Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clinical Correlates and Prognostic Value of Plasma Galectin-3 Levels in Degenerative Aortic Stenosis: A Single-Center Prospective Study of Patients Referred for Invasive Treatment

Galectin-3 (Gal-3), a β-galactoside-binding lectin, has been implicated in myocardial fibrosis, development of left ventricular (LV) dysfunction and transition from compensated LV hypertrophy to overt heart failure (HF), being a novel prognostic marker in HF. Risk stratification is crucial for the choice of the optimal therapy in degenerative aortic stenosis (AS), affecting elderly subjects with coexistent diseases. Our aim was to assess correlates and prognostic value of circulating Gal-3 in real-world patients with degenerative AS referred for invasive treatment. Gal-3 levels were measured at admission in 80 consecutive patients with symptomatic degenerative AS (mean age: 79 ± 8 years; aortic valve area (AVA) index: 0.4 ± 0.1 cm2/m2). The therapeutic strategy was chosen following a dedicated multidisciplinary team-oriented approach, including surgical valve replacement (n = 11), transcatheter valve implantation (n = 19), balloon aortic valvuloplasty (BAV) (n = 25) and optimal medical therapy (n = 25). Besides routine echocardiographic indices, valvulo-arterial impedance (Zva), an index of global LV afterload, was computed. There were 22 deaths over a median follow-up of 523 days. Baseline Gal-3 correlated negatively with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) (r = −0.61, p < 0.001) and was unrelated to age, symptomatic status, AVA index, LV ejection fraction, LV mass index or Zva. For the study group as a whole, Gal-3 tended to predict mortality (Gal-3 >17.8 vs. Gal-3 <17.8 ng/mL; hazard ratio (HR): 2.03 (95% confidence interval, 0.88–4.69), p = 0.09), which was abolished upon adjustment for eGFR (HR: 1.70 (0.61–4.73), p = 0.3). However, in post-BAV patients multivariate-adjusted pre-procedural Gal-3 was associated with worse survival (HR: 7.41 (1.52–36.1), p = 0.01) regardless of eGFR. In conclusion, the inverse eGFR–Gal-3 relationship underlies a weak association between Gal-3 and adverse outcome in patients with degenerative AS referred for invasive therapy irrespective of type of treatment employed. In contrast, pre-procedural Gal-3 appears an independent mortality predictor in high-risk AS patients undergoing BAV.
Diverse Gastropod Hosts of Angiostrongylus cantonensis, the Rat Lungworm, Globally and with a Focus on the Hawaiian Islands

Eosinophilic meningitis caused by the parasitic nematode Angiostrongylus cantonensis is an emerging infectious disease with recent outbreaks primarily in tropical and subtropical locations around the world, including Hawaii. Humans contract the disease primarily through ingestion of infected gastropods, the intermediate hosts of Angiostrongylus cantonensis. Effective prevention of the disease and control of the spread of the parasite require a thorough understanding of the parasite's hosts, including their distributions, as well as the human and environmental factors that contribute to transmission. The aim of this study was to screen a large cross section of gastropod species throughout the main Hawaiian Islands to determine which act as hosts of Angiostrongylus cantonensis and to assess the parasite loads in these species. Molecular screening of 7 native and 30 non-native gastropod species revealed the presence of the parasite in 16 species (2 native, 14 non-native). Four of the species tested are newly recorded hosts, two species introduced to Hawaii (Oxychilus alliarius, Cyclotropis sp.) and two native species (Philonesia sp., Tornatellides sp.). Those species testing positive were from a wide diversity of heterobranch taxa as well as two distantly related caenogastropod taxa. Review of the global literature showed that many gastropod species from 34 additional families can also act as hosts. There was a wide range of parasite loads among and within species, with an estimated maximum of 2.8 million larvae in one individual of Laevicaulis alte. This knowledge of the intermediate host range of Angiostrongylus cantonensis and the range of parasite loads will permit more focused efforts to detect, monitor and control the most important hosts, thereby improving disease prevention in Hawaii as well as globally.
Fine-grained sentiment analysis with 32 dimensions

Understanding human's complicated and capricious emotions remains a fundamental challenge. In this paper, we propose a fine-grained sentiment analysis system which classify emotions into 32 categories. For one direction, we cover more detailed emotions and for the other direction, we further measure each emotion with strength, such as describing angry by annoyance, anger and range. Taking Japanese as a test language, we describe our methods of building the training data, of constructing deep neural network classifiers, and of evaluating the models.
Polypropylene/silica nanocomposites prepared by in-situ melt ultrasonication

A novel process using ultrasonic irradiation to enhance nanosilica dispersion in polypropylene-based nanocomposites has been proposed and investigated. The nanocomposites were isotactic polypropylene reinforced with silica nanoparticles at 3 wt% loading level. Ultrasonic processing in the melt state is an effective method for improving nanosilica dispersion. The effectiveness of the proposed ultrasonic processing technique on polypropylene nanocomposites was evaluated by XRD and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Poly(propylene-g-maleic anhydride) copolymer (PP-g-MAH) containing 5 wt% maleic anhydride content was added to nanocomposites at 0.5 wt% concentration based on silica content. PP-g-MAH plays an important role in nanosilica dispersion in polymer matrix and interface interaction. The reaction of maleic anhydride groups with the hydroxyl groups on the surface of nanosilica was characterized by FTIR spectrum. The final nanocomposites result in a further enhancement of mechanical properties because of silica agglomerate reduction and improving interface combination, even loading level being much lower than that of ordinary fillers in conventional composites. POLYM. COMPOS. , 2009. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers
Comparison of the Expression Changes after Botulinum Toxin Type A and Minocycline Administration in Lipopolysaccharide-Stimulated Rat Microglial and Astroglial Cultures

Botulinum neurotoxin type A (BoNT/A) and minocycline are potent drugs used in clinical therapies. The primary molecular mechanism of BoNT/A is the cleavage of SNARE proteins, which prevents cells from releasing neurotransmitters from vesicles, while the effects of minocycline are related to the inhibition of p38 activation. Both BoNT/A and minocycline exhibit analgesic effects, however, their direct impact on glial cells is not fully known. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to determine the effects of those drugs on microglial and astroglial activity after lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation and their potential synergistic action. Our results show that BoNT/A and minocycline influenced primary microglial cells by inhibiting intracellular signaling pathways, such as p38, ERK1/2, NF-κB, and the release of pro-inflammatory factors, including IL-1β, IL-18, IL-6, and NOS2. We have revealed that, in contrast to minocycline, BoNT/A treatment did not decrease LPS-induced release of pro-inflammatory factors in the astroglia. In addition, BoNT/A decreased SNAP-23 in both types of glial cells and also SNAP-25 expressed only in astrocytes. Moreover, BoNT/A increased TLR2 and its adaptor protein MyD88, but not TLR4 exclusively in microglial cells. Furthermore, we have shown the impact of BoNT/A on microglial and astroglial cells, with a particular emphasis on its molecular target, TLR2. In contrast, minocycline did not affect any of those factors. We have revealed that despite of different molecular targets, minocycline, and BoNT/A reduced the release of microglia-derived pro-inflammatory factors. In conclusion, we have shown that BoNT/A and minocycline are effective drugs for the management of neuroinflammation by dampening the activation of microglial cells, with minocycline also affecting astroglial activity.
Securing photos in the cloud using decoy photo gallery

Cloud computing is a technology that provides different services with respect to the available resources to its end users over the Internet. In spite of its popularity, cloud computing faces different security issues, for instance, data theft attack is considered as one of the most serious security breaches of cloud data. Recently there have been a few incidents of leakage of privacy related photos from the cloud. In this paper main focus has been given how to secure cloud data, particularly photos, by using fog computing facilities. Fog computing is an emerging model that provides storage, processing, and communication services closer to the end user. Also, fog computing is considered as a way to create decoy information and locate it beside the real information in the cloud to hide the true data of the user.
Sperm Release at Spermiation Is Regulated by Changes in the Organization of Actin- and Microtubule-Based Cytoskeletons at the Apical Ectoplasmic Specialization—A Study Using the Adjudin Model

The mechanism that regulates sperm release at spermiation is unknown. Herein, we used an animal model wherein rats were treated with adjudin, 1-(2,4-dichlorobenzyl)-1H-indazole-3-carbohydrazide, via oral gavage to induce premature release of elongating/elongated spermatids, followed by round spermatids and spermatocytes. Spermatid release mimicking spermiation occurred within 6 to 12 hours following adjudin treatment and, by 96 hours, virtually all tubules were devoid of elongating/elongated spermatids. Using this model, we tracked the organization of F-actin and microtubules (MTs) by immunofluorescence microscopy, and the association of actin or MT regulatory proteins that either promote or demolish cytoskeletal integrity through changes in the organization of actin microfilaments or MTs by coimmunoprecipitation. Adjudin treatment induced an increase in the association of (1) epidermal growth factor receptor pathway substrate 8 (an actin barbed-end capping and bundling protein) or formin 1 (an actin nucleator) with actin and (2) end-binding protein 1 (an MT stabilizing protein) with MT shortly after adjudin exposure (at 6 hours), in an attempt to maintain spermatid adhesion to the Sertoli cell at the apical ectoplasmic specialization (ES). However, this was followed by a considerable decline of their steady-state protein levels, replacing with an increase in association of (1) actin-related protein 3 (a branched actin nucleator that converts actin filaments into a branched/unbundled network) with actin and (2) MT affinity-regulating kinase 4 (an MT destabilizing protein kinase) with MTs by 12 hours after adjudin treatment. These latter changes thus promoted actin and MT disorganization, leading to apical ES disruption and the release of elongating/elongated spermatids, mimicking spermiation. In summary, spermiation is a cytoskeletal-dependent event, involving regulatory proteins that modify cytoskeletal organization.
Multicolor removal based on color lines and improved hough transform for SFS

Constant albedo of surface is an important premise widely used for Shape from Shading(SFS). Since it is not satisfied when the surface is in multicolor, the application of SFS methods are very limited. In this paper we introduce a novel method for gray-scale transformation as a preprocess of SFS methods, which removes intensity differences between colors. First we cluster the pixels based on color using an improved Hough Transform approach, and generate Color Lines to describe color information. Then the color is adjusted using Color Lines, and the multicolor image is converted into gray-scale without sudden change of intensity between regions in different color. Experimental results show that our method outperforms existing methods such as linear luminance when 3D models are reconstructed by SFS.
Convolutional cost aggregation for robust stereo matching

Although convolutional neural network (CNN)-based stereo matching methods have become increasingly popular thanks to their robustness, they primarily have been focused on the matching cost computation. By leveraging CNNs, we present a novel method for matching cost aggregation to boost the stereo matching performance. Our insight is to learn the convolution kernel within CNN architecture for cost aggregation in a fully convolutional manner. Tailored to cost aggregation problem, our method differs from handcrafted methods in terms of its convolutional aggregation through optimally learned CNNs. First, the matching cost is aggregated with cost volume unary network, and then optimized with explicit disparity boundary, estimated through disparity boundary pairwise network, within a global energy minimization. Experiments demonstrate that our method outperforms conventional hand-crafted aggregation methods.
Interferon Alpha-2a for the Treatment of Post-Infectious Uveitis Secondary to Presumed Intraocular Tuberculosis

ABSTRACT Purpose: To assess the efficacy and tolerability of interferon (IFN) alpha-2a in post-infectious uveitis secondary to presumed intraocular tuberculosis (IOTB). Methods: Patients with chronic uveitis secondary to presumed IOTB who, after completing an antitubercular treatment, showed poor response to treatments or recurred after tapering oral corticosteroids to ≤7.5 mg/day were enrolled. All patients were treated with IFN alpha-2a subcutaneous injections. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), central retinal thickness (CRT), and inflammatory signs were compared between baseline and follow-up visits up to six months. Results: Twelve eyes (six patients) were enrolled. Mean BCVA improved from 0.64 ± 0.55 logMAR at baseline to 0.32 ± 0.31 logMAR at 6 months (p = 0.03). Mean CRT decreased from 372 ± 132.2 μm to 274.66 ± 34.9 μm at six months (p = 0.01). Inflammatory signs (vitritis, vasculitis) also decreased overtime. No major complications or tuberculosis reactivations were recorded. Conclusions: IFN alpha-2a was efficacious and safe in treating chronic post-infectious uveitis secondary to presumed IOTB.
Different perspectives: Spatial ability influences where individuals look on a timed spatial test

Learning in anatomy can be both spatially and visually complex. Pedagogical investigations have begun exploration as to how spatial ability may mitigate learning. Emerging hypotheses suggests individuals with higher spatial reasoning may attend to images differently than those who are lacking. To elucidate attentional patterns associated with different spatial ability, eye movements were measured in individuals completing a timed electronic mental rotation test (EMRT). The EMRT was based on the line drawings of Shepherd and Metzler. Individuals deduced whether image pairs were rotations (same) or mirror images (different). It was hypothesized that individuals with high spatial ability (HSA) would demonstrate shorter average fixation durations during problem solving and attend to different features of the EMRT than low spatial ability (LSA) counterparts. Moreover, question response accuracy would be associated with fewer fixations and shorter average response times, regardless of spatial reasoning ability. Average fixation duration in the HSA group was shorter than LSA (F(1,8) = 7.99; P = 0.022). Importantly, HSA and LSA individuals looked to different regions of the EMRT images (Fisher Exact Test: 12.47; P = 0.018); attending to the same locations only 34% of the time. Correctly answered questions were characterized by fewer fixations per question (F(1, 8) = 18.12; P = 0.003) and shorter average response times (F(1, 8) = 23.89; P = 0.001). The results indicate that spatial ability may influence visual attention to salient areas of images and this may be key to problem solving processes for low spatial individuals. Anat Sci Educ 10: 224–234. © 2016 American Association of Anatomists.
On the Mechanics of Damage-Susceptible Poroelastic Media

The present paper deals with the class of porous elastic materi als that are saturated with an incompressible pore fluid and where damage processes will r esult in the alterations of its elasticity and fluid transport characteristics. The paper exami nes the various influences of these alterations by considering processes defined as stationary damage and evolving damage. The resulting time-dependent behaviour of the damage-susceptible poroelastic m terial is examined by considering a typical initial boundary value problem related to the indentation of a poroelastic region.
Identification of self-interacting proteins by exploring evolutionary information embedded in PSI-BLAST-constructed position specific scoring matrix

Self-interacting Proteins (SIPs) play an essential role in a wide range of biological processes, such as gene expression regulation, signal transduction, enzyme activation and immune response. Because of the limitations for experimental self-interaction proteins identification, developing an effective computational method based on protein sequence to detect SIPs is much important. In the study, we proposed a novel computational approach called RVMBIGP that combines the Relevance Vector Machine (RVM) model and Bi-gram probability (BIGP) to predict SIPs based on protein sequence. The proposed prediction model includes as following steps: (1) an effective feature extraction method named BIGP is used to represent protein sequences on Position Specific Scoring Matrix (PSSM); (2) Principal Component Analysis (PCA) method is employed for integrating the useful information and reducing the influence of noise; (3) the robust classifier Relevance Vector Machine (RVM) is used to carry out classification. When performed on yeast and human datasets, the proposed RVMBIGP model can achieve very high accuracies of 95.48% and 98.80%, respectively. The experimental results show that our proposed method is very promising and may provide a cost-effective alternative for SIPs identification. In addition, to facilitate extensive studies for future proteomics research, the RVMBIGP server is freely available for academic use at http://219.219. 62.123:8888/RVMBIGP.
Unsupervised segmentation of low depth of field images based on L0 regularized matting model

An effective unsupervised segmentation method is proposed to extract the object of interest from low depth of field images based on a novel L0 regularized matting model. First of all, a multi-scale reblurring model is utilized, together with guided filter and morphological filter, to generate a trimap that roughly labels the focused and defocused regions. Then, an L0 regularized matting model is proposed to obtain the accurate segmentation of the object of interest. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves state-of-the-art performance for unsupervised segmentation under various situations, and is robust to noise.
Peering into polypyrrole–SDS nanodispersions: Rheological view

Synthesis and rheological properties of a series of polypyrrole (PPy) nanodispersions stabilized by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) are described here. Changes in particle size, morphology, spectroscopy (UV–vis), and rheological properties (steady and dynamic) of the dispersions with variation in PPy fraction were studied. PPy nanoparticles (20–50 nm) incorporated within large micellar entanglements (>700 nm) were identified from transmission electron micrograph and dynamic light scattering studies. On standing the dispersions, electrostatic interaction among the micelles via Fe3+ comes into play and the dispersion is gradually crosslinked to form a soft gel. Shear thinning generally observed for steady rheology measurements (1–500 s−1) on freshly prepared dispersion is accounted for the breakdown of larger entanglements under high shear. The aged dispersion (before gelling), however, exhibits a viscosity plateau, characteristic of the crosslinked systems. The dispersion [with loss (G″) moduli > storage (G′) moduli] behaves like a viscous liquid and resembles to semidilute polymeric solutions. Zimm model is roughly followed by the system as revealed from the respective slopes of G′ and G″ curves. The partially crosslinked system (aged by 7 days) partly follows Maxwell model, and a crossover of G′ and G″ corresponding to a single relaxation time is obtained. Stability of the dispersion, nanoscopic particle size, moderate conductivity, and shear thinning behavior encourage its prospect as conducting ink/paint. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013
Deep feature matching for dense correspondence

Image matching is a challenging problem as different views often undergo significant appearance changes caused by deformation, abrupt motion, and occlusion. In this paper, we explore features extracted from convolutional neural networks to help the estimation of image matching so that dense pixel correspondence can be built. As the deep features are able to describe the image structures, the matching method based on these features is able to match across different scenes and/or object appearances. We analyze the deep features and compare them with other robust features, e.g., SIFT. Extensive experiments on 5 datasets demonstrate the proposed algorithm performs favorably against the state-of-the-art methods in terms of visually matching quality and accuracy.
Stability and carrier transport properties of phosphorene-based polymorphic nanoribbons

Few-layer black phosphorene has recently attracted significant interest in the scientific community. In this paper, we consider several polymorphs of phosphorene nanoribbons (PNRs) and employ deformation potential theory within the effective mass approximation, together with density functional theory, to investigate their structural, mechanical and electronic properties. The results show that the stability of a PNR strongly depends on the direction along which it can be cut from its 2D counterpart. PNRs also exhibit a wide range of line stiffnesses ranging from 6 × 1010 eV m−1 to 18 × 1011 eV m−1, which has little dependence on the edge passivation. Likewise, the calculated electronic properties of PNRs show them to be either a narrow-gap semiconductor (Eg < 1 eV) or a wide-gap semiconductor (Eg > 1 eV). The carrier mobility of PNRs is found to be comparable to that of black phosphorene. Some of the PNRs show an n-type (p-type) semiconducting character owing to their higher electron (hole) mobility. Passivation of the edges leads to n-type ↔ p-type transition in many of the PNRs considered. The predicted novel characteristics of PNRs, with a wide range of mechanical and electronic properties, make them potentially suitable for use in nanoscale devices.
The solution of hybrid storage based on Hadoop

In the era of big data, the hybrid storage platform with structured data, semi-structured and unstructured data is the fundament of data analysis. The classical method of data processing system extensions requires high cost, and Hadoop and MapReduce does not perform well in real-time analysis. First, we propose a data access method in hybrid storage architecture, then we propose a solution of hybrid storage based on Hadoop, it includes the exchange platform of HDFS data, multi-node management control structure, and a method of file transfer based on FTP, etc. According to our experimental results, the solution of hybrid storage we proposed improve the efficiency of data exchange, enhance the performance and reliability of Hadoop cluster.