Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cytoplasmic DNA can be detected by RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization

Abstract Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) can be used for the intracellular detection of DNA or RNA molecules. The detection of DNA sequences by DNA FISH requires the denaturation of the DNA double helix to allow the hybridization of the fluorescent probe with DNA in a single stranded form. These hybridization conditions require high temperature and low pH that can damage RNA, and therefore RNA is not typically detectable by DNA FISH. In contrast, RNA FISH does not require a denaturation step since RNA is single stranded, and therefore DNA molecules are not detectable by RNA FISH. Hence, DNA FISH and RNA FISH are mutually exclusive. In this study, we show that plasmid DNA transiently transfected into cells is readily detectable in the cytoplasm by RNA FISH without need for denaturation, shortly after transfection and for several hours. The plasmids, however, are usually not detectable in the nucleus except when the plasmids are efficiently directed into the nucleus, which may imply a more open packaging state for DNA after transfection. This detection of plasmid DNA in the cytoplasm has implications for RNA FISH experiments and opens a window to study conditions when DNA is present in the cytoplasm.
Novel Insights on the Toxicity of Phycotoxins on the Gut through the Targeting of Enteric Glial Cells

In vitro and in vivo studies have shown that phycotoxins can impact intestinal epithelial cells and can cross the intestinal barrier to some extent. Therefore, phycotoxins can reach cells underlying the epithelium, such as enteric glial cells (EGCs), which are involved in gut homeostasis, motility, and barrier integrity. This study compared the toxicological effects of pectenotoxin-2 (PTX2), yessotoxin (YTX), okadaic acid (OA), azaspiracid-1 (AZA1), 13-desmethyl-spirolide C (SPX), and palytoxin (PlTX) on the rat EGC cell line CRL2690. Cell viability, morphology, oxidative stress, inflammation, cell cycle, and specific glial markers were evaluated using RT-qPCR and high content analysis (HCA) approaches. PTX2, YTX, OA, AZA1, and PlTX induced neurite alterations, oxidative stress, cell cycle disturbance, and increase of specific EGC markers. An inflammatory response for YTX, OA, and AZA1 was suggested by the nuclear translocation of NF-κB. Caspase-3-dependent apoptosis and induction of DNA double strand breaks (γH2AX) were also observed with PTX2, YTX, OA, and AZA1. These findings suggest that PTX2, YTX, OA, AZA1, and PlTX may affect intestinal barrier integrity through alterations of the human enteric glial system. Our results provide novel insight into the toxicological effects of phycotoxins on the gut.
Thought structures as an instrument to determine the degree of difficulty of modelling tasks

Although efforts have been made to integrate the concept of mathematical modelling in school, studies show that it has not arrived yet in everyday school classes. From a teacher's point of view, multiple solution approaches and a varying task difficulty complicate especially the development and assessment of modelling tasks. Taking up this issue, this study aims at developing a method to determine the degree of difficulty of solution approaches of modelling tasks based on so called thought structures of student solutions. Thought structures of student solutions provide information about the task difficulty and can be taken as a basis for a well-founded rating scheme. We want to consider the question of whether the method used to describe the degree of difficulty can be reproduced by empirical results.
Designing Scalable and Efficient I/O Middleware for Fault-Resilient High-Performance Computing Clusters

In high-performance computing (HPC), tightly-coupled, parallel applications run in lock-step over thousands to millions of processor cores. These applications simulate a wide-range of scientific phenomena, such as hurricanes and earthquakes, or the functioning of a human heart. The results of these simulations are important and time-critical, e.g., we want to know the path of the hurricane before it makes landfall. Thus, these applications are run on the fastest supercomputers in the world at the largest scales possible. However, due to the increased component count, large-scale executions are more prone to experience faults, with Mean Times Between Failures (MTBF) on the order of hours or days due to hardware breakdowns and soft errors. A vast majority of current-generation HPC systems and application codes work around system failures using rollback-recovery schemes, also known as Checkpoint-Restart (CR), wherein the parallel processes of an application frequently save a mutually agreed-upon state of their execution as checkpoints in a globally-shared storage medium. In the face of failures, applications rollback their execution to a fault-free state using these snapshots that were saved periodically. Over the years, checkpointing mechanisms have gained notoriety for their colossal I/O demands. While state-of-art parallel file systems are optimized for concurrent accesses from millions of processes, checkpointing overheads continue to dominate application run times, with the time taken to write a single checkpoint taking on the
Prevalence and associated factors of inappropriate repeat test

