Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Increased aortic stiffness measured by MRI in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus and relationship to renal function.

OBJECTIVE Arterial stiffness is an important predictor of cardiovascular disease in type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM). The purpose of this study was to investigate whether type 1 DM is associated with increased aortic stiffness as measured by MRI, independently of renal dysfunction, and to evaluate the relationship between aortic stiffness and renal function within the normal range in patients with type 1 DM. MATERIALS AND METHODS We included 77 patients with type 1 DM (mean age, 46 ± 12 years) and 36 healthy control subjects matched for age and renal function in a cross-sectional study. Exclusion criteria consisted of microalbuminuria, renal impairment, aortic valve disease, and standard MRI contraindications. Aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV), a marker of aortic stiffness, was assessed by MRI. Renal function was expressed as the estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR). Mann-Whitney U test and Spearman's correlation analysis were performed. Stepwise multivariable logarithmic regressions with forward entry analysis for estimated GFR were performed to study the relationship with aortic PWV using interaction terms for type 1 DM. RESULTS Patients with type 1 DM without microalbuminuria or renal impairment show increased aortic PWV compared with control subjects (p < 0.05). There was a statistically significant correlation between estimated GFR and aortic PWV in patients with type 1 DM (p < 0.001; r = -0.427) and control subjects (p = 0.002; r = -0.502), with aortic PWV being increased in patients with type 1 DM for each given estimated GFR within the normal range (p < 0.001). The decrease in estimated GFR per increase in aortic PWV was similar for patients with type 1 DM and control subjects (p, not significant). CONCLUSION Our data show that aortic stiffness, as measured by MRI, is increased and inversely related to renal function in patients with type 1 DM with normal albuminuria and normal estimated GFR.
Designing sustainable Wireless sensor networks with efficient energy harvesting systems

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are resource-constrained devices. Especially energy is scarce. Recent advances with energy harvesting system (EHS) technology now offer new opportunities for long-lived WSNs. Several prototypes of EHS-enhanced WSN platforms have recently been designed in a low-power and power-efficient way. While the field starts to mature there are still a few lessons to be learned for building low-cost and robust systems. Especially, perpetual systems pose new constraints that have not yet been formalized in well-established metrics. Several studies exist, that try to tune systems and algorithms offline for being able to cope with different situations that might occur. The prediction of solar traces is a well-known example for EHS-enhanced WSNs. However, it is a cumbersome task trying to be prepared for all possible extreme conditions especially when prediction is needed. Therefore, we introduce RiverMote which is a low-cost highly efficient design with extended black-out sustainability (BOS) capabilities. We suggest to put special focus on BOS as a mechanism that can even react to hard-to-model events in a general way without the need to rely on error-prone prediction mechanisms. RiverMote is a low-cost WSN platform with integrated EHS. It outperforms state-of-the-art EHS technology efficiency for WSNs and supports BOS of more than three weeks.
21—FIBRE FATIGUE AND THE PILLING CYCLE PART III: PILL WEAR-OFF AND FABRIC ATTRITION

Many researchers consider pilling to be a self-limiting process with little effect on fabric durability. Wear trials on woollen knitwear are described which show that pilling is self-limiting over the major part of the garment surface with the exception of zones such as the elbows and cuffs, which continue to generate pills throughout the life of the garment. An extensive microscopical examination of worn knitted garments showed little evidence of direct frictional wear even in severely damaged regions. Measurements of the fibre-diameter distribution showed that selective removal of coarse fibres had occurred as a result of biaxial-type fatigue and breakdown, whereas the removal of the fine fibres probably occurred as a result of pilling. It is suggested that pilling is an important attrition mechanism for knitted fabrics and loosely woven fabrics.
Altered lumbar spine structure, biochemistry, and biomechanical properties in a canine model of mucopolysaccharidosis type VII

