Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in renal imaging at an interdisciplinary ultrasound centre: Possibilities of dynamic microvascularisation and perfusion.

OBJECTIVE To identify the indications for CEUS in renal imaging in an interdisciplinary ultrasound department. METHODS 102 CEUS examinations of the kidney in 82 patients between September 2014 and July 2016 were analysed regarding the indication for ultrasound. CEUS was performed by one experienced sonographer agent after bolus injection of 1.0 up to 2.4 ml sulphur hexafluoride microbubbles using multifrequency probes with Contrast Harmonic imaging. RESULTS CEUS of the kidney was performed in patients from 20 to 87 years. 44% of the patients had a stage 3 of chronic kidney disease and higher 38% of the patients had undergone a renal transplantation. No adverse events were observed. 54% of examinations were requested by nephrologists. The remaining by surgeons, oncologists or gastroenterologists. In 47% the objectives were the evaluation of complex renal cysts, in 31% the analysis of kidney perfusion, in 19% the assessment of solid renal masses. The remaining were perirenal tumours (2%) and infection (1%). CONCLUSIONS CEUS is a good diagnostic alternative for patients with impaired renal function, complicated cysts, infections, solid renal lesions and after renal transplant.
Efficient view-based 3d reflection symmetry detection

Symmetries exist in many 3D models while efficiently finding their symmetry planes is important and useful for many related applications. This paper presents a simple and efficient view-based reflection symmetry detection method based on the viewpoint entropy features of a set of sample views of a 3D model. Before symmetry detection, we align the 3D model based on the Continuous Principal Component Analysis (CPCA) method. To avoid the high computational load resulting from a directly combinatorial matching among the sample views, we develop a fast symmetry plane detection method by first generating a candidate symmetry plane based on a matching pair of sample views and then verifying whether the number of remaining matching pairs is within a minimum number. Experiments demonstrate better accuracy, efficiency, and flexibility of our algorithm than state-of-the-art approaches.
Rethinking Sequentiality: Linguistics meets conversational interaction

1. Introduction (by Meierkord, Christiane) 2. Sequences in theory and practice: Minimal and unbounded? 3. Communicative intentions in context (by Fetzer, Anita) 4. Cognition and narrativity in speech act sequences (by Sbisa, Marina) 5. Recurrent sequences and mental processes (by Meierkord, Christiane) 6. Boundaries and sequences in studying conversation (by Arundale, Robert B.) 7. Discourse markers as turns: Evidence for the role of intersubjectivityin interactional sequences (by Smith, Sara W.) 8. Sequences in discourse: The micro-macro interface 9. Talk on TV: Sequentiality meets intertextuality and interdiscursitivity (by Langer, Roy) 10. Culture, genres and the problem of sequentiality: An attempt to describe local organization and global structures in talk-in-situation (by Kern, Friederike) 11. Argumentative sequencing and its interactional variation (by Spranz-Fogasy, Thomas) 12. Sequential positioning of represented discourse: In institutional media interaction (by Johansson, Marjut) 13. Interactional coherence in discussions and everyday storytelling: On considering the role of jedenfalls and auf jeden fall (by Buhrig, Kristin) 14. Index
Recent advances in managing and understanding enuresis

Enuresis, particularly in children during sleep, can be a debilitating condition, affecting the quality of life of the child and his or her family. The pathophysiology of nocturnal enuresis, though not clear, revolves around the inter-related mechanisms of overactive bladder, excessive nocturnal urine production, and sleep fragmentation. The first mechanism is more related to isolated nocturnal voiding, whereas the latter two are more related to nocturnal enuresis, in which circadian variations in arginine vasopressin hormone play a key role. A successful treatment would depend upon appropriately addressing the key factors precipitating nocturnal enuresis, necessitating an accurate diagnosis. Thus, advancements in diagnostic tools and treatment options play a key role in achieving overall success. This review summarizes recent advances in understanding the pathophysiology of nocturnal enuresis, diagnostic tools, and treatment options which can be explored in the future.
Inductive inference theory: a unified approach to problems in pattern recognition and artificial intelligence

