Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Central Effects of Thyroid Hormones on Appetite

Obesity is a major public health issue worldwide. Current pharmacological treatments are largely unsuccessful. Determining the complex pathways that regulate food intake may aid the development of new treatments. The hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis has well-known effects on energy expenditure, but its role in the regulation of food intake is less well characterised. Evidence suggests that the HPT axis can directly influence food intake. Thyroid dysfunction can have clinically significant consequences on appetite and body weight. Classically, these effects were thought to be mediated by the peripheral effects of thyroid hormone. However, more recently, local regulation of thyroid hormone in the central nervous system (CNS) is thought to play an important role in physiologically regulating appetite. This paper focuses on the role of the HPT and thyroid hormone in appetite and provides evidence for potential new targets for anti-obesity agents.
Effect of Li+ on preimplantation mouse embryos.

Two-cell mouse embryos were cultured in vitro for different periods in a medium in which NaCl was partially replaced by LiCl at concentrations ranging from 1 to 30 mm. The relative cell number diminished according to increasing LiCl concentrations but the onset of blastulation was not affected, thus resulting in blastulae with fewer cells than normal and with a reduced or absent inner cell mass. Results are discussed in terms of the possible mechanisms involved and are related with the vegetalization induced by Li+ on early embryos of echinoderms and amphibia.
The UU Submission to the Machine Translation Quality Estimation Task

This paper outlines the UU-SVM system for Task 1 of the WMT16 Shared Task in Quality Estimation. Our system uses Support Vector Machine Regression to investigate the impact of a series of features aiming to convey translation quality. We propose novel features measuring reordering and noun translation errors. We show that we can outperform the baseline when we combine it with a subset of our new features.
Paracrine Mechanisms Involved in the Control of Early Stages of Mammalian Spermatogenesis

Within the testis, Sertoli-cell is the primary target of pituitary FSH. Several growth factors have been described to be produced specifically by Sertoli cells and modulate male germ cell development through paracrine mechanisms. Some have been shown to act directly on spermatogonia such as GDNF, which acts on self-renewal of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) while inhibiting their differentiation; BMP4, which has both a proliferative and differentiative effect on these cells, and KIT ligand (KL), which stimulates the KIT tyrosine-kinase receptor expressed by differentiating spermatogonia (but not by SSCs). KL not only controls the proliferative cycles of KIT-positive spermatogonia, but it also stimulates the expression of genes that are specific of the early phases of meiosis, whereas the expression of typical spermatogonial markers is down-regulated. On the contrary, FGF9 acts as a meiotic inhibiting substance both in fetal gonocytes and in post-natal spermatogonia through the induction of the RNA-binding protein NANOS2. Vitamin A, which is metabolized to Retinoic Acid in Sertoli cells, controls both SSCs differentiation through KIT induction and NANOS2 inhibition, and meiotic entry of differentiating spermatogonia through STRA8 upregulation.
Transmission of hepatitis B and C viruses--update.

Chronic infection with hepatitis B virus or hepatitis C virus, two common blood-borne pathogens, is responsible for significant morbidity and mortality. The prevalence of exposure to HCV among blood donors in Israel is estimated at 0.44±0.66% [1,2] and that of HBV at 0.4±0.88% [1]. Higher rates are observed among specific subpopulations [ 3]. Over the years, focus on the mode of transmission of these viruses shifted from the ``classic'' modes (transfusion, intravenous drug abuse, vertical transmission and sexual intercourse) to include nosocomial infection. Two articles highlighting this shift are published in IMAJ, one in the March issue and one in this issue.
An analytical study of transport in a thermal interface material enhanced with carbon nanotubes

