Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Characterization of retinoic acid–induced neurobehavioral effects in developing zebrafish

Retinoic signaling plays an important role in cell proliferation and differentiation. Disruption of retinoic signaling via excessive or deficient retinoic acid can cause teratogenic effects on developing embryos. Similar to retinoic acid, many xenobiotic environmental pollutants have been found to disrupt retinoic signaling through binding and eliciting agonistic activity on retinoic acid receptors. Currently, studies of retinoic acid or retinoic acid–like compounds in aquatic organisms have mainly focused on teratogenicity and few studies have explored their neurobehavioral toxicity. In the present study, the authors used retinoic acid as an example to explore the neurobehavioral toxicity associated with developmental exposure of retinoic acid–like compounds in zebrafish. The findings confirmed retinoic acid's teratogenic effects such as bent spine, malformed tail, and pericardial edema in developing zebrafish with a median effective concentration of 2.47 nM. Retinoic acid–induced cell apoptosis at 24 h postfertilization was consistently found in the eye and tail regions of embryos. Spontaneous movement as characterized by tail bend frequency was significantly increased in zebrafish embryos following exposure to 2 nM and 8 nM retinoic acid. Relatively low‐dose retinoic acid exposure of 2 nM led to fast locomotion behavior in the dark period and hyperactivity during light–dark photoperiod stimulation. The 2‐nM retinoic acid exposure also led to alterations of neurobehavior‐ and optic nerve–related genes, with the transforming growth factor‐β signal transduction inhibitor noggin (nog) and the spinal cord marker homeobox c3a (hox) being underexpressed and the retinal G protein–coupled receptor a (rgr), the photoreceptor cell marker rhodopsin (rho), and the short wave–sensitive cone pigment opsin 1 (opn1sw1) being overexpressed. Increased expression of opn1sw1 and rho was confirmed by whole‐mount in situ hybridization. Whether the misexpression of these genes leads to the neurobehavioral changes merits further study. The findings demonstrated that low‐dose retinoic acid exposure perturbed the visual system and optic nerve development and caused hyperactivity in developing zebrafish. Environ Toxicol Chem 2014;33:431–437. © 2013 SETAC
Deep, Seamless, Multi-format, Multi-notation Definition and Use of Domain-specific Languages

Domain-specific modeling has gained increased attention in industry and academia in recent years leading to the emergence of numerous highly specialized, domain-specific modeling approaches and tools. However, the tools available today focus on one specific aspect of domain-specific modeling and tend to be isolated and difficult to integrate with each other. For instance, some tools focus exclusively on graphical, diagrammatic languages, while others focus on textual languages. The problems caused by this heterogeneous tool landscape become most evident when attempting to use multiple formats together. A first step towards integrating different modeling formats within one single environment has been taken by the latest projective modeling environments which support the embedding of non-textual formats (e.g. tables) into textual model editors. However, in these modeling environments the textual format dominates the embedded formats. Moreover, all of these tools are based on two-level modeling technologies which are limited to one, hard-wired metamodel describing the modeling language and one instance level describing the user model expressed in terms of the language. In addition to the metamodel, the concrete syntax features offered by today’s modeling tools are typically hardwired as well. When multiple notations are available, modelers usually have to decide for one notation before starting. To view the model in an alternative notation, the model has to be opened in a second editor. The approach presented in this thesis for the deep, seamless, multi-format, multi-notation definition and use of domain-specific languages overcomes the aforementioned weaknesses. First, it treats all formats equally, no matter whether text, diagram or some other format. This allows different formats to be used side-by-side, as desired, without influencing one another negatively. Second, it allows a given format to be visualized in multiple notations in one editor, side-by-side. Third, the inherently deep architecture allows deep visualizations to be defined spanning as many classification levels as needed for language definition and use. Fourth, language definitions and visualizations are soft, like language applications, and can be changed at any time by modelers. The approach has been validated by means of an Eclipse EMF-based prototype implementation, called Melanee, and applied to a running example motivated by the ArchiMate Enterprise Architecture Modeling standard.
Overlapped chromosome segmentation and separation of touching chromosome for automated chromosome classification

