Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impact of intraoperative ultrasonography on treatment strategy for colorectal cancer

The impact of intraoperative ultrasonography (IOUS) on treatment strategy was studied in 122 patients with primary colorectal cancer. All patients underwent preoperative liver imaging by ultrasonography and computed tomography (CT). After curative resection of the primary tumour patients were eligible for adjuvant chemotherapy. The findings on IOUS were assessed by ultrasonography 6 months after laparotomy. Of 34 patients with suspected liver metastases on ultrasonography or CT, the diagnosis was confirmed by IOUS in 21. In the remaining 13 patients the suspect lesions were shown to be benign. Of the 88 patients with normal preoperative imaging results, suspect lesions were detected in five; in four the lesion was found by IOUS only. One of these four also had an extrahepatic metastasis. At follow‐up the diagnosis of metastasis proved to be wrong in two of the remaining three patients, so IOUS was helpful in only one patient. Surgical management was not markedly influenced by findings on IOUS in any patient. However, IOUS correctly changed the stage of the disease, and consequently postoperative treatment, in 14 patients (11 per cent). Two patients were erroneously excluded from the adjuvant protocol following an incorrect diagnosis based on IOUS.
SporeWeb: an interactive journey through the complete sporulation cycle of Bacillus subtilis

Bacterial spores are a continuous problem for both food-based and health-related industries. Decades of scientific research dedicated towards understanding molecular and gene regulatory aspects of sporulation, spore germination and spore properties have resulted in a wealth of data and information. To facilitate obtaining a complete overview as well as new insights concerning this complex and tightly regulated process, we have developed a database-driven knowledge platform called SporeWeb (http://sporeweb.molgenrug.nl) that focuses on gene regulatory networks during sporulation in the Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis. Dynamic features allow the user to navigate through all stages of sporulation with review-like descriptions, schematic overviews on transcriptional regulation and detailed information on all regulators and the genes under their control. The Web site supports data acquisition on sporulation genes and their expression, regulon network interactions and direct links to other knowledge platforms or relevant literature. The information found on SporeWeb (including figures and tables) can and will be updated as new information becomes available in the literature. In this way, SporeWeb offers a novel, convenient and timely reference, an information source and a data acquisition tool that will aid in the general understanding of the dynamics of the complete sporulation cycle.
Spatial co-location for device association: the connected object way

Device association is one of the most common interaction primitives used in today's mobile device space. Yet, the existing approaches rely on traditional (e.g., sharing a pass key across devices, etc.) or tangible methods (e.g., bumping devices together, shaking with a similar pattern, etc.) and are mostly limited to pairing two devices. In this paper, we present "GroupTap", an intuitive and secure device association mechanism for multiple devices. It leverages spatial co-location features while ensuring tangibility and user centric control for better user experience. The fact that mobile devices need to be physically co-located for forming an association, the spatial co-location could be used as a trigger for initiating the association. For conforming co-location, we exploit connected physical objects and simple tapping interaction, i.e., devices need to tap one or multiple connected physical objects (placed in a particular location) to convey association request. We envisage that this approach is simple, rapid, efficient and would yield a superior user experience. We discuss the design rationales and present technical details of GroupTap in this paper.
Danger Theory and Multi-agents Applied for Addressing the Deny of Service Detection Problem in IEEE 802.11 Networks

Deny of service (DoS) detection problem is a common and annoying network difficulty, but for IEEE 802.11 standards it becomes even more troublesome. Addressing this issue, we introduce a new approach to promptly warn the user. The detection algorithm put forward, combines second generation of Artificial Immune Systems, Danger Theory and Multi-Agent System. For the detection system, we used the dendritic cells algorithm, modified to IEEE 802.11 environments. Experimental results carried out in controlled setups have shown that the model can easily and effectively be applied for detecting DoS in IEEE 802.11 networks.
Characterization of Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli Mutants That Fail To Disrupt Host Cell Spreading and Attachment to Substratum

ABSTRACT Upon infection of host cells, enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) delivers a set of effector proteins into the host cell cytoplasm via the type III secretion system (TTSS). The effectors subvert various host cell functions. We found that EPEC interferes with the spreading and ultimately with the attachment of suspended fibroblasts or epithelial cells, and we isolated mini-Tn10kan insertion mutants that failed to similarly affect host cells. In most mutants, the insertion sites were mapped to genes encoding TTSS components, including cesD, escC, escJ, escV, espD, sepL, espB, and escF. Other mutants contained insertions in micC or upstream of bfpP, yehL, or ydeP. The insertion upstream of ydeP was associated with a reduction in TTSS protein production and was studied further. To determine whether the apparent repression was due to constitutive expression of the downstream encoded genes, ydeP and ydeO expression vectors were constructed. Expression of recombinant YdeP, YdeO, or EvgA, a positive regulator of both ydeP and ydeO, repressed TTSS protein production. Our results suggest that upon activation of the EvgAS two-component system, EvgA (the response regulator) activates both ydeP and ydeO expression and that YdeP and YdeO act conjointly, directly or indirectly repressing expression of the TTSS genes.
Incentive design under loss aversion

