Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Women are more susceptible than men to oxidative stress and chromosome damage caused by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons exposure

Exposure to environmental polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has been associated with increased risk of cancer, but evidence for gender differences in this association is limited. The aim of this study was to examine the gender differences in PAHs caused early genotoxic effects such as oxidative stress and chromosome damage, which are potential carcinogenic etiology of PAHs. A total of 478 nonsmoking workers (272 men and 206 women) from a coke oven plant were recruited. We determined 16 environmental PAHs in their workplaces, and measured concentrations of 12 urinary PAH metabolites (OH‐PAHs), plasma benzo[a]pyrene‐r‐7,t‐8,t‐9,c‐10‐tetrahydotetrol‐albumin (BPDE‐Alb) adducts, urinary 8‐hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8‐OHdG) and 8‐iso‐prostaglandin‐F2α (8‐iso‐PGF2α), and micronucleus frequencies in lymphocytes in all subjects. It showed that, women working at the office, adjacent to the coke oven, and on the bottom or side of the coke oven displayed significantly higher levels of urinary 8‐OHdG and 8‐iso‐PGF2α, and lymphocytic micronucleus frequencies compared with men working at above areas, respectively (all P < 0.05). These gender differences remain significant after adjusted for potential confounders and urinary ΣOH‐PAHs or plasma BPDE‐Alb adducts. A significant interaction existed between gender and BPDE‐Alb adducts on increasing micronucleus frequencies (Pinteraction < 0.001). We further stratified all workers by the tertiles of urinary ΣOH‐PAHs or plasma BPDE‐Alb adducts, and the above gender differences were more evident in the median‐ and high‐exposure groups (all P < 0.05). In conclusion, women were more susceptible than men to oxidative stress and chromosome damage induced by PAHs, which may add potential evidence underlying gender differences in PAH exposure‐related lung cacinogenesis. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 55:472–481, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Lung Biopsy: Special Techniques

Transthoracic needle biopsy of the indeterminate pulmonary nodule is a well-established, highly accurate, and minimally invasive diagnostic procedure. A pulmonary nodule in virtually any location is accessible to transthoracic needle biopsy. A solid understanding of special biopsy techniques enables the operator to overcome the commonly encountered challenges, including small, mobile, and partly obscured nodules. Because biopsy-related complications can be reduced but not completely eliminated, a familiarity with such complications and the procedures used to manage them is essential. A close partnership with the cytology team is crucial in achieving a high diagnostic accuracy during transthoracic needle biopsy. In the future, biopsy-derived microarray analysis may play a greater role in guiding treatment and predicting treatment outcomes.
Lu-PSMA Radioligand Therapy for Prostate Cancer

1Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California; 2Department of Nuclear Medicine, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Munich, Germany; 3Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany; 4Department of Nuclear Medicine, Medical Faculty, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany; 5Department of Nuclear Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany; and 6Department of Nuclear Medicine, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
Endoscopic approaches to pancreatic disease

Purpose of review Endoscopy plays a central role in the evaluation and management of patients with pancreatic disease. This review focuses on recent clinically relevant developments and timely research questions related to endoscopy in acute and chronic pancreatitis. Recent findings Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) has moved to the forefront of the evaluation of unexplained pancreatitis; endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) for recurrent acute pancreatitis remains controversial but commonly practiced; fully covered metallic stents are challenging traditional stent therapy in the treatment of benign biliary and pancreatic strictures due to chronic pancreatitis; endoscopic drainage has become central in the therapeutic algorithm for pancreatic fluid collections; EUS-guided access to the pancreatic duct in cases of unsuccessful ERCP is a promising new platform that requires additional research and development. The evidence in these areas is discussed, with an emphasis on recent high-impact publications. Summary There have been significant recent advances in our endoscopic approach to pancreatic disease; however, additional research is necessary toward providing high-quality, evidence-based care in this area. Video abstract http://links.lww. com/COG/A19
Localization of immunoreactive beta-endorphin and adrenocorticotropic hormone and pro-opiomelanocortin mRNA to rat testicular interstitial tissue macrophages.

Pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) gene expression and POMC peptides have been demonstrated in the Leydig cells of the testis, although selective removal of the Leydig cells with the cytotoxic drug ethane dimethane sulfonate did not significantly reduce levels of testicular POMC mRNA or peptides in adult rats. Since macrophages in the rat spleen synthesize POMC peptides, we investigated whether isolated macrophages from the adult rat testis may be an additional source of POMC-derived peptides. Testicular macrophages were isolated by collagenase treatment of adult rat testes and adherence to siliconized glass coverslips; the biological, cytochemical and immunological characteristics of the attached cells were compared with those of Leydig cells purified by Percoll gradient centrifugation. Macrophages in the cell preparations were identified by positive esterase cytochemical staining, latex bead ingestion, and immunocytochemical staining with ED2 (a macrophage-specific monoclonal antibody), and an absence of 3 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase cytochemical staining. Leydig cells in the purified preparations were positive for 3 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase and esterase staining but negative with ED2, and were not phagocytic. Based on these criteria, the purities of the macrophage and Leydig cell preparations employed in this study were estimated to be 87 +/- 4% and 91 +/- 3%, respectively. Cytoplasmic beta-endorphin (beta EP) immunoreactivity (ir) was present in 62 +/- 9% of cells in the purified Leydig cell preparations--confirming these cells as a source of POMC-derived peptides. In addition, ir-beta EP and ir-ACTH were localized to the cytoplasm of a similar proportion of cells (beta EP, 62.5 +/- 5%; ACTH, 64 +/- 5%) in macrophage preparations. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Practical Performance of Refinements of Nash Equilibria in Extensive-Form Zero-Sum Games

Nash equilibrium (NE) is the best known solution concept used in game theory. It is known that NE is particularly weak even in zero-sum extensive-form games since it can prescribe irrational actions to play that do not exploit mistakes made by an imperfect opponent. These issues are addressed by a number of refinements of NE that strengthen the requirements for equilibrium strategies. However, a thorough experimental analysis of practical performance of the Nash equilibria refinement strategies is, to the best of our knowledge, missing. This paper aims to fill this void and provides the first broader experimental comparison of the quality of refined Nash strategies in zero-sum extensive-form games. The experimental results suggest that (1) there is a significant difference between the best and the worst NE strategy against imperfect opponents, (2) the existing refinements outperform the worst NE strategy, (3) they typically perform close to the best possible NE strategy, and (4) the difference in performance of all compared refinements is very small.
Crossing numbers of sequences of graphs II: Planar tiles

We describe a method of creating an infinite family of crossing‐critical graphs from a single small planar map, the tile, by gluing together many copies of the tile together in a circular fashion. This method yields all known infinite families of k‐crossing‐critical graphs. Furthermore, the method yields new infinite families, which extend from (4,6) to (3.5,6) the interval of rationals r for which there is, for some k, an infinite sequence of k‐crossing‐critical graphs all having average degree r. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 42: 332–341, 2003
ON THE APPLICATION OF COMPLEX NETWORK ANALYSIS FOR METAHEURISTICS

This contribution deals with the hybridisation of complex network frameworks and metaheuristic algorithms. The population is visualised as an evolving complex network that exhibits non-trivial features. It briefly investigates the time and structure development of a complex network within a run of selected metaheuristic algorithms – i.e., PSO and Differential Evolution (DE). Two different approaches for the construction of complex networks are presented herein. It also briefly discusses the possible utilisation of complex network attributes. These attributes include an adjacency graph that depicts interconnectivity, while centralities provide an overview of convergence and stagnation, and clustering encapsulates the diversity of the population, whereas other attributes show the efficiency of the network. The experiments were performed for one selected DE/PSO strategy and one simple test function.
Bioactivity‐guided Fractionation of Phyllanthus orbicularis and Identification of the Principal Anti HSV‐2 Compounds

The antiherpes virus properties of Phyllanthus orbicularis Kunth, a Cuban‐endemic medicinal plant, have been reported previously but data on its phytochemical profile and identification of antiviral metabolites as well as their mechanisms of action are still lacking. In this work, a bioactivity‐guided phytochemical analysis was performed in order to isolate anti HSV‐2 compounds. P. orbicularis contained mainly phenolic acids derivatives and flavonoids. The antiviral effects were attributed to (−)‐epicatechin‐3‐O‐gallate (EC50 = 11.7 µg/mL), procyanidins B1 and B2 (EC50 = 32.8 µg/mL and 24.2 µg/mL, respectively) as well as oligomeric and polymeric procyanidins and their gallate derivatives. The antiviral mechanisms of the active P. orbicularis extracts and fractions were also investigated and the inhibition of several HSV‐2 early replication events and DNA synthesis were observed. This is the first study of extensive fractionation and phytochemical characterization of phenolic compounds from this species. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Relational Distancing and Termination between Online Friends: An Application of the Investment Model

This research examined the relational maintenance versus termination of online friendships in Facebook. Guided by Rusbult's [33] investment model (IM), the study constructed a model to examine 55 matched pairs of Facebook friends consisting of one "primary user" and one "annoyer. " Results indicated that primary users' judgments of relational satisfaction with annoyers were influenced by annoyers' narcissistic personality and their overall propensity for posting overly self-focused content. Commitment affected primary users' use of both passive "unfollowing" and active "unfriending" in response to annoyers' behavior. Decisions to maintain or terminate online friendships are related to judgments and actions of both partners. Overall, these results emphasize the dyadic nature of relational maintenance and termination processes in online environments, and the importance of studying them as such.
Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy with apparently different clinical courses within sexes in a large inbred kindred

