Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clinical feasibility of duplex photoacoustic and ultrasound pulse-echo imaging using photoacoustic transmit pulses

Photoacoustic (PA) imaging is an emerging modality offering promise for cancer diagnosis, therapy planning, and monitoring response. The images show optically absorbing tissue structures based on detection of ultrasound signals after laser irradiation. For clinical use, PA imaging is best implemented with freehand pulse-echo scanning in a single device, so that PA signals may be displayed in real-time within the anatomical context. For this purpose, PA frames must be interleaved with pulse-echo frames. This is often not feasible with commercially available ultrasound systems. For clinical research purposes therefore, we developed a novel approach where both PA and pulse-echo images are generated photoacoustically. Our objective was to evaluate the feasibility of clinical imaging with this technique.
The neural basis of speech perception - a view from functional imaging

Functional imaging techniques, such as Positron Emission Tomography (PET), functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), have enabled neuroscientists to elaborate how the human brain solves the formidable problem of decoding the speech signal. In this paper I will outline the properties of primate auditory cortex, and use this as an anatomical framework to address the data from functional imaging studies of auditory processing and speech perception. I will outline how at least two different streams of processing can be seen in primary auditory cortex, and that this apparently maps onto two different ways in which the human brain processes speech. I will also address data suggesting that there are considerable hemispheric asymmetries in speech perception .
Etravirine: a good option for concomitant use with chemotherapy for Hodgkin’s lymphoma

The treatment of malignancies in HIV patients is challenged by the issue of drug–drug interactions between antiretroviral therapy and antineoplastic agents. While protease inhibitors have been shown to increase the incidence and severity of cancer therapy-related side effects, the impact of other antiretroviral agents on the tolerability and response to chemotherapy is less well documented. We report the successful use of an etravirine-based regimen in a patient treated with BEACOPP chemotherapy for advanced Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Etravirine constitutes a valuable option for concomitant use with chemotherapy due to its moderate inducing effect on drug metabolising enzymes.
A comprehensive analysis of IMD behavior in RF CMOS power amplifiers

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of nonlinear intermodulation distortion (IMD) behavior in RF CMOS power amplifiers (PAs). Separate analyses are presented for small- and large-signal operation regimes. Especially, a new, simple, large-signal behavioral IMD analysis method is presented that allows the mechanisms dominant for IMD generation to be identified and their individual contributions to be studied. By combining these analyses, typical IMD versus input power characteristics of MOSFET PAs can be predicted and understood for different classes of operation. Various measurements made on a 950-MHz RF CMOS PA are used to demonstrate typical behavior and validate the proposed theory. Prediction of IMD using a standard CMOS transistor model is also evaluated and is shown to give good agreement with the measurements.
Determination of the EC50 of levobupivacaine for femoral and sciatic perineural infusion after total knee arthroplasty.

BACKGROUND Infusion of local anaesthetic through femoral and sciatic catheters is an accepted method of providing pain relief after knee arthroplasty. However, the minimum effective concentration of perineural local anaesthetics is not known. METHODS Twenty-four patients received femoral and sciatic perineural infusions of levobupivacaine in order to prevent pain relief after total knee arthroplasty. The primary endpoint of the study was patient request for analgesic rescue for anterior or posterior knee pain within the first 36 h of perineural infusion. Treatment was determined by the method of sequential allocation, with a dosing interval of 0.002% w/v. RESULTS Thirteen patients did not require rescue analgesia for anterior knee pain and 16 patients did not require rescue analgesia for posterior knee pain. Median duration of failed blocks until rescue analgesia was 25 h (24-27 h) for the femoral block and 27 h (24-29 h) for the sciatic block. The minimum concentration at which patients did not require rescue analgesia was 0.024% for the femoral nerve and 0.014% for the sciatic nerve. Comparison of EC(50) showed that local anaesthetic requirements were significantly (P=0.03) higher by a factor of 1.25 (95% CI 1.03-1.55) for the femoral compared with the sciatic nerve. CONCLUSIONS The EC(50) for femoral perineural infusion is greater than the EC(50) for sciatic perineural infusion.
A planarian orthopedia homolog is specifically expressed in the branch region of both the mature and regenerating brain

