Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sydney Breast Imaging Accuracy Study: Comparative sensitivity and specificity of mammography and sonography in young women with symptoms.

OBJECTIVE We examined the age-specific sensitivity and specificity of mammography and sonography in symptomatic women to determine the age below which sonography may be the more accurate imaging test, which may guide the choice of initial breast imaging examination based on the woman's age. MATERIALS AND METHODS Four hundred eighty subjects were sampled from all women consecutively attending a symptomatic breast clinic between 1994 and 1996 and ranging in age from 25 to 55 years. We included all 240 women shown to have breast cancer (thus avoiding selection bias) and 240 age-matched women shown not to have cancer. Mammograms and sonograms were prospectively interpreted independently and without knowledge of age by two radiologists in a blinded manner, with a third radiologist arbitrating disagreements. Sensitivity and specificity of each imaging test in relation to age were examined using logistic regression modeling, and accuracy was compared using the chi-square test for paired proportions. RESULTS Sensitivity and specificity of each test were not linearly associated with age; however, the sensitivity of mammography increased substantially in women older than 50 years. Sonographic sensitivity of 81.7% was not significantly greater than mammographic sensitivity of 75.8% (chi(2)(1) = 2.06, p = 0.15). However, in women 45 years old or younger, the sensitivity of sonography was 13.2% (95% confidence interval, 2.1-24.3%) greater than that of mammography. The specificity of both tests was approximately 88.0%. CONCLUSION These data show that sonography is the more accurate imaging test in women 45 years old or younger who present with breast symptoms and may be an appropriate initial imaging examination.
Range-video fusion and comparison of inverse perspective algorithms in static images

Creating three-dimensional (3-D) descriptions of road boundaries from single 2-D images of segmented road is a central problem for the autonomous land vehicle (ALV) road-following task. It is shown how heuristic simplifying assumptions can be avoided by using actively scanned laser range data to determine the 3-D space location of features in a 2-D image. An epipolar-plane approach that is commonly used to restrict search spaces in stereo correspondence problems is used to combine data gathered from the ALV's video camera and an ERIM laser range scanner for accurate 3-D descriptions of roads. In addition, various heuristic inverse perspective algorithms are compared with each other and with the video/range scanner fusion approach in terms of accuracy, failure situations, and estimated computational speed. The simplest of these is the flat-earth algorithm where the assumption is made that the vehicle is at all times resting in a level attitude on an infinite flat plane; image points were projected onto this plane. A second approach, the hill-and-dale algorithm, permits the plane's elevation to vary such that image pairs of left and right road edge points define a road of constant width. The zero-bank algorithm imposes a constant-road-width constraint on heuristically extracted image pairs of road edge points and the algorithm seeks image pairs of edge points that correspond to true 'crossword' road edges on curving roads. Graphical output describing the performance of the various algorithms on real-world scenes is presented and discussed. >
BlockSci: Design and applications of a blockchain analysis platform

Analysis of blockchain data is useful for both scientific research and commercial applications. We present BlockSci, an open-source software platform for blockchain analysis. BlockSci is versatile in its support for different blockchains and analysis tasks. It incorporates an in-memory, analytical (rather than transactional) database, making it several hundred times faster than existing tools. We describe BlockSci's design and present four analyses that illustrate its capabilities. This is a working paper that accompanies the first public release of BlockSci, available at this https URL We seek input from the community to further develop the software and explore other potential applications.
Formation stabilization of underwater mobile sensing networks

Formation control is essential for an underwater mobile sensing network (UMSN), an ad hoc network which wirelessly connects underwater vehicles of sensing and/or observing types via acoustic communications, to fulfill mobile sensing tasks. The problem of formation stabilization for an UMSN with varying communication topology is studied in this paper. Sufficient condition of formation stability is proposed in terms of stability analysis of linear time varying system and spectrum analysis of graph Laplacian of communication topology. Moreover, a design procedure for synthesis of formation controller is given.
IberEval 2017, COSET Task: A Basic Approach

This paper discusses the IberEval 2017 shared task on Classification Of Spanish Election Tweets (COSET) [5]. This task has the goal to analyze tweets that talk about Spanish General Election of 2015 and classify them in one of these 5 categories: political issues, policy issues, personal issues, campaign issues and other issues.
An Energy-Aware Schedule Strategy for CMP systems

