Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Age‐related Changes in Regional Cerebral Blood Flow and Brain Volume in Healthy Subjects

Using the xenon‐133 inhalation method, we studied the age‐related decline in regional cerebral blood flow, calculated as the initial slope index (ISI), in neurologically normal subjects without any risk factors for cerebral arteriosclerosis (154 men and 123 women), ranging in age from 19 to 88 years. The decline in the ISI was rapid in younger age groups and gradual in older age groups. The ISI was higher in women than in men older than 40 years. Using computed tomography, we studied the age‐related decline in brain volume index (BVI; 100% X brain volume/cranial cavity volume) in neurologically normal subjects without any risk factors for cerebral arteriosclerosis (92 men and 49 women), ranging in age from 37 to 86 years. The decline in the BVI was gradual in younger age groups and rapid in older age groups. The BVI was higher in women than in men older than 60 years.
Robust analysis of short echo time 1H MRSI of human brain

Short echo time proton MR Spectroscopic Imaging (MRSI) suffers from low signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR), limiting accuracy to estimate metabolite intensities. A method to coherently sum spectra in a region of interest of the human brain by appropriate peak alignment was developed to yield a mean spectrum with increased SNR. Furthermore, principal component (PC) spectra were calculated to estimate the variance of the mean spectrum. The mean or alternatively the first PC (PC1) spectrum from the same region can be used for quantitation of peak areas of metabolites in the human brain at increased SNR. Monte Carlo simulations showed that both mean and PC1 spectra were more accurate in estimating regional metabolite concentrations than solutions that regress individual spectra against the tissue compositions of MRSI voxels. Back‐to‐back MRSI studies on 10 healthy volunteers showed that mean spectra markedly improved reliability of brain metabolite measurements, most notably for myo‐inositol, as compared to regression methods. Magn Reson Med, 2006. Published 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
[Elastosonography of thyroid lesions].

UNLABELLED While ultrasound is the imaging modality of choice for diagnosis of thyroid lesions, characterization remains limited and tissue diagnosis frequently is required for management. The availability of additional tools such as elastography may improve lesion characterization and direct management. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 96 patients (11 males and 85 females; 58+/-24 years) referred for fine needle aspiration (FNA) of mainly solid thyroid nodules 9-32 mm in diameter underwent conventional US and elastosonography. Results on elastography were correlated with histological results from FNA and classified as follows: suspected malignant lesion, suspected benign lesion, suspicious, indeterminate. RESULTS The nodules were classified as follows: 95 nodules were soft (classes I and II) and 13 nodules were hard (classes III and IV). No cancers were detected in class and II lesions and 6 cancers were detected in class III and IV lesions. FNA provided insufficient cellular material for diagnosis in 5 class I-II nodules and 2 class III-IV nodules. CONCLUSION Real-time elastosonography may be a useful adjunct to conventional US in the evaluation and characterization of thyroid nodules allowing identification of patients at high risk of malignancy for whom tissue diagnosis and/or close follow-up is required.
Efficiency energy on humanoid robot walking using evolutionary algorithm

One of the problems in humanoid locomotion generation is energy efficiency. This paper proposes a method for energy efficiency optimization in simple humanoid robot locomotion using single objective genetic algorithm. With the aim to produce walking trajectory system using minimum energy and good stabilization, torque and oscillation analysis are required to calculate the stabilization. The number of desired outputs in this system is 4 parameters and the number of inputs is 9 parameters. We used neural network with back propagation learning mechanism to realize the relationship between input and output data as well as producing fitness function for genetic algorithm. The trajectory system has 2 trajectory equations, which is pelvis trajectory and ankle trajectory. Ankle trajectory is formed from circle function in Cartesian coordinate space and pelvis trajectory is formed from third order polynomial equation. Both of them are influenced by inclination of robot body. In the experiment, we apply this system using Bioloid robot with inertial sensor already installed. The experimental results show the analysis of energy by observing the torque resulted by servomotor in each joint. We observe that using this system, the torque value resulted by servomotors was decreased and has good stabilization.
Quantox analysis of SC-1 and SC-2 variables in wafer surface preparation

The effect of concentration, temperature and processing time in RCA cleaning that affect gate oxide quality are studied. This paper shows how these variables of pre-clean chemistry on the characteristic of silicon oxide as insulator material. The results indicate that gate oxide strength had correlation with RCA concentration and processing time, and, is least related to temperature.
Local government type and municipal bond ratings: what’s the relationship?

