Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Searching for g modes

Context. The recent claims of g-mode detection have restarted the search for these potentially extremely important modes. The claimed detection of g modes was obtained from the analysis of the power spectrum of the time series of round-trip travel time of p modes. Aims. The goal of this paper is to reproduce these results on which the claims are based for confirming or invalidating the detection of g modes with the method used to make the claims. Methods. We computed the time series of round-trip travel time using the procedure given in Fossat et al. (2017, A&A, 604, A40), and used different variations of the times series for comparison. We used the recently calibrated GOLF data (published in Paper I) with different sampling, different photomultipliers, different length of data for reproducing the analysis. We also correlated the power spectrum with an asymptotic model of g-mode frequencies in a similar manner to Fossat and Schmider (2018, A&A, 612, L1). We devised a scheme for optimising the correlation both for pure noise and for the GOLF data. Results. We confirm the analysis performed in Fossat et al. (2017) but draw different conclusions. Their claims of detection of g modes cannot be confirmed when changing parameters such as sampling interval, length of time series, or photomultipliers. Other instrument such as GONG and BiSON do not confirm their detection. We also confirm the analysis performed in Fossat and Schmider (2018), but again draw different conclusions. For GOLF, the correlation of the power spectrum with the asymptotic model of g-mode frequencies for l = 1 and l = 2 show a high correlation at lag=0 and at lag corresponding to the rotational splitting νl, but the same occurs for pure noise due to the large number of peaks present in the model. In addition, other very different parameters defining the asymptotic model also provide a high correlation at these lags. We conclude that the detection performed in Fossat and Schmider (2018) is an artefact of the methodology.
Back to basics: Coronary arteries anatomical variants and anomalies - A pictorial review using coronary CT angiography

Poster: "ESTI 2015 / P-0117 / Back to basics: Coronary arteries anatomical variants and anomalies - A pictorial review using coronary CT angiography " by: " M. T. A. Buzan 1, A. Nair2, M. M. Coman1, E. Woo3, R. Preston2; 1Cluj-Napoca/RO, 2London/UK, 3Aylesbury/UK"
Conditioned media from MCF7 and BT474 breast cancer cells induce insulin resistance in skeletal muscle myotubes

Background Metabolic disorders are prevalent in women with breast cancer and breast cancer survivors. Such disorders increase breast cancer mortality and likelihood of relapse 2- and 3-fold, respectively. However, there is a severe lack of research into the physiological sequelae of breast cancer, including the metabolic health consequences. The aim of the present study was to provide novel insights into the causes of metabolic disturbances associated with breast cancer by investigating the effects of breast cancer on insulin sensitivity in skeletal muscle. Method L6 myotubes stably expressing GLUT4 were incubated for 72 hours in normal growth medium or medium supplemented with 25% conditioned media (CM) from either MCF7 or BT474 breast cancer cells. Basal and insulin- (100nM) stimulated GLUT4 translocation, 2-deoxyglucose (2DG) uptake, and intracellular insulin signaling was determined in day 7 myotubes. Results Basal- and insulin-stimulated GLUT4 translocation was reduced in L6 myotubes incubated with MCF7 (basal: −7%, insulin: −14%, p<0.01) or BT474 (basal: −16%, insulin: −8%, p<0.01) breast cancer CM. Insulin-stimulated 2DG uptake in L6 myotubes was also reduced by MCF7 (−5%, p<0.05) and BT474 (−10%, p<0.05) breast cancer CM. Insulin-stimulated p-AktThr308 (but not p-AktSer473) phosphorylation tended to be reduced (−25%, p<0.1) in L6 myotubes incubated with MCF7 or BT474 breast cancer CM, while p-TBC1D4Thr642 phosphorylation was enhanced (+34%, p<0.05) by MCF7 breast cancer CM. Conclusion We conclude that breast cancer reduces muscle insulin responsiveness, evidenced as reduced insulin-stimulated GLUT4 translocation, downregulated glucose uptake, and blunted intracellular insulin sigaling in L6 myotubes incubated with breast cancer cell CM. Thus, skeletal muscle insulin resistance might contribute to metabolic disorders prevalent in women with breast cancer and could be a potential treatment target.
Evaluation of the Hepatitis C Virus and Classical and Modern Immunoassays Used Nowadays to Diagnose It in Tirana

