Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Influence of Running on Pistol Shot Hit Patterns

In shooting scene reconstructions, risk assessment of the situation can be important for the legal system. Shooting accuracy and precision, and thus risk assessment, might be correlated with the shooter's physical movement and experience. The hit patterns of inexperienced and experienced shooters, while shooting stationary (10 shots) and in running motion (10 shots) with a semi‐automatic pistol, were compared visually (with confidence ellipses) and statistically. The results show a significant difference in precision (circumference of the hit patterns) between stationary shots and shots fired in motion for both inexperienced and experienced shooters. The decrease in precision for all shooters was significantly larger in the y‐direction than in the x‐direction. The precision of the experienced shooters is overall better than that of the inexperienced shooters. No significant change in accuracy (shift in the hit pattern center) between stationary shots and shots fired in motion can be seen for all shooters.
PML nuclear bodies: Assembly and oxidative stress-sensitive sumoylation

PML Nuclear Bodies (NBs) have fascinated cell biologists due to their exquisitely dynamic nature and their involvement in human diseases, notably acute promyelocytic leukemia. NBs, as well as their master organizer - the PML protein - exhibit multiple connections with stress responses. Initially viewed as a tumor suppressor, PML recently re-emerged as a multifaceted protein, capable of controlling numerous aspects of cellular homeostasis. NBs recruit many functionally diverse proteins and function as stress-regulated sumoylation factories. SUMO-initiated partner retention can subsequently facilitate a variety of other post-translational modifications, as well as partner degradation. With this newly elucidated central role of stress-enhanced sumoylation, it should now be possible to build a working model for the different NB-regulated cellular activities. Moreover, pharmacological manipulation of NB formation by interferons or oxidants holds the promise of clearing many undesirable proteins for clinical management of malignant, viral or neurodegenerative diseases.
Image Contrast Enhancement by Contourlet Transform

We propose a new method for image contrast enhancement, based on a recently introduced 2D directional non-separable transform known as contourlet transform. Conventional 2D wavelet transform is separable and thus can not sparsely represent non-separable structures of the image, such as directional curves. The directionality feature of contourlet transform makes it a good choice for representation of curves and edges in the image. In this paper, a new enhancement function is proposed to enhance the edges by contourlet transform. The method is also compared with two usual contrast enhancement methods, histogram equalization and wavelet based contrast enhancement. It is shown that the contrast enhancement method based on contourlet transform is superior to both histogram equalization and the method based on wavelet transform, in both enhancement of fine structures in the image and denoising
Ameliorative effects of sodium bentonite on phagocytosis and Newcastle disease antibody formation in broiler chickens during aflatoxicosis.

The ameliorative effect of graded levels of dietary sodium bentonite (0.2, 0.4 and 0.6 per cent wt/wt of feed) on in vitro-impaired phagocytosis and suppressed immune response to Newcastle disease vaccine during aflatoxicosis (AF) in broiler chicks was investigated. Both percentage and mean of phagocytic activities were decreased significantly (P < 0.05) in chicks fed 2.5 mg aflatoxin per kg feed. The addition of sodium bentonite was significantly effective in ameliorating the negative effect of AF on the percentage and mean of phagocytosis. The presence of AF alone in the diet depressed the immune response of chicks as measured by haemagglutination inhibition (HI) test. Sodium bentonite was also effective in ameliorating the suppressive effect of AF on the HI -titre in chicks vaccinated against Newcastle disease. The best results obtained when sodium bentonite was added at the rate of 0.4 per cent wt/wt of feed to the AF-containing diets.
Brachytherapy structural shielding calculations using Monte Carlo generated, monoenergetic data.

