Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
How Energy Metabolism Supports Cerebral Function: Insights from 13C Magnetic Resonance Studies In vivo

Cerebral function is associated with exceptionally high metabolic activity, and requires continuous supply of oxygen and nutrients from the blood stream. Since the mid-twentieth century the idea that brain energy metabolism is coupled to neuronal activity has emerged, and a number of studies supported this hypothesis. Moreover, brain energy metabolism was demonstrated to be compartmentalized in neurons and astrocytes, and astrocytic glycolysis was proposed to serve the energetic demands of glutamatergic activity. Shedding light on the role of astrocytes in brain metabolism, the earlier picture of astrocytes being restricted to a scaffold-associated function in the brain is now out of date. With the development and optimization of non-invasive techniques, such as nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), several groups have worked on assessing cerebral metabolism in vivo. In this context, 1H MRS has allowed the measurements of energy metabolism-related compounds, whose concentrations can vary under different brain activation states. 1H-[13C] MRS, i.e., indirect detection of signals from 13C-coupled 1H, together with infusion of 13C-enriched glucose has provided insights into the coupling between neurotransmission and glucose oxidation. Although these techniques tackle the coupling between neuronal activity and metabolism, they lack chemical specificity and fail in providing information on neuronal and glial metabolic pathways underlying those processes. Currently, the improvement of detection modalities (i.e., direct detection of 13C isotopomers), the progress in building adequate mathematical models along with the increase in magnetic field strength now available render possible detailed compartmentalized metabolic flux characterization. In particular, direct 13C MRS offers more detailed dataset acquisitions and provides information on metabolic interactions between neurons and astrocytes, and their role in supporting neurotransmission. Here, we review state-of-the-art MR methods to study brain function and metabolism in vivo, and their contribution to the current understanding of how astrocytic energy metabolism supports glutamatergic activity and cerebral function. In this context, recent data suggests that astrocytic metabolism has been underestimated. Namely, the rate of oxidative metabolism in astrocytes is about half of that in neurons, and it can increase as much as the rate of neuronal metabolism in response to sensory stimulation.
Ability of Matrix Models to Explain the Past and Predict the Future of Plant Populations

Uncertainty associated with ecological forecasts has long been recognized, but forecast accuracy is rarely quantified. We evaluated how well data on 82 populations of 20 species of plants spanning 3 continents explained and predicted plant population dynamics. We parameterized stage‐based matrix models with demographic data from individually marked plants and determined how well these models forecast population sizes observed at least 5 years into the future. Simple demographic models forecasted population dynamics poorly; only 40% of observed population sizes fell within our forecasts’ 95% confidence limits. However, these models explained population dynamics during the years in which data were collected; observed changes in population size during the data‐collection period were strongly positively correlated with population growth rate. Thus, these models are at least a sound way to quantify population status. Poor forecasts were not associated with the number of individual plants or years of data. We tested whether vital rates were density dependent and found both positive and negative density dependence. However, density dependence was not associated with forecast error. Forecast error was significantly associated with environmental differences between the data collection and forecast periods. To forecast population fates, more detailed models, such as those that project how environments are likely to change and how these changes will affect population dynamics, may be needed. Such detailed models are not always feasible. Thus, it may be wiser to make risk‐averse decisions than to expect precise forecasts from models.
A Phase II Study of Temozolomide in Patients with Advanced Aerodigestive Tract and Colorectal Cancers and Methylation of the O6-Methylguanine-DNA Methyltransferase Promoter