 Abstract — HCV is a hepatotropic RNA virus, transmitted primarily via the blood route, which causes progressive disease such as chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, or hepatocellular carcinoma. HCV nowadays is a global healthcare problem. A variety of immunoassays including old and new technologies are being applied to detect HCV in our country. These methods include Immunochromatography assays (ICA), Fluorescence immunoassay (FIA), Enzyme linked fluorescent assay (ELFA), and Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect HCV antibodies in blood serum, which lately is being slowly replaced by more sensitive methods such as rapid automated analyzer chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA). The aim of this study is to estimate HCV infection in carriers and chronic acute patients and to evaluate the use of new diagnostic methods. This study was realized from September 2016 to May 2018. During this study period, 2913 patients were analyzed for the presence of HCV by taking samples from their blood serum. The immunoassays performed were ICA, FIA, ELFA, ELISA, and CLIA assays. Concluding, 82% of patients taken in this study, resulted infected with HCV. Diagnostic methods in clinical laboratories are crucial in the early stages of infection, in the management of chronic hepatitis and in the treatment of patients during their disease.
Emotion regulation strategies predict weight loss during an inpatient obesity treatment for adolescents

Weight loss during an inpatient obesity treatment is an important predictor of subsequent weight maintenance. However, psychological factors influencing weight loss are not well established. Psychological models suggest some importance of executive functioning and emotion regulation strategies. Therefore, this study investigated whether these factors predict weight loss during an inpatient obesity treatment and whether this effect holds after controlling for general personal and treatment characteristics.
Leader cell activity and collective invasion by an autocrine nucleotide loop through connexin-43 hemichannels and ADORA1

Progression of epithelial cancers predominantly proceeds by collective invasion of cell groups with coordinated cell-cell junctions and multicellular cytoskeletal activity. Collectively invading breast cancer cells co-express adherens junctions and connexin-43 (Cx43) gap junctions in vitro and in patient samples, yet whether gap junctions contribute to collective invasion remains unclear. We here show that Cx43 is required for chemical coupling between collectively invading breast cancer cells and, by its hemichannel function, adenosine nucleotide release into the extracellular space. Using molecular interference and rescue strategies in vitro and in orthotopic mammary tumors in vivo, Cx43-dependent adenosine nucleotide release was identified as essential mediator engaging the nucleoside receptor ADORA1, to induce leader cell activity and collective migration. In clinical samples joint-upregulation of Cx43 and ADORA1 predicts decreased relapse-free survival. This identifies autocrine nucleotide signaling, through a Cx43/ADORA1 axis, as critical pathway in leader cell function and collective cancer cell invasion. Graphical abstract
A Practical Guide to Electrical Therapy

Electrical therapy is a popular therapeutic modality for the management and rehabilitation of athletic injuries. Electrical stimulation is commonly used to elicit muscle contraction, reduce edema, and control pain. However, electrical therapy can also be a tremendous challenge for clinicians. The purpose of this paper is to present current and accurate information that will serve as a guide In the use of electrical therapy for the effective management of athletic injuries. With an understanding of the basic current types provided by various electrical stimulators and the modifications of the currents that are available, electrical therapy becomes an invaluable tool for injury management and rehabilitation.
Association of Elevated Yes-Associated Protein Expression with Gastric Cancer and Its Clinicopathological Features: A Meta-Analysis

