Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Neural stem cell-derived exosomes mediate viral entry

Background Viruses enter host cells through interactions of viral ligands with cellular receptors. Viruses can also enter cells in a receptor-independent fashion. Mechanisms regarding the receptor-independent viral entry into cells have not been fully elucidated. Exosomal trafficking between cells may offer a mechanism by which viruses can enter cells. Methods To investigate the role of exosomes on cellular viral entry, we employed neural stem cell-derived exosomes and adenovirus type 5 (Ad5) for the proof-of-principle study. Results Exosomes significantly enhanced Ad5 entry in Coxsackie virus and adenovirus receptor (CAR)-deficient cells, in which Ad5 only had very limited entry. The exosomes were shown to contain T-cell immunoglobulin mucin protein 4 (TIM-4), which binds phosphatidylserine. Treatment with anti-TIM-4 antibody significantly blocked the exosome-mediated Ad5 entry. Conclusion Neural stem cell-derived exosomes mediated significant cellular entry of Ad5 in a receptor-independent fashion. This mediation may be hampered by an antibody specifically targeting TIM-4 on exosomes. This set of results will benefit further elucidation of virus/exosome pathways, which would contribute to reducing natural viral infection by developing therapeutic agents or vaccines.
Gate-voltage-dependent effective channel length and series resistance of LDD MOSFET's

A measurement algorithm to extract the effective channel length and source-drain series resistance of MOSFET's is presented. This extraction algorithm is applicable to both conventional and LDD MOSFET's. It is shown that the effective channel length and the source-drain series resistance of an LDD device are gate-voltage dependent. The effective channel length of an LDD device is not necessarily the metallurgical junction separation between the source and drain as it is commonly seen in a conventional device. A more generalized interpretation of effective channel length is introduced to understand the physical meaning of this gate-voltage dependence. The result also indicates that the effective channel length and source-drain resistance are two inseparable device parameters regardless of LDD or conventional FET's.
Autonomic Function Is Impaired in Elderly Stroke Survivors

Background and Purpose— Impaired autonomic function is common in the acute poststroke phase but little is known about the longer term effects, particularly in older people. We sought to determine if autonomic function is impaired after stroke recovery in older patients. Methods— A cross-sectional case-control study comparing autonomic function in 76 nondemented stroke patients with 70 community-living controls aged older than 75 years. Results— Cases were assessed on average 9 months after stroke. From power spectral analysis of heart rate variability, stroke patients had lower total (P=0.032) and low-frequency (P=0.014) spectral densities and impaired baroreflex sensitivity (&agr; low-frequency baroreflex sensitivity, P=0.006). From a series of cardiovascular autonomic reflex tests, heart rate variation during forced respiration, Valsalva ratio, and blood pressure overshoot during Valsalva maneuver were significantly lower in stroke patients (P=0.003, <0.001, and 0.027, respectively). Blood pressure response to isometric exercise was significantly exaggerated in stroke patients (P=0.007). Conclusions— Cardiovascular autonomic function is impaired long after the index event in stroke survivors. Impaired autonomic function may increase the risk of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality in older stroke survivors.
INS/GPS Integration: Global Observability Analysis

Observability is an important aspect of the state-estimation problem in the integration of the inertial navigation system (INS) and the Global Positioning System (GPS) as it determines the existence and nature of solutions. In most previous research, conservative observability concepts, e.g., local observability and linear observability, have extensively been used to locally characterize the estimability properties. In this paper, a novel approach that directly starts from the basic observability definition is used to investigate the global observability of the nonlinear INS/GPS system with consideration of the lever arm uncertainty. A sufficient condition for the global observability of the system is presented. Covariance simulations with an extended Kalman filter (EKF) and a field test are performed to confirm the theoretical results. The global observability analysis approach is not only straightforward and comprehensive but also provides us with new insights that were unreachable by conventional methods.
Developmental antecedents of late adolescence substance use patterns

This longitudinal study examined antecedents of substance use behavior among 176 (53% male) adolescents. Adolescents were classified as (a) abstainers (n = 19), (b) experimenters (n = 65), (c) at-risk youth (n = 63), and (d) abusers (n = 29) based on their reported substance use behavior at age 17.5. Parental behavior, peer competence, and problem behavior, measured from early childhood through age 16, were examined as predictors of substance use patterns. Multinomial logistic regression models revealed that early maternal hostility, externalizing behavior problems in first grade and at age 16, internalizing behavior in first grade and at age 16, and parental monitoring at age 16 significantly differentiated substance use groups. The study provides evidence that experiences occurring early in development, in addition to those that occur later in development, can play a pivotal role in setting the stage for late adolescent substance use behavior.Preparation of this work and the research described herein were supported by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH40864-18). We acknowledge the participants and their families for their continued participation in this research. Special thanks to Judy Cook, W. Andrew Collins, and the numerous graduate and undergraduates who made this project possible.
Contactless Impedance Sensors and Their Application to Flow Measurements

