Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The impact of data preprocessing in traumatic brain injury detection using functional magnetic resonance imaging

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can adversely affect a person's thinking, memory, personality and behavior. For this reason new and better biomarkers are being investigated. Resting state functional network connectivity (rsFNC) derived from functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) imaging is emerging as a possible biomarker. One of the main concerns with this technique is the appropriateness of methods used to correct for subject movement. In this work we used 50 mild TBI patients and matched healthy controls to explore the outcomes obtained from different fMRI data preprocessing. Results suggest that correction for motion variance before spatial smoothing is the best alternative. Following this preprocessing option a significant group difference was found between cerebellum and supplementary motor area/paracentral lobule. In this case the mTBI group exhibits an increase in rsFNC.
Two fossil groups of galaxies at z~0.4 in the COSMOS: accelerated stellar-mass build-up, different progenitors

We report on 2 fossil groups of galaxies at z=0.425 and 0.372 discovered in the Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS) area. Selected as X-ray extended sources, they have total masses (M_200) of 1.9(+/-0.41)E13 and 9.5(+/-0.42)E13 M_sun, respectively, as obtained from a recent X-ray luminosity-mass scaling relation. The lower mass system appears isolated, whereas the other sits in a well-known large-scale structure (LSS) populated by 27 other X-ray emitting groups. The identification as fossil is based on the i-band photometry of all the galaxies with a photo-z consistent with that of the group at the 2-sigma confidence level and within a projected group-centric distance equal to 0. 5R_200, and i_AB =1E10 M_sun took place in the last 3 to 6 Gyr. This similarity holds although the 2 fossil groups are embedded in two very different density environments of the LSS, which suggests that their galaxy populations were shaped by processes that do not depend on the LSS. However, their progenitors may do so.
The iap gene of Listeria monocytogenes is essential for cell viability, and its gene product, p60, has bacteriolytic activity

Expression of the iap gene of Listeria monocytogenes in the L. monocytogenes rough mutant RIII and in Bacillus subtilis DB104 caused the disruption of the cell chains which these two strains normally form under exponential growth conditions. The p60 protein produced by L. monocytogenes and B. subtilis DB104 also exhibited bacteriolytic activity detected in denaturing polyacrylamide gels containing heat-killed Micrococcus lysodeikticus. Purification of the p60 protein led to aggregation of p60 and loss of the cell chain disruption and bacteriolytic activities. A cysteine residue in the C-terminal part of p60 which is conserved in all p60-like proteins from the other Listeria species seems to be essential for both activities. The iap gene could not be inactivated without a loss of cell viability, indicating that p60 is an essential housekeeping protein for L. monocytogenes and probably also for other Listeria species. These data suggest that p60 possesses a murein hydrolase activity required for a late step in cell division.
Comparative evaluation of super high-resolution CT scan and virtual bronchoscopy for the detection of tracheobronchial malignancies.

OBJECTIVES Novel imaging modalities are currently available for the noninvasive evaluation of the tracheobronchial tree. This study was undertaken to compare the diagnostic potentials of conventional CT scanning, super high-resolution CT (SHR-CT) scanning, and virtual bronchoscopy (VB) directly with fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FB) for the detection of tracheobronchial neoplasms. DESIGN Prospective observer study, in which 44 consecutive patients with thoracic malignancies were evaluated using several diagnostic imaging modalities. Images of the thorax were interpreted by individuals blind to the results of FB for the detection of endoluminal, obstructive, or mucosal lesions. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS Image acquisition and simulation of the tracheobronchial anatomy were created successfully in all patients. Thirty-two patients who underwent both SHR-CT scanning and VB had correlative FBs within 1 month. In all nine patients who had a normal anatomy, SHR-CT scanning and VB accurately correlated with the FB findings. However, CT scanning demonstrated two false-positive obstructive lesions in one patient. Twenty-three patients had a total of 35 abnormal FB findings. The sensitivities of SHR-CT scanning and VB for the detection of endoluminal, obstructive, and mucosal lesions were 90%, 100%, and 16%, respectively. The overall sensitivities and specificities of SHR-CT scanning and VB were 83% and 100%, respectively. In contrast, CT scanning had sensitivities of 50%, 72%, and 0% for the detection of endoluminal, obstructive, and mucosal lesions with an overall sensitivity and specificity of 59%, and 85%, respectively. There was no case in which conventional CT scanning was better at detecting lesions than either SHR-CT scanning or VB. CONCLUSIONS SHR-CT scanning and VB are accurate, noninvasive methods for identifying obstructions and endoluminal lesions within the respiratory tract. Thus, these novel imaging techniques are valuable as complementary modalities to FB, providing information that is useful for the detection and management of airway malignancies.
Lactococci as probiotic strains: adhesion to human enterocyte‐like Caco‐2 cells and tolerance to low pH and bile

