Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of psychological placebo and waiting list control conditions in the assessment of cognitive behavioral therapy for the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder: a meta-analysis

Background There is ongoing debate about the efficacy of placebos in the treatment of mental disorders. In randomized control trials (RCTs) about the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder, the administration of a psychological placebo or placement on a waiting list are the two most common control conditions. But there has never been a systematic comparison of the clinical effect of these different strategies. Aim Compare the change in symptom severity among individuals treated with cognitive behavioral therapy, provided a psychological placebo, or placed on a waiting list using data from RCTs on generalized anxiety disorder. Methods The following databases were searched for RCTs on generalized anxiety disorder: PubMed, PsycInfo, EMBASE, The Cochrane Library, CNKI, Chongqing VIP, Wanfang, Chinese Biological Medical Literature Database, and Taiwan Electronic Periodical Services. Studies were selected based on pre-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria and the quality of each included study – based on the risk of bias and the level of evidence – was formally assessed. Meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan5.3 and network meta-analyses comparing the three groups were conducted using R. Results Twelve studies with a combined sample size of 531 were included in the analysis. Compared to either control method (placebo or waiting list), cognitive behavioral therapy was more effective for generalized anxiety disorder. Provision of a psychological placebo was associated with a significantly greater reduction of symptoms than placement on a waiting list. Eight of the studies were classified as ‘high risk of bias’, and the overall level of evidence was classified as ‘moderate’, indicating that further research could change the overall results of the meta-analysis. Conclusions RCTs about the treatment of generalized anxiety disorders are generally of moderate quality; they indicate the superiority of CBT but the results cannot, as yet, be considered robust. There is evidence of a non-negligible treatment effect of psychological placebos used as control conditions in research studies. This effect should be considered when designing and interpreting the results of randomized controlled trials about the effectiveness of psychotherapeutic interventions.
Evaluation of the Acetone and Aqueous Extracts of Mature Stem Bark of Sclerocarya birrea for Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Properties

We assayed the antimicrobial activity of acetone and aqueous extracts of the stem bark of Sclerocarya birrea on some selected bacteria and fungi species including; Streptococcus pyogenes, Plesiomonas shigelloides, Aeromonas hydrophila, Salmonella typhimurium, Cryptococcus neoformans, Candida glabrata, Trichosporon mucoides, and Candida krusei using both agar well diffusion and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) assays. Based on the levels of activity, the acetone extract was examined for total polyphenolic content, radical scavenging and antioxidant activities. Total phenols of the extract were determined spectrophotometrically. The antioxidant activity was determined by the DPPH, ABTS and reducing power. All the bacteria and fungi species were susceptible to the plant extracts. The acetone extract was the most active for the bacterial species with MIC (0.156–0.625 mg/mL) while the aqueous extract was the most active for the fungi species with MIC (0.3125–1.25 mg/mL). The polyphenolic compounds were found as 27.2 mg/g tannic acid equivalent, 25.2 mg/g quercetin equivalent, 9.1 mg/g quercetin equivalent for phenols, flavonoid and flavonols respectively. The acetone extract exhibited a remarkable ability to scavenge radicals, strong reducing ability and a potential source of natural antioxidants. Both the acetone and aqueous extracts of S. birrea may provide a target for drug discovery.
Optimization of Speed and Power in a 16-Bit Carry Skip Adder in 70nm Technology

In this article, speed and power dissipation of a 16-bit carry skip adder will be optimized using different optimization methods. This adder is implemented in 70nm technology. First the worst carry propagation time will be reduced by changing logic style and using Genetic Algorithm to optimize the skip network of the circuit. And then the power dissipation of the circuit will be optimized by applying MTCMOS technology and Genetic Algorithm optimization on feature size of the transistors. With these methods we reached 7% improvement in circuit performance and 44% reduction in power consumption of the circuit.
Current multiplanar imaging of the stapes.

