Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Common Rule for the Scaling of Carnivore Density

Population density in plants and animals is thought to scale with size as a result of mass-related energy requirements. Variation in resources, however, naturally limits population density and may alter expected scaling patterns. We develop and test a general model for variation within and between species in population density across the order Carnivora. We find that 10,000 kilograms of prey supports about 90 kilograms of a given species of carnivore, irrespective of body mass, and that the ratio of carnivore number to prey biomass scales to the reciprocal of carnivore mass. Using mass-specific equations of prey productivity, we show that carnivore number per unit prey productivity scales to carnivore mass near –0.75, and that the scaling rule can predict population density across more than three orders of magnitude. The relationship provides a basis for identifying declining carnivore species that require conservation measures.
Synovial tissue morphology of the cricoarytenoid joint in the elderly: a histological comparison with the cricothyroid joint

We compared the age-related morphology of the cricothyroid (CT) joint with that of the cricoarytenoid (CA) joint using 18 specimens from elderly cadavers in terms of their elastic fiber contents as well as the cells composing the joint capsule and synovial tissues. In contrast to an almost flat-flat interface in the CT joint, the CA joint was similar to a saddle joint. The CA joint capsule was thin and contained few elastic fibers, and in contrast to the CT joint, external fibrous tissues were not exposed to the joint cavity, there being no injury to the CA joint capsule. The lateral and posterior aspects of the CA joint were covered by the lateral and posterior CA muscles, respectively, and the fascia of the latter muscle was sometimes thick with abundant elastic fibers. However, due to possible muscle degeneration, loose connective tissue was often interposed between the fascia and the capsule. The medial and anterior aspects of the CA joint faced loose tissue that was continuous with the laryngeal submucosal tissue. Therefore, in contrast to the CT joint, a definite supporting ligament was usually absent in the CA joint. Synovial folds were always seen in the CA joint, comprising a short triangular mass on the posterior side and long laminar folds on the anterior side. The synovial folds usually contained multiple capillaries and a few CD68-positive macrophages. High congruity of the CA joint surfaces as well as strong muscle support to the arytenoid cartilage appeared to provide the specific synovial morphology.
In vitro development of growing oocytes from fetal mouse oocytes: stage-specific regulation by stem cell factor and granulosa cells.

The development of follicles in the mammalian ovary involves a bidirectional communication system between the follicular cells and oocyte that is now beginning to be characterized. Little is known about the mechanisms underlying the beginning of the oocyte growth and the acquisition of the competence to resume meiosis by the growing oocyte. In the present study, we devised a multistep culture system for mouse oocytes obtained from 15.5- to 16.5-days postcoitum embryos (mean diameter +/- SEM, 9.7 +/- 1.3 microm), allowing three stages of the oocyte growth to be identified: (i) an early stage in which the oocyte growth is induced by direct stimulation of a soluble growth factor, namely stem cell factor (SCF), independent of the formation of gap junctions with granulosa cells; (ii) a second phase in which the oocyte growth depends on the combined action of SCF and contacts with granulosa cells; and (iii) a third phase of granulosa cell-dependent, SCF-independent growth. At each stage, key events of oocyte development and differentiation, such as the c-kit reexpression, the early zona pellucida assembly, and the beginning of follicologenesis, were observed to occur independently by the presence of SCF. At the end of the in vitro growing phases, lasting 18-20 days, oocytes reached a size (50 +/- 2.5 microm) and a chromatin differentiation (stage I-II) equivalent to those of 9- to 10-day-old preantral oocytes and were unable to complete the growth phase. About 50% of the in vitro-grown oocytes were induced to resume meiosis by okadaic acid (OA) treatment. However, a significant fraction of them (48%) showed inability to maintain the chromosome condensation in M-phase. When in vitro-grown oocytes were treated with UO126, a specific MEK inhibitor that prevents activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (ERK-1 and ERK-2), for 1 h before, during, and following OA treatment, only 22% of oocytes underwent germinal vesicle breakdown after 24 h from the OA treatment. These studies demonstrate that SCF alone can induce the onset of the oocyte growth. This is, however, not sufficient to fully activate the mechanisms governing the acquisition of the meiotic competence previously described as a 15-day oocyte-autonomous clock starting at the onset of growth. The inability of oocytes to progress into the last stages of growth and the lack of synchrony between nuclear and cytoplasm maturation showed by a subset of them resemble the characteristics of oocytes from connexin-37- and -43-deficient mice and indicate the preantral/antral transition point as a critical stage of oocyte development requiring the coordinated differentiation of the oocyte with granulosa cells and the maintenance of adequate communication between these two cell types to assure the correct oocyte meiotic maturation.
Social organisation of the male field vole (Microtus agrestis) : a case of transient territoriality?

