Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sodium Butyrate Protects against Severe Burn-Induced Remote Acute Lung Injury in Rats

High-mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1), a ubiquitous nuclear protein, drives proinflammatory responses when released extracellularly. It plays a key role as a distal mediator in the development of acute lung injury (ALI). Sodium butyrate, an inhibitor of histone deacetylase, has been demonstrated to inhibit HMGB1 expression. This study investigates the effect of sodium butyrate on burn-induced lung injury. Sprague–Dawley rats were divided into three groups: 1) sham group, sham burn treatment; 2) burn group, third-degree burns over 30% total body surface area (TBSA) with lactated Ringer’s solution for resuscitation; 3) burn plus sodium butyrate group, third-degree burns over 30% TBSA with lactated Ringer’s solution containing sodium butyrate for resuscitation. The burned animals were sacrificed at 12, 24, and 48 h after burn injury. Lung injury was assessed in terms of histologic changes and wet weight to dry weight (W/D) ratio. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-8 protein concentrations in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and serum were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and HMGB1 expression in the lung was determined by Western blot analysis. Pulmonary myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity and malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration were measured to reflect neutrophil infiltration and oxidative stress in the lung, respectively. As a result, sodium butyrate significantly inhibited the HMGB1 expressions in the lungs, reduced the lung W/D ratio, and improved the pulmonary histologic changes induced by burn trauma. Furthermore, sodium butyrate administration decreased the TNF-α and IL-8 concentrations in BALF and serum, suppressed MPO activity, and reduced the MDA content in the lungs after severe burn. These results suggest that sodium butyrate attenuates inflammatory responses, neutrophil infiltration, and oxidative stress in the lungs, and protects against remote ALI induced by severe burn, which is associated with inhibiting HMGB1 expression.
Assessment of the current status of the California spotted owl, with recommendations for management

Release of a proposed conservation strategy for the northern spotted owl in April of 1990 (Thomas et al. 1990) raised concern in Region 5 (R5) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (FS) about the adequacy of their regional guides for managing the California spotted owl (Barker and Jay pers. comm.). This concern was amplified by a decision formally announced on 26 June 1990 by the U. S. Department of Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service (1990) to confer "threatened" status on the northern spotted owl throughout its range. Negotiations began shortly thereafter to undertake an assessment of the current status of the California subspecies. This process led to the formation of the California Spotted Owl Assessment Team Steering Committee, with members representing several State of California (Resources Agency, Board of Forestry, Department of Fish and Game, and Department of Forestry and Fire Protection) and Federal entities (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service; and U.S. Department of Interior-Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Park Service). Observers represented the California Farm Bureau, California State Association of Counties, California Forestry Association, National Audubon Society, Nature Conservancy, private timber companies, Sacramento Chamber of Commerce, and the Wilderness Society. The Steering Committee held its first meeting on 11 May 1991, in Sacramento, CA, and established two teams to implement the assessment--a Technical Assessment Team to be designated by the FS and a Policy-Implementation Team to be designated by State entities. The charter for the Technical Assessment Team specified submission to the Steering Committee of a report on the current status of the California spotted owl (the "CASPO Report"), following "accepted scientific standards and practices. " The report would: 1. Present, analyze, and interpret relevant information currently available on the biology of the owl-its distribution, abundance, density, movements, breeding biology, diet, demography, habitat associations, and so on. 2. To the extent possible, characterize the attributes of various habitats used for foraging, roosting, and nesting by the owl throughout its range in California. 3. Evaluate current land-management practices throughout the range of the owl, recognizing that more detailed informa tion may be available for some ownerships than for others. 4. Evaluate a range of options to achieve an amount and configuration of suitable habitat to provide for the long-term maintenance of the owl throughout its range.
MR Imaging of Double-Contrast Enhanced Porcine Myocardial Infarction

MR imaging was performed to investigate whether Gd-DTPA-BMA-induced contrast enhancement of myocardial infarction is counteracted by Dy-DTPA-BMA. Myocardial infarction was induced in 5 pigs. Microdialysate probes were inserted in ischemic and nonischemic myocardium. Gd-DTPA-BMA (0.3 mmol/kg b.w.) and Dy-DTPA-BMA (1.0 mmol/kg b.w.) were administered i.v. 4 hours post occlusion. The microdialysate was collected every 10 min and measured for Gd and Dy using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. The pigs were sacrificed 2 hours after administration of contrast media. The concentration of both contrast agents was 3 times higher in infarcted myocardium than in nonischemic myocardium. The infarctions displayed high signal intensity in spin-echo sequences ex vivo. This lack of detectable susceptibility effects from Dy may be caused by loss of cell membrane integrity in infarcted tissue as shown by our microdialysate and biopsy data.
Identification of nocardiae and streptomycetes of medical importance

