Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Control of dorsoventral patterning of somitic derivatives by notochord and floor plate.

We have examined the effect of implantation of a supernumerary notochord or floor plate on dorsoventral somitic organization. We show that notochord and floor plate are able to inhibit the differentiation of the dorsal somitic derivatives--i.e., axial muscles and dermis--thus converting the entire somite into cartilage, which normally arises only from its ventral part. We infer from these results that the dorsoventral patterning of somitic derivatives is controlled by signals provided by ventral axial structures.
Hardware-Efficient Programmable-Deviation Controller for Indirect Energy Transfer DC–DC Converters

In boost converters and other indirect energy transfer topologies, the fastest transient response usually does not coincide with the minimum possible output voltage deviation. This paper introduces a practical mixed-signal current programmed mode (CPM) controller that, compared to time-optimal solutions, provides a smaller deviation, lower current stress, and simpler controller implementation. To recover from transients, the controller passes through two phases. In the first phase, the inductor current is set in the proximity of its steady-state value, so that the initial transient-caused capacitor charging/discharging process is reversed. In the second phase, the voltage is gradually recovered. The controller implements a simple algorithm for setting up the inductor current and the output voltage peak/valley values during transients, based on the output current estimate, which is obtained through a self-tuning procedure. The operation of the controller is verified both through simulations and experimentally, with a boost-based 12 to 48 V, 100-W prototype, operating at 100-kHz switching frequency. A comparison with a time-optimal controller shows that the introduced programmable-deviation system results in up to 1.9 times smaller voltage deviation while limiting component stress.
δ0-Thalassemia in cis of βKnossos globin gene: first homozygous description in thalassemia intermedia Libyans and first combination with codon 39 (C→T) in thalassemia intermedia Tunisian patients

Abstract Background: β-Thalassemia is the most common disease among hemoglobinopathies in North African and Arab populations. In the present study we report the first description of the β-Knossos codon27 (G→T) (βKnossos) allele in cis with the δ059 (-A) mutation in thalassemia intermedia patients in Tunisia and Libya. Methods: This identification was carried out by sequencing analysis of the whole coding regions of the δ- and β-globin genes. Results: We noted that heterozygous inheritance of the βKnossos mutation results in a mild β-thalassemia phenotype with a low level of HbA2 while homozygous leads to intermediate β-thalassemia with an atypical high performance liquid chromatogram showing a complete absence of HbA2 and HbF. Compound heterozygosity of the βKnossos with β0 codon39 (C→T) is identified in a Tunisian proband for the first time and gives rise to a mild phenotype. In both families, the δ0 codon59 (-A) and the βKnossos alleles were found to be associated with a single Mediterranean β-haplotype I similar to that observed in previous reports from Algeria, Egypt, Cyprus, and Turkey. Conclusions: The chromosome supporting the βKnossos and the δ0 codon59 (-A) alleles seems to be of a single Mediterranean origin. Premarital screening studies in families in which only one of the parents has typical aspects of β-thalassemia trait and the other has a normal HbA2 level associated with abnormal red cell indices becomes a necessity to avoid missing thalassemia carriers.
Study on the Sensitivity of Flow Rate Change after Head Variation in Rotary Blood Pump with Constant Voltages

