Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Crataegus tanacetifolia leaf extract prevents L‐NAME‐induced hypertension in rats: a morphological study

Crataegus (hawthorn) has long been used as a folk medicine all around the world. Most of the studies with Crataegus species focus on effects on heart failure and cardiovascular disease. The pharmacological effects of Crataegus have been attributed mainly to the content of flavonoids, procyanidin, aromatic acid and cardiotonic amines.
Segmentation of Touching Component in Arabic Manuscripts

Touching components are connection zones occurring between text-lines or words of the same line and are one of the problems that make unconstrained handwritten text segmentation greatly hard. In this paper, we propose a recognition based method to separate these components once localized in Arabic manuscript images. It first identifies, for a given touching component, a similar model stored in a dictionary with its correct segmentation, using shape context descriptor and an interpolation function. Then, it segment the touching component based on the distance from the midpoints of the identified model's parts. Tests are performed using a database of touching components and two metrics: Manhattan and Euclidean distances. Experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed segmentation method.
Neuropathic pain and the endocannabinoid system in the dorsal raphe: pharmacological treatment and interactions with the serotonergic system

We used a model of neuropathic pain consisting of rats with chronic constriction injury (CCI) of the sciatic nerve, in order to investigate whether endocannabinoid levels are altered in the dorsal raphe (DR) and to assess the effect of repeated treatment with (R)‐(+)‐[2,3‐dihydro‐5‐methyl‐3‐(4‐morpholinylmethyl)pyrrolo[1,2,3‐de]‐1,4‐benzoxazin‐6‐yl]‐1‐naphthalenylmethanone mesylate, a synthetic cannabinoid agonist, or N‐(4‐hydroxyphenyl)‐5Z,8Z,11Z,14Z‐eicosatetraenamide (AM404), an inhibitor of endocannabinoid reuptake, on DR serotonergic neuronal activity and on behavioural hyperalgesia. CCI resulted in significantly elevated anandamide but not 2‐arachidonoylglycerol levels in the DR. Furthermore, as well as thermal and mechanical hyperalgesia, CCI caused serotonergic hyperactivity (as shown by the increase of basal activity of serotonergic neurones, extracellular serotonin levels and expression of 5‐HT1A receptor gene). Repeated treatment with either (R)‐(+)‐[2,3‐dihydro‐5‐methyl‐3‐(4‐morpholinylmethyl)pyrrolo[1,2,3‐de]‐1,4‐benzoxazin‐6‐yl]‐1‐naphthalenylmethanone mesylate or AM404 reverted the hyperalgesia and enhanced serotonergic activity induced by CCI in a way attenuated by N‐piperidino‐5‐(4‐chlorophenyl)‐1‐(2,4dichlorophenyl)‐4‐methyl‐3‐pyrazolecarboxamide, a selective cannabinoid subtype 1 (CB1) receptor antagonist. Despite the elevated levels of anandamide following CCI, N‐piperidino‐5‐(4‐chlorophenyl)‐1‐(2,4dichlorophenyl)‐4‐methyl‐3‐pyrazolecarboxamide did not produce hyperalgesia or any other effect on serotonergic neuronal activity when administered alone. Furthermore, the effects of AM404 were not accompanied by an increase in endocannabinoid levels in the DR. In conclusion, following CCI of the sciatic nerve, the endocannabinoid and serotonergic systems are activated in the DR, where repeated stimulation of CB1 receptors with exogenous compounds restores DR serotonergic activity, as well as thermal and mechanical nociceptive thresholds, to pre‐surgery levels. However, an elevated level of endogenous anandamide in the DR does not necessarily contribute to the CB1‐mediated tonic control of analgesia and serotonergic neuronal activity.
Gold Nanorods: From Synthesis and Properties to Biological and Biomedical Applications

