Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
DISTURBANCES OF MICTURITION OBSERVED IN SOME PATIENTS WITH BRAIN TUMOR

Through the clinical study of brain tumors, we had a conclusion on the cerebral mechanism which influence the sacral center on the micturition. That will be described as follows:1. The frontal lobe has something to do with inhibitory function of the micturition especially the left frontal lobe seems to be very significant.2. It is very doubtful that there is an inhibitory factor in motor area.3. The paracental lobule seems to have an inhibitory function, incontinence, however, may not appear unless both lobules are invaded.4. The possibility of the existence of an inhibitory center in the cingulate gyrus is extremely doubtful. It is out of our consideration that there exists, at least, an inhibitory center on the anterior cingulate gyrus.5. It is also doubtful that there is an inhibitory or an accelerating center in the diencephalon.6. The upper part of the mesencephalon appears to be no important center of micturition.7. It is clear that there are some accelerating center of micturition in the area of lower mesencephalon and upper medulla with the pons as its significant site (Fig. 3).
Secreted Peptide Dilp8 Coordinates Drosophila Tissue Growth with Developmental Timing

Small But Perfectly Formed The imaginal discs of Drosophila represent defined larval tissues that give rise to the subsequent adult appendages. These tissues regenerate in response to damage. When the imaginal discs are injured or show tumor growth, they signal to the rest of the larval animal to slow down growth and delay morphogenesis. Garelli et al. (p. 579) and Colombani et al. (p. 582) now show that an insulin-like peptide, termed Dilp8, is secreted into the hemolymph (insect “blood”) and participates in the communication between growing organs and the endocrine system to adjust the growth program and maturation time. This collaboration ensures that adults attain the normal size and maintain appropriate proportions and symmetry. In fruit flies, growing tissues send signals to the endocrine system to coordinate growth and metamorphosis. Little is known about how organ growth is monitored and coordinated with the developmental timing in complex organisms. In insects, impairment of larval tissue growth delays growth and morphogenesis, revealing a coupling mechanism. We carried out a genetic screen in Drosophila to identify molecules expressed by growing tissues participating in this coupling and identified dilp8 as a gene whose silencing rescues the developmental delay induced by abnormally growing tissues. dilp8 is highly induced in conditions where growth impairment produces a developmental delay. dilp8 encodes a peptide for which expression and secretion are sufficient to delay metamorphosis without affecting tissue integrity. We propose that Dilp8 peptide is a secreted signal that coordinates the growth status of tissues with developmental timing.
Influence of Synaptic Vesicle Position on Release Probability and Exocytotic Fusion Mode

A Synaptic Vesicle in Time Synaptic vesicles move extensively within presynaptic nerve terminals, and their positional features are thought to have an impact on the likelihood and mode of vesicle fusion and transmitter release. Park et al. (p. 1362, published online 16 February) now provide real-time, three-dimensional tracking of individual synaptic vesicles in living nerve terminals. Single synaptic vesicles were identified within hippocampal neurons right up to the moment of exocytosis. Tracking of individual synaptic vesicles reveals that kiss-and-run fusion is concentrated near the center of the synapse. Neurotransmission depends on movements of transmitter-laden synaptic vesicles, but accurate, nanometer-scale monitoring of vesicle dynamics in presynaptic terminals has remained elusive. Here, we report three-dimensional, real-time tracking of quantum dot-loaded single synaptic vesicles with an accuracy of 20 to 30 nanometers, less than a vesicle diameter. Determination of the time, position, and mode of fusion, aided by trypan blue quenching of Qdot fluorescence, revealed that vesicles starting close to their ultimate fusion sites tended to fuse earlier than those positioned farther away. The mode of fusion depended on the prior motion of vesicles, with long-dwelling vesicles preferring kiss-and-run rather than full-collapse fusion. Kiss-and-run fusion events were concentrated near the center of the synapse, whereas full-collapse fusion events were broadly spread.
Plant tests for determining the suitability of grape marc composts as components of plant growth media

