Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Agreement Properties and Word Order in Comparative Bantu

Agreement is traditionally viewed as a cross-referencing device for core arguments such as subjects and (primary) objects.1 In this paper, I discuss data from Bantu languages that lead to a radical departure from this generally accepted position: agreement in a subset of Bantu languages cross-references a (sentential) topic rather than the subject. The crucial evidence for topic agreement comes from a construction known as subject-object (S-O) reversal, where the fronted patient agrees with what has uniformly been taken to be a ‘subject marker’. The correct analysis of S-O reversal as a topic construction with ‘topic agreement’ explains a range of known facts in the languages in question. Furthermore, synchronic variation across Bantu in the presence/absence of S-O reversal and in the properties of the (topic/subject) agreement marker suggests a diachronic path from topic to subject marking. The systematic variation and covariation in the syntax of Bantu languages and the historical picture that it offers would be missed altogether if we continue to reject the idea that the notion of topic can be deeply grammaticized in the form of agreement.
Usefulness of Functional MRI for the Study of Brain Function

The higher cognitive functions of the human brain are hypothesized to be selectively distributed across large-scale neural networks interconnected to cortical and subcortical areas. Recently, advances in functional imaging make it possible to visualize the brain areas activated by certain cognitive activities in vivo. Out of several technologies currently available for brain activation studies, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is being increasingly used due to its superior time resolution and finer spatial resolution. The technique is non-invasive without radiational hazard, which allows repeated multiple scans within the individual. The most common approach to fMRI of brain is the one that uses ‘blood-oxygen level dependent (BOLD)’contrast, which is based on the localized hemodynamic changes following neural activities in the certain
Immunorecognition of different ganglioside epitopes on human normal and melanoma tissues

There is increasing evidence that cell‐surface gangliosides play a role in tumor growth, progression and metastases. In order to determine the frequency of ganglioside GD3 in patients with metastatic malignant melanoma for further therapeutic trials, GD3 ganglioside expression was determined in 119 tissue samples. Of these melanomas, 93% (111/119) were R‐24‐positive, which indicates the value of this diagnostic marker for melanoma. To study the structural epitopes of gangliosides, 10 ganglioside antibodies with defined specificities and affinities were tested on over 100 fresh‐frozen tissue specimens of human normal and melanoma tissues. All the antibodies tested recognize the ganglioside GD3, but vary in their cross‐reactivity with other gangliosides. According to their epitope specificity, they can be divided into 5 groups. For example, the antibodies Z‐21 and A‐4 react like the previously established MAb R‐24 with gangliosides GD3 and GQIb, and one MAb (Q‐4) detects all gangliosides containing 2 connected sialic acids (GD3, GD2, GDIb, GTIb, GQIb). Specificity on TLC does not always correlate with specificity to melanoma tissues and vice‐versa. For example, MAb A‐4, which recognizes only GD3 and GQI b on TLC, shows no specific reactivity on tissues. Furthermore, antibodies with the same ganglioside specificity do not have the same staining pattern on human tissues. For example, MAb Z‐21, which is directed against the same gangliosides as MAb R‐24 on TLC, does not cross‐react with as many neuroectodermal tissues as MAb R‐24. Because of their distinct properties, some of these antibodies may be even more useful for immunodiagnosis and immunotherapy of malignant melanoma than MAb R‐24.
Root Cause Analysis of Arcing in Retaining Rings of Turbogenerators

Retaining rings are an important, and the most highly stressed, component of the entire turbogenerator system. Arcing in retaining rings is a very serious problem as it can easily escalate to a full-blown failure. In this paper, we investigate this arcing problem in the retaining rings. We determine the most likely mechanism by which arcing occurs and the type of events that lead to it. Specifically, we try to test two different mechanisms that could have led to the indications of arc. The first one is sparking due to high field effects (or high voltage gradient across the contact junction) and the other is a make-and-break contact arcing owing to the presence of inductance in the system. Experiments performed to measure the contact resistance between the retaining ring and mild iron piece indicate that even very high fault currents cannot produce enough voltage drop to cause sparking. Transient three-dimensional finite-element simulations show that a break in a relatively small contact region, which can be part of a bigger contact area, can generate localized voltage spikes that are high enough to lead to arcing. Interestingly, this can happen at relatively low currents. Furthermore, hardware experiments in the laboratory confirm the possibility of generation of arcs due to a make-and-break contact at low currents.
Antidepressant pharmacogenetics

