Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Towards Subject-Specific Strength Training Design through Predictive Use of Musculoskeletal Models

Lower extremity dysfunction is often associated with hip muscle strength deficiencies. Detailed knowledge of the muscle forces generated in the hip under specific external loading conditions enables specific structures to be trained. The aim of this study was to find the most effective movement type and loading direction to enable the training of specific parts of the hip muscles using a standing posture and a pulley system. In a novel approach to release the predictive power of musculoskeletal modelling techniques based on inverse dynamics, flexion/extension and ab-/adduction movements were virtually created. To demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach, three hip orientations and an external loading force that was systematically rotated around the body were simulated using a state-of-the art OpenSim model in order to establish ideal designs for training of the anterior and posterior parts of the M. gluteus medius (GM). The external force direction as well as the hip orientation greatly influenced the muscle forces in the different parts of the GM. No setting was found for simultaneous training of the anterior and posterior parts with a muscle force higher than 50% of the maximum. Importantly, this study has demonstrated the use of musculoskeletal models as an approach to predict muscle force variations for different strength and rehabilitation exercise variations.
Status of the seawater quality at few industrially important coasts of Gujarat (India) off Arabian Sea

Present study reports the spatial and temporal variations of the seawater quality from five major shores along the South Saurashtra coastline (India). The results suggested normal range of physical, chemical and biological characteristics in the samples of Dwarka and Mangrol as these coasts are not affected by any apparent anthropogenic effects of any kind. The results also suggested considerable anthropogenic load to the coastal waters of three other shores studied where moderate to high degree of industrial activities existed. Results of the present study revealed that the spatio-temporal variations of water quality parameters were considerably affected by anthropogenic impacts at Veraval, moderately at Kodinar and somewhat lesser degree at Diu.
TLR 1 , 2 , 4 , 6 and 9 Variants Associated with Tuberculosis Susceptibility : A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

32 articles involving 18907 individuals were included in this meta-analysis, and data was extracted for 14 TLR polymorphisms. Various genetic models were employed. An increased risk of TB was found for individuals with the TLR2 rs3804100 CC and the TLR9 rs352139 GA and GG genotypes, while decreased risk was identified for those with the AG genotype of TLR1 rs4833095. The T allele of TLR6 rs5743810 conferred protection across all ethnic groups. TLR2 rs5743708 subgroup analysis identified the A allele to increase susceptibility to TB in the Asian ethnic group, while conferring protection in the Hispanic group. The T allele of TLR4 rs4986791 was also found to increase the risk of TB in the Asian subgroup. All other TLR gene variants investigated were not found to be associated with TB in this meta-analysis.
Economic Empowerment Policies and Economic Growth in the Post-Apartheid South Africa – A Cointegration and Granger Causality

After the first democratic elections in 1994 there was a need to develop policies, strategies, laws and other means to address huge inequalities of wealth and economic options that the long-term apartheid policies had created. An economic transformation strategy formed part of government’s strategic approach to ensure accelerated and shared growth in South Africa. Empowerment was characterized by giving access to economic resources through entrepreneurship as well as affirmative action policies. A cointegration approach on a time series during the period 1995 to 2009 is employed in this study. The results of our analysis prove that racially biased policies have a negative impact on the economy of South Africa in the long run. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014. v5n10p268
Decreased expression of microRNA-192 correlates with tumor progression and poor prognosis in patients with colorectal cancer

