Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI)

Susceptibility differences between tissues can be utilized as a new type of contrast in MRI that is different from spin density, T1‐, or T2‐weighted imaging. Signals from substances with different magnetic susceptibilities compared to their neighboring tissue will become out of phase with these tissues at sufficiently long echo times (TEs). Thus, phase imaging offers a means of enhancing contrast in MRI. Specifically, the phase images themselves can provide excellent contrast between gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM), iron‐laden tissues, venous blood vessels, and other tissues with susceptibilities that are different from the background tissue. Also, for the first time, projection phase images are shown to demonstrate tissue (vessel) continuity. In this work, the best approach for combining magnitude and phase images is discussed. The phase images are high‐pass‐filtered and then transformed to a special phase mask that varies in amplitude between zero and unity. This mask is multiplied a few times into the original magnitude image to create enhanced contrast between tissues with different susceptibilities. For this reason, this method is referred to as susceptibility‐weighted imaging (SWI). Mathematical arguments are presented to determine the number of phase mask multiplications that should take place. Examples are given for enhancing GM/WM contrast and water/fat contrast, identifying brain iron, and visualizing veins in the brain. Magn Reson Med 52:612–618, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A Comparison of Validity Rates Between Paper-and-Pencil and Computerized Testing With the MMPI-2

Although the use of computerized testing in psychopathology assessment has increased in recent years, limited research has examined the impact of this format in terms of potential differences in test validity rates. The current study explores potential differences in the rates of valid and invalid Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory—2 (MMPI-2) protocols between computerized and paper-and-pencil administrations. Participants were 387 undergraduate students (157 men and 230 women) from a Midwestern university who completed either a computerized version or a paper-and-pencil version of the MMPI-2. Chi-square analyses revealed some important differences between administration modalities by gender. Overall, results indicated that although no differences existed in the computerized version, men were more likely to invalidate the paper-and-pencil version. Furthermore, although less likely overall to produce invalid MMPI-2 results, women were more likely to invalidate the paper-and-pencil version via random responding compared with the computerized version. Limitations and future directions are discussed.
An efficient all-optical gate based on photonic crystals cavities and applications

We use two coupled photonic crystal cavities to build an all-optical gate. The control and the modulated signal are separated spectrally by about 10 nm. This device was operated at a rate ranging from 1 to 10 GHz with maximum coupled average power of less than 1 mW in the control signal, which translates to about 100 fJ per control pulse.
Role of the Trichoderma harzianumEndochitinase Gene, ech42, in Mycoparasitism

ABSTRACT The role of the Trichoderma harzianum endochitinase (Ech42) in mycoparasitism was studied by genetically manipulating the gene that encodes Ech42, ech42. We constructed several transgenic T. harzianum strains carrying multiple copies of ech42 and the corresponding gene disruptants. The level of extracellular endochitinase activity when T. harzianum was grown under inducing conditions increased up to 42-fold in multicopy strains as compared with the wild type, whereas gene disruptants exhibited practically no activity. The densities of chitin labeling of Rhizoctonia solani cell walls, after interactions with gene disruptants were not statistically significantly different than the density of chitin labeling after interactions with the wild type. Finally, no major differences in the efficacies of the strains generated as biocontrol agents against R. solani or Sclerotium rolfsii were observed in greenhouse experiments.
Precedent on International Courts : A Network Analysis of Case Citations by the European Court of Human Rights

