Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Mechanistic Assessment of the Discordance between Normal Serum Alanine Aminotransferase Levels and Altered Liver Histology in Chronic Hepatitis B

To understand the mechanisms underlying the discordance between normal serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels and significant alterations in liver histology of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection with persistent normal ALT (PNALT) or minimally elevated ALT. A total of 300 treatment-naive chronic HBV-infected patients with PNALT (ALT ≤ upper limit of normal [ULN, 40 U/ml]) or minimally elevated ALT (1-2×ULN) were retrospectively enrolled. All patients underwent liver biopsy and histological changes were analyzed along with biochemical and HBV markers. Among 300 participants, 177 were HBeAg-positive and 123 HBeAg-negative. Significant histologic abnormalities were found in 42.9% (76/177) and 52.8% (65/123) of HBeAg-positive and HBeAg-negative patients, respectively. Significant fibrosis, which is a marker of prior injury, was more frequently detected than significant necroinflammation (suggesting active liver injury) in both HBeAg-positive and -negative groups, suggesting that liver injury occurred intermittently in our cohort. No significant differences were noticed in the percentage of patients with severe fibrosis between HBeAg-positive and negative phases or between ages 30 and 40 and over 40, suggesting that the fibrosis was possibly carried over from an early phase. Finally, lowering ALT ULN (30 U/L for men, 19 U/L for women) alone was not adequate to increase the sensitivity of ALT detection of liver injury. However, the study was limited to a small sample size of 13 HBeAg-positive patients with ALT in the revised normal range. We detected significant liver pathology in almost 50% of chronic HBV infected patients with PNALT (ALT ≤ 40 U/ml) or minimally elevated ALT. We postulated that small-scale intermittent liver injury was possibly responsible for the discordance between normal serum ALT and significant liver changes in our cohort.
Optimization of Antimicrobial Photodynamic Therapy in Biofilms by Inhibiting Efflux Pump.

BACKGROUND One of the main mechanisms of microbial resistance is given by efflux pumps, which reduce the effectiveness of antimicrobials by decreasing their intracellular concentration. OBJECTIVE AND METHODS Considering that efflux pump inhibitors are promising adjuvant molecules for antibiotics in infections, in this study, using XTT test and colony forming unit (CFU) counting, we evaluated the association between the pump inhibitor verapamil (VP) and the antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) mediated by methylene blue (MB) in biofilms of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus to optimize the bacterial reduction. RESULTS By applying 44 J/cm2, 215 μg/mL of VP, and 200 μg/mL of MB, we obtained 80% of metabolism reduction and 3.4 log10 CFU/mL decrease for E. coli. Biofilm of S. aureus presented 80% of metabolism reduction and 3.65 log10 CFU/mL decrease when 22 J/cm2, 312 μg/mL of VP, and 200 μg/mL of MB was used. Applying 200 μg/mL of MB, the E. coli biofilm required a higher dose of light, while the S. aureus biofilm required a higher concentration of VP to obtain the same reduction. CONCLUSIONS The VP optimized the efficiency of aPDT and showed no toxicity when used alone in both strains, proving that inhibiting efflux pumps in combination with aPDT has great potential for clinical application.
Accurate circuit models for the analysis of stacked metal gratings

Stacked periodic planar structures have been a continuous subject of research interest due to their ability to control the polarization, transmission, reflection, and absorption of electromagnetic waves. The scattering of plane waves by one-dimensional (1-D) and two-dimensional (2-D) arrays of metal patches (or apertures) can be accurately modeled using suitable equivalent circuits. The structures obtained by stacking periodic systems of this type can easily be modeled using transmission line sections to account for the dielectric region between the periodic surfaces. However, this task is not straightforward if the separation between the periodically structure surfaces is electrically small. This contribution will describe a methodology to obtain valid and accurate circuit models for tightly spaced periodic arrays of apertures. The proposed theory allows for the modeling of devices that have attracted a lot of attention in recent years, such as the fishnet structures employed to obtain an effective negative index of refraction.
Geometric flow visualization techniques for CFD simulation data

