Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Knockdown of DAPIT (Diabetes-associated Protein in Insulin-sensitive Tissue) Results in Loss of ATP Synthase in Mitochondria

It was found recently that a diabetes-associated protein in insulin-sensitive tissue (DAPIT) is associated with mitochondrial ATP synthase. Here, we report that the suppressed expression of DAPIT in DAPIT-knockdown HeLa cells causes loss of the population of ATP synthase in mitochondria. Consequently, DAPIT-knockdown cells show smaller mitochondrial ATP synthesis activity, slower growth in normal medium, and poorer viability in glucose-free medium than the control cells. The mRNA levels of α- and β-subunits of ATP synthase remain unchanged by DAPIT knockdown. These results indicate a critical role of DAPIT in maintaining the ATP synthase population in mitochondria and raise an intriguing possibility of active role of DAPIT in cellular energy metabolism.
Serum transferrin receptor and transferrin receptor-ferritin index identify healthy subjects with subclinical iron deficits.

Despite the established utility of serum transferrin receptor (sTfR), serum ferritin, and the sTfR/log ferritin ratio (TfR-F Index) in the diagnosis of iron deficiency (ID) anemia, the numeric values of these parameters, which are indicative of subclinical ID, remain to be clearly defined. In this study, 65 apparently healthy nonanemic adults (22 men and 43 women) were treated with 3 months of oral iron supplementation to evaluate its effect on parameters reflecting iron status and to determine the prevalence of subclinical iron deficiency in apparently healthy adults. Significant supplementation-induced changes were observed in sTfR, ferritin, and TfR-F Index values in women, whereas in men, none of the studied parameters showed any significant change. Iron-deficient erythropoiesis (IDE) was not observed in men, but was found in 17 women (40%). Although individuals with a compromised iron status may be represented in substantial numbers in conventional reference populations, they can be readily identified using sTfR, ferritin, and TfR-F Index determinations.
Hyperinsulinaemia, supplemental protein and branched-chain amino acids when combined can increase milk protein yield in lactating sows

The aim of this study was to determine whether dietary supplementation with branched-chain amino acids, and the infusion of insulin and dextrose, would increase milk protein secretion in the sow. The experiment involved sixteen lactating sows fed either a normal lactation diet (162 g/kg crude protein, n 8) or a high-protein diet (230 g/kg crude protein, n 8) supplemented with branched-chain amino acids (valine, isoleucine and leucine). Sows were either infused with insulin and dextrose or not infused at all during mid (day 5–10) and late (day 17–22) lactation in a single reversal design. Blood samples were analysed for glucose, and the dextrose infusion rate was adjusted to maintain the blood glucose level within 15 % of pre-infusion levels. Milk (10·1 v. 11·1 kg/d; P=0·014) and\ lactose (628 v. 727 g/d; P=0·002) yield increased with insulin infusion, whereas milk protein content (5·0 % v. 5·5 %; P=0·007) was increased in diets supplemented with protein and branched-chain amino acids. Piglet growth was increased by feeding the higher-protein diet (237 v. 273 g/d; P=0·05) but not significantly increased by insulin infusion (245 v. 265 g/d; P=0·11). These effects were additive such that the combined treatment resulted in a 24 % (56 g/d; P<0·05) increase in piglet growth rate. These data demonstrate that increasing the dietary protein/branched-chain amino acid content can increase milk protein secretion but not milk yield. The infusion of insulin and dextrose increased milk and milk lactose yields, and tended to increase milk protein yield but not milk protein content. These effects are additive and translate to increased protein yield and piglet growth.
Problem of the Moving Boundary in Continuous Casting Solved by The Analytic-Numerical Method

