Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Supporting periodic, strong re-authentication in MANET scenarios

A Security Association (SA), established by strong authentication, between a node pair in a Mobile Ad hoc Network (MANET) could be lost when its route is disconnected. In contrast, in good channel conditions and stable topology, routing protocols such as the Optimized Link State Routing (OLSR) do not refresh routes periodically, and in doing so, an SA bound to these routes could become stale and out of date. In this paper we demonstrate a decoupling of the maintenance of the SAs from the link state conditions by introducing a timer that defines the lifetime of the SAs, as well as the periodicity of strong authentications. This timer is implemented within a state machine that also manages other aspects of the authentication process. We implement these changes using a Trust-enhanced Routing Table (TRT), an extension of the OLSR routing table. The state machine and TRT are trialed in a series of MANET simulations in which the topology of the network remains static but channel conditions are made progressively less favorable. By varying the allowed SA duration timer within the state machine, we are able to measure the overhead (cost) associated with maintaining SAs in varying channel conditions. We show that the costs associated with our implementation are generally far lower than if we were to link SAs to standard OLSR routes in the same conditions. Since the allowed lifetime of SA is a security parameter, our results effectively demonstrate a trade-off between security and overhead for our model. Our implementation is designed to be further, and easily, extended to account for additional security parameters as input.
Analysis of mobile phone design features affecting radiofrequency power absorbed in a human head phantom

The US FCC mandates the testing of all mobile phones to demonstrate compliance with the rule requiring that the peak spatial SAR does not exceed the limit of 1.6 W/kg averaged over any 1 g of tissue. These test data, measured in phantoms with mobile phones operating at maximum antenna input power, permitted us to evaluate the variation in SARs across mobile phone design factors such as shape and antenna design, communication technology, and test date (over a 7‐year period). Descriptive statistical summaries calculated for 850 MHz and 1900 MHz phones and ANOVA were used to evaluate the influence of the foregoing factors on SARs. Service technology accounted for the greatest variability in compliance test SARs that ranged from AMPS (highest) to CDMA, iDEN, TDMA, and GSM (lowest). However, the dominant factor for SARs during use is the time‐averaged antenna input power, which may be much less than the maximum power used in testing. This factor is largely defined by the communication system; e.g., the GSM phone average output can be higher than CDMA by a factor of 100. Phone shape, antenna type, and orientation of a phone were found to be significant but only on the order of up to a factor of 2 (3 dB). The SAR in the tilt position was significantly smaller than for touch. The side of the head did not affect SAR levels significantly. Among the remaining factors, external antennae produced greater SARs than internal ones, and brick and clamshell phones produced greater SARs than slide phones. Assuming phone design and usage patterns do not change significantly over time, we have developed a normalization procedure and formula that permits reliable prediction of the relative SAR between various communication systems. This approach can be applied to improve exposure assessment in epidemiological research. Bioelectromagnetics. 34:479–488. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Endoscopic third ventriculostomy for tumor-related hydrocephalus in a pediatric population.

OBJECT Endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) has become a common alternative for managing hydrocephalus in select patients. Nevertheless, there is still controversy regarding the indications for ETV as the primary procedure, given its variable success rates. The purpose of this study is to review the authors' experience with ETV for a variety of patients. METHODS A total of 43 children underwent ETV between July 1992 and June 2003. Their medical records, operative reports, and imaging studies, when available, were retrospectively reviewed with regard to outcome, complications, and patency rate. Treatment failure was defined as the need to place a shunt within 4 weeks of performing ETV in the patient. There were 20 male and 23 female patients with a mean age of 9.6 years (range 8 weeks-21 years). The overall success rate was 69.8%, and the mean follow-up duration was 24.6 months. Six patients underwent eight repeated ETVs at a mean interval of 25 months, with a patency rate of 62.5% after the second procedure. Only two surgeries were aborted for anatomical reasons. The highest success rates (100% in each instance) were achieved for obstructive hydrocephalus resulting from midbrain/tectal tumor (four patients) and pineal tumor (three patients). CONCLUSIONS The ETV procedure is an effective management tool for obstructive hydrocephalus in children. It should be considered the primary procedure, rather than ventriculoperitoneal shunts, in carefully selected children. The success rate is dependent on the origin of the hydrocephalus.
Noninvasive Measurements of Intramuscular Pressure Using Pulsed Phase-locked Loop Ultrasound for Detecting Compartment Syndromes: A Preliminary Report