There have been few studies on the probiotic activity of Lactococcus strains although they are commonly used as starter bacteria in manufacturing many kinds of fermented dairy products. Nine strains of the genus Lactococcus were examined for their probiotic properties, such as adherence to human enterocyte‐like Caco‐2 cells and tolerance to acid and bile. Six strains were adhesive and the highest adhesion was observed with Lactcoccus lactis ssp. lactis NIAI527. This strain adhered to the microvilli of cells as observed by scanning electron microscopy and also tolerated low pH and bile. These properties should make strain 527 a potential new probiotic strain.
500MS/s 4-b time interleaved SAR ADC using novel DAC architecture

The design and implementation details of a 4-bit time interleaved Successive approximation register (SAR) analog to digital converter (ADC) for UWB application is presented in this paper. Major contribution of this paper is the proposal for a novel digital to analog converter (DAC) architecture which reduces the area required for capacitors by a factor of three, while the maximum error due mismatch between capacitors is reduced by 33% compared to the architecture reported in the literature. The ADC is implemented in . 18µm CMOS technology and has total power consumption of 17.6mw at sampling frequency of 500MS/s for an input swing of 1V peak to peak. Proposed SAR ADC gives SNDR of 23.7dB, SFDR of 31.5dB and THD of −32.2dB at Nyquist rate. The proposed ADC enables the input swing to be increased by 25% while maintaining Figure of merit same compared to a SAR ADC reported in the literature.
Maternal resources, proximity of services, and curative care of boys and girls in Minya, Egypt 1995–97

Despite declines in the risk of dying among children in Egypt, girls’ excess mortality in early childhood persists. Using data from a representative sample of children in Minya, Egypt, I assess whether maternal resources, marital household structure, and proximity of services influence disparities by sex in curative care. The results show that boys visit any source of care marginally more often than girls. Among children who receive care, boys more often receive private care. Higher maternal education has no effect on the relative odds of private care, whereas maternal residence with marital relatives reduces the odds that girls receive private care. Having a public clinic in the neighbourhood, at which private services may be offered, increases girls’ odds of receiving private care. Higher and more equitable levels of care-seeking at public and private services of higher quality may reduce differences in the survival of boys and girls in a highly sex-stratified setting.
The Effects of Pre-Exercise Starch Ingestion on Endurance Performance

This study compared the physiological responses and performance following the ingestion of a waxy starch (WS), resistant starch (RS), glucose (GL) and an artificially-sweetened placebo (PL) ingested prior to exercise. Ten college-age, male competitive cyclists completed four experimental protocols consisting of a 30 min isokinetic, self-paced performance ride preceded by 90 min of constant load cycling at 66% VO2max. Thirty min prior to exercise, they ingested 1 g.kg-1 body weight of GL, WS, RS, or PL At rest, GL elicited greater (p < 0.05) serum glucose and insulin responses than all other trials. During exercise, however, serum glucose, insulin, blood C-peptide and glucagon responses were similar among trials. The mean total carbohydrate oxidation rates (CHOox) were higher (p < 0.05) during the GL, WS, and RS trials (2.59 +/- 0.13, 2.49 +/- 0.10, and 2.71 +/- 0.15 g.min-1, respectively) compared to PL (2.35 +/- 0.12 g.min-1). Subjects were able to complete more work (p < 0.05) during the performance ride when they ingested GL (434 +/- 25.2 kj) or WS (428 +/- 22.5 kj) compared to PL (403 +/- 35.1 kj). They also tended to produce more work with RS ingestion (418 +/- 31.4 kj), although this did not reach statistical significance (p < 0.09). These results indicate that preexercise CHO ingestion in the form of starch or glucose maintained higher rates of total carbohydrate oxidation during exercise and provided an ergogenic benefit during self-paced cycling.
Electro-Convulsive Therapy with Minimum Hazard

