Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessment of a Raman micro-spectroscopy/microfluidics unit using a model E. coli/glucose bio-system

Incorporating Raman micro-spectroscopy into microfluidic units provides certain opportunities for in situ monitoring of bio-systems at the micro scale. Specifically, it allows for the observation of exchange, release and uptake of biochemical components within and in proximity of microorganisms in the highly controlled liquid phase environments of microfluidics. However, such systems are still in infancy and their capabilities need to be explored further. In this paper, the Escherichia coli (E. coli)/glucose bio-system is used for assessing a Raman/microfluidics unit. Two scenarios were used in the observations: the first that includes nutrient rich broth, ideal for E. coli growth, and the second using simplified deionised water.
CSaRUS-CNN at AMIA-2017 Tasks 1, 2: Under Sampled CNN for Text Classification

Most practical text classiﬁcation tasks in natural language processing involve training sets where the number of training instances belonging to each of the classes are not equal. The performance of the classiﬁer in such a case can be affected by the sampling strategies used in training. In this work, we describe a cost sensitive and random undersampling variants of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) for classifying texts in imbalanced datasets and analyze its results. The classiﬁer proposed in this paper achieves a maximum F1-score of 0.414 placing 2nd on the ADR dataset and achieves a maximum F1-score of 0.652 placing 6th on the medication intake dataset.
Discrete and Coalescing Pustules Masking Severe Recalcitrant Rosacea Due to Demodex.

Context Rosacea is a frequent and often easily treatable condition in dermatological practice. The clinical manifestations of rosacea are hypothesized to be the result of a dysregulation of the innate immune system. The roles played by outside factors, such as the presence of Demodex or localized immunosuppression in the pathogenesis of rosacea, are under considerable debate. Objective The current study intended to examine the contribution of immunosuppression to a case of recalcitrant rosacea and the effects of nutritional status in the resolution of the skin disease. Design The research team designed a case study. Setting The study took place at the dermatology clinic of the Department of Dermatology at Indiana University (Indianapolis, IN, USA). Participant The participant was a 36-y-old male patient at the clinic with a recalcitrant dermatosis of the face and neck. This patient's disease had persisted despite multiple standard treatments for facial dermatitis, rosacea, and granulomatous rosacea with a high Demodex burden. Intervention The intervention included a tapering course of cyclosporin, 3 mg of ivermectin daily for 3 wk, 500 mg daily of ascorbic acid, 1000 units daily of cholecalciferol, and green smoothies. Outcome Measures The study measured the patient's levels of immunoglobulin M (IgM), 25 hydroxyvitamin D, and ascorbic acid. Results The testing showed isolated IgM deficiency and low levels of 25 hydroxyvitamin D and ascorbic acid. The rash resolved following the tapering course of cyclosporin and vitamin repletion through supplements and dietary alteration. Conclusions The case was one with multiple confounding variables: (1) the presence of Demodex, (2) iatrogenic immunosuppression due to prolonged systemic and topical steroid use, and (3) vitamin deficiency. The case demonstrates the multifactorial pathogenesis of a recalcitrant dermatosis of the face and neck, and the research team encourages providers to consider a holistic approach when patients do not respond to standard medical therapy.
Endogenous Politics and the Design of Trade Institutions *

Political pressure is undoubtedly an important inﬂuence in the formulation of trade agreements and the institutions that govern them. Much of the literature that speaks to the design of trade policy institutions takes the political pressure that governments face as resulting from an exogenous, stochastic process. This paper shows that when political pressure arises endogenously, important results may be overturned and new insights into the motivation for features of the trade agreements we observe and rules of organizations such as the WTO come to light. Developing a model that integrates both exogenous and endogenous political pressure and taking a general approach to the government objective function, I show that governments may want to use tariff caps both to force special interest groups to continue lobbying after a trade agreement is signed and to reduce the magnitude of that lobbying effort. The presence of endogenous politics can also destroy the ability of an escape clause as traditionally deﬁned in the literature to provide ﬂexibility in times of large negative political shocks when lobbies use the ﬂexibility to seek rents. This can explain why the use of WTO Safeguards are conditioned on measurable economic indicators. governments are sufﬁciently patient. Indeed, they show that retaliation is a necessary feature of any efﬁcient equilibrium in this environment. Hungerford (1991) and Riezman (1991) also consider the impact of different assumptions about reactions and timing of punishments for deviations from agreements.
Diabetes, glycaemia, and cognition—a secondary analysis of the Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study

Type 2 diabetes is linked with cognitive dysfunction and dementia in epidemiological studies, but these observations are limited by lack of data on the exact timing of diabetes onset. We investigated diabetes, dysglycaemia, and cognition in the Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study, in which the timing and duration of diabetes are well documented.
Environment-based roadside unit deployment for urban scenarios

