Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Does Beauveria bassiana (Hypocreales: Cordycipitaceae) Affect the Survival and Fecundity of the Parasitoid Coptera haywardi (Hymenoptera: Diapriidae)?

Abstract The effect of the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin on the development of immature stages, and survival and fecundity of Coptera haywardi (Oglobin) adults was studied under laboratory conditions.The fungus was applied as dry conidia on parasitized pupae of Anastrepha obliqua (Macquart) (Diptera: Tephritidae) and on parasitoid adults of two different age groups (1- to 4-d-old, and 5- to 10-d-old). The fungus caused no negative effects on the development of the immature stages, since there were no differences on the emergence of adults compared with the untreated control. Adults were susceptible to the fungus on both sexes and age groups. Males showed shorter lifespan than females, even in untreated individuals. Despite the increased adult mortality produced by the fungus there was no effect on fecundity during first 18 d of adult life, as the net fecundity was 26.7 and 26.3 parasitoids per female treated and untreated, respectively. Our results suggest that, given the low susceptibility of parasitized pupae and the no effect on fecundity during the first 18 d of adult life, it is possible to develop management strategies using these two natural enemies in the biological control against A. obliqua.
Patient Cluster Divergence Based Healthcare Insurance Fraudster Detection

Healthcare insurance frauds are causing millions of dollars in loss for public healthcare funds around the world. Healthcare fraud detection methods can help us to avoid the loss of medical healthcare insurance fund and to improve medical quality. The existing fraudster detection methods always consider people who violate normal behavior patterns as fraudsters. However, fraudsters can evade these monitors by camouflage, by adding normal behaviors so that they look “normal. ” Our focus is to spot healthcare insurance patient fraudsters in the presence of camouflage. Although camouflage may hinder fraudster detection to some extent, we find that camouflage behaviors always sustain in a short period when the fraudster is conducting fraud. In other words, camouflage behaviors will not last long. Hence, if we can consider the cluster divergence of each patients’ hospital admission graph during a long time, we can detect healthcare insurance fraudsters free of the interference of fraudsters’ camouflage behaviors. In this paper, we propose the patient cluster divergence-based healthcare insurance fraudster detection (PCDHIFD), which can get rid of the disturbance of camouflage in fraud detection. Extensive experiment results show that our PCDHIFD outperforms the comparison approaches in terms of $f$ -measure by over 15%.
On the Operational Aspects of Measuring Nanoparticle Sizes

Nanoparticles are defined as elementary particles with a size between 1 and 100 nm for at least 50% (in number). They can be made from natural materials, or manufactured. Due to their small sizes, novel toxicological issues are raised and thus determining the accurate size of these nanoparticles is a major challenge. In this study, we performed an intercomparison experiment with the goal to measure sizes of several nanoparticles, in a first step, calibrated beads and monodispersed SiO2 Ludox®, and, in a second step, nanoparticles (NPs) of toxicological interest, such as Silver NM-300 K and PVP-coated Ag NPs, Titanium dioxide A12, P25(Degussa), and E171(A), using commonly available laboratory techniques such as transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, small-angle X-ray scattering, dynamic light scattering, wet scanning transmission electron microscopy (and its dry state, STEM) and atomic force microscopy. With monomodal distributed NPs (polystyrene beads and SiO2 Ludox®), all tested techniques provide a global size value amplitude within 25% from each other, whereas on multimodal distributed NPs (Ag and TiO2) the inter-technique variation in size values reaches 300%. Our results highlight several pitfalls of NP size measurements such as operational aspects, which are unexpected consequences in the choice of experimental protocols. It reinforces the idea that averaging the NP size from different biophysical techniques (and experimental protocols) is more robust than focusing on repetitions of a single technique. Besides, when characterizing a heterogeneous NP in size, a size distribution is more informative than a simple average value. This work emphasizes the need for nanotoxicologists (and regulatory agencies) to test a large panel of different techniques before making a choice for the most appropriate technique(s)/protocol(s) to characterize a peculiar NP.
Sub-blocks segmentation based on multi-feature fusion

