Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cat and dog owners’ expectations and attitudes towards advanced veterinary care (AVC) in the UK, Austria and Denmark

Modern veterinary medicine offers a level of care to cats and dogs similar to that available to their owners, including blood transfusions, chemotherapy and MRI scans. The potential benefits to the animals of owners who can afford such care are obvious, but there can also be negative consequences if owners with strong emotional attachments to their pets pursue treatments that significantly reduce the quality of the animal’s life while attempting to prolong it. Moreover, caring for a chronically or seriously ill animal can lead to emotional distress and financial and practical challenges for the pet owner. A questionnaire was used to survey cat and dog owners from representative samples of citizens in the UK, Austria and Denmark, to investigate owners’ expectations and attitudes towards advanced veterinary care, and the factors that might influence those views. Overall, 58.4% of the pet owners surveyed believed that their pets should have access to the same treatment options as humans, while 51.5% believed that they should have access to the same diagnostic tests as humans. Owners were most likely to be neutral on the question of whether advanced veterinary care has ‘gone too far’ (45.3%), and to disagree with the statement that advanced care is ‘unnecessary’ (40.1%). In all three countries, the level of attachment owners had to their pets was most strongly associated with attitudes towards advanced care, with owners scoring higher on Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale (LAPS) being more likely to expect advanced care to be available. Other factors such as owner age, living situation (alone or not), income or possession of pet insurance were less consistently with owner attitudes. Our findings will help inform veterinarians and other health care providers about pet owner expectations and attitudes towards advanced veterinary care, and contribute to the debate on increasing specialisation within the profession.
Leaf morphological traits show greater responses to changes in climate than leaf physiological traits and gas exchange variables

Abstract Adaptation to changing conditions is one of the strategies plants may use to survive in the face of climate change. We aimed to determine whether plants' leaf morphological and physiological traits/gas exchange variables have changed in response to recent, anthropogenic climate change. We grew seedlings from resurrected historic seeds from ex‐situ seed banks and paired modern seeds in a common‐garden experiment. Species pairs were collected from regions that had undergone differing levels of climate change using an emerging framework—Climate Contrast Resurrection Ecology, allowing us to hypothesise that regions with greater changes in climate (including temperature, precipitation, climate variability and climatic extremes) would be greater trait responses in leaf morphology and physiology over time. Our study found that in regions where there were greater changes in climate, there were greater changes in average leaf area, leaf margin complexity, leaf thickness and leaf intrinsic water use efficiency. Changes in leaf roundness, photosynthetic rate, stomatal density and the leaf economic strategy of our species were not correlated with changes in climate. Our results show that leaves do have the ability to respond to changes in climate, however, there are greater inherited responses in morphological leaf traits than in physiological traits/variables and greater responses to extreme measures of climate than gradual changes in climatic means. It is vital for accurate predictions of species' responses to impending climate change to ensure that future climate change ecology studies utilise knowledge about the difference in both leaf trait and gas exchange responses and the climate variables that they respond to.
From remote enhancers to gene regulation: charting the genome's regulatory landscapes

Vertebrate genes are characterized by the presence of cis-regulatory elements located at great distances from the genes they control. Alterations of these elements have been implicated in human diseases and evolution, yet little is known about how these elements interact with their surrounding sequences. A recent survey of the mouse genome with a regulatory sensor showed that the regulatory activities of these elements are not organized in a gene-centric manner, but instead are broadly distributed along chromosomes, forming large regulatory landscapes with distinct tissue-specific activities. A large genome-wide collection of expression data from this regulatory sensor revealed some basic principles of this complex genome regulatory architecture, including a substantial interplay between enhancers and other types of activities to modulate gene expression. We discuss the implications of these findings for our understanding of non-coding transcription, and of the possible consequences of structural genomic variations in disease and evolution.
Early Readmission of Elderly Patients With Congestive Heart Failure

Repetitive hospitalizations are a major health problem in elderly patients with chronic disease, accounting for up to one fourth of all inpatient Medicare expenditures. Congestive heart failure, one of the most common indications for hospitalization in the elderly, is also associated with a high incidence of early rehospitalization, but variables identifying patients at increased risk and an analysis of potentially remediable factors contributing to read‐mission have not previously been reported.
Sparse variable PCA using a steepest descent on a Grassman manifold

Recently there has developed considerable interest in using sparseness with PCA. Almost all previous methods concentrate on zeroing out some loadings. Here we develop a new approach which zeros out whole variables automatically. We formulate a vector l1 penalized PCA criterion and optimize it by steepest descent along geodesic on a Grassman manifold. This ensures that each step obeys PCA orthogonality as well as an invariance property of the criterion. We show in simulations that it outperforms a previous svPCA algorithm and apply it to a real high dimensional functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) data.
Simple and practical algorithm for sparse Fourier transform

