Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CSI-EPT in Presence of RF-Shield for MR-Coils

Contrast source inversion electric properties tomography (CSI-EPT) is a recently developed technique for the electric properties tomography that recovers the electric properties distribution starting from measurements performed by magnetic resonance imaging scanners. This method is an optimal control approach based on the contrast source inversion technique, which distinguishes itself from other electric properties tomography techniques for its capability to recover also the local specific absorption rate distribution, essential for online dosimetry. Up to now, CSI-EPT has only been described in terms of integral equations, limiting its applicability to homogeneous unbounded background. In order to extend the method to the presence of a shield in the domain—as in the recurring case of shielded radio frequency coils—a more general formulation of CSI-EPT, based on a functional viewpoint, is introduced here. Two different implementations of CSI-EPT are proposed for a 2-D transverse magnetic model problem, one dealing with an unbounded domain and one considering the presence of a perfectly conductive shield. The two implementations are applied on the same virtual measurements obtained by numerically simulating a shielded radio frequency coil. The results are compared in terms of both electric properties recovery and local specific absorption rate estimate, in order to investigate the requirement of an accurate modeling of the underlying physical problem.
Solidarity as a challenge for the EU: The case of justice and home affairs

There are not many terms which can generate more emotions in political debates than that of ‘solidarity’. It belongs to those concepts which― like ‘equality’ and ‘justice’― touch the very foundations of any organised human community, and can as such be used (and abused) with an enormous range of different political meanings. However, while the different forms solidarity might take and its extent will always be open to debate there can be no denying that that without at least some degree of solidarity―understood in the basic sense of mutual support amongst its component members-a community lacks a basic condition for its credibility and sustainability : Solidarity in terms of mutual support and burden-sharing is not only needed to pursue objectives of common good but also―and ultimately in a more critical way― to make sure that in a situation of pressure and crisis one or more members of the community are not left to their own means and fate. A failure on either account puts into question the very rationale and existence of the respective community. Solidarity can thus be regarded as an essential value, a constitutional conditio sine qua non, for any form of human community. The European Union (EU) may be regarded as a community of advanced legal and political complexity, but given that its component
The mechanism of cell death during West Nile virus infection is dependent on initial infectious dose.

The mechanism of West Nile (WN) virus-induced cell death is determined by the initial infectious dose. In Vero cells infected with WN virus at an m.o. i. of 10 or greater, morphological changes characteristic of necrosis were observed as early as 8 h post-infection (p.i.). Pathological changes included extensive cell swelling and loss of plasma membrane integrity, as revealed by optical and electron microscopy. High extracellular lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity was observed together with leakage of the high mobility group 1 (HMGB1) protein into the extracellular space. When cells undergo necrosis, they release the HMGB1 protein, a pro-inflammatory mediator cytokine. At high infectious doses, loss of cell plasma membrane integrity was due to the profuse budding of WN progeny virus particles during maturation. When this profuse budding process was disrupted using cytochalasin B, LDH activity was reduced dramatically. In contrast, WN virus-induced cell killing occurred predominantly by apoptosis when cells were infected with an m.o. i. of </=1; the process of apoptosis observed was much later after infection (32 h p.i.). Fragmentation of DNA, chromatin condensation and formation of apoptotic bodies were all observed. This WN virus-induced apoptosis pathway was initiated by the release of cytochrome c from the mitochondria and was accompanied by the formation of apoptosomes. In turn, this led to the activation of caspase-9 and -3, and to the cleavage of the poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase.
Microblogging hot events emotion analysis based on Ren-CECps

Since Sina microblogging was first launched in August 2009, that seems to have become the major social media communication platform in China, microblogging is increasingly deep into life. In this study, we analyze the sentiment of microbloging hot events based on Ren-CECps. According to hot events in chronological, choosing the microblogging hot events of “Beijing Heavy Fog” and “Xi Jinping, Peng Liyuan Visit” for instance, crawling through sina microblogging we can get the corpus that contains the specified events. The method uses word frequency statistics for access microblogging corpus, analyzing trends in specific keywords concerns. At the same time, according to specific keywords related to micro-Bo, we can calculate the emotions of related microblogging via Ren-CECps. Finally, according to changes from time to time, we make a corresponding data charts, visual display of such trends. In this study, we illustrate that we can get a good result of emotion analysis using Ren-CECps in such a microblogging Chinese text with fragmentation and discrete feature. As a further indication of such excellent Chinese emotion corpus, the practical and research value in it are enormous.
A term mining approach of interview case study on enterprise lean production