Recent results in induction theory are reviewed that demonstrate the general adequacy of the induction system of Solomoncff and Willis. Several problems in pattern recognition and A.I. are investigated through these methods. The theory is used to obtain the a priori probabilities that are necessary in the application cf stochastic languages to pattern recognition. A simple, quantitative solution is presented for part of Winston's problem of learning structural descriptions from exandples. In contrast to work in non-probabilistic prediction, the present methods give probability values that can be used with decision. theory to make critical decisions.
Sarcoglycanopathy: clinical and histochemical characteristics in 66 patients.

BACKGROUND Sarcoglycanopathies are a group or autosomal recessive muscular dystrophies designated as α, β, γ, or δ sarcogycanopathy. MATERIALS AND METHODS It is a retrospective analysis of case series. RESULTS Sixty six patients immunohistochemically confirmed to have sarcoglycan deficiency were included in the analysis. The study period extended from 1997-2008. The male to female ratio was 1.5:1. Mean age at the onset of muscle complaints was 6.2±3.7 years (range 1-18). Mean age at evaluation was 10.0±4.8 years (range 3-31). Mean duration of illness was 47.02±44.80 months (range 3-325). Onset in the first decade was seen in 59 (89.4%) and 25 (42.4%) of these had onset before five years of age. The remaining seven (10.6%) had onset in second decade and none after 20 years of age. Consanguinity was present in 54 (81.8%). In 34 of 66 cases only a-SG was carried out and this had shown total absence of staining in all fibers. In the remaining 32 cases where the entire panel was performed, absence of all sarcoglycans was noted in 10 (15.1%), isolated α-SG deficiency in 7 (10.6%), isolated β-SG deficiency in 6 (9.1%), and isolated γ-SG deficiency in 3 (4.5%). Combination deficiency was also observed: absence of α and β (n=4), β and γ (n=2), and α and γ (n=1). CONCLUSIONS Our series was a large series and with predominantly pediatric age group. Sarcoglycanopathy should be particularly suspected in a child born to consanguineous parents and who presents with proximal muscle weakness and calf hypertrophy, elevated CK level, and myopathic pattern on EMG.
Analyses of the iridoid glucoside dimers in Paederia scandens using HPLC-ESI-MS/MS.

INTRODUCTION Many dimers consisting of structurally similar monomers are difficult to be identified even using NMR. Rapid structural identification of iridoid glycoside dimers, especially isomeric dimers in a complicated matrix, remains desirable. OBJECTIVE To develop a rapid, sensitive analytical method for structural elucidation of trace iridoid glycoside isomers in a complicated extract. METHODS Three isomeric iridoid glucoside dimers, paederoscandoside, saprosmoside E and saprosmoside D, were isolated and further analysed by electrospray ionisation quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-QTOF-MS/MS) in positive-ion mode. Energy-resolved mass spectrometry (ERMS) was used to provide information on the relative intensity of ions versus collision energy. The crude extract of Paederia scandens was analysed by HPLC-ESI-MS/MS. RESULTS The relative abundance of product ions in the MS/MS spectra from ammonium adduct ions varied greatly for the three isomers. The energy-resolved experiments enhanced differences among the three isomers. A total of 13 iridoid glucoside dimers (three groups of isomers) in the extract of P. scandens were identified or tentatively characterised by using HPLC-ESI-QTOF based on the tandem mass spectra of references. CONCLUSION Linkage sites between different hydroxyl groups on the sugar and carboxyl groups for the three groups of isomers are confirmed. The reason for fragmentation differences might be that cleavage of the glycosidic bond accompanies the active H in vicinal hydroxyl rearrangement. The MS method is a useful tool for the analysis of isomers, especially trace isomers in a complicated extract.
SoC CMOS UWB Pulse Radar Sensor for Contactless Respiratory Rate Monitoring

