Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Retinal tyrosine hydroxylase: comparison of short-term and long-term stimulation by light.

Dopamime (DA) is a putative neurotransmitter within some retinal amacrine neurons. Exposure of rats to light for either 15 min or 96 hr increases retinal tyrosine hydroxylase activity. Concomitant with the increase of enzyme activity is a 4-fold increase of DA formation. The molecular mechanism for the increased enzyme activity for the two exposures to light is apparently different. Short-term exposure to light decreases the K m but not the V max of the enzyme for the pteridine cofactor, while 96 hr of exposure to light increases the V max for tyrosine but has no significant effect on the K m for tyrosine or cofactor. Enzyme activity of rats exposed to 15 min of light decreases to the level found in 96 hr dark-adapted rats within 30 min of darkness, while more than 6 hr of darkness are required after 96 hr of light exposure. Our studies are consistant with the hypothesis that retinal DA formation is modulated by different molecular mechanisms depending on the duration of exposure of light. Short-term exposure to light activates tyrosine hydroxylase while long-term exposure to light results in the formation of more active molecules of enzyme.
Exploring and categorizing error spacing using BMC and SMT

We describe an abstract methodology for exploring and categorizing the space of error traces for a system using a procedure based on Satisfiability Modulo Theories and Bounded Model Checking. A key component required by the technique is a way to generalize an error trace into a category of error traces. We describe tools and techniques to support a human expert in this generalization task. Finally, we report on a case study in which the methodology is applied to a simple version of the Traffic Air and Collision Avoidance System.
Claudins 10 and 18 are predominantly expressed in lung adenocarcinomas and in tumors of nonsmokers.

AIMS We investigated the expression of claudins 18 and 10 in a large set of primary lung carcinomas. METHODS AND RESULTS Immunohistochemical expression of claudin 18 was seen in 12.7 % and claudin 10 in 12.5 % of lung carcinomas. Their expression significantly associated with each other (p<0.001). The expression of claudin 18 and 10 was most prominent in lung adenocarcinomas which displayed positivity in 21.2% and 23.4 % of cases. Female patients had more often claudin 18 and 10 positive tumors, also separately in adenocarcinomas. Interestingly, claudin 10 (p=0.036) and claudin 18 (p=0.001) were more common in tumours of nonsmokers. In adenocarcinomas claudin 18 predicted a better survival (p=0.032). In Cox multivariate analysis, claudin 18 had an independent prognostic value (p=0.027). CONCLUSION The results show that both claudins are most commonly expressed in lung adenocarcinomas and they are more occasionally detected in other histological tumour types. Curiously, female patients and non-smokers express these claudins more commonly suggesting that they may play a part in the carcinogenesis of tobacco unrelated carcinoma. Claudin 18 associated with a better survival in lung adenocarcinoma and had an independent prognostic value and may thus be used in the evaluation of patient prognosis.
Universally Composable RFID Identification and Authentication Protocols

As the number of RFID applications grows, concerns about their security and privacy become greatly amplified. At the same time, the acutely restricted and cost-sensitive nature of RFID tags rules out simple reuse of traditional security/privacy solutions and calls for a new generation of extremely lightweight identification and authentication protocols. This article describes a universally composable security framework designed especially for RFID applications. We adopt RFID-specific setup, communication, and concurrency assumptions in a model that guarantees strong security, privacy, and availability properties. In particular, the framework supports modular deployment, which is most appropriate for ubiquitous applications. We also describe a set of simple, efficient, secure, and anonymous (untraceable) RFID identification and authentication protocols that instantiate the proposed framework. These protocols involve minimal interaction between tags and readers and place only a small computational load on the tag, and a light computational burden on the back-end server. We show that our protocols are provably secure within the proposed framework.
Pirates: proximity-triggered interaction in a multi-player game

We show how proximity-sensing technology can be integrated into computer game design to provide richer game experiences in social settings. To explore the theme of proximity-triggered interaction, we have constructed Pirates! -- a multi-player, wireless computer game for handheld computers, played throughout a physical environment. The players' physical locations in the environment trigger game events.
A two-stage surgical approach in the treatment of a large complex odontoma of the mandible