Noble metal nanoparticles are capable of confining resonant photons in such a manner as to induce coherent surface plasmon oscillation of their conduction band electrons, a phenomenon leading to two important properties. Firstly, the confinement of the photon to the nanoparticle's dimensions leads to a large increase in its electromagnetic field and consequently great enhancement of all the nanoparticle's radiative properties, such as absorption and scattering. Moreover, by confining the photon's wavelength to the nanoparticle's small dimensions, there exists enhanced imaging resolving powers, which extend well below the diffraction limit, a property of considerable importance in potential device applications. Secondly, the strongly absorbed light by the nanoparticles is followed by a rapid dephasing of the coherent electron motion in tandem with an equally rapid energy transfer to the lattice, a process integral to the technologically relevant photothermal properties of plasmonic nanoparticles. Of all the possible nanoparticle shapes, gold nanorods are especially intriguing as they offer strong plasmonic fields while exhibiting excellent tunability and biocompatibility. We begin this review of gold nanorods by summarizing their radiative and nonradiative properties. Their various synthetic methods are then outlined with an emphasis on the seed‐mediated chemical growth. In particular, we describe nanorod spontaneous self‐assembly, chemically driven assembly, and polymer‐based alignment. The final section details current studies aimed at applications in the biological and biomedical fields.
Should we create a niche or fall in line? Identity negotiation and small group effectiveness.

A prospective study of 423 MBA students examined the interplay of identity negotiation and group functioning. The findings revealed that self-verification effects (through which group members brought others to see them as they saw themselves) heightened participants' feelings of connection to their groups (i.e., more identification and social integration and less emotional conflict) and improved group project grades on creative tasks (tasks that benefit from divergent perspectives). Appraisal effects (through which groups brought members to see themselves as the group saw them) facilitated group project grades on computational tasks (tasks that require deriving one correct answer). In addition, self-verification effects were more prevalent than appraisal effects. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for understanding the links among self-verification, self-categorization, and group outcomes.
Early detection of influenza virus by using a fluorometric assay of infected tissue culture

A fluorometric substrate, 4-methylumbelliferyl-alpha-ketoside of N-acetylneuramide, was used directly on clinical specimens and infected tissue culture 24 h after inoculation for the detection of influenza viral neuraminidase. Viral neuraminidase was detected in infected tissue culture but not in clinical specimens. The sensitivity of the assay on tissue culture was 92%, and the specificity was 96%.
Activation of a novel ataxia-telangiectasia mutated and Rad3 related/checkpoint kinase 1–dependent prometaphase checkpoint in cancer cells by diallyl trisulfide, a promising cancer chemopreventive constituent of processed garlic

Diallyl trisulfide (DATS), a cancer chemopreventive constituent of garlic, inhibits growth of cancer cells by interfering with cell cycle progression, but the mechanism is not fully understood. Here, we show the existence of a novel ataxia-telangiectasia mutated and Rad3 related (ATR)/checkpoint kinase 1 (Chk1)–dependent checkpoint partially responsible for DATS-mediated prometaphase arrest in cancer cells, which is different from the recently described γ irradiation–induced mitotic exit checkpoint. The PC-3 human prostate cancer cells synchronized in prometaphase by nocodazole treatment and released to DATS-containing medium remained arrested in prometaphase, whereas the cells released to normal medium exited mitosis and resumed cell cycle. The mitotic arrest was maintained even after 4 h of culture of DATS-treated cells (4-h treatment) in drug-free medium. The DATS-arrested mitotic cells exhibited accumulation of anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C) substrates cyclin A and cyclin B1 and hyperphosphorylation of securin, which was accompanied by increased phosphorylation of the APC/C regulatory subunits Cdc20 and Cdh1. The DATS-mediated accumulation of cyclin B1 and hyperphosphorylation of securin, Cdc20, and Cdh1 were partially but markedly attenuated by knockdown of Chk1 or ATR protein. The U2OS osteosarcoma cells expressing doxycycline-inducible kinase dead ATR were significantly more resistant not only to DATS-mediated prometaphase arrest but also to the accumulation of cyclin B1 and hyperphosphorylation of securin, Cdc20, and Cdh1 compared with cells expressing wild-type ATR. However, securin protein knockdown failed to rescue cells from DATS-induced prometaphase arrest. In conclusion, the present study describes a novel signaling pathway involving ATR/Chk1 in the regulation of DATS-induced prometaphase arrest. [Mol Cancer Ther 2007;6(4):1249–61]
Current status of protein chip development in terms of fabrication and application

