Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Recent Advances in the Genetics of Epilepsy: Insights from Human and Animal Studies

Summary: Progress in understanding the genetics of epilepsy is proceeding at a dizzying pace. Due in large part to rapid progress in molecular genetics, gene defects underlying many of the inherited epilepsies have been mapped, and several more are likely to be added each year. In this review, we summarize the available information on the genetic basis of human epilepsies and epilepsy syndromes, and correlate these advances with rapidly expanding information about the mechanisms of epilepsy gained from both spontaneous and transgenic animal models. We also provide practical suggestions for clinicians confronted with families in which multiple members are afflicted with epilepsy.
Roentgenographic recognition of pleural effusion.

THE presence of pleural effusion often suggests a diagnosis, indicates the need for further study, or, through thoracentesis, provides material for direct diagnostic studies. This article will review the many roentgenographic manifestations of pleural effusion. The Table gives a morphological classification of these effusions. Upright Roentgenogram On the upright chest roentgenogram, pleural effusion is usually seen as a density on the diaphragm, with a concave meniscus along the chest wall. Approximately 250 ml of fluid must be present to obliterate the costophrenic sinus. Unless other roentgenograms show a recent change, a costophrenic sinus obliterated by pleural thickening may be indistinguishable from one obliterated by fluid. Roentgenograms taken in the supine or decubitus positions will allow differentiation: fluid will gravitate to the dependent part of the pleural space. Lateral Decubitus View This accumulation of fluid in the dependent areas of the chest is the basis for the use of the lateral
Diferentes métodos de avaliação do comportamento da ligação de laminados de CFRP ao betão de acordo com a técnica NSM

O presente trabalho pretende contribuir para o conhecimento da durabilidade da tecnica baseada na insercao de laminados de CFRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer) no betao de recobrimento (NSM, Near-Surface Mounted). Para isso, foram realizados trinta e cinco ensaios de arrancamento direto em provetes cubicos previamente submetidos a ciclos de molhagem e secagem na presenca de cloretos (NaCl). A monitorizacao dos ensaios realizou-se com recurso a equipamentos tradicionais (e.g. celulas de carga e LVDT) e ainda ao metodo de correlacao digital de imagem. No presente trabalho, os ensaios realizados sao descritos e os resultados mais significativos, experimentais e numericos, sao apresentados e analisados.
Mechanism by Which Mutations at His274 Alter Sensitivity of Influenza A Virus N1 Neuraminidase to Oseltamivir Carboxylate and Zanamivir

ABSTRACT Oseltamivir carboxylate is a potent and specific inhibitor of influenza neuraminidase (NA). An influenza A/H1N1 variant selected in vitro with reduced susceptibility to oseltamivir carboxylate contains a His274Tyr mutation. To understand the mechanism by which a His274Tyr mutation gives rise to drug resistance, we studied a series of NA variant proteins containing various substitutions at position 274. Replacement of His274 with larger side chain residues (Tyr or Phe) reduced the NA sensitivity to oseltamivir carboxylate. In contrast, replacement of His274 with smaller side chain residues (Gly, Asn, Ser, and Gln) resulted in enhanced or unchanged sensitivity to oseltamivir carboxylate. Previous studies have suggested that the slow-binding inhibition of NA by oseltamivir carboxylate is a result of the reorientation of Glu276. Loss of this slow-binding inhibition in the His274Tyr and His274Phe mutant NA but not in His274Asn, His274Gly, His274Ser, or His274Gln supports the conclusion that the conformational change of Glu276 is restricted in the His274Tyr and His274Phe mutant NA upon oseltamivir carboxylate binding. Interestingly, His274Asn, as well as His274Gly, His274Ser, and His274Gln, also displayed reduced sensitivity to zanamivir and its analogue, 4-amino-Neu5Ac2en. Substitution of His274 with Tyr in influenza A/Tokyo/3/67 (H3N2) recombinant NA did not affect the susceptibility to oseltamivir carboxylate. These data indicate that the volume occupied by the amino acid side chain at position 274 can influence the sensitivities of influenza N1 NA but not of N2 NA to both oseltamivir carboxylate and zanamivir.
Bayesian Nonparametric Causal Inference: Information Rates and Learning Algorithms

