Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Functional IL-10 Deficiency in the Lung of Cystic Fibrosis (cftr−/−) and IL-10 Knockout Mice Causes Increased Expression and Function of B7 Costimulatory Molecules on Alveolar Macrophages1

Alveolar macrophages are poor APCs that only minimally express B7 costimulatory molecules. Because our previous data suggest that bronchial epithelial cells constitutively secrete IL-10, and IL-10 inhibits B7 expression in vitro, we hypothesized that this IL-10 is responsible for suppressing B7 expression on macrophages that enter the airways. Furthermore, because we have shown that cystic fibrosis (CF) lungs are deficient in IL-10, we hypothesized that bronchoalveolar macrophages (BALMs) from cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR)−/− as well as IL-10−/− mice might express increased B7. Immunofluorescence for B7 was positive on BALMs from CF patients and CFTR−/− and IL-10−/− mice, but was negative on controls. FACS showed that 63.9% of BALMs from IL-10−/− mice were B7-1 positive, as were 67.4% of BALMs from CFTR−/− mice, whereas <7% of BALMs from wild-type controls were positive. Using BALMs to costimulate splenic T cells with anti-CD3 as a mitogen showed 9202 ± 2107 cpm [3H]thymidine incorporation for BALMs from IL-10−/− mice and 4082 ± 1036 cpm for BALMs from CFTR−/− mice, but <200 cpm with BALMs from either type of +/+ mouse. Treatment of CFTR−/− mice with recombinant mouse IL-10 reduced the B7 expression and costimulatory activity of the BALMs. These data suggest that the IL-10 secreted in the healthy lung may be responsible for the absence of B7 and poor costimulatory activity of BALMs and that reductions of pulmonary IL-10 in CF may enhance B7 expression and local immune responses.
Population Approaches to Improve Diet, Physical Activity, and Smoking Habits: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association

Background— Poor lifestyle behaviors, including suboptimal diet, physical inactivity, and tobacco use, are leading causes of preventable diseases globally. Although even modest population shifts in risk substantially alter health outcomes, the optimal population-level approaches to improve lifestyle are not well established. Methods and Results— For this American Heart Association scientific statement, the writing group systematically reviewed and graded the current scientific evidence for effective population approaches to improve dietary habits, increase physical activity, and reduce tobacco use. Strategies were considered in 6 broad domains: (1) Media and educational campaigns; (2) labeling and consumer information; (3) taxation, subsidies, and other economic incentives; (4) school and workplace approaches; (5) local environmental changes; and (6) direct restrictions and mandates. The writing group also reviewed the potential contributions of healthcare systems and surveillance systems to behavior change efforts. Several specific population interventions that achieved a Class I or IIa recommendation with grade A or B evidence were identified, providing a set of specific evidence-based strategies that deserve close attention and prioritization for wider implementation. Effective interventions included specific approaches in all 6 domains evaluated for improving diet, increasing activity, and reducing tobacco use. The writing group also identified several specific interventions in each of these domains for which current evidence was less robust, as well as other inconsistencies and evidence gaps, informing the need for further rigorous and interdisciplinary approaches to evaluate population programs and policies. Conclusions— This systematic review identified and graded the evidence for a range of population-based strategies to promote lifestyle change. The findings provide a framework for policy makers, advocacy groups, researchers, clinicians, communities, and other stakeholders to understand and implement the most effective approaches. New strategic initiatives and partnerships are needed to translate this evidence into action.
Observation of graphene surface plasmon polaritons excited by free electron beam