Prikazan je neobicno velik primjer jedinstveno složenog odontoma (complex) donje celjusti u 23- godisnjeg mladica. Zbog moguceg prijeloma donje celjusti, koji bi zbog velicine tvorbe mogao nastati za vrijeme kirurskoga zahvata u jednome aktu, proveden je dvofazan kirurski postupak koji se je pokazao uspjesnim i za pacijenta prihvatljivim. Autori navode podatke iz literature i prikazuju druge kirurske mogucnosti za slicne slucajeve. Raspravlja se o prednostima i nedostatcima spomenutih postupaka i ostavlja citateljstvu da prosudi o njihovim vrijednostima
Tumor hypoxia: A target for selective cancer therapy

Tumor hypoxia has been considered to be a potential therapeutic problem because it renders solid tumors more resistant to sparsely ionizing radiation (IR) and chemotherapeutic drugs. Moreover, recent laboratory and clinical data have shown that tumor hypoxia is also associated with a more malignant phenotype and poor survival in patients suffering from various solid tumors. Therefore, selective targeting of hypoxic tumor cells has been explored, and since severe hypoxia (pO2<0.33%, 2.5 mmHg) does not occur in normal tissue, tumor hypoxia could be exploited for therapeutic advantage. However, the following three characteristics of hypoxic tumor regions present obstacles in targeting hypoxic cells. First, it is difficult to deliver a sufficient amount of drug to a region that is remote from blood vessels. Second, one must specifically target hypoxic tumor cells while sparing normal well‐oxygenated tissue from damage. Finally, the severely hypoxic tumor cells to be attacked have often stopped dividing. Therefore, high delivery efficiency, high specificity and selective cytotoxicity are all necessary to target and combat hypoxic tumor cells. The current review describes progress on the biological aspects of tumor hypoxia and provides a compilation of the recent molecular approaches used to target hypoxic tumors. These approaches include our work with a unique hypoxia‐targeting protein drug, TOP3, with which we have sought to address the above three difficulties.
Prospective Surveillance Effectively Reduced Rates of Surgical Site Infection Associated With Elective Colorectal Surgery at a University Hospital in Japan

At a university hospital in Japan, the introduction of prospective surveillance and subsequent interventions was effective in reducing the rate of surgical site infection associated with elective colorectal surgery from 27.5% to 17.8% of surgeries. Japan should both recognize the importance of broader surveillance for surgical site infection and establish its own nationwide surveillance database.
Can you save time in multiplying polynomials by encoding them as integers?

Encoding a univariate polynomial as a long integer conceptually uniﬁes some processing tasks on polynomials with those on integers, including multiplication. An evaluation of a polynomial at a single point is suﬃcient to encode and decode all its if the point is suﬃciently larger than the coeﬃcients. This is sometimes referred to as “Kronecker’s trick”. We ask if this idea has practical implications for eﬃcient programs.
Indoor localization using smartphone inertial sensors

Celebrated fingerprinting techniques localize users by statistically learning the signal to location relations. However, collecting a lot of labelled data to train an accurate localization model is expensive and labour-intensive. In this paper, an economic and easy-to-deploy indoor localization model suitable for ubiquitous smartphone platforms is established. The method processes embedded inertial sensors readings through a inertial localization system. A particle filter is developed to integrate the building map constraints and inertial localization results to estimate user's location. To increase the algorithm convergence rate, the user's initial/on-line room-level localization is achieved using WiFi signals. To achieve room-level accuracy, only very few training WiFi data, i.e. one per room or per segment of a corridor, are required. A novel crowdsourcing technique to build and update training database is presented. On these basis, an indoor localization system is proposed and evaluated. The results show that comparable location accuracy to previous approaches without even dense wireless site survey requirements is achievable.
Anti-inflammatory effects of Fagopyrum cymosum administered as a potential drug for ulcerative colitis