To analyze the organization of planarian brain, a homolog of the homeobox‐containing gene Orthopedia (Otp) from planarian, Djotp, was isolated. The homeodomain of Djotp differs from mouse Otp by only two amino acids. This conservation extends to include a 12 amino acid motif downstream of the homeodomain. Whole mount in situ hybridization studies indicated that Djotp is specifically expressed in the branch structures of the normal planarian adult brain. During regeneration, Djotp is expressed in the presumptive branch region prior to branch formation. These observations implicate a role for Djotp in establishing and maintaining the identity of the planarian brain branch region. The results suggest that recruitment of Otp for its role in brain pattern formation occurred very early in evolution.
Pattern recognition for counting of bounded bar steel

Automatic Counting of the bundled bar steel is unsolved. A new segmentation method based on quasi-circular assumption and a new object recognition method based on scanning are present. Owing to the simple addition, subtraction and logic operation, these two methods have real time property. The total CPU time is less than 1 second for an 640*480 pixels image, The experiments show that the new method can segment the aggregated bars effectively, and it can be used to improve the accuracy and the speed of recognizing and countering of irregular and aggregated objects.
Comparison of Feedlot Performance and Carcass Traits of Charolais and Brahman Sired Three-Breed Cross Calves

Feedlot performance and carcass traits were compared between Charolais and Brahman sired three-breed cross calves. Data were obtained on 251 calves (127 heifers and 124 steers). All calves were placed on a self-fed finishing ration immediately after wea,ning and slaughtered when each animal attained an estimated low choice carcass grade. Feedlot performance favored calves sired by Charolais. Charolais sired calves gain . 31Ib/day more rapidly and were 91 Ib heavier at slaughter. Significant sirebreed differences were also found for carcass traits. Charolais sired calves were 391b heavier in carcass weight, had a . 07 Ib advantage in carcass weight per day of age, were lower in dressing percent by 1.2 percent, had . 15 inches less fat cover, . 33 percent less KHP fat, 1.99 square inches more REA and 2.05 percent higher estimated cutability than Brahman sired calves. Tenderness scores were similar and quite acceptable for both sirebreeds. Based on actual performance, Charolais cross calves would return $16.46 more per head above feedlot costs than Brahman cross calves.
Absence of MSY2 in Mouse Oocytes Perturbs Oocyte Growth and Maturation, RNA Stability, and the Transcriptome1

Messenger RNA is remarkably stable during oocyte growth, thus enabling mRNAs to accumulate during the growth phase and thereby provide mRNAs that support early embryonic development. MSY2, a germ cell-specific RNA-binding protein, is implicated in regulating mRNA stability. MSY2 is essential for development because female Msy2−/− mice are infertile. We describe here the characterization of Msy2−/− oocytes. Mutant oocytes grow more slowly during the first wave of folliculogenesis, and maturation to and arrest at metaphase II is severely compromised because of aberrant spindle formation and chromosome congression. Consistent with MSY2 conferring mRNA stability is that the amount of poly(A)-containing RNA is reduced by ∼25% in mutant oocytes. Stability of an exogenous mRNA injected into mutant oocytes is lower than when compared to their wild-type counterparts, and moreover, expression of wild-type MSY2 in mutant oocytes increases mRNA stability, whereas injection of a mutant form of MSY2 not capable of binding RNA does not. Transcription quiescence that normally occurs during the course of oocyte growth is not observed in mutant oocytes, and the transcriptome of mutant oocytes is markedly perturbed. These results, and those of previous studies, strongly implicate a central role of MSY2 in regulating mRNA stability. Msy2−/− oocytes exhibit numerous phenotypes including defects in oocyte growth and maturation, RNA stability, and gene expression.
Proteomics approach in classifying the biochemical basis of the anticancer activity of the new olomoucine‐derived synthetic cyclin‐dependent kinase inhibitor, bohemine

