Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Caspase Inhibitors Prevent Endothelial Apoptosis and Cerebral Vasospasm in Dog Model of Experimental Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Apoptosis in the endothelium of major cerebral arteries may play a role in the initiation and maintenance of cerebral vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). We tested the therapeutic effect of caspase inhibitors on endothelial apoptosis and on cerebral vasospasm in an established dog double-hemorrhage model. Thirty-one mongrel dogs were divided into five groups: control; SAH; SAH treated with vehicle [DMSO]; SAH treated with Ac-DEVD-CHO [a specific caspase-3 inhibitor]; and SAH treated with Z-VAD-FMK [a broad caspase inhibitor]. The inhibitors (100 μM) were injected into the cisterna magna daily from Day 0 through Day 3. Angiography was performed on Day 0 and Day 7. Histology, TUNEL staining, and immunohistochemistry were conducted on basilar arteries collected on Day 7 after SAH. Positive staining of TUNEL, poly(ADP)-ribose polymerase (PARP), caspase-3, and caspase-8 was observed in the endothelial cells of the spastic arteries. Double fluorescence labeling demonstrated co-localization of TUNEL with caspase-3 and TNFα-receptor-1 (TNFR1). Ac-DEVD-CHO and Z-VAD-FMK prevented endothelial apoptosis and reduced angiographic vasospasm. The mechanism of apoptosis in endothelial cells involves TNFR1 and the caspase-8 and caspase-3 pathways. Caspase inhibitors may have potential in the treatment of cerebral vasospasm.
Unidentified advertising: Separating contents and radio owner responsibility

This article analyses sound indicators as compulsory elements that separate information content from commercial content in order to preserve the rights of consumers and following the legal regulations and codes of conduct. The study has been carried out using a sample of 372 intersection spaces broadcast by the most popular Spanish commercial generalist radio stations and coded following certain variables such as time slot, commercial content, audio signal input separation and audio signal output separation. The results provide substantial evidence regarding the lack of social responsibility of radio owners towards their audience as well as the passivity with which government and self-regulation bodies protect the rights of listeners to be warned of the commercial nature of these radio broadcasts.
Repairing Faulty Mixture Models using Density Estimation

Previous work in mixture model clustering has focused primarily on the issue of model selection. Model scoring functions (including penalized likelihood and Bayesian approximations) can guide a search of the model parameter and structure space. Relatively little research has addressed the issue of how to move through this space. Local optimization techniques, such as expectation maxi-mization, solve only part of the problem; we still need to move between diierent local op-tima. The traditional approach, restarting the search from diierent random conngura-tions, is ineecient. We describe a more directed and controlled way of moving between local maxima. Using multi-resolution kd-trees for fast density estimation, we search by modifying models within regions where they fail to predict the datapoint density. We compare this algorithm with a canonical clustering method, nding favorable results on a variety of large, low-dimensional datasets.
Trade and Economic Growth: Historical Evidence

Is free trade good for growth? Some of the most disturbing evidence to the contrary comes from a period that is often described as the first era of globalization. Studies of the period 1870-1914 have emphasised that protectionist tariff policy was associated with higher rates of economic growth. In this paper we reassess the empirical evidence about the relationship between tariffs and growth in this era. Our key findings challenge the idea of the 19th century tariff-growth paradox. High tariffs did not stimulate economic growth. But there is equally little evidence that trade and other external factors were key determinants of economic growth. The paradox of this era of globalization is not that free trade was bad for growth; it is that the international environment seems to have mattered little to countries' growth trajectories.
Update on severe asthma: what we know and what we need

