Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Automatical Segmentation Method for Brain MR Images

Brain magnetic resonance (MR) images have been widely used for analyzing brain diseases. However, due to the existence of noise and intensity inhomogeneity, many segmentation methods are hard to find accurate resuslts. This paper presents a novel variational framework for the registration, segmentation and bias estimation simultaneously. We first presented an improved segmentation model by using local region information, which can estimate the bias field meanwhile segmenting images. Then, we defined a coupled term to combine the segmentation and an improved registration method. The registration term can provide shape information as a prior to guide the segmentation and the segmentation term can provide the edge information to guide the registration. The segmentation results proved that the proposed method can obtain more accurate results.
Comet assay in genetic ecotoxicology: A review

The Comet assay, also called the single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE) assay or microgel electrophoresis (MGE) assay, primarily measures DNA strand breakage in single cells. Since the protocol was published by Singh et al. [1988], its use has increased in different topic areas: clinical applications, human monitoring, radiation biology, genetic toxicology, and genetic ecotoxicology. This study is a review of the investigations that have involved the alkaline version of the Comet assay in genetic ecotoxicology. It focuses mainly on the type of organisms (plants, worms, molluscs, fish, amphibians, and mammalians) but also on the type of cells that have been used for ecotoxicological studies. In the 23 papers published since 1993 and presented here, the original test procedure may have been slightly modified according to the cell type. In vitro and in vivo experiments as well as in situ studies have been carried out in various environments (water, soil, and air). Although the Comet assay is able to detect genotoxic effects of chemical and physical agents, only chemical substances and environmental complex mixtures will be considered in this review. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 34:246–255, 1999 © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Modelling and verifying dynamic access control policies using knowledge-based model checking

This thesis advances the modelling and verification of access control policies by using automated knowledge-based symbolic model checking techniques. The key contributions of this thesis are threefold: firstly, a modelling language that expresses dynamic access control policies with compound actions that update multiple variables; secondly, a knowledge-based verification algorithm that verifies properties over an access control policy that has compound actions; and finally, an automated tool, called X-Policy, which implements the algorithm. This research enables us to model and verify access control policies for web-based collaborative systems. We model and analyse a number of conference management systems and their security properties. We propose the appropriate modifications to rectify the policies when possible. Ultimately, this research will allow us to model and verify more systems and help avoid the current situation.
Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Isolated from Multiple Sclerosis Patients have Distinct Gene Expression Profile and Decreased Suppressive Function Compared with Healthy Counterparts

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease of the central nervous system, due to an immune reaction against myelin proteins. Multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) present immunosuppressive effects and have been used for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. In our study, gene expression profile and in vitro immunomodulatory function tests were used to compare bone marrow-derived MSCs obtained from MS patients, at pre- and postautologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT) with those from healthy donors. Patient MSCs comparatively exhibited i) senescence in culture; ii) similar osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation potential; iii) decreased expression of CD105, CD73, CD44, and HLA-A/B/C molecules; iv) distinct transcription at pre-AHSCT compared with control MSCs, yielding 618 differentially expressed genes, including the downregulation of TGFB1 and HGF genes and modulation of the FGF and HGF signaling pathways; v) reduced antiproliferative effects when pre-AHSCT MSCs were cocultured with allogeneic T-lymphocytes; vi) decreased secretion of IL-10 and TGF-β in supernatants of both cocultures (pre- and post-AHSCT MSCs); and vii) similar percentages of regulatory cells recovered after MSC cocultures. The transcriptional profile of patient MSCs isolated 6 months posttransplantation was closer to pre-AHSCT samples than from healthy MSCs. Considering that patient MSCs exhibited phenotypic changes, distinct transcriptional profile and functional defects implicated in MSC immunomodulatory and immunosuppressive activity, we suggest that further MS clinical studies should be conducted using allogeneic bone marrow MSCs derived from healthy donors. We also demonstrated that treatment of MS patients with AHSCT does not reverse the transcriptional and functional alterations observed in patient MSCs.
The effects of hands-on occupation versus demonstration on children's recall memory.

