Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Magnetoviscoelastic Response of Elastomer Composites Consisting of Ferrous Particles Embedded in a Polymer Matrix

The mechanical response of elastomer composites to applied magnetic fields is examined. These elastomer composites consist of carbonyl iron particles embedded within a molded elastomer matrix. The composite is subjected to a strong magnetic field during curing, which causes the iron particles to form columnar structures that are parallel to the applied field. This special composite geometry is known to enhance the mechanical response to the application of post-cured magnetic fields. Experimental data is presented that shows that up to a 0.6 MPa change in mechanical shear modulus (which represents 30-40% change in modulus for the materials tested) is possible in response to an applied magnetic field for a composite containing 30% (V/V) iron particles. A simple quasi-static dipole model is presented to examine the magnetoviscoelastic effect of these elastomer composites. The model is semi-empirical in that it may be fit to experimental data over a broad range of applied fields by adjusting a parameter that accounts for unmodeled multipolar magnetic interactions between particles within the composite. Such elastomer composites hold promise in enabling variable stiffness devices and adaptive structures.
Genetic Variation in Genes for the Xenobiotic-Metabolizing Enzymes CYP1A1, EPHX1, GSTM1, GSTT1, and GSTP1 and Susceptibility to Colorectal Cancer in Lynch Syndrome

Individuals with Lynch syndrome are predisposed to cancer due to an inherited DNA mismatch repair gene mutation. However, there is significant variability observed in disease expression likely due to the influence of other environmental, lifestyle, or genetic factors. Polymorphisms in genes encoding xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes may modify cancer risk by influencing the metabolism and clearance of potential carcinogens from the body. In this retrospective analysis, we examined key candidate gene polymorphisms in CYP1A1, EPHX1, GSTT1, GSTM1, and GSTP1 as modifiers of age at onset of colorectal cancer among 257 individuals with Lynch syndrome. We found that subjects heterozygous for CYP1A1 I462V (c.1384A>G) developed colorectal cancer 4 years earlier than those with the homozygous wild-type genotype (median ages, 39 and 43 years, respectively; log-rank test P = 0.018). Furthermore, being heterozygous for the CYP1A1 polymorphisms, I462V and Msp1 (g.6235T>C), was associated with an increased risk for developing colorectal cancer [adjusted hazard ratio for AG relative to AA, 1.78; 95% confidence interval, 1.16-2.74; P = 0.008; hazard ratio for TC relative to TT, 1.53; 95% confidence interval, 1.06-2.22; P = 0.02]. Because homozygous variants for both CYP1A1 polymorphisms were rare, risk estimates were imprecise. None of the other gene polymorphisms examined were associated with an earlier onset age for colorectal cancer. Our results suggest that the I462V and Msp1 polymorphisms in CYP1A1 may be an additional susceptibility factor for disease expression in Lynch syndrome because they modify the age of colorectal cancer onset by up to 4 years. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2008;17(9):2393–401)
Fibulin-4 is associated with prognosis of endometrial cancer patients and inhibits cancer cell invasion and metastasis via Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway

Fibulin-4, an extracellular glycoprotein, which plays significant roles in elastic fiber assembly, is correlated to the progression of some cancers. However, the role of fibulin-4 in endometrial cancer cell invasion and metastasis remains unexplored. In our study, fibulin-4 expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) in normal endometrial tissues and endometrial carcinoma tissues. Using single cell cloning, strongly, and weakly, invasive subclones were derived from KLE and Ishikawa endometrial carcinoma cell lines. RT-qPCR, western blotting, and immunocytochemistry (ICC) were used to assess mRNA and protein expressions of fibulin-4 in primary cultured endometrial cells, 4 types of endometrial cancer cell lines, and the different invasive subclones. Using lentivirus transfection, fibulin-4 shRNA and pLVX-fibulin-4 were constructed and used to infect the strongly and weakly invasive subclones. The effects of fibulin-4 on the biological characteristics of endometrial carcinoma cells were detected by cell functional assays in vitro and in vivo. Using Wnt signaling pathway inhibitor XAV-939 and activator LiCl, we detected the role of fibulin-4 in the Wnt/β-catenin pathway and the relationship with epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT). Fibulin-4 was decreased in endometrial carcinoma tissues, and loss of fibulin-4 expression was significantly related with poor differentiation, lymph node metastasis, and poor prognosis of endometrial carcinoma. Fibulin-4 significantly inhibited endometrial carcinoma cell proliferation, invasion, metastasis, and EMT through the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Fibulin-4 has the ability to suppress endometrial cancer progression. These results can contribute to the development of a new potential therapeutic target for patients with endometrial carcinoma.
Visual and auditory synchronization deficits among dyslexic readers as compared to non-impaired readers: a cross-correlation algorithm analysis

