Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Real-time object-oriented modeling

Abstract The "architecture" of a software system refers to its highest-level modular decomposition and the interrelationship patterns between its modules. An architecture serves as a blueprint for implementation and also as the chief determinant of a system's ability evolve. Consequently, there is an increased interest in methods for specifying and validating software architectures. One such method is based on the ROOM mode ling language which combines the object paradigm with mode ling abstractions devised specifically for distributed real-time software. To overcome the treacherous "architectural decay" phenomenon, whereby, over time, software diverges increasingly from its specification, ROOM formally constrains the implementation to its architectural specification. This is achieved primarily through full automated code generation, a technique that is panicularly challenging in real-time applications where stringent performance and memory requirements are the norm.
Identification of aromatase‐positive radial glial cells as progenitor cells in the ventricular layer of the forebrain in zebrafish

Compared with other vertebrates, the brain of adult teleost fish exhibits two unique features: it exhibits unusually high neurogenic activity and strongly expresses aromatase, a key enzyme that converts aromatizable androgens into estrogens. Until now, these two features, high neurogenic and aromatase activities, have never been related to each other. Recently, it was shown that aromatase is expressed in radial glial cells of the forebrain and not in neurons. Here, we further document that Aromatase B is never detected in cells expressing the markers of postmitotic neurons, Hu and acetylated tubulin. By using a combination of bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) treatment and immunohistochemical techniques, we demonstrate for the first time to our knowledge that aromatase‐positive radial cells actively divide to generate newborn cells in many forebrain regions. Such newborn cells can further divide, as shown by BrdU‐proliferating cell nuclear antigen double staining. We also demonstrate that, over time, newborn cells move away from the ventricles, most likely by migrating along the radial processes. Finally, by using antisera to Hu and acetylated tubulin, we further document that some of the newborn cells derived from radial glia differentiate into neurons. These data provide new evidence for the mechanism of neurogenesis in the brain of adult fish. In addition, given that estrogens are well‐known neurotrophic and neuroprotective factors affecting proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and differentiation, the expression of aromatase in the neural stem cells of the adult strongly demonstrates that the fish brain is an outstanding model for studying the effects of estrogens on adult neurogenesis and brain repair. J. Comp. Neurol. 501:150–167, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Schottky junction photovoltaic devices based on CdS single nanobelts

Schottky junction photovoltaic (PV) devices were fabricated on single CdS nanobelts (NBs). Au was used as the Schottky contact, and In/Au was used as the ohmic contact to CdS NB. Typically, the Schottky junction exhibits a well-defined rectifying behavior in the dark with a rectification ratio greater than 103 at ± 0.3 V; and the PV device exhibits a clear PV behavior with an open circuit photovoltage of about 0.16 V, a short circuit current of about 23.8 pA, a maximum output power of about 1.6 pW, and a fill factor of 42%. Moreover, the output power can be multiplied by connecting two or more of the Schottky junction PV devices, made on a single CdS NB, in parallel or in series. This study demonstrates that the 1D Schottky junction PV devices, which have the merits of low cost, easy fabrication and material universality, can be an important candidate for power sources in nano-optoelectronic systems.
The Structure of Critical Care Transfer Networks

Rationale:Moving patients from low-performing hospitals to high-performing hospitals may improve patient outcomes. These transfers may be particularly important in critical care, where small relative improvements can yield substantial absolute changes in survival. Objective:To characterize the existing critical care network in terms of the pattern of transfers. Methods:In a retrospective cohort study, the nationwide 2005 Medicare fee-for-service claims were used to identify the interhospital transfer of critically ill patients, defined as instances where patients used critical care services in 2 temporally adjacent hospitalizations. Measurements:We measured the characteristics of the interhospital transfer network and the extent to which intensive care unit patients are referred to each hospital in that network—-a continuous quantitative measure at the hospital-level known as centrality. We evaluated associations between hospital centrality and organizational, medical, surgical, and radiologic capabilities. Results:There were 47,820 transfers of critically ill patients among 3308 hospitals. 4.5% of all critical care stays of any length involved an interhospital critical care transfer. Hospitals transferred out to a mean of 4.4 other hospitals. More central hospital positions were associated with multiple indicators of increased capability. Hospital characteristics explained 40.7% of the variance in hospitals’ centrality. Conclusions:Critical care transfers are common, and traverse an informal but structured network. The centrality of a hospital is associated with increased capability in delivery of services, suggesting that existing transfers generally direct patients toward better resourced hospitals. Studies of this network promise further improvements in patient outcomes and efficiency of care.
A New Synthesis of Middle Paleolithic Variability

