Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of an anatomic model of the paranasal sinuses for endonasal surgical training.

OBJECTIVES To assess the suitability of a new anatomic model of the paranasal sinuses for endonasal surgical training. STUDY DESIGN Prospective observational pilot study. METHODS A new anatomic model of the paranasal sinuses was developed by the Department of Anatomy at the University of Zurich. The practicability of the model was evaluated by three experienced endoscopic sinus surgeons with a special focus on its possible use in training. Standardized surgical procedures were performed under simulated real-life conditions in the operating theatre. RESULTS The endoscopic appearance of the nasal airway closely resembled real human tissue and the detailed anatomy of the model allowed the same structured surgical steps to be performed as in real life in the absence of bleeding. CONCLUSION This anatomic model is a readily available teaching tool for endoscopic sinus surgeons.
Effect of biofouling on anodized and sol-gel treated titanium surfaces: a comparative study

Anodization and sol-gel treatments of titanium (Ti) were evaluated as biofilm control measures on surfaces exposed to seawater exposed to ultraviolet light. Anodized and sol-gel treated specimens were characterized using Raman spectroscopy to confirm the presence of TiO2. The single anatase phase was observed at the anodized surfaces whereas the anatase/rutile mixed phase was detected on the sol-gel coated surfaces. After exposure of the specimens to seawater, biofilms were characterized by total viable counts, and epifluorescence and Raman microscopy. These techniques confirmed the reduction in biofilm formation on both the anodized and sol-gel coated Ti specimens compared to the untreated specimens. Biofilm control by anodization was found to be more effective than by sol-gel treatment of the specimens. The higher particle size and the inhomogeneity at the sol-gel coated surfaces produced less effective biofilm control.
Structure-Properties Correlation in Si Nanoparticles by Total Scattering and Computer Simulations

High-energy synchrotron X-ray diffraction coupled to atomic pair distribution function analysis and computer simulations is used to determine the atomic-scale structure of silicon (Si) nanoparticles obtained by two different synthetic routes. Results show that Si nanoparticles may have significant structural differences depending on the synthesis route and surface chemistry. In this case, one method produced Si nanoparticles that are highly crystalline but surface oxidized, whereas a different method yields organic ligand-passivated nanoparticles without surface oxide but that are structurally distorted at the atomic scale. Particular structural features of the oxide-free Si nanoparticles such as average first coordination numbers, length of structural coherence, and degree of local distortions are compared to their optical properties such as photoluminescence emission energy, quantum yield, and Raman spectra. A clear structure–properties correlation is observed indicating that the former may need to be t.
A Steganography System Based on Dual Chaotic Encryption and Singular Value Shifting

Information security has been given increasingly attention especially in multimedia related fields, and how to ensure transmission safety of confidential information is a significant and challenging problem. We build a system combing dual chaotic encryption of texts and information hiding technique based on a modified maximum singular shifting method with images as carriers. We utilize the advantages of dual chaotic mapping in randomness, complexity and safety to encrypt plain texts. Conventional steganography is advanced by introducing outstanding properties of SVD into our system so that robustness and imperceptibility are largely improved. Experiments demonstrate that system performs well both in robustness and image visual effect.
Usability of compromise-free statistical databases

The usability of a statistical database is defined to be the ratio of the cardinality of the largest set of queries which can be answered without compromise to the total number of queries. In this paper, we present new results concerning the usability of secure statistical databases for general SUM, COUNT and MEAN queries, as well as for the corresponding range queries. We give the usability of these k-dimensional databases for all k/spl ges/1. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of our results.
Compact Convex Projections