Mathematical modeling of thermal processes combined with the reversible phase transitions of type: solid phase – liquid phase leads to formulation of the parabolic or elliptic moving boundary problem. Solution of such defined problem requires, most often, to use some sophisticated numerical techniques and far advanced mathematical tools. The paper presents an analytic-numerical method, especially attractive from the engineer’s point of view, applied for finding the approximate solutions of the selected class of problems which can be reduced to the one-phase solidification problem of a plate with the unknown a priori, varying in time boundary of the region in which the solution is sought. Proposed method is based on the known formalism of initial expansion of a sought function, describing the field of temperature, into the power series, some coefficients of which are determined with the aid of boundary conditions, and on the approximation of a function defining the freezing front location with the broken line, parameters of which are determined numerically. The method represents a combination of the analytical and numerical techniques and seems to be an effective and relatively easy in using tool for solving problems of considered kind.
Cellular effects of acute direct current stimulation: somatic and synaptic terminal effects

• The diversity of cellular targets of direct current stimulation (DCS), including somas, dendrites and axon terminals, determine the modulation of synaptic efficacy. • Axon terminals of cortical pyramidal neurons are two–three times more susceptible to polarization than somas. • DCS in humans results in current flow dominantly parallel to the cortical surface, which in animal models of cortical stimulation results in synaptic pathway‐specific modulation of neuronal excitability. • These results suggest that somatic polarization together with axon terminal polarization may be important for synaptic pathway‐specific modulation of DCS, which underlies modulation of neuronal excitability during transcranial DCS.
Not so fast: Hippocampal amnesia slows word learning despite successful fast mapping

The human hippocampus is widely believed to be necessary for the rapid acquisition of new declarative relational memories. However, processes supporting on‐line inferential word use (“fast mapping”) may also exercise a dissociable learning mechanism and permit rapid word learning without the hippocampus (Sharon et al. (2011) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 108:1146–1151). We investigated fast mapping in severely amnesic patients with hippocampal damage (N = 4), mildly amnesic patients (N = 6), and healthy comparison participants (N = 10) using on‐line measures (eye movements) that reflected ongoing processing. All participants studied unique word‐picture associations in two encoding conditions. In the explicit‐encoding condition, uncommon items were paired with their names (e.g., “This is a numbat.”). In the fast mapping study condition, participants heard an instruction using a novel word (e.g., “Click on the numbat.”) while two items were presented (an uncommon target such as a numbat, and a common distracter such as a dog). All groups performed fast mapping well at study, and on‐line eye movement measures did not reveal group differences. However, while comparison participants showed robust word learning irrespective of encoding condition, severely amnesic patients showed no evidence of learning after fast mapping or explicit encoding on any behavioral or eye‐movement measure. Mildly amnesic patients showed some learning, but performance was unaffected by encoding condition. The findings are consistent with the following propositions: the hippocampus is not essential for on‐line fast mapping of novel words; but is necessary for the rapid learning of arbitrary relational information irrespective of encoding conditions. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Interpersonal challenges as a constraint on care: The experience of nurses’ care of patients who use illicit drugs

Abstract Men and women who use illicit drugs have a heavy reliance on health care in emergency departments and acute care wards. Nurses’ care however, is known to be constrained by inadequate dru education and policy and practice standards. This paper describes an additional constraint on care, namely, patients’ behaviour. The findings are part of a broader mixed-methods study of nurses’ therapeutic attitude to this patient group. The themes of violence, manipulation and irresponsibility emerged from the data analysis of written reports provided by a sub-sample (N = 311) of the main study sample. Recommendations are made for assisting nurses to reconceptualise their role with this patient group, and importantly, for an increase in violence management education and organisational role support, safety and security measures. Finally, further research in the field is recommended so that a comprehensive analysis of the difficulties faced by nurses and patients can be made.
Composition of Skeletal Muscle Evaluated with Computed Tomography