The familiar debate concerning Middle Paleolithic variability has opposed stylistic vs. functional explanations based on the assumption that tool types and assemblage groups represent discrete, invariant entities. Middle Paleolithic variability, however, actually occurs continuously. Further, recent research shows that raw-material constraints and different degrees of artifact-reduction intensity constitute more basic and observable factors of variability than function and style. Thus, much of the variability in these assemblages appears to have been caused by toolmaking and tool-rejuvenation processes and/or by differential occupation intensity induced by environmental circumstances. The correct interpretation of these Middle Paleolithic assemblages must therefore consider these factors, as well as interregional stylistic drift, function, and diachronic change.
In vivo expression of aquaporin‐4 by reactive microglia

Aquaporin‐4 (AQP4) is the most abundant aquaporin in the brain and it is widely accepted that this AQP is solely expressed by astrocytes and ependymal cells. AQP4 is particularly enriched in plasma membranes of ependymal cells and astrocyte membrane domains facing blood vessels and pia. AQP4 has gained much attraction due to its involvement in the physiopathology of brain edema, a major cause of death in humans. Consequently, it is of paramount importance to ascertain the phenotypic nature of AQP4 mRNA‐expressing cells in the CNS before attempting future clinical studies aimed at minimizing the development of brain edema. We have used intranigral injections of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a potent immunostimulant that causes disruption of the blood brain barrier, vasogenic edema, loss of reactive astrocytes and activation of microglial cells. These LPS‐induced features are ideal for testing the possibility that reactive microglial cells express AQP4 in the adult brain. We have studied AQP4 at the mRNA and protein level. We provide strong evidence that reactive microglial cells highly express AQP4 mRNA and protein in response to LPS injections.
Effect of theophylline associated with short-acting or long-acting inhaled beta2-agonists in patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVES To determine whether, in stable patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, administration of theophylline in combination with short-acting or long-acting inhaled beta2-agonists is more efficacious than is a placebo or each of these drugs used in isolation. METHODS A systematic review and meta-analysis were carried out. All randomized and double-blind clinical trials found in the literature were selected. RESULTS A total of eight studies were included. In comparing the effect of theophylline combined with beta2-agonists to that of a placebo, we found a statistically significant improvement in mean FEV1 (0.27 L; 95% CI: 0.11 to 0.43) and mean dyspnea (-0.78; 95% CI: -1.26 to -0.29). None of the meta-analyses performed detected any difference between the results obtained using theophylline combined with beta2-agonists and those obtained using beta2-agonists alone. When the administration of theophylline combined with beta2-agonists was compared to that of theophylline alone, there was a statistically significant improvement in mean dyspnea (-0.19; 95% CI: -0.34 to 0.04). CONCLUSION In patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, theophylline combined with beta2 agonists is more efficacious than is a placebo in terms of improving FEV1 and dyspnea. In addition, theophylline combined with beta2 agonists is more efficacious than is theophylline in improving dyspnea. Furthermore, administration of theophylline combined with beta2 agonists is no more efficacious, for any of the variables studied, than is the use of beta2-agonists in isolation.
Tumor necrosis factor- (cid:1) activation by adenovirus E1A 13S CR3 occurs in a cell-dependent and cell-independent manner