Fagopyrum cymosum (Trev.) Meisn (Fag), which belongs to the Polygonaceae family, has been widely used to treat inflammatory diseases. Previous studies have revealed that Fag components exhibit anti-inflammatory activities; however, their potential use in treating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has not been explored. In the present study, mice with 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced colitis were used as a model of IBD. Fag extract was orally administered for 3 days following the induction of colitis and the conventional drug, salicylazosulfapyridine (SASP), was used as a control. The results revealed that Fag significantly ameliorated TNBS-induced body weight loss and colonic shortening in mice (P<0.05). Furthermore, Fag suppressed levels of proinflammatory cytokines and reduced macrophage infiltration into colonic tissues (P<0.05). To further verify the anti-inflammatory effects of Fag at the molecular level, a murine macrophage cell line, Raw264.7, was used. Nuclear translocation of nuclear factor (NF)-κB p65 and the phosphorylation of inhibitor of NF-κB (IκB) were assessed using western blotting. The results demonstrated that Fag inhibited the production of proinflammatory cytokines via inhibiting NF-κB p65 nuclear translocation and IκB phosphorylation (P<0.05). Furthermore, the clinical study results revealed that Fag had significantly fewer side effects (P<0.05) and served as a better anti-inflammatory drug for ulcerative colitis compared with SASP.
Nuts and Human Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review

There has been increasing interest in nuts and their outcome regarding human health. The consumption of nuts is frequently associated with reduction in risk factors for chronic diseases. Although nuts are high calorie foods, several studies have reported beneficial effects after nut consumption, due to fatty acid profiles, vegetable proteins, fibers, vitamins, minerals, carotenoids, and phytosterols with potential antioxidant action. However, the current findings about the benefits of nut consumption on human health have not yet been clearly discussed. This review highlights the effects of nut consumption on the context of human health.
Geography, Uncertainty, and Polarization

Using new data on roll-call voting of US state legislators and public opinion in their districts, we explain how ideological polarization of voters within districts can lead to legislative polarization. In so-called “moderate” districts that switch hands between parties, legislative behavior is shaped by the fact that voters are often quite heterogeneous: the ideological distance between Democrats and Republicans within these districts is often greater than the distance between liberal cities and conservative rural areas. We root this intuition in a formal model that associates intradistrict ideological heterogeneity with uncertainty about the ideological location of the median voter. We then demonstrate that among districts with similar median voter ideologies, the difference in legislative behavior between Democratic and Republican state legislators is greater in more ideologically heterogeneous districts. Our findings suggest that accounting for the subtleties of political geography can help explain the coexistence of polarized legislators and a mass public that appears to contain many moderates.
Burden del caregiver di anziani ricoverati in una unità operativa ospedaliera per acuti e ruolo dello psicologo nella gestione del caregiver "fragile"

RIASSUNTO. Introduzione: l’obiettivo e di indagare e descrivere il carico soggettivo dei familiari di anziani con polipatologia ricoverati in un reparto ospedaliero per acuti e valutare le necessita di intervento e l’analisi del bisogno di sostegno psicologico. Metodi: intervista a 100 caregiver di pazienti ricoverati in un reparto di Geriatria, utilizzando due strumenti per misurare il carico assistenziale: il Family Strain Questionnaire - Short Form (FSQ-SF) e la Anxiety and Depression Short Scale (AD-R). Risultati: il FSQ-SF ha evidenziato che il 7% dei caregiver mostra adeguate abilita di coping per fronteggiare lo stress legato alla malattia; il 21% potrebbe necessitare di un counselling psicologico; per il 48% e consigliato un intervento di valutazione e sostegno psicologici; nel 24% l’intervento psicologico assume caratteristiche di urgenza. I risultati della AD-R hanno mostrato che il 36% e il 10.5% degli intervistati mostrano livelli clinicamente significativi di ansia e di depressione. Sebbene il bisogno di sostegno psicologico sia diffuso (93%), solo il 35% dei soggetti vorrebbe parlarne con un esperto e il 18% vorrebbe maggiori informazioni per usufruire di sostegno psicologico per se. Conclusioni: i risultati mostrano un paradosso definibile come bisogno non espresso da parte dei familiari: l’esigenza di avere maggior sostegno non si traduce in una richiesta di intervento. Il dato meriterebbe di essere indagato: capire le ragioni di tale atteggiamento di chiusura verso la possibilita di rivolgersi a figure professionali specializzate nel sostegno psicologico ed individuare quali servizi possano essere migliorati o istituiti per rispondere alle esigenze dei familiari. Parole chiave: burden, caregiver, comorbilita.
Response Prediction and Treatment Tailoring for Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Genotype 1 Infection