Vehicular communications are increasingly gaining importance in research and industry as a viable communication technology, which makes cost-efficient and reliable deployment strategies a key aspect for the planning of a communication network infrastructure. The most critical aspect, and at the same time, the biggest challenge is to obtain a total connectivity between the vehicles and the network elements. In this paper, an environment-based deployment strategy is developed, obtaining an optimal number and distribution of RSUs in a selected area while maximizing the connectivity of the network. The main distinctive aspect of the proposed strategy is the use of an environment-based radio channel model, which is specific for a given urban area. Once the site-specific propagation parameters of the proposed radio channel model are obtained, the optimal RSU distribution is achieved by solving a multi-objective, integer linear program. In addition, a metaheuristic algorithm based on tabu-search is proposed for the solution. The network optimization scheme suggested in this work shows an enhanced coverage granting an always on connectivity for vehicle-to-infrastructure networks. Furthermore, due to the optimal number of RSUs, the cost of the network is minimized, which makes the deployment strategy feasible for real scenarios.
Allogeneic restriction of acquired antimicrobial resistance in the rat.

Allogeneic restriction of acquired antimicrobial resistance was demonstrated by infusing Listeria-immune thoracic duct lymphocytes (TDL) into syngeneic, semisyngeneic, or allogeneic recipients that had been infected i.v. with Listeria monocytogenes (LM). Syngeneic and semisyngeneic recipients enjoyed a high level of protection (3 to 5 log10 reduction in viable organisms within 64 hr, whereas allogeneic recipients were poorly protected (0.5 to 2.5 log10 reduction). Sharing one haplotype between TDL-donors and challenged recipients resulted in a 4- to 8-fold increase in the level of resistance transferred. Histoincompatibility reactions could be excluded as a cause of the observed allogeneic restriction. Therefore, it is likely that LM-immune TDL are unable to respond efficiently to the antigens of this organism in an allogeneic environment. But allogeneic immune TDL do confer a low level of protection that cannot be ascribed to B cell activity nor to GvH and/or HvG reactions. Evidence is provided that the modest protection afforded by allogeneic lymphocytes is conveyed by the same T cell subset that operates with much higher efficiency in genetically related rats.
Enhanced Waypoint Graph for Path Planning in Virtual Worlds

Our research focuses on the problem of path planning, which often occurs in virtual world applications. We propose an automatic generation of enhanced waypoint graph, which is a graph data structure consisting of point nodes, which describe the corner features in the virtual world, as well as edges connecting those nodes. Given a polygon soup representation of a virtual world, for every character radius, the proposed algorithm starts by constructing a discrete distance field, consisting of regularly sampled points in 3D space. Corner detection and clustering are then done with respect to the points whose distance values are slightly larger than the character size to get the waypoints. These waypoints are further sparsely connected using traversability test, taking into account their distances to nearby obstacles. The resulting enhanced waypoint graph is sparse but has regularly distributed edges emanating from each waypoint. In addition, the graph is also able to handle different types of motions for characters with various sizes.
Transmission and reflection mode scanning microwave microscopy (SMM): Experiments, calibration, and simulations

Reflection mode scanning microwave microscopy (SMM) is compared to a newly developed transmission mode imaging hardware for extended scattering S11 and S12 measurements. Transmission mode imaging is realized by an SMA connector placed below the sample to excite an electromagnetic wave towards the cantilever acting as nanoscale-sized receiver structure. The frequency response was investigated between 1-20 GHz and a circuitry model of the SMM matching network was combined with a 3D finite element model of the tip-sample system. Modeling results include the local 3D electric field distribution around the nanoscale cantilever tip in contact to the sample. Reflection mode measurements were calibrated using a simple three error-parameter workflow allowing for quantitative impedance and capacitance imaging. A qualitative agreement was obtained between measurements and SMM models for both S11 and S12.
Study of blood and brain lithium pharmacokinetics in the rat according to three different modalities of poisoning.