Karyotyping is the process of arranging pairs of the chromosomes in an order to examine chromosomal abnormalities which are the causes for Birth Defects. The overlapping and touching chromosomes of input metaphase spread images should be segmented and disentangled for this process. This paper proposes an algorithm to separate the touching chromosomes and the segmentation of overlapping chromosomes from G-Band metaspread images. Segmentation is performed by obtaining the interesting (concave) points on the image contour and constructing proper hypotheses for segmentation and separation.
Management of acquired cholesteatoma in the pediatric population

Purpose of reviewThis review focuses on the most recent literature pertaining to pediatric acquired cholesteatoma and aims to integrate findings into a comprehensive management approach. Recent findingsPediatric acquired cholesteatoma has been shown to differ from the adult variety secondary to anatomy and physiologic factors. Whereas the goals of therapeutic management are ultimately similar in adult and pediatric patients, special considerations must be taken into account when deciding on a treatment plan for a child. Although avoidance of an unstable mastoid cavity is an important consideration in this population, successful management has been reported with canal wall–up, canal wall–down, and hybrid techniques. Second-look procedures are also important when concern of recurrence exists. Newer innovations include endoscopic ear surgery and diffusion-weighted imaging. SummaryThe principal goal of pediatric cholesteatoma management is eradication of disease. An individualized approach is paramount in yielding superior results in these patients. Special consideration should be given to anatomical and social factors.
Neurogenic Dysphagia in Brainstem Disorders and EMG Evaluation

Neurogenic dysphagia is a prevalent condition that may result in serious complications. Screening and follow up are critical for early diagnosis, prognosis and management which can mitigate its complications and be cost-saving. Several Neurophysiological methods are described to evaluate the Neurogenic Dysphagia including Single Bolus Analysis, Dysphagia Limit, Cricopharyngeal sphinter electromyogram (EMG), Continuous water swallowing with respiratory recording, Polygraphic recording for spontaneous swallows in awake and sleeping states. All techniques mentioned above were developed in our laboratory. Brain stem disorders are particularly important to investigate the presence of dysphagia due to its high incidence and also its severity. These swallowing methods presented and discussed in this review are reliable, cheap and easy applicable quantitative tests to detect and to follow up both subclinical and clinical dysphagia.
Inhibition of recombinant sphingosine kinases by novel inhibitors of microbial origin, F-12509A and B-5354c.

Sphingosine-1-phosphate (SPP) was initially described as an intermediate in the metabolic pathway of long-chain sphingoid bases1). However, it is now widely accepted as a unique bioactive lipid messenger. It acts as a second messenger to regulate proliferation and survival intracellularly, and as a ligand for G protein-coupled receptors of the EDG-1 subfamily extracellularly2-4). SPP is involved in a variety of cellular functions, including
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory

Free-electron laser operation is formulated usmg a macroparticle approach based on a universal gain equation. Microwave excitation in a single cavity is derived analytically and is given in the form of analytic recursion equations for a multi-cavity system driven by a sequence of electron bunches. Qualitative and quantitative insights into the basic excitation and saturation mechanisms are pro vided. Stability analysis on a test particle moving around a macroparticle shows the importance of precise control of bunch spacing.
Automatic segmentation of 3D-MRI data using a genetic algorithm

One of the most interesting recently developed brain activity imaging methods is functional MR imaging (fMRI). The advantages of fMRI, i.e. noninvasiveness, reproducibility and interactivity of examination, must be measured against the problems like data distortion and limited time for examination. A major problem is that most fMRI segmentation procedures are partly interactive. There is a high demand for precisely and automatically working segmentation algorithms in order to get meaningful results within an acceptable short time. This article discusses the use and implementation of a genetic algorithm (GA) as a kernel for an automatic 3D segmentation of gray matter and white matter of a human brain within the procedure of fMRI.
Pathological staging and biochemical recurrence after neoadjuvant androgen deprivation therapy in combination with radical prostatectomy in clinically localized prostate cancer: results of a phase II study.

