Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pulmonary hypertension in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: a plea for proper phenotyping and further research.

Heart failure (HF) with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is a common disease affecting the elderly in particular. Up to 80% of these patients develop pulmonary hypertension (PH), which is associated with worse symptoms and increased mortality.1 It is a matter of concern that drugs approved for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) are sometimes used in such patients despite insufficient data for their safety and efficacy. On the other hand, the impact of PH and right ventricular (RV) dysfunction on morbidity and mortality in HFpEF call for proper attention both at the clinical and scientific level. Here we discuss the clinical problem, pathophysiology, diagnostic shortfalls, gaps in evidence, and future strategies for PH-HFpEF. HFpEF is currently the dominant form of HF in aging societies globally. Epidemiologic trends over the past two decades showed that HFpEF increased relative to HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). 2 Overall mortality did not improve over time, with more than 50% dead in 5 years from diagnosis.2 Differences between epidemiologic and trial populations of HFpEF reflect potential selection bias and lack of uniformity of diagnostic criteria. Epidemiologic studies utilize the most widely applicable definition of HFpEF: (i) clinically diagnosed HF (e.g. by Framingham criteria) and (ii) preserved EF (e.g. ≥50%). 2 While such definitions capture the broad unselected population with the syndrome of HFpEF, they are rarely specific enough for clinical trials since the accurate diagnosis relies on symptoms and signs of HFpEF, both non-discriminating particularly in elderly patients with multiple comorbidities. The ESC guidelines included additional criteria, i.e. elevated levels of natriuretic peptides or objective evidence of left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy, left atrial enlargement, and/or LV diastolic dysfunction.3 Yet, the diagnosis of HFpEF remains difficult as many presumably healthy elderly patients fulfil at least some of these echocardiographic criteria. Invasive demonstration of increased pulmonary …
An Exploration of the Tully-Fisher Relation for Extreme Late-Type Spiral Galaxies

In an earlier paper we presented new high-precision H I velocity width measurements for a sample of 30 extreme late-type spiral galaxies. Here we explore the adherence of those galaxies, as well as 17 additional extreme late-type spirals, to the B- and V-band Tully-Fisher relations defined by a sample of local calibrators. In both bands we find the mean luminosity at a given line width for extreme late-type spirals to lie below that predicted by standard Tully-Fisher relations. While many of the extreme late-type spirals do follow the Tully-Fisher relation to within our observational uncertainties, most of the galaxies lie below the normal, linear Tully-Fisher relation, and some are underluminous by more than 2 σ (i.e., >1.16 mag in V). This suggests a possible downward curvature of the Tully-Fisher relation for some of the smallest and faintest rotationally supported disk galaxies. This may be a consequence of the increasing prevalence of dark matter in these systems. We find the deviation from the Tully-Fisher relation to increase with decreasing luminosity and decreasing optical linear size in our sample, implying that the physically smallest and faintest spirals may be a structurally and kinematically distinct class of objects.
Grain orientation and dislocation patterns

Dislocation patterns have been characterized by transmission electron microscopy and Kikuchi line analysis in pure, polycrystalline aluminium deformed in tension at room temperature in the strain range 0.05–0.34. The angle strain relationship of the dislocation boundaries, their scaling behaviour and the occurrence of similitude show that two dislocation patterns coexist in all grains, albeit, with very different characteristics, dependent on the grain orientation. An analysis of the hardening behaviour of the grains in the polycrystal and a comparison with single crystal behaviour show a similar strong correlation, pointing to the slip pattern as a dominating factor both behind the microstructural evolution and the hardening. The division of the stereographic triangle representing all possible crystallographic orientations at the tensile axis based on microstructural characterization and hardening behaviour, correlates with a division based on slip pattern characteristics.
A Peptide Antagonist of Thrombospondin-1 Promotes Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Progression in the Angiotensin II–Infused Apolipoprotein-E–Deficient Mouse