Mucopolysaccharidosis VII (MPS VII) is a lysosomal storage disorder characterized by a deficiency in β‐glucuronidase activity, leading to systemic accumulation of poorly degraded glycosaminoglycans (GAG). Along with other morbidities, MPS VII is associated with pediatric spinal deformity. The objective of this study was to examine potential associations between abnormal lumbar spine matrix structure and composition in MPS VII, and spine segment and tissue‐level mechanical properties, using a naturally occurring canine model with a similar clinical phenotype to the human form of the disorder. Segments from juvenile MPS VII and unaffected dogs were allocated to: radiography, gross morphology, histology, biochemistry, and mechanical testing. MPS VII spines had radiolucent lesions in the vertebral body epiphyses. Histologically, this corresponded to a GAG‐rich cartilaginous region in place of bone and elevated GAG staining was seen in the annulus fibrosus. Biochemically, MPS VII samples had elevated GAG in the outer annulus fibrosus and epiphyses, low calcium in the epiphyses, and high water content in all regions except the nucleus pulposus. MPS VII spine segments had higher range of motion and lower stiffness than controls. Endplate indentation stiffness and failure loads were significantly lower in MPS VII samples, while annulus fibrosus tensile mechanical properties were normal. Vertebral body lesions in MPS VII spines suggest a failure to convert cartilage to bone during development. Low stiffness in these regions likely contributes to mechanical weakness in motion segments and is a potential factor in the progression of spinal deformity. © 2009 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 28:616–622, 2010
Isometric and Concentric Performance of Electrically Stimulated Ankle Plantar Flexor Muscles in Intact Rat

The relationship between muscle force and ankle position during isometric and pre‐loaded slow concentric contractions (angular velocity, 0.52 rad s−1; range of motion, 1.22 rad) and the recovery of isometric force following concentric contractions at different velocities were determined for electrically stimulated plantar flexor muscles in intact rats. Pre‐loaded refers to the isometric contraction which immediately precedes the concentric contraction. Ankle position was controlled by a dynamometer and force was recorded under the sole of the foot. The peak isometric force (19.2 N) was nearly constant at all ankle positions (range of motion, 1.57 rad). The muscle length and distal fibre length of gastrocnemius medialis at ankle positions between 0.79 rad and 2.01 rad were increased by 12.6% and 20.3%, respectively. During slow concentric contractions, the force progressively decreased (23.1 ± 2.1%); the force decreased by only 6.3 ± 0.9% during sustained isometric contractions of similar duration (3400 ms). The recovery of isometric force following concentric contractions with similar stimulation frequencies (80 Hz) was velocity dependent (i.e. more rapid at higher velocities). It is concluded that pre‐loaded slow concentric contractions of the plantar flexor muscles in intact rats do not follow the same relationship as that of isometric force and ankle position. Our results in intact rats show that the force output of electrically stimulated ankle plantar flexor muscles measured under the sole of the foot can be used to study the physiological properties of skeletal muscle working in situ.
On some fluid–structure iterative algorithms using pressure segregation methods. Application to aeroelasticity

In this paper we suggest some algorithms for the fluid–structure interaction problem stated using a domain decomposition framework. These methods involve stabilized pressure segregation methods for the solution of the fluid problem and fixed point iterative algorithms for the fluid–structure coupling. With one single loop the solution of the coupled system tends to one of the strongly coupled monolithic systems. These coupling algorithms are applied to the aeroelastic simulation of suspension bridges. We assess flexural and torsional frequencies for a given inflow velocity. Increasing this velocity we reach the value for which the flutter phenomenon appears. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Chemical analysis of dentin surfaces after Carisolv treatment

