Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cardiac reflexes in a warming world: thermal plasticity of barostatic control and autonomic tones in a temperate fish

ABSTRACT Thermal plasticity of cardiorespiratory function allows ectotherms like fish to cope with seasonal temperature changes and is critical for resilience to climate change. Yet, the chronic thermal effects on cardiovascular homeostatic reflexes in fish are little understood although this may have important implications for physiological performance and overall resilience to climate warming. We compared cardiac autonomic control and baroreflex regulation of heart rate in perch (Perca fluviatilis L.) from a reference area in the Baltic Sea at 18–19°C with conspecifics from the Biotest enclosure, a chronically heated ecosystem receiving warmed effluent water (24–25°C) from a nuclear power plant. Resting heart rate of Biotest fish displayed clear thermal compensation and was 58.3±2.3 beats min−1 compared with 52.4±2.6 beats min−1 in reference fish at their respective environmental temperatures (Q10=1.2). The thermally compensated heart rate of Biotest fish was a combined effect of elevated inhibitory cholinergic tone (105% in Biotest fish versus 70% in reference fish) and reduced intrinsic cardiac pacemaker rate. A barostatic response was evident in both groups, as pharmacologically induced increases and decreases in blood pressure resulted in atropine-sensitive bradycardia and tachycardia, respectively. Yet, the tachycardia in Biotest fish was significantly greater, presumably due to the larger scope for vagal release. Acclimation of Biotest fish to 18°C for 3 weeks abolished differences in intrinsic heart rate and autonomic tone, suggesting considerable short-term thermal plasticity of cardiovascular control in this species. The heightened hypotensive tachycardia in Biotest perch may represent an important mechanism of ectothermic vertebrates that safeguards tissue perfusion pressure when tissue oxygen demand is elevated by environmental warming. Summary: Perch from a chronically warmed ecosystem exhibit profound thermal compensation of resting heart rate through increased cholinergic tone and heightened baroreflex sensitivity; the latter may safeguard tissue perfusion pressure when tissue oxygen demand is elevated by environmental warming.
3D genetic algorithms for underwater sensor networks

We introduce a genetic algorithm-based topology control mechanism, named 3D-GA, for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) operating in Underwater Sensor Networks (UWSNs). Using limited information collected from a node's local neighbours, 3D-GA runs autonomously at each AUV and provides guidance for its speed and direction towards a uniform spatial distribution while maintaining network connectivity. Imprecise and limited neighbourhood knowledge could potentially disrupt convergence towards a uniform and stable spatial coverage. We demonstrate that AUVs running our 3D-GA create a highly resilient network that can adapt to changing conditions such as the addition, loss or malfunction of number of AUVs. We also show that the ambiguity in detecting neighbours' exact locations does not prevent 3D-GA from achieving a uniform coverage but requiring AUVs travel longer distances to stabilise. Our simulation software results verify that 3D-GA is an effective tool for providing a robust solution for volumetric spatial control of AUVs in UWSNs.
Process variation aware dynamic power management in multicore systems with extended range voltage/frequency scaling

Emerging multicore processors are increasingly power constrained and plagued by design uncertainty due to process variations. This paper proposes a novel framework that enables runtime core selection, thread-to-core mapping, and extended range dynamic voltage frequency scaling (DVFS) operating under near-threshold computing (NTC), nominal, and turbo-boost (TB) conditions. Our framework leverages the process variation profile information of each core together with dark-silicon constraints in chip multiprocessors (CMPs) to select cores, map applications, and compute the optimal voltage and frequency operating points of each core to (i) minimize energy under throughput constraints or (ii) maximize throughput under power constraints. Our experimental results motivate the need for extended range DVFS and consideration of process variation information. Our framework that supports extended range DVFS results in 15% energy savings and 14.6% higher throughput compared to a framework that uses nominal mode only DVFS. Furthermore, the process-variation awareness of our framework results in 3.7% energy savings and 11.9% improvement in throughput over prior work that does not leverage process-variation information during dynamic power management.
Polytope samplers for inference in ill-posed inverse problems

