Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prognostic Value of MIB–1 Antibody Labeling Index to Predict Response to Bacillus Calmette–Guérin Therapy in a High–Risk Selected Population of Patients with Stage T1 Grade G3 Bladder Cancer

Purpose: Proliferation rate is an important determinant of bladder tumor progression. However, this factor has not yet been correlated to bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) therapy response in a selected high–risk population of patients with stage T1 grade G3 bladder cancer. To assess the predictive value of the proliferation rate, an immunoreactivity test with monoclonal antibodies MIB–1 was carried out. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of an MIB–1 labeling index by selecting a group of responsive patients prior to intravesical therapy.Materials and Methods: After complete transurethral resection, 35 patients with T1G3 bladder carcinoma received 6 weekly installations of BCG (intravesical Pasteur strain: 75 mg in 50 ml course of BCG therapy). After treatment a cystoscopy and randomized biopsies of the bladder mucosa were carried out and all recurrences were systematically resected. All tissue samples were fixed in Bouin’s solution, embedded in paraffin and stained with hematoxylin–eosin–safran. Pathologists had sufficient material to perform immunomarking in 25 patients using peroxidase–antiperoxidase (PAP) technique, with antiprotein monoclonal antibody MIB–1 (Immunotech, Marseilles, France) to study MIB–1 expression before BCG therapy. Consensus was obtained from three independent pathologists for all sections. The results were expressed in a percentage of marked nuclei. Ten percent increment thresholds were established from 10 to 60%. Contingency tables were established, χ2 (p1) and Fisher exact test (p2) were performed for each threshold of 10%. Results: Median follow–up was 57.3 months (range 25–144). Of the 25 patients, 8 (32%) did not respond to BCG therapy, 17 (68%) responded positively. With a 20% threshold, there was a statistical difference (p1 = 0.03, p2 = 0.04) between responder (R) and nonresponder (NR) patients. All the 7 patients with less than 20% of nuclear activity positively responded to BCG. At this threshold level, sensitivity was high but specificity low (positive predictive value = 0.44). If we consider other reactivity thresholds there were no statistical differences between R and NR patients (10%) threshold p1 = 0.13, p2 = 0.19; 30% p1 and p2 = 0.20; 40% p1 = 0.82, p2 = 0.61; 50% p1 = 0.57, p2 = 0.55). Conclusion: Our study indicates that the proliferation rate, assessed by MIB–1 immunoreactivity in Bouin’s solution–fixed primary tissue, could be a useful predictive marker of outcome in T1G3 bladder carcinoma. With a 20% reactivity cut–off, a negative MIB–1 immunomarking appears to predict a positive response to BCG instillations. However, on the other hand, MIB–1 is of limited clinical use because the low specificity of this test cannot predict failure and then select candidates for cystectomies.
The Effect of a p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Inhibitor on Cellular Senescence of Cultivated Human Corneal Endothelial Cells.