Summary The inter-electrode resistance during ECT is shown to be very variable, a finding which invalidates the measurement of shocks in joules. With square wave pulses of selected current value the threshold for convulsion may be below 100 milliamperes or above 2,000 milliamperes. It is advisable to measure the current value during millisecond pulses with relatively long intervals between.
Augmentation of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Subtype E (CRF01_AE) Multiple-Drug Resistance by Insertion of a Foreign 11-Amino-Acid Fragment into the Reverse Transcriptase

ABSTRACT A human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) subtype E (CRF01_AE) variant (99JP-NH3-II) possessing an in-frame 33-nucleotide insertion mutation in the β3-β4 loop coding region of the reverse transcriptase (RT) gene was isolated from a patient who had not responded to nucleoside analogue RT inhibitors. This virus exhibited an extremely high level of multiple nucleoside analog resistance (MNR). Neighbor-joining tree analysis of thepol sequences indicated that the 99JP-NH3-II variant had originated from the swarm of drug-sensitive predecessors in the patient. Population-based sequence analyses of 82 independently cloned RT segments from the patient suggested that the variants with the insertion, three or four 3′-azido-3′-deoxythymidine resistance mutations, and a T69I mutation in combination had strong selective advantages during chemotherapy. Consistently, in vitro mutagenesis of a drug-sensitive predecessor virus clone demonstrated that this mutation set functions cooperatively to confer a high level of MNR without deleterious effects on viral replication capability. Homology modeling of the parental RT and its MNR mutant showed that extension of the β3-β4 loop by an insertion caused reductions in the distances between the loop and the other subdomains, narrowing the template-primer binding cleft and deoxynucleoside triphosphate-binding pocket in a highly flexible manner. The origin of the insert is elusive, as every effort to find a homologue has been unsuccessful. Taken together, these data suggest that (i) HIV-1 tolerates in vivo insertions as long as 33 nucleotides into the highly conserved enzyme gene to survive multiple anti-HIV-1 inhibitors and (ii) the insertion mutation augments multiple-drug resistance, possibly by reducing the biochemical inaccuracy of substrate-enzyme interactions in the active center.
THE EFFECT OF OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS AND MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS ON COMPREHENSION-AÇIK UÇLU SORULAR İLE ÇOKTAN SEÇMELİ SORULARIN ANLAMAYI ETKİLEME DURUMLARI

The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of multiple choice questions and open ended questions on comprehension while evaluating the skills of reading comprehension of fourth grade students. The study group consists of one hundred thirty two, 4th grade students from primary schools in Uşak city center. In this research, the survey model was used. Two different data collection tools are used in this research. First data collection tool consists of twelve exams divided into two groups. First group contains multiple choice questions (two narrative texts, two informative texts). The second group contains open-ended questions. The exam consists of six texts and six paragraphs. As a second data collection tool, we used an interview form with four questions for focus group discussion. Fifteen students chosen with purposeful sampling were asked to answer these four questions and their responses were recorded in written form. The results indicate that the students were more successful in multiple choice exams rather than in exams with open-ended questions. The students take positive attitudes to multiple choice questions because they are used to this kind of questions and they have chance factor to find the right answer. No students have positive attitudes towards open-ended questions. When we compare the results of students on the paragraphs and on the texts, the scores are higher on the paragraphs. As a result of group interview conducted with fifteen students it was found that all the students prefer multiple choice exams to exams with open-ended questions.
How Many Colours Are Necessary to Increase the Reading Speed of Children with Visual Stress? A Comparison of Two Systems