ABSTRACT We monitored early viral response during the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection with the aim of identifying predictors of treatment outcome. We studied 53 patients with genotype 1 infection who received 180 μg/week pegylated interferon alfa-2a and 1,000 or 1,200 mg/day ribavirin depending on body weight and serially assessed HCV RNA in serum, using the Cobas TaqMan assay. Thirty-one patients (58%) achieved sustained viral response (SVR). SVR was obtained in 100% (10/10) of patients with pretreatment viremia concentrations below 400,000 IU/ml, in 100% (14/14) of patients with more than 1.5 log reduction of HCV RNA after 4 days of treatment, and in 95% (22/23) of patients with a rate of decline in viremia higher than 0.70 log units/week during the second phase. Non-SVR was seen in all patients with a second-phase decline rate lower than 0.35 log units/week. Patients with slopes between 0.50 and 0.80 log units/week achieved SVR (4/4) unless the treatment dose was modified (3/3). We conclude that the second-phase slope appears to be an accurate and useful predictor of treatment response. On the basis of these findings, we propose a model of tailored treatment which takes into account the second-phase slope and the amount of HCV RNA after 21 days of treatment.
TRAFFIC GENERATED BY A SEMI-MARKOV ADDITIVE PROCESS

We consider a semi-Markov additive process A(·)—that is, a Markov additive process for which the sojourn times in the various states have general (rather than exponential) distributions. Letting the Lévy processes Xi(·), which describe the evolution of A(·) while the background process is in state i, be increasing, it is shown how double transforms of the type $\vint_{0}^{\infty} e^{-qt}\, {\open E} \lsqb e^{-\alpha A(t)}\, {d}t \rsqb$ can be computed. It turns out that these follow, for given nonnegative α and q, from a system of linear equations, which has a unique positive solution. Several extensions are considered as well.
The effect of finasteride in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Background Benign prostatic hyperplasia is a progressive, androgen-dependent disease resulting in enlargement of the prostate gland and urinary obstruction. Preventing the conversion of testosterone to its tissue-active form, dihydrotestosterone, by inhibiting the enzyme 5 alpha-reductase could decrease the action of androgens in their target tissues; in the prostate the result might be a decrease in prostatic hyperplasia and therefore in symptoms of urinary obstruction. Methods In a double-blind study, we evaluated the effect of two doses of finasteride (1 mg and 5 mg) and placebo, each given once daily for 12 months, in 895 men with prostatic hyperplasia. Urinary symptoms, urinary flow, prostatic volume, and serum concentrations of dihydrotestosterone and prostate-specific antigen were determined periodically during the treatment period. Results As compared with the men in the placebo group, the men treated with 5 mg of finasteride per day had a significant decrease in total urinary-symptom scores (P less than 0.001), an increase of 1.6 ml per second (22 percent, P less than 0.001) in the maximal urinary-flow rate, and a 19 percent decrease in prostatic volume (P less than 0.001). The men treated with 1 mg of finasteride per day did not have a significant decrease in total urinary-symptom scores, but had an increase of 1.4 ml per second (23 percent) in the maximal urinary-flow rate, and an 18 percent decrease in prostatic volume. The men given placebo had no changes in total urinary-symptom scores, an increase of 0.2 ml per second (8 percent) in the maximal urinary-flow rate, and a 3 percent decrease in prostatic volume. The frequency of adverse effects in the three groups was similar, except for a higher incidence of decreased libido, impotence, and ejaculatory disorders in the finasteride-treated groups. Conclusions The treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia with 5 mg of finasteride per day results in a significant decrease in symptoms of obstruction, an increase in urinary flow, and a decrease in prostatic volume, but at a slightly increased risk of sexual dysfunction.
Notice of RetractionChanges of the Biomass and Aluminum Accumulation of Phragmites australis Seedlings under the Aluminium Stress