Objectives: To evaluate the difference of YAP-positive expression between GC and adjacent tissues, as well as the association of elevated YAP expression with clinicopathological features of GC. Methods: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science databases and the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) were searched from inception up to December 2018. The pooled ORs and corresponding 95% CIs were used to assess the strength of association. The heterogeneity among eligible studies was evaluated by the Q-test and I2 values. The sensitivity analysis was performed by sequential omission of individual studies. Moreover, Begg’s test and Egger’s test were used to evaluate publication bias. Results: A total of 2229 patients from 16 studies were included in this meta-analysis. The results showed that positive YAP expression was closely correlated with GC but not adjacent non-tumor tissue (OR = 8.08, 95% CI = 4.41 - 14.80). Additionally, YAP overexpression was found to be associated with more advanced TNM stage (OR = 2.68, 95% CI = 1.61 - 4.48), deeper invasion depth (OR = 2.05, 95% CI = 1.32 - 3.19), and lymph node metastasis (OR = 1.95, 95% CI = 1.29 - 2.96). No significant correlation was observed between YAP overexpression and degree of differentiation (OR = 1.17, 95% CI = 0.63 - 2.16), as well as gender of patients (OR = 1.12, 95% CI = 0.91 - 1.37) or tumor size (OR = 1.11, 95% CI = 0.82 - 1.49) of gastric cancer. Conclusions: This meta-analysis demonstrated that YAP might be a promising diagnostic marker and even a therapeutic target for gastric cancer.
Relating the past with the present: Information integration and segregation during ongoing narrative processing

This study examined how the brain dynamically updates event representations by integrating new information over multiple minutes while segregating irrelevant input. A professional writer custom-designed a narrative with two independent storylines, interleaving across minute-long segments (ABAB). In the last (C) part, characters from the two storylines meet and their shared history is revealed. Part C is designed to induce the spontaneous recall of past events, upon the recurrence of narrative motifs from A/B, and to shed new light on them. Our fMRI results showed storyline-specific neural patterns, which were reinstated (i.e. became more active) during storyline transitions. This effect increased along the processing timescale hierarchy, peaking in the default mode network. Similarly, the neural reinstatement of motifs was found during part C. Furthermore, participants showing stronger motif reinstatement performed better in integrating A/B and C events, demonstrating the role of memory reactivation in information integration over intervening irrelevant events.
Restoration in the face of changing climate: importance of persistence, priority effects, and species diversity

Grasslands are extensive, surprisingly biodiverse, highly altered by humans, and not as well protected as other biomes. Restoration provides an opportunity to reverse degradation and increase local biodiversity. Here, I review emerging issues that will become increasingly important to the science and practice of restoration ecology. First, the global change dilemma. Restorations typically target species that were dominant before the Industrial Revolution, in effect, looking back in time. However, increasing atmospheric CO2 and methane, temperature, and nutrients, which are already having significant effects, will result in novel conditions that are unlike the past. Biotic introductions have occurred concurrently with climate change, altering the seed bank and propagule pressure from surroundings. Designing seed mixes with high diversity will increase the likelihood that species will be present that respond favorably to changes. Second, more research is needed on persistence as a long‐term measure of stability. What is perhaps most important to restoration is how persistent restorations are on decade to century scales, and restorations are now of sufficient quantity and age to test questions about persistence. Third, the importance of stochastic processes due to priority effects has been supported by recent studies and have challenged the deterministic assembly model. Target species establishment could be improved by changing the order of introduction of species. Finally, grasslands provide many ecosystem services to society, including nutrient capture, food production, carbon storage, tourism and recreation, and nectar and pollen production. Grasslands are important culturally as outdoor science laboratories. For these reasons, I suggest that grasslands provide an excellent model system for restoration ecology.
UY Ursae Majoris: An A-Subtype W UMa System with a Very Large Fill-Out Factor and
 an Extreme Mass Ratio

We present new BVRI light curves of UY UMa with no O’Connell effect and a flat bottom secondary eclipse. Light curve synthesis with the Wilson-Devinney code gives a new solution, which is quite different from the previous study: UY UMa is an A-subtype over-contact binary with a small mass ratio of q = 0.21, a high inclination of 81°. 4, a small temperature difference of ΔT = 18°, a large fill-out factor of f = 0.61, and a third light of approximately 10% of the total systemic light. The absolute dimensions were newly determined. Seventeen new times of minimum light have been calculated from our observations. The period study indicates that the orbital period has intricately varied in a secular period increase in which two cyclical terms with periods of 12y.0 and 46y.3 are superposed. The secular period increase was interpreted to be due to a conservative mass transfer of 2.68 × 10–8 M⊙/yr from the less massive to the more massive star. The cyclical components are discussed in terms of double-light time contributions from two additional bound stars. The statistical relations of Yang & Qian (2015) among the physical parameters of 45 deep, low mass ratio contact binaries were revisited by using the physical parameters of UY UMa and 25 Kepler contact binaries provided by Şenavci et al. (2016).
Database Forensic Investigation Process Models: A Review