An ultra wideband (UWB) system-on-chip radar sensor for respiratory rate monitoring has been realized in 90 nm CMOS technology and characterized experimentally. The radar testchip has been applied to the contactless detection of the respiration activity of adult and baby. The field operational tests demonstrate that the UWB radar sensor detects the respiratory rate of person under test (adult and baby) associated with sub-centimeter chest movements, allowing the continuous-time non-invasive monitoring of hospital patients and other people at risk of obstructive apneas such as babies in cot beds, or other respiratory diseases.
Association of SNP rs.2414096 CYP19 gene with polycystic ovarian syndrome in Iranian women

Background: Genetic factors are believed to play an important role in the etiology of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) which is the most common endocrinological disorder of women in their reproductive age. Androgen metabolism is impaired in PCOS and, thus, CYP19 gene which is involved in this pathway can be a candidate gene. Previous studies have shown a relationship between single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of CYP19 in hyperandrogenism and PCOS in some racial groups. Objective: This study was designed to elucidate the role of CYP19 gene in PCOS in Iran. Materials and Methods: In this case-control study, 70 PCOS women and 70 non-PCOS women as normal control were selected. Following the informed consent, 5 ml blood was taken from individuals and subsequently, genomic DNA was extracted by salting out method. Furthermore, a set of polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) was carried out using specific primers for SNP rs.2414096 followed by enzyme digestion, with HSP92II. Results: Genotype frequencies of SNP rs. 2414096 in PCOS women were as follows: AA (14.4%), AG (44.3%), and GG (41.4%) while in normal group, genotypes were 24.3%, 52.8%, and 22.9%, respectively. Allele frequencies in PCOS group were 49.3% for A and 50.7% for G, whereas normal group had a different percentage of A (36.4%) and G (63.6%). The calculations for both genotypic and allelic frequencies showed statistical significance difference. Conclusion: Variants of SNP rs. 2414096 in CYP19 could play a role in the development of PCOS in Iranian women.
Actin polymerization and intracellular solvent flow in cell surface blebbing

The cortical actin gel of eukaryotic cells is postulated to control cell surface activity. One type of protrusion that may offer clues to this regulation are the spherical aneurysms of the surface membrane known as blebs. Blebs occur normally in cells during spreading and alternate with other protrusions, such as ruffles, suggesting similar protrusive machinery is involved. We recently reported that human melanoma cell lines deficient in the actin filament cross-linking protein, ABP-280, show prolonged blebbing, thus allowing close study of blebs and their dynamics. Blebs expand at different rates of volume increase that directly predict the final size achieved by each bleb. These rates decrease as the F-actin concentration of the cells increase over time after plating on a surface, but do so at lower concentrations in ABP-280 expressing cells. Fluorescently labeled actin and phalloidin injections of blebbing cells indicate that a polymerized actin structure is not present initially, but appears later and is responsible for stopping further bleb expansion. Therefore, it is postulated that blebs occur when the fluid-driven expansion of the cell membrane is sufficiently rapid to initially outpace the local rate of actin polymerization. In this model, the rate of intracellular solvent flow driving this expansion decreases as cortical gelation is achieved, whether by factors such as ABP-280, or by concentrated actin polymers alone, thereby leading to decreased size and occurrence of blebs. Since the forces driving bleb extension would always be present in a cell, this process may influence other cell protrusions as well.
Reduction in Mutation Frequency by Very Low-Dose Gamma Irradiation of Drosophila melanogaster Germ Cells