Tumor necrosis factor- (cid:1) activation by adenovirus E1A 13S CR3 occurs in a cell-dependent and cell-indepen-dent manner. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 283: L619–L627, 2002. ajplung.00342. 2001. —The adenovirus (Ad) early gene product 13S transactivates the tumor necrosis factor (TNF)- (cid:1) promoter in inﬂammatory cells. We examined both the subdomains of E1A and the upstream TNF promoter elements involved. In both Jurkat and U-937 cells, zinc ﬁnger or carboxyl region mutation of Ad E1A 13S conserved region 3 resulted in a signiﬁcant loss of transactivation of the TNF promoter ( (cid:1) 69%). For both cell types there was a TNF-negative regulatory element in the (cid:2) 242 to (cid:2) 199 region and a positive regulatory element between (cid:2) 199 and (cid:2) 118. In contrast, an upstream positive regulatory element was de-tected in different regions in both cell types. In U-937 cells the positive regulatory unit was between (cid:2) 600 and (cid:2) 576, whereas in Jurkat cells it was between (cid:2) 576 and (cid:2) 242. The U-937 upstream element was dependent on a site previously designated epsilon in cooperation with an adjacent nuclear factor- (cid:3) B-2a site. Therefore, transactivation of the TNF promoter by Ad 13S in lymphocyte and monocyte cell types involves similar subdomains of the E1A protein, but cell-speciﬁc TNF promoter elements. 12-myristate 13-acetate sul-foxide (DMSO). for additional supernatants were collected and analyzed in triplicate TNF- (cid:1) by sandwich enzyme-linked immunosor-bent assay sensitivity of pg TNF- /ml interassay variability of TNF- chemilumines-cent
First specific preimplantation genetic diagnosis for ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency

Ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) deficiency is an X‐linked dominant metabolic disorder with partial penetrance in heterozygous females. Affected boys usually die from hyperammonemia in the first few days of life, while clinical expression in carrier females ranges from no symptoms to neonatal death. A young couple whose boy had died of OTC deficiency in the neonatal period was referred to our genetic department for their subsequent pregnancy. The fetus was found to be affected, and after genetic counseling the pregnancy was terminated. Prenatal diagnosis of the third pregnancy identified a heterozygous female, who died after a normal birth at age 11 days from hyperammonemia. After this, the couple asked for preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). We have developed a duplex nested PCR assay allowing the amplification of both the mutation and an informative restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) located in the 3′ end of the OTC gene. After nested amplification, allele identification was carried out for both loci by double restriction digestion and electrophoresis gel analysis. The co‐amplification of both loci provided a means of detecting potential allele dropout or incomplete digestion. Two PGD cycles were carried out, a total of 14 embryos were analysed and a diagnosis could be obtained in 13/14 embryos. There were four unaffected male embryos, four heterozygous females and four unaffected females; the final embryo was an affected one of undetermined gender. In both cycles, three unaffected embryos could be transferred early on Day 4 post‐insemination. The second cycle resulted in the birth of a baby boy devoid of the OTC mutation. This constitutes the first birth following PGD carried out by a French team. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Testosterone substitution normalizes elevated serum leptin levels in hypogonadal men.