We consider linear ill-posed inverse problems y = Ax, in which we want to infer many count parameters x from few count observations y, where the matrix A is binary and has some unimodularity property. Such problems are typical in applications such as contingency table analysis and network tomography (on which we present testing results). These properties of A have a geometrical implication for the solution space: It is a convex integer polytope. We develop a novel approach to characterize this polytope in terms of its vertices; by taking advantage of the geometrical intuitions behind the Hermite normal form decomposition of the matrix A, and of a newly defined pivoting operation to travel across vertices. Next, we use this characterization to develop three (exact) polytope samplers for x with emphasis on uniform distributions. We showcase one of these samplers on simulated and real data.
Protein-Signaled Guided Bone Regeneration Using Titanium Mesh and Rh-BMP2 in Oral Surgery: A Case Report Involving Left Mandibular Reconstruction after Tumor Resection

Recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2) is an osteoinductive protein approved for use in oral and maxillofacial defect reconstruction. Growth factors act as mediators of cellular growth on morphogenesis and mythogenesis phases. Utilized as recombinant proteins, these growth factors need the presence of local target cells capable of obtaining the required results. This cell population may be present at the wound site or added to scaffolding material before implantation at the surgical site. The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical and radiographic results of a reported case with a large bone defect, treated with an absorbable collagen sponge, rhBMP-2 and a titanium plate and mesh. The Authors want to report a case which shows the resulting effectiveness of the rhBMP2 action regarding a large, mandibular defect reconstruction. This case also shows how the removal of a rare tumor such as a ghost cell tumor of the jaw may be treated without harvesting bone from another body site. A quick diagnosis of the lesions is important in order to perform the most suitable treatment. The Authors also underline the clinical and histological steps to insure the correct treatment is carried out to solve the case. Moreover, from results obtained from this case, it is possible to highlight several clinical benefits for the patient by adding rhBMP-2 to the common allograft to not only have alveolar reconstruction defects and sinus floor augmentation, but also to have alveolar cleft reconstruction and to treat segmental defects.
Development of all-solid photonic crystal fibers

In the paper we report on development of all-solid holey fibers. Numerical analysis of dispersion properties of such fibers is also presented. The periodic microrods that forms cladding are made of glass instead of air. Use of two or more multicomponent glasses in the fiber structure allow to manipulate refractive index contrast in the structures which is not possible in holey fibers. The all-solid holey fibers offer additional degree of freedom to the designer for determination of dispersion in fibers than in case of air-holes PCFs. Moreover a fabrication of all-solid PCFs allows to better control of geometry and uniformity of the cladding structure design.
Age‐Related Changes in Purkinje Fiber Action Potentials of Adult Dogs

To determine the effects of age on electrophysiological properties of Purkinje fibers (PF), we used standard microelectrode techniques to study PF from normal beagles of five age groups: 19.1 ± 0.8,63.7 ± 2.6,88.3 ± 1.9,107.2 + 1.6, and 132.3 ± 4.3 months (mean ± SE). Maximum diastolic potential (MDP) did not change over this age range. Action potential (AP) amplitude and maximum upstroke velocity of phase 0 (Vmax) attained peak values at 63.7 months and then declined. As age increased there was an increase in phase 1 repolarization, a prolongation in the time to the peak of the plateau, and a decrease in plateau height. AP duration reached a maximum at 63.7 months and thereafter remained unchanged. Fibers were superfused with the slow channel blocker, AHR-2666, and the fast channel blocker, tetrodotoxin (TTX). AHR-2666 had age-related effects on AP duration, phase 1 repolarization, plateau height, and time to the peak of the plateau. There were no age-related changes in TTX effects on phases 0-2. In another series of experiments, Purkinje fibers from dogs 23 ± 1.2 to 106 ± 1.4 months old were superfused with a calcium-rich solution in which Na+ was replaced by tetraethylammonium (TEA+). The resultant slow response action potentials, which are calcium dependent, showed an age-related decrease in AP amplitude, V m, and time to peak amplitude. When these fibers were superfused with the slow channel blocker, verapamil, there was an age-related effect on AP amplitude. Our studies indicate that in the normal aging heart, major changes occur in repolarization that appear, in the main, to result from change in the slow inward current carried by Ca2+.
Query Expansion Using Term Distribution and Term Association

