Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nigral Degeneration with Inclusion Body Formation and Behavioral Changes in Rats after Proteasomal Inhibition

Objective: We were interested in studying nigral degeneration with inclusion body formation and behavioral changes in rats after proteasomal inhibition. Methods: Observation of progressive behavioral and pathological changes in rats following a unilateral nigral injection of lactacystin, a selective proteasome inhibitor. Results: After administration at a concentration of 10 μg (2 μl) of lactacystin, when tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) immunostaining decreased gradually in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) and corpus striatum, α-synuclein-immunopositive inclusion appeared extensively in the surviving neurons. We also observed the degeneration of diverse cellular organelles by transmission electron microscopy. The effect of cellular organelle degeneration on behavior, a clinical index, was striking and was statistically significant. Over the 3 weeks following the administration of lactacystin, a highly significant decrease in TH immunostaining was observed and α-synuclein-immunopositive inclusions gradually appeared. Interestingly, there was a strong correlation in behavioral changes and the increase in α-synuclein-immunopositive inclusions whereas the decrease in TH immunostaining did not seem to induce any behavioral changes. Conclusions: Our results reveal that unilateral nigral proteasome inhibition induces degeneration in the SNc and corpus striatum as well as behavioral changes demonstrating strong time dependence. Behavioral changes were driven by the formation of α-synuclein inclusions, but not by decreased TH neurons.
Dynamic Financial Analysis and Risk-Based Capital for a General Insurer

In this contribution we implement a simulation model based on an Internal Risk Model approach, aimed to assess the default risk for Property & Casualty insurers over a short-term time horizon. The proposed framework includes a stochastic model for the financial market and dynamic portfolio strategies. Further, we analyse some risk-based capital requirements by means of risk measures such as VaR and the ruin probability, focusing in particular on the impact of different portfolio strategies, time horizons and levels of confidence. The paper aims to contribute to the current debate concerning the development of a general framework for solvency assessment, including the new EU capital requirements to be defined in the Solvency II phase.
Natural scene category recognition based on multiple channels of PHOW

This paper presents a method for recognizing scene categories based on multiple channels of Pyramid Histogram Of Words (PHOW). The main difference among different channels lies in what kind of feature detector/descriptor pair is employed in the framework of Bag-of-Words (BoW) models. This technique works by obtaining the confidence scores of a test image belonging to each possible category based on different information cues and combining those intermediate scores to determine the label of the test image. In order to make use of multiple cues provided by different channels of PHOW, we propose a novel fusion rule: weighted sum-max, which outperforms two other popular rules (max-max and sum-max) on several benchmark scene datasets.
Semantic Tagging of French Medical Entities Using Distant Learning

In this paper we present a semantic tagger aiming to detect relevant entities in French medical documents and tagging them with their appropriate semantic class. These experiments has been carried out in the framework of CLEF2015 eHealth contest that proposes a tagset of ten classes from UMLS taxonomy. The system presented uses a set of binary classifiers, and a combination mechanisms for combining the results of the classifiers. Learning the classifiers is performed using two widely used knowledge source, one domain restricted and the other is a domain independent resource.
The GRB‐SN Connection: GRB 030329 and XRF 030723

The attempt to secure conclusive, spectroscopic evidence for the GRB/SN connection has been a central theme in most GRB observing time proposals since the discovery of the very unusual GRB 980425 associated with the peculiar type Ib/c SN 1998bw. GRB 030329 provided this evidence to everybody’s satisfaction. In this contribution we show the results of a spectroscopic campaign of the supernova associated with GRB 030329 carried out at ESOs Very Large Telescope. We also present preliminary results from a photometric and spectroscopic campaign targeting the X‐ray Flash of July 23.
The impact of new onset anaemia on morbidity and mortality in chronic heart failure: results from COMET.

