Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
MR PHASE AND SUSCEPTIBILITY-WEIGHTED IMAGING OF IRON DEPOSITION IN MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS AND RADIATION-TREATED BRAIN TUMORS

Author(s): Bian, Wei | Advisor(s): Nelson, Sarah J | Abstract: Magnetic Resonance Imaging is a non-invasive imaging technique that is widely used in medicine. Conventionally, MRI contrasts rely on differences in longitudinal or transverse relaxation times of different tissues and the resulting images display primarily anatomical information of the tissues. With progress in MRI techniques, image contrasts that provide functional or physiological information are now available. Tissue susceptibility is one of this kind and recently has been gaining interest in MRI, especially at high MR field strengths. To generate susceptibility contrast, MR phase and susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) are currently two imaging modalities that are used most often. In this work, we focused on using these imaging methods to study abnormal iron accumulation in multiple sclerosis (MS) and radiation-treated brain tumors. We first report in this dissertation a serial phase imaging study of chronic MS lesions in which the phase contrast, presumed due to iron deposition in the lesions, was investigated longitudinally. The observations from the study contribute to a better knowledge of the mechanism of the phase contrast in MS lesions and their evolution. Then we present a comparison study of SWI of iron-containing cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) between 3 Tesla and 7 Tesla MR scanners for patients who had brain tumors and received radiation therapy. This study was aimed at knowing how much sensitivity gain can be achieved when choosing 7T over 3T for detection of CMBs. Followed by the study, a gradient-echo sequence with multiple echoes is introduced, which is able to acquire MR angiography and susceptibility-weighted images simultaneously. This sequence provides a way to characterize CMBs together with veins and arteries in the brain. In addition, by integrating data from several echoes, the SWI can be made more flexible and its imaging quality of CMBs can be improved compared to sing-echo SWI. Finally, an automated CMB detection algorithm is developed, which is able to identify CMBs on images from SWI with a high sensitivity. Its high accuracy and fast speed significantly reduces radiological time burden in identifying CMBs, which will speed up the exploring of the clinical relevance of CMBs.
Aetiological and therapeutic investigations on leukoderma in Indian buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis)

Leukodema like chronic skin disease in buffaloes refractive to usual treatment is encountered in Marathwada region of India. The disease is causing heavy economic losses to animal owners due to substantial reduction in market value. Hence the present study was planned to investigate etiological and therapeutic aspects of leukoderma buffaloes. Eighteen buffaloes from 11 villages of Latur District presented with depigmentation of skin formed the material for the present study. Blood samples were processed for complete blood cell count on fully automated haematology cell counter, while serum copper, iron, zinc and ceruloplasmin were estimated on automated biochemical analyzer. The skin biopsy from affected buffaloes was examined for histopathological changes. Nine affected buffaloes were treated with copper sulphate 300 mg /100 kg body weight once daily orally till recovery. An overall incidence of the disease was found to be 0.43%. The characteristic clinical finding was graying of hair and depigmentation of skin on various parts of the body. Haemo-biochemical analysis revealed highly significant (P<0.01) decrease in Hb, PCV, TEC, serum copper, ceruloplasmin and zinc in leukoderma affected buffaloes when compared with healthy control buffaloes. The histoarchitectural studies of leukoderma affected buffalo skin revealed total absence of melanin, melanocytes and melanophores in epidermis. All treated buffaloes clinically cured within 55 to 210 days. It is concluded that leukoderma in buffaloes is caused by copper deficiency and can be successfully treated with copper sulphate.
Optimal Filtering with Kalman Filters and Smoothers