Five grape marc composts prepared by different procedures (composting and vermicompost at several scales) were tested as potential components of plant growth media. The five composts had high organic matter content (>90%), low electric conductivity (<1 dS m−1) and a pH between 7 and 8. Different chemical and biochemical analyses performed indicated the higher stability of those composts submitted to a longer composting process or to a vermicomposting process (lower water soluble organic matter, respiration and dehydrogenase activity). In order to determine the suitability of the composts as substrate components, plant growth tests were performed by blending the composts with peat or commercial substrate at two compost rates (25% and 50%). The mixtures were sown with barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and grown under controlled conditions in an incubation chamber. No prejudicial effects derived from the use of composted grape marc were observed, whatever the procedure of composting used. The results showed that four out of the five composts would be suitable for use in plant growth substrates elaboration, as they did not reduce productivity with respect to the control substrates.
Polycystic ovary syndrome

Polycystic ovary syndrome is the most common endocrine disturbance to affect women, with approximately 10–15% of women experiencing this problem. It involves a spectrum of signs and symptoms, which include menstrual cycle disturbance and infertility, dermatological problems of acne and hirsutism (sometimes alopecia), and being overweight. The latter both aggravates the condition, and increases the risk for metabolic problems that lead to type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Noncausal finite-time robust iterative learning control

In this paper, we present a new finite-time robust Iterative Learning Control (ILC) strategy which can guarantee robust stability of the ILC controlled system in presence of model uncertainty as quantified by an additive or multiplicative uncertainty model. The presented finite-time robust ILC controller distinguishes itself from other robust ILC controllers by 1) exploiting non-causality in its control structure and 2) taking into account the finite time span of a single trial. The different steps in the control design and analysis are extensively discussed and illustrated by means of an example.
INTRA-ARTERIAL INJECTION OF SODIUM IODID: PRELIMINARY REPORT

Until the present time there has been no accurate method for the determination in the living patient of the amount and extent of occlusion of the arteries of the extremities. I have already briefly described how this may be accomplished by intra-arterial injection of a solution of sodium iodid, and roentgen-ray photography. Further clinical experience with this method has demonstrated that it is a valuable method in the diagnosis of circulatory diseases of the extremities. The solution injected is prepared by dissolving 100 gm. of sodium iodid crystals in 100 c.c. of distilled water. The solution is sterilized in the autoclave and is always used soon after its preparation. The solution should be colorless or very faintly yellowish. A solution that shows any considerable iodin color has not been used. The method of obtaining the roentgenograms of the arteries of the lower extremities is as follows: The entire thigh is
A citrus waste-based biorefinery as a source of renewable energy: technical advances and analysis of engineering challenges

An assessment of recent technical advances on pretreatment processes and its effects on enzymatic hydrolysis as the main steps of a proposed citrus processing waste (CPW) biorefinery is presented. Engineering challenges and relevant gaps in scientific and technical information for reliable design, modeling and scale up of a CPW biorefinery are also discussed. Some integrated physico-chemical pretreatments are proposed for testing for CPW, including high speed knife-grinding and simultaneous caustic addition. These new proposed processes and the effect of parameters such as particle size, surface area and morphology, pore volume and chemical composition of the diverse fractions resulting from pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis need to be evaluated and compared for pretreated and untreated samples of grapefruit processing waste. This assessment suggests the potential for filling the data gaps, and preliminary results demonstrate that the reduction of particle size and the increased surface area for the CPW will result in higher reaction rates and monosaccharide yields for the pretreated waste material.
THE EFFECT OF AGEING ON REMEMBERING TO REMEMBER: AN INVESTIGATION OF SIMULATED MEDICATION REGIMENS