In previous work, we propose to develop a novel kind of terahertz radiation source which utilizing free electron beam to excited graphene surface plasmon polaritons (GSPPs) combining vacuum electronics and new 2D material graphene. The previous theoretical analysis show that this coherent radiation source can be tuned covering almost whole THz frequency range and work at room temperature. In this paper, we demonstrate the conductivity mapping of GSPPs with free electron beam excitation using TDS system. The characteristics of GSPPs can be derived from the calculated conductivity results and be compared with the theoretical Drude model, which would guide the next step of the experiment to realize the new kind of THz source.
Caspase-3, TUNEL and ultrastructural studies of small follicles in adult human ovarian biopsies.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to investigate evidence for cell death by apoptosis in small unilaminar ovarian follicles of adult humans. METHODS Cortical biopsies from 13 healthy donors were either frozen and protein extracted for western blots or fixed for immunohistochemistry (IH) to localize procaspase-3 and active-caspase-3, to detect DNA fragmentation in situ and undertake routine transmission electron microscopy (TEM). RESULTS Blots identified the presence of the inactive pro-form of caspase-3, and IH localized this in all follicles studied. In contrast, the active form of caspase-3, a major effector of apoptosis, was only detected in large antral follicles that also had microscopic signs of atresia. Active caspase-3 was not detected in primordial (n = 87), primary (n = 8) or secondary follicles. The atretic follicles were also the only ovarian structures with positive evidence of DNA fragmentation after terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end-labelling (TUNEL) treatment. Confocal microscopy showed dual labelling for both active caspase-3 and TUNEL in individual granulosa cells in large atretic follicles, but no such labelling was evident in any other follicles. No apoptotic bodies were seen by TEM in sections of 39 small follicles from seven patients. CONCLUSION This study found evidence for TUNEL and active caspase-3 only in human ovarian antral follicles.
An open-loop multicast layered congestion control protocol for real-time multimedia transmission

Congestion control of multicast real-time flows in the Internet has different requirements and poses further difficulties than common end-to-end unicast congestion control. In this paper we present a novel congestion control protocol, the layered datagram protocol (LDP), aimed at solving such problems. LDP has been designed to be fair against competing TCP traffic and, at the same time, exhibit smoothness in the instantaneous throughput, making it attractive for real-time multimedia transmission. Furthermore, the open-loop approach makes the protocol highly scalable, as the server load is not affected by the number of clients present in the transmission. Our simulations show that the protocol exhibits the expected TCP fairness while still being highly tunable to smooth the instantaneous throughput.
In Vivo Kinematics of the Talocrural and Subtalar Joints With Functional Ankle Instability During Weight-Bearing Ankle Internal Rotation

Functional ankle instability (FAI) may involve abnormal kinematics. However, reliable quantitative data for kinematics of FAI have not been reported. The objective of this study was to determine if the abnormal kinematics exist in the talocrural and subtalar joints in patients with FAI. Five male subjects with unilateral FAI (a mean age of 33.4 ± 13.2 years) were enrolled. All subjects were examined with stress radiography and found to have no mechanical ankle instability (MAI). Lateral radiography at weight-bearing ankle internal rotation of 0° and 20° was taken with the ankle at 30° dorsiflexion and 30° plantar flexion. Patients underwent computed tomography scan at 1.0 mm slice pitch spanning distal one third of the lower leg and the distal end of the calcaneus. Three-dimensional (3D) kinematics of the talocrural and subtalar joints as well as the ankle joint complex (AJC) were determined using a 3D-to-2D registration technique using a 3D-to-2D registration technique with 3D bone models and plain radiography. FAI joints in ankle dorsiflexion demonstrated significantly greater subtalar internal rotation from 0° to 20° internal rotation. No statistical differences in plantar flexion were detected in talocrural, subtalar or ankle joint complex kinematics between the FAI and contralateral healthy joints. During ankle internal rotation in dorsiflexion, FAI joints demonstrated greater subtalar internal rotation. The FAI joints without mechanical instability presented abnormal kinematics. This suggests that abnormal kinematics of the FAI joints may contribute to chronic instability. FAI joints may involve unrecognized abnormal subtalar kinematics during internal rotation in ankle dorsiflexion which may contribute to chronic instability and frequent feelings of instability. Level of Evidence: Diagnostic, Level IV, Cross-sectional
A Clinical Index to Predict Progression from Mild Cognitive Impairment to Dementia Due to Alzheimer's Disease

