Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Immunostaining of cell preparations: A comparative evaluation of common fixatives and protocols

Immunostaining of cytologic preparations has been beset by problems of inconsistency, high background staining, and the requirement of different fixatives for different antigens. This study sought to identify a universal fixative and a simple fixation protocol suitable for a wide range of tissue antigens commonly employed for cytologic diagnosis. In an analysis of 23 fixation protocols involving acetone, acetone/methanol, acetone/formalin, glutaraldehyde, ethanol, methanol, and formal saline, fixation in 0.1% formal saline overnight at 27°C followed by 10 min fixation in 100% ethanol produced the most consistent and optimal preservation of immunoreactivity which could be further enhanced by pre‐treatment with microwaves for epitope retrieval. Blocking of endogenous peroxidase was not necessary with this fixation protocol. Provided the smears were well air‐dried (for at least 14 hr) prior to immersion in formal saline, there was no need to employ adhesive‐coated glass slides. The smears could be kept at 27°C (room temperature) for at least 7 days and at −70°C for 5 wk without loss of immunoreactivity as air‐dried smears or after fixation in formal saline. One hundred percent acetone and 100% ethanol produced good morphology and immunoreactivity but a high level of background staining, whereas acetone‐based mixtures resulted in inconsistent immunostaining. Diagn Cytopathol 1996;15:167–174. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Acidic and basic fibroblast growth factors promote stable neurite outgrowth and neuronal differentiation in cultures of PC12 cells

Acidic (aFGF) and basic (bFGF) fibroblast growth factors are well- characterized peptide hormones that have potent angiogenic activity and that are mitogenic for a variety of cell types. The present findings demonstrate that FGFs can reproduce the entire spectrum of rat pheochromocytoma PC12 cell responses previously shown to be elicited by NGF. These include responses that are rapid (cell flattening, enhanced phosphorylation of tyrosine hydroxylase) or delayed (neurite outgrowth, induction of phosphorylated MAP 1.2, regulation of NILE and Thy-1 glycoproteins, cessation of mitosis, elevation of AChE activity), as well as responses that have been shown to be either transcription- independent (neurite regeneration, promotion of survival) or transcription-dependent (priming, regulation of NILE and Thy-1 glycoproteins, elevation of AChE activity). The only responses for which the FGFs and NGF consistently showed quantitative differences were in the rates for neurite initiation and elongation in serum- containing medium. Thus, while all 3 factors promoted the formation of stable neurites, the network of outgrowth elicited by NGF at any given time of treatment was always of greater density. Togari et al. (1985) have previously reported that bFGF can initiate transient neurite formation in PC12 cell cultures. The present observations describe a variety of additional actions of bFGF on a neuronal cell line, and demonstrate that aFGF is capable of mimicking many, if not all, of these actions. These observations thus extend the range of actions that aFGF and bFGF may potentially exert on nerve cells, either during their development, repair, or maintenance. In addition, this work suggests that the PC12 cell line may serve as a useful model system with which to study the mechanism of action of FGFs on neurons. Since all 3 factors appear capable of eliciting the same wide spectrum of responses, molecular events specifically associated with FGFs and NGF in PC12 cells may prove illuminating of the causal steps involved in neuronal differentiation.
Tracking control for nonholonomic mobile robots with visual servoing feedback

This paper discusses a tracking control problem of nonholonomic mobile robots with visual servoing feedback. By comparing corresponding target points of an object from two different camera images, geometric relationships are exploited to derive a transformation that relates the actual position and orientation of the mobile robot to a reference position and orientation. This transformation is used to synthesize a rotation and translation error system from the current position and orientation to the fixed reference position and orientation. Lyapunov-based techniques are used to construct a robust controller to stabilize the error system with a constant, unmeasurable depth parameter. The contribution of this paper is that Lyapunov techniques are used to construct a robust controller that makes mobile robot position and orientation converge to the desired configuration despite the lack of an object model and the lack of depth information. Simulation results are provided to illustrate the performance of the controller.
Deformation of the North American plate interior from a decade of continuous GPS measurements