Sequencing of the human genome revealed that more than 30 000 genes encode proteins comprising the human proteome. “Proteomics” can be defined as a field of research studying proteins in terms of their function, expression, structure, modification and their interaction in physiological and in pathological states. The concentration, modification and interaction of proteins in cells, plasma, and in tissues are crucial in determining the phenotype of living organisms. Although fluctuation of protein concentration is essential to maintain homeostasis, protein expression levels are also pathognomonic features. Estimating protein concentration by analyzing the quantity of mRNA in cells through conventional technologies, such as DNA chips, does not provide precise values since the half‐life and translation efficacy of mRNA is variable. In addition, polypeptides undergo post‐translational modification. For these reasons, novel techniques are needed to analyze multiple proteins simultaneously using protein microarrays. In the near future, protein chips may allow construction of complete relational databases for metabolic and signal transduction pathways. This article reviews the current status of technologies for fabricating protein microarrays and their applications.
An Accessory Uterine Cavity As A Cause of Pelvic Pain.

From the Discplines of Gynaecology& Obs and *Anesthesia, Govt. Hospital, Gandhi Nagar, Jammu. Correspondence to : Dr. Anil Mehta, 681 B/A Gandhi Nagar Jammu,J&K India. Abstract Mullerian abnormality is a rare cause for pain abdomen and especially in multiparae who have dysmenorrhoea. It may interfere with quality of life. Surgical treatment if offered early may reduce suffering. We hereby report a case to increase the awareness regarding the mullerian abnormality as a cause of chronic pelvic pain in females.
Visual processing in monkey extrastriate cortex.

The neuronal processes that lead to visual perception have attracted intense interest since Kuffier's studies of receptive field organization in cat retinal ganglion cells over three decades ago (Kuffier 1953). A variety of ana­ tomical and physiological approaches have been employed to analyze the organization of thc visual pathway between the retina and striate cortex (VI ) and the transformations of visual information that occur at each stage (see Hubel & Wiesel 1977, Stone 1 983, Shapley & Lennie 1985). The growth in understanding of the retinostriate pathway has been accompanied by increasing interest in visual processing in the expanse of extrastriate cortex beyond V I . Studies of extrastriate cortex in many spec­ ies showed that it comprises a mosaic of visual areas that can be dis­ tinguished by several anatomical and physiological criteria (reviewed by Kaas 1 978, Zeki 1 978, Cowey 1979, Van Essen 1 979, 1985, Wagor et al 1980, Tusa et al 1 98 1) . The literature in this field is large, and we do not attempt to review all relevant studies. Rather, we concern ourselves with three recent devel­ opments that have yielded insight into information processing and flow within extrastriate cortex. The first of these is the convergence of ana tom-
A Review on Quantification Learning

The task of quantification consists in providing an aggregate estimation (e.g., the class distribution in a classification problem) for unseen test sets, applying a model that is trained using a training set with a different data distribution. Several real-world applications demand this kind of method that does not require predictions for individual examples and just focuses on obtaining accurate estimates at an aggregate level. During the past few years, several quantification methods have been proposed from different perspectives and with different goals. This article presents a unified review of the main approaches with the aim of serving as an introductory tutorial for newcomers in the field.
An EOS-Free PNP-enhanced cascoded NMOSFET structure for high voltage application

An EOS-free PNP-enhanced cascoded NMOSFET structure for high voltage application is proposed. By controlling the bias of the first gate of cascoded NMOSFET, the EOS-free control circuit can not only raise the holding voltage in normal high voltage (HV) operation to prevent from the threats of EOS damages, but also retain the strong ESD robustness during ESD stress. The improved EOS immunity is successfully verified by a simple EOS-emulating test in this paper.
Single line-to-ground faults on distribution systems: Effect of pre-fault voltages on fault currents

This paper presents a numerical study of the pre-fault operation condition effect on the short-circuit currents estimation in distribution systems using symmetrical components. A case study is presented comparing results between ATP/EMTP program and the symmetrical components method, where several loads and pre-fault conditions are considered. The results show that for unbalanced systems, the consideration of 1 pu as pre-fault voltages, can provide reasonable state estimation. Still, for balanced systems the pre-fault condition only is significant when it is used 1 pu as pre-fault voltage, and the load of the system is very high.
Setting and maintaining standards in multiple choice examinations: AMEE Guide No. 37