Purpose of review This article reviews recent literature published over the period March 2012–August 2013 on antidepressant pharmacogenetics, with a focus on clinical translation and methodological challenges. Recent findings Recently, various polymorphisms associated with differential antidepressant efficacy, tolerability, and safety have emerged in association studies, but mixed findings, limited effect sizes, and poor control of confounders have prevented findings translating to practice. Although promising steps have been made, empirically robust clinically translatable pharmacogenetic tests are not yet established. The complex neurobiology of major depressive disorder (MDD) together with the evolving understanding of genetic processes present research challenges for clinical translation. Summary Early reports of clinical utility are published. The current evidence base for antidepressant pharmacogenetics is, however, not yet empirically robust enough to inform routine prescribing guidelines. Over the coming years, genetically guided versus unguided trials will help determine if antidepressant pharmacogenetics merits more widespread application.
Isoflurane Provides Neuroprotection in Neonatal Hypoxic Ischemic Brain Injury

Isoflurane is a volatile anesthetic that is widely used clinically as an inhalational anesthetic. In recent years, several studies have indicated that isoflurane has neuroprotective properties. This has led to the beneficial effects of isoflurane being analyzed in both cell culture and animal models, including various models of brain injury. Neonatal hypoxia ischemia may be characterized as injury that occurs in the immature brain, resulting in delayed cell death via excitotoxicity and oxidative stress. These adverse events in the developing brain often lead to detrimental neurological defects in the future. Currently, there are no well-established effective therapies for neonatal hypoxia ischemia. In line with this, isoflurane, which displays neuroprotective properties in several paradigms and has been shown to improve neurological deficits caused by brain injuries, has the capability to be an extremely relevant clinical therapy for the resolution of deficits concomitant with neonatal hypoxic ischemic brain injuries. This review therefore seeks to explore and analyze the current information on isoflurane, looking at general isoflurane anesthetic properties, and the protection it confers in different animal models, focusing particularly on neuroprotection as shown in studies with neonatal hypoxic ischemic brain injury.
Pancreas Resection and Islet Autotransplantation for End-Stage Chronic Pancreatitis

ObjectiveTo assess the safety and efficacy of islet autotransplantation (IAT) combined with total pancreatectomy (TP) to prevent diabetes. Summary Background DataThere have been recent concerns regarding the safety of TP and IAT. This is thought to be related to the infusion of large volumes of unpurified pancreatic digest into the portal vein. Minimizing the volume of islet tissue by purifying the pancreatic digest has not been previously evaluated in terms of the postoperative rate of death and complications, pain relief, and insulin independence. MethodDuring a 54-month period, 24 patients underwent pancreas resection with IAT. Islets were isolated using collagenase and a semiautomated method of pancreas digestion. Where possible, islets were purified on a density gradient and COBE processor. Islets were embolized into the portal vein, within the spleen and portal vein, or within the spleen alone. The total median volume of digest was 9.9 mL. ResultsThe median number of islets transplanted was 140,419 international islet equivalents per kilogram. The median increase in portal pressure was 8 mmHg. Early complications included duodenal ischemia, a wedge splenic infarct, partial portal vein thrombosis, and splenic vein thrombosis. Intraabdominal adhesions were the main source of long-term problems. Eight patients developed transient insulin independence. Three patients were insulin-independent as of this writing. Patients had significantly decreased insulin requirements and glycosylated hemoglobin levels compared with patients undergoing TP alone. Of the patients alive and well as of this writing, four had failed to gain relief of their abdominal pain and were still opiate-dependent. ConclusionCombined TP and IAT can be a safe surgical procedure. Unfortunately, almost all patients were still insulin-dependent, but they had decreased daily insulin requirements and glycosylated hemoglobin levels compared with patients undergoing TP alone. A prospective randomized study is therefore needed to assess the long-term benefit of TP and IAT on diabetic complications.
Fault tolerance adaptation requirements vs. quality-of-service, realtime and security in dynamic distributed systems

Due to deregulation of electricity market and the trend towards distributed electricity generation based on renewable energy (e.g. wind energy), electric power infrastructure relies increasingly on communication infrastructure. Communication infrastructure has to fulfil requirements as survivability and dependability to secure a high availability and reliability of electric power infrastructure. For this requirements, the communication infrastructure must be able to adapt to changes (e.g. due to dynamic environment) and to allow adaptation of quality-of-service (e.g. graceful degradation), and not the least to support adaptive fault tolerance. Given the criticality of the information transferred (e.g. control data and messages) the communication infrastructure requires support for security (e.g. confidentiality, integrity etc.) as well. Because communication infrastructure handles control data, part of the traffic (or communication) has also requirements for real-time support. In this paper relations between the requirements for adaptive fault tolerance and real-time, quality-of-service and/or security are analyzed. It can be noticed that sometimes tradeoffs are required (e.g. real-time vs. fault tolerance) or the opposite, the two characteristics can use the same mechanisms to improve their support (e.g. fault tolerance vs. quality-of-service). Also, they can depend on each other for dependability support (e.g. fault tolerance vs. security). More detailed analysis depends on the specific cases (e.g. underlying distributed system, target applications such as communication infrastructure of electric power infrastructure). However, the relationships (i.e. dependencies) between the requirements for fault tolerance, real-time, quality-of-service and/or security should not be ignored, neither considered too late in the design decisions if dependability is an objective
Biomechanical and physiological comparison of barefoot and two shod conditions in experienced barefoot runners.

