Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Infant mortality rate in Al-Ramadi province from 2000 through 2010, retrospective study

Objectives: To determine the IMR in Al-Ramadi province, the center of Al-Anbar Governorate, Western Iraq, from 2000-2010 with rate comparison of the three different stages of that period. Methods: Data collected from the birth and death certificate center in Al-Ramadi province, Western Iraq, included; name, age, sex, residence, date of birth and death, in three different stages (the first stage 2000-2002, the second stage 2003-2007, and the third stage 2008-2010) in a study period from July to December, 2010. The IMRs were analyzed and compared with other studies. Results: The IMR of the last 3 years of sanction was 54.3/1000, 55.7/1000 and 50.6/1000 respectively, this rate had been increased in the war and violence period to reach its maximum rate 58.6/1000 in 2006, then decreased to reach its minimum rate 44.5/1000 in 2008. Approximately two-third of deaths occurred during the neonatal period and one third in the post neonatal period. Males had higher IMR than females, and rural residence higher than urban. Conclusion: Infant mortality rate is still high in Al-Ramadi province, since the American invasion (2003-2007), when compared with other developing countries. This study found increase of IMR in Al-Ramadi province during that period more than other studied years.
The seasonal variation in skin hydration, sebum, scaliness, brightness and elasticity in Korean females

Age, gender, regional, and ethnic differences influence skin conditions. The purpose of this study was to observe the effects of environments, especially the air temperature, relative humidity, air pressure, duration of sunshine, and precipitation on skin, and the seasonal variation in skin hydration, sebum, scales, brightness, and elasticity in Korean females.
The diagnostic criteria for small fibre neuropathy: from symptoms to neuropathology

Small fibre neuropathy (SFN), a condition dominated by neuropathic pain, is frequently encountered in clinical practise either as prevalent manifestation of more diffuse neuropathy or distinct nosologic entity. Aetiology of SFN includes pre-diabetes status and immune-mediated diseases, though it remains frequently unknown. Due to their physiologic characteristics, small nerve fibres cannot be investigated by routine electrophysiological tests, making the diagnosis particularly difficult. Quantitative sensory testing (QST) to assess the psychophysical thresholds for cold and warm sensations and skin biopsy with quantification of somatic intraepidermal nerve fibres (IENF) have been used to determine the damage to small nerve fibres. Nevertheless, the diagnostic criteria for SFN have not been defined yet and a ‘gold standard’ for clinical practise and research is not available. We screened 486 patients referred to our institutions and collected 124 patients with sensory neuropathy. Among them, we identified 67 patients with pure SFN using a new diagnostic ‘gold standard’, based on the presence of at least two abnormal results at clinical, QST and skin biopsy examination. The diagnosis of SFN was achieved by abnormal clinical and skin biopsy findings in 43.3% of patients, abnormal skin biopsy and QST findings in 37.3% of patients, abnormal clinical and QST findings in 11.9% of patients, whereas 7.5% patients had abnormal results at all the examinations. Skin biopsy showed a diagnostic efficiency of 88.4%, clinical examination of 54.6% and QST of 46.9%. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis confirmed the significantly higher performance of skin biopsy comparing with QST. However, we found a significant inverse correlation between IENF density and both cold and warm thresholds at the leg. Clinical examination revealed pinprick and thermal hypoesthesia in about 50% patients, and signs of peripheral vascular autonomic dysfunction in about 70% of patients. Spontaneous pain dominated the clinical picture in most SFN patients. Neuropathic pain intensity was more severe in patients with SFN than in patients with large or mixed fibre neuropathy, but there was no significant correlation with IENF density. The aetiology of SFN was initially unknown in 41.8% of patients and at 2-year follow-up a potential cause could be determined in 25% of them. Over the same period, 13% of SFN patients showed the involvement of large nerve fibres, whereas in 45.6% of them the clinical picture did not change. Spontaneous remission of neuropathic pain occurred in 10.9% of SFN patients, while it worsened in 30.4% of them.
Interaction between Schwann Cells and Osteoblasts In Vitro

