Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Regeneration of the completely excised gastrocnemius muscle in the frog and rat from minced muscle fragments

In 85 frogs and 29 rats, the entire gastrocnemius muscle was removed. After removal of as much connective tissue as possible, about two‐thirds of the remaining muscle was finely minced with a scissors. These minced fragments were orthotopically re‐implanted, and the overlying skin was sutured. As the implanted muscle fragments degenerate, new muscle fibers appears in the regenerate. The proportion of connective tissue to muscle is usually greater than normal especially in the frog. Grossly, normal relationships are established with the cut ends of the Achilles and proximal tendons, as well as with the blood vessels and nerves. The total diameter of the regenerated muscle is almost always less than half of that seen in normal muscles. Regeneration of muscle is much more extensive in the rat than in the frog, and it occurs almost twice as rapidly. The histology of the regenerative process is described for both the frog and the rat.
LEAN: simplifying concurrency bug reproduction via replay-supported execution reduction

Debugging concurrent programs is known to be difficult due to scheduling non-determinism. The technique of multiprocessor deterministic replay substantially assists debugging by making the program execution reproducible. However, facing the huge replay traces and long replay time, the debugging task remains stunningly challenging for long running executions. We present a new technique, LEAN, on top of replay, that significantly reduces the complexity of the replay trace and the length of the replay time without losing the determinism in reproducing concurrency bugs. The cornerstone of our work is a redundancy criterion that characterizes the redundant computation in a buggy trace. Based on the redundancy criterion, we have developed two novel techniques to automatically identify and remove redundant threads and instructions in the bug reproduction execution. Our evaluation results with several real world concurrency bugs in large complex server programs demonstrate that LEAN is able to reduce the size, the number of threads, and the number of thread context switches of the replay trace by orders of magnitude, and accordingly greatly shorten the replay time.
Lung Mechanics in Normal Infants and Infants with Congenital Heart Disease

The results of a study of pulmonary mechanics in 24 normal infants and 28 infants with congenital heart disease aged 1 to 32 weeks are presented. The two groups were matched for length and weight. The diagnosis of the infants with congenital heart disease varied from simple stenoses to complex septal defects and transpositions. 6 infants were studied before and after operation designed to improve their haemodynamic situation. Pulmonary compliance and mean pulmonary resistance were measured using a pneumotachygraph, integrator, and oesophageal balloon; thoracic gas volume was measured by the plethysmographic method. Results were found to be reproducible both in the individual and within the normal group. Thoracic gas volume in relation to weight and pulmonary resistance were normal in the infants with congenital heart disease, but the pulmonary compliance was often abnormal even when related to lung volume. The change in compliance was not simply related to pulmonary blood flow or pressure but was related to the radiological assessment of pulmonary plethora or oligaemia—the more plethoric the lower the compliance. Surgery altered both the radiological grading and the compliance appropriately. It is postulated that changes in the elastic properties of the lungs are related to changes in the pulmonary capillary blood volume.
Evidence for functional homology in the F-actin binding domains of gelsolin and alpha-actinin: implications for the requirements of severing and capping

The F-actin binding domains of gelsolin and alpha-actinin compete for the same site on actin filaments with similar binding affinities. Both contain tandem repeats of approximately 125 amino acids, the first of which is shown to contain the actin-binding site. We have replaced the F-actin binding domain in the NH2-terminal half of gelsolin by that of alpha-actinin. The hybrid severs filaments almost as efficiently as does gelsolin or its NH2-terminal half, but unlike the latter, requires calcium ions. The hybrid binds two actin monomers and caps the barbed ends of filaments in the presence or absence of calcium. The cap produced by the hybrid binds with lower affinity than that of gelsolin and is not stable: It dissociates from filament ends with a half life of approximately 15 min. Although there is no extended sequence homology between these two different F-actin binding domains, our experiments show that they are functionally equivalent and provide new insights into the mechanism of microfilament severing.
Association Analysis and Content-Based Information Hiding Approach with High Hiding Capacity