Background The rate of laboratory test utilisation has been increasing unsustainably. Evaluating inappropriately repeated laboratory tests is promising because objective criteria are available to measure the rates while causes can be manipulated easily. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the prevalence, associated factors and financial burden of inappropriate repeat tests. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted on the results of 26 types of laboratory tests recorded in a laboratory database of a tertiary hospital between 1 July 2014 and 30 June 2017. Minimum retest intervals were determined from the literature for each type of tests. If the time interval between the two tests was shorter than the minimum retest interval, then the later test was accepted an inappropriate repeat test. Binary logistic regression was performed after univariate analyses. Results Of a total of 673 794 tests, 109 370 (16.2%) were inappropriate repeat tests. Male gender, being ≥65 years old, being an inpatient, high-volume test and surgical clinic as the test-requesting clinic were associated with inappropriate repeat tests. Also, it was determined that US$66 761.3 had been wasted on inappropriate repeat tests for 3 years. Discussion There are several factors that increase the rate of inappropriate repeat tests. They should be considered during health policy making or planning interventions to reduce inappropriate repeat tests.
Modout: Learning to Fuse Face and Gesture Modalities with Stochastic Regularization

Model selection methods based on stochastic regularization such as Dropout have been widely used in deep learning due to their simplicity and effectiveness. The standard Dropout method treats all units, visible or hidden, in the same way, thus ignoring any \emph{a priori} information related to grouping or structure. Such structure is present in multi-modal learning applications such as affect analysis and gesture recognition, where subsets of units may correspond to individual modalities. In this paper we describe Modout, a model selection method based on stochastic regularization, which is particularly useful in the multi-modal setting. Different from previous methods, it is capable of learning whether or when to fuse two modalities in a layer, which is usually considered to be an architectural hyper-parameter by deep learning researchers and practitioners. Modout is evaluated on one synthetic and two real multi-modal datasets. The results indicate improved performance compared to other stochastic regularization methods. The result on the Montalbano dataset shows that learning a fusion structure by Modout is on par with a state-of-the-art carefully designed architecture.
Case Study: 3D Application of the Anatomical Method of Forensic FacialReconstruction

This article reports on techniques used in forensic facial identification with a 3D modeling software system to create a virtual sculpture. In this forensic case study, Free Form Modeling SensAble Technologies and a haptic feedback Phantom® Desktop™ were used to reconstruct the facial features of the deceased from her skull. It was previously C-T scanned and then imported as an STL file under which the work was done. The advantages of the haptic feedback device is that the forensic specialist is able to “feel” the surface of the skull, not only to provide a more accurate assessment of the individual -such as their ancestry, sex and age determination-but also to visualize the process of the Manchester method of forensic facial reconstruction step by step.
The effectiveness of wearable technologies as physical activity interventions in weight control: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials

Wearable technologies represent a novel approach in the prevention of obesity and overweight that encourages users to engage in physical activities aided by technological assistance. This is the first meta‐analysis to investigate the effects of wearable technologies as physical activity interventions on weight control. Various electronic databases were searched to select eligible articles, including EBSCO, ScienceDirect, and PubMed, from the first available date to January 9, 2019. All analyses were performed using a random‐effects model. Moderator analyses were conducted to investigate differences in the effect size. This meta‐analysis of 19 randomized controlled trials indicated that wearable technologies as a physical activity intervention achieved a moderate and significant effect size on body weight and waist circumference and large and significant effect sizes on the body mass index. A subgroup analysis confirmed that wearable technologies were more efficient for weight control in individuals with obesity and chronic diseases. A duration of using wearable technologies for a total of more than or equal to 12 weeks was more effective. Meta‐regressions have also revealed that the body weight of individuals who received an additional week of treatment could be reduced by more than 0.37%. Wearable technologies offer innovative platforms of physical activity interventions and an efficient method for weight control.
Multimodal quantitative magnetic resonance imaging analysis with individualized postprocessing in patients with drug-resistant focal epilepsy and conventional visual inspection negative for epileptogenic lesions