The comfortability of the receptor with a heart pump becomes more and more important in the future. One of the key technologie to achieve this purpose is to improve the sensitivity of flow rate change after the head variation in the pump, so as to maintain the flow rate balance between the left ventricular assist pump and right ventricle. This paper improved motor control system in left ventricular assist impeller pump through the pressure feedback control the flow rate changes along with the head variation (2mmHg, 3mmHg, 4mmHg, 5mmHg), always to maintain the change of the flow rate (1L/min), so that the sensitivity of the flow rate changes was increased with the pumping head, improving the comfortability of the receptor.
Bioimpedance-guided fluid management in maintenance hemodialysis: a pilot randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND Chronic subclinical volume overload happens very frequently in hemodialysis patients and is associated directly with hypertension, increased arterial stiffness, left ventricular hypertrophy, and ultimately higher mortality. STUDY DESIGN Randomized controlled parallel-group trial. SETTING & PARTICIPANTS 131 patients from one hemodialysis center, randomly assigned into 2 groups. INTERVENTION Dry weight prescription using results derived from repeated 3-month bioimpedance measurements to guide ultrafiltration for strict volume control (bioimpedance group; n=62) compared with clinical judgment without bioimpedance measures (clinical-methods group; n=69) for 2.5 years. OUTCOMES The primary outcome was all-cause mortality over 2.5 years (the duration of the intervention). Secondary outcomes were change in relative arterial stiffness, fluid overload, and blood pressure (BP) over 2.5 years. MEASUREMENTS Bioimpedance measurements were performed using a Body Composition Monitor device. Pulse wave velocity analysis was performed at baseline, 2.5 years (end of intervention), and 3.5 years (end of study). Relative fluid overload and BP were assessed at 3-month intervals. RESULTS The unadjusted HR for all-cause death in the bioimpedance group (vs the clinical-methods group) was 0.100 (95% CI, 0.013-0.805; P=0.03). After 2.5 years, we found a greater decline in arterial stiffness, relative fluid overload, and systolic BP in the bioimpedance group than the clinical-methods group. Between-group differences in change from baseline to the end of intervention were -2.78 (95% CI, -3.75 to 1.80)m/s for pulse wave velocity (P<0.001), -2.99% (95% CI, -5.00% to -0.89%) for relative fluid overload (P=0.05), and -2.43 (95% CI, -7.70 to 2.84)mmHg for systolic BP (P=0.4). LIMITATIONS Echocardiography was not performed as cardiovascular assessment and the caregivers were not masked to the intervention. CONCLUSIONS Our study showed improvement in both surrogate and hard end points after strict volume control using bioimpedance to guide dry weight adjustment. These findings need to be confirmed in a larger trial.
An integrated programme of exercise, self-management and active coping strategies for patients with knee osteoarthritis – a proof-of-concept study for a Hong Kong Chinese speaking population

Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a degenerative joint disorder that affects the whole of the joint unit resulting in pain and decreased function. Current evidence recommends core management strategies of exercise, education for self-management and weight reduction (as appropriate) for KOA at all levels of severity. ESCAPE pain is evidence based integrated exercise and self-management intervention for KOA. Previous work has demonstrated it is a clinical and cost-effective intervention in the United Kingdom population. In the absence of a similar intervention in Hong Kong (HK), this work aimed to establish the feasibility of this intervention for a HK Chinese population. The systematic literature review of combined programmes for Chinese populations showed a significant short-term effect in pain relief, and although self-efficacy improved long-term evidence was limited. Exercise dosage and intensity were variable. The ESCAPE programme was then adapted for cultural relevance by translating the patient information booklet that supports self-management into Chinese with pictures and text amended to fit local culture. The programme was also reduced to 10 sessions in 5 weeks to fit the local delivery context. Relevant outcome measures in Chinese were identified and local physiotherapists were trained to provide the programme. The preliminary culturally adapted ESCAPE-knee pain was tested in a proof-of-concept study (N=21). Feasibility of this programme in HK was established by recruitment rate 30.9%, retention rate 82.6% and positive change in self-reported outcomes after the intervention. Finally acceptability was determined by a focus group (n=8). The findings showed that participants learned active coping for self-management through interactive education. They set goals to facilitate continued exercise participation and expressed their willingness to stay active. Increased confidence to undertake exercise and improved function were reported. The field observation suggested adjustments to the literacy level of the patient information booklet to improve patient understanding, with further guidance on goal setting at the beginning of the programme. The findings suggest that the ESCAPE-knee pain programme is feasible and acceptable to the Chinese population in HK. This novel combined programme adds to the evidence that KOA is a chronic disease that should be targeted with lifestyle behavioural change interventions. The next steps will be to conduct a small-scale pilot study to estimate effect-size to inform a fully powered randomised controlled trial.
Molecular cytogenetic characterization of proximal‐type epithelioid sarcoma