Responses of patients with gliomas to temozolomide are determined by O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) and mismatch repair (MMR) pathways. This phase II study (NCT00423150) investigated whether MGMT promoter methylation predicts response in patients with advanced aerodigestive tract and colorectal cancers (CRC). Tumor and serum samples were screened for MGMT promoter methylation. In methylation-positive patients, 150 mg/m2 temozolomide was administered daily on a seven-day-on, seven-day-off schedule for each 28-day cycle. The primary efficacy endpoint was response rate (RR). MMR status was determined by a microsatellite instability assay. Among 740 patients screened, 86 were positive for MGMT promoter methylation and enrolled. Nineteen percent of the screened population (137/740) had confirmed tissue and/or serum MGMT promoter methylation, including 25% (57 of 229) for CRC, 36% (55 of 154) for esophageal cancer, 11% (12 of 113) for head and neck cancer, and 5% (13 of 242) for non–small cell lung carcinoma. Among patients with valid methylation results in both tissue and serum samples, concordance was 81% (339 of 419). The majority of enrolled patients (69 of 86; 80%) had microsatellite stable cancer. Overall RR was 6% (5 of 86 partial responses); all responders had microsatellite stable cancer. Temozolomide resulted in low RRs in patients enriched for MGMT methylation. MGMT methylation status varied considerably in the patient population. Although serum methylation assay is an option for promoter methylation detection, tissue assay remains the standard for methylation detection. The low RR of this cohort of patients indicates that MGMT methylation as a biomarker is not applicable to heterogeneous tumor types, and tumor-specific factors may override validated biomarkers. Mol Cancer Ther; 12(5); 809–18. ©2013 AACR.
BSMA: A Benchmark for Analytical Queries over Social Media Data

The demonstration of a benchmark, named as BSMA, for Benchmarking Social Media Analytics, is introduced in this paper. BSMA is designed to benchmark data management systems supporting analytical queries over social media. It is different to existing benchmarks in that: 1) Both real-life data and a synthetic data generator are provided. The real-life dataset contains a social network of 1.6 million users, and all their tweeting and retweeting activities. The data generator can generate both social networks and synthetic timelines that follow data distributions determined by predefined parameters. 2) A set of workloads are provided. The data generator is in responsible for producing updates. A workload generator produces queries based on predefined query templates by generating query arguments online. BSMA workloads cover a large amount of queries with graph operations, temporal queries, hotspot queries, and aggregate queries. Furthermore, the argument generator is capable of sampling data items in the timeline following power-law distribution online. 3) A toolkit is provided to measure and report the performance of systems that implement the benchmark. Furthermore, a prototype system based on dataset and workloads of BSMA is also implemented. The demonstration will include two parts, i.e. the internals of data and workload generator, as well as the performance testing of reference implementations.
Three-Step Hand-Assisted Laparoscopic D2 Radical Gastrectomy for Chinese Obese Patients: A Highly Efficient and Feasible Surgical Approach

Three-step hand-assisted laparoscopic D2 radical gastrectomy (HALG) is a modified surgical procedure that has achieved satisfactory results for obese patients in our surgical center. To fully elucidate the advantages of this procedure, in this study, comprehensive and in-depth comparative analyses were performed to assess clinical data from obese gastric cancer patients who underwent HALG, laparoscopic-assisted D2 radical gastrectomy (LAG), and open D2 radical gastrectomy (OG) in our surgical center during a specific time period. For the 3 groups, incision length was 1.25 cm longer for the HALG group than for the LAG group but was significantly shorter for the HALG group than for the OG group (P =0.00). The rate of conversion to laparotomy , the pneumoperitoneum time and the number of recovered lymph nodes were significantly better for the HALG group than for the LAG group (P <0.05). The pain score at day 2 after surgery, intestinal function recovery time, and duration of postoperative hospital stay were not significantly different for the HALG and LAG groups ( P >0.05) but were significantly better for the HALG group than for the OG group (P <0.05). There were significantly fewer postoperative complications for the HALG group than for the LAG and OG groups (P =0.049). According to the results, the “three-step HALG method” incorporates both the thoroughness of the radical OG approach and the minimal invasiveness of the LAG approach for obese patients. Thus, the HALG approach is a relatively safe and extremely feasible surgical procedure for the treatment of these patients.
Multi-scale statistical approach of the elastic and thermal behavior of a thermoplastic polyamid glass fiber composite

