Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Neuronal death/survival signaling pathways in cerebral ischemia

SummaryCumulative evidence suggests that apoptosis plays a pivotal role in cell deathin vitro after hypoxia. Apoptotic cell death pathways have also been implicated in ischemic cerebral injury inin vivo ischemia models. Experimental ischemia and reperfusion models, such as transient focal/global ischemia in rodents, have been thoroughly studied and the numerous reports suggest the involvement of cell survival/death signaling pathways in the pathogenesis of apoptotic cell death in ischemic lesions. In these models, reoxygenation during reperfusion provides a substrate for numerous enzymatic oxidation reactions. Oxygen radicals damage cellular lipids, proteins and nucleic acids, and initiate cell signaling pathways after cerebral ischemia. Genetic manipulation of intrinsic antioxidants and factors in the signaling pathways has provided substantial understanding of the mechanisms involved in cell death/survival signaling pathways and the role of oxygen radicals in ischemic cerebral injury. Future studies of these pathways may provide novel therapeutic strategies in clinical stroke.
Biochemical and Haematological Changes Induced by Low-Radiotoxicity Uranium Salt (Uranyl acetate) in Heteropneustes fossilis

Heteropneustes fossilis were treated with sub-lethal concentrations (4.0 and 8.0 mg/l) of a low-radiotoxicity uranium salt (uranyl acetate) for a period of 30 days. It has been observed that protein and RNA concentrations were decreased, and the DNA increased. The RNA/DNA ratio was significantly decreased in both the liver and the muscle of fish. The decrease in RNA/DNA ratio was comparatively higher in liver than muscles. Sub-lethal uranium exposure has decreased significantly (P<0.05) the level of glycogen in Liver and muscle. The uranyl acetate has adversely affected the growth and condition of the fish which were worked out as condition (CF) factor and hepatosomatic index (HIS) values. It has caused a decrease in red blood cell (RBC) and white blood cell (WBC) counts, haemoglobin (Hb) concentration and haematocrit (Hct) values. Blood indices like mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) were also adversely affected. Plasma glucose level was elevated whereas plasma protein was decreased. The level of calcium (Ca) was also reduced in the blood of this fish whereas magnesium (Mg) remains unchanged. The activity of glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) and glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (GPT) was increased in the fish exposed to uranium salt of low radiotoxicity. It has been concluded that these effects were more pronounced with increase in concentration and in the time of exposure.
Accuracy of Eyes of AI TM Artificial Intelligence-Driven Platform for Lateral Cephalometric Analysis

Aim: The objective of this prospective study was to evaluate the accuracy of cephalometric analyses acquired through manual tracing and the Eyes of AI TM AI-driven web-based program. Materials and Methods: This prospective study employed randomization conducted via computer software, with a determined sample size of 150 cases. Inclusion criteria encompassed good quality lateral cephalograms available in both digital and print formats, absence of artifacts that might hinder anatomical point location, and presence of a clear calibration ruler for magnification determination. Exclusion criteria included lateral cephalograms with identifiable motion artifacts, resolution disparity, or insufficient contrast, as well as those exhibiting positional errors indicated by ear rod markers. Each lateral cephalogram underwent tracing and analysis using the manual method, as well as Eyes of AI TM software. Following landmark plotting, linear and angular measurements of Steiner, Downs, McNamara, and Jefferson analyses were calculated. Results: A comparison of thirty-six cephalometric measurements of Steiner, Downs, McNamara, and Jefferson analyses obtained from manual tracing and AI-driven Eyes of AI TM revealed a Concordance Correlation Coefficient (CCC) value above 0.76 for all parameters, indicating strong agreement between manual and AI-driven cephalometric measurements. Furthermore, a CCC value exceeding 0.9 was observed for twenty-eight parameters, indicative of very strong agreement. Conclusion: Automated lateral cephalometric measurements obtained from Eyes of AI TM are accurate when compared to manual measurements.
Checkerboard Problem to Topology Optimization of Continuum Structures

