Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
[Adhesive capsulitis: evaluation of a treatment coupling capsular distension and intensive rehabilitation].

INTRODUCTION Adhesive capsulitis is a clinical entity characterized by a loss of motion and a decrease of the joint volume capacity. Results of clinical trials have shown that distensions can help to decrease pain and increase the range of motion. OBJECTIVE The purpose of the study was to measure the effect of repeated distension arthrography combined with an intensive program of rehabilitation on pain, range of motion, and occupational outcome in patients with adhesive capsulitis. DESIGN 39 cases of idiopathic capsulitis (7 cases) or secondary capsulitis (19 post-traumatic, 13 post-surgery of the rotator cuff) were included in the study. Intervention consisted of an intensive program of passive and active physiotherapy during one? Week and then distension arthrography, performed 3 times at 1- week intervals, with steroid injections in the glenohumeral joint and 1 in the subacromial space. RESULTS Lateral elevation improved substantially after the first week of physiotherapy and medial rotation after the first distension. Pain intensity decreased after the first distension. After the third distension, very small changes were noted. Results did not differ by etiology of capsulitis. At the end of the program, 9 of 17 patients could return to their previous job. CONCLUSIONS Two repeated arthrographic distensions with steroid injection and an intensive program of physiotherapy improves the range of motion and the painful condition associated with capsulitis and allows for a rapid return to employment. A third distension does not seem to provide a further benefit, as has been found by other studies.
Sentiment Network Analysis of Taleban and RFE/RL Open-Source Content about Afghanistan

Analysis of sentiment expressed in political systems' communication over long periods of time has been difficult. This research illustrates a method based on network analysis, the Sentiment Network Analyzer (SNAZ). It identifies weighted shortest paths between seed words and 3,500 target sentiment words as these occur in semantic networks extracted from open-source documents sliced into time intervals. Computing the normalized intensity ratios of positive and negative sentiment for each time slice enables application of the "Losada Line. " For a system to be flourishing there must be at least 2.9 times more positive than negative communication. Below that ratio the system is languishing. Excessive positivity above a ratio of 11.6 marks the disintegration of a system into chaotic oscillation. We collected and analyzed five years of documents propaganda mentioning the Tale ban from Afghani and Pakistani sources transcribed by BBC International Monitoring. Likewise, we extract and analyze stories communicated by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) connected with Afghanistan over the same five-year period. Semantic network and sentiment network analysis is coupled with the computation of positivity ratios in each time slice during this period. Tale ban content is generally evident of flourishing, except for a period of oscillation between flourishing and excessive positivity beginning in the third quarter of 2010. RFE/RL is consistently languishing, reaching the 2.9 flourishing level in only one period. We discuss possible reasons. We also consider some implications for perception management and counter terrorism strategy.
The pro alpha 2(V) collagen gene is evolutionarily related to the major fibrillar-forming collagens [published erratum appears in Nucleic Acids Res 1987 May 11;15(9): 3946]

A number of overlapping cDNA clones, covering 5.2 kb of sequences which code for the human pro alpha 2(V) collagen chain, have been isolated. Analysis of the structural data have indicated a close evolutionary kinship between the pro alpha 2(V) chain and the major fibrillar collagen types. Isolation and analysis of an 8 kb genomic fragment has further supported this notion by revealing a homologous arrangement of nine triple-helical domain exons. These studies have therefore provided conclusive evidence which categorizes the Type V collagen as a member of the Group 1 molecules, or fibrillar-forming collagens.
Effect of DiD Carbocyanine Dye Labeling on Immunoregulatory Function and Differentiation of Mice Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been used to treat a variety of degenerative disorders. Labeling of MSCs with an appropriate tracer is vital to demonstrate the in vivo engraftment and differentiation of transplanted MSCs. DiD is a lipophilic fluorescent dye with near infrared emission spectra that makes it suitable for in vivo tracing. Therefore, in the present study the consequences of DiD labeling on induction of oxidative stress and apoptosis as well as inhibition of biological functions of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were investigated. DiD labeling did not provoke the production of ROS, induction of apoptosis, or inhibition of production of immunosuppressive factors (PGE2 and IL-10) by MSCs. In addition, there were no statistical differences between DiD-labeled and unlabeled MSCs in suppression of proliferation and cytokine production (IFN-γ and IL-17) by in vitro stimulated splenocytes or improvement of clinical score in EAE after in vivo administration. In addition, DiD labeling did not alter the differentiation capacity of MSCs. Taken together, DiD can be considered as a safe dye for in vivo tracking of MSCs.
A new language independent, photo-realistic talking head driven by voice only