We study the usefulness of conditional gradient like methods for determining projections onto convex sets, in particular, projections onto naturally arising convex sets in reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces. Our work is motivated by the recently introduced kernel herding algorithm which is closely related to the Conditional Gradient Method (CGM). It is known that the herding algorithm converges with a rate of 1/t , where t counts the number of iterations, when a point in the interior of a convex set is approximated. We generalize this result and we provide a necessary and sufficient condition for the algorithm to approximate projections with a rate of 1/t . The CGM, which is in general vastly superior to the herding algorithm, achieves only an inferior rate of 1/√t in this setting. We study the usefulness of such projection algorithms further by exploring ways to use these for solving concrete machine learning problems. In particular, we derive non-parametric regression algorithms which use at their core a slightly modified kernel herding algorithm to determine projections. We derive bounds to control approximation errors of these methods and we demonstrate via experiments that the developed regressors are en-par with state-of-the-art regression algorithms for large scale problems.
A system identification approach for design of IIR digital filters

In general, the problem of infinite impulse response (IIR) filters design has a non-linearity due to the presence of denominator polynomial; hence, an iterative optimization is usually needed to obtain the solution. In this paper, we independently generate several time series signals in stop-band, transition zone, and pass-band based on an algorithm which generates a Gaussian stochastic process with a prescribed frequency characteristic. After that, we synthesis the input signal and its ideal output signal, and can obtain the IIR filter by using system identification method from these signals. The advantage of the proposed method is that we can compute the IIR stable digital filters as a closed-form solution. We can approximate the given frequency response and the constant group delay without using iterative optimization. Finally, a design example is presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method by designing a high-pass IIR digital filter. As a result, we confirm the filter designed has a good magnitude response and an almost flat group delay.
Influence of juvenile hormone and mating on oogenesis and oviposition in the codling moth, cydia pomonella

Oogenesis in the codling moth, Cydia pomonella, and the role of juvenile hormones (JHs) were addressed. Rudimentary ovarian structures were recognisable in day 3-4 pupae, when haemolymph JH was still undetectable by coupled gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in the selected ion mode (GC-MS/SIM). The presence of developing oocytes was observed by light microscopy on day 8, coincident with very low JH titres (0.74 +/- 0.05 ng/ml JH II). Chorionation was only evident upon emergence, following an increase in JH in the pharate adult (0h old: 4.71 +/- 0.34 ng/ml JH II). Analysis of haemolymph from virgin and mated females indicated that JH II was predominant, with approximately equal and lower quantities of JHs I and III (3.3- to 5.0-fold less). When pupae or newly emerged adults were treated with JH homologues, no alteration in ovarian protein content was apparent, but the JH mimetic, fenoxycarb, depressed the number of oocytes filling >/= 50% follicular volume. Chorion deposition was stimulated by JHs I, II, or III (10 &mgr;g), but not by fenoxycarb (0.05 &mgr;g, 10 &mgr;g). Mating provided correct stimuli for enhanced choriogenesis and egg laying, and, since haemolymph JH titres were concomitantly elevated (approximately 2-fold), it was postulated that the rise in JH elicited both these events. Application of JHs to virgin females, however, could not mimic mating; only increases in choriogenesis were induced: JH-treatment of virgins (or mated insects) significantly decreased oviposition rates over 24 and 48 h and markedly reduced the life-time total number of eggs. Arch. Copyright 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Preliminary report on childhood sexual abuse, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts among middle-aged and older depressed women.

OBJECTIVE Authors examined the relationship between childhood sexual abuse histories and suicidal ideation and behavior among depressed women age 50 years and older. METHODS After admission to a psychiatric unit, participants were administered the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R and measures of suicidal ideation and behavior. RESULTS Women who reported abuse histories were more likely to report suicidal ideation at the time of hospitalization and a history of multiple suicide attempts. CONCLUSIONS These preliminary findings underscore the need for more study of how childhood abuse amplifies risk for suicidal ideation and behavior among women across the life course.
Homology modeling: an important tool for the drug discovery