We consider the sparse Fourier transform problem: given a complex vector x of length n, and a parameter k, estimate the k largest (in magnitude) coefficients of the Fourier transform of x. The problem is of key interest in several areas, including signal processing, audio/image/video compression, and learning theory. We propose a new algorithm for this problem. The algorithm leverages techniques from digital signal processing, notably Gaussian and Dolph-Chebyshev filters. Unlike the typical approach to this problem, our algorithm is not iterative. That is, instead of estimating "large" coefficients, subtracting them and recursing on the reminder, it identifies and estimates the k largest coefficients in "one shot", in a manner akin to sketching/streaming algorithms. The resulting algorithm is structurally simpler than its predecessors. As a consequence, we are able to extend considerably the range of sparsity, k, for which the algorithm is faster than FFT, both in theory and practice.
Analysis of approximate algorithms for constrained and unconstrained edge-coloring of bipartite graphs

The problem of edge-coloring a bipartite graph is to color the edges so that adjacent edges receive different colors. An optimal algorithm uses the minimum number of colors to color the edges. We consider several approximation algorithms for edge-coloring bipartite graphs and show tight bounds on the number of colors they use in the worst case. We also briefly consider the constrained edge-coloring problem where each color may be used to color at most $k$ edges, and obtain bounds on the number of colors used by the approximation algorithms in the worst case.
Recovering non-rigid 3D shape from image streams

The paper addresses the problem of recovering 3D non-rigid shape models from image sequences. For example, given a video recording of a talking person, we would like to estimate a 3D model of the lips and the full face and its internal modes of variation. Many solutions that recover 3D shape from 2D image sequences have been proposed; these so-called structure-from-motion techniques usually assume that the 3D object is rigid. For example, C. Tomasi and T. Kanades' (1992) factorization technique is based on a rigid shape matrix, which produces a tracking matrix of rank 3 under orthographic projection. We propose a novel technique based on a non-rigid model, where the 3D shape in each frame is a linear combination of a set of basis shapes. Under this model, the tracking matrix is of higher rank, and can be factored in a three-step process to yield pose, configuration and shape. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first model free approach that can recover from single-view video sequences nonrigid shape models. We demonstrate this new algorithm on several video sequences. We were able to recover 3D non-rigid human face and animal models with high accuracy.
Soft Robotics: The Next Generation of Intelligent Machines

There has been an increasing interest in applying biological principles to the design and control of robots. Unlike industrial robots that are programmed to execute a rather limited number of tasks, the new generation of bio-inspired robots is expected to display a wide range of behaviours in unpredictable environments, as well as to interact safely and smoothly with human co-workers. In this article, we put forward some of the properties that will characterize these new robots: soft materials, flexible and stretchable sensors, modular and efficient actuators, self-organization and distributed control. We introduce a number of design principles; in particular, we try to comprehend the novel design space that now includes soft materials and requires a completely different way of thinking about control. We also introduce a recent case study of developing a complex humanoid robot, discuss the lessons learned and speculate about future challenges and perspectives.
Implicit Sequence Learning in People with Parkinson's Disease

People with Parkinson’s disease (PD) have known deficits in striatal dopamine, and compared to age-matched healthy older adults, increased striatal deficits, and difficulties with maintaining postural stability and complex language comprehension, behaviors that involve sequencing. Because sequencing abilities are important for daily life and for various types of rehabilitation, this decline with PD should be well understood, yet the literature on the effects of PD in sequence learning is mixed. Some of the confusion in the literature may be due to variation in participant characteristics, but also to task differences, such as the extent of motor movement required. The present studies examined implicit sequence learning using the Triplets Learning Task (TLT) in a PD group. There were 29 medicated PD participants, and 30 healthy older adults were recruited as a control group. Study 1 compared learning over several blocks of training in the TLT. Two learning measures indicated that people with PD learned, but they showed less implicit sequence learning than Controls. This group difference in one analysis was carried largely by late training, when learning is thought to be particularly dependent on the striatum. Additionally, when first and second halves of blocks were examined separately, the PD group showed less learning than Controls in the second halves of blocks, when learning is thought to be striatal-dependent. In Study 2, we examined relationships between learning and PD-related characteristics. Using learning in the second half block, we found that in our PD
A trans‐spinal loop between neurones in the reticular formation and in the cerebellum

