the 33 possible zone-center Raman active modes, five distinct Raman bands are observed around 112, 118, 134, 165 and 212 cm−1 in bulk Td-WTe2. Based on symmetry analysis and calculated Raman tensors, we assign the intense bands at 165 cm−1 and 212 cm−1 to the A1′ ? > and A1″ ? > modes, respectively. Most of the Raman bands stiffen with decreasing thickness, and the ratio of the integrated intensities of the A1″ ? > to A1′ ? > bands decreases in the few-layer sample, while all the bands soften in both the bulk and few-layer samples with increasing temperature.
Image query system using object probes

This paper presents a novel image-based indexing scheme called object probes. Object probes make use of both physical features and a manually formulated decision tree to classify objects in the scene. A conceptual graph is used to represent the association of the labels found in each labeled image. We develop a query formalism that translates the query elements into a graph structure. The query process can be seen as matching the query graph with those sub-graphs found in the database of images.
ADSORPTION OF ALIZARIN RED DYE FROM AQUEOUS SOLUTION ON AN ACTIVATED CHARCOAL

The activated charcoal was used for the removal of alizarin red dye from aqueous solution. Different parameters such as effect of contact time, initial dye concentration and pH were investigated. It was observed from the concentration study that the amount of dye adsorbed per unit mass of the adsorbent increased with increase in dye concentration. The pH study presented that the adsorption of dye on to activated charcoal was high at pH 2, which was decreased by further increase in pH. For the determination of mechanism of adsorption, pseudo-first order and pseudo-second order kinetic model were studies. It was found that the adsorption kinetic is best described by pseudo-second order equation. The experimental data was best filled to Langmuir isotherm which illustrated the adsorption of dye on the surface of charcoal was monolayer adsorption. The maximum sorption capacity was 8.97 mg/g.
Rapoport effect in South American Carnivora (Mammalia): null models under geometric and phylogenetic constraints.

Rapoport effect predicts that species geographic range sizes will increase toward higher latitudes, probably reflecting adaptations to extreme climatic conditions that increase species tolerance. Recently, studies about spatial patterns in species richness and geographic range size may be associated with the geometry of species' ranges. In this context, null models can be used to search for the causal mechanisms associated with these patterns. In this paper, we analyzed Rapoport effect using a null model to evaluate how phylogenetic structure and geometric constraints simultaneously affect latitudinal extents of 40 species of South American terrestrial Carnivora. The latitudinal extents of Carnivora tended to decrease toward Southern latitudes, in the opposite direction expected under a simple Rapoport effect, but in accordance to geometric expectations of position of midpoints in the continent. Using 5000 simulations, it was possible to show that the null regression coefficients of latitudinal extents against midpoints are positively biased, reflecting the geometric constraints in the latitudinal extents. The results were equivalent in phylogenetic and non-phylogenetic analyses. The observed regression coefficient was significantly smaller (line is less inclined) than expected by chance alone, demonstrating that the geometric constraints in the latitudinal extents exist even after controlling for phylogenetic structure in data using eigenvector regressions. This suggests that the "spirit" of Rapoport effect (sensu Lyons & Willig, 1997) could be maintained, i.e., that latitudinal extents in Southern region of the continent are relatively larger than those in Northern regions, even after controlling for phylogenetic effects.
3D measurement by estimating Homogeneous Light Transport (HLT) Matrix

We introduce Homogeneous Light Transport (HLT) Matrix for efficient 3D measurements. Which is an extension of the Light Transport (LT) matrix. The LT Matrix is a model of light transportation between a projector and a camera. It describes weights for all combinations of the projector pixels and the camera pixels. The HLT Matrix includes background lights information with LT Matrix. By using the HLT Matrix, we can estimate LT Matrix without backgrounds measurement. In the traditional methods, it is assumed that the light ray reflects only once in the scene. However, in the actual scenes, it may reflect multiple times due to specular reflections or subsurface scatterings; thus 3D measurement may become difficult in some cases. The LT Matrix can express multiple times reflection. In this paper, we demonstrate that 3D points can be measured by using “1-pixel projection” and considering the epipolar geometry, for measurement targets which are difficult to measure by traditional methods. This measurement is the same as the measurement using the LT Matrix approach. We use a compressive sensing method for estimation to reduce the number of projection and capture.
Serum Inhibin A and Inhibin B in Central Precocious Puberty before and during Treatment with GnRH Agonists

