Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Homomorphic wavelet thresholding technique for denoising medical ultrasound images

A novel homomorphic wavelet thresholding technique for reducing speckle noise in medical ultrasound images is presented. First, we show that the speckle wavelet coefficients in the logarithmically transformed ultrasound images are best described by the Nakagami family of distributions. By exploiting this speckle model and the Laplacian signal prior, a closed form, data-driven, and spatially adaptive threshold is derived in the Bayesian framework. The spatial adaptivity allows the additional information of the image (such as identification of homogeneous or heterogeneous regions) to be incorporated into the algorithm. Further, the threshold has been extended to the redundant wavelet representation, which yields better results than the decimated wavelet transform. Experimental results demonstrate the improved performance of the proposed method over other well-known speckle reduction filters. The application of the proposed method to a realistic US test image shows that the new technique, named HomoGenThresh, outperforms the best wavelet-based denoising method reported in [1] by more than 1.6 dB, Lee filter by 3.6 dB, Kaun filter by 3.1 dB and band-adaptive soft thresholding [2] by 2.1 dB at an input signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 13.6 dB.
Matrix‐assisted laser desorption mass spectrometric peptide mapping of proteins separated by two‐dimensional gel electrophoresis: Determination of phosphorylation in synapsin I

A technique is described for the rapid, sensitive analysis of posttranslational modifications of proteins that have been separated by 2‐dimensional electrophoresis and blotted onto a membrane with a cationic surface. The isolated protein spots visualized by reverse staining of the blotting membrane are excised, washed, and subjected to chemical (cyanogen bromide) and/or enzymatic (endoproteinase Lys‐C) degradation directly on the membrane. The resulting mixture of peptide fragments is extracted from the membrane into a solution that is compatible with matrix‐assisted laser desorption mass spectrometric analysis and analyzed without fractionation. Relatively accurate (± 1 Da) mass determination of these peptide fragments provides a facile and sensitive means for detecting the presence of modifications and for correlating such modifications with the differential mobility of different isoforms of a given protein during 2‐dimensional electrophoresis. The technique is applied to the determination of sites of phosphorylation in synapsins Ia and Ib, neuronal phosphoproteins that are believed to function in the regulation of neurotransmitter release and are substrates for cAMP and Ca2+/calmodulin‐dependent protein kinases, which appear to control their biological activity.
Decreased proliferation of hippocampal progenitor cells in APPswe/PS1dE9 transgenic mice

A recent hypothesis suggests that there is impaired hippocampal neurogenesis in Alzheimer's disease. Here we examined the proliferation, the first stage in neurogenesis, of hippocampal progenitor cells in amyloid precursor protein with Swedish mutation and presenilin-1 with deletion of exon 9 (APPswe/PS1dE9) transgenic mice. Compared with age-matched wild-type mice, transgenic mice at 5 months of age with low amyloid &bgr;-peptide (A&bgr;) levels and subtle A&bgr; deposits showed normal proliferation of hippocampal progenitor cells; however, transgenic mice at 9 months of age with high A&bgr; levels and numerous A&bgr; deposits showed decreased proliferation of these cells. The number of proliferating cells in male transgenic mice was indistinguishable from that in female transgenic mice. These results indicate that neurogenesis is decreased with degrees of A&bgr; pathology, and that there is no gender difference in their proliferation in APPswe/PS1dE9 transgenic mice.
Inhibition of Streptococcus mutans biofilm accumulation and polysaccharide production by apigenin and tt-farnesol.

