Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lithium chloride promotes host resistance against Pseudomonas aeruginosa keratitis

Purpose To explore the role of lithium chloride (LiCl) in Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) keratitis. Methods B6 mice were subconjunctivally injected with LiCl in contrast to appropriate control sodium chloride (NaCl), and then routinely infected with PA. Clinical score, slit-lamp photography, hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining, and bacterial plate counts were used to determine the role of LiCl in PA keratitis. Messenger ribonucleic acid and protein levels of inflammatory cytokines in PA-challenged mouse corneas and in vitro cultured macrophages and neutrophils were measured with real-time PCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), respectively. Apoptosis of the infiltrating inflammatory cells in the PA-infected murine corneas was assessed using terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated uridine 5′-triphosphate-biotin nick end labeling staining and propidium iodide staining associated with flow cytometry. In cultured murine macrophages and neutrophils, cell apoptosis was determined with annexin V/propidium iodide double staining associated with flow cytometry and western blot analysis for cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase. Results Treatment with LiCl reduced the severity of corneal disease by reducing corneal inflammatory response and bacterial burden. Moreover, LiCl increased anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-10 levels, decreased proinflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor-α levels, and enhanced apoptosis of infiltrating macrophages and neutrophils in the PA-infected mouse corneas. In vitro studies further confirmed that LiCl elevated anti-inflammatory cytokine expression but reduced proinflammatory cytokine production, as well as promoted cell apoptosis in murine macrophages and neutrophils. Conclusions This study demonstrates a protective role of LiCl in PA keratitis. LiCl promotes host resistance against PA infection by suppressing inflammatory responses, enhancing inflammatory cell apoptosis, and promoting bacterial clearance.
Difficulty estimation of number place puzzle and its problem generation support

This paper proposes a method for estimating difficulty of number place puzzle problem. The proposed method formulates a number place problem as a graph colorability (COL) problem, solves it by a general COL solver, and ranks its difficulty from the search cost the solver spends until a solution is found. Compared to previous work, the method is quite fast and plural trials are not necessary due to no stochastic process in it. This paper also proposes a tool for supporting number place problem design. The tool uses the proposed difficulty estimation method, and is implemented on mobile phone platform “Google Android. ” Experiments have shown that the proposed method could roughly estimate difficulty of number place problem instances.
FORMULATION, IN-VITRO EVALUATIONS AND SKIN IRRITATION STUDY OF LOSARTAN POTASSIUM TRANSDERMAL PATCHES

Losartan potassium is a well known orally active non-peptide angiotensin II receptor antagonist. Losartan potassium and its principle active metabolites block the vasoconstrictor and aldosterone secreting effect of angiotensin II by selectively blocking the binding of angiotensin II to AT1 receptors. The drug is reported to promote the decrease in ventricular hypertrophy, salt and water excretion and vascular smooth muscle relaxation. Present investigation was aimed at the formulation of transdermal therapeutic system of losartan potassium for effective control over hypertension since the drug shows considerable first pass metabolism when administered through oral route. Blends of hydrophobic and hydrophilic polymers like ethyl cellulose with polyvinyl pyrrolidone and ethyl cellulose with hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose were used in the formulation of the medicated films. Films were prepared using dibutyl phthalate as plasticizer with eighteen different combinations of these three polymers by solvent evaporation technique. Polyvinyl alcohol was used to prepare the backing membrane. Several physicochemical parameters like moisture content, moisture uptake, thickness, film folding endurance, tensile strength, skin irritation and surface morphology of the films were studied. For all the formulations, skin permeation of the loaded drug through albino mice skin was studied using Keshary-Chien diffusion cell. Formulations containing higher proportion of hydrophilic polymers blended with lower proportions of hydrophobic polymer were found less consistent in comparison to the patches comprised of higher proportion of hydrophobic polymer.
Doppler spectrum measurements for land mobile satellite systems around 2.2 GHz and 3.8 GHz

