Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cardiac Lesions in 30 Dogs Naturally Infected With Leishmania infantum chagasi

The hearts of 30 dogs naturally infected with Leishmania infantum chagasi were evaluated histologically and immunohistochemically. Myocardial lesions were detected in all dogs, including lymphoplasmacytic myocarditis (27/30), myonecrosis (24/30), increased interstitial collagen (22/30), lepromatous-type granulomatous myocarditis (7/30), fibrinoid vascular change (3/30), and vasculitis (1/30). The parasite was detected in the hearts of 20 of 30 dogs. The number of parasitized cells correlated with the intensity of the inflammation and with the number of granulomas. The results indicate that cardiac lesions are prevalent in dogs with naturally occurring leishmaniasis even in the absence of clinical signs of cardiac disease.
A Parameter-Dependent Approach to Robust $H_{\infty }$ Filtering for Time-Delay Systems

This paper is concerned with the problem of robust H infin filtering for linear continuous-time systems with polytopic parameter uncertainties and time-varying delay in the state. We utilize the polynomially parameter-dependent idea to solve the robust H infin filtering problem, with new linear matrix inequality conditions obtained for the existence of admissible filters. These conditions are developed based on homogeneous polynomially parameter-dependent matrices of arbitrary degree. The delay-dependence and polynomial parameter-dependence guarantee the proposed approach to be potentially less conservative, which is shown via a numerical example.
Analysis of acetylation stoichiometry suggests that SIRT3 repairs nonenzymatic acetylation lesions

Acetylation is frequently detected on mitochondrial enzymes, and the sirtuin deacetylase SIRT3 is thought to regulate metabolism by deacetylating mitochondrial proteins. However, the stoichiometry of acetylation has not been studied and is important for understanding whether SIRT3 regulates or suppresses acetylation. Using quantitative mass spectrometry, we measured acetylation stoichiometry in mouse liver tissue and found that SIRT3 suppressed acetylation to a very low stoichiometry at its target sites. By examining acetylation changes in the liver, heart, brain, and brown adipose tissue of fasted mice, we found that SIRT3‐targeted sites were mostly unaffected by fasting, a dietary manipulation that is thought to regulate metabolism through SIRT3‐dependent deacetylation. Globally increased mitochondrial acetylation in fasted liver tissue, higher stoichiometry at mitochondrial acetylation sites, and greater sensitivity of SIRT3‐targeted sites to chemical acetylation in vitro and fasting‐induced acetylation in vivo, suggest a nonenzymatic mechanism of acetylation. Our data indicate that most mitochondrial acetylation occurs as a low‐level nonenzymatic protein lesion and that SIRT3 functions as a protein repair factor that removes acetylation lesions from lysine residues.
Relative Importance of the Arcuate and Anteroventral Periventricular Kisspeptin Neurons in Control of Puberty and Reproductive Function in Female Rats

Kisspeptin plays a critical role in pubertal timing and reproductive function. In rodents, kisspeptin perikarya within the hypothalamic arcuate (ARC) and anteroventral periventricular (AVPV) nuclei are thought to be involved in LH pulse and surge generation, respectively. Using bilateral microinjections of recombinant adeno-associated virus encoding kisspeptin antisense into the ARC or AVPV of female rats at postnatal day 10, we investigated the relative importance of these two kisspeptin populations in the control of pubertal timing, estrous cyclicity, and LH surge and pulse generation. A 37% knockdown of kisspeptin in the AVPV resulted in a significant delay in vaginal opening and first vaginal estrous, abnormal estrous cyclicity, and reduction in the occurrence of spontaneous LH surges, although these retained normal amplitude. This AVPV knockdown had no effect on LH pulse frequency, measured after ovariectomy. A 32% reduction of kisspeptin in the ARC had no effect on the onset of puberty but resulted in abnormal estrous cyclicity and decreased LH pulse frequency. Additionally, the knockdown of kisspeptin in the ARC decreased the amplitude but not the incidence of LH surges. These results might suggest that the role of AVPV kisspeptin in the control of pubertal timing is particularly sensitive to perturbation. In accordance with our previous studies, ARC kisspeptin signaling was critical for normal pulsatile LH secretion in female rats. Despite the widely reported role of AVPV kisspeptin neurons in LH surge generation, this study suggests that both AVPV and ARC populations are essential for normal LH surges and estrous cyclicity.
Optimizing the Performance of Plastic Injection Molding Using Weighted Additive Model in Goal Programming

