Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Successively Ordered Elementary Bidiagonal Factorization

Let $D$ be a diagonal matrix and $E_{ij}$ denote the $n$-by-$n$ matrix with a $1$ in entry $(i,j)$ and $0$ in every other entry. An $n$-by-$n$ matrix $A$ has a successively ordered elementary bidiagonal $(SEB)$ factorization if it can be factored as \begin{equation*} A= \left(\prod_{k=1}^{n-1} \prod_{j=n}^{k+1} L_j(s_{jk})\right) \; D \; \left(\prod_{k=n-1}^{1} \prod_{j=k+1}^{n}U_j(t_{kj})\right), \end{equation*} in which $L_j(s_{jk})=I+s_{jk}E_{j,j-1}$ and $U_j(t_{kj})=I+t_{kj}E_{j-1,j}$ for some scalars $s_{jk},t_{kj}$. Note that some of the parameters $% s_{jk},t_{kj}$ may be zero, and the order of the bidiagonal factors is fixed. If this factorization corresponds to reduction of $A$ to $D$ via successive row/column operations in the specified order, it is called an elimination $SEB$ factorization. New rank conditions are formulated that are proved to be necessary and sufficient for matrix $A$ to have such a factorization. These conditions are related to known but more restrictive properties that ensure a bidiagonal factorization as above, but with all parameters $s_{jk},t_{kj}$ nonzero.
Is the “biexponential diffusion” biexponential?

Diffusion‐weighted signal from the brain, S, deviates from monoexponential dependence on the b‐factor. This property is often referred to as biexponential diffusion, since the corresponding model fits data well. The aim of this study is to examine the necessity of using the biexponential model in homogeneous voxels under isotropic diffusion weighting up to b = 2.5 ms/μm2. The model is compared to the cumulant expansion of ln S in a power series in b, which takes its origin in fundamental properties of the diffusion‐weighted signal, but diverges at large b. The absence of statistically significant evidences for the biexponential diffusion is demonstrated in gray matter. The cumulant expansion terminated after the term b2 describes data equally well with fewer adjustable parameters. The biexponential model is preferable in voxels with a partial volume of CSF. Magn Reson Med 57:464–469, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Peripheral neuropathy and the risk of cardiovascular events in type 2 diabetes mellitus

Aims Identifying individuals with diabetes at high risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains challenging. We aimed to establish whether peripheral neuropathy (PN) is associated with incident CVD events and to what extent information on PN may improve risk prediction among individuals with type 2 diabetes. Methods We obtained data for individuals with type 2 diabetes, and free of CVD, from a large primary care patient cohort. Incident CVD events were recorded during a 30-month follow-up period. Eligible individuals had complete ascertainment of cardiovascular risk factors and PN status at baseline. The association between PN and incident CVD events (non-fatal myocardial infarction, coronary revascularisation, congestive cardiac failure, transient ischaemic attack and stroke) was evaluated using Cox regression, adjusted for standard CVD risk factors. We assessed the predictive accuracy of models including conventional CVD risk factors with and without information on PN. Results Among 13 043 eligible individuals, we recorded 407 deaths from any cause and 399 non-fatal CVD events. After adjustment for age, sex, ethnicity, systolic blood pressure, cholesterol, body mass index, HbA1c, smoking status and use of statin or antihypertensive medication, PN was associated with incident CVD events (HR 1.33; 95% CI 1.02 to 1.75, p=0.04). The addition of information on PN to a model based on standard CVD risk factors resulted in modest improvements in discrimination for CVD risk prediction and reclassified 6.9% of individuals into different risk categories. Conclusions PN is associated with increased risk for a first cardiovascular event among individuals with diabetes.
DCT & Fractal Compression Based Watermarking

