Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Correction of breathing-induced errors in magnetic resonance thermometry of hyperthermia using multiecho field fitting techniques.

PURPOSE Breathing motion can create large errors when performing magnetic resonance (MR) thermometry of the breast. Breath holds can be used to minimize these errors, but not eliminate them. Between breath holds, the referenceless method can be used to further reduce errors by relying on regions of nonheated fatty tissue surrounding the heated region. When the surrounding tissue is heated (i.e., for a hyperthermia treatment), errors can result due to phase changes of the small amounts of water in the tissue. Therefore, an extension of the referenceless method is proposed which fits for the field in fatty tissue independent of temperature change and extrapolates it to the water-rich regions. METHODS Nonheating experiments were performed with male volunteers performing breath holds on top of a phantom mimicking a breast with a tumor. Heating experiments were also conducted with the same phantom while mechanically simulated breath holds were performed. A nonheating experiment was also performed with a healthy female breast. For each experiment, a nonlinear fitting algorithm was used to fit for temperature change and B0 field inside of the fatty tissue. The field changes were then extrapolated into water-rich (tumor) portions of the image using a least-squares fit to a fifth-order equation, to correct for field changes due to breath hold changes. Similar results were calculated using the image phase, to mimic the use of the referenceless method. RESULTS Phantom results showed large reduction of mean error and standard deviation. In the non-heating experiments, the traditional referenceless method and our extended method both corrected by similar amounts. However, in the heating experiments, the average deviation of the temperature calculated with the extended method from a fiber optic probe temperature was approximately 50% less than the deviation with the referenceless method. The in vivo breast results demonstrated reduced standard deviation and mean. CONCLUSIONS In this paper, we have developed an extension of the referenceless method to correct for breathing errors using multiecho fitting methods to fit for the B0 field in the fatty tissue and using measured field changes as references to extrapolate field corrections into a water-only (tumor) region. This technique has been validated in a number of situations, and in all cases, the correction method has been shown to greatly reduce temperature error in water-rich regions. The method has also been shown to be an improvement over similar methods that use image phase changes instead of field changes, particularly when temperature changes are induced.
How does water get through roots

uptake of water. On the contrary, at low rates of transpiration such as during the night or during stress conOn the basis of recent results with young primary ditions (drought, high salinity, nutrient deprivation), maize roots, a model is proposed for the movement of the apoplastic path will be less used and the hydraulic water across roots. It is shown how the complex, ‘com- resistance will be high. The role of water channels posite anatomical structure’ of roots results in a ‘com- (aquaporins) in the transcellular path is in the fine posite transport’ of both water and solutes. Parallel adjustment of water flow or in the regulation of uptake apoplastic, symplastic and transcellular pathways play in older, suberized parts of plant roots lacking a suban important role during the passage of water across stantial apoplastic component. The composite transthe different tissues. These are arranged in series port model explains how plants are designed to within the root cylinder (epidermis, exodermis, central optimize water uptake according to demands from the cortex, endodermis, pericycle stelar parenchyma, and shoot and how external factors may influence water tracheary elements). The contribution of these struc- passage across roots. tures to the root’s overall radial hydraulic resistance is examined. It is shown that as soon as early metaxy- Key words: Composite transport model, endodermis, exolem vessels mature, the axial (longitudinal) hydraulic dermis, hydraulic conductivity, reflection coefficient, root, resistance within the xylem is usually not rate-limiting. water, water channels. According to the model, there is a rapid exchange of water between parallel radial pathways because, in contrast to solutes such as nutrient ions, water per- Introduction meates cell membranes readily. The roles of apoplastic One of the essential functions of roots is to supply the barriers (Casparian bands and suberin lamellae) in the shoot with water from the soil. The process of water root’s endo- and exodermis are discussed. The model
Reliability and Smallest Worthwhile Difference of the NFL-225 Test in NCAA Division I Football Players

