Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Novel Immunohistochemical Markers in the Diagnosis of Nonglial Tumors of Nervous System

Immunohistochemistry (IHC) has become an important adjunct tool in diagnostic neuro-oncology practice enabling immunophenotypic characterization of tumor cells. There have been several recent publications regarding new IHC markers that are useful for diagnosis of brain tumors. To introduce the latest advances in IHC in this field, we review the features of novel IHC marker antibodies applicable to selected nonglial tumors in the nervous system, based on recently published reports and our own experiences. We discuss (1) aquaporin-1 and α-inhibin for hemangioblastoma, (2) β-catenin for craniopharyngioma, (3) brachyury for chordoma, and (4) INI-1 for hereditary schwannomas. All the markers presented here are used primarily for supporting or confirming the histologic diagnosis, with the exception of (4), which may be of help in identification of inherited forms in schwannomas. As with other surgical pathology practices, the judicious use of a panel of IHC antibodies selected on the basis of the histologic findings is important for an accurate diagnosis of brain tumors. Of note is that IHC results should be always interpreted in the histopathologic context.
Modeling of Piezoelectric-Driven Stick–Slip Actuators

Piezoelectric-driven stick-slip actuators have been drawing extensive attention in various applications of long-range and ultraprecision positioning. In such an actuator, the dynamics of the end-effector displacement is of importance for its design and control, yet challenging to be modeled due to the complexity involved. By taking into account the linear dynamics and hysteretic behavior of the piezoelectric actuator (PEA), as well as the presliding friction on the end-effector, a model representative of the end-effector displacement is presented in this paper. The effectiveness of the developed model is illustrated by the experiments on the piezoelectric-driven stick-slip actuator prototyped in the authors' laboratory.
The Use of New Chemically Modified Cellulose for Heavy Metal Ion Adsorption and Antimicrobial Activities

A novel chemically modified cellulose (DTD) adsorbent bearing pendent methyl benzalaniline chelating group was synthesized. This new adsorbent was used for the removal of Cu2+ and Pb2+ heavy metal ions from aqueous solution. The chemical and structural characteristics of the adsorbent were determined using FT-IR, 13C CP-MAS NMR, SEM, EDX and TGA analysis. The adsorption parameters, such as pH, adsorbent dose, contact time, initial metal ion concentration and temperature were optimized. Adsorption kinetic parameters were fitted into pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order models. The kinetic data fitted well to the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The adsorption isotherms such as Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms have been investigated. Thermodynamic parameters have also been evaluated. The negative values of △G0 and △H0 reveal that the adsorption system is spontaneous and exothermic in nature. The modified cellulose was challenged with microorganisms as a function of contact time. The biocidal results showed that the chemically modified cellulose has bactericidal effect against the bacterial species.
Joint Compression of Near-Duplicate Videos

The expanding social network and multimedia technologies encourage more and more people to store and transmit information in visual format, such as image and video. However, the cost of this convenience brings about a shock to traditional video severs and exposes them under the risk of overloading. In the huge volume of online videos, there are a large amount of near-duplicate videos (NDVs). Although quite a number of research work have been proposed to detect NDVs, little research effort is made to compress these NDVs in a more effective manner than independent video compression. In this study, we make an in-depth exploration of the data redundancy of NDVs and propose a video analysis and coding framework to jointly compress NDVs. In order to employ the proposed NDV analysis and coding framework, a graph-based similar video grouping method and a number of preprocessing functions are designed to explore the correlation of visual information among NDVs and thus suit the requirement of joint video coding. Experimental results verify that the proposed NDV analysis and coding framework is able to effectively compress NDVs and thus save video data storage.
Performance Analysis of R-DCN Architecture for Next Generation Web Application Integration