Severe asthma patients experience frequent or debilitating symptoms and limitations in their activities, have frequent exacerbations and hospitalisations and account for over half of the cost of the disease and most of its mortality [1, 2]. Because the disease is chronic, debilitating and may prove fatal, it is imperative to understand the mechanisms and factors associated with it and to treat it effectively. This update on severe asthma presents information regarding epidemiology, clinical assessment, risk factors, pathophysiology and management of severe asthma and includes recent relevant publications. According to the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) definition, patients who experience daily symptoms, frequent exacerbations, frequent nocturnal asthma symptoms, limitation of physical activities, forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) or peak expiratory flow (PEF) 60% predicted and PEF or FEV1 variability >30% before initiation of treatment should be classified as having severe persistent asthma [1, 2]. Once treatment is initiated, the response to treatment is also important and is measured by the level of control. This dual assessment creates some confusion as the terminology is not standardised and the terms are often used interchangeably [3]. However, both concepts of asthma severity and control are important in the evaluation of patients and their response to treatment: some patients respond to treatment and become asymptomatic while others remain uncontrolled. Therefore, the diagnosis of “severe asthma” or “severe refractory asthma” is based on both the clinical features of the disease and the daily medication regimen that the patient is receiving. Patients who need oral corticosteroids or very high dose inhaled steroids to remain under control as well as patients with ongoing asthma symptoms, despite being on the appropriate maintenance therapy (high dose inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) combined with long-acting β2-agonists (LABA)), should be …
Bulk composition of the transiting hot Neptune around GJ 436

The hot Neptune orbiting around GJ 436 is a unique example of an intermediate mass planet. Its close-in orbit suggests that the planet has undergone migration and its study is fundamental to understanding planet formation and evolution. As it transits its parent star, it is the only Neptune-mass extrasolar planet of known mass and radius, being slightly larger and more massive than Neptune (M=22.6 M , R=4.19R ). In this regime, several bulk compositions are possible: from an Earth-like core with a thick hydrogen envelope to a water-rich planet with a thin hydrogen envelope comprising a Neptune- like structure. We combine planet-structure modelling with an advanced planet-formation model to assess the likelihood of the di erent possible bulk compositions of GJ 436 b. We find that both an envelope-free water planet ("Ocean planet") as well as a diminute version of a gaseous giant planet are excluded. Consisting of a rocky core with a thick hydrogen/helium envelope, a "dry" composition produces not only too small a radius but is also a very unlikely outcome of planet formation around such a low-mass star. We conclude that GJ 436 b is probably of much higher rock content than Neptune (more than 45% in mass), with a small H-He envelope (10 - 20% in mass). This is the expected outcome of the gathering of materials during the migration process in the inner disk, creating a population of which the hot Neptune is representative.
Antigen valence determines the binding of nominal antigen to cytolytic T cell clones

We have shown that cytotoxic T cell clones specific for the nominal antigen FL will bind high molecular weight (600,000 to 2,000,000) polyacrylamide and Ficoll polymers conjugated with 200-600 FL groups per molecule. Low molecular weight polymers (40,000) with the same epitope density did not give stable binding. A high molecular weight polymer with a lower epitope density also failed to bind. Taken together, these results suggest that a substantial degree of multivalence is a necessary factor in the stable binding of nominal antigen to T cell clones.
Validity of Physician Billing Claims to Identify Deceased Organ Donors in Large Healthcare Databases

Objective We evaluated the validity of physician billing claims to identify deceased organ donors in large provincial healthcare databases. Methods We conducted a population-based retrospective validation study of all deceased donors in Ontario, Canada from 2006 to 2011 (n = 988). We included all registered deaths during the same period (n = 458,074). Our main outcome measures included sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of various algorithms consisting of physician billing claims to identify deceased organ donors and organ-specific donors compared to a reference standard of medical chart abstraction. Results The best performing algorithm consisted of any one of 10 different physician billing claims. This algorithm had a sensitivity of 75.4% (95% CI: 72.6% to 78.0%) and a positive predictive value of 77.4% (95% CI: 74.7% to 80.0%) for the identification of deceased organ donors. As expected, specificity and negative predictive value were near 100%. The number of organ donors identified by the algorithm each year was similar to the expected value, and this included the pre-validation period (1991 to 2005). Algorithms to identify organ–specific donors performed poorly (e.g. sensitivity ranged from 0% for small intestine to 67% for heart; positive predictive values ranged from 0% for small intestine to 37% for heart). Interpretation Primary data abstraction to identify deceased organ donors should be used whenever possible, particularly for the detection of organ-specific donations. The limitations of physician billing claims should be considered whenever they are used.
Impact of Smartphone's on Society