Power dissipation in electronic devices is projected to increase over the next ten years to the range of 150-250 Watts per chip for high performance applications. One of the primary obstacles to the thermal management of devices operating at such high powers is the thermal resistance between the device and the heat spreader or heat sink that it is attached to. Typically the in situ thermal conductivity of interface materials is in the range of 1 to 4 W/mK, even though the bulk thermal conductivity of the material may be significantly higher. In an attempt to improve the effective in situ thermal conductivity of interface materials nano particles and nanotubes are being considered as a possible addition to such interfaces. This paper presents the results of an analytical and numerical study of transport in a thermal interface material that is enhanced with carbon nanotubes. The results from the analytical model are in excellent agreement with a numerical solution of the same geometry. Wide ranges of parametric studies were conducted to examine the effects of the thermal conductivity of the different materials, the geometry, and the size of the nanotubes. An estimate of the effective thermal conductivity of the carbon nanotubes was used, obtained from a molecular dynamics analysis. The numerical analysis was used to estimate the impact of imperfections in the nanotubes upon the overall system performance. Overall the nanotubes are found to significantly improve the thermal performance of the thermal interface material. The results show that varying the diameter of the nanotube and the percentage of area occupied by the nanotubes doesn't have any significant effect on the total temperature drop.
Studying brain morphometry using conformal equivalence class

Two surfaces are conformally equivalent if there exists a bijective angle-preserving map between them. The Teichmüller space for surfaces with the same topology is a finite-dimensional manifold, where each point represents a conformal equivalence class, and the conformal map is homotopic to the identity map. In this paper, we propose a novel method to apply conformal equivalence based shape index to study brain morphometry. The shape index is defined based on Teichmüller space coordinates. It is intrinsic, and invariant under conformal transformations, rigid motions and scaling. It is also simple to compute; no registration of surfaces is needed. Using the Yamabe flow method, we can conformally map a genus-zero open boundary surface to the Poincaré disk. The shape indices that we compute are the lengths of a special set of geodesics under hyperbolic metric. By computing and studying this shape index and its statistical behavior, we can analyze differences in anatomical morphometry due to disease or development. Study on twin lateral ventricular surface data shows it may help detect generic influence on lateral ventricular shapes. In leave-one-out validation tests, we achieved 100% accurate classification (versus only 68% accuracy for volume measures) in distinguishing 11 HIV/AIDS individuals from 8 healthy control subjects, based on Teichmüller coordinates for lateral ventricular surfaces extracted from their 3D MRI scans.Our conformal invariants, the Teichmüller coordinates, successfully classified all lateral ventricular surfaces, showing their promise for analyzing anatomical surface morphometry.
Compound Leaf Development and Evolution in the Legumes[W]

Across vascular plants, Class 1 KNOTTED1-like (KNOX1) genes appear to play a critical role in the development of compound leaves. An exception to this trend is found in the Fabaceae, where pea (Pisum sativum) uses UNIFOLIATA, an ortholog of the floral regulators FLORICAULA (FLO) and LEAFY (LFY), in place of KNOX1 genes to regulate compound leaf development. To assess the phylogenetic distribution of KNOX1-independent compound leaf development, a survey of KNOX1 protein expression across the Fabaceae was undertaken. The majority of compound-leafed Fabaceae have expression of KNOX1 proteins associated with developing compound leaves. However, in a large subclade of the Fabaceae, the inverted repeat–lacking clade (IRLC), of which pea is a member, KNOX1 expression is not associated with compound leaves. These data suggest that the FLO/LFY gene may function in place of KNOX1 genes in generating compound leaves throughout the IRLC. The contribution of FLO/LFY to leaf complexity in a member of the Fabaceae outside of the IRLC was examined by reducing expression of FLO/LFY orthologs in transgenic soybean (Glycine max). Transgenic plants with reduced FLO/LFY expression showed only slight reductions in leaflet number. Overexpression of a KNOX1 gene in alfalfa (Medicago sativa), a member of the IRLC, resulted in an increase in leaflet number. This implies that KNOX1 targets, which promote compound leaf development, are present in alfalfa and are still sensitive to KNOX1 regulation. These data suggest that KNOX1 genes and the FLO/LFY gene may have played partially overlapping roles in compound leaf development in ancestral Fabaceae but that the FLO/LFY gene took over this role in the IRLC.
A Chunk Based OFDM Amplify-and-Forward Relaying Scheme for 4G Mobile Radio Systems