The paper provides a critical discussion of the present state of the theory of high-frequency impedance sensors (now mostly called contactless impedance or conductivity sensors), the principal approaches employed in designing impedance flow-through cells and their operational parameters. In addition to characterization of traditional types of impedance sensors, the article is concerned with the use of less common sensors, such as cells with wire electrodes or planar cells. There is a detailed discussion of the effect of the individual operational parameters (width and shape of the electrodes, detection gap, frequency and amplitude of the input signal) on the response of the detector. The most important problems to be resolved in coupling these devices with flow-through measurements in the liquid phase are also discussed. Examples are given of cell designs for continuous flow and flow-injection analyses and of detection systems for miniaturized liquid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis. New directions for the use of these sensors in molecular biology and chemical reactors and some directions for future development are outlined.
Energy Recovery From Microstrip Passive Circuits

In this paper, the energy recovery in microstrip passive circuits from the power losses into heat is studied. For this purpose, a thermoelectric generator (TEG) based on the Seebeck effect principle is used, which converts part of the power dissipated into heat to dc electrical power. A solution integrating the TEG with the microstrip circuit is proposed, and design guidelines in order to optimize the recovered power keeping a good isolation between the RF signal and the TEG system are provided. As will be shown, under moderate applied signal powers of just 1–5 W, the levels of recovered power in microstrip passive circuits can be notable. As a demonstrator circuit, an integration device formed by an embedded microstrip bandpass filter for WiMAX applications and a TEG is designed, fabricated, and characterized (thermal and electrically). Different scenarios are considered, depending on frequency and thermal loads. For an applied inband CW input signal power of 2 W at 3.48 GHz, a recovered power of around $250~\mu \text{W}$ has been continuously supplied to the electrical load. Several aspects, such as efficiency and future improvements, are also discussed.
Differences among hospitals in Medicare patient mortality.

Using hospital discharge abstract data for fiscal year 1984 for all acute care hospitals treating Medicare patients (age greater than or equal to 65), we measured four mortality rates: inpatient deaths, deaths within 30 days after discharge, and deaths within two fixed periods following admission (30 days, and the 95th percentile length of stay for each condition). The metric of interest was the probability that a hospital would have as many deaths as it did (taking age, race, and sex into account). Differences among hospitals in inpatient death rates were large and significant (p less than .05) for 22 of 48 specific conditions studied and for all conditions together; among these 22 "high-variation" conditions, medical conditions accounted for far more deaths than did surgical conditions. We compared pairs of conditions in terms of hospital rankings by probability of observed numbers of inpatient deaths; we found relatively low correlations (Spearman correlation coefficients of 0.3 or lower) for most comparisons except between a few surgical conditions. When we compared different pairs of the four death measures on their rankings of hospitals by probabilities of the observed numbers of deaths, the correlations were moderate to high (Spearman correlation coefficients of 0.54 to 0.99). Hospitals with low probabilities of the number of observed deaths were not distributed randomly geographically; a small number of states had significantly more than their share of these hospitals (p less than .01). Information from hospital discharge abstract data is insufficient to determine the extent to which differences in severity of illness or quality of care account for this marked variability, so data on hospital death rates cannot now be used to draw inferences about quality of care. The magnitude of variability in death rates and the geographic clustering of facilities with low probabilities, however, both argue for further study of hospital death rates. These data may prove most useful as a screening mechanism to identify patterns of potentially poor quality of care. Careful choice of the mortality measure used is needed, however, to maximize the probability of identifying those hospitals, and only those hospitals, warranting more in-depth review.
Convergence of a Particle Method and Global Weak Solutions of a Family of Evolutionary PDEs

The purpose of this paper is to provide global existence and uniqueness results for a family of fluid transport equations by establishing convergence results for the particle method applied to these equations. The considered family of PDEs is a collection of strongly nonlinear equations which yield traveling wave solutions and can be used to model a variety of flows in fluid dynamics. We apply a particle method to the studied evolutionary equations and provide a new self-contained method for proving its convergence. The latter is accomplished by using the concept of space-time bounded variation and the associated compactness properties. From this result, we prove the existence of a unique global weak solution in some special cases and obtain stronger regularity properties of the solution than previously established.
The Relationship between Product and Process Innovations and Firm Performance: Microeconometric Evidence