Visual and auditory temporal processing and crossmodal integration are crucial factors in the word decoding process. The speed of processing (SOP) gap (Asynchrony) between these two modalities, which has been suggested as related to the dyslexia phenomenon, is the focus of the current study. Nineteen dyslexic and 17 non-impaired University adult readers were given stimuli in a reaction time (RT) procedure where participants were asked to identify whether the stimulus type was only visual, only auditory or crossmodally integrated. Accuracy, RT, and Event Related Potential (ERP) measures were obtained for each of the three conditions. An algorithm to measure the contribution of the temporal SOP of each modality to the crossmodal integration in each group of participants was developed. Results obtained using this model for the analysis of the current study data, indicated that in the crossmodal integration condition the presence of the auditory modality at the pre-response time frame (between 170 and 240 ms after stimulus presentation), increased processing speed in the visual modality among the non-impaired readers, but not in the dyslexic group. The differences between the temporal SOP of the modalities among the dyslexics and the non-impaired readers give additional support to the theory that an asynchrony between the visual and auditory modalities is a cause of dyslexia.
The impact of diagnostic error on testing genetic association in case–control studies

In case–control studies, subjects in the case group may be recruited from suspected patients who are diagnosed positively with disease. While many statistical methods have been developed for measurement error or misclassification of exposure variables in epidemiological studies, no studies have been reported on the effect of errors in diagnosing disease on testing genetic association in case–control studies. We study the impact of using the original Cochran–Armitage trend test assuming no diagnostic error when, in fact, cases and controls may be clinically diagnosed by an imperfect gold standard or a reference test. The type I error, sample size and asymptotic power of trend tests are examined under a family of genetic models in the presence of diagnostic error. The empirical powers of the trend tests are also compared by simulation studies under various genetic models. Published in 2004 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Epithelium and Bowman’s layer thickness and light scatter in keratoconic cornea evaluated using ultrahigh resolution optical coherence tomography

Abstract. A custom-developed ultrahigh resolution optical coherence tomography with an axial resolution of 1.1 μm in corneal tissue was used to characterize thickness and light scatter of the epithelium and Bowman’s layer in keratoconic (KC) cornea noninvasively. A 4-mm wide vertical corneal section around the apex in nine KC and eight normal eyes was imaged in vivo. The epithelium and Bowman’s layer were visualized and their thickness profiles were quantified. Scatter was quantified based on the sensitivity normalized mean signal intensity distribution. Average mean thickness of the epithelium and Bowman’s layer in KC eyes was significantly smaller (p<0.05) than the normal eyes. The epithelium thickness variation across a central 3-mm cornea was significantly larger in KC eyes than in normal eyes. The scatter in KC eyes was significantly increased only for Bowman’s layer. The changes observed in this study could improve our understanding of the underlying disease mechanism of KC and can provide new indications for early disease diagnosis.
Positive affect increases the breadth of attentional selection

The present study examined the thesis that positive affect may serve to broaden the scope of attentional filters, reducing their selectivity. The effect of positive mood states was measured in two different cognitive domains: semantic search (remote associates task) and visual selective attention (Eriksen flanker task). In the conceptual domain, positive affect enhanced access to remote associates, suggesting an increase in the scope of semantic access. In the visuospatial domain, positive affect impaired visual selective attention by increasing processing of spatially adjacent flanking distractors, suggesting an increase in the scope of visuospatial attention. During positive states, individual differences in enhanced semantic access were correlated with the degree of impaired visual selective attention. These findings demonstrate that positive states, by loosening the reins on inhibitory control, result in a fundamental change in the breadth of attentional allocation to both external visual and internal conceptual space.
Infinite Families of Recursive Formulas Generating Power Moments of Ternary Kloosterman Sums with Trace Nonzero Square Arguments: O(2n+1,2^{r}) Case

In this paper, we construct four infinite families of ternary linear codes associated with double cosets in $O(2n+1,q)$ with respect to certain maximal parabolic subgroup of the special orthogonal group $SO(2n+1,q)$. Here $q$ is a power of three. Then we obtain two infinite families of recursive formulas, the one generating the power moments of Kloosterman sums with $``$trace nonzero square arguments" and the other generating the even power moments of those. Both of these families are expressed in terms of the frequencies of weights in the codes associated with those double cosets in $O(2n+1,q)$ and in the codes associated with similar double cosets in the symplectic group $Sp(2n,q)$. This is done via Pless power moment identity and by utilizing the explicit expressions of exponential sums over those double cosets related to the evaluations of $"$Gauss sums" for the orthogonal group $O(2n+1,q)$.
A Joint Model for the Kinetics of CTC Count and PSA Concentration During Treatment in Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer*

