Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Variable Rate Vector Quantization For Medical Image Compression With Applications To Progressive Transmission

In this work, a new technique for variable rate VQ design based on tree structures is applied to medical images. It is an extension of an algorithm for optimal pruning in tree-structured classification and regression due to Breiman, Friedman, Olshen, and Stone [1]. The algorithm finds subtrees of a given tree-structured vector quantizer (TSVQ), each one optimal in that it has the lowest average distortion of all subtrees with the same or lesser average rate [2]. Since the resulting subtrees have variable height, natural variable rate coders result. Image reproduction at 1.5 bits per pixel is excellent and pathology in brain magnetic resonance images can be diagnosed in images at less than 0.5 bit per pixel. Finally, TSVQ is stored in a format convenient for progressive transmission of images.
The Effect of Substance Use Disorders on the Association Between Guideline-concordant Long-term Opioid Therapy and All-cause Mortality

Objective:Patients with substance use disorders (SUDs) prescribed long-term opioid therapy (LtOT) are at risk for overdose and mortality. Prior research has shown that receipt of LtOT in accordance with clinical practice guidelines has the potential to mitigate these outcomes. Our objective was to determine whether the presence of a SUD modifies the association between guideline-concordant care and 1-year all-cause mortality among patients receiving LtOT for pain. Methods:Among HIV+ and HIV− patients initiating LtOT (≥90 days opioids) between 2000 and 2010 as part of the Veterans Aging Cohort Study, we used time-updated Cox regression and propensity-score matching to examine—stratified by SUD status—the association between 1-year all-cause mortality and 3 quality indicators derived from national opioid-prescribing guidelines. Specifically, we examined whether patients received psychotherapeutic cointerventions (≥2 outpatient mental health visits), benzodiazepine coprescriptions (≥7 days), and SUD treatment (≥1 inpatient day or outpatient visit). These indicators were among those found in a previous study to have a strong association with mortality. Results:Among 17,044 patients initiating LtOT, there were 1048 (6.1%) deaths during 1 year of follow-up. Receipt of psychotherapeutic cointerventions was associated with lower mortality in the overall sample and was more protective in patients with SUDs (adjusted hazard ratio [AHR] 0.43, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.33–0.56 vs AHR 0.65, 95% CI 0.53–0.81; P for interaction = 0.002). Benzodiazepine coprescribing was associated with higher mortality in the overall sample (AHR 1.41, 95% CI 1.22–1.63), but we found no interaction by SUD status (P for interaction = 0.11). Among patients with SUDs, receipt of SUD treatment was associated with lower mortality (AHR 0.43, 95% CI 0.33–0.57). Conclusions:For clinicians prescribing LtOT to patients with untreated SUDs, engaging patients with psychotherapeutic and SUD treatment services may reduce mortality. Clinicians should also avoid, when possible, prescribing opioids with benzodiazepines.
Bone or Flesh: Defleshing and Post-Depositional Treatments at Körtik Tepe (Southeastern Anatolia, PPNA Period)

Cutmarks on the bones of ten individuals from Körtik Tepe, a Pre-Pottery Neolithic site in Southeastern Anatolia, were analysed using a bioarchaeological approach. Half of the ten individuals possess cutmarks on their crania only while the other five have cutmarks on both their cranial and postcranial bones. Diagnoses of these cutmarks suggest they were made on fresh cadavers, while skeletal data and burial customs reveal that the individuals with cutmarks were subject to human intervention in the decomposition process, understood as post-burial practices rather than secondary burials. This conclusion is supported by the application of plaster and paint as part of the burial customs. The process of defleshing is interpreted as an attempt to purify the corpse and to separate death from life.
Optical multicasting of a 224Gb/s PM-16QAM signal in a periodically-poled Lithium Niobate waveguide

Polarization independent multicasting is demonstrated in a PPLN. 3-fold and 2-fold wavelength conversion of a 112Gb/s 16QAM and a 224Gb/s PM-16QAM signal respectively, is experimentally achieved with penalties within 2.9dB at BER=10-3.
Amygdalin inhibits genes related to cell cycle in SNU-C4 human colon cancer cells.

