Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Vascular myofibroblasts. Lessons from coronary repair and remodeling.

Recent findings demonstrate that adventitial fibroblasts (i.e., nonmuscle cells) are endowed with several characteristics previously attributed to medial SM cells. The response of the coronary artery to balloon angioplasty is associated with the activation of adventitial cells in a porcine model. They appear to be the most reactive in the arterial wall, as reflected by the extent of proliferation and the synthesis of collagen. Differentiation of adventitial cells, which acquire alpha-SM actin, illustrates the formation of vascular myofibroblasts, a ubiquitous cellular mechanism of tissue repair. Myofibroblasts are involved in remodeling of the adventitia and may contribute to the formation of the neointima after balloon-induced coronary injury. These findings suggest that at least some synthetic SM-like cells present in intimal lesions may originate from medial or adventitial nonmuscle cells. Myofibroblasts also appear to play a role in other cardiovascular abnormalities (e.g., vein graft remodeling), which raises the possibility of targeted therapies.
Robust adaptive control of robot manipulators using generalized fuzzy neural networks

This paper presents a robust adaptive fuzzy neural controller (AFNC) suitable for motion control of multilink robot manipulators. The proposed controller has the following salient features: (1) self-organizing fuzzy neural structure, i.e., fuzzy control rules can be generated or deleted automatically according to their significance to the control system and the complexity of the mapped system and no predefined fuzzy rules are required; (2) fast online learning ability, i.e., no prescribed training models are needed for online learning and weights of the fuzzy neural controller are modified without any iterations; (3) fast convergence of tracking errors, i.e., manipulator joints can track the desired trajectories very quickly; (4) adaptive control, i.e., structure and parameters of the AFNC can be self-adaptive in the presence of disturbances to maintain high control performance; and (5) robust control, where asymptotic stability of the control system is established using the Lyapunov theorem. Experimental evaluation conducted on an industrial selectively compliant assembly robot arm demonstrates that excellent tracking performance can be achieved under time-varying conditions.
Intervention Effects for Students With Comorbid Forms of Learning Disability

In this article, we considered evidence from our intervention research programs on whether students with learning disability (LD) in reading and mathematics (comorbid LD) respond differently to intervention, compared to students with reading LD alone (RD) or to students with mathematics LD alone (MD). The goal was to gain insight into whether comorbid disorder represents an LD subtype distinct from RD or from MD, which requires differentiated forms of intervention. Our analysis suggested that students with comorbid LD respond differently than those with MD, depending on the nature of mathematics intervention, and may therefore represent a distinctive subtype. By contrast, students with RD appear to respond to intervention in similar ways, regardless of whether they experience RD alone or in combination with MD. Results also suggest that distinctions between comorbid and single-order LD may depend on whether LD is defined in terms of lower- versus higher-order academic skill. Recommendations for future study are provided.
WindSat Sea Surface Wind Vector Retrievals Based on a Simplified Forward Model

In this paper, a wind vector retrieval algorithm has been developed for the first satellite borne polarimetric radiometer WindSat based on a simplified forward model. Sea surface wind speed retrieval algorithm was developed using multiple linear regression. Multiple ambiguous wind directions were estimated with Maximum Likelihood, and the median filter was used to remove the ambiguity of wind direction. Using the buoy wind vector from U.S. National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) as ground truth, the RMS error of the retrieved wind speed is 1.17 m/s with a bias of 0.13 m/s. The wind direction retrieval results are agree with the results given in published research.
Comparative Persistence on β-Blockers Versus Calcium Channel Blockers for Ventricular Rate Control in Nonelderly Patients With Atrial Fibrillation