AimGiven the well‐known properties of Schwann cells in promoting nerve regeneration, transplanting Schwann cells into implant sockets might be an effective method to promote sensory responses of osseointegrated implants. The aim of this study was to evaluate the interaction between Schwann cells and osteoblasts.MethodologySchwann cells derived from the sciatic nerves of neonatal rat were co‐culured with osteoblasts using Transwell inserts. The proliferation of Schwann cells in the co‐culture system was evaluated using methylthiazol tetrazolium (MTT) colorimetric method. Moreover, the secretions and mRNA levels of brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and nerve growth factor (NGF) were measured by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and quantitative real‐time PCR, respectively. In order to test the effect of Schwann cells on osteoblasts, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) staining and Alizerin red staining were performed as well.ResultsSchwann cells, which were co‐cultured with the osteoblasts, showed an intact proliferation during the observation period. Moreover, the gene expression and synthesis of BDNF and NGF were not impaired by the osteoblasts. Meanwhile, co‐cultured osteoblasts exhibited a significant increase in the proliferation on day 3 and 6 (P< 0.05). Co‐culture of these two types of cells also led to a more intense staining of ALP and an elevated number of calcified nodules.ConclusionThese findings demonstrate that, in the in vitro indirect co‐culture environment, Schwann cells can maintain their normal ability to synthesize neurotrophins, which then enhance the proliferation and differentiation of osteoblasts.
Automated Debugging for Arbitrarily Long Executions

One of the most energy-draining and frustrating parts of software development is playing detective with elusive bugs. In this paper we argue that automated postmortem debugging of failures is feasible for real, inproduction systems with no runtime recording. We propose reverse execution synthesis (RES), a technique that takes a coredump obtained after a failure and automatically computes the suffix of an execution that leads to that coredump. RES provides a way to then play back this suffix in a debugger deterministically, over and over again. We argue that the RES approach could be used to (1) automatically classify bug reports based on their root cause, (2) automatically identify coredumps for which hardware errors (e.g., bad memory), not software bugs are to blame, and (3) ultimately help developers reproduce the root cause of the failure in order to debug it.
Reactive Dilation of Large Coronary Arteries in Conscious Dogs

To study the response of large coronary arteries to short periods of myocardial ischemia a pair of ultrasonic dimension transducers, a flow probe and a hydraulic occluder were implanted around the left circumflex coronary artery for the instantaneous and continuous measurement of external coronary artery dimensions and coronary blood flow, respectively. At 6.1 ± 0.4 seconds after release of a 15-second occlusion, mean coronary blood flow increased by 255 ± 30% from a preocclusion flow of 32 ± 4.1 ml/min. At this time, large coronary arterial cross-sectional area was unchanged but increased slowly, reaching a peak 28 ± 4.4% above preocclusion levels 61 ± 3.2 seconds after occlusion, i.e., reactive dilation. During maximal reactive dilation, coronary blood flow had already returned to control levels, and heart rate, mean arterial pressure, left ventricular systolic pressure, and left ventricular dP/dt were not different from control. The reactive dilation was not affected if the occlusion occurred proximal or distal to where diameter was measured, or by combined ã-and β-adrenergic receptor blockade, ganglionic blockade, inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis, or by aminophylline. When the reactive hyperemia was prevented by constricting the coronary artery upon release of the coronary occlusion, the reactive dilation was not observed. Thus, large coronary arteries respond to brief periods of occlusion with reactive dilation. The time course of this response is distinctly different from the accompanying reactive hyperemia, and could be eliminated by preventing the marked increase in coronary blood flow following release from the brief period of coronary artery occlusion.
Liver sinusoidal endothelial cells induce immunosuppressive IL‐10‐producing Th1 cells via the Notch pathway

