Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Wellness, fatigue and physical performance acclimatisation to a 2-week soccer camp at 3600 m (ISA3600)

Objectives To examine the time course of wellness, fatigue and performance during an altitude training camp (La Paz, 3600 m) in two groups of either sea-level (Australian) or altitude (Bolivian) native young soccer players. Methods Wellness and fatigue were assessed using questionnaires and resting heart rate (HR) and HR variability. Physical performance was assessed using HR responses to a submaximal run, a Yo-Yo Intermittent recovery test level 1 (Yo-YoIR1) and a 20 m sprint. Most measures were performed daily, with the exception of Yo-YoIR1 and 20 m sprints, which were performed near sea level and on days 3 and 10 at altitude. Results Compared with near sea level, Australians had moderate-to-large impairments in wellness and Yo-YoIR1 relative to the Bolivians on arrival at altitude. The acclimatisation of most measures to altitude was substantially slower in Australians than Bolivians, with only Bolivians reaching near sea-level baseline high-intensity running by the end of the camp. Both teams had moderately impaired 20 m sprinting at the end of the camp. Exercise HR had large associations (r>0.5–0.7) with changes in Yo-YoIR1 in both groups. Conclusions Despite partial physiological and perceptual acclimatisation, 2 weeks is insufficient for restoration of physical performance in young sea-level native soccer players. Because of the possible decrement in 20 m sprint time, a greater emphasis on speed training may be required during and after altitude training. The specific time course of restoration for each variable suggests that they measure different aspects of acclimatisation to 3600 m; they should therefore be used in combination to assess adaptation to altitude.
Study and Comparison of Various Image Edge Detection Techniques

Edges characterize boundaries and are therefore a problem of fundamental importance in image processing. Image Edge detection significantly reduces the amount of data and filters out useless information, while preserving the important structural properties in an image. Since edge detection is in the forefront of image processing for object detection, it is crucial to have a good understanding of edge detection algorithms. In this paper the comparative analysis of various Image Edge Detection techniques is presented. The software is developed using MATLAB 7.0. It has been shown that the Canny’s edge detection algorithm performs better than all these operators under almost all scenarios. Evaluation of the images showed that under noisy conditions Canny, LoG( Laplacian of Gaussian), Robert, Prewitt, Sobel exhibit better performance, respectively. 1. It has been observed that Canny’s edge detection algorithm is computationally more expensive compared to LoG( Laplacian of Gaussian), Sobel, Prewitt and Robert’s operator.
Adding Years to Your Life (or at Least Looking Like It): A Simple Normalization Underlies Adaptation to Facial Age

Adaptation has been widely used to probe how experience shapes the visual encoding of faces, but the pattern of perceptual changes produced by adaptation and the neural mechanisms these imply remain poorly characterized. We explored how adaptation alters the perceived age of faces, a fundamental facial attribute which can uniquely and reliably be scaled by observers. This allowed us to measure how adaptation to one age level affected the full continuum of perceived ages. Participants guessed the ages of faces ranging from 18–89, before or after adapting to a different set of faces composed of younger, older, or middle-aged adults. Adapting to young or old faces induced opposite linear shifts in perceived age that were independent of the model's age. Specifically, after adapting to younger or older faces, faces of all ages appeared 2 to 3 years older or younger, respectively. In contrast, middle-aged adaptors induced no aftereffects. This pattern suggests that adaptation leads to a simple and uniform renormalization of age perception, and is consistent with a norm-based neural code for the mechanisms mediating the perception of facial age.
Cleavage of Model Replication Forks by Fission Yeast Mus81-Eme1 and Budding Yeast Mus81-Mms4