The aim of this study was to use two‐dimensional electrophoresis (2‐DE) coupled with multivariate principal component analysis (PCA) to characterize the quantitative changes in the protein composition of the CEM T‐lymphoblastic leukemia cell line after treatment with bohemine (BOH), a synthetic olomoucin‐derived cyclin‐dependent kinase inhibitor (CDKI). Cell classification, reflecting protein patterns, clearly distinguished two main groups: one group consists of 9, 12 and 24 h treated BOH cells while the second is represented by the 0 and 24 h control untreated cells and the 6 h BOH‐exposed CEM lymphoblasts. Discriminant protein spots differentially expressed in the BOH‐treated CEM cells were selected for identification by matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization‐mass spectrometry (MALDI‐MS) or electrospray ionization‐tandem MS (ESI‐MS/MS). Five of the selected protein spots were unequivocally identified as α‐enolase, triosephosphate isomerase, eukaryotic initiation factor 5A, and α‐ and β‐subunits of Rho GDP‐dissociation inhibitor 1. These proteins, all significantly downregulated in CEM T‐lymphoblast leukemia in the course of BOH treatment, are known to play an important role in cellular functions such as glycolysis, protein biosynthesis, and cytoskeleton rearrangement. These results indicate that the cellular effects of olomoucine‐derived CDKIs are not dependent on their ability to inhibit CDKs and could be mediated by several factors such as a decrease in protein synthesis and/or glycolysis which in turn diminishes the ability of cancer cells to function.
Electrophile Response Element-mediated Induction of the Cystine/Glutamate Exchange Transporter Gene Expression*

In mammalian cultured cells, the cystine/glutamate exchange transport mediated by system xc − is important to maintain intracellular GSH levels. System xc − consists of two protein components, xCT and the heavy chain of 4F2 antigen. The activity of system xc − is induced by various stimuli, including electrophilic agents like diethyl maleate. In the present study, we have investigated the mechanism of the transcriptional regulation of xCT mRNA by diethyl maleate. The xCT gene consisted of twelve exons and sequence analysis identified four electrophile response element (EpRE)-like sequences between −230 and −1 in the 5′-flanking region, designated EpRE-1 to EpRE-4. To identify sequences mediating the constitutive and induced expression of xCT, a series of 5′-deletion mutants created from the 5′-flanking region were cloned into a luciferase reproter vector and transfected into BHK21 cells. The 5′-deletion analysis revealed that the sequence between −116 and −82 is essential for the basal expression and the sequence between −226 and −116 containing EpRE-1 is essential in response to diethyl maleate. Mutational analysis demonstrated that EpRE-1 is critically involved in the response to diethyl maleate. Other stress agents like arsenite, cadmium, and hydroquinone seemed to induce system xc −activity via the same sequence. Furthermore, the experiments using the mouse embryonic fibroblasts derived from the Nrf2-deficient mice revealed that the induction of xCT gene by electrophilic agents is mediated by Nrf2. EpRE occurs in a broad spectrum of genes for the proteins that are involved in the defense against xenobiotics and regulates their expression. The present results have demonstrated that xCT is a novel member of this protein family.
Avian growth and development rates and age‐specific mortality: the roles of nest predation and adult mortality

Previous studies have shown that avian growth and development covary with juvenile mortality. Juveniles of birds under strong nest predation pressure grow rapidly, have short incubation and nestling periods, and leave the nest at low body mass. Life‐history theory predicts that parental investment increases with adult mortality rate. Thus, developmental traits that depend on the parental effort exerted (pre‐ and postnatal growth rate) should scale positively with adult mortality, in contrast to those that do not have a direct relationship with parental investment (timing of developmental events, e.g. nest leaving). I tested this prediction on a sample of 84 North American songbirds. Nestling growth rate scaled positively and incubation period duration negatively with annual adult mortality rates even when controlled for nest predation and other covariates, including phylogeny. On the contrary, neither the duration of the nestling period nor body mass at fledging showed any relationship. Proximate mechanisms generating the relationship of pre‐ and postnatal growth rates to adult mortality may include increased feeding, nest attentiveness during incubation and/or allocation of hormones, and deserve further attention.
Perventricular melody valve implantation in a 12 kg child