In this paper, we present a novel content-based information hiding scheme which analyse the association between cover image and secret image. In order to increase the hiding capacity and imperceptibility, we plan to embed a less energy image called residual image instead of the original image by a spatial domain method least signification bit (LSB), which obtained from the statistical method-partial least squares (PLS) and genetic algorithms (GA). Furthermore, Arnold iteration transform is applied to increase the security when secret image is hiding into the cover image. As our experimental results, the capacity and performance of the proposed method is better compared with the original method which lose sight of association between cover image and secret image.
Security Metrology and the Monty Hall Problem

Evaluating computing systems and classifying them by the security properties they provide is not new [13, 14]. Other researchers [8, 9] have pointed out the difficulty of evaluating security and the apparent binary nature of security given discoveries of system vulnerability. Here, I compare the role of security evaluations with that of cryptographic security parameters, and relate the difficulty of arriving at security metrics with the Monty Hall Problem. Additionally, I argue that trying to represent the security of a system by either a single numeric value or constructing some digraph using which systems are compared is a Quixotic affair: security needs are application dependent, and no single total or partial ordering can provide all the information needed. I give example scenarios that demonstrate the need for multi-faceted security rating systems.
Mobile guide applications using representative visualizations

Recent developments of hardware capabilities on mobile devices have made Location Based Services(LBS) very popular. This triggered an increasing need of rich visual content in mobile guide applications. This paper presents two original approaches for using representative visualizations: artistic views which represent an arbitrary deformation made by an artist and perspective views(3D-like) obtained from 3D models. Both approaches are based on learning GPS-to-image relations. We show an efficient use of the thin-plate spline for registering GPS coordinates with images. We also show the implementation of our guiding system on two mobile platforms.
Faithful actions of automorphisms on the space of orderings of a group

In this article we study the space of left- and bi-invariant orderings on a torsion-free nilpotent group $G$. We will show that generally the set of such orderings is equipped with a faithful action of the automorphism group of $G$. We prove a result which allows us to establish the same conclusion when $G$ is assumed to be merely residually torsion-free nilpotent. In particular, we obtain faithful actions of mapping class groups of surfaces. We will draw connections between the structure of orderings on residually torsion-free nilpotent, hyperbolic groups and their Gromov boundaries, and we show that in those cases a faithful $\Aut(G)$-action on the boundary is equivalent to a faithful $\Aut(G)$ action on the space of left--invariant orderings.
Key features of cold‐air pool episodes in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula (Cerdanya, eastern Pyrenees)

Located in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, Cerdanya experiences intense cold‐air pool (CAP) episodes in which a decoupling between the valley atmosphere and the regional circulation develops, especially in winter. A network of 40 temperature sensors was deployed from 2012 to 2015 along seven elevational transects to collect hourly data of temperature and humidity, enabling the measurement of CAP characteristics and behaviour. Empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs) of minimum temperature anomalies were examined to study the spatial distribution of CAP. Days were classified as CAP or no‐CAP using EOF analysis. The temporal variation of EOF analysis scores for the first component (PC1) indicates days prone to CAP. A synoptic analysis using principal component analysis (factorization), cluster analysis (classification) and a discriminant analysis (reclassification) was performed successively. Results showed CAP days to be associated with high pressure and light winds, while no‐CAP days were associated with surface northerly or north‐easterly flow behind frontal passages.
Improving safety on the front lines: the role of clinical microsystems

The clinical microsystem puts medical error and harm reduction into the broader context of safety and quality of care by providing a framework to assess and evaluate the structure, process, and outcomes of care. Eight characteristics of clinical microsystems emerged from a qualitative analysis of interviews with representatives from 43 microsystems across North America. These characteristics were used to develop a tool for assessing the function of microsystems. Further research is needed to assess microsystem performance, outcomes, and safety, and how to replicate “best practices” in other settings.
Shrinkage Stresses Generated during Resin-Composite Applications: A Review

