Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
[Analysis of the common hemorrhage sites during laparoscopic rectal cancer surgery].

OBJECTIVE To analyze the common hemorrhage sites during laparoscopic rectal cancer surgery in order to take reasonable prevention and management. METHODS Clinical data of 355 rectal cancer patients who underwent laparoscopic total mesorectal excision in Shanxi Provincial People's Hospital from January 2012 to December 2014 were retrospectively analyzed. Common bleeding sites, blood loss, and hemostasis time were recorded. According to the date of operation, patients were divided into 2012 group (91 cases), 2013 group (122 cases) and 2014 group(142 cases). Hemorrhage rates were compared among three groups. RESULTS No significant differences were observed in the baseline data among the three groups(all P>0.05). The location in the order of the hemorrhage rate from high to low was seminal vesicle tail (63.0%, 131/208), inferior mesenteric vessels (27.3%, 97/355), Toldt's space (24.2%, 86/355), lateral rectal ligaments (12.1%, 43/355) and post-rectal spatial (8.2%, 29/355). According to the blood loss, post-rectal spatial[(14.1±7.1) ml], inferior mesenteric vessels [(12.7±6.1) ml] and seminal vesicle tail [(12.4±6.5) ml] were ranked in top three. The hemostasis time of seminal vesicle tail [(11.5±6.6) minutes] and post rectal spatial [(10.3±7.8) minutes] was longer than the others. Compared with 2012 group, shorter operative time [(205±50) minutes vs. (235±55) minutes, t=4.296, P=0.001], less blood loss [(35±19) ml vs. (81±24) ml, t=16.243, P=0.001] and lower hemorrhage rate [Toldt's space: 7.7%(11/142) vs. 39.6%(36/91), inferior mesenteric vessels: 9.2%(13/142) vs. 44.0%(40/91), post-rectal spatial: 0.7%(1/142) vs. 15.4%(14/91), lateral rectal ligaments: 2.1%(3/142) vs. 29.7%(27/91) and seminal vesicle tail: 50.6%(41/81) vs. 79.6%(43/54)] were found in 2014 group. The decline of hemorrhage rate in seminal vesicle tail was the slowest (χ2=11.792, P=0.003). CONCLUSIONS The common hemorrhage sites during the laparoscopic rectal cancer surgery are inferior mesenteric vessels, Toldt's space, lateral rectal ligaments, post rectal spatial and seminal vesicle tail. Appropriate preventive measures can ameliorate the intraoperative bleeding significantly, however, more attention should be paid to the seminal vesicle tail during operation because of its higher hemorrhage rate, more blood loss and difficult hemostasis.
Small-scale structure of the disc velocity distribution. A maximum entropy statistical approach - Part II

Among metallicity, colour, and other star properties, the eccentricity of the star’s orbit behaves as a very good sampling parameter to find a more detailed structure for the disc velocity distribution, allowing distinctions between different eccentricity layers. For subsam- ples with eccentricities e < 0.15, star velocities are approximately symmetrically distributed around the LSR in the radial direction, with a dearth of stars at the LSR. For e = 0.15, the core distribution of the thin disc is supported by two major stellar groups with opposite radial velocities. Several simulations confirm that such a double-peaked distribution comes from the lognormal distribution of the velocity amplitudes. For maximum eccentricity 0.3 and maximum distance to the Galactic plane 0.5 kpc a representative thin disc sample is obtained. An explanation of the apparent vertex deviation of the disc from the swinging of those major kinematic groups around the LSR is possible, which predicts a continuously changing orientation of the disc’s pseudo ellipsoid.
Spatial‐frequency tuning and geniculocortical projections in the visual cortex (areas 17 and 18) of the pigmented ferret

