Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Role of Microglia Adenosine A2A Receptors in Retinal and Brain Neurodegenerative Diseases

Neuroinflammation mediated by microglial cells in the brain has been commonly associated with neurodegenerative diseases. Whether this microglia-mediated neuroinflammation is cause or consequence of neurodegeneration is still a matter of controversy. However, it is unequivocal that chronic neuroinflammation plays a role in disease progression and halting that process represents a potential therapeutic strategy. The neuromodulator adenosine emerges as a promising targeting candidate based on its ability to regulate microglial proliferation, chemotaxis, and reactivity through the activation of its G protein coupled A2A receptor (A2AR). This is in striking agreement with the ability of A2AR blockade to control several brain diseases. Retinal degenerative diseases have been also associated with microglia-mediated neuroinflammation, but the role of A2AR has been scarcely explored. This review aims to compare inflammatory features of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases with glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy, discussing the therapeutic potential of A2AR in these degenerative conditions.
[Simultaneous determination of six organic acids in Lonicerae japonicae flos and Lonicerae flos in different habitats by HPLC].

OBJECTIVE To establish an HPLC method for simultaneous determination of six organic acids in Lonicerae japonicae Flos and Lonicerae Flos in different habitats. METHODS The chromatographic separation was carried out on a Waters C18 column (4. 6 mm x 250 mm, 5 microm) with gradient elution of acetonitrile and 0.1% phosphoric acid at a flow rate of 1 mL/min. The detection wave-length was 326 nm. RESULTS The contents of neochlorogenic acid and cryptochlorogenic acid in Lonicerae japonicae Flos in different habitats were very low. The contents of chlorogenic acid in Lonicerae japonicae Flos in Pingyi, Fei County, Fengqiu and Jvlu were significantly higher than that in Shangluo, but the contents of other organic acids were similar. The contents of six kinds of organic acids in Lonicerae Flos in different origins were obviously higher than those in Lonicerae japonicae Flos. CONCLUSION A simple, accurate and credible method is developed and validated for quality control of six organic acids from Lonicerae japonicae Flos and Lonicerae Flos.
MJO‐related oceanic Kelvin waves and the ENSO cycle: A study with the NCEP Global Ocean Data Assimilation System

The surface wind anomalies associated with the Madden‐Julian oscillation (MJO) appear to play a critical role during the onset and termination phases of ENSO. The characteristics of the MJO‐related oceanic Kelvin waves have not been systematically studied due to a lack of ocean reanalysis that resolves intraseasonal variability. This study uses the operational ocean reanalysis for the period 1982–2003 produced by the state‐of‐art global ocean data assimilation system at NCEP to explore the relationship between SST anomalies of ENSO and MJO‐related oceanic Kelvin waves. The first four extended empirical orthogonal functions of the depth of 20°C isotherm are used to represent the dominant oceanic Kelvin waves. The wave activity is measured by seasonal variance of oceanic Kelvin waves (SVKW) at 130°W. SVKW peaks are associated with the onset stage of warm ENSO events since they occur during the transition period and tend to produce positive tendency in NINO3.4 and heat content, and lead mature phases by 5–11 months. MJO‐related oceanic Kelvin wave activity is also shown to impact the growth and termination of warm events. The consistent relationships do not occur in cold events. A real time monitoring tool using SVKW index is proposed to support the official ENSO forecast at NCEP.
A mass-spring-damper model of a bouncing ball

The mechanical properties of a vertically dropped ball, represented by an equivalent mass-spring-damper model, are related to the coefficient of restitution and the time of contact of the ball during one bounce with the impacting surface. In addition, it is shown that the coefficient of restitution and contact time of a single bounce are related to the total number of bounces and the total time elapsing between dropping the ball and the ball coming to rest. For a ball with significant bounce, approximate expressions for model parameters, i.e., stiffness and damping or equivalently natural frequency and damping ratio, are developed. Experimentally based results for a bouncing pingpong ball are presented.
Uncertainty relations on nilpotent Lie groups