MicroRNAs, a class of small non-coding RNAs, are involved in pathogenesis of several cancers, including colorectal cancers (CRC). MicroRNA (miR)-192 has been reported to play an important role in controlling biological behaviors, such as cell proliferation and apoptosis. The aim of this study was to investigate the correlations of the tissue expression of miR-192 with clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis in patients with CRC. Colorectal cancer tissues and adjacent tissues were collected from 89 patients with primary CRC during surgery, while normal colorectal tissues were obtained from 30 healthy volunteers during endoscopy. MiR-192 expression of these samples was assessed by quantitative real-time PCR. Kaplan-Meier survival curve was plotted to analyze the association of miR-192 expression with overall survival (OS), and univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed to further investigate the independent risks for OS. The level of miR-192 was significantly decreased in colorectal cancer tissues compared with that in adjacent tissues (P<0.001), and normal tissues (P<0.001). Level of miR-192 was found to be negatively correlated with tumor size (P=0.001), lymph node metastasis (P<0.018), and distant metastasis (P<0.041). Patients with high miR-192 level showed higher OS than patients with low miR-192 level (P=0.014). Low MiR-192 expression (P=0.017), poorly histology (P=0.035), T classification (T3/T4) (P=0.006), lymph node metastasis (P<0.001), distant metastasis (P=0.013) and TNM stage (III/IV) (P=0.003) were predictive risk factors for OS by univariate analysis. However, only low miR-192 expression (P=0.033), lymph node metastasis (P=0.003) and distant metastasis (P=0.043) were independent risks for OS in patients with CRC by multivariate analysis. Our data indicated that down-regulation of miR-192, which correlates with tumor size, lymph node metastasis, and distant metastasis, was an independent risk for OS in CRC. MiR-192 might be a favorable prognostic biomarker in CRC.
Creation of Latvian FrameNet based on Universal Dependencies

This paper presents a work in progress, creating a FrameNet-annotated text corpus for Latvian. This is a part of a larger project which aims at the creation of a multilayered corpus, anchored in cross-lingual state-of-the-art syntactic and semantic representations: Universal Dependencies (UD), FrameNet and PropBank, as well as Abstract Meaning Representation (AMR). For annotating the FrameNet layer, we use the latest frame inventory of Berkeley FrameNet, while the annotation itself is done on top of the underlying UD layer. Thus, the annotation of frames and frame elements is guided by the dependency structure of a sentence, instead of the phrase structure. We strictly follow a corpus-driven approach, meaning that lexical units in Latvian FrameNet are created only based on the annotated corpus examples. Since we are aiming at a medium-sized still general-purpose corpus for a less-resourced language, an important aspect that we take into account is the variety and balance of the corpus in terms of genres, domains and lexical units.
Multi-volume visualization for interactive therapy planning

During the past decade, various volume visualization techniques have been developed for different purposes, and many of them, such as direct volume rendering, maximum intensity projection and non-photorealistic rendering, have been implemented on consumer graphics hardware for real time visualization. However, effective multi-volume visualization, a way to establish the visual connections between two or more types of data, has not been adequately addressed even though it has wide applications in medical imaging and numerical simulation based on 3D physical model. In this paper, we aim to develop an effective GPU-based system for multi-volume visualization which is able to reveal both the connections and distinctions among multiple volume data. To address the main challenge for multi-volume visualization on how to establish the visual correspondences while maintaining the distinctive information among multiple volumes, a multi-level distinction mechanism is developed including 2D transfer function, mixed rendering modes, and volume clipping. Taking advantage of the fast hardware-supported processing capabilities, the system is implemented based on the GPU programming. Several advanced volume rendering techniques based on segmented volume are also implemented. The resulting visualization is a highly interactive image fusion system with high quality image and three-level volume distinction. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our system with a case study in which the heat effect on brain tumor, represented as a temperature volume resulting from high intensity focused ultrasound beam exposure over time, is visualized in the context of a MRI head volume.
All sites but skin cancer incidences analyzed worldwide by sex, age, and skin type over time (1955-2007), advancing age, and UVB dose reveals important carcinogenic drivers

