Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Diurnal variation in excitation-contraction coupling is lost in the adult spontaneously hypertensive rat heart

Background: Excitation-contraction coupling of the normotensive rat heart exhibits a time-of-day variation in its response to isoproterenol (ISO), with a decrease during the animal's active period. Pressure-induced hypertrophy is known to adversely affect the circadian clock in the heart and this study sets out to determine whether this alters the time-of-day variation in E-C coupling. Method and results: Hearts from juvenile (6–8 week) and adult (24–28 week) spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) and normotensive Wistar–Kyoto (WKY) rats were isolated during the animals active and resting periods. Left ventricular developed pressure (LVDP) recorded from isolated perfused adult SHR hearts did not show the night-time dip in response to ISO that was present in normotensive hearts. Left ventricular myocytes isolated from juvenile WKY and SHRs during the resting period had a higher systolic [Ca2+]i and faster rate of decay of the Ca2+- transient, under basal conditions and in response to 10 nmol/l ISO, than the active period. LV-myocytes isolated from adult WKYs had a similar time-of-day variation in their Ca2+-transient. However, LV-myocytes from adult SHRs had lost this diurnal variation in both basal systolic [Ca2+]i and in response to ISO. Adult SHR hearts were hypertrophic in comparison to age-matched WKYs, had disrupted cycling of the circadian genes CLOCK and Per2, and this was matched by depressed nNOS cycling. Conclusion: The dip in response of the heart to ISO stimulation during the animal's active period is absent in adult SHRs. This may result from disruption to the circadian clock mechanism, which depresses the cycling of nNOS expression.
Association Between Audiometric Profile and Intraoperative Findings in Patients with Chronic Suppurative Otitis Media

Introduction: Although the incidence and prevalence of chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM) has been decreased in recent decades, but it is still a major health problem in both developing and developed countries. CSOM can cause major and life-threatening complications such as hearing loss, meningitis and cerebral abscess. Since hearing loss is the most common complication of CSOM, we aimed to evaluate audiometric profile in patients with CSOM and its relation with intra-operative pathologic findings Materials and Methods: Between 2008-2010, 80 patients with CSOM subjected to tympanomastoidectomy or tympanoplasty entered this study. The detailed patients’ history, physical examination, audiometric evaluations and findings during surgeries were collected. Finally, the associations between data were analyzed. Results: CSOM had higher prevalence among female (67.5%), but difference was not statically significant. Speech recognition test and air-bone gap were significantly associated with CSOM (P<0.001). While cholesteatoma and granulation significantly associated with air-bone gap (P=0.044) and speech recognition test (P=0.032), respectively, ossicular defects significantly associative with both of them (P=0.001 and P=0.032, respectively). There was not any association between sclerosis and audiometric parameters. Also presence of the cholesteatoma and ossicular defects associated with size of the tympanic perforation (P=0.001).
The Galactic distribution of X-ray binaries and its implications for compact object formation and natal kicks

The aim of this work is to study the imprints that different models for black hole (BH) and neutron star (NS) formation have on the Galactic distribution of X-ray binaries (XRBs) which contain these objects. We find that the root mean square of the height above the Galactic plane of BH- and NS-XRBs is a powerful proxy to discriminate among different formation scenarios, and that binary evolution following the BH/NS formation does not significantly affect the Galactic distributions of the binaries. We find that a population model in which at least some BHs receive a (relatively) high natal kick fits the observed BH-XRBs best. For the NS case, we find that a high NK distribution, consistent with the one derived from the measurement of pulsar proper motion, is the most preferable. We also analyse the simple method we previously used to estimate the minimal peculiar velocity of an individual BH-XRB at birth. We find that this method may be less reliable in the bulge of the Galaxy for certain models of the Galactic potential, but that our estimate is excellent for most of the BH-XRBs.
Delayed recovery in peripartum cardiomyopathy: an indication for long‐term follow‐up and sustained therapy

Persistence of left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction after 6 months of diagnosis is believed to be a marker of an irreversible cardiomyopathy in peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM). We sought to determine the length of time required for recovery of LV systolic function (LVSF) in patients with PPCM.
Potential Carcinogenic Risks of Aspartame Morando Soffritti ,

Aspartame is an intense artificial sweetener with a sweet test approximately 200 times that of sucrose and used as additive in more than 6,000 products. Aspartame was invented by GD-Searle in 1965 and submitted for pre-marketing safety evaluation in early 1980s. The studies conducted by GD-Searle to evaluate the potential carcinogenic risks of aspartame did not show any effect. Because of the great commercial diffusion of aspartame, in 1997 the Ramazzini Institute started a large experiments project on rodents to test the carcinogenic effects of aspartame in our experimental model with more sensitive characteristics, namely large number of rats and mice, observation until natural death. Overall the project included the study of 2,270 rats and 852 mice starting the treatment from prenatal life or in mature age and lasting all life. These studies have shown that aspartame is a carcinogenic agent inducing a significant dose-related increased incidence of several types of malignant tumors and, among them, haematological neoplasias. Later this effect was confirmed by an epidemiological study conducted by a group of the Harvard University.
Wireless Body Area Network for Sleep Staging