We give relations between main operators of quantum mechanics on one of most general classes of nilpotent Lie groups. Namely, we show relations between momentum and position operators as well as Euler and Coulomb potential operators on homogeneous groups. Homogeneous group analogues of some well-known inequalities such as Hardy's inequality, Heisenberg–Kennard type and Heisenberg–Pauli–Weyl type uncertainty inequalities, as well as Caffarelli–Kohn–Nirenberg inequality are derived, with best constants. The obtained relations yield new results already in the setting of both isotropic and anisotropic Rn, and of the Heisenberg group. The proof demonstrates that the method of establishing equalities in sharper versions of such inequalities works well in both isotropic and anisotropic settings.
An Optimal Transport View On Schroedinger's Equation

We show that the Schroedinger equation is a lift of Newton's law of motion on the space of probability measures, where derivatives are taken w.r. t. the Wasserstein Riemannian metric. Here the potential is the sum of the total classical potential energy of the extended system and its Fisher information. The precise relation is established via a well known ('Madelung') transform which is shown to be a symplectic submersion of the standard symplectic structure of complex valued functions into the canonical symplectic space over the Wasserstein space. All computations are conducted in the framework of Otto's formal Riemannian calculus for optimal transportation of probability measures
Thermospheric recovery during the 5 April 2010 geomagnetic storm

Thermospheric temperature and density recovery during the 5 April 2010 geomagnetic storm has been investigated in this study. Neutral density recovery as revealed by Thermosphere‐Ionosphere‐Electrodynamics General Circulation Model (TIEGCM) simulations was slower than observations from GOCE, CHAMP, and GRACE satellites, suggesting that the cooling processes may not be fully represented in the model. The NO radiative cooling rate in TIEGCM was also compared with TIMED/SABER measurements along satellite orbits during this storm period. It was found that the model overestimated the NO cooling rate at low latitudes and underestimated it at high latitudes. The effects of particle precipitation on NO number density and NO cooling rate at high latitudes were examined in detail. Model experiments showed that while NO number density and NO cooling rate do change with different specifications of the characteristic energy of auroral precipitating electrons, neutral temperature and density recovery remain more or less the same. The reaction rates of key NO chemistry were tested as well, and the NO number density between 110 and 150 km was found to be very sensitive to the reaction rate of N(2D) + O2 → NO + O. A temperature‐dependent reaction rate for this reaction proposed by Duff et al. (2003) brought the TIEGCM NO cooling rate at high latitudes closer to the SABER observations. With the temperature‐dependent reaction rate, the neutral density recovery time became quite close to the observations in the high‐latitude Southern Hemisphere. But model‐data discrepancies still exist at low latitudes and in the Northern Hemisphere, which calls for further investigation.
Oral acyclovir in acute herpes zoster

menstrual syndrome might result from an overlap in symptoms. There could be no such overlap, however, to explain the link that we found between psychiatric state and the physical symptoms of the premenstrual syndrome. We know ofno other source of contamination in our data. If, however, we had used the rating scale for the climacteric syndrome recommended by Drs Bell and Katona the findings would certainly have been contaminated by anxiety and depressive symptoms. Drs Bell and Katona consider the association that we reported betweenvasomotorsymptoms and psychiatric state to be "especially problematic. " They attribute three statements to us (the first and third being incorrectly reported) and refer to "apparent inconsistencies" between them. We reported that psychiatric state was, firstly, associated with vasomotorsymptoms in the two age groups 40-45 and 45-49, secondly, not associated with age, and, thirdly, not associated with menopausal state defined by the time scale mentioned above. Our study is said by Drs Bell and Katona to have "methodological flaws in its design and data analysis. " This is puzzling. Though they comment on our assessment procedures, they say nothing about the design of the study or the data analysis (apart from saying that no multivariate techniques were used to resolve inconsistencies that did not exist). In addition, they warn against the uncritical acceptance of our "implied conclusion that many gynaecological symptoms are psychiatric in origin. " We implied no such conclusion. In discussing aetiology, we simply suggested that in psychiatrically vulnerablewomen gynaecologicalsymptomsmightinduceemotionalsymptoms or that chronic difficulties might induce psychiatric disorders that could make women more likely to pay attention to gynaecological symptoms, or find them distressing, or regard them as abnormal. Do Drs Bell and Katona dispute these suggestions?
Molecular cloning of the Aleutian disease virus genome: expression of Aleutian disease virus antigens by a recombinant plasmid