This paper focuses the power-performance issues of running task set with interdependence on chip multiprocessor (CMP) systems. First, we propose a tri-dimensional coding based self-adaptive parallel (TCSP) genetic algorithm allocating the task set on processor cores to minimize the execution time. Next, we present a dynamic voltage scaling (DVS) procedure that alters the operating voltage by exploiting the slack time of tasks. The simulation experimental results demonstrate that our two-stage energy-aware schedule strategy can efficiently schedule the tasks on CMP systems while saving the system energy obviously.
Binding of N-carboxymethyl dipeptide inhibitors to thermolysin determined by X-ray crystallography: a novel class of transition-state analogues for zinc peptidases.

The mode of binding of the specific thermolysin inhibitor N-(1-carboxy-3-phenylpropyl)-L-leucyl-L-tryptophan (KI approximately 5 X 10(-8) M) [Maycock, A. L. , DeSousa, D. M. , Payne, L. G. , ten Broeke, J., Wu, M. T. , & Patchett, A. A. (1981) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 102, 963-969] has been determined by X-ray crystallography and refined to an R value of 17.1% at 1.9-A resolution. The inhibitor binds to thermolysin with both oxygens of the N-carboxymethyl group liganded to the zinc to give overall pentacoordination of the metal. The bidentate ligation of the inhibitor differs from the monodentate binding seen previously for carboxylate-zinc interactions in thermolysin and is closer to the bidentate geometry observed for the binding of hydroxamates [Holmes, M. A. , & Matthews, B. W. (1981) Biochemistry 20, 6912-6920]. The geometry of the inhibitor and its interactions with the protein have a number of elements in common with the presumed transition state formed during peptide hydrolysis. The observed zinc ligation supports the previous suggestion that a pentacoordinate intermediate participates in the mechanism of catalysis. However, the alpha-amino nitrogen of the inhibitor is close to Glu-143, suggesting that this residue might accept a proton from an attacking water molecule (as proposed before) and subsequently donate this proton to the leaving nitrogen. By analogy with thermolysin, it is proposed that a related mechanism should be considered for peptide cleavage by carboxypeptidase A. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The Development of Hydrophobic and Superhydrophobic Cementitious Composites

Freezing and thawing of water in saturated concrete induces stresses, cracks, spalling, and eventually allows chlorides, sulphates and other ions to penetrate through the porous space of concrete causing the corrosion and ultimately structural failure. These detrimental factors are limited if concrete has the ability to repel water. Water repellant concrete was achieved through internal and external surface applications. Hydrophobicity, overand super-hydrophobicity are demonstrated by the ability of a surface to repel water and are characterized by contact angles. In cementitious composites internal hydrophobization can be achieved through the addition of superhydrophobic admixtures to fresh concrete resulting in an air void system with small, well-dispersed air bubbles to provide superior resistance to freezing and thawing. Hydrophobic, overand super-hydrophobic surface coatings were achieved by the design of hierarchical surfaces tailoring the fiber content, mixture proportion, and superhydrophobic emulsions. Contact angle tests were used to characterize the developed coatings. The use of internal hydrophobization improves freezing and thawing resistance of fiber-reinforced composites as demonstrated by a durability factor of 100 through as many as 700 accelerated (-50°C to 20°C) cycles in 5% NaCl solution.
A simple and rapid method for the disruption of Staphylococcus aureus, optimized for quantitative reverse transcriptase applications: Application for the examination of Camembert cheese

