Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Eye Histology and Ganglion Cell Topography of Northern Elephant Seals (Mirounga angustirostris)

Northern elephant seals are one of the deepest diving marine mammals. As northern elephant seals often reach the bathypelagic zone, it is usually assumed that their eyes possess evolutionary adaptations that provide better ability to see in dim or scotopic environments. The purpose of this study was to carefully describe anatomical and histological traits of the eye that may improve light sensitivity. Northern elephant seals have large, somewhat elliptical eyes, with equatorial and anteroposterior diameters of 5.03 and 4.4 cm, respectively. The cornea is large in diameter and the lens is completely spherical. The iris has pronounced constrictor and dilator muscles, whereas the ciliary muscle is notably less developed. The tapetum lucidum is more prominent than in other pinnipeds, making up about 63% of retinal thickness in the posterior aspect of the globe. Within the retina, the pigmented epithelium lacks pigment except for the region close to the ora serrata. Parts of the photoreceptor and outer nuclear layers are folded. Although the photoreceptor layer is composed predominantly of rods, cone photoreceptors were also observed. Cells within the retinal ganglion cell layer are arranged in a single level. Ganglion cells reach their maximum density (∼1,300 cells per mm2) dorsal to the optic disc, whereas the periphery of the retina is sparsely populated (<100 cells per mm2). All above mentioned features are consistent with the predicted evolutionary adaptations to the photic environment of the bathypelagic zone. Anat Rec, 299:798–805, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Polymorphisms of IL-17 and ICAM-1 and their expression in Guillain–Barré syndrome

Purpose: Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) is an acute inflammatory, autoimmune disorder of peripheral nervous system. Interleukin-17 (IL-17) and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) polymorphisms with higher expression levels have already been studied in many inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. However, the possible role of IL-17 and ICAM-1 polymorphisms in GBS remains unknown. Therefore, the current study investigated IL-17 (His161Arg and Glu126Gly) and ICAM-1 (Gly241Arg) polymorphisms. Materials and method: In this study, total 80 GBS patients and 75 normal healthy controls were included. IL-17 (His161Arg and Glu126Gly) and ICAM-1 (Gly241Arg) polymorphisms were performed using polymerase chain reaction –restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. Further, the expression of ICAM-1 and IL-17 was determined by reverse-transcriptase PCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: IL-17 (Glu126Gly) mutant and ICAM-1 (Gly241Arg) heterozygous genotypes were strongly associated with increased risk of GBS (p < 0.016; OR = 3.706, 95% CI = 1.28–10.67; p < 0.001; OR = 4.148, 95% CI = 2.119–8.119, respectively). IL-17 and ICAM-1 genes showed significantly higher expression in GBS when compared with healthy controls. Conclusion: IL-17 and ICAM-1 polymorphisms showed significant association with GBS and their enhanced expressions have possible role in GBS development. IL-17 and ICAM-1 polymorphisms could be genetic markers to GBS susceptibility.
Robust Camera Calibration by Optimal Localization of Spatial Control Points

This paper proposes a novel method for localization optimization of control points for robust calibration of a pinhole model camera. Instead of performing accurate subpixel control point detection by specialized operators, which are normally adopted in conventional work, our proposed method concentrates on estimating the optimal control points in regions of plausibility determined by distortion bias from perspective distortion, lens distortion, and localization bias from out-of-focus blurring. With this method, the two main strict preconditions for camera calibration in conventional work are relieved. The first one is that the input images for calibration are assumed to be well focused and the second one is that the individual control point needs to be detected with high accuracy. In our work, we formulate the accurate determination of control points' localization as an optimization process. This optimization process takes determined control points' uncertainty area as input. A global searching algorithm combined with Levenberg-Marquardt optimization algorithm is introduced for searching the optimal control points and refining camera parameters. Experimental results show that the proposed method achieves higher accuracy than the conventional methods.
Effects of Microvoids, Oxide Inclusions, and Sulfide Inclusions of the Fatigue Strength of Wheel Steels

The effects of microscopic discontinuities on reducing the fatigue strength of steels are well known. This paper will attempt to quantify the reduction of fatigue strength due to measured quantities of microvoids, oxide inclusions, and sulfide inclusions of the fatigue strength of wheel steels. Murikami and Endo have derived a model that relates the effects of void and inclusion area and hardness on the fatigue endurance limit. In the present work is presented a unique analysis where the effect of microcleanliness is investigated. The Murikami model was used for simplicity and because the goal in this publications is to demonstrate that inclusions play an important role on wheel performance. This work summarizes the microcleanliness analysis of 113 wheels; most of such wheels were removed from revenue service due to failure. The nature of the failure indicates that the wheels failed due to a fatigue related problem. For these reason, it is of paramount interest to determine the effects of defects (i.e. voids or inclusions) on wheel performance. For this reason a simple model (Murikami) was employed to quantify the effect of defects that were measured using the microanalysis.Copyright © 2007 by Transportation Technology Center, Inc.
Anesthesia and Intraoperative High-Frequency Oscillatory Ventilation During Burn Surgery