Purpose We have begun a clinical trial of a cell-based therapy for corneal endothelial dysfunction in Japan. The purpose of this study was to investigate the usefulness of a p38 MAPK inhibitor for prevention cellular senescence in cultivated human corneal endothelial cells (HCECs). Methods HCECs of 10 donor corneas were divided and cultured with or without SB203580 (a p38 MAPK inhibitor). Cell density and morphology were evaluated by phase-contrast microscopy. Expression of function-related proteins was examined by immunofluorescent staining. Cellular senescence was evaluated by SA-β-gal staining and Western blotting for p16 and p21. Senescence-associated factors were evaluated by membrane blotting array, quantitative PCR, and ELISA. Results Phase-contrast microscopy showed a significantly higher cell density for HCECs cultured with SB203580 than without SB203580 (2623 ± 657 cells/mm2 and 1752 ± 628 cells/mm2, respectively). The HCECs cultured with SB203580 maintained a hexagonal morphology and expressed ZO-1, N-cadherin, and Na+/K+-ATPase in the plasma membrane, whereas the control HCECs showed an altered staining pattern for these marker proteins. HCECs cultured without SB203580 showed high positive SA-β-gal staining, a low nuclear/cytoplasm ratio, and expression of p16 and p21. IL-6, IL-8, CCL2, and CXCL1 were observed at high levels in low cell density HCECs cultured without SB203580. Conclusions Activation of p38 MAPK signaling due to culture stress might be a causative factor that induces cellular senescence; therefore, the use of p38 MAPK inhibitor to counteract senescence may achieve sufficient numbers of HCECs for tissue engineering therapy for corneal endothelial dysfunction.
Comparison between Bilateral and Unilateral Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Background: Bilateral sudden sensorineural hearing loss (BSSHL) is rare and assumed to be a different clinical entity compared to unilateral SSHL (USSHL). This study examined the differences between the idiopathic BSSHL and USSHL. Methods: Forty-six sequential BSSHL patients (Se-BSSHL) and 68 simultaneous BSSHL (Si-BSSHL) were consecutively admitted between June 2008 and December 2015. Two sets of patients served as control groups: (1) USSHL patients with healthy contralateral ear and (2) USSHL patients with contralateral preexisting hearing loss (USSHLwCHL). We retrospectively analyzed differences among four cohorts using analysis of variance, Kruskal-Wallis test, Welch's t-test, and Chi-square test as appropriate before and after propensity score matching (PSM) based on age, gender, and body mass index (BMI). Results: The prevalence of idiopathic BSSHL was 8.6% (114/1329) among the total SSHL patients. In the total cohort, USSHL patients tended to be younger, female, and tended to have lower BMI, renal parameters, and total cholesterol in addition to higher high-density lipoprotein compared to the other three groups. Most routine blood indicators, some coagulation markers, and immunoglobulin M (H = 13.4, P = 0.004) were significantly different among the study groups. After PSM, the major significant differences were found in audiometric characteristics. Si-BSSHL and Se-BSSHL patients demonstrated similar hearing thresholds as USSHL but were significantly better than the USSHLwCHL patients across most frequencies before and after treatment (H = 30.0, P < 0.001 for initial hearing and H = 12.0, P = 0.007 for final hearing). Moreover, the BSSHL patients showed different hearing loss distribution patterns (more descending type, &khgr;2 = 33.8, P = 0.001) with less hearing gain (H = 17.5, P < 0.001) compared to the USSHL patients. Conclusions: Idiopathic BSSHL is a relatively rare subtype of SSHL with a higher rate of descending audiogram type and inferior hearing outcome rather than being classified as a completely different disease entity compared to USSHL.
Gesture controlled robot

This project is a real time monitoring system by which humans interacts with robots through gestures. This is an immense aid for people for whom mobility is a great challenge. There is a dire need for vision based interface over speech recognition as it failed to mandate the robots because of modulation and varying frequency. Gesture recognition consists of three stages: capturing of image, image processing and data extraction. The implementation is achieved by navigation of the robot through various gestures. By the impact of this project, life of physically challenged people becomes less challenging. From further research it will benefit various areas including applications in military and high security bases.
Evaluation of Semiochemical-Baited Traps for Monitoring the Pea Leaf Weevil, Sitona lineatus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Field Pea Crops

Abstract The pea leaf weevil (PLW), Sitona lineatus L. , is a pest of field pea (Pisum sativum L.) and faba bean (Vicia faba L.) that recently invaded the Canadian Prairie Provinces. Although most damage is done by larvae that feed on root nodules, adults are easier to monitor than larvae. Both male and female weevils respond to a male-produced aggregation pheromone and to volatiles released by host plants. The current study tests the attractiveness of synthetic aggregation pheromone, 4-methyl-3,5-heptanedione, and host plant volatiles linalool, (Z)-3-hexenol, and (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate to PLWs in spring when weevils are reproductively active and in fall when weevils seek overwintering sites. Different combinations of semiochemical lures at various doses, released from a variety of devices were tested in pitfall traps. Semiochemical-baited traps captured both male and female weevils in both seasons but the sex ratio varied with season. Weevils did not respond in a dose-dependent manner to pheromone, as all pheromone lures were equally attractive. Pheromone release rate was determined by the release device and not the pheromone dose in the lure. The addition of plant volatiles sometimes increased weevil captures but plant volatiles alone were not attractive to PLW adults. An additional study tested the effect of trap type on weevil capture. Of the 12 different trap types tested, pheromone-baited pitfall traps were most successful in attracting and retaining weevils. Bycatch of other Sitona species was limited to a few specimens of the sweet clover weevil, Sitona cylindricollis Fahraeus.
Preoptic rather than mediobasal hypothalamic amino acid neurotransmitter release regulates GnRH secretion during the estrogen-induced LH surge in the ovariectomized rat.