Transcriptomic studies of microorganisms are dependent upon the efficiency of the RNA extraction procedure. In this study, we compared different methods used to disrupt bacterial cells that are frequently described in the literature, such as mechanical (sonication, bead beating) and enzymatic (lysozyme or lysostaphin digestion) disruption. Factorial designs and ANOVA procedureswere used to compare statistically the efficiency of these protocols on Staphylococcus aureus. The results were assessed in terms of quality and quantity of RNA extract suitable for further quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis. We selected a simple, rapid (in less than four hours) and sensitive RNA extraction/purification protocol based on lysostaphin treatment, followed by a bead-beating procedure. This method allowed an excellent recovery (> 85%) of 16S rRNA from over a wide range of CFU (109 to 102 CFU·mL−1), efficient on different S. aureus strains in both exponential and stationary growth phases in pure culture. Application of the protocol for the examination of artificially contaminated Camembert cheese achieved sensitivities of 1.1 × 102 copies of the 16S rRNA gene·g−1 of cheese. This protocol constitutes an essential tool for gene expression studies of S. aureus in Camembert cheese.AbstractRNA Staphylococcus aureus RNA RT-PCR (4 h) RNA CFU (109–102 CFU·mL−1) (85%). S. aureus 1.1 × 102 16S rRNA Camembert S. aureusRésuméLe succès de l’étude du transcriptome d’un microorganisme dépend de l’efficacité de l’extraction des ARN. Par cette étude, nous avons comparé différentes méthodes fréquemment rencontrées dans la littérature pour lyser les bactéries telles que les lyses mécaniques (sonication, bead beating) et enzymatiques (digestion au lysozyme ou à la lysostaphine). L’utilisation de plans d’expérience a permis de comparer statistiquement l’efficacité des différents protocoles sur Staphylococcus aureus. Les résultats sont comparés selon la qualité et la quantité des ARN extraits, par reverse transcriptase PCR quantitative (qRT-PCR). Nous avons sélectionné un protocole d’extraction/purification des ARN, simple, rapide (en moins de quatre heures) et sensible, basé sur une digestion à la lysostaphine suivie d’un cassage par billes. Cette méthode permet une excellente récupération (> 85 %) de l’ARNr 16S à partir d’une large gamme d’UFC (109 à 102 UFC·mL−1), et est efficace sur différentes souches de S. aureus en culture pure, en phase exponentielle ou stationnaire de croissance. L’application du protocole pour l’examen d’un camembert artificiellement contaminé permet de détecter jusqu’à 1.1 × 102 copies d’ARNr 16S·g−1 de fromage. Ce protocole constitue un outil essentiel pour l’étude de l’expression des gènes de S. aureus en matrice camembert.
Evaluation of detachment methods for the enumeration of Bacteroides fragilis in sediments via propidium monoazide quantitative PCR, in comparison with Enterococcus faecalis and Escherichia coli

The aim was to develop an optimized detachment method for separating Bacteroidales from sediments to allow enumeration via PMA‐qPCR. The effectiveness of four different detachment treatments in removing Bacteroides fragilis was compared as a function of time as well as in relation to Enterococcus faecalis and Escherichia coli as detected by cultivation and qPCR.
Neutrophil‐derived matrix metalloproteinase‐9 is a potent activator of trypsinogen in acinar cells in acute pancreatitis

MMPs are generally considered to regulate degradation and remodeling of the ECM. Convincing data also implicate a role for MMPs in inflammatory conditions, such as AP, although the mechanisms are not known. The aim of this study was to define the role of MMPs in regulating activation of trypsinogen and tissue damage in AP, which was induced by infusion of taurocholate into the pancreatic duct in mice. A broad‐spectrum MMP inhibitor (BB‐94) and MMP‐9 gene‐deficient mice were used. Neutrophil secretions and rMMP‐9 were used to stimulate trypsinogen activation in isolated acinar cells. Taurocholate challenge increased serum amylase, neutrophil infiltration, MIP‐2 (CXCL2) formation, trypsinogen activation, and tissue damage in the pancreas. Treatment with the broad‐spectrum inhibitor of MMPs, BB‐94, markedly reduced activation of trypsinogen, levels of CXCL2, infiltration of neutrophils, and tissue damage in AP. Taurocholate challenge increased serum levels of MMP‐9 but not MMP‐2. Taurocholate‐induced amylase levels, neutrophil accumulation, production of CXCL2, trypsinogen activation, and tissue damage in the pancreas were abolished in MMP‐9‐deficient mice. Moreover, secretions from activated neutrophils isolated from WT but not from MMP‐9‐deficient animals stimulated trypsinogen activation in acinar cells. Notably, rMMP‐9 greatly enhanced activation of trypsinogen in acinar cells. These findings demonstrate that neutrophil‐derived MMP‐9 is a potent activator of trypsinogen in acinar cells and regulates pathological inflammation and tissue damage in AP.
Narrowed coronary artery detection and classification using angiographic scans

