Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Triple arterial phase dynamic MRI with sensitivity encoding for hypervascular hepatocellular carcinoma: comparison of the diagnostic accuracy among the early, middle, late, and whole triple arterial phase imaging.

OBJECTIVE We assessed and compared the diagnostic accuracy of the early, middle, late, and whole triple arterial phase MRI with sensitivity encoding (SENSE) for the detection of hypervascular hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS Thirty-one patients with 102 HCCs underwent dynamic MRI with SENSE. The findings of CT examinations, combined with those of visceral angiography or histopathologic examination, were used as the gold standard. After acquisition of T1- and T2-weighted images, gadolinium-enhanced triple arterial, portal, and delayed phase images were obtained. Acquisition of the triple arterial phase imaging was started at the timing of peak aortic enhancement and completed within a single breath-hold. Acquisition time for each phase was 8.4 sec. Four image sets including the early, middle, late, and whole triple arterial phase imaging were interpreted separately by four observers. The mean values of area under alternative-free-response receiver operating characteristic (AFROC) curve and of sensitivity were compared among the four image sets. RESULTS The mean values of area under AFROC curve were 0.52, 0.66, 0.53, and 0.68 and of sensitivity were 45%, 64%, 48%, and 65% for the image sets with the early, middle, late, and whole triple arterial phase imaging, respectively. Both mean values were significantly higher for the image sets with the middle and whole triple arterial phase imaging than for those with the early and late arterial phase imaging. CONCLUSION The middle arterial phase imaging with k-space centered at 12.6 sec after the peak aortic enhancement was optimal for detecting HCC and showed diagnostic accuracy equivalent to that of the whole triple arterial phase imaging.
A Culture-Centered Exploration of Health: Constructions From Rural Bangladesh

The traditional approach in health communication has historically adopted a linear model to explore and study health, without considering the voices of the subaltern sectors in academic discourse. Such linear models prescribe one-way knowledge, information, and transmission of beliefs from the core health sectors to the subalterns at the margins. The culture-centered approach to health focuses on co-constructing meanings of health through dialogic engagement with communities that are situated at the margins of mainstream discursive spaces. This co-constructive research investigates how members of a Bangladeshi rural community define, construct, and negotiate health issues in their everyday lives through their narratives of health, illness, and healing. The findings explicate how the community participants negotiate their health in terms of poverty, work, and structure, and highlights how the participants negotiate their marginalization through communicative practices. The in-depth narratives on their construction of health underscore possible entry points into constructing culture-centered praxis, pointing toward spaces of change.
Rudimentary meningocele of the skin

Although “rudimentary meningocele” (RM) or “meningothelial hamartoma” of the skin is a seemingly recently described entity, it has been included in past reports as a variant of primary cutaneous meningioma. We document our experience with four such lesions and compare the histologic and immunohistochemical features of these cases with those of seven classic meningoceles (CM) and four giant cell fibroblastomas (GCF). Although all of these entities share significant points of microscopic similarity, RM and CM are lesions composed of meningothelial cells, whereas GCF is probably of myofibroblastic origin. Rudimentary and classic meningoceles demonstrate cellular immunoreactivity for vimentin and epithelial membrane antigen, whereas the cells of GCF lack the latter determinant and may express muscle‐specific actin. Our observations suggest that RM and CM represent closely related developmental malformations; however, RM becomes clinically apparent in a somewhat older patient population than CM and is not associated with major skeletal anomalies as may be found with CM. The distinction between various cutaneous meningothelial proliferations has prognostic importance, as does their separation from GCF. RM and CM are adequately treated by simple excision, whereas GCF, a probable form of fibromatosis, has the potential for local recurrence.
Adaptive Backstepping Control for Attitude Tracking of a Spacecraft