Abstract: Computed tomography (CT) can yield quantitative imaging data from detailed maps of linear attenuation coefficients within tissue. The attenuation characteristics of skeletal muscle and adipose tissue can be quantified in vivo to provide information about the composition of skeletal muscle and the distribution of adipose tissue within muscle. Several studies have taken advantage of this utility to quantify skeletal muscle composition and fatty infiltration of muscle, in particular to quantify the attenuation characteristics of muscle as a marker of its lipid content. In this manner we found that the mean muscle attenuation of skeletal muscle reflects an increase in its fat content in obesity, and that this regional body composition parameter is strongly related to insulin‐resistant glucose metabolism. In addition, muscle composition and adipose tissue distribution within muscle may be altered with clinical weight‐loss interventions. CT may also provide important information about the changes in muscle mass and composition with aging and disease, which may, in turn, affect the muscle's function. In summary, CT can provide important quantitative data on the composition of muscle, and the distribution of adipose tissue within it, and this may be important in examining the relationships among skeletal muscle metabolism, lipid accumulation within muscle, and muscle function.
Biodiversity and land‐use change: understanding the complex responses of an endemic‐rich bird assemblage

Anthropogenic land‐use change is a major driver of the current extinction crisis, but the processes through which it acts on biodiversity are complex and still poorly understood. Here, we use several biodiversity metrics to make a comprehensive assessment of the response of an endemic‐rich bird assemblage to land‐use change.
Identification of genes associated with ovarian cancer metastasis using microarray expression analysis

Although the transition from early- to advanced-stage ovarian cancer is a critical determinant of survival, little is known about the molecular underpinnings of ovarian metastasis. We hypothesize that microarray analysis of global gene expression patterns in primary ovarian cancer and metastatic omental implants can identify genes that underlie the metastatic process in epithelial ovarian cancer. We utilized Affymetrix U95Av2 microarrays to characterize the molecular alterations that underlie omental metastasis from 47 epithelial ovarian cancer samples collected from multiple sites in 20 patients undergoing primary surgical cytoreduction for advanced-stage (IIIC/IV) serous ovarian cancer. Fifty-six genes demonstrated differential expression between ovarian and omental samples (P < 0.01), and twenty of these 56 differentially expressed genes have previously been implicated in metastasis, cell motility, or cytoskeletal function. Ten of the 56 genes are involved in p53 gene pathways. A Bayesian statistical tree analysis was used to identify a 27-gene expression pattern that could accurately predict the site of tumor (ovary versus omentum). This predictive model was evaluated using an external data set. Nine of the 27 predictive genes have previously been shown to be involved in oncogenesis and/or metastasis, and 10/27 genes have been implicated in p53 pathways. Microarray findings were validated by real-time quantitative PCR. We conclude that gene expression patterns that distinguish omental metastasis from primary epithelial ovarian cancer can be identified and that many of the genes have functions that are biologically consistent with a role in oncogenesis, metastasis, and p53 gene networks.
Patellar Tendinopathy in Athletes

We report the results of nonoperative and operative management of patellar tendinopathy in 42 athletes with Blazina stage 2 (26 patients) or stage 3 (16 patients) patellar tendinopathy. All patients were initially managed nonoperatively with nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs, physical therapy, and a progressive rehabilitation program based on isometric exercises, stretching, and eccentric exercises. After 6 months, 33 patients showed symptomatic improvement and were able to resume their sports. In nine patients with Blazina stage 3 tendinopathy, nonoperative measures failed, and surgery was performed. Operative treatment consisted of removal of the degenerated areas of the tendon, multiple longitudinal tenotomies, and drilling of the lower pole of the patella at the site of tendon attachment. Histologic examination of the excised tendon tissue showed areas of necrosis and mucoid degeneration, and alterations of the bone-tendon junction. After a mean follow-up of 4.8 years, clinical results were excellent or good in all patients. In the group treated nonoperatively, results were better in the patients who had stage 2 tendinopathy than in those with stage 3.
Artin prime producing polynomials