Abstract Mann, JB, Ivey, PJ, Brechue, WF, and Mayhew, JL. Reliability and smallest worthwhile difference of the NFL-225 test in NCAA Division I football players. J Strength Cond Res 28(5): 1427–1432, 2014—The NFL-225 test is widely used to assess the strength level and evaluate the progress of college football players during resistance training. Despite the studies evaluating the validity of this test, there are no reports assessing its reliability. The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability and smallest worthwhile difference (SWD) of the NFL-225 test in Division I college football players. Seventy-two players were assessed for more than 3 weeks for the number of repetitions completed with a constant load of 102.3 kg (225 lbs) during winter conditioning. Test sessions occurred on the same day and at the same time 1 week apart. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) between weeks 1 and 2 (ICC = 0.987), weeks 2 and 3 (ICC = 0.981), and across weeks 1, 2, and 3 (ICC = 0.988) indicated high relative reliability. A small technical error (TE) (TE = 0.5 repetitions) provided strong absolute reliability. The SWD suggests that a change in performance of 3 repetitions or more after training would indicate a meaningful improvement in performance for this test.
The Kupffer cell protects against acute lung injury in a rat peritonitis model: role of IL‐10

The possibility that Kupffer cells (KCs) play key beneficial and deleterious roles in multiple organ injury in sepsis has been discussed. The role of KCs in lung injury in a rat peritonitis model was investigated. Specifically, the involvement of interleukin (IL)‐10, which has anti‐inflammatory effects, was examined. Rats were given saline or gadolinium chloride (GdCl3), a KC toxicant, 24 h before cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). Survival was assessed for 7 days after CLP. The liver, lung, and serum were harvested, and the expression of cytokines was assessed. Macrophages were isolated from each organ after CLP, and the mRNA expression of inflammatory mediators was assessed. GdCl3 treatment increased lung injury and mortality. Plasma endotoxin levels were significantly greater, whereas serum IL‐10 levels were lower in the GdCl3 than in the control group after CLP. IL‐10 levels were significantly greater in the aorta than the hepatic vein. The mRNA expression of IL‐10 was less in KCs from the GdCl3 than the control group. In the liver, the expression of IL‐10 increased rapidly and continuously, up to 9 h in the control group, but values were significantly lower in the GdCl3 group. Rabbit anti‐rat IL‐10 antibodies were injected just after CLP to investigate the effects of immunoneutralization of endogenously produced IL‐10. In the antibody‐treated group, lung injury and mortality increased compared with animals treated with rabbit immunoglobulin G. Taken together, these results indicate that KCs play a protective role in lung injury in sepsis by production of IL‐10.
HIV-1 virions for dissemination in trans

Viruses have evolved various strategies in order to persist within the host. To date, most information on mechanisms of HIV-1 persistence has been derived from studies with lymphocytes, but there is little information regarding mechanisms that govern HIV-1 persistence in macrophages. It has previously been demonstrated that virus assembly in macrophages occurs in cytoplasmic vesicles, which exhibit the characteristics of multivesicular bodies or late endosomes. The infectious stability of virions that assemble intracellularly in macrophages has not been evaluated. We demonstrate that virions assembling intracellularly in primary macrophages retain infectivity for extended intervals. Infectious virus was recovered directly from cytoplasmic lysates of macrophages and could be transmitted from macrophages to peripheral blood lymphocytes in trans 6 weeks after ongoing viral replication was blocked. Cell-associated virus decayed significantly from 1 to 2 weeks post infection, but decreased minimally thereafter. The persistence of intracellular virions did not require the viral accessory proteins Vpu or Nef. The stable sequestration of infectious virions within cytoplasmic compartments of macrophages may represent an additional mechanism for viral persistence in HIV-1-infected individuals. The EMBO Journal (2005) 24, 2481–2489. doi:10.1038/ sj.emboj. 7600707; Published online 26 May 2005 Subject Categories: microbiology & pathogens
1 LIN 28 B polymorphisms influence susceptibility to epithelial ovarian cancer