Compensation schemes often reward success but do not penalize failure. Fixed salaries with stock options or bonuses have this feature. Yet the standard principal–agent model implies that pay is normally monotonically increasing in performance. This paper shows that, under loss aversion, there will be intervals over which pay is insensitive to performance, with the use of carrots but not sticks is frequently optimal, especially when risk aversion is low and reference income is endogenous. A further benefit of capping losses, for example through options, is to discourage reckless behavior by executives seeking to resurrect their fortunes.
Search for structure in the $B_s^0\pi^\pm$ invariant mass spectrum

The $B_s^0\pi^\pm$ invariant mass distribution is investigated in order to search for possible exotic meson states. The analysis is based on a data sample recorded with the LHCb detector corresponding to $3$ fb$^{-1}$ of $pp$ collision data at $\sqrt{s} = 7$ and $8$ TeV. No significant excess is found, and upper limits are set on the production rate of the claimed $X(5568)$ state within the LHCb acceptance. Upper limits are also set as a function of the mass and width of a possible exotic meson decaying to the $B_s^0\pi^\pm$ final state. The same limits also apply to a possible exotic meson decaying through the chain $B_s^{*0}\pi^\pm$, $B_s^{*0} \to B_s^0 \gamma$ where the photon is excluded from the reconstructed decays.
Effects of Fluoxetine and Visual Experience on Glutamatergic and GABAergic Synaptic Proteins in Adult Rat Visual Cortex

Abstract Fluoxetine has emerged as a novel treatment for persistent amblyopia because in adult animals it reinstates critical period-like ocular dominance plasticity and promotes recovery of visual acuity. Translation of these results from animal models to the clinic, however, has been challenging because of the lack of understanding of how this selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor affects glutamatergic and GABAergic synaptic mechanisms that are essential for experience-dependent plasticity. An appealing hypothesis is that fluoxetine recreates a critical period (CP)-like state by shifting synaptic mechanisms to be more juvenile. To test this we studied the effect of fluoxetine treatment in adult rats, alone or in combination with visual deprivation [monocular deprivation (MD)], on a set of highly conserved presynaptic and postsynaptic proteins (synapsin, synaptophysin, VGLUT1, VGAT, PSD-95, gephyrin, GluN1, GluA2, GluN2B, GluN2A, GABAAα1, GABAAα3). We did not find evidence that fluoxetine shifted the protein amounts or balances to a CP-like state. Instead, it drove the balances in favor of the more mature subunits (GluN2A, GABAAα1). In addition, when fluoxetine was paired with MD it created a neuroprotective-like environment by normalizing the glutamatergic gain found in adult MDs. Together, our results suggest that fluoxetine treatment creates a novel synaptic environment dominated by GluN2A- and GABAAα1-dependent plasticity.
A qualitative study of expert and team cognition on complex patients in the pediatric intensive care unit*

Objectives: To understand expert and team cognition of complex patients in the pediatric intensive care unit through the use of cognitive task analysis. Design: Qualitative study with semistructured interviews. Setting: Academic medical center pediatric intensive care unit. Participants: Physicians, nurses, and nurse practitioners. Interventions: None. Measurements and Main Results: Semistructured interviews were conducted with members of the critical care team involved with the care of seven complex patients. Interviews were transcribed and themes were identified based on grounded theory and further divided into categories. A focus group of critical care team members further refined and validated the findings. From the interviews, 177 verbal fragments were sorted into 11 themes. Four broad thematic categories were identified and a cognitive framework for the care of complex patients was formulated. We found that at the center of this framework, critical care teams attempt to create and share mental models of their patients. These mental models serve as the framework for delivery of longitudinal care across handovers and shift changes. The analysis revealed that this process is limited by a number of factors such that team members utilize a variety of techniques to overcome these limitations and develop more complete and shared mental models. Conclusions: An inadequately developed or inadequately shared mental model is a substantial cognitive limitation for expert and team cognition in the complex environment of the pediatric intensive care unit. Providers utilize techniques that may avoid or decrease the variable interpretations of patient condition that would otherwise impair mental model formation and sharing. Future studies should be designed to enhance mental model formation and communication in the pediatric intensive care unit and other environments that deal with complex patients.
Hypothalamic control of brown adipose tissue thermogenesis