The social organisation of a population of Microtus agrestis was studied by trapping and radiotracking in southern England. There was no significant variation in male home-range size during the breeding season or between years but there was significant variation in core areas between years but not during the breeding season. There was no significant relationship with male density and core area size but there was a significant increase in home range size as density decreased. There were no significant correlations between home-range size and body mass. In both 1995 and 1996, there was an increase in mean exclusivity of core areas that coincided with an increase in nearest neighbour distances as the breeding season progressed suggesting a territorial social system. Male residency was transient and recruitment of female offspring influenced residency.
Coordinating Access to Computation and Data in Distributed Systems

Distributed computing has become a complex ecosystem of protocols and services for managing computation and data. Distributed applications are becoming complex as well. Users, particularly in scientific fields, wish to deploy large numbers of applications with complex dependencies and a large appetite for both computation and data. How may such systems and applications be brought together? I propose that applications deployed in distributed systems should be represented by an agent. The role of the agent is to transform an application’s abstract operations into concrete operations on the varying resources in a distributed system. The agent must hide the unpleasant aspects of individual resources while coordinating their activity in a manner specialized to each application. I examine four open problems in the design of agents for distributed computing. First, I explore a variety of techniques for coupling a job to an agent, informed by the experience of porting to different systems and deploying with several applications. Coupling an agent to a job via the debugger is by far the most reliable and usable technique and has acceptable overhead for scientific applications. Second, I describe the problem of coupling an agent to a variety of distributed data systems. This is difficult because of the subtle semantic differences between existing data interfaces. These differences result in the notion of an escaping error, which represents a runtime incompatibility between interfaces. Third, I present the problem of coupling an agent to a computation manager such as a batch system. This requires a careful discussion of errors in a distributed system. I develop ii a theory of error propagation and present the notion of error scope, which is needed to guide the propagation of escaping errors. Finally, I explain how an agent may coordinate the consumption of computation and data resources on behalf of a job. As a case study, I present BAD-FS, a system that executes data intensive batch workloads on faulty distributed systems. I conclude with quantitative evidence underscoring the importance of failure handling in distributed systems.
Convalescent plasma levels of TAFI activation peptide predict death and recurrent vascular events in ischemic stroke survivors

[11], corresponding to 67–133%. Among the patients were 24 women with FXIII-A levels of< 70% (minimum: 52.4%). Whether these low levels wereattributabletoconsumptionorgeneticinﬂuenceswasnotfurtherstudied, and this might represent a limitation of our study.However, among the controls were 22 women with FXIII-Alevelsof< 70%(minimum:51.9%). Wethereforeconcludethatthis mild FXIII-A deﬁciency that we observed in some patientsandcontrolsisprobablynotrelatedtopregnancyloss.For the ﬁrst time, we have compared FXIII-A and FXIII-Bplasma levels between women with unexplained recurrentpregnancy loss and controls without a history of miscarriageand with at least one successful pregnancy. Our results suggestthat recurrent pregnancy loss in the general population is notassociated with reduced FXIII plasma levels. Whether locallyreduced FXIII-A levels or impaired FXIII function in theplacenta may contribute to an increased risk of abortionremains to be investigated.Disclosure of Conﬂict of InterestsThe authors state that they have no conﬂict of interest.References
User-Controlled Identity Provisioning for Secure Account Sharing