Amplify-and-Forward (AF) is a simple but effective relaying concept for multihop networks that combines transparency regarding modulation format and coding scheme with ease of implementation. Conventional AF, however, does not take into account the transfer function of the first and the second hop channels. For OFDM based systems, this appears to be sub-optimum. In this paper an AF relaying scheme is proposed that adapts to the transfer functions of both channels. The relay estimates the transfer functions and rearranges the subcarriers in each OFDM packet such that an optimum coupling between subcarriers of the first and the second hop channels occurs. Additionally, a signaling scheme is developed that allows for an efficient transfer of the necessary information. Simulations show that the proposed relaying scheme achieves significant SNR gains over conventional OFDM relaying.
Bayesian Nonparametric Models for Synchronous Brain-Computer Interfaces

A brain-computer interface (BCI) is a system that aims for establishing a non-muscular communication path for subjects who had suffer from a neurodegenerative disease. Many BCI systems make use of the phenomena of event-related synchronization and de-synchronization of brain waves as a main feature for classification of different cognitive tasks. However, the temporal dynamics of the electroencephalographic (EEG) signals contain additional information that can be incorporated into the inference engine in order to improve the performance of the BCIs. This information about the dynamics of the signals have been exploited previously in BCIs by means of generative and discriminative methods. In particular, hidden Markov models (HMMs) have been used in previous works. These methods have the disadvantage that the model parameters such as the number of hidden states and the number of Gaussian mixtures need to be fix "a priori". In this work, we propose a Bayesian nonparametric model for brain signal classification that does not require "a priori" selection of the number of hidden states and the number of Gaussian mixtures of a HMM. The results show that the proposed model outperform other methods based on HMM as well as the winner algorithm of the BCI competition IV.
Generalized Exponential Concentration Inequality for Renyi Divergence Estimation

Estimating divergences in a consistent way is of great importance in many machine learning tasks. Although this is a fundamental problem in nonparametric statistics, to the best of our knowledge there has been no finite sample exponential inequality convergence bound derived for any divergence estimators. The main contribution of our work is to provide such a bound for an estimator of R\'enyi-$\alpha$ divergence for a smooth H\"older class of densities on the $d$-dimensional unit cube $[0, 1]^d$. We also illustrate our theoretical results with a numerical experiment.
[Association of nasopharyngeal carcinoma risk with cytochrome P450 CYP1A1 gene polymorphisms].

OBJECTIVE To investigate the association between CYP1A1 gene polymorphisms and susceptibility of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Cantonese nuclear families through family-based association study. METHODS A total of 457 Cantonese nuclear families,consisting of 2134 members, were recruited as subjects. Each family included two parents and at least one offspring with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in CYP1A1 named m1 (rs4646903) and m2 (rs1048943), were genotyped by PCR-RFLP assay and verified by directly sequencing. The genotype data were analyzed with family-based association test (FBAT) software to check the linkage and association between the two genetic markers and susceptibility of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. RESULTS FBAT analysis showed that the minor allele frequencies (MAF) of the two SNP were 0.442 (C) and 0.339 (G) respectively. For m1 polymorphism in CYP1A1 gene was not significantly associated with nasopharyngeal carcinoma in our study population whether stratified with VCA-IgA or not (without stratification: chi2 = 2.399, P = 0.301; with stratification: low-titer group (VCA-IgA <1:80), MAF = 0.457 (C), chi2 = 1.221, P = 0.543; high-titer group (VCA-IgA > or = 1:80), MAF = 0.427 (C), chi2 =2.832, P = 0.243) . For m2 polymorphism, when VCA-IgA <1:80, the G allele showed decreased transmission under additive and dominant model (MAF = 0.347 (G); Zadditive = -2.120, Padditive = 0.034; Zdominant = - 2.303, Pdominant = 0.021) and a boundary P value was got with global statistic (chi2 = 5.394, P = 0.067) . Haplotype TG (0.057), constructed by m1 and m2, might decrease nasopharyngeal carcinoma risk (Z= -2.002, P=0.045). A boundary P value was also got with global statistic (chi2 =7.067, P=0.070). CONCLUSION There was no statistical significance between m1 polymorphism and susceptibility of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Cantonese nuclear families. And this study showed that m2 polymorphism might associated with the decrease of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Cantonese nuclear families.
Keyboard Dynamics Authentication through Contour Map Pattern Matching Technique