Many developments have been made in the field of resin composites for dental applications. However, the manifestation of shrinkage due to the polymerization process continues to be a major problem. The material's shrinkage, associated with dynamic development of elastic modulus, creates stresses within the material and its interface with the tooth structure. As a consequence, marginal failure and subsequent secondary caries, marginal staining, restoration displacement, tooth fracture, and/or post-operative sensitivity are clinical drawbacks of resin-composite applications. The aim of the current paper is to present an overview about the shrinkage stresses created during resin-composite applications, consequences, and advances. The paper is based on results of many researches that are available in the literature.
Validation study of HPV DNA detection from stained FNA smears by polymerase chain reaction: Improving the diagnostic workup of patients with a tumor on the neck

Human papillomavirus (HPV)–related oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) often presents with cystic cervical metastasis and a small primary tumor localized in the palatine tonsils or base of the tongue, which is diagnostically challenging. Testing for HPV DNA in fine‐needle aspiration (FNA) smears from metastases may facilitate a targeted diagnostic workup for identifying the primary tumor. This study was designed to assess the ability to detect HPV DNA in FNA smears with polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
The limitations of term co-occurrence data for query expansion in document retrieval systems

Term cooccurrence data has been extensively used in document retrieval systems for the identification of indexing terms that are similar to those that have been specified in a user query: these similar terms can then be used to augment the original query statement. Despite the plausibility of this approach to query expansion, the retrieval effectiveness of the expanded queries is often no greater than, or even less than, the effectiveness of the unexpanded queries. This article demonstrates that the similar terms identified by cooccurrence data in a query expansion system tend to occur very frequently in the database that is being searched. Unfortunately, frequent terms tend to discriminate poorly between relevant and nonrelevant documents, and the general effect of query expansion is thus to add terms that do little or nothing to improve the discriminatory power of the original query.
Neural Cell Apoptosis Induced by Microwave Exposure Through Mitochondria-dependent Caspase-3 Pathway

To determine whether microwave (MW) radiation induces neural cell apoptosis, differentiated PC12 cells and Wistar rats were exposed to 2.856GHz for 5min and 15min, respectively, at an average power density of 30 mW/cm2. JC-1 and TUNEL staining detected significant apoptotic events, such as the loss of mitochondria membrane potential and DNA fragmentation, respectively. Transmission electron microscopy and Hoechst staining were used to observe chromatin ultrastructure and apoptotic body formation. Annexin V-FITC/PI double staining was used to quantify the level of apoptosis. The expressions of Bax, Bcl-2, cytochrome c, cleaved caspase-3 and PARP were examined by immunoblotting or immunocytochemistry. Caspase-3 activity was measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The results showed chromatin condensation and apoptotic body formation in neural cells 6h after microwave exposure. Moreover, the mitochondria membrane potential decreased, DNA fragmentation increased, leading to an increase in the apoptotic cell percentage. Furthermore, the ratio of Bax/Bcl-2, expression of cytochrome c, cleaved caspase-3 and PARP all increased. In conclusion, microwave radiation induced neural cell apoptosis via the classical mitochondria-dependent caspase-3 pathway. This study may provide the experimental basis for further investigation of the mechanism of the neurological effects induced by microwave radiation.
Classification of non-linear-separable real-world-problems using Δ-rule, perceptrons, and topologically distributed encoding

We describe how to solve linear-non-separable problems using simple feed-forward perceptions without hidden layers, and a biologically motivated topologically distributed encoding for input data. We point out why neural networks have advantages compared to classic mathematics algorithms without loosing performance. The Iris-dataSet from Fisher [2] is analyzed as a practical example.
Penalized estimation of covariance matrices with flexible amounts of shrinkage.

