Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Abacus in the Brain: A Longitudinal Functional MRI Study of a Skilled Abacus User with a Right Hemispheric Lesion

The abacus, a traditional physical calculation device, is still widely used in Asian countries. Previous behavioral work has shown that skilled abacus users perform rapid and precise mental arithmetic by manipulating a mental representation of an abacus, which is based on visual imagery. However, its neurophysiological basis remains unclear. Here, we report the case of a patient who was a good abacus user, but transiently lost her “mental abacus” and superior arithmetic performance after a stroke owing to a right hemispheric lesion including the dorsal premotor cortex (PMd) and inferior parietal lobule (IPL). Functional magnetic resonance imaging experiments were conducted 6 and 13 months after her stroke. In the mental calculation task, her brain activity was shifted from the language-related areas, including Broca’s area and the left dorsolateral prefrontal and IPLs, to the visuospatial-related brain areas including the left superior parietal lobule (SPL), according to the recovery of her arithmetic abilities. In the digit memory task, activities in the bilateral SPL, and right visual association cortex were also observed after recovery. The shift of brain activities was consistent with her subjective report that she was able to shift the calculation strategy from linguistic to visuospatial as her mental abacus became stable again. In a behavioral experiment using an interference paradigm, a visual presentation of an abacus picture, but not a human face picture, interfered with the performance of her digit memory, confirming her use of the mental abacus after recovery. This is the first case report on the impairment of the mental abacus by a brain lesion and on recovery-related brain activity. We named this rare case “abacus-based acalculia. ” Together with previous neuroimaging studies, the present result suggests an important role for the PMd and parietal cortex in the superior arithmetic ability of abacus users.
Pressure and Flow Generated by the Left Ventricle against Different Impedances

To study selective changes in capacitive and resistive load under constant left atrial filling pressure, isolated cat hearts were loaded with a hydraulic model simulating the input impedance of the systemic arteries. The model was constructed so that resistive (peripheral resistance) and capacitive (total arterial compliance) characteristics could be changed independently. Aortic and left ventricular pressure and aortic flow, as generated by the left ventricle against the different impedances, were measured. An increase in resistance resulted in an increase in systolic, diastolic, and mean aortic pressure. A decrease in capacitance caused a small increase in systolic pressure and a decrease in diastolic and mean aortic pressure. Mean left ventricular pressure increased when resistance increased or capacitance decreased. Both peak flow and mean flow decreased when resistance increased or capacitance decreased. We attempted to explain these observations by the concept of source impedance. This concept had been, until now, incorrectly approached, because the nonlinearity arising from the aortic valves had been neglected. The correct computations met with difficulties, but it was shown that the isolated heart, with constant atrial filling pressure, behaved as neither a flow source nor a pressure source.
Ice nucleation by surrogates of Martian mineral dust: What can we learn about Mars without leaving Earth?

Water and carbon dioxide ice clouds have been observed in the Martian atmosphere where they are dynamic parts of that planet's water and carbon cycles. Many Martian atmospheric models struggle to correctly predict clouds and, with insufficient data, some use untested simplifications that cloud formation occurs exactly at the saturation point of the condensed phase or at the same conditions as terrestrial cirrus clouds. To address the lack of data, we have utilized an 84 m3 cloud chamber built for studies of high altitude cirrus and polar stratospheric ice clouds in the Earth's atmosphere and adapted to Martian conditions. Using this chamber, we have been able to produce water ice clouds from aerosol in an inert and low pressure atmosphere mimicking that of Mars. At temperatures between 189 and 215 K, we investigated cloud formation by mineral dust particulates of a similar composition and size to those found on Mars. We show that these surrogate materials nucleate effectively at the higher temperatures, with minor temperature dependence at saturations ratios with respect to the ice phase of ~1.1, similar to what has been found for terrestrial cirrus. At the lower end of the temperature range, this saturation rises to ~1.9, a result consistent with previous studies.
Explosions of xenon clusters in ultraintense femtosecond x-ray pulses from the LCLS free electron laser.