The intention of this study is to investigate how Smartphone‘s are impacting the society and also how Smartphone‘s are going to transform the culture, social life, technology landscape and other diverse aspects of modern society. The intention of this study is to understand all the positive and negative aspects of Smartphone on the society. The study will primarily focus on impact of Smartphone on business, education, health sectors, human psychology and social life. At the end, the study will summarize the impact and conclude based on wide range of impacts that Smartphone‘s have on society. The paper will also recommend solutions, in order to reduce the negative impacts of Smartphone‘s and realizes more benefits of this exiting technology.
Improved Downward Continuation of Potential Field Data

A number of techniques for downward continuation of potential field data, some already established in the literature and some novel, are tested and compared on synthetic and measured potential field profiles. A combination of Wiener filtering and Translation-Invariant denoising gives best results on synthetic data with added white noise. A Multiscale Edge Transform followed by a mild low-pass filter, and the ISVD method, prove to be the two most stable and robust approaches on measured data.
Recombinase Polymerase Amplification Assay for Rapid Diagnostics of Dengue Infection

Background Over 2.5 billion people are exposed to the risk of contracting dengue fever (DF). Early diagnosis of DF helps to diminish its burden on public health. Real-time reverse transcription polymerase amplification assays (RT-PCR) are the standard method for molecular detection of the dengue virus (DENV). Real-time RT-PCR analysis is not suitable for on-site screening since mobile devices are large, expensive, and complex. In this study, two RT-recombinase polymerase amplification (RT-RPA) assays were developed to detect DENV1-4. Methodology/Principal Findings Using two quantitative RNA molecular standards, the analytical sensitivity of a RT-RPA targeting the 3´non-translated region of DENV1-4 was found to range from 14 (DENV4) to 241 (DENV1-3) RNA molecules detected. The assay was specific and did not cross detect other Flaviviruses. The RT-RPA assay was tested in a mobile laboratory combining magnetic-bead based total nucleic acid extraction and a portable detection device in Kedougou (Senegal) and in Bangkok (Thailand). In Kedougou, the RT-RPA was operated at an ambient temperature of 38°C with auxiliary electricity tapped from a motor vehicle and yielded a clinical sensitivity and specificity of 98% (n=31) and 100% (n=23), respectively. While in the field trial in Bangkok, the clinical sensitivity and specificity were 72% (n=90) and 100%(n=41), respectively. Conclusions/Significance During the first 5 days of infection, the developed DENV1-4 RT-RPA assays constitute a suitable accurate and rapid assay for DENV diagnosis. Moreover, the use of a portable fluorescence-reading device broadens its application potential to the point-of-care for outbreak investigations.
Animal cell hydraulics

Water is the dominant ingredient of cells and its dynamics are crucial to life. We and others have suggested a physical picture of the cell as a soft, fluid-infiltrated sponge, surrounded by a water-permeable barrier. To understand water movements in an animal cell, we imposed an external, inhomogeneous osmotic stress on cultured cancer cells. This forced water through the membrane on one side, and out on the other. Inside the cell, it created a gradient in hydration, that we visualized by tracking cellular responses using natural organelles and artificially introduced quantum dots. The dynamics of these markers at short times were the same for normal and metabolically poisoned cells, indicating that the cellular responses are primarily physical rather than chemical. Our finding of an internal gradient in hydration is inconsistent with a continuum model for cytoplasm, but consistent with the sponge model, and implies that the effective pore size of the sponge is small enough to retard water flow significantly on time scales (∼10–100 seconds) relevant to cell physiology. We interpret these data in terms of a theoretical framework that combines mechanics and hydraulics in a multiphase poroelastic description of the cytoplasm and explains the experimentally observed dynamics quantitatively in terms of a few coarse-grained parameters that are based on microscopically measurable structural, hydraulic and mechanical properties. Our fluid-filled sponge model could provide a unified framework to understand a number of disparate observations in cell morphology and motility.
In-hospital time to treatment of patients with acute ST elevation myocardial infarction treated with primary angioplasty: determinants and outcome. Results from the registry of percutaneous coronary interventions in acute myocardial infarction of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Leitender Kardiologischer Kra