Transcatheter pulmonic valve implantation has emerged as a safe and effective alternative to valve surgery in patients with surgically corrected congenital heart disease. In cases where the transcatheter approach has failed, or was thought to be technically challenging, a hybrid approach to pulmonic valve implantation has been described. This approach involves a small subxyphoid incision made by the cardiac surgeon and implantation of the pulmonic valve through the appropriate delivery sheath through this incision. Here we describe a case of a successful implantation of a Melody valve in a 12 kg child with tetralogy of Fallot. To our knowledge this is the smallest child to have undergone this procedure reported. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
A Non-Invasive Urination-Desire Sensing System based on Four-Electrodes Impedance Measurement Method

For urinary incontinence persons like some of the aged, it is useful to inform them their urination desire by an attached sensing system. So far the measurement method using ultrasonic devices has been studied, but it is somewhat perplexing and expensive. Here, a non-invasive urination-desire sensing system based on four-electrodes impedance measurement method is introduced. As a result of experiment using our developed prototype instrumentation system, some relation between the urinary quantity in bladder and the measured impedance values of sensing system was shown
Short‐term combinational therapy of low‐dose estrogen with selective serotonin re‐uptake inhibitor (fluvoxamine) for oophorectomized women with hot flashes and depressive tendencies

Aim: To examine whether low‐dose and short‐term estrogen‐replacement therapy (ERT) plus selective serotonin re‐uptake inhibitor (SSRI) treatment is effective or not in the treatment of climacteric disorders, hot flashes and depressive symptoms, in oophorectomized women.
Clinical significance of Aeromonas species isolated from patients with diarrhea

A total of 248 strains of Aeromonas spp. were isolated from 3,334 human fecal specimens submitted to a state public health laboratory over a 2-year period to be cultured for enteric pathogens. Cary-Blair transport medium, blood ampicillin agar, and alkaline peptone water enrichment provided optimal recovery of Aeromonas spp. A questionnaire requesting clinical and epidemiological information was sent to physicians, who submitted stool samples for testing, with each laboratory report for 107 consecutive stool isolates of Aeromonas spp. The 56 questionnaires which were completed and returned were analyzed to determine the seasonal distribution of illness and the age and sex distribution of patients; characteristic symptoms; and predisposing factors for gastrointestinal disease caused by Aeromonas spp. It was concluded that some A. hydrophila, A. sobria, and A. caviae strains are capable of causing diarrhea and that antibiotic therapy and the drinking of untreated water are significant risk factors for susceptible hosts.
Insights from in situ analysis of TCR–pMHC recognition: response of an interaction network

Recognition of peptide presented by the major histocompatibility complex (pMHC) molecule by the T‐cell receptor (TCR) determines T‐cell selection, development, differentiation, fate, and function. Despite intensive studies on the structures, thermodynamic properties, kinetic rates, and affinities of TCR–pMHC interactions in the past two decades, questions regarding the functional outcome of these interactions, i.e. how binding of the αβ TCR heterodimer with distinct pMHCs triggers different intracellular signals via the adjacent CD3 components to produce different T‐cell responses, remain unclear. Most kinetic measurements have used surface plasmon resonance, a three‐dimensional (3D) technique in which fluid‐phase receptors and ligands are removed from their cellular environment. Recently, several two‐dimensional (2D) techniques have been developed to analyze molecular interactions on live T cells with pMHCs presented by surrogate antigen‐presenting cells or supported planar lipid bilayers. The insights from these in situ analyses have provided a sharp contrast of the 2D network biology approach to the 3D reductionist approach and prompted rethinking of our current views of T‐cell triggering. Based on these insights, we propose a mechanochemical coupled triggering hypothesis to explain why the in situ kinetic parameters differ so much from their 3D counterparts, yet correlate so much better with T‐cell functional responses.
Technical Efficiency Analysis of Cambodian Households Rice Production

