Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gasotransmitters: A Solution for the Therapeutic Dilemma in Preeclampsia?

Preeclampsia complicates 2% to 8% of all pregnancies and is a major contributor to maternal mortality worldwide. The only therapy is delivery, often before term.1 Nitric oxide, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen sulfide are gasotransmitters that regulate vascular development, vascular tone, and affect antioxidant status.2 Abnormalities in gasotransmitter signaling and production are linked to hypertension, atherosclerosis, and inflammation.2 Drugs that enhance gasotransmitter signaling have proven therapeutic potential in the clinical and experimental setting. Gasotransmitters are involved in the vascular adaptations of normal pregnancy,3–7 and experimental studies have shown that abnormal production is associated with preeclampsia.8–12 The aim of this review is to give an overview of the role of gasotransmitters in the physiology of pregnancy and relate their aberrant production to preeclampsia. Specific emphasis will be put on and overview their therapeutic potential for preeclampsia. Preeclampsia is defined by hypertension and proteinuria during the second half of gestation. Although the exact cause of preeclampsia is unknown, the placenta and the maternal inflammatory response play a key role in its pathogenesis.1,13 Preeclampsia is often described as a 2-stage disease. During placentation in normal pregnancy, trophoblasts invade into the endometrium and spiral arteries resulting in spiral artery dilation.1 In preeclampsia, trophoblast invasion is incomplete resulting in inadequate spiral artery remodeling and placental hypoperfusion; this is stage 1 of the disease.1 Subsequently, the oxygen-deprived placenta produces factors that enter the maternal circulation, causing maternal endothelial dysfunction and maternal immune response activation, leading to the signs of preeclampsia; this is stage 2 of the disease.1 Some of the factors produced by the placenta are antiangiogenic factors, such as soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase receptor 1 (sFlt1). 14 They are (partly) responsible for the maternal syndrome in preeclampsia because increased sFlt1 is …
Genome Analysis of a Novel Broad Host Range Proteobacteria Phage Isolated from a Bioreactor Treating Industrial Wastewater

Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria, and consequently they have a major impact on the development of a microbial population. In this study, the genome of a novel broad host range bacteriophage, Aquamicrobium phage P14, isolated from a wastewater treatment plant, was analyzed. The Aquamicrobium phage P14 was found to infect members of different Proteobacteria classes (Alphaproteobacteria and Betaproteobacteria). This phage contains a 40,551 bp long genome and 60% of its genes had blastx hits. Furthermore, the bacteriophage was found to share more than 50% of its genes with several podoviruses and has the same gene order as other polyvalent bacteriophages. The results obtained in this study led to the conclusion that indeed general features of the genome of the Aquamicrobium phage P14 are shared with other broad host range bacteriophages, however further analysis of the genome is needed in order to identify the specific mechanisms which enable the bacteriophage to infect both Alphaproteobacteria and Betaproteobacteria.
The evolutionary paradox and the missing heritability of schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is one of the most detrimental common psychiatric disorders, occurring at a prevalence of approximately 1%, and characterized by increased mortality and reduced reproduction, especially in men. The heritability has been estimated around 70% and the genome‐wide association meta‐analyses conducted by the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium have been successful at identifying an increasing number of risk loci. Various theories have been proposed to explain why genetic variants that predispose to schizophrenia persist in the population, despite the fitness reduction in affected individuals, a question known as the evolutionary paradox. In this review, we consider evolutionary perspectives of schizophrenia and of the empirical evidence that may support these perspectives. Proposed evolutionary explanations include balancing selection, fitness trade‐offs, fluctuating environments, sexual selection, mutation‐selection balance and genomic conflicts. We address the expectations about the genetic architecture of schizophrenia that are predicted by different evolutionary scenarios and discuss the implications for genetic studies. Several potential sources of “missing” heritability, including gene–environment interactions, epigenetic variation, and rare genetic variation are examined from an evolutionary perspective. A better understanding of evolutionary history may provide valuable clues to the genetic architecture of schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders, which is highly relevant to genetic studies that aim to detect genetic risk variants. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Prosodic analysis of storytelling discourse modes and narrative situations oriented to text-to-speech synthesis