This paper presents recent measurements addressing the Doppler spectrum spread issue for land mobile satellite applications. Those measurements are a preliminary step aiming at building a comprehensive database from various scenarios (type of environments, elevation, speed, frequency band, antenna type .) towards a Doppler modelling activity. Preliminary results and first conclusions on Doppler spectrum spread are also presented.
A powerful phenotype for gene‐finding studies derived from trajectory analyses of symptoms of anxiety and depression between age seven and 18

To investigate the utility of longitudinal data in genetic analyses of symptoms of anxiety and depression, we assessed individual differences between age 7 and 18 using growth mixture models, and investigated the genetic and non‐genetic factors contributing to the trajectories. Mothers of 7,706 girl and 7,418 boy twins from the Netherlands Twin Register rated the anxious depression scale (SxAnxDep) of the Child Behavior Check List (CBCL) at age 7, 10, and 12 years. Two thousand seven hundred and six girl and 1,856 boy twins completed the Youth Self Report (YSR) at age 14, 16, and 18. While individual trajectories varied considerably, these differences were largely idiosyncratic and could not be grouped into separate latent classes with class‐specific average growth curves. The intercept, which reflects the individuals' baseline level of SxAnxDep across time, explained 55–58% of the total phenotypic variance. The slope factor, which captures a common average trend over time, did not explain variance in the phenotype. This finding also underlines the high level of idiosyncrasy of trajectories that lack a common longitudinal structure. The analyses of twin data showed that the random intercept factor of SxAnxDep during childhood and during adolescence is considerably more heritable than the observations at any single age, namely between 60% and 84%. One explanation is that different factors contribute to the level of symptoms of anxiety and depression at any given time point, including temporary events and emotions. When considering baseline stability, these temporary influences average out, with the result of a more reliable and more heritable phenotype. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Photobiomodulation: Implications for Anesthesia and Pain Relief.

OBJECTIVE This review examines the evidence of neural inhibition as a mechanism underlying pain relief and anesthetic effect of photobiomodulation (PBM). BACKGROUND PBM for pain relief has also been used for more than 30 years; however, the mechanism of its effectiveness has not been well understood. METHODS We review electrophysiological studies in humans and animal models and cell culture studies to examine neural responses to PBM. RESULTS Evidence shows that PBM can inhibit nerve function in vivo, in situ, ex vivo, and in culture. Animal studies using noxious stimuli indicate nociceptor-specific inhibition with other studies providing direct evidence of local conduction block, leading to inhibited translation of pain centrally. Evidence of PBM-disrupted neuronal physiology affecting axonal flow, cytoskeleton organization, and decreased ATP is also presented. PBM changes are reversible with no side effects or nerve damage. CONCLUSIONS This review provides strong evidence in neuroscience identifying inhibition of neural function as a mechanism for the clinical application of PBM in pain and anesthesia.
Variations of plant functional traits and adaptive strategy of woody species in a karst forest of central Guizhou Province, southwestern China