PURPOSE CT analysis of the stapes is difficult in the axial plane (AP), because of its oblique orientation. Oblique axial reformations could provide a more precise analysis of the stapes in normal and pathologic conditions. MATERIALS AND METHODS CT of the temporal bone was performed in 31 patients. Only the normal side was examined in the AP and oblique axial plane (OAP), in the plane of the stapes superstructure. Conspicuousness of each stapes component was evaluated in both planes by 2 independent readers. Reproducibility between the 2 readers (R1 and R2) and comparison of conspicuousness between the AP and the OAP in the analysis of the stapes crura were evaluated. The normal position of the stapes arch in relationship to the footplate was determined in the OAP by using biometric landmarks. RESULTS Conspicuousness of the stapes crura was increased by using OAP. The conspicuousness of the anterior crus was enhanced in 38% with the OAP according to R1 (P < .05) and 32% according to R2 (P < .05). The conspicuousness of the posterior crus was enhanced in 35% with the OAP according to R1 (P < .05), but not significantly enhanced in 22% with the OAP according to R2 (P = .095). Analysis of conspicuousness of the stapes crura was reproducible according to the kappa test. A perpendicular line to the footplate intersecting its midportion crosses the stapes head and the long process of the incus in the OAP in normal patients. CONCLUSION OAP could enhance the CT analysis of the stapes and provide useful biometric landmarks in pathologic conditions.
Probabilistic Computational Neurogenetic Modeling: From Cognitive Systems to Alzheimer's Disease

The paper proposes a novel research framework for building probabilistic computational neurogenetic models (pCNGM). The pCNGM is a multilevel modeling framework inspired by the multilevel information processes in the brain. The framework comprises a set of several dynamic models, namely low (molecular) level models, a more abstract dynamic model of a protein regulatory network (PRN) and a probabilistic spiking neural network model (pSNN), all linked together. Genes/proteins from the PRN control parameters of the pSNN and the spiking activity of the pSNN provides feedback to the PRN model. The overall spatio-temporal pattern of spiking activity of the pSNN is interpreted as the highest level state of the pCNGM. The paper demonstrates that this framework can be used for modeling both artificial cognitive systems and brain processes. In the former application, the pCNGM utilises parameters that correspond to sensory elements and neuromodulators. In the latter application a pCNGM uses data obtained from relevant genes/proteins to model their dynamic interaction that matches data related to brain development, higher-level brain function or disorder in different scenarios. An exemplar case study on Alzheimer's Disease is presented. Future applications of pCNGM are discussed.
Human cytomegalovirus-specific memory CD8+ and CD4+ T cell differentiation after primary infection.

BACKGROUND The development of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV)-specific T cell immunity after primary infection and its correlation with virus transmission to the fetus were investigated. METHODS The membrane phenotype (CCR7 and CD45RA expression) of and intracellular cytokine (interferon [IFN]-gamma and interleukin-2) production by HCMV-specific T cells (stimulated with HCMV-infected dendritic cells) were investigated in 21 immunocompetent pregnant women (12 transmitters and 9 nontransmitters) and in 5 nonpregnant subjects during the first year after infection. RESULTS IFN-gamma-producing CD4+ and CD8+ T cells were readily detected during the first month, and their levels did not significantly change with time. CCR7 expression was negligible during both the early and the late stage of infection. Among CCR7- cells, those reexpressing CD45RA progressively increased until they reached median levels of 33% (range, 7%-51%) and 51% (range, 22%-76%) for HCMV-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, respectively, similar to those observed in subjects with remote infection. CD45RA reexpression correlated with HCMV disappearance from blood. The level of HCMV-specific CD45RA+ T cells during the first months after infection was significantly lower in mothers who were transmitters than in those who were nontransmitters. CONCLUSIONS After primary infection, circulating HCMV-specific effector T cells revert to the CD45RA+ phenotype, which appears to be associated with control of viremia and vertical transmission. Thus, these cells may represent long-lived true memory lymphocytes in the HCMV-specific pool.
The Noncatalytic Domain of Protein-tyrosine Phosphatase-PEST Targets Paxillin for Dephosphorylation in Vivo *