Serum levels of the gonadal hormones inhibin A and inhibin B are undetectable or low in prepubertal girls, and rise during puberty. In girls with central precocious puberty (CPP) the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis is prematurely activated, if the girl is thereafter treated with GnRH agonists both gonadotropins and estradiol levels become suppressed. We therefore investigated serum levels of inhibin A and inhibin B in girls with CPP at diagnosis and during treatment in order to test the hypothesis that inhibin secretion would increase and decrease in parallel with the activation and suppression of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. Serum levels of inhibin A and inhibin B were significantly (p < 0.0005) elevated in 42 girls at diagnosis of CPP (inhibin A: 7 pg/ml (<7–139), inhibin B: 80 pg/ml (<20–294) (median, range)) compared to levels in age-matched healthy schoolgirls (inhibin A: all values <7 pg/ml, inhibin B: 21 pg/ml (<20–122) (median, range)), but were appropriate for Tanner stage. During treatment with GnRH agonist (intranasal buserelin and oral cyproterone acetate, treatment group 1, n = 23, or triptorelin depot injections, treatment group 2, n = 19) levels of both hormones fell significantly (p = 0.002). There was a significantly (p = 0.003) greater fall in inhibin B levels during treatment in group 2 compared to group 1, with inhibin B levels now lying below (group 2: <20 pg/ml (<20–68)) rather than within (group 1: 34.5 pg/ml (<20–93)) the age-appropriate range. It is concluded that levels of inhibin A and inhibin B are elevated and suppressed in concert with activation and suppression of the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal axis in girls with CPP, supporting the concept that ovarian inhibin secretion is dynamically regulated by gonadotropin stimulation.
Comparative Study of the Prevalence of Intestinal Parasites in Low Socioeconomic Condition in one Village Baltëz , Fier , Albania

A prospective study was carried out to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasite and its epidemiological risk factors among children in Baltëz village, Fier district, in Albania. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of parasites and to identify the risk factors associated with this infection. Standard parasitological procedures as recommended by World Health Organization were employed in sample collection and examination. Fecal samples were collected from (159) children aged from (2-15 years old) and were examined by direct wet preparation formalin-eter 10% and floatation method. This study was done during the summer season (June month 2011). Data relating to sociodemographic, socioeconomic level, environment and host were also collected by questionnaire. The children belong to three different ethnicities: Albania, Kosova and Roman ethnicity. Prevalence for all parasites (protozoa and helminthes) was 68.6%. The age group (11-15 years old) had the highest rate of infection (91%). Boys had higher rate of infection than girls (74.4% vs 63%) respectively. There was no significant difference (p>0.05) between age, sex, ethnicity groups and infection. Regarding the presence of infection and the presence of anemia were observed a significantly strong relationship with p <0.001, also an association between prevalence of infection and level of education for p <0:03. In this study Giardia intestinalis was the most predominant protozoa and for helminthes more predominat were T. trichiura and H. nana. These parasites could be prevented by possible grouping of better ecological design and hygiene. Conclusively, the examination of personal hygiene as well as routine medical examination and treatment is strongly recommended in the low socio-economic areas.
Mouse Myosin-19 Is a Plus-end-directed, High-duty Ratio Molecular Motor*

