Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ultrasonic liver tissues classification by fractal feature vector based on M-band wavelet transform

This paper proposes a new fractal feature vector based on M-band wavelet transform for classification of ultrasonic liver images-normal liver, cirrhosis, and hepatoma. Classifications for liver images have revealed that the fractal feature vector is trustworthy. A hierarchical classifier produces 97.27% correct classification for the distinction of normal and abnormal liver image and 93.6% correct classification for the distinction of cirrhosis and hepatoma liver image.
University of Birmingham Patients' perceptions and experiences of the prevention of hospital-acquired thrombosis: a qualitative study

Objective: To examine patients ’ understanding of hospital-associated thrombosis, and their experiences of thromboprophylaxis. Design: Qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with 31 patients requiring venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis following a recent hospital admission. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically using framework analysis. Setting: 4 hospitals in Birmingham and Oxford. Results: All the participants received thromboprophylaxis following surgical procedures. Participants were aware of a risk of blood clots; however, they lacked a good understanding of VTE and its components. Experiences of VTE prophylaxis were characterised with good adherence to heparin injections and poor adherence to elastic compression stockings, largely due to perceived lack of clarity in guidance from health professionals. Participants had limited knowledge of the signs and symptoms of VTE and would value improved education on VTE. Conclusions: Findings suggest that patient education is often inadequate and impacts negatively on patients ’ involvement in VTE prevention. An enhanced patient education programme incorporating a consistent message on the appropriate use of elastic compression stockings and description of VTE symptoms is likely to optimise the effectiveness of the prevention of hospital-associated thrombosis. Physicians may use the results of this study to improve individual patient education.
Geovisualización de la población: nuevas tendencias en la web social

Geovisualization of populations: New trends in the social web Geographic visualization, or geovisualization, places space as the central theme in knowledge exploration about the world around us. This paper reviews recent trends in the geoweb and geovisualization of sociodemographic information. The paper presents several examples of research projects to geovisualize social and population dynamics developed at University College London (UCL). The main aim of these research projects on geovisualisation is to make available to the general public alternative representations of social and population phenomena over space. To this end, new geovisualisation technologies facilitate the combination of geographic content supplied from various sources and websites, but integrated together through mapping mashups. These “cartographic aggregations” are built to fit the end user’s preferences at no cost. As a result, an average lay user can share with the world their particular sociospatial representations of reality in ways that seemed unthinkable just a few years ago.
N-Acetylanthranilate Amidase from Arthrobacter nitroguajacolicus Rü61a, an α/β-Hydrolase-Fold Protein Active towards Aryl-Acylamides and -Esters, and Properties of Its Cysteine-Deficient Variant

ABSTRACT N-acetylanthranilate amidase (Amq), a 32.8-kDa monomeric amide hydrolase, is involved in quinaldine degradation by Arthrobacter nitroguajacolicus Rü61a. Sequence analysis and secondary structure predictions indicated that Amq is related to carboxylesterases and belongs to the α/β-hydrolase-fold superfamily of enzymes; inactivation of (His6-tagged) Amq by phenylmethanesulfonyl fluoride and diethyl pyrocarbonate and replacement of conserved residues suggested a catalytic triad consisting of S155, E235, and H266. Amq is most active towards aryl-acetylamides and aryl-acetylesters. Remarkably, its preference for ring-substituted analogues was different for amides and esters. Among the esters tested, phenylacetate was hydrolyzed with highest catalytic efficiency (k cat/Km = 208 mM−1 s−1), while among the aryl-acetylamides, o-carboxy- or o-nitro-substituted analogues were preferred over p-substituted or unsubstituted compounds. Hydrolysis by His6Amq of primary amides, lactams, N-acetylated amino acids, azocoll, tributyrin, and the acylanilide and urethane pesticides propachlor, propham, carbaryl, and isocarb was not observed; propanil was hydrolyzed with 1% N-acetylanthranilate amidase activity. The catalytic properties of the cysteine-deficient variant His6AmqC22A/C63A markedly differed from those of His6Amq. The replacements effected some changes in Km s of the enzyme and increased k cats for most aryl-acetylesters and some aryl-acetylamides by factors of about three to eight while decreasing k cat for the formyl analogue N-formylanthranilate by several orders of magnitude. Circular dichroism studies indicated that the cysteine-to-alanine replacements resulted in significant change of the overall fold, especially an increase in α-helicity of the cysteine-deficient protein. The conformational changes may also affect the active site and may account for the observed changes in kinetic properties.
Molecular and Cellular Fossils of a Mat-Like Microbial Community in Geothermal Boratic Sinters