Background Mild cognitive impairment is often a precursor to dementia due to Alzheimer's disease, but many patients with mild cognitive impairment never develop dementia. New diagnostic criteria may lead to more patients receiving a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment. Objective To develop a prediction index for the 3-year risk of progression from mild cognitive impairment to dementia relying only on information that can be readily obtained in most clinical settings. Design and Participants 382 participants diagnosed with amnestic mild cognitive impairment enrolled in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), a multi-site, longitudinal, observational study. Main Predictors Measures Demographics, comorbid conditions, caregiver report of participant symptoms and function, and participant performance on individual items from basic neuropsychological scales. Main Outcome Measure Progression to probable Alzheimer's disease. Key Results Subjects had a mean (SD) age of 75 (7) years and 43% progressed to probable Alzheimer's disease within 3 years. Important independent predictors of progression included being female, resisting help, becoming upset when separated from caregiver, difficulty shopping alone, forgetting appointments, number of words recalled from a 10-word list, orientation and difficulty drawing a clock. The final point score could range from 0 to 16 (mean [SD]: 4.2 [2.9]). The optimism-corrected Harrell's c-statistic was 0.71(95% CI: 0.68–0.75). Fourteen percent of subjects with low risk scores (0–2 points, n = 124) converted to probable Alzheimer's disease over 3 years, compared to 51% of those with moderate risk scores (3–8 points, n = 223) and 91% of those with high risk scores (9–16 points, n = 35). Conclusions An index using factors that can be obtained in most clinical settings can predict progression from amnestic mild cognitive impairment to probable Alzheimer's disease and may help clinicians differentiate between mild cognitive impairment patients at low vs. high risk of progression.
Cribriform-Morular Variant of Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma: Ultrastructural Study and Somatic/Germline Mutation Analysis of the APC Gene

Cribriform-morular variant of papillary carcinoma is a distinctive histological variant of thyroid cancer, characterized by intermingled cribriform, follicular, papillary, trabecular, and morular architecture. These tumors are known to be associated with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), but are also encountered in non-FAP patients. The authors report on ultrastructural and genetic studies of 3 patients with this type of carcinoma-associated FAP. There were numerous microfilaments approximately 100 nm long at the nuclear clearing area of the morular regions. Two of the 3 patients showed germline APC mutations, and 1 had so somatic APC mutation. Both mutations were in previously unreported regions. The study provides new information for understanding the development of this rare tumor.
The forkhead/winged-helix gene, Mf1, is necessary for the normal development of the cornea and formation of the anterior chamber in the mouse eye.

Mf1, which encodes a winged-helix/forkhead transcription factor, is the murine homolog of human FKHL7, mutated in individuals with autosomal dominant inherited dysgenesis of the anterior segment of the eye (Axenfeld-Reiger anomaly). Mouse embryos homozygous for null mutations in Mf1 (Mf1(lacZ) and Mf1(ch)) show severely abnormal development of the anterior segment. The cornea fails to separate from the lens, resulting in the complete absence of an anterior chamber. There is no differentiation of the inner corneal endothelial layer, as judged by electron microscopy and by absence of labeling with monoclonal antibody to zonula occludens protein 1, a normal component of occluding junctions in wild-type endothelial cells. In addition, the mutant corneal stroma is disorganized and the epithelium thicker than normal. The Mf1 gene is normally expressed in the periocular mesenchyme at E11.5 but is downregulated as the corneal endothelium differentiates. In contrast, Mf1(lacZ) expression persists longer in mutant corneal mesenchyme, and abnormal expression is also seen in the mutant corneal epithelium. Based on classical studies with the chick embryonic eye, a model is proposed for the differentiation of the mammalian corneal endothelium from mesenchyme in response to putative signals from the lens. Possible roles for Mf1 in this process are discussed.
Signature Matching Using Associative Memory with Reusing of Pruned Nodes