Background: Myosin-19 is strongly associated with mitochondria and plays a role in the transport of mitochondria. Results: The light chains of myosin-19 are the regulatory light chains of myosin-2. ADP release is rate-limiting for acto-Myo19 ATPase and ADP strongly inhibits myosin-19 motor function. Conclusion: Myosin-19 is a plus-end-directed, high-duty ratio molecular motor. Significance: Myosin-19 functions as a molecular motor. Class XIX myosin (Myo19) is a vertebrate-specific unconventional myosin, responsible for the transport of mitochondria. To characterize biochemical properties of Myo19, we prepared recombinant mouse Myo19-truncated constructs containing the motor domain and the IQ motifs using the baculovirus/Sf9 expression system. We identified regulatory light chain (RLC) of smooth muscle/non-muscle myosin-2 as the light chain of Myo19. The actin-activated ATPase activity and the actin-gliding velocity of Myo19-truncated constructs were about one-third and one-sixth as those of myosin-5a, respectively. The apparent affinity of Myo19 to actin was about the same as that of myosin-5a. The RLCs bound to Myo19 could be phosphorylated by myosin light chain kinase, but this phosphorylation had little effect on the actin-activated ATPase activity and the actin-gliding activity of Myo19-truncated constructs. Using dual fluorescence-labeled actin filaments, we determined that Myo19 is a plus-end-directed molecular motor. We found that, similar to that of the high-duty ratio myosin, such as myosin-5a, ADP release rate was comparable with the maximal actin-activated ATPase activity of Myo19, indicating that ADP release is a rate-limiting step for the ATPase cycle of acto-Myo19. ADP strongly inhibited the actin-activated ATPase activity and actin-gliding activity of Myo19-truncated constructs. Based on the above results, we concluded that Myo19 is a high-duty ratio molecular motor moving to the plus-end of the actin filament.
Antimicrobial host defense in the upper gastrointestinal tract

Background With the exception of fungi, microbial infections are rare in the oesophagus. Herein, we aimed to systematically assess the distribution and quantity of different antimicrobial host factors as well as, for thefirst time, functional mucosal antimicrobial activity in the upper gastrointestinal tract. Methods We investigated biopsies from the healthy oesophagus, three different locations in the stomach and the duodenum in a total of 12 individuals. Using real-time PCR with external standards, we compared absolute expression of mRNA encoding antimicrobial peptides including defensins, cathelicidin, bactericidal/permeability-increasing protein, psoriasin, and elafin. In addition, we performed immunostaining for human-&bgr;-defensin-1 (HBD1), elafin, and psoriasin. To test functional relevance, we assessed antimicrobial as well as antifungal activity of cationic extracts from biopsies against E. coli ATCC 25922 and a clinical isolate of Candida albicans. Results In contrast to HBD1 which was similarly expressed in all tissues, inducible &bgr;-defensins in the healthy oesophagus were much higher compared with the stomach and duodenum (for HBD2–4: P<0.01). In addition, the antiproteases elafin and psoriasin were also predominantly expressed in the oesophagus (P<0.005). In contrast, LL-37 and bactericidal/permeability-increasing protein were only marginally expressed. Cationic tissue extracts from both the oesophagus as well as the stomach showed potent antibacterial activity against E. coli. Consistent with susceptibility to Candida infection, the esophageal extracts exhibited a weaker activity against C. albicans (P=0.026). Conclusion Despite dominant expression of antimicrobial host peptides, oesophageal tissue shows a weakened potency to kill C. albicans. These data suggest an important role of yet unknown antimicrobial molecules.
Injuries and their burden in insured construction workers in Iran, 2012

The present study used disability adjusted life years (DALY) to estimate the burden of external cause of injuries in construction workers insured in Iran in 2012. The Global Burden of Disease method (2010) was used to estimate the years of life lost due to death (YLL) and years of life lost due to disability (YLD). DALY was calculated as the sum of YLL and YLD. There were 5352 injured construction workers in Iran (11.25 individuals per 1000). Falling was the most common incidence and included 2490 individuals (46.53%). Totally, DALY was estimated 18,557 years for all age groups and both genders including 17,821 YLD (96%) and 736 YLL (4%). The DALY related to construction work is high in Iran and it has notably affected the young. Hence more preventive methods should be applied to reduce the overall burden of specific external cause of injuries especially in young and inexperienced workers.
ROUTINE BILATERAL INGUINAL HERNIA REPAIR. AN EVALUATION OF THE PROCEDURE IN INFANTS AND CHILDREN.