Objective: To determine the predictors of time between presentation and primary angioplasty and the influence of this delay time on in-hospital mortality in clinical practice. Design: Analysis of data from the registry of percutaneous coronary interventions in acute myocardial infarction of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Leitender Kardiologischer Krankenhausärzte (ALKK). Patients: Data of 4815 patients registered at 80 hospitals between 1994 and 2000 were analysed. Results: Mean age of the patients was 61.4 (12.5) years. Cardiogenic shock was present in 14.1%. Mean time from admission to primary angioplasty (“door to angiography” time) was 83 (122) minutes. Logistic regression analysis showed the presence of a bundle branch block (odds ratio (OR) 1.95, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.15 to 3.29), prior coronary artery bypass grafting (OR 1.67, 95% CI 1.08 to 2.59), pre-hospital delay > 3 hours (OR 1.61, 95% CI 1.37 to 1.89), and female sex (OR 1.21, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.45) to be independently associated with longer door to angiography times, whereas a higher hospital volume of performing primary angioplasty (OR 0.53, 95% CI 0.46 to 0.62) and the year of the investigation (OR 0.96, 95% CI 0.92 to 1.00) were independently associated with shorter door to angiography times. Independent predictors of in-hospital mortality were cardiogenic shock (41.6% v 4.0% without cardiogenic shock, p < 0.0001), technical success (29.2% with TIMI (thrombolysis in myocardial infarction) flow < 3 v 6.5% with TIMI flow 3, p < 0.0001), age (16.5% ⩾ 70 years v 6.6% < 70, p < 0.0001), three vessel disease (16.5% v 6.8% with < 3 vessel disease, p < 0.0001), anterior location of infarction (12% v 7.4% without anterior infarction, p < 0.0001), year of inclusion (adjusted OR 0.92 per year, p = 0.011), and volume of primary angioplasty at the hospital (11% for < 20 angioplasty procedures/year v 8.3% for ⩾ 20/year, p = 0.027) but not the door to angiography time (adjusted OR 1.14 per tertile, p = 0.397). Conclusions: In current clinical practice in Germany median door to angiography time is quite short (83 (122) minutes). Some patients and hospital factors are independently associated with a longer door to angiography time. Within the observed short in-hospital delays door to angiography time did not influence in-hospital mortality. However, efforts to keep them as short as possible should be continued.
Phase Locking to High Frequencies in the Auditory Nerve and Cochlear Nucleus Magnocellularis of the Barn Owl, Tyto alba

The auditory system of the barn owl is an important model for temporal processing on a very fast time scale and for the neural mechanisms and circuitry underlying sound localization. Phase locking has been shown to be the behaviorally relevant temporal code. This study examined the quality and intensity dependence of phase locking in single auditory nerve fibers of the barn owl to define the input to the known brainstem circuit for temporal processing. For direct comparison in the same individuals, recordings were also obtained from the relevant next higher center, the nucleus magnocellularis (NM). Phase locking was regularly seen at sound pressure levels (SPL) below those eliciting an increase in spike rate, thus providing an additional cue for signal detection. The quality of phase locking, expressed as vector strength, decreased with increasing frequency. Auditory nerve fibers showed an unusual step-like decline with a prominent plateau in the mid-frequency range (1.5–3 kHz), indicating that some specialization enables the owl to halt the deterioration and extend phase locking to frequencies up to 10 kHz, above the range commonly observed in other species. Phase locking in the NM was consistently inferior to that of auditory-nerve fibers at frequencies above 1 kHz, suggesting that the synapse plays a limiting role in temporal precision. The response delays, or group delays, derived from the phase-versus-frequency functions of auditory nerve fibers were not consistent with the unusual spatial frequency representation in the owl cochlea. This questions the common assumption that group delays reflect cochlear wave travel times.
Interpolation by Weak Chebyshev

