Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Linking Internal Carbonate Chemistry Regulation and Calcification in Corals Growing at a Mediterranean CO2 Vent

Corals exert a strong biological control over their calcification processes, but there is a lack of knowledge on their capability of long-term acclimatization to ocean acidification. We used a dual geochemical proxy approach to estimate the calcifying fluid pH (pHcf) and carbonate chemistry of a Mediterranean coral (Balanophyllia europaea) naturally growing along a pH gradient (range: pHTS 8.07-7.74). The pHcf derived from skeletal boron isotopic composition (11B) was 0.3-0.6 units above seawater values and homogeneous along the gradient (mean  sem: Site 1 = 8.39  0.03, Site 2 = 8.34  0.03, Site 3 = 8.34  0.02). Also carbonate ion concentration derived from B/Ca was homogeneous (mean  sem (µmol kg-1): Site 1 = 579  34, Site 2 = 541  27, Site 3 = 568  30) regardless of seawater pH. Furthermore, gross calcification rate (GCR, mass of CaCO3 deposited on the skeletal unit area per unit of time), estimated by a “bio-inorganic model” (IpHRAC), was homogeneous with decreasing pH. The homogeneous GCR, internal pH and carbonate chemistry confirm that the features of the ‘building blocks’ – the fundamental structural components - produced by the biomineralization process were substantially unaffected by increased acidification. Furthermore, the pH up-regulation observed in this study could potentially explain the previous hypothesis that less ‘building blocks’ are produced with increasing acidification ultimately leading to increased skeletal porosity and to reduced net calcification rate obtained by including the total volume of the pore space. In fact, assuming that the available energy at the three sites is the same, this energy at the low pH sites could be partitioned among fewer calicoblastic cells that consume more energy given the larger difference between external and internal pH compared to the control, leading to the production of less building blocks (i.e., formation of pores inside the skeleton structure, determining increased porosity). However, we cannot exclude that also dissolution may play a role in increasing porosity. Thus, the ability of scleractinian corals to maintain elevated pHcf relative to ambient seawater might not always be sufficient to counteract declines in net calcification under ocean acidification scenarios.
EyeClouds: A Visualization and Analysis Tool for Exploring Eye Movement Data

In this paper, we discuss and evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of several techniques to visualize and analyze eye movement data tracked and recorded from public transport map viewers in a formerly conducted eye tracking experiment. Such techniques include heat maps and gaze stripes. To overcome the disadvantages and improve the effectiveness of those techniques, we present a viable solution that makes use of existing techniques such as heat maps and gaze stripes, as well as attention clouds which are inspired by the general concept of word clouds. We also develop a web application with interactive attention clouds, named the EyeCloud, to put theory into practice. The main objective of this paper is to help public transport map designers and producers gain feedback and insights on how the current design of the map can be further improved, by leveraging on the visualization tool. In addition, this visualization tool, the EyeCloud, can be easily extended to many other purposes with various types of data. It could be possibly applied to entertainment industries, for instance, to track the attention of the film audiences in order to improve the advertisements.
SPINAL CORD TRAUMA PATIENTS TREATED IN A TERTIARY HOSPITAL IN PALMAS, BRAZIL

Objetivo:A lesao traumatica da medula espinhal e uma das causas mais relevantes de incapacidade no mundo, relacionada principalmente aos acidentes automobilisticos. Decidiu-se tracar o perfil clinico-epidemiologico do trauma raquimedular (TRM), em Palmas, Brasil.Metodo:Estudo prospectivo, realizado no Hospital Geral Publico de Palmas (HGPP), incluindo todos os pacientes admitidos nesse hospital, no periodo de janeiro de 2011 a fevereiro de 2012.Resultados:Sao referentes a 59 pacientes, dos quais 81,4% eram homens e 47,4% das vitimas tinham ate 40 anos. O principal mecanismo de trauma foram os acidentes automobilisticos envolvendo motocicletas. Clinicamente, o segmento vertebral de C4-C7 foi o mais lesado, sendo que a maioria dos pacientes foi admitida com lesao vertebral sem deficit neurologico (Frankel E). Conclusoes:Acometimento primordial de homens jovens na faixa etaria laboral, com trauma principalmente devido a acidentes automobilisticos que geralmente estao associados ao uso de bebidas alcoolicas. Pacientes admitidos com deficits neurologicos mais severos evoluiram para comprometimentos mais brandos apos o tratamento conservador ou cirurgico.
Canmei Formula Reduces Colitis-Associated Colorectal Carcinogenesis in Mice by Modulating the Composition of Gut Microbiota