OBJECTIVES Apigenin is a potent inhibitor of glucosyltransferases and tt-farnesol affects the membrane integrity of Streptococcus mutans. We investigated the influence of apigenin and tt-farnesol, alone and in combination, on the accumulation, polysaccharide composition and viability of S. mutans UA159 biofilms. METHODS Initially, biofilms were grown for 54 h; then, the early-formed biofilms were treated for 1 min twice daily with one of the following: (i). 1.33 mM tt-farnesol; (ii). 1.33 mM apigenin; (iii). apigenin + tt-farnesol (1.33 mM each); (iv). vehicle control (20% ethanol with 0.75% dimethyl sulphoxide); (v). 0.12% chlorhexidine (1.33 mM); or (vi). physiological saline (145 mM NaCl). The procedure was repeated at biofilm ages of 78 and 102 h, and biofilms were harvested at 126 h. The dry weight, protein concentration, number of cfu, and polysaccharide composition per biofilm were determined. RESULTS The dry weights of the biofilms treated with the test agents were significantly less (30-50%) than those treated with vehicle control (P < 0.05). Biofilms treated with the test agents also resulted in lower amounts of extracellular alkali-soluble glucans, intracellular iodophilic polysaccharides and, to a lesser extent, fructans. The fructosyltransferase activity was affected only by apigenin and apigenin + tt-farnesol. The recoverable viable counts of S. mutans were slightly lower (0.5 to 1 log10 decrease in cfu/biofilm) after apigenin and tt-farnesol treatments compared with the vehicle control. Chlorhexidine displayed potent bactericidal activity, and virtually halted the further accumulation of early-formed (54 h old) biofilms. CONCLUSIONS Apigenin and tt-farnesol affected the accumulation and polysaccharide content of S. mutans biofilms without major impact on the bacterial viability.
The Vigilance, Orienting, and Executive Attention Networks in 4-Year-Old Children

The present study examined the development of lower and higher order forms of attention during the preschool years. Lower forms of attention were assessed with tasks that primarily engaged the attention functions of vigilance and orienting. Higher, executive forms of attention were assessed with tasks that involved inhibition and working memory. The findings revealed that performance improved significantly with age on measures of inhibition and orienting. Results are discussed in the context of the development of attentional networks.
DIETARY HARDNESS, LOADING BEHAVIOR, AND THE EVOLUTION OF SKULL FORM IN BATS

The morphology and biomechanics of the vertebrate skull reflect the physical properties of diet and behaviors used in food acquisition and processing. We use phyllostomid bats, the most diverse mammalian dietary radiation, to investigate if and how changes in dietary hardness and loading behaviors during feeding shaped the evolution of skull morphology and biomechanics. When selective regimes of food hardness are modeled, we found that species consuming harder foods have evolved skull shapes that allow for more efficient bite force production. These species have shorter skulls and a greater reliance on the temporalis muscle, both of which contribute to a higher mechanical advantage at an intermediate gape angle. The evolution of cranial morphology and biomechanics also appears to be related to loading behaviors. Evolutionary changes in skull shape and the relative role of the temporalis and masseter in generating bite force are correlated with changes in the use of torsional and bending loading behaviors. Functional equivalence appears to have evolved independently among three lineages of species that feed on liquids and are not obviously morphologically similar. These trends in cranial morphology and biomechanics provide insights into behavioral and ecological factors shaping the skull of a trophically diverse clade of mammals.
Advanced Modeling of Crosstalk Between an Unshielded Twisted Pair Cable and an Unshielded Wire Above a Ground Plane

This paper deals with the modeling issue of the near-field coupling of an unshielded twisted-wire pair on a nearby single wire. It introduces a discussion about the appropriate modeling method for predicting the induced current on the victim wire and proposes a cost-effective approach to deal with either ideal or nonideal twisted pair. A nonideal twisted pair consists of a twisted pair whose ends are left untwisted for connection to equipment. We show that the current distribution may follow a specific spatial distribution on the nearby wire. These coupling effects are evidenced through the analysis of an equivalent circuit under the low-frequency assumption. These behaviors are illustrated for the case of both an ideal twisted pair and a nonideal twisted pair. For the latter, the ideal bifilar helix may be modeled by a simple equivalent model bifilar cable.
Memory liabilities associated with hypnosis: does low hypnotizability confer immunity?