ABSTRACT There is an extensive literature analysing the executive branch within local U.S. government jurisdictions. This has largely revolved around the differences between elected mayors and appointed city managers. Much of the academic work has considered the potential efficiency gains that may be associated with either form of government and comparative analyses between the two. However, the empirical literature has been divided regarding the relative efficiency of either form. This article attempts to add to that literature by considering how bond markets may perceive potential efficiencies that emerge from one executive type over the other by evaluating bond ratings for a sample of large municipal governments in the United States. Overall, the results suggest that municipalities headed by a city manager are associated with increased bond ratings (and thus lower borrowing costs), which may lend support that this form of administration is, on some margin, relatively more efficient than others. These results are robust to a number of specifications.
Mammalian hepatocytes as a foundation for treatment in human liver failure

Technological advances in the separation and culture of mammalian hepatocytes have facilitated the use of these cells as the foundation for either hepatocyte transplantation or hepatocyte‐seeded hollow fiber liver assist devices (LAD). To fully appreciate the practical applications of these tissue engineering solutions, it is necessary to understand the types of human liver failure as well as the corresponding animal models. The most immediate application of this type of technology is the treatment of hepatic encephalopathy (HE), an acute and highly fatal complication of fulminant hepatic failure. Although the pathogenesis of HE is unknown, failure of the detoxification function of the liver is accepted as playing an important role in this disorder. Consequently, the assaying and preservation of P450 activity in the grafted cells or in the LAD must be among the main targets of this research. This review explores the problems in hepatocyte transplantation and culture that deserve special consideration and emphasizes the conditions contributing to the vitro maintenance of phenotypic expression of these cells.
FishEye: Marine species' recognition and visualization

Despite the historical limitations associated with the study of marine species, current technology enhances pocean animal data collection. Such data is crucial in a variety of contexts, both scientific and commercial. In fact, with a variety of tagging and tracking devices, it is relatively easy to gather information on marine species. Such information is nowadays present in large amounts, often in textual formats, making it difficult to interpret and analyze. Information Visualization, due to its potential to represent large amounts of data while alleviating cognitive load associated with data interpretation, may overcome this limitation. Having this into consideration, we present a marine species' visualization, FishEye, which allows the representation and interactive exploration of marine species' telemetric data. It consists of an integrated dashboard that takes advantage of multiple visualization idioms which work together to provide the user with different, complementary views on the existing data. Usability tests validated FishEye's potential in making important patterns immediately perceivable, while allowing users to take advantage of exploration and comparison mechanisms to obtain further relevant information. Furthermore, a species' image recognition module was implemented together with the described visualization, enabling users to proper recognize the species present on the picture followed by learning more about it, through the described visualization solution.
Prophylactic Oral Naltrexone With Intrathecal Morphine for Cesarean Section: Effects on Adverse Reactions and Analgesia

The influence of two different doses of oral naltrexone on the adverse effects and the analgesia associated with intrathecal morphine was compared in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Thirty-five patients undergoing cesarean section were provided postoperative analgesia by 0.25 mg intrathecal morphine. Sixty minutes later they were given 6 mg naltrexone, 3 mg naltrexone, or placebo as an oral solution. Pain relief was assessed by the Visual Analog Scale. Requirements for additional analgesics and side effects were recorded. Duration of analgesia was shorter in the 3− and 6-mg naltrexone groups than in the placebo group, 10.0 ± 2.6, 12.4 ± 2.6, and 19.2 ± 4.5 h (mean ± SEM), respectively, but values did not reach statistical significance. The incidence of pruritus and vomiting was significantly less in the 6-mg naltrexone group than in the other two groups (P < 0.05). Somnolence was significantly less in the 3− and 6-mg naltrexone groups than in the placebo group (P < 0.05). Naltrexone (6 mg) is an effective oral prophylactic against the pruritus and vomiting associated with intrathecal morphine for analgesia after cesarean section, but it is associated with shorter duration of analgesia.
A very short term wind power forecasting approach based on numerical weather prediction and error correction method

The rapid development of wind power brings great stability challenge to power system due to the randomicity and uncertainty of wind power output. One effective way to overcome the challenge is wind power forecasting. A novel very short-term wind power forecasting approach based on numerical weather prediction and error correction method is presented in the paper. From the statistical analysis of the error probability density distribution of Back Propagation Neural Network (BPNN) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) based wind power prediction, an error estimation model is presented and an error correction method is proposed. The key step of correction method is calculating the corresponding prediction uncertainties according to the predict value. This method combines the advantages of both error estimation model and error probability density distribution, which is evaluated with the data from 7 wind farms and numerical weather prediction, and is proved to be an effective way to improve the accuracy of very short term wind power forecasting.
DJ-1 as a potential biomarker for the early diagnosis in lung cancer patients