AIM The first aim of this study was to assess how changes in the mechanical characteristics of the foot/shoe-ground interface affect spatio-temporal variables, ground pressure distribution, sagittal plane kinematics, and running economy in 8 experienced barefoot runners. The second aim was to assess if a special lightweight shoe (Vibram Fivefingers) was effective in mimic the experience of barefoot running. METHODS By using an instrumented treadmill, barefoot running, running with the Fivefingers, and running with standard running shoe were compared, analyzing a large numbers of consecutive steps. Foot/shoe-ground interface pressure distribution, lower limb kinematics, V.O(2) and heart rate data were simultaneously collected. RESULTS Compared to the standard shod condition when running barefoot the athletes landed in more plantarflexion at the ankle. This caused reduced impact forces and changes in stride kinematics. In particular, significantly shorter stride length and contact times and higher stride frequency were observed (P<0.05). Compared to standard shod condition, V.O(2) and peak impact forces were significantly lower with Fivefingers (P<0.05) and much closer to barefoot running. Lower limb kinematics with Fivefingers was similar to barefoot running with a foot position which was significantly more plantarflexed than in control shoe (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS The data of this study support the assumption that changes in the foot-ground interface led to changes in running pattern in a group of experienced barefoot runners. The Fivefingers model seems to be effective in imitating the barefoot conditions while providing a small amount of protection.
How to build successful complex systems : lessons from open source Les

Complex systems appear on the surface to present special problems. Major failures in their operation or in their development are very frequently reported. In the UK, this prompted the Royal Academy of Engineering to produce a report, [5] in order to highlight the problem and hopefully promote a discussion into why such failures are so frequent. This eventually led to the formation of the Large Scale Complex IT systems institute here, after “wide-ranging discussions with relevant stakeholder groups in industry, academia, and the public sector to identify a programme of appropriate research and training”. Unfortunately I did not get the opportunity to provide any input to these discussions so this paper condenses thirty years of personal experience and observations into how systems get into trouble in the hope that it might be useful to somebody.
Disposition and metabolism of the new oral antidiabetic drug troglitazone in rats, mice and dogs.

The pharmacokinetics of troglitazone (CAS 97322-87-7, CS-045), a new oral antidiabetic drug for the treatment of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), were investigated in rats, mice and dogs following oral and intravenous administration of 14C-labeled troglitazone at doses of 5 mg/kg. The absorption rates, calculated from the AUC ratios of total radioactivity after oral and intravenous administration, or from the biliary excretion rate after intraduodenal administration in rats were both as high as 75%. High uptake by the liver, one of the pharmacological target organs, was demonstrated in both rats and mice. Furthermore, in the KK mouse, an obese NIDDM model animal, the radioactivity was incorporated selectively as troglitazone itself to muscle, the peripheral target organ. Troglitazone reversibly bound to serum albumin with a high ratio (> 99%). Troglitazone was mostly metabolized to the conjugates: sulfate (M 1) and glucuronide (M 2). The oxidized metabolite, a quinone-type metabolite (M 3), was found to be further metabolized to the sulfate (U 2). The biliary excretion rates of these conjugates were high in each animal, and the occurrence of enterohepatic circulation of the conjugates was also suggested. Sex differences in pharmacokinetics were observed in rats; i.e. females showed a higher plasma concentration of troglitazone, and a lower concentration of M 1, than males, and they excreted the sex-related metabolite, a hydroxylated M 1 (U 1), in the bile.
Lagrangian and Eulerian Representations of Fluid Flow : Part I , Kinematics and the Equations of Motion

This essay introduces the two methods that are commonly used to describe fluid flow, by observing the trajectories of parcels that are carried along with the flow or by observing the fluid velocity at fixed positions. These yield what are commonly termed Lagrangian and Eulerian descriptions. Lagrangian methods are often the most efficient way to sample a fluid domain and the physical conservation laws are inherently Lagrangian since they apply to specific material parcels rather than points in space. It happens, though, that the Lagrangian equations of motion applied to a continuum are quite difficult, and thus almost all of the theory (forward calculation) in fluid dynamics is developed within the Eulerian system. Eulerian solutions may be used to calculate Lagrangian properties, e.g., parcel trajectories, which is often a valuable step in the description of an Eulerian solution. Transformation to and from Lagrangian and Eulerian systems — the central theme of this essay — is thus the foundation of most theory in fluid dynamics and is a routine part of many investigations.
Analysis of ordinal longitudinal data using semi-parametric mixed models