We investigate the problem of estimating the causal effect of a treatment on individual subjects from observational data; this is a central problem in various application domains, including healthcare, social sciences, and online advertising. Within the Neyman–Rubin potential outcomes model, we use the Kullback–Leibler (KL) divergence between the estimated and true distributions as a measure of accuracy of the estimate, and we define the information rate of the Bayesian causal inference procedure as the (asymptotic equivalence class of the) expected value of the KL divergence between the estimated and true distributions as a function of the number of samples. Using Fano's method, we establish a fundamental limit on the information rate that can be achieved by any Bayesian estimator, and show that this fundamental limit is independent of the selection bias in the observational data. We characterize the Bayesian priors on the potential (factual and counterfactual) outcomes that achieve the optimal information rate. We go on to propose a prior adaptation procedure (which we call the information-based empirical Bayes procedure) that optimizes the Bayesian prior by maximizing an information-theoretic criterion on the recovered causal effects rather than maximizing the marginal likelihood of the observed (factual) data. Building on our analysis, we construct an information-optimal Bayesian causal inference algorithm. This algorithm embeds the potential outcomes in a vector-valued reproducing Kernel Hilbert space, and uses a multitask Gaussian process prior over that space to infer the individualized causal effects. We show that for such a prior, the proposed information-based empirical Bayes method adapts the smoothness of the multitask Gaussian process to the true smoothness of the causal effect function by balancing a tradeoff between the factual bias and the counterfactual variance. We conduct experiments on a well-known real-world dataset and show that our model significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art causal inference models.
Research on some parameters of cellular immune response in soldiers undergoing basic training--preliminary report.

BACKGROUND On the basis of available reports it can be stated that physical stress causes changes in distribution and activity of many components of the immune system. It is believed that psychophysical stress in soldiers can influence their immune system depressively and in consequence increase the risk of upper respiratory tract infections. Therefore, it was decided to conduct studies aimed at the estimation of the influence of military training on the some parameters of cellular immune response. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study group consisted of 40 draft aged from 18 to 23 years. The research was conducted in the first 8 weeks of service, in the period of the most intense draft stress adaptation. The participants were divide into 2 groups, A and B respectively, 20 soldiers each. Group A derived from an assault unit. Their training induced strenuous physical stress. Group B derived from a support unit. Their training required less physical effort then one of group A. Performed examinations involved: lymphocyte percentage count, lymphocyte proliferative response to mitogen, CD69 antigen expression on T lymphocyte surface, delayed hypersensitivity reaction with CMI Multitest. All assessments were done twice at 8 weeks interval. RESULTS After 8 weeks of training in the A group a statistically significant increase in the percentage of lymphocytes revealing antigens of the II Class Main Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) was found. In addition, in this group a statistically significant decrease in the value of lymphocyte stimulation index, a statistically significant increase in the percentage of cells revealing CD69 antigen expression after PHA stimulation were observed. During investigated period in the B group following statistically significant changes were found: an increase in the percentage of CD3+ and CD4+ cells, a decrease in the percentage of CD16+CD56+ and an increase in the CD4+ to CD8+ ratio. CONCLUSION The obtained results show that military service conditions influence some parameters of the cellular immune response but do not result in the clinically significant suppression of the immune system.
Towards a theoretical basis for ecosystem conservation

Humans have altered the environment so severely that extinction events are now occurring at rates unprecedented in modern history. In order to slow this trend, conservation actions must be taken to protect biodiversity, beyond just saving flagship species. Some governmental and conservation organizations have responded by committing to ecosystem conservation but, as yet, there is no coherent strategy for how this can be carried out. This report introduces many of the theoretical aspects that will need to be considered for the development of a coherent ecosystem conservation policy. The approach includes analyzing a hierarchy of interaction-based local coexistence mechanisms within a regional and historical context. This approach points toward the need for prioritizing sensitive habitats using local interaction models; considering the effects of historical exploitation mechanisms, which are now often missing; and evaluating regional diversity influences further to identify circumstances where system-wide habitat improvements deserve more emphasis.
Four models of the creative industries