Objectives To develop a human model for compartment tamponade and test the efficacy of ultrasonic pulsed phase-locked loop (PPLL) fascial displacement waveform analysis for noninvasive measurement of intramuscular pressure (IMP). Design Human subject experiment. Setting University Level 1 trauma center. Participants Nine male and 1 female volunteers (age 20 to 59),3 male acute compartment syndrome (ACS) patients (age 31 to 38). Intervention Thigh tourniquet was inflated in a stepwise fashion from 40 to 100 mm Hg to increase IMP transiently in volunteers. Main Outcome Measurements Invasive IMP by slit catheter and PPLL fascial displacement waveform in volunteers with model ACS and patients with ACS. Results In the model compartment tamponade group, thigh cuff occlusion increased IMP in the anterior compartment from a mean of 12.1 mm Hg (SE=1.5) to a mean of 27.4 mm Hg (SE=2.4, N=8, P<0.0001). By fast Fourier transform, the ratio of the amplitude of the fundamental frequency to the amplitude of the second harmonic frequency of the fascial displacement waveform as measured by PPLL increased from a resting mean of 1.12 (SE=0.07) to a mean of 1.85 (SE=0.18) under the same protocol (N=6, P=0.001). Combined data with compartment syndrome patients revealed linear correlation between IMP and PPLL with an R2 value of 0.8887. Conclusions Subarterial thigh cuff pressure causes a significant and transient increase in IMP, serving as a model for anterior compartment tamponade. PPLL is able to detect fascial displacement waveforms corresponding to arterial pulsation and furthermore distinguishes between normal and elevated IMP. There is a linear correlation between PPLL measurements and invasive IMP. The PPLL shows potential utility as a device for noninvasive measurement of IMP for detecting compartment syndromes.
Mitogen-activated protein kinases pathway is involved in physiological testosterone-induced tissue factor pathway inhibitor expression in endothelial cells

The mechanism of testosterone inducing the tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) in protecting against thrombosis is unknown. We aimed to elucidate the mechanisms involved in the induction by observing, in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), the phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), a major cell signaling system. The level of testosterone regulating several signaling pathways, including extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1/2 (ERK1/2), c-Jun-N-terminal kinase (JNK), and p38 MAPK, was measured by western blot in HUVECs. ELISA and quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase-PCR were used to analyze TFPI expression after blocking ERK1/2 (with PD98059) or JNK (with SP600125) pathway in HUVECs. Testosterone-induced a rapid phosphorylation of ERK1/2, JNK and p38 MAPK in HUVECs, which could not be inhibited by androgen receptor antagonist flutamide. Blocking ERK1/2 or JNK pathway could significantly impair testosterone-induced TFPI at both translational and transcriptional levels in HUVECs. Testosterone at a physiological concentration may help to prevent thrombosis development by stimulating TFPI expression in HUVECs, partly through the ERK1/2 and JNK MAPK pathway.
Outcomes following thoracoabdominal resection of neuroblastoma

Objective: To evaluate the intraoperative and postoperative care of children following thoracoabdominal resection of neuroblastoma. Design: Retrospective chart review. Setting: Pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) of major pediatric cancer center. Patients: Eighty-eight patients undergoing thoracoabdominal resection of neuroblastoma over a 6-year period. Interventions: None. Measurements and Main Results: Demographic and clinical data were collected, including: length of PICU stay (LOS-P), duration of mechanical ventilation (MVD), mean arterial blood pressure, central venous pressure (CVP), fluid management, pressor use, and mortality. Twenty-one patients required inotropic/vasopressors support pressors following surgery. Patients who received pressors had longer operative times (p < .05) and received less intraoperative fluid (p < .05), but had the same estimated blood loss and urine output as nonpressor (NP) patients. Among the patients who received pressors, the MVD was 57 hrs, compared with 24 hrs in the NP group (p < .01). The LOS-P was 118 hours in the pressors group, vs. 69 hrs in the NP group (p < .01). The mean arterial blood pressure was lower and the CVP was higher in the pressors group compared with the NP group, and pressors patients received significantly more fluid postoperatively (p < .01). When pressors were initiated at a low CVP (<8), MVD was 39 hrs compared with 71 hrs when pressors were started at a higher CVP (p = .08). LOS-P was only slightly shorter in the low CVP group, 112 hrs vs. 123 hours (p = NS). The PICU mortality rate was 0%. Conclusions: Patients who received pressors had longer operative times and received less intraoperative fluid. Subsequently, they required more postoperative fluid, which is likely the result of hemodynamic instability leading to longer MVD and LOS-P. A prospective study evaluating operative fluid management and optimal time for initiation of pressors, in addition to the role of catecholamines and cytokines in this unique postoperative patient population is indicated.
Rater-blinded, Prospective Comparison: Quetiapine Versus Clozapine for Parkinson's Disease Psychosis