In this paper we present a documentation for an optimal filtering toolbox for the mathematical software package Matlab. The toolbox features many filtering methods for discrete-time state space models, including the well-known linear Kalman filter and several non-linear extensions to it. These non-linear methods are the extended Kalman filter, the unscented Kalman filter, the Gauss-Hermite Kalman filter and the third-order symmetric cubature Kalman filter. Algorithms for multiple model systems are provided in the form of an Interacting Multiple Model (IMM) filter and it’s non-linear extensions, which are based on banks of extended and unscented Kalman filters. Also included in the toolbox are the Rauch-TungStriebel and two-filter smoother counter-parts for the filters, which can be used to smooth the previous state estimates, after obtaining new measurements. The usage and function of each method is illustrated with eight demonstration problems.
Pneumopathies bactériennes secondaires aux infections respiratoires virales : de l’étude expérimentale in vitro à l’analyse descriptive des données hospitalières en passant par l’étude prospective d’une cohorte de patients

Le virus influenza peut etre responsable d’infections respiratoires severes. Les pneumonies bacteriennes post-influenza font partie des complications les plus graves et S. aureus est l’une des bacteries les plus frequemment retrouvee dans ce contexte. L’efficacite des traitements dans ces infections graves est moderee ce qui souligne l’importance de progresser dans la comprehension de la physiopathologie de ces infections graves. Une reponse immunitaire inadequate (soit excessive, soit trop faible) a l’infection pulmonaire joue un role considerable dans la gravite du tableau clinique et le pronostic du patient. Nous avons montre que le virus influenza potentialise l’inflammation et la cytotoxicite engendree par des facteurs de virulence de S. aureus dans des monocytes isoles de temoins sains. Cependant l’etude du systeme immunitaire de patients hospitalises pour grippe grave, a montre qu’au lieu d’etre dans un etat d’activation massive, il etait en phase d’anergie et possedait une alteration de la reponse immunitaire fonctionnelle en cas d’exposition a des facteurs de virulence de S. aureus. L’immunomonitoring de ces patients au pronostic severe, qui permet la determination de l’etat pro- ou anti-inflammatoire dans lequel se trouve le patient pourrait participer a l’amelioration de la prise en charge de ces patients en permettant l’utilisation de traitements immunomodulateurs adaptes a la situation clinique de chaque patient. Cette problematique peut etre etendue a d’autres co-infections virus bacterie et notamment au VRS. Nous avons etudie l’epidemiologie des co-infections VRS/bacterie chez l’adulte dans le contexte d’une pneumonie et nous avons observe qu’elle etait similaire a celle des co-infections influenza bacterie. Cette connaissance de l’epidemiologie est importante afin d’adapter la prise en charge des patients
First-principles computational investigation of nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes as anode materials for lithium-ion and potassium-ion batteries

Significant research efforts, mostly experimental, have been devoted to finding high-performance anode materials for lithium-ion and potassium-ion batteries; both graphitic carbon-based and carbon nanotube-based materials have been generating huge interest. Here, first-principles calculations are performed to investigate the possible effects of doping defects and the varying tube diameter of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on their potential for battery applications. Both adsorption and migration of Li and K are studied for a range of pristine and nitrogen-doped CNTs, which are further compared with 2D graphene-based counterparts. We use detailed electronic structure analyses to reveal that different doping defects are advantageous for carbon nanotube-based and graphene-based models, as well as that curved CNT walls help facilitate the penetration of potassium through the doping defect while showing a negative effect on that of lithium.
Forecasting policies for scheduling a stochastic due date job shop

This work studies the problem of scheduling a production plant subject to uncertain processing times that may arise, e.g. from the variability of human labour or the possibility of machine breakdowns. The problem is modelled as a job shop with random processing times, where the expected total weighted tardiness must be minimized. A heuristic is proposed that amplifies the expected processing times by a selected factor, which are used as input for a deterministic scheduling algorithm. The quality of a particular solution is measured using a risk averse penalty function combining the expected deviation and the worst case deviation from the optimal schedule. Computational tests show that the technique improves the performance of the deterministic algorithm by 25% when compared with using the unscaled expected processing times as inputs.
Measuring beyond content: a rubric bank for assessing skills in authentic research assignments in the sciences

Herein we report the development of an analytic rubric bank to assess non-content learning, namely higher order cognitive skills, the understanding of the nature of science, and effective scientific communication skills in student research projects. Preliminary findings indicate that use of this tool enhances our students' learning in these areas, particularly in the area of communication, as well as eases and speeds the assessment of these skills. Our rubric bank is notable for its adaptability to a wide range of assignments, developmental levels, and science courses.
Taxonomy, biostratigraphy, and phylogeny of Oligocene Ciperoella n. gen.