[1] A combination of two independent geodetic solutions using data from close to 300 continuous GPS stations covering the central and eastern United States shows that surface deformation in the North American plate interior is best fit by a model that includes rigid rotation of North America with respect to ITRF2000 and a component of strain qualitatively consistent with that expected from glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA). After correcting for the North American plate motion, residual horizontal velocities show a north-to-south deformation gradient of ∼1 mm yr−1, mostly localized between 1000 and 2200 km from the GIA center, corresponding to strain rates of about 10−9 yr−1. At distances farther than 2100 km from the GIA center, horizontal residual velocities are random with no evidence for regions of elevated strain rates. In particular, we find no detectable residual motion at the 95% confidence level in the New Madrid Seismic Zone, where the average weighted misfit of 0.7 mm yr−1 is the same as the weighted misfit of our rigid plate model. Vertical velocities show (1) a maximum uplift rate of 10 mm yr−1 at the assumed GIA center, (2) a hinge line located 1500 km from that center, and (3) a subsidence rate up to 1.4 mm yr−1 in the forebulge, with a maximum located about 2000 km from the GIA center. Our results have the potential to better constrain glacial isostatic adjustment models and contribute to a better definition of stable North America for tectonic and geodetic applications.
Adaptive data collection protocol using reinforcement learning for VANETs

Data Collection is considered as an inherent challenging problem to Vehicular Ad-Hoc networks. Here, an Adaptive Data cOllection Protocol using rEinforcement Learning (ADOPEL) is proposed for VANETs. It is based on a distributed Qlearning technique making the collecting operation more reactive to nodes mobility and topology changes. A reward function is provided and defined to take into account the delay and the number of aggregatable packets. Simulations results confirm the efficiency of our technique compared to a non-learning version and demonstrate the trade-off achieved between delay and collection ratio.
Motherhood and Mental Illness 2: Causes and Consequences

The nosology of puerperal mental illness, Ian Brockington and Anne Roper postpartum depression - a comprehensive review, Michael W.O'Hara and Ellen M.Zekoski the life event of childbirth - sociocultural aspects of postnatal depression, John L.Cox endocrine and biochemical studies in puerperal mental disorders, Alan George and Merton Sandler relevance of hormone-CNS interactions to psychological changes in the puerperium, J.F. W.Deakin the development of an integrated community-orientated service for severe postnatal mental illness, Margaret Oates effects of postnatal depression on infant development - direct studies of early mother-infant interactions, Lynne Murray maternal mental illness and the mother-infant relationship, E.C. Melhuish et al infant deaths - categories, causes and consequences, Kerry Bluglass active management of perinatal death, Wendy Savage the loss of a child - the sibling's perspective, Atle Dyregrov.
The Nurnberg Funnel: Designing Minimalist Instruction for Practical Computer Skill

How do people acquire beginning competence at using new technology? The legendary Funnel of Nurnberg was said to make people wise very quickly when the right knowledge was poured in; it is an approach that designers continue to apply in trying to make instruction more efficient. This book describes a quite different instructional paradigm that uses what learners do spontaneously to find meaning in the activities of learning. It presents the "minimalist" approach to instructional design - its origins in the study of people's learning problems with computer systems, its foundations in the psychology of learning and problem solving, and its application in a variety of case studies.Carroll demonstrates that the minimalist approach outperforms the standard "systems approach" in every relevant way - the learner, not the system determines the model and the methods of instruction. It supports the rapid achievement of realistic projects right from the start of training, instead of relying on drill and practice techniques, and designing for error recognition and recovery as basic instructional events, instead of seeing error as failure. The book's many examples - including a brief discussion of recent commercial applications - will help researchers and practitioners apply and develop this new instructional technology.John M. Carroll has participated for a number of years as a leader in the interdisciplinary field of human-computer interactions. He is Manager of User Interface Theory and Design at IBM's Watson Research Center. The Nurnberg Funnel inaugurates the Technical Communications series, edited by Ed Barrett.
Evaluating the Impact of Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV in Malawi through Immunization Clinic-Based Surveillance

Background Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) programs can greatly reduce the vertical transmission rate (VTR) of HIV, and Malawi is expanding PMTCT access by offering HIV-infected pregnant women life-long antiretroviral therapy (Option B+). There is currently no empirical data on the effectiveness of Malawian PMTCT programs. This study describes a surveillance approach to obtain population-based estimates of the VTR of infants <3 months of age in Malawi immediately after the adoption of Option B+. Methods and Findings A sample of caregivers and infants <3 months from 53 randomly chosen immunization clinics in 4 districts were enrolled. Infant dried blood spot (DBS) samples were tested for HIV exposure with an antibody test to determine maternal seropositivity. Positive samples were further tested using DNA PCR to determine infant infection status and VTR. Caregivers were surveyed about maternal receipt of PMTCT services. Of the 5,068 DBS samples, 764 were ELISA positive indicating 15.1% (14.1–16.1%) of mothers were HIV-infected and passed antibodies to their infant. Sixty-five of the ELISA-positive samples tested positive by DNA PCR, indicating a vertical transmission rate of 8.5% (6.6–10.7%). Survey data indicates 64.8% of HIV-infected mothers and 46.9% of HIV-exposed infants received some form of antiretroviral prophylaxis. Results do not include the entire breastfeeding period which extends to almost 2 years in Malawi. Conclusions The observed VTR was lower than expected given earlier modeled estimates, suggesting that Malawi’s PMTCT program has been successful at averting perinatal HIV transmission. Challenges to full implementation of PMTCT remain, particularly around low reported antiretroviral prophylaxis. This approach is a useful surveillance tool to assess changes in PMTCT effectiveness as Option B+ is scaled-up, and can be expanded to track programming effectiveness for young infants over time in Malawi and elsewhere.
Persistent Neuroprotection with Prolonged Postischemic Hypothermia in Adult Rats Subjected to Transient Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion

Postischemic hypothermia provides long-lasting neuroprotection against global cerebral ischemia in adult rats and gerbils. Studies indicate that hypothermia must be prolonged (e.g., 24 h) to indefatigably salvage hippocampal CA1 neurons. Delayed hypothermia also reduces focal ischemic injury. However, no study has examined long-term outcome following postischemic hypothermia in adult animals. Furthermore, most studies examined only brief hypothermia (e.g., 3 h). Since previous studies may have overestimated long-term benefit and have likely used suboptimal durations of hypothermia, we examined whether prolonged cooling would attenuate infarction at a 2-month survival time following middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo) in rats. Adult male Wistar rats were implanted with telemetry brain temperature probes and later subjected to 30 min of normothermic MCAo (contralateral to side of probe placement) or sham operation. Ischemia was produced by the insertion of an intraluminal suture combined with systemic hypotension (60 mm Hg). Sham rats and one ischemic group controlled their own postischemic temperature while another ischemic group was cooled to 34 degrees C for 48 h starting at 30 min following the onset of reperfusion. The infarct area was quantified after a 2-month survival time. Normothermic MCAo resulted in almost complete striatal destruction (91% loss +/- 12 SD) with extensive cortical damage (36% +/- 16 SD). Delayed hypothermia treatment significantly reduced cortical injury to 10% +/- 10 SD (P < 0.001) while striatal injury was marginally reduced to 79% loss +/- 17 SD (P < 0.05). Delayed hypothermia of only 34 degrees C provided long-lasting cortical and striatal protection in adult rats subjected to a severe MCAo insult. These results strongly support the clinical assessment of hypothermia in acute stroke.
Privacy and Data Protection by Design - from policy to engineering

Privacy and data protection constitute core values of individuals and of democratic societies. There have been decades of debate on how those values -and legal obligations- can be embedded into systems, preferably from the very beginning of the design process. One important element in this endeavour are technical mechanisms, known as privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs). Their effectiveness has been demonstrated by researchers and in pilot implementations. However, apart from a few exceptions, e.g., encryption became widely used, PETs have not become a standard and widely used component in system design. Furthermore, for unfolding their full benefit for privacy and data protection, PETs need to be rooted in a data governance strategy to be applied in practice. This report contributes to bridging the gap between the legal framework and the available technological implementation measures by providing an inventory of existing approaches, privacy design strategies, and technical building blocks of various degrees of maturity from research and development. Starting from the privacy principles of the legislation, important elements are presented as a first step towards a design process for privacy-friendly systems and services. The report sketches a method to map legal obligations to design strategies, which allow the system designer to select appropriate techniques for implementing the identified privacy requirements. Furthermore, the report reflects limitations of the approach. It concludes with recommendations on how to overcome and mitigate these limits.
Social life histories: jackdaw dominance increases with age, terminally declines and shortens lifespan

Behaviour may contribute to changes in fitness prospects with age, for example through effects of age-dependent social dominance on resource access. Older individuals often have higher dominance rank, which may reflect a longer lifespan of dominants and/or an increase in social dominance with age. In the latter case, increasing dominance could mitigate physiological senescence. We studied the social careers of free-living jackdaws over a 12 year period, and found that: (i) larger males attained higher ranks, (ii) social rank increased with age within individuals, and (iii) high-ranked individuals had shorter lifespan suggesting that maintaining or achieving high rank and associated benefits comes at a cost. Lastly, (iv) social rank declined substantially in the last year an individual was observed in the colony, and through its effect on resource access this may accelerate senescence. We suggest that behaviour affecting the ability to secure resources is integral to the senescence process via resource effects on somatic state, where behaviour may include not only social dominance, but also learning, memory, perception and (sexual) signalling. Studying behavioural effects on senescence via somatic state may be most effective in the wild, where there is competition for resources, which is usually avoided in laboratory conditions.
On Rhythm and General Music Similarity