Explosions of large Xe clusters ( ~ 11,000) irradiated by femtosecond pulses of 850 eV x-ray photons focused to an intensity of up to 10(17) W/cm(2) from the Linac Coherent Light Source were investigated experimentally. Measurements of ion charge-state distributions and energy spectra exhibit strong evidence for the formation of a Xe nanoplasma in the intense x-ray pulse. This x-ray produced Xe nanoplasma is accompanied by a three-body recombination and hydrodynamic expansion. These experimental results appear to be consistent with a model in which a spherically exploding nanoplasma is formed inside the Xe cluster and where the plasma temperature is determined by photoionization heating.
THE EFFECT OF MODE OF LOADING ON PARTICLE-SCALE DAMAGE

The effect of different modes of loading on particle characteristics of a silica sand is investigated. The particle characteristics were examined for samples taken to pre- and post- yield states in compression as well as after shearing to high strains. The change to particle characteristics such as surface roughness, shape and size due to loading were examined. The results show that although catastrophic particle breakage starts with the yielding of the material, changes to the particle surfaces at contacts, through minor damage to particle asperities by yielding or chipping, can impose some local changes even before reaching the yield stress. The study also confirmed the importance of the sample initial grading on defining the mode of particle interaction during compression.
The effect of joint surface contours and glass fiber reinforcement on the transverse strength of repaired acrylic resin: An in vitro study

Background: Denture fracture is an unresolved problem in complete denture prosthodontics. However, the repaired denture often experiences a refracture at the repaired site due to poor transverse strength. Hence, this study was conducted to evaluate the effect of joint surface contours and glass fiber reinforcement on the transverse strength of repaired acrylic resins. Materials and Methods: A total of 135 specimens of heat polymerized polymethyl methacrylate resin of dimensions 64 × 10 × 2.5 mm were fabricated. Fifteen intact specimens served as the control and 120 test specimens were divided into four groups (30 specimens each), depending upon the joint surface contour (butt, bevel, rabbet and round), with two subgroups based on type of the repair. Half of the specimens were repaired with plain repair resin and the other half with glass fibers reinforced repair resin. Transverse strength of the specimens was determined using three-point bending test. The results were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and Tukey post-hoc test (α= 0.05). Results: Transverse strength values for all repaired groups were significantly lower than those for the control group (P < 0.001) (88.77 MPa), with exception of round surface design repaired with glass fiber reinforced repair resin (89.92 MPa) which was significantly superior to the other joint surface contours (P < 0.001). Glass fiber reinforced resin significantly improved the repaired denture base resins as compared to the plain repair resin (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Specimens repaired with glass fiber reinforced resin and round surface design exhibited highest transverse strength; hence, it can be advocated for repair of denture base resins.
High transconductance of 2.25 S/mm observed at 16 K for 195-nm-gate In/sub 0.75/Ga/sub 0.25/As/In/sub 0.52/Al/sub 0.48/As HEMT fabricated on [411]A-oriented InP substrate

We achieved a maximum transconductance (g/sub m/) of 2.25 S/mm at 16 K for a 195-nm-gate In/sub 0.75/Ga/sub 0.25/As/In/sub 0.52/Al/sub 0.48/As pseudomorphic high-electron mobility transistor (PHEMT) fabricated on a [411]A-oriented InP substrate, which is the highest value ever reported for HEMTs. This PHEMT also showed a much enhanced cutoff frequency (f/sub T/) of 310 GHz at 16 K, compared with its room temperature value (245 GHz). The significantly enhanced g/sub m/ and f/sub T/ at 16 K can be attributed to the higher saturation velocity in the region "under the gate," which is caused not only by suppressing the phonon scattering, but also by suppressing the interface roughness scattering due to the "(411)A super-flat InGaAs/InAlAs interfaces" (effectively atomically flat heterointerfaces over a wafer-size area).
The Effect of Linolenic Acid on Bovine Oocyte Maturation and Development1

Dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids can influence reproductive performance. In dairy cattle, some high-fat diets resulted in higher blastocyst rates and improved embryo quality. These effects may partly be mediated by a direct action of fatty acids on oocyte development. The present study investigated the effect of linolenic acid (ALA; 18:3 n-3) supplementation on bovine oocyte maturation and early embryo development in vitro. Treatment of cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) with 50 μM ALA significantly increased the percentage of oocytes at the metaphase II (MII) stage compared with untreated controls (95% ± 2% vs. 84% ± 2%, respectively). Higher doses of ALA were detrimental. Treatment of COCs with 50 μM ALA compared with controls also resulted in a significantly higher percentage of cleaved embryos (77% ± 9% vs. 69% ± 9%, respectively) and blastocyst rate (36% ± 4% vs. 23% ± 5%, respectively) and better-quality embryos. Furthermore, COCs treated with ALA had significant increases compared with controls in: 1) prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) concentration (233% ± 41%) in the medium, 2) intracellular cAMP at 3 h of maturation, and 3) phosphorylation of the mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) during the first 6 h of maturation. Moreover, ALA overcame the suppressive effects of the prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 inhibitor (NS-398) on oocyte maturation and partially improved the maturation rate in the presence of the MAPK kinase inhibitor (U-0126). Linolenic acid could not, however, recover maturation in the presence of both inhibitors. In conclusion, treatment of bovine COCs with ALA during oocyte maturation affects the molecular mechanisms controlling oocyte nuclear maturation, leading to an increased number of MII-stage oocytes and improved subsequent early embryo development. This effect is mediated both directly through MAPK pathway and indirectly through PGE2 synthesis.
Heuristic algorithms for solving the resource-constrained project scheduling problem: Classification and computational analysis

The resource constrained project scheduling problem (RCPSP) can be given as follows. A single project consists of a set J = {0, 1, . , n, n+1} of activities which have to be processed. Fictitious activities 0 and n+1 correspond to the “project start” and to the “project end”, respectively. The activities are interrelated by two kinds of constraints. First, precedence constraints force activity j not to be started before all its immediate predecessor activities comprised in the set Pj have been finished. Second, performing the activities requires resources with limited capacities. We have K resource types, given by the set K = {1, . ,K}. While being processed, activity j requires rj,k units of resource type k ∈ K during every period of its non–preemptable duration pj . Resource type k has a limited capacity of Rk at any point in time. The parameters pj , rj,k, and Rk are assumed to be deterministic; for the project start and end activities we have pj = 0 and rj,k = 0 for all k ∈ K. The objective of the RCPSP is to find precedence and resource feasible completion times for all activities such that the makespan of the project is minimized. Figure 1 gives an example of a project comprising n = 6 activities which have to be scheduled subject to K = 1 renewable resource type with a capacity of 4 units. A feasible schedule with an optimal makespan of 13 periods is represented in Figure 2. Let Fj denote the finish time of activity j. A schedule S is given by a vector of finish times (F1, F2, . . . , Fn). Let A(t) = {j ∈ J | Fj − pj ≤ t < Fj} be the set of activities which are being processed (active) at time instant t. We now can provide the conceptual decision model (1) – (4) (cf. Christofides et al. 1987).
RIGOROUS PROOF OF A LIQUID-VAPOR PHASE TRANSITION IN A CONTINUUM PARTICLE SYSTEM

We consider particles in ${R}^{d},d\ensuremath{\ge}2$, interacting via attractive pair and repulsive four-body potentials of the Kac type. Perturbing about mean field theory, valid when the interaction range becomes infinite, we prove rigorously the existence of a liquid-gas phase transition when the interaction range is finite but long compared to the interparticle spacing.
Proper surgical technique approved for early laparoscopic cholecystectomy for non-critically ill elderly patients with acute cholecystitis.

