Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Healing of Aneurysm after Treatment Using Flow Diverter Stent : Histopathological Study in Experimental Canine Carotid Side Wall Aneurysm

Objective Despite widespread use of flow diverters (FDs) to treat aneurysms, the exact healing mechanism associated with FDs remains poorly understood. We aim to describe the healing process of aneurysms treated using FDs by demonstrating the histopathologic progression in a canine aneurysm model. Methods Twenty-one side wall aneurysms were created in common carotid artery of eight dogs and treated with two different FDs. Angiographic follow-ups were done immediately after placement of the device, 4 weeks and 12 weeks. At last follow-up, the aneurysm and the device-implanted parent artery were harvested. Results Histopathologic findings of aneurysms at 4 weeks follow-up showed intra-aneurysm thrombus formation in laminating fashion, and neointimal thickening at the mid-segment of aneurysm. However, there are inhomogenous findings in aneurysms treated with the same type of FD showing same angiographic outcomes. At 12 weeks, aneurysms of complete and near-complete occlusion revealed markedly shrunken aneurysm filled with organized connective tissues with thin neointima. Aneurysms of incomplete occlusion at 12 weeks showed small amount of organized thrombus around fringe neck and large empty space with thick neointmal formation. Neointimal thickness and diameter stenosis was not significantly different between the groups of FD specification and follow-up period. Conclusion Intra-aneurysmal thrombus formation and organization seem to be an important factor for the complete occlusion of aneurysms treated using the FD. Neointimal formation could occur along the struts of the FD independently of intra-aneurysmal thrombus formation. However, neointimal formation could not solely lead to complete aneurysm healing.
Microwave Assisted Sol-Gel Synthesis of Silica-Spider Silk Composites

This study introduces a simple and environmentally friendly method to synthesize silica-protein nanocomposite materials using microwave energy to solubilize hydrophobic protein in an aqueous solution of pre-hydrolyzed organo- or fluoro-silane. Sol-gel functionality can be enhanced through biomacromolecule incorporation to tune mechanical properties, surface energy, and biocompatibility. Here, synthetic spider silk protein and organo- and fluoro-silane precursors were dissolved and mixed in weakly acidic aqueous solution using microwave technology. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Atomic force microscopy (AFM) images revealed the formation of spherical nanoparticles with sizes ranging from 100 to 500 nm depending, in part, on silane fluoro- or organo-side chain chemistry. The silane-protein interaction in the nanocomposite was assessed through infrared spectroscopy. Deconvoluted ATR-FTIR (Attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy) spectra revealed silane chemistry-specific conformational changes in the protein-silane nanocomposites. Relative to microwave-solubilized spider silk protein, the β structure content increased by 14% in the spider silk-organo-silica nanocomposites, but decreased by a net 20% in the spider silk-fluoro-silica nanocomposites. Methods of tuning the secondary structures, and in particular β-sheets that are the cross-linking moieties in spider silks and other self-assembling fibrillar proteins, may provide a unique means to promote protein interactions, favor subsequent epitaxial growth process, and enhance the properties of the protein-silane nanocomposites.
Cross Sector Data Sharing: Necessity, Challenge, and Hope

Existing data sources have tremendous potential to inform public health activities. However, a patchwork of data protection laws impede data sharing efforts. Nevertheless, a data-sharing initiative in Peoria, IL was able to overcome challenges to set up a cross-sectoral data system to coordinate mental health, law enforcement, and healthcare services.
The effect of electrical stimulation on impairment of the painful post-stroke shoulder