The problem of adaptive attitude tracking control for a rigid spacecraft with uncertain inertia matrix is addressed by means of backstepping technique. As a stepping-stone, we first construct a nonadaptive control scheme that is dependent on exact knowledge of the spacecraft inertia matrix. The control scheme is then redesigned to be adaptive, which is independent of any inertia parameters. The Modified Rodrigues Parameter (MRP) is adopted as attitude variable due mainly to its global nonsingular description when combined with its shadow sets. One salient feature of the proposed controllers is that they allow integral control action, which can potentially eliminate or reduce steady-state attitude errors in the presence of constant external disturbances. Simulation results for the derived controllers demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed backstepping strategy in achieving attitude tracking for spacecraft with inertia uncertainty.
Evaluation of Health Losses by Air Pollution in Beijing: A Study Based on Corrected Human Capital Method

This paper evaluates the premature death losses by air pollution in Beijing in 2011 based on corrected human capital method. Three new independent variables( temperature,humidity and eating habits) are added in the dose-response model. At the same time,the spline smoothing function is used to process the variable values in the previous stage so as to improve the result accuracy. The results show that the number of the death stemmed from respirable suspended particles in Beijing accounts for about 60% of all deaths caused by air pollution,implying that respirable suspended particles is the biggest threat to urban residents' health. In 2011,the health losses caused by air pollutants in Beijing were 603. 946 million RMB,among which,the potential life losses resulted from cardiovascular disease were 426. 831 million RMB,losses from respiratory system disease were 177. 115 million RMB. Chaoyang,Fengtai,and Haidian are the most serious air polluted districts and sustained the greatest health losses. The air pollution in Yanqing,Huairou,and Miyun was relatively light and the health losses therefore were the smallest. The elderly and children were the major factors of economic losses led by cardiovascular disease death and respiratory diseases death respectively. To effectively reduce air pollution threats in Beijing,this paper provides policy suggestions in the last section.
Tracking of the multi-dimensional parameters of a target signal using particle filtering

In this contribution, a low-complexity particle filter (PF) is proposed to track the parameters of the signal reflected by a target illuminated with a digital-video-broadcast terrestrial (DVB-T) signal. The tracked parameters are the delay (time of arrival), the azimuth and elevation of arrival, the Doppler frequency, the complex amplitude of the target signal, as well as the rates of change of all but the last parameter. The proposed PF tracks these parameters based on samples of the target signal by assuming that the temporal behaviour of these parameters is governed by a multi-dimensional linear state-space model. The algorithm has an additional resampling step specifically designed to cope with the highly concentrated multi-dimensional posterior probability density function of the parameters. This step allows for tracking the parameters of the target signal with only a few particles, e.g. 50, leading to low computational complexity. Simulation results show that the PF outperforms the maximum-likelihood estimator applied to individual samples of the target signal in terms of higher accuracy and robustness. Under certain conditions usually met in reality the proposed PF can be used to track the parameters of the signals contributed by individual targets in multi-target scenarios.
The Price Distribution and Technological Shocks in Markets with Endogenous Search Intensity

We provide a simple model that relates the search intensity of households for products to the price distribution and the wage. Households decide how much time to spend on work and on search for finding better deals in a market where firms charge different prices. Thus, the equilibrium price distribution and the wage depend on the endogenous search intensity and labor supply. Moreover, we show that positive technological shocks, which reduce price posting costs for firms, lead to an increase in labor supply, wages and to the average price, while they lead to a decrease in search effort. These results are consistent with recent empirical findings.
Molecular analysis of the ams operon required for exopolysaccharide synthesis of Erwinia amylovora