The area of topology optimization of continuum structures of which is allowed to change in order to improve the performance is now dominated by methods that employ the material distribution concept. The typical methods of the topology optimization based on the structural optimization of two phase composites are the so-called variable density ones, like the SIMP (Solid Isotropic Material with Penalization) and the BESO (Bi-directional Evolutional Structure Optimization). The topology optimization problem refers to the saddle-point variation one as well as the so-called Stokes flow problem of the compressive fluid. The checkerboard patterns often appear in the results computed by the SIMP and the BESO in which the Q1-P0 element is used for FEM (Finite Element Method), since these patterns are more favourable than uniform density regions. Computational experiments of SIMP and BESO have shown that filtering of sensitivity information of the optimization problem is a highly efficient way that the checkerboard patterns disappeared and to ensure mesh-independency. SIn this paper, we discuss the theoretical basis for the filtering method of the SIMP and the BESO and as a result, the filtering method can be understood by the theorem of partition of unity and the convolution operator of low-pass filter.
Novel strategy for the use of leptin for obesity therapy

Introduction: Obesity is a chronic disease and a major global health challenge. Apart from bariatric surgery, which is costly and not without risk, there are currently no successful long-term treatment options for obesity. The history of pharmacological agents for obesity has been turbulent with many examples of drugs being removed from the market due to significant side effects. Orlistat and sibutramine (the latest drugs on the market) provide only modest weight loss and are both associated with high attrition rates due to intolerable side effects. Furthermore, sibutramine was recently withdrawn from the market. There is a need for the development of safe and efficacious drug treatments for obesity. Areas covered: This review covers the history of leptin therapy as an orphan drug, leptin-replacement therapy as a treatment for obesity, preclinical studies showing the efficacy of leptin/amylin combination and finally, the very promising early clinical findings using pramlintide/meteleptin combination therapy in overweight to obese individuals. Expert opinion: Combination pharmacological therapy, such as pramlintide/metreleptin, for the treatment of obesity is very promising and is supported by encouraging weight loss results and improvement in metabolic makers in early-phase clinical studies. However, the latest randomized clinical trial on pramlintide/metreleptin was recently stopped due to safety concerns.
Expression and Function of Chicken Integrin / 31 Subunit and Its Cytoplasmic Domain Mutants in Mouse NIH 313 Cells

Chicken integrin B1 eDNA and its sitedirected mutants were cloned into a mammalian expression vector and introduced into mouse NIH 3T3 cells. Stable transfectants expressing the chicken/31 subunit or its site-directed mutants were identified by immunostaining with antibodies specific for the chicken integrin/31 subunit. The chicken/~1 proteins were expressed predominately in the endoplasmic reticulum of transfectants and to a lesser degree in the plasma membrane. Immunoblots and immunoprecipitations, using anti-chicken integrin antibodies, revealed three different sizes of the chicken subunit (90, 95, and 120 kD) and a mouse 140-kD cz subunit. Immunoprecipitations of the cell surface receptors showed only two peptides, an 120-kD/31 and an 140kD ot subunit. Antibodies perturbing mouse and chicken integrin-specific cell adhesions were used to demonstrate that the chimeric receptors functioned in adhesion to both laminin and fibronectin. Immunofluorescent staining with antibodies specific for either the chicken or mouse receptors showed that both the wild type and the chimeric receptors localized in focal contacts. Several mutations in the cytoplasmic domain were synthesized and used in the transfection experiments. In one mutant the tyrosine (Tyr 788) in the consensus sequence for phosphorylation was replaced by a phenylalanine. In another the lysine (Lys 757) at the end of the membrane spanning region was replaced by a leucine. Both of these mutants formed dimers with mouse ~ subunits, participated in adhesion, localized in focal contacts, and displayed biological properties indistinguishable from the wild-type transfection. In contrast, mutants containing deletions greater than 5-15 amino acids nearest the carboxyl end in the cytoplasmic domain neither promoted adhesion nor localized in focal contacts. They did, however, form heterodimers that were expressed on the
LOFS: Library of Online Streaming Feature Selection

