Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Classification and quantification of neuronal fiber pathways using diffusion tensor MRI

Quantitative characterization of neuronal fiber pathways in vivo is of significant neurological and clinical interest. Using the capability of MR diffusion tensor imaging to determine the local orientations of neuronal fibers, novel algorithms were developed to bundle neuronal fiber pathways reconstructed in vivo with diffusion tensor images and to quantify various physical and geometric properties of fiber bundles. The reliability of the algorithms was examined with reproducibility tests. Illustrative results show that consistent physical and geometric measurements of novel properties of neuronal tissue can be obtained, which offer considerable potential for the quantitative study of fiber pathways in vivo. Magn Reson Med 49:716–721, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Complete Genome Sequence of a Highly Prevalent Isolate of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus in South China

ABSTRACT A widespread porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) occurred in southern China during 2010 to 2012. A virulent field PEDV strain, GD-B, was isolated from a sucking piglet suffering from severe diarrhea in Guangdong, China. We sequenced and analyzed the complete genome of strain GD-B, which will promote a better understanding of the molecular epidemiology and genetic diversity of PEDV field isolates in southern China.
The Development of the SenseWear ® armband , a Revolutionary Energy Assessment Device to Assess Physical Activity and Lifestyle

Consumers, clinicians, and researchers lack an easy-to-use, reliable and cost effi cient way to accurately assess metabolic physical activity and energy expenditure, critical components of a variety of behavioral modifi cation programs, including diseaseand weight-management. BodyMedia has addressed this need by developing the SenseWear Pro2 Armband which utilizes a heat fl ux sensor, galvanic skin response sensor, skin temperature sensor, nearbody temperature sensor, and a two axis-accelerometer to gather data leading to the measurement of energy expenditure. This paper outlines the studies that show how the SenseWear Pro2 provides high energy expenditure accuracy rates relative to equipment that is far more expensive, limiting, and diffi cult to use and how it is a cost effi cient and simple solution that can be applied outside the laboratory in a free-living environment to track energy expenditure, physical activity durations and levels, and lifestyle information.
Macroeconomic Policy after the Conservative Era

A conservative approach to economic growth has dominated policy circles for close to two decades. This approach holds that the key to restoring economic growth lies in reducing the size and role of government in the market economy through deregulation of the financial sector, privatization, and lower taxes. The contributors to this 1995 book argue that the principles of 'trickle down' economics are of dubious validity, and have led to economic stagnation, high unemployment, and increasing inequality. They develop a fresh perspective on macroeconomic policy, one affirming that egalitarian and democratic economic structures are not only compatible with economic revival, but in fact offers sustainable growth of living standards. Their alternative recognizes that markets have an important role to play, but only within the framework of macroeconomic stability, corrections of market failures, and egalitarian rules of the game.
Sorting nexin 5 of a new diagnostic marker of papillary thyroid carcinoma regulates Caspase‐2

Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is a well‐differentiated endocrine malignant tumor that develops from thyroid follicular epithelium. The tumor represents the most common type of endocrine malignancy; however, its tumorigenesis is not fully elucidated. The aim of this study was to address the functional role of the sorting nexin (SNX) family in PTC because of recent experimental evidence suggesting that the SNX family members actively control endocytotic transportation as well as cell fate. Expression profiles of SNX family members of PTC showed a significant quantity of transcripts of SNX5. Further immunohistochemical analysis with an SNX5‐specific monoclonal antibody established in this study consistently demonstrated the preferential expression of SNX5 in PTC (94.2%, 113/120 cases) as indicated by studies on 440 cases of various tumors. In contrast, other major carcinomas originating from the lung (2.6%, 1/38 cases), breast (5.1%, 2/39 cases), and intestine (4.2%, 1/24 cases) scarcely expressed SNX5. When we investigated models of murine thyroid tumors induced by the administration of carcinogens, high expression of Snx5 was also observed in well‐differentiated thyroid tumors, further implying that the tumorigenesis of the thyroid gland was tightly associated with the abundance of SNX5/Snx5. Moreover epithelial cells expressing excess SNX5 showed high levels of Caspase‐2 of an initiator caspase. Collectively these findings suggest that the evaluation of SNX5 expression would support pathological diagnosis of primary and secondary PTC. (Cancer Sci 2012; 103: 1356–1362)
The role of systematic reviews of qualitative evidence in evaluating interventions: a case study

