Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Intrarenal Surgery vs Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy in the Management of Lower Pole Stones Greater than 2 cm

Purpose To compare the efficacy of RIRS and PNL in lower pole stones ≥2 cm. Materials and and Methods: A total of 109 patients who underwent PNL or RIRS for solitary lower pole stone between April 2009 and December 2012, were retrospectively analyzed. Lower pole stone was diagnosed with CT scan. Stone size was assessed as the longest axis of the stone. All patients were informed about the advantages, disadvantages and probable complications of both PNL and RIRS before the selection of the procedure. Patients decided the surgery type by themselves without being under any influences and written informed consent was obtained from all patients prior to the surgery. Patients were divided into two groups according to the patients’ preference of surgery type. Group 1 consisted of 77 patients who underwent PNL and Group 2 consisted of 32 patients treated with RIRS. Stone free statuses, postoperative complications, operative time and hospitalization time were compared in both groups. Results There was no statistical significance between the two groups in mean age, stone size, stone laterality, mean follow-up periods and mean operative times. In PNL group, stone-free rate was 96.1% at first session and 100% after the additional procedure. In Group 2, stone-free rate was 90.6% at the first procedure and 100% after the additional procedure. The final stone-free rates and operative times were similar in both groups. Conclusions RIRS should be an effective treatment alternative to PNL in lower pole stones larger than 2 cm, especially in selected patients.
Particle size distribution and optimal capture of aqueous macrobial eDNA

Detecting aquatic macroorganisms with environmental DNA (eDNA) is a new survey method with broad applicability. However, the origin, state, and fate of aqueous macrobial eDNA - which collectively determine how well eDNA can serve as a proxy for directly observing organisms and how eDNA should be captured, purified, and assayed - are poorly understood. The size of aquatic particles provides clues about their origin, state, and fate. We used sequential filtration size fractionation to measure, for the first time, the particle size distribution (PSD) of macrobial eDNA, specifically Common Carp (hereafter referred to as Carp) eDNA. We compared it to the PSDs of total eDNA (from all organisms) and suspended particle matter (SPM). We quantified Carp mitochondrial eDNA using a custom qPCR assay, total eDNA with fluorometry, and SPM with gravimetric analysis. In a lake and a pond, we found Carp eDNA in particles from >180 to <0.2 μm, but it was most abundant from 1-10 μm. Total eDNA was most abundant below 0.2 μm and SPM was most abundant above 100 μm. SPM was ≤0.1% total eDNA, and total eDNA was ≤0.0004% Carp eDNA. 0.2 μm filtration maximized Carp eDNA capture (85%±6%) while minimizing total (i.e., non-target) eDNA capture (48%±3%), but filter clogging limited this pore size to a volume <250 mL. To mitigate this limitation we estimated a continuous PSD model for Carp eDNA and derived an equation for calculating isoclines of pore size and water volume that yield equivalent amounts of Carp eDNA. Our results suggest that aqueous macrobial eDNA predominantly exists inside mitochondria or cells, and that settling plays an important role in its fate. For optimal eDNA capture, we recommend 0.2 μm filtration or a combination of larger pore size and water volume that exceeds the 0.2 μm isocline. In situ filtration of large volumes could maximize detection probability when surveying large habitats for rare organisms. Our method for eDNA particle size analysis enables future research to compare the PSDs of eDNA from other organisms and environments, and to easily apply them for ecological monitoring.
Resilience and Coping Intervention with Children and Adolescents in At-Risk Neighborhoods

ABSTRACT This study evaluated the Resilience and Coping Intervention for Children (RCI), a group intervention to increase coping skills and resilience in children and adolescents. RCI was delivered to children and adolescents residing in five at-risk neighborhoods in a southern U.S. city. Children’s and adolescents’ self-report of coping strategies, strengths and difficulties with behaviors and emotions, and hope indicated decreased difficulties with behavior and emotions and increased feelings of hope postintervention. Parent report of difficulties with behavior and emotions revealed a significant decrease in children but not in adolescents. Mean scores for four coping dimensions increased, but the increase was not statistically significant.
PDGF-CC blockade inhibits pathological angiogenesis by acting on multiple cellular and molecular targets