Target tracking is one of the most topic-active research and also the most important part in the field of computer vision. The typical deformable model target tracking algorithm decomposes each target into multi-sub-blocks, and computes the similarity of both the local areas of each target and the spatial location among each sub-block. However, these algorithms define the area and the number of sub-blocks manually. In the practical application, the tracking system can provide the interaction to select the tracking target real-timely. But it’s difficult to provide the interaction to select the sub-blocks. It means the selection of sub-blocks manually has limitation in the practical application. Aimed at the problems mentioned, this paper presents a method for automatic sub-blocks segmentation. The proposed method integrates the local contrast and the richness of texture details to get a measure function of sub-blocks. Saliency detection based on visual attention model was used to extract salient local contrast. The edge direction dispersion has been used to describe the richness of texture details. Then, the discrimination of each pixel in the target will be computed by the mentioned methods above. Finally, sub-blocks with high discrimination will be chosen for tracking. Experimental results show that the method proposed can achieve more tracking precision compared with the current deformable target tracking algorithm which selected the sub-blocks manually
Communication between the distal interphalangeal joint and the navicular bursa in the horse at Computed Tomography Arthrography

Diffusion of drugs injected into the distal interphalangeal joint or the navicular (podotrochlear) bursa can influence diagnosis and treatment of foot pain. Previous anatomical and radiographic studies of the communication between these synovial structures have produced conflicting results and did not identify the location of any communication if present. This anatomic study aimed to assess the presence and site of communication between the distal interphalangeal joint and the navicular bursa in the horse by computed tomography arthrography. Sixty‐six pairs of cadaver forelimbs were injected with contrast medium into the distal interphalangeal joint and imaged by computed tomography arthrography. The presence of a communication, location of the communication and additional structural changes were assessed. Navicular bursa opacification occurred in 7 distal limbs (5.3%) following distal interphalangeal joint injection. One limb showed a communication through the T‐ligament and 6 limbs showed a communication through the distal sesamoidean impar ligament. In 3 cases, the communication through the distal sesamoidean impar ligament was associated with a distal border fragment. Our study showed that communication between the distal interphalangeal joint and navicular bursa is uncommon and inconsistent. Clinically, the presence of a communication could (1) influence the interpretation of diagnostic analgesia of the distal interphalangeal joint or the navicular bursa by facilitating the diffusion of local anaesthetic between these structures; (2) allow the drug and its potential adverse effects to spread from the treated synovial cavity to the non‐targeted synovial cavity; (3) be responsible for the failure of joint drainage in the case of sepsis.
Design and evaluation of new search paradigms and power management for peer-to-peer file sharing

Current estimates are that more than nine million PCs in the U.S. are part of peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing overlay networks on the Internet. These P2P hosts generate about 20% of the traffic on the Internet and consume about 7.8 TWh/yr equal to $630 million per year. File search in a P2P network is based on a wasteful paradigm of broadcasting query messages. Reducing P2P overhead traffic to reduce bandwidth waste and enabling power management to reduce electricity usage are clearly of great interest. In this dissertation, two new search paradigms with reduced overhead traffic are investigated. The new Targeted Search method uses statistics from previous searches to target future searches. Targeted Search is shown to reduce query overhead traffic when compared to broadcast-based search used by Gnutella. The new Broadcast Updates with Local Look-up Search (BULLS) protocol enables new capabilities including power management and reduces overhead traffic by enabling a local look-up of shared files. BULLS hosts periodically broadcast changes in their list of files shared and build a table of shared files by all other hosts. Power management in P2P networks is studied as an application of the minimum set cover problem. A reduction in overall energy consumption is achieved by powering down hosts that have all of their shared files fully shared (or covered) by other hosts. A new set cover heuristic—called the Random Map Out (RMO) algorithm—is introduced and compared to the well-known Greedy heuristic. The algorithms are evaluated for minimum set cover size and computational complexity (number of comparisons). The RMO algorithm requires significantly less comparisons than Greedy and still achieves a set cover size within a few percent of that of Greedy. Additionally, the RMO algorithm can be distributed and independently executed by each host with reduced complexity per host where the Greedy heuristic does not reduce in complexity by being distributed. With RMO there is a non-zero probability of a given file being “lost” (not in set cover). The probability of this event is modeled and numerical results show that the probability of a file being lost is practically insignificant.
Optimal probability weights for estimating causal effects of time‐varying treatments with marginal structural Cox models