Injection molding process is increasingly more significant in today's plastic production industries because it provides high-quality product, short product cycles, and light weight. This research optimizes the performance of this process with three main quality responses: defect count, cycle time, and spoon weight, using the weighted additive goal programming model. The three quality responses and process factors are described by appropriate membership functions. The Taguchi's orthogonal array is then utilized to provide experimental layout. A linear optimization based on the weighted additive model in goal programming model is built to minimize the deviations of the product/process targets from their corresponding imprecise fuzzy values specified by the process engineer's preferences. The results show that the average defect count is reduced from an average of 0.75 to 0.16. Moreover, the average cycle time becomes 13.06 seconds, which is significantly smaller than that obtained at initial factor settings = 15.10 seconds. Finally, the average spoon weight is exactly on its target value of 2.0 gm.
On a Strange Recursion of Golomb

In an unpublished note, Golomb proposed a family of \strange" recursions of metaflbonacci type, parameterized byk ,a nd, for eachk, identifled what he speculated was the unique increasing solution. We show that, to the contrary, there are many increasing solutions for eachk ,a nd we indicate explicitly how to construct them. We also provide some additional general results concerning the nature of the strictly increasing solutions for this unusual family of recursions.
A Molecular Mechanism for the Anti-Inflammatory Effect of Taurine-Conjugated 5-Aminosalicylic Acid in Inflamed Colon

In previous reports, a novel colon-specific prodrug, 5-aminosalicyltaurine (5-ASA-Tau) administered orally, is successfully delivered to and liberates 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) and taurine in the inflamed large intestine of rats. Furthermore, the prodrug ameliorates the 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene-sulfonic acid-induced colitis, and taurine acts not only as a carrier but also as an active therapeutic agent. In this study, we investigated the anti-inflammatory properties of the prodrug at a molecular level. After rectal administration of taurine, formation of taurine chloramine (TauCl) in the inflamed colonic tissue was examined using high-performance liquid chromatography. In human colon epithelial cell lines, nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activity was accessed using an NF-κB-dependent luciferase reporter gene. Protein levels were monitored by Western blotting. DNA binding activity of the NF-κB subunit p65 was determined using a DNA binding assay kit. A millimolar level of TauCl was formed in the inflamed tissue. TauCl inhibited tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-dependent NF-κB activation by modifying thiol(s) on p65 and blocking DNA binding. In addition, 5-ASA inhibited phosphorylation of p65 at serine 536, which is critical for transcriptional activity of NF-κB. Furthermore, combined TauCl/5-ASA treatment additively inhibited TNF-dependent NF-κB activation. Together, our data suggest that the colon-specific carrier taurine contributes to the clinical effect of the prodrug by potentiating the inhibitory effect of the active ingredient 5-ASA on a major proinflammatory signal, TNF-dependent NF-κB activation in the inflamed large intestine.
The Adult Patient with Eisenmenger Syndrome: A Medical Update After Dana Point Part I: Epidemiology, Clinical Aspects and Diagnostic Options

Eisenmenger syndrome is the most severe form of pulmonary arterial hypertension and arises on the basis of congenital heart disease with a systemic-to-pulmonary shunt. Due to the chronic slow progressive hypoxemia with central cyanosis, adult patients with the Eisenmenger syndrome suffer from a complex and multisystemic disorder including coagulation disorders (bleeding complications and paradoxical embolisms), renal dysfunction, hypertrophic osteoarthropathy, heart failure, reduced quality of life and premature death. For a long time, therapy has been limited to symptomatic options or lung or combined heart-lung transplantation. As new selective pulmonary vasodilators have become available and proven to be beneficial in various forms of pulmonary arterial hypertension, this targeted medical treatment has been expected to show promising effects with a delay of deterioration also in Eisenmenger patients. Unfortunately, data in Eisenmenger patients suffer from small patient numbers and a lack of randomized controlled studies. To optimize the quality of life and the outcome, referral of Eisenmenger patients to spezialized centers is required. In such centers, specific interdisciplinary management strategies of physicians specialized on congenital heart diseases and PAH should be warranted. This medical update emphasizes the current diagnostic and therapeutic options for Eisenmenger patients with particularly focussing on epidemiology, clinical aspects and specific diagnostic options.
Heterozygous disruption of activin receptor-like kinase 1 is associated with increased arterial pressure in mice