Political scientists have paid little attention to the manner by which international courts justify their decisions and develop legal norms. We argue that, like domestic review courts, the international courts use legal justifications at least in part to convince “lower” (domestic) courts of the legitimacy of judgments. Several empirical observations are consistent with this view, which we examine through a network analysis of European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) citations. First, the Court cites precedent based on the legal issues in the case, not the country of origin. Second, the Court is more careful to embed judgments in its existing case law with respect to the more politically sensitive decisions and in cases from countries with common law legal systems. Acknowledgements: Earlier versions of this paper were presented at the University of California at San Diego, Cornell University, the 2010 International Studies Association Annual Convention, and the 2010 Political Networks Conference. We thank the participants in these seminars and Anna Dolidze, Asif Efrat, James Fowler, Larry Helfer, Sarah Kreps, Mitchel Lasser, for useful comments and suggestions. All remaining errors can be blamed on the authors.
Low Quality of Free Coaching Apps With Respect to the American College of Sports Medicine Guidelines: A Review of Current Mobile Apps

Background Low physical activity level is a significant contributor to chronic disease, weight dysregulation, and mortality. Nearly 70% of the American population is overweight, and 35% is obese. Obesity costs an estimated US$ 147 billion annually in health care, and as many as 95 million years of life. Although poor nutritional habits remain the major culprit, lack of physical activity significantly contributes to the obesity epidemic and related lifestyle diseases. Objective Over the past 10 years, mobile devices have become ubiquitous, and there is an ever-increasing number of mobile apps that are being developed to facilitate physical activity, particularly for active people. However, no systematic assessment has been performed about their quality with respect to following the parameters of sound fitness principles and scientific evidence, or suitability for a variety of fitness levels. The aim of this paper is to fill this gap and assess the quality of mobile coaching apps on iOS mobile devices. Methods A set of 30 popular mobile apps pertaining to physical activity programming was identified and reviewed on an iPhone device. These apps met the inclusion criteria and provided specific prescriptive fitness and exercise programming content. The content of these apps was compared against the current guidelines and fitness principles established by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). A weighted scoring method based on the recommendations of the ACSM was developed to generate subscores for quality of programming content for aerobic (0-6 scale), resistance (0-6 scale), and flexibility (0-2 scale) components using the frequency, intensity, time, and type (FITT) principle. An overall score (0-14 scale) was generated from the subscores to represent the overall quality of a fitness coaching app. Results Only 3 apps scored above 50% on the aerobic component (mean 0.7514, SD 1.2150, maximum 4.1636), 4 scored above 50% on the resistance/strength component (mean 1.4525, SD 1.2101, maximum 4.1094), and no app scored above 50% on the flexibility component (mean 0.1118, SD 0.2679, maximum 0.9816). Finally, only 1 app had an overall score (64.3%) above 50% (mean 2.3158, SD 1.911, maximum 9.0072). Conclusions There are over 100,000 health-related apps. When looking at popular free apps related to physical activity, we observe that very few of them are evidence based, and respect the guidelines for aerobic activity, strength/resistance training, and flexibility, set forth by the ACSM. Users should exercise caution when adopting a new app for physical activity purposes. This study also clearly identifies a gap in evidence-based apps that can be used safely and effectively to start a physical routine program, develop fitness, and lose weight. App developers have an exciting opportunity to improve mobile coaching app quality by addressing these gaps.
The effects of locus of control, communication skills and social support on assertiveness in female nursing students