Visual Cryptographic methods are not sufficient to solve all image security related issues. Watermarking is the art of hiding secret image in ways that prevent the detection of hidden images. Multimedia documents are very easy to copy and distribute in an illicit manner. Copyright labeling is a process that may help to reduce their illicit copying. If this document is copied the copy will also contain the label. This label (or watermark) should be robust enough to withstand normal image processing activities (like image compression, transforming to different format) that do not significantly alter the image appearance. In fractal image compression the encoding step is computationally expensive, because every range block must be compared to all domain blocks in the codebook to find the best-matched one during the coding procedure. In this paper, a fast fractal encoding algorithm is proposed. Simulation results show that the runtime of the proposed algorithm is reduced greatly compared to the existing methods. At the same time, the new algorithm also achieved high compression ratio.
The Effect of Isolated Capsular Polysaccharides on Kanamycin Sensitivity of Escherichia coli B 23

Previous studies have demonstrated that exposure to sublethal levels of kanamycin antibiotic increased the capsular polysaccharide production by Escherichia coli B23 cells. The capsular polysaccharides were associated with resistance against antibiotics. This study attempted to investigate whether an interaction exists between the antibiotic and either isolated capsular polysaccharide or isolated soluble polysaccharide to assess a direct relationship between antibiotic insensitivity and capsular polysaccharides. Three types of polysaccharides including capsular polysaccharides obtained from Escherichia coli B23 grown with or without kanamycin pre-treatment and soluble capsular polysaccharide secreted by Escherichia coli K1-K12 hybrid EV36 were mixed with kanamycin and these samples were used for the MIC assay, kanamycin sensitivity test and the Kirby-Bauer (KB) assay. It was found that the addition of polysaccharides did not have a significant effect on either the growth of cells or the MIC of kanamycin while all three types of polysaccharides provided protection against low concentrations of kanamycin observed in the kanamycin sensitivity tests. In the KB assay, filter disks containing 20 μg/ml and 10 μg/ml of kanamycin near the filter disks of the capsular polysaccharide from cells with kanamycin pre-treatment showed smaller and inward distorted shaped inhibition zones, while the disks of the same kanamycin concentrations near the disks of the capsular polysaccharide from cells grown without kanamycin pretreatment had normal zones. The difference in the degree of protection observed against exposure to low concentrations of kanamycin between the two types of capsular polysaccharides could not be determined.
Adipose-Derived Stromal Cells Protect Intervertebral Disc Cells in Compression: Implications for Stem Cell Regenerative Disc Therapy

Introduction: Abnormal biomechanics plays a role in intervertebral disc degeneration. Adipose-derived stromal cells (ADSCs) have been implicated in disc integrity; however, their role in the setting of mechanical stimuli upon the disc's nucleus pulposus (NP) remains unknown. As such, the present study aimed to evaluate the influence of ADSCs upon NP cells in compressive load culture. Methods: Human NP cells were cultured in compressive load at 3.0MPa for 48 hours with or without ADSCs co-culture (the ratio was 50:50). We used flow cytometry, live/dead staining and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to evaluate cell death, and determined the expression of specific apoptotic pathways by characterizing the expression of activated caspases-3, -8 and -9. We further used real-time (RT-) PCR and immunostaining to determine the expression of the extracellular matrix (ECM), mediators of matrix degradation (e.g. MMPs, TIMPs and ADAMTSs), pro-inflammatory factors and NP cell phenotype markers. Results: ADSCs inhibited human NP cell apoptosis via suppression of activated caspase-9 and caspase-3. Furthermore, ADSCs protected NP cells from the degradative effects of compressive load by significantly up-regulating the expression of ECM genes (SOX9, COL2A1 and ACAN), tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) genes (TIMP-1 and TIMP-2) and cytokeratin 8 (CK8) protein expression. Alternatively, ADSCs showed protective effect by inhibiting compressive load mediated increase of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs; MMP-3 and MMP-13), disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs (ADAMTSs; ADAMTS-1 and 5), and pro-inflammatory factors (IL-1beta, IL-6, TGF-beta1 and TNF-alpha). Conclusions: Our study is the first in vitro study assessing the impact of ADSCs on NP cells in an un-physiological mechanical stimulation culture environment. Our study noted that ADSCs protect compressive load induced NP cell death and degradation by inhibition of activated caspase-9 and -3 activity; regulating ECM and modulator genes, suppressing pro-inflammatory factors and preserving CK8. Consequently, the protective impact of ADSCs found in this study provides an essential understanding and expands our knowledge as to the utility of ADSCs therapy for intervertebral disc regeneration.
Determination of minimum sample size and discriminatory expression patterns in microarray data