The process of setting a standard when pass/fail decisions have to be made inevitably involves judgment about the point on the test score scale where performance is deemed to be adequate for the purpose for which the examination is set. As with any process which involves human judgment, setting this standard is likely to include a certain degree of error, which may result in some false positive and false negative decisions. The customary practice of maintaining a constant point on the test score scale at which pass/fail separations are made cannot be justified, as examinations vary in difficulty. The aim of standard setting procedures is to minimize such errors while accounting for the varying difficulty of examinations. A standard may be norm-referenced, where it is dependent on the performance of the particular group of examinees, or criterion-referenced, where it is based on predetermined criteria, irrespective of examinee performance. Where certification of competence is the primary purpose of an examination, the latter is preferred as the decision to be made is whether an individual is competent to practise rather than competent compared to peers. Several methods of standard setting have been used, some of which are based solely on predetermined criteria, while others compromise between norm- and criterion-referenced standards. This guide examines the more commonly used methods of standard setting, illustrates the procedure used in each with the help of an example, and discusses the advantages and disadvantages associated with the use of each. The common errors made by judges in the standard setting process are pointed out and the manner in which judges should be selected, trained and instructed emphasized. A method used for equating similar tests set at different times with the intention of maintaining standards from one examination to the next is illustrated with an example. Finally, the guide proposes a practical method for arriving at a pre-determined standard by the proportionate selection of test-items of known relative difficulties in relation to minimally competent examinees.
A Topic Sensitive SimRank (Tssr) Model for Experts Finding on Online Research Social Platforms

As an efficient online academic information repository and information channel with crowds’ contribution, online research social platforms have become an efficient tool for various kinds of research & management applications. Social network platforms have also become a major source to seek for field experts. They have advantages of crowd contributions, easy to access without geographic restrictions and avoiding conflict of interests over traditional database and search engine based approaches. However, current research attempts to find experts based on features such as published research work, social relationships, and online behaviours (e.g. reads and downloads of publications) on social platforms, they ignore to verify the reliability of identified experts. To bridge this gap, this research proposes an innovative Topic Sensitive SimRank (TSSR) model to identify “real” experts on social network platforms. TSSR model includes three components: LDA for Expertise Extension, Topic Sensitive Network for Reputation Measurement, and Topic Sensitive SimRank for unsuitable experts detection. We also design a parallel computing strategy to improve the efficiency of the proposed methods. Last, to verify the effectiveness of the proposed model, we design an experiment on one of the research social platforms-ScholarMate to seek for experts for companies that need academic-industry collaboration.
Protection Effects of Taurine Supplementation against Cisplatin-Induced Nephrotoxicity in Rats

Backgound: Taurine, which is the major intracellular free β-amino acid, is known to be an antioxidant and a membrane-stabilizing agent. This study was designed to investigate the protective role of taurine supplementation against cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity. Methods: Male Wistar rats were divided into six groups and treated as follows: (1) saline-treated control drinking tap water, (2) saline-treated plus taurine-supplemented (1.5% taurine in the drinking water), (3) saline-treated plus taurine-depleted (3% β-alanine in the drinking water), (4) cisplatin-treated, CDDP 6 mg/kg intraperitoneally, (5) taurine-supplemented plus CDDP-treated and (6) taurine-depleted plus CDDP-treated. Rats were sacrificed 7 days after CDDP treatment, and serum as well as kidneys were isolated and analyzed. Results: CDDP-treated rats showed increased kidney weight as a percentage of total body weight, serum creatinine and BUN levels and decreased serum albumin and calcium levels. Also, CDDP treatment resulted in a depletion of kidney GSH content, a reduction in the kidney glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity and increased kidney MDA production level. Taurine supplementation attenuated CDDP-induced nephrotoxicity which was manifested by jeopardizing the elevation in serum creatinine and BUN levels and the reduction in serum albumin and calcium levels. Moreover, taurine supplementation restored kidney GSH content and GSH-Px activity and reduced platinum accumulation and MDA production levels in the kidney tissue following CDDP treatment. Histopathological examination of the kidney of CDDP-treated rats revealed tubular atrophy, tubular necrosis and desquamation of renal tubular cells. However, taurine supplementation protected against CDDP-induced histopathological changes. Conclusions: The data suggest that taurine supplementation effectively attenuates the accumulation of platinum within kidney tissue and counteracts the deleterious effect of CDDP on the renal tubular function.
Modeling common sense knowledge via scripts

