Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optimization-based image analysis dealing with symbolic constraints using hierarchical multi-agent system

The paper describes a method for understanding an image where desired objects have part-of relationships between them. This method is based on a hierarchical multi-agent system, where each agent takes charge of a desired object and tries to extract it using knowledge on its features. Since users can define this knowledge freely without any modification of the algorithm, this method is applicable to various problems of image analysis by changing the knowledge. Moreover, the agents in this system use symbolic constraints and evaluation measurements on the desired objects. They are defined in the knowledge each agent has and used to obtain the desired results where obtained objects are evaluated highly in terms of the evaluation measurements and satisfy their plausible relationships defined symbolically. To verify our method experimentally, we applied it to problems of line drawing recognition and character segmentation.
Is low BMI Associated with Specific Drug Use Among Injecting Drug Users?

Body mass index (BMI) of a sample of people who regularly inject drugs (N = 781) was examined to gauge the impact of specific types of drug use. Cross-sectional interviews were undertaken in 2010 as part of a national monitoring program funded by the Australian Government. Latent class analysis identified three groups of drug users, with heroin users at 3.4 times the risk of being underweight compared with amphetamine users, and amphetamine users were at almost twice the odds of being obese compared with lower level morphine users. Nutrition should play a part in harm minimization.
BDNF regulates NMDA receptor activity in developing retinal ganglion cells

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) modulates glutamate receptors of the NMDA type in many areas of the brain. We assessed whether BDNF exerts an effect on NMDA receptor properties in retinal ganglion cells during early postnatal development. Electrophysiological responses to the glutamate agonist NMDA (500 μM–2 mM) in retinal slices of wildtype and BDNF deficient mice (bdnf−/−) were recorded using the whole-cell patch-clamp technique. Retinal ganglion cells of bdnf−/− mice displayed significantly smaller NMDA currents than those of age-matched wildtype mice. Remarkably, NMDA receptor activity was restored by incubating retinal slices of bdnf−/− mice in BDNF (50 ng/ml) for 1–3 h. We suggest that BDNF plays a role in the activation of functional NMDA receptors in early ganglion cell development.
Hypothyroidism in Children with Serous Otitis Media

Introduction Otitis media with effusion (OME) is characterised by fluid retention behind the eardrum without general or local infection symptoms. OME is a common disease in children with an incidence of 15% to 20% and may lead to hearing loss or surgical intervention (1). In most children, otitis media improves spontaneously and has a good prognosis, but approximately 10% of paediatric patients experience repeated or chronic OME (2). With few exceptions, it is difficult to predict which children with OME will develop the chronic form. Otitis media with effusion is multifactorial. There are many epidemiologic factors that increase the risk of OME development; these include upper respiratory tract infections, allergic rhinitis, Eustachian tube dysfunction, cigarette smoking (passive), bottle fed rather than breast fed, male sex, immunological deficiency, cilia dysfunction, and cleft palate disease.
Retromer Promotes Immune Quiescence by Suppressing Spätzle‐Toll Pathway in Drosophila

The Toll and Toll‐like receptor signaling pathways are evolutionarily conserved pathways that regulate innate immunity in insects and mammals. While efforts have been made to clarify the signal transduction events that occur during infection, much less is known about the components that maintain immune quiescence. Here we show that retromer, an intracellular protein complex known for regulating vesicle trafficking, functions in modulating the Toll pathway in Drosophila melanogaster. In mutant animals lacking retromer function, the Toll pathway but not JAK‐STAT or IMD pathway is activated, triggering both cellular and humoral responses. Genetic epistasis and clonal analysis suggest that retromer regulates a component that acts upstream of Toll. Our data further show that in the mutant the Toll ligand Spätzle has a processing pattern similar to that of after infection. Together, the results suggest a novel function of retromer in regulating Toll pathway and innate immunity at a step that modulates ligand processing or activity. J. Cell. Physiol. 229: 512–520, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
A concept of maximum stream depletion rate for leaky aquifers in alluvial valleys