In the last decades, homology modeling has become a popular tool to access theoretical three-dimensional (3D) structures of molecular targets. So far several 3D models of proteins have been built by this technique and used in a great diversity of structural biology studies. But are those models consistent enough with experimental structures to make this technique an effective and reliable tool for drug discovery? Here we present, briefly, the fundamentals and current state-of-the-art of the homology modeling techniques used to build 3D structures of molecular targets, which experimental structures are not available in databases, and list some of the more important works, using this technique, available in literature today. In many cases those studies have afforded successful models for the drug design of more selective agonists/antagonists to the molecular targets in focus and guided promising experimental works, proving that, when the appropriate templates are available, useful models can be built using some of the several software available today for this purpose. Limitations of the experimental techniques used to solve 3D structures allied to constant improvements in the homology modeling software will maintain the need for theoretical models, establishing the homology modeling as a fundamental tool for the drug discovery.
An Exact Algorithm for the Pickup and Delivery Problem with Time Windows

The pickup and delivery problem with time windows (PDPTW) is a generalization of the vehicle routing problem with time windows. In the PDPTW, a set of identical vehicles located at a central depot must be optimally routed to service a set of transportation requests subject to capacity, time window, pairing, and precedence constraints. In this paper, we present a new exact algorithm for the PDPTW based on a set-partitioning--like integer formulation, and we describe a bounding procedure that finds a near-optimal dual solution of the LP-relaxation of the formulation by combining two dual ascent heuristics and a cut-and-column generation procedure. The final dual solution is used to generate a reduced problem containing only the routes whose reduced costs are smaller than the gap between a known upper bound and the lower bound achieved. If the resulting problem has moderate size, it is solved by an integer programming solver; otherwise, a branch-and-cut-and-price algorithm is used to close the integrality gap. Extensive computational results over the main instances from the literature show the effectiveness of the proposed exact method.
In vitro allergic bronchoconstriction in the brown Norway rat.

The ovalbumin (OA)-sensitized Brown Norway rat (BN) demonstrates early-response (ER) and late-response (LR) allergic bronchoconstriction. To determine whether these responses could be replicated in vitro, we studied lung explants from 8-wk-old male BN rats (wt: 239 +/- 28 g), of which 19 were sensitized to OA (test) and 16 served as controls. Two weeks after sensitization, the animals' lungs were removed, filled with a 1% (wt/vol) agarose-containing solution at 37 degrees C, and cooled to 4 degrees C. Transverse slices (0.5 to 1.0 mm thick) were cut and cultured overnight. Airways were visualized with an inverted microscope and baseline images were obtained with a video camera. To study the ER, 40 airways from 15 test rats and 29 airways from 10 control rats were challenged with 2 micrograms OA and imaged each minute for 10 min. To study the LR, 40 airways from 12 test rats and 44 airways from 12 control rats were challenged with 2 micrograms OA and imaged each hour for 8 h. The maximal response (MR) for each airway was defined as the percent of airway closure. The ER and LR were both defined as an MR > or = mean + 2 SD of the controls. An ER occurred in 38 of 40 test and 2 of 29 control airways (mean MR: 42 +/- 24% versus 4 +/- 3%, p < 0.001), and was completely blocked by methysergide pretreatment in 13 airways. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Biomechanical interactions of different mini-plate fixations and maxilla advancements in the Le Fort I Osteotomy: a finite element analysis

Abstract This study investigates the biomechanical interaction of different mini-plate fixation types (shapes/sizes and patterns) with segmental advancement levels on the Le Fort I osteotomy using the non-linear finite element (FE) approach. Nine models were generated under a standard 1-piece LeFort I osteotomy for advancement with 3, 6 and 9 mm distances and four mini-plates with three fixation patterns including LL, LI, and II patterns placed on the maxillae models by integrating computed tomography images and computer-aided design system. The axial and oblique occlusal forces were 250 N applied to each premolar/molar and 125 N applied at 30° inclination to the tooth long axis and from palatal to buccal, respectively. The relative micro-movement values between the two maxillary bone segments and maximum mini-plate stress increased obviously with maxilla advancement increment and the increasing trend can be fitted by exponential curve. The corresponding values in II mini-plate fixation presented apparently high values in all simulated cases. The mini-plate stress concentration locations were found at the bending regions to increase high fracture risk. The mini-plate yield strength can be mapped to a critical (limited) advancement for three types of fixations for safe consideration. This study concluded that L-shaped mini-plates with lateral fixation are recommended to provide better stability. The risk for mini-plate fracture and bone relapse increases when maxillary advancement is larger than a critical value of 5 mm in the Le Fort I osteotomy.
A Method for Supporting the Domain Expert by the Interpretation of Different Decision Trees Learnt from the Same Domain

