Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Different Assays for Her-2/neu Evaluation in Breast Cancer

To evaluate different methodologic approaches for HER-2/neu analysis, we performed Southern, Northern, Western blot and histochemical assay on 112 samples from 86 primary tumors and 26 synchronous axillary metastatic lymph nodes of patients affected by operable breast cancer. Simultaneous statistical analysis of data obtained with the four methods (31 samples) showed that Western blot detected a higher percentage of alterations than the other assays (Cochran and Victor tests, 0.01 < p < 0.05). The same result was emphasized by pair analysis (McNemar, p < 0.05), which evaluated the assay data two by two. Immunohistochemical evaluations were more in accord with immunoprecipitation data when performed on frozen or Bouin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues than on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues.
Automatic detection of sentence prominence in speech using predictability of word-level acoustic features

Automatic detection of prominence in speech is an important task for many spoken language applications. However, most previous approaches rely on the availability of a corpus that is annotated with prosodic labels in order to train classifiers, therefore lacking generality beyond high-resourced languages. In this paper, we propose an algorithm for the automatic detection of sentence prominence that does not require explicit prominence labels for training. The method is based on the finding that human perception of prominence correlates with the (un)predictability of prosodic trajectories. The proposed system takes speech as input and combines information from automatically detected syllabic nuclei and three prosodic features in order to provide estimates of the prominent words. Results are reported using a speech corpus with manually assigned prominence labels from twenty annotators, showing that the algorithmic output converges with the annotators’ prominence responses with 86% accuracy.
Comparison of patient rated treatment response with measured improvement in Parkinson's disease

Background A marked response to dopamine replacement therapy is important in supporting a diagnosis of idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD). The aim of the study was to compare PD patients' subjective rating of improvement with measured improvement on a number of scales. Methods People with clinically defined PD were identified from a prospective long term follow-up study of incident parkinsonian patients. Changes in the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) (activities of daily living and motor subsections), timed tests and Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire, full version, between assessments immediately before starting adequate dopamine replacement and the two subsequent follow-up assessments (mean 6 and 12 months after baseline) were calculated. These were compared with the patients' own subjective ratings of improvement (nil, slight, moderate, good, excellent). Results 133 patients were included (mean age 71 years, 56% men). Thirty-eight patients were treated with a dopamine agonist and 95 with l-dopa (median l-dopa equivalent dose 300 mg). Most patients showed improvements in their measured scores but there was no statistically significant association between these scores and the patient subjective response, except for the motor UPDRS at the first follow-up. A third of those who showed no improvement in their motor UPDRS at the first follow-up rated their improvement as moderate or better, while 29% of those whose motor UPDRS improved by over 50% said they had no or slight improvement. Conclusion PD patients' subjective ratings of their degree of improvement often do not accurately reflect the degree of objective change in parkinsonian impairment or disability. Clinicians should record a simple measure of motor impairment before and after treatment to assess treatment response more accurately.
Prolonged Amelioration of Experimental Postoperative Pain by Bupivacaine Released From Microsphere-Coated Hernia Mesh

