Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clinical Application of Tissue Engineered Human Heart Valves Using Autologous Progenitor Cells

Background— Tissue engineering (TE) of heart valves reseeded with autologous cells has been successfully performed in vitro. Here, we report our first clinical implantation of pulmonary heart valves (PV) engineered with autologous endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and the results of 3.5 years of follow-up. Methods and Results— Human PV allografts were decellularized (Trypsin/EDTA) and resulting scaffolds reseeded with peripheral mononuclear cells isolated from human blood. Positive stain for von Willebrand factor, CD31, and Flk-1 was observed in monolayers of cells cultivated and differentiated on the luminal surface of the scaffolds in a dynamic bioreactor system for up to 21 days, indicating endothelial nature. PV reseeded with autologous cells were implanted into 2 pediatric patients (age 13 and 11) with congenital PV failure. Postoperatively, a mild pulmonary regurgitation was documented in both children. Based on regular echocardiographic investigations, hemodynamic parameters and cardiac morphology changed in 3.5 years as follows: increase of the PV annulus diameter (18 to 22.5 mm and 22 to 26 mm, respectively), decrease of valve regurgitation (trivial/mild and trivial, respectively), decrease (16 to 9 mm Hg) or a increase (8 to 9.5 mm Hg) of mean transvalvular gradient, remained 26 mm or decreased (32 to 28 mm) right-ventricular end-diastolic diameter. The body surface area increased (1.07 to 1.42 m2 and 1.07 to 1.46 m2, respectively). No signs of valve degeneration were observed in both patients. Conclusions— TE of human heart valves using autologous EPC is a feasible and safe method for pulmonary valve replacement. TE valves have the potential to remodel and grow accordingly to the somatic growth of the child.
Empirical relations between digital SPOT HRV and CASI spectral response and lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) forest stand parameters

Abstract Digital Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager (CASI) data and SPOT satellite HRV multi-spectral imagery were compared in their relationship to individual tree and forest parameters in fourteen lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) stands in western Canada. Volume estimates derived from DBH and height observations in field plots were clustered to produce natural stands which were studied in the remote sensing data. Spatial analysis of the aerial imagery was undertaken with a combination of filtering and first-order texture derivatives. The range, measured by image semivariograms calculated over the stand, was used to 'customize' window sizes. The unaltered red CASI band was found to be useful for extracting parameters which are expressed at the individual tree level; texture variables were more important in explaining stand-level variations over the spatial domain. Mean filters were found to be of little use except in the prediction of canopy coverage. Models based on the SPOT HRV variables were found .
Rebuilding of the Earth's outer electron belt during 8–10 October 2012

Geomagnetic storms often include strong magnetospheric convection caused by sustained periods of southward interplanetary magnetic field. During periods of strong convection, the Alfvén layer, which separates the region of sunward convection from closed drift shells, is displaced earthward allowing plasma sheet particles with energies in the hundreds of keV direct access inside of geosynchronous. Subsequent outward motion of the Alfvén boundary and adiabatic energization during storm recovery traps plasma sheet electrons on closed drift shells providing a seed population for the outer radiation belts. In situ observations of the 8–10 October 2012 geomagnetic storm and MHD test particle simulations illustrate the morphology of this process. Data and modeling results support the conclusion that recovery of ~ 1 MeV electrons at geosynchronous is mainly due to global convection and dipolarization associated injections from the plasma sheet.
Feature selection forcing overtraining may help to improve performance

One of the main drawbacks of machine learning systems is the negative effect caused by overtraining. If the points in the dataset are perfectly fitted, the generalization performance is usually bad. We propose to take profit of overtraining, together with Feature Selection, to improve the performance of a learning system. The main idea lies in the hypothesis that when the dataset is as fitted as possible, the system is forced to use all the available variables as much as possible. Noisy and useless variables can be detected if generalization improves when the system is not allowed to use them. Forcing overtraining, noisy and useless variables should be more outstanding. In order to test this hypothesis, we performed several Feature Selection experiments using Feedforward Neural Networks. The particular Feature Selection procedure used was Sequential Backward Selection. Experimental results with several real-world problems suggest that our hypothesis seems to be well-founded. Ironically, forcing overtraining may help to achieve good performance.
Coupled Hidden Markov Model-Based Method for Apnea Bradycardia Detection