The gut microbiota, including pathogenic microorganisms and probiotics, has been involved in tumor initiation and progression by regulating the components of intestinal flora. Canmei formula (CMF), a traditional Chinese medicine, chronicled in the Chuang Yang Jing Yan Quan Shu, has been clinically used as an adjuvant therapy to treat patients with colorectal carcinoma (CRC) in China. In this study, we investigate the treatment effect of CMF in the azoxymethane (AOM) and dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) induced and high-fat diet augmented colitis-associated colorectal cancer in vivo, and explore its mechanism of action. We found that CMF treatment relieved the inflammation and alteration of the gut microbiota and significantly inhibited the development of intestinal adenoma. Linear discriminant analysis showed that the flora diversity in the normal mice, model mice and CMF treatment mice was different. At the family level, the relative abundance of Desulfovibrionaceae decreased in CMF groups. The relative abundance of Desulfovibrionaceae were lower in the CMF groups than in model group, whereas Rikenellaceae and Alistipes were increased. Altogether our results indicate that CMF treatment ameliorate colitis-associated colorectal carcinogenesis by modulating the composition of the gut microbiota in vivo.
ANTI-ARTHRITIC AND ANTI-INFLAMMATORY ACTIVITY OF METHANOLIC EXTRACT OF RANDIA DUMETORUMFRUITS IN FREUND'S COMPLETE ADJUVANT INDUCED ARTHRITIS

Randia dumetorum has multiple applications in tradi tional medicine because it exhibit Analgesic, Antifertility, Antibacterial, Antiinflammatory, Antiulcer, and Protective effects . However, no study on the anti-arthritic activity of Randia dumetorum has been reported in vivo. The present study was undertak en to determine efficacy of madecassoside (MA) against Freund’s complete adjuvant-induced arthritis (CFA) in female rat. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune disease with chronic inflammation. It is characterized by hyperplasia of synovial cells in affected joints, which ultimately leads to the destruction of cartilage and bone. We investigated therapeutic efficacy of Randia dumetorumin treating Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) using Freund’s complete adjuvant-induced arthritis (CFA) animal model. Arthritis was induced in female Wistar rats by intradermal injection of Freund’s complete adjuvant (CFA). CFA rats were treated daily with oral administration of different doses of Methanolic extract of Randia dumetorum(RD), beginning on the day after the onset of arthritis (day 21 st , the therapeutic treatment) until day 28 th . The results showed that treatment with Randia dumetorum markedly reduced paw swelling and arthritic index even in the established CFA. Radiologic and histopathologic changes in the arthritic joints were also significantly reduced in the Randia dumetorum -treated versus vehicle-treated rats. Moreover,
Outdoor Sound Propagation in Inhomogeneous Atmosphere via Precomputation

Most of the sound propagation simulation methods are dedicated to room scenes, and only few of them can be used for outdoor scenes. Meanwhile, although ray tracing is used for simulation, it cannot accurately simulate some acoustic effects. In acoustics, some wave-based methods are accurate but suffer from low computational efficiency. We present a novel wave-based precomputation method that enables accurate and fast simulation of sound propagation in inhomogeneous atmosphere. An extended FDTD-PE method is used to calculate the sound pressure in 3D scene. The space is divided into two parts, the source region in which the FDTD method is employed and the far-field region in which the PE method is employed. A coupling methodology is applied at the junction between the two regions. The sound pressure data is further compressed to get the impulse response (IR) of the source region and sound attenuation function of the far-field region. Finally, we validated our method through various experiments, and the results indicate that our method can accurately simulate the sound propagation, with quite higher speed and lower storage.
Adversarial Learning for Visual Tracking Research Idea