AIMS Anaemia is a common comorbidity in chronic heart failure (CHF). The predictors of new onset anaemia (NOA) and its long-term prognostic value, particularly in patients treated with beta-blockers, are not known. METHODS AND RESULTS In COMET, 3029 patients with CHF in NYHA II-IV and EF <35% were randomized to carvedilol or metoprolol tartrate and were followed for an average of 58 months. Plasma haemoglobin (Hb) concentrations were measured at a central laboratory at randomization, at four monthly intervals for the first year and annually thereafter. According to WHO criteria, anaemia was defined when Hb measured <13 g/dL for men and <12 g/dL for women. We considered anaemia to be severe when Hb <11.5 g/dL for men and <10.5 g/dL for women. The baseline mean Hb was 14.2 +/- 1.5 g/dL (n = 2996) and 15.9% of patients had anaemia (males, 16.0%; females, 15.2%). At baseline, severe anaemia was found in 3.3% of patients (males, 3.6%; females, 2.0%). During the study, all-cause mortality (RR 1.47) death or hospitalization (RR 1.28), and heart failure hospitalization (RR 1.43, all P < 0.0001) were higher in anaemic when compared with non-anaemic patients. In patients without anaemia at baseline, at the end of the study, the cumulative frequency of NOA was 28.1% in males and 27.0% in females. NOA increased over time from 14.2% at year 1 to 27.5% at year 5. Predictors of NOA were: higher age, diuretic dose, creatinine (all P < 0.0001), higher serum potassium, lower serum sodium, body mass index, and use of aldosterone antagonists, carvedilol, and digitalis (all P < 0.03). Treatment with carvedilol (vs. metoprolol tartrate) was associated with a 24% increased risk to develop NOA (P = 0.0047), but not severe anaemia (P = 0.18). Patients with a Hb decrease of >3 g/dL (RR 3.37, P < 0.0001) or of 2.0-3.0 g/dL (RR 1.47, P = 0.011) from baseline had an increased subsequent mortality when compared with patients having Hb increases of 0-1.0 g/dL. CONCLUSION In stable ambulatory CHF patients, development of NOA is frequent and can be predicted by a set of clinical variables. Decreases in Hb over time relate to future increased morbidity and mortality.
Exposure of brown trout Salmo trutta to a sublethal concentration of copper in soft acidic water: effects upon gas exchange and ammonia accumulation

SUMMARY The present study was undertaken to answer two questions relating to the exposure of brown trout Salmo trutta to sublethal concentrations of copper and low pH (CLP) for 96h. (1) What is the effect of these pollutants on the rate of oxygen consumption (ṀO2) at different levels of exercise and (2) why does ammonia accumulate within these fish, when the low external pH should favour the diffusion of NH3 across the gills? Mean ṀO2 of fish in CLP and control (normal pH and no added copper) conditions were not significantly different from each other at any level of exercise. This suggests that exposure to CLP was not a `loading' factor at any level of activity. However, both maximum ṀO2 and critical swimming speed (Ucrit) were significantly lower in the CLP trout (5.5±1.6 mmol O2 kg-1 h-1 and 1.12±0.06 BL s-1, respectively) than in control fish (18.5±2.3 mmol O2 kg-1 h-1 and 2.04±0.11 BL s-1, respectively). There was no evidence from cardiovascular variables, such as heart rate and cardiac output, to suggest any changes in the oxygen transport system to compensate for any possible reduction in branchial gas exchange. Thus, it is suggested that oxygen exchange and transport do not limit the swimming performance of CLP trout, but that exposure to CLP reduces the maximum demand for O2, i.e. it is a limiting factor. The accumulation of ammonia in the plasma and white muscles during exposure to CLP has already been implicated in reducing the swimming performance of brown trout. Inhibition of cortisol synthesis abolished a large proportion of the increases in both the accumulation and excretion of ammonia that occurred during the second 48 h of the exposure to CLP, but did not inhibit ammonia accumulation completely. It is suggested that CLP not only causes an increase in the rate of production of ammonia, which is enhanced when the level of cortisol starts to increase after 48 h, but that it also inhibits an excretory mechanism (most probably Na+/NH4+ exchange) that is non-obligatory under `normal' conditions (when passive diffusion is sufficient), but is required in order to respond to unusually high ammonia loads.
Bethe equations for generalized Hubbard models