This paper reports the development of a Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN) for sleep staging applications. A prototype biopotential sensor node has been designed for monitoring a multitude of biopotential signals. A system consisting of three of these nodes packaged in a headband enables wireless sleep stage monitoring. Preliminary results obtained from a one-night test on a healthy patient suggest that the proposed system is suitable for sleep staging applications. By removing most of the wires, the proposed system improves the patient's comfort and the quality of the signals during sleep studies. It paves the way towards remote sleep monitoring and telemedicine applications.
Accurate measurement of power system frequency using a digital signal processing technique

This paper describes the design, computational aspects, and implementation of a digital signal processing technique for measuring the operating frequency of a power system. The technique provides correct and noise-free estimates for near-nominal, nominal, and off-nominal frequencies in about 25 ms, and it requires modest computations. The proposed technique is implemented using a DSP-based board and has been extensively tested using voltage signals obtained from a dynamic frequency source and from a power system. Some test results are presented in the paper.
‘It terrifies me, the thought of the future’: listening to the current concerns of informal carers of people with a learning disability

The aim of this article is to report findings from a study that asked carers for their views on a wide range of topics. Issues relevant to the current concerns of carers are reported here. A mixed method triangulated design yielded both quantitative and qualitative data. A total of 647 members of a parent/carer federation were sent a questionnaire with a section on ‘current concerns’. The response rate was 23 percent (151 participants). Two focus groups were held with 15 carers who had completed the questionnaire. Issues of concern to carers included access to health and social care information and services; quality and quantity of respite care; suitable educational provision; independence and quality of life (for a person with learning disability); and what would happen to the person with learning disability when the carer was no longer able to carry out their caring role.
Quick Screening of Pareto-Optimal Operating Conditions for Expanding Solvent–Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage Using Hybrid Multi-Objective Optimization Approach

Solvent–steam mixture is a key factor in controlling the economic efficiency of the solvent-aided thermal injection process for producing bitumen in a highly viscous oil sands reservoir. This paper depicts a strategy to quickly provide trade-off operating conditions of the Expanding Solvent–Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (ES-SAGD) process based on Pareto-optimality. Response surface models are employed to evaluate multiple ES-SAGD scenarios at low computational costs. The surrogate models play a role of objective-estimators in the multi-objective optimization that provides qualified ES-SAGD scenarios regarding bitumen recovery, steam–energy efficiency, and solvent-energy efficiency. The developed hybrid approach detects positive or negative correlations among the performance indicators of the ES-SAGD process. The derived Pareto-optimal operating conditions give flexibility in field development planning and thereby help decision makers determine the operating parameters of the ES-SAGD process based on their preferences.
A novel tree trunk recognition approach for forestry harvesting robot

Robotisation of forestry harvesting in New Zealand has the potential to achieve great productivity benefits and support the timber industry in the face of global market competition. Recognition and localization of tree trunks is the first critical operation for an autonomous forestry harvesting robot and is a challenging task due to variations of illumination under normal forestry harvesting conditions. This paper presents a novel method of recognizing tree trunks based on Hough Transforms of the L*a*b* colour space representation of the harvesting scene. The test results show that the proposed algorithm is able to correctly determine the location and shape information of tree trunks in various lighting conditions. This method lays a strong foundation for further research on autonomous operation of forestry harvesting robots in steep terrain.
Treatment of gingival recession using a collagen membrane with or without the use of demineralized freeze-dried bone allograft for space maintenance.