Visualization of CFD simulation data on adaptive resolution, three-dimensional grids poses several challenges. The wide range of real-world data set sizes and the geometric versatility within individual, CFD simulation models present challenges to the engineers analyzing simulation results. Users also face perceptual problems such as occlusion, visual complexity, lack of directional cues, and lack of depth cues. We present a collection of geometric flow visualization techniques that address these challenges including oriented streamlines, streamlets, and a streamrunner tool. Two novel approaches are included: a real-time animated streamline technique and streamcomets. We place special emphasis on necessary measures required in order for geometric techniques to be applicable to real-world data sets.
A NUMERICAL METHOD FOR THE SOLUTION OF TWO-DIMENSIONAL INVERSE HEAT CONDUCTION PROBLEMS

A numerical method for the solution of inverse heat conduction problems in two-dimensional rectangular domains is established and its performance is demonstrated by computational results. The present method extends Beck's8 method to two spatial dimensions and also utilizes future times in order to stabilize the ill-posedness of the underlying problems. The approach relies on a line approximation of the elliptic part of the parabolic differential equation leading to a system of one-dimensional problems which can be decoupled.
Effect of oil supplementation extracted from nontoxic purging nut (Jatropha curcas L) on carcass traits, tissue composition, muscle CLA concentration, and visceral mass of feedlot lambs

espanolRESUMEN Los efectos de la suplementacion (0, 2, 4, y 6%, en base seca de la dieta) de aceite de nuez purgante (Jatropha curcas, JCO) sobre las caracteristicas de la canal, la composicion tisular y la concentracion de acidos linoleicos conjugados (CLA) en musculo se evaluo en veinte corderos machos intactos, alimentados con una dieta de finalizacion durante un periodo de 56 dias. La proporcion de acido linoleico en JCO fue de 50%. Los corderos fueron faenados con un peso final de 54,03 ± 2,9 kg. No hubo efecto de los tratamientos en el peso de la canal caliente (PCC), el area del musculo longissimus (ML) o la grasa pelvica-renal. Sin embargo, a medida que aumento la suplementacion de JCO, se disminuyo el rendimiento de la canal y aumento el espesor de grasa dorsal. El aumentar JCO en la dieta disminuyo la proporcion del musculo y aumento la proporcion de grasa en la paleta. El contenido de acido estearico (C18:0) en ML no se vio afectado por JCO. Sin embargo, JCO aumento linealmente el total de CLA en ML, y por tanto, la proporcion CLA:C18:0. El peso corporal vacio o la masa visceral no fueron afectados por JCO. El incrementar JCO en la dieta aumento la grasa visceral por el aumento de la grasa mesenterica. Se concluye que la suplementacion con JCO no afecta negativamente el PCC o el area de ML y representa una alternativa viable para aumentar la concentracion total de CLA en la carne de corderos en finalizacion. EnglishABSTRACT The effects of purging nut (Jatropha curcas, JCO) supplementation (0, 2, 4, and 6%, DM basis of diet) on carcass traits, tissue composition and conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) concentration in muscle was evaluated in twenty intact male lambs fed a finishing diet during 56 d. The linoleic acid proportion in JCO was 50%. Lambs were harvested at a final weight of 54.03±2.9 kg. There were no treatment effects on hot carcass weight (HCW), longissimus muscle (LM) area nor kidney-pelvic fat. However, as JCO supplementation increased, dressing percentage was decreased and fat thickness was increased. Increasing JCO in diet decreases the proportion of muscle and increases the proportion of fat in whole shoulder clod. Content of stearic acid (C18:0) in LM was not affected by JCO. However, JCO linearly increased total CLA, and hence, the CLA:C18:0 ratio. Empty body or visceral mass were not affected by JCO. Increasing JCO in diet increases visceral fat mainly through increased mesenteric fat. It is concluded that supplemental JCO does not negatively affect HCW and LM area, and represents a viable alternative for increasing CLA concentration in meat of finishing feedlot lambs.
Sustainable Reduction of Sleepiness through Salutogenic Self-Care Procedure in Lunch Breaks: A Pilot Study