AIM The genes were divided into seven categories according to biological function; apoptosis-related, immune response-related, signal transduction-related, cell cycle-related, cell growth-related, stress response-related and transcription-related genes. METHODS We compared the gene expression profiles of SNU-C4 cells between amygdalin-treated (5 mg/mL, 24 h) and non-treated groups using cDNA microarray analysis. We selected genes downregulated in cDNA microarray and investigated mRNA levels of the genes by RT-PCR. RESULTS Microarray showed that amygdalin downregulated especially genes belonging to cell cycle category: exonuclease 1 (EXO1), ATP-binding cassette, sub-family F, member 2 (ABCF2), MRE11 meiotic recombination 11 homolog A (MRE11A), topoisomerase (DNA) I (TOP1), and FK506 binding protein 12-rapamycin-associated protein 1 (FRAP1). RT-PCR analysis revealed that mRNA levels of these genes were also decreased by amygdalin treatment in SNU-C4 human colon cancer cells. CONCLUSION These results suggest that amygdalin have an anticancer effect via downregulation of cell cycle-related genes in SNU-C4 human colon cancer cells, and might be used for therapeutic anticancer drug.
Ensiling characteristics, nutrient composition, and in situ ruminal and whole tract degradability of brown midrib and leafy corn silage

Abstract A study was conducted to compare the ensiling characteristics, chemical composition, and the ruminal and total tract nutrient degradabilities of leafy (Cargill F227) and brown midrib (Mycogen TMF94) corn silage hybrids. Corn was grown in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada, harvested at a target 350 g kg−1 dry matter (DM) content, and ensiled in mini-silos for 0, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 45 d. Two non-lactating Holstein cows fitted with ruminal and proximal duodenal cannulae were used to determine ruminal and whole tract nutrient degradability. Forage from both hybrids went through a rapid fermentation with a sharp decline in pH during the first 2 d of ensiling, pH in both silage being less than 4.0 after 45 d. Lactic acid concentration was however greater for leafy than brown midrib corn. Chemical analysis of silage after 45 d of ensiling revealed that hybrids differed in their composition. Compared to leafy corn, brown midrib corn had lower neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), acid detergent lignin (ADL), crude protein (CP), and neutral detergent and acid detergent insoluble proteins, but higher starch and net energy of lactation (NEL) values. Results of the in situ incubation experiment indicated that compared to leafy corn brown midrib corn had greater ruminal DM (64 vs. 54%), CP (73 vs. 71%), and NDF (32 vs. 24%) degradabilities. Brown midrib corn silage also had greater DM ruminal (53 vs. 48%) and total tract (67 vs. 61%) digestibilities, as well as greater NDF ruminal (34 vs. 25%), intestinal (10 vs. 8%), and total tract (43 vs. 33%) digestibilities. Type of corn hybrid will thus greatly affect silage chemical composition and nutrient digestibility.
Fertilisation croisée entre interaction personne-système et IA

L’interaction personne-systeme et l’intelligence artificielle sont deux disciplines qui ont suivi des trajectoires paralleles au cours du temps tout en se rejoignant et se completant naturellement sur differents domaines aux problematiques riches depuis une quarantaine d’annees. Sans souci d’exhaustivite mais plutot de representativite, apres avoir dresse un historique des interfaces entre interaction personne-systeme et intelligence artificielle, particulierement focalise sur la genese, ce chapitre passe en revue quatre domaines sources de fertilisation croisee. Les interfaces utilisateur dites intelligentes sont un premier domaine typique a ce sujet. Parmi les nombreuses approches possibles d’interaction intelligente, les agents conversationnels animes affectifs constituent un domaine a part. La capitalisation, la formalisation et l’exploitation de connaissances ergonomiques pour la conception et l’evaluation des systemes interactifs debouchent sur des travaux combinant necessairement methodes et modeles de l’interaction personne-systeme et de l’intelligence artificielle. La synergie entre visualisation et fouille de donnees est egalement mise en avant dans ce chapitre.
Increased urinary type II collagen helical and C telopeptide levels are independently associated with a rapidly destructive hip osteoarthritis