We propose a new photo-realistic, voice driven only (i.e. no linguistic info of the voice input is needed) talking head. The core of the new talking head is a context-dependent, multilayer, Deep Neural Network (DNN), which is discriminatively trained over hundreds of hours, speaker independent speech data. The trained DNN is then used to map acoustic speech input to 9,000 tied “senone” states probabilistically. For each photo-realistic talking head, an HMM-based lips motion synthesizer is trained over the speaker’s audio/visual training data where states are statistically mapped to the corresponding lips images. In test, for given speech input, DNN predicts the likely states in their posterior probabilities and photo-realistic lips animation is then rendered through the DNN predicted state lattice. The DNN trained on English, speaker independent data has also been tested with other language input, e.g. Mandarin, Spanish, etc. to mimic the lips movements cross-lingually. Subjective experiments show that lip motions thus rendered for 15 non-English languages are highly synchronized with the audio input and photo-realistic to human eyes perceptually.
Modelado Individualizado de Secuencias Simbólicas ( MOISES ) TIC 2002-04019-C 03

This project approaches the study, theoretical development, implementation, and empirical validation of formal concepts and the criteria for its use in the construction of predictive and descriptive models for symbolic sequences. In particular we will study the following model types: compression mechanisms (finitestate compressors and Lempel-Ziv algorithms), generalizations of graphs (probabilistic extensions, decision trees, integration of decision trees with Markov hidden models), grammatical models (such as categorial grammars), time series, study of subsequences (discovery of episodes, frequent sets and association rules; learning of patterns of behaviour). The empirical validation of models will be done through great amounts of real data: university students, oncological data from the Hospital Cĺınico Universitario, biological sequences, climatology data.
Prediction of Therapy Response and Prognosis in Leukemias by Flow Cytometric MDR Assays

Multidrug resistance (MDR) is an unwanted phenomenon, that may cause therapy failure in several neoplasms including hematological malignancies. The purpose of any type of laboratory MDR assay is to reliably identify such patients and to provide useful data to clinicians with a relatively short turnaround time. MDR can be multicausal and several previous data identified a group of transmembrane proteins - the ATP-binding casette (ABC) proteins - that may be involved in MDR in various hematological malignancies. The prototype of these proteins is the P-glycoprotein (Pgp, MDR1, ABCB1) that is a seven-membrane spanning transmembrane protein capable of extruding several cytotoxic drugs that are of key importance in the treatment of hematological disorders. Similarly other ABC proteins – Multidrug resistance associated protein 1 (ABCC1) and breast cancer resistance protein (ABCG2) are both capable of pumping out cytotoxic drugs. Here, we present flow cytometric methods to identify MDR proteins by antigen and activity assays. The advantage of flow technology is the short turnaround time and its relative easiness compared to nucleic acid based technologies. However, for the activity assays, it should be noted, that these functional tests require live cells, thus adequate results can only be provided if the specimen transport can be completed within 6 hours of sample collection. Identification of MDR proteins provides prognostic information and may modulate therapy, thus signifies a clinically useful information in the evaluation of patients with leukemias.
ERK2, but Not ERK1, Mediates Acquired and “De novo” Resistance to Imatinib Mesylate: Implication for CML Therapy

Resistance to Imatinib Mesylate (IM) is a major problem in Chronic Myelogenous Leukaemia management. Most of the studies about resistance have focused on point mutations on BCR/ABL. However, other types of resistance that do not imply mutations in BCR/ABL have been also described. In the present report we aim to study the role of several MAPK in IM resistance not associate to BCR/ABL mutations. Therefore we used an experimental system of resistant cell lines generated by co-culturing with IM (K562, Lama 84) as well as primary material from resistant and responder patient without BCR/ABL mutations. Here we demonstrate that Erk5 and p38MAPK signaling pathways are not implicated in the acquired resistance phenotype. However, Erk2, but not Erk1, is critical for the acquired resistance to IM. In fact, Bcr/Abl activates preferentially Erk2 in transient transfection in a dose dependent fashion through the c-Abl part of the chimeric protein. Finally, we present evidences demonstrating how constitutive activation of Erk2 is a de novo mechanism of resistance to IM. In summary our data support the use of therapeutic approaches based on Erk2 inhibition, which could be added to the therapeutic armamentarium to fight CML, especially when IM resistance develops secondary to Erk2 activation.
Expression Profiling of Transcriptome and Its Associated Disease Risk in Yang Deficiency Constitution of Healthy Subjects