Aims and Objectives: This study was done to characterize the surface chemistry after caries excavation with burs and Carisolv 2, by analyzing the relative amounts of organic and inorganic content, and also to analyze the penetration of the adhesive after etching and bonding using Micro Raman spectroscopy. Materials and Methods: Twenty extracted molars with caries were distributed into the following groups and treated accordingly. Group 1-excavation with bur (10 teeth), and Group 2-excavation using Carisolv 2 (10 teeth). Results and Conclusion: Spectroscopic analysis showed that there was no significant difference in the chemical composition of the tooth between the groups after excavation (P > 0.05) either with bur or with Carisolv. The penetration of the dentin bonding resin in all samples of the Carisolv group was up to 15μm, whereas, in the bur group it was upto 10μm in few samples. Scanning Electron Microscopic analysis showed the surfaces of the Carisolv-treated dentin to be free of the smear layer, with open tubules, whereas, the dentin surfaces of the bur group showed surfaces covered with a smear layer. In the Carislov group the resin tags were found comparatively deeper than in the bur excavation group. In both the groups the integrity of the remaining dentin surfaces were maintained chemically and morphologically.
Additive Manufacturing Modeling and Simulation A Literature Review for Electron Beam Free Form Fabrication

Additive manufacturing is coming into industrial use and has several desirable attributes. Control of the deposition remains a complex challenge, and so this literature review was initiated to capture current modeling efforts in the field of additive manufacturing. This paper summarizes about 10 years of modeling and simulation related to both welding and additive manufacturing. The goals were to learn who is doing what in modeling and simulation, to summarize various approaches taken to create models, and to identify research gaps. Later sections in the report summarize implications for closed-loop-control of the process, implications for local research efforts, and implications for local modeling efforts.
Nonlinear taxation in an economy with heterogeneous firms and heterogeneous households

In an economy with heterogeneous rms and heterogeneous consumers, we describe a general equilibrium where rm equity is priced by a supply and demand process. With a model robust to arbitrary, nonlinear tax functions, we investigate the e ciency of replacing the current tax regime with a policy of no corporate taxes and taxation of capital distributions to the household at progressive personal income tax rates. We nd that this policy increases total welfare.
Gene Expression Variability within and between Human Populations and Implications toward Disease Susceptibility

Variations in gene expression level might lead to phenotypic diversity across individuals or populations. Although many human genes are found to have differential mRNA levels between populations, the extent of gene expression that could vary within and between populations largely remains elusive. To investigate the dynamic range of gene expression, we analyzed the expression variability of ∼18, 000 human genes across individuals within HapMap populations. Although ∼20% of human genes show differentiated mRNA levels between populations, our results show that expression variability of most human genes in one population is not significantly deviant from another population, except for a small fraction that do show substantially higher expression variability in a particular population. By associating expression variability with sequence polymorphism, intriguingly, we found SNPs in the untranslated regions (5′ and 3′UTRs) of these variable genes show consistently elevated population heterozygosity. We performed differential expression analysis on a genome-wide scale, and found substantially reduced expression variability for a large number of genes, prohibiting them from being differentially expressed between populations. Functional analysis revealed that genes with the greatest within-population expression variability are significantly enriched for chemokine signaling in HIV-1 infection, and for HIV-interacting proteins that control viral entry, replication, and propagation. This observation combined with the finding that known human HIV host factors show substantially elevated expression variability, collectively suggest that gene expression variability might explain differential HIV susceptibility across individuals.
Enhanced Vulnerability to Cocaine Self-Administration Is Associated with Elevated Impulse Activity of Midbrain Dopamine Neurons