Three nonoverlapping segments representing approximately 80% of the 4.8-kilobase pair Aleutian disease virus (ADV-G) duplex genome were molecularly cloned into either bacteriophage M13mp9 (M13bm2 = 0.07 to 0.15 map unit; M13bm1 = 0.15 to 0.54 map unit) or plasmid pUC8 (pBM1 = 0.54 to 0.88 map units). In addition the 0.54- to 0.88-map unit segment of a Danish isolate of ADV (DK ADV) was also cloned into pUC8 (pBM2). The recombinant plasmids pBM1 and pBM2 induced expression of several polypeptides in Escherichia coli JM103 that were specifically recognized by sera from mink infected with ADV. The same three proteins with approximate molecular weights of 55,000, 34,000, and 27,000 were detected both by immune blotting and by immunoprecipitation of [35S]methionine-labeled JM103 (pBM1). None of these proteins were recognized in JM103 or JM103 (pUC8), nor were they detected by sera from normal mink. Purified pBM1 and pBM2 DNA appeared identical in size by gel analysis and contour length measurement, and electron microscopic heteroduplex mapping revealed no visible areas of heterology. However, restriction endonuclease mapping showed that pBM2 was different from pBM1, indicating that this segment of the ADV genome was similar but not identical for two strains of ADV (ADV-G and DK ADV). Furthermore, when cloned DNA from ADV-G was labeled with [32P]dCTP by nick translation, DNA relatedness to several field strains of ADV (Utah I, Pullman, and DK), but not to mink enteritis virus or cellular DNA, was shown by Southern blot hybridization.
Factors Associated with C-peptide Levels after Diagnosis in Children with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

C-peptide is the best indicator of endogenous insulin secretion in patients with diabetes. This study investigated the relationship between C-peptide levels and clinical/laboratory parameters of children with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), as measured at 6-month intervals after diagnosis. We retrospectively reviewed the data of 34 children with newly diagnosed T1DM. The study subjects were subdivided into a rapid progression group with C-peptide levels <0.6 ng/mL at 36 months (n=27; Group A) and a slow progression group with C-peptide levels >0.6 ng/mL at 36 months (n=7; Group B). Patients in Group A had a younger mean age at diagnosis (A: 9±4.3 years vs. B: 13.6±3.6 years; p=0.013) and lower body mass index (BMI) (A: 15.5±2.5 kg/m2 vs. B: 18.7±3.3 kg/m2; p=0.035). There were fewer asymptomatic patients with glucosuria in Group A, with these patients showing more severe symptoms, such as diabetic ketoacidosis (p=0.035), than those in Group B. Group A also had lower initial C-peptide levels (A: 0.5±0.46 ng/mL vs. B: 1.87±1.08 ng/mL; p=0.001). There were no significant intergroup differences in sex, family history, baseline hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), potential of hydrogen (pH), autoantibodies or serum insulin. Simple correlation analyses showed that C-peptide levels were correlated with age and BMI, but not with pH, insulin, or HbA1c. Younger patients, who had a lower BMI, significant symptoms with complications, and/or a low initial C-peptide level, tended to show a rapid rate of decrease in C-peptide levels. Early intensive insulin therapy to preserve beta-cell function should be considered in these groups.
Toward a Continuum Geothermal Model to Explain Coexistence of Medium to High (100 to 250°C) Temperature Geothermal Systems in Martinique and Guadeloupe, French West Indies