In this paper, we present a novel framework for the coupled hidden Markov model (CHMM), based on the forward and backward recursions and conditional probabilities, given a multidimensional observation. In the proposed framework, the interdependencies of states networks are modeled with Markovian-like transition laws that influence the evolution of hidden states in all channels. Moreover, an offline inference approach by maximum likelihood estimation is proposed for the learning procedure of model parameters. To evaluate its performance, we first apply the CHMM model to classify and detect disturbances using synthetic data generated by the FitzHugh-Nagumo model. The average sensitivity and specificity of the classification are above 93.98% and 95.38% and those of the detection reach 94.49% and 99.34%, respectively. The method is also evaluated using a clinical database composed of annotated physiological signal recordings of neonates suffering from apnea-bradycardia. Different combinations of beat-to-beat features extracted from electrocardiographic signals constitute the multidimensional observations for which the proposed CHMM model is applied, to detect each apnea bradycardia episode. The proposed approach is finally compared to other previously proposed HMM-based detection methods. Our CHMM provides the best performance on this clinical database, presenting an average sensitivity of 95.74% and specificity of 91.88% while it reduces the detection delay by -0.59 s.
Effect of Dexamethasone Treatment on Maturational Changes in the NMDA Receptor in Sheep Brain

The objective of the present study was to examine the effect of antenatal or postnatal treatment with corticosteroids on the NMDA receptor, one of the mediators of both normal brain development and hypoxic–ischemic injury, by determining the characteristics of the receptor MK-801 binding site in untreated and corticosteroid-treated fetal and newborn lambs. 3H-MK-801 binding was performed in cerebral cortical cell membranes from fetal sheep at 88, 120, and 136 d gestation (term = 150 d), and from 5-d-old lambs and adult ewes. Animals were randomized to receive dexamethasone [fetuses: 6 mg, i.m. every 12 hr for four doses to mother; lambs: 0.01 mg/kg (low dose) or 0.25 mg/kg (high dose) every 12 hr for four doses] or placebo. During development, Bmax(apparent number of receptors) increased, reaching a maximum in 5-d-old lambs (p < 0.05) and decreasing in the adult brain. Kd (dissociation constant) did not change, suggesting that receptor affinity was not altered during maturation. Dexamethasone treatment had no effect on MK-801 binding in the fetus or adult, but in lambs was associated with a significant decrease in Bmax from 2.17 ± 0.18 pmol/mg protein in placebo-treated animals to 1.65 ± 0.8 and 1.62 ± 0.07 pmol/mg protein in low-dose and high-dose animals, respectively. Affinity for 3H-MK-801 decreased 20% after dexamethasone treatment in lambs only (p < 0.05). Thus, dexamethasone treatment appears to modify the NMDA receptor only during a specific period of brain development.
SALSA and ALVIS: a language and system for constructing and presenting low fidelity algorithm visualizations

Computer science educators have traditionally used algorithm visualization (AV) software to create graphical representations of algorithms that are later used as visual aids in lectures, or as the basis for interactive labs. Based on ethnographic field studies we have conducted in an undergraduate algorithms course, we advocate an alternative teaching approach in which students use simple art supplies to construct and present their own visualizations to their peers and instructor for feedback and discussion. To support this approach, we have built SALSA and ALVIS, a prototype language and system that enable students to (a) quickly construct rough, unpolished ("low fidelity") visualizations in much the same way they would do so with simple art supplies, and (b) interactively present those visualizations to an audience. Our prototype pioneers a novel technique for programming visualizations based on spatial relations, and a novel presentation interface that supports reverse execution and dynamic mark-up and modification.
Differential Roles of the PKC Novel Isoforms, PKCδ and PKCε, in Mouse and Human Platelets