With the astronomical growth in online presence vis-à-vis the IT industry across the globe, there is an urgent need to evolve cloud based DataCenter architectures that can rapidly accommodate web application integrations which can serve the energy industries, educational sector, finance sector, manufacturing sector, etc. Previous works in DataCenter domain have not investigated on cloud based DataCenter Servercentric characteristics for evaluation studies. This paper then proposed a Reengineered DataCenter (R-DCN) architecture for efficient web application integration. In this regard, attempt was made to address network scalability, efficient and distributed routing, packets traffic control, and network security using analytical formulations and behavioural algorithms having considered some selected architectures. In this work a simulation experiment was carried out to study six key performance metrics for all the architectures. It was observed that the network throughput, fault-tolerance/network capacity, utilization, latency, service availability, scalability and clustering effects of R-DCN responses with respect to above Key Performance (KPIs) metrics were satisfactory when compared with BCube and DCell architectures. Future work will show a detailed validation using a cloud testbed and CloudSim Simulator.
Effects of short-term very low-carbohydrate or conventional diet on strength performance.

AIM Weight reduction strategies usually include diet and regular physical activity. A very low-carbohydrate and high protein diet (VLCD) may be preferred instead of a low energy conventional diet (CONV). The effects of VLCD on strength performance are yet to be understood. Aim of the study is to determine the effects of two different restrictive diets on strength performance. METHODS Sedentary women were assigned to either a VLCD (<40 g carbohydrate; n=12) or a CONV diet (500 to 800 kcal restrictive; 48%, 22% and 30% from carbohydrate, protein and fat, respectively; n=12). Knee extension isokinetic strength tests (3 yen 15 reps at 60 degrees .s-1, with 90 or 180 s rest interval between sets) were performed prior and after a one week diet period. RESULTS Both groups reduced body mass (VLCD: -2.6+/-1.0% vs. CONV: -1.9+/-1.3%; P<0.05), with no between diets effect. The sum of the total work in three sets (ATW) was 4850+/-1002 J vs. 4801+/-973 J with 90 s rest interval, and 4812+/-1174 J vs. 4812+/-1210 J with 180 s rest interval, respectively, in the pre vs. post-VLCD period. For CONV, values were 4709+/-729 J vs. 4530+/-996 J with 90 s rest interval, and 4760+/-732 J vs. 4816+/-702 J with 180 s rest interval, respectively, in the pre vs. post-CONV treatment. No significant differences were detected in the ATW between groups. CONCLUSION Short-term hypoenergetic diets, irrespective of the carbohydrate content, seem to reduce significantly body mass, but do not impair acute strength performance.
Recent trends in Namibian urbanization.

"The theoretical debates on urbanization and spatial inequalities in development are sketched in relation to the Namibian (South West African) situation. 1951, 1960 and 1970 Population Census data as well as 1976 estimates for urban centres are analysed and interpreted, revealing growth trends in the urban hierarchy and in the three main racial groups in each town. "
The effect of atherosclerosis on the vasomotor response of coronary arteries to mental stress.

BACKGROUND Mental stress can cause angina in patients with coronary artery disease, but its effects on coronary vasomotion and blood flow are poorly understood. Because atherosclerosis affects the reactivity of coronary arteries to various stimuli, such as exercise, we postulated that atherosclerosis might also influence the vasomotor response of coronary arteries to mental stress. METHODS We studied 26 patients who performed mental arithmetic under stressful conditions during cardiac catheterization. (An additional four patients who did not perform the mental arithmetic served as controls.) Coronary segments were classified on the basis of angiographic findings as smooth, irregular, or stenosed. In 15 of the patients without focal stenoses in the left anterior descending artery, acetylcholine (10(-8) to 10(-6) mol per liter) was infused into the artery to test endothelium-dependent vasodilation. Changes in coronary blood flow were measured with an intracoronary Doppler catheter in these 15 patients. RESULTS The response of the coronary arteries to mental stress varied from 38 percent constriction to 29 percent dilation, whereas the change in coronary blood flow varied from a decrease of 48 percent to an increase of 42 percent. The direction and magnitude of the change in the coronary diameter were not predicted by the changes in the heart rate, blood pressure, or plasma norepinephrine level. Segments with stenoses (n = 7) were constricted by a mean (+/- SE) of 24 +/- 4 percent, and irregular segments (n = 20) by 9 +/- 3 percent, whereas smooth segments (n = 25) did not change significantly (dilation, 3 +/- 3 percent; P less than 0.0002). Coronary blood flow increased by 10 +/- 10 percent in smooth vessels, whereas the flow in irregular vessels decreased by 27 +/- 5 percent. The degree of constriction or dilation during mental stress correlated with the response to the infusions of acetylcholine (P less than 0.0003, r = 0.58). CONCLUSIONS Atherosclerosis disturbs the normal vasomotor response (no change or dilation) of large coronary arteries to mental stress; in patients with atherosclerosis paradoxical constriction occurs during mental stress, particularly at points of stenosis. This vasomotor response correlates with the extent of atherosclerosis in the artery and with the endothelium-dependent response to an infusion of acetylcholine. These data suggest that in atherosclerosis unopposed constriction caused by a local failure of endothelium-dependent dilation causes the coronary arteries to respond abnormally to mental stress.
Reply to Comments on the article "[6]-Shogaol induced calcium signal in rat insulinoma cells".

