Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Vanishing elasticity for wet foams: Equivalence with emulsions and role of polydispersity

We present an experimental study of the rheology of polydisperse aqueous foams of different gas volume fractions φ. With oscillatory deformation at fixed frequency, we determine the behavior of the maximum stress as a function of the strain amplitude. At low strain, the maximum stress increases linearly, defining a shear modulus G. At progressively higher strains, the response eventually becomes nonlinear, defining the yield strain and the yield stress. While φ decreases toward φc=0.635±0.01, G goes to zero, and the yield stress decreases by many orders of magnitude with a quadratic behavior. The yield strain, which can be extrapolated to 0.18±0.02 at φ=1, has a minimum value of 0.045±0.010 at φc. This behavior shows the occurrence of a melting transition located at φc, which can be correlated to the random close packing of spheres. We compare these results to similar ones obtained previously for monodisperse and polydisperse emulsions. Our new experiments clarify the rheological similarities between emul.
Ovarian Cycle of Crotaphytus collaris (Reptilia, Lacertilia, Iguanidae) from Arkansas with Emphasis on Corpora Albicantia, Follicular Atresia, and Reproductive Potential

Macroscopic and histological analyses of the ovarian cycle of Crotaphytus collaris were conducted during 1971 and 1972. The reproductive season extends from April to late June; examination of ovarian histosections revealed two distinct sets of corpora lutea, indicating that two ctutches of eggs are produced per season. The average clutch size was 6.4. Corpora lutea regress into permanent ovarian scars (corpora albicantia). Consequently, corpora albicantia may be used to estimate total reproductive potential for an animal. In addition, two types of atretic follicles were staged according to their degenerate morphology. The similarity and persistence of these ovarian structures (atretic follicles and corpora albicantia) may limit the value of macroscopic interpretations.
Cytoplasmic Residues of Herpes Simplex Virus Glycoprotein gE Required for Secondary Envelopment and Binding of Tegument Proteins VP22 and UL11 to gE and gD

ABSTRACT The final assembly of herpes simplex virus (HSV) involves binding of tegument-coated capsids to viral glycoprotein-enriched regions of the trans-Golgi network (TGN) as enveloped virions bud into TGN membranes. We previously demonstrated that HSV glycoproteins gE/gI and gD, acting in a redundant fashion, are essential for this secondary envelopment. To define regions of the cytoplasmic (CT) domain of gE required for secondary envelopment, HSVs lacking gD and expressing truncated gE molecules were constructed. A central region (amino acids 470 to 495) of the gE CT domain was important for secondary envelopment, although more C-terminal residues also contributed. Tandem affinity purification (TAP) proteins including fragments of the gE CT domain were used to identify tegument proteins VP22 and UL11 as binding partners, and gE CT residues 470 to 495 were important in this binding. VP22 and UL11 were precipitated from HSV-infected cells in conjunction with full-length gE and gE molecules with more-C-terminal residues of the CT domain. gD also bound VP22 and UL11. Expression of VP22 and gD or gE/gI in cells by use of adenovirus (Ad) vectors provided evidence that other viral proteins were not necessary for tegument/glycoprotein interactions. Substantial quantities of VP22 and UL11 bound nonspecifically onto or were precipitated with gE and gD molecules lacking all CT sequences, something that is very unlikely in vivo. VP16 was precipitated equally whether gE/gI or gD was present in extracts or not. These observations illustrated important properties of tegument proteins. VP22, UL11, and VP16 are highly prone to binding nonspecifically to other proteins, and this did not represent insolubility during our assays. Rather, it likely reflects an inherent “stickiness” related to the formation of tegument. Nevertheless, assays involving TAP proteins and viral proteins expressed by HSV and Ad vectors supported the conclusion that VP22 and UL11 interact specifically with the CT domains of gD and gE.
Acceptance and Use of eHealth/mHealth Applications for Self-Management Among Cancer Survivors