Background and Objectives Postoperative pain alters physiological functions and delays discharge. Perioperative local anesthetics are effective analgesics in the immediate 1- to 2-day postoperative period, but acute pain often lasts longer. The goal of this work was to develop a local anesthetic formulation adhering to an intraoperative implanted device that reduces pain for at least 3 days after surgery. Methods Six groups, each with 8 rats, were studied. In a control group (group I), one 1.2-cm-long incision of the skin was followed by blunt dissection to separate the skin away from the underlying tissues and closing with 2 sutures. In 3 of the treatment groups, the same surgical procedure was used, with the subcutaneous space formed by the blunt dissection lined with a 1-cm square patch of hernia mesh coated with poly lactide co-glycolic acid microspheres containing approximately 17 mg of bupivacaine (group II), no drug (placebo; group III), or bupivacaine free-base powder (group IV). Uncoated mesh implants (group V) served as a secondary control. A standard bupivacaine solution (0.4 mL, 0.5%; 2-mg dose) was infiltrated subcutaneously 30 minutes before the surgery and served as a standard control (group VI). Mechanosensitivity of the skin was tested by the local subcutaneous muscle responses to cutaneous tactile stimulation by von Frey hairs with forces of 4 g (for allodynia) and 15 g (for hyperalgesia) preoperatively and for 7 postoperative days. Results Control rats (group I) showed mechanohypersensitivity, indicative of postoperative allodynia and hyperalgesia, for all 7 postoperative days. Mechanohyperalgesia in rats that received mesh coated with bupivacaine-releasing microspheres (group II) was reduced during this period to 13% of control postoperative values (P < 0.001); mesh coated with bupivacaine base (group IV) reduced it by 50% (P = 0.034). The placebo mesh (group III) and uncoated mesh (group V) caused no significant reduction of mechanohypersensitivity, and bupivacaine solution infiltrated before the incision (group VI) reduced hypersensitivity for only approximately 2 hours, an overall insignificant effect. Conclusions Bupivacaine slowly released for 72 hours from microspheres adsorbed to the hernia mesh significantly suppresses evoked postoperative hypersensitivity for at least 1 week and is more effective than a suspension of these microspheres or preoperative single-shot infiltration of bupivacaine.
Determination of the electrical conductivity of human liver metastases: impact on therapy planning in the radiofrequency ablation of liver tumors

Background Radiofrequency ablation is used to induce thermal necrosis in the treatment of liver metastases. The specific electrical conductivity of a liver metastasis has a distinct influence on the heat formation and resulting tumor ablation within the tissue. Purpose To examine the electrical conductivity σ of human colorectal liver metastases and of tumor-free liver tissue in surgical specimens. Material and Methods Surgical specimens from patients with resectable colorectal liver metastases were used for measurements (size of metastases <30 mm). A four-needle measuring probe was used to determine the electrical conductivity σ of human colorectal liver metastasis (n = 8) and tumor-free liver tissue (n = 5) in a total of five patients. All measurements were performed at 470 kHz, which is the relevant frequency for radiofrequency ablation. The tissue temperature was also measured. Hepatic resections were performed in accordance with common surgical standards. Measurements were performed in the operating theater immediately after resection. Results The median electrical conductivity σ was 0.57 S/m in human colorectal liver metastases at a median temperature of 35.1℃ and 0.35 S/m in tumor-free liver tissue at a median temperature of 34.9℃. The electrical conductivity was significantly higher in tumor tissue than in tumor-free liver tissue (P = 0.005). There were no differences in tissue temperature between the two groups (P = 0.883). Conclusion The electrical conductivity is significantly higher in human colorectal liver metastases than in tumor-free liver tissue at a frequency of 470 kHz.
A 2D resonant MEMS scanner with an ultra-compact wedge-like multiplied angle amplification for miniature LIDAR application

In this paper, we propose a two-dimensional resonant MEMS scanning mirror with an integrated ultra-compact multiplied angle amplification for miniature LIDAR application. A wedge-like structure is designed to magnify scanning angle of a 2D MEMS scanner which can also reduce driving voltage, decrease maximum stress and increase reliability and life. Compared with other angle amplification, the wedge does not consist of any complex optical lens or structures. The amplification is more compact than former that only 1mm increasing in height of package is needed for enlarging angle. A double scanning angle amplification is experimented. Appling a voltage of 12.5V peak-to-peak(7.5Vac at frequency of 710Hz and 5Vac at frequency of 997Hz) results in optical scan of 45.3° in x-axis and 42.6° in y-axis at atmosphere pressure which is rather low driving voltage for 2D resonant MEMS scanner at present.
Positioning of σS, the stationary phase σ factor, in Escherichia coli RNA polymerase–promoter open complexes

The σS subunit of RNA polymerase is the master regulator of the general stress response in Escherichia coli and is required for promoter recognition of many stationary phase genes. We have analysed open complexes of EσS RNA polymerase, using σS derivatives carrying single cysteine residues at nine different positions to which the reagent FeBABE has been tethered. All holoenzymes but one formed transcriptionally active open complexes at three different promoters (osmY, galP1 and lacUV5). The chemical nuclease FeBABE can cleave DNA in proximity to the chelate. The overall cutting pattern of EσS open complexes does not depend on the nature of the promoter and is similar to that obtained with Eσ70, but extends towards the downstream part of the promoter. The strongest cleavages are observed with FeBABE positioned on cysteines in regions 2.2 to 3.1. In contrast to σ70, region 2.1 of σS appears to be far from DNA. Region 4.2 of σS appears less accessible than its counterpart in σ70 and FeBABE positioned in the turn of the helix–turn–helix (HTH) motif in region 4.2 reacts only weakly with the −35 promoter element. This provides a structural basis for the minor role of the −35 sequence in σS‐dependent promoter recognition.
A Low-Power and Low-Voltage Power Management Strategy for On-Chip Micro Solar Cells