Remembering to remember, prospective memory, was investigated by simulation of medication regimen. Subjects were 80 adult volunteers in five age groups: 20s, 40s, 60s, 70s and 80 plus years. Subjects were asked to push a button at prescribed times on a small box containing an electronic device that recorded the date and time of each push. They were required to push the button at the same times over two periods of seven days; once-a-day for one week and four-times-a-day for the other week. There was a significant effect for age, with the older adults more often on time and when late they were closer to the set times than the younger adults. However, the typical age-related decline was found on a retrospective task.
Approximately optimal nonlinear stabilization with preservation of the Lyapunov function property

We present an approximate optimization approach to the computation of stabilizing feedback laws using a partitioning of the state space and a corresponding approximation of the optimal value function of the problem. By including the discretization errors into the optimal control formulation we are able to compute approximate optimal value functions which preserve the Lyapunov function property and corresponding optimally stabilizing feedback laws which are constant on each partition element. The actual computation uses efficient graph theoretic algorithms.
Revisiting statistical learning theory for uncertain feasibility and optimization problems

In this paper, we study two general semi-infinite programming problems by means of statistical learning theory. The sample size results obtained with this approach are generally considered to be very conservative by the control community. The main contribution of this paper is to demonstrate that this is not necessarily the case. Using as a starting point one-side results from statistical learning theory, we obtain bounds on the number of required samples that are manageable for "reasonable" values of confidence delta and accuracy isin. In particular, we provide sample size bounds growing with 1/isin ln 1/isin instead of the usual 1/isin2 ln 1/isin2 dependence.
A Single Progenitor Population Switches Behavior to Maintain and Repair Esophageal Epithelium

Epithelial Defense Force The nature of the cells that maintain and heal the epithelium lining the esophagus has been controversial. Doupé et al. (p. 1091, published online 19 July; see the Perspective by Kushner) show that, unlike many other tissues, mouse esophagus is devoid of slow cycling stem cells. Instead, the epithelium is maintained and repaired by a single population of proliferating cells that can switch rapidly from homeostatic behavior into “repair mode” in the vicinity of a wound. Dividing cells in the mouse esophagus contribute to wound healing without the need for quiescent stem cells. Diseases of the esophageal epithelium (EE), such as reflux esophagitis and cancer, are rising in incidence. Despite this, the cellular behaviors underlying EE homeostasis and repair remain controversial. Here, we show that in mice, EE is maintained by a single population of cells that divide stochastically to generate proliferating and differentiating daughters with equal probability. In response to challenge with all-trans retinoic acid (atRA), the balance of daughter cell fate is unaltered, but the rate of cell division increases. However, after wounding, cells reversibly switch to producing an excess of proliferating daughters until the wound has closed. Such fate-switching enables a single progenitor population to both maintain and repair tissue without the need for a “reserve” slow-cycling stem cell pool.
VADO approach efficacy in psychiatric rehabilitation: a controlled study

SUMMARY Aims – Assessment of the efficacy of the rehabilitation approach that is recommended by the manual VADO (AAOS in English: Abilities Assessment and Objectives Setting) in schizophrenic syndromes. Methods – Controlled trial, partly with individual randomisation. Centres were invited to recruit 10 patients who in most centres were randomly allocated either to the VADO approach or to usual rehabilitation practice. At least two professionals for each centre attended a brief intensive training course. Patients were assessed at baseline and six months later with a) the FPS scale, which is an improvement on the DSMIV SOFAS; b) the BPRS 4.0; c) AR, a clinical tool that is contained in VADO. Results – 55 patients received the experimental interventions and 40 the control one. Six months later greater significant improvements were observed in the experimental group, both in social functioning and in psychopathology. Conclusions – The dissemination of structured rehabilitation approaches that are based on personalized definition of objective, intensive progress monitoring, patient's therapeutic education and validated strategies and do not imply additional costs, may be warranted. A longer follow–up is under way. Declaration of Interest: this work was partly funded by the National Mental Health Project (PNSM) of the Istituto Superiore della Sanita.
Drug utilization pattern among geriatric patients assessed with the anatomical therapeutic chemical classification / defined daily dose system in a rural tertiary care teaching hospital