Proximal‐type epithelioid sarcoma is a recently described soft‐tissue tumor that is distinguished from conventional‐type epithelioid sarcoma by a far more aggressive clinical course, frequent location in the proximal anatomic regions, and variable rhabdoid morphology. Because of their rarity and peculiar morphology, proximal‐type epithelioid sarcomas frequently pose serious diagnostic dilemmas, being easily misdiagnosed as a variety of other malignant neoplasms. To date, the information available on the genetic alterations associated with this tumor entity has been confined to single conventional cytogenetic reports. In this article, we present the results of a conventional and molecular cytogenetic analysis of six proximal‐type epithelioid sarcomas. Spectral karyotyping analysis of these cases deciphered the characteristics of several marker chromosomes and complex translocations, leading to the recognition of recurrent rearrangements. The most frequently involved chromosome arm was 22q, and the identification of two cases with a similar translocation, t(10;22), suggests a role for one or more genes on chromosome 22 in the pathogenesis of this tumor and provides an opportunity for finely mapping the translocation‐associated breakpoints. Chromosome arm 8q gain was also a frequent event and correlated with gain of MYC gene copy number, as demonstrated by fluorescence in situ hybridization. A review of both cases reported in the literature and those presented in this study reinforced the involvement of chromosomes 8 and 22 and also indicated frequent rearrangements of chromosomes 7, 14, 18, and 20. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Amelioration of altered oxidant/antioxidant status of buffaloes with trypanosomosis by vitamins A, D3, E, and H supplementation

ABSTRACT Effect of vitamins A, D3, E and H supplementation on oxidative stress/antioxidant indices in buffaloes suffering from trypanosomosis was investigated. Changes in the oxidative stress parameters viz. protein oxidation (protein carbonyls), lipid peroxidation (LPO), and antioxidant enzymes activities viz. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) were evaluated before and after the supplementation of vitamins A, D3, E and H. The buffaloes suffering from trypanosomosis revealed remarkable alterations in the oxidants/antioxidants balance sifted towards oxidative stress. The buffaloes revealed significantly higher protein carbonyls and LPO activity; while SOD and CAT activity were significantly lower in comparison with the healthy controls. Supplementation vitamins A, D3, E, and H to these animals revealed a significant reduction in protein carbonyls and LPO activity; while a significant increase in SOD and CAT activity were also evident. From the present study, it may be concluded that supplementation of these vitamins can help to ameliorate the oxidants/antioxidants balance towards normalcy, and thus to ensure recovery from trypanosomosis in buffaloes.
Allopreening in Owls: What Are Its Functions?

ABsT(cid:127)CT. --Allopreening occurs in at least 10 owl species, but its functions are poorly under-stood. Observations on the Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis) in western Oregon between 1970 and 1978 indicated that allopreening was common between paired individuals during spring and sum- mer (the breeding season) but was uncommon between sibling owlets or between adults and their young. A captive Spotted Owl that was imprinted on the senior author frequently solicited or initiated allopreening during spring and summer, directing such activity toward the senior author. Although Harrison (1965) proposed that the principal function of allopreening was to reduce or redirect agonistic tendencies, the relationship between aggression and allopreening in owls is not clear; outwardly, it looks like a peaceful interaction without aggressive overtones. A possible explanation for the lack of aggressive overtones associated with allopreening in owls is that selec- tion has resulted in a display that is so ritualized that it no longer resembles the aggressive behavior from which it evolved. We do not believe allopreening is important as a means of sexual or individual recognition in owls, as was suggested by Fitzpatrick (1975) and Harrison (1965). Re-ceived 12 October 1977, accepted 2 March 1979.
Nursing Bedside Handover does not Influence Cardiovascular Surgery Patients' Participation in Nursing Care Decision-Making Process: Results Three Months after Implementation