Individual differences in responding to a novel environment predict behavioral and neurochemical responses to psychostimulant drugs. Rats with a high locomotor response to a novel environment (HRs) exhibit enhanced self-administration (SA) behavior, sensitization, and basal or drug-induced dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens compared with rats with a low response to the novel context (LRs). In this study, we determined whether such differences in vulnerability to drug addiction might be related to differences in dopamine (DA) neuron activity. Rats were divided into HRs and LRs according to their response to a novel environment and then tested for acquisition of cocaine SA. HRs rapidly acquired cocaine SA (175 μg/kg per infusion), whereas LRs did not. Differences in cocaine SA were not caused by differences in exploratory behavior or sampling because these behaviors did not differ in HRs and LRs self-administering a saline solution. In a separate experiment, we used extracellular single-unit recordings and found that HRs exhibit higher basal firing rates and bursting activity of DA neurons in the ventral tegmental area and, to a lesser extent, in the substantia nigra pars compacta. The greater activity of midbrain DA cells in HRs was accompanied by reduced sensitivity to the inhibitory effects of a DA D2-class receptor agonist, indicating possible subsensitivity of impulse-regulating DA autoreceptors. These results demonstrate that differences in the basal activity of DA neurons may be critically involved in determining individual vulnerability to drugs of abuse.
How to Study Smoking and Drinking with PET

The era of imaging neuroreceptors in humans with PET was ushered in by Wagner et al. (1983) with a report in Science showing the first human brain scan of dopamine receptors (Wagner, 1983). The tracer was N-methylspiperone (NMSP) tagged with carbon-11. The brain that was scanned belonged to one of the authors. Ethical concerns notwithstanding, this act placed the researchers in the good company of famous scientists throughout history who had experimented on themselves. The publication of this paper excited the field and garnered some publicity as well (see Figure 1). Although the study did not employ the quantitative analysis techniques we describe below, it presaged some of the key concepts. Namely: (1) early images contain mostly blood flow information; (2) late images primarily reflect binding; (3) radioactive tracer in the target tissue can be “free” or “bound”, which often necessitates the examination of a “reference region”, which is devoid of receptor sites; (4) co-injection of radiolabelled tracer with an excess of unlabeled tracer can be used to prevent radiotracer from binding and thus measure unbound (aka, non-displaceable) signal by itself. Injection of excess unlabeled tracer is generally not performed in humans; in this case, it was done in baboons. As we discuss below, the ability to use PET to measure receptor number or some index thereof opens up additional measurement possibilities which take advantage of a key concept: competition. In the Wagner paper, the competition was between hot (labeled) and cold (unlabeled) tracer (Wagner, 1983). In another ground-breaking paper that followed it, the competition was between a radiotracer and an unlabeled neuroleptic drug (Farde et al., 1986). Farde and colleagues did what amounts to the first drug occupancy study with PET using the tracer, [11C]raclopride, in 1986. Their paper was intended to examine the occupancy level of drugs for schizophrenia in treated schizophrenics by examining the degree of tracer blocking at the dopamine D2 receptor sites achieved by each patient’s respective drug. Whereas Wagner et
Developmental Regulation of the Distribution of Aromatase- and Estrogen-Receptor- mRNA-Expressing Cells in the Zebra Finch Brain

Strong evidence exists for the masculinizing effects of estrogen on the neural network that controls song learning and behavior in zebra finches. However, the mechanisms by which estrogen acts to influence the development of this circuitry are not well understood. In this study, we used in situ hybridization to detect the distribution of cells expressing mRNAs for AROM and ERα at postnatal days 5–25 (P5–25). Our findings revealed developmental regulation of both mRNAs in the neostriatum, archistriatum, hippocampus, diencephalon and midbrain. Within the vocal control circuitry, cells expressing ERα mRNA were found in the medial HVC (P10–25), archistriatum lateral to the RA (Ad; P25), in the ICo (P5–25), and along the fiber tract containing efferents from the RA. High levels of AROM mRNA were found in the neostriatum, including both the lateral and mMAN and along their projections to the RA and HVC, respectively, (P5–25), in the archistriatum (P18–25) and around RA (P18). Codistribution of the two mRNAs occurred along the border of the HVC suggesting that in this region, local synthesis of estrogen may be acting through its nuclear receptor to regulate gene transcription. Taken together, our findings show that the neural circuitry controlling song may be exposed to the effects of estrogen during early postnatal development. However, in most of the song control regions, these mRNAs were not expressed together either temporally or spatially, indicating that AROM may have a role in the development of the song system independent of ERα.
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Random and Partition Testing by Delivered Reliability