A simple, compact counterweight mechanism for a lid for a sub-surface container. A straight rigid beam extends from front to rear within the container. Front portions of the beam are connected to the overlying lid, middle portions of the beam are pivotally connected to the container and rear portions of the beam are pivotally connected to a pair of rearwardly extending control arms, which are pivotally connected at their rear to a depending counterweight. A compression spring is mounted on the beam beneath the control arms, so that as the front of the lid is lifted to open the lid and pivot the lid and the front portions of the beam upwardly and rearwardly about the middle portions of the beam and pivot the rear portions of the beam, together with the control arms and the counterweight, downwardly and frontally about the middle portions of the beam, the spring keeps the pivotal connection of the counterweight and the control arms, together with the vertically aligned center of gravity of the counterweight, located rearwardly of the pivotal connection of the middle portions of the beam and the container.
Application of Invasive Weed Optimization to Design a Broadband Patch Antenna With Symmetric Radiation Pattern

In this letter, we present a patch antenna over a high impedance surface (HIS) substrate, using Jerusalem cross-shaped frequency selective surfaces (JC-FSSs). The objective in this design is to obtain the enhancement in bandwidth (BW) while achieving the symmetric radiation pattern over the frequency band of interest. In order to derive optimal dimensions of the patch antenna and JC-FSS parameters, a hybrid optimization algorithm that originates from invasive weed optimization (IWO) empowered with the analytical lumped circuit model has been employed. In general, we utilized the IWO features while proposing additional contributions in terms of efficient design and computational efficiency. The optimization benefits from the use of circuit model as a powerful tool to find specific limits for its variables. Therefore, it provides a reasonable starting point for the optimization procedure. For the most efficient design, the antenna and FSS ground plane are optimized simultaneously. In this case, the optimization time can be noticeably reduced. The simulations compared very well with measured results. This antenna shows relative bandwidth 10.44% with the radiation efficiency of better than 85% over the entire bandwidth.
Virtual relighting of a Roman statue head from Herculaneum: a case study

High-fidelity computer graphics offer the possibility for archaeologists to put excavated cultural heritage artefacts virtually back into their original setting and illumination conditions. This enables hypotheses about the perception of objects and their environments to be investigated in a safe and controlled manner. This paper presents a case study of the pipeline for the acquisition, modelling, rapid prototyping and virtual relighting of a Roman statue head preserved at Herculaneum in Italy. The statue head was excavated in 2006, after having been buried during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD79.
Live encapsulated porcine islets from a type 1 diabetic patient 9.5 yr after xenotransplantation

Abstract: Background: The long‐term viability and function of transplanted encapsulated neonatal porcine islets was examined in a diabetic patient. Methods and results: A 41‐yr‐old Caucasian male with type 1 diabetes for 18 yr was given an intraperitoneal transplant of alginate‐encapsulated porcine islets at the dose of 15 000 islet equivalents (IEQs)/kg bodyweight (total dose 1 305 000 IEQs) via laparoscopy. By 12 weeks following the transplant, his insulin dose was significantly reduced by 30% (P = 0.0001 by multiple regression tests) from 53 units daily prior to transplant. The insulin dose returned to the pre‐transplant level at week 49. Improvement in glycaemic control continued as reflected by total glycated haemoglobin of 7.8% at 14 months from a pre‐transplant level of 9.3%. Urinary porcine C‐peptide peaked at 4 months (9.5 ng/ml) and remained detectable for 11 months (0.6 ng/ml). The patient was followed as part of a long‐term microbiologic monitoring programme which subsequently showed no evidence of porcine viral or retroviral infection. At laparoscopy 9.5 yr after transplantation, abundant nodules were seen throughout the peritoneum. Biopsies of the nodules showed opacified capsules containing cell clusters that stained as live cells under fluorescence microscopy. Immunohistology noted sparse insulin and moderate glucagon staining cells. The retrieved capsules produced a small amount of insulin when placed in high glucose concentrations in vitro. An oral glucose tolerance test induced a small rise in serum of immuno‐reactive insulin, identified as porcine by reversed phase high pressure liquid chromatography. Conclusion: This form of xenotransplantation treatment has the potential for sustained benefit in human type 1 diabetics.
Thermococcus kodakarensis Mutants Deficient in Di-myo-Inositol Phosphate Use Aspartate To Cope with Heat Stress