University of EssexWe measured the increase in reading speed afforded by two currently availablesystems of coloured overlays: the Intuitive Overlays, which provide a choice of 30colours, and the Eye level Reading Rulers, which provide a choice of ﬁve. Forty-eight pupils from a local authority primary school who reported experiencingsymptoms of visual stress were individually tested with both systems in a randomorder, balanced across pupils. There were no differences between the systems asregards the children’s preference or the reduction in symptoms of visual stress.However, there was a signiﬁcant increase in reading speed with the IntuitiveOverlays and no increase, on average, with the Reading Rulers. Pupils showing anincrease in reading speed of more than 5% with either overlay were tested again, onthis occasion with Intuitive Overlays of the conventional size and those cut to the(much smaller) size of the Reading Rulers. There was no difference in reading speedbetween the large and small overlays. Participants whose reading speed increasedwith the Reading Rulers by as much as with the Intuitive Overlays tended to be thosewho chose a similar colour for both overlays. The general pattern of results suggeststhat the Reading Rulers failed to increase reading speed because they do not offersufﬁcient colours and hence the beneﬁts of the Reading Rulers in increasing readingspeed are likely to be less than obtained with the Intuitive Overlays.
Effects of Program Exposure and Engagement With Tailored Prevention Communication on Sun Protection by Young Adolescents

Few family-based interventions to increase sun safe behavior among adolescents have been evaluated. The present study tested an intervention that included tailored and nontailored print communications delivered by mail to adolescents (age 11 to 15) and their parents who were also participating in an evaluation of an in-school intervention. The use of sunscreen, protective clothing, and avoidance of the sun were promoted, and family communication and environmental change strategies were fostered. Adolescents and their parents were pretested in May of 2002 and posttested from August to October. Adolescents (N = 599) were stratified on experimental condition in the in-school study (in-school intervention vs control) and randomly were assigned from within strata to receive (N = 288) or not receive (N = 311) the summer intervention materials. No statistically significant effects were found for adolescents between the randomized experimental conditions. Parents' had increased knowledge (F = 5.52, p < .05) and propensity to have their child wear sunglasses (F = 4.07, p < .05). Greater program exposure/engagement led to enhanced sun protection behavior (e.g., fewer sunburns) and psychosocial factors among adolescents and parents. Greater exposure/engagement led to improvements in family interaction and home environment (e.g., shade audit completed). Future research is needed on exposure/engagement with family-based health messaging and on family-based sun safety programs for adolescents.
Soil Physical Characteristics and Crop Productivity as Affected by Tillage in Rice-Wheat System

Tillage practices significantly influences soil physical characteristics and crop productivity. The infiltration characteristics, bulk density, porosity, penetration resistance, grain yield of rice and wheat were measured under no-till without residue (NT), roto-tillage (RT), and no-till with residue i.e. happy seeder (HS) in rice-wheat cropping system in sandy loam (SL) and loamy sand (LS) soils. For surface soil layer (0-15 cm) highest soil bulk density (Mg m -3 ) was recorded in HS (1.58) followed by RT (1.56) and NT (1.55) in LS soil. Soil porosity ranged from 40.6 % to 41.2 % under HS and RT, respectively for 0-15 cm depth in SL soil. The PR (K Pa) varied from 2412 (NT) to 2539 (HS) in SL. In LS soil PR (K Pa) varied from 2433 (NT) to 2603 (RT). Final infiltration rate (FIR) varied from 0.1 to 0.3 cm hr -1 under RT and NT in SL soil, while, in LS soil FIR varied from 0.5 to 0.8 cm hr -1 in RT and HS, respectively. Maximum rice grain yield (t ha -1 ) was recorded in RT (8.0) followed by NT (7.5) and HS (7.0) in SL soil. The corresponding rice yield (t ha -1 ) in LS was 6.5, 5.8 and 5.5 in RT, NT and HS, respectively. Wheat straw yield (t ha -1 ) ranged from 4.9 (NT) to 5.9 (HS) in SL soil. The wheat grain yield (t ha -1 ) was observed to be maximum in HS (4.5), followed by RT (4.0) and NT (3.9) in SL soil, while in LS soil the wheat grain yield (t ha -1 ) values were observed to be 2.7, 3.0 and 3.6 in NT, RT and HS, respectively. No significant effect of tillage and residue management practices was observed on grain yield of rice and wheat, however, significant changes were observed on water transmission characteristics and straw yields.
The evaluation of removal of calcium hydroxide paste from an artificial standardized groove in the apical root canal using different irrigation methodologies.