The importance of identifying VEGF-independent pathways in pathological angiogenesis is increasingly recognized as a result of the emerging drug resistance to anti-VEGF therapies. PDGF-CC is the third member of the PDGF family discovered after more than two decades of studies on PDGF-AA and PDGF-BB. The biological function of PDGF-CC and the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms remain largely unexplored. Here, using different animal models, we report that PDGF-CC inhibition by neutralizing antibody, shRNA, or genetic deletion suppressed both choroidal and retinal neovascularization. Importantly, we revealed that PDGF-CC targeting acted not only on multiple cell types important for pathological angiogenesis, such as vascular mural and endothelial cells, macrophages, choroidal fibroblasts and retinal pigment epithelial cells, but also on the expression of other important angiogenic genes, such as PDGF-BB and PDGF receptors. At a molecular level, we found that PDGF-CC regulated glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)–3β phosphorylation and expression both in vitro and in vivo. Activation of GSK3β impaired PDGF-CC–induced angiogenesis, and inhibition of GSK3β abolished the antiangiogenic effect of PDGF-CC blockade. Thus, we identified PDGF-CC as an important candidate target gene for antiangiogenic therapy, and PDGF-CC inhibition may be of therapeutic value in treating neovascular diseases.
Probabilistic Short-Term Wind Power Forecast Using Componential Sparse Bayesian Learning

A practical approach for the probabilistic short-term generation forecast of a wind farm is proposed in this paper. Compared with deterministic wind generation forecast, probabilistic wind generation forecast can provide important wind generation distribution information for operation, trading, and some other applications. The proposed approach is based on a sparse Bayesian learning (SBL) algorithm, which produces probabilistic forecast results by estimating the probabilistic density of the weights of Gaussian kernel functions. Furthermore, since the wind generation time series exhibits strong nonstationary property, a componential forecast strategy is used to improve the forecast accuracy. According to the strategy, the wind generation series is decomposed into several more predictable series by discrete wavelet transform, and then, the resulted series are forecasted using the SBL algorithm. To fulfill multilook-ahead wind generation forecast, a multi-SBL forecast model is constructed in the context. Tests on a 74-MW wind farm located in southwest Oklahoma demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
The effect of a postmodern career life story intervention on disadvantaged grade 12 learners

This study sought to investigate the effectiveness of postmodern qualitative narrative counselling in the South African context, where traditional western approaches have been less successful, by exploring the effects of a postmodern career life story intervention on a sample of eight disadvantaged grade 12 learners. A qualitative research design using pre and post intervention interviews was used to explore whether the participants reevaluated or reinterpreted their responses to the interview questions in light of the intervention. The results of the study indicated that the participants experienced increased self-understanding, self-esteem, initiative and hope, optimism and empowerment through the intervention. The participants appreciated the time and space to be able to reflect on their lives. It appears as if all the various components of the life story intervention had a powerful impact on the participants. Writing life stories and using art materials appeared to be a method that was effective with disadvantaged grade 12 learners.
Evidence for CPP32 Activation in the Absence of Apoptosis during T Lymphocyte Stimulation*

Cysteine proteases of the interleukin-1β-converting enzyme family have been implicated in the effector process of apoptosis in several systems. Among these, CPP32 has been shown to be processed to active enzyme at the onset of apoptosis. Here, we show that CPP32 precursor is cleaved into its active form during phytohaemaglutinin A activation of T lymphocytes. Maximal processing is observed between day 3 and day 4 following addition of mitogen and is a transient process. Precursor cleavage is associated with the appearance of a CPP32-like enzymatic activity in cell lysates. At this time in the culture, almost no apoptotic cell and no dead cell can be detected, and T lymphocytes are actively proliferating. CPP32 processing also occurs when lymphocytes are stimulated through an allogeneic primary mixed lymphocyte reaction. Our results suggest that proteolytic activation of CPP32 could be a physiological step during T lymphocyte activation. In addition, these data indicate that CPP32 activation can occur independently of programmed cell death in T lymphocytes.
A Study on Significance of Color in Face Recognition using Several Eigenface Algorithms

Face recognition has rapidly evolved and has become very popular in recent years. It is being intensively researched and found many applications, primarily in biometric security systems. One of the main challenges in face recognition is to identify different features playing fundamental role in face description. The role of color, which appears to be a salient attribute of faces, is still debatable within the literature. Some research has suggested that it confers little recognition advantage for identifying faces while other research suggests that color is a very important cue. The clear perception of colors in the environment illustrates that color must be important in the interpretation of complex scenes and recognizing objects in the environment. In this paper several face recognition algorithms are reviewed compared using both grayscale and color images. The accuracy of each algorithm has been determined and they were ranked according to recognition rates. A system is also proposed, which uses color features for face recognition. This system can be used by different face recognition algorithms. The experiments have been performed on two wimagesell-known databases: CVL database containing 114 individuals with 7 images per individual and Georgia face database consisting of 50 individuals with 15 pictures of each individual taken with different poses, expressions and backgrounds.
Connectin filaments link thick filaments and Z lines in frog skeletal muscle as revealed by immunoelectron microscopy