BACKGROUND Studies utilizing collagen membranes for guided tissue regeneration (GTR)-based root coverage procedures have reported promising results. However, creating and maintaining space underneath the membrane remains a challenge. Therefore, the purpose of this clinical trial was to determine whether the addition of bone graft (i.e., demineralized freeze-dried bone allograft [DFDBA]) significantly affects the outcome of collagen membrane GTR-based root coverage procedures. METHODS Twenty patients participated. One Miller's Class I or II recession defect per patient was treated with a collagen membrane covered by a coronally positioned flap. Half of the patients also had DFDBA placed under the membrane. Clinical parameters recorded included: recession depth, recession width, width of keratinized tissue, clinical attachment level, and probing depth, measured to the nearest 0.5 mm. Presurgery and postsurgery (6-month) data were compared using Student's paired t test for parametric data and the Wilcoxon matched pairs test for non-parametric data. RESULTS Guided tissue regeneration with collagen (COLL) and collagen + DFDBA (COBA) both resulted in statistically significant (P <0.05) reductions in recession depth (2.1 +/- 0.9 mm and 2.5 +/- 0.5 mm), recession width (1.5 +/- 1.7 mm and 2.2 +/- 1.6 mm), increase in keratinized tissue (0.7 +/- 0.8 mm and 1.2 +/- 1.0 mm), and gain of clinical attachment level (2.1 +/- 1.0 mm and 3.0 +/- 1.0 mm), when comparing 6-month data to baseline. Mean root coverage was 68.4 +/- 15.2% with COLL and 74.3 +/- 11.7% with COBA. However, there were no statistically significant differences between groups for recession depth, recession width, width of keratinized tissue, clinical attachment level, and probing depth. CONCLUSIONS Both techniques are effective in attaining root coverage. Although root coverage tended to be better with the addition of DFDBA, the difference was not statistically significant. Further studies with a larger sample size are needed to determine whether adding DFDBA to GTR-based procedures using collagen membranes is of any benefit.
Decision-Related Activity in Macaque V2 for Fine Disparity Discrimination Is Not Compatible with Optimal Linear Readout

Fine judgments of stereoscopic depth rely mainly on relative judgments of depth (relative binocular disparity) between objects, rather than judgments of the distance to where the eyes are fixating (absolute disparity). In macaques, visual area V2 is the earliest site in the visual processing hierarchy for which neurons selective for relative disparity have been observed (Thomas et al., 2002). Here, we found that, in macaques trained to perform a fine disparity discrimination task, disparity-selective neurons in V2 were highly selective for the task, and their activity correlated with the animals' perceptual decisions (unexplained by the stimulus). This may partially explain similar correlations reported in downstream areas. Although compatible with a perceptual role of these neurons for the task, the interpretation of such decision-related activity is complicated by the effects of interneuronal “noise” correlations between sensory neurons. Recent work has developed simple predictions to differentiate decoding schemes (Pitkow et al., 2015) without needing measures of noise correlations, and found that data from early sensory areas were compatible with optimal linear readout of populations with information-limiting correlations. In contrast, our data here deviated significantly from these predictions. We additionally tested this prediction for previously reported results of decision-related activity in V2 for a related task, coarse disparity discrimination (Nienborg and Cumming, 2006), thought to rely on absolute disparity. Although these data followed the predicted pattern, they violated the prediction quantitatively. This suggests that optimal linear decoding of sensory signals is not generally a good predictor of behavior in simple perceptual tasks. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Activity in sensory neurons that correlates with an animal's decision is widely believed to provide insights into how the brain uses information from sensory neurons. Recent theoretical work developed simple predictions to differentiate decoding schemes, and found support for optimal linear readout of early sensory populations with information-limiting correlations. Here, we observed decision-related activity for neurons in visual area V2 of macaques performing fine disparity discrimination, as yet the earliest site for this task. These findings, and previously reported results from V2 in a different task, deviated from the predictions for optimal linear readout of a population with information-limiting correlations. Our results suggest that optimal linear decoding of early sensory information is not a general decoding strategy used by the brain.
Novel CAG/CTG repeat expansion mutations do not contribute to the genetic risk for most cases of bipolar disorder or schizophrenia

The possible presence of anticipation in bipolar affective disorder and schizophrenia has led to the hypothesis that repeat expansion mutations could contribute to the genetic etiology of these diseases. Using the repeat expansion detection (RED) assay, we have systematically examined genomic DNA from 100 unrelated probands with schizophrenia and 68 unrelated probands with bipolar affective disorder for the presence of CAG/CTG repeat expansions. Our results show that 28% of the probands with schizophrenia and 30% of probands with bipolar disorder have a CAG/CTG repeat in the expanded range, but that each expansion could be explained by one of three nonpathogenic repeat expansions known to exist in the general population. We conclude that novel CAG/CTG repeat expansions are not a common genetic risk factor for bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
EFFECT OF PROLONGED IMMUNIZATION ON THE IN VITRO AND IN VIVO IMMUNOLOGIC ACTIVITY OF RABBIT ANTI-MOUSE ERYTHROCYTE SERUM.