Lean production improves the capacity of enterprise management innovation (EMI). When enterprises implement lean production, companies need internal and external incentives to drive this forward. In order to make internal and external incentives cooperate, promote the successful implementation of lean production, and improve the capacity of EMI, analysing the driving factors of lean production for internal and external incentives is important. This study adapted enterprise case study method, focused on interviews of different levels of enterprise personnel, and tried to find the key driving factors for internal and external incentives in lean production. In this study, a term mining approach was used to analyse interview texts. After the interview of case study, the experiments proceeded on the basis of the proposed model and approaches. Then interview case texts were analysed by text-mining techniques; this study found important clues in enterprise lean production, which were described as follows: (1) Enterprises should improve their ability in management innovation via completing their objectives of lean production, both in internal and external environments; (2) when an enterprise completes lean operations, the enterprise needs some internal and external incentives to drive their actions; and (3) motivators for different levels of enterprise personnel, such as senior managers, middle managers, junior managers, and basic production personnel and lean experts, were different. The enterprise should operate the different roles in each level of personnel for each enterprise management and innovation mission.
"It's like everyone working around the same desk": Organisational Readings of Lotus Notes

New applications are often utilised only limitedly. With groupware, the users need to form also mutual conceptions of the co-operative purpose and possible uses of these applications. Lotus Notes is acknowledged to exhibit these difficulties. Interviews with Notes users demonstrate that individual interpretations vary considerably, also between users of the same application. The goal of this study is to explore variation in individual interpretations and to find shared meanings—if possible—within user groups. Structuration theory is used as the conceptual vehicle to aid in widening the search to the socially constructed nature of these meanings: how people have constructed their conceptions in their work setting. The norms prevailing, the resources available and the interpretations evoked influence this meaning construction. Roots of variation and similarities can be found in how the conceptions have been formed gradually—even though single instances might look like a flash of insight—in interaction.
Faithfully Fit Forever

Older adults are at risk for numerous acute and chronic health conditions. Many of these conditions can be prevented or better managed by participation in health promotion and wellness programming. The social support found through involvement in a faith community makes this setting an ideal place for offering health promotion and wellness programming. This article includes a description of an innovative, faith-based, community-based wellness program titled Faithfully Fit Forever (FFF). The Cardiac Rehabilitation and Parish Nursing Departments at MeritCare Health System, Fargo, North Dakota, developed FFF in 2000. FFF is a holistic health improvement program that embraces the interconnection between mind, body, and spirit. It is led by laypeople (many are parish nurses) who are members of the individual religious community. The program includes 30 to 40 minutes of exercise, health education time, and devotional time promoting spiritual and emotional health.
Oscillatory phase shapes syllable perception

Significance The environment is full of temporal information that links specific auditory and visual representations to each other. Especially in speech, this is used to guide perception. The current paper shows that syllables with varying visual-to-auditory delays get preferably processed at different oscillatory phases. This mechanism facilitates the separation of different representations based on consistent temporal patterns in the environment and provides a way to categorize and memorize information, thereby optimizing a wide variety of perceptual processes. The role of oscillatory phase for perceptual and cognitive processes is being increasingly acknowledged. To date, little is known about the direct role of phase in categorical perception. Here we show in two separate experiments that the identification of ambiguous syllables that can either be perceived as /da/ or /ga/ is biased by the underlying oscillatory phase as measured with EEG and sensory entrainment to rhythmic stimuli. The measured phase difference in which perception is biased toward /da/ or /ga/ exactly matched the different temporal onset delays in natural audiovisual speech between mouth movements and speech sounds, which last 80 ms longer for /ga/ than for /da/. These results indicate the functional relationship between prestimulus phase and syllable identification, and signify that the origin of this phase relationship could lie in exposure and subsequent learning of unique audiovisual temporal onset differences.
Cardiac cells implanted within the outer aortic wall of rats generate measurable contractile force.

PURPOSE To determine whether neonatal cardiomyocytes grafted into the aortic wall contract, develop pressure, and can be paced. METHODS AND RESULTS Medium only (n = 9) or neonatal cardiomyocytes (n = 12, 5 x 10(6) cells each) were injected into the outer aortic wall in adult female Fischer rats. At 6 weeks after implantation, 11 out of 12 cardiomyocyte-treated aortas showed spontaneous rhythmic beating at the grafted site following excision of the heart. The spontaneous beating rate changed with pacing frequency. Five out of the 11 beating aortas had intra-aortic pressure generated by the spontaneously contracting cardiomyocytes. The pulse pressure generated by the grafted cardiomyocytes was 0.36 +/- 0.05 mmHg without pacing; during pacing it was 0.78 +/- 0.21 mmHg with systolic pressure up to 3.8 mmHg. Hematoxylin and eosin staining showed viable grafts in the outer wall of the cardiomyocyte-treated aortas in 12 out of 12 aortas. Neonatal cardiomyocytes in the graft matured with cross striations. Immunohistochemical staining of the aorta for sacromeric actin was positive in 12 out of 12 aortas. Staining of connexin 43 showed that some grafted cardiomyocytes formed gap junctions. The above examinations were negative in nine out of nine medium-treated aortas. CONCLUSION The results show for the first time that cardiomyocytes engrafted into the foreign environment of an extracardiac vascular structure can be paced and generate measurable intravascular pressure. This study may serve as a useful model for studying the growth and response of the grafted cardiomyocytes to various stimuli in an extra-cardiac environment in vivo.
Entrepreneurial Orientation: What Is It and Why Might It Be a Hidden Strategy for Building Long-Term Enterprise Value?

