Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Monitoring of Blood Vessel Density Using Contrast-Enhanced High Frequency Ultrasound May Facilitate Early Diagnosis of Lymph Node Metastasis

Time-dependent alterations in the ultrasonography characteristics of lymph nodes during early-stage metastasis have not been compared with those of tumor-draining lymph nodes that do not develop tumor; this is partly due to the absence of an appropriate experimental model. In a previous study of lymph nodes with experimental early-stage metastasis, we used contrast-enhanced high-frequency ultrasound to demonstrate that an increase in lymph node blood vessel density preceded any changes in lymph node volume. In the present study, we used an experimental model of lymph node metastasis in which tumor cells metastasized from the subiliac lymph node to the proper axillary lymph node (the tumor-draining lymph node). We utilized contrast-enhanced high-frequency ultrasound to perform a longitudinal analysis of tumor-draining lymph nodes, comparing those at an early-stage of metastasis with those that did not develop detectable metastasis. We found that the normalized blood vessel density of an early-stage metastatic lymph node exhibited a progressive rise, whereas that of a tumor-draining lymph node not containing tumor began to increase later. For both types of lymph nodes, the normalized blood vessel density on the final day of experiments showed a trend towards being higher than that measured in controls. We further found that mice with an initially low value for lymph node blood vessel density subsequently showed a larger increase in the blood vessel density of the metastatic lymph node; this differed significantly from measurements in controls. The present study indicates that a longitudinal analysis of the blood vessel densities of tumor-draining lymph nodes, made using contrast-enhanced high-frequency ultrasound imaging, may be a potentially promising method for detecting early-stage lymph node metastasis in selected patients. Furthermore, our findings suggest that tumor in an upstream lymph node may induce alteration of the vascular structures in draining lymph nodes that do not contain tumor.
Characterizing the effects of dwarf mistletoe and other diseases for sustainable forest management

Many insects, fungi, and plants in forest ecosystems can damage trees and forests, depending on stand and environmental conditions. Natural disturbances, harvesting, and other forest practices can retard or increase the spread and the effects of dwarf mistletoe and other diseases on tree growth. To monitor the effects of diseases, certification and monitoring programs typically use incidence and severity of infestations as criteria and indicators. However, these are often insufficient to characterize the impact of the disease or to measure the effects of new management practices, such as variable retention silviculture, on sustainability. Long-term observations and models of stand development are advocated as better methods for characterizing disease effects. For dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium tsugense), we are designing and monitoring installations in infested stands of western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) and constructing a spatial and life history model of stand and disease development. Disease spread and effects are influenced by several factors including site quality, stand density, and the spatial arrangement of infected trees, which are sources of mistletoe spread into new stands. Potentially, these factors could be manipulated to either reduce or encourage the spread and the effects of dwarf mistletoe.
A Systems Biology Approach Reveals Converging Molecular Mechanisms that Link Different POPs to Common Metabolic Diseases

Background: A number of epidemiological studies have identified statistical associations between persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and metabolic diseases, but testable hypotheses regarding underlying molecular mechanisms to explain these linkages have not been published. Objectives: We assessed the underlying mechanisms of POPs that have been associated with metabolic diseases; three well-known POPs [2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzodioxin (TCDD), 2,2´,4,4´,5,5´-hexachlorobiphenyl (PCB 153), and 4,4´-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p´-DDE)] were studied. We used advanced database search tools to delineate testable hypotheses and to guide laboratory-based research studies into underlying mechanisms by which this POP mixture could produce or exacerbate metabolic diseases. Methods: For our searches, we used proprietary systems biology software (MetaCore™/MetaDrug™) to conduct advanced search queries for the underlying interactions database, followed by directional network construction to identify common mechanisms for these POPs within two or fewer interaction steps downstream of their primary targets. These common downstream pathways belong to various cytokine and chemokine families with experimentally well-documented causal associations with type 2 diabetes. Conclusions: Our systems biology approach allowed identification of converging pathways leading to activation of common downstream targets. To our knowledge, this is the first study to propose an integrated global set of step-by-step molecular mechanisms for a combination of three common POPs using a systems biology approach, which may link POP exposure to diseases. Experimental evaluation of the proposed pathways may lead to development of predictive biomarkers of the effects of POPs, which could translate into disease prevention and effective clinical treatment strategies. Citation: Ruiz P, Perlina A, Mumtaz M, Fowler BA. 2016. A systems biology approach reveals converging molecular mechanisms that link different POPs to common metabolic diseases. Environ Health Perspect 124:1034–1041; http://dx.doi. org/10.1289/ehp.1510308
A retrospective on state of the art social media research methods: ethical decisions, big-small data rivalries and the spectre of the 6Vs