The aim of the study was to elucidate the immediate, intermediate, and anticipatory sleepiness reducing effects of a salutogenic self-care procedure called progressive muscle relaxation (PMR), during lunch breaks. The second exploratory aim deals with determining the onset and long-term time course of sleepiness changes. In order to evaluate the intraday range and interday change of the proposed relaxation effects, 14 call center agents were assigned to either a daily 20-minute self-administered PMR or a small talk (ST) group during a period of seven months. Participants' levels of sleepiness were analyzed in a controlled trial using anticipatory, postlunchtime, and afternoon changes of sleepiness as indicated by continuously determined objective reaction time measures (16,464 measurements) and self-reports administered five times per day, once per month (490 measurements). Results indicate that, in comparison to ST, the PMR break (a) induces immediate, intermediate, and anticipatory reductions in sleepiness; (b) these significant effects remarkably show up after one month, and sleepiness continues to decrease for at least another five months. Although further research is required referring to the specific responsible mediating variables, our results suggest that relaxation based lunch breaks are both accepted by employees and provide a sustainable impact on sleepiness.
Faster Metabolite 1H Transverse Relaxation in the Elder Human Brain

1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is unique among imaging modalities because signals from several metabolites are measured during a single examination period. Each metabolite reflects a distinct intracellular process. Furthermore transverse (T2) relaxation times probe the viability of the cell microenvironment, e.g., the viscosity of the cellular fluids, the microscopic susceptibility distribution within the cells, and the iron content. In this study, T2s of brain metabolites were measured in the occipital lobe of eighteen young and fourteen elderly subjects at a field strength of 4 tesla. The T2s of N-acetylaspartate, total creatine, and total choline were 23%, 16% and 10% shorter in elderly than in young subjects. The findings of this study suggest that noninvasive detection of T2 provides useful biological information on changes in the cellular microenvironment that take place during aging.
Natural Supervised Hashing

Among learning-based hashing methods, supervised hashing tries to find hash codes which preserve semantic similarities of original data. Recent years have witnessed much efforts devoted to design objective functions and optimization methods for supervised hashing learning, in order to improve search accuracy and reduce training cost. In this paper, we propose a very straightforward supervised hashing algorithm and demonstrate its superiority over several state-of-the-art methods. The key idea of our approach is to treat label vectors as binary codes and to learn target codes which have similar structure to label vectors. To circumvent direct optimization on large n × n Gram matrices, we identify an inner-product-preserving transformation and use it to bring close label vectors and hash codes without changing the structure. The optimization process is very efficient and scales well. In our experiment, training 16-bit and 96-bit code on NUS-WIDE cost respectively only 3 and 6 minutes.
HYDROGEN MOVEMENT IN STEEL--ENTRY, DIFFUSION, AND ELIMINATION,

Abstract : This report discusses the ways in which H2 enters steels, how it moves through steel, and methods whereby it may be removed from steel. The solubility of H2 is important in understanding other aspects of the behavior of H2 in steel and such aspects of solubility as preferred lattice sites, lattice expansion, measurements of solubility, and estimates of equilibrium H2 pressure in steel are discussed. The permeation of H2 through steel consisting of interactions at both the entry and exit surfaces of the metal as well as diffusion through the bulk metal is discussed. The various possibilities of H2 entry by corrosion processes, electrochemical processes, and other means are considered as well as factors which influence the rate of H2 removal from iron and steel. (Author)
On the collection of robot-pose Ground-Truth , for indoor scenarios , in the RAWSEEDS project

RAWSEEDS (Robotics Advancement through Webpublishing of Sensorial and Elaborated Extensive Data Sets) is a project funded by the EEC to produce high-quality datasets, to be used in mobile robotics benchmarking. A key issue in producing high-quality datasets is the procurement of Ground Truth, so to allow a fair comparison between different approaches. RAWSEEDS focuses on benchmarking of Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) as a mobile robotics enabling technology, and it is vital the procurement of a reliable Ground Truth for both the maps and the robot poses, to distinguish its datasets from the ones already publicly available. In particular, for the robot pose in indoor scenarios, no external devices are available for the absolute localization of the robot and to overcome this issue we devised two solutions. On one hand, we have an approach fully independent from the robot sensors; on the other, we base on the on-board Laser Range Finders, likely more accurate, for benchmarking the scientific proposals that do not require LRF streams. The project was required by its officers and reviewers to provide a validation of the robot pose Ground Truth collection system(s), i.e., an experimental evaluation of their performance; the results of such activity are presented in this paper.
Vascular Invasion in Triple-Negative Carcinoma of the Breast Identified by Endothelial Lymphatic and Blood Vessel Markers

