Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The concentration of inhibin B in follicular fluid: relation to oocyte maturation and embryo development.

BACKGROUND The objective of the present study was to investigate the correlation between inhibin B and estradiol levels in follicular fluid (FF) with the quality of subsequent embryo development from in-vitro fertilized oocytes aspirated from the same follicle. METHODS A total of 156 infertile women undergoing controlled ovarian stimulation for IVF and embryo transfer was recruited to the present study. Prospectively, 233 FF samples and matched mature oocytes were studied. Concentrations of inhibin B and estradiol were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunofluorometric assay (IFMA) respectively. RESULTS Inhibin B levels in FF were significantly correlated with embryo scores on days 2 and 3 (48 and 72 h after oocyte retrieval). In contrast, both inhibin B and estradiol levels in FF were inversely related to age. Furthermore, FF inhibin B levels were inversely associated with serum FSH levels on day 3 of the menstrual cycle, which was believed to reflect the ovarian reserve. CONCLUSION Inhibin B in FF may serve as an effective marker of follicular development and a useful predictor of quality of embryo. In addition, quality of oocyte is age-related and declines as age increases.
Interaction of Isoflurane and Nitrous Oxide Combinations Similar for Median Electroencephalographic Frequency and Clinical Anesthesia

Background The volatile anesthetic sparing effect of nitrous oxide in clinical studies is less than might be expected from the additivity of minimum alveolar concentration values. Other studies identify nonadditive interactions between isoflurane and nitrous oxide. The aim of this study was to quantify the interaction of isoflurane and nitrous oxide at a constant median electroencephalographic frequency. Methods Twenty-five patients were studied during laparotomies. Nitrous oxide was randomly administered in concentrations of 0, 20, 40, 60, and 75 vol%, to ten patients for each nitrous oxide concentration. Isoflurane vaporizer settings were chosen so that the median electroencephalographic frequency was held between 2 and 3 Hz. The relationship between nitrous oxide concentrations and required isoflurane concentrations was examined with the method of isoboles. Results Nitrous oxide linearly decreased the isoflurane requirement. Addition of every 10 vol% of nitrous oxide decreases the isoflurane requirement by approximately 0.04 vol%. The total anesthetic requirement of isoflurane and nitrous oxide, expressed in terms of previously reported minimum alveolar concentration values, increased significantly with increasing nitrous oxide concentrations. Conclusions The interaction of isoflurane and nitrous oxide in the dose range 0-75 vol% on median electroencephalographic frequency is compatible with additivity. The potency of nitrous oxide as a substitute for isoflurane is less than on a minimum alveolar concentration basis. Maintaining median electroencephalographic frequency more appropriately reflects the clinical usage of isoflurane and nitrous oxide than does maintaining minimum alveolar concentration.
Beyond good and evil impacts: rethinking the social issues components in our computing curricula

It is by now widely accepted that social and professional issues are an important part of any computer science curriculum. The approach taken in most social issues courses is to articulate the social impacts of different computer technologies and then apply macro-ethical theories to those impacts. This paper argues that this approach has a number of drawbacks. First, it is based on a technological deterministic style of social explanation that has been in disrepute in the academic social sciences for decades. Second, it uses an algorithmic approach to ethics that simplifies the social complexity and the uncertainty that is the reality of socio-technological change. It concludes by suggesting that the alternative to the ethical evaluation of impacts is to focus the course instead on the social context; that is, on clarifying and unpacking the complexity involved in the relationship between technology and society.
IMMUNOLOGICAL MEMORY IN MICE