Marginal structural Cox models have been used to estimate the causal effect of a time‐varying treatment on a survival outcome in the presence of time‐dependent confounders. These methods rely on the positivity assumption, which states that the propensity scores are bounded away from zero and one. Practical violations of this assumption are common in longitudinal studies, resulting in extreme weights that may yield erroneous inferences. Truncation, which consists of replacing outlying weights with less extreme ones, is the most common approach to control for extreme weights to date. While truncation reduces the variability in the weights and the consequent sampling variability of the estimator, it can also introduce bias. Instead of truncated weights, we propose using optimal probability weights, defined as those that have a specified variance and the smallest Euclidean distance from the original, untruncated weights. The set of optimal weights is obtained by solving a constrained quadratic optimization problem. The proposed weights are evaluated in a simulation study and applied to the assessment of the effect of treatment on time to death among people in Sweden who live with human immunodeficiency virus and inject drugs.
Improving Anxiety in Subacute Myelo-optico-neuropathy (SMON) after an Automated Telephone Call Service

Objective We evaluated the clinical effects of a telephone call service for psychological symptoms such as anxiety, depression or apathy in subacute myelo-optico-neuropathy (SMON) patients living alone or with a single caregiver. Methods Up to 16 SMON patients (4 men, 12 women) and 32 control subjects were evaluated by the geriatric depression scale (GDS), apathy scale (AS) and state and trait anxiety inventory (STAI) forms X-I, including the P and A values for depression, apathy and state anxiety including disturbed peace of mind and enhanced anxiety, respectively, before (pre) and three months after (post) the telephone call service. Results The SMON patients, especially women, had significantly worse baseline scores in GDS (depression), AS (apathy) and STAI (state anxiety) than control subjects. The automated telephone call service significantly improved the high baseline STAI scores, including the P and A scores (disturbed peace of mind and enhanced anxiety), of SMON patients but not the GDS or AS scores. Conclusion SMON patients, especially women, living alone or with a single caregiver showed higher baseline depression, apathy and anxiety scores than the control subjects. The present automated telephone call service proved to be a useful care tool for improving the anxiety of SMON patients with high STAI P and A scores.
Ultra-high-dose methylcobalamin in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a long-term phase II/III randomised controlled study

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of intramuscular ultra-high-dose methylcobalamin in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Methods 373 patients with ALS (El Escorial definite or probable; laboratory-supported probable; duration ≤36 months) were randomly assigned to placebo, 25 mg or 50 mg of methylcobalamin groups. The primary endpoints were the time interval to primary events (death or full ventilation support) and changes in the Revised ALS Functional Rating Scale (ALSFRS-R) score from baseline to week 182. Efficacy was also evaluated using post-hoc analyses in patients diagnosed early (entered ≤12 months after symptom onset). Results No significant differences were detected in either primary endpoint (minimal p value=0.087). However, post-hoc analyses of methylcobalamin-treated patients diagnosed and entered early (≤12 months’ duration) showed longer time intervals to the primary event (p<0.025) and less decreases in the ALSFRS-R score (p<0.025) than the placebo group. The incidence of treatment-related adverse events was similar and low in all groups. Conclusion Although ultra-high-dose methylcobalamin did not show significant efficacy in the whole cohort, this treatment may prolong survival and retard symptomatic progression without major side effects if started early. Trial registration number NCT00444613.
Efficacy of Glucocorticoids and Calcineurin Inhibitors for Anti-aminoacyl-tRNA Synthetase Antibody–positive Polymyositis/dermatomyositis–associated Interstitial Lung Disease: A Propensity Score–matched Analysis