Retrospective analyses of data from the authors' program of research on hypnosis and memory are presented, with special emphasis on effects observed among low hypnotizable individuals. In Experiment 1, participants completed seven forced-recall trials in an attempt to remember a series of pictures that had been shown 1 week earlier. For half the participants, the middle five trials were carried out using hypnotic procedures; the remaining participants performed all recall attempts in a motivated waking condition. Hypnosis failed to enhance correct recall for either high or low hypnotizable participants beyond the hypermnesia and reminiscence effects associated with repeated retrieval attempts over time. However, whereas high hypnotizable participants produced substantial numbers of confident recall errors (i.e., intrusions) independent of the use of hypnosis, low hypnotizable participants exposed to hypnotic procedures reported significantly more intrusions than their counterparts in the waking condition. In Experiment 2, participants were asked to identify whether specific recollections, reported during two forced-interrogatory recall tests conducted 1 week earlier, had originated in the first or second of those tests. A general bias to misattribute previously reported recollections to the first of two recall occasions was observed; however, the effect was greatest among low hypnotizables who had undergone the second recall attempt in hypnosis. The findings imply that highly hypnotizable individuals are not unique in their vulnerability to distortions of memory induced by hypnotic techniques. Individuals of lesser hypnotic capacity also manifest memory alterations when exposed to such procedures.
Selective photodynamic effects of the new photosensitizer ATX-S10(Na) on choroidal neovascularization in monkeys.

OBJECTIVE To determine the optimal treatment variables for photodynamic therapy (PDT) with new photosensitizer ATX-S10(Na) (13,17-bis[1-carboxypropionyl] carbamoylethyl-8-etheny-2-hydroxy-3-hydroxyiminoethyliden e-2,7,12,18-tetranethyl 6 porphyrin sodium) to induce selective occlusion of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in nonhuman primate eyes. METHODS Experimental CNV was induced in monkey eyes by laser photocoagulation, and PDT was performed in neovascularized and healthy eyes with different treatment variables. At 0 to 150 minutes after 4-, 8-, and 12-mg/kg of body weight intravenous injections of ATX-S10(Na), a diode laser was irradiated at the dose of 1 to 127 J/cm2 (wavelength, 670 nm). Vascular occlusion induced by PDT was evaluated using fluorescein angiography, indocyanine green angiography, and histological examination at 1 day to 4 weeks after irradiation. RESULTS Selective occlusion of CNV without damage to healthy retinal and choroidal capillaries was achieved in the following conditions: 30 to 74 J/cm2 irradiation at 30 to 74 minutes after the 8-mg/kg injection, and 1 to 29 J/cm2 irradiation at 30 to 74 minutes or 30 to 74 J/cm2 irradiation at 75 to 150 minutes after the 12-mg/kg dye injection. Regrowth of CNV often occurred when the retina was heavily injured by excessive PDT. CONCLUSION By using optimal treatment variables, PDT using ATX-S10(Na) induces selective occlusion of CNV in nonhuman primate eyes, providing the possibility of therapeutic application to the clinical practice. CLINICAL RELEVANCE Occlusion of CNV without direct damage to the sensory retina is useful to preserve visual acuity in patients with exudative age-related macular degeneration. A clinical trial of PDT using ATX-S10(Na) is desirable.
EVOLUTION OF SEX CHROMOSOMES IN MAMMALS I

