Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Type 2 Diabetes and ADP Receptor Blocker Therapy

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is associated with several abnormalities in haemostasis predisposing to thrombosis. Moreover, T2D was recently connected with a failure in antiplatelet response to clopidogrel, the most commonly used ADP receptor blocker in clinical practice. Clopidogrel high on-treatment platelet reactivity (HTPR) was repeatedly associated with the risk of ischemic adverse events. Patients with T2D show significantly higher residual platelet reactivity on ADP receptor blocker therapy and are more frequently represented in the group of patients with HTPR. This paper reviews the current knowledge about possible interactions between T2D and ADP receptor blocker therapy.
The osteogenic effects of swimming on bone mass, strength, and microarchitecture in rats with unloading‐induced bone loss

The effect of nonweight‐bearing exercise on osteoporotic bones remains controversial and inconclusive. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of swimming on osteoporotic tibias of rats submitted to hindlimb suspension. Initially, 20 Wistar rats were used to confirm a significant bone loss following 21 days of unloading. Thirty rats were then divided into 3 groups and followed during 51 days: CON (nonsuspended rats), S + WB (suspended rats for 21 days and then released for regular weight‐bearing) and, S + Swim (suspended rats for 21 days and then released from suspension and submitted to swimming exercise). We observed that swimming exercise was effective at fully recovering the bone deterioration caused by suspension, with significant increments in BMD, bone strength and bone volume. On the other hand, regular weight‐bearing failed at fully restoring the bone loss induced by unloading. These results indicate that swimming exercise may be a potential tool to improve bone density, strength, and trabecular volume in tibias with bone loss induced by mechanical unloading in suspended rats. We conclude that this modality of activity could be beneficial in improving bone mass, strength, and architecture in osteoporotic individuals induced by disuse, such as bed rest or those exposed to microgravity, who may not be able to perform weight‐bearing exercises. Microsc. Res. Tech. 78:784–791, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
A gradient-based dissipative continuous-time algorithm for distributed optimization

This paper is concerned with solving distributed optimization problem by multi-agent systems with gradient-based dissipative dynamics over undirected graph. The optimization objective function is a sum of local cost functions associated to the individual agents. A novel gradient-based dissipative continuous-time algorithm is proposed to solve the distributed optimization problem, which extends the well-known heavy ball method to distributed optimization. Suppose the local cost functions being strongly convex with locally Lipschitz gradients, by defining suitable Lyapunov functions, then we show that the agents can find the same optimal solution by the proposed algorithm with exponential convergence rate. Specially, the choice of parameters in our algorithm is independent of the communication topology, demonstrating significant advantage over existing algorithms.
A Preliminary Results of Fault Plane Solutions of the Recent Earthquakes in and Around Eastern Black Sea Region

The present study shows preliminary results using the fault mechanisms of small-moderate earthquakes in the Eastern Black Sea Basin and defines relation of fault mechanism with the tectonics. For this purpose, 13 earthquakes which occurred in the time period of 2004 – 2012 were analyzed. Focal mechanisms were determined using focmec algorithm and the analyzed earthquakes characterized a reverse (thrust) faulting mechanism with presence of strike slip component. The earthquakes occurring in the Eastern Black Sea basin and surroundings indicate the active tectonic lines in the region. Additionally, the Greater Caucasus thrust faults with ENE-WSW trend and dipping both south and north directions continue into the sea and the thrust faulting is accompanied with the strike-slip faulting according to the fault plane solutions of the earthquakes. Accordingly, main origin of the earthquakes are associated with the thrust faults related to subduction and accompanied with the secondary strike-slip faults developing in the upper parts of the oceanic crust during the deformation process.
Experimental and model determination of human intervertebral disc osmoviscoelasticity