Background Increasing evidence suggests that individual isoforms of protein kinase C (PKC) play distinct roles in regulating platelet activation. Methodology/Principal Findings In this study, we focus on the role of two novel PKC isoforms, PKCδ and PKCε, in both mouse and human platelets. PKCδ is robustly expressed in human platelets and undergoes transient tyrosine phosphorylation upon stimulation by thrombin or the collagen receptor, GPVI, which becomes sustained in the presence of the pan-PKC inhibitor, Ro 31-8220. In mouse platelets, however, PKCδ undergoes sustained tyrosine phosphorylation upon activation. In contrast the related isoform, PKCε, is expressed at high levels in mouse but not human platelets. There is a marked inhibition in aggregation and dense granule secretion to low concentrations of GPVI agonists in mouse platelets lacking PKCε in contrast to a minor inhibition in response to G protein-coupled receptor agonists. This reduction is mediated by inhibition of tyrosine phosphorylation of the FcRγ-chain and downstream proteins, an effect also observed in wild-type mouse platelets in the presence of a PKC inhibitor. Conclusions These results demonstrate a reciprocal relationship in levels of the novel PKC isoforms δ and ε in human and mouse platelets and a selective role for PKCε in signalling through GPVI.
The Sitting Position and Anesthetic Spread In the Epidural Space

It is well known that anesthetic spread during spinal anesthesia is greatly affected by the position of the patient during and after injection of the anesthetic. However, the effect of the patient’s position on the spread of epidural anesthetics has not been clearly established. Bromage reported less cephalad spread of local anesthetics when injected into the epidural space with the patient in the sitting position than when injected with the patient in the horizontal-latera1 position (1). Nishimura et al., on the other hand, reported an insignificant effect of the sitting position on the epidural anesthetic spread (2). Because of these conflicting reports, this study was designed to further evaluate the effect that having the patient in the sitting position has on spread of local anesthetics injected into the lumbar epidural space.
Unique record of an incipient ocean basin: Lower Cretaceous sediments from the southern margin of Tethys

A sedimentary sequence documenting the earliest history of the proto-Indian Ocean (Tethys III) was drilled at Ocean Drilling Program Site 761 on the Wombat Plateau off northwest Australia. Directly above a postrift unconformity, three unique, fining-upward Berriasian-Valanginian (Lower Cretaceous) units were recovered which clearly reflect deposition in the earliest oceanic environments. The lower two units are transgressive lag deposits. The uppermost unit is composed of calcisphere-nannofossil chalk and six interbedded bentonite horizons, suggesting a volcaniclastic origin and dacitic to rhyolitic ash as parent material. Volcanic activity was associated with continental breakup and rapid tectonic subsidence during the "juvenile ocean" phase of the Early Cretaceous Tethys. These sedimentary deposits are characterized by an unusual array of fossil components, including belemnites, and a low-diversity flora of calcispheres and thoracospheres, thought to be opportunistic. Assemblage and isotopic data suggest that this narrow, east-west-trending, incipient ocean basin was highly productive as a result of upwelling of deep waters.
Seroprevalence and Risk Factors for Hepatitis C Virus Antibody in Pregnant Women

Objective To better understand hepatitis C viropathies and seroprevalence by performing an epidemiologic analysis of pregnant women seropositive for antibody against hepatitis C. Methods We studied 1013 consecutive obstetric patients at Parkland Memorial Hospital who gave informed consent for detailed interviews and serotesting. Sera were analyzed for antibody to the hepatitis C virus using both C100– and RIBA–assays. Neonatal assessment was carried out in the immediate postpartum period. Results Hepatitis C antibody was detected in 2.28% (IV =23) of the 1005 women in whom analysis was completed. Factors associated with seropositivity included intravenous (IV) drug use, sexually transmitted diseases, hepatitis B infection, maternal age greater than 22.5 years, increased parity (eg, greater than 2.1), history of transfusion, and three or more different lifetime sexual partners or a sexual partner who used IV drugs. Maternal and neonatal outcome was not different between hepatitis C antibody-positive and–negative groups. Conclusions Epidemiologic data are consistent with sexual and parenteral modes of transmission. Women with hepatitis C antibody did not have excessive perinatal complications compared with antibody–negative women. A model protocol and cost analysis for screening pregnant women for hepatitis C infection are presented. However, routine screening for hepatitis C is not advocated.
Phosphorus Supplying Capacities of Previously Heavily Fertilized Soils

