Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
BOUNDARY DEPTH INFORMATION USING HOPFIELD NEURAL NETWORK

Depth information is widely used for representation, reconstruction and modeling of 3D scene. Generally two kinds of methods can obtain the depth information. One is to use the distance cues from the depth camera, but the results heavily depend on the device, and the accuracy is degraded greatly when the distance from the object is increased. The other one uses the binocular cues from the matching to obtain the depth information. It is more and more mature and convenient to collect the depth information of different scenes by stereo matching methods. In the objective function, the data term is to ensure that the difference between the matched pixels is small, and the smoothness term is to smooth the neighbors with different disparities. Nonetheless, the smoothness term blurs the boundary depth information of the object which becomes the bottleneck of the stereo matching. This paper proposes a novel energy function for the boundary to keep the discontinuities and uses the Hopfield neural network to solve the optimization. We first extract the region of interest areas which are the boundary pixels in original images. Then, we develop the boundary energy function to calculate the matching cost. At last, we solve the optimization globally by the Hopfield neural network. The Middlebury stereo benchmark is used to test the proposed method, and results show that our boundary depth information is more accurate than other state-of-the-art methods and can be used to optimize the results of other stereo matching methods.
Increased leptin and tumour necrosis factor alpha per unit fat mass in hypopituitary women without growth hormone treatment.

BACKGROUND The adipocyte products, leptin and tumour necrosis factor (TNF)alpha, are associated with atherosclerotic diseases and may be factors contributing to the enhanced cardiovascular risk in hypopituitary patients with growth hormone (GH) deficiency. OBJECTIVE To investigate whether leptin and TNFalpha are increased in a group of hypopituitary women previously found to have increased cardiovascular morbidity, and to compare them with matched individuals of the same sex and age and with similar body composition. DESIGN AND PATIENTS Thirty-three GH-deficient women with a median age of 64 years (range 39-77 years) were investigated cross-sectionally. The patients were compared with 33 controls matched for sex, age, smoking habits, educational level and residence. METHODS Body composition was measured by bioimpedance analysis. Fasting concentrations of leptin, TNFalpha and insulin were analysed in patients and controls. RESULTS There was no significant difference in body mass index or fat mass between patients and controls (both P > or =0.4). Serum leptin did not differ significantly between patients and controls. However, when serum leptin concentrations were expressed per kilogram fat mass, the patients had significantly greater concentrations (P=0.01). Serum TNFalpha and TNFalpha per kilogram fat mass were also significantly greater in the patients (both P=0.001). In contrast, serum insulin did not differ significantly between patients and controls. In the patients, serum leptin concentrations correlated positively with kilogram fat mass (r=0.54, P=0.002). Leptin concentration per kilogram fat mass was positively correlated with insulin (r=0.40, P=0.03). CONCLUSIONS In contrast to serum concentrations of TNFalpha, serum leptin did not differ from that in controls, implying that leptin is not a major contributor to the previously found increase in cardiovascular morbidity in the hypopituitary women investigated. However, the patients had increased leptin concentrations per unit fat mass, indicating an altered adipocyte secretory function in this group.
Whole-genome expression profiling of the melanoma progression pathway reveals marked molecular differences between nevi/melanoma in situ and advanced-stage melanomas

Over the past two decades, several known genes have been shown to govern important functions in the development of primary and metastatic melanomas. However, from this limited number of genes, it is not possible to establish detailed molecular profiles for the early and advanced stages of melanoma development. To gain insights into the genetic profile of every stage of the melanoma progression pathway, and to determine to what extent these profiles are similar or distinct, we performed whole-genome expression profiling of tissue specimens representing normal skin, benign and atypical nevi, and early and advanced-stage melanomas. The results of this study provide first-time evidence that significant molecular changes occur distinctly at the border of/transition from melanoma in situ to primary melanoma, and that genes involved in mitotic cell cycle regulation and cell proliferation constitute the two leading categories of genes associated with these changes.
Protective B Cell Responses to Flu—No Fluke!

The mechanisms regulating the induction and maintenance of B lymphocytes have been delineated extensively in immunization studies using proteins and hapten-carrier systems. Increasing evidence suggests, however, that the regulation of B cell responses induced by infections is far more complex. In this study, we review the current understanding of B cell responses induced following infection with influenza virus, a small RNA virus that causes the flu. Notably, the rapidly induced, highly protective, and long-lived humoral response to this virus is contributed by multiple B cell subsets, each generating qualitatively distinct respiratory tract and systemic responses. Some B cell subsets provide extensive cross-protection against variants of the ever-mutating virus, and each is regulated by the quality and magnitude of infection-induced innate immune signals. Knowledge gained from the analysis of such highly protective humoral response might provide a blueprint for successful vaccines and vaccination approaches.
Photoselective KTP laser vaporization of the prostate: first experiences with 65 procedures.