A16 kb transcript of the ams region, which is essential for biosynthesis of amylovoran, the acidic exopolysaccharide of Erwinia amylovora, was detected by Northern hybridization analysis. The positive regulator RcsA enhanced transcription of the targe mRNA from the ams operon. The nucleotide sequence of this area revealed 12 open reading frames (ORFs), which are all transcribed in the same direction. Five ORFs corresponded to the previously mapped genes amsA to amsE, Sequence analysis of the insertion sites of several Tn5 mutations confirmed these data. Tn5 or site‐directed mutagenesis of the ORFs 477, 377, 144, and 743 reveated an amytovoran‐deficient phenotype, and the newly identified genes were named amsG, amsH, amsI, and amsF, respectivety. The predicted amino acid sequence of AmsG is highly homologous to gatactosyl‐1 ‐phosphate undecaprenyl‐phosphate transferases. AmsB and AmsD are similar to other glycosyl transferases, and AmsH may be related to BexD. A significant homology to mammalian phosphatases was observed for Amsl. AmsA shows characteristic motifs for membrane association and ATP binding. AmsF carries a secretory signal sequence in the N‐terminus and could be involved in periplasmic processing of the repeating units. Complementation experiments located a promoter region required for gene expression as far as 500 bp upstream of amsG. It is preceded by a typical transcriptional termination sequence. A mutation upstream of the terminator did not affect amylovoran synthesis. Partial nucleotide sequences further upstream of the ams region showed homology to genes mapped at 45min on the Escherichia coli chromosome. A termination sequence was also found downstream of the ams operon at a distance of 16 kb from the promoter. Between amsF and this terminator, three additional ORFs were detected.
Potassium channel activity and glutamate uptake are impaired in astrocytes of seizure‐susceptible DBA/2 mice

Purpose: KCNJ10 encodes subunits of inward rectifying potassium (Kir) channel Kir4.1 found predominantly in glial cells within the brain. Genetic inactivation of these channels in glia impairs extracellular K+ and glutamate clearance and produces a seizure phenotype. In both mice and humans, polymorphisms and mutations in the KCNJ10 gene have been associated with seizure susceptibility. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether there are differences in Kir channel activity and potassium‐ and glutamate‐buffering capabilities between astrocytes from seizure resistant C57BL/6 (B6) and seizure susceptible DBA/2 (D2) mice that are consistent with an altered K+ channel activity as a result of genetic polymorphism of KCNJ10.
Strategic vector of economic dynamics of an industrial region

In the article, the different directions of Russiaâ€™s vector of economic growth for the period from 1991 until 2013 is noted, and factors determining its changing across time are revealed. The periodization of change of the vector of economic growth of the largest industrial region of the country â€” Ural (according to the all-Russian analogy) is emphasized. It is proved that the positive vector dynamics its development are defined by the possibility of carrying out new industrialization. The concept of new industrialization is offered the functional and catalytic type of its realization is allocated. «A regional institutional contour of new industrialization,» a new concept is introduced. System resources of its realization possible on the basis of innovative components are defined. Mechanisms of carrying out new industrialization are analyzed, and industrial policy as the most important of them is allocated. Taking into account the role change of the state importance increase of business structures, the strategic partnership of the state and business as the mechanism of industrial policy giving the stable and positive direction to the strategic vector of economic dynamics of the industrial region is proved.
Ultrastructural studies of sporulation in Bacillus sphaericus

Spore septum formation in Bacillus sphaericus 9602 occurs 2 h after the end of exponential growth at one end of the vegetative cell, which retains a uniform diameter. The apparently rigid spore septum contains an inner cell wall layer which disappears when the sporulation septum "bulges" into the mother cell cytoplasm. This process occurs simultaneously with terminal swelling at the end of the cell containing the spore septum. It is suggested that the inner cell wall layer is peptidoglycan and that its dissolution and the terminal swelling are consequences of a localized autolysis. Engulfment of the forespore by membrane proliferation results in the production of a forespore surrounded by two flexible, closely apposed membranes. These membranes appear to become more rigid as a peptidoglycan-like layer appears between them, concomitant with the condensation of the forespore nucleoid into a crescent-shaped structure. After nuclear condensation, visible development of distinct cortex, primordial cell wall, and spore coat layers begin, and the forespore cytoplasm assumes an appearance similar to that of a refractile spore. The spore coats consist of an amorphous inner layer, a lamellar midlayer, and a structured outer layer. As cortex synthesis and spore coat assembly continue, exosporium development commences close to that portion of the mother cell plasma membrane which surrounds the forespore. The exosporium is lamellar and in tangential section is seen to have a hexagonal arrangement of subunits. The timing of these morphological events has the expected correlation with the appearance of unique enzyme activites required for cortex synthesis.
Isolation and expression of the Bradyrhizobium japonicum adenylate cyclase gene (cya) in Escherichia coli

