Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fusion of real-time transrectal ultrasound with pre-acquired MRI for multi-modality prostate imaging

A system for fusion of realtime transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) with pre-acquired 3D images of the prostate was designed and demonstrated in phantoms and volunteer patients. Biopsy guides for endocavity ultrasound transducers were equipped with customized 6 degree-of-freedom (DoF) electromagnetic (EM) tracking sensors, compatible with the Aurora EM tracking system (Northern Digital Inc, NDI, Waterloo, ON, Canada). The biopsy guides were attached to an ultrasound probe and calibrated to map tracking coordinates with ultrasound image coordinates. Six cylindrical gold seeds were placed in a prostate phantom to serve as fiducial markers. The fiducials were first identified manually in 3T magnetic resonance (MR) images collected with an endorectal coil. The phantom was then imaged with tracked realtime TRUS and the fiducial markers were identified in the live image using custom software. Rigid registrations between MR and ultrasound image space were computed and evaluated using subsets of the fiducial markers. Twelve patients were scanned with 3T MRI and TRUS for biopsy and seed placement. In ten patients, volumetric ultrasound images were reconstructed from 2D sweeps of the prostate and were manually registered with the MR. The rigid registrations were used to display live TRUS images fused with spatially corresponding realtime multiplanar reconstructions (MPRs) of the MR image volume. Registration accuracy was evaluated by segmenting the prostate in the MR and volumetric ultrasound and computing distance measures between the two segmentations. In the phantom experiments, registration accuracies of 2.2 to 2.3 mm were achieved. In the patient studies, the average root mean square distance between the MR and TRUS segmentations was 3.1 mm, the average Hausdorff distance was 9.8 mm. Deformation of the prostate during MR and TRUS scan was identified as the primary source of error. Realtime MR/TRUS image fusion is feasible and is a promising approach to improved target visualization during TRUS-guided biopsy or therapy procedures.
Elevated dominance of extrafloral nectary‐bearing plants is associated with increased abundances of an invasive ant and reduced native ant richness

Aim Invasive ants can have substantial and detrimental effects on co‐occurring community members, especially other ants. However, the ecological factors that promote both their population growth and their negative influences remain elusive. Opportunistic associations between invasive ants and extrafloral nectary (EFN)‐bearing plants are common and may fuel population expansion and subsequent impacts of invasive ants on native communities. We examined three predictions of this hypothesis, compared ant assemblages between invaded and uninvaded sites and assessed the extent of this species in Samoa.
Constraints in household relocation: Modeling land-use/transport interactions that respect time and monetary budgets

Traditionally, integrated land-use/transportation models intend to represent all opportunities of travel and household location, maximize utilities and find an equilibrium in which no person or household could improve their satisfaction any further. Energy scarcity, higher transportation costs, and an increasing share of low-income households, on the other hand, demand special attention to represent constraints that households face, rather than opportunities for utility maximization. The integrated land-use model SILO explicitly represents various constraints, including the price of a dwelling, the travel time to work, and the monetary transportation budget. SILO ensures that no household makes choices that violate these constraints. Implementing such constraints helps SILO to generate more realistic results under scenarios that put current conditions under a stress test, such as a serious increase in transportation costs or severely increased congestion.
Leisure-Time Physical Activity Is Associated With Reduced Risk of Dementia-Related Mortality in Adults With and Without Psychological Distress: The Cohort of Norway

Background: Leisure-time physical activity (PA) has been proposed as a protective factor against dementia, whereas psychological distress is associated with an increased risk of dementia. We investigated the associations of leisure-time PA and psychological distress with dementia-related mortality, and whether the association between leisure-time PA and dementia-related mortality differs according to level of psychological distress. Methods: 36,945 individuals from the Cohort of Norway aged 50-74 years at baseline (1994–2002) were included and followed up until January 1st 2015. Leisure-time PA and psychological distress were assessed through questionnaires, whereas dementia-related mortality was obtained through the Norwegian Cause of Death Registry. Adjusted Cox regression analyses were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). Results: Compared to inactivity, leisure-time PA was associated with a decreased risk of dementia-related mortality; low intensity leisure-time PA (HR = 0.73, 95% CI 0.59–0.89); high intensity leisure-time PA (HR = 0.61, 95%CI 0.49-0.77). A statistically significant difference in dementia-related mortality risk was observed between low and high intensity leisure-time PA (p < 0.05). Psychological distress was associated with an increased risk of dementia-related mortality (HR = 1.45, 95% CI 1.16–1.81). Among non-distressed, leisure-time PA was associated with a decreased dementia-related mortality risk; low intensity leisure-time PA (HR = 0.77, 95% CI 0.61–0.97); high intensity leisure-time PA (HR = 0.65, 95% CI 0.51–0.84). The same applied for those with psychological distress; low intensity leisure-time PA (HR = 0.57, 95% CI 0.35–0.94); high intensity leisure-time PA (HR = 0.42, 95% CI 0.22–0.82). The interaction between leisure-time PA and psychological distress on dementia-related mortality was not statistically significant (p = 0.38). Conclusions: Participating in leisure-time PA was associated with a reduced risk of dementia-related mortality, whereas psychological distress was associated with an increased risk of dementia-related mortality. Leisure-time PA appears to be equally strongly related with dementia-related mortality among those with and without psychological distress, underlining the importance of leisure-time PA for various groups of middle-aged and older adults.
Competitive Bonding of Amino and Hydroxyl Groups in Ethanolamine on Si(100)2×1: Temperature-Dependent X-Ray Photoemission and Thermal Desorption Studies of Nanochemistry of a Double-Chelating Agent