We compute the eigenfunctions, energies and Bethe equations for a class of generalized integrable Hubbard models based on gl(|)⊕gl(2) superalgebras. The Bethe equations appear to be similar to the Hubbard model ones, up to a phase due to the integration of a subset of `simple' Bethe equations. We discuss relations with AdS/CFT correspondence, and with condensed matter physics.
Spatial characterization of ischemia in 12-lead ECG recordings during PCI using both depolarization and repolarization indices

Spatial characterization of ischemia is addressed by evaluating ECG-derived indices: the ST level at J point plus 60 ms, ST<inf>J+60</inf>; S wave amplitude, S<inf>a</inf>; the upward and downward QRS slopes (I<inf>US</inf> and I<inf>DS</inf>); and high-frequency QRS in the band 150–250 Hz, HF-QRS<inf>(150–250)</inf> over 12-lead ECG signals recorded during prolonged elective PCI. Absolute changes of each index I during coronary occlusion, ΔI, and their relative changes, R<inf>I</inf>, were quantified. Mean R S<inf>T</inf><inf>J+60</inf>= 14.5, R <inf>Sa</inf>= 15.2 and R<inf>IDS</inf>= 6.2 times their normal variations in pre-PCI recordings, respectively, showed the most pronounced changes as well as a very similar and distinctive lead-profiles depending on the occlusion site. We conclude that the ECG-derived indices from the final part of the QRS complex show high sensitivity for detection of ischemia. Moreover, their spatial distributions show the largest changes in leads closest to the region adjacent to the occluded artery, which can be considered for occlusion site identification.
A Review on Recent Developments for Detection of Diabetic Retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy is caused by the retinal micro vasculature which may be formed as a result of diabetes mellitus. Blindness may appear as a result of unchecked and severe cases of diabetic retinopathy. Manual inspection of fundus images to check morphological changes in microaneurysms, exudates, blood vessels, hemorrhages, and macula is a very time-consuming and tedious work. It can be made easily with the help of computer-aided system and intervariability for the observer. In this paper, several techniques for detecting microaneurysms, hemorrhages, and exudates are discussed for ultimate detection of nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy. Blood vessels detection techniques are also discussed for the diagnosis of proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Furthermore, the paper elaborates a discussion on the experiments accessed by authors for the detection of diabetic retinopathy. This work will be helpful for the researchers and technical persons who want to utilize the ongoing research in this area.
Preferential Usage of the Fc Receptor Q/chain in the T Cell Antigen Receptor Complex by "y/8 T Cells Localized in Epithelia

~" and r/chains of the T cell antigen receptor (TCR) complex and the y chain of Fc receptors (FcRy) constitute a family of proteins important for the expression of, and signal transduction through, these receptors in hematopoietic cells. In ~'-deficient mice, TCR expression was reduced in most T cells. By contrast, CD8oto~ + TCR-~//5 + intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes in these mice expressed a normal level of TCR. Biochemical analysis of the TCR complex in these cells from ~'-deficient as well as normal mice revealed the predominant usage of FcRy. Furthermore, y/5 + T cells in epithelia of the skin and female reproductive organs from g'-deficient mice also showed relatively high TCR expression, indicating the usage of FcRq/. These observations demonstrate the preferential usage of FcR3' by 3'/c5 § T cells localized in epithelia of normal mice. T cells recognize antigen bound to the products of MHC on APC through TCR, and are activated to exert various effector functions (1, 2). The TCR complex is a multi-meric complex composed of three groups of proteins; the TCR-c~/fl (or-y/5) dimer, the CD3 complex, and the ~" family of disulfide-linked dimers (3). TCR dimers are responsible for antigen binding, whereas the other molecules are thought to be important for transmembrane signaling. The ~" family has three known members, g', ~/, and FcR~/ (4-6). In thymocytes and peripheral T cells, most of TCR complexes contain ~-homodimers, whereas 5-10% of TCRs associate with the g'-7/heterodimer. On the other hand, the TCR complex in a minor population of T cells has ~" and ~/as a form of heterodimers with FcRy (4, 5). Moreover, it is reported that FcR3' was exclusively associated with TCR in in vitro cultured large granular lymphocytes (6). A considerable body of evidence shows the importance of ~'both in assembly and surface expression of the TCR complex and in receptor-mediated signal transduction (7-13). Cy-toplasmic tails of ~" family as well as CD3 molecules have consensus motifs important for intracellular signal transduc-tion (14, 15). Recent studies indicate that the TCR complex has two signal transduction modules, the ~" family dimer and the CD3 complex, and that the two modules could trans-duce distinct signals into the cells (15, 16). In addition, it has been reported that the TCR complex containing FcR3' has a different signaling capacity from those containing ~" (17-19). Consequently, differential usage of ~" family molecules by distinct subsets of T cells may reflect …
Optimal SIMO MLSE receivers for the detection of linear modulation corrupted by noncircular interference