Plaque forming cells (PFC) of different immunoglobulin classes producing antibodies against sheep erythrocytes were separated according to their buoyant densities by means of equilibrium centrifugation in a stepwise BSA gradient. In the period of 7–10 days after immunization γM PFC are markedly enriched in fractions of low density and relatively depleted in fractions of high density. The distribution of total γG PFC shows less enrichment in the lower density fractions and less depletion in the higher density fractions. The density profile for γG2a PFC is even flatter, with a significant difference (depletion) relative to the unseparated spleen cells only in the highest density fraction. The density gradient distributions of cells able to transfer an adoptive immune response of the various immunoglobulin classes are markedly different from the PFC distribution. Cells obtained 7–10 days after immunization able to transfer an IgM response are present in the same proportions across the density gradient, whereas memory cells for γG2a obtained at this time are markedly enriched in fractions of low density and virtually depleted from high density fractions. With increasing time after primary immunization, the γG2a memory cells increase progressively in density and by 6 weeks the higher and lower density fractions have the same proportions of γG2a memory cells. The total γG (mainly γG1) memory cells by 7–10 days show slight enrichment in low density fractions and no depletion in high density fractions. The conclusions were reached that (a) memory for γG1 develops earlier than memory for γG2a and (b) that memory for anti-SRBC antibodies of different classes is carried in separate cells. When gradient fractions enriched for PFC and memory cells for all classes were completely depleted of PFC using glass bead columns, the ability of this fraction to transfer memory for all classes was not diminished. This shows that memory cells are not identical with cells secreting antibodies.
Dietary supplementation with pollen enhances survival and Collembola boosts fitness of a web‐building spider

Uncertainties exist about the value of non‐prey food for predators that are commonly food‐limited, and the dietary conditions where non‐prey foods are beneficial for carnivorous species. Prior studies show that large quantities of pollen grains are intercepted in the webs of web‐building spiders. We examined the nutritional benefits of pollen as a non‐prey food for a common ground‐dwelling, sheet web‐building spider, Mermessus fradeorum (Berland) (Araneae: Linyphiidae). These predators were provided diets of prey or no prey in the presence and absence of pollen. Treatment effects were quantified by measuring predator body nutrient composition, survival, body size, and offspring production. Per unit dry weight, pollen had less nitrogen and lipids than prey, although relative quantities of these nutrients per meal were not measured. Dietary treatments altered the body tissue composition of the spiders, leading to the highest N content and lipid reserves in spiders provided with Collembola. Supplementing diets with pollen increased both juvenile and adult survival, and the greatest survivorship and offspring production was observed when spiders were provided diets of Collembola supplemented with pollen. Our results show that Collembola are high‐quality prey for spiders and pollen has positive effects on nutritional status and survival of a carnivorous species. Foraging on plant material potentially promotes population growth at early and late developmental stages by supplementing diets of poor‐quality prey, and preventing starvation when prey are scarce.
ContentEx: A framework for automatic content extraction programs

Web pages are often decorated with extraneous information (such as navigation bars, branding banners, JavaScript and advertisements). This kind of information may distract users from actual content they are really interested in and may reduce effects of many advanced web applications. Automatic content extraction has many applications ranging from providing data for web mining to realizing better accessing the web over mobile devices. In this paper, we propose ContentEx, a framework for automatic content extraction programs, which we use to organize codes of automatic content extraction programs and to facilitate the development of related solutions. We also introduce how we extract content from forum pages in this framework to fulfill the requirement from our actual application.
arnessing dendritic cells to improve allogeneic hematopoietic cell ransplantation outcome

In clinical practice, hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is now recognized as a powerful means of delivering effective cellular immunotherapy for malignant and non-malignant diseases. In patients with severe hematological malignancies, the success of allogeneic HCT is largely based on immunologic graftversus-tumor (GVT) effects mediated by allogeneic T lymphocytes present in the graft. Unfortunately,
Importance and inter-relationship of tissue Doppler variables for predicting adverse outcomes in high-risk patients: an analysis of 388 diabetic patients referred for coronary angiography.