Lithium-induced neurotoxicity may be life threatening. Three patterns have been described, including acute, acute-on-chronic, and chronic poisoning, with unexplained discrepancies in the relationship between clinical features and plasma lithium concentrations. Our objective was to investigate differences in plasma, erythrocyte, cerebrospinal fluid, and brain lithium pharmacokinetics using a multicompartmental approach in rat models mimicking the three human intoxication patterns. We developed acute (intraperitoneal administration of 185 mg/kg Li₂CO₃ in naive rats), acute-on-chronic (intraperitoneal administration of 185 mg/kg Li₂CO₃ in rats receiving 800 mg/l Li₂CO₃ in water during 28 days), and chronic poisoning models (intraperitoneal administration of 74 mg/kg Li₂CO₃ during 5 days in rats with 15 mg/kg K₂Cr₂O₇-induced renal failure). Delayed absorption (4.03 vs 0.31 h), increased plasma elimination (0.65 vs 0.37 l/kg/h) and shorter half-life (1.75 vs 2.68 h) were observed in acute-on-chronically compared with acutely poisoned rats. Erythrocyte and cerebrospinal fluid kinetics paralleled plasma kinetics in both models. Brain lithium distribution was rapid (as early as 15 min), inhomogeneous and with delayed elimination (over 78 h). However, brain lithium accumulation was more marked in acute-on-chronically than acutely poisoned rats [area-under-the-curve of brain concentrations (379 ± 41 vs 295 ± 26, P < .05) and brain-to-plasma ratio (45 ± 10 vs 8 ± 2, P < .0001) at 54 h]. Moreover, brain lithium distribution was increased in chronically compared with acute-on-chronically poisoned rats (brain-to-plasma ratio: 9 ± 1 vs 3 ± 0, P < .01). In conclusion, prolonged rat exposure results in brain lithium accumulation, which is more marked in the presence of renal failure. Our data suggest that differences in plasma and brain kinetics may at least partially explain the observed variability between human intoxication patterns.
Relationships between clinical data and quantitative EMG findings in facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE In recently published reports, electrophysiological findings were analysed, in some facioscapulo-humeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) cases without genetic disease confirmation. In several reports, some electrophysiological findings were described, not specific for myopathy. The aim of study was to analyse electrophysiological findings in a genetically homogeneous FSHD group to find possible relationships between electromyography (EMG) abnormalities and clinical symptoms. MATERIAL AND METHODS 37 patients with genetically proven FSHD (23 men and 14 women) aged 7-58 years (mean 28.8 years) were studied. Electromyographic examinations were done according to a uniform scheme for FSHD. Quantitative EMG examination was performed in vastus lateralis, tibialis anterior, deltoid and biceps brachii muscles. RESULTS There was no correlation between clinical features and electrophysiological findings. EMG confirmed myopathic changes in all patients with most advanced changes in tibialis anterior and deltoid muscles. Some of these changes were unspecific for myopathy and the degree of their intensity differed in particular muscles. The most advanced changes were observed in the tibialis anterior and deltoid muscles. The usefulness of the size index for myopathic processes assessment was confirmed. Analysis of so-called outliers for motor unit activity potential parameters did not show any new data for evaluation of the myopathic process. Myopathic changes in our material were not as advanced as those described in classical dystrophies. Histopathological examinations of skeletal muscle were normal in about 1/3 of patients. CONCLUSIONS We established that myopathic changes are clearly present in FSHD, with different degrees of intensity, most pronounced in tibialis anterior and deltoid muscles. There was no correlation between electrophysiological findings and clinical features. The size index provided the highest motor unit potential diagnostic sensitivity in FSHD.
Reported habitual intake of breakfast and selected foods in relation to overweight status among seven- to nine-year-old Swedish children

Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the reported frequency of breakfast intake and selected food and beverages in the investigated group of Swedish children in comparison with recommended intakes. Furthermore, the study analyses these food habits and some demographic and lifestyle factors in relation to overweight and obesity. Methods: This cross-sectional study builds on data collected in 2008 and 2010. Measured anthropometric data and parent questionnaire data were collected. A total of 2620 Swedish children (52.1% boys) aged seven to nine years were included. Results: The majority of parents reported that their children (95.4%) had breakfast every day. The majority of children had fresh fruit (84.7%) and vegetables (83.9%) most days a week. Only 1.6% of the children were reported to have fast food and 6.0% to have sugar containing soft drinks, four days a week or more. The prevalence of overweight including obesity (OW/OB) was 17.8% for boys, 18.6% for girls. The odds of being OW/OB was higher among those not having breakfast every day (odds ratio (OR) 1.9, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.20–2.96), drinking diet soft drink (OR 2.6, 95% CI 1.52–4.42) and skimmed/semi-skimmed milk (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.37–2.36) four days a week or more. Parents being overweight and having low education levels were also related to a higher risk of their children being overweight. Conclusions: The parental reports of children’s food habits pointed at favourable eating patterns for most investigated children. Breakfast skipping, diet soft drinks and low-fat milk consumption were more frequent among OW/OB children. Longitudinal studies are needed to determine the causal relationships.
Furazolidone in paediatric cholera.