ABSTRACT The activin receptor-like kinase 1 (ALK-1) is a type I cell-surface receptor for the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) family of proteins. Hypertension is related to TGF-β1, because increased TGF-β1 expression is correlated with an elevation in arterial pressure (AP) and TGF-β expression is upregulated by the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. The purpose of this study was to assess the role of ALK-1 in regulation of AP using Alk1 haploinsufficient mice (Alk1+/−). We observed that systolic and diastolic AP were significantly higher in Alk1+/− than in Alk1+/+ mice, and all functional and structural cardiac parameters (echocardiography and electrocardiography) were similar in both groups. Alk1+/− mice showed alterations in the circadian rhythm of AP, with higher AP than Alk1+/+ mice during most of the light period. Higher AP in Alk1+/− mice is not a result of a reduction in the NO-dependent vasodilator response or of overactivation of the peripheral renin-angiotensin system. However, intracerebroventricular administration of losartan had a hypotensive effect in Alk1+/− and not in Alk1+/+ mice. Alk1+/− mice showed a greater hypotensive response to the β-adrenergic antagonist atenolol and higher concentrations of epinephrine and norepinephrine in plasma than Alk1+/+ mice. The number of brain cholinergic neurons in the anterior basal forebrain was reduced in Alk1+/− mice. Thus, we concluded that the ALK-1 receptor is involved in the control of AP, and the high AP of Alk1+/− mice is explained mainly by the sympathetic overactivation shown by these animals, which is probably related to the decreased number of cholinergic neurons. Summary: Mice haploinsufficient for Alk1, a receptor for the TGF-β family, show hypertension, based on overactivation of the sympathetic nervous system and a reduction in the number of cholinergic neurons in the CNS.
Parasol cell mosaics are unlikely to drive the formation of structured orientation maps in primary visual cortex

Abstract The receptive fields of on- and off-center parasol cell mosaics independently tile the retina to ensure efficient sampling of visual space. A recent theoretical model represented the on- and off-center mosaics by noisy hexagonal lattices of slightly different density. When the two lattices are overlaid, long-range Moiré interference patterns are generated. These Moiré interference patterns have been suggested to drive the formation of highly structured orientation maps in visual cortex. Here, we show that noisy hexagonal lattices do not capture the spatial statistics of parasol cell mosaics. An alternative model based upon local exclusion zones, termed as the pairwise interaction point process (PIPP) model, generates patterns that are statistically indistinguishable from parasol cell mosaics. A key difference between the PIPP model and the hexagonal lattice model is that the PIPP model does not generate Moiré interference patterns, and hence stimulated orientation maps do not show any hexagonal structure. Finally, we estimate the spatial extent of spatial correlations in parasol cell mosaics to be only 200–350 μm, far less than that required to generate Moiré interference. We conclude that parasol cell mosaics are too disordered to drive the formation of highly structured orientation maps in visual cortex.
Effect of Er:YAG laser on dentin bonding durability under simulated pulpal pressure.

