Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
REGIONAL ATROPHY ANALYSIS OF ALZHEIMER BRAIN MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGES USING LOCAL TEXTURE PATTERNS

Alzheimer Disease (AD) is the most common type of dementia among elderly people. It is a severe neurodegenerative disorder which is highly characterized by progressive loss of brain tissues. It interferes with normal activity of daily living due to loss of cognitive ability. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) has been proven to be very useful in early diagnosis and progression analysis of AD. This paper investigates the regional atrophy due to Alzheimer disease progression in four common brain tissues such as Cerebro Spinal fluid (CSF), Ventricle Segment (VS), White Matter (WM) and Gray Matter (GM) using their corresponding local texture patterns. The extracted information is used to classify Normal, Mild Cognitive Impaired (MCI) and AD subjects. An attempt is made to automatically segment the common brain tissues like WM, GM, CSF and VS. Features are extracted from their local texture patterns. Classification of Normal, MCI and AD is performed in order to investigate the efficiency of these extracted features as biomarkers in automated analysis of Alzheimer diagnosis. Anisotropic Diffusion filter based Level Set Method (ADLSM) is adapted to segment GM, WM, CSF and VS regions of brain. Fuzzy C means Clustering (FCM) technique is used to draw the initial contour which is later evolved using level set contour towards the desired boundaries. Local texture patterns such as Local Binary Patterns (LBP), Local Tetra Patterns (LTrP), Local Ternary Patterns (LTP) and Local Maximum Edge Binary Patterns (LMEBP) of segmented images are calculated. Histogram based features are extracted from these local patterns in order to classify NC, MCI and AD. It shows that the proposed FCM based ADLSM could able to segment the various brain tissues accurately. All local patterns are able to bring out the structural variations in terms of edge details. A maximum accuracy of 100 % is observed using LTP features and SVM classifier in differentiating AD and normal in GM, WM and whole brain regions. LMEBP features show an average performance measure of greater than 75% accuracy in differentiating MCI and normal subjects using SVM classifier. Similarly, LTP features show a good performance measure of 100% classification accuracy in differentiating AD and MCI in whole brain region. In conclusion, histogram features derived from local ternary patterns could be an efficient biomarker for classification of AD, MCI and normal subjects. Textural variations in gray matter and whole brain regions contribute more in differentiating the disease progression using local patterns. Hence, the proposed flow of segmentation algorithm, LTP feature extraction of various brain tissues along with SVM classifier may help to improve the automated diagnosis of Alzheimer disease progression.
Parental attitudes: antenatal diagnosis of cystic fibrosis

In order to understand attitudes to antenatal diagnosis of cystic fibrosis (CF), we interviewed parents from 19 families, who already had one child with CF. Nine women had chorion villus sampling in a subsequent pregnancy and 6/19 said they would consider termination of pregnancy if the result confirmed CF. These results differ from the results of antenatal screening studies of previously unaffected families, where most couples opt for termination.
Variation in institutional review board responses to a standard, observational, pediatric research protocol.

BACKGROUND Multicenter studies are becoming more common, and variability in local institutional review board (IRB) assessments can be problematic. OBJECTIVE To investigate the variability of IRB responses to a multicenter observational study of children presenting to emergency departments. METHODS The authors collected the original IRB applications, subsequent correspondence, and a survey assessing submission timing and response and the nature of IRB queries. The study was conducted as part of the Emergency Medicine Network (http://www.emnet-usa.org). RESULTS Of 37 sites initiating the IRB process, 34 (92%) participated in this IRB-approved study. Institutional review boards returned initial applications in a median of 19 days (IQR, 11-34 d), and 91% considered the protocol to be minimal risk. Of 34 submissions, 13 required no changes, 18 received conditional approvals, and 3 were deferred. The median time from initial submission to final approval was 42 days (IQR, 27-61 d). Seven sites did not participate in patient recruitment: two had institutional issues, one obtained IRB approval too late for participation, and four sites (12%) reported that IRB hurdles contributed to their lack of participation. Nonetheless, 68% of sites that recruited patients reported that the overall experience made them more likely to participate in future multicenter research. CONCLUSIONS There was substantial variation in IRB assessment of a standard protocol in this study. The burden of the application process contributed to some investigators not participating, but the majority of investigators remain enthusiastic about multicenter research. A national IRB may streamline the review process and facilitate multicenter clinical research.
The strong ADH1 promoter stimulates mitotic and meiotic recombination at the ADE6 gene of Schizosaccharomyces pombe