The private equity industry is constantly looking for new ways to build enterprise value. Success in this regard generates differentiated returns for general partners (GPs) and commensurate demand by limited partners (LPs) hoping to participate in the resulting gains in a subsequent fund. This study confirms that a new method to building long-term value is available by searching for companies that either already possess an entrepreneurial orientation (EO) or demonstrate dynamics where an EO can be created. Building such an EO culture is not easy, and it takes time and considerable effort to properly establish. Similarly, finding companies that already possess or have components of EO demands considerable focus, attention, and special due diligence foresight. The rewards of effectively finding or building an EO have been shown to yield competitive advantages that translate into performance gains that can last well into the long term.
Regrasp planning for discrete objects

This paper proposes an algorithm for regrasp planning of 2D and 3D discrete objects, such that the regrasp trajectory ensures a force-closure (FC) grasp while the regrasp motion is performed. The approach takes advantage of a method that quickly explores the grasp space, and relies on the use of independent contact regions and non-graspable regions, which provide large regions of the FC or non-FC subspaces starting from a single sample. Application examples are included to show the relevance of the results.
Quinolones Sensitize Gram-Negative Bacteria to Antimicrobial Peptides

ABSTRACT The treatment of infections caused by bacteria resistant to the vast majority of antibiotics is a challenge worldwide. Antimicrobial peptides (APs) make up the front line of defense in those areas exposed to microorganisms, and there is intensive research to explore their use as new antibacterial agents. On the other hand, it is known that subinhibitory concentrations of antibiotics affect the expression of numerous bacterial traits. In this work we evaluated whether treatment of bacteria with subinhibitory concentrations of quinolones may alter the sensitivity to APs. A 1-h treatment of Klebsiella pneumoniae with 0.25× the MIC of ciprofloxacin rendered bacteria more sensitive to polymyxins B and E, human neutrophil defensin 1, and β-defensin 1. Levofloxacin and nalidixic acid at 0.25× the MICs also increased the sensitivity of K. pneumoniae to polymyxin B, whereas gentamicin and ceftazidime at 0.25× the MICs did not have such an effect. Ciprofloxacin also increased the sensitivities of K. pneumoniae ciprofloxacin-resistant strains to polymyxin B. Two other pathogens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Haemophilus influenzae, also became more sensitive to polymyxins B and E after treatment with 0.25× the MIC of ciprofloxacin. Incubation with ciprofloxacin did not alter the expression of the K. pneumoniae loci involved in resistance to APs. A 1-N-phenyl-naphthylamine assay showed that ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin increased the permeabilities of the K. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa outer membranes, while divalent cations antagonized this action. Finally, we demonstrated that ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin increased the binding of APs to the outer membrane by using dansylated polymyxin B.
On systematic cross-layer design for ad hoc networks

There exist a large amount of research efforts that claim cross-layer design in multi-hop wireless networks. However, almost all of such works use the idea of cross-layering in some ad hoc manner, and different cross-layer designs generally do not work together. To this end, we argue that cross-layer design in such networks should follow some systematic approach, in order to provide a common ground for alternative comparison and integration. In this position paper, we identify two key components toward achieving this ultimate goal of systematic cross-layer design. First, a rigorous mathematical framework is needed to provide the unifying approach for cross-layering, and in this work we choose the well-recognized Generalized Network Utility Maximization (GNUM) approach. Second, with the components availed by the mathematical framework, a composable software ldquoworkbenchrdquo is needed to ldquogluerdquo the various components into some prototype alternatives for inspection. We will discuss how such composability may be achieved via our unique ontology-based modeling and simulation approach.
Photodynamic therapy with verteporfin combined with intravitreal injection of triamcinolone acetonide for choroidal neovascularization.