Systematic reviews of qualitative evidence have been widely used to provide information on the context and implementation of interventions, and their potential barriers and facilitators. However, such reviews face a number of methodological challenges, and there are ongoing debates as to how qualitative evidence can best be used to inform our understanding of interventions. In this paper, we use a case study of two systematic reviews of qualitative evidence on the prevention of skin cancer to explore these issues. We find that qualitative evidence not directly related to interventions is likely to be of value for such reviews, that it is often not possible to construct fully comprehensive search strategies, and that there are diminishing returns to the synthesis, in terms of added value or insight, from the inclusion of large numbers of primary studies. We conclude that there are a number of ways in which systematic reviews of qualitative evidence can be utilised in conjunction with evidence on intervention effectiveness, without compromising the rigour of the review process. In particular, the use of theory to inform frameworks for synthesis is a promising way to integrate a broader range of qualitative evidence. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The effect of bilateral removal of the submandibulary salivary glands on the erythropoietic response of mice.

The role of the submandibular salivary gland in erythropoiesis in the male mouse (MRC TO strain) was evaluated by subjecting mice without submandibular salivary glands (SX) and control (C) sham-operated mice to a variety of stimuli intended to stress the erythropoietic system. In SX mice, after removal of the submandibular glands at age 4 weeks and observation for 8 weeks, mean hematocrit was the same as in C mice, but mean body weight was less. Bilateral removal of the submandibular glands at age 6 weeks neither affected the rate of fall and subsequent recovery of hematocrit which followed treatment with phenylhydrazine (80 mg/kg intraperitoneally [i.p.] 9 days after operation) nor altered the rate of increase in hematocrit or change in body weight which occurred during hypobaric hypoxia (0.5 atm, > 23 hours/day) for 23 days. Mean (SEM) estimates of serum immunoreactive erythropoietin after 17 hours' continuous hypobaric (0.5 atm) exposure were not significantly different between SX [186 (30) mU/mL, n = 7] and C mice [232 (17) mU/mL, n = 7]. In mice given bilateral nephrectomies at age 6 weeks--2 weeks after SX or C surgery--and then both treated with phenylhydrazine (60 mg/kg i.p.) and exposed for 17 hours to hypobaric (0.5 atm) hypoxia, mean estimates of serum immunoreactive erythropoietin were 22.6 (10.6) mU/mL and 22.3 (5.4) mU/mL in SX (n = 5) and C (n = 5) mice. Results of the study do not support the premise that the submandibular salivary glands either contribute to the erythropoietic response or are a source of extrarenal erythropoietin.
Personality Traits and Job Candidate Screening via Analyzing Facial Videos

In this paper, we propose a novel approach for estimating the Big Five personality traits and the job candidate screening attribute through facial videos. At running time, the proposed system feeds the Pyramid Multi-Level (PML) texture features extracted from the whole video sequence to 5 Support Vector Regressors in order to estimate the personality traits. These estimated five scores are then considered as new input features to the interview score regressor. The latter is given by a Gaussian Process Regression (GPR). The experimental results on ChaLearn LAP APA2016 dataset achieve good performance. Furthermore, they demonstrate that the computational cost of both the training and the testing of the proposed framework are very competitive in terms of accuracy and computational cost.
The Wheeler Method for the Measurement of the Efficiency of Differentially-Driven Microstrip Antennas

This communication reports the application of the Wheeler method for the measurement of the efficiency of differentially-driven microstrip antennas. The S-parameter method and the mixed-mode S-parameter method are both used to obtain the differential impedance with and without the cap. It is shown that although additional parasitic inductance and capacitance are introduced from the dual feeds, the parallel RLC model is the valid model to use for the measured probe-fed differentially-driven microstrip antennas.
Persistence of Small Farms and Associated Poverty Levels in Nigeria: Case for Commercialization of Small Farms

