Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Inhibition of vascular endothelial growth factor reduces scar formation after glaucoma filtration surgery.

PURPOSE Filtration failure due to excessive postoperative scarring remains a major problem after glaucoma surgery. The authors have investigated whether glaucoma and filtration surgery are associated with increased levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and whether a humanized monoclonal antibody against VEGF, bevacizumab, can reduce postoperative scar formation and improve surgical outcome. METHODS The levels of VEGF in samples of aqueous humor were measured by ELISA. The expression of the VEGF receptors Flt-1 and KDR was analyzed in cultured Tenon fibroblasts by real-time RT-PCR and Western blotting. The effect of VEGF and bevacizumab on Tenon fibroblasts in vitro was determined using a proliferation assay. The in vivo effect of the antibody was investigated in a rabbit model of trabeculectomy by measuring the intraocular pressure (IOP) and bleb area, and by immunohistological analysis of angiogenesis, inflammation, and fibrosis. RESULTS VEGF levels were increased significantly in the aqueous humor of glaucoma patients and rabbits that had undergone surgery. Both VEGF receptors were expressed on Tenon fibroblasts. Fibroblast proliferation in vitro was stimulated by delivery of VEGF, and was inhibited by administration of bevacizumab. The antibody also reduced angiogenesis and collagen deposition significantly, and improved the outcome of glaucoma surgery in rabbits. CONCLUSIONS VEGF was upregulated in the aqueous humor of glaucoma patients and in the rabbit model, and it stimulated fibroblast proliferation in vitro. This suggests that it is involved in the scarring process after filtration surgery. Bevacizumab reduced the proliferation of fibroblasts in vitro and improved surgical outcome.
Sentiment analysis: Measuring sentiment strength of call centre conversations

Measuring sentiment strength can be considered as one of the key areas of sentiment analysis. The existing sentiment word scoring functions are based on the intensity of adjectives in the sentences. To date, there is a very minimal work has been done for measuring sentiment strength based on adverb and adjective combinations. This research proposes a sentiment word scoring method considering the adverb-adjective combinations of a given sentence. This is subject oriented hence this approach is proposed for a call centre domain. We use the linguistic analysis of adverbs of degree to satisfy the adverb-adjective scoring. Then a new approach has been introduced to calculate the sentence wise sentiment score by enhancing the existing sentence level sentiment scoring algorithm. Authors propose the way of determining the total sentiment strength of a given sentence. We describe the results of our experiments on set of 100 call centre conversation audio files between the call centre agent and customer and compare our algorithms with the existing sentiment scoring algorithms. It can be concluded that these enhancements have an accuracy of 74% in precision.
Modeling, Simulation, and Experimental Validation of a Generation System for Medium-Voltage DC Integrated Power Systems

In this paper, a demonstrative technological implementation of a shipboard 2.15-MVA generation system is described, along with its modeling, numeric simulation, and some factory tests. The system, named Naval Package (NP), is part of a demonstrative program commissioned by Italian Navy for preliminary evaluations of medium-voltage dc supply technologies aimed at equipping its future vessels. The NP is made by a dual-star alternator, whose two stator three-phase windings feed two full-bridge diode rectifiers, respectively. The alternator (rated speed 6300 r/min) is designed to be moved by a 22 000-r/min gas turbine through a gearbox. This paper will present NP innovative issues, with reference to design solutions, operative requirements, dynamic modeling under normal and faulty conditions, and some factory tests.
The cognitive neuroscience of self-regulation.