DJ-1 is a novel oncogene that can transform NIH3T3 cells in cooperation with the activated ras gene. DJ-1 appears to have its greatest effect on tumourigenesis, and it may have a greater impact on early-stage lung cancers. In this study, we proposed to investigate the clinical value of DJ-1 protein in the early diagnosis of lung cancer and compared its diagnostic value with other biomarkers. Preoperative serum DJ-1 levels were measured in 300 lung cancer patients and compared with benign pulmonary disease (n = 44) and healthy volunteers (n = 64). Using tissue microarrays and immunohistochemical analyses, we compared the DJ-1 expression between the primary squamous cell carcinoma tumours and matched metastatic tissues from a lymph node. The baseline preoperative serum DJ-1 of lung cancer patients was significantly higher than that of benign diseases and healthy controls (p < 0.001). In the early-stage subgroup, the median DJ-1 concentration (ng/mL) was significantly higher than that of the advanced stage (12.90 vs 7.75, p < 0.05). Using immunohistochemistry, we observed that the DJ-1 staining intensity was generally weaker and less common in the metastatic tissues compared with that in the primary tumour (McNemar–Bowker Test, p = 0.008). DJ-1 was highly expressed in the early stage of lung cancer, and its expression was significantly decreased after metastasis. Therefore, DJ-1 may be a potential biomarker for the early diagnosis and monitoring of lung cancer metastasis.
The integration of Information and Communication Technology in the Curriculum of North West Province schools: Mafikeng High Schools

The integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in and for education is rapidly expanding in many countries and is now seen worldwide as both a necessity and an opportunity for improving and enhancing education offered to citizens across the globe (UNESCO, 2006). The education system does not only pursue the integration of ICT into the curriculum because of its popularity in the market system, but because of the role it is perceived to play in the changing curriculum. According to the White Paper 7 on eEducation policy (2004: 17) every South African learner should be able to use ICT tools confidently and creatively to develop the skills and knowledge they need to achieve personal goals and to be full participants in the global community by 2013. The central role played by teachers in teaching and learning requires them to have a holistic understanding of ICT integration. Furthermore they should be able to analyse when integration is appropriate according to what is expected from the learner in the teaching and learning process. The study sought to address this research question: what are teachers' perceptions regarding integrating ICT with the curriculum in the classroom? Drawing on the evidence from a survey of eighteen/twenty one high schools in the Mafikeng Area Office of North West, the findings show that teachers use ICT tools to differing degrees, depending on their perspectives relative to ICT and their levels of professional experience. The significant ideas of how teachers perceive the integration of ICT tools into the curriculum emerge from what they view as benefits of using ICT and what they view as challenges when integrating ICT into the curriculum. In order to integrate ICT meaningfully into the teaching and learning activities teachers need both commitment and the technological skills. Contrary to expectation, the degree of ICT integration within the curriculum did not correspond directly with the availability of sufficient hardware, software or internet connectivity at the participating schools.
Detection of Human Bocavirus from Fecal Samples of Hungarian Children with Acute Gastroenteritis

Objectives: Human bocavirus (HBoV), a newly identified member of the Parvoviridae family is associated with respiratory tract and gastroenteric infections, mostly of young children. HBoV infections show a seasonal distribution with the peak in temperate areas being in the winter months. Methods: In our study, 35 throat swabs from children under 5 years with acute respiratory symptoms and 61 stool samples from children (<5 years) with acute gastroenteritis were collected in the period of October 2007–March 2008. A HBoV-specific polymerase chain reaction for detection of the virus, and sequence analysis for identification of virus variants were performed. Results: Although respiratory samples were all negative, 3.3% of stool samples (2/61) proved to be positive for HBoV. The virus carrier children were 3 and 5 years old. The ratio of HBoV positive samples is similar to international results (2.1–5.5%). Conclusions: According to the result of sequence analysis of HBoV, the occurrence of genotype 2 of HBoV in Hungary is confirmed.
Preparation and Characterization of Heparin-Loaded Polymeric Microparticles

ABSTRACT Microparticles containing heparin were prepared by a water-in-oil-in-water emulsification and evaporation process with pure or blends of biodegradable (poly-ϵ-caprolactone and poly(d,l-lactic-co-glycolic acid)) and of positively-charged non-biodegradable (Eudragit® RS and RL) polymers. The influence of polymers and some excipients (gelatin A and B, NaCl) on the particle size, the morphology, the heparin encapsulation rate as well as the in vitro drug release was investigated. The diameter of the microparticles prepared with the various polymers ranged from 80 to 130 µm and was found to increase significantly with the addition of gelatin A into the internal aqueous phase. Microparticles prepared with Eudragit RS and RL exhibited higher drug entrapment efficiency (49 and 80% respectively), but lower drug release within 24 h (17 and 3.5% respectively) than those prepared with PCL and PLAGA. The use of blends of two polymers in the organic phase was found to modify the drug entrapment as well as the heparin release kinetics compared with microparticles prepared with a single polymer. In addition, microparticles prepared with gelatin A showed higher entrapment efficiency, but a significant initial burst effect was observed during the heparin release. The in vitro biological activity of heparin released from the formulations affording a suitable drug release has been tested by measuring the anti-Xa activity by a colorimetric assay with a chromogenic substrate. The results confirmed that heparin remained unaltered after the entrapment process.
Beyond the helix pitch: direct visualization of native DNA in aqueous solution.