The blockage of replication forks can result in the disassembly of the replicative apparatus and reversal of the fork to form a DNA junction that must be processed in order for replication to restart and sister chromatids to segregate at mitosis. Fission yeast Mus81-Eme1 and budding yeast Mus81-Mms4 are endonucleases that have been implicated in the processing of aberrant DNA junctions formed at stalled replication forks. Here we have investigated the activity of purified Mus81-Eme1 and Mus81-Mms4 on substrates that resemble DNA junctions that are expected to form when a replication fork reverses. Both enzymes cleave Holliday junctions and substrates that resemble normal replication forks poorly or not at all. However, forks where the equivalents of either both the leading and lagging strands or just the lagging strand are juxtaposed at the junction point, or where either the leading or lagging strand has been unwound to produce a fork with a single-stranded tail, are cleaved well. Cleavage sites map predominantly between 3 and 6 bp 5′ of the junction point. For most substrates the leading strand template is cleaved. The sole exception is a fork with a 5′ single-stranded tail, which is cleaved in the lagging strand template.
Determining the effect of storage conditions on prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time and fibrinogen concentration in rat plasma samples

Coagulation parameters are usually included in clinical and preclinical safety studies to evaluate the effect of xenobiotics on the extrinsic or intrinsic pathways of coagulation. The analysis is generally performed at the time of terminal sacrifice where many activities are scheduled. Chances of delay in analysis are likely particularly when blood is collected for coagulation via the abdominal vena cava. This experiment was planned to assess the variations in coagulation parameters caused by delay in analysis as well as by storage conditions. Blood was collected from the posterior vena cava under isoflurane anesthesia, and the plasma was separated immediately. Coagulation parameters were evaluated at 0, 6, 24 and 48 h from the plasma stored at room temperature, as well as plasma stored under refrigerated and freezing conditions. Stability of the analytes in blood was also evaluated under refrigerated conditions for 6 h. All parameters were analyzed using a semi-automated coagulometer. Prothrombin time (PT) was stable under all three storage conditions for up to 6 h. Although statistically significant differences were observed for activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) at room and refrigeration temperatures for up to 6 h, the difference was clinically non-relevant. Fibrinogen was found to be the most stable parameter that showed consistency in results even up to 48 h under all three storage conditions. Plasma for PT can be stored and analyzed without any significant changes for up to 6 h from the actual blood collection, while fibrinogen level testing can be extended for up to 48 h after collection under any storage condition. For reliable APTT results, plasma samples should be run immediately after collection.
Execution Strategies for PTIDES, a Programming Model for Distributed Embedded Systems

We define a family of execution policies for a programming model called PTIDES (Programming Temporally Integrated Distributed Embedded Systems). A PTIDES application (factory automation, for example) is given as a discrete-event (DE) model of a distributed real-time system that includes sensors and actuators. The time stamps of DE events are bound to physical time at the sensors and actuators, turning the DE model into an executable specification of the system with explicit real-time constraints. This paper first defines a general execution strategy that conforms to the DE semantics, and then specializes this strategy to give practical, implementable and distributed policies. Our policies leverage network time synchronization to eliminate the need for null messages, allow independent events to be processed out of time stamp order, thus increasing concurrency and making more models feasible (w.r.t. real-time constraints), and improve fault isolation in distributed systems. The policies are given in terms of a safe to process predicate on events that depends on the time stamp of the events and the local notion of physical time. In a simple case we show how to statically check whether program execution satisfies timing constraints.
Vibration of a Tube Bundle in Two-Phase Freon Cross-Flow

Two-phase cross-flow exists in many shell-and-tube heat exchangers. The U-bend region of nuclear steam generators is a prime example. Testing in two-phase flow simulated by air-water provides useful results inexpensively. However, two-phase flow parameters, in particular surface tension and density ratio, are considerably different in air-water than in steam-water. A reasonable compromise is testing in liquid-vapor Freon, which is much closer to steam-water while much simpler experimentally. This paper presents the first results of a series of tests on the vibration behavior of tube bundles subjected to two-phase Freon cross-flow. A rotated triangular tube bundle of tube-to-diameter ratio of 1.5 was tested over a broad range of void fractions and mass fluxes. Fluidelastic instability, random turbulence excitation, and damping were investigated. Well-defined fluidelastic instabilities were observed in continuous two-phase flow regimes. However, intermittent two-phase flow regimes had a dramatic effect on fluidelastic instability. Generally, random turbulence excitation forces are much lower in Freon than in air-water. Damping is very dependent on void fraction, as expected.
Polyurethane Foam in the NBS Smoke Chamber: Effect of Variation in Conditions and Formulation

some cases for regulatory purposes. When a procedure reaches this prestigious state, the time is ripe to ask some questions: 1. What happens during this procedure-what does it tell us? 2. Is it telling us something useful-related to a real-life situation? 3. Does it tell us all we need to know? 4. How reproducible is the method? 5. Are the data applicable to specific products they are used for? 6. How should the data be interpreted? In this paper we will address some of these questions with particular emphasis on flexible polyurethane foams. These products require some special considerations.
Compilation of an Embodied CO 2 Emission Inventory for China Using 135-Sector Input-Output Tables

