Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Resting tension and the form of the twitch of rat skeletal muscle at low temperature

1. A study has been made of the effect of temperature on the resting tension and on the form of the isometric twitch of isolated rat skeletal muscle. The soleus and the extensor digitorum longus (EDL) were used as representatives of slow and fast types of muscle. The main interest is in the behaviour at low temperature, when rat muscle shows characteristics which are not found with frog muscle.
Addition of shear-wave elastography during second-look MR imaging-directed breast US: effect on lesion detection and biopsy targeting.

PURPOSE To determine if adding shear-wave elastography (SWE) to second-look ultrasonography (US) after breast dynamic contrast material-enhanced (DCE) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging helps find or target lesions seen on DCE MR images for US-guided biopsy. MATERIALS AND METHODS This HIPAA-compliant prospective study was approved by the institutional review board, and written informed consent was obtained from patients. From May 2011 to July 2012, 73 women with 96 Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) category 4 or 5 lesions after DCE MR imaging prospectively consented to undergo SWE during second-look US. If a lesion was not confidently seen with B-mode US, SWE during real-time scanning was performed to determine if SWE helped find or target lesions for US biopsy. A qualitative SWE six-point color scale was used to record the maximum elasticity in and around lesions. All lesions underwent US or DCE MR imaging-guided core biopsy. RESULTS Median participant age was 52 years (range, 21-81 years). In 72 patients who underwent DCE MR imaging, 96 BI-RADS category 4 or 5 lesions were detected in 81 breasts. There were 29 (30%) malignancies (one malignancy was of nonbreast origin), 14 (15%) high-risk lesions, and 53 (55%) benign lesions. US revealed 22 cancers, and seven cancers were detected only with MR imaging. Real-time SWE helped find one lesion and target four lesions that were incompletely assessed with gray-scale US. These five lesions that were localized or targeted for biopsy were invasive cancers, representing 23% of the 22 malignancies detected with US. CONCLUSION Real-time SWE added to second-look US after DCE MR imaging increased the detection rate of cancers and helped target cancers for US-guided biopsy.
Expert system for retrieval of documents using evolutionary approaches incorporating clustering

Classification is a central problem in the fields of data mining and machine learning. Using a training set of labeled instances, the task is to build a model (classifier) that can be used to predict the class of new unlabelled instances. Data preparation is crucial to the data mining process, and its focus is to improve the fitness of the training data for the learning algorithms to produce more effective classifiers. Searching for the frequent pattern within a specific sequence has become a much needed task in various sectors. Feature selection is selecting a subset of optimal features. Feature selection is being used in high dimensional data reduction and it is being used in several applications like medical, image processing, text mining, etc. In the existing work, unsupervised feature selection methods using Artificial Bee Colony Optimization Algorithm, Bat Algorithm and Ant Colony Optimization have been introduced. We have compared these three algorithms and concluded that Bat Algorithm proves to be better in performance than the rest. The proposed system will use a novel method to select subset of features from unlabelled data using Bat algorithm with one of the clustering algorithm and develop an expert information retrieval system.
Simultaneous PET/SPECT imaging with the small animal scanner YAP-(S)PET

To exploit the YAP-(S)PET II scanner intrinsic capability of both PET and SPECT imaging, we have implemented the simultaneous PET/SPECT dual imaging modality. Two opposing heads, equipped with collimator and set in anticoincidence, independently acquire single events (SPECT mode), the other pair of heads detects coincidence events (PET mode). During the simultaneous PET/SPECT acquisition, both a high energy (PET) and a low energy (SPECT) radiotracer are placed inside the Field of View (FOV). Since the thickness of the collimator (2 cm) is optimized to stop only low energy photons, the down-scatter from 511 keV photons seriously affects the single photon acquisition. It is therefore necessary to perform a subtraction procedure before SPECT data analysis. The subtraction procedure is based on a multi-energy window method. The background underneath the 99mTc photo-peak region can then be approximated as a fraction (f) of the counts measured in an energy window close to the photo-peak but containing only Compton events. Good results were obtained for simultaneous imaging of two 5 mm syringes containing 99mTc and 18F with a SPECT/PET radiotracers ratio 10:1.
5-year evaluation of durapatite ceramic alloplastic implants in periodontal osseous defects.