Inhibitory and excitatory amino acid neurotransmitters have been suggested to participate in the feedback actions of estradiol (E2) on LH secretion. In the rat estrogen-receptive neurons have been demonstrated in the preoptic/anterior hypothalamic area (POA) and mediobasal hypothalamus/median eminence (MBH) and many of these neurons utilize gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) as neurotransmitter. The actions of excitatory amino acids (EAA) differ in ovariectomized (ovx) and ovx E2-substituted rats indicating that EAAs also participate in the positive feedback action of E2 on LH release. However, little information is available as to whether in vivo these transmitters exert their effects in the POA, where most of the GnRH perikarya are located, or in the MBH, i.e. at the nerve terminals. Therefore we conducted push pull cannula perfusions to compare the release rates of GABA, aspartate (ASP) and glutamate (GLU) in the MBH and POA. A subcutaneous implant of a silastic tube containing E2 resulted in LH surges in the afternoon of all treated animals. Prior to and during this LH surge the MBH release rates of neither GABA nor ASP nor GLU were significantly altered. In contrast, a conspicuous drop in preoptic GABA release occurred prior to and during the time of estrogen-induced LH surges and this was accompanied by enhanced preoptic secretion of ASP and GLU. In conclusion, we present the first data about amino acid release in the MBH during the E2-induced LH surge. Since only in the POA the LH surge is associated with changes in amino acid release, it appears that both inhibitory and excitatory amino acids act at the level of the GnRH cell bodies and/or dendrites and not on GnRH nerve terminals to mediate the feedback mechanism of E2 on LH release.
Resource Dependency Processing in Web Scaling Frameworks

The upsurge of mobile devices paired with highly interactive social web applications generates enormous amounts of requests web services have to deal with. Consequently in our previous work, a novel request flow scheme with scalable components was proposed for storing interdependent, permanently updated resources in a database. The major challenge is to process dependencies in an optimal fashion while maintaining dependency constraints. In this work, three research objectives are evaluated by examining resource dependencies and their key graph measurements. An all-sources longest-path algorithm is presented for efficient processing and dependencies are analysed to find correlations between performance and graph measures. Two algorithms basing their parameters on six real-world web service structures, e.g., Facebook Graph API are developed to generate dependency graphs and a model is developed to estimate performance based on resource parameters. An evaluation of four graph series discusses performance effects of different graph structures. The results of an evaluation of 2,000 web services with over 850 thousand resources and 6 million requests indicate that resource dependency processing can be up to a factor of two faster compared to a traditional processing approach while an average model fit of 97 percent allows an accurate prediction.
Predicting credit risk in Peer-to-Peer lending with survival analysis

Peer-to-peer lending is an online micro financing, where lenders and borrowers meet virtually for loan transactions. Along with the high growth, there is high risk in peer-to-peer lending due to uncollaterized loans, information asymmetry and lack of expertise on borrowers' creditworthiness. Therefore, it is highly necessary to analyze the credit risk of borrowers in peer-to-peer lending. Conventional credit scoring models can only classify loans into good and bad groups, but they fail to identify the timing of default. This paper proposes survival analysis approach to predict survival probabilities of loans in peer-to-peer lending at different time periods. The results from the survival analysis are effective in predicting the survival periods of the loans. Furthermore, the results from survival analysis are modeled for classification with neural networks.
Estradiol modulates the LH release response to N-methyl-D-aspartate in adult female rats: studies on hypothalamic luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone and neurotransmitter release.