The effect of the strong promoter from the alcohol dehydrogenase gene on mitotic and meiotic intragenic recombination has been studied at the ade6 locus of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. A 700-bp fragment containing the functional adh1 promoter was used to replace the weak wild-type promoter of the ade6 gene. Analysis of mRNA showed that strains with this ade6::adh1 fusion construct had strongly elevated ade6-specific mRNA levels during vegetative growth as well as in meiosis. These increased levels of mRNA correlated with a 20- to 25-fold stimulation of intragenic recombination in meiosis and a 7-fold increased prototroph formation during vegetative growth. Analysis of flanking marker configurations of prototrophic recombinants indicated that simple conversions as well as conversions associated with crossing over were stimulated in meiosis. The strongest stimulation of recombination was observed when the adh1 promoter was homozygous. Studies with heterologous promoter configurations revealed that the highly transcribed allele was the preferred acceptor of genetic information. The effect of the recombinational hot spot mutation ade6-M26 was also investigated in this system. Its effect was only partly additive to the elevated recombination rate generated by the ade6::adh1 fusion construct.
Injection-locking of terahertz quantum cascade lasers up to 35GHz via RF amplitude modulation

We demonstrate that the cavity resonance frequency — the round-trip frequency — of terahertz quantum cascade lasers can be injection-locked by direct modulation of the bias current using an RF source. Metal-metal and single-plasmon waveguide devices with roundtrip frequencies up to 35GHz have been studied, and show locking ranges above 200MHz. Inside this locking range the laser round-trip frequency is phase-locked, with a phase noise determined by the RF-synthesizer. We find a square-root dependence of the locking range with RF-power in agreement with classical injection-locking theory. These results are discussed in the context of mode-locking operation.
Stringent testing identifies highly potent and escape‐proof anti‐HIV short hairpin RNAs

RNA interference (RNAi) is a cellular mechanism that can be induced by small interfering RNAs to mediate sequence‐specific gene silencing by cleavage of the targeted mRNA. RNAi can be used as an antiviral approach to silence the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV‐1) through stable expression of short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs). Previously, we used a co‐transfection assay in which shRNA constructs were transfected with an HIV‐1 molecular clone to identify 20 shRNA inhibitors that target highly conserved HIV‐1 sequences.
TANDEM-STRAIGHT, a research tool for L2 study enabling flexible manipulations of prosodic information

A speech analysis, modification, and resynthesis system called STRAIGHT has been widely used in the speech research community. However, its foundation and implementation were not well established. This lecture introduces recent advances in STRAIGHT’s foundation based on a new concept called TANDEM, a simple method for calculating temporally stable power spectra using two F0-adaptive time windows. A new interpretation of Shannon’s sampling theory also provided a mathematical foundation and guidelines for designing STRAIGHT. A unified approach based on TANDEM and STRAIGHT in F0 extraction (at the same time, revisiting its conceptualization) and aperiodicity information representation provide flexibility in prosodyrelated feature manipulation. An overview on prospective applications of the new TANDEM-STRAIGHT in L2 study will also be presented.
Metabolites of vitamin D and minerals in blood and colostrum of primiparous and multiparous dairy cows postpartum.