Clouds have the potentials to facilitate resource sharing for collaborations among different organizations or individuals. In this paper, we realise that the identity management scheme in current clouds is not very convenient for users to collaborate over clouds. This inconvenience is caused by the requirement to users who in order to access privately shared resources in clouds must register into the clouds, but might be reluctant to register. To address this inconvenience, we propose a user-controlled identity provisioning mechanism, by which a registered user can create local identities for collaborators to share the resources in his account, and using the local identities, collaborators can access the privately shared resources without being required to register. We demonstrate our mechanism by implementing a prototype. We believe our mechanism can benefit current clouds to improve their sharing services.
Comparison of X-ray Morphometrical Parameters between Dogs with Hip Dysplasia A Comparison of Numerical Values of X-Ray Morphometrical Parameters Between Rottweilers and Other Dog Breeds in Diagnostics of Hip Dysplasia

Investigations were carried out at the Clinical Institute of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the Latvia University of Agriculture. The aim and objectives of the investigations were to determine and compare the use of some x-ray morphometrical parameters of hip dysplasia in young Rottweilers and other dog breeds. X-ray morphometrical parameters used in diagnostics of hip dysplasia were determined: Norberg angle (X1), inclination angle (X2), tangential angle (X3), location of geometrical centre of femoral head (X4), width of the lateral joint gap (X5), width of the medial joint gap (X6), and distraction index (X7). Agreement or differences between x-ray morphometrical parameters were established in Rottweilers and other dog breeds. Radiography was made in the ventrodorsal projection. The obtained data of x-ray morphometrical parameters were used for analysis. In case of hip dysplasia (HD), differences between some parameters were established within a breed, as well as between Rottweilers and other dog breeds. Evaluating numerical indices of the examined parameters it was established that Norberg angle (X1) is informative enough and does not depend on the dog breed, and may be used in diagnostics of hip dysplasia without determining other parameters. The possible inadequacy between Norberg angle and HP diagnosis is within a range of 3-4%. Parameters (X2-X7) are partly or insufficiently informative to be used in HD diagnostics without determining the Norberg angle (X1).
Prevention and Treatment of High Altitude Pulmonary Edema by a Calcium Channel Blocker

High altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) is characterized by marked pulmonary hypertension. Treatment of 6 subjects suffering from radiographically documented HAPE with the calcium channel blocker nifedipine, lowered pulmonary artery pressure and resulted in clinical improvement, better oxygenation, reduction of alveolar-arterial oxygen gradient and a progressive clearing of alveolar edema on chest x-ray. This amelioration occurred despite continued exercise at an altitude above 4000 m and without supplementary oxygen. Prophylactic application of nifedipine slow release preparation, 20 mg every 8 hours, prevented HAPE in 9 out of 10 subjects with a history of radiographically documented HAPE upon rapid ascent and subsequent stay to an altitude of 4559 m. Seven of 11 comparable subjects who received placebo developed pulmonary edema at 4559 m. As compared with the subjects who received placebo, those who received nifedipine had a significantly lower mean systolic pulmonary artery pressure, alveolar-arterial pressure gradient of oxygen and symptom score of acute mountain sickness at 4559 m. Thus nifedipine offers a potential emergency treatment of HAPE when descent or evacuation is impossible and oxygen is not available. Prophylactic administration of nifedipine prevents HAPE in susceptible subjects. High pulmonary artery pressure has an important role in the pathogenesis of HAPE.
Salt water: a solution?