Finite element (FE) models have become an important tool to study load distribution in the healthy and degenerated disc. However, model predictions require accurate constitutive laws and material properties. As the mechanical properties of the intervertebral disc are regulated by its biochemical composition and fiber‐reinforced structure, the relationship between the constitutive behavior of the tissue and its composition requires careful consideration. While numerous studies have investigated the annulus fibrosus compressive and tensile properties, specific conditions required to determine model parameters for the osmoviscoelastic model are unavailable. Therefore, the objectives of this study were (1) to complement the existing material testing in the literature with confined compression and tensile tests on human annulus fibrosus and (2) to use these data, together with existing nucleus pulposus compression data to tune a composition‐based, osmoviscoelastic material constitutive law. The osmoviscoelastic material constitutive law and the experimental data were used to describe the fiber and nonfiber properties of the human disc. The compressive material properties of normal disc tissue were Gm = 1.23 MPa, M = 1.57, and α = 1.964 × 10−16 m4/Ns; the tensile fiber material parameters were E0 = 77.0 MPa; Eε = 500 MPa, and η = 1.8 × 103 MPa−s. The goodness of fit ranged from 0.88 to 0.96 for the four experimental conditions evaluated. The constitutive law emphasized the interdependency of the strong swelling ability of the tissue and the viscoelastic nature of the collagen fibers. This is especially important for numerical models to further study the load sharing behavior with regard to disc degeneration and regeneration. © 2008 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 26:1141–1146, 2008
Small Volume Fraction Limit of the Diblock Copolymer Problem: I. Sharp-Interface Functional

We present the second of two articles on the small volume fraction limit of a nonlocal Cahn-Hilliard functional introduced to model microphase separation of diblock copolymers. After having established the results for the sharp-interface version of the functional (arXiv:0907.2224), we consider here the full diffuse-interface functional and address the limit in which epsilon and the volume fraction tend to zero but the number of minority phases (called particles) remains O(1). Using the language of Gamma-convergence, we focus on two levels of this convergence, and derive first- and second-order effective energies, whose energy landscapes are simpler and more transparent. These limiting energies are only finite on weighted sums of delta functions, corresponding to the concentration of mass into `point particles'. At the highest level, the effective energy is entirely local and contains information about the size of each particle but no information about their spatial distribution. At the next level we encounter a Coulomb-like interaction between the particles, which is responsible for the pattern formation. We present the results in three dimensions and comment on their two-dimensional analogues.
Light subgraphs in planar graphs of minimum degree 4 and edge‐degree 9

A graph H is light in a given class of graphs if there is a constant w such that every graph of the class which has a subgraph isomorphic to H also has a subgraph isomorphic to H whose sum of degrees in G is ≤ w. Let $\cal G$ be the class of simple planar graphs of minimum degree ≥ 4 in which no two vertices of degree 4 are adjacent. We denote the minimum such w by w(H). It is proved that the cycle Cs is light if and only if 3 ≤ s ≤ 6, where w(C3) = 21 and w(C4) ≤ 35. The 4‐cycle with one diagonal is not light in $\cal G$, but it is light in the subclass ${\cal G}^T$ consisting of all triangulations. The star K1,s is light if and only if s ≤ 4. In particular, w(K1,3) = 23. The paths Ps are light for 1 ≤ s ≤ 6, and heavy for s ≥ 8. Moreover, w(P3) = 17 and w(P4) = 23. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 44: 261–295, 2003
Spatiotemporal motion boundary detection and motion boundary velocity estimation for tracking moving objects with a moving camera: a level sets PDEs approach with concurrent camera motion compensation

The purpose of this study is to investigate a method of tracking moving objects with a moving camera. This method estimates simultaneously the motion induced by camera movement. The problem is formulated as a Bayesian motion-based partitioning problem in the spatiotemporal domain of the image sequence. An energy functional is derived from the Bayesian formulation. The Euler-Lagrange descent equations determine simultaneously an estimate of the image motion field induced by camera motion and an estimate of the spatiotemporal motion boundary surface. The Euler-Lagrange equation corresponding to the surface is expressed as a level-set partial differential equation for topology independence and numerically stable implementation. The method can be initialized simply and can track multiple objects with nonsimultaneous motions. Velocities on motion boundaries can be estimated from geometrical properties of the motion boundary. Several examples of experimental verification are given using synthetic and real-image sequences.
Splitting Planar Graphs of Girth 6 into Two Linear Forests with Short Paths