Aluminum toxicity is one of the major limiting factors of plant growth on acid soils. This study aims to indentify the biomass and Al content in the Phragmites australis seedlings tissues under the Al stress. Obtained results were as follows: (1) the fresh mass of roots, stems, and leaves decreased 7.00%, 6.11%, and 28.08% (10mg/L), 18.23%, 9.82%, 33.61% (50mg/L), 32.97%, 16.51%, 55.49% (100mg/L), 44.09%, 21.12%, 72.41% (200mg/L), 65.56%, 22.86%, 85.35%(300mg/L), and 78.56%, 23.53%, 93.22% (500 mg/L), compared with the CK (0 mg/L). The differences of roots fresh mass between the CK systems and low Al concentration medium (0-100 mg/L) were non-significant (p>;0.05), however, the differences between the CK systems and high Al concentration medium (100-500mg/L) were significant (p<;0.05), which indicated that the high concentration Al stress significantly restrict root, stems and leaves development of P. australis seedlings; (2) The dry mass of roots, stems and leaves of P. australis seedlings showed the same trend like fresh mass, which indicated that the high concentration Al stress significantly influence the biomass accumulation; (3) The Al content in the roots, stems and leaves of P. australis seedlings were also significantly affected by the external Al supply (p<;0.05) and the ranked order of Al content in plant tissues were as follows: roots >; stems >; leaves.
Relationship between hours of CPAP use and achieving normal levels of sleepiness and daily functioning.

STUDY OBJECTIVES Evidence suggests that, to maintain treatment effects, nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) needs to be used every night. What remains unknown is the nightly duration of use required to normalize functioning. This study, employing probit analyses and piecewise regression to estimate dose-response functions, estimated likelihoods of return to normal levels of sleepiness and daily functioning relative to nightly duration of CPAP. DESIGN Multicenter, quasi-experimental study. SETTING Seven sleep centers in the United States and Canada. PARTICIPANTS Patients with severe OSA (total cohort n = 149; the numbers of included participants from 85 - 120, depending on outcome analyzed.) INTERVENTIONS CPAP. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS Before treatment and again after 3 months of therapy, participants completed a day of testing that included measures of objective and subjective daytime sleepiness and functional status. There were significant differences in mean nightly CPAP duration between treatment responders and nonresponders across outcomes. Thresholds above which further improvements were less likely relative to nightly duration of CPAP were identified for Epworth Sleepiness Scale score (4 hours), Multiple Sleep Latency Test (6 hours), and Functional Outcomes associated with Sleepiness Questionnaire (7.5 hours). A linear dose-response relationship (P < 0.01) between increased use and achieving normal levels was shown for objective and subjective daytime sleepiness, but only up to 7 hours use for functional status. CONCLUSIONS Our analyses suggest that a greater percentage of patients will achieve normal functioning with longer nightly CPAP durations, but what constitutes adequate use varies between different outcomes.
Network Threat Ratings in Conventional DREAD Model Using Fuzzy Logic

One of the most popular techniques to deal with ever growing risks associated with security threats is DREAD model. It is used for rating risk of network threats identified in the abuser stories. In this model network threats needs to be defined by sharp cutoffs. However, such precise distribution is not suitable for risk categorization as risks are vague in nature and deals with high level of uncertainty. In view of these risk factors, the paper proposes a novel fuzzy approach using DREAD model for computing risk level that ensures better evaluation of imprecise concepts. Thus, it provides the capacity to include subjectivity and uncertainty during risk ranking. These threat parameters need to be frequently updated based on feedbacks from implementation of previous parameters. These feedbacks are always stated in the form of ordinal ratings, e.g. “high speed”, “average performance”, “good condition”. D ifferent people can describe different values to these ordinal ratings without a clear-cut reason or scientific basis. There is need for a way or means to transform vague ordinal ratings to more appreciable and precise numerical estimates. The paper transforms the ordinal performance ratings of some system performance parameters to numerical ratings using Fuzzy Logic.