MOTIVATION Transcriptional profiling using microarrays can reveal important information about cellular and tissue expression phenotypes, but these measurements are costly and time consuming. Additionally, tissue sample availability poses further constraints on the number of arrays that can be analyzed in connection with a particular disease or state of interest. It is therefore important to provide a method for the determination of the minimum number of microarrays required to separate, with statistical reliability, distinct disease states or other physiological differences. RESULTS Power analysis was applied to estimate the minimum sample size required for two-class and multi-class discrimination. The power analysis algorithm calculates the appropriate sample size for discrimination of phenotypic subtypes in a reduced dimensional space obtained by Fisher discriminant analysis (FDA). This approach was tested by applying the algorithm to existing data sets for estimation of the minimum sample size required for drawing certain conclusions on multi-class distinction with statistical reliability. It was confirmed that when the minimum number of samples estimated from power analysis is used, group means in the FDA discrimination space are statistically different. CONTACT gregstep@mit.edu
The association of the composite IL-1 genotype with periodontitis progression and/or treatment outcomes: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND Genetically transmitted traits such as cytokine gene polymorphisms may accentuate the host inflammatory response to the bacterial challenge and influence susceptibility to periodontitis. OBJECTIVE To systematically review the evidence of an association between the interleukin-1 (IL-1) composite genotype, i.e. presence of the allele 2 in the gene clusters IL-1A-889 and in IL-1B +3953, and periodontitis progression and/or treatment outcomes. MATERIAL AND METHODS Based on the focused question, a search was conducted for longitudinal clinical trials comparing progression of periodontitis and/or treatment outcomes in IL-1 genotype-positive (carrying allele 2) and IL-1 genotype-negative (not carrying allele 2) subjects. A search in the National Library of Medicine computerized bibliographic database MEDLINE and a manual search were performed. Selection of publications, extraction of data and validity assessment were made independently by two reviewers. RESULTS The search provided 122 titles of which 11 longitudinal publications were included. The heterogeneity of the data prevented the performance of a meta-analysis. While findings from some publications rejected a possible role of IL-1 composite genotype on progression of periodontitis after various therapies, other reported a prognostic value for disease progression of the positive IL-1 genotype status. When assessed on a multivariate risk assessment model, several publications concluded that the assessment of the IL-1 composite genotype in conjunction with other covariates (e.g. smoking and presence of specific bacteria) may provide additional information on disease progression. The small sample size of the available publications, however, requires caution in the interpretation of the results. CONCLUSION Based on these findings, (i) there is insufficient evidence to establish if a positive IL-1 genotype status contributes to progression of periodontitis and/or treatment outcomes. Therefore, (ii) results obtained with commercially available tests should be interpreted with caution.
Age-Dependent Evolution of the Yeast Protein Interaction Network Suggests a Limited Role of Gene Duplication and Divergence

Proteins interact in complex protein–protein interaction (PPI) networks whose topological properties—such as scale-free topology, hierarchical modularity, and dissortativity—have suggested models of network evolution. Currently preferred models invoke preferential attachment or gene duplication and divergence to produce networks whose topology matches that observed for real PPIs, thus supporting these as likely models for network evolution. Here, we show that the interaction density and homodimeric frequency are highly protein age–dependent in real PPI networks in a manner which does not agree with these canonical models. In light of these results, we propose an alternative stochastic model, which adds each protein sequentially to a growing network in a manner analogous to protein crystal growth (CG) in solution. The key ideas are (1) interaction probability increases with availability of unoccupied interaction surface, thus following an anti-preferential attachment rule, (2) as a network grows, highly connected sub-networks emerge into protein modules or complexes, and (3) once a new protein is committed to a module, further connections tend to be localized within that module. The CG model produces PPI networks consistent in both topology and age distributions with real PPI networks and is well supported by the spatial arrangement of protein complexes of known 3-D structure, suggesting a plausible physical mechanism for network evolution.
Elite Rugby Union Players Perceptions of Performance Analysis