AIMS To investigate the relative importance of individual tissue Doppler imaging variables to predict adverse events in a high-risk population with diabetes, ischaemic heart disease, and/or systolic dysfunction. METHODS AND RESULTS Transthoracic echocardiograms were analysed in 388 diabetic patients without significant valve disease, bundle branch block, and atrial fibrillation who underwent coronary angiography. Multivariable Cox's regression analyses were used to establish the association between peak systolic (s'), early diastolic (e'), and late diastolic (a') tissue velocities and outcomes (hospitalization for heart failure or death). The mean age and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was 66±10 years and 45±12%, respectively. During 2.3 (±1.0) years of follow-up, 91 patients (24%) met the combined endpoint. After adjustment for LVEF, coronary artery pathology, heart failure at baseline, age, and gender, each 1 cm/s decrease in s', e', and a' was associated with a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.18 (0.89-1.57), 1.03 (0.86-1.22), and 1.20 (1.05-1.37), respectively. A significant interaction was found between s' and a', P<0.01. In patients with lower than mean s', 1 cm/s decrease in a' was associated with HR 1.31 (1.10-1.55, P<0.01), whereas a' was without prognostic importance in patients with higher than mean s' [HR 0.99 (0.78-1.25, P=0.6)]. Patients having lower than mean values of both s' and a' had a poorer prognosis than patients having at least one of s' and a' high. CONCLUSION Peak systolic and late diastolic tissue velocities add prognostic information beyond LVEF in high-risk patients. Variables should be considered together as they interact on prognosis.
Shame proneness and intimate relations in Mainland China

Using dyadic data from 200 young adult couples (aged 18–31 years) in Mainland China, this study evaluated associations between shame proneness, intimate partner attachment, adaptive interactions, and relationship satisfaction. Results demonstrated that shame proneness was directly associated with more insecure attachment to the partner (anxious and avoidant dimensions) and less adaptive interactions (operationalized by variables assessing constructive problem solving and negative interactions) and indirectly with lower relationship satisfaction for male and female partners. While shame is a highly valued emotion in Confucian cultures, shame proneness may be a liability for modern-day intimate relations.
Detection of Cyber-Physical Faults and Intrusions from Physical Correlations

Cyber-physical systems are critical infrastructures that are crucial both to the reliable delivery of resources such as energy, and to the stable functioning of automatic and control architectures. These systems are composed of interdependent physical, control and communications networks described by disparate mathematical models creating scientific challenges that go well beyond the modeling and analysis of the individual networks. A key challenge in cyber-physical defense is a fast online detection and localization of faults and intrusions without prior knowledge of the failure type. We describe a set of techniques for the efficient identification of faults from correlations in physical signals, assuming only a minimal amount of available system information. The performance of our detection method is illustrated on data collected from a large building automation system.
Quantifying self-motives: functional links between dispositional desires

Previous research has sought to establish the existence, or gauge the relative strength, of key self-evaluation motives (i.e., self-enhancement, self-verification, self-assessment, self-improvement). Here, we attempted, across five samples, to quantify individual differences in self-motive strength, and explore their empirical ramifications. We devised brief self-report indices for each self-motive, and checked their factor structure, reliability, and validity. We found that self-enhancement covaried mainly with self-verification, and that self-assessment covaried mainly with self-improvement, thus validating key hypotheses regarding their functional links. Moreover, self-enhancement and self-verification covaried with positive personality traits, as well as with preferences for receiving positive feedback and perceptions of its accuracy. In sum, self-reported variations in dispositional self-motive strength form theoretically meaningful patterns.
The role of diet-congruent cues in short term food intake