OBJECTIVES To assess the pathological staging and biochemical progression-free survival (assessed using serum prostate-specific antigen level) of patients with clinically localized prostate cancer using neoadjuvant androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in combination with radical retropubic prostatectomy (RRP). PATIENTS AND METHODS A prospective study was carried out on 69 patients with localized prostate cancer who were enrolled in a trial of 3 months of ADT followed by RRP (group 1). These patients were compared with 72 patients matched for age and clinical stage who declined ADT therapy and had RRP concurrently (group 2). Assignment to the individual treatment groups was thus determined by the patient's preference and not the physician's selection. Pathological staging and biochemical progression-free recurrence were compared between the groups. RESULTS The rate of organ-confined (pT2) tumours was 74% in group 1 and 49% in group 2 (P < 0.01), and the rate of margin-negative tumours was 87% in group 1 and 64% in group 2 (P < 0.01). Within a median follow-up of 35 months, there was no significant difference in biochemical failure between the groups (P = 0.37). Patients with pT2 disease, regardless of treatment, had similar biochemical failure rates. In the patients with margin-positive disease, there was a significantly higher biochemical failure rate in group 1 (P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS The rates of organ- and specimen-confined disease were higher among the patients treated with ADT. The preliminary follow-up suggested that patients with pT2 disease after ADT have a biochemical progression-free recurrence rate similar to pT2 patients treated with RRP alone. Additionally, high biochemical failure rates in patients with margin-positive disease after ADT may identify a subset of more biologically aggressive tumours in need of early adjuvant treatment.
Webs in vitro and in vivo: spiders alter their orb-web spinning behavior in the laboratory

Abstract Many studies of the elegant architectures of orb webs are conducted in controlled laboratory environments that remove environmental variability. The degree to which spider behavior in these circumstances resembles that of spiders in the wild is largely unknown. We compared web architecture and silk investment of furrowed orb weavers Larinioides cornutus (Clerck 1757) building webs in laboratory cages and spinning webs on fences in the field and found significant differences. The volume of major ampullate silk in radii was 53% lower in cage webs, primarily because the silk was 50% thinner, but also because spiders tended to spin 14% fewer radii than in fence webs. Cage spiders also invested about 40% less flagelliform silk and aggregate glue in the capture spiral, although the difference was not statistically significant, a trend primarily driven by a decrease in the length of the glue-coated capture spiral. These patterns were consistent with spiders reducing silk investment when building at new web sites while they assessed insect abundance. Differences in the type of substrate for web attachment, amount of available space, and condition may also have influenced web architecture. Cage webs were more symmetrical than fence webs, which displayed an unusual horizontal asymmetry that may have maximized their capture areas within the constraints of the available fence-railing attachment sites. Our findings suggest using caution when generalizing the properties of laboratory-spun webs to more natural conditions. More importantly, they demonstrate that orb spiders actively modify their behaviors when spinning webs under different conditions.
Measurement-Based Worst-Case Execution Time Estimation Using the Coefficient of Variation