Signature matching has been a topic of interest for quite some time. The need for efficient and robust algorithms and systems for recognition is being experienced in India especially in the post and telegraph department, banking sector and police department. In this paper signature image database retrieval has been investigated with special consideration. In unformatted databases one of the important features is that the user tends to retrieve information based on approximate queries, which are quite common in practice and sometimes unintentional. Work has been done on signature matching earlier using conventional and hybrid methods which may not be very efficient for practical systems. The present work is a new direction in signature matching using artificial neural networks and an implementation of a comprehensive software, based on signature matching in practice. Our procedure involves capturing the signature image, preprocessing, indexing each signature image through wavelets, thresholding and retrieving the stored signature for the given query signature pattern using associative memory concept of Dynamical Neural Network (DNN) with reuse. It is proved that the performance of the dynamical neural network with reuse using the learning strategy for signature matching is very efficient.
Etude de la connectivité fonctionnelle dans les pathologies de mouvement de Parkinson et de Huntington en utilisant l’approche par graine et la théorie des graphes

L’imagerie par resonance magnetique fonctionnelle permet d’explorer l’activite neuronale en utilisant un contraste endogene appele BOLD. Il a ete montre que les fluctuations du signal BOLD au repos correlaient dans des regions cerebrales distantes. C’est la connectivite fonctionnelle. Elle represente l’activite spontanee du cerveau et elle est mesuree par l’IRMf au repos. Notre projet de recherche a donc combine un aspect methodologique et deux applications dans le domaine des pathologies du mouvement. Nous avons etudie les strategies de pretraitement des donnees. L'objectif etait d'etudier l'influence du type de pretraitement ainsi que leur ordre d'application sur l'optimisation de la topologie des reseaux cerebraux. Nous avons compare 12 strategies differentes de pretraitement. Dans ces strategies nous avons applique les techniques standards avec un ordre d'application different. Les deux etudes suivantes ont utilise l'IRMf au repos pour etudier la physiopathologie de deux pathologies du mouvement : la maladie de Huntington et la maladie de Parkinson. Dans ces pathologies, nous nous sommes centres sur l'etude des reseaux cerebraux grâce a l'etude de la connectivite fonctionnelle. Nous avons determine si l'IRMf au repos et les mesures de la theorie des graphes permettaient d'identifier des biomarqueurs robustes de l'evolution de la maladie de Huntington dans une etude longitudinale. Ensuite, nous avons etudie le role des noyaux cholinergiques du cerveau basal anterieur et de leurs connexions dans la survenue des troubles cognitifs presentes par les patients atteints de maladie de Parkinson. L'approche par graine est une methode adaptee a ce type de question.
Aprendizagem Baseada em Projetos no Ensino de Física: uma Revisão da Literatura

Este trabalho apresenta uma revisao da literatura sobre a Aprendizagem Baseada em Projetos (ABP) no contexto do Ensino de Fisica. O objetivo e apresentar uma breve revisao historica da ABP e tracar um panorama das publicacoes da area a fim de identificar e descrever as principais concepcoes e orientacoes metodologicas a respeito da ABP, bem como os referenciais teoricos de aprendizagem e metodologias de pesquisa que tem sido utilizados. Os resultados apontam predominância da metodologia qualitativa nas pesquisas sobre o tema, consideravel dispersao das concepcoes e orientacoes metodologicas e preocupante descuido acerca dos referenciais teoricos de aprendizagem.
Cause-specific late mortality among 5-year survivors of childhood cancer: the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study.