Jennifer Permuth-Wey,Donghwa Kim,Ya-Yu Tsai, Hui-Yi Lin , Y. Ann Chen, Jill Barnholtz-Sloan, Michael J. Birrer,Gregory Bloom, Stephen J. Chanock, Zhihua Chen, Daniel W. Cramer, Julie M. Cunningham, Getachew Dagne, Judith Ebbert-Syfrett, David Fenstermacher, Brooke L. Fridley, Montserrat Garcia-Closas, Simon A. Gayther, William Ge, Aleksandra Gentry-Maharaj, Jesus Gonzalez-Bosquet, Ellen L. Goode, Edwin Iversen, Heather Jim, William Kong, John McLaughlin, Usha Menon, Alvaro N.A. Monteiro, Steven A. Narod, Paul D.P. Pharoah, Catherine M. Phelan, Xiaotao Qu, Susan J. Ramus, Harvey Risch, Joellen M. Schildkraut, Honglin Song, Heather Stockwell, Rebecca Sutphen, Kathryn L. Terry, Jonathan Tyrer, Robert A. Vierkant, Nicolas Wentzensen, Johnathan M. Lancaster, Jin Q. Cheng, and Thomas A. Sellers on behalf of the Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium (OCAC)
Retrotransposons as a major source of epigenetic variations in the mammalian genome

Transcription of retrotransposons is usually repressed by DNA methylation, but a few elements, such as intracisternal A-particles (IAPs) associated with the Agouti and Axin-fused loci, partially escape this repression mechanism. The levels of this repression are also variable among individuals with an identical genome sequence, generating epigenetically different states of loci or ‘epialleles. ’ In the current study, we tested the existence of additional retrotransposon-derived epialleles in the mouse genome. Using a series of bioinformatic approaches, 143 candidate epialleles were first identified from the mouse genome based on their promoter activity and association with active histone modification marks. Detailed analyses suggest that a subset of these elements showed variable levels of DNA methylation among the individual mice of an isogenic background, revealing their stochastic nature (metastability) of DNA methylation. The analyses also identified two opposite patterns of DNA methylation during development, progressive gaining vs. losing, confirming the dynamic nature of their DNA methylation patterns. qRT-PCR analyses demonstrated that the expression levels of these elements are indeed variable among the individual mice, suggesting functional consequences on their associated endogenous genes. Overall, these data confirm the presence of a number of new retrotransposon-derived epialleles with suggestions of the presence of more, and further identify retrotransposons as a major source of epigenetic variations in the mammalian genome.
The role of the defaecating pouchogram in the assessment of evacuation difficulty after restorative proctocolectomy and pouch–anal anastomosis

Restorative proctocolectomy (RPC) with ileal pouch–anal anastomosis (IPAA) is the most frequently performed operation for intractable ulcerative colitis (UC) and for many patients with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). It can be complicated by a functional evacuation difficulty, which is not well understood. We aimed to evaluate the role of defaecating pouchography in an attempt to assess the mechanism of evacuation difficulty in pouch patients.
Can Autonomous Vehicles Be Safe and Trustworthy? Effects of Appearance and Autonomy of Unmanned Driving Systems

Although autonomous vehicles are increasingly becoming a reality, eliminating human intervention from driving may imply significant safety and trust-related concerns. To address this issue from a psychological perspective, this study applies layers of anthropomorphic cues to an artificial driving agent and explicates the process in which these cues promote positive evaluations and perceptions of an unmanned driving system. In a between-subjects factorial experiment (N = 89) consisting of three unmanned driving scenarios, participants interacted with an artificial driving agent with different levels of anthropomorphic cues induced by the variations in appearance (human-like vs. gadget-like) and autonomy (high vs. low) of the agent. The results indicated that human-like appearance and high autonomy were more effective in eliciting positive perceptions of the agent. In addition, a mediation analysis revealed that the greater level of anthropomorphism induced by human-like appearance and high autonomy in the agent evoked the feelings of social presence, which in turn positively affected the perceived intelligence and safety of and trust in the agent, suggesting that the extent to which users perceive the driving agent as intelligent, safe, and trustworthy is largely determined by the feelings of social presence experienced during their interaction.
Emergence of antimicrobial resistance and virulence factors among the unusual species of enterococci, from North India