Six patients who participated in a clinical study comparing the response of periodontal osseous defects to either grafting with Periograf (durapatite) hydroxylapatite (HA) ceramic or debridement alone (DEBR) were followed under an active maintenance program for 5 years. Mean values for gingival recession and attachment levels remained essentially stable following either treatment over the 5 year period. However, mean probeable pocket depths shifted from being significantly (P less than 0.05) shallower for DEBR sites at 6 months and 1 year to being significantly shallower for HA sites at 5 years. The probing pocket depth change for grafted sites was steady and the change from presurgical values was significantly greater than the change for DEBR areas, which became about 1.5 mm deeper over the 5 year postsurgical period. Intrapatient comparisons showed that recession, attachment gain, and pocket depth decrease were most frequently greater for the Periograf-treated sites. Assessment of the pattern of clinical changes during the 5 year postsurgical period demonstrated that the attachment level of grafted sites improved or stayed the same 86% of the time compared to only 62% stability or improvement in the DEBR only sites. In fact, 38% of the DEBR sites were worse at 5 years than at the time of surgery, a 3 times greater failure rate than that found in the HA-grafted sites. Pocket depth measurements showed that 98% of the Periograf-treated sites were better or the same as presurgically (2% worse), while only 80% of DEBR sites showed positive results and 20% had deeper pockets than at the time of surgery. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Jensen-Shannon divergence based algorithm for adaptive segmentation and labelling of household's electricity power consumption data series

The increasing presence of renewable energy sources and the novel consumption types will obviously cause the increase of the fluctuation of electrical power in households. In order to better manage the electrical power consumption and production the integration of information and communication technologies and power grid is necessary, which is obviously a recent research topic. The availability of large amount of measurement data provided by household's smart meter(s) offers new possibilities in analyzing the internal structure of power consumption data series. One of them is discovering typical power consumption patterns with their duration-distributions. Our recent achievements in this direction are presented in the paper, namely a novel on-line, Jensen-Shannon divergence-based adaptive and automatic segmentation algorithm, the segment descriptors and the results of clustering using Kohonen's self-organizing map.
Restriction and Control: The Perceptions of Mental Health Nurses in a UK Acute Inpatient Setting

In the United Kingdom there has been growing unease over standards of care and treatment in acute inpatient psychiatric services. Although recent reforms have declared nurses as pivotal to the social transformation required, few accounts inform modernisers about the reality of social systems, relations, and events in modern acute psychiatric services. This qualitative study explores the situation of nurses working in acute inpatient psychiatric services. It particularly describes the social control elements that continue to influence working norms. Five nurses were interviewed and texts of these interviews were transcribed and analysed using content analysis. As a further source of data, documents were interpreted to illuminate social mechanisms. Issues of objectivity, validity, and reliability were considered throughout. Ethical issues were considered throughout and approval for the study was gained from the appropriate Research Ethics Committee. Social control functions portrayed by day-to-day rituals and operating norms emerged as a central theme in the findings. Social control is a prominent working norm. This is described through activities of observation, surveillance, and managing “difficult” behaviours. Therapeutic relationships present as a paradox to the control assumed. Implications of these findings are discussed.
Heparin‐binding EGF‐like growth factor, which acts as the diphtheria toxin receptor, forms a complex with membrane protein DRAP27/CD9, which up‐regulates functional receptors and diphtheria toxin sensitivity.