The contribution of this paper is threefold: First, we propose modifications to Fluctuation Patterns [14]. The resulting descriptors are evaluated in the task of rhythm similarity computation on the “Ballroom Dancers” collection. Second, we show that by combining these rhythmic descriptors with a timbral component, results for rhythm similarity computation are improved beyond the level obtained when using the rhythm descriptor component alone. Third, we present one “unified” algorithm with fixed parameter set. This algorithm is evaluated on three different music collections. We conclude from these evaluations that the computed similarities reflect relevant aspects both of rhythm similarity and of general music similarity. The performance can be improved by tuning parameters of the “unified” algorithm to the specific task (rhythm similarity / general music similarity) and the specific collection, respectively.
Design and Comparison of Different Matching Techniques for Low Noise Amplifier Circuit

Abstract This paper describes the design of Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) circuits with different types of matching circuits at the input side and output side at 6 GHz. This paper compares the results of all possible combinations of ‘T’ and ‘L’ type matching circuits. The designed circuit is simulated with Advanced Design System (ADS) software. Each circuit is simulated for, with and without stabilizing circuit and feedback circuit. RLC series circuit is applied as feedback circuit and to improve the stability of the LNA circuit. Of all LNA matching circuits the TL matching gives better results in the stabile region than L-L matching, L-T matching and T-T matching. Under stability condition forward gain and noise figure of T-L match is 14.14 dB and 1.81 dB which is better than L-L match as 10.39 dB and 2.15 dB , L-T match as 5.237 dB and 2.47 dB and T-T match as 6.468 dB and 3.9 dB.
Adjuvant chemotherapy for stage III colon cancer: implications of race/ethnicity, age, and differentiation.

CONTEXT A 1990 National Institutes of Health Consensus Conference recommended that patients with stage III colon cancer receive adjuvant chemotherapy because survival was improved in clinical trials in patients who received a 5-fluorouracil-based regimen. OBJECTIVE To determine whether adjuvant chemotherapy is used in the community as a standard of practice that improves outcome and whether it failed to benefit any specific sets of patients. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Prospective data from 85 934 patients with stage III colon cancer from 560 hospital cancer registries were entered into the National Cancer Data Base between 1990 and 2002 and included standard clinical, pathological, and first course of treatment variables. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Prevalence of adjuvant chemotherapy usage and 5-year survival in patients treated in US hospitals. RESULTS Adjuvant chemotherapy use increased from 39% in 1991 to 64% in 2002 but was lower in black, female, and elderly patients. It improved 5-year survival from almost 8% in 1991 to more than 16% in 1997 compared with surgery alone. Adjuvant chemotherapy increases survival in elderly patients as much as it does in younger patients. However, the benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy in blacks and those with high-grade cancers is not as great. CONCLUSIONS Adjuvant chemotherapy use has increased from 1990 to 2002 for patients with stage III colon cancer with an associated increase in 5-year survival of 16%. The benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy seems to be lower in black patients and high-grade cancers. Women have the same benefit but are less often treated. Elderly patients have the same benefit as younger patients but are less frequently treated. New options for adjuvant therapy in 2004-2005 may further improve the outcome of patients with stage III colon cancer.
Mathematical Methods in Robust Control of Linear Stochastic Systems (Mathematical Concepts and Methods in Science and Engineering Series) (by Y. Dragan et al.; 2006) [Book reviews]

This monograph presents a focused treatment of the mathematics of robust control in linear stochastic systems with few examples. It addresses both established and new theories in the field of robust control, which are supported by adequate proofs and supporting statements. While geared to the research community on applied mathematics and other mathematically oriented fields, parts of the text could be used to supplement graduate courses in control and estimation. Doctoral students in engineering may benefit not only from the new theories presented in the monograph, but also by following the rigorous mathematical style of presentation. Several items are recommended to augment the contents, including more examples to illustrate the material and a glossary of all acronyms used in the monograph.
Model Reduction for Large-Scale Systems with High-Dimensional Parametric Input Space

A model-constrained adaptive sampling methodology is proposed for the reduction of large-scale systems with high-dimensional parametric input spaces. Our model reduction method uses a reduced basis approach, which requires the computation of high-fidelity solutions at a number of sample points throughout the parametric input space. A key challenge that must be addressed in the optimization, control, and probabilistic settings is the need for the reduced models to capture variation over this parametric input space, which, for many applications, will be of high dimension. We pose the task of determining appropriate sample points as a PDE-constrained optimization problem, which is implemented using an efficient adaptive algorithm that scales well to systems with a large number of parameters. The methodology is demonstrated using examples with parametric input spaces of dimension 11 and 21, which describe thermal analysis and design of a heat conduction fin, and compared with statistically based sampling methods. For these examples, the model-constrained adaptive sampling leads to reduced models that, for a given basis size, have error several orders of magnitude smaller than that obtained using the other methods.