The noncatalytic domain of protein-tyrosine phosphatase (PTP)-PEST contains a binding site for the focal adhesion-associated protein paxillin. This binding site has been narrowed to a 52-residue sequence that is composed of two nonoverlapping, weak paxillin binding sites. The PTP-PEST binding site on paxillin has been mapped to the two carboxyl-terminal LIM (lin11, isl-1, and mec-3) domains. Transient expression of PTP-PEST reduced tyrosine phosphorylation of p130cas, as anticipated. A PTP-PEST mutant defective for binding p130cas does not cause a reduction in its tyrosine phosphorylation in vivo. Expression of PTP-PEST also caused a reduction of phosphotyrosine on paxillin. Expression of mutants of PTP-PEST with deletions in the paxillin-binding site did not associate with paxillin in vivo and failed to cause a reduction in the phosphotyrosine content of paxillin. These results demonstrate that paxillin can serve as a PTP-PEST substrate in vivo and support the model that a noncatalytic domain interaction recruits paxillin to PTP-PEST to facilitate its dephosphorylation.
Single-trial EEG classification for brain-computer interface using wavelet decomposition

A classification system for EEG signals using wavelet decomposition to form the feature vectors is developed. Single-trial analysis loses the benefit of averaging to remove non-task related brain activity and makes it more difficult to pick out key features determining the execution of a task. Wavelet analysis is used here to localise the event-related desynchronization of voluntary movement. Classification of a self-paced typing experiment was made using wavelets for the feature selection and SVMs for the classification of feature vectors. Results of up to 91% classification accuracy were obtained, proving that wavelets are an effective tool, and the use of wavelets will be considered in more complex work.
Seasonal Variation in Fat Quality and Conjugated Linoleic Acid Content of Dairy Products from the Tropics: Evidence of Potential Impact on Human Health

Seasonal variation in conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) content and atherogenicity index (AI) of retail dairy products (whole milk, butter, and prato, a soft yellow cheese) from Brazil was investigated. CLA content of dairy products ranged from 0.55 to 1.53 g CLA/100 g fatty acids and was on average 25% higher during the rainy season compared to the dry season. Dairy products from the rainy season also had lower AI levels, indicating a lower risk of causing cardiovascular disease in consumers. This seasonality led to estimated seasonal variations of milk fat quality consumed by the population of southeastern Brazil, meaning 15% and 19% variation in daily intake of CLA and AI values, respectively. Dietary consumption of CLA (g/day) was greater in the rainy season, despite higher intake of dairy products during the dry season. We show that dairy products produced during the rainy season in Brazil are expected to be more beneficial to human health than are those produced during the dry season.
Correlation of vascular permeability factor/vascular endothelial growth factor with extraretinal neovascularization in the rat.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether neovascularization was spatially correlated with the distribution of messenger RNA for vascular permeability factor/vascular endothelial growth factor (VPF/VEGF). METHODS Neonatal rats were raised 8 days in 80% oxygen with daily intervals of relative hypoxia in room air, then transferred to room air for 5, 7, or 10 additional days. In situ hybridization for VPF/VEGF expression and avascular area were examined in retinas from oxygen-exposed animals and room-air controls. Severity of neovascularization was scored. RESULTS The inner nuclear layer of oxygen-exposed retinas exhibited a continuous intense band of VPF/VEGF messenger RNA expression across the peripheral avascular zone that dropped sharply in vascular retina. Neovascularization occurred adjacent to regions of greatest expression. Controls had much lower expression and smaller avascular regions. The VPF/VEGF messenger RNA expression was most intense in Müller cells, scattered astrocytes, and amacrine cells, strong in retinal pigment epithelium, and moderate in the remaining inner nuclear layer and ganglion cell layer. CONCLUSION The expression of VPF/VEGF message was spatially and quantitatively correlated with the neovascularization.
Coronary Arteries Segmentation Based on the 3D Discrete Wavelet Transform and 3D Neutrosophic Transform