What is the dynamic value of the creative industries from the economic perspective? This paper seeks to answer this question by proposing four models of the relationship between the creative industries and the whole economy, then examining the evidence for each. We find that growth models fit the data well, but not everywhere. We discuss the methodological and empirical basis for this finding and its implications for economic and cultural policy.
Efficient Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation of Inulin to 2,3-Butanediol by Thermophilic Bacillus licheniformis ATCC 14580

ABSTRACT 2,3-Butanediol (2,3-BD) is an important starting material for the manufacture of bulk chemicals. For efficient and large-scale production of 2,3-BD through fermentation, low-cost substrates are required. One such substrate, inulin, is a polydisperse fructan found in a wide variety of plants. In this study, a levanase with high inulinase activity and high pH and temperature stability was identified in Bacillus licheniformis strain ATCC 14580. B. licheniformis strain ATCC 14580 was found to efficiently produce 2,3-BD from fructose at 50°C. Then, the levanase was used for simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) of inulin to 2,3-BD. A fed-batch SSF yielded 103.0 g/liter 2,3-BD in 30 h, with a high productivity of 3.4 g/liter · h. The results suggest that the SSF process developed with the thermophilic B. licheniformis strain used might be a promising alternative for efficient 2,3-BD production from the favorable substrate inulin.
Laminin expression by two clones isolated from the colon carcinoma cell line lovo that differ in metastatic potential and basement‐membrane organization

In the present report we describe the characteristics of 2 clones, E2 and C5, isolated from the human colon adenocarcinoma cell line LoVo. When grafted to immunosuppressed newborn rats, these clones formed tumors that varied with regard to differentiation rate, basement‐membrane organization and lung metastatic potential. Production and distribution of laminin by E2, C5 and related tumors was studied by immunohistochemistry with an anti‐laminin monoclonal antibody 4CI2 (MAb 4CI2). In lowly metastatic E2‐derived tumors, strong regular stainings were observed which were strictly peri‐tumoral and corresponded to the basal lamina. Since the antibody interacted with human laminin (the graft) but not with rat laminin (the host), this result indicated that basementmembrane laminin was supplied mainly by tumor‐cell synthesis. In highly metastatic C5‐derived tumors, the staining obtained with MAb 4CI2 was peri‐cellular and unorganized. Laminin synthesis by E2 and C5 cells in sub‐cultures or soon after dissociation from explanted tumors was studied by metabolic labelling with 35S‐methionine under steady‐state conditions followed by immunoprecipitation and SDS‐PAGE. High‐molecular‐weight laminin comprised by disulfide‐linked A and B chains, i.e., heterotrimeric laminin, was found in cell lysates and in the secretion medium of cell lines and tumor cells. In addition, BIB2 dimers and free B chains were observed in cell lysates. Quantitatively, Iaminin expression by E2 and C5 clones or tumor cells was not significantly different. These findings suggest that basementmembrane defects in invasive clone LoVo C5 were not due to laminin under‐expression.
Méthodes statistiques pour le calcul d’interférences électromagnétiques extrêmes au sein de systèmes complexes