We investigated the effect of ovariectomy (OVX) and subsequent estradiol benzoate (EB) treatment upon the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-induced LH secretion in adult female rats. Furthermore, the release of LHRH, norepinephrine (NE), dopamine (DA), 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) from superfused hypothalamic fragments explanted from OVX and OVX-EB rats was determined. Two weeks after OVX, animals received EB (100 mg/kg) s.c. , or oil vehicle (OVX-EB or OVX groups, respectively). Two days thereafter, at 09.00 h, NMDA (15 or 30 mg/kg) was given as an i.v. bolus; blood samples were drawn before and 10 min after drug administration. In OVX rats, NMDA had no significant effect on LH levels, whereas it stimulated LH release in OVX-EB animals at both doses tested (315 and 362% from basal values, p < 0.001). For hypothalamic superfusion studies OVX and OVX-EB animals were decapitated at 09.00 h, and the mediobasal hypothalami (MBH) dissected on ice. NMDA (10(-4) M) was added to the superfusion medium for a 10 min period. Basal LHRH release (OVX: 1.41 +/- 0.18; OVX-EB: 1.59 +/- 0.28 pg/10 min/MBH) was significantly (p < 0.05) enhanced by NMDA (OVX: 2.97 +/- 0.95; OVX-EB: 2.80 +/- 0.61 pg/10 min/MBH). EB treatment had no significant effect on basal or NMDA-induced LHRH output. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Prevalence of Antimicrobial Resistance in Eighty Clinical Isolates of Helicobacter pylori

We studied the in vitro susceptibility of 80 Helicobacter pylori clinical isolates to several antimicrobials commonly used to treat the infection, using the Epsilometer test (E-test). We also compared E-test and disk diffusion test in determining H. pylori susceptibility to the same antibiotics. We found a high prevalence of H. pylori strains resistant to metronidazole (23.7%), whereas the prevalence of H. pylori strains resistant to clarithromycin was 10%. Also, a significant correlation was found between MICs obtained with the disk diffusion test and E-test for metronidazole and clarithromycin. In conclusion, our study confirms a high prevalence of metronidazole- or clarithromycin-resistant H. pylori strains. Also, our data suggest that the E-test is a single, reliable, and cost-effective method to assess in vitro susceptibility of H. pylori to antimicrobial agents commonly used to eradicate the infection.
Wear debris from total joint replacements: evaluation of automated categorisation by scale-invariant feature transforms

AbstractWear debris is a crucial factor in determining the lifespan of a total joint replacement. Not only do particulates between a bearing surfaces increase wear rates through third-body abrasion, but immune reactions can lead to inflammation and osteolysis. In this paper, the use of computer vision to analyse and classify scanning electron microscope images of debris was investigated. UHMWPE debris was generated using an in vitro simulator or a linear tribometer, images were analysed using scale invariant feature transforms and a support vector machine classifier. The accuracy was 77.6% with a receiver operating characteristic area under curve of 92%.
Balanced Filter With Wideband Common-Mode Suppression in Groove Gap Waveguide Technology

This letter is focused on the design and realization of balanced bandpass filters (BPFs) in gap waveguide technology. The procedure of filter design and resonance-mode selection to achieve the desired differential bandpass behavior with intrinsic deep and wideband common-mode suppression is explained. A third-order differential BPF is designed and fabricated for demonstration. Agreement between the computed and measured results validates the concept and the design procedure.
A global carbon assimilation system using a modified ensemble Kalman filter

Abstract. A Global Carbon Assimilation System based on the ensemble Kalman filter (GCAS-EK) is developed for assimilating atmospheric CO2 data into an ecosystem model to simultaneously estimate the surface carbon fluxes and atmospheric CO2 distribution. This assimilation approach is similar to CarbonTracker, but with several new developments, including inclusion of atmospheric CO2 concentration in state vectors, using the ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) with 1-week assimilation windows, using analysis states to iteratively estimate ensemble forecast errors, and a maximum likelihood estimation of the inflation factors of the forecast and observation errors. The proposed assimilation approach is used to estimate the terrestrial ecosystem carbon fluxes and atmospheric CO2 distributions from 2002 to 2008. The results show that this assimilation approach can effectively reduce the biases and uncertainties of the carbon fluxes simulated by the ecosystem model.
A noble color-texture hybrid method for content-based image retrieval