It has long been known, in large part from animal studies, that the control of brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis is insured by the central nervous system (CNS), which integrates several stimuli in order to control BAT activation through the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). SNS-mediated BAT activity is governed by diverse neurons found in brain structures involved in homeostatic regulations and whose activity is modulated by various factors including oscillations of energy fluxes. The characterization of these neurons has always represented a challenging issue. The available literature suggests that the neuronal circuits controlling BAT thermogenesis are largely part of an autonomic circuitry involving the hypothalamus, brainstem and the SNS efferent neurons. In the present review, we recapitulate the latest progresses in regards to the hypothalamic regulation of BAT metabolism. We briefly addressed the role of the thermoregulatory pathway and its interactions with the energy balance systems in the control of thermogenesis. We also reviewed the involvement of the brain melanocortin and endocannabinoid systems as well as the emerging role of steroidogenic factor 1 (SF1) neurons in BAT thermogenesis. Finally, we examined the link existing between these systems and the homeostatic factors that modulate their activities.
Concerns and professional development needs of university faculty in adopting online learning

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to explore concerns and professional development needs of faculty at the University Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) on the adoption of online learning OL). This study was also in response to Title 24 of the Alaska Statute‟s Recommendation #3, which required sufficient faculty training in distance education technologies for teaching UAF distance courses. This study utilized the Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM) as its theoretical framework. A mixed methods design was used to address the research questions. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to collect and analyze data. A non-experimental, cross-sectional survey design was used, incorporating the Stages of Concern Questionnaire (SoCQ). Quantitative measures included surveys were sent out to 253 UAF faculty. Ninety-six surveys were returned and usable, with a final response rate of 39%. MANOVA analyses were used to identify potential variables predictive of faculty member‟s concerns and professional development needs regarding the implementation of OL. Qualitative measures included three open-ended questions and sixteen faculty interviews, chosen through stratified sampling. The Stages of Concern Questionnaire indicated that the majority of UAF faculty members displayed a typical SoCQ “nonuser” profile in adopting OL. Faculty‟s highest concerns were unrelated, self, and task concerns, with a slight tailing-up of impact-refocusing concerns, indicating resistance to OL. Individual variables found to potentially be predictive of faculty members‟ concerns included years of teaching experience, administrative support of technology and academic rank. Qualitative measures revealed that overall themes were administrative support, including workload consideration and tenure recognition. Professional development needs included current technology and LMS (Blackboard) workshops. At the same time, faculty voiced their concerns about OL through the themes of instructional quality and support (technical assistance and equipment) concerns. Several faculty members also stated that they needed no support and their resistance of OL. Recommendations for UAF included holistic approach to administrative support, proper recognition of achievements OL achievements, promotion of learner-centered methodology in the transition to OL, professional development that lead to a more collaborative community, an enhanced role for centralized support for staff engaged in OL and LMS training. Recommendations for future studies included further qualitative studies to elucidate faculty concerns within the University of Alaska system. A national study was recommended to help faculty and administrators create better university OL policies and discover mutual expectations of how teaching and developing OL courses could be viewed as part of a new approach to workload considerations in a changing university climate, including the tenure and promotion process. CONCERNS AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT NEEDS OF UNIVERSITY FACULTY IN ADOPTING ONLINE LEARNING
Peer-to-peer architectures for massively multiplayer online games: A Survey

Scalability, fast response time, and low cost are of utmost importance in designing a successful massively multiplayer online game. The underlying architecture plays an important role in meeting these conditions. Peer-to-peer architectures, due to their distributed and collaborative nature, have low infrastructure costs and can achieve high scalability. They can also achieve fast response times by creating direct connections between players. However, these architectures face many challenges. Distributing a game among peers makes maintaining control over the game more complex. Peer-to-peer architectures also tend to be vulnerable to churn and cheating. Moreover, different genres of games have different requirements that should be met by the underlying architecture, rendering the task of designing a general-purpose architecture harder. Many peer-to-peer gaming solutions have been proposed that utilize a range of techniques while using somewhat different and confusing terminologies. This article presents a comprehensive overview of current peer-to-peer solutions for massively multiplayer games using a uniform terminology.
High-detailed fluid simulations on the GPU

During the last few years, Fido has seen an increasing demand for highly detailed water effects in production. Fluid simulations, aside from being complex and hard to choreograph, put high demands on scalability and simulation speed. As of today, commercial software is slow and does not allow the artist to get quick feedback on simulation results. Following the increasing use of general purpose GPU programming within the special effects industry, Fido wanted to enable artists to create highly detailed and realistic water effects, while maintaining production effectivity and avoiding investments of large server clusters.
Whole Genome Sequence of the Probiotic Strain Lactobacillus paracasei N1115, Isolated from Traditional Chinese Fermented Milk