La proliferation des electroniques et des emetteurs radiofrequences rend de plus en plus complique le processus de conception des systemes sur le plan CEM. Ce processus doit aboutir a limiter le risque d’interferences ou de defauts au niveau le plus faible notamment dans le contexte des interferences electromagnetiques intentionnelles (IEMI). Ces defauts CEM doivent alors etre anticipes lors de la phase de conception. Cependant, du fait de la dispersion des valeurs prises par certains parametres du systeme, la modelisation deterministe eprouve quelques difficultes a identifier le risque encouru. La mauvaise connaissance de l’effet des incertitudes associees au systeme, aboutit alors a prendre des marges de conception considerables conduisant a des surcouts de fabrication. Pour cette raison, il est devenu important de prendre en compte l’impact des incertitudes des differents parametres constitutifs d’un systeme (en phase de conception). Ces parametres sont essentiellement geometriques (e.g. position de câblages) ou electromagnetiques (e.g. caracteristiques intrinseques de materiaux). Ils influent par nature sur les performances CEM de ce systeme. Ces travaux de these portent sur l’analyse de la propagation des incertitudes relatives a ces parametres sur des sorties de modeles de CEM. Le but vise, consiste a quantifier sous une forme probabiliste, le risque de defaut d’un systeme contenant de nombreux parametres incertains. Ce type d’etude statistique devrait egalement permettre, via des analyses de sensibilite, des strategies de conception de systemes « fiables » ou a moindres couts. Dans le contexte des applications visees, les approches dites « fiabilistes » et la methode dite de « stratification controlee », ont ete identifiees comme interessantes, du point de vue de l’analyse d’evenements extremes. Dans un premier temps, nous nous sommes consacres a la transposition des methodes fiabilistes dans un contexte CEM. Ces techniques permettent de quantifier la probabilite de defaillance d’un systeme, definie comme le depassement d’un seuil de risque, et renseignent, via une analyse de sensibilite locale, sur les parametres cles a ajuster. Dans un second temps, nous nous sommes interesses a la methode de stratification controlee, non appliquee a ce jour a notre connaissance en CEM. L’objectif de cette approche consiste a estimer un quantile extreme de la reponse d’interet d’un modele rigoureux, via l’utilisation d’un modele simple beaucoup moins couteux en termes de temps de calcul. Ce processus permet d’accelerer l’obtention d’observations extremes, necessaires a l’estimation du quantile recherche. Les deux techniques ont ete mises en oeuvre sur un probleme complexe dans un contexte IEMI, pour estimer la probabilite d’occurrence d’evenements d’interferences extremes. Elles ont permis de degager des tendances similaires, quant a l’importance de certains parametres d’entree incertains sur les evenements rares. Les deux methodes, bien appliquees, pourraient constituer un apport considerable en matiere de conception CEM.
Presence of a virulence-associated plasmid in Yersinia pseudotuberculosis

We have shown that Yersinia pseudotuberculosis can possess plasmids which are similar in size and function to the previously described Vwa plasmids of Y. enterocolitica. These plasmids are associated with the production of V and W antigens (calcium dependency) and pathogenicity of the organism. Further investigation of these plasmids from Y. pseudotuberculosis and Y. enterocolitica with restriction endonucleases revealed significant differences in their fragmentation pattern.
MM-wave and THz circuit design in standard CMOS technologies: Challenges and opportunities

The scaling of CMOS has enabled the implementation of mm-wave and THz circuits in standard CMOS technologies, which promises a wide variety of new applications. While fmax poses a challenge to generate fundamental signals at THz frequencies, non-linear circuit techniques enable the generation of above-fmax signals by utilizing harmonics of below-fmax signals. This work describes the fundamental issue of fmax when designing mm-wave and THz circuits, and discusses the implementation of a 0.49THz SIW-based harmonic signal source. Some of the many application opportunities for the mm-wave/THz spectrum are shown: THz imaging using signal generators fabricated in 40nm and 28nm CMOS is demonstrated, as well as high-speed data links through plastic polymer fibers utilizing 40nm CMOS transceiver chips.
Partial surgical removal of growth hormone-secreting pituitary tumors enhances the response to somatostatin analogs in acromegaly.