Small farmers are one of the more disadvantaged and vulnerable groups in Nigeria. Studies shown that majority of people living in absolute poverty can be found on small farms with half in this group undernourished and three-quarters of small farmer’s children malnourished. Small farms still dominate agricultural practices in terms of numbers of producers of agricultural commodities. It has been observed that, 74.5% Nigerians population is rural and derived their livelihood from small farms. The question is that these small farms are they going to be a prospering farms or vice-versa? This is the rationale behind this study. Specifically the study looks into heterogeneity in circumstances and diversity in rural livelihoods, the growth of small farms, poverty levels and institutional development facilities available for them was all explore. The index of heterogeneity at 29.1 indicated growth of small farms and about 42% of the respondents were categorized as very poor. The study identified that smallness of farms is not correlated to poverty but the traditionally tried and sometimes fool-proof farming systems. Size of the farms is not the problem, but the operationalization. Evidence from China and India revealed that smallholders are better off in times of productivity. These countries are better in terms of fertilizer consumption, tractor per 100 sq. Km of arable land use and agriculture value added per worker. Conversely, small holder and traditional farmers in Nigeria still use rudimentary production techniques, limited use of improved planting materials and fertilizer consumption, thus suggesting for commercialization of small farms.
Mature Dendritic Cells Express Functional Thrombin Receptors Triggering Chemotaxis and CCL18/Pulmonary and Activation-Regulated Chemokine Induction1

Protease-activated receptors (PARs) are a family of G protein-coupled receptors that are activated by serine protease-mediated proteolytic cleavage of their extracellular domain. We have previously characterized the expression and function of PARs in human monocytes and macrophages, yet information about PARs in dendritic cells (DC) is scarce. Monocyte-derived immature DC do not express PARs. Upon maturation with LPS, but not with TNF-α or CD40 ligand, DC express PAR1 and PAR3, but not PAR2 or PAR4. Stimulation of DC with the serine protease thrombin or PAR1-activating peptide elicits actin polymerization and concentration-dependent chemotactic responses in LPS-, but not in TNF-α-matured DC. The thrombin-induced migration is a true chemotaxis with only negligible chemokinesis. Stimulation of PARs with thrombin or the respective receptor-activating peptides activates ERK1/2 and Rho kinase as well as subsequent phosphorylation of the regulatory myosin L chain 2. The ERK1/2- and Rho kinase 1-mediated phosphorylation of myosin L chain 2 was indispensable for the PAR-mediated chemotaxis as shown by pharmacological inhibitors. Additionally, thrombin stimulated the Rho-dependent release of the CC chemokine CCL18/pulmonary and activation-regulated chemokine, which induces chemotaxis of lymphocytes and immature DC as well as fibroblast proliferation. The colocalization of CD83+ DC with CCL18 in human atherosclerotic plaques revealed by immunofluorescence microscopy combined with the presence of functionally active thrombin receptors on mature DC point to a previously unrecognized functional role of thrombin in DC biology. The thrombin-induced stimulation of mature DC may be of particular relevance in atherosclerotic lesions, which harbor all components of this novel mechanism.
Cumulative Response to Sequences of Terror Attacks Varying in Frequency and Trajectory

There is a paucity of research examining public response to the cumulative effects of multiple related extreme events over time. We investigated the separate and combined effects of frequency and trajectory of terrorist attacks. A scenario simulation of a series of gas station bombings in Southern California was developed to evaluate respondents' affect, risk perception, and intended avoidance behavior using a 3 (frequency; low vs. medium vs. high) by 3 (trajectory; increasing vs. constant vs. decreasing) factorial design. For each of the nine conditions, three videos were created to simulate news broadcasts documenting the attacks over a three‐week period. A total of 275 respondents were included in the analysis. Results from analysis of covariances (ANCOVAs) indicate that trajectory of the sequential attacks (increasing or decreasing in frequency) predicts negative affect, risk perception, and avoidance behavior. In contrast, frequency predicts neither negative affect, positive affect, risk perception, nor intended avoidance behavior. Results from structural equation modeling (SEM) further indicate that the effect of negative affect on behavioral intention is mediated by risk perception and the effect of trajectory on risk perception is partially mediated by negative affect. In addition, both ANCOVAs and SEM model results suggest that (1) females experience less positive affect and perceive more risk than males, (2) respondents with higher income perceive more risk, and (3) younger respondents are more likely to modify their behavior to avoid the risk of future attacks.
Uncertainty and Valuations: A Comment