ABSTRACT Background: Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and transcutaneous neuromuscular electrical stimulation (t-NMES) are commonly used therapies in the treatment of chronic hemiplegic shoulder pain. These treatments are often utilized during physical or occupational therapy sessions, yet research into the acute analgesic effects of TENS and t-NMES on hemiplegic shoulder pain and use during therapy is limited. Objective: To compare the acute effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), transcutaneous neuromuscular electrical stimulation (t-NMES), and no stimulation on pain-free passive range of motion of the shoulder in subjects with hemiplegic shoulder pain. Methods: Prospective cohort study of 10 subjects randomly treated with t-NMES, TENS, and one non-stimulation experimental condition. Pain-free passive external rotation and abduction range of motion of the affected shoulder were measured during stimulation. Results: There was not a significant within-subject difference in pain-free range of motion for external rotation or abduction. Subject to subject differences explained the majority of the variability in pain-free range of motion. Conclusion: This pilot study is the first to measure pain-free passive range of motion during electrical stimulation. Our findings demonstrate the lack of an acute effect of TENS and t-NMES on pain reduction.
Petri nets SM-cover-based on heuristic coloring algorithm

In the paper, coloring heuristic algorithm of interpreted Petri nets is presented. Coloring is used to determine the State Machines (SM) subnets. The present algorithm reduces the Petri net in order to reduce the computational complexity and finds one of its possible State Machines cover. The proposed algorithm uses elements of interpretation of Petri nets. The obtained result may not be the best, but it is sufficient for use in rapid prototyping of logic controllers. Found SM-cover will be also used in the development of algorithms for decomposition, and modular synthesis and implementation of parallel logic controllers. Correctness developed heuristic algorithm was verified using Gentzen formal reasoning system.
Biomimetic Locomotion of Electrically Powered “Janus” Soft Robots Using a Liquid Crystal Polymer

Oriented liquid crystal networks (LCNs) can undergo reversible shape change at the macroscopic scale upon an order–disorder phase transition of the mesogens. This property is explored for developing soft robots that can move under external stimuli, such as light in most studies. Herein, electrically driven soft robots capable of executing various types of biomimetic locomotion are reported. The soft robots are composed of a uniaxially oriented LCN strip, a laminated Kapton layer, and thin resistive wires embedded in between. Taking advantage of the combined attributes of the actuator, namely, easy processing, reprogrammability, and reversible shape shift between two 3D shapes at electric power on and off state, the concept of a “Janus” soft robot is demonstrated, which is built from a single piece of the material and has two parts undergoing opposite deformations simultaneously under a uniform stimulation. In addition to complex shape morphing such as the movement of oarfish and sophisticated devices like self‐locking grippers, electrically powered “Janus” soft robots can accomplish versatile locomotion modes, including crawling on flat surfaces through body arching up and straightening down, crawling inside tubes through body stretching and contraction, walking like four‐leg animals, and human‐like two‐leg walking while pushing a load forward.
Laryngeal features in Athapaskan languages

In a typical Athapaskan language, consonants divide into three manners of articulation, stops/affricates, fricatives and sonorants. There are generally three major laryngeal classes in the stops/affricates, two in the fricatives and a single class in the sonorants. In this paper, I examine how laryngeal oppositions in stops/affricates and fricatives are best characterised. I argue in §§ 2—7 that stops/affricates (henceforth stops) are phonologically voiceless unaspirated, aspirated and glottalised, while fricatives exhibit a voiced-voiceless distinction. These classes do not account for all laryngeal interactions, however; evidence exists that aspiration and voicing cross-classify the stops and fricatives, with aspiration being necessary for fricatives and voicing for stops in late rules of the phonology; this is the topic of §§8-9. In addition, evidence suggests that while stops/affricates form a single class underlyingly, they are distinct at a late level. Implications of the analysis are discussed in §§10—11. Processes involving laryngeal features suggest a two-level model of phonology in which contrastive features are present underlyingly and predictable features are added postlexically for reasons of phonetic implementation. The absence of predictable features underlyingly argues against recent work that suggests that such features may be present at this level (e.g. Steriade 1992a, b, 1993b); their postlexical presence argues for a model in which the postlexical phonology is identifiable as the phonetic implementation component of the grammar (e.g. Mohanan 1986; see also Cohn 1993).
Long noncoding RNA FAM201A involves in radioresistance of non-small-cell lung cancer by enhancing EGFR expression via miR-370.