Recently, Borodin, Kostochka, and Yancey (Discrete Math 313(22) (2013), 2638–2649) showed that the vertices of each planar graph of girth at least 7 can be 2‐colored so that each color class induces a subgraph of a matching. We prove that any planar graph of girth at least 6 admits a vertex coloring in two colors such that each monochromatic component is a path of length at most 14. Moreover, we show a list version of this result. On the other hand, for each positive integer t≥3 , we construct a planar graph of girth 4 such that in any coloring of vertices in two colors there is a monochromatic path of length at least t. It remains open whether each planar graph of girth 5 admits a 2‐coloring with no long monochromatic paths.
Squeezing Fact from Fiction about 100% Fruit Juice123

Total fruit intake in the United States is ~1 cup equivalent per day, or one-half of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommendation for adults. Two-thirds of the fruit consumed is whole fruit and one-third is 100% juice. The nutritional value of whole fruit, with the exception of fiber and vitamin C, may be retained with appropriate juice production methods and storage conditions. One-hundred percent fruit juice consumption is associated with a number of health benefits, such as improved cardiovascular health and decreased obesity, although some of these and other potential benefits are controversial. Comprehensive analyses of the evidence by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics in 2014, the US Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee in 2010, and the Australian Dietary Guidelines of 2013 concluded that 100% fruit juice is not related to adiposity in children when consumed in appropriate amounts for age and energy needs. However, some reports suggest the consumption of fruit juice contributes to unhealthful outcomes, particularly among children. A dietary modeling study on the best ways to meet the fruit intake shortfall showed that a combination of whole fruit and 100% juice improved dietary density of potassium and vitamin C without significantly increasing total calories. Notably, 100% juice intake was capped at amounts consistent with the 2001 American Pediatric Association guidance. The preponderance of evidence supports the position that 100% fruit juice delivers essential nutrients and phytonutrients, provides year-round access to a variety of fruits, and is a cost-effective way to help people meet fruit recommendations.
Characterization of the Bifunctional Glycosyltransferase/Acyltransferase Penicillin-Binding Protein 4 of Listeria monocytogenes

ABSTRACT Multimodular penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) are essential enzymes responsible for bacterial cell wall peptidoglycan (PG) assembly. Their glycosyltransferase activity catalyzes glycan chain elongation from lipid II substrate (undecaprenyl-pyrophosphoryl-N-acetylglucosamine-N-acetylmuramic acid-pentapeptide), and their transpeptidase activity catalyzes cross-linking between peptides carried by two adjacent glycan chains. Listeria monocytogenes is a food-borne pathogen which exerts its virulence through secreted and cell wall PG-associated virulence factors. This bacterium has five PBPs, including two bifunctional glycosyltransferase/transpeptidase class A PBPs, namely, PBP1 and PBP4. We have expressed and purified the latter and have shown that it binds penicillin and catalyzes in vitro glycan chain polymerization with an efficiency of 1,400 M−1 s−1 from Escherichia coli lipid II substrate. PBP4 also catalyzes the aminolysis (d-Ala as acceptor) and hydrolysis of the thiolester donor substrate benzoyl-Gly-thioglycolate, indicating that PBP4 possesses both transpeptidase and carboxypeptidase activities. Disruption of the gene lmo2229 encoding PBP4 in L. monocytogenes EGD did not have any significant effect on growth rate, peptidoglycan composition, cell morphology, or sensitivity to β-lactam antibiotics but did increase the resistance of the mutant to moenomycin.
Design and Experimental Demonstration of a Long-Pulse, X-Band Triaxial Klystron Amplifier With an Asymmetric Input Cavity

A triaxial klystron amplifier (TKA) with an asymmetric input cavity is designed to generate a long-pulse high power microwave at X-band. The input microwave is equally divided into two parts and then injected into an asymmetric input cavity to keep the axial electric field azimuthally symmetric in the input cavity. An asymmetric mode competition resulting in a pulse shortening on the output power is observed in a TKA with an asymmetric input cavity. The analysis indicates that the asymmetric mode is excited and amplified in the buncher cavity for the coaxial waveguide cannot cut off the corresponding asymmetric TE mode. By a reflector with high reflection coefficients both to the asymmetric mode and the TEM mode, the asymmetric mode competition is effectively suppressed in 3-D particle-in-cell simulation. The designed TKA is demonstrated by the experiment, in which a microwave with pulse duration of 100 ns, a power of 240 MW, and a gain of $\sim 34$ dB is generated.
Politics on the brain: An fMRI investigation