Cremers and Yan (2016) aim to provide â€œan additional litmus test for the uncertainty-convexity argument in PAistor and Veronesi (2003). â€ We challenge this view, as well as the authorsâ€™ related thoughts on the technology â€œbubbleâ€ of the late 1990s. Nonetheless, we agree with Cremers and Yan that our profession needs to think harder about the measurement of parameter uncertainty.
Asymptotic Analysis of the Steady-State Current Flow in a Uniform Multicathode-Spot Generated Vacuum-Arc Plasma Flow

The current distribution in a model multicathode-spot vacuum-arc generated uniform plasma flow is analyzed analytically by studying the asymptotic behavior of the magnetic transport equation in the limit of large electron-flow magnetic Reynolds number. It is found that the radial distribution of the axial current flow imposed at the cathode is maintained throughout most of the interelectrode region, and that a strong constriction of the current flow occurs in a narrow boundary layer adjacent to the anode surface. The results support the general trend observed in previous numerical solutions.
Two-level clustering fast betweenness centrality computation for requirement-driven approximation

Betweenness centrality is a metric widely used in several domains (social, biological, transportation, computer) to identify critical nodes of networks. Its exact computation is very demanding, with an O(nm) time complexity for unweighted graphs (where n is the number of nodes and m is the number of edges). Such complexity becomes an obstacle to the adoption of betweenness centrality for continuous monitoring of critical nodes in very large networks. Several solutions have been proposed to reduce computation time, mainly via parallelism, approximation or incremental recalculation. In this paper, we propose an algorithm for computing approximated values of betweenness that allows for tuning its performance on the basis of a tolerable error. The algorithm aims at reducing the number of single-source shortest-paths explorations via a pivot-based technique that exploits topological properties of graphs and clustering. It is evaluated by identifying the vulnerabilities (critical nodes) of a real-world, very-large road network. The evaluation shows that the approximation error does not significantly affect the most critical nodes, thus making the algorithm well-suited for on-line operational monitoring of road networks.
Statistical properties of population differentiation estimators under stepwise mutation in a finite island model

Microsatellite loci mutate at an extremely high rate and are generally thought to evolve through a stepwise mutation model. Several differentiation statistics taking into account the particular mutation scheme of the microsatellite have been proposed. The most commonly used is , which is independent of the mutation rate under a generalized stepwise mutation model. and are commonly reported in the literature, but often differ widely. Here we compare their statistical performances using individual‐based simulations of a finite island model. The simulations were run under different levels of gene flow, mutation rates, population number and sizes. In addition to the per locus statistical properties, we compare two ways of combining over loci. Our simulations show that even under a strict stepwise mutation model, no statistic is best overall. All estimators suffer to different extents from large bias and variance. While better reflects population differentiation in populations characterized by very low gene‐exchange, gives better estimates in cases of high levels of gene flow. The number of loci sampled (12, 24, or 96) has only a minor effect on the relative performance of the estimators under study. For all estimators there is a striking effect of the number of samples, with the differentiation estimates showing very odd distributions for two samples.
Currently used criteria for active surveillance in men with low‐risk prostate cancer

Active surveillance (AS) represents a treatment option for select patients with low‐risk, organ‐confined prostate cancer (PCa). In this report, the authors addressed the rates of misclassification associated with the use of 5 different clinical criteria for AS. Misclassification was defined as the presence of either nonorgan‐confined disease or high‐grade PCa.
Analyzing Economic Growth From Structural Unobserved Component Modeling: The Case of Senegal