OBJECTIVE The aberrant expression of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) is involved in the molecular regulation of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This study aims to investigate the biological interaction of lnc-FAM201A and its downstream factors and their impacts on the radiotherapy response of NSCLC. PATIENTS AND METHODS Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR) was used to determine the expression of FAM201A in NSCLC tissues. The Chi-square tests explored the association between FAM201A level and the poor clinicopathological characteristics (including radioresistance) of NSCLC. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were used to evaluate various prognostic factors for overall survival (OS). The effect of FAM201A on OS was tested by the log-rank test. A549/SK-MES-1 cell lines transfected with short hairpin RNA (shRNA) were used to verify the promoting effects of FAM201A on radiotherapy resistance in vitro and in vivo. Cell apoptosis (analyzed by flow cytometry), cell proliferation (determined by Cell Counting Kit-8), and mice xenograft models were performed to confirm the results. The downstream targets of FAM201A were predicted by bioinformatics tools. Additionally, the Dual-luciferase reporter assay, qPCR, and Western blotting were performed to confirm their interaction. RESULTS FAM201A was significantly upregulated in tissues obtained from NSCLC patients resistant to radiotherapy. Increased FAM201A expression was strongly associated with radioresistance and inferior survival in NSCLC, as demonstrated by clinical data. The silence of FAM201A could inhibit cell proliferation and further cell apoptosis of NSCLC cells under X-ray irradiation both in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, by competitively targeting miR-370, FAM201A elevated the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and the hypoxia-inducible factor 1alpha (HIF-1α) levels. After FAM201A knockdown, EGFR and HIF-1α were repressed with enhanced radiosensitivity. CONCLUSIONS The interference of FAM201A impairs its suppression of miR-370, resulting in the upregulation of EGFR and HIF-1α and enhancement of radiosensitivity in NSCLC patients. Collectively, our results indicated that this regulatory axis might serve as a potential therapeutic target to increase the sensitivity of radiotherapy in NSCLC patients.
Fire as a key driver of Earth's biodiversity

Many terrestrial ecosystems are fire prone, such that their composition and structure are largely due to their fire regime. Regions subject to regular fire have exceptionally high levels of species richness and endemism, and fire has been proposed as a major driver of their diversity, within the context of climate, resource availability and environmental heterogeneity. However, current fire‐management practices rarely take into account the ecological and evolutionary roles of fire in maintaining biodiversity. Here, we focus on the mechanisms that enable fire to act as a major ecological and evolutionary force that promotes and maintains biodiversity over numerous spatiotemporal scales. From an ecological perspective, the vegetation, topography and local weather conditions during a fire generate a landscape with spatial and temporal variation in fire‐related patches (pyrodiversity), and these produce the biotic and environmental heterogeneity that drives biodiversity across local and regional scales. There have been few empirical tests of the proposition that ‘pyrodiversity begets biodiversity’ but we show that biodiversity should peak at moderately high levels of pyrodiversity. Overall species richness is greatest immediately after fire and declines monotonically over time, with postfire successional pathways dictated by animal habitat preferences and varying lifespans among resident plants. Theory and data support the ‘intermediate disturbance hypothesis’ when mean patch species diversity is correlated with mean fire intervals. Postfire persistence, recruitment and immigration allow species with different life histories to coexist. From an evolutionary perspective, fire drives population turnover and diversification by promoting a wide range of adaptive responses to particular fire regimes. Among 39 comparisons, the number of species in 26 fire‐prone lineages is much higher than that in their non‐fire‐prone sister lineages. Fire and its byproducts may have direct mutagenic effects, producing novel genotypes that can lead to trait innovation and even speciation. A paradigm shift aimed at restoring biodiversity‐maintaining fire regimes across broad landscapes is required among the fire research and management communities. This will require ecologists and other professionals to spread the burgeoning fire‐science knowledge beyond scientific publications to the broader public, politicians and media.
Genetics of lipedema: new perspectives on genetic research and molecular diagnoses.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this qualitative review is to provide an update on the current understanding of the genetic determinants of lipedema and to develop a genetic test to differentiate lipedema from other diagnoses. MATERIALS AND METHODS An electronic search was conducted in MEDLINE, PubMed, and Scopus for articles published in English up to March 2019. Lipedema and similar disorders included in the differential diagnosis of lipedema were searched in the clinical synopsis section of OMIM, in GeneCards, Orphanet, and MalaCards. RESULTS The search identified several genetic factors related to the onset of lipedema and highlighted the utility of developing genetic diagnostic testing to help differentiate lipedema from other diagnoses. CONCLUSIONS No genetic tests or guidelines for molecular diagnosis of lipedema are currently available, despite the fact that genetic testing is fundamental for the differential diagnosis of lipedema against Mendelian genetic obesity, primary lymphedema, and lipodystrophies.
Speech communication : human and machine