Under homeostasis, liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs) shift intrahepatic T‐cell responses towards tolerance. However, the role of LSECs in the regulation of T‐cell‐induced liver inflammation is less clear. Here, we studied the capacity of LSECs to modulate pro‐inflammatory Th1‐cell differentiation in mice. Using in vitro co‐culture systems and subsequent cytokine analysis, we showed that LSECs induced high amounts of the anti‐inflammatory cytokine IL‐10 in developing Th1 cells. These LSEC‐stimulated Th1 cells had no pro‐inflammatory capacity in vivo but instead actively suppressed an inflammatory Th1‐cell‐induced delayed‐type hypersensitivity reaction. Blockage of IL‐10 signaling in vivo inhibited immunosuppressive activity of LSEC‐stimulated Th1 cells. We identified the Notch pathway as a mechanism how LSECs trigger IL‐10 expression in Th1 cells. LSECs expressed high levels of the Delta‐like and Jagged family of Notch ligands and induced expression of the Notch target genes hes‐1 and deltex‐1 in Th1 cells. Blockade of Notch signaling selectively inhibited IL‐10 induction in Th1 cells by LSECs. Our findings suggest that LSEC‐induced IL‐10 expression in Th1 cells via the Notch pathway may contribute to the control of hepatic inflammatory immune responses by induction of a self‐regulatory mechanism in pro‐inflammatory Th1 cells.
Raman Quantitate Stress in Nano-Thin Film of MEMS

The stress is an important parameter of nano-thin film of the micro-structure. It is essential for the successful design and operation of many micro-machined devices. In this paper, the experiment idea that using Raman spectrometer to quantitate the stress in the nano-thin film of MEMS was put forward and the formula of the stress of Si and GaAs crystal was derived. In the experiment, the Si nano-thin film and AlAs/GaAs nano-thin film on GaAs substrate were grown by MBE (molecular beam epitaxy). The uniaxial pressure is exerted to nano-thin film by using the pressurization instrument designed by ourselves. Raman spectrums of the nano-thin film of MEMS are measured with the pressure exerted varying. Through the processing of the experiment data, the error of measurement to stress in nano-thin film is maximally 0.9% to Si and 7.5% to GaAs. So, Raman spectrum can be used to accurately quantitate stress in nano-thin film of MEMS in order to assessment of the reliability of micromachined structure. And the method can be applied to quantitate the stress in the experiment of testing the piezoresistor effect of double-quantum-well nano-thin film.
Characterization of AFB sapphire single crystal composites for infrared window application

Next generation weapons platforms may require 30" x 30" sapphire windows. Since these sizes exceed what can be manufactured directly, a concept is proposed and experimental data are furnished in this report on the viability of increasing the window dimensions by Adhesive-Free-Bonding (AFB®) of smaller starting components by their edges. The bonding scheme has been evaluated for single crystal sapphire but is expected to also work equally well for other IR window materials. The bonding mechanism is explained with Van der Waals theory of attractive forces and confirmed experimentally by applying the bending plate theory. The gap at the interface between two components is deduced from the measured roughness of the polished surfaces that are brought into optical contact and subsequently heat-treated, and is estimated to be about 2 Å rms. Stress relief at AFB® interfaces has been established. Experimental data of flexural strength determined by four-point bending at room temperature is reported. The data indicates that AFB® composite specimens and equivalently prepared blank samples fracture at statistically same loads under standardized testing conditions. Failure of composites has not been observed at the interface and only at random flaws that are a result of sample preparation.
Neuropsychophysical optimization by REAC technology in the treatment of: sense of stress and confusion. Psychometric evaluation in a randomized, single blind, sham-controlled naturalistic study

Purpose The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of neuropsychophysical optimization (NPPO) protocol treatment by radioelectric asymmetric conveyer (REAC) technology in the management of sense of stress and confusion (SSC); an analysis of a single cluster of the psychological stress measure (PSM) test. Patients and methods The PSM, a self-administered questionnaire, was used to measure psychological stress and SSC for a group of 888 subjects. Data were collected immediately prior to and following the 4-week REAC-NPPO treatment cycle. Results This study demonstrates a significant reduction in scores measuring subjective perceptions of stress for subjects treated with one cycle of REAC-NPPO. At the end-point of the study, the number of treated subjects reporting symptoms of stress-related SSC on the PSM test was significantly reduced, whereas there was no difference in sham-treated subjects. Conclusion One cycle of REAC-NPPO appears to reduce subjective perceptions of SSC measured by the PSM. Trial registration This trial has been registered in the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry as ACTRN12607000497404.
Positive temperature coefficient properties of multiwall carbon nanotubes/poly(vinylidene fluoride) nanocomposites