The DNA double helix was first elucidated by J.D. Watson and F.H. C. Crick over a half century ago. However, no one could actually "see" the well-known structure ever. Among all real-space observation methods, only atomic force microscopy (AFM) enables us to visualize the biologically active structure of natural DNA in water. However, conventional AFM measurements often caused the structural deformation of DNA because of the strong interaction forces acting on DNA. Moreover, large contact area between the AFM probe and DNA hindered us from imaging sub-molecular-scale features smaller than helical periodicity of DNA. Here, we show the direct observation of native plasmid DNA in water using an ultra-low-noise AFM with the highly sensitive force detection method (frequency modulation AFM: FM-AFM). Our micrographs of DNA vividly exhibited not only overall structure of the B-form double helix in water but also local structures which deviate from the crystallographic structures of DNA without any damage. Moreover, the interaction force area in the FM-AFM was small enough to clearly discern individual functional groups within DNA. The technique was also applied to explore the synthesized DNA nanostructures toward the current nanobiotechnology. This work will be essential for considering the structure-function relationship of biomolecular systems in vivo and for in situ analysis of DNA-based nanodevices.
Ambient interfaces in a Web-based theatre of work

Knowledge workers typically work in both the physical world with physical artefacts and in the electronic world with electronic artefacts. At the same time they work at a number of different places and cooperate with local or remote colleagues. In this paper we introduce ambient interfaces that capture information from real and virtual environments, present information in adequate quality and quantity, provide a shared context, and support application-independent and ubiquitous availability. These ambient interfaces are integrated in the Theatre of Work Enabling Relationships environment forming a hybrid environment that offers a framework for orientation in both worlds and provides a common ground for distributed teams.
Ultrastructural and Immunohistochemical Characterization of the Bovine Epiblast1

Abstract The epiblast represents the final embryonic founder cell population with the potential for giving rise to all cell types of the adult body. The pluripotency of the epiblast is lost during the process of gastrulation. Large animal species have a lack of specific markers for pluripotency. The aim of the present study was to characterize the bovine epiblast cell population and to provide such markers. Bovine Day 12 and Day 14 embryos were processed for transmission-electron microscopy or immunohistochemistry. In Day 12 embryos, two cell populations of the epiblast were identified: one constituting a distinctive basal layer apposing the hypoblast, and one arranged inside or above the former layer, including cells apposing the Rauber layer. Immunohistochemically, staining for the octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (OCT4, also known as POU5F1), revealed a specific and exclusive staining of nuclei of the complete epiblast. Colocalization of vimentin and OCT4 was demonstrated. Only trophectodermal cells stained for alkaline phosphatase. Staining for the proliferation marker Ki-67 was localized to most nuclei throughout the epiblast. A continuous staining for zonula occludens-1 protein was found between cells of the trophectoderm and hypoblast but was not evident in the epiblast. A basement membrane, detected by staining for laminin, formed a “cup-like” structure in which the epiblast was located. The ventrolateral sides of the cup appeared to be incomplete. In conclusion, the bovine epiblast includes at least two cell subpopulations, and OCT4 was shown, to our knowledge for the first time, to be localized exclusively to epiblast cells in this species.
EQUITY- BASED FINANCING AND ISLAMIC BANKS EFFICIENCY: STOCHASTIC FRONTIER ANALYSIS

Using an output distance function and Stochastic Frontier Approach (SFA), this paper analyzed the effect of equity-based financing on efficiency level of Islamic banks in Malaysia and Indonesia for the period of 1996-2012. After controlling ratio of non-performing loan to total financing and ratio of equity to total assets, this study found that that ratio of equity to total assets, GDP growth, ratio of total financing to total deposit, telephone and internet are significant in influencing bank potential output. Then, turning to inefficiency determinants, level of inefficiency decrease when Islamic banks provide more equity – based financing compared to debt –based financing. Moreover, it efficiency level does not affected during the financial crisis. Other than that, size, country risk and economic freedom are significant in affecting inefficiency level of Islamic banks. In overall, Malaysian Islamic banks are more efficient compared to Indonesian Islamic banks after considering other environmental factors such as size, country risk and economic freedom. These findings are relevant to bankers, investors and society by providing empirical evidence on the performance of Islamic banks and their efficiency levels.