Purpose. Most applications in the field of medical image processing require precise estimation. To improve the accuracy of segmentation, this study aimed to propose a novel segmentation method for coronary arteries to allow for the automatic and accurate detection of coronary pathologies. Methods. The proposed segmentation method included 2 parts. First, 3D region growing was applied to give the initial segmentation of coronary arteries. Next, the location of vessel information, HHH subband coefficients of the 3D DWT, was detected by the proposed vessel-texture discrimination algorithm. Based on the initial segmentation, 3D DWT integrated with the 3D neutrosophic transformation could accurately detect the coronary arteries. Results. Each subbranch of the segmented coronary arteries was segmented correctly by the proposed method. The obtained results are compared with those ground truth values obtained from the commercial software from GE Healthcare and the level-set method proposed by Yang et al., 2007. Results indicate that the proposed method is better in terms of efficiency analyzed. Conclusion. Based on the initial segmentation of coronary arteries obtained from 3D region growing, one-level 3D DWT and 3D neutrosophic transformation can be applied to detect coronary pathologies accurately.
Cooperative control with adaptive graph Laplacians for spacecraft formation flying

This paper investigates exact nonlinear dynamics and cooperative control for spacecraft formation flying with Earth oblateness (J2 perturbation) and atmospheric drag effects. The nonlinear dynamics for chief and deputy motions are derived by using Gauss' variational equation and the Euler-Lagrangian formulation, respectively. The proposed cooperative control employs adaptive time-varying Laplacian gains. The tracking and diffusive coupling gains are adapted by the synchronization/tracking errors and distance-based connectivity, thereby defining a time-varying network topology. Moreover, the proposed method relaxes the network structure requirement and permits an unbalanced graph. Nonlinear stability is proven by contraction analysis and incremental input-to-state stability. Numerical examples show the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Distributed game-tree search using transposition table driven work scheduling

The /spl alpha//spl beta/ algorithm for two-player game-tree search has a notorious reputation as being a challenging algorithm for achieving reasonable parallel performance. MTD(f), a new /spl alpha//spl beta/ variant, has become the sequential algorithm of choice for practitioners. Unfortunately, MTD(f) inherits most of the parallel obstacles of /spl alpha//spl beta/, as well as creating new performance hurdles. Transposition-table-driven scheduling (TDS) is a new parallel search algorithm that has proven to be effective in the single-agent (one-player) domain. This paper presents TDSAB, the first time TDS parallelism has been applied to two-player search (the MTD(f) algorithm). Results show that TDSAB gives comparable speedups to that achieved by conventional parallel /spl alpha//spl beta/ algorithms. However, since this is a parallelization of a superior sequential algorithm the results in fact are better. This paper shows that the TDS idea can be extended to more challenging search domains.
Review Based Entity Ranking using Fuzzy Logic Algorithmic Approach: Analysis

Opinion mining, also called sentiment analysis, is the field of study that analyzes people's opinions, sentiments, evaluations, appraisals, attitudes, and emotions towards entities such as products, services, organizations, individuals, issues, events, topics, and their attributes. Holistic lexicon-based approach does not consider the strength of each opinion, i.e., whether the opinion is very strongly negative (or positive), strongly negative (or positive), moderate negative (or positive), very weakly negative (or positive) and weakly negative (or positive). In this paper, we propose approach to rank entities based on orientation and strength of the entity's reviews and user's queries by classifying them in granularity levels (i.e. very weak, weak, moderate, very strong and strong) by combining opinion words (i.e. adverb, adjective, noun and verb) that are related to aspect of interest of certain product. We shall use fuzzy logic algorithmic approach in order to classify opinion words into different category and syntactic dependency resolution to find relations for desired aspect words. Opinion words related to certain aspects of interest are considered to find the entity score for that aspect in the review. Index Terms—Text mining, Information Search and Retrieval, Fuzzy reasoning, Natural Language Processing, Text analysis.
Interlinking Media Archives with the Web of Data

Today's enterprises heavily rely upon accurate, consistent, and time- ly access to data. However, company data is typically scattered across multiple databases and file shares in a multitude of forms and versions. Moreover, an in- creasing amount of valuable background information is available outside the companies' influence and control. This situation is typical for many enterprise information integration scenarios, also in Austria's largest broadcasting media archive. Our demonstration argues for an information integration approach that uses semantic web principles to interlink archival media content of the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) with the web of data and with internal knowledge resources to facilitate semantic search and to increase the user expe- rience of browsing and discovering media content in the daily production work- flow.
Persistence of Lung CD8 T Cell Oligoclonal Expansions upon Smoking Cessation in a Mouse Model of Cigarette Smoke-Induced Emphysema1