Background: Several enterococcal species are increasingly being reported from clinical infections, besides the major species. Aim: This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of unusual enterococcal species and their antimicrobial susceptibility patterns, virulence factors, and molecular characterization. Study Design and Settings: The study was conducted in Department of Microbiology and associated Tertiary Care University Hospital in North India. Materials and Methods: Enterococcal isolates were collected for a period of 2 years from clinical specimens. Identification and elaborate phenotypic characterization was done biochemically. All the isolates were tested by Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method and breakpoint minimum inhibitory concentration for susceptibility against standard antibiotics. Screening for vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), high-level aminoglycoside resistance was done on brain heart infusion agar incorporated with 6 μg/ml vancomycin, 500 μg/ml gentamicin, and 2000 μg/ml streptomycin, respectively. VRE isolates were tested for the presence of vanA, vanB, and vanC genes and high-level gentamicin resistant (HLGR) isolates for aac-6′- aph-2′ gene by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Hemolysin and gelatinase production, hemagglutination and biofilm formation were detected along with asa1, gelE, esp, hyl, and cylA genes by multiplex PCR. Results: Of 403 enterococci, 93 (23.07%) isolates were identified as unusual species and atypical variants. Resistance of 52.68%, 46.23%, 44.08%, and 6.45% for ampicillin, ciprofloxacin, high strength gentamicin, and vancomycin, respectively were noted. Presence of vanC gene in Enterococcus gallinarum and Enterococcus casseliflavus isolates and vanA gene in Enterococcus durans and Enterococcus hirae and aac-6′- aph-2′′ gene was found in 33.14% (14/41) of the HLGR isolates. The most frequent virulence factor was biofilm production. Only a few isolates harbored asa1 (2), gelE (9), and hyl (3) genes. Conclusion: Considerable prevalence of pathogenic unusual species of enterococci was seen along with their emerging drug resistance and virulence. Complete identification and routine speciation is essential to limit their emergence as major species in near future.
Normal Germ Line Establishment in Mice Carrying a Deletion of the Ifitm/Fragilis Gene Family Cluster

ABSTRACT The family of interferon-inducible transmembrane proteins (Ifitm) consists of five highly sequence-related cell surface proteins, which are implicated in diverse cellular processes. Ifitm genes are conserved, widely expressed, and characteristically found in genomic clusters, such as the 67-kb Ifitm family locus on mouse chromosome 7. Recently, Ifitm1 and Ifitm3 have been suggested to mediate migration of early primordial germ cells (PGCs), a process that is little understood. To investigate Ifitm function during germ cell development, we used targeted chromosome engineering to generate mutants which either lack the entire Ifitm locus or carry a disrupted Ifitm3 gene only. Here we show that the mutations have no detectable effects on development of the germ line or on the generation of live young. Hence, contrary to previous reports, Ifitm genes are not essential for PGC migration. The Ifitm family is a striking example of a conserved gene cluster which appears to be functionally redundant during development.
Rome Women's Screening Study: Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Women regarding Screening for Breast and Cervical Cancer

A survey on knowledge, attitudes, and practice regarding breast and cervical cancer screening was conducted in Rome on a sample of women aged 18-64 years. Of the 793 interviewees, 31.9% had undergone at least one breast imaging examination; examinations were more frequent in women over 35 and in those familiar with breast self-examination and female pathophysiology. Seventy percent of the women had had at least one Pap smear. Women were classified as Pap smear underusers (26.0%), appropriate users (28.8%), and overusers (45.2%) as compared to standard screening recommendations, according to their age and their lifetime number of smears. Age over 35 was associated with both underuse and overuse. Such inappropriate screening patterns could be related in part to the fact that the women reported that their physicians recommendations for Pap smear frequency were once a year or more in 62%, and once every two or three years in only 2%.
An analytical inspection framework for evaluating the search tactics and user profiles supported by information seeking interfaces