A high-quality carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) inventory is the cornerstone of climate change mitigation. Most of the previously reported embodied CO 2 inventories in China have no more than 42 sectors, and this limitation may introduce apparent inaccuracy into the analysis at the sector level. To improve the quality of input-output (IO)-based CO 2 inventories for China, we propose a practical energy allocation approach to link the energy statistics to the 135-sector IO tables for China and compiled a detailed embodied CO 2 intensity and inventory for 2007 using a single-region IO model. Interpretation of embodied CO 2 intensities by fuel category, direct requirement, and total requirement in the sectors were conducted to identify, from different perspectives, the significant contributors. The total embodied CO 2 emissions in 2007 was estimated to be 7.1 Gt and was separated into the industrial sector and final demand sector. Although the total CO 2 estimations by the 42-sector and 135-sector analyses are equivalent, the allocations in certain groups of sectors differ significantly. Our compilation methodologies address indirect environmental impacts from industrial sectors, including the public utility and tertiary sectors. This method of interpretation could be utilized for better communication with stakeholders.
Anthroposophic therapy for asthma: A two-year prospective cohort study in routine outpatient settings

Background: Anthroposophic treatment for asthma includes special artistic and physical therapies and special medications. Methods: We studied consecutive outpatients starting anthroposophic treatment for asthma under routine conditions in Germany. Main outcomes were average asthma severity (0–10, primary outcome); symptoms (1–4); and asthma-related quality of life at 12-month follow-up (Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire [AQLQ] overall score, 1–7, for adults; KINDL Questionnaire for Measuring Health-Related Quality of Life in Children and Adolescents, asthma module, 0–100, for children) at 12-month follow-up. Results: Ninety patients (54 adults, 36 children) were included. Anthroposophic treatment modalities used were medications (88% of patients, n = 79/90); eurythmy therapy (22%); art therapy (10%); and rhythmical massage therapy (1%). Median number of eurythmy/art/massage sessions was 12 (interquartile range 10–20), median therapy duration was 120 days (84–184). From baseline to 12-month follow-up, all outcomes improved significantly (P < 0.001 for all comparisons). Average improvements were: average asthma severity 2.61 points (95% confidence interval CI: 1.90–3.32); cough 0.93 (95% CI: 0.60–1.25); dyspnea 0.92 (95% CI: 0.56–1.28); exertion-induced symptoms 0.95 (95% CI: 0.64–1.25); frequency of asthma attacks 0.78 (95% CI: 0.41–1.14); awakening from asthma 0.90 (95% CI: 0.58–1.21); AQLQ overall score 1.44 (95% CI: 0.97–1.92); and KINDL asthma module 14.74 (95% CI: 9.70–19.78). All improvements were maintained until last follow-up after 24 months. Conclusions: Patients with asthma under anthroposophic treatment had long-term improvements of symptoms and quality of life.
In Vivo Intracellular Oxygen Dynamics in Murine Brain Glioma and Immunotherapeutic Response of Cytotoxic T Cells Observed by Fluorine-19 Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Noninvasive biomarkers of anti-tumoral efficacy are of great importance to the development of therapeutic agents. Tumor oxygenation has been shown to be an important indicator of therapeutic response. We report the use of intracellular labeling of tumor cells with perfluorocarbon (PFC) molecules, combined with quantitative 19F spin-lattice relaxation rate (R1) measurements, to assay tumor cell oxygen dynamics in situ. In a murine central nervous system (CNS) GL261 glioma model, we visualized the impact of Pmel-1 cytotoxic T cell immunotherapy, delivered intravenously, on intracellular tumor oxygen levels. GL261 glioma cells were labeled ex vivo with PFC and inoculated into the mouse striatum. The R1 of 19F labeled cells was measured using localized single-voxel magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and the absolute intracellular partial pressure of oxygen (pO2) was ascertained. Three days after tumor implantation, mice were treated with 2×107 cytotoxic T cells intravenously. At day five, a transient spike in pO2 was observed indicating an influx of T cells into the CNS and putative tumor cell apoptosis. Immunohistochemistry and quantitative flow cytometry analysis confirmed that the pO2 was causally related to the T cells infiltration. Surprisingly, the pO2 spike was detected even though few (∼4×104) T cells actually ingress into the CNS and with minimal tumor shrinkage. These results indicate the high sensitivity of this approach and its utility as a non-invasive surrogate biomarker of anti-cancer immunotherapeutic response in preclinical models.
Effects of Interface Roughness and Lattice Strain on Perpendicular Magnetic Anisotropy in Co/Pd Multilayer