Aim: To use the ATC/DDD system to study the drug utilization pattern among geriatric patients in a rural tertiary care teaching hospital. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional prospective observational study involving 400 geriatric patients was carried out from August 2007 to October 2009. Relevant information was obtained by personal interview and from perusal of case files. Results: The majority of the patients (72%) were in age group of 65-74 years. There was a male preponderance (60.03%). Of the total 1026 disease conditions, cardiovascular diseases were the most common (86.75%), followed by musculoskeletal conditions (32.25%); psychiatric diseases (0.5%) had the lowest prevalence. Comorbid conditions were present in 315 (78.75%) patients. A total of 2924 drug formulations, containing 3254 active ingredients, were prescribed, of which 339 (11.59%) were fixed-dose combinations (FDCs). The mean number of drug formulations per prescriptions was 7.31±4.39. Polypharmacy and high polypharmacy were prevalent in 52% and 23.25% of patients, respectively. Only 15.6% formulations were prescribed by their generic names and only 51.7% were drugs that were included in the World Health Organization's Essential Medicines List (WHO-EML) Drugs acting on the cardiovascular system (22.81%) were the most frequently prescribed drugs, followed by antimicrobials (16.89%) and drugs acting on the gastrointestinal system (13.61%). Ranitidine (A02BA02) 150 mg was most frequently prescribed drug having DDD of 162, followed by aspirin (B01AC06) 75 mg, diclofenac sodium (M01AB05) 50 mg, and amlodipine (C08CA01) 5 mg with numbers of DDD 118UD, 94, and 88, respectively. Conclusion: Drug utilization data can help in assessing the quality of care given to the geriatric patients and promote rational use of medicines.
Real-Time Imaging of Pt3Fe Nanorod Growth in Solution

Growing in Liquid The ability to control the growth of materials at the nanometer scale is key to nanotechnology. Materials grown in liquids, however, are difficult to track on a particle-by-particle basis during growth. Two studies used an in situ liquid cell to follow the formation of larger nanoparticles or nanorods grown in solvents using high-resolution transmission electron microscopes. Liao et al. (p. 1011) watched platinum iron nanorods form from kinked chains of connected nanoparticles that gradually reoriented and straightened to form rigid rods. Li et al. (p. 1014) observed the coalescence of iron oxyhydroxide nanoparticles through an oriented attachment mechanism, whereby two similar particles rotated until their corresponding crystal lattices aligned. An in situ liquid stage is used to study the formation of nanowires from solution in a transmission electron microscope. The growth of colloidal nanocrystal architectures by nanoparticle attachment is frequently reported as an alternative to the conventional growth by monomer attachment. However, the mechanism whereby nanoparticle attachment proceeds microscopically remains unclear. We report real-time transmission electron microscopy (TEM) imaging of the solution growth of Pt3Fe nanorods from nanoparticle building blocks. Observations revealed growth of winding polycrystalline nanoparticle chains by shape-directed nanoparticle attachment followed by straightening and orientation and shape corrections to yield single-crystal nanorods. Tracking nanoparticle growth trajectories allowed us to distinguish the force fields exerted by single nanoparticles and nanoparticle chains. Such quantification of nanoparticle interaction and understanding the growth pathways are important for the design of hierarchical nanomaterials and controlling nanocrystal self-assembly for functional devices.
Controlling chromium slag pollution utilising scavengers: A case of Shandong Province, China

The problem of chromium slag pollution is a great challenge for China. It is now an urgent task for China to take effective measures to eliminate chromium slag pollution. This article examines the case of the treatment of chromium slag in Shandong Province and explores how chromium slag pollution can be eliminated in Shandong Province. It shows that the chromium slag stockpiled by the chemical plants was successfully utilised by local steel companies, who act as ‘scavenger companies’. The driving mechanism, seeking a potential ‘scavenger company’ within the local region and the role of the local government on the case of Shandong Province are discussed. This article concludes that local steel companies can be utilised to effectively and efficiently treat the chromium slag while benefiting the steel companies. The local governments need to play multiple roles in solving the problem of chromium slag pollution. Seeking and identifying ‘scavenger companies’ within a region could be an important approach to reducing pollution within the region.
Continental-Scale Effects of Nutrient Pollution on Stream Ecosystem Functioning