Silica and travertine deposits, the two most common surface manifestations of terrestrial hot springs, have so far been the only markers universally helpful in locating and interpreting geothermal systems and past lifeforms potentially associated with them. In the current study, we for the first time report microbial fossils from a third type of geothermal sinter, viz. the boron mineral deposits, which are characteristic of the relatively uncommon silicate-poor hot springs. Organic biomarker analyses of the boratic sinters framing the hot springs of Puga valley, Ladakh, identified molecular fossils (viz. respiratory and photosynthetic isoprenoid quinones and photosynthetic pigments) of a mat-like microbial community putatively comprised of algae, fungi, cyanobacteria and other photosynthetic bacteria, some of which may be proteobacteria. So far as microfossil preservation is concerned, mineralized mat-like biofabrics with diverse cellular morphotypes could be identified in scanning electron microscopy of sub-recent sediments as well as hard and consolidated old sinters. Though this putative past community is quite unusual in volcanic niches, its ubiquitous and enduring presence in the Puga geothermal area is highlighted by the discovery of its biosignatures along all of the three dimensions of the explored boratic deposits. These findings usher a new paradigm of looking at past or present geothermal life in as well as outside the Earth.
Biogeophysical impacts of cropland management changes on climate

It is well known that expansion of agriculture into natural ecosystems can have important climatic consequences, but changes occurring within existing croplands also have the potential to effect local and global climate. To better understand the impacts of cropland management practices, we used the NCAR CAM3 general circulation model coupled to a slab‐ocean model to simulate climate change under extreme scenarios of irrigation, tillage, and crop productivity. Compared to a control scenario, increases in irrigation and leaf area index and reductions in tillage all have a physical cooling effect by causing increases in planetary albedo. The cooling is most pronounced for irrigation, with simulated local cooling up to ∼8°C and global land surface cooling of 1.3°C. Increases in soil albedo through reduced tillage are found to have a global cooling effect (∼0.2°C) comparable to the biogeochemical cooling from reported carbon sequestration potentials. By identifying the impacts of extreme scenarios at local and global scales, this study effectively shows the importance of considering different aspects of crop management in the development of climate models, analysis of observed climate trends, and design of policy intended to mitigate climate change.
Neighborhood Effects on High-School Drop-Out Rates and Teenage Childbearing

This paper examines the relationship between neighborhood characteristics and the likelihood that a youth will drop out of high school or have a child during the teenage years. Using a dataset that is uniquely well suited to the study of neighborhood effects, the impact of the neighborhood poverty rate and the percentage of professionals in the local labor force on youth outcomes in California is examined. The first section of the paper tests for non-linearities in the relationship between indicators of neighborhood distress and youth outcomes. Some evidence is found for a break-point at low levels of poverty. Suggestive but inconclusive evidence is also found for a second breakpoint, at very high levels of poverty, for African American youth only. The second part of the paper examines interactions between family background characteristics and neighborhood effects, and finds that White youth are most sensitive to neighborhood effects, while the effect of parental education depends on the neighborhood measure in question. Among White youth, those from single parent households are more vulnerable to neighborhood conditions. The third section of the paper finds that for White youth and Hispanic youth, the relevant neighborhood variables appear to be the own-race poverty rates and the percentage of professionals of youths' own race. The final section of the paper estimates a tract-fixed effects model, using the results from the third section to define multiple relevant poverty rates within each tract. The fixed-effects specification suggests that for White and Hispanic youth in California, neighborhood effects remain significant, even with the inclusion of controls for any unobserved family and neighborhood characteristics that are constant within tracts.
The Spanish multidisciplinary research network for allergic diseases

Allergy Research Group, Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Málaga-IBIMA, Málaga Allergy Clinical Unit, Hospital Regional Universitario de Málaga, Málaga Centro Andaluz de Nanomedicina y Biotecnología-BIONAND, Málaga Medicine Department, Universidad de Málaga-UMA, Málaga University Institute of Molecular Pathology Biomarkers, UEx, Cáceres; ARADyAL Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain School of Medicine, Institute for Applied Molecular Medicine, Universidad CEU San Pablo, Madrid Allergy Section, Pneumology Department, Institut Clínic Respiratori (ICR), Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Barcelona Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona Allergy Service, University Hospital of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain. Department of Biomedical and Diagnostics Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain. Institute for Biomedical Research of Salamanca (IBSAL), Salamanca School of Medicine, Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Universidad CEU San Pablo, Madrid Allergy Dept. Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Universidad Complutense, IdISSC, ARADyAL, Madrid Department of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Clínica Universidad de Navarra, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra (IdiSNA), Pamplona Departamento de Química Orgánica, Universidad de Málaga-IBIMA, Málaga Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid
Efficacy and safety of apatinib in treatment of osteosarcoma after failed standard multimodal therapy