Penalized maximum likelihood estimation has been advocated for its capability to yield substantially improved estimates of covariance matrices, but so far only cases with equal numbers of records have been considered. We show that a generalization of the inverse Wishart distribution can be utilised to derive penalties which allow for differential penalization for different blocks of the matrices to be estimated. However, this requires multiple tuning factors to be determined and thus can increase computational requirements markedly. Simulation results are presented which indicate that the additional gains obtainable for estimates of genetic covariance components – over and above those from a simple, non-differential scheme – are moderate, even if numbers of records for different traits differ by orders of magnitude.
Early Buffer Planning with Congestion Control Using Buffer Requirement Map

Buffer insertion plays an important role in circuit performance and signal integrity especially in deep submicron technologies. The stage at which buffers are inserted in a design has a large impact on the design quality. Early buffer insertion may cause misestimation due to unknown cell locations whereas buffer insertion after placement may not be very effective because the cell locations have been fixed and buffer resources may be distributed inappropriately. In this paper, a buffer planning algorithm for floor-placement design flow is presented. This algorithm creates a map of buffer requirements in various regions of the design at the floorplanning stage and then enforces the detailed placer to distribute white spaces with respect to the estimated buffer requirement map. Experimental results show that the proposed method improves the performance of attempted circuits with fewer buffers. Furthermore, results show that congestion, routability and design convergence are improved and the auxiliary loops are avoided in the proposed design flow. Our analyses and experiments show that the CPU time overhead of this algorithm is very small.
METFORMIN IN THE TREATMENT OF NON-ALCOHOLIC FATTY LIVER DISEASE: A META-ANALYSIS

Twenty percent (20%) of the world’s population have Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD), about 10% of which progresses to Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) which can lead to cirrhosis and even HCCA. Insulin sensitizing agents such as metformin are theoretically sound and cheap therapeutic options for this disease. Objectives To evaluate the effectiveness of diet plus metformin compared to diet alone in improving liver function tests, insulin levels, glucose levels and BMI in patients with NAFLD. Search Strategy
The universal nature of biochemistry.

People have long speculated about the possibility of life in settings other than Earth. Only in the past few centuries, however, have we been able to conceive of the specific nature of such settings: other planets around our own sun and solar systems similar to our own elsewhere in the physical universe. Speculation on the nature of life elsewhere often has paid little heed to constraints imposed by the nature of biochemistry, however. A century of fanciful science fiction has resulted not only in social enthusiasm for the quest for extraterrestrial life, but also in fanciful notions of the chemical and physical forms that life can take, what the nature of life can be. Since the time of the Viking missions to Mars, in the mid-1970s, our view of life's diversity on Earth has expanded significantly, and we have a better understanding of the extreme conditions that limit life. Consequently, our search for extant life elsewhere in the solar system can now be conducted with broader perspective than before.
Real-time endobronchial ultrasound guided transbronchial needle aspiration for sampling mediastinal lymph nodes

Background: Transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) is an established method for sampling mediastinal lymph nodes to aid in diagnosing lymphadenopathy and in staging lung cancers. Real-time endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) guidance is a new method of TBNA that may increase the ability to sample these nodes and hence to determine a diagnosis. A descriptive study was conducted to test this new method. Methods: Consecutive patients referred for TBNA of mediastinal lymph nodes were included in the trial. When a node was detected, a puncture was performed under real-time ultrasound control. The primary end point was the number of successful biopsy specimens. Diagnostic results from the biopsies were compared with operative findings. Lymph node stations were classified according to the recently adopted American Thoracic Society scheme. Results: From 502 patients (316 men) of mean age 59 years (range 24–82), 572 lymph nodes were punctured and 535 (94%) resulted in a diagnosis. Biopsy specimens were taken from lymph nodes in region 2L (40 nodes), 2R (53 nodes), 3 (35 nodes), 4R (86 nodes), 4L (77 nodes), 7 (127 nodes), 10R (38 nodes), 10L (43 nodes), 11R (40 nodes) and 11L (33 nodes). The mean (SD) diameter of the nodes was 1.6 (0.36) cm and the range was 0.8–3.2 cm (SD range 0.8–4.3). Sensitivity was 94%, specificity 100%, and the positive predictive value was 100% calculated per patient. No complications occurred. Conclusion: EBUS-TBNA is a promising new method for sampling mediastinal lymph nodes. It appears to permit more and smaller nodes to be sampled than conventional TBNA, and it is safe.
Assessment of Indoor Air Pollution in Homes with Infants