As an emerging research direction, online streaming feature selection deals with sequentially added dimensions in a feature space while the number of data instances is fixed. Online streaming feature selection provides a new, complementary algorithmic methodology to enrich online feature selection, especially targets to high dimensionality in big data analytics. This paper introduces the first comprehensive open-source library for use in MATLAB that implements the state-of-the-art algorithms of online streaming feature selection. The library is designed to facilitate the development of new algorithms in this exciting research direction and make comparisons between the new methods and existing ones available.
THE EFFECTS OF PESTICIDE EXPOSURE ON WATER BODIES-A REVIEW

Pesticides and fertilizers are used carelessly in agricultural intensive crop production in order to develop high yield varieties. This protects the crop against pests, which in turn serves to improve the crop's quality and quantity. Several pathways, including runoff, spray drift, and leaching, allow pesticides to pollute the aquatic environment, endangering both aquatic life and human health. Whether they are invertebrates, fish, or primary producers, this exposure may have an impact on all levels of the biological hierarchy. Pesticides reduce oxygen, particulate organic carbon, and dissolved organic carbon levels in aquatic plants by reducing primary production and increasing respiration rates . Atrazine raises calcium levels in aquatic environments. Reduced precipitation of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) occurs when crystal development is inhibited or the pH decreases. Pesticides including organochlorine and atrazine raise levels of ammonium (NH4+), nitrate (NO3-), and sulphate (SO4). There are numerous techniques to remove pesticides. Aquatic contamination may be biological-bioaugmentation, natural attenuation, and biostimulation, chemical -denitrification, reverse osmosis, electrodialysis, and catalytic denitrification. In order to manage the amount of harmful chemicals in water bodies, it is necessary to include monitoring measures for runoff events in the spraying process. One such approach is the suspended matter sampler, which may be used to measure particle-associated pesticides.
What proportion of patients report long-term pain after total hip or knee replacement for osteoarthritis? A systematic review of prospective studies in unselected patients

Background Total hip or knee replacement is highly successful when judged by prosthesis-related outcomes. However, some people experience long-term pain. Objectives To review published studies in representative populations with total hip or knee replacement for the treatment of osteoarthritis reporting proportions of people by pain intensity. Data sources MEDLINE and EMBASE databases searched to January 2011 with no language restrictions. Citations of key articles in ISI Web of Science and reference lists were checked. Study eligibility criteria, participants and interventions Prospective studies of consecutive, unselected osteoarthritis patients representative of the primary total hip or knee replacement population, with intensities of patient-centred pain measured after 3 months to 5-year follow-up. Study appraisal and synthesis methods Two authors screened titles and abstracts. Data extracted by one author were checked independently against original articles by a second. For each study, the authors summarised the proportions of people with different severities of pain in the operated joint. Results Searches identified 1308 articles of which 115 reported patient-centred pain outcomes. Fourteen articles describing 17 cohorts (6 with hip and 11 with knee replacement) presented appropriate data on pain intensity. The proportion of people with an unfavourable long-term pain outcome in studies ranged from about 7% to 23% after hip and 10% to 34% after knee replacement. In the best quality studies, an unfavourable pain outcome was reported in 9% or more of patients after hip and about 20% of patients after knee replacement. Limitations Other studies reported mean values of pain outcomes. These and routine clinical studies are potential sources of relevant data. Conclusions and implications of key findings After hip and knee replacement, a significant proportion of people have painful joints. There is an urgent need to improve general awareness of this possibility and to address determinants of good and bad outcomes.
Dual-student Feature Fusion Knowledge Distillation Model for Wheel Tread Anomaly Detection