Cancer survivors' acceptance and use of eHealth/mHealth applications for self-management can be unique and are not fully understood. We used data from the Health Information National Trends Survey 4 Cycle 4 to examine cancer survivors' acceptance and use of eHealth/mHea applications for key self-management processes, and conducted logistic regression and Rao-Scott design-adjusted Chi-square tests to assess bivariate associations between potential predictors and actual use. Potential factors were selected based on the Individual and Family Self-Management theory. High acceptance of eHealth applictions was identified, and adoption of mHealth was relatively low. Younger, higher educated, married, employed, and higher income survivors tended to use eHealth/mHealth applications for self-management. Survivors who were newly diagnosed or still on treatment were more likely to look for cancer information online or communicate with health providers electronically. BMI and rural residency were associated with use of mHealth apps to achieve a health-related goal and treatment decision-making.
Mastocitose cutanea e tumor de celulas germinativas: uma rara associacao

Mastocitose é uma patologia rara. Estudos do Reino Unido estimam uma incidência anual aproximada de 0,6 caso para cada 1.000. 000 habitantes. Não há preferência de sexo, porém é mais freqüentemente relatada em caucasianos(1). A maioria dos pacientes (65%) são crianças. Um segundo pico de incidência ocorre entre 20 e 40 anos(2). Trata-se de uma desordem na proliferação dos mastócitos que pode surgir tanto na pele quanto em outros órgãos. A apresentação cutânea ocorre de formas diversas: generalizada (como na variedade difusa/eritrodérmica), em coleções de células em múltiplos focos (urticária pigmentosa e teleangectasia macular eruptiva perstans) ou como coleção solitária (mastocitoma)(3). Estas apresentações, com exceção da teleangectasia macular, possuem um sinal característico, o sinal de Darier(2-3), que é constituído por uma lesão urticada em local de fricção da pele. Ele se deve à liberação de histamina pelos mastócitos estimulados pelo trauma físico. Estes pacientes portanto devem ser orientados quanto à possibilidade da liberação maciça de histana de 24 horas, dosagem de marcadores de membrana CD25 e CD112 têm sido sugeridos como forma de triagem, porém se mostraram menos sensíveis que a triptase(5). Devemos lembrar que em nosso meio, o acesso a tais exames é difícil, impossibilitando seu uso de modo rotineiro. Na maioria dos casos o acompanhamento se faz de maneira mais simples com exame físico minucioso (para identificação de visceromegalias, adenomegalias, icterícia, palidez etc.), exames de imagens (raios x de tórax/ossos, ultra-som abdominal), hemograma. Se algum destes parâmetros Mastocitose cutânea e tumor de células germinativas: uma rara associação
Some Anisotropic Diffusions

Since the seminal works of Mumford-Shah [16] and Perona-Malik [18], variational and PDE-based methods have found a wide range of applications in Image Processing and have generated steady interest in the mathematical community. The latter is at least partly due to the difficulties one encounters in developing a mathematical theory encopassing equations which are often ill-posed albeit practically very effective. It is this dichotomy between the properties of the practical implementations and the properties of the underlying equations that makes many Imaging Processing models interesting to the mathematical community. A prime example of this is given by anisotropic diffusion as first proposed by Perona and Malik in [18] in order to overcome the limitations of more simpleminded averaging techniques in the context of image denoising. Here an overview is given on the (mainly mathematical) developments in anisotropic diffusions since then. 1 Anisotropic Diffusion and Image Processing One of the basic important tasks of Image Processing is denoising. Most images are naturally polluted by noise due to intrinsic limitations of acquisition devices and/or the presence of random disturbances in the medium. For theoretical purposes it is often assumed that a gray-scale image u is the result of the superposition of a real informational content u and noise n (assumed to have mean zero and some variance σ) u0 = u + n . The goal of denoising thus becomes to recover u given u0. A first natural approach would be to perform some sort of local averages which would nullify the noise. The first denoising methods were indeed based on this simple idea (apparently going back to Gabor [15]) and were implemented via a combination ∗gpatrick@math.uci. edu
[Accessibility to the specific pharmacotherapy for Parkinson disease, in Santiago de Chile].