In this study the interrelations among locus of control, social support and communication skills and their relationship with assertiveness were investigated by means of a path model. Nursing students ( N = 105) participated in the study by completing questionnaires. Path analysis showed that the interrelations among locus of control, communication skills, and perceived peer support and their relationship with assertiveness are explained to a certain degree by the proposed model. The only variable that directly influenced assertiveness was communication skills. Perceived family support had no direct or indirect effect on assertiveness. The findings point to several considerations for nursing curricula including that faculty heads should plan and provide opportunities for learning activities that increase students’ assertiveness.
Postprandial Vascular Effects of VIAject Compared With Insulin Lispro and Regular Human Insulin in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE Recent studies suggested an impact of prandial insulin delivery on postprandial regulation of tissue blood flow. This study compared the effect of VIAject with human regular insulin and insulin lispro on postprandial oxidative stress and endothelial function in patients with type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Fourteen patients (seven men; aged 61.5 ± 1.8 years; duration of diabetes 6.6 ± 4.6 years; A1C 7.2 ± 0.5% [mean ± SEM]) received a prandial injection of VIAject, human regular insulin, and insulin lispro. At baseline and after a standardized liquid meal test (Ensure Plus), the postprandial increases in asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and nitrotyrosine levels were investigated. In addition, the postprandial effects on microvascular blood flow, skin oxygenation, and vascular elasticity were measured. RESULTS Treatment with VIAject resulted in a significant reduction in the peak postprandial generation of ADMA compared with human insulin and insulin lispro (VIAject −27.3 ± 22.6, human insulin 97.7 ± 24.4, and insulin lispro 66.9 ± 33.9 nmol/l; P < 0.05, respectively). The postprandial increases in nitrotyrosine levels were significantly less after VIAject than after human regular insulin (VIAject −0.22 ± 0.17 vs. human insulin 0.25 ± 0.15 μg/ml; P < 0.05), whereas nitrotyrosine after insulin lispro was in between (insulin lispro 0.09 ± 0.07 μg/ml; NS). In parallel, earlier and more pronounced increases in microvascular blood flow and skin oxygenation were obtained after VIAject compared with those after human insulin or insulin lispro (P < 0.05, respectively). All insulin formulations resulted in comparable improvements in central arterial elasticity. CONCLUSIONS Treatment with VIAject reduced postprandial oxidative stress and improved endothelial function compared with human regular insulin or insulin lispro.
Mars Exploration Rover Athena Panoramic Camera (Pancam) investigation

[1] The Panoramic Camera (Pancam) investigation is part of the Athena science payload launched to Mars in 2003 on NASA's twin Mars Exploration Rover (MER) missions. The scientific goals of the Pancam investigation are to assess the high-resolution morphology, topography, and geologic context of each MER landing site, to obtain color images to constrain the mineralogic, photometric, and physical properties of surface materials, and to determine dust and aerosol opacity and physical properties from direct imaging of the Sun and sky. Pancam also provides mission support measurements for the rovers, including Sun-finding for rover navigation, hazard identification and digital terrain modeling to help guide long-term rover traverse decisions, high-resolution imaging to help guide the selection of in situ sampling targets, and acquisition of education and public outreach products. The Pancam optical, mechanical, and electronics design were optimized to achieve these science and mission support goals. Pancam is a multispectral, stereoscopic, panoramic imaging system consisting of two digital cameras mounted on a mast 1.5 m above the Martian surface. The mast allows Pancam to image the full 360° in azimuth and ±90° in elevation. Each Pancam camera utilizes a 1024 × 1024 active imaging area frame transfer CCD detector array. The Pancam optics have an effective focal length of 43 mm and a focal ratio of f/20, yielding an instantaneous field of view of 0.27 mrad/pixel and a field of view of 16° × 16°. Each rover's two Pancam “eyes” are separated by 30 cm and have a 1° toe-in to provide adequate stereo parallax. Each eye also includes a small eight position filter wheel to allow surface mineralogic studies, multispectral sky imaging, and direct Sun imaging in the 400–1100 nm wavelength region. Pancam was designed and calibrated to operate within specifications on Mars at temperatures from −55° to +5°C. An onboard calibration target and fiducial marks provide the capability to validate the radiometric and geometric calibration on Mars.
Screening 3-year-olds for language delay using selected parent-report measures: The jury is still out

METHODS Design: Population-based cohort study. Setting: Six regions across the Netherlands. Participants: Parents and their children, who ranged in age from 26-58 months (Mean = 39.0, SD = 2.0; N = 11,423) were invited to participate, of which 8,877 (78%) responded. Description of test: A postal survey of parents was conducted at ‘around the time of their child’s third birthday’, consisting of a set of separate screening questionnaires and a further questionnaire about their child’s current or past language problems (hereafter, Parent report). Completion rate ranged from 90 – 98.8% across the five questionnaires. Five screening questionnaires were evaluated: (1) General Language Screen (GLS), containing 9 items translated to Dutch from English; (2) a portion of the Van Wiechen classification scheme (VW), containing 6 items; (3) Language Screening Instrument-Parent Form (LSI-PF), ___________________________________________________________________________
Antimicrobial susceptibility patterns, emm type distribution and genetic diversity of Streptococcus pyogenes recovered in Brazil