A 5.0-kilobase-pair HindIII fragment of Bradyrhizobium japonicum DNA containing the cya gene which encodes adenylate cyclase was isolated as an insert in pBR322, using marker rescue of the maltose-negative phenotype of an Escherichia coli cya mutant for identification. The isolated B. japonicum DNA fragment was capable of reversing the pleiotropic phenotype of cya mutations when inserted in either orientation in the HindIII site of pBR322. The complemented E. coli strains produced high levels of cyclic AMP. No sequence homology between the B. japonicum cya gene and that of E. coli was detected by hybridization analysis.
Conservation of the biologically active portions of staphylococcal enterotoxins C1 and C2

We determined the primary sequence of staphylococcal enterotoxin (SE) C2 by sequencing its cloned structural gene, entC2. The entC2 structural gene contains an 801-base-pair open reading frame which encodes a 266-amino-acid precursor with a molecular weight of 30,608. Mature SE C2, produced by removal of the signal peptide, contains 239 amino acids with a molecular weight of 27,531. A sequence comparison between SE C2 and SE C1 showed that the 167 carboxyl amino acids in both toxins were 100% conserved. In contrast, the 72 N-terminal residues were 10% divergent. This provides additional evidence that carboxyl regions of staphylococcal and streptococcal pyrogenic toxins determine shared biological activities and cross-reactive epitopes.
Functional significance of subjective response to alcohol across levels of alcohol exposure

Pre‐clinical neurobiological models of addiction etiology including both the allostatic model and incentive sensitization theory suggest that alcohol consumption among alcohol‐dependent (AD) individuals will be dissociated from hedonic reward as positive reinforcement mechanisms wane in later stage dependence. The aims of this study are to test this claim in humans by examining the relationship between dimensions of subjective responses to alcohol (SR) and alcohol craving across levels of alcohol exposure. Non‐treatment‐seeking drinkers (n = 205) completed an i.v. alcohol challenge (final target breath alcohol concentration = 0.06 g/dl) and reported on SR and craving. Participants were classified as light‐to‐moderate drinkers (LMD), heavy drinkers (HD) or AD. Analyses examined group differences in SR and craving response magnitude, as well as concurrent and predictive associations between SR domains and craving. At baseline, LMD and AD reported greater stimulation than HD, which carried over post‐alcohol administration. However, stimulation was dose‐dependently associated with alcohol craving in HD only. Furthermore, lagged models found that stimulation preceded craving among HD only, whereas this hypothesized pattern of results was not observed for craving preceding stimulation. Sedation was also positively associated with craving, yet no group differences were observed. In agreement with the prediction of diminished positive reinforcement in alcohol dependence, this study showed that stimulation/hedonic reward from alcohol did not precede craving in AD, whereas stimulation was dose‐dependently associated with and preceded craving among non‐dependent HD.
Ultrawideband Hemispherical Helical Antennas

A compact ultrawideband antenna with hemispherical helical geometry is proposed and investigated both theoretically and experimentally. The radiating element of this antenna consists of a tapered metallic strip that assumes a non-conformal orientation relative to the hemispherical surface in order to yield maximum bandwidth. The number of turns is about four and half with a constant spacing between them. The antenna is fed by a coaxial cable with the inner conductor connected to the radiating strip through a matching section, and its outer conductor connected to a ground plane. Radiation properties of the proposed hemispherical helical antenna, including far-field patterns, axial ratio, directivity, input impedance and voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR), are studied numerically and evaluated experimentally. Simulation and measured results are in good agreement. This design provides a maximum directivity of 9±1 dB, a VSWR ≤ 2 (relative to a 50 Ω reference impedance), and nearly equal E- and H-plane far-field patterns with high degree of axial symmetry over a bandwidth of more than 50%. Also, over a bandwidth of about 24% the axial ratio remains below 3 dB. The compact size and ultrawideband performance of this antenna make it advantageous for high speed wireless communication systems and avionics.
Activation of a mammalian origin of replication by chromosomal rearrangement