PURPOSE To evaluate the effects of Er:YAG laser ablation on the microtensile bond strength and the nanoleakage of Er:YAG-lased dentin bonded to a self-etching adhesive system with and without pulpal pressure. MATERIALS AND METHODS Twenty flat dentin surfaces were obtained from extracted molars. Ten specimens were irradiated by Er:YAG laser, other specimens (control group) were ground using #600 SiC paper. Direct communication to the pulp chamber was created by cutting at a level approximately 1 mm below the cementoenamel junction and parallel to the occlusal surface. The experimental groups were exposed to a simulated pulpal pressure of 15 cm H2O. Each specimen was restored using an adhesive and a photocured composite. The specimens were then sectioned vertically to obtain dentin/adhesive slabs. Ninety-six slabs were prepared for microtensile bond testing. Sixty-four slabs were immersed in ammoniacal silver nitrate tracer solution for 18 h, then rinsed thoroughly, and immersed in photodeveloping solution for 6 h prior to their examination by FE-SEM. RESULTS The method of dentin preparation and the pulpal pressure storage condition significantly affected the microTBS, while the storage duration did not (p < 0.05). The nanoleakage patterns observed in the dentin/bond interface differed depending on whether the dentin was conventionally prepared or ablated by Er:YAG laser. CONCLUSION Er:YAG laser ablation to dentin adversely affected the microTBS and the sealing ability of SE Bond bonded to dentin under simulated pulpal condition.
Lung Ultrasonography in the Evaluation of Interstitial Lung Disease in Systemic Connective Tissue Diseases: Criteria and Severity of Pulmonary Fibrosis – Analysis of 52 Patients

Abstract Objectives: Patients with a diagnosed systemic connective tissue disease require regular monitoring from the point of view of interstitial lung disease. The main aim of this work is a description of the criteria for pulmonary fibrosis and the degree of the severity of the fibrosis during the course of interstitial lung disease through the TLU (transthoracic lung ultrasound). Materials and Methods: 52 patients with diagnosed diffuse interstitial lung disease were qualified for this research, together with 50 volunteers in the control group. The patients in both groups were over 18 years of age and were of both sexes. The results of the TLU of the patients underwent statistical analysis and were compared to High-Resolution Computed Tomography (HRCT) results. Results: As a consequence of the statistical analysis, we defined our own criteria for pulmonary fibrosis in TLU: irregularity of the pleura line, tightening of the pleura line, the fragmentary nature of the pleura line, blurring of the pleura line, thickening of the pleura line, artifacts of line B ≤ 3 and ≥ 4, artifacts of Am line and subpleural consolidations < 5 mm. As a result of the conducted research, a scale of severity of pulmonary fibrosis in TLU was devised (UFI – Ultrasound Fibrosis Index), enabling a division to be made into mild, moderate and severe cases. Conclusions: Transthoracic Lung Ultrasonography (TLU) gives a new outlook on the diagnostic possibilities, non-invasive and devoid of ionising radiation, of pulmonary fibrosis. This research work has allowed to discover two new ultrasound symptoms of pulmonary fibrosis (blurred pleural line and Am lines).
PROCESSING, STRUCTURE, AND ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES OF METAL-FILLED POLYMERS

Polymer-metal composites (PMCs) based on polyethylene (PE) and polyoxymethylene (POM) and on the blend PE/POM filled with dispersed iron or copper were prepared. Composites were produced by several methods: (1) extrusion of homopolymer (PE or POM) filled with iron, (2) extrusion of the blend PE/POM filled with iron, (3) compression molding of PE filled with dispersed copper, and (4) extrusion of PE filled with copper. The method of processing was found to influence the percolation behavior of electrical conductivity. Polymer-metal composites obtained by extrusion were characterized by low values of conductivity and high values of percolation threshold ϕ c , whereas composites based on the polymer blend showed low values of ϕ c . These differences are caused by the specific structure of composites based on the polymer blend. The metal filler was involved only in the POM phase and forms an ordered structure in the volume of the polymer matrix. PE-Cu composites produced by compression molding showed the best electrical parameters. A structure model explaining these results is proposed.
Chunking parallel loops in the presence of synchronization