During a taxonomic investigation of Nocardia spp. and Streptomyces spp. , we received 658 isolates from laboratories of both human and veterinary medicine. Our procedure leading to the identification of 92% of these isolates, the species that they represented, and a characteristic pattern of properties of the strains of these species are presented. A key devised for the tentative identification of species of nocardiae and streptomycetes that are believed to be of medical importance is included to assist clinical microbiologists in identifying their strains.
Foreground contamination of the WMAP CMB maps from the perspective of the matched circle test

Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe has provided cosmic microwave background (CMB) maps of the full sky. The raw data are subject to foreground contamination, in particular near to the Galactic plane. Foreground-cleaned maps have been derived, e.g. the internal linear combination map of Bennett et al., and the reduced foreground TOH map of Tegmark et al. Using S statistics, we examine whether residual foreground contamination is left over in the foreground-cleaned maps. In particular, we specify which parts of the foreground-cleaned maps are sufficiently accurate for the circle-in-the-sky signature. We generalize the S statistic, called D statistic, such that the circle test can deal with CMB maps in which the contaminated regions of the sky are excluded with masks.
Speed-Consumption Tradeoff for Electric Vehicle Route Planning

We study the problem of computing routes for electric vehicles (EVs) in road networks. Since their battery capacity is limited, and consumed energy per distance increases with velocity, driving the fastest route is often not desirable and may even be infeasible. On the other hand, the energy-optimal route may be too conservative in that it contains unnecessary detours or simply takes too long. In this work, we propose to use multicriteria optimization to obtain Pareto sets of routes that trade energy consumption for speed. In particular, we exploit the fact that the same road segment can be driven at dierent speeds within reasonable intervals. As a result, we are able to provide routes with low energy consumption that still follow major roads, such as freeways. Unfortunately, the size of the resulting Pareto sets can be too large to be practical. We therefore also propose several nontrivial techniques that can be applied on-line at query time in order to speed up computation and filter insignificant solutions from the Pareto sets. Our extensive experimental study, which uses a real-world energy consumption model, reveals that we are able to compute diverse sets of alternative routes on continental networks that closely resemble the exact Pareto set in just under a second—several orders of magnitude faster than the exhaustive algorithm. 1998 ACM Subject Classification G.2. 2 Graph Theory, G.2. 3 Applications
Role of social interaction on quality of life

Introduction: Society plays an important role in determining quality of life of human beings particularly in case of loneliness, physical inability and loss of income. In this background there is a great role of social interaction in improving quality of life of geriatric population. Methodology: This community-based interventional longitudinal study was done among the study population using Quality of Life Questionnaire developed by World Health Organization (WHOQOL-BREF) by conducting interviews by house to house visit. The selected study subjects according to gender and place of residence were told to conduct regular social interaction session as per their convenient time and place. After 8 weeks of social interaction sessions again the participants were asked about their quality of life by conducting interviews using WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire. Results: It was found that mean transformed scores of quality of life improved significantly in all domains after social interaction as compared to score at the beginning of the study. Further, the difference of score (before and after social interaction) was significantly higher among those who attended social interaction session for more number of days. Conclusion: Social interaction has a significant role in improving the quality of life of elderly people.
Charter Schools, Enrollment Size, and Educational Accountability: A Preliminary Arizona Analysis

ABSTRACT Many policy analysts favor holding deficient public schools accountable: Either they should improve or else close. Hypotheses are developed which explore how school type (district, charter) and enrollment size influence these two accountability outcomes for deficient Arizona elementary campuses operating under two educational oversight regimes: No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Arizona Leading Education through the Accountability and Results Notification System (AZLearns), a state system. Arizona data for 2003–2009 are then used to preliminarily test these hypotheses. Differing student demographics hamper a clear comparison when determining which school type best promotes school improvement, but charters appear to have a clear advantage with respect to closing.
Anterior cingulate error‐related activity is modulated by predicted reward

Learning abilities depend on detection and exploitation of errors. In primates, this function involves the anterior cingulate cortex. However, whether anterior cingulate error‐related activity indicates occurrence of inappropriate responses or results from other computations is debated. Here we have tested whether reward‐related parameters modulate error‐related activity of anterior cingulate neurons. Recordings in monkeys performing stimulus–reward associations and preliminary data obtained with a problem‐solving task revealed major properties of error‐related unit activity: (i) their amplitude varies with the amount of predicted reward or the proximity to reward delivery; (ii) they appear both after execution and performance errors; (iii) they do not indicate which error occurred or which correction to make; and (iv), importantly, the activity of these neurons also increases following an external signal indicating the necessity to shift response. Hence, we conclude that anterior cingulate ‘error’ activity might represent a negative deviation from a predicted goal, and does not only reflect error detection but signals events interrupting potentially rewarded actions.
The PEX7-Mediated Peroxisomal Import System Is Required for Fungal Development and Pathogenicity in Magnaporthe oryzae