The effects of strain and interface roughness at the Co/Pd interface are investigated from the viewpoint of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) using the DV-Xα cluster model calculation method. It is found that spin projected occupation number ratio of magnetic quantum number |m| = 2 for the Co 3d electrons enhances by expanding the lattice within a close-packed plane of fcc stacking and, hence, enhances the PMA. Rough interface decreases the spin projected occupation number ratio of |m| = 2 and, hence, decreases the PMA. These results explain the PMA properties of Co/Pd multilayers fabricated using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) technique and RF sputtering techniques.
Regional cerebral blood flow in children with autism spectrum disorders: a quantitative ⁹⁹mTc-ECD brain SPECT study with statistical parametric mapping evaluation.

BACKGROUND Autism spectrum disorders (ASD), which include autism, asperger syndrome (AS) and pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), are devastating neurodevelopmental disorders of childhood resulting in deficits in social interaction, repetitive patterns of behaviors, and restricted interests and activities. Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is a common technique used to measure regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF). Several studies have measured rCBF in children with ASD using SPECT, however, findings are discordant. In addition, the majority of subjects used in these studies were autistic. In this study, we aimed to investigate changes in rCBF in children with ASD using SPECT. METHODS A Technetium-99m-ethyl cysteinate dimmer (⁹⁹m)Tc-ECD) brain SPECT study was performed on an ASD group consisting of 23 children (3 girls and 20 boys; mean age (7.2 ± 3.0) years) who were diagnosed according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV) criteria and an age-matched control group with 8 children (1 girl and 7 boys, mean age (5.5 ± 2.4) years). Image data were evaluated with Statistical Parametric Mapping, 5th version (SPM5). A Student's t test for unpaired data was used to compare rCBF and asymmetry in the autism and corresponding control group. The covariance analysis, taking age as covariance, was performed between the ASD and control group. RESULTS There was a significant reduction in rCBF in the bilateral frontal lobe (frontal poles, arcula frontal gyrus) and the bilateral basal ganglia in the autism group, and a reduction in the bilateral frontal, temporal, parietal, legumina nucleus and cerebellum in the AS group compared to the control. In addition, asymmetry of hemispheric hypoperfusion in the ASD group was observed. Inner-group comparison analysis revealed that rCBF decreased significantly in the bilateral frontal lobe (42.7%), basal nucleus (24.9%) and temporal lobe (22.8%) in the autism group, and in the bilateral cerebellum (22.8%), basal nucleus (19.3%) and right thalamencephalon (16.6%) in the AS group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS The decrease in rCBF in ASD is a global event, which involves the bilateral frontal, temporal, limbic system and basal ganglias. Asymmetry of hemispheric hypoperfusion was more obvious in the AS group than the autism group, which indicates a different neurobiological mechanism from that of autism.
Preceramic Paper‐Derived Ceramics