Objectives: Biochemical markers reflecting the degradation of the type II collagen helical (Helix-II) and type II collagen C telopeptides (CTX-II) have been developed. Aim: To investigate the association of rapidly destructive hip osteoarthritis with urinary Helix-II and urinary CTX-II. Patients and methods: 12 patients (mean age 70 years) meeting the criteria for rapidly destructive hip osteoarthritis and 28 patients with slowly progressive hip osteoarthritis (mean age 63 years) defined as <0.20 mm joint space loss/year were included in a case–control study. In each patient, urinary Helix-II and CTX-II were measured at the end of the follow-up period, with retrospective evaluation of x rays. Results: Helix-II levels were 41% (p = 0.002) higher in the 40 patients with hip osteoarthritis than in 75 healthy controls. Increased Helix-II levels were associated with decreased minimum joint space width of the hip (r = −0.57, p = 0.001). Mean urinary Helix-II levels were 71% higher in rapidly destructive than in slowly progressive disease (mean (standard deviation (SD)) ng/mmol Cr: 396 (160) v 232 (118) ng/mmol; p = 0.002). When levels of Helix-II and CTX-II in the highest tertile were both included in a multivariate logistic regression model, high Helix-II level (OR; (95% CI) 5.73 (1.01 to 32.8)) after adjustment for age and body mass index and high CTX-II level (6.67 (1.14 to 39.0)) were, independently of each other, associated with a rapidly destructive disease. Conclusion: Increased urinary Helix-II levels are associated with rapidly destructive hip osteoarthritis, independently of urinary CTX-II. Measurement of Helix-II, alone or in combination with CTX-II, could be useful for the clinical investigation of patients with hip osteoarthritis.
Dissonance and self-perception analyses of "forced compliance": when two theories make competing predictions.

Dissonance theory and self-perception theory offer radically different explanations of the observed phenomena in the "forced-compliance" situation. The present study was designed to test the relative predictive merits of these two theories. Using a typical dissonance paradigm, the extremity of the initial attitude and justification for commitment to a discrepant act were manipulated. Results strongly supported the dissonance explanation that increasing the extremity of the initial attitude would enhance subsequent attitude change. Other dissonance predictions were supported as well, while the self-perception predictions received little support. The conclusion was reached that the dissonance analysis is more appropriate for explaining the effects of incentive and attitudediscrepancy manipulations in the forced-compliance paradigm. Also, another study was proposed to further test the relative merits of the competing predictions offered by the two theories. In a recent article on the salience of premanipulation attitudes, Bern and McConnell (1970) interpreted their data as supporting self-perception theory. They acknowledged, however, that their results were not inconsistent with a dissonance theory interpretation and concluded that it seems unlikely that a "crucial" experiment for discriminating between dissonance and self-perception theory will ever be executed since the two theories appear to make identical empirical predictions. However, it is precisely the role of the initial attitudes, which is the focus of the present study, that does suggest a possible "crucial" experiment. The two theories clearly disagree over the effect of the extremity of initial attitude on attitude change that occurs following discrepant behavior in the "forcedcompliance" situation. The dissonance-self-perception controversy
Selective small‐molecule inhibitors of glycogen synthase kinase‐3 activity protect primary neurones from death

The phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase (PI 3‐kinase)/protein kinase B (PKB; also known as Akt) signalling pathway is recognized as playing a central role in the survival of diverse cell types. Glycogen synthase kinase‐3 (GSK‐3) is a ubiquitously expressed serine/threonine protein kinase that is one of several known substrates of PKB. PKB phosphorylates GSK‐3 in response to insulin and growth factors, which inhibits GSK‐3 activity and leads to the modulation of multiple GSK‐3 regulated cellular processes. We show that the novel potent and selective small‐molecule inhibitors of GSK‐3; SB‐415286 and SB‐216763, protect both central and peripheral nervous system neurones in culture from death induced by reduced PI 3‐kinase pathway activity. The inhibition of neuronal death mediated by these compounds correlated with inhibition of GSK‐3 activity and modulation of GSK‐3 substrates tau and β‐catenin. Thus, in addition to the previously assigned roles of GSK‐3, our data provide clear pharmacological and biochemical evidence that selective inhibition of the endogenous pool of GSK‐3 activity in primary neurones is sufficient to prevent death, implicating GSK‐3 as a physiologically relevant principal regulatory target of the PI 3‐kinase/PKB neuronal survival pathway.
Stimulation of DNA synthesis and c-fos expression in corneal endothelium by insulin or insulin-like growth factor-I.