The strong heterogeneity and the anisotropy of composite materials require a rigorous and precise analysis as a result of their impact on local properties. First, mechanical tests are performed to determine the macroscopical behavior of a polyamid glass fiber composite. Then we focus on the influence of the heterogeneities of the microstructure on thermal and mechanical properties from finite element calculations on the real microstructure, after plane strain assumptions. 100 images in 10 different sizes (50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350, 400, 450, 600 pixels) are analysed. The influence of the area fraction and the spatial arrangement of fibers is then established. For the thermal conductivity and the bulk modulus the fiber area fraction is the most important factor. These properties are improved by increasing the area fraction. On the other hand, for the shear modulus, the fibers spatial arrangement plays the paramount role if the size of the microstructure is smaller than the RVE. Therefore, to make a good prediction from a multi-scale approach the knowledge of the RVE is fundamental. By a statistical approach and a numerical homogenization method, we determine the RVE of the composite for the elastic behavior (shear and bulk moduli), the thermal behavior (thermal conductivity), and for the area fraction. There is a relatively good agreement between the effective properties of this RVE and the experimental macroscopical behavior. These effective properties are estimated by the Hashin-Shtrikman lower bound.
Spine and Hip Bone Loss Dietary Calcium Intake Protects Women Consuming Oral Contraceptives From

Abstract 2 Context: It is estimated that 80% of all women have used oral contraceptives (OCP), 3 but OCP use may prevent attainment of maximal peak bone mass in young women and 4 thus increase the risk of osteoporosis later in life.5 Objective: This study examined whether increased calcium intake could reduce the 6 detrimental effects of OCP use on bone mass in young women.7 Design : One year intervention 8 Setting: General community9 Subjects : Healthy women (N=154) young (18-30 year old), with a dietary calcium 10 intake of less than 800 mg/day, and 135 completed the trial.11 Intervention: Random assignment to one of three diet intervention groups: 1) control, 12 continue established (< 800 mg/day) dietary intake; 2) medium dairy, increase calcium 13 intake to approximately 1000 - 1100 mg/day; 3) high dairy, increase calcium intake to 14 approximately 1200 - 1300 mg/day. Randomization was stratified by OCP use.15 Main Outcome Measures: Total body bone mineral density (BMD) and content (BMC); 16 total hip BMD, BMC and bone area; spine BMD, BMC and bone area. 17
6to6Mappr: an educational tool for fast and easy mapping of input devices to musical parameters

This paper presents a tool for mapping several commonly available novel controllers to various musical parameters in order to provide technological novices with a way to exploit new forms of musical interaction provided by technology. The tool automatically connects to a control interface specified by the user and maps input parameters of that interface to musical output. Besides being able to select a specific input device, the user can choose between the input parameters, the output device (for instance a physical modeling synthesizer), parameters of that output device and the mapping between the two. The paper presents the motivation, design and implementation of the tool and presents initial experience with using the tool in an educational setting where non-technical conservatory students were introduced to music technology using the tool.
A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF TWO APPROACHES FOR MULTIPLE-SURFACE REGISTRATION OF IRREGULAR POINT CLOUDS