Coronary artery disease is a disease in which a plaque material builds-up in the lumen of blood vessels which feed the heart muscle. This plaque material made of fat, cholesterol, calcium and other cellular components such as blood cells and smooth muscle cells. Egypt is ranked as the world 23rd death rate due to heart disease [1]. Our research aims to recognize the narrowed Coronary artery from the angiographic scans image. Our approach first enhances Coronary Artery angiographic scans using filters, detects and segments these scans using region growing algorithm and then classifies these scans to normal and abnormal cases using the K-Nearest Neighbor classifier. Our approach successfully enhances the diagnosis of Coronary artery diseases by measuring the lumen diameter and detecting whether the artery is normal or abnormal. In abnormal cases, we successfully classify the blockage as minimal, mild, moderate or critical stages. Our system achieved 94.6% accuracy which proves the efficiency of our approach when compared with other approaches.
The inheritance of yellow-larva and ruby-eye in Culex pipiens.

It has been suggested that mosquito vectors of filariasis and other diseases might be controlled by genetic methods. This is not yet possible because of the lack of genetic information concerning the vector species. The present study describes the development of a marker strain which is being used to study genetic control.Two spontaneous mutants of Culex pipiens are described, one for the first time. Ruby-eye (ru) is an autosomal recessive in linkage group 2. It is completely penetrant and completely expressed. It is evident in later instar larvae, pupae, and adults. Yellow-larva (y) is an autosomal recessive, sometimes behaving as a partial dominant, and is also in linkage group 2. It is evident in late fourth-instar larvae and pupae and is generally associated with lengthened larval development. Ruby-eye and yellow-larva are occasionally seen in collections from the field. The frequency of crossing over between ru and y differs significantly among progenies and also between the sexes, the median values being 17% in males and 24% in females.
Characterization of the Effect of the Histidine Kinase CovS on Response Regulator Phosphorylation in Group A Streptococcus

ABSTRACT Two-component gene regulatory systems (TCSs) are a major mechanism by which bacteria respond to environmental stimuli and thus are critical to infectivity. For example, the control of virulence regulator/sensor kinase (CovRS) TCS is central to the virulence of the major human pathogen group A Streptococcus (GAS). Here, we used a combination of quantitative in vivo phosphorylation assays, isoallelic strains that varied by only a single amino acid in CovS, and transcriptome analyses to characterize the impact of CovS on CovR phosphorylation and GAS global gene expression. We discovered that CovS primarily serves to phosphorylate CovR, thereby resulting in the repression of virulence factor-encoding genes. However, a GAS strain selectively deficient in CovS phosphatase activity had a distinct transcriptome relative to that of its parental strain, indicating that both CovS kinase and phosphatase activities influence the CovR phosphorylation status. Surprisingly, compared to a serotype M3 strain, serotype M1 GAS strains had high levels of phosphorylated CovR, low transcript levels of CovR-repressed genes, and strikingly different responses to environmental cues. Moreover, the inactivation of CovS in the serotype M1 background resulted in a greater decrease in phosphorylated CovR levels and a greater increase in the transcript levels of CovR-repressed genes than did CovS inactivation in a serotype M3 strain. These data clarify the influence of CovS on the CovR phosphorylation status and provide insight into why serotype M1 GAS strains have high rates of spontaneous mutations in covS during invasive GAS infection, thus providing a link between TCS molecular function and the epidemiology of deadly bacterial infections.
GaN MSM Photodetectors With a Semi-Insulating Mg-Doped AlInN Cap Layer