The doctoral research activity mainly focuses on methodologies in the field of computer vision. In particular, the work is focused on designing, developing and validating novel approaches, also based on deep learning methodologies, for visual tracking. Visual tracking in video sequences has always been a main topic in computer vision and interesting results have been obtained by approaches based on Support Vector Machine, Siamese Networks and Discrete Correlation Filters. However, these techniques are limited due to the low discriminative ability of the used features for object detection. In his research activities, Emanuel Di Nardo proposes a novel approach, based on Generative Adversarial Networks for feature extraction or regression. In particular, using Generative Adversarial Networks we are able to characterize the elements to be traced in the scene and make them easier to recognize.
On the Impact of sameAs on Schema Matching

In a large and decentralised knowledge representation system such as the Web of Data, it is common for data sets to overlap. In the absence of a central naming authority, semantic heterogeneity is inevitable as such overlapping contents are described using different schemas. To overcome this problem, a number of solutions have automated the integration of these data sets by matching their schemas. In this work, we focus on a specific category of these solutions that relies on the concepts' extension for matching the schemas (i.e., instance-based methods). Rather than introducing a new approach for the task of schema matching, this work studies the impact of exploiting the semantics of owl:sameAs in such instance-based methods. For this empirical analysis, we investigate more than 900K concepts extracted from the Web, and make use of over 35B implicit identity assertions to study their impact. The experiments show that despite the growing doubts over their quality, exploiting owl:sameAs assertions extracted from the Web can improve instance-based schema matching techniques.
Antiagregación plaquetaria en cirugía no cardíaca Anti-platelet Aggregation in non-Cardiac Surgery

SummARy Objective. To review the indications and perioperative management considerations for antiplatelet aggregation (APT) therapy. Methodology. Using “non-cardiac surgery”, “APT” and “apirine-clopidogrel” as key words, a nonsystematic search was conducted in the PubMed/ Medline and SciELO databases. Results. APT is used frequently for the management of cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular medical entities. It is important to adopt a clear stance regarding the continuation, change or withdrawal of this therapy in the perioperative context. That decision must be based on a judicious assessment of the risk of bleeding and the risk of perioperative complications secondary to the withdrawal of the antiplatelet agent that has offered the patient adequate management before surgery. Conclusion. In most cases of non-cardiac surgery, withdrawal of aspirin in patients with coronary heart disease, cerebral or peripheral vascular disease must be avoided if the risk of bleeding is considered low or moderate.
Eating disorders, risk and management: a personal journey and a South African and African perspective

Abstract Eating disorders are amongst the most, disabling and lethal of psychiatric conditions. These conditions affect predominantly adolescent and young adult females, but not exclusively so. Whilst stereotypically diagnosed in western, urban societies their emergence in a range of population groups beyond the aforementioned has challenged the stereotype – no more so than in South Africa where eating disorders had not been diagnosed in black, female South Africans until the 1990s. Creating awareness of the changing demographic profile and thus risk was critical in ensuring appropriate diagnosis and management. Whilst this was a key feature of my personal journey there were numerous other aspects of risk explored for the development of eating disorders, as well as management, which will be highlighted and discussed in the paper. This has been especially relevant within the South African context.
Frontal assault versus incremental change: A comparison of collective bargaining in Portugal and the Netherlands