ROTHENBERG and Barnett, 16 in 1955, proposed bilateral exploration of infants and children undergoing unilateral herniorrhaphy. While the possibility of adopting such a routine policy has been endorsed enthusiastically by several surgeons 1,6,8-10,12,19 and accepted with certain restrictions by others, 2,11 some authors have voiced opposition to this recommendation. 7,17,18,20 Mueller and Rader 12 reported their experience with 90 infants and children in the first 7 years of life. In 75 patients with clinical unilateral hernia, 60% were observed to have bilateral hernias at operation. In 1958, Clausen et al 1 reported that of 164 young patients undergoing bilateral exploration, 48% had a contralateral hernia, the rate being 73% for infants under 6 months of age. In 1959, Kiesewetter and Parenzan 6 reported that of 237 patients who underwent repair of a hernia, 31% returned later with another hernia on the opposite side. These authors also reported the results of
Putative Mechanism for Anticancer and Apoptosis‐Inducing Properties of Plant‐Derived Polyphenolic Compounds

Several plant‐derived polyphenolic compounds are considered to possess anticancer and apoptosis‐inducing properties in cancer cells. Such compounds are recognized as naturally occurring antioxidants but also exhibit prooxidant properties under appropriate conditions. Evidence in the literature suggests that the antioxidant properties of polyphenolics such as gallotannins, curcumin, and resveratrol may not fully account for their chemopreventive effects. We propose a mechanism for the cytotoxic action of these compounds against cancer cells that involves mobilization of endogenous copper and the consequent prooxidant action.
The Daily Inventory of Stressful Events

This study introduces the Daily Inventory of Stressful Events (DISE), an interview-based approach to the measurement of multiple aspects of daily stressors through daily telephone interviews. Using a U.S. national sample of adults aged 25 to 74 (N = 1031), the prevalence as well as the affective and physical correlates of daily stressors are examined. Respondents had at least one daily stressor on 40 percent of the study days and multiple stressors on 11 percent of the study days. The most common class of stressors was interpersonal tension followed by work-related stressors for men and network stressors (events that occur to close others) for women. Stressors that involved danger of loss were more prevalent than stressors in which loss actually occurred. Regression analyses showed that specific types of daily stressors such as interpersonal tensions and network stressors were unique predictors of both health symptoms and mood.
New generation sequencers as a tool for genotyping of highly polymorphic multilocus MHC system

Accurate genotyping of complex systems, such as the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) often requires simultaneous analysis of multiple co‐amplifying loci. Here we explore the utility of the massively parallel 454 sequencing method as a universal tool for genotyping complex MHC systems in nonmodel vertebrates. The power of this approach stems from the use of tagged polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers to identify individual amplicons which can be simultaneously sequenced to the arbitrarily chosen coverage. However, the error‐prone sequencing technology poses considerable challenges as it may be difficult to discriminate between sequencing errors and true rare alleles; due to complex nature of artefacts and errors, efficient quality control is required. Nevertheless, our study demonstrates the parallel 454 sequencing can be an efficient genotyping platform for MHC and provides an alternative to classical genotyping methods. We introduced procedures to identify the threshold that can be used to reduce number of genotyping errors by eliminating most of artefactual alleles (AA) representing PCR or sequencing errors. Our procedures are based on two expectations: first, that AA should be relatively rare, both overall and on per‐individual basis, and second, that most AA result from errors introduced to sequences of true alleles. In our data set, alleles with an average per‐individual frequency below 3% most likely represented artefacts. This threshold will vary in other applications according to the complexity of the genotyped system. We strongly suggest direct assessment of genotyping error in every experiment by running a fraction of duplicates: individuals amplified in independent PCRs.
Plankton Image Classification using Convolutional Neural Networks