Modern languages for shared-memory parallelism are moving from a bulk-synchronous Single Program Multiple Data (SPMD) execution model to lightweight Task Parallel execution models for improved productivity. This shift is intended to encourage programmers to express the ideal parallelism in an application at a fine granularity that is natural for the underlying domain, while delegating to the compiler and runtime system the job of extracting coarser-grained useful parallelism for a given target system. A simple and important example of this separation of concerns between ideal and useful parallelism can be found in chunking of parallel loops, where the programmer expresses ideal parallelism by declaring all iterations of a loop to be parallel and the implementation exploits useful parallelism by executing iterations of the loop in sequential chunks. Though chunking of parallel loops has been used as a standard transformation for several years, it poses some interesting challenges when the parallel loop may directly or indirectly (via procedure calls) perform synchronization operations such as barrier, signal or wait statements. In such cases, a straightforward transformation that attempts to execute a chunk of loops in sequence in a single thread may violate the semantics of the original parallel program. In this paper, we address the problem of chunking parallel loops that may contain synchronization operations. We present a transformation framework that uses a combination of transformations from past work (e.g., loop strip-mining, interchange, distribution, unswitching) to obtain an equivalent set of parallel loops that chunk together statements from multiple iterations while preserving the semantics of the original parallel program. These transformations result in reduced synchronization and scheduling overheads, thereby improving performance and scalability. Our experimental results for 11 benchmark programs on an UltraSPARC II multicore processor showed a geometric mean speedup of 0.52x for the unchunked case and 9.59x for automatic chunking using the techniques described in this paper. This wide gap underscores the importance of using these techniques in future compiler and runtime systems for programming models with lightweight parallelism.
Food-hoarding behavior of gray squirrels and North American red squirrels in the central hardwoods region: implications for forest regeneration

The North American red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) has expanded its geographic range into the state of Indiana concurrently with a decline in populations of gray squirrels ( Sciurus carolinensis) throughout portions of the central hardwoods region of the United States that have been converted to intensive agriculture. Red squirrels construct larder hoards and function as seed predators throughout much of their geographic range. In contrast, gray squirrels con - struct scatter hoards and thus function as seed dispersers in addition to eating seeds. We conducted field observations to discern whether hoarding behavior differed between the two species in a deciduous forest stand near the southern limit of the range of red squirrels. Red squirrels were more likely to hoard walnuts and acorns in larders or trees, whereas gray squirrels were more likely to scatter-hoard mast items. We present a simple model to illustrate the poten- tial impact of interspecific differences in hoarding on germination success of black walnut. Our results suggest that red squirrels are unable to compensate completely for the loss of gray squirrels as seed dispersers in portions of the central hardwoods region that have been transformed by agriculture.
Structural hierarchy of autism spectrum disorder symptoms: an integrative framework

BACKGROUND In an attempt to resolve questions regarding the symptom classification of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), previous research generally aimed to demonstrate superiority of one model over another. Rather than adjudicating which model may be optimal, we propose an alternative approach that integrates competing models using Goldberg's bass-ackwards method, providing a comprehensive understanding of the underlying symptom structure of ASD. METHODS The study sample comprised 3,825 individuals, consecutive referrals to a university hospital developmental disabilities specialty clinic or a child psychiatry outpatient clinic. This study analyzed DSM-IV-referenced ASD symptom statements from parent and teacher versions of the Child and Adolescent Symptom Inventory-4R. A series of exploratory structural equation models was conducted in order to produce interpretable latent factors that account for multivariate covariance. RESULTS Results indicated that ASD symptoms were structured into an interpretable hierarchy across multiple informants. This hierarchy includes five levels; key features of ASD bifurcate into different constructs with increasing specificity. CONCLUSIONS This is the first study to examine an underlying structural hierarchy of ASD symptomatology using the bass-ackwards method. This hierarchy demonstrates how core features of ASD relate at differing levels of resolution, providing a model for conceptualizing ASD heterogeneity and a structure for integrating divergent theories of cognitive processes and behavioral features that define the disorder. These findings suggest that a more coherent and complete understanding of the structure of ASD symptoms may be reflected in a metastructure rather than at one level of resolution.
Accurate Bloch Analysis of 1-D Periodic Lines Through the Simulation of Truncated Structures

A common approach to perform dispersive analyses of waveguides periodic along one direction is based on the electromagnetic simulation of a single spatial period of the structure. However, the resulting equivalent two-port network representation of the single cell may lead to inaccurate modal results, since mutual coupling between cells has been neglected. When a finite number of adjacent cells are simulated, with the aim of improving the accuracy of the analysis, spurious solutions are introduced; they are shown here to be related to the nonuniqueness of root-extraction operations in the complex plane. A simple automatic method is proposed to recover the correct solution and to test the convergence of the analysis as the number of simulated cells is increased.