Our work can be divided into three broad categories: Perceptual decision making Which brain networks mediate the translation from a low-level stimulus to a motor response? In this work we explore the neural mechanisms that mediate visual perceptual decisions. Higher order cognition How are more abstract decisions represented within the brain? Here we build upon research demonstrating that progressively more anterior regions within the lateral frontal cortex contain progressively more abstract representations. Self regulation How do we regulate our behavior in the face of rewards? These studies evaluate decisions made with respect to monetary rewards, often in the context of dopamine-related manipulations.
On the von Karman-Howarth equations for Hall MHD flows

The von Kármán-Howarth equations are derived for three-dimensional (3D) Hall magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) in the case of an homogeneous and isotropic turbulence. From these equations, we derive exact scaling laws for the third-order correlation tensors. We show how these relations are compatible with previous heuristic and numerical results. These multi-scale laws provide a relevant tool to investigate the nonlinear nature of the high frequency magnetic field fluctuations in the solar wind or, more generally, in any plasma where the Hall effect is important. Turbulence remains one of the last great unsolved problem in classical physics which has evaded physical understanding and systematic description for many decades. For that reason, any exact results appear almost as a miracle. In his third 1941 turbulence paper, Kolmogorov found that an exact and nontrivial relation may be derived from Navier-Stokes equations – which can be seen as the archetype equations for describing turbulence – for the third-order longitudinal structure function (Kolmogorov, 1941). Because of the rarity of such results, the Kolmogorov’s four-fifths law is considered as one of the most important results in turbulence (Frisch, 1995). The derivation of the Kolmogorov’s law uses earlier exact results found by von Kármán and Howarth in 1938 (von Kármán and Howarth, 1938): it is the well-known von Kármán-Howarth (vKH) equation that describes the dynamical evolution of the second-order correlation tensors. Very few extensions of such results (vKH equations and four-fifths law) to other fluids have been made; it concerns scalar passively advected (Yaglom, 1949), such as the temperature or a pollutant in the atmosphere, and astrophysical magnetized fluid described in the framework of MHD (Chandrasekhar, 1950; Politano and Pouquet, 1998; Politano, Gomez and Pouquet, 2003). The addition in the analysis of the magnetic field and its coupling with the velocity field renders the problem more difficult and, in practice, we are dealing with a couple of equations.
The Prognostic Effect of VEGF Expression in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Cervix Treated with Radiation Therapy Alone

We investigated the relationship between vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression and clinical outcome in squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix treated with radiotherapy alone. The immunohistochemical study was performed for forty-two paraffin embedded specimens with anti-VEGF mouse monoclonal antibody. Staining was defined as positive for VEGF when more than 10% of the tumor cells were stained from 500 cells counted. Positive VEGF expression was observed in twenty-one among forty-two patients. VEGF expression according to stage (p=0.101), lymph node status (p=0.621), parametrial invasion (p=0.268), and age (p=0.5) revealed no significant difference. But the VEGF expression was significantly higher in tumors larger than 4 cm (p=0.031). Five year survival rates according to VEGF expression status were 89% for VEGF negative group and 47% for VEGF positive group (p=0.02). FIGO stage (p=0.007), tumor size (p=0.025) and the duration of external beam radiation therapy (p=0.006) were also significant prognostic factors for overall survival. We suggest that VEGF expression may be a prognotic factor of the cervix cancer patients treated with radiation therapy alone.
A Methodology for Evaluating Spoken Language Dialogue Systems and Their Components

As spoken language dialogue systems (SLDSs) proliferate in the market place, the issue of SLDS evaluation has come to attract wide interest from research and industry alike. Yet it is only recently that spoken dialogue engineering researchers have come to face SLDSs evaluation in its full complexity. This paper presents results of the European DISC project concerning technical evaluation and usability evaluation of SLDSs and their components. The paper presents a methodology for complete and correct evaluation of SLDSs and components together with a generic evaluation template for describing the evaluation criteria needed.
PASSIVE INFRARED THERMOGRAPHY FOR DAMAGE MONITORING DURING STRUCTURAL TESTING OF CFRP PARTS

Infrared Thermography (IRT) is a Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE) technique widely used for the inspection of composite structures. IRT can be (i) active, when the component is thermally excited by an external source of heat, or (ii) passive, when differences in either thermal-emissivity or temperature gradients related to subsurface structures are observed. This work aims to use passive IRT for the detection of damage evolution in CFRP parts while performing mechanical tests, combined with image processing strategies. The heat release related to fiber/matrix failure or due to stress concentrators is recorded during tensile testing.
EFL Students’ Writing Strategies in Saudi Arabian ESP Writing Classes: Perspectives on Learning Strategies in Self-access Language Learning