The generation of synthetic speech with a certain degree of expressiveness has been successful for some particular applications or speaking styles (e.g. emotions). In this context, there is a particular speaking style with subtle speech nuances that may be of great interest for delivering expressive speech: the storytelling style. The purpose of this paper is to define a first step towards developing a storytelling Text-to-Speech (TTS) synthesis system by means of modelling the specific prosodic patterns (pitch, intensity and tempo) of this speaking style. We base our analysis of a tale in Spanish on discourse modes present in storytelling: narrative, descriptive and dialogue. Moreover, we introduce narrative situations (neutral narrative, post-character, suspense and affective situations) within the narrative mode, which are analysed at the sentence level. After grouping the sentences into modes and narrative situations, we analyse their corresponding prosodic patterns both objectively (via statistical tests) and subjectively (via perceptual test considering resynthesized sentences). The results show that the statistically validated prosodic rules perform equally (or even better) than the original prosody in most sentences.
CoLux

We present CoLux, a novel system for measuring micro 3D motion of multiple independently moving objects at macroscopic standoff distances. CoLux is based on speckle imaging, where the scene is illuminated with a coherent light source and imaged with a camera. Coherent light, on interacting with optically rough surfaces, creates a high-frequency speckle pattern in the captured images. The motion of objects results in movement of speckle, which can be measured to estimate the object motion. Speckle imaging is widely used for micro-motion estimation in several applications, including industrial inspection, scientific imaging, and user interfaces (e.g., optical mice). However, current speckle imaging methods are largely limited to measuring 2D motion (parallel to the sensor image plane) of a single rigid object. We develop a novel theoretical model for speckle movement due to multi-object motion, and present a simple technique based on global scale-space speckle motion analysis for measuring small (5--50 microns) compound motion of multiple objects, along all three axes. Using these tools, we develop a method for measuring 3D micro-motion histograms of multiple independently moving objects, without tracking the individual motion trajectories. In order to demonstrate the capabilities of CoLux, we develop a hardware prototype and a proof-of-concept subtle hand gesture recognition system with a broad range of potential applications in user interfaces and interactive computer graphics.
High Intensity Interval and Endurance Training Have Opposing Effects on Markers of Heart Failure and Cardiac Remodeling in Hypertensive Rats

There has been re-emerging interest and significant work dedicated to investigating the metabolic effects of high intensity interval training (HIIT) in recent years. HIIT is considered to be a time efficient alternative to classic endurance training (ET) that elicits similar metabolic responses in skeletal muscle. However, there is a lack of information on the impact of HIIT on cardiac muscle in disease. Therefore, we determined the efficacy of ET and HIIT to alter cardiac muscle characteristics involved in the development of diastolic dysfunction, such as ventricular hypertrophy, fibrosis and angiogenesis, in a well-established rodent model of hypertension-induced heart failure before the development of overt heart failure. ET decreased left ventricle fibrosis by ~40% (P < 0.05), and promoted a 20% (P<0.05) increase in the left ventricular capillary/fibre ratio, an increase in endothelial nitric oxide synthase protein (P<0.05), and a decrease in hypoxia inducible factor 1 alpha protein content (P<0.05). In contrast, HIIT did not decrease existing fibrosis, and HIIT animals displayed a 20% increase in left ventricular mass (P<0.05) and a 20% decrease in cross sectional area (P<0.05). HIIT also increased brain natriuretic peptide by 50% (P<0.05), in the absence of concomitant angiogenesis, strongly suggesting pathological cardiac remodeling. The current data support the longstanding belief in the effectiveness of ET in hypertension. However, HIIT promoted a pathological adaptation in the left ventricle in the presence of hypertension, highlighting the need for further research on the widespread effects of HIIT in the presence of disease.
Observing Co-Teaching: What to Ask For, Look For, and Listen For

The era of accountability established by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 has focused much attention on the efforts and actions of the nation’s teachers (NCLB, 2001). As students take standardized tests to determine whether they have indeed achieved competence in the identified state and federal standards, stakes are high for both students and teachers. If students do not do well, schools are identified as “program improvement schools,” and the efficacy of teachers is questioned. As the stakes continue to rise, another educational practice also continues to increase and affect those results. Inclusive education is the result of a philosophy that students with disabilities deserve the right to be educated alongside their peers in general education classes as well as the mandate in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA; 2004), which requires that students with disabilities be instructed in their least restrictive environment, most often considered the general education classroom. Thus, students with and without disabilities are now taught together, as their special and general education teachers strive to ensure that the general education curriculum to which students are being introduced is not only accessed but in fact mastered to the degree that students pass the requisite tests. As a response to this responsibility, schools have embraced the need for true collaboration among general and special educators. Many believe that if educators with varying areas of expertise and frames of reference are able to come together and collaborate on a daily basis in the same classroom, all students will benefit more: socially, behaviorally, and perhaps most important, academically. Thus, co-teaching between general education teachers and special service providers (i.e., special education teachers, Title I teachers, speech
QUIET SONG IN SONG BIRDS: AN OVERLOOKED PHENOMENON