OBJECTIVES: Approximately one-third of candidates for epilepsy surgery have no visible abnormalities on conventional magnetic resonance imaging. This is extremely discouraging, as these patients have a less favorable prognosis. We aimed to evaluate the utility of quantitative magnetic resonance imaging in patients with drug-resistant neocortical focal epilepsy and negative imaging. METHODS: A prospective study including 46 patients evaluated through individualized postprocessing of five quantitative measures: cortical thickness, white and gray matter junction signal, relaxation rate, magnetization transfer ratio, and mean diffusivity. Scalp video-electroencephalography was used to suggest the epileptogenic zone. A volumetric fluid-attenuated inversion recovery sequence was performed to aid visual inspection. A critical assessment of follow-up was also conducted throughout the study. RESULTS: In the subgroup classified as having an epileptogenic zone, individualized postprocessing detected abnormalities within the region of electroclinical origin in 9.7% to 31.0% of patients. Abnormalities outside the epileptogenic zone were more frequent, up to 51.7%. In five patients initially included with negative imaging, an epileptogenic structural abnormality was identified when a new visual magnetic resonance imaging inspection was guided by information gleaned from postprocessing. In three patients, epileptogenic lesions were detected after visual evaluation with volumetric fluid-attenuated sequence guided by video electroencephalography. CONCLUSION: Although quantitative magnetic resonance imaging analyses may suggest hidden structural lesions, caution is warranted because of the apparent low specificity of these findings for the epileptogenic zone. Conversely, these methods can be used to prevent visible lesions from being ignored, even in referral centers. In parallel, we need to highlight the positive contribution of the volumetric fluid-attenuated sequence.
Real-time Foreground Segmentation and Boundary matting for Live Videos using SVM technique

Segmentation is nothing but to simplify and change the representation of video into something that is more meaningful and easier to analyze. Foreground segmentation is nothing but the extraction of desired foreground object from input videos. Large amount of efforts are taken on this topic but there is still lack of significant algorithm that work on live videos of object with fuzzy boundaries captured by movable camera. This paper presents an algorithm that can work in real-time for freely moving cameras. In this we use two competing one class support vector machine at each pixel location they can work according to local color distribution for both foreground and background. By using this machine learning method and addressing foreground segmentation and boundary matting in integrated manner this algorithm gives complete extraction of foreground object at processing a wide range of videos with complex background from freely moving cameras in real-time. In this also calculate the real-time processing speed in the form of frames per seconds as well as graph frames.
Reducing impulsive choice: VI. Delay-exposure training reduces aversion to delay-signaling stimuli.

Delay-exposure (DE) training consistently and robustly reduces impulsive choice in rats, but the behavioral mechanisms behind this effect are not yet understood. The present study evaluated if DE training works by mitigating aversion to delay-signaling stimuli-those encountered when rats chose the larger-later reward in impulsive choice assessments. Fifty-seven rats were randomly assigned to 120 days of training with delayed reinforcement, training with immediate reinforcement (IE), or to a no-training Control group. Consistent with prior experiments, DE rats made significantly fewer impulsive choices than IE or Control rats. Subsequently, in a separate assessment of delay aversion, rats were given the opportunity to press a lever to temporarily escape from stimuli correlated with long or short time-intervals to food. When these escape opportunities terminated delay-signaling stimuli in the impulsive-choice task, DE rats escaped significantly less than IE and Control rats. When escapes terminated FI-signaling stimuli (a procedure in which there is no response-reinforcer delay), the difference only approached significance. These results support the hypothesis that DE training reduces impulsive choice, in part, by reducing aversion to delay-signaling stimuli. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
VLSI implementation of huffman design using FPGA with a comprehensive analysis of power restrictions