The defect of the wheel tread is an important factor affecting the normal work of railway train wheels. Traditional deep learning object detection algorithms require a large number of samples to train models, and their detection performance is limited by the type and quantities of abnormal samples. Faced with the lack of ab-normal samples of wheel tread defects, this paper proposes to use an unsupervised knowledge distillation anomaly detection model to complete the task of anomaly detection on wheel treads. In order to reduce the influence of the non-tread area on the anomaly detection model, the tread area is segmented by Unet, and then a dual-student feature fusion network is designed to improve the reconstruction ability of the student decoder for normal features in the reverse knowledge distillation structure. In training, the two student networks jointly learn the knowledge of normal features from the teacher network, cooperatively memorize the features of normal samples, and play the advantage of fusion features in reasoning to strengthen the reconstruction of normal features by the student network. Experiments show that the improved model can achieve 92.3% AUC, 85.3% precision, 95.3% recall and 88.0% accuracy on the railway wheel tread dataset. Compared to the unimproved model, the model detection performance is greatly improved.
MUSE: A Programmable Metadata Load Estimation Interface for Ceph File System

CephFS represents a prominent distributed file system that utilizes directory fragment migration to achieve improved runtime balance. However, its imprecise imbalance model and subtree selection algorithms can result in suboptimal performance. Our prior work, Lunule, enhances CephFS by introducing an imbalance factor model and a workload-aware load estimation policy. Nevertheless, Lunule’s built-in workload-aware planner still relies on a unified formula with adjustable coefficients, representing a one-size-fits-all approach. In this study, we introduce MUSE, a novel and user-friendly programmable interface that specifically focuses on subtree migration planning. MUSE effectively separates the complex and challenging task of evaluating subtree loads for different workloads, enabling designers to manipulate expected loads in the subsequent epoch. This facilitates the selection of appropriate subtrees for migration and opens up possibilities for implementing true isolated workloadaware policies. Through the utilization of two small Lua scripts, we demonstrate that MUSE achieves comparable load balancing effects and performance to CephFS and Lunule in workloads characterized by temporal and spatial locality.
Seasonal Variations of Indoor Microbial Exposures and Their Relation to Temperature, Relative Humidity, and Air Exchange Rate

ABSTRACT Indoor microbial exposure has been related to adverse pulmonary health effects. Exposure assessment is not standardized, and various factors may affect the measured exposure. The aim of this study was to investigate the seasonal variation of selected microbial exposures and their associations with temperature, relative humidity, and air exchange rates in Danish homes. Airborne inhalable dust was sampled in five Danish homes throughout the four seasons of 1 year (indoors, n = 127; outdoors, n = 37). Measurements included culturable fungi and bacteria, endotoxin, N-acetyl-beta-d-glucosaminidase, total inflammatory potential, particles (0.75 to 15 μm), temperature, relative humidity, and air exchange rates. Significant seasonal variation was found for all indoor microbial exposures, excluding endotoxin. Indoor fungi peaked in summer (median, 235 CFU/m3) and were lowest in winter (median, 26 CFU/m3). Indoor bacteria peaked in spring (median, 2,165 CFU/m3) and were lowest in summer (median, 240 CFU/m3). Concentrations of fungi were predominately higher outdoors than indoors, whereas bacteria, endotoxin, and inhalable dust concentrations were highest indoors. Bacteria and endotoxin correlated with the mass of inhalable dust and number of particles. Temperature and air exchange rates were positively associated with fungi and N-acetyl-beta-d-glucosaminidase and negatively with bacteria and the total inflammatory potential. Although temperature, relative humidity, and air exchange rates were significantly associated with several indoor microbial exposures, they could not fully explain the observed seasonal variations when tested in a mixed statistical model. In conclusion, the season significantly affects indoor microbial exposures, which are influenced by temperature, relative humidity, and air exchange rates.
Simultaneous Beat and Downbeat-Tracking Using a Probabilistic Framework: Theory and Large-Scale Evaluation