Editor—The autosomal recessive limb-girdle muscular dystrophies (AR-LGMD) are clinical entities characterised by primary and progressive muscle degeneration, mainly at the pelvic and shoulder girdles, with great variability in the clinical course. Some patients present a severe course similar to Duchenne muscular dystrophy, while others maintain the capacity to walk even in adult life.1-3 At least eight autosomal recessive genes have been mapped. The chromosome localisation of these genes and their products, and a brief comment on the clinical course of each type of AR-LGMD are summarised in table 1. Of these mapped genes, six have been cloned: the gene responsible for LGMD2A which encodes calpain 3, a muscle specific protease,30 the genes that cause the known sarcoglycanopathies (LGMD2C-LGMD2F),11 15 20 22 26and, recently, the gene for LGMD2B which encodes a protein called “dysferlin” by the investigators.8 View this table: Table 1 The autosomal recessive limb-girdle muscular dystrophies LGMD2C is a Duchenne-like muscular dystrophy particularly prevalent in North Africa,10-12 31 32 but rare in other geographical regions; its prevalence in north eastern Italy was estimated to be 1.72 × 10-6 inhabitants.33 This phenotype, which affects both sexes equally, was first described by Ben Hamida et al 12 in 93 patients belonging to 28 Tunisian families. A few large kindreds, with many affected persons, have been described. Here we report the results of a clinical and molecular study in a large inbred kindred from the north east of Brazil with LGMD2C, which is unusual because the male patients appear to have a more severe clinical course than the affected females. The genealogical data from five generations (fig 1) were obtained and confirmed by different family members. The dates of birth, marriage, and death, causes of death, and abortions were documented. A total of 56 subjects, including …
Underground object detection based on cross correlation and Hough transform

GPR object detection is always a challenge in most practical applications. The hyperbola feature in B-Scan data is a very important feature for GPR object detection. In this paper, a novel method based on cross correlation between adjacent A-scans is proposed to detect reflection hyperbola. The method includes four steps. B-scan data is firstly preprocessed to suppress clutters. Then, the reflection hyperbola is extracted based on cross correlation. An approach of feedback is presented to fit the extracted hyperbola. At last, Hough transform is adopted to determine whether there is an object or not. The proposed method is tested by both simulated and field data.
Impact of Temperature on the Electromagnetic Susceptibility of Operational Amplifiers

In this paper, the impact of temperature on the electromagnetic susceptibility of operational amplifiers at different frequencies is presented. The IEC 62132-4 direct power injection standard has been used with several commercials operational amplifiers in a printed circuit board specifically fabricated. The results show that the susceptibility of the operationals amplifier is reduced with the temperature.
Operation boundaries of single/three phase inductive power transfer systems with series-series compensation

This paper presents the key parameters of four different Series-Series Inductive Power Transmission (SS-IPT) configurations: (a) single phase with dual control, (b) single phase with primary side control, (c) three phase with dual control and (d) three phase with primary side control, considering two different control strategies; switching frequency and DC voltage regulations.
An AlGaN/GaN HEMT-based monolithic integrated X-band low noise amplifier

Noise performance of AlGaN/GaN HEMT has received more and more worldwide attention in recent years. In this paper, a MMIC process in AlGaN/GaN technology has been developed. A LNA design is based on a AlGaN/GaN HEMT noise model and a complete model library of passive elements under the optimum bias for LNA design. The paper describes modeling, bias dependence of small-signal and noise parameters, circuit design of the LNA using noise model without transistor noise measurement, and demonstrates a NF of 2 dB at 8GHz.
Design of the ultra low-power synchronizer using ADCL buffer for adiabatic logic

The adiabatic dynamic CMOS logic (ADCL) has been studied to reduce the power dissipation in conventional CMOS logic. The clock signal of logic circuits should be synchronized with the AC power source to maintain adiabatic charging/discharging with low power for the ADCL. In this paper, an ultra low-power synchronizer using ADCL buffer is proposed. The ADCL buffer has been designed using features of automatic synchronization between AC signal and output of gate stage. Power consumptions of the proposed ADCL synchronizer are found to be 99.4 nW at best case and 109.8 nW at worst case, when AC signal and clock frequencies are 110 MHz and 10 MHz, respectively.
Electromagnetic scattering from grassland. II. Measurement and modeling results