Objective—Interaction of the activating sequence in thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) with the conserved sequence (leucine-serine-lysine-leucine [LSKL]) in the latency-associated peptide region of latent transforming growth factor (TGF)-&bgr; complex is important in regulating TGF-&bgr;1 activity. We aimed to assess the effect of blocking peptide LSKL on the progression of pre-established abdominal aortic aneurysm in angiotensin II–infused apolipoprotein E-deficient (ApoE−/−) mice. Approach and Results—Abdominal aortic aneurysm was established in 3-month-old male ApoE−/− mice with subcutaneous infusion of angiotensin II for 28 days. After this, mice received LSKL peptide or control SLLK (serine–leucine–leucine–lysine) peptide (4 mg/kg) via daily intraperitoneal injection for an additional 2 weeks. Administration of LSKL peptide promoted larger suprarenal aortic diameter, as determined by ultrasound and morphometric analysis, and stimulated more severe atherosclerosis within the aortic arch. In addition, mice receiving LSKL peptide exhibited elevated circulating proinflammatory cytokine levels and greater inflammatory cells within the suprarenal aorta compared with controls. Mice receiving LSKL peptide showed low plasma TGF-&bgr;1 activity and low levels of aortic tissue phosphorylated to total Smad2/3. Aortic gene expression of TGF-&bgr; receptor 1 (TGFBRI) and receptor 2 (TGFBRII), but not TGF-&bgr;1 and thrombospondin-1, were lower in mice receiving LSKL peptide than controls. LSKL peptide administration was associated with greater aortic elastin fragmentation and lower expression and activity of the TGF-&bgr;1-target gene lysyl oxidase like 1 (LOXL1). Conclusions—Attenuation of thrombospondin-1-directed activation of TGF-&bgr;1 promotes abdominal aortic aneurysm and atherosclerosis progression in the angiotensin II–infused ApoE−/− mouse model.
Nuttalliella namaqua (Ixodoidea: Nuttalliellidae): First Description of the Male, Immature Stages and Re-Description of the Female

Nuttalliella namaqua is the only species of the enigmatic third tick family. Females possess features of hard and soft ticks and have been designated as the “missing link” between the main tick families. Its position at the base of the tick tree suggests that some of the features unique to hard and soft ticks were present in the ancestral tick lineage. Larvae, nymphae and males have not been described to date and questions regarding their biological affinities to the main tick families remain unclear. The current study addressed these questions via the description of larvae, nymphae and males and resolved issues pertaining to female morphology. Field collected as well as laboratory-engorged females laid eggs and viable larvae subsequently hatched. The larvae possess morphological structures not present in subsequent stages: namely, a sclerotized scutum, pores on the dorsal surface of legs and a dentate anal plate. The last two characters are not present in ixodids and argasids. N. namaqua larvae and nymphae show a similar morphology to females: a unique hypostomal structure i.e., bluntly rounded apically in nymphae and females and ball-like in the larvae. A re-description of some structures in female N. namaqua has resolved differences in the original descriptions, namely that N. namaqua have 4 palpal segments as found in ixodids and argasids and posthypostomal setae. The male was discovered for the first time and described. Characteristic male features include: a pseudoscutum over most of the dorsum, an outgrowth on the chelicerae forming a unique rod-like structure similar to a spematodactyl in mites and medial extension of palpal segment 2 forming a large ventral crib for segment 4. All life stages possess some features found in hard and soft ticks and its status as the “missing link” between the tick families remains.
Comparison of traditional methods with 3D computer models in the instruction of hepatobiliary anatomy

This study was designed to determine whether an interactive three‐dimensional presentation depicting liver and biliary anatomy is more effective for teaching medical students than a traditional textbook format presentation of the same material. Forty‐six medical students volunteered for participation in this study. Baseline demographic information, spatial ability, and knowledge of relevant anatomy were measured. Participants were randomized into two groups and presented with a computer‐based interactive learning module comprised of animations and still images to highlight various anatomical structures (3D group), or a computer‐based text document containing the same images and text without animation or interactive features (2D group). Following each teaching module, students completed a satisfaction survey and nine‐item anatomic knowledge post‐test. The 3D group scored higher on the post‐test than the 2D group, with a mean score of 74% and 64%, respectively; however, when baseline differences in pretest scores were accounted for, this difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.33). Spatial ability did not statistically significantly correlate with post‐test scores for the 3D group or the 2D group. In the post‐test satisfaction survey the 3D group expressed a statistically significantly higher overall satisfaction rating compared to students in the 2D control group (4.5 versus 3.7 out of 5, P = 0.02). While the interactive 3D multimedia module received higher satisfaction ratings from students, it neither enhanced nor inhibited learning of complex hepatobiliary anatomy compared to an informationally equivalent traditional textbook style approach. Anat Sci Educ 4: 84–91, 2011. © 2011 American Association of Anatomists.
Seasonal Effect of Tree Foliage on GPS Signal Availability and Accuracy for Vehicular Navigation