The aims of this study are to measure the technical efficiency (TE) of Cambodian householdâ€™s rice production and its main influencing factors using SFA model. Primary data was collected from 301 rice farmers in three selected districts of Battambang by structured questionnaires. The empirical results indicated the mean TE is 0.34 which means famers produce 34% of rice at best practice at the current level of production inputs and technology, reveling that rice output has the potential of being increased further by 66% at the same level of inputs if farmers had been technically efficient. Evidence also reveals that land, fertilizer, and pesticide are the major influencing input factors of householdâ€™s rice production. However, between 2013 and 2015 TE recorded -14.3% decline rate due to highly affected of drought during dry season of 2015.
Global overview of Imitation Learning

Imitation Learning is a sequential task where the learner tries to mimic an expert's action in order to achieve the best performance. Several algorithms have been proposed recently for this task. In this project, we aim at proposing a wide review of these algorithms, presenting their main features and comparing them on their performance and their regret bounds.
SNP Genotyping Using the Sequenom MassARRAY iPLEX Platform

The method for SNP genotyping described in this unit is based on the commercially available Sequenom MassARRAY platform. The assay consists of an initial locus‐specific PCR reaction, followed by single base extension using mass‐modified dideoxynucleotide terminators of an oligonucleotide primer which anneals immediately upstream of the polymorphic site of interest. Using MALDI‐TOF mass spectrometry, the distinct mass of the extended primer identifies the SNP allele. Curr. Protoc. Hum. Genet. 60:2.12. 1‐2.12. 18. © 2009 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Discrimination of Oriental and Euramerican scripts using fractal feature

This paper presents a new approach based on modified fractal signatures (MFS) and modified fractal features (MFF)for the discrimination of Oriental and Euramerican scripts. These methods will be useful in the measurement and classification of patterns. MFS do not need iterative breaking or merging, and can divide a document into blocks in a single step. MFF is also used in the identification and classification of a selected set of texture images with good results. It is anticipated that this approach could be widely used to process various types of documents, even including some with high geometrical complexity.
International Accounting in Light of Enron: Evidence from Empirical Research

Recent accounting scandals have led some to argue that US reporting is fundamentally flawed and that other systems might be preferable. However, the arguments are often based on anecdotes and conjecture. In this paper, my goal is to bring insights from empirical research to bear on the issue of the relative effectiveness of US reporting. I argue that research evidence on cross country differences in accounting suggests that US reporting compares well with other countries' and that evidence on cross listing indicates that US accounting has a level of credibility not enjoyed by most other systems. Further, there is relatively little systematic evidence of deterioration in US accounting over time. Subject to the natural caveats with empirical research, the evidence suggests that US accounting has performed relatively well historically. While there are important lessons to be learned from experience with recent scandals, I argue that the empirical evidence supports the conclusion that changes should be incremental rather than wholesale. Further, the ongoing response to the scandals may actually strengthen the US system relative to other countries.
Structural Glycomics – Molecular Details of Protein-Carbohydrate Interactions and their Prediction

Protein-ligand docking is an essential technique in computer-aided drug design. While generally available docking programs work well for most drug classes, carbohydrates and carbohydrate-like compounds are often problematic for docking. We discuss the peculiarities of protein-carbohydrate interactions and their impact on protein-carbohydrate docking and review the state of the art in docking of carbohydrates to proteins. Finally, we give an overview of carbohydrate docking studies and present a new docking method specifically designed to handle docking of carbohydrate-like compounds. BALLDock/SLICK combines an evolutionary docking algorithm for flexible ligands and flexible receptor side chains with carbohydrate-specific scoring and energy functions. The scoring function has been designed to identify accurate ligand poses, while the energy function yields accurate estimates of the binding free energies of these poses. On a test set of known protein-sugar complexes we demonstrate the ability of the approach to generate correct poses for almost all of the structures and achieve very low mean errors for the predicted binding free energies. 101 http://www.beilstein-institut.de/glycobioinf2009/Proceedings/Kohlbacher/Kohlbacher.pdf Glyco-Bioinformatics – Bits ‘n’ Bytes of Sugars October 4 – 8, 2009, Potsdam, Germany