PURPOSE To study the growth regulation of bovine corneal endothelium, the effects of insulin and insulin-like growth factor-I on the expression of the c-fos proto-oncogene as well as on DNA synthesis were analyzed. Bovine corneal endothelial cells were also analyzed for the presence of insulin and insulin-like growth factor-I receptors. METHODS Indirect immunofluorescence was used to assess the effect of stimulation by insulin and insulin-like growth factor-I on c-fos protein expression and DNA synthesis quiescent bovine corneal endothelium. Receptor number was determined by 125I-insulin or 125I-IGF-I binding studies. RESULTS Fetal bovine serum strongly stimulated c-fos protein expression and DNA synthesis. Insulin-like growth factor-I was less effective while insulin was effective only at high concentrations. Scatchard analysis of 125I-insulin-like growth factor-I and 125I-insulin binding to bovine corneal endothelium revealed 180,000 IGF-I receptors and 7,000 insulin receptors. CONCLUSION The number of insulin-like growth factor-I receptors far exceeds the number of insulin receptors in bovine corneal endothelium, suggesting that the effects of insulin on c-fos gene expression and mitogenesis were likely to be mediated through the insulin-like growth factor-I receptor.
A Study on Exoenzyme Activities of Candida albicans Isolated from Oral Cavities of HIV-Infected Patients on HAART

The mortality and morbidity of HIV-infected patients have declined with the advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), but its effect on Candida infections remains elusive. The aims of the present study were to determine the effect of HAART on the phosphor lipase, proteinase and haemoltyic activities of oral Candida albicans, and to investigate the correlation between these enzyme profiles and the patients’ demographic and clinical parameters. Isolates were obtained from 16 Chinese HIV-infected patients on HAART and 16 healthy controls using oral rinse technique. The isolates were tested in vitro for phospholipase, proteinase and haemolytic activities using three different plate assays. The phospholipase and haemolytic activities were found to be significantly higher (p <0.05) and the proteinase activities were lower in the test group (p< 0.05). The lower proteinase activities in HIV-infected group could be due to the direct effect of protease inhibitors in HAART while the higher phospholipase and haemolytic activity in the HIV-infected group remains elusive. These finding provide evidence of altered extracellular enzyme activities in the Candida isolates obtained from HIV patients on HAART, which may affect the infectivity of the Candida isolates.
Blood pressure and sexual maturity in adolescents: The Heartfelt Study

This study investigates sexual maturity as a predictor of resting blood pressures independent of other known predictors, in 179 boys and 204 girls 11‐16 years of age from the Heartfelt Study. The sample included youth of African (n = 140), Mexican (n = 117), and European and “other” (n = 126) backgrounds. Sexual maturity was assessed during clinical examination of three standard indicators for each sex. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures were higher in children of maturity stages IV and V, compared to stages I–III, in each gender/ethnic group (P < 0.01 in almost all groups). Boys and girls advanced in sexual maturity for their age group, had significantly higher systolic blood pressures (but not diastolic) than the less advanced in linear models that included height, body mass index (BMI), ethnicity, and age as co‐predictors. Diastolic blood pressures were predicted by height in boys and by age and the BMI in girls. This analysis, using a very conservative approach, suggests that sexual maturity provides important and independent information on systolic blood pressure in adolescents. Further investigation of its role in 24‐hr blood pressures and in blood pressures taken during physical and emotional stress, is recommended. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 13:227–234, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Geographical variation in allometry in the guppy (Poecilia reticulata)