Data mining methods are widely used across many disciplines to identify patterns, rules, or associations among huge volumes of data. Data mining methods with explanation capability such as decision tree induction are preferred in many domains. The aim of this paper is to discuss how to deal with the result of decision tree induction methods. This paper has been prompted by the fact that domain experts are able to use the tools for decision tree induction but have great difficulties in interpreting the results. When the domain expert has learnt two decision trees that are from the same domain but based on different data sets as a result of further data collection, he is faced with the problem of how to interpret the different trees. The comparison of two decision trees is therefore an important issue as the user needs such a comparison in order to understand what has changed. We have proposed to provide him with a measure of correspondence between the two trees that allows him to judge if he can accept the changes or not. In this paper, we propose a proper similarity measure. In case of a low similarity value, the expert has evidence to start exploring the reason for this change. Often, he can find things in the data acquisition that might have resulted in some noise and might be fixed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Novel Ketoprofen Amides – Synthesis and Biological Evaluation as Antioxidants, Lipoxygenase Inhibitors and Cytostatic Agents

The novel amides of ketoprofen and its reduced derivatives (5a–f, 4a–n, 6a–g) with aromatic and cycloalkyl amines or hydroxylamines were prepared and screened for their reducing and cytostatic activity as well as for their ability to inhibit soybean lipoxygenase and lipid peroxidation. 1,1‐Diphenyl‐picrylhydrazyl test for reducing ability revealed that ketoprofen amides were more potent antioxidants than the amides of the reduced ketoprofen derivatives. The most active compound was benzhydryl ketoprofen amide 5f. Lipoxygenase inhibition of the tested compounds varied from strong to very weak. The most potent compound was benzhydryl derivative 6f (IC50 = 20.5 μm). Aromatic and cycloalkyl amides 4 and 5 were more potent lipoxygenase inhibitors than derivatives with carboxylic group. Aromatic amides of series 4 and 5 showed excellent lipid peroxidation inhibition (92.2–99.9%). On the other hand, the most pronounced cytostatic activity was exerted by O‐benzyl derivative 4i, although in general all tested reduced and non‐reduced lipophilic derivatives showed similar activity.
Rates of p16 (MTS1) mutations in primary tumors with 9p loss.

Chromosomal loss at 9p21-22 has been implicated in the genesis of different types of primary tumors. The gene p16[sup INK4], an inhibitor of activated cyclin D-cdk4 complexes, recently emerged as a candidate tumor suppressor gene when it was localized to 9p21. The authors selected 75 primary tumors that displayed alleleic loss of the region. They then amplified exons 1 and 2, cloned the amplified products, and sequenced p16 from pooled clones. They conclude from the results of sequencing that p16 is not the primary target of 9p21-22 loss in a large number of nonmelanoma primary tumors. 14 refs., 1 fig., 1 tab.
Migratory Behavior of Presumptive Interneurons Is Affected by AMPA Receptor Activation in Slice Cultures of Embryonic Mouse Neocortex