We have examined the spatial‐frequency selectivity of neurons in areas 17 and 18 of the adult pigmented ferret, by measuring how the amplitude of response depends on the spatial‐frequency of moving sinusoidal gratings of optimal orientation and fixed contrast. Neurons in area 17 of the ferret respond optimally to low spatial frequencies [average 0.25 cycles per degree (c/deg)], much lower than the optima for cat area 17. The tuning curves are of the same form as those found in cat and monkey: unimodal with bandwidths in the range 0.8–3.5 octaves. Neurons in area 18 of the ferret respond optimally to even lower spatial frequencies (average 0.087 c/deg) than area 17 neurons, and the distributions of optimal spatial frequency for areas 17 and 18 hardly overlap. In both cortical areas, the bandwidth of the tuning curves is inversely correlated with optimal spatial frequency. This marked difference in tuning between the two cortical areas is probably attributable to differential geniculo‐cortical projections. Small injections of fluorescent latex microspheres or horseradish peroxidase (HRP) were made into area 17 or area 18 in order to investigate the populations of geniculate neurons projecting to the two cortical areas. After injections into area 17, labelled neurons are found predominantly in the geniculate A layers, with a few neurons labelled in the C layers. Conversely, after an area 18 injection, similar numbers of labelled neurons are found in the C layers as in the A layers. Soma‐size analysis of the neurons in the A‐layers suggests the existence of two populations of relay neurons, which project differentially to areas 17 and 18. The different geniculate inputs and the different spatial‐frequency tuning in areas 17 and 18 may imply that the two cortical areas process visual information more in parallel than in series.
Recent biochemical approaches to post-testicular, epididymal contraception.

Results from recent animal models with implications for putative human male contraceptives acting on the epididymis are reviewed. Inducing sterility by enhancing sperm transport through the epididymis has not been achieved. The induction of infertility in males of several species is easier to achieve by direct actions of drugs on sperm function (e.g. inhibition of sperm-specific isoenzymes of the glycolytic pathway by chloro-compounds) than by indirectly reducing amounts of epididymal secretions normally present in high concentration (e.g. alpha-glucosidase, L-carnitine). The former show promise for the clinic since human spermatozoa are susceptible to inhibition. On the other hand, the infertile male mice of the c-ros knock-out model demonstrate the influence of even a small region of the epididymis on fertility, so that targeting the as yet unknown epididymal factors presumably secreted in limiting amounts by this epididymal segment, is a new lead for a contraceptive. Targeting a specific sperm protein acquired in the testis, but depleted in the epididymis by toxicants that induce rapid infertility, may also lead to the discovery of new contraceptives, but these will require developing new means of organ-specific delivery of contraceptive drugs.
Medium access control techniques in M2M communication: survey and critical review

Machine‐to‐machine (M2M) communication has received increasing attention in recent year. An M2M network exhibits some salient features such as large number of machines/devices, low data rates, delay tolerant/sensitive, small packets, energy constrained and low or no mobility. A large number of M2M terminals may exist in a small area with many trying to simultaneously and randomly access for channel resources, which will result in overload and access problem. This increased signalling overhead and diverse requirements of machine‐type communication (MTC) devices call for the development of flexible and efficient scheduling and random access techniques. In an M2M scenario, where the network is operating at high offered load with a large number of contending transmitters, distributed random access techniques are more appropriate than centralised scheduling techniques because of less control messages and better channel utilisation. There is a need for comparison of various medium access methods that can be used in the development of an efficient hybrid M2M and human to human network. In this article, we review and compare various scheduling and random access techniques in cellular networks, particularly in Long‐Term Evolution. We also discuss how successful they are to fulfill the unique requirements of M2M communication and networking. Resource management in M2M networks with a large number of MTC devices is also discussed from the access point of view. Energy efficiency, being one of the main challenges of quality‐of‐service‐constrained M2M communication, is also discussed. Minimisation of the energy consumption is tightly bound to channel access and hence considered in the comparison of various medium access control protocols. Finally, some potential research directions related to access control and resource allocation are presented for future work. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Metodología, construcción y explotación de corpus anotados semántica y anafóricamente