It is generally believed that incorporation of common sense knowledge about the world would benefit natural language understanding systems. This dissertation considers modeling common sense knowledge associated with everyday activities. The common sense knowledge about everyday activities can be understood and modeled using the concept of scripts. Scripts are sequences of events describing stereotypical human activities (i.e. scenarios), for example, cooking pasta, baking a cake, etc. Scripts have been shown to be useful for drawing inferences from text. Consequently, scripts find applications in the area of natural language processing (NLP) and artificial intelligence (A.I.), for example, temporal reasoning, coreference resolution, story understanding and question answering systems. To model script knowledge, three main tasks need to be addressed: event ordering, event paraphrasing and event prediction. This dissertation introduces a novel probabilistic neural network based model for learning event ordering and event paraphrasing from a crowdsourced scripts corpus and the Gigaword news corpus. The model outperforms currently prevalent graph based and count based methods. In addition to event ordering and paraphrasing, a script understanding system should have the ability to predict an upcoming event in a script. We propose an extension of the event ordering model for event prediction. Experiments on a movie summary corpus show the advantages of the event prediction model over existing count based methods.
Passivity of a Class of Hopfield Networks - Application to Chaos Control

: The paper presents passivity conditions for a class of stochastic Hopﬁeld neural networks with state–dependent noise and with Markovian jumps. The contributions are mainly based on the stability analysis of the considered class of stochastic neural networks using inﬁnitesimal generators of appropriate stochastic Lyapunov–type functions. The derived passivity conditions are expressed in terms of the solutions of some speciﬁc systems of linear matrix inequalities. The theoretical results are illustrated by a simpliﬁed adaptive control problem for a dynamic system with chaotic behavior.
Healthcare-associated Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia in Children: Evidence for Reverse Vancomycin Creep and Impact of Vancomycin Trough Values on Outcome

Introduction: Elevated vancomycin minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) in Staphylococcus aureus have been associated with worse clinical outcomes in adults. For invasive meticillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) infections in adults, the Infectious Diseases Society of America recommends targeting vancomycin serum trough concentrations between 15 and 20 &mgr;g/mL. We evaluated trends in vancomycin MICs from healthcare-associated (HCA) S. aureus bacteremia isolates in children in addition to correlating vancomycin serum trough levels with clinical outcomes. Methods: Patients and isolates were identified from a prospective S. aureus surveillance study at Texas Children's Hospital (TCH). HCA S. aureus bacteremia isolates from 2003 to 2013 were selected. Vancomycin MICs by E-test were determined and medical records were reviewed. Acute kidney injury (AKI) was defined as doubling of the baseline serum creatinine. Results: Three hundred forty-one isolates met inclusion criteria. We observed a reverse vancomycin creep among MRSA isolates in the study period with a decline in the proportion of isolates with vancomycin MIC ≥ 2 &mgr;g/mL (from 32.7% to 5.6%; P < 0.001). However, the proportion of MSSA isolates with MIC ≥ 2 &mgr;g/mL increased (from 2.9% to 9%; P = 0.04). Among patients who had vancomycin troughs performed, there was no difference in duration of bacteremia or fever with vancomycin trough >15 versus <15 &mgr;g/mL. A vancomycin trough >15 &mgr;g/mL was, however, an independent risk factor for AKI. Conclusions: Vancomycin MICs are shifting among HCA S. aureus bacteremia isolates with significant differences between MRSA and MSSA at TCH. Higher vancomycin troughs did not improve outcomes in pediatric HCA S. aureus bacteremia but were associated with increased nephrotoxicity. Further studies are needed to better understand optimal management of children with S. aureus bacteremia.