This concluding chapter offers critical reflections on some of the key themes covered in the Handbook. Ethics emerged as a concern for many scholars, both for those engaging in quantitative and qualitative approaches. Scholars agree in that there is no overarching set of rules that can be applied to all projects blindly, rather they see ethical decisions as being grounded in the specifics of the data being collected, the social group under study, and the potential repercussions for subjects. A second central theme was the value of qualitative approaches for understanding ‘anomalies’ within larger data sets. Qualitative approaches are seen as valuable and a stand-alone means of collecting, analyzing and making sense of social media data, in particular for projects where context is essential. Finally, as the contributions in this volume demonstrate that many of the challenges posed by the nature of social media data are being tackled and addressed, this chapter ends with a reorientation of the 6Vs which focuses on the primacy of the researcher in the decision-making process. We argue that the provision of technical solutions alone do not entirely address the 6V problem and clarity of thought around research design is still just as important as ever.
Automatic discrimination among languages based on

The development of methods for the automatic identiication of languages is motivated both by speech-based applications intended for use in a multilingual environment, and by theoretical questions of cross-linguistic variation and similarity. We evaluate the potential utility of two prosodic variables, F 0 and amplitude envelope modulation, in a pairwise language discrimination task. Discrimination is done using a novel neural network which can successfully attend to temporal information at a range of timescales. Both variables are found to be useful in discriminating among languages, and confusion patterns, in general, reeect traditional intonational and rhythmic language classes. The methods employed allow empirical determination of prosodic similarity across languages. To whom correspondence should be addressed
The presence of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) correlates with lymph node metastasis in nonresectable squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck region (SCCHN).

BACKGROUND The mechanisms regulating tumor cell dissemination in locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck region (SCCHN) are largely unresolved. We assessed the frequency of circulating tumor cells (CTCs), their association with clinicopathologic parameters and their kinetics during radiochemotherapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS Peripheral blood samples from 42 patients with locally advanced SCCHN were included. CTCs were detected using flow cytometric analysis of CD45-epithelial cell adhesion molecule+cytokeratin+ cells and results were validated by nested RT-PCR analysis of circulating epidermal growth factor receptor transcripts. The association between the presence of CTCs and T stage, tumor volume, N stage and human papillomavirus status was evaluated. The influence of radiochemotherapy on CTC numbers was determined. RESULTS CTCs were detected in 18 of 42 SCCHN patients (43%), with a mean ± standard deviation of 1.7 ± 0.9 CTCs per 3.75 ml blood. We observed no significant correlation between the presence of CTCs and T stage or tumor volume. However, a nodal stage of N2b or higher was associated with higher frequency of CTCs. Though concurrent radiochemotherapy reduced their frequency, CTCs persisted during treatment in 20% of cases. CONCLUSIONS Detection of CTCs correlates with regional metastasis in inoperable SCCHN. Further follow-up is needed to evaluate the prognostic significance of CTC detection, in addition to clinical staging of lymph nodes, for regional or distant recurrence.
Weighting the Edge Stabilization

A modification of the edge stabilization technique is proposed to improve the behavior of the method when solving conservation equations with nonsmooth data or nonsmooth solutions. The key ingredient is tempering the edge stabilization in regions of large gradients through appropriate weights. The new method is shown to preserve the convergence properties of the original method on smooth solutions, and numerical tests indicate that it performs better on nonsmooth solutions.
Worship, Faith, and Evangelism: Religion as an Ideological Lens for Engineering Worlds

While some in the CSCW community have researched the values in technology design and engineering practices, the underlying ideologies that reinforce and protect those values remain under-explored. This paper seeks to address this gap by identifying a common ideological framework that appears across four engineering endeavors: the OLPC Project, the National Day of Civic Hacking, the Fixit Clinic, and the Stanford d.school. We found that all four of these communities utilized elements of religious practice to affirm their membership and shared vision. We describe the forms of worship we saw in these engineering worlds, their practices of evangelism, and the ways in which they addressed doubt. We also demonstrate the role mythologies play as ideologically charged narratives. Our discussion of these parallels illuminates the extent and consequences of quasi-religious practices in engineering worlds and illustrates the utility of using religion as a "lens" for understanding ideological commitments in engineering culture.
Two-Step Reduction for Finding a Minimal-Sized Partition in Automatic Partition Testing