Objectives. Differences among healthy subjects and associated disease risks are of substantial interest in clinical medicine. According to the theory of “constitution-disease correlation” in traditional Chinese medicine, we try to find out if there is any connection between intolerance of cold in Yang deficiency constitution and molecular evidence and if there is any gene expression basis in specific disorders. Methods. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were collected from Chinese Han individuals with Yang deficiency constitution (n = 20) and balanced constitution (n = 8) (aged 18–28) and global gene expression profiles were determined between them using the Affymetrix HG-U133 Plus 2.0 array. Results. The results showed that when the fold change was ≥1.2 and q ≤ 0.05, 909 genes were upregulated in the Yang deficiency constitution, while 1189 genes were downregulated. According to our research differential genes found in Yang deficiency constitution were usually related to lower immunity, metabolic disorders, and cancer tendency. Conclusion. Gene expression disturbance exists in Yang deficiency constitution, which corresponds to the concept of constitution and gene classification. It also suggests people with Yang deficiency constitution are susceptible to autoimmune diseases, enteritis, arthritis, metabolism disorders, and cancer, which provides molecular evidence for the theory of “constitution-disease correlation. ”
Effective Memetic Algorithms for VLSI Design = Genetic Algorithms Local Search Multi-Level Clustering

Combining global and local search is a strategy used by many successful hybrid optimization approaches. Memetic Algorithms (MAs) are Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs) that apply some sort of local search to further improve the fitness of individuals in the population. Memetic Algorithms have been shown to be very effective in solving many hard combinatorial optimization problems. This paper provides a forum for identifying and exploring the key issues that affect the design and application of Memetic Algorithms. The approach combines a hierarchical design technique, Genetic Algorithms, constructive techniques and advanced local search to solve VLSI circuit layout in the form of circuit partitioning and placement. Results obtained indicate that Memetic Algorithms based on local search, clustering and good initial solutions improve solution quality on average by 35 for the VLSI circuit partitioning problem and 54 for the VLSI standard cell placement problem.
eXtended Finite Element Method applied to the strength prediction of adhesively-bonded joints

High-strength composites are widely used in several industries, such as aeronautical, automotive and naval, and they can be combined with metals to provide significant advantages in structural design. The application of adhesive bonding to these assemblies supposes the existence of reliable design tools to accurately analyse the joints’ behaviour. In this context, the eXtended Finite Element Method (XFEM) is a recent possibility to predict bonded’ joints fracture behaviour. This work aims to study by XFEM single-L adhesive joints between aluminium components and carbon-epoxy composites under peeling loads, considering the variation of the L-shaped adherend’s thickness (tP2) and adhesives of distinct ductility. The XFEM analysis was either based on stress or strain criteria for assessment of damage initiation, and different damage law types for crack propagation. Validation was undertaken with experimental data. The XFEM analysis revealed that this method is very accurate when using the stress-based quadratic initiation criterion and the triangular propagation law. It was shown that the L-shaped adherend’s geometry and the adhesive type are the most important parameters affecting the joints’ strength.
Limiting laws of coherence of random matrices with applications to testing covariance structure and construction of compressed sensing matrices

Testing covariance structure is of significant interest in many areas of statistical analysis and construction of compressed sensing matrices is an important problem in signal processing. Motivated by these applications, we study in this paper the limiting laws of the coherence of an n× p random matrix in the high-dimensional setting where p can be much larger than n. Both the law of large numbers and the limiting distribution are derived. We then consider testing the bandedness of the covariance matrix of a high-dimensional Gaussian distribution which includes testing for independence as a special case. The limiting laws of the coherence of the data matrix play a critical role in the construction of the test. We also apply the asymptotic results to the construction of compressed sensing matrices.
Detecting Non-compliant Consumers in Spatio-Temporal Health Data: A Case Study from Medicare Australia

This paper describes our experience with applying data mining techniques to the problem of fraud detection in spatio-temporal health data in Medicare Australia. A modular framework that brings together disparate data mining techniques is adopted. Several generally applicable techniques for extracting features from spatial and temporal data are also discussed. The system was evaluated with input from domain experts and was found to achieve high hit rates. We also discuss some lessons drawn from the experience.
Intestinal parasitic infections and socioeconomic status in Prek Russey Commune, Cambodia.

OBJECTIVE Possible relationships were explored between socioeconomic status (SES) and intestinal parasitic infections among residents of Prek Russey, a commune in a rural area near Phnom Penh. METHODS An epidemiological study was conducted in Prek Russey Commune, consisting of the following three villages: Kroppeu Ha (KH), Prek Russey (PR), and Prek AngChanh (PA), with respective populations of 3,401, 1,350, and 1,044. Examinations of intestinal parasitic infections and the interview survey were performed. RESULTS Among the residents of KH, PR, and PA, respectively, the prevalence rates of three major species of parasites were as follows: 17%, 27%, and 34% had hookworm; 14%, 17%, and 19% had Ascaris lumbricoides; and 13%, 17%, and 18% had Strongyloides stercoralis. The prevalence of each parasitic group tended to increase in the order of KH, PR, and PA. The greatest differences between the villages were in the prevalence of hookworm infection. Our epidemiological survey revealed three SES-related factors whose proportions increased or decreased in the order of KH, PR, and PA. First, the percentages of households purchasing relatively safe drinking water were 96%, 63%, and 2%, respectively. Second, whereas 82% and 78% of houses in KH and PR were equipped with a latrine, only 41% of houses in PA were so equipped. Third, the proportion of households whose main income was from farming increased in the order of KH, PR, and PA. CONCLUSION The present study thus suggests that greater latrine use and less dependence on farming activity are related to a lower prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections, although the results are not conclusive due to the ecological nature of the study.
Position paper: Lack of keyboard support cripples block-based programming