CONTEXT Surgery is a cornerstone in the treatment of acromegaly, but its efficacy in large, invasive tumors is scant. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to investigate whether partial surgical removal of GH-secreting pituitary tumors enhances the response rate to somatostatin analogs (SSA; sc octreotide, slow-release octreotide, and lanreotide). DESIGN This was a multicenter, open, retrospective study. SETTING The study was performed at university hospitals. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Eighty-six patients (42 women and 44 men; age, 42 +/- 14 yr) with acromegaly were studied. INTERVENTIONS Patients underwent two courses of octreotide, lanreotide, or slow-release octreotide treatments before and after surgery of at least 6 months. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE The main outcome measure was normal IGF-I levels for age. RESULTS Presurgical SSA treatment significantly decreased GH and IGF-I levels in all patients. GH levels were less than 2.5 microg/liter in 12 patients (14%); IGF-I levels normalized in nine (10%). After surgery, GH and IGF-I levels further decreased in all patients; tumor removal was greater than 75% in 50 (58%), 50.1-75% in 21 (24%), 25.1-50% in 10 (12%), and less than 25% in five patients (6%). Preoperatively, pituitary function was impaired in 12 patients (14%). Postsurgical SSA treatment lowered GH levels to less than 2.5 microg/liter in 49 (56%) and normalized IGF-I levels in 48 patients (55%). The success rate was significantly increased compared with that before surgery (P < 0.0001). GH (r = -0.48; P < 0.0001) and IGF-I levels (r = -0.38; P = 0.0003) after postsurgery SSA treatment correlated with the amount of tumor surgically removed. After surgery, pituitary function was impaired in 28 patients (32.6%) and was improved in 12 patients (13.9%). The cumulative prevalence of pituitary deficiency did not change during the study (normal function from 40 to 42%; deficiency from 60 to 58%). CONCLUSIONS Surgical tumor removal (>75%) enhances the response to SSAs without impairing pituitary function. Our data indicate that surgical debulking has a significant place in the treatment algorithm of acromegaly.
The virtual linkage: a model for internal forces in multi-grasp manipulation

A model for characterizing internal forces and moments during multigrasp manipulation is proposed. The approach is based on construction of a physical model, called the virtual linkage, which is a closed-chain mechanism that represents the object being manipulated. Forces and moments applied at the grasp points of this linkage cause joint forces and torques at its actuators. When these actuators are subjected to the opposing forces and torques, the virtual linkage becomes a locked structure. Internal forces in the object are then characterized by these forces and torques. This approach was used in a multiarm robot system to manipulate objects while performing accurate control of internal forces. <<ETX>>
Recreation and procreation: A critical view of sex in the human female

This review deals critically with many aspects of the functional genital anatomy of the human female in relation to inducing sexual arousal and its relevance to procreation and recreation. Various controversial problems are discussed including: the roles of clitorally versus coitally induced arousal and orgasm in relation to the health of women, the various sites of induction of orgasm and the difficulty women find in specifically identifying them because of “'ambiguity problems” and “genital site pareidolia,” the cervix and sexual arousal, why there are so many sites for arousal, why multiple orgasms occur, genital reflexes and coitus, the sites of arousal and their representation in the brain, and identifying aspects and functions of the genitalia with appropriate new nomenclature. Clin. Anat. 28:339–354, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Incidence of Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States, 2003

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an important public health problem in the United States. In 2003, there were an estimated 1,565,000 TBIs in the United States: 1,224,000 emergency department visits, 290,000 hospitalizations, and 51,000 deaths. Findings were similar to those from previous years in which rates of TBI were highest for young children (aged 0–4) and men, and the leading causes of TBI were falls and motor vehicle traffic.
ECG arrhythmia classification using daubechies wavelet and radial basis function neural network

ECG arrhythmia classification have been performed using radial basis function neural network and multilayered perceptron to classify the five types of ECG beats: Normal beat, Paced beat, Left bundle branch block beat, Right bundle branch block beat and premature ventricular contraction beat in this paper. MIT-BIH arrhythmia database was utilized for the extraction of 500 ECG beat which are arbitrarily extracted from 26 records. Each ECG beats were represented by 21 points from p1 to p21 which are known as features and these ECG beats from each record were classified according to types of beats. The classification of ECG arrhythmia has been followed by preprocessing; R-peak detection and ECG beat extraction. The simulation results obtained for the classification result of ECG beats with average accuracy of 99.84%, sensitivity of 99.60% positive predictivity of 99.60%, specificity of 99.90%, classification error rate of 0.16%. The overall accuracy of 98.8% and 99.6% was achieved using BPNN and RBFNN classifier respectively.