El procesamiento del lenguaje natural (PLN) o Linguistica computacional es una parte esencial de la inteligencia artificial que investiga y desarrolla mecanismos computacionalmente efectos capaces de analizar, entender y generar textos, tanto orales como escritores, basados en una lengua natural, Desde finales de los anos 90, el desarrollo de aplicaciones para el procesamiento de lenguaje natural se ha caracterizado tanto por el auge de tecnicas empiricas como por el desarrollo de sistemas robustos capaces de procesar amplias colecciones de textos en dominios abiertos o no restringidos. Para desarrollar este tipo de sistemas es necesario conocer el uso real delas lenguas tal como son utilizadas por los hablantes, con sus errores, peculiaridades y excepciones. Esta realidad linguistica se muestra en los corpus anotados, en tanto que amplias colecciones de textos en soporte electronico. Lo que convierte al corpus en un recurso importante es el hecho de poder estar ademas anotado con informacion linguistica de diferente tipo (sintactica, semantica, pragmatica, etc.), que permita un tratamiento profundo del conocimiento linguistico contenido en este. Con ello el corpus no esta formado unicamente por la materia linguistica real, sino tambien por informacion linguistica mas profunda: categorias gramaticales, relaciones sintacticas, sentidos, relaciones anaforicas, estructuras retoricas, etc., que ha sido marcada explicitamente (MCENERY & WILSON 1996). Por tanto, es posible el procesar el corpus a niveles mas profundos de conocimiento linguistico con diferentes tecnicas de PLN; aprendizaje de estructuras gramaticales, sentidos en su contexto, etc. Los corpus anotados tienen dos aplicaciones basicas dentro del PLN en la actualidad: 1,- Como corpus de aprendizaje: todos los metodos de aprendizaje automatico supervisados necesitan gran cantidad de ejemplos en los que la informacion linguistica este representada de manera ex
Effect of herbage on N intake and N excretion of suckler cows

The release of nitrogen on pastures by the grazing animal is a significant source of N load to soil and water and hence a possible source of nitrate pollution. Here we studied the effect of forage quantity and quality related to N intake to examine excretion and loss. A two-year grazing experiment on an intensively managed Lolio-Cynosuretum was established in Rengen Research Station, Germany. Two groups of 4 suckler cows each were grazed along a gradient of forage mass and quality consisting of 16 plots each in 4 replicates per year. Our results show that in the final plots of the gradient, forage mass exceeded by far the recommended optimum of herbage allowance. At the same time, herbage quality decreased along that gradient from about 11 to 9.5 MJ metabolisable energy per kg dry matter, but daily N intake increased from 140 to 600 g N per animal. The related N excretion per animal was constant, with faeces at about 60 to 75 g N. In contrast, daily N excretion with urine increased linearly depending on N intake from less than 100 g to more than 500 g per animal. Thus, N loss was estimated to increase in the same way and was determined as about 22% of total N intake. We conclude that low quality in tall swards, including partly senesced plant material, does not imply low herbage and N intake and N excretion. Our findings indicate that in grassland extensification schemes, where late turning out to pasture is common, N intake and hence excretion might disagree with the intention of limiting forage N conversion and subsequent release to the environment. We also provide a simple spreadsheet with which farmers can quantify the N excretion as a factor of herbage allowance, faeces N content, daily N retention and stocking density. This appears useful not only under standard conditions on improved grassland, but also in environmentally sensitive areas where N release is required to be kept under strict control.
Retinoic acid induces functional c-Ret tyrosine kinase in human neuroblastoma

After the treatment of human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells with retinoic acid for 24 h, the expression of c-Ret receptor tyrosine kinase was greatly elevated. Treatment of SH-SY5Y cells with glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor under serum-free conditions after incubation of cells with retinoic acid resulted in the phosphorylation of c-Ret receptor tyrosine kinase, with subsequent morphological changes that included formation of neurites and rounding of cell bodies within 24–48 h. The number of neurite-bearing cells decreased with increasing concentrations of mitogen-activated protein kinase-specific and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitors. These observations suggest that retinoic acid induces the expression of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor-responsive c-Ret receptor tyrosine kinase and that a glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor-c-Ret receptor tyrosine kinase-induced signal transduction system that might be involved in neurite outgrowth via pathways that include phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and mitogen-activated protein kinase.
Alterations in the Virulence Potential of Enteric Pathogens and Bacterial–Host Cell Interactions Under Simulated Microgravity Conditions