ABSTRACT The theory of communication networks offers functional arguments for the evolution of unobtrusive signals in birds. The vulnerability of interacting conspecifics to predation and to eavesdropping by neighbours during both territorial disputes and courtship would select for short range signals such as the quiet songs of birds. In addition to suggesting contexts in which quiet songs should be used, we use our knowledge of the physics of sound transmission to make predictions about the physical structure of such songs relative to the well studied full songs. We present support for these predictions in six species where quiet singing has been observed.
Museums: Impact and value

The role of museums and their place within society is no longer one which we can take for granted. Eschewing the notion of funding based on ‘public good’, successive iterations of public sector reform have progressively required museums to prove that they are worthy of public support. Notions of ‘worth’ have increasingly been tied to the achievement of government policy and enforced through making attainment of key policy directions a condition of funding agreements. Current government policy aimed at ‘building social capital’ in both the Britain and Australia expects museums to prove that they ‘make a difference’ in terms of long-term social impact. However, unease over the imbalance created by what many perceive to be an overly ‘instrumental’ approach to assessing the role of museums has generated growing criticism and a parallel conversation about ‘intrinsic value’. Impact and value—the twin peaks of current discourse about the role of museums in contemporary society—are the subject of a recent study carried out in Australia, which is described here.
Improved iterative algorithm for sparse object reconstruction and its performance evaluation with micro-CT data

This paper proposes a new row-action type iterative algorithm which is appropriate to reconstruct sparse objects from a limited number of projections. The main idea is to use the L/sub 1/ norm to pick up a sparse solution from a set of feasible solutions to the measurement equation. By perturbing the linear program to a quadratic program, we use the duality of nonlinear programming to construct a row-action type iterative algorithm to find the solution. We also prove that the algorithm converges to the solution under mild assumptions. We show that this method works well in the 3-D blood-vessel reconstruction and its computation time is shorter than those of our previous method and MART method. Furthermore, we apply the method to real data measured with the Micro-CT device developed at Marquette University.
Model Reference Adaptive Controller-Based Rotor Resistance and Speed Estimation Techniques for Vector Controlled Induction Motor Drive Utilizing Reactive Power

In this paper, a detailed study on the model reference adaptive controller (MRAC) utilizing the reactive power is presented for the online estimation of rotor resistance to maintain proper flux orientation in an indirect vector controlled induction motor drive. Selection of reactive power as the functional candidate in the MRAC automatically makes the system immune to the variation of stator resistance. Moreover, the unique formation of the MRAC with the instantaneous and steady-state reactive power completely eliminates the requirement of any flux estimation in the process of computation. Thus, the method is less sensitive to integrator-related problems like drift and saturation (requiring no integration). This also makes the estimation at or near zero speed quite accurate. Adding flux estimators to the MRAC, a speed sensorless scheme is developed. Simulation and experimental results have been presented to confirm the effectiveness of the technique.
Involvement with active leisure participation: does service quality have a role?

Identifying the antecedents of leisure involvement is of particular interest for researchers and practitioners, since involvement is associated with positive behavioural and attitudinal consequences for leisure participants. The present study was conducted in the context of traditional recreational dancing associations in Greece, aiming to test the degree to which service quality perceptions can discriminate between low and high-involved recreational dancers. One hundred and forty (N = 140) recreational dancers, who were members of traditional recreational dancing associations in Greece, participated in the study and completed the three-dimensional leisure involvement scale (Kyle et al., 2003), and a service quality scale (Alexandris et al., 2004a). The results of the cluster analysis revealed two distinct involvement groups: high- and low-involved recreational dancers. Four of the five service quality dimensions (outcome, tangibles, reliability and responsiveness) contributed to the prediction of high- and low-involved groups, indicating that service quality plays a significant role in the development of leisure involvement. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.
Second Order Dimensionality Reduction Using Minimum and Maximum Mutual Information Models

Conventional methods used to characterize multidimensional neural feature selectivity, such as spike-triggered covariance (STC) or maximally informative dimensions (MID), are limited to Gaussian stimuli or are only able to identify a small number of features due to the curse of dimensionality. To overcome these issues, we propose two new dimensionality reduction methods that use minimum and maximum information models. These methods are information theoretic extensions of STC that can be used with non-Gaussian stimulus distributions to find relevant linear subspaces of arbitrary dimensionality. We compare these new methods to the conventional methods in two ways: with biologically-inspired simulated neurons responding to natural images and with recordings from macaque retinal and thalamic cells responding to naturalistic time-varying stimuli. With non-Gaussian stimuli, the minimum and maximum information methods significantly outperform STC in all cases, whereas MID performs best in the regime of low dimensional feature spaces.
Credit and Authorship Practices: Educational and Environmental Influences