This paper derives the optimal single input multiple output (SIMO) maximum likelihood sequence estimation (MLSE) receiver for the detection of quadrature amplitude modulations corrupted by potentially noncircular, stationary white or colored zero-mean Gaussian noise. It is proved that this receiver is composed by a widely linear (WL) filter followed by a modified version of the Viterbi algorithm. This WL linear filter is interpreted for complex-valued signal of interest (SOI) symbols as two WL multidimensional matched filter (WL MMF) that reduce to a single WL MMF for real-valued SOI symbols. The performance improvements of this receiver with respect to the standard SIMO MLSE are proved and illustrated.
Direct correlation between nitric oxide synthase II inducibility and metastatic ability of UV-2237 murine fibrosarcoma cells carrying mutant p53.

The relationship between nitric oxide synthase II (NOS II) inducibility and the metastatic ability of UV-2237 murine fibrosarcoma cells was determined. Highly metastatic cells survived to produce numerous lung metastases after i.v. injection in syngeneic C3H/HeN mice, whereas poorly metastatic cells did not. Highly metastatic clones exhibited higher levels of NOS II than did poorly metastatic clones in response to interleukin 1alpha and IFN-gamma stimulation. Furthermore, both poorly and highly metastatic clones contained an identical p53 mutation. Overexpression of NOS II in a highly metastatic clone by transfection with NOS II gene retarded tumor growth and completely suppressed metastasis. Our data indicate that a low to moderate level of NOS II expression directly correlates with metastatic ability of UV-2237 fibrosarcoma cells carrying mutant p53 and that a high level of nitric oxide production suppresses tumor growth and metastasis.
Musical Training Orchestrates Coordinated Neuroplasticity in Auditory Brainstem and Cortex to Counteract Age-Related Declines in Categorical Vowel Perception

Musicianship in early life is associated with pervasive changes in brain function and enhanced speech-language skills. Whether these neuroplastic benefits extend to older individuals more susceptible to cognitive decline, and for whom plasticity is weaker, has yet to be established. Here, we show that musical training offsets declines in auditory brain processing that accompanying normal aging in humans, preserving robust speech recognition late into life. We recorded both brainstem and cortical neuroelectric responses in older adults with and without modest musical training as they classified speech sounds along an acoustic–phonetic continuum. Results reveal higher temporal precision in speech-evoked responses at multiple levels of the auditory system in older musicians who were also better at differentiating phonetic categories. Older musicians also showed a closer correspondence between neural activity and perceptual performance. This suggests that musicianship strengthens brain-behavior coupling in the aging auditory system. Last, “neurometric” functions derived from unsupervised classification of neural activity established that early cortical responses could accurately predict listeners' psychometric speech identification and, more critically, that neurometric profiles were organized more categorically in older musicians. We propose that musicianship offsets age-related declines in speech listening by refining the hierarchical interplay between subcortical/cortical auditory brain representations, allowing more behaviorally relevant information carried within the neural code, and supplying more faithful templates to the brain mechanisms subserving phonetic computations. Our findings imply that robust neuroplasticity conferred by musical training is not restricted by age and may serve as an effective means to bolster speech listening skills that decline across the lifespan.
Musical Training Predicts Cerebello-Hippocampal Coupling During Music Listening