Aims The aims are to characterize key plant functional traits and their interactions of woody species growing in special and harsh karst habitats, and to explore their potential ways in adapting harsh karst habitats. Methods A comprehensive survey of nine plant functional traits (including aboveand below-ground ones) was conducted in a 100 m  30 m permanent plot in the Tianlongshan Mountain of Puding County, central Guizhou Province, southwestern China in the summer 2016. Five dominant tree species (Carpinus pubescens, Machilus cavaleriei, Itea yunnanensis, Platycarya strobilacea, Lithocarpus confinis), three shrubs (Zanthoxylum ovalifolium, Stachyurus obovatus, Rhamnus heterophylla) and two vines (Rosa cymosa and Dalbergia hancei) in an evergreen and deciduous broadleaved mixed forest were chosen as target species. Nine traits of leaf, stem, branch and root were investigated and measured. Key features of these nine functional traits of ten woody species were numerically characterized. Traits variations among plant species, life form and leaf phenology group were further investigated. Relationships among key functional traits and between aboveand below-ground traits were statistically analyzed. Important findings (1) Nine traits varied in varying degrees. The maximum and minimum coefficient of interspecific variation were the fine root tissue density (FRTD) and twig dry-matter content (TDMC), 96.47% and 11.67%, respectively. Similarly, the largest and smallest coefficients of intraspecific variation were also FRTD and ©植物生态学报 Chinese Journal of Plant Ecology 钟巧连等: 黔中喀斯特木本植物功能性状变异及其适应策略 563 DOI: 10.17521/cjpe.2017. 0270 TDMC, 51.44% and 6.83%, respectively; (2) At the interspecific level, among different species FRTD had no significant difference, but other traits including specific root length (SRL), leaf thickness (LT), leaf area (LA), specific leaf area (SLA), leaf dry-matter content (LDMC), leaf tissue density (LTD), TDMC and twig tissue density (TTD) showed significant differences (p < 0.01). At the intraspecific level, however, SLA showed significant difference, and differences of other traits were not significant. (3) There was a significant correlation between most leaf and branch traits, and SRL vs. SLA were negatively correlated. However, there was no significant correlation among other root traits and leaf and twig traits. In a word, compared to the functional traits in tree species of non-karst evergreen broad-leaved forests in the same latitude, karst woody plants in Puding had a series of functional traits, such as smaller LA, SLA and larger LDMC and LTD and so on, which are beneficial to reducing transpiration and storing nutrient. This may be its main ecological strategy for adapting to arid and poor karst environments.
Adaptive IIR Notch Filters for tracking of quasi-harmonic signals

In this paper, a new procedure for the design of a cascade of IIR Adaptive Notch Filters (ANFs) is presented. The cascade is composed by second-order sections of modified Nehorai Constrained ANFs, with coefficients modeled by a single polynomial of arbitrary order. This approach allows for a design with less parameters to control notch positions than the number of cascaded sections. The resulting structure is particularly suitable for tracking components of quasi-harmonic signals. An example shows that the coefficient modeling can tackle the inherent inharmonicity of the notes emitted by a string instrument. Finally, a complete adaptation algorithm for the model parameters, derived from Nehorai's ANF recursive prediction error algorithm, is described.
A Stationary Wavelet-Domain Wiener Filter for Correlated Speckle

In this paper, we develop a Wiener-type speckle filter that operates in the stationary wavelet domain. We denote it as the stationary wavelet-domain Wiener (SWW) speckle filter. We assume that both the speckle-free image and the speckle contribution have spatial correlations and utilize well-established models for the power density spectrum of the radar cross section to estimate the autospectra that define the filter. It turns out that the filter is independent of the wavelet-domain scale level, i.e., the filter is the same at all scale levels. The SWW filter works on nonoverlapping blocks in the wavelet domain, which are obtained by a quadtree algorithm. Due to the dyadic support of the wavelet coefficients, a natural smoothing is carried out on the boundaries between neighboring blocks, and no visual boundary effects can be observed. The SWW filter is unbiased and shows good performance in despeckling synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images. It smooths homogeneous areas while preserving textured areas and point scatterers. In contrast to most other speckle filters, the SWW filter requires the SAR data to be given in single-look complex form.
SuperOCR for ALTA 2017 Shared Task

This paper describes the SuperOCR sys-tem submitted for the ALTA 2017 shared task, which aims at correcting noisy OCR output for the Trove database. We used heuristic rules and patterns in submitted system and we apply language model to further improve our system. Experiment shows that language model plays an vital role in performance. Surprisingly, a tri-gram language model outperforms LSTM language model in this task.
A single unbranched S-phase DNA damage and replication fork blockage checkpoint pathway