A survey on credit issues of academic chemists in U.S. Ph.D.-granting institutions was conducted. The respondents rated 15 criteria for authorship of scientific publications; core intellectual contributions received the highest ratings although making a single suggestion that was essential to the successful completion of the project was rated very low. Acquisition of data was also rated highly. The respondents rated eight potential influences on their own “policy” toward giving credit; doing what “seems to be the right thing” was the highest rated influence followed by graduate educational experiences; professional society or other responsible conduct of research (RCR) institutional policies were rated, by far, the lowest.
Power system transient stability investigation in the presence of photovoltaic generation

The expanding installation of photovoltaic (PV) resources into power systems continue to grow which affects both structural and dynamics of power systems. The effects of large-scale grid-connected PV on the stability of power systems becomes a serious concern, because of the different dynamic behaviour of the power system with a considered portion of inertialess of the P-V based systems. This paper investigates the impact of increased penetration of PV power plant on system transient stability. The dynamic responses of a detailed model of large-scale PV systems when subjected to a three phase fault were compared directly to the transient behaviour of a conventional synchronous generator. The responses of the PV system during stressed operating conditions is evaluated using the New England 10-machine 39-bus test system, where units a reasonable P-V system replaces conventional generation. The investigation shows that the PV system has a significant impact on rotor angle behaviour because of its influence on the rotating inertia during the disturbances.
Testgüte und psychometrische Äquivalenz der deutschen Version des Big Five Inventory (BFI) bei jungen, mittelalten und alten Erwachsenen

Zusammenfassung. In einer Studie mit 480 jungen, mittelalten und alten Erwachsenen wurde eine deutsche Version des “Big Five Inventory (BFI)“ eingesetzt. Es wurde die Aquivalenz der faktoriellen Struktur in den Altersgruppen sowie die Kriteriumsvaliditat in Bezug auf 6 Ausenkriterien uberpruft (Intelligenz, positiver und negativer Affekt, Kontrollerleben, soziale Zufriedenheit und Netzwerkgrose). Die Stichprobe beruht auf einer nach Alter und Geschlecht geschichteten Wahrscheinlichkeitsauswahl aus dem Berliner Melderegister. Die Befunde weisen auf eine Invarianz der Faktorenstruktur in den Altersgruppen hin. Es zeigten sich erwartungskonforme und altersinvariante Korrelationen der 5 Personlichkeitskonstrukte Extraversion, Vertraglichkeit, Gewissenhaftigkeit, Neurotizismus und Offenheit fur Erfahrung mit den Ausenkriterien. In einer Studie mit 45 sehr alten Erwachsenen zeigten sich moderate bis hohe Retest-Stabilitaten uber einen Zeitraum von 5 Monaten. Insgesamt erweist sich der BFI als leicht einsetzbare.
A Theory of Status Integration and Its Relationship to Suicide

THIS paper explicates a theory that attempts to account for differences in suicide rates of societies and other population categories. While the theory is directly concerned with variability in suicide rates,1 it has implications of a broad theoretical nature and may prove to be of value in the analysis of behavior other than suicide. In a general sense, the theory represents an attempt to approach the problem of deviant behavior from a point of view that generates specific empirical propositions as opposed to vague ideas that often pass as theory in sociology. The theory of status integration in its complete form is to be described in full in a much longer report that will also include the derivation of specific hypotheses, the methods of testing these hypotheses, and the results of the actual tests.2 The present report presents only a brief discussion of the nature and development of the theory of status integration, examples of measures of status integration, and some tests of hypotheses. This restriction means that a number of important theoretical and methodological problems must be treated superficially or ignored for the time being. It is hoped, however, that a preliminary report may result in evaluations and suggestions that will serve to strengthen the final report.
Disability measurements: impact on research results

Abstract This article addresses the issue of whether the choice of operational definition of disability in survey research affects findings. Earlier studies have shown that different definitions cause substantial variation in prevalence rates, as well as limited agreement on the classification of subjects as disabled or not disabled. The article addresses whether this leads to differences in research outcomes. The study compares seven existing measurements of disability. The analysis is carried out using a single dataset; the 2007 survey of disabled people's living conditions in Norway (N=1652). Results are reported for subject descriptors (gender, age, marital status, characteristics of impairment), social indicators (education, income and employment), and predictors of income and employment. The impact of the definition of disability on results is found to be modest in general but with exceptions: The definition of disability clearly affects employment rates and the type and degree of impairment of peop.