We present two characterizations of Lagrange interpolation sets for weak Chebyshev spaces. The rst of them is valid for an arbitrary weak Chebyshev space U and is based on an analysis of the structure of zero sets of functions in U extending Stockenberg's theorem. The second one holds for all weak Chebyshev spaces that possess a locally linearly independent basis. x1. Introduction Let U denote a nite-dimensional subspace of real valued functions deened on a totally ordered set K, for example, an arbitrary subset of IR. A nite subset T = ft 1 ; : : : ; t n g of K, where n = dimU, is called an interpolation set (I-set) w.r. t. U if for any given data fy 1 ; : : : ; y n g there exists a unique function u 2 U such that It is easy to see that T is an I-set w.r. t. U if and only if dimU jT = n; where U jT := fu jT : u 2 Ug. For a set of s points, T = ft 1 ; : : : ; t s g K, with s < n, we say that T is an I-set if dimU jT = s. We are interested in describing I-sets w.r. t. U in the case when U is a weak Chebyshev space (W T-space), i.e., every u 2 U has at most n? 1 sign changes. The primary example of a WT-space is the space of univariate polynomial splines, in which case all interpolation sets can be characterized by well-known Schoenberg-Whitney condition (see e.g. 12]). Extensions of Schoenberg-Whitney theorem to some classes of generalized spline spaces were proposed in 11,13,14]. Recently, some characterizations of I-sets w.r. t. weak Chebyshev spaces without any a priori assumption about \piecewise Haar" spline-like structure have been found. In 4] it was proved that Schoenberg-Whitney characterization in its \di-mension form" holds true for a WT-space U if and only if U jK 0 is also a WT-space for all K 0 K. This last property is satissed, for example, if U is a weak Descartes space. In 2] the \support form" of Schoenberg-Whitney theorem has been shown to hold true for every WT-space that possesses a locally linearly independent weak Descartes basis. (See 7] for a review of various forms of Schoenberg-Whitney condition , especially in regard to their extendibility to multivariate splines.)
Second-order consensus of multiple agents with coupling delay

In this paper, we investigate two kinds of second-order consensus algorithms for multiple agents with coupling delay under general fixed directed information topology. Stability analysis is performed based on Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional method. Delay-dependent asymptotical stability condition in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) is derived for the second-order consensus algorithm of delayed dynamical networks. Both delay-independent and delay-dependent asymptotical stabilities conditions in terms of LMIs are derived for the second-order consensus algorithm with information feedback.
The effects of buthionine sulfoximine treatment on diaphragm contractility and SERCA pump function in adult and middle aged rats

This study examined the effects of 10 days of buthionine sulfoximine (BSO) treatment on in vitro contractility and sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium pump (SERCA) expression and function in adult (AD; 6–8 months old) and middle aged (MA; 14–17 months old) rat diaphragm in both the basal state and following fatiguing stimulation. BSO treatment reduced the cellular concentrations of free glutathione (GSH) by >95% and oxidized glutathione (GSSG) by >80% in both age cohorts. GSH content in AD Control diaphragm was 32% higher (P < 0.01) than in MA Control, with no differences in GSSG. The ratio of GSH:GSSG, an indicator of cellular oxidative state, was 34.6 ± 7.4 in MA Control, 52.5 ± 10.1 in AD Control, 10.6 ± 1.7 in MA BSO, and 9.5 ± 1.1 in AD BSO (BSO vs. Control, P < 0.05). Several findings suggest that the effects of BSO treatment are age dependent. AD BSO diaphragm had 26% higher twitch and 28% higher tetanic force (both P < 0.05) than AD Controls, whereas no significant difference existed between the two MA groups. In contrast to our previous work on BSO‐treated AD rats, BSO treatment did not influence maximal SERCA ATPase activity in MA rat diaphragm, nor did SERCA2a expression increase in BSO‐treated MA diaphragm. Biotinylated iodoacetamide binding to SERCA1a, a specific marker of free cysteine residues, was reduced by 35% (P < 0.05) in AD Control diaphragm following fatiguing stimulation, but was not reduced in any other group. Collectively, these results suggest an important role for redox regulation in both contractility and SERCA function which is influenced by aging.