The seasonal effec! of deciduous tree foiiage on GPS signal availibility and accuracy for vehicular navigation is investigated. GPS signals in the upper UHF part of the spectrum are line-of-sight and suffer much attenuation under tree branches and their leaves. An important question is to whether significant variations will occur between seasons due to the presence or absence of deciduous foliage. Two types of performance variaticns are investigated, namely signal availability and accuracy . In the presence of leaves, . signal availability is expected to decrease. Since multipath is expected to increase, accuracy is expected to decrease as well. In order to investigate this aspect and possible correlation with different receiver technologies tests were conducted at normal cruising speeds along selected tree-lined streets of Calgary under both seasonal conditions with multichannels wide and narrow correlator spacing C/A code receivers. Tine tests were conducted in DGPS mode to assess effectively repeatable positioning accuracy. Test results are presented and analysed. They reveal that the effec! of foliage on signal availability is a function of the number of channels available and, to some a lesser extent, on receiver characteristics. Foliage is also found to have a significant effect on positioning accuracy. Narrow correlator spacing technology produces significantly better positioning accuracy under foliage conditions due to its better multipath rejection capability.
A Low-Power Accelerator for Deep Neural Networks with Enlarged Near-Zero Sparsity

It remains a challenge to run Deep Learning in devices with stringent power budget in the Internet-of-Things. This paper presents a low-power accelerator for processing Deep Neural Networks in the embedded devices. The power reduction is realized by avoiding multiplications of near-zero valued data. The near-zero approximation and a dedicated Near-Zero Approximation Unit (NZAU) are proposed to predict and skip the near-zero multiplications under certain thresholds. Compared with skipping zero-valued computations, our design achieves 1.92X and 1.51X further reduction of the total multiplications in LeNet-5 and Alexnet respectively, with negligible lose of accuracy. In the proposed accelerator, 256 multipliers are grouped into 16 independent Processing Lanes (PL) to support up to 16 neuron activations simultaneously. With the help of data pre-processing and buffering in each PL, multipliers can be clock-gated in most of the time even the data is excessively streaming in. Designed and simulated in UMC 65 nm process, the accelerator operating at 500 MHz is $>$ 4X faster than the mobile GPU Tegra K1 in processing the fully-connected layer FC8 of Alexnet, while consuming 717X less energy.
Measuring the Financial Sophistication of Households

Many households invest in ways that are hard to reconcile with standard financial theory and that have been labelled as investment mistakes (Campbell 2006; Calvet, Campbell, and Sodini, henceforth “CCS,” 2007). There is increasing interest among household finance research-ers in the concept of financial sophistication, defined as the ability of a household to avoid making such mistakes. A growing empirical lit-erature documents a cross-sectional correlation between household characteristics and invest-ment mistakes. Richer, better educated house-holds tend to be better diversified (Marshall Blume and Irwin Friend 1975; CCS 2007; William Goetzmann and Alok Kumar 2008; Annette Vissing-Jorgensen 2003), display less inertia (Julie Agnew, Pierluigi Balduzzi, and Annika Sunden 2003; Yannis Bilias, Dimitris Georgarakos, and Michael Haliassos 2008; Campbell 2006; CCS 2009; Vissing-Jorgensen 2002), and have a weaker disposition to hold losing and sell winning stocks (CCS 2009; Ravi Dhar and Ning Zhu 2006) than other house-holds. One feature of these earlier papers is that mistakes are investigated one at a time, often
Protective effect of Artemisia douglasiana Besser extracts in gastric mucosal injury