The ob gene product leptin (OB) is a feedback signal from the adipocyte to the hypothalamus and is involved in regulation of food intake and energy expenditure in rodents. A major determinant of serum OB levels is fat mass. Several studies suggest that men have lower OB levels than women even after adjustment for percent body fat. We, therefore, investigated the influence of testosterone (T) substitution in hypogonadal men on serum OB levels. Hypogonadal men with T levels of 3.6 nmol/L or less and off substitution therapy for at least 3 months were assigned to two treatment groups: testosterone enanthate (TE; 250 mg, i.m., every 21 days; n = 10) or a single s.c. implantation of 1200 mg crystalline T (TPEL; n = 12). Blood samples for determination of T, 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone (DHT), sex hormone-binding globulin, and 17 beta-estradiol were obtained before therapy and then every 21 days until day 189 and at follow-up visits on days 246 and 300. Serum OB levels were assessed on days 0, 42, 84, 126, 168, and 300. OB levels were referred to a normal range for men based on the analysis of OB levels in 393 adult men. Substitution with T led to a large rise in T and DHT in both groups compared to baseline values (average T, days 21-189: TE, 14.33 +/- 2.63 nmol/L; TPEL, 24.98 +/- 1.64; average DHT, days 21-189: TE, 4.20 +/- 0.57 nmol/L; TPEL, 5.11 +/- 0.56; P < or = 0.05). Concomitantly, 17 beta-estradiol increased in both groups, and sex hormone-binding globulin levels were significantly decreased. At baseline, serum OB levels in hypogonadal men were 3-fold elevated compared to those in normal men (12.39 +/- 2.93 micrograms/L vs. 4.28 +/- 0.52; P < 0.01) and not different between groups (TE, 13.7 +/- 5.6; TPEL, 11.3 +/- 2.9 micrograms/L). This elevation was retained after adjustment for body mass index in the normal control group [TE, 1.45 +/- 0.51 SD score (P < 0.0001); TPEL, 0.98 +/- 0.35 SD score (P < 0.0008)]. During T substitution serum OB was completely normalized (trough levels: TE, 4.6 +/- 1.0 micrograms/L; TPEL 4.3 +/- 0.9 micrograms/L). In multiple regression analysis, the androgen (T plus DHT)/estrogen ratio was the only significant determinant of OB levels (r = -0.32; P < 0.01). At baseline, OB levels did not correlate with body mass index, but during substitution, the correlation was considerably improved. We conclude that hypogonadal men exhibit elevated OB levels that are normalized by substitution with T. The only determinant of OB levels was the androgen/estrogen ratio, indicating a major influence of sex steroids on OB production. The interaction of T and OB might be part of a hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal-adipose tissue axis that is involved in body weight maintenance and reproductive function.
Drug knowledge bases and their applications in biomedical informatics research

Recent advances in biomedical research have generated a large volume of drug-related data. To effectively handle this flood of data, many initiatives have been taken to help researchers make good use of them. As the results of these initiatives, many drug knowledge bases have been constructed. They range from simple ones with specific focuses to comprehensive ones that contain information on almost every aspect of a drug. These curated drug knowledge bases have made significant contributions to the development of efficient and effective health information technologies for better health-care service delivery. Understanding and comparing existing drug knowledge bases and how they are applied in various biomedical studies will help us recognize the state of the art and design better knowledge bases in the future. In addition, researchers can get insights on novel applications of the drug knowledge bases through a review of successful use cases. In this study, we provide a review of existing popular drug knowledge bases and their applications in drug-related studies. We discuss challenges in constructing and using drug knowledge bases as well as future research directions toward a better ecosystem of drug knowledge bases.
Structure and course of positive and negative symptoms in schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND This article focuses on the underlying structure and temporal course of the symptoms of schizophrenia. METHODS Ratings of symptoms in 90 schizophrenic patients were made each month for 10 years following the first hospitalization. The analytic methods consisted of cross-tabulation, dichotomous factor analysis, and bivariate dichotomous time series. RESULTS The factor analyses revealed positive and negative factors with a slight tendency to merge over time. The prevalence of positive and negative symptoms declined in the year following first hospitalization and was stable thereafter. Positive and negative symptoms in 1 month were highly predictive of the same type of symptoms in the next month. Neither type of symptom was strongly associated with the other type in the following month when both types were included in the model. The predictability of the process increased with time. CONCLUSIONS With a few minor caveats, the results suggest that the positive and negative symptom clusters are independent, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally.
El patrón de los flujos de inversión extranjera directa en los países de América Latina (1991-2005)