Four Coastal Plain soils and one Piedmont soil heavily fertilized in the past were intensively cropped in greenhouse pots to determine changes in extractable soil P as measured by North Carolina, Bray I and Olsen extractants. Slopes relating changes in extractable P with P removed by cropping were very similar for the three sandy soils. Changes in extractable P with the North Carolina and Bray I extractants were correlated with P buffer capacity, % clay, and soil surface area. The principal source of P removed by cropping was NH₄F-P in sandy Coastal Plain soils; NH₄F-P and NaOH-P supplied equal amounts in the clayey Piedmont soil. Sandy Coastal Plain soils which originally contained more than 74 ppm North Carolina extractable P and 71 ppm Bray I extractable P supplied 82 to 108 kg P/ha to nine crops of pearl millet (Pennisetum americanum, cv. Gahi-1).
Lung cancer death rates by smoking status: Comparison of the Three‐Prefecture Cohort study in Japan to the Cancer Prevention Study II in the USA

Cigarette smoking is an established risk factor for lung cancer. However, the magnitude of the relative risk (RR) on lung cancer mortality in relation to cigarette smoking is reported to be lower in Japan than in Western countries. We investigated whether this discrepancy could be explained by differences in the exposure to cigarettes smoked, by differences in sensitivity to smoking, or by differences in lung cancer mortality among non‐smokers. We examined the 10‐year follow‐up data on 88 153 participants in a Japanese population‐based prospective study conducted in three prefectures. Data used as a Western counterpart was retrieved from a published report of the US Cancer Prevention Study (CPS)‐II. Although there was a significant increased risk of lung cancer death among current smokers compared with non‐smokers, the observed RR in the Three‐Prefecture Study were much lower than RR reported in the CPS‐II. Lung cancer mortality of our Japanese sample was lower among current smokers and higher among non‐smokers regardless of age and sex. Current smokers in our sample had initiated smoking at an older age and smoked fewer cigarettes per day for shorter durations than those in the CPS‐II sample. The Poisson regression model (controlling for age, number of cigarettes smoked per day and duration of smoking) showed that male current smokers in our sample had a lower risk of lung cancer compared with those in the CPS‐II sample (rate ratio 0.34 [95%CI 0.27–0.43]). These findings might explain why Japanese risks of lung cancer are lower than those observed in Western countries. (Cancer Sci 2005; 96: 120–126)
The Greenland Ice Sheet's surface mass balance in a seasonally sea ice‐free Arctic

General circulation models predict a rapid decrease in sea ice extent with concurrent increases in near‐surface air temperature and precipitation in the Arctic over the 21st century. This has led to suggestions that some Arctic land ice masses may experience an increase in accumulation due to enhanced evaporation from a seasonally sea ice‐free Arctic Ocean. To investigate the impact of this phenomenon on Greenland Ice Sheet climate and surface mass balance (SMB), a regional climate model, HadRM3, was used to force an insolation‐temperature melt SMB model. A set of experiments designed to investigate the role of sea ice independently from sea surface temperature (SST) forcing are described. In the warmer and wetter SI + SST simulation, Greenland experiences a 23% increase in winter SMB but 65% reduced summer SMB, resulting in a net decrease in the annual value. This study shows that sea ice decline contributes to the increased winter balance, causing 25% of the increase in winter accumulation; this is largest in eastern Greenland as the result of increased evaporation in the Greenland Sea. These results indicate that the seasonal cycle of Greenland's SMB will increase dramatically as global temperatures increase, with the largest changes in temperature and precipitation occurring in winter. This demonstrates that the accurate prediction of changes in sea ice cover is important for predicting Greenland SMB and ice sheet evolution.
A numerical study on the impact behavior of foam-cored cylindrical sandwich shells subjected to normal / oblique impact 1

Finite element analysis was used to investigate the impact behavior of the foam-cored sandwich shells under the ballistic impact. The ballistic limit, failure mode of the face-sheet and energy absorption of the uniform/graded core were discussed in this paper. Based on the impact phase diagrams, the effects of several factors (i.e. projectile shape and diameter, face-sheet curvature and thickness) on the normal/oblique impact behavior were analyzed in detail. Results indicate that blunter and larger projectiles, higher impact velocity and thicker facesheets can significantly raise the impact-resistance performance of the targets. In addition, the behavior of ballistic impact becomes more complex as the result of the increasing oblique angle.
On Anosov diffeomorphisms with asymptotically conformal periodic data