ABSTRACT : Concentrations of calcidiol, calcitriol, and minerals in blood serum and colostrum of 14 primi-parous and 16 multiparous Holstein dairy cows during short-period prepartum and postpartum were deter-mined and compared. Blood samples were collected between days 5 and 2 prepartum and 6 h, 12 h, 7 and 21 days postpartum. Nearly 66% of primiparous and 71% of multiparous cows had subclinical postpartum hypocalcemia. Prepartum serum calcium (Ca) and inorganic phosphorus (P) were higher in primiparous cows; Ca decreased in both groups at 6 and 12 h and returned to baseline values 7 days postpartum. Calcidiol and calcitriol concentrations were equal on day 5 prepartum in both groups. In multiparous cows, calcidiol and calcitriol concentration increased at 6 h postpartum and remained elevated at 12 h postpartum; there were no changes in primiparous cows for these analytes. The total secretion of Ca in the colostrum from the first milking was similar in both groups and positively correlated with serum Ca at 6 and 12 h after calving. It is concluded that postpartum increases in the calcidiol and calcitriol concentration were a normal response to the decrease of serum calcium concentration only in multiparous cows. The total Ca secretion in the colostrum of the first milking postpartum does not reflect the grade of hypocalcemia.
p‐nitrophenol toxicity to and its removal by three select soil isolates of microalgae: The role of antioxidants

The nontarget effects, in terms of biochemical changes induced by p‐nitrophenol (PNP) in three soil microalgae, Chlorella sp. , Chlorococcum sp. , and Heterochlamydomonas sp. , and the PNP removal efficiency of these isolates, were determined. On exposure to 20 mg L−1 PNP, Chlorella sp. showed greater activity of peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione reductase as well as high contents of proline and carotenoids. While Heterochlamydomonas sp. exhibited higher levels of catalase and protein, Chlorococcum sp. produced greater amounts of malondialdehyde, a measure of lipid peroxidation, in the presence of PNP. Chlorella sp. tolerated PNP by producing large quantities of antioxidants coupled with less lipid peroxidation, while Chlorococcum sp. was susceptible, as evidenced by low antioxidant production and high lipid peroxidation. During 7‐d exposure, Chlorella sp. , Heterochlamydomonas sp. , and Chlorococcum sp. were able to remove 39, 18, and 4% of 20 mg L−1 PNP, respectively. The present results indicate that proline, carotenoids and malondialdehyde are the potential biomarkers for assessing PNP toxicity toward microalgae, and their response could be considered for differentiating tolerant and susceptible strains. Moreover, there is a clear correlation between PNP removal and antioxidant synthesis in microalgae on exposure to the pollutant. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2012; 31: 1980–1988. © 2012 SETAC
Training in Infectious Diseases

function 3. Training and examinations 4. Guidelines for training Physicians Medical microbiologists Further specialisation Manpower planning 5. Funding of training programmes 6. Summary and recommendations References In recent years it has been realised that infections cause serious problems, some of which are increasing. They include epidemic infections such as salmonella and legionella, serious infections which complicate treatment for conditions such as cancer and kidney disease and new infections such as AIDS. To improve the way these diseases and allied problems are handled
Computer-aided design of in-line resonator filters with multiple elliptical apertures

A CAD procedure for a new type of in-line resonator filters with multiple elliptical-apertures irises is presented. The proposed design procedure, based on the concept of automated CAD of coupled resonator filters, considerably simplifies filter design since, with this approach, the choice of the initial geometrical dimensions is not critical. To increase the computational efficiency, at first optimization is carried out by using multivariate surrogate models derived from full wave analysis; final dimensions are then directly obtained by a rigorous full-wave optimization of the entire structure. Two examples of filters with two transmission zeros at lower and upper stop-band are presented in order to illustrate the approach.
Effect of tannin from blackberry (Syzigium cumini) seed on in vitro rumen fermentation