Background: For patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), early treatment is essential to prevent serious complications such as stroke. Several randomized clinical trials have shown that rate-control may be as effective as rhythm-control medications, whereas the latter have serious side effects. Little evidence exists, however, about which class of rate-control medication—β-blockers (BBs) or calcium channel blockers (CCBs)—may be superior. Objective: The objective was to compare the long-term persistence on BBs versus CCBs in nonelderly adult patients with AF. Methods: A longitudinal retrospective cohort study for patients 40 to 60 years old with newly diagnosed AF (identified by ICD-9 code 427.31) was performed using data from Ohio Medicaid physician, institutional, and pharmacy claims from January 2006 through June 2011. A Cox proportional hazard regression, with time to change out of rate-control therapy as the dependent variable, was estimated to compare persistence on (proxy for effectiveness of) rate-control medication across drug classes. A propensity-score analysis was used to control for selection bias. Additional covariates included age, development of heart failure, and medication adherence. Results: Out of 1239 patients included in the cohort, 1016 received a BB; 223 received a CCB. Over time, patients on CCBs were significantly more likely to switch out of rate-control therapy (hazard ratio = 1.89; 95% CI = 1.14-3.09) than patients on BBs. Conclusions: Evidence suggests that nonelderly AF patients, when prescribed rate-control therapy, persist longer on BBs than CCBs. Because this is the first long-term study comparing the 2 drug classes in the nonelderly population, further research is suggested.
Key Frame Extraction based on frame blocks differential accumulation

Key Frame Extraction is a key step for video content analysis and video retrieval. According to the motion of object and camera, a method of key frame extraction based on frame blocks differential accumulation with double thresholds is proposed. Firstly, image frames are partitioned into equal-sized sub-images. Then the blocks in current frames are compared with the corresponding blocks in last extracted key frame to detect weather their contents changed. At last, the key frames of the video can be determined by the number of blocks whose contents changed a lot. The experiment results show that this method has a satisfactory efficiency.
Saddle-point analysis of a high-power backward-wave oscillator Near Cyclotron absorption

Using the dielectric tensor for a relativistic electron beam with finite strength axial magnetic field, saddle-point analysis for absolute and convective instabilities in the corrugated metal-wall slow-wave structure of backward-wave oscillators (BWOs) has been carried out. The parameters used in experiments at the University of Maryland were assumed. It is shown that the absolute instability of the BWO ceases, and a convective instability appears instead for a wide range of B near the condition of cyclotron absorption. The experimental results can be explained quantitatively taking into account the effect of finite length of the BWOs.
Sensor Selection and Integration to Improve Video Segmentation in Complex Environments

Background subtraction is often considered to be a required stage of any video surveillance system being used to detect objects in a single frame and/or track objects across multiple frames in a video sequence. Most current state-of-the-art techniques for object detection and tracking utilize some form of background subtraction that involves developing a model of the background at a pixel, region, or frame level and designating any elements that deviate from the background model as foreground. However, most existing approaches are capable of segmenting a number of distinct components but unable to distinguish between the desired object of interest and complex, dynamic background such as moving water and high reflections. In this paper, we propose a technique to integrate spatiotemporal signatures of an object of interest from different sensing modalities into a video segmentation method in order to improve object detection and tracking in dynamic, complex scenes. Our proposed algorithm utilizes the dynamic interaction information between the object of interest and background to differentiate between mistakenly segmented components and the desired component. Experimental results on two complex data sets demonstrate that our proposed technique significantly improves the accuracy and utility of state-of-the-art video segmentation technique.
Glucocorticoid hormone suppression of human neutrophil‐mediated tumor cell cytostasis

In the present study, we have investigated the effect of glucocorticoid hormones on neutrophil‐mediated tumor cell cytostasis and found that hydrocortisone and a synthetic hormone, dexamethasone (Dex), inhibited cytostasis in the presence or absence of tumor necrosis factor‐α. The effect of Dex was completely reversed by a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist, RU38486. To clarify the underlying mechanisms, we examined effects of Dex on the binding avidity of β2 integrin on the neutrophil surface and how these might in turn affect neutrophil‐to‐tumor cell binding. Dex was found to inhibit these neutrophil properties, and RU38486 completely suppressed both forms of Dex inhibition. Taken together, our findings suggest that glucocorticoid hormone inhibition of neutrophil‐mediated tumor cell cytostasis is at least partially due to a lowering of the ligand binding avidity of β2 integrin on the neutrophil surface. Int. J. Cancer 81:74–80, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Strategies to Alleviate Anxiety Before the Placement of a Stereotactic Radiosurgery Frame