PURPOSE To study the feasibility and efficacy of 80 W potassium-titanyl-phosphate (KTP) laser vaporization (GreenLight PV; Laserscope) of the prostate in patients suffering from voiding dysfunction secondary to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) or known locally advanced prostate cancer (CaP). PATIENTS AND METHODS Sixty-five patients with symptomatic BPH (N=57) or obstructive voiding secondary to CaP (N=8) with a mean age of 70 +/- 10 years (range 46-93 years) underwent photoselective 80 W KTP laser vaporization of the prostate. All consecutive patients, including 34 with a history of chronic urinary retention or indwelling catheter, were enrolled. Prostate specific antigen (PSA) values, prostate volume as measured by transrectal ultrasonography, urinary peak flow measurement (Qmax), postvoiding residual volume (PVR) measured transvesically, and International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) were assessed preoperatively, on the day of discharge, and 1 month and 3 months postoperatively. The mean preoperative prostate volume was 49 +/- 32 cc (range 15-250 cc). RESULTS In all 65 patients, KTP laser vaporization was performed successfully, with a mean operating time of 57 +/- 25 minutes (range 10-160 minutes). No major complication occurred intraoperatively or postoperatively, and no transfusions were necessary. All patients were catheter free after 1 month. At 1 month and 3 months, the urinary peak flow had increased from 7.7 +/- 2.8 mL/sec preoperatively to 20.9 +/- 11.6 mL/sec (+171%) and 18.2 +/- 6.3 mL/sec (+136%), respectively. The IPSS decreased from 18.5 +/- 6.7 to 9.2 +/- 7.7 (-50%) and 7.2 +/- 5.9 (-61%) at 1 and 3 months, respectively. CONCLUSIONS A 80 W KTP laser vaporization of the prostate technique instantly removes obstructive tissue. A transurethral resection-like visible cavity is the endpoint. Immediate symptom relief is achieved in a truly minimally invasive way with a very low postoperative complication rate within 3 months' follow-up.
Sphingosine 1-Phosphate–Induced Motility and Endocytosis of Dendritic Cells Is Regulated by SWAP-70 through RhoA

The phospholipid mediator sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) enhances motility and endocytosis of mature dendritic cells (DCs). We show that in vitro migration of Swap-70−/− bone marrow-derived DCs (BMDCs) in response to S1P and S1P-induced upregulation of endocytosis are significantly reduced. S1P-stimulated movement of Swap-70−/− BMDCs, specifically retraction of their trailing edge, in a collagen three-dimensional environment is impaired. These in vitro observations correlate with delayed entry into lymphatic vessels and migration to lymph nodes of skin DCs in Swap-70−/− mice. Expression of S1P receptors (S1P1–3) by wild-type and Swap-70−/− BMDCs is similar, but Swap-70−/− BMDCs fail to activate RhoA and to localize Rac1 and RhoA into areas of actin polymerization after S1P stimulus. The Rho-activating G protein Gαi interacts with SWAP-70, which also supports the localization of Gα13 to membrane rafts in BMDCs. LPS-matured Swap-70−/− BMDCs contain significantly more active RhoA than wild-type DCs. Preinhibition of Rho activation restored migration to S1P, S1P-induced upregulation of endocytosis in mature Swap-70−/− BMDCs, and localization of Gα13 to membrane rafts. These data demonstrate SWAP-70 as a novel regulator of S1P signaling necessary for DC motility and endocytosis.
Searching for help online: An analysis of peer-to-peer posts on a male-only infertility forum

Men’s experiences of infertility help seeking are under-researched and thus less widely understood than women’s experiences, with men’s needs for support often missing from reproductive research knowledge. This article presents a thematic analysis of peer-to-peer posts within the context of a UK men-only online infertility forum. The key themes demonstrate that men value male support from those with experience, and that masculinity influences help-seeking requests and men’s accounts more broadly. We highlight the value of such online communities in offering support to men in need while recognising the importance of further research across other online settings in order to inform practice around supporting men in the reproductive realm.
Employment and Hours of Work

This paper develops a dynamic model of the labor market in which the degree of substitution between employment and hours of work is determined as part of a search equilibrium. Each firm chooses its demand for working hours and number of vacancies, and the earnings profile is determined by Nash bargaining. The earnings profile is generally nonlinear in hours of work, and defines the trade-off between employment and hours of work. Concave production technology induces firms to overemploy and, as a result, hours of work are below their optimal level. The Hosios condition is not sufficient for efficiency. When there are two industries, workers employed by firms with higher recruitment costs work longer and earn more. That is, "good jobs" require longer hours of work. Interestingly, technology differentials cannot account for working hours differentials.
A Theory of Quantifiable Beliefs