Searching is something we do everyday both in digital and physical environments. Whether we are searching for books in a library or information on the web, search is becoming increasingly important. For many years, however, the standard for search in software has been to provide a keyword search box that has, over time, been embellished with query suggestions, Boolean operators, and interactive feedback. More recent research has focused on designing search interfaces that better support exploration and learning. Consequently, the aim of this research has been to develop a framework that can reveal to designers how well their search interfaces support different styles of searching behaviour. The primary contribution of this research has been to develop a usability evaluation method, in the form of a lightweight analytical inspection framework, that can assess both search designs and fully implemented systems. The framework, called Sii, provides three types of analyses: 1) an analysis of the amount of support the different features of a design provide; 2) an analysis of the amount of support provided for 32 known search tactics; and 3) an analysis of the amount of support provided for 16 different searcher profiles, such as those who are finding, browsing, exploring, and learning. The design of the framework was validated by six independent judges, and the results were positively correlated against the results of empirical user studies. Further, early investigations showed that Sii has a learning curve that begins at around one and a half hours, and, when using identical analysis results, different evaluators produce similar design revisions. For Search experts, building interfaces for their systems, Sii provides a Human-Computer Interaction evaluation method that addresses searcher needs rather than system optimisation. For Human-Computer Interaction experts, designing novel interfaces that provide search functions, Sii provides the opportunity to assess designs using the knowledge and theories generated by the Information Seeking community. While the research reported here is under controlled environments, future work is planned that will investigate the use of Sii by independent practitioners on their own projects.
An LTE/WWAN antenna contains monopole and coupled-fed loop for internal mobile phone

This article presents an LTE/WWAN antenna for mobile phone application. The low operation band from 690-1100 MHz is excited by two coupled-fed loops for applying at LTE700/GSM850/900 band. The high operation band from 1700-2690 MHz for GSM1800/1900/UMTS/LTE2300/2500 band is achieved by two monopoles and an inverted-C-shaped strip attached with the coupled-fed loop. A 33 nH chip inductor is inserted in a monopole for decreasing resonant length.
Role of PTEN and Akt in the regulation of growth and apoptosis in human osteoblastic cells

Cancer cells are characterized by either an increased ability to proliferate or a diminished capacity to undergo programmed cell death. PTEN is instrumental in regulating the balance between growth and death in several cell types and has been described as a tumor suppressor. The chromosome arm on which PTEN is located is deleted in a subset of human osteosarcoma tumors. Therefore, we predicted that the loss of PTEN expression was contributing to increased Akt activation and the subsequent growth and survival of osteosarcoma tumor cells. Immunoblot analyses of several human osteosarcoma cell lines and normal osteoblasts revealed relatively abundant levels of PTEN. Furthermore, stimulation of cell growth or induction of apoptosis in osteosarcoma cells failed to affect PTEN expression or activity. Therefore, routine regulation of osteosarcoma cell growth and survival appears to be independent of changes in PTEN. Subsequently, the activation of a downstream target of PTEN activity, the survival factor Akt, was analyzed. Inappropriate activation of Akt could bypass the negative regulation by PTEN. Analyses of Akt expression in several osteosarcoma cell lines and normal osteoblasts revealed uniformly low basal levels of phosphorylated Akt. The levels of phosphorylated Akt did not increase following growth stimulation. In addition, osteosarcoma cell growth was unaffected by inhibitors of phosphatidylinositol‐3 kinase, an upstream activator of the Akt signaling pathway. These data further suggest that the Akt pathway is not the predominant signaling cascade required for osteoblastic growth. However, inhibition of PTEN activity resulted in increased levels of Akt phosphorylation and enhanced cell proliferation. These data suggest that while abundant levels of PTEN normally maintain Akt in an inactive form in osteoblastic cells, the Akt signaling pathway is intact and functional. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Kinematic control of a 6 DOF robotic manipulator using sliding mode

In this paper, the effect of adding sliding mode methodology to the kinematic control of robot manipulators with damped least square (DLS) Jacobian inverse is studied. The proposed controller is experimentally tested on a 6 degree of freedom (DoF) robotic manipulator. Three different types of end-effector path are considered for which the controller performance is evaluated. The results show that the inclusion of the sliding mode improves the controller performance.