Existing analytical models for evaluating stream depletion by wells in alluvial aquifers are based on the assumption that stream depletion supplies 100% of groundwater withdrawals. Analysis of specific hydrostratigraphic conditions in leaky aquifers indicates that stream depletion may range from 0 to 100%. A new concept of maximum stream depletion rate (MSDR) is introduced and defined as a maximum fraction of the pumping rate contributed by the stream depletion. Several new analytical solutions indicate that the MSDR is determined by aquifer hydrostratigraphic conditions, geometry of recharge and discharge zones, and locations of pumping wells.
Monte-Carlo planning for unit control in StarCraft

This paper presents an application of Monte-Carlo planning (MCPlan) to controlling units in a RTS game StarCraft. We apply an ε - greedy algorithm to model the opponent in a simulation for improving MCPlan's performance. Experimental results are provided at the end of this paper, which show the potential of MCPlan in this domain.
Development and Validation of a Risk Stratification Model of Pulmonary Ground-Glass Nodules Based on Complementary Lung-RADS 1.1 and Deep Learning Scores

Purpose To assess the value of novel deep learning (DL) scores combined with complementary lung imaging reporting and data system 1.1 (cLung-RADS 1.1) in managing the risk stratification of ground-glass nodules (GGNs) and therefore improving the efficiency of lung cancer (LC) screening in China. Materials and Methods Overall, 506 patients with 561 GGNs on routine computed tomography images, obtained between January 2017 and March 2021, were enrolled in this single-center, retrospective Chinese study. Moreover, the cLung-RADS 1.1 was previously validated, and the DL algorithms were based on a multi-stage, three-dimensional DL-based convolutional neural network. Therefore, the DL-based cLung-RADS 1.1 model was created using a combination of the risk scores of DL and category of cLung-RADS 1.1. The recall rate, precision, accuracy, per-class F1 score, weighted average F1 score (F1weighted), Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC), and area under the curve (AUC) were used to evaluate the performance of DL-based cLung-RADS 1.1. Results The percentage of neoplastic lesions appeared as GGNs in our study was 95.72% (537/561) after long-period follow-up.Compared to cLung-RADS 1.1 model or DL model, The DL-based cLung-RADS 1.1 model achieved the excellent performance with F1 scores of 95.96% and 95.58%, F1weighted values of 97.49 and 96.62%, accuracies of 92.38 and 91.77%, and MCCs of 32.43 and 37.15% in the training and validation tests, respectively. The combined model achieved the best AUCs of 0.753 (0.526–0.980) and 0.734 (0.585–0.884) for the training and validation tests, respectively. Conclusion The DL-based cLung-RADS 1.1 model shows the best performance in risk stratification management of GGNs, which demonstrates substantial promise for developing a more effective personalized lung neoplasm management paradigm for LC screening in China.
Obtaining a Family Psychiatric History: Is it Worth the Effort?

The purpose of this study was to determine whether, for first-degree relatives of patients presenting to a mood disorders clinic, family history information on psychiatric conditions collected by a psychiatrist and incorporated into the patient's medical records is as informative as that gathered during an interview specifically designed to collect family history data. The study group consisted of 472 first-degree relatives of 78 randomly selected index cases from a large mood disorders genetic database. Family history of psychiatric disorders recorded in regular psychiatric medical records (“clinician history”), and data obtained by a genetic counsellor administering specific family psychiatric history questionnaires to patients and multiple family informants (“family history”) were compared using a kappa statistic. Good agreement between the two methods on the presence or absence of a psychiatric disorder was found among first-degree relatives of index cases, but poor agreement was found with respect to the presence or absence of a specific mood disorder diagnosis(es) in a relative. The results suggest that a clinician-generated family psychiatric history is sensitive to the presence or absence of a psychiatric disorder when compared to a more structured detailed genetic interview. However, for research purposes, a clinician-generated family psychiatric history of a specific mood disorder diagnosis, without supporting collateral information, may not be reliable for use in supporting a mood disorder diagnosis in a patient and/or his relatives.
Proteomic and morphological analysis of early stages of wheat grain development