Streptococcus pyogenes is responsible for a variety of infectious diseases and immunological complications. In this study, 91 isolates of S. pyogenes recovered from oropharynx secretions were submitted to antimicrobial susceptibility testing, emm typing and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) analysis. All isolates were susceptible to ceftriaxone, levofloxacin, penicillin G and vancomycin. Resistance to erythromycin and clindamycin was 15.4%, which is higher than previous reports from this area, while 20.9% of the isolates were not susceptible to tetracycline. The macrolide resistance phenotypes were cMLSB (10) and iMLSB (4). The ermB gene was predominant, followed by the ermA gene. Thirty-two emm types and subtypes were found, but five (emm1, emm4, emm12, emm22, emm81) were detected in 48% of the isolates. Three new emm subtypes were identified (emm1.74, emm58.14, emm76.7). There was a strong association between emm type and PFGE clustering. A variety of PFGE profiles as well as emm types were found among tetracycline and erythromycin-resistant isolates, demonstrating that antimicrobial resistant strains do not result from the expansion of one or a few clones. This study provides epidemiological data that contribute to the development of suitable strategies for the prevention and treatment of such infections in a poorly studied area.
Increased GABA Release in the Central Amygdala of Ethanol-Dependent Rats

The central nucleus of amygdala (CeA) is important in regulating alcohol consumption and plays a major role in the anxiogenic response to ethanol withdrawal. We showed previously that acute ethanol augments GABAA receptor-mediated IPSPs and IPSCs, possibly by a presynaptic mechanism. Here, we have examined the interaction of acute ethanol with the GABAergic system in chronic ethanol-treated (CET) rats using an in vitro CeA slice preparation and in vivo brain microdialysis. We found that in CeA slices from CET rats, the baseline evoked IPSP and IPSC amplitudes were increased, and paired-pulse facilitation ratios were lower than in naive rats, suggesting an increased GABAergic transmission after chronic ethanol treatment. Interestingly, acute ethanol (5-66 mm) significantly enhanced IPSPs and IPSCs equally in CET and naive rats, indicating a lack of tolerance for this effect of acute ethanol. Analysis of miniature IPSC frequency suggests that the increased GABAergic transmission by both acute and chronic ethanol arises from a presynaptic mechanism involving enhanced vesicular release of GABA. These data are supported by microdialysis studies showing that CET rats presented a fourfold increase in baseline GABA dialysate content compared with naive rats. In vivo administration of ethanol (0.1, 0.3, and 1.0 m) produced a dose-dependent increase in GABA release in the CeA dialysate in both CET and naive rats. These combined findings suggest that acute and chronic ethanol increases GABA release in CeA and support previous reports that the behavioral actions of ethanol are mediated, in part, by increased GABAergic transmission in the CeA.
Allosteric enzymes as models for chemomechanical energy transducing assemblies

In chemomechanical energy transducing assemblies such as muscle and ATP synthase, substrates and macromolecules are locked together as partners where energy available from (or required for) a chemical transformation is exchanged with protein conformational changes. Allosteric binding proteins and enzymes are also chemomechanical energy transducers, using binding energy to generate protein conformational changes, and transduce energy in amounts almost as large as those used to drive muscle contraction and the synthesis of ATP. The recently determined structure of the F1‐ATPase reveals a direct correspondence between the types of conformational changes in this transducer and simpler allosteric binding proteins and enzymes. Therefore, we can examine the structural and energetic data available on allosteric proteins to understand the linkage between ligand binding and global conformational changes in more complex energy transducing assemblies. —Goldsmith, E. J. Allosteric enzymes as models for chemomechanical energy transducing assemblies. FASEB J. 10, 702‐708 (1996)
An introduction to Trellis/Owl