In close range photogrammetry or laser scanning, it is often not possible to image or scan certain objects of interest or enclosed spaces from a single sensor station. In some cases, it is necessary to produce multiple irregular point clouds or surface models from different sensor locations, i.e. one unique point cloud from each sensor location. These separate point clouds or surface models belong to different coordinate systems, and in order to fuse all points in a single dataset, the surface models have to be registered to a common reference frame. This paper describes a methodology for performing registration of such multiple surface models. First, conjugate point-patch pairs are detected in the overlapping surface areas, and the transformation parameters between all neighbouring surfaces are estimated in a pairwise manner. Then, using the conjugate point-patch pairs, and applying the transformation parameters from the pairwise registration as initial approximations, the final surface transformation parameters are solved for simultaneously. This is done in a least-squares adjustment, where each surface is iteratively transformed to a common reference frame until the sum of the squared normal distances between the conjugate surface elements is minimized. This paper will show two ways of performing this least-squares adjustment. One is referred to as the coplanarity constraint method, and the other one as the modified weight matrix method. The paper will compare results for the multiple-surface registration of an artificial scoliotic torso mannequin using both approaches. * Corresponding author. This is useful to know for communication with the appropriate person in cases with more than one author.
Factors Associated with Health-Related Quality of Life in Chronic Spinal Cord Injury

Jain NB, Sullivan M, Kazis LE, Tun CG, Garshick E: Factors associated with health-related quality of life in chronic spinal cord injury. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2007;86:387–396. Objective:An important goal of rehabilitation and treatment after spinal cord injury (SCI) is to improve function and enhance health-related quality of life (HRQoL). However, previous assessments are limited by use of HRQoL instruments not specific to SCI. Although respiratory dysfunction is common in SCI, it has not been possible to assess the association of comorbid medical conditions, including respiratory symptoms and pulmonary function, to HRQoL. Therefore, we assessed whether these factors were associated with HRQoL in SCI using an SCI-specific HRQoL questionnaire. Design:In our cross-sectional study, 356 participants ≥1 yr post-SCI completed a 23-item SCI-specific HRQoL questionnaire and a detailed health questionnaire, and underwent pulmonary function testing and a neurological exam at VA Boston between 1998 and June 2003. Results:In a multivariate regression model, age, employment status, motor level and completeness of injury, and ambulatory mode (use of hand-propelled or motorized wheelchair, use of crutches or canes, or walking independently) were independently associated with HRQoL. After adjusting for these factors, chronic cough, chronic phlegm, persistent wheeze, dyspnea with activities of daily living, and lower forced expiratory volume in 1 sec and forced vital capacity were each associated with a lower HRQoL. Conclusions:These results provide evidence for the clinical validity of our SCI-specific HRQoL instrument. We also identify potentially modifiable factors that, if addressed, may lead to HRQoL improvement in SCI.
A context-aware proactive source code search and Retrieval Tool

Software reuse is considered as a prominent strategy for software development productivity improvement. However, there are many cases of software reuse adoption failure. One of the main factors for software reuse failure is the “no attempt to reuse” issue, which is highly influenced by the effort needed to find reusable artifacts. In this sense, this paper presents the definition, the implementation and a case study of a proactive search system called BART (Basic Asset Retrieval Tool) created to improve the reusable artifacts search activity without increasing the user effort.
Capacitive Sensing for Non-Invasive Breathing and Heart Monitoring in Non-Restrained, Non-Sedated Laboratory Mice

Animal testing plays a vital role in biomedical research. Stress reduction is important for improving research results and increasing the welfare and the quality of life of laboratory animals. To estimate stress we believe it is of great importance to develop non-invasive techniques for monitoring physiological signals during the transport of laboratory animals, thereby allowing the gathering of information on the transport conditions, and, eventually, the improvement of these conditions. Here, we study the suitability of commercially available electric potential integrated circuit (EPIC) sensors, using both contact and contactless techniques, for monitoring the heart rate and breathing rate of non-restrained, non-sedated laboratory mice. The design has been tested under different scenarios with the aim of checking the plausibility of performing contactless capture of mouse heart activity (ideally with an electrocardiogram). First experimental results are shown.
An Interactive Web Meeting System Using Multicast Technology

Using a dedicated line for video conferencing is usually costly. A solution to solve this problem is to use a web-based video conferencing technology. However the existing webbased video conferencing technology needs too much bandwidth which makes two-way exchange of images too slow in the web environment. In this paper, a new web-based video conferencing system is introduced which has overcome this problem by using multicast method. The technique called tunneling which can preserve bandwidth enables this system to do multicast with minimum delay. Thus instead of using dedicated line-based video conferencing, web-based two-way multicasting technology is a better alternative.
A comprehensive evidence-based approach to fever of unknown origin.