Ciperoella Olsson and Hemleben n. gen. is erected for Oligocene spinose species that have a neogloboquadrinid-type wall texture and 4½-5 similarly sized chambers in the final whorl. Four species are recognized as distinct, namely Ciperoella anguliofficinalis (Blow), Ciperoella angulisuturalis (Bolli), Ciperoella ciperoensis (Bolli), and Ciperoella fariasi (Bermudez). Their taxonomy, phylogeny, and biostratigraphy is discussed.
Older adults' well-being: Art activity and qigong exercise in nursing home in Indonesia

Background: Many Indonesian nursing homes have uninteresting programs with no meaningful activities. Residents may consequently feel depressed and their well-being or quality of life may be at risk. Art activities or Qigong exercise are both low-intensity interventions that have been proved suitable for older adults. It is suggested that the integration of art activities and Qigong exercise might be more beneficial than either alone. The present study will investigate the effect of an integrated intervention of art activities and Qigong exercise compared to the single interventions of art activities or Qigong exercise on well-being, depression, satisfaction in life, and health status in older adults in nursing homes in Indonesia. Methods: Four groups will be compared in a randomized controlled trial (RCT). These groups are (1) a group with Qigong and art activities as an integrated intervention, (2) a group with art activities intervention, (3) a group with Qigong intervention, and (4) a control group that gets no intervention. Eligible participants are adults aged 50 years and above who have lived in a nursing home for at least 3 months. These participants must be in a healthy physical condition, not blind, and have no severe hearing or speech impairment. The participants should also be cognitively capable, as apparent from a score above 18 on the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE), and have no psychotic disorder and alcohol or drug misuse based on the MINI Neuropsychiatric Interview. Eligible participants will be randomly assigned to one of the groups. Measurements will be administered at baseline, post-intervention, and follow-up (3 months and 6 months after the intervention). Discussion: This will be the first RCT in Indonesia that investigates the effectiveness of an integration of art activities and Qigong exercise for older adults in nursing homes. The result of this study will provide valuable information for health care providers responsible for programming activities for older adults, especially for those who live in a nursing home. Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02957773, registered 28 September 2016.
Dynamically guided learning

Recent research on human learning has revealed a pervasive ability to track statistical structure in adulthood and infancy. Because statistical information abounds in visual and linguistic structure, statistical learning has potential for playing an important role in the acquisition of complex skill. This chapter summarizes the literature on statistical learning and evaluates it in terms of its potential for circumventing problems that have been traditionally posed for learners, such as over generalization and how learners choose among multiple forms of structure. Empirical findings suggest that statistical learning is highly data driven. Additionally, learning appears to be constrained by preferred structure (structure that is particularly salient or easy to process), but also by the pressures exerted by the environment (learners tend to seek out invariant structure). Learning arises in the interaction of these two forms of constraint, resulting in a dynamically guided process.
Research Article Genetic variability in food-type soybean accessions assessed by morphoagronomic traits

The estimation of genetic variability in germplasm banks is important not only for the conservation of genetic resources, but also for their use in plant breeding. However, a large number of traits from different categories (qualitative and quantitative) can make the analysis and interpretation of the results difficult, often resulting in an incomplete distinction among accessions. We characterized 45 accessions of food-type soybean (Glycine max) from the Soybean Germplasm Bank of Londrina State University based on morphoagronomic traits. The experiment was carried out in the university farm using a randomized block design with three replicates. Twelve traits were evaluated: flower color, pubescence color, tegument color, hilum color, days until flowering, days until maturation, plant height, height of insertion of the first pod, mass of 100 grains, grain yield per plot, agronomic value, and lodging index. The quantitative trait data were submitted to deviance analysis. The genetic divergence among the accessions was examined by Gower's distance and clustering of the accessions was made based on Ward's hierarchical method. Morphoagronomic descriptors proved efficient in detecting the levels of genetic variability among the accessions maintained in the germplasm collection. Gower's distance was efficient in the discrimination of accessions, showing that simultaneous analysis of quantitative and
Interactive effects of phosphorus and water stress on plant development and yield resilience in common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)