Trellis/Owl is an object-based language incorporating a type hierarchy with multiple inheritance and compile-time type checking. The combination of features in the language facilitates the design, implementation, and evolution of large computer programs. This paper provides an brief introduction to the Trellis/Owl language. It discusses the basic elements of the language, objects, and shows how these are specified and implemented using <italic>types, operations,</italic> and <italic>components</italic>. The notion of a type hierarchy is introduced by a discussion of <italic>subtyping</italic> and <italic>inheritance</italic>. Other elements of the Trellis/Owl language such as <italic>type generators, iterators,</italic> and <italic>exceptions</italic> are briefly presented.
Significance of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) load and Interleukin-10 in post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders

The complex relationship between EBV, IL-10 and lymphomagenesis has been widely investigated and several studies have highlighted the diagnostic value of EBV DNA copies and serum IL-10, that may be considered as tumor markers. Notwithstanding the great number of data published in the last few years on the behavior of EBV DNA copies in the peripheral blood of transplanted patients, a threshold value significant for impending or overt post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) has not yet been defined. Too many factors, both technical and clinicopathological, may affect the results of clinical studies, making their comparison difficult. On the contrary, although the role of IL-10 in PTLDs has been well documented, a sufficient number of studies exploring sensitivity and specificity of serum IL-10 measurement is lacking. The aim of this review is to summarise data on EBV load quantification and serum IL-10 detection in transplanted patients, providing clinicians with wide and useful information in order to improve bedside management of transplanted patients with regard to PTLDs occurrence and treatment.
A New Comparison Method for Full Reference Image Quality Metric

Image quality assessment becomes more and more important with the development of image and video processing applications. Over the years, many new image quality metrics have emerged. It is important to evaluate performance of these quality metrics under the same conditions and analyze their strengths and weaknesses. In this paper, we first review others’ work, analyze the characteristics a good metrics should satisfy and propose a philosophy based upon our analysis. Then we design a new system which reflects metric’s characteristics by comparing curvature array of metric function and execute it to degraded image. 3 kinds of point-spread functions: Gaussian, motion and disk, and 3 kinds of noise: Gaussian noise, salt noise and uniform noise were considered in our experiment. Our experiment results have shows characteristics of metrics and exhibited some interesting conclusions. These conclusions might be helpful in designing a new image quality metric.
The gene for severe combined immunodeficiency disease in Athabascan-speaking Native Americans is located on chromosome 10p.

Severe combined immunodeficiency disease (SCID) consists of a group of heterogeneous genetic disorders. The most severe phenotype, T-B- SCID, is inherited as an autosomal recessive trait and is characterized by a profound deficiency of both T cell and B cell immunity. There is a uniquely high frequency of T-B- SCID among Athabascan-speaking Native Americans (A-SCID). To localize the A-SCID gene, we conducted a genomewide search, using linkage analysis of approximately 300 microsatellite markers in 14 affected Athabascan-speaking Native American families. We obtained conclusive evidence for linkage of the A-SCID locus to markers on chromosome 10p. The maximum pairwise LOD scores 4.53 and 4.60 were obtained from two adjacent markers, D10S191 and D10S1653, respectively, at a recombination fraction of straight theta=. 00. Recombination events placed the gene in an interval of approximately 6.5 cM flanked by D10S1664 and D10S674. Multipoint analysis positioned the gene for the A-SCID phenotype between D10S191 and D10S1653, with a peak LOD score of 5.10 at D10S191. Strong linkage disequilibrium was found in five linked markers spanning approximately 6.5 cM in the candidate region, suggesting a founder effect with an ancestral mutation that occurred sometime before 1300 A.D.