Abstract Ogura, K. , Magae, J., Kawakami, Y. and Koana, T. Reduction in Mutation Frequency by Very Low-Dose Gamma Irradiation of Drosophila melanogaster Germ Cells. Radiat. Res. 171, 1–8 (2009). To determine whether the linear no-threshold (LNT) model for stochastic effects of ionizing radiation is applicable to very low-dose radiation at a low dose rate, we irradiated immature male germ cells of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, with several doses of 60Co γ rays at a dose rate of 22.4 mGy/h. Thereafter, we performed the sex-linked recessive lethal mutation assay by mating the irradiated males with nonirradiated females. The mutation frequency in the group irradiated with 500 μGy was found to be significantly lower than that in the control group (P < 0.01), whereas in the group subjected to 10 Gy irradiation, the mutation frequency was significantly higher than that in the control group (P < 0.03). A J-shaped dose–response relationship was evident. Molecular experiments using DNA microarray and quantitative reverse transcription PCR indicated that several genes known to be expressed in response to heat or chemical stress and grim, a positive regulator of apoptosis, were up-regulated immediately after irradiation with 500 μGy. The involvement of an apoptosis function in the non-linear dose–response relationship was suggested.
Alleviating the Performance Degradation in Congested Sensor Networks using a Differentiated Routing Methodolog

The congestion in the sensor networks leads to the poor delivery of the data. This causes the heavy loss of data in the sensor network. In order to alleviate this problem, a combination of two algorithms is used in this paper. The algorithms are Active Congestion-less Routing (ACR) and Medium Access Control Enhanced Active Congestion-less Routing (MACR). Both these algorithms used a differentiated routing for High Precedence data and Low precedence data. ACR lessen the congestion by routing only the high precedence data, where as the MACR lessen the congestion in mobile network by routing High precedence data as well as Less precedence data. These algorithms perform this by the nodes in the network. Keywords—Sensor networks, congestion control, High precedence, Active Congestion-less Routing, Medium Access control Enhanced Active Congestion-less Routing.
Extent and Degree of Shoreline Oiling: Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Gulf of Mexico, USA

The oil from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico was documented by shoreline assessment teams as stranding on 1,773 km of shoreline. Beaches comprised 50.8%, marshes 44.9%, and other shoreline types 4.3% of the oiled shoreline. Shoreline cleanup activities were authorized on 660 km, or 73.3% of oiled beaches and up to 71 km, or 8.9% of oiled marshes and associated habitats. One year after the spill began, oil remained on 847 km; two years later, oil remained on 687 km, though at much lesser degrees of oiling. For example, shorelines characterized as heavily oiled went from a maximum of 360 km, to 22.4 km one year later, and to 6.4 km two years later. Shoreline cleanup has been conducted to meet habitat-specific cleanup endpoints and will continue until all oiled shoreline segments meet endpoints. The entire shoreline cleanup program has been managed under the Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Technique (SCAT) Program, which is a systematic, objective, and inclusive process to collect data on shoreline oiling conditions and support decision making on appropriate cleanup methods and endpoints. It was a particularly valuable and effective process during such a complex spill.
Energy Efficient Moving Target Tracking in Wireless Sensor Networks

Moving target tracking in wireless sensor networks is of paramount importance. This paper considers the problem of state estimation for L-sensor linear dynamic systems. Firstly, the paper establishes the fuzzy model for measurement condition estimation. Then, Generalized Kalman Filter design is performed to incorporate the novel neighborhood function and the target motion information, improving with an increasing number of active sensors. The proposed measurement selection approach has some advantages in time cost. As such, if the desired accuracy has been achieved, the parameter initialization for optimization can be readily resolved, which maximizes the expected lifespan while preserving tracking accuracy. Through theoretical justifications and empirical studies, we demonstrate that the proposed scheme achieves substantially superior performances over conventional methods in terms of moving target tracking under the resource-constrained wireless sensor networks.
Move into hospital sector another sign of complementary medicine's growing popularity.