An experiment was conducted to determine the effects of increasing soil phosphorus under water stress conditions on yield and plant development in bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) genotypes with contrasting drought susceptibility tolerances. A split-split plot design with genotypes (main plot), two water regimes (split plot) and three phosphorus rates (split-split plot) was used. Water regimes were imposed by irrigating at 50% ET (water stress) and 100% ET (no stress). Phosphorus (P2O5) was applied at planting at the following rates- 0, 40 and 70 kg P ha-1. The two bean lines used were Gadra (high drought susceptibility) and KE- 3 (low drought susceptibility). Water stress significantly reduced plant height, shoot biomass, pod length, seeds per pod, pods per plant, days to maturity and grain yield in both genotypes. Phosphorus significantly increased grain yields mainly through increased number of pods per plant and 100-seed weight. Higher increases were observed in Gadra where moderate P application increased yield from about 250 to 1,000 kg ha-1 and high P increased yield to 1,600 kg ha-1. The results suggested that high P foraging and utilisation efficiency were inversely related. Key words: Biomass, soil nutrients, phytotoxicity, yield, yield components.
Plagiarism detection and prevention: Are we putting the cart before the horse

Th e increasing ease of detecting internet plagiarism has intensifi ed debate in Australia, as well as the UK and the USA, on eff ective deterrents in the face of increasing evidence of plagiarism. Many universities are re-vamping their plagiarism policies and some conferences have themes entirely devoted to the subject of academic integrity. Policies and conference discussions relating to academic values and integrity have focussed on improved information on the rules of citation and attribution, coupled with more systematic vigilance and disciplinary procedures. Th e literature has also become increasingly insistent that information on rules of citation and attribution needs to be coupled with an appropriate apprenticeship into the conventions and language of academic writing. Yet there is a fi rst step that is still being overlooked, the initial induction of students into the research-led, evidence-based culture of academic endeavour. By focussing on rules and strategies for avoiding plagiarism, but ignoring the basic reasons for these requirements, we have put the cart before the horse. Th is paper suggests that tertiary induction of new students needs to focus fi rstly on developing an appreciation of the culture of enquiry that characterises learning at the tertiary level and that success is more likely if the students' goal is something positive: to achieve a new approach to learning, than if it is something negative: to avoid 'committing' plagiarism.
Shifts in dragonfly community structure across aquatic ecotones

Dragonflies (Odonata: Anisoptera) are often used as indicators of habitat type and quality due to their varied use of aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Species differ in their preferences for lotic and lentic waters, but community changes across ecotones, or transitional zones between distinct habitats (e.g. lotic and lentic), are not well understood. We quantified dragonfly species richness, abundance, and composition along a gradient of habitat types, including streams, stream mouths (ecotones), and open waters (lakes and ponds). We tested if dragonfly assemblages in aquatic ecotones differ from adjacent stream and open water habitats, and how species respond to riparian forest cover across these habitat types. Adult dragonflies were sampled in all habitat types at four sites in southwest Ohio during the summer of 2016. Riparian canopy cover and relative densities of algal mats and emergent vegetation were recorded. We sampled 157 individuals of 12 dragonfly species and found significant differences in community composition between stream and ecotone habitats, both forming subsets of the open water community. Canopy cover explained 55% and 75% of abundance and species richness variance across habitat types, respectively, but these relationships were strongest at ecotones. Finally, the Odonata Index of Wetland Integrity (OIWI), which uses sensitivities of adult odonates to habitat disturbances to evaluate wetland conditions, showed that species composition at ecotones uniquely represents the ecological integrity of the entire wetland system. Thus, transition zones may provide an effective and more efficient alternative to rapidly assess wetland quality for conservation monitoring than sampling the entire wetland.
Local delivery of FTY720 and NSCs on electrospun PLGA scaffolds improves functional recovery after spinal cord injury