Weight loss attempts and weight loss maintenance are often unsuccessful in part due to dieters’ vulnerability to palatable food cues. Exposure to diet-congruent cues has thus been proposed as a goal priming strategy to counteract this vulnerability. Diet-congruent cues increase the salience of diet thoughts and reduce subsequent snack intake in restrained eaters. However, little is known about the impact of diet-congruent cue exposure on food intake in those actively dieting. Given that dieters hold goals to lose weight, diet-congruent cues might be particularly salient to dieters and cue diet-consistent behaviour when dieters are conflicted by food temptations. Thus, the current thesis aimed to examine the effects of diet-congruent cues on subsequent energy intake in dieting and non-dieting women. Specifically, as food is closely associated with dieting, the current research tested the effects of diet-congruent food cues. The salience of diet and tempting thoughts were also assessed to identify the potential mechanism of goal priming. Two online surveys identified snacks (Chapter 4; n = 157) and meal related foods (Chapter 6; n = 230) that women most associated with dieting to lose weight or temptation. Using these databases, four laboratory studies were conducted. Using a between-subjects design, Chapter 3 showed that subtle exposure to diet-congruent images reduced dieters’ intake of a LFSW snack by 40% compared to dieters exposed to non-food control images. Chapter 4 adopted a within-subjects design and exposed participants to the sight and smell of a diet-congruent (fresh orange) or tempting (chocolate orange) food. Dieters consumed 40% less chocolate after exposure to the diet-congruent cue compared to the tempting cue. However, when this study was replicated with an additional non-food control condition, dieters’ intake was unaffected by the diet-congruent odour, possibly due to a lower motivational state. Chapter 6 measured the effects of consuming a diet-congruent preload on meal intake in a repeated measures design, and found dieters reduced meal intake by 21% compared to intake of a tempting and control preload. Contrary to predictions, dieters’ reduced energy intake did not correspond with increased salience of diet thoughts in diet-congruent conditions relative to control or tempting conditions (Chapters 3, 5 and 6). However, consistent with a goal priming explanation, only dieters were responsive to diet-congruent cues, whereas, non-dieters’ energy intake did not differ after diet-congruent cue exposure compared to tempting or control cues. This thesis has identified diet-congruent food cues which improve dieters’ short term control over food intake in laboratory settings. Future research should examine the efficacy of diet-congruent cues to reduce the energy intake of active dieters in more naturalistic and applied settings and contribute to their attempts to resist temptation.
Estimation of dislocation densities in cold rolled Al‐Mg‐Cu‐Mn alloys by combination of yield strength data, EBSD and strength models

Al‐Mg‐Cu‐Mn alloys have been developed for the packaging industry, in which large cold‐working deformations are normally applied that can produce high dislocation densities. In this study, we present a simplified model for the yield strength contributions and apply that to obtain the dislocation densities by determining the orientation factors, which can be obtained via the crystal information of electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). One alloy subjected to three cold‐rolling reductions (10%, 40% and 90%) has been analysed by EBSD, and the density of dislocations are estimated using the strengthening model. This assessment suggests that dislocation densities by the Taylor model are roughly consistent but slightly lower than those determined by transmission electron microscopy.
Homologous sequences in the Campoletis sonorensis polydnavirus genome are implicated in replication and nesting of the W segment family

Polydnaviruses (PDVs) are double-stranded DNA viruses with segmented genomes that replicate only in the oviducts of some species of parasitic wasps and are required for the successful parasitization of lepidopteran insects. PDV DNA segments are integrated in the genomes of their associated wasp hosts, and some are nested; i.e., smaller segments are produced from and largely colinear with larger segments. To determine the internal structure of nested viral segments, the first complete nucleotide sequence of a PDV genome segment and its integration locus was determined. By restriction mapping, Southern blot, and sequence analyses, we demonstrated that the Campoletis sonorensis PDV segment W is integrated into wasp genomic DNA. DNA sequence analysis revealed that proviral segment W terminates in two 1,185-bp direct long terminal repeats (LTRs) in the wasp chromosome, while only one LTR copy is present in the extrachromosomal (viral) W. The results suggest that terminal direct repeats are a general feature of PDV DNA segment integration but that the homology and size of the repeats can vary extensively. Segment W contains 12 imperfect direct repeats of six different types between 89 bp and 1.9 kbp with 65 to 90% homology. The orientation and structure of the repeats suggest that W itself may have arisen through sequence duplication and subsequent divergence. Mapping, hybridization, and sequence analyses of cloned R and M demonstrated that these segments are nested within segment W and that internal imperfect direct repeats of one type are implicated in the homologous intramolecular recombination events that generate segments R and M. Interestingly, segment nesting differentially increases the copy number of genes encoded by segment W, suggesting that the unusual genomic organization of PDVs may be directly linked to the unique functions of this virus in its obligate mutualistic association with parasitic wasps.
Quantum Codes Derived from Two Construction Methods