BACKGROUND The proportion of pediatric and adolescent cancer patients surviving 5 years has increased during the past four decades. This growing population of survivors remains at risk for disease- and treatment-associated late mortality. METHODS A total of 20 483 five-year survivors of childhood and adolescent cancer diagnosed between January 1, 1970, and December 31, 1986, and enrolled in the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS) were included in a National Death Index search for deaths occurring between January 1, 1979, and December 31, 2002. Treatment information was abstracted from primary medical records. Survival probabilities, standardized mortality ratios (SMRs), and absolute excess risks were calculated for overall and cause-specific deaths. Diagnosis- and sex-specific survival probabilities were estimated by the product-limit method. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS Among the CCSS cohort, 2821 (13.8%) 5-year survivors had died by the end of the follow-up period. The cause of death was obtained for 2534 individuals, with 57.5% of deaths attributed to recurrent disease. Estimated probability of survival 30 years from diagnosis was 82%. When compared with the US population, the absolute excess risk of death from any cause was 7.36 deaths per 1000 person-years. The overall SMR was 8.4 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 8.0 to 8.7). Increases in cause-specific mortality were seen for deaths due to subsequent malignancy (SMR = 15.2, 95% CI = 13.9 to 16.6) and cardiac (SMR = 7.0, 95% CI = 5.9 to 8.2), pulmonary (SMR = 8.8, 95% CI = 6.8 to 11.2), and other medical (SMR = 2.6, 95% CI = 2.3 to 3.0) causes. At 20 years of follow-up (25 years after first cancer diagnosis), the death rate due to a subsequent malignancy exceeded that due to all other causes. CONCLUSION Our extended follow-up of 5-year survivors of pediatric and adolescent cancer indicates that excess mortality persists long after diagnosis. Continued observation is needed to further define lifetime risk and to determine the potential contribution of chronic health conditions and modifiable health behaviors.
Visualization of electrical trees by 80 MHz-band pulsed ultrasound

To develop a non-destructive observation system of electrical trees in electric components such as power modules, we used an acoustic microscope with a center frequency of 80 MHz to image electrical trees in a simulated sample. The fine structure of trees approximately 0.5 mm in size could be observed. The spatial resolution for trees via this measurement system was about 40-50 μm. Furthermore, image processing was employed to acquire a clearer image. Assuming a Gaussian blur function, the original image was deconvolved, improving the spatial resolution by optimizing the standard deviate, which was 20 μm in this experimental condition. To confirm the spatial resolution of trees in an optically non-transparent sample, trees in epoxy resin containing alumina as well as an epoxy resin were observed. The half value width of the spatial resolution at tree channels for a non-transparent sample was about 50 μm, which corresponds to that for a transparent sample. Hence, ultrasonic microscope observations are suitable for the non-destructive inspection of electrical trees.
Distributional models of multiword expression compositionality prediction

Les systemes de traitement automatique des langues reposent souvent sur l'idee que le langage est compositionnel, c'est-a-dire que le sens d'une entite linguistique peut etre deduite a partir du sens de ses parties. Cette supposition ne s’avere pas vraie dans le cas des expressions polylexicales (EPLs). Par exemple, une "poule mouillee" n'est ni une poule, ni necessairement mouillee. Les techniques pour deduire le sens des mots en fonction de leur distribution dans le texte ont obtenu de bons resultats sur plusieurs tâches, en particulier depuis l'apparition des word embeddings. Cependant, la representation des EPLs reste toujours un probleme non resolu. En particulier, on ne sait pas comment predire avec precision, a partir des corpus, si une EPL donnee doit etre traitee comme une unite indivisible (p.ex. "carton plein") ou comme une combinaison du sens de ses parties (p.ex. "eau potable"). Cette these propose un cadre methodologique pour la prediction de compositionnalite d'EPLs fonde sur des representations de la semantique distributionnelle, que nous instancions a partir d’une variete de parametres. Nous presenterons une evaluation complete de l'impact de ces parametres sur trois nouveaux ensembles de donnees modelisant la compositionnalite d'EPLs, en anglais, francais et portugais. Finalement, nous presenterons une evaluation extrinseque des niveaux de compositionnalite predits par le modele dans le contexte d’un systeme d'identification d'EPLs. Les resultats suggerent que le choix specifique de modele distributionnel et de parametres de corpus peut produire des predictions de compositionnalite qui sont comparables a celles presentees dans l'etat de l'art.
The Transverse Cerebellar Diameter in Estimating Gestational Age in the Large for Gestational Age Fetus

The transverse cerebellar diameter was measured in 62 nondiabetic and 30 diabetic women with large for gestational age fetuses. Using reference curves from 675 women with normal gestations between 14-42 weeks, head circumference and abdominal circumference overestimated gestational age significantly in both study groups, whereas the transverse cerebellar diameter did not.