Extreme Value Theory (EVT) has been historically used in domains such as finance and hydrology to model worst-case events (e.g., major stock market incidences). EVT takes as input a sample of the distribution of the variable to model and fits the tail of that sample to either the Generalised Extreme Value (GEV) or the Generalised Pareto Distribution (GPD). Recently, EVT has become popular in real-time systems to derive worst-case execution time (WCET) estimates of programs. However, the application of EVT is not straightforward and requires a detailed analysis of, and customisation for, the particular problem at hand. In this article, we tailor the application of EVT to timing analysis. To that end, (1) we analyse the response time of different hardware resources (e.g., cache memories) and identify those that may lead to radically different types of execution time distributions. (2) We show that one of these distributions, known as mixture distribution, causes problems in the use of EVT. In particular, mixture distributions challenge not only properly selecting GEV/GPD parameters (i.e., location, scale and shape) but also determining the size of the sample to ensure that enough tail values are passed to EVT and that only tail values are used by EVT to fit GEV/GPD. Failing to select these parameters has a negative impact on the quality of the derived WCET estimates. We tackle these problems, by (3) proposing Measurement-Based Probabilistic Timing Analysis using the Coefficient of Variation (MBPTA-CV), a new mixture-distribution aware, WCET-suited MBPTA method that builds on recent EVT developments in other fields (e.g., finance) to automatically select the distribution parameters that best fit the maxima of the observed execution times. Our results on a simulation environment and a real board show that MBPTA-CV produces high-quality WCET estimates.
Relationships between several markers of extracellular matrix turn-over and ultrasonography in human Schistosomiasis mansoni.

We measured the concentrations of several serum and urinary fibrosis markers, which are metabolites of extracellular matrix, in schistosomiasis patients to investigate their relationship with the ultrasonographic scoring system and with parasitologic data. This study was conducted in patients with various stages of the disease evaluated by ultrasonography (intestinal disease with no organ involvement, with minor hepatosplenic involvement and with severe disease) and in endemic controls. The level of hyaluronan, which were increased in infected patients compared with controls (P < 0.01), was the only fibrosis marker that correlated with the ultrasonographic score (P = 0.003) and is thus a potential serum marker of schistosomiasis-associated morbidity. Urinary free pyridinoline levels were lower (P < 0.001) in infected patients with fibrosis (score > or = 1) than in nonfibrotic patients. A two-year follow-up of the patients treated with praziquantel showed that type I collagen and hyaluronan decreased during the first year post-treatment, whereas free pyridinolines peaked after 12 months and decreased thereafter.
Pathophysiology and Treatment of Hyperhidrosis.

Primary focal hyperhidrosis is a disease of unknown cause with profuse perspiration of local sites (head, face, palms, soles of feet, and axillae) that adversely affects daily life. Guidelines have been proposed in the USA [1], Canada [2], and Japan [3]. The symptoms impair quality of life, with significant negative effects on daily existence and personal relationships. The current goal in medical practice for patients with hyperhidrosis is to provide guidance and encourage coping skills for a normal daily life, as well as give appropriate advice regarding treatment options. On occasion, in order to improve quality of life, it is necessary to recommend surgical therapy when conservative treatment fails; this requires an understanding of the mechanisms of available treatments and their effects. This paper reviews theories of primary focal hyperhidrosis with regard to pathology, epidemiology, and treatment.
Influence of Different Training Regimes on Physical and Physiological Demands During Small-Sided Soccer Games: Continuous vs. Intermittent Format

Abstract Casamichana, D, Castellano, J, and Dellal, A. Influence of different training regimes on physical and physiological demands during small-sided soccer games: Continuous vs. intermittent format. J Strength Cond Res 27(3): 690–697, 2013—The aim of this study was to examine the physical and heart rate (HR) response of soccer players during 16 minutes of training using the same 5 vs. 5 small-sided game (SSG) in 3 different training regimes: a continuous format of 16 minutes and 2 intermittent formats (4 periods of 4 minutes; and 2 periods of 8 minutes) with the same work/rest ratio of passive recovery between the different periods (4:1). Ten male players (age 21.3 ± 3.4 years) belonging to a team of the third Spanish division participated in this study. Analyses were carried using a training regimen vs. drill time design (i.e., training × duration), that is, differentiating 2 training regimen (intermittent vs. continuous SSG formats) and the 4-minute periods (0–4, 4–8, 8–12, and 12–16 minutes) to determine the extent to which fatigue affected the variables studied in each regimen. During each SSG, HR and total distance covered in different speed categories and accumulated accelerations (i.e., training load) were measured. Results showed significant differences for (a) in intermittent format of 2 × 8 minutes, the distance covered at a speed of 7–12.9 km·h−1 was greater in the 0- to 4-minute period than in the 12- to 16-minute period, and (b) the distance covered at a speed of 7–12.9 km·h−1 during the 8- to 12-minute period was greater in intermittent format of 2 × 8 minutes than in continuous format (16 minutes). This study showed that drill regimen may affect physical responses during training SSG. The resulting evidence suggests that the continuous SSG format induces greater physical loads on players as compared with intermittent SSG format and that should help coaches to establish a better distribution of playing according to the objectives of the training.
Avoiding Diversionary Targets