DRAP27, the monkey homolog of human CD9 antigen (DRAP27/CD9) and diphtheria toxin receptor (DTR) were expressed in mouse L cells. L cells transfected transiently with both DRAP27/CD9 and DTR cDNA bound approximately 10 times more diphtheria toxin (DT) than cells transfected with DTR alone. Stable L cell transfectants expressing both DTR and DRAP27/CD9 (LCH‐1 cells) had 15 times more cell surface DT‐binding sites and were 20 times more sensitive to DT than were stable L cell transfectants expressing DTR alone (LH‐1 cells). Increased DT‐binding and DT sensitivity were not due to increased DTR transcription or increased cell surface DTR protein. Co‐immunoprecipitation of DRAP27/CD9 with DTR and chemical cross‐linking suggest a tight association of these membrane‐bound proteins. In addition, the identity of DTR and a growth factor (HB‐EGF) was established. Immobilized DT specifically adsorbed HB‐EGF precursor solubilized from transfected L cells and [125I]DT bound to immobilized recombinant HB‐EGF. We conclude that DRAP27/CD9 associates tightly with DTR/HB‐EGF and up‐regulates the number of functional DTRs and DT sensitivity, and that HB‐EGF is identical to DTR.
Ultra-rapid cardiotoxicity of the hepatitis C virus protease inhibitor BILN 2061 in the urokinase-type plasminogen activator mouse.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Because current therapies for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections are suboptimal and associated with severe side effects, novel treatment options are needed. A small animal model has recently been developed to study HCV infections. To examine the usefulness of this human liver-urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA)(+/+) severe combined immune deficient (SCID) mouse for the development of HCV-targeted drugs, we evaluated the antiviral efficacy and safety of an HCV NS3-protease inhibitor, BILN 2061. METHODS BILN 2061 was orally administered at clinical range doses for 4 days to SCID mice that differed in the presence of HCV infection, human hepatocyte grafts, and uPA zygosity. Treatment outcome was evaluated clinically, virologically, and morphologically. Using standard high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet (HPLC-UV) methods and mass spectrometry, single-dose pharmacokinetics and multiple-dose drug exposures were analyzed. The (13)C-aminopyrine breath test was applied to compare in vivo liver function. RESULTS A 4-day treatment with BILN 2061 of HCV genotype-1b infected chimeric animals reduced the viral load by >100-fold, but concomitant clinical and ultrastructural signs of cardiotoxicity appeared. BILN 2061 administration to uPA-transgenic mice induced mitochondrial swelling with aberrant cristae in cardiomyocytes, but not in skeletal muscle. Because both drug accumulation and liver function were identical in affected uPA-transgenic and nontransgenic SCID mice without cardiac involvement, the urokinase plasminogen activator transgene itself appears to be implicated. CONCLUSIONS The human liver-uPA(+/+)SCID mouse is an interesting small animal model to evaluate the preclinical safety and efficacy of new antiviral compounds against HCV. The uPA-transgene increases the susceptibility of mice to BILN 2061-induced cardiotoxicity.
Parental mental illness and fatal birth defects in a national birth cohort

Background Few large studies describe links between maternal mental illness and risk of major birth defect in offspring. Evidence is sparser still for how effects vary between maternal diagnoses and no previous study has assessed risk with paternal illnesses. Method A population-based birth cohort was created by linking Danish national registers. We identified all singleton live births during 1973–1998 (n=1.45 m), all parental psychiatric admissions from 1969 onwards, and all fatal birth defects until 1 January 1999. Linkage and case ascertainment were almost complete. Relative risks were estimated using Poisson regression. Results Risk of fatal birth defect was elevated in relation to history of any maternal admission and also with affective disorders specifically, although the strongest effect found was with maternal schizophrenia. The rate was more than doubled in this group compared to the general population [relative risk (RR) 2.34, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.45–3.77], which also represented a significant excess risk compared with all other admitted maternal disorders (p=0.018). Risk of death from causes other than birth defect was no higher with schizophrenia than with other maternal conditions. There was no elevation in risk of fatal birth defect if the father was admitted with schizophrenia or any other psychiatric diagnosis. Conclusions There are many possible explanations for a higher risk of fatal birth defect with maternal schizophrenia and affective disorder. These include genetic effects directly linked with maternal illness, lifestyle factors (diet, smoking, alcohol and drugs), poor antenatal care, psychotropic medication toxicity, and gene–environment interactions. Further research is needed to elucidate the causal mechanisms.
Effecting Change in a Reform Context