Building upon the works of Anscombe and Aumann (1963) and Karni and Schmeidler (1981), we develop a general axiomatic theory of quantifiable beliefs - a form of probabilistic sophistication that does not preclude state-dependent preferences and does not require the reduction of compound lotteries. The theory includes the state-dependent expected utility model of Karni and Schmeidler (1981) and the state-independent non-expected utility model of Machina and Schmeidler (1995) as special cases. The theory is flexible enough to admit recursivity in the decision-making process. One specific example of this recursive class is shown to be compatible with a quantifiable beliefs version of Schmeidler's (1989) Choquet expected utility maximizing model and thus capable of rationalizing Ellsberg-paradox type behavior.
Effects of Plagiorhynchus cylindraceus (Acanthocephala) on the energy metabolism of adult starlings, sturnus vulgaris

Although the relationship between intestinal parasitism, the ingestion and use of energy, and host survival is expected, little work has been done to outline the effect of such organisms upon their host's nutritional requirements in an ecological context. This study is the first to demonstrate that an intestinal helminth previously reported to be of little or no histopathological consequence, Plagiorhynchus cylindraceus, has a significant detrimental impact upon the flow of food energy through a definitive host, the European starling, Sturnus vulgaris. Within both male and female adult European starlings reductions in standard metabolic rates occurred as the result of initial infection, indicating that the host's basal metabolism/thermal regulatory abilities were altered. Moreover, initially infected male starlings, but not females, had an increased consumption and excretion of energy and maintained lower average daily body weights versus controls when temperature stressed. These results appear to be due to either a parasite-mediated alteration in host activity and/or to the disruption of host-digestive abilities. Additionally, these data indicate that, overall, male and female S. vulgaris respond differently to infection and that intestinal helminths normally thought to be of little or no pathological consequence to the host are factors that should be addressed in future studies regarding animal energetics, ecology, and behaviour.
Schizophrenia: Women Bear a Disproportionate Toll of Antipsychotic Side Effects

BACKGROUND: Men and women with schizophrenia suffer not only from their illness but also from the side effects of their medications. OBJECTIVE: To review the toll of antipsychotic side effects specifically on women. STUDY DESIGN: A review of the literature in the PubMed database since 1990 using search terms: sex difference, antipsychotics, schizophrenia, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and pharmacogenomics and retrieving additional publications from the reference lists of the original articles. RESULTS: Findings suggest that, because of differing pharmacokinetics, women are more vulnerable than men to weight gain secondary to antipsychotics and to the consequences (metabolic, cardiovascular, reproductive) of weight gain. They are also more vulnerable to hyperprolactinemia and QTc prolongation. CONCLUSIONS: Dosing guidelines need to be critically appraised. The greater toll of side effects in women may undermine adherence to prescribed treatments, add to the stigma that attaches to mental illness, and diminish the quality of women’s lives. Side effects increase the cost of mental illness and heighten the burden experienced by caregivers. They exacerbate morbidity and raise mortality rates. They affect the children of women treated with antipsychotic medication.
Cognitive reflection test and behavioral biases in Malaysia

We asked whether behavioral biases are related to cognitive abilities of Malaysian youth. Frederick’s three-item Cognitive Reflection Test was used to understand the role of behavioral biases concerning behavioral economics and finance. The sample (n = 880) comprised of university students from different parts of Malaysia. We found significant CRT differences as a function of gender, race and age groups. In addition, lower scores on the CRT are correlated positively with time preference and conservatism, but not with risk preference or the conjunction fallacy.
Mycoplasma bovis Infection in Gnotobiotic Calves and Combined Infection with Respiratory Syncytial Virus

Mycoplasma bovis was inoculated alone or in combination with respiratory syncytial virus into the respiratory tracts of 12 gnotobiotic calves. Clinical signs ranged from transient pyrexia to protracted fever accompanied by severe lower respiratory signs and in one case, arthritis. Pulmonary lesions included foci of coagulative necrosis surrounded by mononuclear cells and suppurative bronchiolitis with varying degrees of lympho-reticular hyperplasia. No enhancement of lesions occurred in the combined infections of M. bovis and respiratory syncytial virus. M. bovis was identified by immunoperoxidase labelling in lesions of necrosis, especially at interfaces between the lesion and mononuclear cells and in bronchiolar exudates. Organisms were also located in necrotic lesions of joint capsules, in tonsillar crypts, and in liver.
Kidney involvement in autoimmune polyendocrinopathy-candidiasis-ectodermal dystrophy in a Finnish cohort.