This paper deals with the simultaneous estimation of beat and downbeat location in an audio-file. We propose a probabilistic framework in which the time of the beats and their associated beat-position-inside-a-bar roles; hence, the downbeats, are considered as hidden states and are estimated simultaneously using signal observations. For this, we propose a “reverse” Viterbi algorithm which decodes hidden states over beat-numbers. A beat-template is used to derive the beat observation probabilities. For this task, we propose the use of a machine-learning method, the Linear Discriminant Analysis, to estimate the most discriminative beat-templates. We propose two functions to derive the beat-position-inside-a-bar observation probability: the variation over time of chroma vectors and the spectral balance. We then perform a large-scale evaluation of beat and downbeat-tracking using six test-sets. In this, we study the influence of the various parameters of our method, compare this method to our previous beat and downbeat-tracking algorithms, and compare our results to state-of-the-art results on two test-sets for which results have been published. We finally discuss the results obtained by our system in the MIREX-09 and MIREX-10 contests for which our system ranked among the first for the “McKinney Collection” test-set.
Acetylcysteine Reduces Plasma Homocysteine Concentration and Improves Pulse Pressure and Endothelial Function in Patients With End-Stage Renal Failure

Background—Increased oxidative stress, elevated plasma homocysteine concentration, increased pulse pressure, and impaired endothelial function constitute risk factors for increased mortality in patients with end-stage renal failure. Methods and Results—We investigated the metabolic and hemodynamic effects of intravenous administration of acetylcysteine, a thiol-containing antioxidant, during a hemodialysis session in a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled crossover study in 20 patients with end-stage renal failure. Under control conditions, a hemodialysis session reduced plasma homocysteine concentration to 58±22% predialysis (mean±SD), whereas in the presence of acetylcysteine, the plasma homocysteine concentration was significantly more reduced to 12±7% predialysis (P <0.01). The reduction of plasma homocysteine concentration was significantly correlated with a reduction of pulse pressure. A 10% decrease in plasma homocysteine concentration was associated with a decrease of pulse pressure by 2.5 mm Hg. Analysis of the second derivative of photoplethysmogram waveform showed changes of arterial wave reflectance during hemodialysis in the presence of acetylcysteine, indicating improved endothelial function. Conclusions—Acetylcysteine-dependent increase of homocysteine removal during a hemodialysis session improves plasma homocysteine concentration, pulse pressure, and endothelial function in patients with end-stage renal failure.
A fine-tuned MobileNet Model for Coral Classification using Images

Identification of the coral species present underwater is becoming rigorous due to several reasons like: (a) the available datasets contain information only about their texture but not the overall global structure of the species, (b) several coral species have similar characteristics and (c) difficulty in defining the space between two different coral species as they appear together in groups, etc. The aim of the proposed work is to automate the coral species classification by reducing the need of human intervention. For this purpose, the paper proposes a fine-tuned MobileNet architecture for automatic coral classification in different scenarios. As most of the datasets available are imbalanced, the work utilizes four standard datasets to comprehensively evaluate the proposed model. Also due to the varying nature of the datasets, each one of them pose different challenges to the model, hence, different activation functions and optimizers have been considered to get the optimal results on these datasets. The proposed model has been compared against several state-of-art convolutional models namely, Inceptionv3, ResNet50, DenseNet121, VGG-16, and vanilla MobileNet to support the strength of the proposed model for coral classification under different challenging conditions presented by various datasets.
Predicting Factors Affecting Kidney Functions using Machine Learning

The kidneys play a crucial role in maintaining internal body conditions. Kidney function is influenced by various factors, including blood creatinine, ferritin, eGFR, genetic pre-disposition, age, lifestyle habits, and the environment. Machine learning approaches such as regression, classification, random forest, light GBM, and SVM have enabled the detection of these factors and the creation of predictive models for assessing kidney disease risk. Machine learning has also led to the discovery of novel biomarkers for forecasting kidney failure progression and improving patient outcomes. This transformative technology offers tailored risk assessment and treatment strategies in nephrology. Serum ferritin as a marker for iron deficiency can be challenging to interpret, especially in younger populations, but functional analysis suggests that iron deficiency anemia begins to manifest when ferritin levels approach 10 g/L and these functional limits are consistent across genders and ages.