It appears that despite diversity, all mammals are essentially endowed with the same genome, in that most of the gene loci contained in the gehome of one species are included in that of the other species. The comparison of amino acid sequences of peptide chains produced by a set of duplicated genes illustrates this point. For instance, mammalian hemoglobin is a symmetrical tetramer made of an alpha chain having 141 amino acid residues and beta-like chains having 145 or 146 residues. The very fact that the human alpha chain more closely resembles the mouse alpha chain (17 differences) and the horse alpha chain (18 differences) than the human beta chain (84 differences) reveals that a duplication which produced the alphaand beta-chain genes occurred before the emergence of the first mammals (see summary in Atlas of Protein Sequence and Structure, 1966). Similarly, mammalian antibody molecules are composed of two classes of subunits; light chains and heavy chains. Man, mice, and other mammals have duplicated gene loci for kappa and lambda light chains, each having about 210 amino acid residues. Here again the similarity between the amino acid sequence of human kappa and mouse kappa is greater than between human kappa and lambda [Putnam et al. (92)]. There is little doubt that when the primordial mammal first emerged on this earth, the duplicated gene loci for immunoglobulin light chains were already in evidence. The above implies the sameness in genome size of diverse mammalian species. Indeed, the amount of DNA contained in the diploid nucleus is about 7.0 × 10-° mg in more than 15 species of placental mammals ubjected to measurement [Mandel et al. (61) ; Atkin et al. (1)]. While the genome size remained constant during extensive speeiation of placental mammals, surviving members of this infraelass display chromosome constitutions of great variety. The diploid number ranges from a high of 84 in the black rhinoceros [Hungerford & Snyder (47)] to a low of in two species of rodents (Matthey (63) ; Ohno et al. (79)]. Nothing acrocentric chromosomes are found in the mouse (Mus m,tsculus, 2n=40,), and only metacentrics in the chinchilla (Chinchilla lanlger, 2n=64). On the surface, the enormous array of karyotypes seems to reflect the extent to 1 This work was supported by a grant CA-05138 from the National Cancer In-
Metallization and incomplete melting of a semiconductor surface at high temperature.

We present a first microscopic study of the state of a semiconductor surface, clean Ge(111), close to the bulk melting temperature. Both electronic states and ionic motion are fully treated via first-principles molecular dynamics. Results indicate a clear dynamical disordering, confined, however, to the first atomic bilayer. This region acquires a liquidlike diffusion, and is metallic. Lack of melting of the second and deeper bilayers, found to be in good quantitative agreement with recent x-ray data, indicates an incomplete wetting of the semiconducting solid by its own metallic melt. Previously conflicting data on Ge(111) are also reconciled within this picture.
Individual Embryonic Fibroblasts Express Multiple

The a chain of the vitronectin receptor, av, has been found in association with the integrin subunits 81, B3, or 85 on different cell types. We show here that cultured embryonic fibroblasts simultaneously display ~ 8 3 , avB1, and (YV in association with two other subunits, one of which is probably 85. Polymerase chain reaction analysis of single cells isolated by micromanipulation identified mRNA for av, 81, 83, and 85 in six of eight clones. Immunoprecipitation of iodinated cell surface proteins with a monoclonal antibody to av indicated that the relative proportions of the different B chains in association with av varied, particularly between two different cell lines. The cytokines platelet-derived growth factor, transforming growth factor 81, and tumor necrosis factor a did not appear to alter this ratio although tumor necrosis factor a increased the surface expression of the crv-associated integrins; but overnight culture in basic fibroblast growth factor caused a lower expression of avbl and av85 with no reduction in av83 expression. When the cell cultures were grown to complete confluence, surface expression of 83 was abolished, and the expression of an unknown 8 chain (Bu) became more prominent. This effect was not overcome by culturing confluent cells with basic fibroblast growth factor. Affinity column chromatography showed that avB5 bound to vitronectin but ava l did not, whereas avB1 but not av85 bound to fibronectin. These results suggest that, on individual cells, the subunits found in association with av may vary according to the proliferative capacity of the cell and that the promiscuous 83 subunit is progressively replaced by subunits of individual ligand specificity.
Proposal for the recognition of minimally differentiated acute myeloid leukaemia (AML‐MO)

Summary. We describe a form of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), designated AML‐MO, with minimal myeloid differentiation, not included previously in the FAB classification. AML‐MO cannot be diagnosed on morphological grounds alone as the blast cells are large and agranular, sometimes resembling L2 or, rarely, L1 lymphoblasts, and should be identified by the following features: negative myeloperoxidase (MPO) and Sudan Black B reaction (or positive in less than 3% of blasts), negative B and T lineage markers and expression of myeloid antigens recognized by at least one monoclonal antibody, CD13 or CD33. Other myeloid markers are also often positive and these include CDllb and the enzyme MPO demonstrated by immunocytochemistry and or electron microscopy analysis. The findings in a group of 10 cases satisfying the criteria for AML‐MO are described. AML‐MO represents 2–3% of all cases of AML and 1–1·5% of all acute leukaemias. Its clinical and biological significance is not yet apparent but its identification in a larger number of cases may achieve this aim.
Alcohol use in early adolescence: the effect of changes in risk taking, perceived harm and friends' alcohol use.