The recent surface exploration data acquired in Martinique led to a revisit of the conceptual models of three geothermal systems in active volcanic arc context: Petite Anse in the Southwest of the island, Lamentin in the center, Montagne Pelee in the North. These three explored systems are compared with each other and with the developed Bouillante geothermal field in Guadeloupe (15 MWe). From parameters, such as reservoir temperature, duration of the geothermal system using fossils events, age and duration of magmatism, degree of equilibrium of geothermal fluid, we propose a continuum model of geothermal system including three successive stages: prograde, peak and retrograde.
Model Parameter Estimation and Uncertainty: a Report of the Ispor-smdm Modeling Good Research Practices Task Force-6 Background to the Task Forcemodel-parameter-estimation-and- Uncertainty-analysis.asp). a Summary of These Articles Was Pre- Sented at a Plenary Session at the Ispor 16th Annual Intern

A model's purpose is to inform medical decisions and health care resource allocation. Modelers employ quantitative methods to structure the clinical, epidemiological, and economic evidence base and gain qualitative insight to assist decision makers in making better decisions. From a policy perspective, the value of a model-based analysis lies not simply in its ability to generate a precise point estimate for a specific outcome but also in the systematic examination and responsible reporting of uncertainty surrounding this outcome and the ultimate decision being addressed. Different concepts relating to uncertainty in decision modeling are explored. Stochastic (first-order) uncertainty is distinguished from both parameter (second-order) uncertainty and from heterogeneity, with structural uncertainty relating to the model itself forming another level of uncertainty to consider. The article argues that the estimation of point estimates and uncertainty in parameters is part of a single process and explores the link between parameter uncertainty through to decision uncertainty and the relationship to value of information analysis. The article also makes extensive recommendations around the reporting of uncertainty , in terms of both deterministic sensitivity analysis techniques and probabilistic methods. Expected value of perfect information is argued to be the most appropriate presentational technique, alongside cost-effectiveness acceptability curves, for representing decision uncertainty from probabilistic analysis. A new Good Research Practices in Modeling Task Force was approved by the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research Board of Directors in 2010, and the Society for Medical Decision Making was invited to join the effort. The Task Force cochairs and members are expert developers and experienced model users from academia, industry, and government, with representation from many countries. Several teleconferences and hosted information sessions during scientific meetings of the Societies culminated in an in-person meeting of the Task Force as a whole, held in Boston in March 2011. Draft recommendations were discussed and subsequently edited and circulated to the Task Force members in the form of a survey where each one was asked to agree or disagree with each recommendation, and if the latter, to provide the reasons. Each group received the results of the survey and endeavored to address all issues. The final drafts of the articles were available on the ISPOR and Society for Medical Decision Making Web sites for general comment. A second group of experts was invited to formally review the articles. The comments received were addressed, and the final version of each article was …
Governance and Performance Revisited

Using unusually rich and accurate data from Oslo Stock Exchange firms, we find that corporate governance matters for economic performance, that insider ownership matters the most, that outside ownership concentration destroys market value, that direct ownership is superior to indirect, and that performance decreases with increasing board size, leverage, dividend payout, and the fraction of non-voting shares. These results persist across a wide range of single-equation models, suggesting that governance mechanisms are independent and may be analyzed one by one rather than as a bundle. Several significant relationships change sign or disappear in simultaneous equation models. This apparent indication of optimal, firm specific governance systems may instead reflect weak instruments caused by underdeveloped theories of how governance and performance interact.
Logarithmic Corrections to Black Hole Entropy and AdS/CFT Correspondence

We calculate the correction to the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy formula for five dimensional AdS-Schwarzschild black holes due to thermodynamic fluctuations. The result is then compared with the boundary gauge theory entropy corrections via AdS/CFT correspondence. We then further generalise our analysis for the rotating black hole in five dimensional AdS space.
Long-Term Land Use Changes Driven by Urbanisation and Their Environmental Effects (Example of Trnava City, Slovakia)