BACKGROUND The high costs of adequate pharmacological treatment for Parkinson disease preclude the universal access of patients to this medication. AIM To assess the accessibility to pharmacological treatment of Chilean patients with Parkinson disease. PATIENTS AND METHODS An inquiry about socioeconomic stratification, medical controls, disease features and costs of pharmacological therapy, was applied to 95 patients (56 male, aged 32 to 89 years old) attending the Chilean League Against Parkinson Disease. RESULTS Among studied patients, the disease had a mean duration of 7.9 +/- 6 years. There was a direct relationship between family income, the frequency of visits to physicians and the dose and cost of pharmacological therapy. CONCLUSIONS The accessibility to pharmacological therapy among patients with Parkinson disease, depends on their socioeconomic level. Measures to correct this situation and improve the quality of life of these patients should be undertaken by health services.
Rates of Abnormally Low TOPF Word Reading Scores in Individuals Failing Versus Passing Performance Validity Testing

The present study examined the impact of performance validity test (PVT) failure on the Test of Premorbid Functioning (TOPF) in a sample of 252 neuropsychological patients. Word reading performance differed significantly according to PVT failure status, and number of PVTs failed accounted for 7.4% of the variance in word reading performance, even after controlling for education. Furthermore, individuals failing ≥2 PVTs were twice as likely as individuals passing all PVTs (33% vs. 16%) to have abnormally low obtained word reading scores relative to demographically predicted scores when using a normative base rate of 10% to define abnormality. When compared with standardization study clinical groups, those failing ≥2 PVTs were twice as likely as patients with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury and as likely as patients with Alzheimer’s dementia to obtain abnormally low TOPF word reading scores. Findings indicate that TOPF word reading based estimates of premorbid functioning should not be interpreted in individuals invalidating cognitive testing.
An Adaptive Replanning Mechanism for Dependable Service-Based Systems

A promising way to guarantee dependability of service-based systems (SBSs) is replanning service bindings dynamically with the environment changing. As embedded into system execution, such replanning process will directly affect the overall performance of SBSs. While various replanning techniques have been proposed up to now, it is still challenging that how to provide cost-effective replanning methods for high-quality SBSs. In this paper, we propose a practical solution by improving the flexibility of replanning and establish an adaptive replanning mechanism for that. This new mechanism places more emphasis on the cause-effect relationship among system execution states, solution space changes, replanning strategies and their potential effects in system adaptation, and focuses on improving the following three leading aspects, i.e. replanning trigger, search scope determination and service selection, which affect the actual cost and effect of replanning. The main idea and key algorithms for implementing this adaptive replanning mechanism are presented. Besides this, empirical study based on a load rate querying service is used to illustrate and evaluate our approach.
The role of proteolytic enzymes in the development of pulmonary emphysema and periodontal disease.

Pulmonary emphysema and periodontal disease are each characterized by the uncontrolled proteolysis of connective tissue proteins by proteinases derived from human neutrophils. Although these diseases would not appear to be related in terms of the initial insult to individual tissues, the ultimate result in each disease is the accumulation and degranulation of neutrophils at inflammatory sites, apparently as a result of frustrated phagocytosis and specific activation of these phagocytic cells. This result is easily recognized in the case of emphysema, where there is clear evidence that the primary cause of the disease is the accumulation of foreign materials in the lung (e.g., smoke condensate), followed by the recruitment of neutrophils to the organ and the release of oxidative and hydrolytic enzymes. In periodontitis, however, the problem begins with the accumulation of plaque at the base of the teeth, followed by the growth of opportunistic anaerobic bacteria below the gum line. These parasitic microbes, which are resistant to killing by both monocytes and granulocytes, secrete proteinases that can activate the kallikrein-kinin pathway, degrade clotting factors, and release the potent neutrophil chemotactic factor, C5a, from complement. It is under such conditions that neutrophils are recruited to infected sites within the periodontium. After the neutrophil-recruitment stage, the two diseases become similar in that degranulation of neutrophils occurs during attempted phagocytosis of either cigarette smoke components (emphysema) or bacteria (periodontitis), followed by inactivation of tissue proteinase inhibitors and degradation of connective tissue proteins, the ultimate result being the destruction of the alveolus or gingiva, respectively.
Hierarchical population structure and habitat differences in a highly mobile marine species: the Atlantic spotted dolphin