Cerebello-hippocampal interactions occur during accurate spatiotemporal prediction of movements. In the context of music listening, differences in cerebello-hippocampal functional connectivity may result from differences in predictive listening accuracy. Using functional MRI, we studied differences in this network between 18 musicians and 18 nonmusicians while they listened to music. Musicians possess a predictive listening advantage over nonmusicians, facilitated by strengthened coupling between produced and heard sounds through lifelong musical experience. Thus, we hypothesized that musicians would exhibit greater functional connectivity than nonmusicians as a marker of accurate online predictions during music listening. To this end, we estimated the functional connectivity between cerebellum and hippocampus as modulated by a perceptual measure of the predictability of the music. Results revealed increased predictability-driven functional connectivity in this network in musicians compared with nonmusicians, which was positively correlated with the length of musical training. Findings may be explained by musicians’ improved predictive listening accuracy. Our findings advance the understanding of cerebellar integrative function.
Specialist and more-able mathematics students: understanding their engagement with mathematics support

ABSTRACT Along with a growing body of evidence of the challenges experienced by specialist and more-able mathematics students during their undergraduate studies, there now exists evidence that these students are increasingly accessing mathematics support centres as a means of enhancing their mathematical learning experience. Here, we report on a survey of 47 specialist mathematics students, studying within the mathematics department of a large, UK research-intensive university. Our findings show that whilst such students have high levels of engagement with core teaching components, additional, and optional, opportunities for personalized support and dialogue provided by the mathematics department to support their studies are less well used and valued. Friends provide an important source of additional support along with visits to the mathematics support centre. Our data show that users of mathematics support from later years are not necessarily returners, but instead are new to the centre. Whilst many students use the centre only occasionally and as the need arises, there is evidence that others are more regular users and are using the centre as a core part of their mathematical learning experience. The reasons given for their usage are linked to the convenient availability of support, its personalized nature with friendly tutors of a similar-age and subject profile, the ability to use the centre as a group study space to work with friends, and as an opportunity to engage in dialogue about their mathematical learning.
A review on phytoremediation of heavy metals and utilization of its byproducts.

This review presents the status of phytoremediation technologies with particular emphasis on phytoextraction of soil heavy metal contamination. Unlike organic compounds, metals cannot be degraded, and cleanup usually requires their removal. Most of the conventional remedial technologies are expensive and inhibit the soil fertility; this subsequently causes negative impacts on the ecosystem. Phytoremediation is a cost effective, environmental friendly, aesthetically pleasing approach most suitable for developing countries. Despite this potential, phytoremediation is yet to become a commercially available technology in India. This paper reports about the mobility, bioavaliability and plant response to presence of soil heavy metals. It classifies the plants according to phytoextraction mechanism and discusses the pathway of metal in plants. Various techniques to enhance phytoextraction and utilization of by-products have been elaborated. Since lot of biomass is produced during this process, it needs proper disposal and management. It also gives an insight into the work done by authors, which focuses on high biomass extractor plants. High biomas weeds were selected to restrict the passage of contaminants into the food chain by selecting non-edible, disease resistant and tolerant plants, which can provide renewable energy. Thus making phytoextraction more viable for present utilization. Keywords. heavy metals, phytoextraction, hyperaccumulator, indicator, excluder species
A mathematical framework for statistical decision confidence

Decision confidence is a forecast about the probability that a decision will be correct. Confidence can be framed as an objective mathematical quantity the Bayesian posterior probability, providing a formal definition of statistical decision confidence. Here we use this definition as a starting point to develop a normative statistical framework for decision confidence. We analytically prove interrelations between statistical decision confidence and other observable decision measures. Among these is a counterintuitive property of confidence that the lowest average confidence occurs when classifiers err in the presence of the strongest evidence. These results lay the foundations for a mathematically rigorous treatment of decision confidence that can lead to a common framework for understanding confidence across different research domains, from human behavior to neural representations.