The January 1999 issue of Critical Care Medicine gave special attention to the perennial "crystalloid vs. colloid" controversy, and by implication, its relation to the hospital acquired interstitial edema syndromes: the acute respiratory distress syndrome, multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, and systemic inflammatory response syndrome. One could conclude from the articles that little progress has been made in the last three decades. What's more, Choi et al. (1), in an excellent review of the controversy, conclude that to date no data exist on which to base any valid conclusions.
Dense Multi-Channel Optical Waveguide Switch Based on Micro Ring Resonators

This study proposes a dense multichannel optical waveguide switch based on micro ring resonators (MRRs). The proposed design is achieved by cascading five MRRs of the same structure and the phase difference between two bus waveguides that are evanescently coupled to every two MRRs is purposely set at either 0 or π in order to minutely adjusting the positions of the corresponding resonant wavelengths of the MRRs. Our proposed structure is capable of controlling ON/OFF signals associated with four optical channels. Our study finds that the resonant channel spacing is less than twice the full-width-at-half-maximum of an individual optical signal. Furthermore, among 16 different combinations of output spectra obtained, the ON/OFF signal contrast of each optical channel could reach up to -29.68 dB.
Moderate neonatal encephalopathy: Pre‐ and perinatal risk factors and long‐term outcome

Background. The aim was to describe pre‐ and perinatal data and long‐term neurodevelopmental outcome (15–19 years) in children born at term with Apgar score <7 at 5 min and moderate neonatal encephalopathy. Methods. The study is based on a population‐based birth‐cohort of children born in Sweden in 1985. Maternal, delivery, neonatal, and neuropaediatric data were compiled. Neurodevelopmental status was classified according to the presence of 1. cerebral palsy or other major impairments, 2. exclusively cognitive impairments, and 3. no impairments. Results. The majority of the children (81%) had cognitive dysfunctions, with or without other impairments, such as cerebral palsy. The rates of post‐term birth (19% versus 8%) and breech presentation (12% versus 3%) were significantly higher than in the general Swedish population. Pre‐ and perinatal data did not differ notably between the three outcome groups. Questionable or suboptimal obstetric care was common (55%). Conclusions. The study shows that children born at term with moderate neonatal encephalopathy have a high rate of cognitive dysfunctions with or without cerebral palsy at long‐term follow‐up. Our pre‐ and perinatal data did not correlate with outcome.
The Effect of a Rapidly Changing Urban Environment on Nomadic WiMAX Performance

This paper presents the results obtained during a three-month trial (February -April 2006) performed by COSMOTE towards the assessment of "fixed WiMAX" technology (IEEE 802.16-2004). The trial was conducted in the three largest cities of Greece, namely, Athens, Thessaloniki and Patra, in parallel, using "fixed WiMAX" equipment offered by three different vendors. The results presented here have been obtained at street-level during stationary measurements performed in the Athens centre, an urban NLOS environment, using a portable WiMAX CPE and a Laptop. The main characteristic of this environment is that it changes very rapidly and quite unpredictably, due to the existence of moving vehicles ranging from motorbikes, to buses and large trucks. These measurements simulate the system performance that an end-user perceives in such an environment, when he/she uses "fixed WiMAX", while enjoying a meal or drink in a restaurant, bar or cafeteria. Preliminary results indicate that in an urban street-level environment, with NLOS channel conditions, large throughput variations are observed, due to the existence of moving vehicles in the radio path. These variations may severely affect the quality of delay-sensitive real-time applications such as, video streaming and video-telephony.
Communicable ophthalmia: the blinding scourge of the Middle East. Yesterday, today and ? tommorrow.

Blinding and non-blinding trachoma A year ago we introduced the concept that, from the public health point of view, trachoma should be divided into blinding trachoma and non-blinding trachoma (Jones, I975). This concept has found a ready acceptance (Dawson, Jones, and Darougar, 1975) and has been of value in focusing attention on the urgent need for surveys in many countries to determine the presence and the magnitude of blinding trachoma.
Fast Capture of Spectral Image Series