Recent molecular studies have shown that highly mobile species with continuous distributions can exhibit fine‐scale population structure. In this context, we assessed genetic structure within a marine species with high dispersal potential, the Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis). Using 19 microsatellite loci and mitochondrial control region sequences, population structure was investigated in the western North Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico and the Azores Islands. Analyses of the microsatellite data identified four distinct genetic clusters, which were supported by the control region sequences. The highest level of divergence was seen between two clusters corresponding to previously described morphotypes that inhabit oceanic and shelf waters. The combined morphological and genetic evidence suggests these two lineages are on distinct evolutionary trajectories and could be considered distinct subspecies despite their parapatry. Further analysis of the continental shelf cluster resulted in three groups: animals inhabiting shelf waters in the western North Atlantic, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the western Gulf of Mexico. Analyses of environmental data indicate the four genetic clusters inhabit distinct habitats in terms of depth and sea surface temperature. Contemporary dispersal rate estimates suggest all of these populations should be considered as distinct management units. Conversely, no significant genetic differentiation was observed between S. frontalis from offshore waters of the western North Atlantic and the Azores, which are separated by approximately 4500 km. Overall, the hierarchical structure observed within the Atlantic spotted dolphin shows that the biogeography of the species is complex because it is not shaped solely by geographic distance.
Toxic effects of daily applications of 10% carbamide peroxide on odontoblast-like MDPC-23 cells

Abstract Background. Tooth bleaching has been widely studied, mainly due to the possible undesirable effects that can be caused by this esthetic procedure. The cytotoxicity of the bleaching agents and its components to pulp cells has been demonstrated in several researches. The aim of this study was to evaluate the toxic effects of successive applications of 10% carbamide peroxide (CP) gel on odontoblast-like cells. Materials and methods. Enamel-dentin discs obtained from bovine incisors were adapted to artificial pulp chambers (APCs). The groups were formed as follows: G1: Without treatment (control group); G2: 10% carbamide peroxide, CP (five applications/one per day); G3: 10% CP (one unique application); and G4: 35% hydrogen peroxide, HP (three applications of 15 min each). After treatment, cell metabolism (MTT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and plasma membrane damage (flow cytometry) were analyzed. Results. Reductions in cell metabolism and alkaline phosphatase activity along with severe damage of the cytoplasmic membrane were noted in G2. In G3, no damage was observed, compared to the control group. Intermediary values of toxicity were obtained after 35% HP application. Conclusion. It can be concluded that one application of 10% CP did not cause toxic effects in odontoblast-like cells, but the successive application of this product promoted severe cytotoxic effects. The daily application of the bleaching agents, such as used in the at-home bleaching technique, can increase the damages caused by this treatment to the dental pulp cells.
Meta-analysis of the association between GSTM1 and GSTT1 gene polymorphisms and cervical cancer.

AIM We conducted a meta-analysis to analyze the influence of GSTM1 and GSTT1 gene polymorphisms on cervical cancer risk, and explore gene-environment interactions. METHODS Identification of relevant studies was carried out through a search of Medline and the EMbase up to Oct. 2011. All case-control studies that investigated the association between GSTM1 and GSTT1 gene polymorphisms and risk of cervical cancer were included. The pooled odds ratio (OR) was used for analyses of results and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated. RESULTS A total of 21 case-control studies were included in the meta-analysis of GSTM1 (2,378 cases and 2,639 controls) and GSTT1 (1,229 cases and 1,223 controls) genotypes. The overall results showed that the GSTM1 null was related to an increased risk of cervical cancer (OR=1.50, 95% CI=1.21-1.85). Subgroup analysis were performed based on smoking and ethnicity. Our results showed that smokers with null GSTM1 genotype had a moderate increased risk of cervical cancer (OR=1.85, 95% CI=1.07-3.20). For the ethnicity stratification, moderate significantly increased risk of null GSTM1 genotype was found in Chinese (OR=2.12, 95% CI=1.43-3.15) and Indian populations (OR=2.07, 95% CI=1.49-2.88), but no increased risk was noted in others. CONCLUSION This meta-analysis provided strong evidence that the GSTM1 genotype is associated with the development of cervical cancer, especially in smokers, and Chinese and Indian populations. However, no association was found for GSTT1 null genotype carriers.
A Web Search Result Classification System Based on the Degree of Suitability for Specialists