BACKGROUND/AIMS Either percutaneous cholecystostomy or cholecystectomy are definitive recommendations regarding treatment of elderly or critically ill patients with acute cholecystitis (AC). In this study, we investigated whether early laparoscopic cholecystectomy (ELC) is appropriate for non-critically ill elderly patients with AC with modified surgical technique. METHODOLOGY A total of 230 non-critically ill elderly patients, who had undergone laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) with “suction-curettage” dissection or “open-gallbladder” technique, were retrospectively reviewed, and were divided into three groups based on the length of time from onset of symptoms to surgical intervention (from ELC to delayed intervention). Among the three groups, the operative difficulty, morbidity, mortality, conversion rate, postoperative hospitalization and total hospital stay were compared. RESULTS There were no significant differences among the three groups with respect to clinical characteristics, conversion rate, the incidences of major postoperative complications and mortality rate. However, the mean operative time and in-hospital stay were significantly shorter, and the estimated blood loss was significantly less in the ELC group than in the delay group (p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS With “suction-curettage” dissection or “open-gallbladder” technique, LC is a safe and effective treatment for AC in elderly patients at any time. There is no advantage to postponing an early operation in elderly patients with AC.
Vitamin D receptor signaling contributes to susceptibility to infection with Leishmania major

We have previously reported that 1α,25‐dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1α,25(OH)2D3) can selectively suppress key functions of interferon‐gamma (IFN‐γ) activated macrophages. To further explore this mechanism for its relevance in vivo, we investigated an infection model that crucially depends on the function of IFN‐γ activated macrophages, the infection with the intracellular protozoan Leishmania mαjor. 1α,25(OH)2D3 treatment of L. major infected macrophages demonstrated a vitamin D receptor (Vdr) dependent inhibition of macrophage killing activity. Further analysis showed that this was a result of decreased production of nitric oxide by 1α,25(OH)2D3‐treated macrophages due to Vdr‐dependent up‐regulation of arginase 1 ex‐pression, which overrides NO production by Nos2. When analyzing the course of infection in vivo,we found that Vdr‐knockout (Vdr‐KO) mice were more resistant to L. major infection than their wild‐type littermates. This result is in agreement with an inhibitory influence of 1α,25(OH)2D3 on the macrophage mediated host defense. Further investigation showed that Vdr‐KO mice developed an unaltered T helper cell type 1 (Th1) response on infection as indicated by normal production of IFN‐γ by CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. Therefore, we propose that the absence of 1α,25(OH)2D3‐mediated inhibition of macrophage microbicidal activity in Vdr‐KO mice results in increased resistance to Leishmania infection.
The association between pulse wave velocity and metabolic syndrome in Korean

The objective of this study was to compare aortic (the common carotid to femoral artery) PWV, arm (the brachial to radial artery) PWV, and leg (the femoral to dorsalis pedis artery) PWV in people with or without component of the metabolic syndrome. We analyzed 3345 Korean subjects (1907 men, age 44.6 ± 8.5, 1438 women, age 43.3 ± 8.9). Unpaired t-test was used to compare mean values of various metabolic parameters between subjects with and without Metabolic Syndrome (MetS), and one-way analysis of variance was used to compare these variables among groups satisfying different numbers of the components of MetS. In addition, we compared of Pearson correlation coefficient between age and PWV (arotic PWV, arm PWV and leg PWV) levels of according to whether the subject had components of the metabolic syndrome or not. The present study shows that leg PWV level was found to be significantly associated with the features of the metabolic syndrome in Korean men and women. And, we confirmed that blood pressure is significantly associated with the PWV values at three locations. And, this study shows that Pearson correlation coefficient of arotic PWV and leg PWV were about 10% higher than without diabetes according to age. Further studies need to be performed to evaluate the optimal cut-off value of PWV for diabetes, hypertension, and MetS in Korean. Implications for Rehabilitation Pulse wave velocity (PWV) reflects arterial stiffness, and it is a marker of both the severity of vascular damage and the prognosis of cardiovascular diseases in selected subjects, such as patients with hypertension or with abnormal glucose metabolism. Metabolic syndrome might be involved in the pathogenesis of PWV. Leg (the femoral to dorsalis pedis artery) PWV level was found to be significantly associated with the features of the metabolic syndrome in Korean.
The prevalence and correlates of fear of falling in elderly persons living in the community.