Abstract We assessed political attitudes using the Implicit Association Test (IAT) in which participants were presented with faces and names of well-known Democrat and Republican politicians along with positive and negative words while undergoing functional MRI. We found a significant behavioral IAT effect for the face, but not the name, condition. The fMRI face condition results indicated that ventromedial and anterior prefrontal cortices were activated during political attitude inducement. Amygdala and fusiform gyrus were activated during perceptual processing of familiar faces. Amygdala activation was also associated with measures of strength of emotion. Frontopolar activation was positively correlated with an implicit measure of bias and valence strength (how strongly the participants felt about the politicians), while strength of affiliation with political party was negatively correlated with lateral PFC, lending support to the idea that two distinct but interacting networks—one emphasizing rapid, stereotypic, and emotional associative knowledge and the other emphasizing more deliberative and factual knowledge—co-operate in the processing of politicians. Our findings of ventromedial PFC activation suggests that when processing the associative knowledge concerned with politicians, stereotypic knowledge is activated, but, in addition, the anterior prefrontal activations indicate that more elaborative, reflective knowledge about the politician is activated.
Thermal ionization mass spectrometry U-series dating of a hominid site near Nanjing, China

Mass spectrometric U-series dating of speleothems from Tangshan Cave, combined with ecological and paleoclimatic evidence, indicates that Nanjing Man, a typical Homo erectus morphologically correlated with Peking Man at Zhoukoudian, should be at least 580 k.y. old, or more likely lived during the glacial oxygen isotope stage 16 (similar to 620 ka). Such an age estimate, which is similar to 270 ka older than previous electron spin resonance and alpha counting U-series dates, has significant implications for the evolution of Asian H. erectus. Dentine and enamel samples from the coexisting fossil layer yield significantly younger apparent ages, that of the enamel sample being only less than one-fourth of the minimum age of Nanjing Man. This suggests that U uptake history is far more complex than existing models can handle. As a result, great care must be taken in the interpretation of electron spin resonance and U-series dates of fossil teeth.
Three‐dimensional polarization characteristics of high‐latitude Pc 5 geomagnetic micropulsations

In 1969 and 1970, a line of magnetometer stations was operated in western Canada between 58.5° and 77.7°N corrected geomagnetic latitude and within 2° of 302°E corrected geomagnetic longitude. This paper deals with the three-dimensional polarization characteristics of low-frequency (f 250 sec) Pc 5 geomagnetic micropulsations recorded at these stations. The center of activity of these pulsations follows the auroral oval during the whole day. The early morning (0200–1000 local geomagnetic time) has the greatest number of pulsations, with almost circular polarization in the horizontal plane, whereas the afternoon normally has few sinusoidal pulsations and almost linear polarization in the direction of magnetic north. A reversal in the sense of polarization in the horizontal plane, occurring between 1130 and 1230 local geomagnetic time, suggests that the Pc 5 events derive their energy from a Kelvin-Helmholtz instability at the magnetopause. A latitudinal change in the sense of polarization, occurring near the latitude of the peak intensity, indicates that the energy of the pulsations may be distributed in a resonant hydromagnetic mode within the earth's inner dipole field or that field lines at high latitudes (λ > 70°) may pass into the magnetosheath. The vertical components of the Pc events are likely caused by spatial gradients in the ionospheric currents associated with the pulsations. During part of the pulsation cycle, strong shear currents flow to the east and the west in the ionosphere, giving a large vertical magnetic field near the latitude of the peak in the intensity of the horizontal components.
Pretreatment Serum Amyloid A and C-reactive Protein Comparing with Epstein-Barr Virus DNA as Prognostic Indicators in Patients with Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: A Prospective Study