Abstract We consider transitive Anosov diffeomorphisms for which every periodic orbit has only one positive and one negative Lyapunov exponent. We prove various properties of such systems, including strong pinching, C1+β smoothness of the Anosov splitting, and C1 smoothness of measurable invariant conformal structures and distributions. We apply these results to volume-preserving diffeomorphisms with two-dimensional stable and unstable distributions and diagonalizable derivatives of the return maps at periodic points. We show that a finite cover of such a diffeomorphism is smoothly conjugate to an Anosov automorphism of 𝕋4; as a corollary, we obtain local rigidity for such diffeomorphisms. We also establish a local rigidity result for Anosov diffeomorphisms in dimension three.
Activity pattern of Sloth Bear Melursus ursinus (Mammalia: Ursidae) in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, Western Ghats, India

We used information from systematic camera trapping surveys to study activity patterns of sloth bear (Melursus ursinus) in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, Western Ghats during November 2009 to April 2010.Overall 61 independent photographs were obtained from 2600 trap nights. Sloth Bears showed bimodal peaks activities; late evening to midnight and small peak during sunrise. The mean activity time was 21:54 plus or minus 00:46 hrs. Although sloth bears were active throughout the day they exhibited reduced activity during the hottest hours of the day. Sloth Bears might have reduced their activity during the day to avoid the intense heat.Our data demonstrate that use of camera traps in documenting activity patterns can be an effective tool for identifying biological questions of sloth bear ecology for future studies.
Suturing of the Proto-and Paleo-Tethys oceans in the western Kunlun ( Xinjiang , China )

The Proto-Tethys Ocean between the North and South Kunlun began to form during the Sinian. Remnants of this ocean are preserved at the Oytag-Kudi suture. The presence of Paleozoic arc batholiths in the northern South Kunlun and their absence in the North Kunlun indicates southward subduction of the Proto-Tethys Ocean beneath the South Kunlun. Opposite subduction polarity can be demonstrated for the Late Paleozoic to mid-Mesozoic when the southerly located Paleo-Tethys Ocean was consumed beneath the South Kunlun and generated a Late Carboniferous to mid-Jurassic magmatic arc in the southern South Kunlun. Arc magmatism affected the southern South Kunlun and the large Kara-Kunlun accretionary prism (a suture sensu lato) which formed as a result of Paleo-Tethys’ consumption. The dextral shear sense of ductile faults which are located at the margins of the arc batholiths, and which parallel the South Kunlun/Kara-Kunlun boundary, suggests oblique plate convergence with a dextral component. Different lines of evidence encourage us to interpret the Proto-Tethys ophiolites of the Oytag-Kudi zone as at least partly derived from an oceanic back-arc basin. In contrast, we assume that Paleo-Tethys was a large ocean basin which was eliminated directly at the southern margin of the South Kunlun where no oceanic back-arc region existed. q 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Response of mean annual evapotranspiration to vegetation changes at catchment scale

It is now well established that forested catchments have higher evapotranspiration than grassed catchments. Thus land use management and rehabilitation strategies will have an impact on catchment water balance and hence water yield and groundwater recharge. The key controls on evapotranspiration are rainfall interception, net radiation, advection, turbulent transport, leaf area, and plant‐available water capacity. The relative importance of these factors depends on climate, soil, and vegetation conditions. Results from over 250 catchments worldwide show that for a given forest cover, there is a good relationship between long‐term average evapotranspiration and rainfall. From these observations and on the basis of previous theoretical work a simple two‐parameter model was developed that relates mean annual evapotranspiration to rainfall, potential evapotranspiration, and plant‐available water capacity. The mean absolute error between modeled and measured evapotranspiration was 42 mm or 6.0%; the least squares line through the origin had as lope of 1.00 and a correlation coefficient of 0.96. The model showed potential for a variety of applications including water yield modeling and recharge estimation. The model is a practical tool that can be readily used for assessing the long‐term average effect of vegetation changes on catchment evapotranspiration and is scientifically justifiable.