An experiment was conducted to quantify the chemical composition, different forms of tannins and their effects on in vitro gas production, organic matter digestibility and metabolisable energy content in Syzigium cumini (Blackberry) seed with and without polyethelene glycol (PEG). The DM, OM, ash, CP, NDF and ADF contents of S. cumini seeds were 90.1, 87.6, 2.6, 4.6, 32.9 and 15.5%, respectively. The total phenol, total tannin, condensed tannin and hydrolysable tannin content were 5.89, 4.25, 0.42 and 0.05mg/g seed, respectively. In vitro gas production, organic matter digestibility and metabolisable energy content of S. cumini seed were 54 ml, 42.91% and 6.43 MJ/Kg DM, respectively. Addition of PEG to tannin containing seed was significantly ( P <0.05) increased in vitro gas production, OMD and ME content. Higher levels of tannins in S. cumini seed could limit utilization through impaired digestibility and nutrient utilization but the addition of PEG increased all the fermentation parameters studied. It is predictable from the present findings that S. cumini seed could be utilized as natural source of feed additives to alter rumen fermentation parameters especially to protect protein and other nutrients from ruminal degradation, thereby make the nutrients available in the lower tract for higher milk and meat yield. Progress. Agric. 2014. 25: 31-37
A new 2-(2-phenylethyl)chromone glycoside in Chinese agarwood “Qi-Nan” from Aquilaria sinensis

Abstract A new 2-(2-phenylethyl)chromone glycoside, 2-[2-(4-glucosyloxy-3-methoxyphenyl)ethyl]chromone (1), was isolated from the high-quality Chinese agarwood “Qi-Nan” originating from Aquilaria sinensis (Lour.) Glig. The structure including the absolute configuration of the sugar moiety was elucidated by spectroscopic techniques (UV, IR, 1D and 2D NMR), MS analysis, PMP-labeling HPLC analysis methods, as well as comparison with literature data. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first time that chromone glycoside was discovered in agarwood, or even in the whole Aquilaria plants.
Quand rhétorique managériale rime avec violence sociale Le cas d'une restructuration dans les télécommunications

Cet article analyse le contexte strategique, organisationnel et managerial de la crise sociale qu’a traversee une grande entreprise de telecommunication en France a l’automne 2009, alors qu’une vague de suicides de salaries survenus entre 2008 et 2009 connaissait une forte mediatisation. Les auteurs resituent, en premier lieu, ces suicides par rapport aux transformations majeures qu’a recemment vecues cette ancienne administration, en montrant qu’elles s’inscrivent dans la profonde mutation que connait le capitalisme francais. Ils analysent ensuite la maniere dont ces mutations se sont incarnees dans une rhetorique manageriale, porteuse de violence pour le corps social de l’entreprise.
Appréciation du préjudice de la malnutrition protéino-énergétique sur la santé bucco-dentaire de l’enfant

La presente etude avait pour but d'etudier les consequences de la malnutrition proteino-energetique sur la sante bucco-dentaire des enfants. Materiel et methode : L'enquete a ete realisee sur 200 sujets. Le premier groupe etait compose de 100 enfants malnutris (44 filles, 56 garcons), le deuxieme groupe de 100 enfants (46 filles, 54 garcons) indemnes, en bonne sante. Les enfants etaient âges de 3 a 5 ans. Cette selection a ete realisee au sein de l’hopital de la ville de Tabligbo (Togo). La denture de tous les enfants a ete examinee, le taux de dents cariees releve. L’hygiene bucco-dentaire, les gingivites et les lesions muco-gingivales ont ete notees. Les donnees obtenues pour chaque groupe d’enfants ont ete comparees statistiquement. Resultats : Les garcons malnutris (64,1 %) avaient significativement ( P = 10 –3 ) plus de dents cariees. 90 enfants malnutris (soit 90 %) presentaient de facon significative ( P = 10 –8 ) une gingivite severe associee a une mauvaise hygiene bucco-dentaire. Conclusion : Les resultats de cette etude montre que la malnutrition constitue une des causes des caries dentaires et des parodontopathies rencontrees chez les enfants.
The Effect of Force-Feeding , Fasting and Glucose Saturated Water Intake on the Contents of Some Biochemical Parameters in Plasma of Peking Ducks