Fundamental characteristics of on-chip micro solar cell (MSC) structures were investigated in this study. Several MSC structures using different layers in three different CMOS processes were designed and fabricated. Effects of PN junction structure and process technology on solar cell performance were measured. Parameters for low-power and low-voltage implementation of power management strategy and boost converter based circuits utilizing fractional voltage maximum power point tracking (FVMPPT) algorithm were determined. The FVMPPT algorithm works based on the fraction between the maximum power point operation voltage and the open circuit voltage of the solar cell structure. This ratio is typically between 0.72 and 0.78 for commercially available poly crystalline silicon solar cells that produce several watts of power under typical daylight illumination. Measurements showed that the fractional voltage ratio is much higher and fairly constant between 0.82 and 0.85 for on-chip mono crystalline silicon micro solar cell structures that produce micro watts of power. Mono crystalline silicon solar cell structures were observed to result in better power fill factor (PFF) that is higher than 74% indicating a higher energy harvesting efficiency.
Functional gold nanoparticles as photothermal agents for selective-killing of pathogenic bacteria.

AIMS Our aim was to demonstrate that functional gold nanoparticles can be used as photothermal agents for the selective killing of pathogenic bacteria. MATERIALS & METHODS Gold nanoparticles with polygonal shapes, capable of absorbing near infrared (NIR) light, were generated through a photochemical reaction. Vancomycin, which can bind with the terminal D-Ala-D-Ala moieties of the peptide units of pathogen cell walls, was immobilized on the surface of the gold nanoparticles. The vancomycin-bound gold nanoparticles were used as the photothermal agents for the inhibition of pathogenic bacteria growth, under irradiation of NIR light (808 nm). RESULTS & DISCUSSION We have demonstrated that vancomycin-bound gold nanoparticles are capable of selective-binding onto the cell walls of pathogenic bacteria. A large portion (>99%) of bacteria targeted by the gold nanoparticles was destroyed under illumination by NIR light within 5 min owing to suffering from heating. CONCLUSIONS This photothermal approach is effective for the inhibition of pathogenic bacteria cell growth, including Gram-positive bacteria, Gram-negative bacteria and antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Internet of things technologies in smart cities

A smart city is a developed urban area that excels in the area of economy, governance, people and life through strong human capital, social capital and ICT infrastructure. It is a new approach to managing the complexity of city life, increase efficiency, reduce expenses and improve the quality of life of the citizens. This paper is on potential smart cities applications as applied to the domains of smart transport, smart tourism and recreation, smart health, ambient-assisted living, crime prevention and community safety, governance, monitoring and infrastructure, disaster management, environment management, refuse collection and sewer management, smart homes and smart energy. These smart cities applications support the future vision of cities, which aim at exploiting ICTs, namely internet of things technologies (IoT), for value-added service delivery. Furthermore, the paper presents a technical solution for energy control and comfort in a home for proof of concept of a smart city infrastructure application. The demonstrator described here is on how smart applications can manage energy control and comfort in a room that has a varied number of people and electrical appliances, with each being a source of heat.
Potential Utilization of the Kafue Flats of Northern Rhodesia