The identification of 249 proteins in the first 2 wks of wheat grain development enabled the chronological description of the early processes of grain formation. Cell division involved expression of the enzymes and proteins of the cytoskeleton and structure, DNA repair and replication enzymes and cellular metabolism enzymes (synthesis of amino acids, cell wall initiation, carbon fixation and energy production, cofactors and vitamins) with a peak expression at 125°Cday (degrees day after anthesis). After the first synthesis of amino acids, protein transport mechanisms, translation signals, sugar metabolism (polymerization of protein) and stress/defence proteins were activated with stable expression between 150 and 280°Cday. Proteins responsible for folding and degradation, including different subunits of proteasome, were highly expressed at 195°Cday. Proteins associated with starch granules (GBSS type 1) were present at the beginning of grain formation and increased regularly up to 280°Cday. Heat shock proteins (HSP70, 80, 90) were expressed throughout the early grain development stages.
Regulation of Endothelial Progenitor Cell Functions in Ischemic Heart Disease: New Therapeutic Targets for Cardiac Remodeling and Repair

Ischemic heart disease (IHD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Ischemia and hypoxia following myocardial infarction (MI) cause subsequent cardiomyocyte (CM) loss, cardiac remodeling, and heart failure. Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are involved in vasculogenesis, angiogenesis and paracrine effects and thus have important clinical value in alternative processes for repairing damaged hearts. In fact, this study showed that the endogenous repair of EPCs may not be limited to a single cell type. EPC interactions with cardiac cell populations and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in ischemic heart disease can attenuate cardiac inflammation and oxidative stress in a microenvironment, regulate cell survival and apoptosis, nourish CMs, enhance mature neovascularization, alleviate adverse ventricular remodeling after infarction and enhance ventricular function. In this review, we introduce the definition and discuss the origin and biological characteristics of EPCs and summarize the mechanisms of EPC recruitment in ischemic heart disease. We focus on the crosstalk between EPCs and endothelial cells (ECs), smooth muscle cells (SMCs), CMs, cardiac fibroblasts (CFs), cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs), and MSCs during cardiac remodeling and repair. Finally, we discuss the translation of EPC therapy to the clinic and treatment strategies.
CONSTRAINTS ON PLANET OCCURRENCE AROUND NEARBY MID-TO-LATE M DWARFS FROM THE MEarth PROJECT

The MEarth Project is a ground-based photometric survey intended to find planets transiting the closest and smallest main-sequence stars. In its first four years, MEarth discovered one transiting exoplanet, the 2.7 R⊕ planet GJ1214b. Here, we answer an outstanding question: in light of the bounty of small planets transiting small stars uncovered by the Kepler mission, should MEarth have found more than just one planet so far? We estimate MEarth's ensemble sensitivity to exoplanets by performing end-to-end simulations of 1.25 × 106 observations of 988 nearby mid-to-late M dwarfs, gathered by MEarth between 2008 October and 2012 June. For 2–4 R⊕ planets, we compare this sensitivity to results from Kepler and find that MEarth should have found planets at a rate of 0.05–0.36 planets yr−1 in its first four years. As part of this analysis, we provide new analytic fits to the Kepler early M dwarf planet occurrence distribution. When extrapolating between Kepler's early M dwarfs and MEarth's mid-to-late M dwarfs, we find that assuming the planet occurrence distribution stays fixed with respect to planetary equilibrium temperature provides a good match to our detection of a planet with GJ1214b's observed properties. For larger planets, we find that the warm (600–700 K), Neptune-sized (4 R⊕) exoplanets that transit early M dwarfs like Gl436 and GJ3470 occur at a rate of <0.15 star−1 (at 95% confidence) around MEarth's later M dwarf targets. We describe a strategy with which MEarth can increase its expected planet yield by 2.5 × without new telescopes by shifting its sensitivity toward the smaller and cooler exoplanets that Kepler has demonstrated to be abundant.
Nectar, floral morphology and pollination syndrome in Loasaceae subfam. Loasoideae (Cornales).