A growing number of studies have recently analysed the entire link between innovation input, innovation output and productivity (CDM model), thereby trying to shed some light into the ”black box” of the innovation process at the firm level. One problem in previous studies is that they only use an output indicator for product innovations. Using German data from the CIS3 (3 rd Community Innovation Survey) performed in 2001, this paper enlarges the CDM model by including an additional equation for the output of process innovations. This new indicator is measured as the share of reduction in unit costs due to process innovations. Estimates have shown that the growth rate of labour productivity increases significantly with the success of product innovations, but no similar effect pertaining to process innovations is observed.
12-pulse LCI synchronous drive for a 20 MW compressor modeling, simulation and measurements

The current source thyristor inverter is still today a suitable choice for supplying high power adjustable speed drives for pumps or compressors. This paper presents a 12-pulse LCI (load commutated inverter) synchronous drive for a 20 MW compressor, it focuses on the following main aspects: modeling of the complete drive system, numerical simulation and comparison between calculated and measured values of the pulsating torque components in steady-state operations. The modeling of the six-phase synchronous motor is obtained by using a new virtual test-platform for large electrical machines. The pulsating torque components are measured in real time with a digital transient torque measurement device.
Hypothalamic Suppressor‐of‐Cytokine‐Signalling 3 mRNA is Elevated and Pro‐Opiomelanocortin mRNA is Reduced During Pregnancy in Brandt’s Voles (Lasiopodomys brandtii )

Leptin acts within the hypothalamus to diminish food intake. In Brandt’s voles (Lasiopodomys brandtii), both circulating leptin levels and food intake are elevated during pregnancy, suggesting an ineffectiveness of leptin to reduce food intake. Diminished hypothalamic leptin receptors and impaired leptin signal transduction are characteristic of central leptin resistance. The present study aimed to determine whether these characteristic modulations of leptin sensitivity occurred in pregnant Brandt’s voles. The mRNA expression of the long form of the leptin receptor (Ob‐Rb), suppressor‐of‐cytokine‐signalling 3 (SOCS3), neuropeptide Y (NPY), agouti‐related protein (AgRP), pro‐opiomelanocortin (POMC) and cocaine‐ and amphetamine‐regulated transcript (CART) in the hypothalamus were examined on dioestrous, day 5, day 10 and day 18 of pregnancy. Compared to controls, there was no significant change in hypothalamic Ob‐Rb mRNA during the pregnancy. SOCS3 mRNA was increased significantly by 68% on day 10% and 93% on day 18 of pregnancy compared to controls. Despite elevated leptin levels, POMC mRNA was decreased significantly by 60% on day 18 of pregnancy, whereas no differences were found in the mRNA expression of NPY, AgRP and CART in pregnant voles compared to controls. The elevation of SOCS3 mRNA together with disrupted leptin regulation of neuropeptides in the hypothalamus suggests that leptin resistance may develop in pregnant Brandt’s voles.
Opus: University of Bath Online Publication Store Research Article the Journal of Neurobehavioral Sciences Mechanisms of Short-term False Memory Formation

This version is made available in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite only the published version using the reference above. Summary False memories are the erroneous recollection of events that did not actually occur. False memories have been broadly investigated within the domain of long-term memory, while studies involving short-term memory are less common and provide a far less detailed 'picture' of this phenomenon. We tested participants in a short-term memory task involving lists of four semantically related words that had to be matched with a probe word. Crucially, the probe word could be one of the four words of the list, it could be semantically related to them, or it could be semantically unrelated to the list. Participants had to decide whether the probe was in the list. To this task we added articulatory suppression to impair rehearsal, concurrent material to remember, and changes to the visual appearance of the probes to assess the mechanism involved in short-term memory retrieval. The results showed that, similarly to the studies on long-term memory, false memories emerged more frequently for probes semantically related to the list and when rehearsal was impaired by concurrent material. The visual appearance of the stimuli did not play an important role. This set of results suggests that deep semantic processing, rather than only superficial visual processing, is taking place within a few seconds from the presentation of the probes. gösterilmesinden sonraki birkaç saniye içerisinde gerçekleştiğini göstermektedir.
Statistical modelling for recurrent events: an application to sports injuries

Background Injuries are often recurrent, with subsequent injuries influenced by previous occurrences and hence correlation between events needs to be taken into account when analysing such data. Objective This paper compares five different survival models (Cox proportional hazards (CoxPH) model and the following generalisations to recurrent event data: Andersen-Gill (A-G), frailty, Wei-Lin-Weissfeld total time (WLW-TT) marginal, Prentice-Williams-Peterson gap time (PWP-GT) conditional models) for the analysis of recurrent injury data. Methods Empirical evaluation and comparison of different models were performed using model selection criteria and goodness-of-fit statistics. Simulation studies assessed the size and power of each model fit. Results The modelling approach is demonstrated through direct application to Australian National Rugby League recurrent injury data collected over the 2008 playing season. Of the 35 players analysed, 14 (40%) players had more than 1 injury and 47 contact injuries were sustained over 29 matches. The CoxPH model provided the poorest fit to the recurrent sports injury data. The fit was improved with the A-G and frailty models, compared to WLW-TT and PWP-GT models. Conclusions Despite little difference in model fit between the A-G and frailty models, in the interest of fewer statistical assumptions it is recommended that, where relevant, future studies involving modelling of recurrent sports injury data use the frailty model in preference to the CoxPH model or its other generalisations. The paper provides a rationale for future statistical modelling approaches for recurrent sports injury.
The father-child activation relationship : a new theory to understand the development of infant mental health