PURPOSE To provide a method for calculating the transmission of any broad photon beam with a known energy spectrum in the range of 20-1090 keV, through concrete and lead, based on the superposition of corresponding monoenergetic data obtained from Monte Carlo simulation. METHODS MCNP5 was used to calculate broad photon beam transmission data through varying thickness of lead and concrete, for monoenergetic point sources of energy in the range pertinent to brachytherapy (20-1090 keV, in 10 keV intervals). The three parameter empirical model introduced by Archer et al. ["Diagnostic x-ray shielding design based on an empirical model of photon attenuation," Health Phys. 44, 507-517 (1983)] was used to describe the transmission curve for each of the 216 energy-material combinations. These three parameters, and hence the transmission curve, for any polyenergetic spectrum can then be obtained by superposition along the lines of Kharrati et al. ["Monte Carlo simulation of x-ray buildup factors of lead and its applications in shielding of diagnostic x-ray facilities," Med. Phys. 34, 1398-1404 (2007)]. A simple program, incorporating a graphical user interface, was developed to facilitate the superposition of monoenergetic data, the graphical and tabular display of broad photon beam transmission curves, and the calculation of material thickness required for a given transmission from these curves. RESULTS Polyenergetic broad photon beam transmission curves of this work, calculated from the superposition of monoenergetic data, are compared to corresponding results in the literature. A good agreement is observed with results in the literature obtained from Monte Carlo simulations for the photon spectra emitted from bare point sources of various radionuclides. Differences are observed with corresponding results in the literature for x-ray spectra at various tube potentials, mainly due to the different broad beam conditions or x-ray spectra assumed. CONCLUSIONS The data of this work allow for the accurate calculation of structural shielding thickness, taking into account the spectral variation with shield thickness, and broad beam conditions, in a realistic geometry. The simplicity of calculations also obviates the need for the use of crude transmission data estimates such as the half and tenth value layer indices. Although this study was primarily designed for brachytherapy, results might also be useful for radiology and nuclear medicine facility design, provided broad beam conditions apply.
TIPS bilateral noise reduction in 4D CT perfusion scans produces high-quality cerebral blood flow maps

Cerebral computed tomography perfusion (CTP) scans are acquired to detect areas of abnormal perfusion in patients with cerebrovascular diseases. These 4D CTP scans consist of multiple sequential 3D CT scans over time. Therefore, to reduce radiation exposure to the patient, the amount of x-ray radiation that can be used per sequential scan is limited, which results in a high level of noise. To detect areas of abnormal perfusion, perfusion parameters are derived from the CTP data, such as the cerebral blood flow (CBF). Algorithms to determine perfusion parameters, especially singular value decomposition, are very sensitive to noise. Therefore, noise reduction is an important preprocessing step for CTP analysis. In this paper, we propose a time–intensity profile similarity (TIPS) bilateral filter to reduce noise in 4D CTP scans, while preserving the time–intensity profiles (fourth dimension) that are essential for determining the perfusion parameters. The proposed TIPS bilateral filter is compared to standard Gaussian filtering, and 4D and 3D (applied separately to each sequential scan) bilateral filtering on both phantom and patient data. Results on the phantom data show that the TIPS bilateral filter is best able to approach the ground truth (noise-free phantom), compared to the other filtering methods (lowest root mean square error). An observer study is performed using CBF maps derived from fifteen CTP scans of acute stroke patients filtered with standard Gaussian, 3D, 4D and TIPS bilateral filtering. These CBF maps were blindly presented to two observers that indicated which map they preferred for (1) gray/white matter differentiation, (2) detectability of infarcted area and (3) overall image quality. Based on these results, the TIPS bilateral filter ranked best and its CBF maps were scored to have the best overall image quality in 100% of the cases by both observers. Furthermore, quantitative CBF and cerebral blood volume values in both the phantom and the patient data showed that the TIPS bilateral filter resulted in realistic mean values with a smaller standard deviation than the other evaluated filters and higher contrast-to-noise ratios. Therefore, applying the proposed TIPS bilateral filtering method to 4D CTP data produces higher quality CBF maps than applying the standard Gaussian, 3D bilateral or 4D bilateral filter. Furthermore, the TIPS bilateral filter is computationally faster than both the 3D and 4D bilateral filters.
Performance measurement and quality costing in Tunisian manufacturing companies

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the results of an exploratory survey on the implementation of quality costs programmes in Tunisian manufacturing companies. It aims also to observe the impact of quality cost system (QCS) adoption on operational performance by the manufacturing companies. Design/methodology/approach – An interview-based survey was employed in order to investigate the extent and consequences of implementing quality costs programmes in Tunisian manufacturing companies. A questionnaire was developed and used in the interviews across a sample of Tunisian companies. Findings – A factor analysis revealed that companies which adopted QCS have less internal and external failures costs than others. It also revealed that these companies invest more in prevention and appraisal actions than others. It showed that QCS adoption has positive consequences on the companies’ performance. Research limitations/implications – The presented results are limited by the low response rate and the s.
Magnetic resonance imaging in Crohn's disease

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Natural Language Processing Technologies for Document Profiling

Nowadays, search for documents on the Internet is becoming increasingly difficult. The reason is the amount of content published by users (articles, comments, blogs, reviews). How to facilitate that the users can find their required documents? What would be necessary to provide useful document meta-data for supporting search engines? In this article, we present a study of some Natural Language Processing (NLP) technologies that can be useful for facilitating the proper identification of documents according to the user needs. For this purpose, it is designed a document profile that will be able to represent semantic meta-data extracted from documents by using NLP technologies. The research is basically focused on the study of different NLP technologies in order to support the creation our novel document profile proposal from semantic perspectives.
Application of the Gini Coefficient in Forest Distribution