The [Ca]i increase obtained by 1 μM [6]-shogaol was on the average greater than that obtained by 10 mM glucose. However, this observation per se is not important because [Ca]i increases by both [6]shogaol and glucose were dose dependent. Thus, comparing the effect of one particular concentration of [6]-shogaol with the effect of one particular concentration of glucose is not so useful. It should be noted that we used rat insulinoma cells which are less glucose responsive compared to the primary β-cells.
Circuits with innovative devices - challenges and chances

MOS devices go 3D and new field effect devices appear in the research labs. The talk will regard implications of modified device architectures on established circuit design, showing examples of circuits with multi-gate-FETs and tunneling field effect transistors. The potential of more substantial paradigm changes in circuit design for novel devices was also discussed.
Calcium-dependent salivary agglutinin with reactivity to various oral bacterial species

Human parotid agglutinins from three individuals were isolated by adsorption to and desorption from strains of Streptococcus mutans belonging to serotypes a, b, c, d, and e and strains of Lactobacillus casei, Actinomyces viscosus, and Streptococcus sanguis. The desorption was achieved by suspending centrifuged saliva-coated microorganisms in 10 mM phosphate buffer (pH 6.8) containing 0.154 M sodium chloride. After another centrifugation, agglutinin activity was recovered in the supernatants. The L. casei strain was not agglutinated by any of the agglutinin extracts or by saliva, but all the other strains were agglutinated to a variable extent. However, all strains, including the nonagglutinating L. casei strain, adsorbed and desorbed agglutinins active for other strains. The agglutinin extracts from S. mutans serotype c, S. sanguis, and A. viscosus were purified and characterized by electrophoretic and immunological techniques. The purified preparations were positively stained for protein and carbohydrate, and the molecular weights were estimated to be 440,000. All agglutinin extracts needed calcium in the range of 0.1 to 0.5 mM to be active, and for a single strain, all agglutinins gave the same degree of agglutination, indicating that the isolated agglutinins may be of the same molecular species, a hypothesis that was also confirmed by the preliminary characterization of the purified agglutinins. This type of agglutinin, which seems to exert its activity among various bacterial species, could be important in mediating bacterial coaggregation and thus may add to the effect of specific agglutinins in the clearance of bacteria from the human mouth.
Combining Fas Mutation with Interleukin-2 Deficiency Prevents Colitis and Lupus

Both the lpr gene defect and interleukin 2-targeted mutation (IL-2 KO) in mice are lethal. Interestingly, mice bearing both mutations live significantly longer than mice with either of the single mutant genes, approximating the life span of normal controls. They do not display the major disease phenotypes of lpr and IL-2 KO mice. Systemic autoimmune response, the accumulation of the abnormal CD4–CD8–B220+ double-negative T cells, kidney disease pathology, anemia, colon damage, and lethality are prevented. Our data indicate that IL-2 is mandatory for the expansion of auto-reactive T cells in lpr mice and that CD95 (Fas) is the critical target for the development of anemia and ulcerative colitis in IL-2 KO mice in which CD178 (FasL) on intraepithelial T cells is the major effector responsible for colon damage and lethality.
Comparing soil moisture retrievals from SMOS and ASCAT over France