IN ITS location, climate, and soils the vast expanse of the Kafue Flats of south-central Northern Rhodesia presents a challenge to man. A practically level plain extends as far as the eye can see, almost entirely grasscovered, but with occasional trees along the streams and isolated palms on the higher land; along the lagoons and in the other low areas there may be papyrus. Beyond the Flats the land is covered with what is commonly designated as "bush," with tall grass among the trees. ' The Kafue Flats proper are about I50 miles long from east to west and about 50 miles widle at the widest point. The elevation is some 3000-3200 feet above mean sea level.2 The Flats are surrounded by relatively low hills and ridges, which rise to 4000 feet or so above mean sea level.3 The Kafue Flats seem to be an old lake bed or swamp that has been filled in by sediment of the Kafue River and its tributary streams. There are in this part of Africa numerous examples of both lakes and swamps that have been formed by general uplift. In the Kafue watershed itself there are two notable examples of swamps: the large Lukanga Swamp, in the northern part of the watershed adjacent to the main stream; and the Busango Swamp, on the Lufuta River, which is a tributary entering the Kafue upstream of the Flats (Fig. i). The Kafue River rises in the extreme northern part of Northern Rhodesia, near the border of the Belgian Congo. It winds in a general southeasterly direction to a point southwest of the town of Ndola. Thereafter its course
Effect of static and dynamic exercise on heart rate and blood pressure variabilities.

PURPOSE This study examines the effect of static and dynamic leg exercises on heart rate variability (HRV) and blood pressure variability (BPV) in humans. METHODS 10 healthy male subjects were studied at rest, during static exercise performed at 30% of maximal voluntary contraction (SX30), and during dynamic cycling exercises done at 30% of VO2max (DX30) and at 60% of VO2max (DX60). Respiration, heart rate, and blood pressure signals were digitized to analyze temporal and spectral parameters involving short and overall indexes (SD, deltaRANGE, RMSSD, Total power), power of the low (LF), middle (MF), and high (HF) frequency components, and the baroreceptor sensitivity by the alphaMF index. RESULTS During SX30, indexes of HRV as SD, deltaRANGE, Total power, and MF in absolute units increased in relation with rest values and were significantly higher (P < 0.001) than during DX30 and DX60; HF during SX30, in normalized and absolute units, was not different of the rest condition but was higher (P < 0.001) than HF during DX30 and DX60. Parameters of BPV as SD and deltaRANGE increased (P < 0.001) during both type of exercises, and significant (P < 0.01) increments were observed on MF during SX30 and DX30; systolic HF was attenuated during DX30 (P < 0.05), whereas diastolic HF was augmented during DX60 (P < 0.001). Compared with rest condition, the alphaMF index decreased (P < 0.01) only during dynamic exercises. CONCLUSION Because HRV and BPV response is different when induced by static or dynamic exercise, differences in the autonomic activity can be advised. Instead of the vagal withdrawal and sympathetic augmentation observed during dynamic exercise, the increase in the overall HRV and the MF component during static exercise suggest an increased activity of both autonomic branches.
Cryptococcosis in the immunocompetent patient.

Cryptococcus gattii, formerly known as Cryptococcus neoformans var gattii, is an encapsulated yeast that causes disease in both immunocompetent and immunosuppressed individuals. The organism enters via the respiratory tract and causes a spectrum of illness ranging from asymptomatic infection to severe illness, including pneumonia and disseminated infection involving multiple sites, including the central nervous system, eyes, and skin. We describe the case of a 25-year-old man without prior medical history who presented with a seizure and was found to have concurrent pulmonary and central-nervoussystem mass lesions that were due to cryptococcal infection. This case illustrates the importance of considering infectious causes such as C. gattii in the differential diagnosis of mass lesions involving multiple organ systems, regardless of the patient’s immune status.
The Evolution of Large-Amplitude Internal Gravity

The interaction between internal gravity wavepackets and t heir associated wave-induced mean flow is shown to dominate their weakly nonlinear evolution at early times . Sufficiently large amplitude waves either grow in amplitude as the wavepacket narrows or decrease in amplitud e as the wavepacket broadens due to nonlinearly enhanced dispersion depending on whether the frequency is r espectively greater or less than the frequency of internal waves having the fastest vertical group velocity. This is true whether the waves are horizontally periodic or horizontally compact. In non-uniformly stratified fluid, the weakly nonlinear effect acts to enhance or retard transmission of the waves across a localized evanescent reg ion depending upon the wave amplitude and relative frequency.
SWR1 Complex Poises Heterochromatin Boundaries for Antisilencing Activity Propagation