A novel class of preceramic paper may serve as a preform to manufacture lightweight as well as multilayer ceramic products. In this article, we discuss the formation, microstructure, and properties of preceramic papers and their conversion into ceramic materials. Oxide as well nonoxide ceramics were processed into single-sheet, corrugated structures, and multilayer ceramics. A high filler loading and uniform distribution of ceramic fillers involves control of colloidal surface interaction including electrostatic, electrosteric, and mechanical retention. Sintering of an oxide-loaded preceramic paper in air results in highly porous products, with the porosity shape and distribution templated by the pulp fiber used in papermaking. In the case of carbide-loaded paper, dense composite materials are obtained by reactive infiltration processing. Anisotropic properties of machine-fabricated preceramic paper and bonding interfaces in multilayer stacks give rise to anisotropic mechanical properties of the resulting ceramic composites. Noncatastrophic failure was observed when tensile loading stress was applied parallel to the interfaces (in-plane loading). Applying well-established paper processing technologies, including laminated object manufacturing, ceramic structures of complex shape and size can easily be processed, offering a high potential for economical manufacturing.
Evaluation of surface energy by molecular dynamics simulation and discussion about cleavage fracture in α-Al2O3

Surface energies of α-Al2O3 were calculated using molecular dynamics (MD) method. It was found that the surface energy strongly depends on crystal orientation. The surface energy of {10·0} plane had the maximum value of about 13 J·m−2, while that of the other crystallographic planes ranged between 2 and 4 J·m−2. The fracture toughness of single crystal α-Al2O3 had relatively good correlation with surface energies of {10·0} and {10·2} planes. It was concluded that surface energies highly contributed to the cleavage fracture of {10·0} and {10·2} planes.
Valsartan independent of AT1 receptor inhibits tissue factor, TLR-2 and-4 expression by regulation of Egr-1 through activation of AMPK in diabetic conditions

Patients suffering from diabetes mellitus (DM) are at a severe risk of atherothrombosis. Early growth response (Egr)‐1 is well characterized as a central mediator in vascular pathophysiology. We tested whether valsartan independent of Ang II type 1 receptor (AT1R) can reduce tissue factor (TF) and toll‐like receptor (TLR)‐2 and ‐4 by regulating Egr‐1 in THP‐1 cells and aorta in streptozotocin‐induced diabetic mice. High glucose (HG, 15 mM) increased expressions of Egr‐1, TF, TLR‐2 and ‐4 which were significantly reduced by valsartan. HG increased Egr‐1 expression by activation of PKC and ERK1/2 in THP‐1 cells. Valsartan increased AMPK phosphorylation in a concentration and time‐dependent manner via activation of LKB1. Valsartan inhibited Egr‐1 without activation of PKC or ERK1/2. The reduced expression of Egr‐1 by valsartan was reversed by either silencing Egr‐1, or compound C, or DN‐AMPK‐transfected cells. Valsartan inhibited binding of NF‐κB and Egr‐1 to TF promoter in HG condition. Furthermore, valsartan reduced inflammatory cytokine (TNF‐α, IL‐6 and IL‐1β) production and NF‐κB activity in HG‐activated THP‐1 cells. Interestingly, these effects of valsartan were not affected by either silencing AT1R in THP‐1 cells or CHO cells, which were devoid of AT1R. Importantly, administration of valsartan (20 mg/kg, i.p) for 8 weeks significantly reduced plasma TF activity, expression of Egr‐1, TLR‐2, ‐4 and TF in thoracic aorta and improved glucose tolerance of streptozotocin‐induced diabetic mice. Taken together, we concluded that valsartan may reduce atherothrombosis in diabetic conditions through AMPK/Egr‐1 regulation.
Spectrum Reconstruction Method for Airborne Temporally–Spatially Modulated Fourier Transform Imaging Spectrometers

Temporally-spatially modulated Fourier transform imaging spectrometers (TSMFTISs) have no internal moving parts and have high throughput advantages. In recent years, TSMFTISs have become a research and development focus for spaceborne missions. However, the applications of TSMFTISs for airborne missions are limited because the conventional spectrum reconstruction algorithm requires high stability of the platform during the pushbroom process. To overcome this limitation, we propose a target-tracking-based spectrum reconstruction method for airborne TSMFTISs. The direct georeferencing and motion estimation methods are incorporated for target tracking. The principle of TSMFTIS is presented to discuss the limitation of the traditional spectrum reconstruction method. A simulation based on the proposed scheme was performed to provide preliminary spectrum reconstruction results for the airborne TSMFTIS. The reconstructed spectra have much better agreement with the ideal spectrum than the traditional algorithm does.