Host immune mechanisms were proposed to decline under microgravity conditions during spaceflights, which might result in severe infections in astronauts. Therefore, it was important to investigate the effects of microgravity on infecting organisms and their interaction with host cells. Data showed that simulated microgravity (SMG) conditions markedly increased production of the enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) heat-labile enterotoxin, which induced fluid secretory responses in a mouse model. SMG also enhanced production of tumor necrosis factor-α in murine macrophages infected with enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC). In a similar fashion, simulated microgravity conditions augmented the invasive potential of Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium and enhanced production of tumor necrosis-factor α in S. typhimurium-infected epithelial cells. Furthermore, coculturing of macrophages and S. typhimurium in a simulated microgravity environment resulted in activation of stress-associated mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 4. Using the antiorthostatic tail suspension mouse model, which simulates some aspects of microgravity, oral inoculation of S. typhimurium markedly reduced the 50% lethal dose compared to mice infected under normal gravitational conditions. Microarray analysis revealed simulated microgravity-induced alterations in the expression of 22 genes in S. typhimurium, and protein expression profiles were altered in both EPEC and S. typhimurium, based on two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. These studies indicated alterations in the virulence potential of bacteria and in host responses to these pathogens under simulated microgravity conditions, which may represent an important environmental signal. Such studies are essential for better understanding bacterial–host cell interactions, particularly in the context of spaceflights and space habitations of long duration. This work was supported by a grant from the Advanced Technology Program of Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Cristi L. Galindo, a predoctoral fellow, obtained funding from the National Science Foundation. A. A. Fadl received support from the McLaughlin Postdoctoral Fellowship. Dr. T. Wood, from the department of Human Biological Chemistry and Genetics (HBC&G) at UTMB, provided the facility of his core laboratory for microarray studies. Dr. A. Kurosky, from the Department of HBC&G at UTMB, provided the facility of his core laboratory for proteomics studies. Dr. V. Popov, from the Department of Pathology at UTMB, provided the facility of his core laboratory for electron microscopy studies. We appreciate the help rendered by summer undergraduate students J. Wolfe, A. Randall, and K. Hansen, high school teacher D. Baker, and former graduate student D. Ribardo in performing some of the experiments. Excellent technical assistance provided by K. Kuhl and graphics expertise provided by Microsoft professional Celso Gutierrez, Jr., are also acknowledged.
FUZZY CLUSTER MULTIPLE CORRESPONDENCE ANALYSIS

Multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) is a useful tool for exploring the interdependencies among multiple-choice variables. However, MCA is not geared for explicitly investigating whether or not heterogeneous subgroups of respondents exist in the population with qualitatively distinct patterns of choice behaviour. In this paper, we extend MCA to capture such cluster-level heterogeneity. Specifically, the proposed method combines MCA with fuzzy k-means simultaneously. Consequently, it can provide a single map of displaying variable-level and cluster-level structures so as to facilitate the interpretation of the underlying structures. The performance of the proposed method in recovering true coordinates is investigated based on a Monte Carlo study involving synthetic data. In addition, two empirical applications are presented which compare the proposed method to two extant approaches that combine MCA and cluster analysis.
The human microbiome and metabolomics: Current concepts and applications

ABSTRACT The mammalian gastrointestinal tract has co-developed with a large number of microbes in a symbiotic relationship over millions of years. Recent studies indicate that indigenous bacteria are intimate with the intestine and play essential roles in health and disease. In the quest to maintain a stable niche, these prokaryotes influence multiple host metabolic pathways, resulting from an interactive host–microbiota metabolic signaling and impacting strongly on the metabolic phenotypes of the host. Since dysbiosis of the gut bacteria result in alteration in the levels of certain microbial and host co-metabolites, identifying these markers could enhance early detection of diseases. Also, identification of these metabolic fingerprints could give us clues as to how to manipulate the microbiome to promote health or treat diseases. This review provides an overview of our current knowledge of the microbiome and metablomics, applications and the future perspectives.
An Ultrathin Monolithic XY Nanopositioning Stage Constructed From a Single Sheet of Piezoelectric Material