The aim of this work was to evaluate markers of oxidative stress in ethanol‐induced gastric ulcers and the protective antioxidant activity in‐vivo of Artemisia douglasiana Besser extracts in ethanol‐treated rats. Ethanol‐induced oxidative damage is believed to be associated with generation of reactive oxygen molecules, which leads to oxidative stress. A. douglasiana is used in folk medicine as a cytoprotective agent against peptic ulcer. Different bioassays were performed: in‐vivo stomach chemiluminescence, tert‐butyl hydroperoxide initiated chemiluminescence (in‐vitro chemiluminescence), total antioxidant capacity (TRAP) and catalase, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity in stomach homogenates. When ethanol (3 g kg−1) was administered, the in‐vivo chemiluminescence increased by 107%, in‐vitro chemiluminescence by 108%, SOD by 130% (P<0.001), and catalase and TRAP decreased by 43 and 59% (P<0.05 and 0.001, respectively). A. douglasiana (400 mg kg−1) pretreatment decreased in‐vivo chemiluminescence by 41% (P<0.05), in‐vitro chemiluminescence by 66% (P<0.001) and SOD by 56% (P<0.001) and increased catalase by 14% and TRAP by 168% (P<0.001, respectively) but GPx activity was not significantly different from the ethanol group. These results illustrate the significant antioxidant activity of A. douglasiana extract in‐vivo and in‐vitro.
When is Galois cohomology free or trivial

Let p be a prime and F a field containing a primitive pth root of unity. Let E/F be a cyclic extension of degree p and G_E n, and, by analogy with cohomological dimension, we introduce notions of cohomological freeness and cohomological triviality. We give examples of H^n(E) free or trivial for each n in N with prescribed cohomological dimension.
Human cytomegalovirus inhibits human immunodeficiency virus replication in cells productively infected by both viruses

We have been studying the role of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) as a potential cofactor in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related disease. The clinical relevance of HCMV is highlighted by the fact that it is a principal viral pathogen in patients with AIDS and is known to infect the same cells as HIV. In this study, we focused on the molecular interactions between HIV and HCMV in human fibroblasts and in the human glioblastoma/astrocytoma-derived cell line U373 MG, cells which can be productively infected by both viruses. Because these cells are CD4-, we used HIV pseudotyped with a murine amphotropic retrovirus as described previously (D. H. Spector, E. Wade, D. A. Wright, V. Koval, C. Clark, D. Jaquish, and S. A. Spector, J. Virol. 64:2298-2308, 1990). Initial studies showed that when cells were preinfected with HIV (Ampho-1B) for 5 days and then superinfected with HCMV, HIV antigen production dropped significantly in the coinfected cells but continued to rise in cells infected with HIV (Ampho-1B) alone. HCMV production, however, was unaffected by the presence of HIV. Further analysis showed that HIV steady-state RNA levels and gag and env protein production were also inhibited in the presence of HCMV. The transcriptional inhibition of HIV was particularly surprising in view of the previous results of several other laboratories as well as our own that HCMV infection stimulates HIV long terminal repeat-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (LTR-CAT) expression in transient expression assays. To investigate this further, we transfected the HIV LTR-CAT construct into either uninfected cells or cells which had been preinfected with HIV. The cells were infected with HCMV 24 h posttransfection and assayed for CAT gene expression at 48 h after HCMV infection. Although there was some stimulation of the LTR-CAT in cells that were dually infected by HIV and HCMV, it was 16-fold less than that in the cells infected only with HCMV. This suggests that in the presence of the HIV infection, the stimulation of the HIV LTR-CAT gene by HCMV is significantly reduced. Experiments with UV-irradiated HCMV and the HCMV DNA polymerase inhibitor ganciclovir showed that HCMV transcription is necessary for the reduction in HIV production to occur; however, replication of the HCMV genome or any events which take place after DNA replication are not necessary. These results, coupled with the observation that inhibition is usually first seen between 8 and 24 h after HCMV infection, suggest that an HCMV early protein is involved in repression of HIV.
Herds Overhead: Nimbadon lavarackorum (Diprotodontidae), Heavyweight Marsupial Herbivores in the Miocene Forests of Australia