The first products derived over France in 2010 from the L-band brightness temperatures ( T b ) measured by the SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) satellite, launched in November 2009, were compared with the surface soil moisture (SSM) estimates produced by the C-band Advanced Scatterometer, ASCAT, launched in 2006 on board METOP-A. SMOS and ASCAT SSM products were compared with the simulations of the ISBA-A-gs model and with in situ measurements from the SMOSMANIA network, including 21 stations located in southern France. ASCAT tended to correlate better than SMOS with ISBA-A-gs. The significant anomaly correlation coefficients between in situ observations and the SMOS (ASCAT) product ranged from 0.23 to 0.48 (0.35 to 0.96). However, in wet conditions, similar results between the two satellite products were found. An attempt was made to derive SSM from regressed empirical logarithmic equations using a combination of SMOS T b at different incidence angles and different polarizations, and the Leaf Area Index (LAI) modeled by ISBA-A-gs. The analysis of the intercept coefficient of the regression showed an impact of topography. A similar analysis applied to ASCAT and SMOS SSM values showed a more limited impact of topography on the intercept coefficient of the SMOS SSM product, while fewer residual geographic patterns were found for the ASCAT SSM.
Decreased outer membrane permeability protects mycobacteria from killing by ubiquitin‐derived peptides

Ubiquitin‐derived peptides are bactericidal in vitro and contribute to the mycobactericidal activity of the lysosome. To further define interactions of ubiquitin‐derived peptides with mycobacteria, we screened for mutants with increased resistance to the bactericidal activity of the synthetic ubiquitin‐derived peptide Ub2. The four Ub2‐resistant Mycobacterium smegmatis mutants were also resistant to the bactericidal action of other antimicrobial peptides and macrophages. Two mutants were in the mspA gene encoding the main M. smegmatis porin. Using a translocation‐deficient MspA point mutant, we showed that susceptibility of M. smegmatis to Ub2 was independent of MspA channel activity. Instead, the M. smegmatis Ub2‐resistant mutants shared a common phenotype of decreased cell wall permeability compared with wild‐type bacteria. Expression of mspA rendered Mycobacterium tuberculosis CDC1551 more susceptible both to ubiquitin‐derived peptides in vitro and to lysosomal killing in macrophages. Finally, biochemical assays designed to assess membrane integrity indicated that Ub2 treatment impairs membrane function of M. smegmatis and M. tuberculosis cells. The M. smegmatis Ub2‐resistant mutants were more resistant than wild‐type M. smegmatis to this damage. We conclude that Ub2 targets mycobacterial membranes and that reduced membrane permeability provides mycobacteria intrinsic resistance against antimicrobial compounds including bactericidal ubiquitin‐derived peptides.
On Driving Techniques for LEDs: Toward a Generalized Methodology

LEDs must be externally driven by power sources to emit light. One problem associated with driving LEDs is its inherent nonlinear relation between the emission intensity and the forward current. Thus, the light output obtained from an LED is strongly dependent on the actual current waveforms employed to drive it. It is found that driving an LED with dc produces light output that surpasses all other techniques including the commonly used pulse-width modulation (PWM) technique. On the other hand, for dimming function, it is found that the PWM technique offers greater dimming flexibility in comparison to dc technique. In this paper, a generalized methodology for driving LEDs inheriting the features of both of these techniques is proposed. It employs a pulsating current switching between two discrete current levels, where the current levels and their durations can be concurrently varied for a more precise mapping of the driving conditions to the light output. The existing dc and PWM techniques can be viewed alternatively as being special cases of this more general approach.
Different pathways explain alcohol-related problems in female and male college students