ABSTRACT In eukaryotes, chromosomal processes are usually modulated through chromatin-modifying complexes that are dynamically targeted to specific regions of chromatin. In this study, we show that the chromatin-remodeling complex SWR1 (SWR1-C) uses a distinct strategy to regulate heterochromatin spreading. Swr1 binds in a stable manner near heterochromatin to prepare specific chromosomal regions for H2A.Z deposition, which can be triggered by NuA4-mediated acetylation of histone H4. We also demonstrate through experiments with Swc4, a module shared by NuA4 and SWR1-C, that the coupled actions of NuA4 and SWR1-C lead to the efficient incorporation of H2A.Z into chromatin and thereby synergize heterochromatin boundary activity. Our results support a model where SWR1-C resides at the heterochromatin boundary to maintain and amplify antisilencing activity of histone H4 acetylation through incorporating H2A.Z into chromatin.
Resistance induction in wheat plants by silicon and aphids

Dentre os fatores limitantes da producao triticola brasileira esta o ataque de insetos-praga, podendo-se destacar o pulgao-das-gramineas Schizaphis graminum (Rondani) (Hemiptera: Aphididae). O controle quimico e predominante no manejo desse pulgao, tornando a producao dependente do uso de inseticidas. Este trabalho avalia o efeito do silicio e da infestacao previa com pulgoes na inducao de resistencia ao pulgao-das-gramineas em plantas de trigo. Os tratamentos foram: testemunha; adubacao com silicato de calcio; infestacao das plantas com pulgoes; adubacao com silicato de calcio + infestacao das plantas com pulgoes. Trinta e cinco dias apos emergencia das plântulas foi realizado teste de preferencia com chance de escolha; determinacao da taxa de crescimento da populacao do pulgao (rm) e quantificacao da atividade de tres enzimas envolvidas na defesa das plantas: peroxidase, polifenoloxidase e fenilalanina amonia-liase. A adubacao silicatada e a infestacao previa com pulgoes induzem resistencia em plantas de trigo ao pulgao-das-gramineas.
Effects of nonlinear camera response function in spatial domain depth-from-defocus

Most digital cameras incorporate nonlinear mapping from the amount of light falling onto an imaging sensor to a picture's intensity. However, this nonlinear mapping would cause problems in some linear operations of image processing such as depth-from-defocus (DFD). We address the erroneous effects of the nonlinear response function of a digital still camera in DFD. A spatial-domain DFD technique called S-transform is employed to present the effects of the nonlinear mapping. To enhance DFD performance, we undistort the camera response function. Comparagrams of differently exposed multiple images are employed to estimate the response function. The estimated response function is then fitted to a piecewise linear function. To compare DFD performance, we use four different approaches of the S-transform for automatic focusing of the camera. Compensation of the nonlinear response function enhances AF performance of the camera and estimates blur parameters more accurately.
Contrasting systemic stabilities of the acyl and phenolic glucuronides of diflunisal in the rat.

1. Diflunisal (DF) is metabolized in humans and rats primarily to its acyl glucuronide, phenolic glucuronide and sulphate conjugates. 2. After i.v. administration of DF acyl glucuronide to pentobarbitone-anaesthetized rats, DF and its phenolic glucuronide and sulphate conjugates appeared rapidly in plasma, indicating ready systemic hydrolysis of the acyl glucuronide and subsequent biotransformation of liberated DF. 3. Approximately 72% of the acyl glucuronide dose was recovered in bile and urine over 6 h: 52% as acyl glucuronide, 6% as phenolic glucuronide, 5% as sulphate, and 8% as isomers of the acyl glucuronide arising from intramolecular acyl migration. 4. Blockage of excretion routes by ligation of the ureters, bile duct, and both ureters and bile duct, decreased plasma clearance of the acyl glucuronide from 7.8 ml/min per kg to 6.0, 3.2 and 2.2 ml/min per kg respectively, and increased the apparent terminal plasma half-life of DF from 2.1 h to 2.6, 3.4 and 6.3 h, respectively. 5. By contrast, DF phenolic glucuronide was quite stable after i.v. administration at the same dose. 6. This study shows that systemic cycling between DF and its acyl glucuronide exists in the rat in vivo, with portions of each cycle of unstable acyl glucuronide through DF yielding stable phenolic glucuronide and (presumptively stable) sulphate conjugate.