Purpose The measuring Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA is an important predictor of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). This study evaluated the predictive value of pretreatment serum amyloid A (SAA) and C-reactive protein (CRP) comparing with EBV DNA in patients with NPC. Materials and Methods In an observational study of 419 non-metastatic NPC patients, we prospectively evaluated the prognostic effects of pretreatment SAA, CRP, and EBV DNA on survival. The primary end-point was progress-free survival (PFS). Results The median level of SAA and CRP was 4.28 mg/L and 1.88 mg/L, respectively. For the high-SAA group (> 4.28 mg/L) versus the low-SAA (≤ 4.28 mg/L) group and the high-CRP group (> 1.88 mg/L) versus the low-CRP (≤ 1.88 mg/L) group, the 5-year PFS was 64.5% versus 73.1% (p=0.013) and 65.2% versus 73.3% (p=0.064), respectively. EBV DNA detection showed a superior predictive result, the 5-year PFS in the EBV DNA ≥ 1,500 copies/mL group was obviously different than the EBV DNA < 1,500 copies/mL group (62.2% versus 77.8%, p < 0.001). Multifactorial Cox regression analysis confirmed that in the PFS, the independent prognostic factors were including EBV DNA (hazard ratio [HR], 1.788; p=0.009), tumour stage (HR, 1.903; p=0.021), and node stage (HR, 1.498; p=0.049), but the SAA and CRP were not included in the independent prognostic factors. Conclusion The results of SAA and CRP had a certain relationship with the prognosis of NPC, and the prognosis of patients with high level of SAA and CRP were poor. However, the predictive ability of SAA and CRP was lower than that of EBV DNA.
Critical Role of Northern Off-Equatorial Sea Surface Temperature Forcing Associated with Central Pacific El Niño in More Frequent Tropical Cyclone Movements toward East Asia

AbstractObservational records reveal that the number of tropical cyclones (TCs) approaching East Asia in July–October is positively correlated with sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the equatorial and northern off-equatorial central Pacific (CP) oceans, indicating the significant impact of CP El Nino (CP-EN). Through experiments using a Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) model–based regional climate model, this study demonstrates that it is northern off-equatorial CP warming, rather than equatorial CP warming, that effectively induces local anomalous steering flows pertinent to the observed increase in TC activity over East Asia during CP-EN. Sensitivity experiments, in which the prescribed CP-EN-related SST anomaly is confined near the equator, do not capture the observed TC increase over East Asia, whereas those including the off-equatorial region successfully reproduce observed atmospheric and TC variabilities. The off-equatorial CP SST anomaly acts to expand the anomalous cyclonic response in the Ph.
North Atlantic Coast Comprehensive Study (NACCS) coastal storm model simulations : waves and water levels

Abstract : This document summarizes the coastal storm wave and water level modeling effort performed in support of the North Atlantic Coast Comprehensive Study (NACCS). This effort involved the application of a suite of high-fidelity numerical models within the Coastal Storm Modeling System (CSTORM-MS). The study was conducted to provide information for computing the joint probability of coastal storm environmental forcing parameters for the U.S. North Atlantic Coast (NAC) because this information is critical for effective flood risk management project planning, design, and performance evaluation. CSTORM-MS modeling produced nearshore wind, wave, and water level estimates and the associated marginal and joint probabilities. Documentation of the statistical evaluation is provided in the companion report North Atlantic Coast Comprehensive Study (NACCS) Coastal Storm Hazards from Virginia to Maine (Nadal-Caraballo et al. 2015). In this study, both tropical and extratropical storms were strategically selected to characterize the regional storm hazard. CSTORM-MS was then applied with the wave generation and propagation model WAM, providing offshore, deep-water waves to apply as boundary conditions to the nearshore steady-state wave model STWAVE, ADCIRC to simulate the surge and circulation response to the storms, and STWAVE to provide nearshore wave conditions including local wind -generated waves. Products of this study are intended to close data gaps required for flood risk management analyses by providing statistical wave and water level information for the NAC within the Coastal Hazards System (CHS). The CHS is expected to provide cost and study time efficiencies and a level of regional standardization for project studies.