PURPOSE To examine the 12-month results of a group of patients treated with combined photodynamic therapy (PDT) with verteporfin and intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide for choroidal neovascularization (CNV) secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD). DESIGN Noncomparative case series. PARTICIPANTS Twenty-six eyes of 26 patients with CNV secondary to AMD. Thirteen with CNV, without restriction to type, were not treated with prior PDT (newly treated group). Thirteen patients with prior PDT therapy who experienced visual loss while being treated with PDT alone comprised the remainder (prior PDT group). METHODS Patients with CNV were treated with PDT, immediately followed by an intravitreal injection of 4 mg of triamcinolone acetonide. Visual acuity was measured by Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study protocol refraction. Need for retreatment was based on fluorescein angiographic evidence of leakage at 3-month follow-up intervals. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Visual acuity and retreatment rate. RESULTS In the newly treated group, the mean acuity change was an improvement of 2.5 lines (last observation carried forward [LOCF], +2.4 lines; P = 0.011, Wilcoxon signed ranks test, as compared with baseline acuity) for patients completing the 12-month follow-up. In the prior PDT group, the mean change was an improvement of +0.44 lines (LOCF, +0.31 lines; P = 0.53). Retreatment rates were 1.24 for the newly treated group and 1.2 for the prior PDT group over the first year. Ten patients (38.5%) developed an intraocular pressure (IOP) of >24 mmHg during follow-up, a threshold used to institute pressure reduction therapy. No patient developed endophthalmitis. CONCLUSION Although the number of patients in this pilot study was limited, the improvement of acuity and the reduced treatment frequency in these patients suggest that combination therapy with PDT and intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide, particularly when used as first-line therapy, merits further investigation. Elevated IOP seems to be the most frequent early side effect of the treatment.
Stimulation of dopamine D2‐like receptors in the lumbosacral defaecation centre causes propulsive colorectal contractions in rats

The pathophysiological roles of the CNS in bowel dysfunction in patients with irritable bowel syndrome and Parkinson's disease remain obscure. In the present study, we demonstrate that dopamine in the lumbosacral defaecation centre causes strong propulsive motility of the colorectum. The effect of dopamine is a result of activation of sacral parasympathetic preganglionic neurons via D2‐like dopamine receptors. Considering that dopamine is a neurotransmitter of descending pain inhibitory pathways, our results highlight the novel concept that descending pain inhibitory pathways control not only pain, but also the defaecation reflex. In addition, severe constipation in patients with Parkinson's disease can be explained by reduced parasympathetic outflow as a result of a loss of the effect of dopaminergic neurons.
Effect of sitagliptin therapy on postprandial lipoprotein levels in patients with type 2 diabetes

Aim: Recent studies indicate that type 2 diabetes is associated with an increased secretion of both hepatic and intestinal lipoproteins, leading to the accumulation of atherogenic triglyceride (TG)‐rich lipoproteins. Sitagliptin is a selective inhibitor of dipeptidyl peptidase‐4 that has been shown to reduce fasting and postprandial glucose levels in patients with type 2 diabetes presumably through incretin hormone‐mediated improvements in islet function. The objective of the present study is to examine the effects of treatment with sitagliptin on postprandial lipid and incretin hormone levels as well as glucose homeostasis in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Burkholderia taxonomy , identification , molecular epidemiology & ecology

Burkholderia cepacia, a bacterium found in the soil, is emerging as an important opportunistic pathogen in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). Due to the compromised mucocilliary clearance of the respiratory tract that results from this genetic disease, chronic infections are often established in the lungs of CF patients. Because of the inherent antibiotic resistance of B. cepacia, high concentrations of antimicrobials are often required for the treatment of infections. The membrane of B. cepacia has been demonstrated to be highly impermeable which is partially responsible for the resistance to most therapeutic agents. We are primarily interested in the stress responses of B. cepacia to these agents during treatment, particularly changes in the outer membrane that may lead to altered membrane permeability. Since it has been shown that the efflux pump NorM can mediate resistance to the cationic peptide polymyxinB in the presence of tetracycline, we analyzed several isolates of B. cepacia from soil and clinical samples to identify outer membrane proteins responsive to changes in extracellular concentrations of tetracycline. Growth of B. cepacia in concentrations of tetracycline 100 g/ml was associated with a drastic reduction in a 23 kDa outer membrane protein subsequently identified by tandem mass spectrometry as a peptidoglycan-associated lipoprotein (pal) homologue. However, since tetracycline is known to chelate magnesium, we wanted to determine if the effects were due to the intracellular action of tetracycline or to the extracellular metal chelating properties of tetracycline. Addition of excess magnesium to the growth medium abrogated the effect seen on the lipoprotein suggesting that the response is due to the latter. In addition, changes in the expression of several other large outer membrane proteins were observed but these remained unaffected by supplementation of magnesium. Preliminary evidence suggests that these proteins may be involved in iron transport and the changes seen in the presence of tetracycline may be due to the chelation of iron, another property of this drug. 2D gel electrophoresis of bacterial cell lysates revealed that the expression of several cytosolic proteins is regulated by growth in high tetracycline concentrations. Thus, the changes observed in the