Database Forensic Investigation (DBFI) involves the identification, collection, preservation, reconstruction, analysis, and reporting of database incidents. However, it is a heterogeneous, complex, and ambiguous field due to the variety and multidimensional nature of database systems. A small number of DBFI process models have been proposed to solve specific database scenarios using different investigation processes, concepts, activities, and tasks as surveyed in this paper. Specifically, we reviewed 40 proposed DBFI process models for RDBMS in the literature to offer up-to-date and comprehensive background knowledge on existing DBFI process model research, their associated challenges, issues for newcomers, and potential solutions for addressing such issues. This paper highlights three common limitations of the DBFI domain, which are: 1) redundant and irrelevant investigation processes; 2) redundant and irrelevant investigation concepts and terminologies; and 3) a lack of unified models to manage, share, and reuse DBFI knowledge. Also, this paper suggests three solutions for the discovered limitations, which are: 1) propose generic DBFI process/model for the DBFI field; 2) develop a semantic metamodeling language to structure, manage, organize, share, and reuse DBFI knowledge; and 3) develop a repository to store and retrieve DBFI field knowledge.
Discourse cohesion in Chinese-English statistical machine translation

In discourse, cohesion is a required component of meaningful and well organised text. It establishes the relationship between different elements in the text using a number of devices such as pronouns, determiners, and conjunctions. In translation a well translated document will display the correct cohesion and use of cohesive devices that are pertinent to the language. However, not all languages have the same cohesive devices or use them in the same way. In statistical machine translation this is a particular barrier to generating smooth translations, especially when sentences in parallel corpora are being treated in isolation and no extra meaning or cohesive context is provided beyond the sentential level. In this thesis, focussing on Chinese 1 and English as the language pair, we examine discourse cohesion in statistical machine translation looking at ways that systems can leverage discourse cues and signals in order to produce smoother translations. We also provide a statistical model that improves translation output by adding additional tokens within text that can be used to leverage extra information. A significant part of this research involved visualising many of the results and system outputs, and so an overview of two important pieces of visualisation software that we developed is also included.
Evaluation and Analysis of Soil Temperature Data over Poyang Lake Basin, China

Soil temperature reflects the impact of local factors, such as the vegetation, soil, and atmosphere of a region. Therefore, it is important to understand the regional variation of soil temperature. However, given the lack of observations with adequate spatial and/or temporal coverage, it is often difficult to use observational data to study the regional variation. Based on the observational data from Nanchang and Ganzhou stations and ERA-Interim/Land reanalysis data, this study analyzed the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics of soil temperature over Poyang Lake Basin. Four soil depths were examined, 0–7, 7–28, 28–100, and 100–289 cm, recorded as ST1, ST2, ST3, and ST4, respectively. The results showed close correlations between observation data and reanalysis data at different depths. Reanalysis data could reproduce the main spatiotemporal distributions of soil temperature over the Poyang Lake Basin but generally underestimated their magnitudes. Temporally, there was a clear warming trend in the basin. Seasonally, the temperature increase was the most rapid in spring and the slowest in summer, except for ST4, which increased the fastest in spring and the slowest in winter. The temperature increase was faster for ST1 than the other depths. The warming trend was almost the same for ST2, ST3, and ST4. An abrupt change of annual soil temperature at all depths occurred in 1997, and annual soil temperatures at all depths were abnormally low in 1984. Spatially, annual soil temperature decreased with latitude, except for the summer ST1. Because of the high temperature and precipitation in summer, the ST1 values were higher around the lake and the river. The climatic trend of soil temperature generally increased from south to north, which was opposite to the distribution of soil temperature. These findings provide a basis for understanding and assessing the variation of soil temperature in the Poyang Lake Basin.
High-Gain Millimeter-Wave Antennas Based on Spoof Surface Plasmon Polaritons