Growing demand has led some Canadian hospitals to offer alternative therapies to patients, even though many physicians still question their efficacy. Anita Elash visited Toronto's Sunnybrook Health Science Centre, where staff physicians have been debating the issue. One physician said hospitals have no choice but to offer the treatments. "If you believe in the primacy of patients making their own decisions and you believe in the fundamental of informed consent, you cannot deny them access to this treatment. "
Consistent transformations of belief functions

Consistent belief functions represent collections of coherent or non-contradictory pieces of evidence, but most of all they are the counterparts of consistent knowledge bases in belief calculus. The use of consistent transformations cs[ ] in a reasoning process to guarantee coherence can therefore be desirable, and generalizes similar techniques in classical logics. Transformations can be obtained by minimizing an appropriate distance measure between the original belief function and the collection of consistent ones. We focus here on the case in which distances are measured using classical Lp norms, in both the \mass space" and the \belief space" representation of belief functions. While mass consistent approximations reassign the mass not focussed on a chosen element of the frame either to the whole frame or to all supersets of the element on an equal basis, approximations in the belief space do distinguish these focal elements according to the \focussed consistent transformation" principle. The dierent approximations are interpreted and compared, with the help of examples.
Analyzing Time Series Cross-Sectional Data with the PANEL Procedure

A brief theoretical overview of methods available to analyze time series cross-sectional (panel) data is provided. The PANEL procedure in SAS/ETS ® software is used to demonstrate the implementation of these methods in SAS ® . An empirical example is given to compare different techniques and demonstrate the PANEL procedure's capabilities. Dynamic panel methods are discussed and compared to other techniques. Finally, the PANEL procedure is compared to other SAS procedures, such as the MIXED procedure and the TSCSREG procedure.
Early development of the retinal line of decussation in normal and albino ferrets

This work describes the retinal origin of the crossed and uncrossed projections in newborn, 9‐day‐old and adult normally pigmented and albino ferrets. Horseradish peroxidase (HRP) was injected unilaterally into the thalamic and midbrain visual centers of ferrets to label retinal ganglion cells retrogradely.
Water-Soluble Quantum Dots for Multiphoton Fluorescence Imaging in Vivo

The use of semiconductor nanocrystals (quantum dots) as fluorescent labels for multiphoton microscopy enables multicolor imaging in demanding biological environments such as living tissue. We characterized water-soluble cadmium selenide–zinc sulfide quantum dots for multiphoton imaging in live animals. These fluorescent probes have two-photon action cross sections as high as 47,000 Goeppert-Mayer units, by far the largest of any label used in multiphoton microscopy. We visualized quantum dots dynamically through the skin of living mice, in capillaries hundreds of micrometers deep. We found no evidence of blinking (fluorescence intermittency) in solution on nanosecond to millisecond time scales.
Circulating tumor cells: liquid biopsy of cancer.

BACKGROUND The detection and molecular characterization of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are one of the most active areas of translational cancer research, with >400 clinical studies having included CTCs as a biomarker. The aims of research on CTCs include (a) estimation of the risk for metastatic relapse or metastatic progression (prognostic information), (b) stratification and real-time monitoring of therapies, (c) identification of therapeutic targets and resistance mechanisms, and (d) understanding metastasis development in cancer patients. CONTENT This review focuses on the technologies used for the enrichment and detection of CTCs. We outline and discuss the current technologies that are based on exploiting the physical and biological properties of CTCs. A number of innovative technologies to improve methods for CTC detection have recently been developed, including CTC microchips, filtration devices, quantitative reverse-transcription PCR assays, and automated microscopy systems. Molecular-characterization studies have indicated, however, that CTCs are very heterogeneous, a finding that underscores the need for multiplex approaches to capture all of the relevant CTC subsets. We therefore emphasize the current challenges of increasing the yield and detection of CTCs that have undergone an epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Increasing assay analytical sensitivity may lead, however, to a decrease in analytical specificity (e.g., through the detection of circulating normal epithelial cells). SUMMARY A considerable number of promising CTC-detection techniques have been developed in recent years. The analytical specificity and clinical utility of these methods must be demonstrated in large prospective multicenter studies to reach the high level of evidence required for their introduction into clinical practice.