It has been reported that functional α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-isoxazolpro-prionic acid (AMPA) receptors permeable to calcium are already expressed by tangentially migrating prospective interneurons in the developing rodent cerebral cortex. However, the role of these receptors is not yet fully understood. To examine the effect of activation of AMPA receptors on tangential migration, we exposed migrating prospective interneurons derived from the medial ganglionic eminence (MGE) to AMPA in slice cultures and performed time lapse imaging. In the neocortex, a subpopulation of MGE-derived cells stopped migration or changed the direction of migration in response to AMPA in a dose-dependent manner. In contrast, neither MGE-derived cells migrating in the subcortical territory nor radially migrating cells in the neocortex were affected by exposure to AMPA. Transfection of dominant-negative AMPA receptor subunit GluR1 to the tangentially migrating cells prevented the effects of AMPA on migration. This study provides evidence that the activation of AMPA receptors can directly affect tangential migration in the neocortical part of telencephalic slice cultures.
Enhanced Model of Conductive Filament-Based Memristor via Including Trapezoidal Electron Tunneling Barrier Effect

Memristors exhibit very promising features such as nonvolatility and small area. Several types of memristors have been developed in the last decade using different materials along with physical models explaining their behaviors. In this paper, we modify a previously published model to account for a trapezoidal electron tunneling barrier rather than a zero field or constant potential barrier. The model is verified against experimental data showing better agreement. We then perform a study to find out the effect of different memristors parameters on its I-V characteristics and how to shape the characteristics to fit the applications. Finally, we provide a SPICE model which takes into account the tunneling capacitance and clarify that any fabricated memristor has, inherently, a memcapacitor in parallel. The dominant element may be the memristor or the memcapacitor depending on the frequency of operation.
Differential modulation in human primary and secondary somatosensory cortices during the preparatory period of self‐initiated finger movement

To elucidate the mechanisms underlying sensorimotor integration, we investigated modulation in the primary (SI) and secondary (SII) somatosensory cortices during the preparatory period of a self‐initiated finger extension. Electrical stimulation of the right median nerve was applied continuously, while the subjects performed a self‐initiated finger extension and were instructed not to pay attention to the stimulation. The preparatory period was divided into five sub‐periods from the onset of the electromyogram to 3000 ms before movement and the magnetoencephalogram signals following stimulation in each sub‐period were averaged. Multiple source analysis indicated that the equivalent current dipoles (ECDs) were located in SI and bilateral SII. Although the ECD moment for N20m (the upward deflection peaking at around 20 ms) was not significantly changed, that for P30m (the downward deflection peaking at around 30 m) was significantly smaller in the 0‐ to −500‐ms sub‐period than the −2000‐ to −3000‐ms sub‐period. As for SII, the ECD moment for the SII ipsilateral to movement showed no significant change, while that for the contralateral SII was significantly larger in the 0‐ to −500‐ms sub‐period than the −1500‐ to −2000‐ms or −2000‐ to −3000‐ms sub‐period. The opposite effects of movement on SI and SII cortices indicated that these cortical areas play a different role in the function of the sensorimotor integration and are affected differently by the centrifugal process.
Recent advances of pyrrolopyridines derivatives: a patent and literature review

ABSTRACT Introduction: Several pyrrolopyridines or azaindoles have been reported in the literature as biologically-active molecules. Most of them are anticancer agents, and few possess other therapeutic effects. Areas covered: The most recent biologically-active pyrrolopyridine derivatives have been reviewed from the patents and research articles published from 2010 to the mid of 2016. Their structural and biological features have been explained. In general, the pyrrolopyridine scaffold mimics the purine ring of the ATP molecule. So the well-designed pyrrolopyridine analogues can successfully act as kinase inhibitors for treatment of cancer and/or other diseases. The most successful pyrrolopyridine derivative that is currently used in the market is vemurafenib, which is used for treatment of melanoma. Its chemical and biological features have been reviewed and explained. Expert opinion: The heterocyclic pyrrolopyridine nucleus mimics the purine ring of ATP. So they can work as inhibitors of the kinase at hinge region. Due to the structural similarity with ATP, these pyrrolopyridine derivatives are estimated to be non-selective kinase inhibitors. The selectivity is conferred mainly from the different substituents attached to the azaindole nucleus. More details are presented in the ‘Expert Opinion’ section at the end of this article. This section covers the chemistry and the biological properties of therapeutically-efficient pyrrolopyridine-possessing compounds.