This article identifies three common flaws in the empirical literature on the diversionary use of force. First, while theoretical models of the diversionary use of force are built on the motivations of leaders to stay in power, the great majority of empirical studies employ datasets with the country or countryyear as their unit of analysis. Second, while theories of the diversionary use of force strongly suggest a reciprocal relationship between the probabilities of losing office and international conflict, almost no studies have explicitly modeled such a reciprocal relationship. Third, most empirical studies ignore how the diversionary incentives of leaders might affect the strategic calculus of their potential foreign opponents. This article explicitly addresses these common flaws by using a dataset with the leader-year as the unit of analysis and by employing a two-stage probit model to examine a reciprocal relationship between the probabilities of losing office and becoming a target, thus focusing on targets. The authors find only qualified support for the modified strategic theory of diversionary conflict. On the one hand, as the risk of losing office increases, leaders become less likely to be targets in an international crisis. On the other hand, however, the risk of becoming a target in an international crisis does not affect the probability of losing office.
Fireworks Explosion Optimization algorithm for parameter identification of PV model

Photovoltaic (PV) cell is the energy source of the PV generation systems. Accurate electrical characteristic of PV array is the premise condition of the efficient operating PV systems. PV cells are strongly nonlinear model of multi-parameters, and we use the way of identifying PV mathematical model to get these parameters. The accurately method of PV array model identification has a very important engineering significance for the application and research of PV system. The paper presents an approach using the Fireworks Explosion Optimization algorithm (FEO) to determine the parameters of the PV cell model. By modeling the PV cell, PV module and PV array, the parameters of PV cell and module generated by different manufactures are identified; all unknown parameters of single diode model (SDM) and double diode model (DDM) are estimated. To quantify the accuracy of proposed method, the paper uses the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) to evaluate the PV parameters accurately. Compared the value of identified data with the manufacturer data, the accuracy and feasibility of proposed method are to be proved. The test shows that this algorithm is efficient for parameters identification of PV cell model.
The hadronic interaction model Sibyll 2.3c and muon production in extensive air-showers

One of the applications of the hadronic interaction model Sibyll is the simulation of extensive air showers of ultra-high energy cosmic rays. In recent years it has become more and more clear that simulations do not agree with measurements when it comes to observables related to muons in air showers. We discuss the processes in Sibyll that are directly related to muon production in extensive air showers and describe their relation to shower observables.
Polarimetry of a 220 halo

The linear polarization and intensity of a 220 halo has been measured simultaneously at seven wavelengths as a function of scattering angle. The polarization pattern is found to be dominated by a narrow peak centered at the halo angle. The amount of polarization in this peak is much higher than expected from Fresnel refraction alone. The observations are explained with a birefringence-diffraction halo polarization model. The effective diameter of the hexagonal face of the halo-generating crystals is found to be 41 and 54,um for two separate scans. An independent single-wavelength parhelion observation indicates a stronger birefringence peak concentrated in an even smaller angular scattering range and a crystal diameter of 220 gm. Crystal sizes derived from the halo intensity distributions are found to be consistent with those obtained from polarization. The data demonstrate the power of halo polarimetry as a tool for detection and identification of birefringent crystals in terrestrial or extraterrestrial atmospheres.