Abstract Collective bargaining has come under renewed scrutiny, especially in Southern European countries, which rely predominantly on sectoral bargaining supported by administrative extensions of collective agreements. Following the global financial crisis, some of these countries have implemented substantial reforms in the context of adjustment programmes, seen by some as a ‘frontal assault’ on collective bargaining. This paper compares the recent top-down reforms in Portugal with the more gradual evolution of the system in the Netherlands. While the Dutch bargaining system shares many of the key features that characterise the Portuguese system, it has shown a much greater ability to adjust to new challenges through concerted social dialogue. This paper shows that the recent reforms in Portugal have brought the system more in line with Dutch practices, including in relation to the degree of flexibility in sectoral collective agreements at the worker and firm levels, the criteria for administrative extensions, and the application of retro- and ultra-activity. However, it remains to be seen to what extent the top-down approach taken in Portugal will change bargaining practices, and importantly, the quality of industrial relations.
Design and Optimisation of Main Rotor for Ultralight Helicopter

Abstract A modern main rotor, dedicated to the ultralight helicopter, has been designed and optimised. Due to assumed simplicity of the rotor design and taking into account some technological constraints, the principal purpose of the presented research was to design a dedicated airfoil which, when applied on the main-rotor blades, would influence satisfactory improvement in a performance of the ultralight helicopter, especially in fast flight. The design and optimisation process has been supported by a computational methodology. The in-house software has been used for direct and inverse design of shapes of the rotor-blade airfoils. Aerodynamic properties of the airfoils as well as the helicopter main rotor were evaluated based on both the two-dimensional and three-dimensional flow simulations conducted using the ANSYS FLUENT software that was used to solve U/RANS equations. Based on the results of conducted computational simulations of fast flight of the ultralight helicopter, it can be concluded that the newly designed main rotor, compared to the baseline, may give certain improvement in helicopter performance in fast flight. In addition, the application of this newly designed rotor may lead to increase of a maximum speed of the helicopter flight, due to the greater lift force achievable by this rotor on the retreating blade, which is favourable from point of view of keeping of a lateral balance of the helicopter in fast flight.
The interpretation of singular nouns in the scope of an event-distributive quantifier

Abstract Singular nouns in the scope of a distributive operator have been shown to be treated as conceptually plural (Patson and Warren, 2010). The source of this conceptual plurality is not fully clear. In particular, it is not known whether the concept of plurality associated with a singular noun originates from distributing over multiple objects or multiple events. In the present experiment, iterative expressions (distribution over events) were contrasted with collective and distributive sentences using a Stroop-like interference technique (Berent, Pinker, Tzelgov, Bibi, and Goldfarb, 2005; Patson and Warren, 2010). A trend in the data suggests that event distributivity does not elicit a plural interpretation of a grammatically singular noun, however the results were not statistically significant. Possible causes of the non-significant results are discussed.
Interdependent Factors of Demand-Side Rationale for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Medical Countermeasures

ABSTRACT The deliberate use of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) materials in war or terrorist attacks is perceived as a great threat globally. In the event of a release of CBRN agents, protection by means of medical countermeasures (MedCMs) could reduce health vulnerability. Nonetheless, for some diseases caused by these agents, innovative MedCMs do not exist and many of those that do might not be readily available. Inappropriate research and development funding and government procurement efforts can result in adverse economic consequences (eg, lost income, cost per loss of life, medical expenses) far exceeding the costs of strong and comprehensive preparedness initiatives. By illustrating factors of demand-side rationale for CBRN MedCMs, this article aims to strengthen integrity of policy-making associated with current demand requirements. Namely, an approach to inspire broader assessment is outlined by compiling and adapting existing economic models and concepts to characterize both soft and hard factors that influence demand-side rationale. First, the soft factor context is set by describing the impact of behavioral and political economics. Then, lessons learned from past public health funding models and associated collaborative access infrastructure are depicted to represent hard factors that can enhance the viability of MedCM preparedness evaluations.
Adult tissue–derived neural crest‐like stem cells: Sources, regulatory networks, and translational potential