ABSTRACT Background: Patients scheduled for stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) need the placement of a head frame for accurate treatment of brain metastases and other abnormalities in the brain. These patients frequently experience anxiety before frame placement. Although there is evidence that preprocedure education can alleviate anxiety, less is known about education for patients undergoing head frame placement. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine whether a preprocedure educational intervention can reduce/alleviate anxiety for patients undergoing head frame placement for SRS. Methods: This study was a practice improvement project using a nonrandomized controlled design to evaluate patients (N = 28) diagnosed with metastasized brain cancer or other abnormalities in the brain. Patients aged ≥19 and <75 years were recruited, and all participants had been radiographically diagnosed and were dispositioned for SRS. The control group (n = 14) received the standard preprocedure teaching, and the intervention group (n = 14) received both the standard preprocedure teaching and an additional educational intervention. Data collecting tools included the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and a visual analog scale to measure the patient’s anxiety. Results: It was found that, on average, anxiety levels were lower in the intervention group on both the visual analog scale and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. However, the findings did not reach statistical significance, p < . 05. Conclusion: On the basis of existing literature, preprocedure education has been shown to decrease patient anxiety. This study aimed to determine whether an additional educational intervention impacted anxiety in patients undergoing SRS for metastatic cancer. Although we found that anxiety levels were decreased in the intervention group, this finding did not reach statistical significance. A larger randomized study is needed to confirm the efficacy of such an intervention in this unique patient population.
Gene Therapy Death Prompts Review of Adenovirus Vector

For the past 3 months, faculty and staff members at the University of Pennsylvania9s Institute for Human Gene Therapy have been trying to understand why a relatively fit 18-year-old with an inherited enzyme deficiency died on 17 September, 4 days after doctors at Penn injected a genetically altered virus into his liver. Last week, they presented their data to a government advisory committee. The patient was the first in a gene therapy trial to die of the therapy itself; his death is the latest blow to a field that has been struggling to live up to the promise and hype surrounding the first gene therapy trials a decade ago.
Indacaterol, a novel inhaled β2-agonist, provides sustained 24-h bronchodilation in asthma

The present study examined the bronchodilator and safety profiles of single-dose indacaterol in intermittent or persistent asthma. In the present double-blind crossover study, 42 patients were randomised to receive single doses of indacaterol (50, 100, 200 and 400 µg) or placebo via a hydrofluoroalkane pressurised metered-dose inhaler. The primary efficacy comparisons were the per cent changes in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1 ) between indacaterol and placebo 30 min and 21 h post-dose. All doses resulted in prolonged bronchodilation, with indacaterol 200 and 400 µg meeting pre-specified efficacy criteria. The mean percentage increases in FEV1 from placebo with indacaterol 200 and 400 µg were 7.6 and 14.9%, respectively, at 30 min, and 7.5 and 10.4%, respectively, at 21 h post-dose. At these doses, changes in mean FEV1 relative to placebo were statistically significant from 5 min to 25 h, inclusive. At 5 min, the geometric least squares mean values for FEV1 were 3.08 and 3.22 L for the 200 and 400 µg doses, respectively, compared with 2.99 L for placebo. At 24 h after dosing, the baseline-adjusted geometric least square mean FEV1 was 3.13, 3.11, 3.24 and 3.30 L for indacaterol 50, 100, 200 and 400 µg, respectively, and 2.98 L for placebo. All treatments were well tolerated. Once-daily indacaterol at doses of 200 and 400 µg provided sustained 24-h bronchodilation, with a rapid onset and a good tolerability and safety profile.
Diversity and Collaboration in Economics