The eukaryotic intra-S-phase checkpoint, which slows DNA synthesis in response to DNA damage, is poorly understood. Is DNA damage recognized directly, or indirectly through its effects on replication forks? Is the slowing of S phase in part because of competition between DNA synthesis and recombination/repair processes? The results of our genetic analyses of the intra-S-phase checkpoint in the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, suggest that the slowing of S phase depends weakly on the helicases Rqh1 and Srs2 but not on other recombination/repair pathways. The slowing of S phase depends strongly on the six checkpoint-Rad proteins, on Cds1, and on Rad4/Cut5 (similar to budding yeast Dpb11, which interacts with DNA polymerase ɛ) but not on Rhp9 (similar to budding yeast Rad9, necessary for direct damage recognition). These results suggest that, in fission yeast, the signal activating the intra-S-phase checkpoint is generated only when replication forks encounter DNA damage.
Seasonal size distribution, condition status and muscle yield of Mediterranean horse mackerel Trachurus mediterraneus from the North Aegean Sea, Greece

The seasonal intrinsic variability of the North Aegean Sea Mediterranean horse mackerel Trachurus mediterraneus population has been studied from monthly samples taken from the Greek purse-seine fishery over a 4-year period (2001–2005). The length and weight frequency distributions differed significantly by season, the highest mean lengths and weights attained in spring and the lowest in autumn. Lenght-weight relationships were determined on a monthly and annual basis, and monthly variations on the allometry coefficient were found. The differences between the coefficient obtained for annual data and the coefficients for each month were not significant in 50% of the cases. The b-values obtained both in this study and some of the previously reported in the Mediterranean Sea and other Greek waters were compared, showing basic similarities and minor spatial variation. The seasonal cycle in Mediterranean horse mackerel condition appears to be related to the reproductive cycle of the fish. Values of muscle yield ranged between 23.33% and 33.07% (mean value 28.48±2.49%), but variations within seasons were not significant.
Neural Interactive Translation Prediction

We present an interactive translation prediction method based on neural machine translation. Even with the same translation quality of the underlying machine translation systems, the neural prediction method yields much higher word prediction accuracy (61.6% vs. 43.3%) than the traditional method based on search graphs, mainly due to better recovery from errors. We also develop efficient means to enable practical deployment.
Relative pose calibration of a spherical camera and an IMU

This paper is concerned with the problem of estimating the relative translation and orientation of an inertial measurement unit and a spherical camera, which are rigidly connected. The key is to realize that this problem is in fact an instance of a standard problem within the area of system identification, referred to as a gray-box problem. We propose a new algorithm for estimating the relative translation and orientation, which does not require any additional hardware, except a piece of paper with a checkerboard pattern on it. The experimental results show that the method works well in practice.
A first direct measurement of the intergalactic medium temperature around a quasar at z = 6

The thermal state of the intergalactic medium (IGM) provides an indirect probe of both the HI and He II reionization epochs. Current constraints on the IGM temperature from the Lyα forest are restricted to the redshift range 2 ≤ z ≤ 4.5, limiting the ability to probe the thermal memory of HI reionization towards higher redshift. In this work, we present the first direct measurement of the IGM temperature around a z = 6 quasar by analyzing the Doppler widths of Lyα absorption lines in the proximity zone of SDSS J0818+1722.We use a high-resolution (R = 40 000) Keck/HIRES spectrum in combination with detailed numerical modelling to obtain the temperature at mean density, T_0 = 23 600 ± ^(5000)_(6900) K (±^(9200)_(9300) K) at 68 (95) per cent confidence assuming a prior probability 13 500K ≤ T_0 ≤ 38 500K following HI and He II reionization. This enables us to place an upper limit on the redshift of HI reionization, zH, within 33 comovingMpc of SDSS J0818+1722. If the quasar reionizes the He II in its vicinity, then in the limit of instantaneous reionization we infer z_H < 9.0(11.0) at 68 (95) per cent confidence assuming photoheating is the dominant heat source and that HI reionization is driven by ionizing sources with soft spectra, typical of Population II stars. If the HI and He II in the IGM around SDSS J0818+1722 are instead reionized simultaneously by a population of massive metal-free stars, characterized by very hard ionizing spectra, we obtain a tighter upper limit of z_H < 8.4(9.4). Initiating reionization at higher redshifts produces temperatures which are too low with respect to our constraint unless the HI ionizing sources or the quasar itself has spectra significantly harder than typically assumed.
Anxiolytic activity of pyridoindole derivatives SMe1EC2 and SMe1M2: behavioral analysis using rat model