In recent years there has been an increasing interest in multispectral imaging hardware. Among many other applications is the color-correct reproduction of materials. In this paper, we aim at circumventing the limitations of most devices, namely extensive acquisition times for acceptable signal-to-noise-ratios. For this purpose we propose a novel approach to spectral imaging that combines high-quality RGB data and spatial filtering of extremely noisy and sparsely measured spectral information. The capability of handling noisy spectral data allows a dramatic reduction of overall exposure times. The speed-up we achieve allows for spectral imaging at practical acquisition times. We use the RGB images for constraining the reconstruction of dense spectral information from the filtered noisy spectral data. A further important contribution is the extension of a commonly used radiometric calibration method for determining the camera response in the lowest, noise-dominated range of pixel values. We apply our approach both to capturing single high-quality spectral images, as well as to the acquisition of image-based multispectral surface reflectance. Our results demonstrate that we are able to lower the acquisition times for such multispectral reflectance from several days to the few hours necessary for an RGB-based measurement.
Intra-articular Tranexamic Acid in Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty: Meta-analysis

Abstract Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is associated with an increased need for blood transfusions and thus an increase in risks associated with blood transfusion such as transfusion reactions, infections, fluid overload, and altered mental status. Tranexamic acid (TXA) is an antifibrinolytic medication that can reduce perioperative blood loss in TKA. However, the best method of delivery has not been defined although topical intra-articular TXA (IA-TXA) may have a theoretical advantage as it is applied directly when and where it is needed to control bleeding. Blinded and nonblinded randomized controlled trials and case-controlled trials published since 2010 were found using database searches. Data were extracted and analyzed with the goal of discovering through meta-analysis if IA-TXA reduces blood loss, blood transfusions, and without increasing adverse events, especially thromboembolic events, compared with placebo. Blood loss from suction drains and calculated total blood loss were significantly lower in the IA-TXA group. The frequency of blood transfusion and the number of units of blood transfused were significantly lower in the IA-TXA group. The risk of adverse events was not increased for IA-TXA versus placebo. Topical IA-TXA in primary, unilateral TKA successfully reduces blood loss and the frequency of blood transfusions. In addition, it does not appear to increase the risk of thromboembolic adverse events. There is need for further research to determine the optimal dosage and the preferred delivery system of IA-TXA in TKA.
The Efficacy and Safety of Dendritic Cells Co-Cultured with Cytokine-Induced Killer Cell Therapy in Combination with TACE-Predominant Minimally-Invasive Treatment for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: a Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND To evaluate the efficacy and safety of dendritic cells (DCs) co-cultured with cytokine-induced killer cell (CIK) immunotherapy combined with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) or TACE plus local ablation therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS Our meta-analysis included a comprehensive search for relevant studies published through December 12, 2014. We used Cochrane Library, PubMed, CBM, VIP, CNKI, and Wanfang data. Depending on the heterogeneity among the included studies, we calculated the pooled odds ratio (OR) and mean difference (MD) using fixed- or random-effects models. Publication biases were assessed using funnel plots and Begg's tests. Sensitivity analyses were also performed. RESULTS Seven randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and one controlled clinical trial (CCT) that included 693 patients and met the inclusion criteria were analyzed. Pooled results showed that DC-CIK immunotherapy combined with TACE or TACE plus local ablation therapy significantly improved 1-year (OR = 2.00, p = 0.02) and 2-year overall survival (OR = 1.77, p = 0.04). A favored overall response rate (ORR) (OR = 1.51, p = 0.03), disease control rate (DCR) (OR = 1.81, p = 0.01), and better quality of life (OR = 3.30, p < 0.01) were observed in the DC-CIK group. Additionally, when tumor-associated T lymphocyte subsets were compared, our analyses demonstrated that the percentage of CD3+ T cells (MD(CD3+) = 21.37, p = 0.005) and the ratio of CD4+/CD8+ (MD(CD4+/CD8+) = 2.83, p = 0.02) were significantly increased in the DC-CIK therapy group. CONCLUSIONS The combination of DC-CIK immunotherapy and TACE or TACE plus local ablation therapy improves 1- and 2-year overall survival, ORR, DCR, and provides a better quality of life for patients with HCC.