Papers written by coauthors from different countries, on average, are published in better journals, have higher citations counts, and are evaluated more positively by peers. Similar `diversity premia' exist for inter-ethnic and inter-gender collaborations. Using data on collaborations among 34 thousand economists, this paper considers possible explanations for the positive quality-diversity correlation. After controlling for a range of relevant factors, the authors' position in the global research network plays an important role in explaining variation in the quality of collaboration, proxied by citation counts and simple impact factor of the journal in which the article is published. Access to non-redundant social ties in the global research network is associated with greater quality of the collaboration. Geographic, gender and ethnic diversity premia on collaboration quality disappear after controlling for the authors' global network position, suggesting that diversity is important only to the extent that it correlates with non-redundancy of social ties.
Primal-Dual Interior-Point Methods for Second-Order Conic Optimization Based on Self-Regular Proximities

Recently the authors introduced the notions of self-regular functions and self-regular proximity functions and used them in the design and analysis of interior-point methods (IPMs) for linear and semidefinite optimization (LO and SDO). In this paper, we consider an extension of these concepts to second-order conic optimization (SOCO). This nontrivial extension requires the development of various new tools. Versatile properties of general analytical functions associated with the second-order cone are exploited. Based on the so-called self-regular proximity functions, new primal-dual Newton methods for solving SOCO problems are proposed. It will be shown that these new large-update IPMs for SOCO enjoy polynomial ${\cal{O}}({\max\{p,q\} N^{(q+1)/{2q}}\log \frac{N}{\e}})$ iteration bounds analogous to those of their LO and SDO cousins, where N is the number of constraining cones and p,q are constants, the so-called growth degree and barrier degree of the corresponding proximity. Our analysis allows us to choose not only a constant q but also a q as large as logN. In this case, our new algorithm has the best known ${\cal{O}}({N^{1/2}\log{N}\log\frac{N}{\e}})$ iteration bound for large-update IPMs.
Disrupted Structural and Functional Connectivity in Prefrontal-Hippocampus Circuitry in First-Episode Medication-Naïve Adolescent Depression

Background Evidence implicates abnormalities in prefrontal-hippocampus neural circuitry in major depressive disorder (MDD). This study investigates the potential disruptions in prefrontal-hippocampus structural and functional connectivity, as well as their relationship in first-episode medication-naïve adolescents with MDD in order to investigate the early stage of the illness without confounds of illness course and medication exposure. Methods Diffusion tensor imaging and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data were acquired from 26 first-episode medication-naïve MDD adolescents and 31 healthy controls (HC). Fractional anisotropy (FA) values of the fornix and the prefrontal-hippocampus functional connectivity was compared between MDD and HC groups. The correlation between the FA value of fornix and the strength of the functional connectivity in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) region showing significant differences between the two groups was identified. Results Compared with the HC group, adolescent MDD group had significant lower FA values in the fornix, as well as decreased functional connectivity in four PFC regions. Significant negative correlations were observed between fornix FA values and functional connectivity from hippocampus to PFC within the HC group. There was no significant correlation between the fornix FA and the strength of functional connectivity within the adolescent MDD group. Conclusions First-episode medication-naïve adolescent MDD showed decreased structural and functional connectivity as well as deficits of the association between structural and functional connectivity shown in HC in the PFC-hippocampus neural circuitry. These findings suggest that abnormal PFC-hippocampus neural circuitry may present in the early onset of MDD and play an important role in the neuropathophysiology of MDD.
Association of Alzheimer's Disease With APOE and IL-1α Gene Polymorphisms

Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) gene polymorphisms are thought to be the most important genetic risk factor in the pathogenesis of late onset and sporadic Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Moreover, interleukin-1α (IL-1α) is found to be associated with the pathogenesis of AD. In this research, ∊2, ∊3, and ∊4 polymorphisms of ApoE gene and C889T polymorphism of IL-1α gene were genotyped in patients with AD and controls. Genotyping was performed by real-time polymerase chain reaction. ∊3/∊3 and ∊3/∊4 genotype frequencies were significantly higher in control and case groups, respectively. While ∊3 allele frequencies were significantly higher in the control group, ∊2 and ∊4 allele frequencies were significantly higher among the cases with AD. No difference was found between the groups according to C889T polymorphism of IL-1α. In conclusion, we demonstrated that there was a strong association between ApoE ∊4 allele and AD, while there was no relation with IL-1α C889T polymorphisms for this study.
The need for an evidence‐based reappraisal of surface anatomy