Because we observed increasing incidences over time, advancing age, higher estrogen levels, decreasing UVB (290-315 nm) doses, or lower vitamin D 3 , and Human Papillomavirus hiding in immune-privileged sites of hair follicles play roles in melanoma, we wondered if the majority of cancers might have similar carcinogenic drivers. To investigate this possibility, we performed worldwide analysis of all sites but skin cancer over time (1955-2007), advancing age, and UVB doses for males and females with all skin types and ages (0-85+) and in five age groups using IARC data. To investigate Human Papillomavirus’s role, we analyzed the incidences of breast, prostate, and colon cancers in a developed country with European ancestry (New Zealand) having high amounts of androgenic hair and a developing country with Asian ancestry (India) having low amounts of androgenic hair. To potentially add epidemiology to the already established role of estrogen in cancer, we analyzed males and females in various countries around the world using the incidence of breast cancer (> 70 yr.) as an established indicator of estrogen levels. The analysis reveals cancer incidences are steadily increasing over time in developed but not developing countries regardless of skin type. Only US white, but not black, breast, prostate, and colon cancer incidences in the oldest age group significantly decreased with increasing UVB dose suggesting a role for vitamin D 3 . The data suggests the carcinogenic drivers in many cancers are estrogen, increasing age (or reactive oxygen species), decreasing vitamin D 3 levels, and persistence of Human Papillomavirus infection in immune-privileged sites.
Large volume reconstruction from laser scanning microscopy using micro-CT as a template for deformation compensation

In biomedical research, there is an increased need for reconstruction of large soft tissue volumes (e.g. whole organs) at the microscopic scale from images obtained using laser scanning microscopy (LSM) with fluorescent dyes targeting selected cellular features. However, LSM allows reconstruction of volumes not exceeding a few hundred ìm in size and most LSM procedures require physical sectioning of soft tissue resulting in tissue deformation. Micro-CT (&mgr;CT) can provide deformation free tomographic image of the whole tissue volume before sectioning. Even though, the spatial resolution of &mgr;CT is around 5 &mgr;m and its contrast resolution is poor, it could provide information on external and internal interfaces of the investigated volume and therefore could be used as a template in the volume reconstruction from a very large number of LSM images. Here we present a method for accurate 3D reconstruction of the murine heart from large number of images obtained using confocal LSM. The volume is reconstructed in the following steps: (i) Montage synthesis of individual LSM images to form a set of aligned optical planes within given physical section; (ii) Image enhancement and segmentation to correct for non-uniform illumination and noise; (iii) Volume matching of a synthesized physical section to a corresponding sub-volume of &mgr;CT; (iv) Affine registration of the physical section to the selected &mgr;CT sub-volume. We observe correct gross alignment of the physical sections. However, many sections still exhibit local misalignment that could be only corrected via local nonrigid registration to &mgr;CT template and we plan to do it in the future.
Decision Rule Bounds for Two-Stage Stochastic Bilevel Programs

We study two-stage stochastic bilevel programs where the leader chooses a binary here-and-now decision and the follower responds with a continuous wait-and-see decision. Using modern decision rule approximations, we construct lower bounds on an optimistic version and upper bounds on a pessimistic version of the leader's problem. Both bounding problems are equivalent to explicit mixed-integer linear programs that are amenable to efficient numerical solution. The method is illustrated through a facility location problem involving sellers and customers with conflicting preferences.
Motion detection and pattern tracking in microscopical images using phase correlation approach

High-throughput live-cell imaging is one of the important tools for the investigation of cellular structure and functions in modern experimental biology. Automatic processing of time series of microscopic images is hampered by a number of technical and natural factors such as permanent movements of cells in the optical field, alteration of optical cell appearance and high level of noise. Detection and compensation of global motion of groups of cells or relocation of a single cell within a dynamical multi-cell environment is the first indispensable step in the image analysis chain. This article presents an approach for detection of global image motion and single cell tracking in time series of confocal laser scanning microscopy images using an extended Fourier-phase correlation technique, which allows for analysis of non-uniform multi-body motion in partially-similar images. Our experimental results have shown that the developed approach is capable to perform cell tracking and registration in dynamical and noisy scenes, and provides a robust tool for fully-automatic registration of time-series of microscopic images.
Carbon sink and source dynamics of a eutrophic deep lake using multiple flux observations over multiple years