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Loasaceae subfam. Loasoideae are mostly distributed in South America (sea level to over 4500 m) with a wide range of animals documented as pollinators. The aim was to investigate correlations between nectar parameters, flower morphology, pollination syndrome and phylogeny. METHODS Nectar was collected from 29 species from seven genera in the subfamily. Concentration and volumes were measured and the amount of sugar calculated. Correlations of nectar data were plotted on a ternary graph and nectar characteristics compared with flower visitors, floral morphology and phylogenetic data. KEY RESULTS Sugar concentrations are generally higher than reported for most plant families in the literature. The species investigated can be roughly grouped as follows. Group I: plants with approx. 1.5(-3.5) microL nectar with (40-)60-80% sugar and 0.19-2 mg sugar flower-1; with small, white, star-shaped corollas, pollinated by short-tongued bees. Groups II, III and IV: plants with mostly orange, balloon-, saucer-, bowl- or bell-shaped corollas. Group II: plants with approx. 9-14 microL nectar with 40-60% sugar and 4-10 mg sugar flower-1; mostly visited by long-tongued bees and/or hummingbirds. Group III: plants with 40-100 microL nectar with 30-40% sugar and 14-36 mg sugar flower-1, mostly visited by hummingbirds. Group IV: geoflorous plants with 80-90 microL with 10-15% sugar and 8.5-12 mg sugar flower-1, presumably visited by small mammals. Groups II and III include species visited by bees and/or hummingbirds. CONCLUSIONS Pollinator switches from short-tongued bees via long-tongued bees to hummingbirds appear to have taken place repeatedly in the genera Nasa, Loasa and Caiophora. Changes in nectar amount and concentration appear to evolve rapidly with little phylogenetic constraint.
Improved method for genotyping apolipoprotein E polymorphisms by a PCR-based assay simultaneously utilizing two distinct restriction enzymes.

Apolipoprotein E (apo E) is a protein that plays an essential role in lipid metabolism and distribution (1). The apo E gene is polymorphic, and its three alleles code for isoforms E2, E3, and E4, which differ by single-amino-acid substitutions (2). The apo E3 allele is the predominant isoform in all populations studied. The apo E4 allele is associated with increased total serum cholesterol and greater odds for coronary heart disease (3); it also constitutes a major risk factor for Alzheimer disease (4). The apo E2 allele seems to have a protective effect against Alzheimer disease and is associated with longevity (5). Consequently, interest in examining individual patients and study groups for the apo E isoforms is growing. In this communication we describe a simple procedure that facilitates the genotyping of the apo E polymorphisms. In the common apo E3 polymorphism, TGC encodes for Cys112, and CGC encodes for Arg158. In the apo E2 another TGC codon results in Cys158, whereas in the apo E4 a different CGC codon gives rise to Arg112. The three apo E alleles …
A framework for applying critical success factors to ERP implementation projects

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is a tool to integrate the departments and functions across an organisation to help achieve its specific business goals and objectives. The complex and integrated nature of ERP system is often coupled with time constraints and substantial financial commitments that inevitably make its implementation to be a highly risky undertaking with an inherent high failure probability. Reviews of the existing literature on the subject suggest that critical success factors (CSFs) have been studied by researchers for risk aversion in ERP implementations. However, with no suggested methods or framework for monitor and control coupled with the inherent subjectivity, CSFs studies for ERP implementation find little practical usage. This paper proposes a framework for applying the earlier cited CSFs studies for ERP systems with particular emphasis on bringing objectivity leading to their effective monitoring and control. The paper also attempts to highlight the short-comings of existing CSFs studies based on the proposed framework.
Examination of small intestine with carboxymethylcellulose.