This study provides an in depth insight into the current views and opinions of elite level rugby union players regarding the use of performance analysis as a tool for improving their own playing performance and in highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of upcoming opponents. A total of seventy-three elite level rugby union players from two clubs in Great Britain completed a semi-structured questionnaire. Additionally, four players completed a semi-structured interview and following inductive content analysis, four key themes emerged: (1) the use of video for player development, (2) preparing for a match, (3) using video for player reflection in addition to other psychological tools and (4) players suggestions for improvements to the clubs current performance analysis programme. The main finding of the study concludes that players viewed performance analysis as a beneficial and useful tool to support their development and preparation. As a result the study provides an insight into the use of performance analysis within professional rugby union, enabling rugby coaches and practitioners to gain an understanding and appreciation of the players views towards the clubs current provision. Additionally, the findings help build and strengthen the on-going knowledge coaches, analysts and researchers currently have regarding how players perceive performance analysis.
Hepatitis E Virus Genotype 3 Diversity, France

We characterized 42 hepatitis E virus (HEV) genotype 3 strains from infected patients in France in 3 parts of the genome and sequenced the full-length HEV genotype 3f genome found in Europe. These strains are closely related to swine strains in Europe, which suggests zoonotic transmission of HEV in France.
Clinical Pharmacology: Advances and Applications Dovepress Neuronal Potassium Channel Openers in the Management of Epilepsy: Role and Potential of Retigabine

Despite the availability of over 20 antiepileptic drugs, about 30% of epileptic patients do not achieve seizure control. Thus, identification of additional molecules targeting novel molecular mechanisms is a primary effort in today's antiepileptic drug research. This paper reviews the pharmacological development of retigabine, an antiepileptic drug with a novel mechanism of action, namely the activation of voltage-gated potassium channels of the Kv7 sub-family. These channels, which act as widespread regulators of intrinsic neuronal excitability and of neurotransmitter-induced network excitability changes, are currently viewed among the most promising targets for anticonvulsant pharmacotherapy. In particular, the present work reviews the pathophysiological role of Kv7 channels in neuronal function, the molecular mechanisms involved in the Kv7 channel-opening action of retigabine, the activity of retigabine in preclini-cal in vitro and in vivo studies predictive of anticonvulsant activities, and the clinical status of development for this drug as an add-on treatment for pharmacoresistant epilepsy. Particular efforts are devoted to highlighting the potential advantages and disadvantages of retigabine when compared with currently available compounds, in order to provide a comprehensive assessment of its role in therapy for treatment-resistant epilepsies.
Language proficiency among immigrants and the establishment of interethnic relations: a comparative analysis of Bilbao, Lisbon and Rotterdam

Despite the increasing interest in exploring language proficiency among immigrants as a quintessential element for their economic integration in the host country, less attention has been devoted to the social impacts that destination-language proficiency may have on enhancing interethnic contacts between immigrants and the native population. This research aims to shed light on this latter topic, discussing if being a native-speaker immigrant in the host country or, for those immigrants who are non-native speakers, having a stronger command of the destination-language may increase their likelihood of interacting with the native population. Moreover, we question if there are significant differences in the interaction patterns between these two groups and the natives, presenting the cities of Bilbao, Lisbon and Rotterdam as a territorial frame. The analysis is based on data gathered through the GEITONIES survey. The results obtained indicate that native-speaker immigrants generally tend to show more interaction with the natives. Nevertheless, for immigrants not sharing such cultural similarity, those with a higher level of second-language proficiency clearly show stronger bonds with the native population; in both cases this can also be related to individual, group or place related variables.
Significance of primary stability for osseointegration of dental implants.