Temperature-dependent X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and thermal desorption spectrometry (TDS) have been used to study the room-temperature adsorption and thermal evolution of ethanolamine. Like allylamine, the presence of a broad N 1s feature at 399.1 eV commonly attributed to N–Si indicates N–H dissociative adsorption of ethanolamine, while the O 1s feature at 533.1 eV indicates the formation of Si–O bond and O–H dissociation as found in allyl alcohol. Furthermore, a broad C 1s envelope, corresponding to the C–N feature at 284.9 eV and C–O feature at 285.7 eV, is observed. These XPS data are consistent with the [N,O] bidentate staggered and eclipsed ethanolamine conformer adspecies resulting from N–H dissociation and O–H dissociation, as predicted by our Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations. The adspecies remains stable upon annealing to 595 K, above which C–N and C–O dissociation occurs, as reflected by the conversion of existing XPS features to a new N 1s feature at 397.7 eV corresponding to Si–N(H)–Si and a new O 1s feature at 532.0 eV corresponding to Si–O–Si, with no loss in the respective total intensities up to 1190 K and 1090 K, respectively. The spectral evolution of the
A distributed approach for classification using distance metrics

To cope with the huge quantity of data that fast development of sensoring, networking and inexpensive data storage has come, many distributed approaches have been developed during the last years. The main reason is that, when dealing with large datasets, most existing data mining algorithms do not scale well, and their efﬁciency may signiﬁcantly deteriorate. Thus, we present a distributed approach by samples in which the original dataset will be divided into several nodes or processors. For classifying a new test sample, ﬁrst we compute the distance to the data on each node, and then it will be classiﬁed by the model learned from the “clos-est” data. The proposed method has proved to be useful, demonstrating important savings in runtime and satisfactory performance.
Generalization Performances of Randomized Classifiers and Algorithms built on Data Dependent Distributions

In this paper we prove that a randomized algorithm based on the data generating dependent prior and data dependent posterior Boltz-mann distributions of Catoni (2007) is Diﬀerentially Private (DP) and shows better generalization properties than the Gibbs (randomized) classi-ﬁer associated to the same distributions. For this purpose, we will develop a tight DP-based generalization bound, which improve over the current state-of-the-art Hoeﬀding-type bound.
Effect of nutrient enrichment and elevated CO2 partial pressure on growth rate of Atlantic scleractinian coral Acropora cervicornis

The growth rate of Acropora cervicornis branch tips maintained in the laboratory was measured before, during, and after exposure to elevated nitrate (5 and 10 pM NO 3 - ), phosphate (2 and 4 pM P-PO 4 3 ) and/or pCO 2 (CO 2 ∼700 to 800 patm). The effect of increased pCO 2 was greater than that of nutrient enrichment alone. High concentrations of nitrate or phosphate resulted in significant decreases in growth rate, in both the presence and absence of increased pCO 2 . The effect of nitrate and phosphate enrichment combined was additive or antagonistic relative to nutrient concentration and pCO 2 level. Growth rate recovery was greater after exposure to increased nutrients or CO 2 compared to increased nutrients and CO 2 . If these results accurately predict coral response in the natural environment, it is reasonable to speculate that the survival and reef-building potential of this species will be significantly negatively impacted by continued coastal nutrification and projected pCO 2 increases.
Therapeutic Potential of Phytomedicines and Novel Polymeric Strategies for Significant Management of Candidiasis.