In this paper, a color and texture hybrid framework CCLBM is proposed for content based image retrieval. The purpose of this study was to construct a method for image retrieval that is relatively simple in computational complexity and still maintains good retrieval results. The proposed color-texture hybrid method CCLBM combines Color Coherence Vector for color information and Local Binary Pattern for texture information. The method was tested and benchmarked on COREL-1K and COREL-5K image databases in terms of Average Retrieval Precision (ARP) and Average Retrieval Rate (ARR). The results show that CCLBM scores 82.52% and 67.13% in terms of Average Retrieval Precision (ARP) in COREL-1K and COREL-5K databases respectively (for top 10 similar image retrieval).
Basic arithmetic coding based approach for compressing generation scheduling data array

Generation scheduling is very important for maintaining the stability of power system. Generation of any unit or plant is varied according to the scheduling chart prepared by the load dispatch centre (LDC). For proper handling of this large data array, it is important to reduce the bulk volume of information by proper compression algorithm. In that context, an simple approach based on Basic Arithmetic Coding is developed in MATLAB environment to compress the large scheduling data array. The compression ratio being obtained for various set of scheduling data is high which implies reduced memory requirement for storing the encrypted information and reduced characters for transmitting the information. Compression ratio being obtained varies with number of digits of elements in data array and highest value is obtained with 3-digit elements. The work is scalable for compressing parameter monitoring data as well and similar results can be obtained with this enormous volume of data as well.
2016 ESC Position Paper on cancer treatments and cardiovascular toxicity developed under the auspices of the ESC Committee for Practice Guidelines:  The Task Force for cancer treatments and cardiovascular toxicity of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).

2-D : two-dimensional 3-D : three-dimensional 5-FU : 5-fluorouracil ACE : angiotensin-converting enzyme ARB : angiotensin II receptor blocker ASE : American Society of Echocardiography BNP : B-type natriuretic peptide CABG : coronary artery bypass graft CAD : coronary artery
STUDY OF PLATELET ADHESIVENESS AND AGGREGATION, WITH LATEX PARTICLES.

Abstract The interaction of platelets and latex particles was studied as a means for measuring platelet adhesiveness. When platelet-rich plasma was exposed to a suspension of latex, platelet aggregation occurred. This could be quantitated with an automatic particle counter (Coulter). The count of single discrete platelets at the base-line threshold diminished following the addition of latex, while the count registered at higher thresholds increased in proportion to the platelet clumps formed. However, the use of EDTA as anticoagulant in place of trisodium citrate or the prior addition of adenosine monophosphate or of adenosine prevented platelet aggregation in the presence of latex particles. It was demonstrated that there was increased ADP in the ambient fluid following the addition of latex to the platelet-rich plasma sample. These observations suggest that latex particles induce platelet aggregation through release of ADP from the platelets and that this reaction is similar in many respects to what has been described for mixtures of platelets and collagen. Examination of platelet-rich plasma latex mixtures by electron microscopy showed the presence of latex particles in vacuoles within platelets. These findings indicate that not only do latex particles adhere to the platelets but that platelet phagocytosis of them occurs. This implies that the mechanisms in the platelet to surface reaction may be similar in many respects to those involved in phagocytosis.
Running on Empty? How Folk Science Gets By With Less

Despite having highly impoverished understandings of the world at the mechanistic level, children and adults alike have strong interests in mechanistic explanations. These interests in mechanisms may support the development of folk-scientific understandings by enabling even the very young to build a sense of causal patterns that exist far above the level of mechanisms. That sense of causal patterns then works in combination with strategies for identifying and evaluating both experts and their explanations, enabling lay people of all ages to supplement their highly incomplete knowledge by accessing and relying on the divisions of cognitive labor that exist in all cultures.