The aim of this study was to determine lymph vessel invasion (LVI) and blood vessel invasion (BVI) using established biological markers and clinicopathological findings for triple-negative breast carcinoma. We reviewed all 202 cases of primary breast carcinoma that were surgically resected at Saitama Medical Center, Saitama Medical School, between 2006 and 2009. Tumor tissue was immunostained for estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, Her2/neu, D2-40, and CD34. Among these, 26 cases of triple-negative carcinoma were reported retrospectively. The results were compared with those of 176 cases of non-triple-negative carcinomas that were included as controls. The frequency of LVI examined by hematoxylin and eosin and D2-40 (triple negative, 7 of 26; non—triple negative, 61 of 176) was not significantly different, and neither was BVI examined by HE, Elastica van Gieson, CD34 (triple negative, 2 of 26; non—triple negative, 16 of 176), and lymph node metastasis (triple negative 9 of 26, non—triple negative, 65 of 176). However, a specific pattern of distant metastasis with a high frequency of visceral metastases was detected in triple-negative carcinoma cases (triple negative, 6 of 26; non—triple negative, 8 of 176). Our findings show that triple-negative carcinoma of the breast may have a distinct biological behavior.
Semi-automatic rename refactoring for JavaScript

Modern IDEs support automated refactoring for many programming languages, but support for JavaScript is still primitive. To perform renaming, which is one of the fundamental refactorings, there is often no practical alternative to simple syntactic search-and-replace. Although more sophisticated alternatives have been developed, they are limited by whole-program assumptions and poor scalability. We propose a technique for semi-automatic refactoring for JavaScript, with a focus on renaming. Unlike traditional refactoring algorithms, semi-automatic refactoring works by a combination of static analysis and interaction with the programmer. With this pragmatic approach, we can provide scalable and effective refactoring support for real-world code, including libraries and incomplete applications. Through a series of experiments that estimate how much manual effort our technique demands from the programmer, we show that our approach is a useful improvement compared to search-and-replace tools.
Different effects of arginine vasopressin on high‐mobility group box 1 expression in astrocytes isolated from stroke‐prone spontaneously hypertensive rats and congenic SHRpch1_18 rats

Stroke‐prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP/Izm) develop severe hypertension and astrocytic oedema following ischaemic stimulation. During ischaemic stress high‐mobility group box 1 (Hmgb1) expression in astrocytes is induced, and subsequently potentiates deterioration of the brain due to ischaemic injury, which manifests as both cerebral inflammation and astrocytic oedema. Arginine vasopressin (AVP) induces brain injury and increases astrocytic swelling. After stroke, Hmgb1 and peroxiredoxin (Prx) are released at different times and activate macrophages in the brain via Toll‐like receptors (Tlr2s). The purpose of this study was to examine whether AVP and/or hypoxia and reoxygenation (H/R) contribute to Hmgb1 regulation following ischaemic stroke. Thus, Hmgb1, Prx2 and Tlr2 expression levels in astrocytes isolated from Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY/Izm), spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR/Izm), SHRSP/Izm and congenic rat strain SHRpch1_18 treated with AVP and/or H/R were compared. Gene and protein expression levels were determined by reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) and real‐time quantitative PCR, and Western blot. mRNA expression of Hmgb1, Prx2 and Tlr2 induced by AVP was dose‐dependent, and Hmgb1 and Prx2 expression was higher in SHR/Izm, SHRSP/Izm and SHRch1_18 than in WKY/Izm. Tlr2 expression with AVP was reduced in SHR/Izm compared to WKY/Izm. In SHRpch1_18, Hmgb1 expression increased after AVP plus H/R. AVP‐modulated expression of Hmgb1 protein was reduced by the addition of the antioxidant N‐acetylcysteine (NAC). These results suggest that oxidative stress by AVP enhanced expression of Hmgb1, Prx2 and Tlr2 in astrocytes. We hypothesize that regulation of Hmgb1 by AVP during H/R might be related to induction of inflammation and stroke in SHRSP/Izm and SHRpch1_18 rats.
Accelerating geometric queries using the GPU