A spline mixed item response theory model that allows for three-level multivariate ordinal outcomes and accommodates multiple random subject effects is proposed for analysis of ordinal outcomes in longitudinal studies. Assuming cumulative logit model with proportional odds, maximum marginal likelihood estimation for model parameters is proposed utilizing Monte Carlo Metropolis Hastings Newton Raphson (MCMHNR) algorithm. An iterative Fisher scoring solution, which provides standard errors for all model parameters, is considered. The performance of the estimates of the model parameters in finite samples has been looked into. A longitudinal orthodontic data set, where plaque content in teeth is repeatedly measured over time, is used to illustrate application of the proposed model.
Genetic analysis of measles viruses isolated in Morocco

Sequence analysis was conducted on the hemagglutinin (H) and nucleoprotein (N) genes from nine wild‐type measles viruses (MV) isolated during an outbreak that occurred in Morocco during 1998 and 1999. The sequence data showed that all the viruses were closely related to each other and were members of genotype C2. Genotype C2 has been shown to be circulating in Europe, and the sequences of the Moroccan isolates were most closely related to the sequences of recent viral isolates from western Europe. This report presents the first molecular epidemiological study of circulating wild‐type measles viruses in Morocco. Knowledge of the indigenous strain of measles virus circulating in Morocco will help to describe viral transmission pathways and should contribute to efforts to evaluate the effectiveness of future vaccination campaigns. J. Med. Virol. 68:441–444, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Identifying fusion transcripts using next generation sequencing

Fusion transcripts (i.e., chimeric RNAs) resulting from gene fusions have been used successfully for cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic applications. In addition, many fusion transcripts are found in normal human cell lines and tissues, with some data supporting their role in normal physiology. Besides chromosomal rearrangement, intergenic splicing can generate them. Global identification of fusion transcripts becomes possible with the help of next generation sequencing technology like RNA‐Seq. In the past decade, major advancements have been made for chimeric RNA discovery due to the development of advanced sequencing platform and software packages. However, current software tools behave differently in terms of specificity, sensitivity, time, and computational memory usage. Recent benchmarking studies showed that none of the tools are inclusive. The development of high performance (accurate and fast), and user‐friendly fusion detection tool/pipeline is still an open quest. In this article, we review the existing software packages for fusion detection. We explain the methods of the tools, and discuss various factors that affect fusion detection. We summarize conclusions drawn from several comparative studies, and then discuss some of the pitfalls of these studies. We also describe the limitations of current tools, and suggest directions for future development. WIREs RNA 2016, 7:811–823. doi: 10.1002/wrna.1382
Lightning and the heart: fractal behavior in cardiac function

Physical systems, from galactic clusters to diffusing molecules, often show fractal behavior. Likewise, living systems might often be well described by fractal algorithms. Such fractal descriptions in space and time imply that there is order in chaos, or put the other way around, chaotic dynamical systems in biology are more constrained and orderly than seen at first glance. The vascular network, the syncytium of cells, the processes of diffusion and transmembrane transport might be fractal features of the heart. These fractal features provide a basis which enables one to understand certain aspects of more global behavior such as atrial or ventricular fibrillation and perfusion heterogeneity. The heart might be regarded as a prototypical organ from these points of view. A particular example of the use of fractal geometry is in explaining myocardial flow heterogeneity via delivery of blood through an asymmetrical fractal branching network.
Simulating colonic survival of probiotics in single-strain products compared to multi-strain products

ABSTRACT Background: Probiotic formulations can be single- or multi-strain. Commercially, multi-strain preparations have been suggested to have improved functionality over single-strain cultures. Probiotics are often tested as single-strain preparations but may subsequently be commercially formulated as multi-strain products. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine what happens at the site of action, the intestine, with probiotics as single- compared to multi-strain preparations. The human gastrointestinal tract contains a broad mixture of different microbes which may affect the survival of different probiotics in different ways. Design: The current study was performed to evaluate, in an in vitro colon simulation, whether probiotics influence each other’s survival when they are taken as a combination of several strains (HOWARU Restore; Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM, Lactobacillus paracasei Lpc-37, Bifidobacterium lactis Bl-04 and B. lactis Bi-07) compared to the strains as single preparations. Results: All strains could be detected after the colon simulations and there were no substantial differences in levels of the same strain when comparing single- and multi-strain products. Conclusions: It can be concluded that probiotics do not have an antagonistic effect on each other’s survival when used in a multi-strain product compared to a single-strain product, at least within a microbiota in a simulated colonic environment.