ABSTRACT Objectives: Comprehensive models elucidating the intricate associations of depressive symptoms, coping motives, alcohol use, alcohol-related problems (ARPs), and gender among young adults have been scarcely examined. This study investigated relationships among these variables and the effect of gender on these pathways. Methods: College students (N = 163; 49.7% female) completed self-report measures on alcohol consumption, depressive symptoms, coping motives, and ARPs. Results: Structural equation modeling showed that the association between depressive symptoms and ARPs was mediated by coping motives in both females and males. However, frequency of heavy alcohol use mediated the association between depressive symptoms and ARPs in females but not in males. Conclusions: Different models explain the association between depressive symptoms and ARPs in male and female college students. Prevention programs aimed at reducing ARPs should focus on increasing alcohol screening among students with depressive symptoms, teaching coping skills, and emphasizing moderation in alcohol consumption.
A topic-based approach for post-processing correction of automatic translations

We present the LIA systems for the machine translation evaluation campaign of the International Workshop on Spoken Language Translation (IWSLT) 2014 for the English-toSlovene and English-to-Polish translation tasks. The proposed approach takes into account word context; first, it maps sentences into a latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) topic space, then it chooses from this space words that are thematically and grammatically close to mistranslated words. This original post-processing approach is compared with a factored translation system built with MOSES. While this postprocessing method does not allow us to achieve better results than a state-of-the-art system, this should be an interesting way to explore, for example by adding this topic space information at an early stage in the translation process.
Molecular and Biochemical Characterization of CTX-M-131, a Natural Asp240Gly Variant Derived from CTX-M-2, Produced by a Providencia rettgeri Clinical Strain in São Paulo, Brazil

ABSTRACT CTX-M-131 is a natural Asp240Gly variant from the CTX-M-2 group detected in a Providencia rettgeri clinical strain from Brazil. Molecular analysis showed that blaCTX-M-131 was inserted in a complex class 1 integron harbored by a 112-kb plasmid, which has not been previously described as a platform for CTX-M-encoding genes with the Asp240Gly mutation. Steady-state kinetic parameters showed that the enzyme has a typical cefotaximase catalytic profile and an enhanced activity against ceftazidime.
Low loss transmission lines on flexible COP substrate by standard lamination process

Wearable electronics are gaining more attention in the market. They usually demand a non-planar structure to conform the shape of human body. Flexible substrate provides a good basis to design electronics systems that can be non-planar and conformal. On the other hand, to support high speed data or high quality video transmission, the loss of transmission lines at microwave, even at millimeter wave band becomes an important performance index. Typical low loss flexible substrate such as liquid crystal polymer (LCP) requires processing temperature higher than 250oC, this presents a challenge for standard flexible substrate processing lines. A low dielectric constant and low loss tangent (tanδ) material called cyclo-olefin polymers (COP) developed at ZEON Corporation, Japan, requires processing temperature under 200oC while maintaining similar low loss characteristics as LCP materials that require high processing temperature. In the future, the insulation layer will be made of COP for the 2 layer flexible copper clad laminate (2L FCCL) structure. Coating process of the copper foil on COP may also be possible in the future. The coating process will be more cost-competitive than the current high temperature lamination process. As the material cost and processing cost are both reduced for this promising material, we therefore need a more thoroughly study of the high frequency characteristics of this material. In this study, both microstrip lines (MSL) and grounded co-planar waveguide (GCPW) are designed and fabricated on COP. The dielectric constant and loss tangent of COP is 3.0 and 0.005. To protect the copper traces, PI cover layer with thickness of 38um is also applied on top of COP. The dielectric constant and loss tangent of PI cover layer is 3.5 and 0.02. Simulation results show that with 40μm of COP and 12 μm thickness of copper trace, the loss at 60 GHz is about 1.0~1.2dB/cm for both types of transmission lines under 50Ω of characteristic impedance. Measurement results shows about 2.5dB/cm for MSL and 3.3dB/cm for GCPW. The extra loss may due to that some solvents are not fully evaporated during laminating process.