OBJECTIVES Fear of falling has been recognized as a potentially debilitating consequence of falling in elderly persons. However, the prevalence and the correlates of this fear are unknown. METHODS Prevalence of fear of falling was calculated from the 1-year follow-up of an age- and gender-stratified random sample of community-dwelling elderly persons. Cross-sectional associations of fear of falling with quality of life, frailty, and falling were assessed. RESULTS The prevalence of fear increased with age and was greater in women. After adjustment for age and gender, being moderately fearful of falling was associated with decreased satisfaction with life, increased frailty and depressed mood, and recent experience with falls. Being very fearful of falling was associated with all of the above plus decreased mobility and social activities. CONCLUSIONS Fear of falling is common in elderly persons and is associated with decreased quality of life, increased frailty, and recent experience with falls.
GIS‐based regional landslide susceptibility mapping: a case study in southern California

Landslides threaten lives and property throughout the United States, causing in excess of $2 billion in damages and 25–50 deaths annually. In regions subjected to urban expansion caused by population growth and/or increased storm intensities caused by changing climate patterns, the economic and society costs of landslides will continue to rise. Using a geographic information system (GIS), this paper develops and implements a multivariate statistical approach for mapping landslide susceptibility. The presented susceptibility maps are intended to help in the design of hazard mitigation and land development policies at regional scales. The paper presents (a) a GIS‐based multivariate statistical approach for mapping landslide susceptibility, (b) several dimensionless landslide susceptibility indexes developed to quantify and weight the influence of individual categories for given potential risk factors on landslides and (c) a case study in southern California, which uses 11 111 seismic landslide scars collected from previous efforts and 5389 landslide scars newly digitized from local geologic maps. In the case study, seven potential risk factors were selected to map landslide susceptibility. Ground slope and event precipitation were the most important factors, followed by land cover, surface curvature, proximity to fault, elevation and proximity to coastline. The developed landslide susceptibility maps show that areas classified as having high or very high susceptibilities contained 71% of the digitized landslide scars and 90% of the seismic landslide scars while only occupying 26% of the total study area. These areas mostly have ground slopes higher than 46% and 2‐year, 6‐hour precipitation greater than 51 mm. Only 12% of digitized landslides and less than 1% of recorded seismic landslides were located in areas classified as low or very low susceptibility, while occupying 42% of the total study region. These areas mostly have slopes less than 27% and 2‐year, 6‐hour precipitation less than 41 mm. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
High Resolution Spatio-Temporal EEG-MEG Analysis of Rolandic Spikes

Using high resolution EEG and MEG and a realistic volume conductor model, the authors investigated spatio-temporal aspects of the sources of spikes in children with benign rolandic epilepsy. A 64-channel EEG and simultaneous 151-channel MEG of interictal spike activity in five children all having general and/or focal seizures were recorded. A spatio-temporal multiple signal classification (MUSIC) analysis was performed on the spike data. Sources having a complex spatio-temporal configuration as well as single stationary sources were found. Results for the EEG and MEG were different. In this group of five patients, both high resolution EEG and MEG revealed that in some cases sources well separated in space and time exist, whereas in other cases only single source activity can be resolved. For multiple sources, differences for EEG and MEG in timing and localization of activity suggest that sources are spatio-temporally distributed. Sources can propagate from initial activity in the finger/hand area around the central sulcus down to the mouth/tongue area.