Este informe de investigacion estudia el patron de los flujos de inversion extranjera neta para el largo plazo (1991-2005) en los 18 paises de America Latina y examina la validez de la hipotesis que relaciona positivamente el tamano del producto interno con la inversion extranjera directa. Basado en el analisis de las tendencias globales y otros factores de largo plazo, la regresion lineal simple de las variables muestra un alto grado de correlacion entre el tamano de las economias domesticas (PIB) y el tamano de los flujos netos de inversion extranjera directa por pais. En el caso de Colombia, los resultados son mejores de lo esperado –a pesar del riesgo politico involucrado–, pero el fracaso en los desarrollos de nuevas areas de exportacion, originado en la falta de adecuada infraestructura, plantea un obstaculo mayor para el crecimiento sostenido basado en proyectos de inversion que mejoren la eficiencia de la economia y la competitividad.
A life-history evaluation of the impact of maternal effects on recruitment and fisheries reference points

Fishing causes dramatic changes in the age and size structure of fish stocks. In particular, the targeting of the largest and oldest individuals in a stock changes the age and size distribution of that stock. A large female produces a higher quantity of eggs than a young female because of its larger size, but recent laboratory evidence further indicates that large females also produce eggs of higher quality, a phenomenon known as maternal effects. However, most traditional management models assume that all female fish contribute equally per unit biomass to future recruitment. Here we investigate whether this assumption is valid by calculating the impact of maternal effects both before and after accounting for density-dependent effects. We find that the contribution of large individuals to reproduction is much more pronounced for unfished than for fished stocks. Fisheries reference points are largely unaffected by maternal effects. Our results indicate that the incorporation of maternal effects into impact assessments of fisheries is not expected to change advice substantially. Important exceptions are stocks whose demography is very vulnerable to fishing (and which therefore have low fishing reference points) for which maternal effects are relevant and necessary to consider. Resume : La peche entraine des modifications drastiques de la structure par âge et par taille des stocks de poissons. Le ciblage des individus les plus grands et les plus âges au sein d'un stock, en particulier, modifie les distributions d'âges et de tailles dans ce stock. Si une grosse femelle produit une plus grande quantite d'œufs qu'une jeune femelle en raison de sa plus grande taille, de recentes observations en laboratoire indiquent aussi que les grosses femelles produisent des œufs de meilleure qualite, soit le phenomene des effets maternels. Cependant, la plupart des modeles de gestion traditionnels partent du principe que la contribution au recrutement futur par unite de biomasse est la meme pour tous les poissons femelles. Nous examinons la validite de cette hypothese en calculant l'incidence des effets maternels avant et apres l'integration d'effets dependant de la densite. Nous constatons que la contribution de gros individus ala reproduction est beaucoup plus prononcee dans les stocks non exploites que dans les stocks exploites. Les effets maternels n'ont pas une grande incidence sur les points de reference pour les peches. Nos resultats indiquent que l'integration des effets maternels aux evaluations des impacts des peches ne devrait pas avoir une incidence significative sur les avis concernant les peches. Les stocks dont la demographie est tres vulnerable ala peche (et qui sont donc caracterises par des points de reference tres faibles) constituent d'importantes exceptions pour lesquelles il est donc pertinent et necessaire de tenir compte des effets maternels. (Traduit par la Redaction)
An Overview on Women Employment in Public Transportation of Turkey

The existence of the underemployment of women makes crucial the fact of examining their current position in businesses which are traditionally male-dominated. This constitutes the employment profile on particular industries and helps to find strategies in order to decrease gender segregation. Public transportation sector is one of the important sectors, on the basis of which, the local government is on employer position and could be role model in employee selection process and provide homogeneous work environment based on sex. By analyzing the presence of women in public transportation sector in Europe and Turkey, it was found that they are relatively low and lead us to the same conclusion for countries taken as a sample in this study. The conclusions and suggestions derived from these findings.