There are mainly two efficient constructing methods for quantum codes, the construction named after Calderbank, Shor and Stean, and the hermitian code construction. We compare two methods in quantum cyclic codes and quantum duadic codes separately, and show that the hermitian code construction is better in terms of existence conditions of codes and the code parameters.
Effective defect classification for flat display panel film images

In this paper, we propose an effective defect classification system for FDP (flat display panel) film images which are acquired in real production lines. A film image is segmented into a binary image with two non-overlapping regions: defect and non-defect regions. From the defect regions, various features are extracted such as brightness distribution, linearity, and morphologic characteristics. The film defects are classified through the analysis of those features extracted. Empirical study shows our system classifies five types of film defects effectively.
Multiple mechanisms in serum factor-induced resistance of Haemophilus influenzae type b to antibody

Incubation of Haemophilus influenzae type b at less than or equal to 10(7) CFU/ml with serum ultrafiltrate induces a phenotypic conversion in which complement-mediated bactericidal activity by somatic antibodies decreases while killing by capsular antibody is unchanged. Conversion had been shown to occur in a capsule-deficient (b-) mutant of strain Eag (thus appearing independent of capsulation), to include an increase in lipopolysaccharide content, and to be inhibited by chloramphenicol or puromycin. In the present study, in several strains not previously examined, conversion was not inhibited by the drugs and the corresponding b- mutants did not convert. Incubation in ultrafiltrate was also found to increase capsulation, as detected by radioassay, only 1.6-fold in Eag but 4.5-fold in DL26, the strain with the largest increase in resistance; moreover, complement-mediated opsonization by capsular antibody was greatly decreased. Thus, multiple mechanisms, capsule dependent as well as independent, appear to contribute to the serum factor-induced resistance of H. influenzae type b to antibody.
Is Brain Activity during Action Observation Modulated by the Perceived Fairness of the Actor?

Perceiving other people’s actions triggers activity in premotor and parietal areas, brain areas also involved in executing and sensing our own actions. Paralleling this phenomenon, observing emotional states (including pain) in others is associated with activity in the same brain areas as activated when experiencing similar emotions directly. This emotion perception associated activity has been shown to be affected by the perceived fairness of the actor, and in-group membership more generally. Here, we examine whether action observation associated brain activity is also affected by the perceived social fairness of the actors. Perceived fairness was manipulated using an alternating iterated Prisoner’s Dilemma game between the participant and two confederates, one of whom played fairly and the other unfairly. During fMRI scanning the participants watched movies of the confederates performing object-directed hand actions, and then performed hand actions themselves. Mass-univariate analysis showed that observing the actions triggered robust activation in regions associated with action execution, but failed to identify a strong modulation of this activation based on perceived fairness. Multivariate pattern analysis, however, identified clusters potentially carrying information about the perceived fairness of the actor in the middle temporal gyrus, left postcentral gyrus, right inferior parietal lobule, right middle cingulate cortex, right angular gyrus, and right superioroccipital gyrus. Despite being identified by a whole-brain searchlight analysis (and so without anatomical restriction), these clusters fall into areas frequently associated with action observation. We conclude that brain activity during action observation may be modulated by perceived fairness, but such modulation is subtle; robust activity is associated with observing the actions of both fair and unfair individuals.