Abstract Recently, apatinib has been shown to be effective in treating sarcoma. This study aimed to assess the safety and efficacy of apatinib in the treatment of patients with osteosarcoma after failed of standard multimodal therapy and to compare the therapeutic effects of apatinib on osteosarcoma between high-dose group and low-dose group. A total of 27 patients with osteosarcoma who received apatinib between January 2016 and August 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. Among the 27 patients, the objective response rate (ORR) and the disease control rate (DCR) were 25.93% and 66.67%, respectively. The median of progression-free survival (m-PFS) was 3.5 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.5–4.8 months), and the median of overall survival (m-OS) was 9.5 months (95% CI, 7.8–10.5 months). There was no statistically significant difference in ORR (36.36% vs 18.75%), DCR (63.64% vs 68.75%), m-PFS (4.3 months [95% CI, 1.8–7 months) vs 3.35 months (95% CI, 1.8–4 months]), and m-OS (9.5 months [95% CI, 7.8–10.5 months] vs 9.4 months [95% CI, 7.8–10.8 months]) (P > .05) between the high-dose group (the average dose was 659 mg/qd) and the low-dose group (the average dose was 516 mg/qd). Most of the adverse events (AEs) were in grade 1 or grade 2. The main AEs in grade 3 were hypertension, rash, weight loss, hand-foot syndrome, and diarrhea. Apatinib is safe and effective in the treatment of advanced osteosarcoma. We recommend that the initial dose of apatinib should be 500 mg/qd in the treatment of osteosarcoma.
Kisspeptin innervation of the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus: sexual dimorphism and effect of estrous cycle in female mice

The hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) is the major autonomic output area of the hypothalamus and a critical regulatory center for energy homeostasis. The organism's energetic balance is very important for both the regular onset of puberty and regulation of fertility. Several studies have suggested a relationship among neural circuits controlling food intake, energy homeostasis and the kisspeptin peptide. The kisspeptin system is clustered in two main groups of cell bodies [the anterior ventral periventricular region (AVPV) and the arcuate nucleus (ARC)] projecting mainly to gonadotropin‐releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons and to a few other locations, including the PVN. In the present study, we investigated the distribution of the kisspeptin fibers within the PVN of adult CD1 mice. We observed a significant sexual dimorphism for AVPV and ARC, as well as for the PVN innervation. Kisspeptin fibers showed a different density within the PVN, being denser in the medial part than in the lateral one; moreover, in female, the density changed, according to different phases of the estrous cycle (the highest density being in estrus phase). The presence of a profound effect of estrous cycle on the kisspeptin immunoreactivity in AVPV (with a higher signal in estrus) and ARC, and the strong co‐localization between kisspeptin and NkB only in ARC and not in PVN suggested that the majority of the kisspeptin fibers found in the PVN might arise directly from AVPV.
The FlyBase database of the Drosophila genome projects and community literature.

FlyBase (http://flybase.bio.indiana.edu/) provides an integrated view of the fundamental genomic and genetic data on the major genetic model Drosophila melanogaster and related species. Following on the success of the Drosophila genome project, FlyBase has primary responsibility for the continual reannotation of the D.melanogaster genome. The ultimate goal of the reannotation effort is to decorate the euchromatic sequence of the genome with as much biological information as is available from the community and from the major genome project centers. The current cycle of reannotation focuses on establishing a comprehensive data set of gene models (i.e. transcription units and CDSs). There are many points of entry to the genome within FlyBase, most notably through maps, gene ontologies, structured phenotypic and gene expression data, and anatomy.
Bioavailability of Cr(III) and Cr(VI) to marine mussels from solute and particulate pathways

Mussels have been extensively used as biological monitors of coastal contamination. This study measured the assimilation efficiencies (AEs) of Cr(III) and Cr(VI) in the mussel Mytilus edulis from ingested food, uptake from the dissolved phase, and the physiological efflux rates following uptake. A bioenergetic-based kinetic model was then employed to determine the relative contributions of different Cr species and their accumulation pathways to the overall concentration of Cr in mussels. The concentration factors of Cr(III) in four diverse marine phytoplankters ranged between 104 and 105, whereas for Cr(VI) they were 2 to 5 × 102. Rapid reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) was observed in coastal sediments. AEs of Cr(III) in mussels from ingested sediments were consistently <1%, whereas the AEs of Cr(VI) from ingested phytoplankton were 1−10%. The uptake rate of Cr(VI) from the dissolved phase was 3 times higher than Cr(III). The efflux rate constant was 0.011 d-1 for mussels following 7 d dissolved uptake of C.
Prospective Study of Asymptomatic Aortic Stenosis