Reading the Leaves Excess inputs of nutrients—a type of pollution known as eutrophication—threatens biodiversity and water quality in rivers and streams. Woodward et al. (p. 1438; see the Perspective by Palmer and Febria) studied how one key ecosystem process—leaf-litter decomposition—responds to eutrophication across a large nutrient pollution gradient in 100 European streams. Leaf breakdown was stimulated by low to moderate nutrient concentrations but was inhibited at high rates of nutrient loading. Leaf-litter breakdown rates across 100 European streams offer insights into ecosystem health during eutrophication. Excessive nutrient loading is a major threat to aquatic ecosystems worldwide that leads to profound changes in aquatic biodiversity and biogeochemical processes. Systematic quantitative assessment of functional ecosystem measures for river networks is, however, lacking, especially at continental scales. Here, we narrow this gap by means of a pan-European field experiment on a fundamental ecosystem process—leaf-litter breakdown—in 100 streams across a greater than 1000-fold nutrient gradient. Dramatically slowed breakdown at both extremes of the gradient indicated strong nutrient limitation in unaffected systems, potential for strong stimulation in moderately altered systems, and inhibition in highly polluted streams. This large-scale response pattern emphasizes the need to complement established structural approaches (such as water chemistry, hydrogeomorphology, and biological diversity metrics) with functional measures (such as litter-breakdown rate, whole-system metabolism, and nutrient spiraling) for assessing ecosystem health.
Virtual reality enhanced bilateral teleoperation with communication constraints

In force reflecting teleoperator systems, the existence of even small communication delays and jitters may lead to transparency deterioration and instability. An alternative approach to the delayed force feedback is to design a virtual environment (VE) on the master side that duplicates the essential features of the remote slave-environment interconnection. In this work, we present an approach to the design of VE-enhanced force reflecting teleoperation in presence of network induced communication constraints. The approach is based on using an approximate discrete-time model of the remote slave/environment interconnection, which is implemented on the master side together with certain observation/identification/prediction mechanism that allows to approximately recover the current state/parameters of the remote environment based on delayed and possibly distorted measurement data. A control algorithm and a communication protocol are designed which guarantee the stability of the overall teleoperator system in the presence of network induced communication constraints if the loss of the information during communication is sufficiently small.
Generic Indicators for Loss of Resilience Before a Tipping Point Leading to Population Collapse

Predicting Catastrophic Collapse It is very difficult to predict the behavior of complex systems near tipping points, where a small change in conditions can lead to a large shift in the state of the system. Theory predicts that some generic statistical indicators can signal the approach of such tipping points, such as slower recoveries from perturbations of the system—a phenomenon called critical slowing down. Working with laboratory yeast populations, Dai et al. (p. 1175) provide an experimental measure for critical slowing down before catastrophic population collapse. This type of approach should help when trying to predict catastrophic thresholds in other complex systems, ranging from ecosystem transition to climate change, and even to crashes of financial markets. Experiments in yeast confirm that statistical indicators can signal the approach of population crashes. Theory predicts that the approach of catastrophic thresholds in natural systems (e.g., ecosystems, the climate) may result in an increasingly slow recovery from small perturbations, a phenomenon called critical slowing down. We used replicate laboratory populations of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae for direct observation of critical slowing down before population collapse. We mapped the bifurcation diagram experimentally and found that the populations became more vulnerable to disturbance closer to the tipping point. Fluctuations of population density increased in size and duration near the tipping point, in agreement with the theory. Our results suggest that indicators of critical slowing down can provide advance warning of catastrophic thresholds and loss of resilience in a variety of dynamical systems.