In this issue of Clinical Anatomy, there are several articles reappraising in vivo surface anatomy using modern cross-sectional imaging techniques. The investigations reported by Mirjalili et al. were prompted by a study that exposed major inconsistencies in standard surface markings between and within contemporary anatomical texts (Hale et al., 2010). This viewpoint briefly summarizes some of these inconsistencies, together with points of consensus, in order to put the articles in this issue in context. For a more comprehensive analysis readers should consult the original article. One further popular contemporary anatomy text (Snell, 2012) has been added to the 12 texts analyzed in the original article by Hale et al. (2010) (Table 1). For each of the major regions of the trunk, surface markings for which there is general agreement and those with inconsistencies (and/or omission) are listed in Table 2. All of the texts have their individual strengths and the purpose of this commentary is not to criticize these successful books. Instead, we wish to emphasize three points:
An extension of geographically weighted regression with flexible bandwidths

Geographically weighted regression (GWR) (Brunsdon et al. 1996; Fotheringham et al. 2002) is a useful technique for modelling local spatial relati onships between variables. The essential idea of GWR is that observations near to a model calibratio n p int have more influence in the estimation of regression coefficients than observations farther a way do. The standard GWR model employs a single bandwidth to control the distance-decay in this inf luence. In practice however, such a uniform bandwidth may not be sufficient in reflecting compl ex spatial variations in relationships between dependent and independent variables. In an attempt to roduce a more realistic model, this paper develops an extension to GWR, where flexible bandwi dths are found providing coefficient surfaces that vary at different spatial scales. Experiments are carried out on simulated datasets to test the m odel.
Channel patterns and terraces of the Loup Rivers in Nebraska

_ ----------____-_. __________. __. ____. _. Introduction. -. _. _. ___. __. ___. '_. _. _. ___. ___ Pleistocene and Recent deposits . L. North Loup River valley near Elba. _____. _. ___. _ North Loup River valley near Burwell. __. __. _. __ North Loup River valley downstream from Brewster. North Loup River valley upstream from Brewster. South Loup River valley near Cumro. ____________ Summary of Pleistocene and Recent geologic history _ Geologic influences on the longitudinal river profiles. Influence of rock resistance---_-------. -_. --__-Influence of regional slope and relief. __--_--. ,, The Middle Loup River at Dunning_. ___. __. _. __. _. _ Hydraulic factors in relation to width. _. __. _. __, Hydraulic factors in relation to braiding. Hydraulic factors in relation to a confluence. Page Dl 1 2 3 5 5 6 8 8 9 10 12 14 14 15 21 The Middle Loup River at Dunning Continued. Page Summary of hydraulic factors in relation to channel pattern. __,,. _______--_. ___--------------,-D21 Observations on the formation of sandbars, islands, and valley flats--,. ,. --. _--. -,--_----. -----------23 Measurement and description of channel patterns. _,. ___ 25 Meandering and sinuosity. _____. -,. ,-_. _,--. ,-. 25 Braiding. ---. --. -----. I-. ------,,----. --27 Width. ,____. ____,_,_,__. ,. -_ T --, T . ,. _-,. -,31 Channel patterns of the Loup Rivers. ,. ,,. ,____,_, 31 Relation of selected hydraulic factors to channel pattern. 32 Bank credibility. ,. _-,,. -. -. ---. ,. ,-. ,,,32 Discharge. 1 ^. 7 _. _ T , 7 . ,,,,,---,,,,. --. ,---, 35 Bed material a.nd suspended-sediment concentration. 37 Water temperature. __,_,. ,. _--_,. ,-,,-,. ,_,_. ,38 Longitudinal river slope i&nd valley slope. ,. ,,--. ,-39 References cited_. -_--_--,-,-_,,-. _---,-,,,,. --. -. 40