BACKGROUND Candidiasis is one of the most common opportunistic fungal infections caused by genus Candida. The genus is composed of around 200 species. The most virulent among all are, Candida albicans followed by various nonalbicans species. Despite various treatments available, the incidence of severe systemic fungal infections is increasing, and with it the related morbidity and mortality, in relation to the misuse of antimicrobials and the emergence of drug-resistant fungal species. Therefore, various novel therapeutic approaches need to be developed and explored to overcome these limitations and effective management of candidiasis. OBJECTIVE In this review, we focused on natural herbal remedies and significance of novel formulation approaches for the treatment of candidiasis. CONCLUSION The reported studies suggested the promising role of phytomedicines and novel polymeric drug delivery systems in therapeutic management of candidiasis. Phytomedicines are effective substitutes of synthetic drugs as they are inexpensive with lesser number of side effects. Various novel particulate approaches can be successfully used to reduce fungal burden at the target site.
4. Approche évolutionniste de l’anxiété

La reproduction ou représentation de cet article, notamment par photocopie, n'est autorisée que dans les limites des conditions générales d'utilisation du site ou, le cas échéant, des conditions générales de la licence souscrite par votre établissement. Toute autre reproduction ou représentation, en tout ou partie, sous quelque forme et de quelque manière que ce soit, est interdite sauf accord préalable et écrit de l'éditeur, en dehors des cas prévus par la législation en vigueur en France. Il est précisé que son stockage dans une base de données est également interdit.
Government Financing with Taxes or Inflation

We calculate the effects of an increase in government spending under two financing alternatives: labor income taxes or inflation. A standard cash-in-advance model implies that it is optimal to finance the increase in spending with inflation rather than with taxes. We allow agents to choose the moment in which they adjust their portfolio. This change reverses the conclusion. The welfare cost of financing the government with inflation becomes higher. The robustness of this result is studied by considering government spending in the form of transfers or consumption expenditures and alternative definitions of seigniorage.
Medicinal herbs in the treatment of neuropathic pain: a review

Chronic neuropathic pain is a common significant and debilitating problem that presents a major challenge to health-care. Despite the large number of available drugs, there are no curative conventional treatments for neuropathic pain. Nowadays, more attention has been focused on the herbal formulation in the field of drug discovery. Therefore, we performed an extensive review about herbal drugs and plants that exhibited protective effects on neuropathic pain. In this review, the beneficial effects of each plant in different neuropathic pain model, either in animals or in patients are reported. Moreover, the possible involved mechanisms for the protective effects are discussed. The more common plants which are used for the treatment of neuropathic pain are included as: Acorus calamus, Artemisia dracunculus, Butea monosperma, Citrullus colocynthis, Curcuma longa, Crocus sativus, Elaeagnus angustifolia, Ginkgo biloba, Mitragyna speciosa, Momordica charantia, Nigella sativa, Ocimum sanctum, Phyllanthus amarus, Pterodon pubescens Benth, Rubia cordifolia and Salvia officinalis. Furthermore, the most pathways which are known to be involved in pain relief by means of herbal remedies are anti-oxidant activity, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, neuroprotective and calcium inhibitory actions. In conclusion, this review suggests that some herbal plants can be suitable candidates for the treatment of neuropathic pain.
Liver-targeted delivery of insulin-loaded nanoparticles via enterohepatic circulation of bile acids

Abstract Liver is the primary acting site of insulin. In this study, we developed innovative nanoparticles for oral and liver-targeted delivery of insulin by using enterohepatic circulation of bile acids. The nanoparticles were produced from cholic acid and quaternary ammonium modified chitosan derivative and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose phthalate (HPMCP). The nanoparticles had a diameter of 239 nm, an insulin loading efficiency of 90.9%, and a loading capacity of 18.2%. Cell culture studies revealed that the cholic acid groups effectively enhanced the transport of the nanoparticles through Caco-2 cell monolayer and greatly increased the absorption of the nanoparticles in HepG-2 cells via bile acid transporter mechanism. Ex vivo fluorescence images of ileum section, gastrointestinal tract, and liver demonstrated that the HPMCP increased the mucoadhesion of the nanoparticles in ileum, and the cholic acid groups facilitated the absorptions of the nanoparticles in both ileum and liver by use of bile acid transporters via enterohepatic circulation of bile acids. The therapy for diabetic mice displayed that the oral nanoparticle group could maintain hypoglycemic effect for more than 24 h and its pharmacological availability was about 30% compared with the insulin injection group. For the first time, this study demonstrates that using enterohepatic circulation of bile acids is an effective strategy for oral delivery of insulin.
Role of the Duodenum in the Pathogenesis of Functional Dyspepsia: A Paradigm Shift

Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a common disorder characterized by chronic epigastric pain or burning, or bothersome postprandial fullness or early satiation, without a definitive organic cause. The pathogenesis of FD is likely heterogeneous. Classically, motor disorders, visceral hypersensitivity, and brain-gut interactions have been implicated in the pathophysiology of FD, but recently an important role for chronic low-grade inflammation and infection in FD has been reported and confirmed. Duodenal low-grade inflammation is frequently observed in FD in those with and without documented previous gastroenteritis. Duodenal eosinophils and in some cases mast cells may together or separately play a key role, and immune activation (eg, circulating homing small intestinal T cells) has been observed in FD. Low-grade intestinal inflammation in patients with FD may provoke impairment in motor-sensory abnormalities along the gastrointestinal neural axis. Among FD patients, the risk of developing dyspeptic symptoms after a bout of gastroenteritis is 2.54 (95% CI, 1.76–3.65) at more than 6 months after acute gastroenteritis. Gut host and microbial interactions are likely important, and emerging data demonstrate both quantitative and qualitative changes of duodenal mucosal and fecal microbiota in FD. Food antigens (eg, wheat proteins) may also play a role in inducing duodenal inflammation and dyspepsia. While causation is not established, the hypothesis that FD is a disorder of microscopic small intestinal inflammation in a major subset is gaining acceptance, opening the possibility of novel treatment approaches that may be able to alter the natural history of the disorder.
Can fish really feel pain

We review studies claiming that fish feel pain and find deficiencies in the methods used for pain identification, particularly for distinguishing unconscious detection of injurious stimuli (nociception) from conscious pain. Results were also frequently misinterpreted and not replicable, so claims that fish feel pain remain unsubstantiated. Comparable problems exist in studies of invertebrates. In contrast, an extensive literature involving surgeries with fishes shows normal feeding and activity immediately or soon after surgery. C fiber nociceptors, the most prevalent type in mammals and responsible for excruciating pain in humans, are rare in teleosts and absent in elasmobranchs studied to date. A-delta nociceptors, not yet found in elasmobranchs, but relatively common in teleosts, likely serve rapid, less noxious injury signaling, triggering escape and avoidance responses. Clearly, fishes have survived well without the full range of nociception typical of humans or other mammals, a circumstance according well with the absence of the specialized cortical regions necessary for pain in humans. We evaluate recent claims for consciousness in fishes, but find these claims lack adequate supporting evidence, neurological feasibility, or the likelihood that consciousness would be adaptive. Even if fishes were conscious, it is unwarranted to assume that they possess a human-like capacity for pain. Overall, the behavioral and neurobiological evidence reviewed shows fish responses to nociceptive stimuli are limited and fishes are unlikely to experience pain.
Determinants and effects of postileal fermentation in the digestive tract of broilers and turkeys

Technological innovations in poultry production and diet formulation and, more importantly, genetic progress in poultry breeding have led to a considerable (over 20%) decrease in the feed efficiency ratio in chicken and turkey meat production, compared to 40 years ago (WILLEMS et al., 2012). The genetic changes associated with improved weight gain and feed efficiency have also resulted in changes in the gut physiology and gut microbial community composition of birds (LUMPKINS et al., 2010). The composition of intestinal microbiota is determined by many factors including broiler origin, housing type, litter quality, stocking density and temperature, the presence of unfavourable organisms and diseases (GEIER et al., 2009). However, a key role is played by nutrition, primarily by the chemical composition and sanitary quality of feed. Some of the nutrients in consumed feed are not digested with the aid of naturally produced enzymes but are fermented in the lower gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of poultry, mainly in the caeca, and the fermentation processes affect the health and performance of birds (CHOT, 2009; YANG et al., 2009). The final effect of postileal fermentation is determined by many factors, including the loss and utilization of energy supplied by short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), the major products of fermentation. Research conducted 30 years ago (KLASING, 1987) shows that chickens raised in a pathogen-free environment grow 15% faster than those raised under conventional conditions. In the conventional system, the gut microflora uses up part of dietary energy and is a nutritional "burden" in fast-growing birds (LAN et al., 2005). This is an important consideration, particularly in birds fed antibiotic-free diets. Feed antibiotics have a selective, but generally inhibitory effect on the counts of intestinal microorganisms. Alternative feed additives, such as prebiotics, can not only alter the composition of gut microbiota but also affect its activity. The last few decades have witnessed significant changes in poultry nutrition, including through the introduction of new feed additives (e.g. next-generation fibredegrading enzymes) and wide use of alternative protein sources such as rapeseed meal, sunflower meal and legume grains to replace soybean meal in poultry diets. In view of the above, the following question arises: how changes in diet composition influence the course and effects of postileal fermentation in the GIT of birds, in particular broiler chickens and turkeys? This paper seeks to address this question, referring to our previous findings.
Measuring Long Run Risks for Brazil

We study the temporal structure of risk prices, risk exposures and expected market returns for Brazil assuming the economy follows a long run risks model. The model consists on an endowment economy where aggregate consumption and dividend growth contain predictable components, and a representative agent has Epstein-Zin recursive preferences with CES specification. We show that aggregate consumption in Brazil is sufficiently predictable to generate risk premia associated with Epstein-Zin preferences in excess of traditional compensations induced by power utility. Moreover, risk compensation is dominated by permanent shocks both in the short and long run, as Epstein-Zin preferences mitigate the price of temporary shocks' risk.