This study was part of a PhD research to explore the writing strategies of 121 second-year undergraduate Saudi student writers who are studying English as a foreign language and for specific purposes in one of the Saudi industrial colleges: Jubail Industrial College (JIC). The writing strategies under investigation had been classified into two categories (process-oriented writing strategies and product-oriented writing strategies) based on their instructional philosophies. A strategy questionnaire was designed to collect data. Although JIC writing classes were assumed to be product-oriented as reported by the majority of the participants’ description of their teachers’ writing approach, the results showed that almost all of the participants (95.9%) were mixing the two kinds of strategies. More surprisingly, the top five writing strategies used by the participants were process-oriented.
Taxes and Employment Subsidies in Optimal Redistribution Programs

This paper explores how to optimally set tax and transfers when taxation authorities : (1) are uninformed about individuals’ value of time in both market and non-market activities and (2) can observe both market-income and time allocated to market employment. We show that optimal redistribution in this environment involves distorting market employment upwards for low wage individuals through decreasing wage-contingent employment subsidies, and distorting employment downwards for high wage individuals through positive and increasing marginal income tax rates. In particular, we show that whether a person is taxed or subsidized depends primarily on his wage, that is, the optimal program involves a cut-off wage whereby workers above the cutoff are taxed as they increase their income, while workers earning a wage below the cutoff receive an income supplement (an earned income tax credit) as they increase their income. Finally, we show that the optimal program transfers zero income to individuals who choose not to work.
Distributed pattern matching: a key to flexible and efficient P2P search

Flexibility and efficiency are the prime requirements for any P2P search mechanism. Existing P2P systems do not provide satisfactory solution for achieving these two conflicting goals. Unstructured search protocols (as adopted in Gnutella and FastTrack) provide search flexibility but exhibit poor performance characteristics. Structured search techniques (mostly Distributed Hash Table (DHT)-based), on the other hand, can efficiently route queries but support exact-match semantic only. In this paper we have defined Distributed Pattern Matching (DPM) problem and have presented a novel P2P architecture, named Distributed Pattern Matching System (DPMS), as a solution. Possible application areas of DPM include P2P search, service discovery and P2P databases. In DPMS, advertised patterns are replicated and aggregated by the peers, organized in a lattice-like hierarchy. Replication Improves availability and resilience to peer failure, and aggregation reduces storage overhead. An advertised pattern can be discovered using any subset of its 1-bits. Search complexity in DPMS is logarithmic to the total number of peers in the system. Advertisement overhead and guarantee on search completeness is comparable to that of DHT-based systems. We have presented mathematical analysis and simulation results to demonstrate the effectiveness of DPMS.
Distinct Specificities of Inwardly Rectifying K+Channels for Phosphoinositides*

Activation of several inwardly rectifying K+ channels (Kir) requires the presence of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PtdIns(4,5)P2). The constitutively active Kir2.1 (IRK1) channels interact with PtdIns(4,5)P2 strongly, whereas the G-protein activated Kir3.1/3.4 channels (GIRK1/GIRK4), show only weak interactions with PtdIns(4,5)P2. We investigated whether these inwardly rectifying K+ channels displayed distinct specificities for different phosphoinositides. IRK1, but not GIRK1/GIRK4 channels, showed a marked specificity toward phosphates in the 4,5 head group positions. GIRK1/GIRK4 channels were activated with a similar efficacy by PtdIns(3,4)P2, PtdIns(3,5)P2, PtdIns(4,5)P2, and PtdIns(3,4,5)P3. In contrast, IRK1 channels were not activated by PtdIns(3,4)P2 and only marginally by high concentrations of PtdIns(3,5)P2. Similarly, high concentrations of PtdIns(3,4,5)P3 were required to activate IRK1 channels. For either channel, PtdIns(4)P was much less effective than PtdIns(4,5)P2, whereas PtdIns was inactive. In contrast to the dependence on the position of phosphates of the phospholipid head group, GIRK1/GIRK4, but not IRK1 channel activation, showed a remarkable dependence on the phospholipid acyl chains. GIRK1/GIRK4 channels were activated most effectively by the natural arachidonyl stearyl PtdIns(4,5)P2 and much less by the synthetic dipalmitoyl analog, whereas IRK1 channels were activated equally by dipalmitoyl and arachidonyl stearyl PtdIns(4,5)P2. Incorporation of PtdInsP2 into the membrane is necessary for activation, as the short chain water soluble diC4 PtdIns(4,5)P2 did not activate either channel, whereas activation by diC8 PtdIns(4, 5)P2 required high concentrations.
A Comparison Between Elastic Network Interpolation and MD Simulation of 16S Ribosomal RNA