High-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) is a mainstay in the ventilatory management of severe acute respiratory distress syndrome in our burn center. Many patients require burn surgery while on HFOV, potentially necessitating the use of HFOV during general anesthesia in the operating room. The purpose of this study was to describe the technique of providing and maintaining intraoperative HFOV. This is a retrospective analysis of the hospital and anesthesia records of all adult burn patients who went to the operating room on HFOV at our regional burn center between October 22, 1999, and April 30, 2009. There were 57 procedures performed on 36 patients who were receiving HFOV for severe acute respiratory distress syndrome available for analysis (age 45 ± 16 years, %TBSA burn 43 ± 14, % full-thickness burn 32 ± 19, and 69% with inhalation injury). Intraoperative HFOV settings were mean airway pressure 33 ± 4 cm H2O, frequency 5 ± 1 Hz, and FiO2 0.7 ± 0.2. There were no significant changes in oxygenation as measured by the PaO2/FiO2 ratio and the oxygenation index, but there was a transient but significant increase in PaCO2 intraoperatively. Existing continuous infusions of midazolam, opioids, and neuromuscular blockers were continued during surgey and were augmented by a variety of parenteral agents, including propofol, fentanyl, and ketamine during surgery. Prone positioning was required in 16 of 57 procedures. Subanalysis of the prone cases showed no significant changes in the PaO2/FiO2 ratio or oxygenation index but again showed a significant but temporary increase in intraoperative PaCO2. HFOV was aborted for conventional mechanical ventilation in three cases due to respiratory deterioration (2 cases) and hemodynamic instability (1 case). There were no intraoperative deaths. In-hospital mortality was 33%. Intraoperative HFOV was feasible and safe in the overwhelming majority of cases, and aside from an inconsequential period of intraoperative hypercapnia, this was not associated with any hemodynamic instability or compromise in oxygenation.
Ectopic Expression of Mouse Melanopsin in Drosophila Photoreceptors Reveals Fast Response Kinetics and Persistent Dark Excitation*

The intrinsically photosensitive M1 retinal ganglion cells (ipRGC) initiate non-image-forming light-dependent activities and express the melanopsin (OPN4) photopigment. Several features of ipRGC photosensitivity are characteristic of fly photoreceptors. However, the light response kinetics of ipRGC is much slower due to unknown reasons. Here we used transgenic Drosophila, in which the mouse OPN4 replaced the native Rh1 photopigment of Drosophila R1–6 photoreceptors, resulting in deformed rhabdomeric structure. Immunocytochemistry revealed OPN4 expression at the base of the rhabdomeres, mainly at the rhabdomeral stalk. Measurements of the early receptor current, a linear manifestation of photopigment activation, indicated large expression of OPN4 in the plasma membrane. Comparing the early receptor current amplitude and action spectra between WT and the Opn4-expressing Drosophila further indicated that large quantities of a blue absorbing photopigment were expressed, having a dark stable blue intermediate state. Strikingly, the light-induced current of the Opn4-expressing fly photoreceptors was ∼40-fold faster than that of ipRGC. Furthermore, an intense white flash induced a small amplitude prolonged dark current composed of discrete unitary currents similar to the Drosophila single photon responses. The induction of prolonged dark currents by intense blue light could be suppressed by a following intense green light, suggesting induction and suppression of prolonged depolarizing afterpotential. This is the first demonstration of heterologous functional expression of mammalian OPN4 in the genetically emendable Drosophila photoreceptors. Moreover, the fast OPN4-activated ionic current of Drosophila photoreceptors relative to that of mouse ipRGC, indicates that the slow light response of ipRGC does not arise from an intrinsic property of melanopsin.
Preliminary findings of altered functional connectivity of the default mode network linked to functional outcomes one year after pediatric traumatic brain injury

ABSTRACT Purpose and Method: This study examined functional connectivity of the default mode network (DMN) and examined brain–behavior relationships in a pilot cohort of children with chronic mild to moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI). Results: Compared to uninjured peers, children with TBI demonstrated less anti-correlated functional connectivity between DMN and right Brodmann Area 40 (BA 40). In children with TBI, more anomalous less anti-correlated) connectivity between DMN and right BA 40 was linked to poorer performance on response inhibition tasks. Conclusion: Collectively, these preliminary findings suggest that functional connectivity between DMN and BA 40 may relate to longterm functional outcomes in chronic pediatric TBI.
Influence of Comorbidities and Age on Outcome Following Burn Injury in Older Adults