Infants spend most of their indoor time at home; however, residential air quality is poorly understood. We investigated the air quality of infants’ homes in the New England area of the U.S. Participants (N = 53) were parents of infants (0–6 months) who completed telephone surveys to identify potential pollutant sources in their residence. Carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter ≤0.5 µm (PM0.5), and total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs) were measured in 10 homes over 4–7 days, and levels were compared with health-based guidelines. Pollutant levels varied substantially across homes and within homes with overall levels for some homes up to 20 times higher than for other homes. Average levels were 0.85 ppm, 663.2 ppm, 18.7 µg/m3, and 1626 µg/m3 for CO, CO2, PM0.5, and TVOCs, respectively. CO2, TVOCs, and PM0.5 levels exceeded health-based indoor air quality guidelines. Survey results suggest that nursery renovations and related potential pollutant sources may be associated with differences in urbanicity, income, and presence of older children with respiratory ailments, which could potentially confound health studies. While there are no standards for indoor residential air quality, our findings suggest that additional research is needed to assess indoor pollution exposure for infants, which may be a vulnerable population.
Tapeworms (Cestoda: Caryophyllidea), Parasites of Clarias batrachus (Pisces: Siluriformes) in the Indomalayan Region

Abstract Revision of monozoic cestodes (Caryophyllidea) parasitic in commercially important walking catfish Clarias batrachus (L.) in tropical Asia (Indomalayan zoogeographical region) was carried out, based on the evaluation of newly collected material from India, Indonesia, and Thailand, as well as a study of type specimens. Instead of the 59 nominal taxa of 15 genera from 3 caryophyllidean families previously described, only 8 species of the Lytocestidae are considered to be valid: Bovienia indica (Niyogi, Gupta and Agarwal, 1982) n. comb. ; Bovienia raipurensis (Satpute and Agarwal, 1980) Mackiewicz, 1994; Bovienia serialis (Bovien, 1926) Fuhrmann, 1931; Djombangia penetrans Bovien, 1926; Lucknowia microcephala (Bovien, 1926) n. comb. ; Lytocestus indicus (Moghe, 1925) Woodland 1926; Pseudocaryophyllaeus ritai Gupta and Singh, 1983; and Pseudocaryophyllaeus tenuicollis (Bovien, 1926) n. comb. All valid species are redescribed and SEM photomicrographs of their scolices and photomicrographs of their eggs are provided for the first time. Crescentovitus Murhar, 1963, Heeradevina Srivastav and Khare, 2005, Pseudobatrachus Pathak and Srivastav, 2005, Pseudobilobulata Srivastav and Lohia, 2002, Pseudoclariasis Pathak, 2002, and Pseudoinverta Pathak, 2002 are invalidated and 50 nominal species are newly synonymized, including 4 species described from other fish hosts. Taxonomic status of the remaining caryophyllidean taxa reported from C. batrachus (at least 6 taxa) could not be clarified because of the unavailability of their original descriptions. A key to identification of caryophyllidean tapeworms parasitic in C. batrachus is provided. To avoid current inflation of descriptions of invalid taxa, researchers are strongly encouraged to work only with well-fixed material; damaged, decomposed, or strongly flattened specimens should not be used for taxonomic studies, and type specimens must always be deposited in internationally recognized collections.