We report the fabrication of GaN-based ultraviolet (UV) metal-semiconductor-metal photodetectors with a semi-insulating AlInN cap layer. It was found that we can achieve a smaller dark leakage current, a larger UV-to-visible rejection ratio, a smaller noise level, and a larger detectivity while maintaining the sharp transition by inserting the semi-insulating AlInN cap layer.
Alcohol consumption and risk of aging macula disorder in a general population: the Rotterdam Study.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the possible relationship between overall or specific alcohol consumption and risk of aging macula disorder (AMD), a synonym for age-related macular degeneration, in a general population. METHODS Alcohol consumption and risk of early or late incident AMD (iAMD) were examined among all participants in the prospective population-based Rotterdam Study, with complete data on alcohol consumption among 4229 subjects at risk of AMD. Aging macula disorder was graded according to the International Classification and Grading System for AMD by 2 trained professionals who were masked for all other determinants. We used Cox proportional hazards regression models to estimate hazard ratios and corresponding 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS During a mean follow-up period of 8.0 years, 600 cases of iAMD were identified, of which 519 were early iAMD and 81 were late iAMD. After correction for age, sex, smoking, complement factor H genotype status, and other potential confounders, we did not find an association between overall or specific alcohol consumption and development of early iAMD or dry or wet late iAMD. CONCLUSION Our findings suggest that overall or specific alcohol consumption is not a risk factor for AMD.
P o S ( M U L T I F 2 0 1 7 ) 0 1 6 Ultraviolet Background Radiation from Beyond Pluto

The famous NASA mission New Horizons has now passed well beyond its historic mapping and scientific investigation of the planet Pluto, and is headed farther out into the Kuiper belt— beyond which, New Horizons will venture into the reaches of interstellar space! On its way there, New Horizons will carry out, on 2019 January 1, an investigation of Kuiper belt object (486958) 2014 MU69. Once that solar-system object has been investigated, I am hoping to be able to use the ALICE ultraviolet spectrometer that is aboard New Horizons to carry out observations of the cosmic diffuse ultraviolet background radiation from the universe. ALICE is ideal for that purpose, first because it has wonderful 9 Å spectral resolution, but, equally importantly, because of the ideal location of the New Horizons spacecraft that carries it, which will, by that time, be more than 43.4 Astronomical Units from the sun. That extreme distance from the sun is crucial for my purposes, because the sun is the source of a very bright general background of hydrogen Lyman α radiation that scatters off of the interstellar hydrogen and helium that is flowing through the solar system—and then—unfortunately—that solar Lyman α scatters to all wavelengths in the ALICE spectrometer! We need to go far enough from the sun so that that scattered Lyman α is small compared with the cosmic background, which is composed, to some degree, of the ultraviolet light from hot O and B type stars in our Galactic neighborhood scattering off interstellar dust in our part of the Galaxy—but a second component has a different origin, of unknown provenance: possibly from the radiative decay of the dark matter that forms the bulk of the mass of our Galaxy. Whatever its origin, if that second component of the ultraviolet background should extend below the Lyman limit of 912 Å, it would likely explain the reionization of the universe that followed shortly after the recombination that took place when the universe was only 379,000 years old. Giving us clues to that possibility would be an incredibly valuable byproduct of the wonderful New Horizons voyage to, and beyond, Pluto!
Uncertainty in internal doses : using Bayes to transfer information from one worker to another

Uncertainty in estimates of internal doses to can arise for a variety of reasons, which include a lack of knowledge about assumed model parameters, uncertainty in exposure conditions, paucity of measurement data, and variability between individuals. In some cases, for example, causation or epidemiological studies, it is essential to be able to quantify this uncertainty for each individual in the study. It is often the case that some individuals within a cohort will have been subject to extensive measurements, enabling precise estimates of organ doses to be derived, while for others, the measurement data are sparse. The question is how can one make use of the measurement data on the former individuals to improve dose estimates for the latter? It will be seen that Bayesian inference provides the mechanism for doing this, since the essence of the Bayesian approach is to start with knowledge before the measurement data are known (prior knowledge), and then use the measurement data to revise it (posterior knowledge). This paper illustrates the Bayesian method by taking two such cases, who were both exposed by accidental inhalation of the same form of americium compound. Essentially, the comprehensive bioassay data available for the first worker is used to derive posterior probability distributions of absorption parameters for the americium material, which are used as prior information to improve the dose assessment for the second worker. Direct assessment of the uncertainty in the second worker’s dose, both with and without the additional information from the first worker, quantifies the improvement in dose assessment obtained.