We present practical algorithms for accelerating geometric queries on models made of NURBS surfaces using programmable Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). We provide a generalized framework for using GPUs as co-processors in accelerating CAD operations. By attaching the data corresponding to surface-normals to a surface bounding-box structure, we can calculate view-dependent geometric features such as silhouette curves in real time. We make use of additional surface data linked to surface bounding-box hierarchies on the GPU to answer queries such as finding the closest point on a curved NURBS surface given any point in space and evaluating the clearance between two solid models constructed using multiple NURBS surfaces. We simultaneously output the parameter values corresponding to the solution of these queries along with the model space values. Though our algorithms make use of the programmable fragment processor, the accuracy is based on the model space precision, unlike earlier graphics algorithms that were based only on image space precision. In addition, we provide theoretical bounds for both the computed minimum distance values as well as the location of the closest point. Our algorithms are at least an order of magnitude faster than the commercial solid modeling kernel ACIS.
Guided Adaptive Image Smoothing via Directional Anisotropic Structure Measurement

Image smoothing prefers a good metric to identify dominant structures from textures adaptive of intensity contrast. In this paper, we drop on a novel directional anisotropic structure measurement (DASM) toward adaptive image smoothing. With observations on psychological perception regarding anisotropy, non-periodicity and local directionality, DASM can well characterize structures and textures independent on their contrast scales. By using such measurement as constraint, we design a guided adaptive image smoothing scheme by improving extrema localization and envelopes construction in a structure-aware manner. Our approach can well suppresses the staircase-like artifacts and blur of structures that appear in previous methods, which better suits structure-preserving image smoothing task. The algorithm is performed on a space-filling curve as the reduced domain, so it is very fast and much easy to implement in practice. We make comprehensive comparisons with previous state-of-the-art methods for a variety of applications. Experimental results demonstrate the merit using our DASM as metric to identify structures, and the effectiveness and efficiency of our adaptive image smoothing approach to produce commendable results.
Investigation of the 2016 Linux TCP Stack Vulnerability at Scale

To combat blind in-window attacks against TCP, changes proposed in RFC 5961 have been implemented by Linux since late 2012. While successfully eliminating the old vulnerabilities, the new TCP implementation was reported in August 2016 to have introduced a subtle yet serious security flaw. Assigned CVE-2016-5696, the flaw exploits the challenge ACK rate limiting feature that could allow an off-path attacker to infer the presence/absence of a TCP connection between two arbitrary hosts, terminate such a connection, and even inject payload into an unsecured TCP connection. In this work, we perform a comprehensive measurement of the impact of the new vulnerability. This includes (1) tracking the vulnerable Internet servers, (2) monitoring the patch behavior over time, (3) picturing the overall security status of TCP stacks at scale. Towards this goal, we design a scalable measurement methodology to scan the Alexa top 1 million websites for almost 6 months. We also present how notifications impact the patching behavior, and compare the result with the Heartbleed and the Debian PRNG vulnerability. The measurement represents a valuable data point in understanding how Internet servers react to serious security flaws in the operating system kernel.
Comments on “An Essay on Contact Angle Measurements”: Determination of Surface Roughness and Modeling of the Wetting Behavior

This commentary addresses the problem of determining surface roughness values and their use to assess the wetting behavior of surfaces. For very rough surfaces it is shown that depending on the observation scale by atomic force microscopy (AFM) quite different RMS roughness values can be obtained and that only the values taken at saturation can be used for properly describing the roughness of the examined materials. This effect has clear consequences when trying to apply wetting models to account for the influence of roughness oncontact angles.These ideasarediscussed withexamples takenfromroughpolymer surfaces subjected to plasma etching.