Assessment of treatment efficacy in metastatic castration‐resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) is limited by frequent nonmeasurable bone metastases. The count of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) is a promising surrogate marker that may replace the widely used prostate‐specific antigen (PSA). The purpose of this study was to quantify the dynamic relationships between the longitudinal kinetics of these markers during treatment in patients with mCRPC. Data from 223 patients with mCRPC treated by chemotherapy and/or hormonotherapy were analyzed for up to 6 months of treatment. A semimechanistic model was built, combining the following several pharmacometric advanced features: (1) Kinetic‐Pharmacodynamic (K‐PD) compartments for treatments (chemotherapy and hormonotherapy); (2) a latent variable linking both marker kinetics; (3) modeling of CTC kinetics with a cell lifespan model; and (4) a negative binomial distribution for the CTC random sampling. Linked with survival, this model would potentially be useful for predicting treatment efficacy during drug development or for therapeutic adjustment in treated patients.
Implementing the Internet of Things vision in industrial wireless sensor networks

The authors of this paper explore the use of IPv6 over Low power Wireless Personal Area Networks (6LoWPAN), IPv6 Routing Protocol for Low power and Lossy Networks (RPL) and Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP) as a possible solution for realising the Internet of Things (IOT) vision in Industrial Wireless Sensor Networks (IWSNs), The aim of this paper is to investigate the feasibility of using Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) standards in industrial environments by identifying and quantifying several attributes of a 6LoWPAN, RPL and CoAP based IWSNs relating to bounded time interval communications. The paper identifies several possible causes of latency in IWSNs and can be used as a basis for deploying Internet Protocol (IP) based IWSNs requiring IOT connectivity.
Provably Secure On-Demand Source Routing in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

Routing is one of the most basic networking functions in mobile ad hoc networks. Hence, an adversary can easily paralyze the operation of the network by attacking the routing protocol. This has been realized by many researchers and several "secure" routing protocols have been proposed for ad hoc networks. However, the security of those protocols has mainly been analyzed by informal means only. In this paper, we argue that flaws in ad hoc routing protocols can be very subtle, and we advocate a more systematic way of analysis. We propose a mathematical framework in which security can be precisely defined and routing protocols for mobile ad hoc networks can be proved to be secure in a rigorous manner. Our framework is tailored for on-demand source routing protocols, but the general principles are applicable to other types of protocols too. Our approach is based on the simulation paradigm, which has already been used extensively for the analysis of key establishment protocols, but, to the best of our knowledge, it has not been applied in the context of ad hoc routing so far. We also propose a new on-demand source routing protocol, called endairA, and we demonstrate the use of our framework by proving that it is secure in our model
Prospective Study on Usual Dietary Phytoestrogen Intake and Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Western Women

Background—Phytoestrogens have been suggested to lower cardiovascular disease risk, but existing research focused on non-Western high intake levels and on risk factors. We investigated whether habitual low phytoestrogen intake is associated with manifest cardiovascular disease risk. Methods and Results—Between 1993 and 1997, 16 165 women 49 to 70 years old and free from cardiovascular disease were enrolled in the Dutch Prospect-EPIC cohort (European Prospective study Into Cancer and nutrition) and followed up for a median period of 75 months. At enrollment, women filled in questionnaires on chronic disease risk factors and nutrition. Intake of phytoestrogens was estimated using the food frequency questionnaire covering regular dietary intake of 178 food items in the year before enrollment. Cox regression analysis was used to estimate hazard ratios of cardiovascular disease for quartiles of phytoestrogen intake adjusted for age at intake, body mass index, smoking, physical activity, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, use of hormone replacement therapy, menopausal status, and intake of total energy, total fiber, vegetables, fruit, and alcohol. In total, 372 women experienced a coronary event (CHD) (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification [ICD-9], 410 to 414, 427.5) and 147 women a cerebrovascular event (CVD) (ICD-9, 430 to 438) during follow-up. Overall, neither isoflavones nor lignans were associated with decreased cardiovascular disease risk. When stratifying for ever versus never smokers, CHD risk decreased with increasing lignan intake for ever smokers. Conclusions—Our results do not support the presence of a protective effect of higher intake of phytoestrogens in low doses on cardiovascular disease risk, although a small risk reduction with higher lignan intake cannot be excluded for smokers.
A murine model of experimental metastasis to bone and bone marrow.