3. Lualdi JC, Goldhaber SZ. Right ventricular dysfunction after acute pulmonary embolism: pathophysiologic factors, detection, and therapeutic implications. Am Heart J. 1995;130:1276-1282. 4. Kasper W, Konstantinides S, Geibel A, Tiede N, Krause T, Just H. Prognostic significance of right ventricular afterload stress detected by echocardiography in patients with clinically suspected pulmonary embolism. Mean. 1997;77:346-349.
Efectes de les temperatures del foc en les cendres produïdes per algunes espècies vegetals mediterrànies

L'objectiu d'aquest treball es estudiar els efectes de la temperatura a les cendres produides per algunes especies mediterranies a traves de simulacions d'incendi al laboratori i aixi estimar els efectes de les cremes controlades. Els resultats indiquen que la mateixa temperatura te una severitat mes elevada en els Pinus que en els Quercus . D? altra banda, s'ha demostrat que a temperatures reduides pot haver un increment del percentatge de carboni total (TC) i nitrogen total (TN), que disminueix a temperatures mes elevades. S'ha comprovat tambe una reduccio significativa de la relacio C/N en totes les especies (amb excepcio del Quercus suber ) i un augment significatiu del pH i conductivitat electrica (CE) amb la temperatura d'exposicio. A les cendres recollides a la crema controlada, s'ha identificat una reduccio del TC i C/N i un increment del TN, pH i CE de les cendres.
Environmental magnetism: Past, present, and future

Environmental magnetism involves the application of rock and mineral magnetic techniques to situations in which the transport, deposition, or transformation of magnetic grains is influenced by environmental processes in the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. The first explicit description of environmental magnetism as a distinct field was in 1980. Since that time environmental magnetism has become a broad field that is finding application in an ever-increasing array of scientific disciplines. In this review of the present state of environmental magnetic studies, we divide the field into three broad, but arbitrary, categories. The first involves the use of mineral magnetic assemblages in the geological record to study physical processes in depositional environments. This category includes the correlation of sediment cores using magnetic susceptibility measurements, studies of geomagnetic field behavior, the analysis of depositional and postdepositional mechanical processes that affect sediments, and the examination of magnetic parameters that might represent proxies for paleoclimatic variation. The second category encompasses studies of the processes responsible for variations in the magnetic minerals brought into a sedimentary environment. These provenance investigations include studies of changes in catchment-derived sediment in lakes, fluctuations in contributions from terrigenous, aeolian and glaciogenic components in deep-sea sediments, and the origin of atmospheric particulates. The final category addresses in situ changes and transformations of magnetic minerals in sedimentary environments, including pedogenesis, authigenetic/diagenetic formation of ferrimagnetic phases, dissolution of magnetic minerals due to reductive diagenesis, and contributions of biomagnetism to sedimentary magnetism. Because environmental magnetism can address problems in so many disciplines and because many of these problems may be inaccessible to other techniques, it is likely that the scope of environmental magnetism will continue to expand rapidly. Environmental magnetism is capable of providing important data for studies of global environmental change, climatic processes, and the impact of humans on the environment, all of which are major research initiatives in the international scientific community. These factors suggest that environmental magnetism has a bright and diverse future.
Terpenoids in the atmosphere

Terpenoids (terpenes and their oxygenated derivatives) are common tropospheric species. Information concerning the terpenoids and assessing their importance in atmospheric processes is sparse and widely distributed, however. This review presents chemical structure, physical property, and source information for 45 terpenoids known to be emitted into the atmosphere. Rate constants for the reactions of the terpenoids with atmospheric scavengers are presented, and typical terpenoid lifetimes are derived. Chemical product studies are used to derive plausible reaction mechanisms for selected acyclic, monocyclic, and bicyclic terpenes. The atmospheric cycle of the terpenoids is discussed, and it is concluded that inadequate information currently precludes quantitative assessments of the relative impact of terpenoids on local, regional, and global atmospheric processes.
Privacy Preservation in Distributed Subgradient Optimization Algorithms

In this paper, some privacy-preserving features for distributed subgradient optimization algorithms are considered. Most of the existing distributed algorithms focus mainly on the algorithm design and convergence analysis, but not the protection of agents’ privacy. Privacy is becoming an increasingly important issue in applications involving sensitive information. In this paper, we first show that the distributed subgradient synchronous homogeneous-stepsize algorithm is not privacy preserving in the sense that the malicious agent can asymptotically discover other agents’ subgradients by transmitting untrue estimates to its neighbors. Then a distributed subgradient asynchronous heterogeneous-stepsize projection algorithm is proposed and accordingly its convergence and optimality is established. In contrast to the synchronous homogeneous-stepsize algorithm, in the new algorithm agents make their optimization updates asynchronously with heterogeneous stepsizes. The introduced two mechanisms of projection operation and asynchronous heterogeneous-stepsize optimization can guarantee that agents’ privacy can be effectively protected.