In an earlier study connectin, an elastic protein of striated muscle, was found to be associated with "gap filaments" originating from the thick filaments in the myofibril, but it was not clear whether it extends to Z lines or not (Maruyama, K., H. Sawada, S. Kimura, K. Ohashi, H. Higuchi, and Y. Umazume, 1984, J. Cell Biol., 99:1391-1397). In the present immunoelectron microscopic study using polyclonal antibodies against native connectin, we have concluded that the connectin structures are directly linked to Z lines from the thick (myosin) filaments in myofibrils of skinned fibers of frog skeletal muscle. There were five distinct antibody-binding stripes in each half of the A band and two stripes in the A-I junction region. Deposits of antibodies were recognized in I bands and Z lines. We suggest that connectin filaments run alongside the thick filaments, starting from a region approximately 0.15 micron from the center of the A band.
Local binary patterns as an image preprocessing for face authentication

One of the major problem in face authentication systems is to deal with variations in illumination. In a realistic scenario, it is very likely that the lighting conditions of the probe image does not correspond to those of the gallery image, hence there is a need to handle such variations. In this work, we present a new preprocessing algorithm based on local binary patterns (LBP): a texture representation is derived from the input face image before being forwarded to the classifier. The efficiency of the proposed approach is empirically demonstrated using both an appearance-based (LDA) and a feature-based (HMM) face authentication systems on two databases: BANCA and XM2VTS (with its darkened set). Conducted experiments show a significant improvement in terms of verification error rates and compare to results obtained with state-of-the-art preprocessing techniques
Chandra Observations of NGC 253. II. On the Origin of Diffuse X-Ray Emission in the Halos of Starburst Galaxies

We present a detailed case study of the diffuse X-ray and Hα emission in the halo of NGC 253, a nearby edge-on starburst galaxy driving a galactic superwind. The arcsecond spatial resolution of the ACIS imaging spectroscope on the Chandra X-Ray Observatory allows us to study the spatial and spectral properties of the diffuse X-ray-emitting plasma, at a height of between 3 and 9 kpc above the disk in the northern halo of NGC 253, with greatly superior spatial and spectral resolution compared to previous X-ray instruments. We find statistically significant structure within the diffuse emission on angular scales down to ~10'' (~130 pc) and place limits on the luminosity of any X-ray-emitting "clouds" on smaller scales. There is no statistically significant evidence for any spatial variation in the spectral properties of the diffuse emission over scales from ~400 pc to ~3 kpc. The spectrum of the diffuse X-ray emission is clearly thermal, although with the higher spectral resolution and sensitivity of Chandra it is clear that current simple spectral models do not provide a physically meaningful description of the spectrum. In particular, the fitted metal abundances are unphysically low. There is no convincing evidence for diffuse X-ray emission at energies above 2 keV in the halo. We show that the X-shaped soft X-ray morphology of the superwind previously revealed by ROSAT is matched by very similar X-shaped Hα emission, extending at least 8 kpc above the plane of the galaxy. In the northern halo the X-ray emission appears to lie slightly interior to the boundary marked by the Hα emission. The total 0.3-2.0 keV energy band X-ray luminosity of the northern halo, LX ~ 5 × 1038 ergs s-1, is very similar to the halo Hα luminosity of LHα ~ 4 × 1038 ergs s-1, both of which are a small fraction of the estimated wind energy injection rate of ~1042 ergs s-1 from supernovae in the starburst. We show that there are a variety of models that can simultaneously explain spatially correlated X-ray and Hα emission in the halos of starburst galaxies, although the physical origin of the various emission components can be very different in different models. These findings indicate that the physical origin of the X-ray-emitting million-degree plasma in superwinds is closely linked to the presence of much cooler and denser T ~ 104K gas, not only within the central kiloparsec regions of starbursts but also on ~10 kpc scales within the halos of these galaxies.
H3N2 Influenza Infection Elicits More Cross-Reactive and Less Clonally Expanded Anti-Hemagglutinin Antibodies Than Influenza Vaccination

Background During the recent H1N1 influenza pandemic, excess morbidity and mortality was seen in young but not older adults suggesting that prior infection with influenza strains may have protected older subjects. In contrast, a history of recent seasonal trivalent vaccine in younger adults was not associated with protection. Methods and Findings To study hemagglutinin (HA) antibody responses in influenza immunization and infection, we have studied the day 7 plasma cell repertoires of subjects immunized with seasonal trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (TIV) and compared them to the plasma cell repertoires of subjects experimentally infected (EI) with influenza H3N2 A/Wisconsin/67/2005. The majority of circulating plasma cells after TIV produced influenza-specific antibodies, while most plasma cells after EI produced antibodies that did not react with influenza HA. While anti-HA antibodies from TIV subjects were primarily reactive with single or few HA strains, anti-HA antibodies from EI subjects were isolated that reacted with multiple HA strains. Plasma cell-derived anti-HA antibodies from TIV subjects showed more evidence of clonal expansion compared with antibodies from EI subjects. From an H3N2-infected subject, we isolated a 4-member clonal lineage of broadly cross-reactive antibodies that bound to multiple HA subtypes and neutralized both H1N1 and H3N2 viruses. This broad reactivity was not detected in post-infection plasma suggesting this broadly reactive clonal lineage was not immunodominant in this subject. Conclusion The presence of broadly reactive subdominant antibody responses in some EI subjects suggests that improved vaccine designs that make broadly reactive antibody responses immunodominant could protect against novel influenza strains.
Chili pepper and rectal hyperalgesia in irritable bowel syndrome