Despite advances in medical and surgical techniques, older adults tend to be at high risk for adverse outcomes following burn injury. The purpose of this study was to examine the relative impacts of age and medical comorbidities on outcome following injury in a cohort of older adults. This was a retrospective study of all patients age 55 and over admitted to the University of Washington Burn Center from 1999 to 2003. To examine the effect of baseline medical comorbidities on outcome, a Charlson Comorbidity Index score was calculated for each patient. Multivariate regression analyses were used to examine the impact of age and comorbidities on mortality and other complications. Patient records were also matched with the National Death Index to determine the effects of age and comorbidities on mortality within 1 year following hospital discharge. A total of 325 patients who were of 55 years and older were admitted to the burn center during the 5-year study period. The overall mortality rate was 18.5%. Mortality was independently associated with age, inhalation injury, and burn size. One-year mortality was significantly associated with those older than age 75 and the Charlson score. Longer length of stay was significantly associated with burn size, inhalation injury, and total number of in-hospital complications. This study demonstrates that patient age—independent of baseline medical comorbidities—and TBSA burn are the most significant factors impacting in-hospital mortality risk following burn injury. Higher number of medical comorbidities was associated with increased mortality risk within 1 year following discharge.
Examples of implementation and evaluation of treatment fidelity in the BCC studies: Where we are and where we need to go

Treatment fidelity plays an important role in the research team's ability to ensure that a treatment has been implemented as intended and that the treatment has been accurately tested. Developing, implementing, and evaluating a treatment fidelity plan can be challenging. The treatment fidelity workgroup within the Behavior Change Consortium (BCC) developed guidelines to comprehensively evaluate treatment fidelity in behavior change research. The guidelines include evaluation of treatment fidelity with regard to study design, training of interventionists, delivery and receipt of the intervention, and enactment of the intervention in real-life settings. This article describes these guidelines and provides examples from four BCC studies as to how these recommended guidelines for fidelity were considered. Future work needs to focus not only on implementing treatment fidelity plans but also on quantifying the evaluations performed, developing specific criteria for interpretation of the findings, and establishing best practices of treatment fidelity.
Microbial oil production from sugarcane bagasse hydrolysates by oleaginous yeast and filamentous fungi

This study investigated the potential use of sugarcane bagasse as a feedstock for oil production through microbial cultivation. Bagasse was subjected to dilute acid pretreatment with 0.4 wt% H2SO4 (in liquid) at a solid/liquid ratio of 1:6 (wt/wt) at 170 °C for 15 min, followed by enzymatic hydrolysis of solid residue. The liquid fractions of the pretreatment process and the enzymatic hydrolysis process were detoxified and used as liquid hydrolysate (SCBLH) and enzymatic hydrolysate (SCBEH) for the microbial oil production by oleaginous yeast (Rhodotorula mucilaginosa) and filamentous fungi (Aspergillus oryzae and Mucor plumbeus). The results showed that all strains were able to grow and produce oil from bagasse hydrolysates. The highest oil concentrations produced from bagasse hydrolysates were by M. plumbeus at 1.59 g/L (SCBLH) and 4.74 g/L (SCBEH). The microbial oils obtained have similar fatty acid compositions to vegetable oils, indicating that the oil can be used for the production of second generation biodiesel. On the basis of oil yields obtained by M. plumbeus, from 10 million t (wet weight) of bagasse generated annually from sugar mills in Australia, it is estimated that the total biodiesel that could be produced would be equivalent to about 9% of Queensland’s diesel consumption.
Higher programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) mRNA level in clear cell renal cell carcinomas is associated with a favorable outcome due to the active immune responses in tumor tissues

Renal cell carcinoma is one of the most common urological tumors. The role of programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) in renal cell carcinomas in predicting outcome of the patients is yet unclear. We analyzed the clinical and RNA-seq data of 522 kidney clear cell cancer, 259 kidney papillary cell carcinoma and 66 kidney chromophobe patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. In kidney clear cell cancer patients with high PD-L1 mRNA level and low PD-L1 mRNA level in tumors, the median overall survival periods were 45.0 and 37.1 months respectively (p=0.002). Multivariate Cox regression tests found that PD-L1 mRNA level in tumor was an independent predictor for overall survival status in kidney clear cell cancer patients (HR=0.7, 95% CI 0.5-0.9, p=0.007). However, no significant difference in overall survival status was found between high and low PD-L1 groups in kidney papillary cell carcinoma and kidney chromophobe cohorts. Gene-set enrichment analysis on the data from databases of TCGA and GSE53757 dataset in Gene Expression Omnibus databases showed that several pathways relating to immunological functions were activated in kidney clear cell cancers with high PD-L1 mRNA expression, and glycolysis and epithelial-mesenchymal transition pathways relating to tumor progression and metastasis were increased in kidney clear cell cancers with low PD-L1 mRNA level. In conclusion, higher PD-L1 mRNA level in kidney clear cell cancer tissues was associated with a favorable outcome due to the higher immunological responses in tumor tissues.
Impact of current transformer saturation on fault location algorithms for parallel distribution feeders