We define an Artin prime for an integer $g$ to be a prime such that $g$ is a primitive root modulo that prime. Let $g\in \mathbb{Z}\setminus\{-1\}$ and not be a perfect square. A conjecture of Artin states that the set of Artin primes for $g$ has a positive density. In this paper we study a generalization of this conjecture for the primes produced by a polynomial and explore its connection with the problem of finding a fixed integer $g$ and a prime producing polynomial $f(x)$ with the property that a long string of consecutive primes produced by $f(x)$ are Artin primes for $g$. By employing some results of Moree, we propose a general method for finding such polynomials $f(x)$ and integers $g$. We then apply this general procedure for linear, quadratic, and cubic polynomials to generate many examples of polynomials with very large Artin prime production length. More specifically, among many other examples, we exhibit linear, quadratic, and cubic (respectively) polynomials with 6355, 37951, and 10011 (respectively) consecutive Artin primes for certain integers $g$.
Image Edge Detection based on Soft Computing Approach

Edge detection is one of the most important techniques used for image segmentation. Image segmentation remains a puzzled problem even after four decades of research. In this paper, a soft computing approach based on fuzzy logic is applied on histogram of an image to enhance edge detection technique. We used BSD images for experimentation and their respective ground truths for qualitative evaluation of proposed approach. General Terms Image Processing, Segmentation, Experimental Results
Emergency 1-stage anterior approach for cervical spine infection complicated by epidural abscess

Abstract It was a retrospective analysis. The aim of the study was to explore the safety and reliability of emergency 1-stage radical debridement and reconstruction using titanium mesh filled with autologous bone for patients with cervical spine infection complicated by epidural abscess. At present, cervical spine infection complicated by epidural abscess is known as a severe spine disease. Recently, case report of this disease is showing quite an increasing tendency, particularly in economically undeveloped areas and countries. Regarding the treatment of this disease, 1-stage radical debridement and reconstruction has been widely adopted; however, emergency 1-stage anterior approach surgery without medication is considered as a relatively taboo, since it is generally acknowledged that such operation would possibly cause unexpected infection. Nevertheless, regular elective surgery may require longer time for preparation. In addition, long hour compression and stimulation of the abscess may leave the patients with irreversible spinal neural impairment. However, our department has finished 14 cases of cervical spine infection complicated with epidural abscess without 1 single case of postoperative infection. A retrospective study was conducted on 14 patients (9 males and 5 females; average age 57.4 years) who were diagnosed with cervical spine infection complicated by epidural abscess from January 2005 to December 2014. All the patients were admitted to hospital with varying degrees of neurological function losses, and then underwent 1-stage anterior focal debridement and reconstruction using titanium mesh within 24 hours after admission. They received postoperative standard antibiotic chemotherapy for 10 to 12 weeks. They were followed up for 18 to 36 months, an average of 27.4 months. X-ray, computed tomography (CT), and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were used to determine the fusion state and vertebral stability. American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) international standards for neurological classification were adopted, white blood cell count (WBC), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and C-reactive protein (CRP) were evaluated to infection activity, and Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) and visual analog scale (VAS) criteria were used to judge clinical efficacy. All the 14 patients had no postoperative spread of infection. No recurrence of infection was found during the last follow-up. ASIA grade, VAS score, and JOA score were significantly improved (P < .05) after the operation. WBC, ESR, and CRP became normal after the operation (P < .05). Postoperative follow-up imaging results showed no significant loss of cervical curvature, collapse of the grafted bone or implant displacement but good spinal canal volume. Emergency 1-stage radical debridement and reconstruction using titanium mesh filled with autologous bone, combined with antibiotic chemotherapy, is a safe and effective surgical therapy for cervical infection complicated by epidural abscess.
A compiler method for the parallel execution of irregular reductions in scalable shared memory multiprocessors