Tetracycline continues to be an effective antimicrobial agent in the clinical control of cholera but because of its high cost, relatively short shelf-life and recent reports of increased resistance of vibrios to tetracycline in vitro, alternative antimicrobial agents have been tested. Furazolidone, effective against cholera caused by the El Tor biotype in adults, was found to be as effective as tetracycline in reducing the volume and duration of diarrhoea in children with classical cholera and, given over a period of 7 days, only slightly less effective in reducing duration of vibrio excretion.Therapy with an antimicrobial agent over a period of 7 days was associated with a significantly smaller rise in vibriocidal antibody titre (of no clinical significance) in the youngest age-group studied; this was probably due to a diminished antigenic stimulus from the primary infection. Undernourished children showed a poorer response to anti-microbial therapy.The study indicated that furazolidone is a reasonable alternative to tetracycline in the treatment of cholera.
The effect of pneumonia on mortality among patients hospitalized for acute stroke

Objective: To determine the effect of pneumonia on 30-day mortality in patients hospitalized for acute stroke. Methods: Subjects in the initial cohort were 14,293 Medicare patients admitted for stroke to 29 greater Cleveland hospitals between 1991 and 1997. The relative risk (RR) of pneumonia for 30-day mortality was determined in a final cohort (n = 11,286) that excluded patients dying or having a do not resuscitate order within 3 days of admission. Clinical data were obtained from chart abstraction and were merged with Medicare Provider Analysis and Review files to obtain deaths within 30 days. A predicted-mortality model (c-statistic = 0.78) and propensity score for pneumonia (c-statistic = 0.83) were used for risk adjustment in logistic regression analyses. Results: Pneumonia was identified in 6.9% (n = 985) of all patients and in 5.6% (n = 635) of the final cohort. The rates of pneumonia were higher in patients with greater stroke severity and features indicating general frailty. Unadjusted 30-day mortality rates were six times higher for patients with pneumonia than for those without (26.9% vs 4.4%, p < 0.001). After adjusting for admission severity and propensity for pneumonia, RR of pneumonia for 30-day death was 2.99 (95% CI 2.44 to 3.66), and population attributable risk was 10.0%. Conclusion: In this large community-wide study of stroke outcomes, pneumonia conferred a threefold increased risk of 30-day death, adding impetus to efforts to identify and reduce the risk of pneumonia in patients with stroke.
Heritability of Variations in Oil Content of Individual Corn Kernels

Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to determine oil content of individual corn kernels in order to evaluate this technique as an aid in the development of strains having greater oil content. This method is rapid and does not impair viability. Individual kernels from a selfed single-cross ear ranged from 2.7 to 5.4 percent oil and were significantly correlated (r = +0.75) with the oil content of their progeny ears. This indicates that the single-kernel differences in oil content were heritable, and this method may greatly increase selection efficiency in breeding for higher oil content in corn.
Partial discharges in a cavity at variable applied frequency part 2: measurements and modeling

In this paper partial discharges (PD) in a disc-shaped cavity are measured at variable frequency (0.01 - 100 Hz) of the applied voltage. The measured PD phase and magnitude distributions, as well as the number of PDs per voltage cycle, changed with the varying frequency. A charge consistent model is presented and used to dynamically simulate the sequence of PDs in the cavity. The simulation results show that the properties of the cavity surface, mainly the surface conductivity and the surface emission of electrons, change with the varying applied frequency. This is interpreted as an effect of the difference in time between consecutive PDs at different applied frequencies. This is the second of two papers addressing the frequency dependence of PD in a cavity. The first paper described how the PD frequency dependence changes with the applied voltage amplitude, the cavity size and the cavity location.
El posicionamiento de las marcas de automóviles en los estudiantes universitarios de la UEMC: diferencias de percepción en función de la experiencia en la conducción

En este trabajo se realiza un analisis del posicionamiento de las marcas de automoviles sobre una muestra de estudiantes universitarios de la UEMC. El metodo estadistico utilizado fue el analisis de correspondencias simple en el marco de una encuesta sobre la muestra antes mencionada. Los resultados ponen de manifiesto la estructuracion del mercado de automoviles en todos los casos en varios grupos competitivos, en funcion fundamentalmente del precio. Ademas, se encontraron diferencias relevantes en el segmento de gama media en los dos periodos analizados, tanto en el caso de estudiantes con permiso de conduccion como en el caso de estudiantes sin tal autorizacion administrativa.
Inhibition of T‐cell receptor beta‐chain gene rearrangement by overexpression of the non‐receptor protein tyrosine kinase p56lck.

The variable region genes of the T cell receptor (TCR) alpha and beta chains are assembled by somatic recombination of separate germline elements. During thymocyte development, gene rearrangements display both an ordered progression, with beta chain formation preceding alpha chain, and allelic exclusion, with each cell containing a single functional beta chain rearrangement. Although considerable evidence supports the view that the individual loci are regulated independently, signaling molecules that may participate in controlling TCR gene recombination remain unidentified. Here we report that the lymphocyte‐specific protein tyrosine kinase p56lck, when overexpressed in developing thymocytes, provokes a reduction in V beta‐‐D beta rearrangement while permitting normal juxtaposition of other TCR gene segments. Our data support a model in which p56lck activity impinges upon a signaling process that ordinarily permits allelic exclusion at the beta‐chain locus.