The activation relationship theory is a complement to the attachment theory. according to John Bowlby (1969), attachment consists of two opposing, complementary behaviour systems: 1) the proximity behaviour system that ensures the child’s protection and 2) the exploration system that fosters the child’s knowledge acquisition and adaptation to unfamiliar environments. Children regularly seek comfort through contact with attachment figures when tired, hungry, sick or afraid or when feeling insecure in the presence of novelty, and this comfort provides them with the necessary confidence to explore their environment further. The Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) developed by Mary ainsworth and colleagues (1978) has made it possible to assess the quality of the attachment relationship in children ages 12-18 months by focusing more on the secure base than on the parent’s response to the baby’s need for stimulation in exploratory contexts. Paquette (2004a; 2004b) has theorized father-child attachment by developing the concept of the “activation relationship”, the affective bond that permits children to open up to the outside world, focusing primarily on parental behaviour in relation to orduring child exploration of the environment.
Venous thromboembolism in medical outpatients – a cross-sectional survey of risk assessment and prophylaxis

Summary The degree of thromboprophylaxis in medical outpatients is low despite a substantial risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE). This may be attributable to difficulties in assessing risk. Assessment tools like the Haas’ scorecard aid in determining the need for thromboprophylaxis. We aimed at evaluating how the use of this tool may aid physicians in appropriately using anticoagulants. This was an epidemiological, cross-sectional survey of acute medically ill patients with limited mobility treated by general practitioners and internists. Risk assessment for VTE by the treating physician was compared to calculated risk. Of 8,123 patients evaluated between August 2006 and April 2008, 7,271 fulfilled the in- and exclusion criteria. Mean age was 69.4 ± 13.6 years, and 45.2% were male. Of these 82.8% were high risk based on their acute medical condition, 37.9% based on their underlying chronic condition. Immobilisation, heart failure, pneumonia, age, obesity, and major varicosis were the most frequently encountered risk factors. The agreement between the Haas’ scorecard and physician indicated risk was high. At least 94.1% of patients with high risk received adequate anticoagulation mostly as low molecular weight heparins for a mean duration of 15.1 ± 30.5 days. There is a substantial risk for VTE in medical out-patients. Using a simple structured scorecard resulted in an overall appropriate risk assessment and high degree of anticoagulation. The scorecard may provide a tool to improve the overall awareness for VTE risk in medical outpatients, substantially improving the degree of prophylaxis in a patient population with largely underestimated risk.
Assessing a new hip index as a risk predictor for diabetes mellitus

Recently, a new anthropometric parameter (a new hip index [HI]) was developed, and the HI shows a U‐shaped relationship to mortality in the USA population. It is well known that there is an inverse relationship between hip circumference (HC) and the risk of diabetes mellitus. Accordingly, the study sought to investigate whether HI could predict future diabetes mellitus, as compared with HC and the waist‐to‐hip ratio (WHR), in a general Chinese population.
A novel dual‐flow bioreactor simulates increased fluorescein permeability in epithelial tissue barriers

Permeability studies across epithelial barriers are of primary importance in drug delivery as well as in toxicology. However, traditional in vitro models do not adequately mimic the dynamic environment of physiological barriers. Here, we describe a novel two‐chamber modular bioreactor for dynamic in vitro studies of epithelial cells. The fluid dynamic environment of the bioreactor was characterized using computational fluid dynamic models and measurements of pressure gradients for different combinations of flow rates in the apical and basal chambers. Cell culture experiments were then performed with fully differentiated Caco‐2 cells as a model of the intestinal epithelium, comparing the effect of media flow applied in the bioreactor with traditional static transwells. The flow increases barrier integrity and tight junction expression of Caco‐2 cells with respect to the static controls. Fluorescein permeability increased threefold in the dynamic system, indicating that the stimulus induced by flow increases transport across the barrier, closely mimicking the in vivo situation. The results are of interest for studying the influence of mechanical stimuli on cells, and underline the importance of developing more physiologically relevant in vitro tissue models. The bioreactor can be used to study drug delivery, chemical, or nanomaterial toxicity and to engineer barrier tissues.