ABSTRACT Many of the marine microorganisms which are adapted to grow at temperatures above 80°C accumulate di-myo-inositol phosphate (DIP) in response to heat stress. This led to the hypothesis that the solute plays a role in thermoprotection, but there is a lack of definitive experimental evidence. Mutant strains of Thermococcus kodakar ensis (formerly Thermococcus kodakaraensis), manipulated in their ability to synthesize DIP, were constructed and used to investigate the involvement of DIP in thermoadaptation of this archaeon. The solute pool of the parental strain comprised DIP, aspartate, and α-glutamate. Under heat stress the level of DIP increased 20-fold compared to optimal conditions, whereas the pool of aspartate increased 4.3-fold in response to osmotic stress. Deleting the gene encoding the key enzyme in DIP synthesis, CTP:inositol-1-phosphate cytidylyltransferase/CDP-inositol:inositol-1-phosphate transferase, abolished DIP synthesis. Conversely, overexpression of the same gene resulted in a mutant with restored ability to synthesize DIP. Despite the absence of DIP in the deletion mutant, this strain exhibited growth parameters similar to those of the parental strain, both at optimal (85°C) and supraoptimal (93.7°C) temperatures for growth. Analysis of the respective solute pools showed that DIP was replaced by aspartate. We conclude that DIP is part of the strategy used by T. kodakarensis to cope with heat stress, and aspartate can be used as an alternative solute of similar efficacy. This is the first study using mutants to demonstrate the involvement of compatible solutes in the thermoadaptation of (hyper)thermophilic organisms.
Clinical use of anti-TNF-alpha biological agents--a guide for GPs.

BACKGROUND Tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) inhibitors are a new class of injectable drugs, under the umbrella term 'biological agents', now available for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and other chronic inflammatory conditions including juvenile idiopathic arthritis, Crohn disease, psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. OBJECTIVE The aim of this review is to provide an overview of TNF-alpha inhibitors and highlight the key practical issues of relevance to general practitioners. DISCUSSION TNF-alpha inhibitors may have a potent effect in reducing inflammation and possibly inducing remission where conventional disease modifying drugs have failed to do so. These drugs are associated with an increased risk of infection as well as other potentially serious side effects. Their use is restricted to the relevant specialist prescribing the drug and are only available on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme under strict prescribing criteria. The role of the GP is critical in identifying patients suitable for referral to consider commencing treatment and in monitoring patients on long term therapy.
Power Budgeting for Virtualized Data Centers

Power costs are very significant for data centers. To maximally utilize the provisioned power capacity, data centers often employ over-subscription, that is, the sum of peak consumptions of individual servers may be greater than the provisioned capacity. Power budgeting methods are employed to ensure that actual consumption never exceeds capacity. However, current power budgeting methods enforce capacity limits in hardware and are not well suited for virtualized servers because the hardware is shared among multiple applications. We present a power budgeting system for virtualized infrastructures that enforces power limits on individual distributed applications. Our system enables multiple applications to share the same servers but operate with their individual quality of service guarantees. It responds to workload and power availability changes, by dynamically allocating appropriate amount of power to different applications and tiers within applications. The design is mindful of practical constraints such the data center's limited visibility into hosted application performance. We evaluate the system using workloads derived from real world data center traces.