The toe or heel holder of a safety binding is pivotally mounted on a stub shaft, and held in its angular operating position by a spring-loaded, spherical detent guided in a bore of the holder radially relative to the shaft axis toward one of four equiangularly offset notches in the shaft which differ in their depth. The shaft is attached to the top surface of the ski by a square mounting plate and four screws at the corners of the plate so that the detent engages different notches in the shaft, and therefore resists deflection of the holder from its operating position with different force depending on the orientation of the mounting plate on the ski surface.
MiRNA-1179 suppresses the metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma by interacting with ZEB2.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the biological function of microRNA-1179 (miRNA-1179) in regulating the proliferative and migratory abilities of the hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by targeting zinc-finger E-box-binding homeobox 2 (ZEB2). PATIENTS AND METHODS The miRNA-1179 level in 40 HCC tissues and matched normal tissues was detected by quantitative Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR). The association between the miRNA-1179 level and the clinical parameters of HCC patients was analyzed. The regulatory effects of miRNA-1179 on influencing proliferative and migratory abilities of HepG2 and Bel-7402 cells were assessed. The dual-luciferase reporter gene assay was conducted to verify the binding relationship between miRNA-1179 and ZEB2. Subsequently, the expression pattern and the biological function of ZEB2 in HCC were explored. The rescue experiments were finally carried out to uncover the role of the miRNA-1179/ZEB2 axis in regulating the progression of HCC. RESULTS MiRNA-1179 was downregulated in HCC tissues and cell lines. HCC patients with low expression of miRNA-1179 had higher metastatic rates (lymphatic metastasis and distant metastasis) and worse prognosis relative to those with low expression. The overexpression of miRNA-1179 attenuated the proliferative and migratory abilities of HCC cells. ZEB2 was confirmed to be the direct target of miRNA-1179 and its level was negatively regulated by miRNA-1179. ZEB2 was upregulated in HCC tissues and cell lines. The high expression of ZEB2 predicted a worse prognosis of HCC. The overexpression of ZEB2 reversed the inhibitory effects of miRNA-1179 on the proliferative and migratory abilities in HCC cells. CONCLUSIONS MiRNA-1179 is closely related to lymphatic metastasis, distant metastasis, and overall survival of HCC. It alleviates the malignant progression of HCC by downregulating ZEB2.
Experimental Study on Lip and Smile Detection