The marsupial family Diprotodontidae (Diprotodontia, Vombatiformes) is a group of extinct large-bodied (60–2500 kg) wombat-like herbivores that were common and geographically widespread in Cenozoic fossil deposits of Australia and New Guinea. Typically they are regarded to be gregarious, terrestrial quadrupeds and have been likened in body form among placental groups to sheep, rhinoceros and hippopotami. Arguably, one of the best represented species is the zygomaturine diprotodontid Nimbadon lavarackorum which is known from exceptionally well-preserved cranial and postcranial material from the middle Miocene cave deposit AL90, in the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, northwestern Queensland. Here we describe and functionally analyse the appendicular skeleton of Nimbadon lavarackorum and reveal a far more unique lifestyle for this plesiomorphic and smallest of diprotodontids. Striking similarities are evident between the skeleton of Nimbadon and that of the extant arboreal koala Phascolarctos cinereus, including the powerfully built forelimbs, highly mobile shoulder and elbow joints, proportionately large manus and pes (both with a semi-opposable digit I) and exceedingly large, recurved and laterally compressed claws. Combined with the unique (among australidelphians) proportionately shortened hindlimbs of Nimbadon, these features suggest adept climbing ability, probable suspensory behaviour, and an arboreal lifestyle. At approximately 70 kg, Nimbadon is the largest herbivorous mammal to have occupied the forest canopies of Australia - an ecological niche that is no longer occupied in any Australian ecosystem and one that further expands the already significant niche diversity displayed by marsupials during the Cenozoic.
Histopathology and Bioaccumulation of Heavy Metals ( Cu & Pb ) in the Giant land snail , Archachatina marginata ( Swainson )

Histolopathological effects of heavy metals (Cu and Pb) and their bioaccumulation in the giant land snails, Archachatina marginata were assessed by feeding experiments. On the basis of 168h LC50, CuSO4 with 168h LC50 value of 2.35mM was found to be significantly (no overlaps in 95% confidence limit) more toxic than Pb(NO3)2 (5.79mM). The exposure of the snails to sublethal concentrations of the metals resulted in a prevalence of hepatocellular foci of cellular alterations (FCA) in the hepatopancreas of snails. Hepatocytes of test animals exposed to sublethal concentration of Cu were also observed to be clogged together with peripheral thickening while exposure to lead caused inflammation of hepatic tubules. Basophilic adenoma and ovotesticular fibrillar inclusions were also observed in the ovotestes of snails exposed to the test metals. Post treatment analysis of A. marginata tissues revealed that exposure to sublethal Cu concentrations resulted in a five-fold and three-fold accumulation of the metal, respectively, in the hepatopancreas and muscular foot of exposed animals compared to the control animal. The bioaccumulation studies also indicate the ability of the snail to regulate and excrete excess level of copper from its body. The accumulation of Pb in the hepatopancreas were found to be up to 375 folds while accumulation of over 1000 folds compared to the concentrations detected in control animals was observed in the edible muscular foot. The array of toxicopathic organ or tissue alterations observed in this study represents biological end-points of contaminant exposure and therefore reinforces the application of histopathology as a powerful tool for monitoring anthropogenic contamination of terrestrial environments. The combination of these pathological end points with the monitoring of metal levels in body tissues of edible animals provides important tools for early detection of impending environmental problems and prevention of potential public health issues.
An Approach for Multi-Core Real Time Parallel Processing

Multi-core architectures, which have multiple processing units on a single chip, are widely used as a way to achieve higher processor performance. They have potential to deliver increased performance over single-core processors. Multi-core processors have become mainstream in processor design. In multiprocessing, only inter task parallelism can be achieved. But, computation-intensive real-time systems must exploit intra-task parallelism to take full advantage of multi-core processing. In this paper, the problem of scheduling periodic parallel tasks with implicit deadlines on multi-core processors is addressed. A task decomposition method that decomposes each parallel task into a set of sequential tasks is discussed. In this paper, a general model for deterministic parallel tasks, where a task is represented as a DAG with different nodes having different execution requirements is discussed. First, a DAG generation method for the tasks is discussed and secondly, task decomposition that splits a DAG into sequential tasks is discussed.