Recent research has shown lakes play an outsized role in carbon cycling, but long‐term continuous observations and analysis of carbon dynamics are rare, limiting our understanding of interannual variation, important timescales of variability, and drivers of efflux. Therefore, we examined lake‐atmosphere carbon fluxes with the goal of quantifying annual trends and patterns in lake carbon efflux and identifying important timescales. To do so, this study integrated 6 yr of eddy‐covariance flux tower observations of lake‐atmosphere fluxes with high‐frequency observations of in‐lake temperature, dissolved oxygen, and partial pressure of CO2, for a eutrophic lake in Wisconsin, U.S.A. While growing season fluxes are variable and switch between source and sink, annual net carbon fluxes show the lake acts as an annual sink of carbon, with the magnitude depending on climate, along with the timing and strength of fall turnover, with half of the total annual carbon uptake happening in October and November.
Tuning kernel function parameters of support vector machines for segmentation of lung disease patterns in high-resolution computed tomography images

High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) produces lung images with a high level of detail which makes it suitable for diagnosis of diffuse lung diseases. Segmentation of abnormal lung patterns is a necessary stage in the construction of a computer-aided diagnosis system. We interpret lung patterns as textures and apply a texture classification technique for segmentation of lung patterns. The wavelet transform is used to extract texture features and then the Support Vector Machines (SVM) machine learning algorithm is applied to texture classification. The parameters of the SVM play a crucial role in the performance of the algorithm. We apply gradient-based optimization of the radius/margin bound of a generalization error to choose parameters of the SVM algorithm. This approach is more efficient in terms of the required number of SVM training cycles than the commonly used method of finding the optimal parameters which is based on sampling the parameter space and choosing the parameter combination which produces the lowest test error. We assess the applicability of optimization of the radius/margin bound to tuning SVM parameters for the problem of segmentation of lung pattern textures in HRCT images. Results of experiments indicate that this method chooses parameters which are comparable to the parameters obtained using test error in terms of classification accuracy, employing fewer training cycles.
Symbiont strain is the main determinant of variation in Wolbachia‐mediated protection against viruses across Drosophila species

Wolbachia is a common heritable bacterial symbiont in insects. Its evolutionary success lies in the diverse phenotypic effects it has on its hosts coupled to its propensity to move between host species over evolutionary timescales. In a survey of natural host–symbiont associations in a range of Drosophila species, we found that 10 of 16 Wolbachia strains protected their hosts against viral infection. By moving Wolbachia strains between host species, we found that the symbiont genome had a much greater influence on the level of antiviral protection than the host genome. The reason for this was that the level of protection depended on the density of the symbiont in host tissues, and Wolbachia rather than the host‐controlled density. The finding that virus resistance and symbiont density are largely under the control of symbiont genes in this system has important implications both for the evolution of these traits and for public health programmes using Wolbachia to prevent mosquitoes from transmitting disease.
Mapping the dominant genic male-sterile gene Ms in Brassica nupus L . with AFLP markers

From a survey of 480 AFLP primer combinations, five markers associated with the male sterility in Brassica napus L. had been identified in a BC1 population generated from a cross between GMS line Rs1046A and cv. Samourai. Co-segregating analysis revealed that these markers were tightly linked to the dominant genic male-sterile gene (Ms) in a coupling phase. Marker P10M13350, P13M8400, E7M1235 and E3M1599 located at one side of the Ms with a map distance of 8.9cM, 5.9cM, 5.2cM and 3.7cM respectively, whereas P6M6410 resided 5.9cM away from Ms at the other side. The markers identified in this study provided a very useful tool for molecular tagging of the Ms allele in GMS threeline breeding selection.
In vivo, Acute, Normo-hypoglycemic, Antihyperglycemic, Insulinotropic Actions of Orally Administered Ethanol Extract of Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrab Pulp