Using the structural unobserved component (UC) modeling, this study will analyze the Senegalese economic growth path after 5 decades of independence by focusing on the potential output, the GDP cycle, and the type of shocks on the GDP. Empirical evidence suggests that an inventory cycle mainly drives the GDP short-term component with a time-varying extent of fluctuations. The main sources of shocks result from external determining factors. However, their persistent effects have been mitigated particularly since the devaluation of 1994. International institutions have motivated the relative successful GDP growth path of Senegal. Nevertheless, some structural internal improvements are needed to balance the financial and productive flaws in order to consolidate both the resilience to shocks as well as the macroeconomic stabilization.
Comparison of Acid Mine Drainage Microbial Communities in Physically and Geochemically Distinct Ecosystems

ABSTRACT This study presents population analyses of microbial communities inhabiting a site of extreme acid mine drainage (AMD) production. The site is the inactive underground Richmond mine at Iron Mountain, Calif. , where the weathering of a massive sulfide ore body (mostly pyrite) produces solutions with pHs of ∼0.5 to ∼1.0. Here we used a suite of oligonucleotide probes, designed from molecular data recently acquired from the site, to analyze a number of microbial environments by fluorescent in situ hybridization. Microbial-community analyses were correlated with geochemical and mineralogical data from those environments. The environments investigated were within the ore body and thus at the site of pyrite dissolution, as opposed to environments that occur downstream of the dissolution. Few organism types, as defined by the specificities of the oligonucleotide probes, dominated the microbial communities. The majority of the dominant organisms detected were newly discovered or organisms only recently associated with acid-leaching environments. “Ferroplasma” spp. were detected in many of the communities and were particularly dominant in environments of lowest pH and highest ionic strength.Leptospirillum spp. were also detected in many slime and pyrite-dominated environments. In samples of an unusual subaerial slime, a new uncultured Leptospirillum sp. dominated.Sulfobacillus spp. were detected as a prominent inhabitant in warmer (∼43°C) environments. The information gathered here is critical for determining organisms important to AMD production at Iron Mountain and for directing future studies of this process. The findings presented here also have relevance to the microbiology of industrial bioleaching and to the understanding of geochemical iron and sulfur cycles.
Mixing at the microscale: Power input in shaken microtiter plates

Power input and local energy dissipation are crucial parameters for the engineering characterization of mixing and fluid dynamics at the microscale. Since hydrodynamic stress is solely dependent on the maximum power input, we adapted the clay/polymer method to obtain flock destruction kinetics in six‐, 24‐, and 96‐well microtiter plates on orbital shakers. We also determined the specific power input using calorimetry and found that the power input is at the same order of magnitude for the six‐ and 96‐well plates and the laboratory‐scale stirred tank reactor, with 40 to 90 W/m3 (Re' = 180 to 440), 40 to 140 W/m3 (Re' = 320 to 640), and 30 to 50 W/m3 (Re = 4000 to 8500), respectively. All of these values are significantly below 450 to 2100 W/m3 determined for the pilot‐scale reactor. The hydrodynamic stress differs significantly between the different formats of MTPs, as the 96‐well plates showed very low shear stress on the shaker with a shaking amplitude of 3 mm. Thus, the transfer of mixing conditions from the microtiter plate to small‐scale and pilot‐scale reactors must be undertaken with care. Our findings, especially the power input determined by the calorimetric method, show that the hydrodynamic conditions in laboratory‐ and pilot‐scale reactors cannot be reached.
Specific regions of Escherichia coli OmpF protein involved in antigenic and colicin receptor sites and in stable trimerization

Four different mutations were obtained by selecting for resistance to colicin N and screening for continued production of the OmpF protein of Escherichia coli. Two of them also conferred resistance to colicin A. The substitutions C for R-168 (R168C) and E284K caused the loss of the E21 epitope, while the transition G285D altered the E18, E19, and E20 antigenic sites. The substitution G119D drastically affected the stability of the trimeric conformation.