Background: Nursing bedside handover has been reported as a me thod to foster patients’ participation in their care. However, to date, no study has assessed the e ffect of implementing nursing bedside handover on p atients’ perception of being involved in the decision-making process of their care and the side effects of nurs ing bedside handover. Aim: This study aims to evaluate the effect of nursing bedside handover on patients’ perception of shareddecision making in nursing care and the side effect s of nursing bedside handover. Method: Single-centre, non-experimental study. Results: There were no statistically significant difference s regarding patients’ perception of decision-making aspects. Before and after implementation of nursing bedside handover, most patients perceived the styl e of the decision-making process about their nursing care as paternalistic. No side effects of nursing bedside handover implementation could be detected. During implementation of nursing bedside handover nurses expressed d istress with and showed a defensive attitude toward nursing bedside handover. Conclusion: The implementation of nursing bedside handover has no influence on patients’ perception of shared-decision making in nursing care and side eff ects in a cardiovascular surgery patient population . Evaluation of nursing bedside handover should be co nducted over a period longer than three months.
Mandibuloacral dysplasia and LMNA A529V mutation in Turkish patients with severe skeletal changes and absent breast development

Mandibuloacral dysplasia (MAD) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by acroosteolysis (resorption of terminal phalanges), skin changes (hyperpigmentation), clavicular hypoplasia, craniofascial anomalies, a hook nose and prominent eyes, delayed closures of the cranial sutures, lipodystrophy, alopecia, and skeletal anomalies. MAD patients are classified according to lipodystrophy patterns: type A and type B. The vast majority of MAD cases are caused by LMNA gene mutations. MAD patients with type A lipodystrophy (MADA) have been reported to have LMNA R527H, A529V, or A529T mutations. In this report, we describe two MADA patients with progressive skeletal changes, absent breast development, and cataract in addition to the classical MAD phenotype. Both patients were found to be homozygous for the Ala529Val mutation of the LMNA gene. Our female patient is the oldest MADA patient (59 years old) who has ever been reported with the LMNA mutation and also the LMNA Ala529Val mutation. This study is the second report on MADA patients with a homozygous Ala529Val mutation.
MANAGEMENT OF WILD SLOTHS IN AN ANTHROPIZED AREA AT ATLANTIC FOREST

Bradypus variegatus Schinz, 1825, is one of the four extant three-toed sloths. We report data on the management of free-living sloths in the Atlantic Forest Fiocruz Campus, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. From 2013 to 2017, we have captured 23 sloths in hazard. The animals were microchipped and released in Pedra Branca State Park. Here we also report two recaptures, a mating observation and a case of electrocution, highlighting the importance of management for improving the knowledge in biology and conservation of this species.
A Full-Body Layered Deformable Model for Automatic Model-Based Gait Recognition

This paper proposes a full-body layered deformable model (LDM) inspired by manually labeled silhouettes for automatic model-based gait recognition from part-level gait dynamics in monocular video sequences. The LDM is defined for the fronto-parallel gait with 22 parameters describing the human body part shapes (widths and lengths) and dynamics (positions and orientations). There are four layers in the LDM and the limbs are deformable. Algorithms for LDM-based human body pose recovery are then developed to estimate the LDM parameters from both manually labeled and automatically extracted silhouettes, where the automatic silhouette extraction is through a coarse-to-fine localization and extraction procedure. The estimated LDM parameters are used for model-based gait recognition by employing the dynamic time warping for matching and adopting the combination scheme in AdaBoost.M2. While the existing model-based gait recognition approaches focus primarily on the lower limbs, the estimated LDM parameters enable us to study full-body model-based gait recognition by utilizing the dynamics of the upper limbs, the shoulders and the head as well. In the experiments, the LDM-based gait recognition is tested on gait sequences with differences in shoe-type, surface, carrying condition and time. The results demonstrate that the recognition performance benefits from not only the lower limb dynamics, but also the dynamics of the upper limbs, the shoulders and the head. In addition, the LDM can serve as an analysis tool for studying factors affecting the gait under various conditions.
Metabolic and Testicular Effects of the Long-Term Administration of Different High-Fat Diets in Adult Rats