This paper presents a lip and smile detection method based-on the normalized RGB chromaticity diagram. The method employs the popular Viola-Jones detection method to detect the face. To avoid the false positive, the eye detector is introduced in the detection stage. Only the face candidates with the detected eyes are considered as the face. Once the face is detected, the lip region is localized using the simple geometric rule. Further, the the red color thresholding based-on the normalized RGB chromaticity diagram is proposed to extract the lip. The projection technique is employed for detecting the smile state. From the experiment results, the proposed method achieves the lip detection rate of 97% and the smile detection rate of 94%. Paper ini menyajikan medote pendeteksi bibir dan senyum berdasarkan diagram tingkat kromatis RGB ternormalisasi. Metode ini menggunakan metode Viola-Jones yang populer untuk mendeteksi wajah. Untuk menghindari kesalahan positif, detektor mata diperkenalkan pada tahapan deteksi. Hanya kandidat wajah dengan mata yang telah terdeteksi yang dianggap sebagai wajah. Setelah wajah dideteksi, bagian bibir ditempatkan dengan menggunakan aturan geometris sederhana. Selanjutnya, batasan warna merah berdasarkan pada diagram kromatisitas RGB ternormalisasi digunakan untuk mengekstrak bibir. Teknik proyeksi digunakan untuk mendeteksi keadaan tersenyum. Dari hasil percobaan, metode yang diusulkan mencapai 97% untuk tingkat deteksi bibir dan 94% untuk tingkat deteksi senyum.
Differences in Thyroid Nodule Cytology and Malignancy Risk between Children and Adults.

BACKGROUND The Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology (BSRTC) is used to interpret fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology of thyroid nodules in children and adults. Nodule management is guided by the implied malignancy risk of each cytological category, which has been derived from adult populations. Whether these implied risks are applicable to pediatric thyroid nodules remains uncertain. We compared malignancy rates between pediatric and adult thyroid nodules within each cytological category. METHODS We evaluated consecutive thyroid nodules ≥1 cm that underwent FNA at Boston Children's Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital from 1998-2016. All cytology was interpreted by a single cytopathology group according to the BSRTC. Malignancy rates were compared between pediatric (<19 years) and adult (≥19 years) patients. RESULTS 430 pediatric thyroid nodules and 13,415 adult nodules were analyzed. Pediatric nodules were more likely to be malignant than adult nodules (19% vs. 12%, p=0.0002). Within cytological categories, malignancy rates were higher in pediatric nodules than in adult nodules that were cytologically nondiagnostic (11% vs. 4%, p=0.03), atypia of undetermined significance (AUS; 44% vs. 22%, p=0.004), or suspicious for follicular neoplasm (SFN; 71% vs. 28%, p=0.001). There were no significant differences between children and adults in the types of thyroid cancers diagnosed in these cytological categories. Among cytologically benign nodules, the difference in malignancy rates was statistically significant but clinically minimal (0.7% vs. 1%, p=0.001). Malignancy rates did not differ between children and adults among nodules with cytology suspicious for papillary carcinoma (73% vs. 68%, p=0.67) or positive for malignancy (97% vs. 95%, p=1). Among the subset of nodules that were resected, the malignancy rate was higher in children than in adults only in nodules that were SFN (71% vs. 36%, p=0.007). CONCLUSIONS Among thyroid nodules that are cytologically AUS, SFN, or nondiagnostic, malignancy rates are higher in children than in adults. These discrepancies likely represent true differences in malignancy risk between pediatric and adult patients, rather than differences in cytological interpretation. Our findings provide pediatric-specific data to inform the optimal management of thyroid nodules in children, which may differ from that of adult nodules with equivalent cytology.
Near-Infrared Light Triggered Porous AuPd Alloy Nanoparticles to Produce Mild Localized Heat for Accelerating Bone Regeneration.

Treatment of massive bone defects are still a significant challenge to orthopedists. Here, we have engineered synthetic porous AuPd alloy nanoparticles (pAuPds) as hyperthermia agent for in situ bone regeneration through photothermal therapy (PTT). After being swallowed by cells, pAuPds produced a mild localized heat (MLH) (40~43 °C) under the irradiation of near infrared laser which can greatly accelerate cell proliferation and bone regeneration. Almost 97% of the cranial defect area (8 mm in diameter) was covered by the newly-formed bone after 6 weeks of PTT. RNA sequencing analysis was used to obtain insight into molecular mechanism of the MLH on cells proliferation and bone formation, these results demonstrated that WNT signaling pathway was involved in the MLH. This report provides a unique strategy with mild heat stimulation and highly efficiency for in situ bone regeneration.