The administrative prescriptions promoted by the National Performance Review were targeted toward intra-agency organizational elements such as work processes, group structures, culture, and job scope. The traditional, top-down implementation strategy employed was not well suited, however, to this set of “microlevel” prescriptions. Despite the various executive orders and directives that were issued, there was a high degree of variation across agencies in the extent to which the various prescriptions were adopted. This study finds that this variation was attributable to both agency attributes and elements of agency context. A conclusion is that top-level policy makers seeking microlevel change need to take an enabling rather than a directive approach to implementation.
Significance of Mismatch Repair Protein Expression in the Chemotherapeutic Response of Sporadic Invasive Ductal Carcinoma of the Breast

Abstract: The mismatch repair (MMR) gene plays a key role in the correction of DNA damage, and the loss of MMR has been implicated in resistance to a variety of chemotherapeutic drugs. The purpose of this study was to assess whether the reduced expression of hMLH1 and/or hMSH2 affects the chemotherapeutic responsiveness of sporadic invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast. Immunohistochemical studies were performed on 71 histologic specimens of breast cancer taken from the patients treated with surgery and subsequent cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and 5‐fluorouracil (CMF) or cyclophosphamide, Adriamycin, and 5‐fluorouracil (CAF) chemotherapy for stage II or III primary breast cancer. Single‐strand conformational polymorphism polymerase chain reaction (PCR‐SSCP) and sequencing were carried out in 16 patients. A combined immunoreactivity score (hMLH1‐IS and hMSH2‐IS) was calculated by multiplying the staining grade by the intensity score. Positive expression (>4) of hMLH1‐IS and hMSH2‐IS were 57.7% and 60.6%, respectively, and complete losses of hMLH1 and hMSH2 were observed in 4.2% of patients. Of the patients with advanced cancer with lymph node metastasis, those having a low hMLH1‐IS had a significantly higher failure rate with the CMF regimen than those having a high hMLH1‐IS (p = 0.03). No significant difference was noted in chemotherapeutic response according to hMLH1 and hMSH2 expression in the CAF group. Both hMLH1‐IS (p = 0.03) and progesterone receptor (PR) status (p = 0.03) were well correlated with CMF chemotherapy response in breast cancers with lymph node metastasis. Our study shows that a lack of hMLH1 expression may play a role in drug resistance, especially in the CMF group, and immunohistochemical assay for MMR protein can be used as a convenient tool for evaluating chemotherapeutic response in patients with breast cancer.
The Application of Stochastic Models in the Estimation of Future Economic Value of Retail Customers

The economic value of retail customers is determined together by purchase frequency and monetary value.This article employs the NBD model to fit purchase frequency and the gamma-gamma model to fit the average monetary value.Based on the Bayes theorem we can calculate the expected future purchase frequency and average monetary value in a given customers' fast purchase behavior,and the customer's future economic value is the multiplication of these two expected values.This article applied the above stochastic models to fit empirically the frequent shopper card data of a retailer.The results show that the models not only can accurately fit the data of purchase frequency and monetary value,but also can accurately predict customers' future economic value.The modeling method is of great value to retailers in enhancing customer analysis and improving customer management.
Near fields of resonant circular arrays of cylindrical dipoles

The far fields of resonant circular arrays of cylindrical dipoles with only one or two dipoles driven have been examined in a number of recent works. The discrete currents on such arrays can be thought of as a slow standing or traveling wave. In the present paper, the near fields of such arrays are studied. In order to better understand the somewhat unusual behavior of the near fields, we first discuss some simpler two-dimensional problems involving slow traveling current waves. We find that the associated fields possess certain surface-wave characteristics. We also find important differences from the case of linear arrays, which has been extensively studied in the past. Our discussions include methods to measure the efficiencies of our radiators, the extent of the near-field region, and the onset of the far-field region.
Scheduled Controller Design for Systems With Varying Sensor Configurations: A Frequency-Domain Approach