Neural crest (NC) cells are a multipotent stem cell population that give rise to a diverse array of cell types in the body, including peripheral neurons, Schwann cells (SC), craniofacial cartilage and bone, smooth muscle cells, and melanocytes. NC formation and differentiation into specific lineages takes place in response to a set of highly regulated signaling and transcriptional events within the neural plate border. Premigratory NC cells initially are contained within the dorsal neural tube from which they subsequently emigrate, migrating to often distant sites in the periphery. Following their migration and differentiation, some NC‐like cells persist in adult tissues in a nascent multipotent state, making them potential candidates for autologous cell therapy. This review discusses the gene regulatory network responsible for NC development and maintenance of multipotency. We summarize the genes and signaling pathways that have been implicated in the differentiation of a postmigratory NC into mature myelinating SC. We elaborate on the signals and transcription factors involved in the acquisition of immature SC fate, axonal sorting of unmyelinated neuronal axons, and finally the path toward mature myelinating SC, which envelope axons within myelin sheaths, facilitating electrical signal propagation. The gene regulatory events guiding development of SC in vivo provides insights into means for differentiating NC‐like cells from adult human tissues into functional SC, which have the potential to provide autologous cell sources for the treatment of demyelinating and neurodegenerative disorders.
Changes in neurocranium thickness in early childhood

Several developmental disorders involve shape abnormalities of the neurocranium, the most common one being craniosynostosis, that affects about 1 in 2000 infants. A key step in determining how these disorders affect neurodevelopment is to establish how the brain and neurocranium co-evolve in the normally developing child. However, due to the scarcity of normally developing infant and pediatric imaging data, there have been a lack of imaging studies pertaining to normal neurocranial development. Here, taking advantage of a large data bank of high quality brain MRI from healthy children ages 0-4 years old, and of a novel conformal geometry-based analysis pipeline, we have been determining a set of statistical atlases of the neurocranium, divided into age groups. In this first part of the study, we focus more specifically on a comparison of 1 and 2 year old infants. Characterizing neurocranium shape changes will enable us to understand how the cranial bones develop in relation to brain development. This in turn will allow a better determination of the effects of neurocranial disorders, which will help inform treatment strategies.
Fracture of a Retrievable Inferior Vena Cava Filter Placed for Cancer-associated Thrombosis in a Patient with Malignant Lymphoma

Venous thromboembolism occurs in prothrombotic states, such as malignancy. To prevent fatal pulmonary thromboembolism, an indwelling inferior vena cava (IVC) filter is considered in addition to anticoagulation therapy. We herein report a case of fracture of a retrievable IVC filter in a malignant lymphoma patient. One of the filter arms was fractured and fixed to the IVC wall after one year. Since dislocation of the fractured arm was assessed correctly using three-dimensional computed tomography, we were able to retrieve the main body of the IVC filter successfully. Indications and management of IVC filter fracture should be discussed.
Ethical aspects of digital health from a justice point of view

Abstract Digital health is transforming healthcare systems worldwide. It promises benefits for population health but might also lead to health inequities. From an ethical perspective, it is hence much needed to adopt a fair approach. This article aims at outlining chances and challenges from an ethical perspective, focusing especially on the dimension of justice—a value, which has been described as the core value for public health. Analysed through the lenses of a standard approach for health justice—Norman Daniels’ account of just health and accountability for reasonableness—most recent and relevant literature was reviewed and challenges from a justice point of view were identified. Among them are challenges with regard to digital illiteracy, resulting inequities in access to healthcare, truthful information sharing to end users demanding fully informed consent, dignity and fairness in storage, access, sharing and ownership of data. All stakeholders involved bear responsibilities to shape digital health in an ethical and fair way. When all stakeholders, especially digital health providers and regulators, ensure that digital health interventions are designed and set up in an ethical and fair way and foster health equity for all population groups, there is a chance for this transformation resulting in a fair approach to digital health.