Similar to other post-communist countries, Slovakia has undergone significant changes in the last decades—largely through transformation of central planning into a market economy. Unfortunately, this process has been associated with increasing pressure on surrounding ecosystems and their individual components. These changes are subject to various influences, e.g., socio-economic, political and environmental; in addition, urbanisation has also had great influence. This is typified by conversion of productive agricultural land and semi-natural ecosystems into built-up area accompanied by the negative ecological impacts of habitat deterioration and fragmentation. The rapidly changing consumption patterns of luxury living, transportation and leisure have increased the negative consequences on ecosystems and these compound the negative environmental trends. This paper evaluates land use changes in Trnava, which is one of the most rapidly developing cities in Slovakia. Evaluation covers 1838–2015, with explicit emphasis on transformation over the last 25–30 years. We present comparison with developments since 1990 in other cities in Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Germany and then discuss the main processes and environmental problems related to these changes, concentrating on the sustainability of current trends and appropriate planning and management responses.
Seasonal variation in the necropsy incidence of pulmonary thromboembolism.

The two recent articles'2 on this topic are interesting, and I wonder whether either set of authors has any views about possible aetiologies, which have not been proposed in their articles. It is recognised that a number ofrespiratory infections have a propensity for being complicated by thrombotic phenomena ofa minor or major type. The best known of these are Mycoplasma pneumoniae, psittacosis, Q fever, and the various rickettsial infections. In the UK and Hong Kong, the most likely infection common to both territories isM pneumoniae, and like other respiratory infections, it is likely to be present in increased incidence during the winter season. I offer this as one possible explanation for the interesting findings.
Wind Turbine Public Safety Risk, Direct and Indirect Health Impacts

Wind turbines are often perceived as benign. This can be attributed to the population majority dwelling in urban locations distant from most wind turbines. Society may understate the risk to individuals living near turbines due to an overstatement of the perceived benefits of turbines, and an understatement of the risk of injury from falling turbine parts, or shed ice. Flaws in risk calculation may be attributed to a less than fully developed safety culture. Indications of this are the lack of a comprehensive industry failure database, and safety limits enabling the industry growth, but not protective of the public. A comprehensive study of wind turbine failures and risks in the Canadian province of Ontario gives data to enable validation of existing failure models. Failure probabilities are calculated, to show risk on personal property, or in public spaces. Repeated failures, and inadequate safety separation show public safety is not currently assured. A method of calculating setbacks from wind turbines to mitigate public risk is shown. Wind turbines with inadequate setbacks can adversely impact public health both directly from physical risk and indirectly by irritation from loss of safe use of property. Physical public safety setbacks are separate from larger setbacks required to prevent irritation from noise and other stressors, particularly when applied to areas of learning, rest and recuperation. The insights provided by this paper can assist the industry to enhance its image and improve its operation, as well as helping regulators set safety guidelines assuring protection of the public.
Write policies for host-side flash caches

Host-side flash-based caching offers a promising new direction for optimizing access to networked storage. Current work has argued for using host-side flash primarily as a read cache and employing a write-through policy which provides the strictest consistency and durability guarantees. However, write-through requires synchronous updates over the network for every write. For write-mostly or write-intensive workloads, it significantly under-utilizes the high-performance flash cache layer. The write-back policy, on the other hand, better utilizes the cache for workloadswith significantwrite I/O requirements. However, conventional write-back performs out-of-order eviction of data and unacceptably sacrifices data consistency at the network storage. We develop and evaluate two consistent write-back caching policies, ordered and journaled, that are designed to perform increasingly better than write-through. These policies enable new trade-off points across performance, data consistency, and data staleness dimensions. Using benchmark workloads such as PostMark, TPC-C, Filebench, and YCSB we evaluate the new write policies we propose alongside conventional write-through and write-back. We find that ordered write-back performs better than write-through. Additionally, we find that journaled write-back can trade-off staleness for performance, approaching, and in some cases, exceeding conventional write-back performance. Finally, a variant of journaled write-back that utilizes consistency hints from the application can provide straightforward application-level storage consistency, a stricter form of consistency than the transactional consistency provided by write-through.