In eukaryotes, microbodies called peroxisomes play important roles in cellular activities during the life cycle. Previous studies indicate that peroxisomal functions are important for plant infection in many phytopathogenic fungi, but detailed relationships between fungal pathogenicity and peroxisomal function still remain unclear. Here we report the importance of peroxisomal protein import through PTS2 (Peroxisomal Targeting Signal 2) in fungal development and pathogenicity of Magnaporthe oryzae. Using an Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation library, a pathogenicity-defective mutant was isolated from M. oryzae and identified as a T-DNA insert in the PTS2 receptor gene, MoPEX7. Gene disruption of MoPEX7 abolished peroxisomal localization of a thiolase (MoTHL1) containing PTS2, supporting its role in the peroxisomal protein import machinery. ΔMopex7 showed significantly reduced mycelial growth on media containing short-chain fatty acids as a sole carbon source. ΔMopex7 produced fewer conidiophores and conidia, but conidial germination was normal. Conidia of ΔMopex7 were able to develop appressoria, but failed to cause disease in plant cells, except after wound inoculation. Appressoria formed by ΔMopex7 showed a defect in turgor generation due to a delay in lipid degradation and increased cell wall porosity during maturation. Taken together, our results suggest that the MoPEX7-mediated peroxisomal matrix protein import system is required for fungal development and pathogenicity M. oryzae.
Impaired skeletal muscle and skin microcirculatory function in human obesity

Background Obesity is associated with exaggerated blood pressure and systemic vascular resistance responses to mental stress. Objective To test the hypothesis that skin and muscle microvascular dilatation in response to mental stress is blunted in obesity. Design and methods Blood pressure, heart rate and forearm and skin blood flow responses to mental stress were compared in 23 obese and 23 age- and sex-matched lean normotensive individuals. Results Blood pressure was almost identical in both obese (mean 94 ± 1 mmHg) and lean (93 ± 2 mmHg) individuals. The increase in blood pressure during mental stress was similar in obese and lean individuals (2.0 ± 0.9% compared with 3.1 ± 4.0%;P = 0.8). Forearm vascular resistance decreased during mental stress in both groups, but this decrease was significantly blunted in obese individuals compared with controls (decreases of 14 ± 4% and 26 ± 3%;P < 0.01). Skin microcirculatory dilatation was also significantly blunted in obese individuals compared with controls (decreases of 5 ± 2 and 17 ± 4%;P = 0.02). Conclusions Normotensive obese individuals exhibit markedly impaired muscle and skin microcirculatory responses to mental stress. The increased propensity of obese individuals to develop hypertension under conditions of chronic psychosocial stress may underlie obesity-related hypertension and cardiovascular disease.
On the Optimal Compressions in the Compress-and-Forward Relay Schemes

In the classical compress-and-forward relay scheme developed by Cover and El Gamal, the decoding process operates in a successive way: the destination first decodes the compression of the relay's observation and then decodes the original message of the source. Recently, several modified compress-and-forward relay schemes were proposed, where the destination jointly decodes the compression and the message, instead of successively. Such a modification on the decoding process was motivated by realizing that it is generally easier to decode the compression jointly with the original message, and more importantly, the original message can be decoded even without completely decoding the compression. Thus, joint decoding provides more freedom in choosing the compression at the relay. However, the question remains in these modified compress-and-forward relay schemes-whether this freedom of selecting the compression necessarily improves the achievable rate of the original message. It has been shown by El Gamal and Kim in 2010 that the answer is negative in the single-relay case. In this paper, it is further demonstrated that in the case of multiple relays, there is no improvement on the achievable rate by joint decoding either. More interestingly, it is discovered that any compressions not supporting successive decoding will actually lead to strictly lower achievable rates for the original message. Therefore, to maximize the achievable rate for the original message, the compressions should always be chosen to support successive decoding. Furthermore, it is shown that any compressions not completely decodable even with joint decoding will not provide any contribution to the decoding of the original message. The above phenomenon is also shown to exist under the repetitive encoding framework recently proposed by Lim , which improved the achievable rate in the case of multiple relays. Here, another interesting discovery is that the improvement is not a result of repetitive encoding, but the benefit of delayed decoding after all the blocks have been finished. The same rate is shown to be achievable with the simpler classical encoding process of Cover and El Gamal with a block-by-block backward decoding process.
Image Reconstruction Using Interval Simulated Annealing in Electrical Impedance Tomography

Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is an imaging technique that attempts to reconstruct the impedance distribution inside an object from the impedance between electrodes placed on the object surface. The EIT reconstruction problem can be approached as a nonlinear nonconvex optimization problem in which one tries to maximize the matching between a simulated impedance problem and the observed data. This nonlinear optimization problem is often ill-posed, and not very suited to methods that evaluate derivatives of the objective function. It may be approached by simulated annealing (SA), but at a large computational cost due to the expensive evaluation process of the objective function, which involves a full simulation of the impedance problem at each iteration. A variation of SA is proposed in which the objective function is evaluated only partially, while ensuring boundaries on the behavior of the modified algorithm.
Dynamic Obstacle Avoidance for an Omnidirectional Mobile Robot

We have established a novel method of obstacle-avoidance motion planning for mobile robots in dynamic environments, wherein the obstacles are moving with general velocities and accelerations, and their motion profiles are not preknown. A hybrid system is presented in which a global deliberate approach is applied to determine the motion in the desired path line (DPL), and a local reactive approach is used for moving obstacle avoidance. A machine vision system is required to sense obstacle motion. Through theoretical analysis, simulation, and experimental validation applied to the Ohio University RoboCup robot, we show the method is effective to avoid collisions with moving obstacles in a dynamic environment.
Context effects in syntactic ambiguity resolution: discourse and semantic influences in parsing reduced relative clauses.

This article examines how certain types of semantic and discourse context affect the processing of relative clauses which are temporarily ambiguous between a relative clause and a main clause (e.g., "The actress selected by the director ."). We review recent results investigating local semantic context and temporal context, and we present some new data investigating referential contexts. The set of studies demonstrate that, contrary to many recent claims in the literature, all of these types of context can have early effects on syntactic, ambiguity resolution during on-line reading comprehension. These results are discussed within a "constraint-based" framework for ambiguity resolution in which effects of context are determined by the strength and relevance of the contextual constraint and by the availability of the syntactic alternatives.
TV programs that denounce unfair advantage impact women’s sensitivity to defection in the public goods game

We explore the neural underpinnings of gender differences in cooperation and their modulation by intensive media watching. We compared cooperative decisions and electroencephalograph data between genders from who participated in repeated rounds of the public goods game (PGG) and investigated within groups changes that occurred after watching a TV program known as “investigative reporting” that denounces unfair advantages taken by free-riders against the public. Women tended to be more cooperative than men during early rounds of PGG, mostly because they react differently to the defection of others; women also had greater β and γ band activity in regions estimated to be associated with social cognition. These gender differences disappeared after participants watched the TV programs: women were more likely to choose free-riding in response to the defection of others that elicits significant increases in γ band activities that were estimated to be right insula. Greater activity in social cognition leads women to make decisions considering the motives of others, while men tend to make a decision by complying with the social norm. Watching the investigative TV reports produced a greater negative emotion to the defection and led women, in a similar manner as men, to opt for a “tit-for-tat” strategy.
Treatment of Vasculogenic Erectile Dysfunction with Piezowave2 Device. Application of Low Intensity Shockwaves Using Novel Linear Shockwave Tissue Coverage (LSTC-ED®) Technique. A Prospective, Multicentric, Placebo-Controlled Study

Low intensity shockwave (LiSW) treatment is known to improve revascularization. The method has been evaluated and is used to treat vasculogenic erectile dysfunction (ED). The present study aimed to demonstrate the efficacy of a linear focused piezoelectric shockwave device (Richard Wolf/ELvationPiezowave2) to treat patients with vasculogenic ED using a novel linear shockwave tissue coverage LSTC-ED® technique. A total of 75 patients were treated using the Piezowave2 device and the LSTC-ED® technique. Patients’ erectile function was evaluated using the modified IIEF-5 (International Index of Erectile Function) scale at the beginning of treatment and at 1 month post treatment; patients were additionally questioned using our own Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire (TSQ). The study also included a group of 50 patients treated by placebo; the outcomes of both groups were compared. The average IIEF-5 score of patients in the treatment group increased from 14.4 at baseline to 18.6 at 1 month post treatment. According to the IIEF-5 scale, treatment was successful in 81.33% of patients (61/75). According to the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire (answers 1 to 3 of the TSQ), treatment was successful in 77.3% of patients (58/75). In the placebo group of 50 patients only 5 patients showed an improvement based on IIEF score, and 8 reported an improvement based on their answers to the TSQ. No significant adverse effects were observed during treatment or in the follow-up period. The Piezowave2 device and the LSTC-ED® technique proved to be suitable and effective to treat erectile dysfunction.