This paper presents a new parallelization method for reductions of arrays with subscripted subscripts on scalable shared memory multiprocessors. The mapping of computations is based on grouping reduction loop iterations into sets that are further assigned to the cooperating threads of computation. Iterations belonging to the same set are chosen in such a way that update different entries in the reduction array. That is, the loop distribution implies a conflict-free write distribution of the reduction array. The iteration sets are set up by building a loop-index prefetching data structure that allows to reorder properly the loop iterations. The proposed method is general, scalable, and easy to implement on a compiler. In addition it deals in a uniform way with one and multiple subscript arrays. In case of multiple indirection arrays, writes on the reduction array affecting different sets are solved by defining conflict-free supersets. A performance evaluation is presented. From the experimental results and performance analysis, the proposed method appears as a clear alternative to the array expansion and privatized buffer techniques, used on state-of-the-art parallelizing compilers, like Polaris or SUIF. The scalability problem that those techniques exhibit is missing in our method, as the memory overhead presented does not depend on the number of processors.
Induction and modulation of persistent activity in a layer V PFC microcircuit model

Working memory refers to the temporary storage of information and is strongly associated with the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Persistent activity of cortical neurons, namely the activity that persists beyond the stimulus presentation, is considered the cellular correlate of working memory. Although past studies suggested that this type of activity is characteristic of large scale networks, recent experimental evidence imply that small, tightly interconnected clusters of neurons in the cortex may support similar functionalities. However, very little is known about the biophysical mechanisms giving rise to persistent activity in small-sized microcircuits in the PFC. Here, we present a detailed biophysically—yet morphologically simplified—microcircuit model of layer V PFC neurons that incorporates connectivity constraints and is validated against a multitude of experimental data. We show that (a) a small-sized network can exhibit persistent activity under realistic stimulus conditions. (b) Its emergence depends strongly on the interplay of dADP, NMDA, and GABAB currents. (c) Although increases in stimulus duration increase the probability of persistent activity induction, variability in the stimulus firing frequency does not consistently influence it. (d) Modulation of ionic conductances (Ih, ID, IsAHP, IcaL, IcaN, IcaR) differentially controls persistent activity properties in a location dependent manner. These findings suggest that modulation of the microcircuit's firing characteristics is achieved primarily through changes in its intrinsic mechanism makeup, supporting the hypothesis of multiple bi-stable units in the PFC. Overall, the model generates a number of experimentally testable predictions that may lead to a better understanding of the biophysical mechanisms of persistent activity induction and modulation in the PFC.
Stability and Convergence Analysis of Transform-Domain LMS Adaptive Filters With Second-Order Autoregressive Process

In this paper, the stability and convergence properties of the class of transform-domain least mean square (LMS) adaptive filters with second-order autoregressive (AR) process are investigated. It is well known that this class of adaptive filters improve convergence property of the standard LMS adaptive filters by applying the fixed data-independent orthogonal transforms and power normalization. However, the convergence performance of this class of adaptive filters can be quite different for various input processes, and it has not been fully explored. In this paper, we first discuss the mean-square stability and steady-state performance of this class of adaptive filters. We then analyze the effects of the transforms and power normalization performed in the various adaptive filters for both first-order and second-order AR processes. We derive the input asymptotic eigenvalue distributions and make comparisons on their convergence performance. Finally, computer simulations on AR process as well as moving-average (MA) process and autoregressive-moving-average (ARMA) process are demonstrated for the support of the analytical results.
Characterization of the Temperature Dependence of the Pressure Coefficients of n- and p-Type Silicon Using Hydrostatic Testing

Piezoresistive stress sensors on the (111) surface of silicon offer the unique ability to measure the complete stress state at a point in the (111) material. However, four-point bending or wafer-level calibration methods can measure only four of the six piezoresistive coefficients for p- and n-type resistors required for application of these sensors. In this work, a hydrostatic test method has been developed in which a high-capacity pressure vessel is used to apply a triaxial load to a single die over the -25degC to+100 degC temperature range. The slopes of the adjusted resistance change versus pressure plots yield pressure coefficients for p- and n-type silicon that provide the additional information necessary to fully determine the complete set of piezoresistive coefficients.