Most of us have experienced difficulty at times in deciding whether a small intestine is normal or abnormal by roentgen examination, and further, if abnormal, what name to give to the condition. Different workers use different procedures, administer the barium in different mixtures, and use different terms to describe the resulting radiographic appearances. There is a widespread desire for reliable criteria for the limits of normal and for the best possible examination procedure. We find that suspensions in water of barium sulfate and the sodium salt of methylcarboxycellulose4 are stable and inert physiologically, have a rapid small-intestine transit time, and produce a good mucosal pattern in patients without small-intestine disease. Zimmer (1) made extensive studies of the settling of barium (in vitro and in vivo) in distilled water, in hard tap water, in artificial gastric juice, and in artificial intestinal juice. He found that pure barium produces a coarsened mucous membrane pattern and segmentation.
Molecular Cloning of a New Aquaporin from Rat Pancreas and Liver*

A new water channel (aquaporin-8, gene symbol AQP8) was isolated from rat pancreas and liver by homology cloning. Ribonuclease protection assay showed intense expression of the gene in pancreas and liver, less intense in colon and salivary gland, and negligible in other organs. The full-length cDNA was obtained by ligation of ∼1.4-kilobase (kb) cDNA isolated from the rat liver cDNA library to ∼0.5 kb of the 5′-end fragment obtained by the rapid amplification of cDNA ends method. A major transcript of ∼1.45 kb was demonstrated in liver and colon by Northern blot analysis. Expression of the cRNA in Xenopusoocytes markedly enhanced osmotic water permeability in a mercury-sensitive manner, indicating a water channel function of this molecule. The open reading frame encoded a 263-amino acid protein with a predicted molecular size of 28 kDa. Hydropathy analysis represented six membrane-spanning domains and five connecting loops containing two sites of NPA motif as preserved in other aquaporins. Unlike other mammalian aquaporins, AQP8 has an unusual structure with a long N terminus and a short C terminus, which are found in plant aquaporin, γ-tonoplast intrinsic protein. By in situ hybridization,AQP8 mRNA expression was assumed in hepatocytes, acinal cells of pancreas and salivary gland, and absorptive colonic epithelial cells. The physiological role(s) of AQP8 remain to be elucidated.
Pipeline pattern in an object‐oriented, task‐parallel environment

Task parallelism is an approach to parallel programming that has recently gained traction because of its compatibility with the predominant object‐oriented languages and its low overhead compared to threading approaches. Parallel Task is an Open Source task‐parallel compiler and runtime system for object‐oriented languages, in particular Java. It is very flexible and expressive, demonstrated by the fact that it can be directly employed to implement most parallel computing patterns. The only notable exception has been the pipeline pattern where many data items are streamed through a number of processing stages. This is not surprising, as task parallelism is generally not compatible with the pipeline pattern. In this paper, we investigate how the pipeline pattern can be elegantly and efficiently implemented in a task‐parallel environment. To do so, we extend Parallel Task with the concept of implicit futures to allow creating pipelines in an intuitive and object‐oriented manner. Our experimental evaluation uses the extended Parallel Task to implement pipelines of different lengths and characteristics and compares with manual implementations. The evaluation demonstrates very good performance and scalability of the proposed task‐parallel pipeline approach. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Improving spinning disk confocal microscopy by preventing pinhole cross-talk for intravital imaging

A recent key requirement in life sciences is the observation of biological processes in their natural in vivo context. However, imaging techniques that allow fast imaging with higher resolution in 3D thick specimens are still limited. Spinning disk confocal microscopy using a Yokogawa Confocal Scanner Unit, which offers high-speed multipoint confocal live imaging, has been found to have wide utility among cell biologists. A conventional Confocal Scanner Unit configuration, however, is not optimized for thick specimens, for which the background noise attributed to “pinhole cross-talk,” which is unintended pinhole transmission of out-of-focus light, limits overall performance in focal discrimination and reduces confocal capability. Here, we improve spinning disk confocal microscopy by eliminating pinhole cross-talk. First, the amount of pinhole cross-talk is reduced by increasing the interpinhole distance. Second, the generation of out-of-focus light is prevented by two-photon excitation that achieves selective-plane illumination. We evaluate the effect of these modifications and test the applicability to the live imaging of green fluorescent protein-expressing model animals. As demonstrated by visualizing the fine details of the 3D cell shape and submicron-size cytoskeletal structures inside animals, these strategies dramatically improve higher-resolution intravital imaging.