AIM To investigate the significance of the initial stability of dental implants for the establishment of osseointegration in an experimental capsule model for bone augmentation. MATERIAL AND METHODS Sixteen male rats were used in the study. In each rat, muscle-periosteal flaps were elevated on the lateral aspect of the mandibular ramus on both sides, resulting in exposure of the bone surface. Small perforations were then produced in the ramus. A rigid, hemispherical Teflon capsule with a diameter of 6 mm and a height of 4 mm and with a hole in its middle portion, prepared to fit the circumference of an ITI HC titanium implant of 2.8 mm in diameter, was fixed to the ramus using 4 mini-screws. On one side of the jaw, the implant was placed through the hole in such a way that its apex did not make contact with the mandibular ramus (test). This placement of the implant did not ensure primary stability. On the other side of the jaw, a similar implant was placed through the hole of the capsule in such a way that contact was made between the implant and the surface of the ramus (control). This provided primary stability of the implant. After placement of the implants, the soft tissues were repositioned over the capsules and sutured. After 1, 3, 6 and 9 months, four animals were sacrificed and subjected to histometric analysis. RESULTS The mean height of direct bone-to-implant contact of implants with primary stability was 38.8%, 52.9%, 64.6% and 81.3% of the implant length at 1, 3, 6 and 9 months, respectively. Of the bone adjacent to the implant surface, 28.1%, 28.9%, 52.6% and 69.6%, respectively, consisted of mineralized bone. At the test implants, no bone-to-implant contact was observed at any observation time or in any of these non-stabilized specimens. CONCLUSION The findings of the present study indicate that primary implant stability is a prerequisite for successful osseointegration, and that implant instability results in fibrous encapsulation, thus confirming previously made clinical observations.
Pervasive developmental disorders in preschool children.

CONTEXT Prevalence rates of autism-spectrum disorders are uncertain, and speculation that their incidence is increasing continues to cause concern. OBJECTIVE To estimate the prevalence of pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs) in a geographically defined population of preschool children. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Survey conducted July 1998 to June 1999 in Staffordshire, England. The area's 15 500 children aged 2.5 to 6.5 years were screened for developmental problems. Children with symptoms suggestive of a PDD were intensively assessed by a multidisciplinary team, which conducted standardized diagnostic interviews and administered psychometric tests. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Prevalence estimates for subtypes of PDDs. RESULTS A total of 97 children (79.4% male) were confirmed to have a PDD. The prevalence of PDDs was estimated to be 62.6 (95% confidence interval, 50.8-76.3) per 10 000 children. Prevalences were 16.8 per 10 000 for autistic disorder and 45.8 per 10 000 for other PDDs. The mean age at diagnosis was 41 months, and 81% were originally referred by health visitors (nurse specialists). Of the 97 children with a PDD, 25.8% had some degree of mental retardation and 9.3% had an associated medical condition. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that rates of PDD are higher than previously reported. Methodological limitations in existing epidemiological investigations preclude interpretation of recent high rates as indicative of increased incidence of these disorders although this hypothesis requires further rigorous testing. Attention is nevertheless drawn to the important needs of a substantial minority of preschool children.
Intrinsic Features on Surfaces

The detection of stable feature points is an important preprocessing step for many applications in computer graphics. Especially, registration and matching applications often require those points and depend heavily on their quality. In the 2D image case, scale space based feature detection is well established and shows unquestionably good results. For this reason, we generalize a scale space to 3D surfaces and use it for the detection of analog feature points in 3D. Our features are robust to noise and provide a good description of the model.
The Mechanistic Connection Between the Trunk, Hip, Knee, and Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury

Neuromuscular control of the trunk and knee predicts anterior cruciate ligament injury risk with high sensitivity and specificity. These predictors are linked, as lateral trunk positioning creates high knee abduction torque (load). The hypotheses explored are that lateral trunk motion increases load and that neuromuscular training that enhance trunk control will decrease load.