Abstract In this paper a coarse-grained method called elastic network interpolation (ENI) is used to generate feasible transition pathways between two given conformations of the core central domain of 16S Ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA). The two given conformations are the extremes generated by a molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, which differ from each other by 10Å in root-mean-square deviation (RMSD). It takes only several hours to build an ENI pathway on a 1.5GHz Pentium with 512 MB memory, while the MD takes several weeks on high-performance multi-processor servers such as the SGI ORIGIN 2000/2100. It is shown that multiple ENI pathways capture the essential anharmonic motions of millions of timesteps in a particular MD simulation. A coarse-grained normal mode analysis (NMA) is performed on each intermediate ENI conformation, and the lowest 1% of the normal modes (representing about 40 degrees of freedom (DOF)) are used to parameterize fluctuations. This combined ENI/NMA method captures all intermediate conformations in the MD run with 1. 5Å RMSD on average. In addition, if we restrict attention to the time interval of the MD run between the two extreme conformations, the RMSD between the closest ENI/NMA pathway and the MD results is about 1Å. These results may serve as a paradigm for reducedDOF dynamic simulations of large biological macromolecules as well as a method for the reduced-parameter interpretation of massive amounts of MD data.
3-D Drawing Digital Pen

World is turning into digital, everything in today’s life needs to be digital. However human cannot interact digitally all the time. So Analog-to-Digital and Digital-to-Analog transform is forever. Unfortunately, innovations for converting 3dimensional real-world objects into digital are limited to television-cameras only. So some technologies like digital pens are required to deal with the 3D real-world peculiarities. Even the most recent digital pens too operate in 2-dimension. “Wireless 3-D Drawing Digital Pen” is the required solution for the transform between the two domains. The proposed device can create a 3-Dimensional image on computer screen by drawing the object in the air virtually. This device can also recognize handwritten digit and gesture trajectory in 2dimension. It is microcontroller based system with various user interfaces, memory and wireless communication which enables it to support real time operation.
Explorer Molecular Epidemiology of Mastitis Pathogens of Dairy Cattle and Comparative Relevance to Humans

Mastitis, inflammation of the mammary gland, can be caused by a wide range of organisms, including gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria, mycoplasmas and algae. Many microbial species that are common causes of bovine mastitis, such as Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Streptococcus agalactiae and Staphylococcus aureus also occur as commensals or pathogens of humans whereas other causative species, such as Streptococcus uberis, Streptococcus dysgalactiae subsp. dysgalactiae or Staphylococcus chromogenes, are almost exclusively found in animals. A wide range of molecular typing methods have been used in the past two decades to investigate the epidemiology of bovine mastitis at the subspecies level. These include comparative typing methods that are based on electrophoretic banding patterns, library typing methods that are based on the sequence of selected genes, virulence gene arrays and whole genome sequencing projects. The strain distribution of mastitis pathogens has been investigated within individual animals and across animals, herds, countries and host species, with consideration of the mammary gland, other animal or human body sites, and environmental sources. Molecular epidemiological studies have contributed considerably to our understanding of sources, transmission routes, and prognosis for many bovine mastitis pathogens and to our understanding of mechanisms of host-adaptation and disease causation. In this review, we summarize knowledge gleaned from two decades of molecular epidemiological studies of mastitis pathogens in dairy cattle and discuss aspects of comparative relevance to human medicine.
A trio of gamma-ray burst supernovae: - GRB 120729A, GRB 130215A/SN 2013ez, and GRB 130831A/SN 2013fu