Software testing is complex and time consuming. One way to reduce testing effort is to automatically generate test data. In this work we study a specification-based approach for generating software tests. Briefly, tests are generated by partitioning the specification input domain into a set of subdomains using an automatic partitioning strategy. An important step in the process is to reduce the number of generated subdomains and find a minimal partition. Previous attempts in designing an algorithm to find such a partition have either failed or resulted in inefficient algorithms. However, in this work we present a new, efficient minimal partition method calledTSR. This work has been supported by ECSEL (Excellence Center in Computer Science and Systems Engineering in Linköping) and NUTEK (the Swedish National Board for Industrial and Technical Development).
Virtual Reality System with Integrated Sound Field Simulation and Reproduction

A real-time audio rendering system is introduced which combines a full room-specific simulation, dynamic crosstalk cancellation, and multitrack binaural synthesis for virtual acoustical imaging. The system is applicable for any room shape (normal, long, flat, coupled), independent of the a priori assumption of a diffuse sound field. This provides the possibility of simulating indoor or outdoor spatially distributed, freely movable sources and a moving listener in virtual environments. In addition to that, near-to-head sources can be simulated by using measured near-field HRTFs. The reproduction component consists of a headphone-free reproduction by dynamic crosstalk cancellation. The focus of the project is mainly on the integration and interaction of all involved subsystems. It is demonstrated that the system is capable of real-time room simulation and reproduction and, thus, can be used as a reliable platform for further research on VR applications.
Motion Statistics in the CJ Survey -- The Status in October 2002

In the Caltech-Jodrell Survey of bright flat-spectrum radio sources, 3-5 epochs have now been observed for nearly all 293 sources; a uniquely large sample. The derivation of component motions has not yet been completed; it is complicated by, for example, variability and jet curvature. Nevertheless, some basic results are clear. The average apparent velocity in CJF quasars is near 3c, while for radio galaxies and BL Lacs it is around 1c. The distribution of velocities is broad, indicating a broad distribution of jet Lorentz factors, with many low values, and/or a decoupling of the Lorentz factors between the cores and the moving jet components, due to bending, speed changes, or due to pattern motions (shocks). A hint has emerged at this workshop that the average apparent velocities might be lower at lower radio frequencies; this will need careful verification.
Translation of Unknown Words in Low Resource Languages

We address the problem of unknown words, also known as out of vocabulary (OOV) words, in machine translation of low resource languages. Our technique comprises a combination of methods, inspired by the common OOV types observed. We also design evaluation techniques for measuring coverage of OOVs achieved and integrate the new translation candidates in a Statistical Machine Translation (SMT) system. Experimental results on Hindi and Uzbek show that our system achieves a good coverage of OOV words. We show that our methods produced correct candidates for 50% of Hindi OOVs and 30% of Uzbek OOVs, in scenarios that have 1 and 3 OOVs per sentence. This offers a potential for improvement of translation quality for languages that have limited parallel data available for training.
Subfailure damage in ligament: a structural and cellular evaluation.

Subfailure damage in ligaments was evaluated macroscopically from a structural perspective (referring to the entire ligament as a structure) and microscopically from a cellular perspective. Freshly harvested rat medial collateral ligaments (MCLs) were used as a model in ex vivo experiments. Ligaments were preloaded with 0.1 N to establish a consistent point of reference for length (and strain) measurements. Ligament structural damage was characterized by nonrecoverable difference in tissue length after a subfailure stretch. The tissue's mechanical properties (via stress vs. strain curves measured from a preloaded state) after a single subfailure stretch were also evaluated (n = 6 pairs with a different stretch magnitude applied to each stretched ligament). Regions containing necrotic cells were used to characterize cellular damage after a single stretch. It should be noted that the number of damaged cells was not quantified and the difference between cellular area and area of fluorescence is not known. Structural and cellular damage were represented and compared as functions of subfailure MCL strains. Statistical analysis indicated that the onset of structural damage occurs at 5.14% strain (referenced from a preloaded length). Subfailure strains above the damage threshold changed the shape of the MCL stress-strain curve by elongating the toe region (i.e., increasing laxity) as well as decreasing the tangential modulus and ultimate stress. Cellular damage was induced at ligament strains significantly below the structural damage threshold. This cellular damage is likely to be part of the natural healing process in mildly sprained ligaments.
Performance analysis of cyclostationary detector using efficient hardware architecture

Cognitive Radio (CR) is a technique that was headed ahead for utilizing the unused spread spectrum effectively with less interference. The principal task of a CR system is to sense the holes (spaces) effectively and efficiently in the designated frequency spectrum. Here in this work spectrum sensing is carried out by Cyclostationary detector. A random signal is generated and it is modulated either by Binary shift phase keying (BPSK) or Quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK). The Modulated random signal is added with Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN) and passed through Cyclostationary spectrum detector to check whether it crosses the threshold level to for the presence of primary user. The threshold of a signal is calculated by cyclic cross-periodogram matrix of the corresponding signal to determine the presence of signal or noise. The impediment in evaluating the targeted threshold is prevailed by training an artificial neural network by extracted cyclostationary feature vectors which are obtained by FFT accumulation method. This paper discusses about performance of Cyclostationary detector having better Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) than other detectors and the hardware architecture for cyclostationary detection.
Caching Strategies for High-Performance Storage Media