Anxiolytic activity of pyridoindole derivatives SMe1EC2 and SMe1M2: behavioral analysis using rat model Anxiety and mood disorders have become very significant affections in the last decades. According to WHO at least one mental disease occurred per year in 27% of EU inhabitants (more than 82 mil. people). It is estimated that by 2020, depression will be the main cause of morbidity in the developed countries. These circumstances call for research for new prospective drugs with anxiolytic and antidepressive properties exhibiting no toxicity and withdrawal effect and possessing beneficial properties, like antioxidant and/or neuroprotective effects. The aim of this study was to obtain information about psychopharmacological properties of pyridoindole derivatives SMe1EC2 and SMe1M2, using non-invasive behavioral methods in rats. The battery of ethological tests (open field, elevated plus-maze, light/dark box exploration, forced swim test) was used to obtain information about anxiolytic and antidepressant activity of the pyridoindole derivatives. The substances were administered intraperitoneally 30 minutes before the tests at doses of 1, 10 and 25 mg/kg. In the behavioral tests, SMe1EC2 was found to exert anxiolytic activity in elevated plus maze with no affection of locomotor activity. The highest dose of SMe1M2 increased the time spent in the lit part of the Light/Dark box, however this result was influenced by inhibition of motor activity of the rats. Similar findings were observed also in elevated plus-maze, although these results were not statistically significant. In conclusion, from the results of our study it is evident that both pyridoindoles acted on the CNS. In the highest dose, SMe1M2 was found to possess rather sedative than anxiolytic or antidepressant activity.
Deciding choreography realizability

Since software systems are becoming increasingly more concurrent and distributed, modeling and analysis of interactions among their components is a crucial problem. In several application domains, message-based communication is used as the interaction mechanism, and the communication contract among the components of the system is specified semantically as a state machine. In the service-oriented computing domain such communication contracts are called "choreography" specifications. A choreography specification identifies allowable ordering of message exchanges in a distributed system. A fundamental question about a choreography specification is determining its realizability, i.e., given a choreography specification, is it possible to build a distributed system that communicates exactly as the choreography specifies? Checking realizability of choreography specifications has been an open problem for several years and it was not known if this was a decidable problem. In this paper we give necessary and sufficient conditions for realizability of choreographies. We implemented the proposed realizability check and our experiments show that it can efficiently determine the realizability of 1) web service choreographies, 2) Singularity OS channel contracts, and 3) UML collaboration (communication) diagrams.
Radar/AIS data fusion and SAR tasking for Maritime Surveillance

Numerous national and multinational initiatives in maritime surveillance have been initiated, with the goal of having knowledge of all coastal and open-seas activities relevant to national security. As part of this effort, NATO is pursuing research activities to exploit existing multi-sensor systems in support of maritime surveillance. Multi-sensor fusion of data from maritime surveillance assets provides a consolidated surveillance picture for anomaly detection. This paper develops a model for multisensor fusion and Bayesian anomaly detection that quantifies the value of sensor data for maritime surveillance performance. An approach to satellite imagery tasking for optimal surveillance performance is also given. Simulation results corroborate our analysis.
Detecting Fraud in Financial Reports

Fraud in public companies has a large financial impact, and yet is only weakly detected by those who look for it, many incidents have been detected only when whistleblowers have come forward. We examine the problem of detecting fraud from the textual component of the quarterly and annual reports that public companies are required to file. Using an empirically derived set of words, we achieve prediction accuracy up to 88% on a per-report basis. Frauds rarely involve only a single quarter, so it is actually more useful to consider prediction performance on a per-incident basis. The truthfulness probability of our measure shows consistent decreases in the quarters leading up to a fraud, creating opportunities for proactive enforcement. We also compare the prediction performance of our word list with Pennebaker's deception model, and with a set of fixed lists suggested in the literature, only two of which have any predictive power.