BACKGROUND Fever of unknown origin (FUO) is defined as a temperature higher than 38.3 degrees C on several occasions and lasting longer than 3 weeks, with a diagnosis that remains uncertain after 1 week of investigation. METHODS A systematic review was performed to develop evidence-based recommendations for the diagnostic workup of FUO. MEDLINE database was searched (January 1966 to December 2000) to identify articles related to FUO. Articles were included if the patient population met the criteria for FUO and they addressed the natural history, prognosis, or spectrum of disease or evaluated a diagnostic test in FUO. The quality of retrieved articles was rated as "good," "fair," or "poor," and sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic yield of tests were calculated. Recommendations were made in accordance with the strength of evidence. RESULTS The prevalence of FUO in hospitalized patients is reported to be 2.9%. Eleven studies indicate that the spectrum of disease includes "no diagnosis" (19%), infections (28%), inflammatory diseases (21%), and malignancies (17%). Deep vein thrombosis (3%) and temporal arteritis in the elderly (16%-17%) were important considerations. Four good natural history studies indicate that most patients with undiagnosed FUO recover spontaneously (51%-100%). One fair-quality study suggested a high specificity (99%) for the diagnosis of endocarditis in FUO by applying the Duke criteria. One fair-quality study showed that computed tomographic scanning of the abdomen had a diagnostic yield of 19%. Ten studies of nuclear imaging revealed that technetium was the most promising isotope, showing a high specificity (94%), albeit low sensitivity (40%-75%) (2 fair-quality studies). Two fair-quality studies showed liver biopsy to have a high diagnostic yield (14%-17%), but with risk of harm (0.009%-0.12% death). Empiric bone marrow cultures showed a low diagnostic yield of 0% to 2% (2 fair-quality articles). CONCLUSIONS Diagnosis of FUO may be assisted by the Duke criteria for endocarditis, computed tomographic scan of the abdomen, nuclear scanning with a technetium-based isotope, and liver biopsy (fair to good evidence). Routine bone marrow cultures are not recommended.
Clinico-pathological correlation of E-cadherin expression at the invasive tumor front of Indian oral squamous cell carcinomas: An immunohistochemical study

Background: Recent studies have indicated that although malignant cells at the invasive tumor front, bare morphological resemblance to the cells at central portion of the tumor, their molecular character differs significantly. E-cadherin is a cell-cell adhesion molecule that connects epithelial cells. This study attempts to correlate the E-cadherin expression at the invasive tumor front with tumor differentiation along with its clinico-pathological parameters. Materials and Methods: Immunohistochemical staining with E-cadherin was carried out on archival cases of primary oral squamous cell carcinomas (n = 30). The E-cadherin expression at the invasive tumor front was analyzed and was linked to clinico-pathological parameters including patient prognosis. Results: The downregulation of E-cadherin expression at the invasive tumor edge when compared with patient's prognosis yielded a significant correlation (P = 0.041) but its correlation with the degree of differentiation determined was not significant (P = 0.27). Also, its association with tumor size and lymph node status was negative. Conclusions: Loss of E-cadherin expression at the invasive tumor front is an important event in the progression of oral squamous cell carcinomas. Tumors with a loss of expression of E-cadherin are those which had a poor prognosis
Uncertainty Visualization Methods in Isosurface Volume Rendering

We describe two techniques for rendering isosurfaces in multiresolution volume data so that the uncertainty (error) in the data is shown in the visualization. In general the visualization of uncertainty in data is difficult, but the nature of isosurface rendering makes it amenable to an effective solution. In addition to showing the error in the data used to generate the isosurface, we can also show the value of an additional data variate on the isosurface .