ABSTRACT Lactobacillus paracasei N1115 is a new strain with probiotic properties isolated from traditional homemade dairy products in Inner Mongolia, China. Here, we report the complete genome sequence of L. paracasei N1115, which shows high similarity to the well-studied probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, and 3 structures turned out to be inversions, according to the colinearity analysis of the BLAST alignment.
The Emergence of Faithfulness

Any theory of language development, whether emergentist or nativist, must address the child's phonological development. Children's pronunciations of words are often quite different from those of adults. The child pronunciations may diverge notably from the target adult phonology, but in ways that make sense from a cross-linguistic perspective on the phonological systems of adult languages. In this chapter, we provide an overview of the phenomena of phonological development, and sketch how they can be accounted for within the Optimality Theory variant of Bernhardt and Stemberger (1998). We argue that the main mechanisms within this approach (constraints) are almost certainly emergentist in nature. This paper focuses on speech production during the acquisition of meaningful speech rather than on speech perception or the babbling period. We assume that, at least for children with normal hearing, the child's perception of the adult pronunciation is by-and-large accurate by the time the child begins to produce words (Ingram, 1989; Werker & Lelonde, 1988). Furthermore, we believe that, during the babbling period, the child learns the basics about the mapping from acoustics to articulation; thus, we do not discuss issues regarding development of the mapping in this paper (see Plaut and Kello, this volume, for some ideas about how this process might work). 1.0 What needs to be accounted for in phonological development Pronunciations of words in early child language development, especially before 30 months, but as late as 5 or 6 years of age for particular aspects of the pronunciation, are frequently very different from the pronunciations of adult speakers of the target language. We would like to stress the great range of variation across individuals. There are few generalizations about phonological development that hold true for all young children learning English, especially generalizations about particular sounds or sequences of sounds. The following examples illustrate just a few possible pronunciations of a few words, based on the patterns reported in the literature for individual children; some of the pronunciations for the final word are hypothetical.
Smart City Data Stream Visualization Using Glyphs

Real-time data stream visualization is a challenge in multiple application fields of Smart Cities. Examples of these streams are traffic, pollution, social media activity, citizens dynamic, etc. which show us what, where and when is happening in the city. The purpose of this paper is to apply different types of glyphs for showing real-time stream evolution of data gathered in the city. The use of glyphs is intended to make the most out human capability for outperforming in detecting visual patterns.
Regulation of the Heat-shock Protein 70 Reaction Cycle by the Mammalian DnaJ Homolog, Hsp40*

The effects of the human DnaJ homolog, Hsp40, on the ATPase and chaperone functions of the constitutively expressed Hsp70 homolog, Hsc70, were analyzed. Hsp40 stimulates the hydrolysis of ATP by Hsc70, causing a ~7-fold increase in its steady-state ATPase activity. In contrast to the prokaryotic Hsp70 system, ATP-hydrolysis and not the release of bound ADP is the rate-limiting step in the overall ATPase cycle of mammalian Hsc70. The ability to activate the Hsc70 ATPase is partially preserved in a deletion mutant containing the J-domain and the G/F region of Hsp40 but not in a deletion mutant that contains the J-domain alone. As a result of its ATPase stimulating activity, addition of Hsp40 allows Hsc70 to bind peptide in the presence of ATP, whereas in the absence of Hsp40, peptide is efficiently released upon ATP binding to Hsc70. The functional cooperation of Hsp40 with Hsc70 is essential to ensure the ATP hydrolysis-dependent binding of aggregation-sensitive denatured polypeptides, such as thermally denatured firefly luciferase and chemically denatured rhodanese. Binding of these proteins results in the formation of ternary complexes of Hsc70, Hsp40, and substrates. Hsc70 and Hsp40 cooperate with further factors in protein renaturation, as demonstrated by the finding that luciferase, thermally denatured in the presence of Hsc70, Hsp40, and ATP, refolds upon addition of rabbit reticulocyte cytosol. Our results indicate that Hsp40 has a critical regulatory function in the Hsc70 ATPase cycle that is required for the efficient loading of peptide substrate onto Hsc70.
How to Encourage the Crowd? A Study about User Typologies and Motivations on Crowdsourcing Platforms

Studies about user participation on crowd sourcing platforms have revealed lists of different motivational factors. Reward and payment seems to be crucial at least on market places for creative ideas or workforce. However, past surveys or experiments mostly concentrated on one platform each with little theoretic background. The present exploratory study within the theoretic frame of motivation and creativity science appealed to more heterogeneity of platforms to be analyzed. Thus a broader view on user motivation was possible and a typology of crowdsourcers revealed four clusters of different platform users: female creatives, male technicians, academics and alternative all-rounders.