The paper describes an <italic>XY</italic> nanopositioning stage constructed from flexures and actuators machined into a single sheet of piezoelectric material. Ultrasonic machining is used to remove piezoelectric material and create electrode features. The constructed device is 0.508 mm thick, and has a travel range of 8.6 <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu$</tex-math></inline-formula>m in the <italic>X</italic> and <italic>Y </italic> axes. The first resonance mode occurs at 597 Hz, which makes the device suitable for a wide range of standard nanopositioning applications where cost and size are considerations. Experimental atomic force microscopy is performed using the proposed device as a sample scanner.
Liver transplantation of patients with cryptogenic cirrhosis: Clinical characteristics and outcome

Abstract Objectives. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) and unapparent alcohol abuse may be underlying causes of cryptogenic cirrhosis, but the frequencies of these underlying factors differ between studies. Also, previous studies have shown various outcomes after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) for cryptogenic cirrhosis. The aims of this study were (1) to evaluate the presence of NAFLD in patients with cryptogenic cirrhosis evaluated for OLT and (2) to compare the severity of liver disease and patient survival in OLT candidates with cryptogenic cirrhosis and those with cirrhosis of another known origin. Material and methods. Four-hundred and seventy adult patients with end-stage liver cirrhosis evaluated for OLT between 1990 and 2004 were included, of whom 39 had cryptogenic cirrhosis. Clinical, histological and laboratory data that had been prospectively collected were re-evaluated. Results. Seventeen (44%) of the cryptogenic patients had NAFLD in a previous liver biopsy and/or clinical features of the metabolic syndrome. Two patients had occult alcohol over-consumption and one patient had burnt-out AIH. Cryptogenic patients had significantly higher frequencies of diabetes, ascites, and hyponatraemia and weight loss. Patient survival was similar between cryptogenic patients and cirrhotics with a known aetiology. Conclusions. Re-evaluation of patient data discovered probable underlying aetiologies in 51% of patients with cryptogenic cirrhosis evaluated for OLT, of which NAFLD was the most common (44%). Although cryptogenic patients had a more advanced liver disease when evaluated for OLT, patient survival was similar. Recent weight loss was significantly more common in cryptogenic patients, possibly being a sign of liver decompensation and signalling a need for OLT evaluation.
ADPLL XILINX DESIGN FOR THE HIGH FREQUENCY TRANSMITTER / RECEIVER APPLICATION

This paper present an all-digital phaselocked loop (ADPLL)-based frequency synthesizer for Wi-MAX applications implemented in 40-nm CMOS. Via frequency planning and design of multiple capacitor-banks in a digitally-controlled oscillator (DCO), the ADPLL covers dual bands of 2.3–2.7 GHz and 3.3–3.8 GHz, while achieving a fine frequency resolution of25Hz. The time-to-digital converter (TDC) achieves a resolution of better than 13 ps. Several techniques have been proposed to improve system performance. The whole system is simulated via Verilog-AMS with digital circuits at the gate level. The ADPLL achieves an integrated phase noise of better than -40 dBc from1 kHz to 10 MHz and settling time is within 15 us.
Predicting response to alcohol and drug abuse treatments. Role of psychiatric severity.

Male alcoholics (n = 460) and drug addicts (n = 282) were evaluated at six-month follow-up after treatment in six rehabilitation programs. Initial analyses of the unstratified samples showed significant patient improvement, but no evidence of differential effectiveness from different treatments or from "matching" patients to treatments. The two samples were then divided into groups based on the number, duration, and intensity of their psychiatric symptoms at admission, ie, their overall "psychiatric severity. " Patients with low psychiatric severity improved in every treatment program. Patients with high psychiatric severity showed virtually no improvement in any treatment. Patients with midrange psychiatric severity (60% of the samples) showed outcome differences from different treatments and especially from specific patient-program matches. These findings support the effectiveness and specificity of different substance abuse treatments, suggest methodologic reasons for the lack of similar findings in previous studies, and demonstrate the importance of psychiatric factors in substance abuse treatment.