Lossless compression is important in Information hypothesis as well as today's IT field. Lossless design of Huffman is most to a large degree used in the compression arena. However, Huffman coding has some limitations where it depends on the stream of symbols appearing in a file. In fact, Huffman coding creates a code with very few bits for a symbol that has a very high probability of occurrence and an utmost number of bits for a symbol with a low probability of occurrence. In this work Hardware implementation of static Huffman coding for data compression using has been designed, this hardware contains both encoder and decoder-based hardware. The proposed systems Altera DE-2 Board have been used in order to implement the text data compression. The experiments with a simulated environment and the real-time implementation for FPGA with Synopsys power analysis show that constraint has been fulfilled and the target design of the buffer length is appropriate. Power consumption that achieved by the proposed algorithm was 0.0161 mW with frequency 20MHz.and 0.1426 mW with frequency 180MHz within the design limitations. The proposed design is implemented by using ASIC and FPGA design methodologies. In order to implement the encoder and decoder architectures, 130 nm standard cell libraries was used for ASIC implementation. The simulations are carried out by using Modelsim tool. The architecture of compression and decompression algorithm design has been created using Verilog HDL language. Quartus II 11.1 Web Edition (32-Bit). In addition, simulated using ModelSim-Altera 10.0c (Quartus II 11.1) Starter Edition. And it is implemented using Altera FPGA (DE2) for real time implementation.
The Role of Cysteine Cathepsins in Cancer Progression and Drug Resistance

Cysteine cathepsins are lysosomal enzymes belonging to the papain family. Their expression is misregulated in a wide variety of tumors, and ample data prove their involvement in cancer progression, angiogenesis, metastasis, and in the occurrence of drug resistance. However, while their overexpression is usually associated with highly aggressive tumor phenotypes, their mechanistic role in cancer progression is still to be determined to develop new therapeutic strategies. In this review, we highlight the literature related to the role of the cysteine cathepsins in cancer biology, with particular emphasis on their input into tumor biology.
GATA2突变相关儿童原发性骨髓增生异常综合征临床及分子生物学特征

目的 探讨我国GATA2突变相关儿童原发性骨髓增生异常综合征（MDS）的发生情况、临床特点及分子生物学特征。 方法 回顾性分析2007年1月至2018年1月129例儿童原发性MDS患者临床资料，采用二代测序技术检测GATA2及髓系恶性肿瘤相关基因突变情况。 分析基因突变谱及其与临床表现型的关系。 结果 在所有129例患者中，11例（8.5%）检出GATA2胚系突变。 在50例MDS伴原始细胞增高（MDS-EB）和急性髓系白血病伴MDS相关改变（AML-MRC）患者中，GATA2胚系突变占14. 0%。 GATA2突变多位于第二个锌指（ZF2）区。 多因素分析结果显示，SETBP1体细胞突变（P=0.041，OR=9.003，95%CI 1.098~73.787）和独立的7号染色体单体（P=0.002，OR=24.835，95%CI 3.305~186.620）与GATA2胚系突变显著相关。 与GATA2野生型的患者相比，GATA2突变型患者中位发病年龄更大[8（1~16）岁对6岁（1月龄~18岁），P=0.035]，更易伴有7号染色体单体（72.7%对5. 2%，P<0.001），较之儿童难治性血细胞减少（RCC）更倾向于存在于MDS-EB/AML-MRC亚型中（5.1%对13. 7%，P=0.111）。 GATA2突变与否不影响儿童原发性MDS患者的3年预期总生存（OS）率[（80.1±4.2）%对（60.6±25.4）%，P=0.437]；在44例接受allo-HSCT患者中，GATA2突变与否对移植后3年预期OS率无显著影响[100.0%对（94.0±3.8）%，P=0.562]。 结论 GATA2突变在我国伴有7号染色体单体及年龄较大的儿童原发性MDS患者中占有较高的比例，且GATA2突变患者多进展为MDS-EB和AML-MRC。 GATA2突变状态不影响儿童原发性MDS的总体生存。
Scheduling in Grid Computing Environment Based on Genetic Algorithm

Grid computing is a new computing-framework to meet the growing computational demands.Computational grids provide mechanisms for sharing and accessing large and heterogeneous collections of remote resources.However, how to schedule the subtasks in these heterogeneous resources is a critical problem.In this paper, a scheduling-algorithm based on genetic algorithm (GA) is addressed.The chromosome coding method and the operator of genetic algorithm are discussed in detail.The relationship between subtasks can be obtained through the DAG, and then the subtasks are ranked according to their depth-value, which can avoid the emergence of invalidate chromosomes.In the single resource, two principles are adopted to determine the sequence of the subtasks: one is the short-subtask prior; the other is parent-subtask prior.
Stepped-frequency ground penetrating radar imaging algorithm based on compressed sensing