Problem statement: Citrullus Colocynthis (L.) Schrab (cucurbitaceae family) (Handal) is a fruit commonly known as bitter apple or bitter cucu mber. Traditionally , Citrullus colocynthis has been used for the treatment of diabetes. In particular, the acute effect and rout of administration of etha nol extract of the seedless pulp in vivo remains untested. We investigated the effect of di fferent routs of administration and their hypoglycemic and insulinot ropic effects of ethanol/water (20/80 V/V) extract of the dried seedless pulp of Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrab on normal and alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Approach: Rats were divided into two groups, normal and diab etic rats. Non-diabetic rats were fasted for 18 h before the beginning of the experim ental procedure. About 250 �L of normal saline (i.e., vehicle) was administered to control groups either i.p. (Group I) or orally (Group III) using modified feeding canula. As 250 �L pulp extract was administered i.p. (Group II) or orally (Group IV). Five min, after the administration of the extract o r vehicle, an Intraperitoneal Glucose Tolerance Tes t (IPGTT) was conducted (1.5 g glucose/kg) on groups I, II, III and IV, but not Groups V or VI. Alloxan-induced diabetic rats were fasted for 6 h b efore the beginning of the experimental procedure. They were divided into control (Group V) and treate d groups (Group VI), each of 6 rats. As 250 �L of the extract (equivalent to 300 mg kg -1 ) was administered orally to alloxan treated-group, while 250 �L of the vehicle was administrated orally to the anim als of control group. Serum samples were collected at 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 h following the treatment an d were used for glucose and insulin determination. Results: Oral, but not intraperitonial (i.p.) administratio n of ethanol extract (300 mg kg -1 ) resulted in acute, significant (p <0.05) and time-dependent changes in rat serum gluco se and insulin levels in both normal and alloxan-induced diabetic rats. In extrac t-treated alloxan-free rats, a maximum of 32.9% reduction in serum glucose levels was observed foll owing Intraperitonial Glucose Tolerance Test (IPGTT) using glucose-oxidase assay. A maximum reciprocal increase of 59.5% in serum insulin levels following IPGTT was determined by ELISA. Further, in alloxan/ethanol extract-treated group, a maximum of 31% reduction in serum glucose levels as well as 370.2% increase in serum insulin levels following IPGTT were observed. Conclusion: These results demonstrated that oral administratio n of the ethanol extract of the dried seedless pulp of Citrullus colocynthis had normo-hypoglycemic (i.e., in normal rats), antihyperglycemic as well as insulino tropic actions in alloxan-induced diabetic rats.
Confocal fluorescence microscopy for detection of cervical preneoplastic lesions

We examined and established the potential of ex-vivo confocal fluorescence microscopy for differentiating between normal cervical tissue, low grade Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia (CIN1), and high grade CIN (CIN2 and CIN3). Our objectives were to i) use Quantitative Tissue Phenotype (QTP) analysis to quantify nuclear and cellular morphology and tissue architecture in confocal microscopic images of fresh cervical biopsies and ii) determine the accuracy of high grade CIN detection via confocal microscopy. Cervical biopsy specimens of colposcopically normal and abnormal tissues obtained from 15 patients were evaluated by confocal fluorescence microscopy. Confocal images were analyzed and about 200 morphological and architectural features were calculated at the nuclear, cellular, and tissue level. For the purpose of this study, we used four features to delineate disease grade including nuclear size, cell density, estimated nuclear-cytoplasmic (ENC) ratio, and the average of three nearest Delaunay neighbors distance (3NDND). Our preliminary results showed ENC ratio and 3NDND correlated well with histopathological diagnosis. The Spearman correlation coefficient between each of these two features and the histopathological diagnosis was higher than the correlation coefficient between colposcopic appearance and histopathological diagnosis. Sensitivity and specificity of ENC ratio for detecting high grade CIN were both equal to 100%. QTP analysis of fluorescence confocal images shows the potential to discriminate high grade CIN from low grade CIN and normal tissues. This approach could be used to help clinicians identify HGSILs in clinical settings.