OBJECTIVE Hands-on learning has been an important aspect of the profession of occupational therapy since its founding. The purpose of this study was to determine whether children engaged in hands-on learning would be able to recall more of the steps and more of the correct order of the steps of an occupation than children engaged in a demonstration teaching method. METHOD After being randomly assigned, 73 healthy third-graders (42 girls and 31 boys) either participated in making a model of a volcano or observed the making of a model of a volcano. Following task completion, both groups were asked to recall and state as many of the 41 syntactical units as possible in their proper order. The children's responses were audiotaped and scored in a blind fashion according to predetermined criteria. Interrater reliability was excellent. RESULTS A t-test revealed a significant difference between conditions in terms of free recall scores, with children in the hands-on condition having a greater recall score, t (71) = 2.63, p < . 005. The effect size d equaled . 62. A MannWhitney U Test revealed no significant difference between conditions in terms of remembering the steps in proper order (the lack of a significant difference may have been due to a problem of measurement). CONCLUSION The results of this study demonstrated that participants were able to recall more information when engaged in a hands-on teaching method as compared with a demonstration method. It is suggested that the learning advantages of hands-on occupation are related to the enhanced sensory/perceptual experiences and the feelings of success that are characteristic of hands-on learning, as opposed to passive forms of learning.
WWOX Drives T Leukemia Cell Maturation via IκBα/WWOX/ERK Signal Pathway

Forced differentiation therapy has been shown to be effective in suppressing promyelocytic leukemia cell growth and other types of cancer cells in patients. A combination of calcium ionophore and phorbol ester is effective in inducing terminal maturation of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL), in which it requires the signaling of IκBα/WWOX/ERK. While WWOX is generally regarded as a tumor suppressor, this editorial view addresses the critical role of WWOX phosphorylation at Ser14 and de-phosphorylation at Tyr33 that drives T-ALL maturation.
Integration of waveguides and photodetectors in SiGe for 1.3 /spl mu/m operation

The integration of single-mode rib waveguides and photodetectors in silicon using MBE-grown SiGe-layers is reported. Short photodetectors exhibit dark currents below 200 nA at 7 V reverse bias. For the fiber-waveguide-detector coupling an overall quantum efficiency of 11% has been achieved at 7 V reverse bias for /spl lambda/=1.3 /spl mu/m. The maximum bandwidth is 2 GHz. <<ETX>>
Global left ventricular longitudinal systolic strain as a major predictor of cardiovascular events in patients with atrial fibrillation

Objective Although global left ventricular longitudinal systolic strain (GLS) is a sensitive measure of left ventricular mechanics, its relationship with adverse cardiovascular (CV) events in atrial fibrillation (AF) has not been evaluated. This study sought to examine the ability of GLS in predicting CV events in AF. Design Observational cohort study. Setting Department of cardiology in a university hospital. Patients 196 persistent AF patients referred for echocardiographic examination. Main outcome measures The risk of GLS measured by index beat method for CV events was assessed by Cox proportional hazards analyses. CV events were defined as CV death, non-fatal stroke and hospitalisation for heart failure. Results There were 19 CV deaths, 12 non-fatal stroke and 28 hospitalisations for heart failure during an average follow-up of 21±10 months. Multivariate analysis showed worsening GLS (HR 1.121; 95% CI 1.023 to 1.228, p=0.014) was independently associated with increased CV events. In direct comparison, GLS outperformed left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and systolic mitral annulus velocity (Sa) in predicting adverse CV events both in univariate and multivariate models (p≤0.043). Besides, the addition of GLS to a Cox model containing chronic heart failure, hypertension, age ≥75 years, diabetes, prior stroke score, estimated glomerular filtration rate, LVEF and Sa provided an additional benefit in the prediction of adverse CV events (p=0.022). Conclusions GLS was a major parameter and stronger than LVEF and Sa in predicting adverse CV events and could offer an additional prognostic benefit over conventional clinical and echocardiographic systolic parameters in AF.
Measuring Critical Success Factors in ERP Projects - Results from a Case Study in a SME

Over the past decade many organizations are increasingly concerned with the implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. This counts for both large and small and medium sized companies. Implementation can be considered to be a process of change influenced by different so-called critical success factors (CSF) of type organizational, technological and human. This paper reports on the development of a measurement approach for managing CSF in an ERP implementation project in a small and medium sized company (SME). Critical success factors are being derived from project goals and subsequently measured in this project to monitor and control the implementation project.
Radiologic-pathologic correlation : Intracranial chondroma

A 42-year-old woman had a change in the character of her migraine headaches. Her usual pattern consisted of throbbing frontoparietal headaches that occurred at biweekly intervals for many years. The new headaches had begun several months before and she described them as “ice pick” headaches occurring three to four times per day in the right frontoparietal region. She also experienced the new onset of light scintillations in her left eye and an intermittent feeling of a “bandlike” tightness around her head. The patient had no history of seizures and no focal neurologic symptoms. Findings of neurologic and general physical examinations were normal. Laboratory investigations revealed a mild irondeficiency anemia that responded to iron therapy.
Poly-Si Based Two-Axis Differential Capacitive-Sensing Accelerometer

This paper reports the design and implementation of a two-axis capacitive-type accelerometer using well-known two poly-Si processes. The accelerometer design consists of a pendulum proof-mass (bulk Si), a gimbal-spring (poly-Si film), and vertical-comb sensing electrodes. This design has three merits: 1) pendulum proof-mass to produce torque by in-plane acceleration; 2) high-aspect-ratio-micromachined (HARM) gimbal-springs enable the detection of two-axis accelerations; and 3) vertical-combs of different vertical positions enable the differential sensing electrodes design to detect the angular motion. In short, this paper exploits the vertical-comb electrodes for differential capacitive sensing to detect the two-axis in-plane accelerations. Measurement results show that the sensitivities (nonlinearity) of etch direction are 17.87 mV/G (2.65%) of X-axis, and 16.54 mV/G (2.71%) of Y-axis in the excitation range of 0.6~2 G. Due to the HARM gimbal-spring design, the cross axis sensitivity introduced by the Z-axis excitation is less than 0.3% for both X-axis and Y-axis sensing. However, the cross-axis error between the X-axis and the Y-axis sensing elements still need to be improved.
Continuum versus discrete model: a comparison for multicellular tumour spheroids

We study multicellular tumour spheroids with a continuum model based on partial differential equations (PDEs). The model includes viable and necrotic cell densities, as well as oxygen and glucose concentrations. Viable cells consume nutrients and become necrotic below critical nutrient concentrations. Proliferation of viable cells is contact-inhibited if the total cellular density locally exceeds volume carrying capacity. The model is discussed under the assumption of spherical symmetry. Unknown model parameters are determined by simultaneously fitting the cell number to several experimental growth curves for different nutrient concentrations. The outcome of the PDE model is compared with an analogous off-lattice agent-based model for tumour growth. It turns out that the numerically more efficient PDE model suffices to explain the macroscopic growth data. As in the agent-based model, we find that the experimental growth curves are only reproduced when a necrotic core develops. However, evaluation of morphometric properties yields differences between the models and the experiment.
Organ-specific inhibition of the in vitro migration of leucocytes in human glomerulonephritis.

The in vitro reactivity of peripheral leucocytes to renal parenchymatous homogenate is examined in 18 normal persons and 34 patients with nephropathia by means of a capillary tube migration technique. In patients with active glomerulonephritis the migration is inhibited if the culture medium contains a homogenate of fetal kidney. A similar inhibition is not seen with leucocytes from normal persons or patients with terminal nephropathy or pyelonephritis. In brucella hypersensitivity a specific, antigen-induced inhibition of the in vitro migration of peripheral human leucocytes has been shown, in the same experimental system, to be a parameter of cellular hypersensitivity. The reactivity demonstrated in the present study may thus indicate that there exists in active glomerulonephritis a state of organ-specific hypersensitivity of the cellular type directed to antigenic compounds in normal renal parenchyma.
A role of the mitotic spindle checkpoint in the cellular response to DNA replication stress

Replication stress is a frequent and early event during tumorigenesis. Whereas the cellular responses to a persistent block of replication fork progression have been extensively studied, relatively little is known about how cells respond to low‐intensity replication stress. However, transient replication fork perturbations are likely to occur even more frequently in tumor cells than a permanent replication arrest. We report here that transient, low intensity replication stress leads to a rapid activation of the DNA replication checkpoint but to a significantly delayed apoptotic response in a small but significant number of cells. This late apoptotic response was independent of p53 and we found evidence for cell death during mitosis in a proportion of cells. To further explore the role of p53 in the response to replication stress, we analyzed mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) deficient of p53 in comparison to wild‐type or p63‐ or p73‐deficient MEFs. We detected a significant increase of apoptosis and morphological signs of failed mitosis such as multinucleation in p53‐deficient MEFs following replication stress, but not in wild‐type or p63‐ or p73‐deficient cells. Multinucleated p53‐deficient MEFs frequently retained cyclin B1 expression indicating a persistently activated mitotic spindle checkpoint. Collectively, our results suggest that the cellular response to replication stress involves the mitotic spindle checkpoint in a proportion of cells. These findings imply that the mitotic spindle checkpoint may act in concert with DNA damage and cell‐cycle checkpoints as an early anti‐tumor barrier and provide a possible explanation for its frequent relaxation in human cancer. J. Cell. Biochem. 99: 759–769, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Discrete-time current control techniques applied in PFC boost converter at instantaneous power interruption

Recently, power quality disturbances such as voltage sags and instantaneous power interruptions are, probably, the most frequent and damaging phenomenon in industrial environments. Thus, to improve the sustain-ability of electrical equipment, the power supplies should tolerate these disturbances. The PFC boost converter operating in CCM is exhaustively used as a first-stage in power supplies. The average current mode control is the most popular technique and is usually implemented by IC UC3854. However, at instantaneous power interruption, the inner controllers go to saturation mode. Consequently, the switching device (MOSFET) of the converter might be permanently damage when the power returna after voltage interruption. Another current control technique is self-control. In this case, the dynamics controllers are different. Therefore, this paper investigates the operation of the converter at instantaneous power interruption. The average current mode control and self-control are analyzed. Protection strategy is implemented, by FPGA, in a single-phase CCM PFC boost converter. Simulation and experimental results confirm and validate the analysis.
The Effect of Amantadine on Levodopa-induced Dyskinesias in Parkinson's Disease: A Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Study

We performed a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study to assess the effect of amantadine versus placebo on levodopa-induced dyskinesias in Parkinson's disease. We found a 24% reduction in the total dyskinesia score after amantadine administration (p = 0.004). This improvement was achieved without any influence on the severity of “on” period parkinsonism. The results confirm that amantadine reduces levodopa dyskinesias and support the hypothesis that dyskinesias can be reduced by blockade of excitatory pathways in the basal ganglia.
Selective packaging of cargo molecules into endoplasmic reticulum-derived COPII vesicles.

Coated vesicles transport proteins from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to the Golgi apparatus. The formation of transport vesicles in vitro requires the incubation of an ER-membrane fraction with three protein fractions collectively known as coat protein II (COPII; Sar1p, Sec23p/Sec24p, and Sec13p/Sec31p). We used this assay to investigate how targeting [v-SNARE, vesicle-soluble NSF (N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor) attachment protein receptor], putative adapter (e.g., Emp24p), and cargo molecules are captured into ER-derived COPII vesicles. Analysis of fusion proteins strongly suggests that the cytoplasmic domain of the v-SNARE protein Sec22p is required for its packaging into ER-derived COPII vesicles. We examined the packaging requirements for various molecules by individually titrating each of the COPII components. More Sar1p (the GTP-binding protein that initiates vesicles budding) is needed to package the membrane-associated v-SNAREs and Emp24p than is needed to package the soluble secretory protein glycosylated pro-alpha-factor (gp alphaF). Microsomes prepared from a strain overproducing Sec12p (the nucleotide exchange protein that recruits Sar1p to the ER) produce vesicles containing gp alphaF without the addition of exogenous Sar1p, whereas the v-SNAREs and Emp24p are not efficiently packaged under these conditions. Addition of Sar1p to these microsomes leads to increased packaging of v-SNAREs and Emp24p with no increase in the packaging of gp alphaF. Finally, we show that membranes prepared from strains with mutations in the SEC16 gene are more defective for the packaging of v-SNARE molecules and Emp24p than they are for the packaging of gp alphaF. These results point to the possibility that diverse signals or adapters participate in the capture of secretory and membrane cargo molecules into COPII transport vesicles.
Seizures, CSF neurofilament light and tau in patients with subarachnoid haemorrhage

Patients with severe subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) often suffer from complications with delayed cerebral ischaemia (DCI) due to vasospasm that is difficult to identify by clinical examination. The purpose of this study was to monitor seizures and to measure cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentrations of neurofilament light (NFL) and tau, and to see whether they could be used for predicting preclinical DCI.
The onset of first oestrus in the guinea-pig and the effects of gonadotrophins and oestradiol in the immature animal.

The immature female guinea-pig approaching first oestrus and ovulation has been studied. A clear relationship between the rate of growth of the animal and the age at puberty has been found. The 'crucial period', a time just before first oestrus, when external signs of endogenous hormonal activity give an indication of the presence of ripening follicles in the ovary, has been defined. At this time premature ovulation can be regularly induced by a single injection of gonadotrophin (guinea-pig anterior pituitary homogenate, purified luteinizing hormone or follicle-stimulating hormone). Injection of oestrogen advanced vaginal opening but, in contrast to the rat, did not cause premature ovulation.
Genotypic Resistance in HIV-infected Patients Failing a d4T/3TC/NVP Regimen

The objectives of this study were to determine the genotypic patterns of resistance in antiretroviralnaive patients failing initial therapy with a stavudine (d4T)/lamivudine (3TC)/nevirapine (NVP) regimen. There were 16 patients (10 females and 6 males) with the mean age of 30.3+6.5 years. Mean duration from the initiation of d4T/3TC/NVP regimen to virological failure was 20.0+13.5 months. Mean CD4 cell counts and median plasma HIV RNA at the date of virological failure were 367.6+340.1 cells/mm 3 and 5,650 copies/ml (range, 949-49,086), respectively. Twelve of 16 (75%) patients had genotypic resistance to both nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) and non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI). NRTI key mutations were M184V (87.5%), D67N (18.8%), K70R (12.5%), T215Y (12.5%), and K219Q (12.5%). No patient developed mutations associated with didanosine (ddI) or tenofovir disoproxil fumurate (TDF) resistance (K65R or L74V). NNRTI key mutations were K103N (50%), Y181C (18.8%), G190A/S (18.8%) and V108I (12.5%). Selection of NVP and 3TC resistance often with other thymidine analogue mutations (TAMs) was frequently associated with virological failure in our patients. Genotypic resistance testing is helpful for selection of the next regimen in patients failing d4T/3TC/NVP regimen. The prospective genotypic resistance study with a larger number of patients is required to confirm our results. (J Infect Dis Antimicrob Agents 2004;21:617.)