AIM To evaluate the capacity to remove a calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) paste from the root canal and to evaluate the efficacy of Ca(OH)2 removal during passive ultrasonic irrigation using either sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) or water as an irrigant. METHODOLOGY Sixteen mandibular premolars were used. Each root was prepared to the apical foramen using GT instruments of size 30, 0.06 taper. Each root was split longitudinally. In one half of the root, a groove was cut in the canal wall 2-6 mm from the apex which was then filled with a Ca(OH)2 paste. Subsequently the roots were reassembled. In group 1 (n = 16), the teeth were ultrasonically irrigated using 50 mL 2.0% NaOCl as the irrigant. Group 2 (n = 16) was treated in the same manner as group 1, but using 50 mL water in place of the NaOCl. In group 3 (n = 16), the teeth were irrigated by syringe injection of 50 mL 2.0% NaOCl. The quantity of remaining Ca(OH)2 in the groove was scored and the data analysed with Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests. RESULTS The difference in remaining Ca(OH)2 between all groups was statistically significant (P < 0.001). Group 1 had significantly lower scores than group 2 (P < 0.001) and group 3 (P = 0.002), but there was no significant difference between groups 2 and 3 (P = 0.765). CONCLUSIONS Passive ultrasonic irrigation with 2% NaOCl was more effective in removing Ca(OH)2 paste from artificial root canal grooves than syringe delivery of 2% NaOCl or water as irrigant.
Congenital heart disease : the timing of brain injury

Kinderen met een ernstige aangeboren hartafwijking hebben een groter risico op een ontwikkelingsachterstand. Hemodynamische veranderingen als gevolg van de hartafwijking spelen mogelijk een grote rol in het ontwikkelen van deze achterstand. Dit proefschrift heeft als doel meer inzicht te verschaffen in de timing van hersenschade bij kinderen met een ernstige aangeboren hartafwijking. Allereerst presenteren we een systematisch overzicht van de beschikbare literatuur over het verband tussen cerebrale kenmerken en de neurologische uitkomst. Zowel de periode voor- als de periode na de geboorte zijn geassocieerd met de neurologische uitkomst in kinderen met een ernstige aangeboren hartafwijking. Vervolgens presenteren we verscheidene retrospectieve en prospectieve studies bij baby’s met verschillende hartafwijkingen. Foetussen met een ernstige aangeboren hartafwijking hebben vaker afwijkende Doppler flow profielen en pasgeborenen met een ernstige aangeboren hartafwijking hebben vaker een lagere zuurstofsaturatie van de hersenen, een afwijkend achtergrond patroon op amplitude-geintegreerd elektro-encefalogram en 15% heeft subklinische epileptische activiteit in de eerste 72 uur na de geboorte. Ten slotte presenteren we de eerste longitudinale prospectieve studie waarin we kijken naar het verband tussen Doppler flow profielen voor de geboorte, de zuurstofsaturatie van de hersenen voor-, tijdens- en na de operatie en de neurologische uitkomst. Met name de periode voor de geboorte lijkt geassocieerd met de neurologische uitkomst. Daarnaast hebben baby’s met een combinatie van afwijkende bevindingen voor- en na de geboorte een 9 keer zo hoog risico op het hebben van een abnormale neurologische uitkomst. Toekomstige studies moeten focussen op preventie van hersenschade, zoals medicatie of foetale chirurgie.
In vitro radiosensitization by oxaliplatin and 5-fluorouracil in a human colon cancer cell line

The current study was designed to compare the radiosensitizing effects of oxaliplatin and 5-fluorouracil (5FU) in a human colon cancer cell line. A human colon cancer cell line (S1) was treated with various doses of oxaliplatin, 5FU, radiation, and combinations thereof. Various clinically used schedules were mimicked. 5FU was either incubated during 1 h (“bolus”) or 24 h (“continuous infusion”). When combining oxaliplatin and 5FU, an isobologram analysis revealed synergistic effects, regardless of 5FU schedule. The IC10 and IC50-doses for the drugs where then combined with radiotherapy. With equitoxic drug doses (IC50), radiosensitization was observed in the following order: oxaliplatin > 5FU 24 h > 5FU 1 h exposure. The degree of potentiation corresponded to approximately 0.8 Gy, 0.7 Gy, and 0.2 Gy, respectively. In this experimental setting, oxaliplatin seemed to be a better radiosensitizer than 5FU, and longer incubation time with 5FU was better than short exposure.