Voluntary limb movements are initiated in the brain but the neurones responsible for activating the muscles (motoneurones and interneurones) are located in the spinal cord. The spinal cord also contains neurones that provide the brain, and especially the cerebellum, with continuous information on effects of the descending commands. We show that one population of such neurones provide the cerebellum with information on how likely the brain's commands (mediated by descending reticulospinal neurones) are to be executed as planned, depending on the degree of inhibition of motoneurones. They may therefore play an important role in preventing errors in activation of motoneurones and thereby help the brain to correct its signals to the spinal cord before such errors have been committed.
Oral Symptoms Predict Mortality: a Prospective Study in Japan

Several studies have reported positive associations between oral infections and systemic diseases. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effects of oral symptoms on mortality from cardiovascular disease (CVD) and pneumonia. Using data from a cohort study in Japan, we analyzed 4,139 individuals aged 40–79 years. The baseline questionnaire included the following items related to oral symptoms: ‘sensitive teeth’, ‘difficulty in chewing tough food substances’, ‘bleeding gums’, and ‘mouth feels sticky’. We used the Cox proportional hazard model to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) for mortality, after adjustments for lifestyle, socio-economic factors, and history of diseases. Persons complaining that their ‘mouth feels sticky’ had a two-fold higher risk of pneumonia (HR = 2.1; 95%CI, 1.2–3.6), while those complaining of ‘sensitive teeth’ had a lower risk of CVD (HR = 0.4; 95%CI, 0.2–0.9). Some oral symptoms may be predictors of mortality from pneumonia and CVD.
SHP-2 tyrosine phosphatase inhibits p73-dependent apoptosis and expression of a subset of p53 target genes induced by EGCG

Green tea polyphenol, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) differentially regulates the cellular growth of cancer cells in a p53-dependent manner through apoptosis and/or cell cycle arrest. In an effort to further elucidate the mechanism of differential growth regulation by EGCG, we have investigated the role of the tyrosine phosphatase, SHP-2. Comparing the responses of mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs), expressing either WT or functionally inactive/truncated SHP-2, we find that inactivation of SHP-2 remarkably sensitizes cells to EGCG-mediated killing. MEFs lacking functional SHP-2 undergo massive apoptosis upon treatment with EGCG. By comparing gene expression profiles, we have identified a set of transcriptional targets of p53 that are differentially modulated in cells undergoing apoptosis. Western blot and real-time PCR analyses of a select group of genes further confirm that the expression is SHP-2-dependent. Similar observations were made in MEFs lacking p53, confirming that the expression of these “p53 target genes” is p53-independent. In addition, EGCG treatment induced the expression of p73 mRNA and protein in both cell types, but not p63. Inactivation of p73 in cells expressing nonfunctional SHP-2 markedly inhibited apoptosis and p53 target gene expression. Although phosphorylation of JNK is differentially regulated by SHP2, it was found to be dispensable for EGCG-induced apoptosis and p53 target gene expression. Our results have identified SHP-2 as a negative regulator of EGCG-induced-apoptosis and have identified a subset of p53 target genes whose expression is paradoxically not mediated by p53 but by one of its family members, p73.
Schizogony and gametogony of Eimeria tenella in the liver of chick embryos.

SYNOPSIS. Schizogony and gametogony of E. tenella occurred in the liver of chick embryos inoculated intravenously with sporozoites. Gametogony occurred more freely in dexamethasonetreated embryos. Schizonts and gamonts developed within bileduct epithelial cells but many gamonts were also found within cells that appeared to be liver parenchyma type. Schizonts also developed in the chorioallantois of a corticosteroid-treated goose embryo when sporozoites were inoculated via the allantoic cavity.
A superfast muscle in the complex sonic apparatus of Ophidion rochei (Ophidiiformes): histological and physiological approaches

In teleosts, superfast muscles are generally associated with the swimbladder wall, whose vibrations result in sound production. In Ophidion rochei, three pairs of muscles were named ‘sonic’ because their contractions affect swimbladder position: the dorsal sonic muscle (DSM), the intermediate sonic muscle (ISM), and the ventral sonic muscle (VSM). These muscles were investigated thanks to electron microscopy and electromyography in order to determine their function in sound production. Fibers of the VSM and DSM were much thinner than the fibers of the ISM and epaxial musculature. However, only VSM fibers had the typical ultrastructure of superfast muscles: low proportion of myofibrils, and high proportions of sarcoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria. In females, each sound onset was preceded by the onset of electrical activity in the VSM and the DSM (ISM was not tested). The electromyograms of the VSM were very similar to the waveforms of the sounds: means for the pulse period were 3.6±0.5 and 3.6±0.7 ms, respectively. This shows that the fast VSM (ca. 280 Hz) is responsible for the pulse period and fundamental frequency of female sounds. DSM electromyograms were generally characterized by one or two main peaks followed by periods of lower electrical activity, which suggests a sustained contraction over the course of the sound. The fiber morphology of the ISM and its antagonistic position relative to the DSM are not indicative of a muscle capable of superfast contractions. Overall, this study experimentally shows the complexity of the sound production mechanism in the nocturnal fish O. rochei.
A scenario approach for estimating the suboptimality of linear decision rules in two-stage robust optimization