Variation in static allometry, the power relationship between character size and body size among individuals at similar developmental stages, remains poorly understood. We tested whether predation or other ecological factors could affect static allometry by comparing the allometry between the caudal fin length and the body length in adult male guppies (Poecilia reticulata) among populations from different geographical areas, exposed to different predation pressures. Neither the allometric slopes nor the allometric elevations (intercept at constant slope) changed with predation pressure. However, populations from the Northern Range in Trinidad showed allometry with similar slopes but lower intercepts than populations from the Caroni and the Oropouche drainages. Because most of these populations are exposed to predation by the prawn Macrobrachium crenulatum, we speculated that the specific selection pressures exerted by this predator generated this change in relative caudal fin size, although effects of other environmental factors could not be ruled out. This study further suggests that the allometric elevation is more variable than the allometric slope.
Cloudifying Critical Applications: A Use Case from the Power Grid Domain

The cloud computing paradigm is gaining more and more momentum, to the extent that it is no more confined to its initial application domains, i.e. use by enterprises and businesses that are simply willing to lower costs or to increase computing capacity in a flexible manner. In particular, increasing interest is recently being paid to the dramatic potentials that the use of cloud computing technology by critical infrastructure (CI) operators might bring about, in terms of benefits for the society at large. Since accidental or deliberate damage to a CI may result in devastating consequences, this mandates for dependable and trustworthy security mechanisms in cloud platforms. In this paper, we present a distributed application for real-time monitoring of a Power Grid. The application, which is called PoGriMon, is deployed on top of the SecureCloud platform, a security-enhanced IaaS solution that exploits the Intel Software Guard eXtension (SGX) technology. PoGriMon has been designed based on the requirements of the SCADA network of the Israeli Electric Corporation (IEC), and it is currently being validated in a realistic setup also provided by IEC.
Scatter Correction in PET Using the Transport Equation

In the presence of a strong scatterer, it is inappropriate to perform scatter correction by subtracting scattered from measured events and work on unscattered events only. Take, for example, a strong scatterer that completely surrounds the reconstruction volume. In this case, all events are scattered and removal simply would leave nothing. We propose an algorithm for PET reconstruction that is based on modeling the scanning process by the full transport equation, incorporating (multiple) scatter and attenuation. Then, a solution to the full forward model is sought. The concept sounds simple, but it is hard to implement since the forward model becomes arbitrarily complex. Also, care has to be taken to use expectation maximization techniques to retain image quality.
In vitro deletion mapping of the viral strand replication origin of Pseudomonas bacteriophage Pf3

The origin of viral strand replication of the filamentous bacteriophage Pf3 has been characterized in Escherichia coli by in vitro deletion mapping techniques. The origin region was functionally identified by its ability to convey replicative properties to a recombinant plasmid in a polA host in which the replication origin of the vector plasmid is not functional. The origin of Pf3 viral strand replication is contained within a DNA sequence of 139 bp. This sequence covers almost completely one of the intergenic regions of the Pf3 genome, and it specifies both replication initiation and termination functions. Although no nucleotide sequence homology is present between the Pf3 origin of viral strand replication and that of the E. coli filamentous phages Ff (M13, f1, and fd) and IKe, their map positions and functional properties are very similar.
Program Development for Computational Grids Using Skeletons and Performance Prediction

We address the challenging problem of algorithm and program design for the Computational Grid by providing the application user with a set of high-level, parameterised components called skeletons. We descrile a Java-based Grid programming system in which algorithmns are composed of skeletons and the computational resources for executing individual skeletons are chosen using performance prediction. The advantage of our approach is that skeletons are reusable for different applications and that skeletons' implementation can be tuned to particular machines. The focus of this paper is on predicting performance for Grid applications constructed using skeletons.
In Vitro Interaction of Currently Used Azoles with Terbinafine against Madurella mycetomatis

Sarah Abdalla Ahmed, Wendy Kloezen, Ahmed H. Fahal, G. Sybren de Hoog, Wendy W. J. van de Sande Faculty of Medical Laboratory Sciences, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan; CBS-KNAW Fungal Biodiversity Centre, Utrecht, The Netherlands; Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Erasmus MC, Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Mycetoma Research Centre, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan; Peking University Health Science Center, Research Center for Medical Mycology, Beijing, China, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China, Shanghai Institute of Medical Mycology, Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China, Basic Pathology Department, Federal University of Paraná State, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil, King Abdulassiz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia