Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lipopolysaccharide Induces Macrophage Migration via Prostaglandin D2 and Prostaglandin E2

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) produces prostaglandins (PGs) concomitant to eliciting macrophage migration. We evaluated the role of PGs in initiating the migration of macrophages, especially focusing on PGD2 and PGE2. In RAW264.7 macrophages, cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 inhibitor, CAY10404 [3-(4-methylsulphonylphenyl)-4-phenyl-5-trifluoromethylisoxazole], completely inhibited LPS-mediated migration at 4 h (early phase) but only partially inhibited the migration at 8 h (late phase), suggesting the presence of PG-dependent and -independent pathways. In the early phase, LPS up-regulated mRNA expressions of COX-2, hematopoietic PGD synthase (H-PGDS), and microsomal-PGE synthase 1, increasing PGD2 and PGE2 substantially. The chemoattractant receptor-homologous molecule expressed on Th2 lymphocytes (CRTH2) agonist, DK-PGD2 (13–14-dihydro-15-keto-PGD2), and the EP4 agonist, ONO-AE1-329 (16-{3-methoxymethyl}phenyl-ω-tetranor-3,7-dithia-prostaglandin E1), but not selective agonists of D prostanoid receptor, E prostanoid receptor (EP) 2, or EP3, stimulated random migration (chemokinesis). In peritoneal macrophages from CRTH2-deficient and H-PGDS-deficient mice, LPS-mediated migration was significantly inhibited at either early or late phases of the migration. The H-PGDS inhibitor, HQL-79 [4-(diphenylmethoxy)-1-[3-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)propyl-piperidine]], partially inhibited the migration of the RAW264.7 macrophage in both phases. These results suggest the importance of the PGD2/CRTH2 pathway in LPS-mediated migration of macrophages. In the late phase of migration, LPS up-regulated monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1 mRNA. The CC chemokine receptor (CCR2) antagonist, RS102895 [1′-[2-[4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]ethyl]-spiro[4H-3,1-benzoxazine-4,4′-piperidin]-2(1H)-one], inhibited LPS-mediated migration in the late phase without affecting the early phase. ONO-AE1-329, but not DK-PGD2, up-regulated MCP-1 mRNA. Taken together, LPS stimulation of chemokinesis or chemotaxis, or both, occurs in macrophages via PGD2 and PGE2 in tandem arrangement; i.e., 1) LPS stimulates prostaglandin signaling, initiating early migration through the PGD2/CRTH2 and PGE2/EP4 signaling pathways; and 2) LPS leads induction of MCP-1, which contributes to later phase migration of the macrophages through the PGE2/EP4 pathway.
A Case of Right-Sided Direct Carotid Cavernous Fistula: A Diagnostic Challenge

Patient: Female, 83 Final Diagnosis: Right-sided direct carotid cavernous fistula Symptoms: Chemosis • proptosis and eye pain Medication: Topical α2-adrenergic agonist Clinical Procedure: Endovascular embolization Specialty: Internal Medicine • Interventional Radiology • Ophthalmology Objective: Rare disease/diagnostic challenge Background: Carotid cavernous fistulas (CCFs) are rare potentially sight-threatening abnormal connections between carotid artery and cavernous sinus. Case Report: We report a case of CCF in an 83-year-old female, who presented with swollen and painful right eye. The patient was initially treated with empiric antibiotics for suspected peri-orbital cellulitis, as noted clinically and in computed tomography (CT) orbits. However, lack of clinical improvement, physical finding of orbital bruit/thrill, and enlarged superior ophthalmic vein in magnetic resonance (MR) orbits suggest alternate diagnoses. Eventually, CT angiogram (CTA) and carotid-arteriography confirmed the diagnosis of right-sided direct CCF, which was subsequently treated with endovascular embolization. Not only does this case highlight the importance of CCF, which could be a differential diagnosis of swollen red eye, it also addresses the vital importance of physical examination in modern medicine despite the seemingly promising technologies. Conclusions: Internists should have a low threshold of clinical suspicion for CCF in a patient with swollen red eyes in order to provide timely and proper management.
State-of-the-Art Methods for Brain Tissue Segmentation: A Review

Brain tissue segmentation is one of the most sought after research areas in medical image processing. It provides detailed quantitative brain analysis for accurate disease diagnosis, detection, and classification of abnormalities. It plays an essential role in discriminating healthy tissues from lesion tissues. Therefore, accurate disease diagnosis and treatment planning depend merely on the performance of the segmentation method used. In this review, we have studied the recent advances in brain tissue segmentation methods and their state-of-the-art in neuroscience research. The review also highlights the major challenges faced during tissue segmentation of the brain. An effective comparison is made among state-of-the-art brain tissue segmentation methods. Moreover, a study of some of the validation measures to evaluate different segmentation methods is also discussed. The brain tissue segmentation, content in terms of methodologies, and experiments presented in this review are encouraging enough to attract researchers working in this field.
Vitamin D and all-cause mortality among adults in USA: findings from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Linked Mortality Study.

BACKGROUND Whether concentrations of vitamin D are related to mortality remains unresolved. Our objective was to examine the relationship between serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D and all-cause mortality in a national sample of US adults. METHODS We used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Mortality Study from 2001 to 2004 with mortality compiled through 2006. Mortality status was established through a match to the National Death Index. RESULTS Of the 7531 participants, 347 died. Median follow-up was 3.8 years. The mean unadjusted concentrations of vitamin D were 54.1 nmol/l (21.7 ng/ml) among participants who died and 60.7 nmol/l (24.3 ng/ml) among participants who survived (P = 0.002). After adjustment for socio-demographic factors, the hazard ratios (HR) for all-cause mortality were 1.65 [95% confidence interval (CI): 95% CI: 1.13-2.40] for participants with a concentration <50 nmol/l (<20 ng/ml) and 1.02 (95% CI: 0.74-1.41) for participants with a concentration of 50 to <75 nmol/l (20 to <30 ng/ml) compared with participants who had a concentration of ≥ 75 nmol/l (≥ 30 ng/ml). After more extensive adjustment, the HRs were 1.28 (95% CI: 0.86-1.90) and 0.91 (95% CI: 0.63-1.33), respectively. The fully adjusted HR per 10 nmol/l of vitamin D was 0.93 (95% CI: 0.86-1.01). The HRs did not vary by gender (P = 0.80) or among the three major racial or ethnic groups (P = 0.46). CONCLUSIONS Concentrations of vitamin D were weakly and inversely related to all-cause mortality in this sample of US adults.
Examination of the fetal heart by five short‐axis views: a proposed screening method for comprehensive cardiac evaluation

Fetal cardiac malformations, with an incidence of 8 : 1000among livebirths, are the most common congenital malforma-tions. Their incidence is 6.5 times greater than chromosomalanomalies and 4 times that of neural tube defects. Further-more, 4 : 1000 livebirths will be affected by severe congenitalcardiac malformations which account for 20% of neonataldeaths and up to 50% of infant deaths attributed to congenitalanomalies
Acute‐to‐chronic species sensitivity distribution extrapolation

Seeking to make greater use of available data for risk assessment of substances, we constructed, for the situation in which chronic data are limited or even nonexistent but acute data are relatively large, an acute to chronic transformation (ACT) methodology based on the concept of species sensitivity distributions (SSDs). This ACT methodology uses a comparison of acute and chronic SSDs, separately for vertebrate data (with 22 substances) and for invertebrate data (with 15 substances). Rather than comparing an acute toxicity value with a chronic value, as when calculating an acute to chronic ratio (ACR), samples of acute and chronic data corresponding to the same category of species were compared. Starting from a sample of acute data, the ACT methodology showed relationships that enable the creation of a sample of predicted chronic values. This sample can then be used to calculate a predicted chronic hazardous concentration potentially affecting 5% of species (HC5%), just as with a sample of real chronic toxicity values. This ACT approach was tested on 11 substances. For each substance, the real chronic HC5% and the predicted chronic HC5% were calculated and compared. The ratio between chronic HC5% and ACT HC5% was, on average, 1.6 and did not exceed 4.4 for the 11 substances studied.
Mucinous (adenocystic) carcinoma of the skin.

Fourteen cases of primary mucinous carcinoma of the sweat glands occurred. Tumors of this type in the skin are frequently misdiagnosed as metastatic carcinoma. Histochemically, the mucin is of the sialomucin type. The tumor is commonly a round, elevated, reddish, and sometimes ulcerated mass, usually located on the face, head, or trunk. These masses tend to recur, but metastasis is infrequent.
Quality of life in hepatitis C

Abstract: A number of different studies have shown a clear reduction in the quality of life of hepatitis C virus (HCV)‐related liver‐disease patients. Quality of life can be assessed by means of both generic and specific instruments, depending on the aim of the study and the population being studied. The application of a specific instrument to patients with liver diseases provides a broader assessment of different parameters related to hepatic disorders. In hepatitis C, alterations such as the stigma of liver disease, concerns about the disease and symptoms of the disease could be demonstrated with this type of instrument. The impact of the diagnosis of hepatitis C, a potentially serious disease, and the presence of comorbidities such as alcohol and drugs may lead to lower quality of life. Longitudinal studies have proved that, following diagnosis, the stigma of liver disease becomes more apparent over time. Women report worse quality of life than men, supporting that gender differences in hepatitis are also important when assessing quality of life. Alterations in the quality of life of patients submitted to treatment are mainly related to the somatic side effects of Interferon and Ribavirin and are most noticeable in the first weeks of therapy. Early improvement in the quality of life of patients who become HCV‐RNA negative suggests that the virus itself plays a biological role. There is no doubt that liver transplantation leads to an improvement in quality of life. Nevertheless, a major concern is the relapse of HCV, with the associated lower quality of life.
Pricing network resources for adaptive applications in a differentiated services network

The differentiated services framework (DiffServ) has been proposed to provide multiple quality of service (QoS) classes over IP networks. A network supporting multiple classes of service also requires a differentiated pricing structure. We propose a pricing scheme in a DiffServ environment based on the cost of providing different levels of quality of service to different classes, and on long-term demand. Pricing of network services dynamically based on the level of service, usage, and congestion allows a more competitive price to be offered, allows the network to be used more efficiently, and provides a natural and equitable incentive for applications to adapt their service contract according to network conditions. We develop a DiffServ simulation framework to compare the performance of a network supporting congestion-sensitive pricing and adaptive service negotiation to that of a network with a static pricing policy. Adaptive users adapt to price changes by adjusting their sending rate or selecting a different service class. We also develop the demand behavior of adaptive users based on a perceptually reasonable user utility function. Simulation results show that a congestion-sensitive pricing policy coupled with user rate adaptation is able to control congestion and allow a service class to meet its performance assurances under large or bursty offered loads, even without explicit admission control. Users are able to maintain a stable expenditure. Allowing users to migrate between service classes in response to price increases further stabilizes the individual service prices. When admission control is enforced, congestion-sensitive pricing still provides an advantage in terms of a much lower connection blocking rate at high loads.
Single-level/Single-stage Debridement and Posterior Instrumented Fusion in the Treatment of Spontaneous Pyogenic Osteomyelitis/Discitis: Long-term Functional Outcome and Health-related Quality of Life

Study Design Retrospective study. Objective To support single-level posterior debridement and instrumented interbody fusion as a single-stage procedure for spontaneous pyogenic osteomyelitis/discitis. Summary of Background Data The best surgical technique for patients with bacterial spinal infections is still a matter of debate. Recent publications suggest that titanium implants can be used safely in the infectious sites in combination with debridement and antibiotic therapy. Methods We retrospectively review patients with spontaneous pyogenic osteomyelitis/discitis in whom medical therapy failed, and they consequently underwent posterior decompression and instrumented fusion. Data was collected regarding demographics, clinical presentation, images and laboratory studies, antibiotic treatment, duration of hospitalization, time to achieve radiologic evidence of fusion, postoperative complications, and neurologic function pre- and postoperatively. Quality of life was measured using the EQ5D questionnaire and level of disability with the Oswestry Disability Index. Results Nine patients, ranging in age from 41 to79 years, with a Frankel score of D in 7 cases and of E in 2 cases, underwent a single-level/single-stage debridement and posterior instrumented fusion with pedicle screws and an interbody and posterolateral autogenous bone graft. Preoperative neurologic deficits improved in all the cases and solid bone fusion was achieved in all 9 patients at 12 months. The mean follow-up period was 67 months. The infection healed after surgery in all the patients and they did not require a second operation to remove the metal implants. Quality of life assessed with the EQ5D questionnaire showed scores ranging between 0.70 and 1. The median Oswestry Disability Index was 15.5%. Conclusions These findings support that debridement and posterior instrumented fusion can be performed as a single-stage procedure with no increase in the recurrence rate or morbidity. The outcome has been satisfactory in our patients in terms of the rate of fusion and quality of life.
Non-stationary modeling for the separation of overlapped texts in documents

In this paper, we address the removal of severe back-to-front interferences in archival documents, when recto and verso images of the page are available. The problem is approached from a modeling point of view, considering the ideal images of the two separated texts as individual source patterns that overlap in the observed images through some parametric mixing operator. Earlier approaches were based on linear mixtures of the ideal reflectance maps, or of the ideal optical densities and absorptance maps, through unknown coefficients or blur kernels. Some approximations and/or partial user supervision were then adopted to jointly estimate the sources and the model parameters. Nevertheless, a feasible and reliable data model for this problem should at least be non-linear and space-variant, to cope with occlusions, ink saturation, and large variability of the mixing level. This is especially true for ancient documents affected by ink seeping (bleed-through). The search for such a model is still far from being concluded, or even impossible to pursue, due to the unavailability of information about the chemical and physical processes at the origin of the phenomenon. Hence, here, we propose the use of pixel-dependent parameters, within a model additive in the optical densities, to compensate not only for non-stationarity, but also for the lack or the imprecise knowledge of the non-linearity, and for modeling errors more in general.
Leader-Follower Congruence in Proactive Personality and Work Outcomes: The Mediating Role of LMX

Drawing upon prior research on proactive personality and person-environment fit, we examine the congruence effect of leader and follower proactive personality on leader-member exchange (LMX) quality, which in turn influences follower job satisfaction, affective commitment, and job performance. Results of cross-level polynomial regressions on 165 dyads supported the congruence effect hypothesis. Further, asymmetrical incongruence effects were found wherein followers had lower-quality LMX and poorer work outcomes when their proactive personality was lower than their leaders' as compared with when their proactive personality was higher. These findings highlight the pivotal role played by leaders in promoting employee proactivity at work.
Supporting Agile Project Planning

In this paper, we describe a tool supporting agile iteration planning. Our tool focuses on the support of human collaboration, which in turn allows the tool to be an integral res ource within the planning process. Such support is enabled by utiliz ing advanced technologies, and accommodating the different types of planning environments, such as horizontal and vertical surfa ces. The aforementioned integration not only distinguishes o ur application from traditional ones. More importantly it enhances the quality of the planning results. In addition to the said featu re, our application can also be used to store planning data and monitor the progress of the project.
On the Effect of Bandwidth Fragmentation on Blocking Probability in Elastic Optical Networks

In elastic optical networks (EONs), bandwidth fragmentation refers to the existence of non-aligned, isolated and small-sized blocks of contiguous subcarrier slots in the optical spectrum. As they are neither contiguous in the spectrum domain nor aligned along the routing paths, the network operator will have difficulty to use these slots for future connections. In this work, we analyze the effect of bandwidth fragmentation on the blocking probability in EONs. Our theoretical analysis indicates that two factors related to bandwidth fragmentation have effects on the blocking probability: 1) the extent that the available slot-blocks (i.e., blocks of contiguous slots) on different links are aligned on spectrum locations, and 2) the sizes of the available slot-blocks in links' spectra for future requests. When an EON's spectrum becomes more fragmented, the first factor actually reduces the blocking probability, while the second one increases the blocking probability. Their mixed effect determines the overall trend of how the blocking probability will change with bandwidth fragmentation. Our theoretical model can forecast this trend and reveal the relation among the blocking probability, bandwidth fragmentation, request bandwidth distribution, and spectrum utilization. We have also conducted numerical simulations to verify the theoretical analysis, and the simulation results exhibit similar trends as predicted by the theoretical model.
Speaking of colors and odors