We propose a search result classification system based on the degree of suitability for specialists. Our system classifies documents based on whether a document is “for specialists” or “not for specialists”. This classification is done by ranking each document using the density of keywords and by a threshold. For evaluation of our system, we participated in NTCIR4-WEB Topical classification task. Only a part of “evaluation based on distribution of relevant documents” has executed at this time. In this evaluation, our system exhibits good performance for some data set. We also independently conducted experiments for evaluation based on classification errors. Experimental results show that the precision of classification of our system attains value close to that of human evaluators’ average.
Exercise in elite summer athletes: Challenges for diagnosis.

BACKGROUND There is a high prevalence of asthma and exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) in elite athletes when the diagnosis is based on symptoms and medication use. Objective measurements are now required by some sporting bodies to support a diagnosis of asthma or EIB to justify use of beta-agonists. Such measurements could include bronchial provocation with methacholine, with eucapnic voluntary hyperpnea (EVH) of dry air (a surrogate for exercise), or both. OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between asthma symptoms and responses to methacholine and the EVH challenge in a group of unselected elite summer-sport athletes. The outcome would be to inform practitioners of a suitable objective approach to identifying those with asthma and EIB. METHODS Fifty elite summer-sport athletes with or without asthma were recruited from sporting teams and sports medicine centers throughout Melbourne, Australia. All subjects completed a respiratory questionnaire and, on separate days, underwent a bronchoprovocation challenge test with methacholine and EVH. RESULTS Forty-two subjects reported one or more respiratory symptoms in the past year, 9 had positive methacholine challenge results (mean PD(20) of 1.69 +/- 2.05 micromol), and 25 had positive EVH challenge results (mean fall in FEV(1) of 25.4% +/- 15%). Although all subjects with positive methacholine challenge results had positive EVH challenge results, methacholine had a negative predictive value of only 61% and a sensitivity of 36% for identifying those responsive to EVH. CONCLUSION These findings suggest that the pathogenesis of EIB in elite athletes might be different from that of asthma, and as such, neither symptoms nor the methacholine challenge test should be used exclusively for identifying EIB.
Talking Eye: autonomous creature as accomplice for human

The most conventional approach to a speech based interface has been to achieve an explicit goal as a result of spoken dialogue. On the other hand spoken dialogue has also another aspect: the simple enjoyment of making conversation with participants, a typical example being casual chatting. This aspect offers a key for creating a new style of autonomous agent, which appears not as a human assistant but as a human accomplice or conversational partner. We present an autonomous creature called Talking Eyes, which has the advantage of a property of chatting. We performed a preliminary examination using subjects to illustrate the effectiveness of the interaction with Talking Eyes. The results suggested that they could enjoy the interaction with Talking Eyes even if they could not accomplish their purpose. The main goal of this work is to build autonomous creatures with a mechanism to promote a more consensual feeling through its interaction with humans.
Robust H∞ filtering for uncertain discrete-time systerms with time-varying delay

This paper focuses on robust H∞ filter design for discrete-time systems with time-varying delay. Base on Lyapunov method, and a new technique to deal with the upper bound of some terms in the Lyapunov functions, a new less conservative H∞ performance analysis result is obtained. Moreover, the result deduces a new sufficient condition for systems with polytopic-type uncertainties. Based on the result above, the H∞ filter is designed in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIS). Finally, numerical examples are presented to show less conservativeness of the proposed method‥