OBJECTIVE Friends' substance use, sensation seeking and low perceived harm are well-established risk factors for substance use, but they are often treated as stable factors that affect adolescents' likelihood of substance use. This study instead explores the effects of changes in risk factors for individual adolescents. METHOD Participants in this study were 1,065 male and female students. The students were in sixth or seventh grade at the initial survey and provided survey data on three additional occasions over a period of 2 years. Random-coefficient models were used to assess the intraindividual variability of friends' alcohol use, perceived harm, and risk taking and their effect on alcohol use. RESULTS As expected, the overall number of alcohol-using friends is correlated with a student's own alcohol use. In addition, there is a dynamic relationship within student; as friends' alcohol use changes over time, it is accompanied by parallel changes in alcohol use by the individual. Two moderating variables of the effect of friends' use of alcohol were validated: perceived harm of alcohol use and risk taking. The effect of increased exposure to alcohol-using friends is more robust during times when an adolescent also has become less likely to perceive the harmful effects of alcohol use or when an adolescent indicates increased interest in risk-taking behavior. CONCLUSIONS Although friends' use of alcohol is a salient predictor of an adolescent's own use of alcohol, some types of students are more likely than others to be influenced by friends' behavior, In particular, students' perception of harm and predisposition to risk taking are important moderators of the effect of friends' influence.
Subject Librarians' Perceptions of Institutional Repositories as an Information Resource

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on a research project aimed at gaining an understanding of subject librarians' perceptions and promotion of institutional repositories as an information resource for their clients.Design/methodology/approach – The researchers used the five attributes of innovations and the change agent concept, both drawn from Rogers' diffusion of innovations theory, as the basis of semi‐structured interviews with nine librarians, spread equally across the humanities, social sciences, and sciences at three universities.Findings – The researchers found that subject librarians have varying levels of knowledge about institutional repositories as an information resource and hold both positive and negative perceptions. The librarians perceived institutional repositories to be still underdeveloped, with greatest value for humanities clients and least value for science clients, offering little value to undergraduates, but a good resource for accessing theses.Research limitations/i.
Probabilistic clustering algorithms for fuzzy rules decomposition

The fuzzy c-means (FCM) clustering algorithm is the best known and used method in fuzzy clustering and is generally applied to well defined set of data. In this paper a generalized Probabilistic fuzzy c-means (FCM) algorithm is proposed and applied to clustering fuzzy sets. This technique leads to a fuzzy partition of the fuzzy rules, one for each cluster, which corresponds to a new set of fuzzy sub-systems. When applied to the clustering of a flat fuzzy system results a set of decomposed sub-systems that will be conveniently linked into a Parallel Collaborative Structures.
Immunological perspective of self versus tumor antigens: insights from the RIP‐gp model

Summary: Self‐reactive T cells in the body are controlled by mechanisms of peripheral tolerance that limit their activation and induction of immune pathology. Our understanding of these mechanisms has been advanced by the use of tissue‐specific promoters to express neo‐self‐antigens. Here, we present findings using the RIP‐gp (rat insulin promoter‐glycoprotein) transgenic mouse, which expresses the lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus glycoprotein (LCMV‐gp) specifically in the pancreatic β islet cells. T cells responsive to this antigen remain ignorant of the LCMV‐gp expressed by the islets, and breaking tolerance is dependent upon the maturation status of antigen‐presenting cells, the avidity of the T‐cell receptor ligation, and the level of major histocompatibility complex expression in the pancreas. Furthermore, decreased activity of Casitas B‐lineage lymphoma b, a negative regulator of T‐cell receptor signaling, can allow recognition and destruction of the pancreatic islets. This review discusses the roles of these factors in the context of anti‐tissue responses, both in the setting of autoimmunity and in anti‐tumor immunity.