Objective. The optimal treatment strategy for anti-aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase antibody–positive polymyositis/dermatomyositis-associated interstitial lung disease (anti-ARS-PM/DM-ILD) is yet to be established. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of glucocorticoids and calcineurin inhibitors (CNI) in patients with ARS-PM/DM-ILD. Methods. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival rates were retrospectively evaluated in 32 consecutive patients with ARS-PM/DM-ILD. Disease progression was defined as deterioration in PM/DM-ILD (including recurrence). Predictive factors associated with PFS were analyzed by Cox hazards analysis. The efficacy of first-line prednisolone (PSL) plus CNI therapy was compared with that of PSL monotherapy using propensity score–matched analysis. Results. Overall, 20 (62.5%) and 12 (37.5%) patients received first-line therapy with PSL + CNI and PSL, respectively. The 2-year PFS and 5-year survival rates in the overall cohort were 68.8% and 96.9%, respectively. On multivariate analysis, arterial oxygen pressure (HR 0.86) and PSL monotherapy (vs PSL + CNI; HR 7.29) showed an independent association with PFS. Baseline characteristics of propensity score-matched PSL + CNI and PSL groups were similar. The 2-year PFS rate was significantly higher in the matched PSL + CNI group than in the matched PSL group. All patients who experienced disease progression during first-line therapy were subsequently treated with second-line therapies. The 5-year survival rates of both the matched PSL + CNI and PSL groups were favorable. Conclusion. Propensity score–matched analysis demonstrated that first-line PSL + CNI therapy for patients with ARS-PM/DM-ILD significantly improved the PFS compared with PSL monotherapy, although there was no significant difference regarding longterm survival.
Structure, function, and inhibition of a genomic/clinical variant of Porphyromonas gingivalis peptidylarginine deiminase

Citrullination is an essential post‐translational modification in which the guanidinium group of protein and peptide arginines is deiminated by peptidylarginine deiminases (PADs). When deregulated, excessive citrullination leads to inflammation as in severe periodontal disease (PD) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Porphyromonas gingivalis is the major periodontopathogenic causative agent of PD and also an etiological agent of RA. It secretes a PAD, termed Porphyromonas PAD (PPAD), which is a virulence factor that causes aberrant citrullination. Analysis of P. gingivalis genomes of laboratory strains and clinical isolates unveiled a PPAD variant (PPAD‐T2), which showed three amino‐acid substitutions directly preceding catalytic Residue H236 (G231N/E232T/N235D) when compared with PPAD from the reference strain (PPAD‐T1). Mutation of these positions in the reference strain resulted in twofold higher cell‐associated citrullinating activity. Similar to PPAD‐T1, recombinant PPAD‐T2 citrullinated arginines at the C‐termini of general peptidic substrates but not within peptides. Catalytically, PPAD‐T2 showed weaker substrate binding but higher turnover rates than PPAD‐T1. In contrast, no differences were found in thermal stability. The 1.6 Å‐resolution X‐ray crystal structure of PPAD‐T2 in complex with the general human PAD inhibitor, Cl‐amidine, revealed that the inhibitor moiety is tightly bound and that mutations localize to a loop engaged in substrate/inhibitor binding. In particular, mutation G231N caused a slight structural rearrangement, which probably originated the higher substrate turnover observed. The present data compare two natural PPAD variants and will set the pace for the design of specific inhibitors against P. gingivalis‐caused PD.
Aclidinium bromide inhibits proliferation of osteosarcoma cells through regulation of PI3K/Akt pathway.