Block-based programming is very popular with beginners, but it has failed to gain traction among intermediate and expert programmers. The mouse-centric interfaces typically found in block-based programming environments make edit interactions (especially in large programs) tedious and awkward. We propose that adding keyboard support is a key step to extending the applicability of block-based programming ideas and would allow their use by intermediate and expert programmers, extending some of their benefits to new user groups. We describe an implementation of this idea, `frame-based programming', which leads to a number of benefits in error avoidance and edit efficiency.
Impact of ocean dynamics on the simulation of the neoproterozoic “snowball Earth”

A fully coupled ocean‐atmosphere general circulation model (the Fast Ocean‐Atmosphere Model) is used to simulate the Neoproterozoic climate with a reduced solar luminosity (95% of present‐day), low atmospheric CO2 (140 ppmv), and an idealized tropical supercontinent. Two coupled simulations were completed with present‐day and cold initial ocean temperatures. These experiments are compared with uncoupled (i.e., mixed‐layer) model experiments to determine the impact of a dynamical ocean on the Neoproterozoic simulations. In contrast to global sea‐ice coverage in the uncoupled experiments, the sea‐ice margin seasonally advances to 46 and 55° latitude in the coupled experiments. The coupled simulations demonstrate that dynamic ocean processes can prevent a snowball solution and suggest that a reduced solar luminosity and low atmospheric CO2 are not by themselves sufficient conditions for a snowball solution. Heat exchange through vertical mixing in the mid‐latitudes, caused by static instability, is identified as the primary process halting the advance of the sea‐ice margin.
Interaction of dislocation pile-up with a low-angle tilt boundary: a discrete dislocation dynamics study

Abstract The pile-up of dislocations between two low-angle tilt boundaries (LATB) in an fcc crystal was simulated using three-dimensional discrete dislocation dynamics. The LATB was constructed using glissile edge dislocations stacked on each other. The dislocations in the pile-up were chosen such that their reactions with the dislocations in the LATB resulted in glissile junctions. Parallel pairs of dislocations were inserted to a maximum allowable value estimated from theoretical expressions. A resolved shear stress was applied and increased in steps so as to move the dislocations in the pile-up towards the boundaries. The shear stress required to break the lead dislocation from the wall was determined for varying spacings between the two boundaries. The shear stress and boundary spacing followed the Hall–Petch type relation. Dislocation pile-ups without a LATB were also simulated. The spacing of the dislocations in the pile-up with LATB was found to be closer (ie higher dislocation density) than that without LATB. It was shown through analytical expressions that LATB exerts an attractive force on the dislocations in the pile-up thereby creating a denser pile-up.
Three-dimensional simulations of sheared current sheets: transition to turbulence?

Systems of multiple current sheets arise in various situations in natural plasmas, such as at the heliospheric current sheet in the solar wind and in the outer heliosphere in the heliosheath. Previous three-dimensional simulations have shown that such systems can develop turbulent-like fluctuations resulting from a forward and inverse cascade in wave vector space. We present a study of the transition to turbulence of such multiple current sheet systems, including the effects of adding a magnetic guide field and velocity shears across the current sheets. Three-dimensional hybrid simulations are performed of systems with eight narrow current sheets in a triply periodic geometry. We carry out a number of different analyses of the evolution of the fluctuations as the initially highly ordered state relaxes to one which resembles turbulence. Despite the evidence of a forward and inverse cascade in the fluctuation power spectra, we find that none of the simulated cases have evidence of intermittency after the initial period of fast reconnection associated with the ion tearing instability at the current sheets. Cancellation analysis confirms that the simulations have not evolved to a state which can be identified as fully developed turbulence. The addition of velocity shears across the current sheets slows the evolution in the properties of the fluctuations, but by the end of the simulation they are broadly similar. However, if the simulation is constrained to be two-dimensional, differences are found, indicating that fully three-dimensional simulations are important when studying the evolution of an ordered equilibrium towards a turbulent-like state.