The software engineering literature is full of test data selection and adequacy strategies. However, It is still a question whether these adequacy strategies are effective or not. So it is necessary to research how to evaluate the effectiveness of test strategy. The effectiveness of random and subdomain testing methodology is normally evaluated by failure detecting ability. However, detecting more failures does not guarantee that the software is more reliable because those failures detected maybe small and subtle ones that will seldom occur in reality. So in this paper, delivered reliability which presents the reliability of software after testing is introduced to evaluate their effectiveness. The better method delivers higher reliability after all test failures have been eliminated.
Paying research participants: a study of current practices in Australia

Objective: To examine current research payment practices and to inform development of clearer guidelines for researchers and ethics committees. Design: Exploratory email based questionnaire study of current research participant reimbursement practices. A diverse sample of organisations and individuals were targeted. Setting: Australia. Participants: Contacts in 84 key research organisations and select electronic listservers across Australia. A total of 100 completed questionnaires were received with representations from a variety of research areas (for example, market, alcohol and drug, medical, pharmaceutical and social research). Main measurements: Open-ended and fixed alternative questions about type of research agency; type of research; type of population under study; whether payment is standard; amounts and mechanisms of payment; factors taken into account when deciding on payment practices; and whether payment policies exist. Results: Reimbursement practice is highly variable. Where it occurs (most commonly for drug dependent rather than health professional or general population samples) it is largely monetary and is for time and out-of-pocket expenses. Ethics committees were reported to be often involved in decision making around reimbursement. Conclusions: Research subject payment practices vary in Australia. Researchers who do provide payments to research participants generally do so without written policy and procedures. Ethics committees have an important role in developing guidelines in this area. Specific guidelines are needed considering existing local policies and procedures; payment models and their application in diverse settings; case study examples of types and levels of reimbursement; applied definitions of incentive and inducement; and the rationale for diverse payment practices in different settings.
Retrospective identification and characterization of mild cognitive impairment from a prospective population cohort.

OBJECTIVES Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) case-finding criteria have low specificity in general population studies. This study retrospectively identifies cases of MCI and determines baseline criteria giving the highest discriminability. The ability of these criteria to increase current case detection specificity is estimated. DESIGN A population-based cohort was recruited from electoral rolls from three French cities. Clinical and environmental characteristics were evaluated at baseline and at 2- and 4-year follow-up. The clinical characteristics of incident cases of dementia were examined retrospectively. PARTICIPANTS Eight thousand nine hundred nineteen persons aged 65 years and older without dementia (60.8% women) were included in this study. The mean age (SD) of the participants was 74.2 (5.6) years for men and 74.4 (5.6) years for women. RESULTS Three hundred twenty persons (3.6%) were retrospectively classified as MCI at baseline. This MCI group had poorer performance on all cognitive tests compared with the rest of the cohort, and a subsample undergoing MRI were found to have more white matter hyperintensities. The group were also characterized by the presence of an ApoE ε4 genotype (odds ratio [OR]: 2.17, confidence interval [CI]: 1.44-3.29 for men; OR: 2.27, CI: 1.59-3.24 for women) and instrumental activities of daily living loss (OR: 1.72, CI: 1.01-3.0 for men; OR: 1.49; CI: 0.97-2.3 for women). Women with MCI also had high depressive symptomatology (OR: 1.96; CI: 1.34-2.87), anticholinergic drug use (OR: 1.59; CI: 1.05-2.28), and low body mass index (OR: 1.54, CI: 1.05-2.28) and for men a history of stroke (OR: 2.17, CI: 1.16-4.05) and glycemia (OR: 1.72, CI: 1.13-2.71). Addition of these characteristics to conventional MCI definitions increases their specificity. CONCLUSIONS This general population study using a retrospective method for classifying persons with MCI identified gender-specific noncognitive clinical variables that may increase specificity.