We present optical and near-infrared (NIR) photometry for three gamma-ray burst supernovae (GRB-SNe): GRB 120729A, GRB 130215A/SN 2013ez, and GRB 130831A/SN 2013fu. For GRB 130215A/SN 2013ez, we also present optical spectroscopy at t − t0 = 16.1 d, which covers rest-frame 3000–6250 A. Based on Fe ii λ5169 and Si ii λ6355, our spectrum indicates an unusually low expansion velocity of ~4000–6350 km s-1, the lowest ever measured for a GRB-SN. Additionally, we determined the brightness and shape of each accompanying SN relative to a template supernova (SN 1998bw), which were used to estimate the amount of nickel produced via nucleosynthesis during each explosion. We find that our derived nickel masses are typical of other GRB-SNe, and greater than those of SNe Ibc that are not associated with GRBs. For GRB 130831A/SN 2013fu, we used our well-sampled R-band light curve (LC) to estimate the amount of ejecta mass and the kinetic energy of the SN, finding that these too are similar to other GRB-SNe. For GRB 130215A, we took advantage of contemporaneous optical/NIR observations to construct an optical/NIR bolometric LC of the afterglow. We fit the bolometric LC with the millisecond magnetar model of Zhang & Meszaros (2001, ApJ, 552, L35), which considers dipole radiation as a source of energy injection to the forward shock powering the optical/NIR afterglow. Using this model we derive an initial spin period of P = 12 ms and a magnetic field of B = 1.1 × 1015 G, which are commensurate with those found for proposed magnetar central engines of other long-duration GRBs.
Molecular hydrogen line emission from the reflection nebula Parsamyan 18

AB S T R AC T The newly commissioned University of New South Wales Infrared Fabry–Perot (UNSWIRF) has been used to image molecular hydrogen emission at 2.12 and 2.25 lm in the reflection nebula Parsamyan 18. P 18 is known to exhibit low values of the (1–0) /(2–1) S(1) ratio, suggestive of UV-pumped fluorescence rather than thermal excitation by shocks. Our line ratio mapping reveals the full extent of this fluorescent emission from extended arc-like features, as well as a more concentrated thermal component in regions closer to the central exciting star. We show that the emission morphology, line fluxes and gas density are consistent with the predictions of photodissociation region (PDR) theory. Those regions with the highest intrinsic 1–0 S(1) intensities also tend to show the highest (1–0) /(2–1) S(1) line ratios. Furthermore, variations in the line ratio can be attributed to intrinsic fluctuations in the incident radiation field and/or the gas density, through the self-shielding action of H 2. An isolated knot of emission discovered just outside P 18, and having both an unusually high (1–0) /(2–1) S(1) ratio and relative velocity, provides additional evidence for an outflow source associated with P 18.
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The spatiotemporal dynamics of neural activity are studied using an integro-differential model of spatially extended neuronal ensembles. The model includes both synaptic and axonal propagation delay while spatial synaptic connectiv-ities are represented by gamma distributions. This family of connectivity kernels has been observed experimentally and covers the cases of divergent, finite, and negligible self-connections. We give conditions for stationary and non-stationary instabilities for gamma-distributed kernels, which can be formulated in terms of the mean spatial interaction ranges and the mean spatial interaction times. We present novel mechanisms for Turing patterns and traveling waves, which result from the special shape of the gamma-distributed interactions. We give a numerical study of the propagation of evoked spatiotemporal response activity caused by short local stimuli, and reveal maximum response activity after the mean interaction time. This maximum occurs at a distance from stimulus offset location, which is equal to the mean interaction range.