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a common issue in the clinic that causes severe motor and sensory dysfunction below the lesion level. FTY720, also known as fingolimod, has recently been reported to exert a positive effect on the recovery from a spinal cord injury. Through local delivery to the lesion site, FTY720 effectively integrates with biomaterials, and the systemic adverse effects are alleviated. However, the effects of the proper mass ratio of FTY720 in biomaterials on neural stem cell (NSC) proliferation and differentiation, as well as functional recovery after SCI, have not been thoroughly investigated. In our study, we fabricated electrospun poly (lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA)/FTY720 scaffolds at different mass ratios (0.1%, 1%, and 10%) and characterized these scaffolds. The effects of electrospun PLGA/FTY720 scaffolds on NSC proliferation and differentiation were measured. Then, a rat model of spinal transection was established to investigate the effects of PLGA/FTY720 scaffolds loaded with NSCs. Notably, 1% PLGA/FTY720 scaffolds exerted the best effects on the proliferation and differentiation of NSCs and 10% PLGA/FTY720 was cytotoxic to NSCs. Based on the Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan (BBB) score, HE staining and immunofluorescence staining, the PLGA/FTY720 scaffold loaded with NSCs effectively promoted the recovery of spinal cord function. Thus, FTY720 properly integrated with electrospun PLGA scaffolds, and electrospun PLGA/FTY720 scaffolds loaded with NSCs may have potential applications for SCI as a nerve implant.
Comparison of EDTA and ammonium Bicarbonate-DTPA for the extraction of phosphorus in calcareous soils from Kerman, Iran

Abstract Developing a fast and reliable soil testing method is critical for improving soil testing efficiency and ensuring reliable fertilizer recommendation. The objectives of this study were to evaluate sodium ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid (Na2-EDTA) as a replacement for ammonium bicarbonate-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (AB-DTPA) to extract phosphorus (P) to determinate the relationships between extractable P and its uptake by crop in calcareous soils. Na2-EDTA and AB-DTPA was compared by the amounts of extracted P by analyzing soil samples collected from agricultural production areas. There were significant correlations between Na2-EDTA and AB-DTPA for soil test P based on soils collected from the agricultural field. Soil test P by both extractants was significantly correlated with plant P concentration. Na2-EDTA was identified as an alternate improved extraction method instead of AB-DTPA in calcareous soils based on this study. However, more work will be needed to identify the correlation of the two extractants and crop responses under a field condition.
Performance of Broiler Chickens Fed Diet Added with Buffaloes Rumen Fluid Enzymes from Slaughterhouses

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of addition of rumen fluid enzymes of buffaloes from slaughterhouse in diet on feed intake, slaughter weight, daily weight gain, feed conversion ratio, absolute carcass weight, relative carcass weight, and digestive organs of broiler. Materials used was two hundred unsexed 1 day old chicks of broilers. The study used a completely randomized design with five treatments and four replications consisted of 10 birds each replication. Treatment groups were as follows P0 = diet without addition of rumen fluid enzymes (control); P1 = diet with addition of rumen fluid enzymes of 0.75%; P2 = diet with addition of rumen fluid enzymes of 1.5%; P3= diet with addition of rumen fluid enzymes of 2.25%; P4= diet with addition of rumen fluid enzymes of 3%. The variables observed were feed intake, slaughter weight, daily weight gain, feed conversion ratio, absolute carcass weight, relative carcass weight, and digestive organs. Results of the study showed that the treatments gave a non-significant different (P>0.05) on feed intake, slaughter weight, daily weight gain, feed conversion ratio, absolute carcass weight, relative carcass weight, and digestive organs of broiler chicken. It could be concluded that the use of rumen fluid enzymes of buffaloes in the diets up to 3% level did not increase performance and digestive organs of broiler chicken.