Twenty-eight normal and splenectomized rabbits were injected intravenously or intraperitoneally for from 7 to 14 courses of 4 biweekly injections with erythrocytes of BALB/c, C57B, and DBA inbred strains of mice. Antisera collected after each course of injections were examined for hemolysin and agglutinin titers as well as their ability to produce anemia in mice. Ability of the antiserum to hemolyze erythrocytes in vivo and in vitro (the hemolytic ratio) was compared. The three immunologic activities could not be detected in the serum of normal rabbits. They rose rapidly and significantly after the first two courses of injections. With few exceptions, the peaks of in vitro and in vivo reacting antibodies were reached after from three to four courses; thereafter, the in vivo activity decreased steadily, while the in vitro titers were maintained or increased. This dissociation pattern was less distinct or was absent in sera of intravenously injected splenectomized and previously immunized rabbits, and of intact rabbits injected intraperitoneally. Although the immunologic activity of antisera of rabbits injected with erythrocytes from different strains of mice was different in potency, the pattern of in vivo and in vitro dissociation was similar. Antisera of rabbits injected intraperitoneally showed much lower immunologic activity than those of intravenously injected rabbits and reached their peaks only after six courses of injections. After prolonged immunization, antisera of splenectomized rabbits showed a tendency to regain their in vivo potency while their in vitro activity was decreasing. Responses of previously immunized rabbits to a single reinjection of erythrocytes were determined by the intervals since the preceding series of immunization; they were totally unresponsive after 1 month, selectively responsive after 3 months, and showed a transient exaggerated response after 6 months. Hemolytic ratio which expresses numerically the differences in the relative activity of antisera in vivo as compared with in vitro illustrates clearly the similarities and differences in rabbits under different experimental conditions, and in different stages of immunization. It may be that differences in the distribution of cells and tissues which participate in the production of the various antibodies are a determining factor.
Management accounting software and accounting practices: empirical study on SME enterprises

There appears to be a paradox between the methods of product valuation considered theoretically most suitable and those effectively used by enterprises according to empirical studies already made. This research strives to clarify which factors explain enterprises continued use of theoretically inadequate methods. The study aims to identify the methods used by Portuguese small and medium size enterprises to value products and to analyze if the management accounting software influences the methods used. Accounting managers from 58 enterprises in 11 Portuguese districts were interviewed. The interviewees stated that the management accounting software influences the method of indirect cost distribution, and the association of these two variables is statistically significant. However, the individual analysis of the interviews led to the detection of a third variable, namely the way in which the product valuation was conceived, and this influences the previous two variables simultaneously. This evidence suggests that the conditioning that accounting managers believed was exerted by the management accounting software on indirect cost distribution was in fact the result of the direct influence of a third variable on the first two, namely the way in which the method was conceived. Key-words: management, accounting, software, SME, Portugal
Hepatocyte growth factor induces proliferation of lens epithelial cells through activation of ERK1/2 and JNK/SAPK.

PURPOSE Posterior capsule opacification (PCO) is caused by proliferation and migration of lens epithelial cells (LECs) remaining after cataract surgery. In this study, the effect of HGF in LECs and the signaling pathways that contribute to HGF-induced proliferation were investigated. METHODS Capsular bags prepared from porcine eyes were maintained in serum-free DMEM. The human lens epithelial B3 cells (HLE B3) and rat lens epithelial explants were cultured in MEM supplemented with 20% FCS and medium 199 with 0.1% BSA, respectively. Cell proliferation was determined by MTT assay, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) expression, or flow cytometry. An antisense oligonucleotide was used to inhibit cyclin D1 expression. Activation of the mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathways was detected by immunoblot analysis. RESULTS The proliferation of LECs in a capsular bag culture was significantly inhibited by treatment with the neutralizing antibody for HGF receptor. Stimulation of HLE B3 with hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) activated the MAPKs, ERK, and JNK/SAPK, but not p38. Activation of both ERK and JNK/SAPK was necessary for the HGF-stimulated induction of cyclin D1, which in turn was necessary for the HGF-induced proliferation of LECs. PI3K also participated in the regulation of cyclin D1 expression upstream of ERK and JNK/SAPK. CONCLUSIONS The data indicate that HGF is a potent growth factor for LECs and may contribute to the development of PCO and suggest that the signaling pathways involved in HGF-stimulated proliferation may constitute potential therapeutic targets in the treatment of PCO.
Utilization of laser fluorescence to monitor caries lesions development in primary teeth.

PURPOSE The objective of this study was to analyze and evaluate laser fluorescence (LF) performance in monitoring and quantifying smooth-surface incipient caries lesions in primary teeth. METHODS Artificial caries lesions were produced in 2 delimited windows on the buccal surface of 24 primary incisors using a pH-cycling procedure. LF (DIAGNOdent) readings were collected on the windows on each tooth surface before (sound enamel) and after (artificial caries lesions) the demineralization process. The left lesion of each tooth was used for the polarized light microscopy analysis. Statistical tests were performed to observe the performance of the method and correlation between LF readings and caries lesions depth. RESULTS There was a significant increase in the LF readings after demineralization (P < .0001). The area under receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.956, showing a good result of the method. The best cut off LF value to detect incipient caries was 5, and with this value, sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy was 0.78, 1, and 0.89, respectively. Pearson's correlation coefficient between DIAGNOdent values and caries lesion depth was 0.68. CONCLUSIONS Although LF was good at detecting artificial caries lesions in primary teeth, the quantification of mineral loss was undesirable.