Due to the large access latency of hard disks during data retrieval in computer systems, buffer caching mechanisms have been studied extensively in database and operating systems. By storing requested data into the buffer cache, subsequent requests can be directly serviced without accessing slow disk storage. Meanwhile, high-speed storage media like PCM (phase-change memory) have emerged recently, and one may wonder if the traditional buffer cache will be still effective for these high-speed storage media. This article answers the question by showing that the buffer cache is still effective in such environments due to the software overhead and the bimodal data access characteristics. Based on this observation, we present a new buffer cache management scheme appropriately designed for the system where the speed gap between cache and storage is narrow. To this end, we analyze the condition that caching will be effective and find the characteristics of access patterns that can be exploited in managing buffer cache for high performance storage like PCM.
Effect of BMP-6 on development and maturation of mouse preantral follicles in vitro

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect and mechanism of bone morphogenetic protein-6 (BMP-6) on the growth and maturation of mouse follicles in vitro. Preantral follicles isolated from mice were incubated with recombinant human BMP-6 (rhBMP-6) before analysis. BMP-6 expression was detected by immunofluorescence and western blot. Maturation of oocytes was observed microscopically. Estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P4) levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Expression of steroidogenesis-related genes was detected by reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction. There was a marked increase in the preantral follicles maturation in cells incubated with 50 ng/mL of rhBMP-6 for eight days, compared with the control. The levels of E2, P4 and steroidogenesis-related genes were also significantly increased in granulosa cells and theca cells cultured for 6, 10 and 11 days, respectively. Conversely, the preantral follicle maturing rate was remarkably decreased in cells incubated with 50 ng/mL of rhBMP-6 for day 11, accompanied with reduction in E2, P4 levels and steroidogenesis-related genes levels. Meanwhile, compared with the control, the maturing rate was not significantly different in cells incubated with 100 ng/mL of rhBMP-6 for day 8 or day 11. However, the E2 levels and its relevant regulation gene expression all increased significantly, while the P4 content and its relevant regulation gene expression decreased. The results indicate that BMP-6 can promote the maturation of preantral follicles in vitro in a concentration and time-dependent manner and may play a role in the regulation of steroid hormone synthesis and/or secretion.
Re-examining cross-cultural user interface design indicators : an empirical study

Purpose: In the literature about cross-cultural interface design, there is a gap between general theories on cultural dimensions and the practice of interface design characteristics.This studyinvestigateshowHofstede’s cultural dimensionscould influenceuser interface (UI)design, and how the existing cross-culturalUI design guidelinescan berefined. Method: Comprehensive interviewswere conductedwith tenChineseand ten Dutch respondentswho are specializing in the related field. Respondentsfirstgave their own opinionsonhowculture dimensionscould influence UI design, and then rated and commented on the existing guidelines. This was donefrom one dimension to another in random order. Results:With good consistency, respondents showed agreement on how Hofstede’s culturaldimension would influence UI design. Several UI design elements were elicited for each dimension. The majority of the existing guidelines were thought to be useful, but part of them need to be revised, and some of the guidelines were seen as less influential. Thus, combining the eliciting results and commenting results refinedindicators were proposed for each dimension. Conclusion:Results show thatculture dimensions do matter in UI design. Respondents’opinions are in line with the existing cross-cultural UI design guidelines in many ways, but the existing guidelines should be refined to be more applicable. However, they are rather indicators instead of actual guidelinesthat should be strictly followed, since many other variables probably matter more than culture.
Fully kinetic simulations of undriven magnetic reconnection with open boundary conditions

Kinetic simulations of magnetic reconnection typically employ periodic boundary conditions that limit the duration in which the results are physically meaningful. To address this issue, a new model is proposed that is open with respect to particles, magnetic flux, and electromagnetic radiation. The model is used to examine undriven reconnection in a neutral sheet initialized with a single x-point. While at early times the results are in excellent agreement with previous periodic studies, the evolution over longer intervals is entirely different. In particular, the length of the electron diffusion region is observed to increase with time resulting in the formation of an extended electron current sheet. As a consequence, the electron diffusion region forms a bottleneck and the reconnection rate is substantially reduced. Periodically, the electron layer becomes unstable and produces a secondary island, breaking the diffusion region into two shorter segments. After growing for some period, the island is eject.