Good term selection is an important issue for an automatic query expansion (AQE) technique. AQE techniques that select expansion terms from the target corpus usually do so in one of two ways. Distribution based term selection compares the distribution of a term in the (pseudo) relevant documents with that in the whole corpus / random distribution. Two well-known distribution-based methods are based on Kullback-Leibler Divergence (KLD) and Bose-Einstein statistics (Bo1). Association based term selection, on the other hand, uses information about how a candidate term co-occurs with the original query terms. Local Context Analysis (LCA) and Relevance-based Language Model (RM3) are examples of association-based methods. Our goal in this study is to investigate how these two classes of methods may be combined to improve retrieval effectiveness. We propose the following combination-based approach. Candidate expansion terms are first obtained using a distribution based method. This set is then refined based on the strength of the association of terms with the original query terms. We test our methods on 11 TREC collections. The proposed combinations generally yield better results than each individual method, as well as other state-of-the-art AQE approaches. En route to our primary goal, we also propose some modifications to LCA and Bo1 which lead to improved performance.
Stem Cells in the Central Nervous System

In the vertebrate central nervous system, multipotential cells have been identified in vitro and in vivo. Defined mitogens cause the proliferation of multipotential cells in vitro, the magnitude of which is sufficient to account for the number of cells in the brain. Factors that control the differentiation of fetal stem cells to neurons and glia have been defined in vitro, and multipotential cells with similar signaling logic can be cultured from the adult central nervous system. Transplanting cells to new sites emphasizes that neuroepithelial cells have the potential to integrate into many brain regions. These results focus attention on how information in external stimuli is translated into the number and types of differentiated cells in the brain. The development of therapies for the reconstruction of the diseased or injured brain will be guided by our understanding of the origin and stability of cell type in the central nervous system.
Hypoxia suppresses myocardial survival pathway through HIF-1α-IGFBP-3-dependent signaling and enhances cardiomyocyte autophagic and apoptotic effects mainly via FoxO3a-induced BNIP3 expression

Abstract The HIF-1α transcriptional factor and the BH-3 only protein BNIP3 are known to play fundamental roles in response to hypoxia. The objective of this research is to investigate the molecular mechanisms and the correlation of HIF-1α, BNIP3 and IGFBP-3 in hypoxia-induced cardiomyocytes injuries. Heart-derived H9c2 cells and neonatal rat ventricular myocytes (NRVMs) were incubated in normoxic or hypoxic conditions. Hypoxia increased HIF-1α expression and activated the downstream BNIP3 and IGFBP-3 thereby triggered mitochondria-dependent apoptosis. Moreover, IGF1R/PI3K/Akt signaling was attenuated by HIF-1α-dependent IGFBP-3 expression to enhance hypoxia-induced apoptosis. Autophagy suppression with 3-methyladenine or siATG5 or siBeclin-1 signiﬁcantly decreased myocardial apoptosis under hypoxia. Knockdown of FoxO3a or BNIP3 signiﬁcantly abrogated hypoxia-induced autophagy and mitochondria-dependent apoptosis. Moreover, prolonged-hypoxia induced HIF-1α stimulated BNIP3 and enhanced IGFBP-3 activation to inhibit IGF1R/PI3K/Akt survival pathway and mediate mitochondria-dependent cardiomyocyte apoptosis. HIF-1α and FoxO3a blockage are sufficient to annul the change of excessive hypoxia of hearts.
Alcohol, Excitotoxicity and Adult Brain Damage: An Experimentally Unproven Chain-of-Events