Compared to a traditional no-carrier pulse ground penetrating radar,the stepped-frequency ground penetrating radar(SFGPR) has many advantages on detection performance.Since its work frequencies increase in stepped mode,the SFGPR system has low imaging speed.A novel imaging algorithm of the CS-SFGPR system based on compressive sensing(CS) theory is introduced.The experimental results show that the CS-SFGPR system reduces the data collection time and improves imaging speed.
An overview of VaxchoraTM, a live attenuated oral cholera vaccine

ABSTRACT Cholera remains a public health threat among the least privileged populations and regions affected by conflicts and natural disasters. Together with Water, Sanitation and Hygiene practices, use of oral cholera vaccines (OCVs) is a key tool to prevent cholera. Bivalent whole-cell killed OCVs have been extensively used worldwide and found effective in protecting populations against cholera in endemic and outbreak settings. No cholera vaccine had been available for United States (US) travelers at risk for decades until 2016 when CVD 103-HgR (Vaxchora™), an oral live attenuated vaccine, was licensed by the US FDA. A single dose of Vaxchora™ protected US volunteers against experimental challenge 10 days and 3 months after vaccination. However, use of Vaxchora™ poses several challenges in resource poor settings as it requires reconstitution, is age-restricted to 18 to 64 years, has no data in populations endemic for cholera, and faces challenges related to cold chain and cost.
Design Scheme of EJB Performance Optimization

This paper analyzes elements of remote invocation method,points out the initialization,JNDI search and remote invocation are the key factors affecting the EJB performance.Thus,an idea optimizing EJB design pattern is proposed.Based on the theory of Session Facade,EJBHome factory,Value Object and other EJB design patterns,the paper comes up with the optimization scheme for EJB design patterns.This scheme has good extensibility and reusability.
Association between peripheral blood mononuclear cell ORMDL3 expression and the asthma predictive index in preschool children

Objective This study aimed to assess whether orosomucoid 1-like 3 (ORMDL3) expression and environmental and clinical factors are associated with wheezing episodes in preschool children. Methods Children diagnosed with wheezing episodes were classified according to their asthma predictive index (API) in the past year as follows: API+ (≥4 wheezing episodes), API− (1–3 wheezing episodes), and API0 (without wheezing). ORMDL3 expression was assessed by real-time polymerase chain reaction in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis of ORMDL3 expression and the API was performed for diagnosing wheezing episodes. Correlations between ORMDL3 expression and asthma risk factors were examined using Spearman’s correlation. Results PBMC ORMDL3 expression was higher in the API+ group compared with the API− and API0 groups. The area under the curve for ORMDL3 expression was 0.820 (95% confidence interval, 0.771–0.869). ORMDL3 expression was positively correlated with the API (r = 0.447), infantile eczema (r = 0.499), wheezing (r = 0.516), total immunoglobulin E (r = 0.208), and environmental factors, including Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (r = 0.357), house dust mites (r = 0.112), dog fur (r = 0.226), and Aspergillus(r = 0.257). ORMDL3 expression was negatively correlated with amaranth (r = −0.122). Conclusions ORMDL3 expression in PBMCs is positively associated with the API and some asthma-related clinical and environmental risk factors in preschoolers.
A porcine xenograft‐derived bone scaffold is a biocompatible bone graft substitute: An assessment of cytocompatibility and the alpha‐Gal epitope

Xenografts are an attractive alternative to traditional bone grafts because of the large supply from donors with predictable morphology and biology as well as minimal risk of human disease transmission. Clinical series involving xenograft bone transplantation, most commonly from bovine sources, have reported poor results with frequent graft rejection and failure to integrate with host tissue. Failures have been attributed to residual alpha‐Gal epitope in the xenograft which humans produce natural antibody against. To the authors' knowledge, there is currently no xenograft‐derived bone graft substitute that has been adopted by orthopedic surgeons for routine clinical use.