H. pylori seroprevalence in controls were significantly higher (2.7 95% CI 1.48–4.89, p 0.001), as compared with IBD patients. Body mass index, sex, history of chronic disorders, and place of origin were not related to H. pylori infection. Concerning positivity for H. pylori infection, no significant differences between patients with ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, and indeterminate colitis were noticed (33.1% vs 28.6%, respectively). Disease activity, duration of disease, and treatment with 5-aminosalicylic acid, azathioprine, and corticosteroids were not related to H. pylori positivity. On the contrary, treatment with antibiotics was significantly negatively related to H. pylori positivity (20.5% vs 55.0%, p 0.0001). Logistic regression analysis confirmed that treatment with antibiotics, as well as age and educational level were independent factors related to H. pylori seropositivity (Table 1). It is of interest that the percentage of patients positive for H. pylori who did not report antibiotics use in the past was similar to that of normal controls (55.0% vs 55.1%, respectively). Although there is a large geographic variation in the prevalence of both IBD and H. pylori infection, it is worth clarifying why patients with IBD exhibit universally and steadily low prevalence of H. pylori infection. The results of the present study confirm the low prevalence of H. pylori seropositivity in patients with IBD and that among the various therapeutic modalities applied to patients with IBD, only use of antibiotics was related to low incidence of H. pylori infection. It is worth noticing that the number of studies that have examined the significance of antibiotic treatment on the low incidence of H. pylori infection in IBD is extremely small, and most of them are retrospective. Sousa et al. described that the low prevalence of H. pylori infection in Crohn’s disease patients was associated with current or previous metronidazole therapy (5). Recently, Matsumura et al. (6) described results similar to ours. They found that the prevalence of H. pylori infection in Crohn’s disease patients was significantly lower in those who received antibiotics for at least 2 wk. Our findings are indicative that the low prevalence of H. pylori infection found in patients with IBD could be attributed to previous antibiotic treatment. However, further longitudinal studies must verify this assumption.
Nodal wars and network fallacies

In this article we examine three prominent discourses of security governance and suggest, through a critical review of organizational network theory, that the nodal model can offer theoretical, methodological and ethical benefits over alternative ones. These benefits, we argue, are especially pertinent to the analysis of contemporary global insecurities. The article closes by reflecting on two issues raised in the earlier analysis: how an awareness of discursive contiguity can help inform our understanding of nodal tendencies in global security governance; and how the methodological fallacy of ‘nodal-network equivalence’ plays out under conditions of the ‘war on terror’.
Cyclodextrins in drug delivery

Cyclodextrins are a family of cyclic oligosaccharides with a hydrophilic outer surface and a lipophilic central cavity. Cyclodextrin molecules are relatively large with a number of hydrogen donors and acceptors and, thus, in general they do not permeate lipophilic membranes. In the pharmaceutical industry cyclodextrins have mainly been used as complexing agents to increase aqueous solubility of poorly soluble drugs, and to increase their bioavailability and stability. Studies in both humans and animals have shown that cyclodextrins can be used to improve drug delivery from almost any type of drug formulation. However, the addition of cyclodextrins to existing formulations without further optimisation will seldom result in acceptable outcome. Currently there are ~ 30 different pharmaceutical products worldwide containing drug/cyclodextrin complexes on the market.
Preliminary Analysis of Gait Changes That Correspond to Gaze Directions

Human gait (way of walking) can be changed to correspond to human gaze direction. We aim to realize a gait-based gaze estimation scheme by modeling the relations between gait and gaze. In this paper, as a first step to our goal, we show the preliminary analysis results of the relations between gait and gaze. From the results, we confirmed that arm swing is affected by the gaze direction. We confirmed a tendency for the opposite arm's amplitude in the gazing direction to decrease. For these analysis, we constructed an immersive walking environment in which we measured subject gaits in various gazing situations by a motion capturing system and an eye tracker. The environment consisted of a treadmill and 180 multi-screens for presenting the gazing target. Our analysis results suggest the possibility of gaze estimation based on gait.