OBJECTIVE Osteosarcoma is recognized as the most common primary malignant bone tumor, the 5-year disease-free survival rate in patients with metastatic or recurrent disease is below than 30%. Drug resistance and toxic side effects limit the therapeutic efficacy of osteosarcoma. Therefore, it is urgent to develop new drugs for osteosarcoma treatment. Muscarinic 3 (M3) acetylcholine receptor (AChR) has been demonstrated in nonneurocrest-derived malignancies such as colon, prostate, lung, and ovarian carcinomas. Hence, targeted regulation of M3 AChR may be a possible mechanism for treating tumors. Aclidinium bromide has anti-tumoral properties in several tumors, namely gastric cancer and glioma. In this study, we intended to investigate whether aclidinium bromide, a novel M3 AChR antagonist, had effects on osteosarcoma cells proliferation and migration. PATIENTS AND METHODS The viability of U2 OS cells was detected by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay. The migration and invasion capabilities were measured by transwell invasion and migration assays. The cell apoptosis rate was tested by Annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)/Propidum iodide (PI) staining and flow cytometry. Key apoptosis-related and phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT) signaling pathway-associated were assessed by Western blot analysis. RESULTS Aclidinium bromide markedly decreased the OD value of U2 OS cells 48 h and 72 h after treatment. The number of positive crystal violet staining cells significantly decreased after treatment with aclidinium bromide. Treatment with aclidinium bromide significantly increased cell apoptosis rate, accompanied by the expression of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 decreased, the expression of pro-apoptotic protein Active caspase-3 and Bax significantly increased in U2 OS cells treated with aclidinium bromide. Additionally, aclidinium bromide suppressed the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway in U2 OS cells. CONCLUSIONS Therefore, the current study reveals that aclidinium bromide might inhibit osteosarcoma cell growth by regulating the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, which suggests aclidinium bromide is a potential chemotherapeutic agent for osteosarcoma.
Péris and Devadasis in Paris: orientalist ballet as poetic translation

One summer’s day in Paris, Théophile Gautier sat among a select group of writers and journalists (including his close friend Gérard de Nerval), invited to attend an intimate and titillating spectacle in a cozy apartment hidden away on the allée des Veuves (Gautier [1838] 1995, 64–71). Arranged on cushions and divans, with the scent of benzoin and amber wafting overhead, this “who’s who” of Parisian intellectual circles anxiously anticipated the entrance of a troupe of devadasis (or temple dancers), come all the way from India to tour Europe in 1838 (65). Silence filled the room, when suddenly four dancers and three musicians entered. After they greeted the audience, the lilting music of the chalumeau began, supported by a percussive tambourine, while the elderly group leader Ramalingam kept time with delicate cymbals (Nerval [1838] 1989, 448–9). Unfamiliar bodies executed elaborate poses and steps, in the midst of vibrant swirling fabrics (Gautier [1838] 1995, 68–70). Inspired, Gautier wrote an article for La Presse titled “Les Devadasis, connues aussi comme les bayadères” [“Devadasis, also known as bayadères”], creating preliminary publicity for the group that would go on to play for sold out audiences at the Théâtre des variétés in Paris, followed by theaters in London, Brussels, Berlin and Vienna (Bor 2007, 66). In his review of the performance, Gautier proclaims with excitement,
Association between dietary patterns and cardiovascular risk factors in a selected population of Lower Silesia (PURE Study Poland).

INTRODUCTION Dietary pattern analysis is used to describe the dietary habits of a selected population. In many studies, dietary patterns (DPs) have been associated with risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). The aim of the study was to assess the association between dietary patterns identified in the population of Lower Silesia, Poland, with anthropometric and biochemical risk factors for CVD. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study group included 2,025 participants of the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiological (PURE) Study. Dietary intake was evaluated based on data from the Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ). Dietary patterns were derived using principal component analysis (PCA). The relationship between DPs and body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, waist-hip ratio, blood pressure, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides and fasting glucose level, was assessed. RESULTS Three dietary patterns identified in the study explained 35.6% of total variance. The 'fruit, vegetables & dairy' DP, characterized by a high intake of vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, raisins, milk and low-fat dairy, was associated with improved lipid profile and anthropometric measures, lower diastolic blood pressure and lower fasting glucose concentration. 'Traditional' and 'fat & sugar' DPs were unfavourably associated with most of the risk factors for CVD presented in this study. CONCLUSIONS Dietary patterns identified in this study were differently related to selected anthropometric and biochemical risk factors for CVD. 'Fruit, vegetables & dairy' DP was favourably associated with the biochemical and anthropometric CVD risk factors, and was characterized by higher nutritional value in comparison with 'traditional' and 'fat & sugar' DPs.