For pt.I see ibid., vol.38, no.1, p.339-48 (2000). The validity of a coherent, grassland scattering model is determined by comparing the model predictions with direct measurements of a representative grass canopy. A wheat field was selected as the test target, and polarimetric, multifrequency backscattering data were collected over an entire growing season, along with a complete set of ground-truth data. The L-band measured data demonstrated a strong dependence on azimuthal look direction in relation to the row direction of the wheat. The C-band measurements likewise showed an interesting backscattering response, wherein /spl sigma//sub /spl nu//spl nu///sup 0/ actually increased with incidence angle for many cases. The coherent scattering model provides backscattering data that match and predict these measured data and most of the other measured data well. The model shows that at L-band, the incoherent scattering power alone is insufficient for predicting the measured results, as the coherent terms can dominate the total scattered energy. Additionally, the model, which accounts for this nonuniform illumination of the wheat elements, demonstrates the peculiar data observed for C-band. Likewise, it is demonstrated that the fidelity used to model grass constituents (e.g., curvature) is required to match the scattering measurements accurately.
Use of Nakagami Distribution and Logarithmic Compression in Ultrasonic Tissue Characterization

Our previous simulation study showed that the Nakagami parameter estimated using ultrasonic backscattered envelopes compressed by logarithmic computation, denoted by m(subscript log), is more sensitive than the original Nakagami parameter m calculated using uncompressed envelopes for detecting the variation of scatterer concentration in tissues. This study made measurements on phantoms in order to further verify the performance of m(subscript log) in quantifying the properties of biological tissues. The ultrasonic backscattered signals from phantoms with different scatterer concentrations were acquired using 5 MHz focused and non-focused transducers. The Hilbert transform and logarithmic compression were in turn applied to the backscattered signals to obtain the uncompressed and compressed envelopes for estimating m and m(subscript log). The experimental results showed that, for both focused and non-focused transducers, the m(subscript log) parameter is indeed more sensitive than the m parameter in differentiating various scatterer concentrations. This may assist in the classification of scatterer properties using the Nakagami statistical model.
Investigating the underlying mechanisms of temperature-related skin diseases in Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., as measured by quantitative histology, skin transcriptomics and composition.

Skin integrity is recognized as of vital consideration for both animal welfare and final product quality of farmed fish. This study examines the effects of three different rearing temperatures (4, 10 and 16 °C) on the skin of healthy Atlantic salmon post-smolts. Changes in skin condition were assessed by the means of skin composition analyses, quantitative histology assessments and transcriptome analysis. Level of protein, vitamin C and vitamin E was significantly higher at 16 °C compared with 4 °C. Quantitative histology measurements showed that the epidermal thickness decreased from low to high temperature, whereas the epidermal area comprising mucous cells increased. The difference was only significant between 4 and 16 °C. Both high and low temperature exhibited significant changes in the skin transcriptome. A number of immune-related transcripts responded at both temperatures. Contrary to well-described immunosuppressive effects of low water temperature on systemic immunity, a subtle increase in skin-mediated immunity was observed, suggesting a pre-activation of the mucosal system at 4 °C. Upregulation of a number of heat-shock proteins correlating with a decrease in epidermal thickness suggested a stress response in the skin at high temperature. The results demonstrate distinctive temperature-related effects on the skin of Atlantic salmon.
Mapping neurogenesis onset in the optic tectum of Xenopus laevis

Neural progenitor cells have a central role in the development and evolution of the vertebrate brain. During early brain development, neural progenitors first expand their numbers through repeated proliferative divisions and then begin to exhibit neurogenic divisions. The transparent and experimentally accessible optic tectum of Xenopus laevis is an excellent model system for the study of the cell biology of neurogenesis, but the precise spatial and temporal relationship between proliferative and neurogenic progenitors has not been explored in this system. Here we construct a spatial map of proliferative and neurogenic divisions through lineage tracing of individual progenitors and their progeny. We find a clear spatial separation of proliferative and neurogenic progenitors along the anterior‐posterior axis of the optic tectum, with proliferative progenitors located more posteriorly and neurogenic progenitors located more anteriorly. Since individual progenitors are repositioned toward more anterior locations as they mature, this spatial separation likely reflects an increasing restriction in the proliferative potential of individual progenitors. We then examined whether the transition from proliferative to neurogenic behavior correlates with cellular properties that have previously been implicated in regulating neurogenesis onset. Our data reveal that the transition from proliferation to neurogenesis is associated with a small change in cleavage plane orientation and a more pronounced change in cell cycle kinetics in a manner reminiscent of observations from mammalian systems. Our findings highlight the potential to use the optic tectum of Xenopus laevis as an accessible system for the study of the cell biology of neurogenesis. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 76: 1328–1341, 2016
Searching for optimal methods of presenting dynamic text on different types of screens

Automatic dynamic presentation methods (e.g., vertical scrolling) are thought to be viable alternative means to present text on small-screen interfaces. Here we studied what is the most suitable method for different types of screens (for a laptop, a palm-type pocket computer, a communicator and a mobile phone). Reading rate and comprehension data suggest that there is an optimal screen type for each presentation method. The recommendations based on performance measures, however, differ from those based on usability and preference ratings.