The methotrexate-resistant Chinese hamster cell line DC3F/A3-4K (A3/4K) contains at least two prominent dihydrofolate reductase amplicon types. The type I amplicons, constituting approximately 80% of the total, are at least 650 kb in length, but the endpoints have not yet been characterized. The type II sequences represent approximately 20% of amplicons, are 450 kb in length, and are arranged as alternating head-to-head and tail-to-tail repeats. In previous studies on the CHOC 400 line, in which the amplicons are much smaller, a replication initiation locus (ori-beta/ori-gamma) has been shown to reside downstream from the dihydrofolate reductase gene. In a more recent study on the larger amplicons of A3/4K cells, we detected an additional initiation locus (ori-alpha) lying approximately 240 kb upstream from ori-beta/ori-gamma. Interestingly, in vivo labelling experiments suggested that replication forks diverge from ori-alpha only in the downstream direction. This finding suggested either that ori-alpha is a unidirectional origin or that a terminus lies immediately upstream from ori-alpha. However, in this study, we show that ori-alpha is actually very close to the head-to-head palindromic junction sequence between the minor type II amplicons in A3/4K cells; furthermore, ori-alpha is active in the early S period in the type II amplicons but not in the larger type I sequences that lack this palindromic junction. This is the first direct demonstration in mammalian cells that a cryptic origin can be activated by chromosomal rearrangement, presumably by deleting negative regulatory elements or by creating a more favorable chromosomal milieu for initiation.
Effect of intraruminally administered, selenium soluble-glass boluses on selenium status in cows and their calves.

Intraruminal selenium soluble-glass boluses were administered by balling gun to 65 of 125 crossbred beef cows (Shorthorn X Charolais) during the last trimester of pregnancy. Elevated (P less than .01) whole blood glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) concentrations were observed monthly for the next 10 mo following initiation of treatment, reaching the maximum magnitude (263 vs 41) at the fourth month. Monthly milk samples showed elevated selenium concentrations (P less than .01, April through August; P less than .05 through September). Intraruminal, selenium soluble-glass bolus administration to gestating cows was highly effective in raising the selenium status of their progeny. Although the control calves were in low-selenium status, no acute cases of nutritional muscular dystrophy were observed during this experiment.
A Review of Recent Advances towards the Development of (Quantitative) Structure-Activity Relationships for Metallic Nanomaterials

Gathering required information in a fast and inexpensive way is essential for assessing the risks of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs). The extension of conventional (quantitative) structure-activity relationships ((Q)SARs) approach to nanotoxicology, i.e., nano-(Q)SARs, is a possible solution. The preliminary attempts of correlating ENMs’ characteristics to the biological effects elicited by ENMs highlighted the potential applicability of (Q)SARs in the nanotoxicity field. This review discusses the current knowledge on the development of nano-(Q)SARs for metallic ENMs, on the aspects of data sources, reported nano-(Q)SARs, and mechanistic interpretation. An outlook is given on the further development of this frontier. As concluded, the used experimental data mainly concern the uptake of ENMs by different cell lines and the toxicity of ENMs to cells lines and Escherichia coli. The widely applied techniques of deriving models are linear and non-linear regressions, support vector machine, artificial neural network, k-nearest neighbors, etc. Concluded from the descriptors, surface properties of ENMs are seen as vital for the cellular uptake of ENMs; the capability of releasing ions and surface redox properties of ENMs are of importance for evaluating nanotoxicity. This review aims to present key advances in relevant nano-modeling studies and stimulate future research efforts in this quickly developing field of research.
Interleukin‐10 in Preovulatory Follicular Fluid of Patients Undergoing In‐Vitro Fertilization and Embryo Transfer

PROBLEM: The present study aimed at investigating the presence of Interleukin‐10 (IL‐10) in preovulatory follicular fluid (FF) and its possible correlation with 17‐β‐estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P) levels, and treatment outcome in patients undergoing in‐vitro fertilization‐embryo transfer (IVF‐ET).