Based on the basic principals and calculation method,a forest distribution coefficient is constructed to describe the situations of forest distribution by grouping.And by use of this new method,the forest distribution coefficients of some countries are calculated,such as China,America,Europe,Canada and Australia.The results show: contrasting with these countries,the forest distribution in China is quite terrible.And forest distribution coefficient is a very effective index for measuring the situations of forest distribution.
RNA interference in Caenorhabditis elegans: Uptake, mechanism, and regulation

SUMMARY RNA interference (RNAi) is a powerful research tool that has enabled molecular insights into gene activity, pathway analysis, partial loss-of-function phenotypes, and large-scale genomic discovery of gene function. While RNAi works extremely well in the non-parasitic nematode C. elegans, it is also especially useful in organisms that lack facile genetic analysis. Extensive genetic analysis of the mechanisms, delivery and regulation of RNAi in C. elegans has provided mechanistic and phenomenological insights into why RNAi is so effective in this species. These insights are useful for the testing and development of RNAi in other nematodes, including parasitic nematodes where more effective RNAi would be extremely useful. Here, we review the current advances in C. elegans for RNA delivery methods, regulation of cell autonomous and systemic RNAi phenomena, and implications of enhanced RNAi mutants. These discussions, with a focus on mechanism and cross-species application, provide new perspectives for optimizing RNAi in other species.
IL‐12 directs severe renal injury, crescent formation and Th1 responses in murine glomerulonephritis

Glomerular crescent formation characterizes severe glomerulonephritis (GN). Evidence suggests that crescent formation results from a delayed‐type hypersensitivity‐like Th1 response. As IL‐12 directs Th1 responses, we tested the hypothesis that IL‐12 is important in crescentic GN. Neutralization of IL‐12 attenuated crescent formation and cell‐mediated injury in C57BL/6 mice sensitized to and challenged with sheep anti‐mouse glomerular basement membrane (GBM) globulin. Recombinant IL‐12 induced severe crescentic GN with enhanced Th1 responses in C57BL/6 mice in which non‐crescentic GN was induced by injecting anti‐GBM globulin into naive mice. BALB/c mice do not develop significant crescent formation in these models, due either to regulatory effects of IL‐4, or to deficits in IL‐12 production/responsiveness. Administering IL‐12 to BALB/c mice with GN induced Th1 responses and crescent formation, whereas IL‐4‐deficient BALB/c mice did not develop cell‐mediated crescentic injury when GN was induced in sensitized mice. These results establish a central role for IL‐12 in severe crescentic GN.
Clinical characteristics of importance to outcome in patients with axial spondyloarthritis: protocol for a prospective descriptive and exploratory cohort study

Introduction Spondyloarthritis (SpA) is a heterogeneous spectrum of rheumatic diseases with either predominantly axial inflammatory symptoms of the spine and sacroiliac joints or predominantly peripheral arthritis. The two main entities of axial SpA (axSpA) are ankylosing spondylitis or non-radiographic axSpA (nr-axSpA). Tumour necrosis factor-α inhibitors have revolutionised the treatment of patients with axSpA who failed to respond to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and physical therapy. Chronic pain is common in patients with SpA and may still persist despite the lack of signs of inflammation. This has led researchers to hypothesise that central pain sensitisation may play a role in the generation of chronic pain in SpA. The painDETECT Questionnaire (PDQ) is a screening tool developed to detect neuropathic pain components. The primary objective is to explore the prognostic value of the PDQ regarding treatment response in patients with axSpA 3 months after initiating a biological agent. Secondary aim is to evaluate the impact of extra-articular manifestations, comorbidities and patient-reported outcomes and elucidate if these factors influence treatment response. Method and analysis We will include 60 participants (≥18 years of age) diagnosed with axSpA independent of main entity, who initiate or switch treatment of a biologic. Data will be collected at baseline and at endpoint following Danish clinical practice (≥3 months) of treatment with biologics. We will explore whether the PDQ and other phenotypical patient characteristics are prognostically important for response to biological therapy according to established response criteria like 50% improvement in the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (50%) and Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score. Ethics and dissemination The study is approved by the Region of Southern Denmark’s Ethics committee (S-20160094) and has been designed in cooperation with patient representatives. The study is registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02948608, pre-results). Dissemination will occur through publication(s) in international peer-reviewed journal(s).
Skin Inner Tissue Surface Reconstruction from Confocal Microscope Images