ABSTRACT Purpose: To evaluate the effects of different high-fat diets on body mass, carbohydrate metabolism and testicular morphology in rats seven months old. Materials and Methods: Male Wistar rats were divided into four groups: SC (standard chow), HF-S (high fat diet rich in saturated fatty acids), HF-P (high fat diet rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids), HF-SP (high fat diet rich in saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids). The rats were fed for 16 weeks. Blood samples, testes and genital fat deposits were collected for analysis. Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA and Bonferroni post hoc test, considering p<0.05 as statistically significant. Results: Different high-fat diets promoted an increase in the body mass (p<0.0001). The genital fat deposits were higher in the high-fat groups (HF-S, HF-P, HF-SP) (p=0.0004). Regarding serum parameters, the animals in the HF-S and HF-SP groups presented hyperglycemia (p=0.0060), hyperinsulinemia (p=0.0030) and hypercholesterolemia (p=0.0021). All of the hyperlipidemic groups showed hyperleptinemia (p=0.0019). Concerning the testis, the HF-S group showed a reduction on the seminiferous epithelium height (p=0.0003) and cell proliferation (p=0.0450). Seminiferous tubule diameter was lower in the HF-SP than in the SC group (p=0.0010). Conclusions: The high fat diet administration, independent of the lipid quality, promotes overweight. Diet rich in saturated fatty acids (lard) alters the carbohydrate metabolism and the testicular morphology with reductions of seminiferous epithelium height, seminiferous tubule diameter and cell proliferation which could be related to a disturbance of spermatogenesis.
A Reconsideration of Consistent Estimation of a Dynamic Panel Data Model in the Random Effects (Error Components) Framework

It is widely believed that the inclusion of lagged dependent variables in a panel data model necessarily renders the Random Eects (RE) estimators, based on OLS applied to the quasi-dierenced variables, inconsistent. It is shown here that this belief is incorrect under the usual assumption made in this context | i.e., that the other regressors are strictly exogenous. This result follows from the fact that lagged values of the deviation of the quasi-dierenced dependent variable from its mean can be written as a weighted sum of the past values of the quasi-dierenced model error term, whereas these quasidierenced errors are serially uncorrelated by construction. The RE estimators are therefore consistent. Thus, since instrumental variables methods { e.g., Arellano and Bond (1991) { clearly provide less precise estimates, the RE estimates are preferable if a Hausman test is unable to reject the null hypothesis that the parameter estimates of interest from both methods are equal.
Repression of Escherichia coli purB is by a transcriptional roadblock mechanism

Escherichia coli purB is regulated by a repressor-operator interaction. The purB operator is 242 bp downstream from the transcription start site and overlaps condons 62 to 67 in the protein-coding sequence (B. He, J. M. Smith, and H. Zalkin, J. Bacteriol. 174:130-136, 1992). The mechanism by which the repressor-operator interaction functions to repress transcription was investigated by a combination of promoter replacement experiments and RNA analyses. By using a trp promoter replacement that deleted 5' flanking DNA to position -986, purB expression was increased sevenfold, yet normal two- to threefold regulation was maintained. This indicates that repressor-operator control is independent of the purB promoter and other 5' flanking sequences. Transcriptional regulation was likewise independent of coupled translation. An approximately 260-nucleotide truncated in vivo purB mRNA was identified which was dependent upon repressor-operator interaction. Thus, binding of purine repressor to the purB operator inhibits transcription elongation by a roadblock mechanism. The roadblock was not influenced by a sevenfold increase in promoter strength or by an operator mutation resulting in a 2.5-fold increase in repressor-operator affinity.