This paper evaluates the impact of current transformer (CT) saturation on fault location determination for parallel distribution networks. As the CT saturation causes a distortion of the secondary current, it is expected that it magnifies the errors of the estimated fault distances. The selected algorithms are based on two different mathematical derivations including these principles depending on the sequence networks and the modified apparent impedance methods. The performance of each algorithm is investigated by evaluating the corresponding estimated error at different fault distances with and without CT saturation. A detailed CT simulation platform is utilized using a practical data. This highlights the required further consideration for realizing a practical and efficient fault detection with correction methodologies for CT before calculating the fault distance.
Exploring a linked data approach in accessing physical oceanography archive

Today, spaced-based technology is more than sufficient to provide the useful data needed for everyday services, such as communication, television, Global Positioning System, weather forecasting and others. The data obtained from space-based technology usually comes in the form of big data and are stored in heterogeneous formats. Hence, handling this data is time consuming and complex because traditional database tools and applications have difficulty processing large data endeavours formats. Thus, information sharing and exchanges over the internet are becoming more complicated. Linked data is considered as one of the best practices for exposing, sharing, publishing and connecting structured data on web. Therefore, this paper attempt to demonstrate the use of linked data platform namely Datalift in providing access to oceanography archive spatial datasets on the web. With Datalift, Resource Description Framework data format is generated from the input raw data with a chosen ontology. The published data could be accessed by end users and may be linked to other data sources to enrich the spatial information available over the web.
Inactivation of Zika virus in platelet components using amotosalen and ultraviolet A illumination

Concerned over the risk of Zika virus (ZIKV) transfusion transmission, public health agencies recommended the implementation of mitigation strategies for its prevention. Those strategies included the use of pathogen inactivation for the treatment of plasma and platelets. The efficacy of amotosalen/ultraviolet A to inactivate ZIKV in plasma had been previously demonstrated, and the efficacy of inactivation in platelets with the same technology was assumed. These studies quantify ZIKV inactivation in platelet components using amotosalen/ultraviolet A.
BUILDING DETECTION USING AERIAL IMAGES AND DIGITAL SURFACE MODELS

Abstract. In this paper a method for building detection in aerial images based on variational inference of logistic regression is proposed. It consists of three steps. In order to characterize the appearances of buildings in aerial images, an effective bag-of-Words (BoW) method is applied for feature extraction in the first step. In the second step, a classifier of logistic regression is learned using these local features. The logistic regression can be trained using different methods. In this paper we adopt a fully Bayesian treatment for learning the classifier, which has a number of obvious advantages over other learning methods. Due to the presence of hyper prior in the probabilistic model of logistic regression, approximate inference methods have to be applied for prediction. In order to speed up the inference, a variational inference method based on mean field instead of stochastic approximation such as Markov Chain Monte Carlo is applied. After the prediction, a probabilistic map is obtained. In the third step, a fully connected conditional random field model is formulated and the probabilistic map is used as the data term in the model. A mean field inference is utilized in order to obtain a binary building mask. A benchmark data set consisting of aerial images and digital surfaced model (DSM) released by ISPRS for 2D semantic labeling is used for performance evaluation. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Breast cancer risk in BRCA 1 mutation carriers : insight frommouse models

Since its identification 20 years ago, the biological basis for the high breast cancer risk in women who have germline BRCA1mutations has been an area of intense study for three reasons. First, BRCA1 was the first gene shown to associate with breast cancer risk, and therefore serves as model for understanding genetic susceptibility. Second, the type of breast cancer that occurs in these women has specific features that have engendered new hypotheses about the cancer biology. Third, it is hoped that understanding the origins of this disease may provide the means to prevent disease. Resolving this question has proven extremely challenging because the biology controlled by BRCA1 is complex. Our working model is that the high frequency of basal-like breast cancer in BRCA1 mutation carriers is the result of a selfperpetuating triad of cellular phenotypes consisting of: (i) intrinsic defects in DNA repair and centrosome regulation that lead to genomic instability and increases spontaneous transformation; (ii) aberrant lineage commitment; and (iii) increased proliferation due to in large part to increased IGF-1 activity. We propose that the last is key and is a potential entree for preventing breast cancer in BRCA1 mutation carriers.