Analysis of skin inner tissue in three-dimensional (3-D) has great significance for cosmetics industry. In our research work, we developed a method of automatically extracting the surface of skin inner tissue from volumetric confocal microscope images, as well as reconstructing a 3-D model. The proposed method is derived from 3-D active contour model. Active contour model is an image segmentation algorithm and is used extensively in computer vision and image processing applications. The improvements on both energy function and initial model are implemented. The proposed technique has been applied in practical experiments successfully
Antiviral antibody-producing cells in parenchymatous organs during persistent virus infection

In mice persistently infected with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV), the parenchymatous organs contain infiltrates of mononuclear cells, the sizes and numbers of which vary between strains and become more numerous and extensive when the animals grow older. Histologically, these were found to possess a tissue-like structure, and by use of immunohistologic procedures they were shown to contain plasma cells secreting IgM and IgG. Cells of kidneys, livers, brains, and spleens of LCMV carrier mice were dispersed by digestion with trypsin, leukocytes were separated by density gradient centrifugation, and numbers of cells producing antibodies against LCMV were determined by use of a solid-phase immunoenzymatic technique. In all these organs, cells producing LCMV-specific IgM and IgG antibodies were demonstrated, the latter more numerous than the former. Their numbers correlated with numbers and extent of the lymphoid cell infiltrates. The blood of the same mice was essentially free of antiviral antibody-forming cell. The proportion of cells producing LCMV-specific antibodies to all cells producing Ig of any specificity varied between organs, being lowest in spleen, intermediate in liver and kidney, and highest in the brain, where in individual mice up to 90% of all active cells produced virus- specific antibodies. The LCMV carrier mouse should prove to be a useful animal model to investigate antibody production in parenchymatous organs during persistent virus infections.
The accuracy of ultrasonography in the diagnosis of superficial bladder tumors in patients presenting with hematuria

Ultrasonography has been proposed as the initial test for detection of bladder carcinomas in patients presenting with hematuria, but the accuracy of transabdominal ultrasonography in the diagnosis of superficial bladder carcinoma has not been assessed. We prospectively evaluated 173 patients presenting to the outpatient department with painless hematuria by transabdominal ultrasound and cystoscopy. The tolerability of cystoscopy was also assessed. Of 148 patients who met the inclusion criteria, 39 with bladder carcinoma were identified by cystoscopy as having bladder carcinoma, while 34 were identified by ultrasonography. For ultrasonography, the sensitivity (87.1%), specificity (98.1%), positive predictive value (94.4%) and negative predictive value (95.4%) were good but not as good as cystoscopy. While the tolerability of cystoscopy is relatively low, it is still superior to ultrasonography in the evaluation of the bladder as a possible source of hematuria.
An Intravital Multiphoton Microscopy Model for visualization of tumor cell dissemination and lymphatic vasculature

Tumor metastasis and its impact on the organism are the main causes of death in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck region. The presence of metastasis at the time of diagnosis represents a negative prognostic parameter of overall survival and correlates with a 50 % mean reduction of life expectancy, independent of tumor size. The potential for metastasis depends on factors such as the proliferation rate, neoangiogenesis and invasive capacity in intact tissue structures. Many aspects of the molecular mechanisms and supportive factors are not understood. To allow the investigation of such factors, we developed an intravital mouse model for the visualization of tumor cell proliferation, dissemination and lymphatic vasculature by multiphoton microscopy. This technology offers deep tissue penetration, low phototoxicity, superior image contrast, and four-dimensional resolution for investigations at the single cell level in a physiological setting. The human oral cancer cell line OSC-19 was transfected with turbo-red fluorescent protein and implanted in murine pinna. Lymphatic structures were labeled with a deep red-labeled antibody specific for lymphatic vessel endothelial receptor-1. In future research, this model might serve as a tool to gain deeper insights in surface molecules involved in lymphatic metastasis as well as other molecular mechanisms of metastasis and tumor cell migration.
MapReduce programming with apache Hadoop

Apache Hadoop has become the platform of choice for developing large-scale dataintensive applications. In this tutorial, we will discuss design philosophy of Hadoop, describe how to design and develop Hadoop applications and higher-level application frameworks to crunch several terabytes of data, using anywhere from four to 4,000 computers. We will discuss solutions to common problems encountered in maximizing Hadoop application performance. We will also describe several frameworks and utilities developed using Hadoop that increase programmer-productivity and application-performance.