The role of adaptive immunity in the development or progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remains undefined. Recently, the presence of autoantibodies and autoreactive T cells has been demonstrated in COPD patients. In addition, oligoclonal expansions of lung T cells have been observed in COPD patients, but the overlapping incidence of infections, tumors, and cigarette smoke exposure obscures the antigenic stimulus. We analyzed the TCR Vβ repertoire of CD4 and CD8 T cells purified from the lungs and spleens of mice chronically exposed to cigarette smoke. In a mouse model of COPD, we demonstrate that chronic cigarette smoke exposure causes oligoclonal expansions of T cells isolated from the lungs, but not spleens. TCR Vβ repertoire analyses revealed oligoclonal expansions predominantly occurred in lung CD8 T cells, with preferential usage of Vβ7, Vβ9, Vβ13, and Vβ14. Using nucleotide sequence analysis based on Jβ analyses, we demonstrate selection of CDR3 amino acid motifs, which strongly suggests Ag-driven oligoclonal T cell expansion. Analysis of the lung TCR Vβ repertoire of mice with cigarette smoke-induced emphysema, which had undergone smoking cessation for 6 mo, revealed that oligoclonal expansions persisted. This study formally demonstrates that chronic cigarette smoke exposure, alone, causes a persistent adaptive T cell immune response. These findings have important implications for therapeutic approaches in the treatment of COPD, and provide insight into potential mechanisms involved in disease pathogenesis.
Degradation of Trimethyl Phosphate on TiZrCe Mixed Oxides

The nanostructured mixed oxides of Ti, Zr and Ce were prepared by homogeneous hydrolysis of aqueous solution of metal sulphates with urea. This method proceeds at low temperatures (≤100 °C) in water environment without utilizing organometallic compounds. The prepared samples were characterized by XRD, XRF, Raman spectroscopy, SEM and BET and BJH methods. The FTIR diffuse spectroscopy was used for monitoring chemical decay of trimethyl phosphate (TMP) as a surrogate for organophosphorus pesticides under ambient temperature. The samples possessed high surface area ~500 m 2 g -1 thanks to addition of zirconium and cerium. All the samples proved to degrade TMP at room temperature; the CH3O group hydrolysis and (P=O) group cleavage are leading ways of TMP decomposition.
Identification of Multi-fractal Characteristics of Silicon Content in Blast Furnace Hot Metal

An improved approach was proposed to identify the multi-fractal characteristics of silicon content in hot metal from No. 7 BF at Handan Steel, No. 1 BF at Laiwu Steel and No. 6 BF at Linfen Iron and Steel Group Co. Comprehensive and quantitative details of the partial fluctuant singularity and fluctuant singularity at different levels are displayed through the computation of generalized Hurst index, scaling function and multi-fractal spectrum. The results confirm the existence of multi-fractal characteristics in the investigated time series. To describe such fluctuation in a single Hurst index or box dimension is insufficient. It is concluded that the theory and methods based on normal distribution, sequence unrelated and single fractal needs addition and amendments.
A PDE-ODE Model for a Junction with Ramp Buffer

We consider the Lighthill--Whitham--Richards traffic flow model on a junction composed by one mainline, an onramp, and an offramp, which are connected by a node. The onramp dynamics is modeled using an ordinary differential equation describing the evolution of the queue length. The definition of the solution of the Riemann problem at the junction is based on an optimization problem and the use of a right-of-way parameter. The numerical approximation is carried out using a Godunov scheme, modified to take into account the effects of the onramp buffer. We present the result of some simulations and numerically check the convergence of the method.
Estimating the Effect of a Prognostic or Risk Factor after Selection of an " Optimal " Cutpoint

Estimating the Effect of a Prognostic or Risk Factor after Selection of an "Optimal" Cutpoint Norbert Holländer, Willi Sauerbrei and Martin Schumacher 1 Institute of Medical Biometry and Medical Informatics, University Hospital Freiburg, Stefan-Meier-Straße 26, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany 2 Freiburg Center for Data Analysis and Modelling, University of Freiburg, Eckerstraße 1, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany * email: ms@imbi.uni-freiburg.de http://www.imbi.uni-freiburg.de