Robust dynamic optimization problems involving adaptive decisions are computationally intractable in general. Tractable upper bounding approximations can be obtained by requiring the adaptive decisions to be representable as linear decision rules (LDRs). In this paper we investigate families of tractable lower bounding approximations, which serve to estimate the degree of suboptimality of the best LDR. These approximations are obtained either by solving a dual version of the robust optimization problem in LDRs or by utilizing an inclusion-wise discrete approximation of the problem's uncertainty set. The quality of the resulting lower bounds depends on the distribution assigned to the uncertain parameters or the choice of the discretization points within the uncertainty set, respectively. We prove that identifying the best possible lower bounds is generally intractable in both cases and propose an efficient procedure to construct suboptimal lower bounds. The resulting instance-wise bounds outperform known worst-case bounds in the majority of our test cases.
Genetic Variations of Glutathione S-Transferase Influence on Blood Cadmium Concentration

The glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) are involved in biotransformation and detoxification of cadmium (Cd). Genetic polymorphisms in these genes may lead to interindividual variation in Cd susceptibility. The objective of this study was to assess the association of GSTs (GSTT1, GSTM1, and GSTP1 Val105Ile) polymorphisms with blood Cd concentrations in a nonoccupationally exposed population. The 370 blood samples were analyzed for Cd concentration and polymorphisms in GSTs genes. Geometric mean of blood Cd among this population was 0.46 ± 0.02 μg/L (with 95% CI; 0.43–0.49 μg/L). Blood Cd concentrations in subjects carrying GSTP1 Val/Val genotype were significantly higher than those with Ile/Ile and Ile/Val genotypes. No significant differences in blood Cd concentrations among individual with gene deletions of GSTT1 and GSTM1 were observed. GSTP1/GSTT1 and GSTP1/GSTM1 combinations showed significantly associated with increase in blood Cd levels. This study indicated that polymorphisms of GSTP1 combined with GSTT1 and/or GSTM1 deletion are likely to influence on individual susceptibility to cadmium toxicity.
Support and assessment for fall emergency referrals (SAFER 2) research protocol: cluster randomised trial of the clinical and cost effectiveness of new protocols for emergency ambulance paramedics to assess and refer to appropriate community-based care

Introduction Emergency calls to ambulance services are frequent for older people who have fallen, but ambulance crews often leave patients at the scene without ongoing care. Evidence shows that when left at home with no further support older people often experience subsequent falls which result in injury and emergency-department attendances. SAFER 2 is an evaluation of a new clinical protocol which allows paramedics to assess and refer older people who have fallen, and do not need hospital care, to community-based falls services. In this protocol paper, we report methods and progress during trial implementation. SAFER 2 is recruiting patients through three ambulance services. A successful trial will provide robust evidence about the value of this new model of care, and enable ambulance services to use resources efficiently. Design Pragmatic cluster randomised trial. Methods and analysis We randomly allocated 25 participating ambulance stations (clusters) in three services to intervention or control group. Intervention paramedics received training and clinical protocols for assessing and referring older people who have fallen to community-based falls services when appropriate, while control paramedics deliver care as usual. Patients are eligible for the trial if they are aged 65 or over; resident in a participating falls service catchment area; and attended by a trial paramedic following an emergency call coded as a fall without priority symptoms. The principal outcome is the rate of further emergency contacts (or death), for any cause and for falls. Secondary outcomes include further falls, health-related quality of life, ‘fear of falling’, patient satisfaction reported by participants through postal questionnaires at 1 and 6 months, and quality and pathways of care at the index incident. We shall compare National Health Service (NHS) and patient/carer costs between intervention and control groups and estimate quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) gained from the intervention and thus incremental cost per QALY. We shall estimate wider system effects on key-performance indicators. We shall interview 60 intervention patients, and conduct focus groups with contributing NHS staff to explore their experiences of the assessment and referral service. We shall analyse quantitative trial data by ‘treatment allocated’; and qualitative data using content analysis. Ethics and dissemination The Research Ethics Committee for Wales gave ethical approval and each participating centre gave NHS Research and Development approval. We shall disseminate study findings through peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations. Trial Registration: ISRCTN 60481756