It has been claimed over the years—most recently in this journal and several others—that neuronal degeneration in adult brain arising during chronic alcohol exposure is, or is likely to be, via “excitotoxicity” (Chandrasekar, 2013; Mehta et al., 2013; Crews and Vetreno, 2014). A purpose of this opinion piece is to reinforce a view, noted earlier (Collins and Neafsey, 2012), that an excitotoxic mechanism underlying alcoholic neurodamage in the mature brain has never been experimentally proven in vivo. Indeed, pharmacological results in neuronal degeneration studies with repetitively intoxicated (binged) adult rats indicate that the excitotoxic route is insignificant—more about this later.
UvA-DARE ( Digital Academic Repository ) How participation creates citizens : participatory governance as performative practice

Participation is a prominent feature of many decision-making and planning processes. Among its proclaimed benefits is its potential to strengthen public support and involvement. However, participation is also known for having unintended consequences which lead to failures in meeting its objectives. This article takes a critical perspective on participation by discussing how participation may influence the ways in which citizens can become involved. Participation unavoidably involves (1) restrictions about who should be involved and about the space for negotiation, (2) assumptions about what the issue at stake is, and (3) expectations about what the outcome of participation should be and how the participants are expected to behave. This is illustrated by a case study about the Dutch nature area, the Drentsche Aa. The case study demonstrates how the participatory process that took place and the restrictions, assumptions, and expectations that were involved resulted in six forms of citizen involvement, both intended and unintended, which ranged between creativity, passivity, and entrenchment. Based on these findings, the article argues that participation does not merely serve as a neutral place in which citizens are represented, but instead creates different categories of citizens. Recognizing this means reconceiving participation as performative practice. Such a perspective goes beyond overly optimistic views of participation as a technique whose application can be perfected, as well as pessimistic views of participation as repression or domination. Instead, it appreciates both intended and unintended forms of citizen involvement as meaningful and legitimate, and recognizes citizenship as being constituted in interaction in the context of participation.
Prevalence and Correlates of Elder Mistreatment in a Community-Dwelling Population of U.S. Chinese Older Adults

Objective: This study aimed to examine the prevalence and correlates of elder mistreatment among U.S. Chinese older adults. Method: Data were drawn from the Population-Based Study of ChINese Elderly (PINE) study, a population-based epidemiological survey of 3,159 U.S. Chinese older adults in the Greater Chicago area. The study design was guided by a community-based participatory research approach. Results: This study found a prevalence of 15.0% for elder mistreatment among community-dwelling Chinese older adults. In addition, higher levels of education (r = .16, p< .001), fewer children (r = .1, p< .001), lower health status (r = .11, p< .001), poorer quality of life (r = .05, p< .01), and worsening health over the past year (r = .08, p< .001) were positively correlated with any elder mistreatment. Discussion: Elder mistreatment is prevalent among U.S. Chinese older adults. The findings point to a pressing need for researchers, community service workers, health care providers, and policy makers to increase efforts on reducing elder mistreatment in U.S. Chinese communities.
Current Perspectives on Percutaneous Vertebroplasty: Current Evidence/Controversies, Patient Selection and Assessment, and Technique and Complications

Osteoporotic-associated vertebral compression fractures are a major public health concern, dwarfing even hip fractures in incidence in the United States. These fractures carry a significant morbidity and mortality burden and also represent a major growing source of consumption of scarce heath resources. Percutaneous vertebroplasty remains a commonly used and safe technique for the symptomatic treatment of vertebral compression fractures, both osteoporotic- and neoplastic-induced. By carefully selecting appropriate patients who are referred promptly, vertebroplasty can provide significant and durable pain relief over traditional conservative therapy. Recent controversies surrounding the evidence for vertebroplasty in osteoporotic-associated vertebral compression fractures are reviewed. A comprehensive step-by-step practical guide to performing vertebroplasty is then described. A brief description of patient selection, workup, as well as complications is also provided.
Insulin Resistance Is Associated With Smaller Cortical Bone Size in Nondiabetic Men at the Age of Peak Bone Mass