Bone is a common site of metastasis in human cancer. A major impediment to understanding the pathogenesis of bone metastasis has been the lack of an appropriate animal model. In this paper, we describe an animal model in which B16 melanoma cells injected in the left cardiac ventricle reproducibly colonize specific sites of the skeletal system of mice. Injection of 10(5) cells resulted in melanotic tumor colonies in most organs, including the skeletal system. Injection of 10(4) or fewer cells resulted in experimental metastasis almost entirely restricted to the skeletal system and ovary. In contrast, i.v. injection of 10(5) cells resulted in tumor colonies in the lung only. Left cardiac injection of 10(2) cells caused bone colonization, but the same number of cells injected i.v. did not colonize the lung. The number of bones with tumor colonies increased with increasing number of cells injected. Melanotic tumor colonies in the bone were characteristically distributed in the metaphysis of long bones and in the periphery of flat bones. Most animals developed paraplegia due to spinal cord compression by bony metastasis to the spine. Tumor colonization of bone occurred only in regions of bone containing hematopoietic bone marrow. This suggests that the injected tumor cells lodge, survive in the hematopoietic bone marrow environment, and grow to destroy adjacent bone. This experimental model of metastasis to bone will facilitate future studies of the pathophysiology and treatment of bone and bone marrow metastasis.
Codon 54 polymorphism of the human intestinal fatty acid binding protein 2 gene is associated with dyslipidemias but not with insulin resistance in patients with familial combined hyperlipidemia.

Familial combined hyperlipidemia (FCHL) is associated with variable expression of dyslipidemias and insulin resistance. In nondiabetic Pima Indians an A to G substitution in codon 54 of the fatty acid binding protein 2 (FABP2) gene has been shown to be associated with insulin resistance. We screened the entire coding region of this gene by single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis in 24 probands (17 men and 7 women; age, 63.0 +/- 7.4 years [mean +/- SD]; body mass index [BMI], 27.7 +/- 4.2 kg/m2) who had FCHL and in 40 healthy men from a random population sample of 82 men (age, 54.0 +/- 5.0 years; BMI, 26.3 +/- 3.2 kg/m2). Insulin resistance was assessed with the euglycemic clamp in 58 subjects from FCHL families (14 probands with FCHL and 44 first-degree relatives of probands; 38 men and 20 women; age, 51.5 +/- 12.6 years; BMI, 25.5 +/- 3.9 kg/m2). We found three nucleotide substitution in the FABP2 gene: GCT to ACT (Ala-->Thr) in codon 54, GTA to GTG in codon 118, and GCGCA to GCACA in the 3'-noncoding region. Frequencies of these variants did not differ between the patients and control subjects. The Ala to Thr substitution in codon 54 was associated with a high lipid oxidation rate (P = .011 after adjustment for sex and family relationship), high HDL triglycerides (P = .042), and high LDL triglycerides (P = .013) but not with insulin resistance in subjects from FCHL families. The FABP2 gene is unlikely to be a major gene for FCHL, but it might affect lipid metabolism in subjects with FCHL.
Upgrading the Seismic Performance of Reinforced Masonry Columns Using CFRP Wraps

Compared with reinforced concrete, relatively fewer experimental studies address the behavior of masonry columns under com- bined axial load and cyclic flexure. There exist reinforced concrete masonry (RCM) columns that are part of the moment resisting system of masonry structures that are in need of seismic upgrade. Wrapping such susceptible RCM columns with carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRP) is expected to enhance the seismic behavior of reinforced masonry columns considerably. This paper focuses on assessing the seismic performance of RCM columns wrapped with CFRP. In this experimental study, six 1.4-m reinforced masonry columns were constructed and tested when subjected to constant axial force and cyclic lateral excitations. The columns had a cross-section of 390 mm × 390 mm and were constructed using bull-nosed concrete units. The first column had no CFRP wraps and was used as a control specimen whereas the other five columns werewrapped using different layers of CFRP sheets or different wrapping schemes. From the tests, it was observed that wrapping the masonry columns with CFRP wraps enhanced the seismic performance of the columns by offering more ductile behavior, increasing both strength and energy dissipation capacity. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)CC.1943-5614.0000252. © 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers. CE Database subject headings: Reinforced concrete; Masonry; Columns; Fiber reinforced polymer; Seismic effects; Ductility. Author keywords: Reinforced concrete masonry (RCM) columns; CFRP wraps; Seismic; Ductile behavior.
Localizing Sources of Brain Disease Progression with Network Diffusion Model

Pinpointing the sources of dementia is crucial to the effective treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. In this paper, we propose a diffusion model with impulsive sources over the brain connectivity network to model the progression of brain atrophy. To reliably estimate the atrophy sources, we impose sparse regularization on the source distribution and solve the inverse problem with an efficient gradient descent method. We localize the possible origins of Alzheimer's disease (AD) based on a large set of repeated magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans in Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative database. The distribution of the sources averaged over the sample population is evaluated. We find that the dementia sources have different concentrations in the brain lobes for AD patients and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) subjects, indicating possible switch of the dementia driving mechanism. Moreover, we demonstrate that we can effectively predict changes of brain atrophy patterns with the proposed model. Our work could help understand the dynamics and origin of dementia, as well as monitor the progression of the diseases in an early stage.