High-gain millimeter-wave antennas based on spoof surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) are proposed in this article. Since the dispersion of spoof SPP modes supported by metallic grooves is insensitive to their lateral width, we propose two millimeter-wave antennas with wide SPP grooves, namely an SPP tapering rod antenna and an SPP leaky-wave antenna. The widened grooves enlarge the aperture size of the antennas, enhancing the antenna gains. Both antennas are fed by a standard waveguide and are fabricated by 3-D printing with surface metallization. Based on the similar principle of conventional dielectric rod antennas, the proposed SPP rod antenna achieves broadband and high gain. The measured |S11| is below −16.5 dB from 50 to 75 GHz, and the antenna gain varies from 16.06 to 19.3 dBi. By employing periodic modulation, the SPP leaky-wave antenna operates from 50 to 70 GHz for |S11| below −10 dB. This leaky-wave antenna with 24 modulated periods achieves 20.1–23.9 dBi gain in the operating band with a beam-scanning range from −39° to −3°.
Development of bio-inks for bioprinting applications

Bioprinting allows cells and materials to be deposited to create tissue pre-cursors. However, the quality of the bioprinted constructs depends on bio-inks, which need optimisation to enable repeatable processes, achieve physiological cell densities and tailored structures. The primary aim of this research was to develop reliable bio-inks for printing single cells and cells in gels. A novel bio-ink formulation has been developed to allow reliable inkjet bioprinting of small cell numbers, allowing single cell deposition. Poly-L-lysine (PLL) was investigated as temporary speckled coating, which would allow to avoid nozzle blockage during the printing process. Different PLL concentrations were evaluated, with 10 μg/mL exhibiting the highest viability and metabolic activity similar to control samples on three different cell lineages. At the optimised concentration, fast internalisation and metabolisation of PLL was observed with no subsequent effect on cell behaviour. Repeatable inkjet cell printing was achieved, whilst maintaining cell function. High cell density cell-laden hydrogels were produced using a bioprinting technique called Reactive Jet Impingement (ReJI), developed at Newcastle University as part of a related project. A protocol for using ReJI to produce a collagen-alginate-fibrin (CAF) gel was established and used to create cell-laden gels. The fabricated hydrogels exhibited rapid solution uptake and porous structures, both essential for cell migration. When culturing mesenchymal stem cells in the CAF gel a cell density of 40 million cells/ml supported faster osteogenic differentiation than a cell density of 4 million cells/ml. Additionally, increased cell density produced more organised tissue structures and increased expression of osteogenic biomarkers, indicative of accelerated bone tissue formation. This research has developed and characterised the performance of two bio-inks for two bioprinting techniques. It is concluded that careful consideration of the processing techniques and bio-ink formulation can allow for the creation of effective cell printing techniques for both single cells and cell-laden hydrogels. To Sara and my family, for always supporting me during these four years away
Dorsal onlay buccal mucosal graft or penile skin graft substitution urethroplasty in bulbar urethral stricture: compare the outcome and review

Urethral Stricture is a chronic and common urological problem. The principal of stricture management is to “Dilate the stricture and keep it permanently dilated. ” The first part is easy, but the second part poses a big task to urologists. The treatment of urethral stricture varies according to location, length, depth and density of stricture. Urethral reconstruction remains a challenge in modern urology practice. Anterior urethral strictures, which are not amenable to end-to-anastomosis, require substitution urethroplasty. Turner Warwick’s opinion is still true that urethra is the best substitute for urethra. The ideal material for substitution urethroplasty remains controversial. Local skin flaps might also be used to substitute the urethra. Although the results seem to be equal to those of grafts, flaps are associated with higher morbidity and less preferred by the patient. A piece of skin or mucosa is removed from its vascular bed (donor area) as a graft in substitution urethroplasty and sutured ABSTRACT