BACKGROUND Autoimmune tubulo-interstitial nephritis (TIN) is a rare complication of autoimmune polyendocrinopathy-candidiasis-ectodermal dystrophy (APECED). Previous data on TIN and other renal or urologic manifestations of APECED are sparse. METHODS We performed a retrospective study on the urinary and renal tract diseases in a cohort of 30 Finnish patients with APECED (mean age 40 years), with special emphasis on the clinical presentation and the immunologic characteristics of TIN. Clinical and laboratory findings, specific anticytokine and kidney-specific antibodies were analysed. RESULTS Five of the 30 (17%) patients had moderate-to-severe renal failure, including 3 (10%) with TIN, leading to either transplantation, haemodialysis or immunosuppressive treatment. No other cause other than APECED was found for the TIN. All three patients with TIN had circulating antibodies against the distal part of the nephron, as did 30% of all cohort cases. Two had nephrocalcinosis, and two had renal tubular acidosis type 1. Immunosuppressive therapy with mycophenolate mofetil or rituximab in one pediatric case did not revert the TIN, however. CONCLUSIONS Renal failure should raise concern for TIN in APECED. It discloses some specific features: no uveitis, no glycosuria and inconstant urinalysis anomalies. Regular renal monitoring for any APECED patient should be performed. Circulating antibodies against the distal part of the nephron are frequent and present in all TIN patients, but their pathologic significance is not yet known. Future studies will be needed to understand the triggers leading to overt clinical disease in these patients.
Subtype-specific Assembly of α-Amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole Propionic Acid Receptor Subunits Is Mediated by Their N-terminal Domains*

Glutamate receptors (GluR) are oligomeric protein complexes formed by the assembly of four or perhaps five subunits. The rules that govern the selectivity of this process are not well understood. Here, we expressed combinations of subunits from two related GluR subfamilies in COS7 cells, the α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid (AMPA) and kainate receptors. By co-immunoprecipitation experiments, we assessed the ability of AMPA receptor subunits to assemble into multimeric complexes. Subunits GluR1–4 associated with indistinguishable efficiency with each other, whereas the kainate receptor subunits GluR6 and 7 showed a much lower degree of association with GluR1. Using chimeric receptors and truncation fragments of subunits, we show that this assembly specificity is determined by N-terminal regions of these subunits and that the most N-terminal domain of GluR2 together with a membrane anchor efficiently associates with GluR1.
Optimisation of chest radiology by computer modelling of image quality measures and patient effective dose

A set of modelled computed radiography (CR) systems are compared with a reference system. Calculations are performed, which compares the effective dose and a set of figures of merit corresponding to the image quality of both the modelled systems and the reference system. For a nodule with soft tissue corresponding, the signal-to-noise ratio, SNR, is found to decrease with increasing tube voltage. On the other hand, the ratio of the contrast of the nodule compared to the contrast of a rib (nodule-to-rib contrast-ratio) is found to increase with increasing tube voltage.
Postnatal testosterone may be an important mediator of the association between prematurity and male neurodevelopmental disorders: a hypothesis

Abstract Children born premature are at risk for neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism and schizophrenia. This piece advances the hypothesis that altered androgen exposure observed in premature infants is an important mediator of the neurodevelopmental risk in males associated with prematurity. Specifically, the alterations of normative physiologic postnatal activations of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis that occur in preterm males are hypothesized to contribute to the risk of neuropsychiatric pathology of prematurity through altered androgen-mediated organizational effects on the developing brain. The physiology of testosterone and male central nervous system development in full-term births is reviewed and compared to the developmental processes of prematurity. The effects of the altered testosterone physiology observed within prematurity outside of the central nervous system are reviewed as a segue into a discussion of the effects within the nervous system, with a special focus on autism spectrum disorders and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The explanatory power of this model is reviewed as a supplement to the preexisting models of prematurity and neurodevelopmental risk, including infection and other perinatal central nervous system insults. The emphasis is placed on altered androgen exposure as serving as just one among many mediators of neurodevelopmental risk that may be of interest for further research and evidence-based investigation. Implications for diagnosis, management and preventative treatments conclude the piece.
Minimal Reaction Sets for Escherichia coli Metabolism under Different Growth Requirements and Uptake Environments

A computational procedure for identifying the minimal set of metabolic reactions capable of supporting various growth rates on different substrates is introduced and applied to a flux balance model of the Escherichia colimetabolic network. This task is posed mathematically as a generalized network optimization problem. The minimal reaction sets capable of supporting specified growth rates are determined for two different uptake conditions: (i) limiting the uptake of organic material to a single organic component (e.g., glucose or acetate) and (ii) allowing the importation of any metabolite with available cellular transport reactions. We find that minimal reaction network sets are highly dependent on the uptake environment and the growth requirements imposed on the network. Specifically, we predict that the E. coli network, as described by the flux balance model, requires 224 metabolic reactions to support growth on a glucose‐only medium and 229 for an acetate‐only medium, while only 122 reactions enable growth on a specially engineered growth medium.