A novel parameter-dependent scheduled controller design is proposed for systems which exhibit switched dynamics. Switching is a result of varying sensor configurations available in the measurement system. The control architecture is based on a priori designed local linear time-invariant controllers, which are designed using frequency-domain loop-shaping techniques. Moreover, conditions on measured frequency response function data of the plant are provided under which the closed-loop system is input-to-state stable for arbitrarily fast parameter variations based on a generalized version of the circle criterion. By presenting a design and analysis framework for scheduled control systems that is easily implementable in existing control software, and does not require parametric plant models, this paper connects well to the industrial control practice. The effectiveness of the proposed scheduling technique, as a way to improve both transient and steady-state performance, is demonstrated by means of a case study which includes measurement results obtained from an industrial wafer stage system.
Josephson-voltage-standard-locked sine wave synthesizer: Implementation and preliminary results

This paper describes a Josephson-voltage-standard-locked synthesizer where a calibrator is used as a sine wave generator whose output is controlled by the calculable fundamental of the stepwise sinusoidal wave generated by a SINIS Josephson array. Such a system combines the versatility of a calibrator with the stability and accuracy of the Josephson voltage standard.
Retention in care under universal antiretroviral therapy for HIV-infected pregnant and breastfeeding women (‘Option B+’) in Malawi

Objective:To explore the levels and determinants of loss to follow-up (LTF) under universal lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART) for pregnant and breastfeeding women (‘Option B+’) in Malawi. Design, setting, and participants:We examined retention in care, from the date of ART initiation up to 6 months, for women in the Option B+ program. We analysed nationwide facility-level data on women who started ART at 540 facilities (n = 21 939), as well as individual-level data on patients who started ART at 19 large facilities (n = 11 534). Results:Of the women who started ART under Option B+ (n = 21 939), 17% appeared to be lost to follow-up 6 months after ART initiation. Most losses occurred in the first 3 months of therapy. Option B+ patients who started therapy during pregnancy were five times more likely than women who started ART in WHO stage 3/4 or with a CD4+ cell count 350 cells/&mgr;l or less, to never return after their initial clinic visit [odds ratio (OR) 5.0, 95% confidence interval (CI) 4.2–6.1]. Option B+ patients who started therapy while breastfeeding were twice as likely to miss their first follow-up visit (OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.8–2.8). LTF was highest in pregnant Option B+ patients who began ART at large clinics on the day they were diagnosed with HIV. LTF varied considerably between facilities, ranging from 0 to 58%. Conclusion:Decreasing LTF will improve the effectiveness of the Option B+ approach. Tailored interventions, like community or family-based models of care could improve its effectiveness.
The TWEAK/Fn14 pathway as an aggravating and perpetuating factor in inflammatory diseases; focus on inflammatory bowel diseases

The TWEAK/Fn14 pathway is a ligand/receptor pair of the TNFSF that has emerged as a prominent player in normal and pathological tissue remodeling. TWEAK/Fn14 pathway activation drives many processes relevant to autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. IBDs, including CD and UC, are chronic, relapsing inflammatory diseases of the GI tract. These diseases differ in their clinical, macroscopic, and histopathological presentation; however, pathological processes that prominently contribute, more or less in each case, include breakdown of the mucosal epithelial barrier, chronic inflammation, and tissue remodeling with fibrosis. TWEAK may promote the pathogenesis of IBD by signaling through Fn14, which can be up‐regulated on IECs, thereby contributing to breakdown of the mucosal barrier; the induction of IEC‐derived mediators that promote chronic inflammation and shape gut immunity against commensal flora; and delayed healing and fibrosis. TWEAK may also exert its action on endothelial and stromal cell types, including smooth muscle cells and fibroblasts, to promote chronic inflammation, dysregulated tissue repair, and fibrosis. Here, we review the data supporting an emerging role of the TWEAK/Fn14 pathway in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, with a particular focus on IBD, and discuss how it interplays with other prominent pathways, including IL‐13, TNF‐α, and TGF‐β, to aggravate and perpetuate the pathological processes underlying IBD.