Favorable positive temperature coefficient (PTC) properties of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT)/poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) nanocomposites were obtained. The results showed that such composites presented high PTC intensity, as well as eliminated negative temperature coefficient effect and high thermal stability, which indicated that the MWCNT/PVDF nanocomposites could overcome the main shortages of the current polymer-based PTC composites. By comparing with other contrastive nanocomposites through similar procedure, the mechanisms for the MWCNT/PVDF composite to overcome the shortages were studied and discussed. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010
Quantum vs. classical communication and computation

We present a simple and general simulation technique that transforms any black-box quantum algorithm (a la Grover's database search algorithm) to a quantum communication protocol for a related problem, in a way that fully exploits the quantum parallelism. This allows us to obtain new positive and negative results. The positive results are novel quantum communication protocols that are built from nontrivial quantum algorithms via this simulation. These protocols, combined with (old and new) classical lower bounds, are shown to provide the first asymptotic separation results between the quantum and classical (probabilistic) two-party communication complexity models. In particular, we obtain a quadratic separation for the bounded-error model, and an exponential separation for the zero-error model. The negative results transform known quantum communication lower bounds to computational lower bounds in the black-box model. In particular, we show that the quadratic speed-up achieved by Grover for the OR function is impossible for the PARITY function or the MAJORITY function in the bounded-error model, nor is it possible for the OR function itself in the exact case. This dichotomy naturally suggests a study of bounded-depth predicates (i.e. those in the polynomial hierarchy) between OR and MAJORITY. We present black-box algorithms that achieve near quadratic speed up for all such predicates.
α‐Enolase of Streptococcus pneumoniae is a plasmin(ogen)‐binding protein displayed on the bacterial cell surface

Binding of human plasminogen to Streptococcus pneumoniae and its subsequent activation promotes penetration of bacteria through reconstituted basement membranes. In this study, we have characterized a novel pneumococcal surface protein with a molecular mass of 47 kDa, designated Eno, which specifically binds human plasmin(ogen), exhibits α‐enolase activity and is necessary for viability. Using enzyme assays, we have confirmed the α‐enolase activity of both pneumococcal surface‐displayed Eno and purified recombinant Eno protein. Immunoelectron microscopy indicated the presence of Eno in the cytoplasm as well as on the surface of encapsulated and unencapsulated pneumococci. Plasminogen‐binding activity was demonstrated with whole pneumococcal cells and purified Eno protein. Binding of activated plasminogen was also shown for Eno; however, the affinity for plasmin is significantly reduced compared with plasminogen. Results from competitive inhibition assays indicate that binding is mediated through the lysine binding sites in plasmin(ogen). Carboxypeptidase B treatment and amino acid substitutions of the C‐terminal lysyl residues of Eno indicated that the C‐terminal lysine is pivotal for plasmin(ogen)‐binding activity. Eno is ubiquitously distributed among pneumococcal serotypes, and binding experiments suggested the reassociation of secreted Eno to the bacterial cell surface. The reassociation was also confirmed by immunoelectron microscopy. The results suggest a mechanism of plasminogen activation for human pathogens that might contribute to their virulence potential in invasive infectious processes.
Gold-Standard Ontology-Based Annotation of Concepts in Biomedical Text in the CRAFT Corpus: Updates and Extensions

—Ontologies are increasingly used for semantic integration across disparate curated biomedical resources, while gold-standard annotated corpora are needed for accurate training and evaluation of text-mining tools. Bringing together the respective power of these, we created the Colorado Richly Annotated Full-Text (CRAFT) Corpus, a collection of full-length, open-access biomedical journal articles that have been manually annotated both syntactically and semantically with select Open Biomedical Ontologies (OBOs), the first release of which includes ~100,000 annotations of concepts mentioned in the text of 67 articles and mapped to the classes of eight prominent OBOs. Here we present our continuing work on the corpus, including updated versions of these annotations with newer versions of the ontologies, new annotations made with two additional OBOs, annotations made with newly created extension classes defined in terms of existing classes of the ontologies, and new annotations of roots of prefixed and suffixed words.
Antioxidants inhibit ethanol-induced gastric injury in the rat. Role of manganese, glycine, and carotene.