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the accuracy of a bioassay method for metabolizable energy for domestic duck, which was previously developed by our research group. 110 adult Peking drakes with similar weight were randomly allotted to 2 groups in each of 55 birds, one was treatment group and another was control group. Prior to trial, all birds were fasted for 12h, but water were provided ad libitum. And 5 birds from each group were web-bled from their venous in wings. At the same time, each bird of the tow groups was force-fed by pelleted feed 50g, then they were fasted but water was provided ad libitum. 4h later, drakes of the trial group were intake glucose saturated solution once every 6h for 15 minutes. At 2h, 12h, 24h, 36h, 48h after force-feeding, ten birds from each group were web-bled and discarded, respectively.
Small Subunit Ribosomal DNA Phylogeny of Various Microsporidia with Emphasis on AIDS Related Forms

ABSTRACT. Phylogenetic analysis of the small subunit ribosomal DNA of a broad range of representative microsporidia including five species from humans (Enterocytozoon bieneusi, Nosema corneum, Septata intestinalis, Encephalitozoon hellem and Encephalitozoon cuniculi), reveals that human microsporidia are polyphyletic in origin. Septata intestinalis and E. hellem are very similar to the mammalian parasite E. cuniculi. Based on the results of our phylogenetic analysis, we suggest that S. intestinalis be designated Encephalitozoon intestinalis. Furthermore, analysis of our data indicates that N. corneum is much more closely related to the insect parasite Endoreticulatus schubergi than it is to other Nosema species. This finding is supported by recent studies which have shown a similarity between E. schubergi and N. corneum based on the origin and development of the parasitophorous vacuole. Thus these opportunistic microsporidian parasites can originate from hosts closely or distantly related to humans. Finally, the phylogeny based on small subunit ribosomal DNA sequences is highly inconsistent with traditional classifications based on morphological characters. Many of the important morphological characters (diplokaryon, sporophorous vesicle, and meiosis) appear to have multiple origins.
Comparison of multiple cell upset response of BULK and SOI 130NM technologies in the terrestrial environment

This paper presents alpha and neutron experimental results on 130 nm SRAMs processed in SOI and bulk technologies. Experiments were analyzed for multiple cells upset (MCU) occurrence. MCU percentages and rates were recorded as a function of different experimental parameters (supply voltage, test pattern, etc.). This work sheds light on the different mechanisms involved in MCU occurrence between SOI and bulk technologies.
Input Impedance of Planar FP and EBG Antennas

The theoretical study of the input impedance for Fabry-Perot (FP), electromagnetic band gap (EBG) or leaky wave (LW) antennas is a real challenge from mathematical and electromagnetic modelling point of view and is very rarely addressed in the literature. In this paper, an original method will be presented to evaluate the input impedance of the EBG antennas excited by a line source or a point source. The method is based on the generalisation of the plane wave expansion of the antenna internal fields to cylindrical or spherical wave expansions. This procedure leads to simple and rigorous formulas which are very helpful for designing the EBG, FP and LW antennas and for understanding their electromagnetic behaviours.
Embracing general theory and taxon-level idiosyncrasies to explain nutrient recycling

At the molecular level, the process of living involves coupled biochemical reactions that result in the uptake and transformation of energy and materials by an organism, yielding biomass to support its growth and reproduction, along with waste products. Ultimately, the dynamics of this process must adhere to constraints imposed by first principles of chemistry and physics, such as mass and energy balance. Still, there is considerable debate regarding the extent to which such constraints can be used to mechanistically understand and quantitatively predict the dynamics of particular ecological processes and systems (1). Although some would argue that first principles can serve as a basis for developing general quantitative theories that account for a broad range of ecological phenomena using few free parameters (2), others would argue that attempts to characterize life in such terms are of more limited value due to the taxonomic and functional distinctiveness of species, and the complexity of their ecological interactions (3). This debate concerning the existence (or lack thereof) of general laws is as old as Ecology itself. Allgeier et al. (4) lend support to both sides of this debate by statistically disentangling general trends and taxon-level idiosyncrasies in rates of nutrient recycling by individuals. Nutrient recycling is a process fundamental to ecosystem function because it entails the breakdown of organic molecules, thereby releasing dissolved nutrients back into the environment for reuse by plants (5).