Context In type 2 diabetes mellitus, fracture risk is increased despite preserved areal bone mineral density. Although this apparent paradox may in part be explained by insulin resistance affecting bone structure and/or material properties, few studies have investigated the association between insulin resistance and bone geometry. Objective We aimed to explore this association in a cohort of nondiabetic men at the age of peak bone mass. Design, Setting, and Participants Nine hundred ninety-six nondiabetic men aged 25 to 45 years were recruited in a cross-sectional, population-based sibling pair study at a university research center. Main Outcome Measures Insulin resistance was evaluated using the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), with insulin and glucose measured from fasting serum samples. Bone geometry was assessed using peripheral quantitative computed tomography at the distal radius and the radial and tibial shafts. Results In age-, height-, and weight-adjusted analyses, HOMA-IR was inversely associated with trabecular area at the distal radius and with cortical area, periosteal and endosteal circumference, and polar strength strain index at the radial and tibial shafts (β ≤ -0.13, P < 0.001). These associations remained essentially unchanged after additional adjustment for dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry-derived body composition, bone turnover markers, muscle size or function measurements, or adiponectin, leptin, insulin-like growth factor 1, or sex steroid levels. Conclusion In this cohort of nondiabetic men at the age of peak bone mass, insulin resistance is inversely associated with trabecular and cortical bone size. These associations persist after adjustment for body composition, muscle size or function, or sex steroid levels, suggesting an independent effect of insulin resistance on bone geometry.
On systematic design of universally capacity approaching rate-compatible sequences of LDPC code ensembles over binary-input output-symmetric memoryless channels

Despite tremendous amount of research on the design of Low-Density Parity-Check (LDPC) codes with belief propagation decoding over different types of Binary-Input Output-Symmetric Memoryless (BIOSM) channels, most results on this topic are based on numerical methods and optimization which do not provide much insight into the design process. In particular, systematic design of provably capacity achieving sequences of LDPC code ensembles over the general class of BIOSM channels, has remained a fundamental open problem. For the case of the Binary Erasure channel, explicit construction of capacity achieving sequences have been proposed based on a property called the flatness condition. In this paper, we propose a systematic method to design universally capacity approaching rate-compatible LDPC code ensemble sequences over BIOSM channels. This is achieved by interpreting the flatness condition over the BEC, as a Successive Maximization (SM) principle that is generalized to other BIOSM channels to design a sequence of capacity approaching ensembles called the parent sequence. The SM principle is then applied to each ensemble within the parent sequence, this time to design rate-compatible puncturing schemes. As part of our results, we extend the stability condition which was previously derived for degree-2 variable nodes to other variable node degrees as well as to the case of rate-compatible codes. Consequently, we rigorously prove that using the SM principle, one is able to design universally capacity achieving rate-compatible LDPC code ensemble sequences over the BEC. Unlike the previous results on such schemes over the BEC in the literature, the proposed SM approach is naturally extendable to other BIOSM channels. The performance of the rate-compatible schemes designed based on our systematic method is comparable to those designed by optimization.
Strengthening mechanisms of iron micropillars

We examine the size effect and strengthening mechanisms of bcc iron pillars. The single-crystal pillars were machined with focused ion beam and tested with a nanoindentation device with the compression axis along the crystallographic direction. We compare our test results with both older literature on whiskers and micro/macro specimens, and recent results from atomistic modelling. We find that the obtained results can be explained on the basis of current theories based on small-scale plasticity.
Endometrial Adenocarcinoma in A 31-Year Old Woman: A Case Report

Endometrial adenocarcinoma (EC) usually occurs after menopause, whereas in 2-14% of cases, it occurs in young patients (less than 40 years old) who may desire to keep their fertility. It is of importance to evaluate women for EC when they develop polycystic ovarian syndrome and abnormal uterine bleeding. Its treatment includes hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oo- phorectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy and in some cases, radiation therapy. We report a case of EC in a 31-year-old woman who presented to Royan Institute. She complained about oligomenorrhea with a 10-year history of primary infertility.