The study of plankton distribution is an important tool used for assessing the changes to marine ecosystem. Having a robust automated system for classification of plankton images plays an important role in advancing marine biology research. The images used in this study come from the SIPPER system. The challenges with SIPPER’s plankton image dataset are the high degree of similarities between different classes, high variability within the same class, partial occlusion, and noise. Also, traditional computer vision techniques require tedious work to find suitable features to represent plankton. To overcome those issues, we propose the use of convolutional neural networks. Results of the experiments on SIPPER dataset show improvement in classification accuracy in comparison to other state of the art approaches. Another major advantage of our approach is the scalability for classification of new classes without the need for feature engineering. Keywords—plankton images, SIPPER system, convolutional neural networks, image search.
The energy cost of reproduction in sheep

Much has been written on different systems of feeding for pregnant and lactating ewes; the subject has been reviewed by Guyer & Dyer (1954) and by Thomson & Aitken (1959). Very little work has been done, however, on the energy cost of pregnancy and lactation in the ewe, apart from that of Ritzman & Benedict (1931) and of Brody (1938). In the present experiment the energy expenditure of a group of Blackface ewes during pregnancy, parturition and lactation was compared with that of a similar group of reproductively inactive ewes. The energy expenditure was measured by direct calorimetry. An account of the heat output during parturition of two Swaledale ewes has been published previously (Brockway & Pullar, 1961).
Phase II trial of subcutaneous interleukin-2, subcutaneous interferon-alpha, intravenous combination chemotherapy, and oral tamoxifen in the treatment of metastatic melanoma: final results of cancer biotherapy research group 94-11.

BACKGROUND The treatment of metastatic melanoma remains unsatisfactory despite encouraging results with biotherapy and combination chemotherapy. Combining these two modalities may improve outcomes for such patients. METHODS Eligible patients had metastatic melanoma, were in good medical condition, and had not been treated previously for metastatic disease. A 42-day treatment cycle consisted of: tamoxifen 10 mg p.o. b.i. d. days 1-42, carmustine 150 mg/m2 i.v. on day three, dacarbazine 220 mg/m2 and cisplatin 25 mg/m2 i.v. q.d. days 3-5, and 24-26, interferon-alpha 2b 6.0 MU/m2 s.c. days 8-12 and 29-33, and interleukin-2 11 MU/m2 s.c. days 8, 10, 12 and 29, 31, 33. In the absence of tumor progression, patients could receive up to six cycles of alternating treatment. Toxicity and tumor response was assessed following each treatment cycle; survival was determined from the first date of treatment. RESULTS The 28 melanoma patients included 21 men and 7 women, with a median age of 55 years with a range of 26-77. Fifty-four percent were asymptomatic when treatment was initiated. Eighty percent had soft tissue metastases, 32% lung, 28% liver, and 8% bone. There were nine patients with significant tumor responses (three complete, six partial) for a response rate of 32% (18-57% 95% CI) based on intent-to-treat analysis, and 38% (18-57%, 95% CI) for the 24 patients who were evaluable for response. The months of duration of survival for responders were 38.9+, 27.2+, 22.8+, 16.3, 13.2, 9.4, 7.5, 6.5+, and 5.8. At a median follow-up of 31 months, the median duration of event-free survival was 4.6 months; median survival was 9.4 months. The survival rate one year from initiating treatment was 42%; 2-year survival was 14%. The most frequent toxicities were 96% nausea/vomiting, 80% fatigue, 73% thrombocytopenia, 60% neutropenia, and 44% fever. Two patients experienced early death that may have been treatment related; one died of cardiovascular complications and the other of a central nervous system event. CONCLUSION This outpatient regimen was associated with significant toxicity including a 7% rate of possible treatment-related death. Tumor regression rates and survival were similar to results reported for chemotherapy alone, or inpatient IL-2-based therapy, but did not suggest an improvement in outcome.
A comparative evaluation of term weighting methods for information filtering

Users of information filtering systems cannot be expected to provide large amounts of information to initialize a profile. Therefore, term weighting methods for information filtering have somewhat different requirements to those for information retrieval and text categorization. We present a comparative evaluation of term weighting methods, including a new method, relative document frequency, designed specifically for information filtering. The best weighting methods appear to be those that favor information provided by the user, over information from a general collection.