BACKGROUND Oxygen-derived radicals are implicated in the pathogenesis of tissue damage and ulcerogenesis. This study aimed to examine the effect of manganese, glycine, and carotene, oxygen radical scavengers, on ethanol-induced gastric lesions in the rat and on ethanol cytotoxicity in epithelial cell culture. METHODS MnCl2 + glycine (12.5-50 mg/rat) were injected subcutaneously up to 6 h before oral administration of 1 ml of 96% ethanol, and 0.5 ml carrot juice or beta-carotene was given orally 30 min before the ethanol. Mucosal injury was evaluated 1 h later by gross and microscopic scoring. The effect of Mn2+ and carrot juice was also tested in monolayers of radiolabeled epithelial cells exposed to H2O2 + ethanol injury as expressed by the extent of the isotope leakage. RESULTS Mn2+ and glycine pretreatment dose-dependently reduced ethanol-induced gastric lesion formation. Protection was maximal when treatment was applied 4 h before the insult. Gross damage was also markedly prevented by pretreatment with carotenes and dimethylthiourea (DMTU, 75 mg/kg intraperitoneally) but not by allopurinol. Mixtures of subtoxic concentrations of ethanol and H2O2 were highly lethal for epithelial cell monolayers. In this model, cell death was markedly attenuated by catalase, DMTU, Mn2+, and carrot juice. CONCLUSIONS Ethanol-induced gastric mucosal damage may involve generation of oxygen-derived radicals, independent of the xanthine oxidase system. By acting as oxygen radical scavengers, Mn2+, glycine, and carotenes, like catalase and DMTU, provide significant gastroprotection.
Oxidation of Silicon Carbide Fibers During Static Fatigue in Air at Intermediate Temperatures

The static fatigue of SiC-based fiber bundles and single fibers has been examined in previous papers, with emphasis placed on the analysis of the stress-rupture time data, and on the modelling of delayed failure from slow crack growth. The present paper investigates the oxidation of the fibers during static fatigue, at temperatures in the intermediate temperature range (500°―800°C). Two oxidation-induced phenomena have been evidenced: the formation of a thin silica film at the surface of fibers and the delayed failure of fiber bundles and single filaments. The stress―rupture time data are interpreted with respect to the chemical and structural characteristics of fibers, and to the oxide film growth rate. The structural analysis of the fibers was carried out using scanning electron microscopy and Auger electron spectroscopy. Delayed failure was found to result from slow crack propagation from surface defects, as a result of the consumption of the free carbon at grain boundaries and the local stresses induced by the SiC → SiO 2 transformation at the crack tip. The respective contributions of these phenomena to static fatigue are discussed.
Variation and evolution in plants and microorganisms: toward a new synthesis 50 years after Stebbins.

“The present book is intended as a progress report on [the] synthetic approach to evolution as it applies to the plant kingdom” (ref. 1, p. ix). With this simple statement, G. Ledyard Stebbins formulated the objectives of Variation and Evolution in Plants (1), published in 1950, the last of a quartet of classics that, in the second quarter of the 20th century, set forth what became known as the “synthetic theory of evolution” or “the modern synthesis. ” The other books are Theodosius Dobzhansky's Genetics and the Origin of Species (2), Ernst Mayr's Systematics and the Origin of Species (3), and George Gaylord Simpson's Tempo and Mode in Evolution (4). The pervading theory of these books is the molding of Darwin's evolution by natural selection within the framework of rapidly advancing genetic knowledge. Stebbins said it simply: “In brief, evolution is here visualized as primarily the resultant of the interaction of environmental variation and the genetic variability recurring in the evolving population” (ref. 1, p. xi).
An approach to the evaluation of assistive technology

A valid criticism of may innovations in assistive technology is that they have not been evaluated. However. there are obstacles which make this form of technology difficult to evaluate according to conventional paradigms. The reasons behind this are discussed. A particular evaluation which endeavoured to circumvent those problems is described. The item evaluated was Matllta/k, a program to make mathematics accessible to blind people.