1. 1. Speaking of colors and odors (by Plumacher, Martina) 2. 2. Color smell, and language: The semiotic nature of perception and language (by Wildgen, Wolfgang) 3. 3. How can language cope with color? Functional aspects of the nervous system (by Fahle, Manfred) 4. 4. Color perception, color description and metaphor (by Plumacher, Martina) 5. 5. Attractiveness and adornment: Reference to colors and smells in Papuan speech communities (by Heeschen, Volker) 6. 6. Color terms between elegance and beauty. The verbalization of color with textiles and cosmetics (by Wyler, Siegfried) 7. 7. Color names and dynamic imagery (by Graumann, Andrea) 8. 8. From blue stockings to blue movies: Color metonymies in English (by Niemeier, Susanne) 9. 9. Odor memory: The unique nature of a memory system (by Zucco, Gesualdo M.) 10. 10. From psychophysics to semiophysics: Categories as acts of meaning. A case study from olfaction and audition, back to colors (by Dubois, Daniele) 11. 11. Cognition, olfaction and linguistic creativity: Linguistic synesthesia as poetic device in cologne advertisement (by Holz, Peter) 12. 12. Understanding synesthetic expressions: Vision and olfaction with the physiological = psychological model (by Shibuya, Yoshikata) 13. 13. Olfactory and visual processing and verbalization: Cross-cultural and neurosemiotic dimensions (by Chernigovskaya, Tatiana V.) 14. Contributors 15. Index
Performance analysis of R*-trees with arbitrary node extents

Existing analysis for R-trees is inadequate for several traditional and emerging applications including, for example, temporal, spatio-temporal, and multimedia databases because it is based on the assumption that the extents of a node are identical on all dimensions, which is not satisfied in these domains. We propose analytical models that can accurately predict R*-tree performance without this assumption. Our derivation is based on the novel concept of extent regression function, which computes the node extents as a function of the number of node splits. Detailed experimental evaluation reveals that the proposed models are accurate, even in cases where previous methods fail completely.
Improved Efficacy and Efficiency of Non-Regular Temporal Patterns of Deep Brain Stimulation for Parkinson's Disease

Improved Efficacy and Efficiency of Non-Regular Temporal Patterns of Deep Brain Stimulation for Parkinson’s Disease by David T. Brocker Department of Biomedical Engineering Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Warren Grill, Supervisor ___________________________ Nicole Calakos ___________________________ Patrick Hickey ___________________________ Marc Sommer ___________________________ Patrick Wolf An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Biomedical Engineering in the Graduate School of Duke University 2015 Copyright by David T. Brocker 2015
A Probabilistic Generative Grammar for Semantic Parsing

We present a framework that couples the syntax and semantics of natural language sentences in a generative model, in order to develop a semantic parser that jointly infers the syntactic, morphological, and semantic representations of a given sentence under the guidance of background knowledge. To generate a sentence in our framework, a semantic statement is first sampled from a prior, such as from a set of beliefs in a knowledge base. Given this semantic statement, a grammar probabilistically generates the output sentence. A joint semantic-syntactic parser is derived that returns the $k$-best semantic and syntactic parses for a given sentence. The semantic prior is flexible, and can be used to incorporate background knowledge during parsing, in ways unlike previous semantic parsing approaches. For example, semantic statements corresponding to beliefs in a knowledge base can be given higher prior probability, type-correct statements can be given somewhat lower probability, and beliefs outside the knowledge base can be given lower probability. The construction of our grammar invokes a novel application of hierarchical Dirichlet processes (HDPs), which in turn, requires a novel and efficient inference approach. We present experimental results showing, for a simple grammar, that our parser outperforms a state-of-the-art CCG semantic parser and scales to knowledge bases with millions of beliefs.