Objective: To compare the safety and efficacy of quetiapine versus clozapine for the treatment of psychosis in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Methods: Twenty-seven patients with PD and recent-onset psychosis were randomly allocated to 2 arms of 22 weeks' treatment with quetiapine or clozapine after 2 weeks of adjustment of antiparkinsonian medications. Assessment was done by a blinded neuropsychologist using the Clinical Global Impression of Change (CGIC) questionnaire and the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI). Mixed-effect models were used to compare CGIC and Neuropsychological Inventory scores over time between the 2 groups. Results: Both drugs were equally effective based on the CGIC. Clozapine had a trend over quetiapine in controlling the frequency of hallucinations (P = 0.097) and a significant advantage in reducing delusions (P = 0.011). However, one patient in the clozapine arm developed leukopenia. None of the drugs worsened parkinsonism. Conclusions: Clozapine and quetiapine are effective atypical neuroleptics for the treatment of psychotic symptoms in PD. Clozapine had greater efficacy in reducing hallucinations and delusions frequency, but its use is associated with an increased risk of leukopenia.
Advantages of endurance treadmill walking compared with cycling to assess bronchodilator therapy.

BACKGROUND Walking is a familiar daily activity that is generally limited by breathlessness, whereas cycling is an uncommon physical effort typically limited by leg discomfort. The hypothesis was that patients with COPD would exhibit greater improvements in exercise endurance and relief of breathlessness with bronchodilator therapy during treadmill walking compared with cycling. METHODS In this randomized, 2 x 2, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial, 20 patients with COPD (age, 64 +/- 7 years; FEV(1), 56 +/- 14% predicted) performed constant-load endurance exercise on the treadmill and cycle ergometer at 85% of capacity after inhaling normal saline (NS) or arformoterol (ARF) (15 microg). RESULTS Increases in endurance times and consistency of responses were greater with treadmill walking (Delta: 157 +/- 286 s; P = .024; 80% improved) than with cycle exercise (Delta: 110 +/- 219 s; P = .038; 65% improved) with ARF compared with NS. However, these changes were not significantly different. The slope of breathlessness-time (mean Delta = -29%; P = .007) and the magnitude of oxygen desaturation were significantly lower with ARF compared with NS during treadmill, but not cycle, exercise. Inspiratory capacity values were similar between modes of exercise when comparing the same study medication. CONCLUSIONS Improved endurance times support both constant-load treadmill and cycle exercise to assess the efficacy of bronchodilator therapy in patients with COPD. Unique differences in physiologic and perceptual responses with bronchodilation demonstrate advantages of treadmill walking as an exercise stimulus. TRIAL REGISTRATION clinicaltrials.gov; Identifier: NCT00754546.
Congenital Heart Disease NKX 2 . 5 Mutations in Patients With Congenital Heart Disease

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to estimate the frequency of NKX2.5 mutations in specific cardiovascular anomalies and investigate genotype-phenotype correlations in individuals with NKX2.5 mutations. BACKGROUND Recent reports have implicated mutations in the transcription factor NKX2.5 as a cause of various congenital heart defects (CHD). METHODS We tested genomic deoxyribonucleic acid from 608 prospectively recruited patients with conotruncal anomalies (n 370), left-sided lesions (n 160), secundum atrial septal defect (ASD) (n 71), and Ebstein’s malformation (n 7) for NKX2.5 mutations. RESULTS Twelve distinct mutations in the NKX2.5 coding region were identified in 18 of 608 patients (3%), including 9 of 201 (4%) with tetralogy of Fallot, 3 of 71 (4%) with a secundum ASD, one each with truncus arteriosus, double-outlet right ventricle, L-transposition of the great arteries, interrupted aortic arch, hypoplastic left heart syndrome, and aortic coarctation, but in no patients with D-transposition of the great arteries (n 86) or valvar aortic stenosis (n 21). Eleven of the mutations were amino acid-altering missense nucleotide substitutions or deletions, and one was predicted to cause premature termination of translation. None of the mutations were in the homeodomain. Sixteen of the 18 individuals with NKX2.5 mutations in this study had no family history of congenital cardiovascular anomalies, and one had first-degree atrioventricular (AV) block. CONCLUSIONS NKX2.5 mutations occur in a small percentage of patients with various CHD. Most of the mutations identified in this study were missense, outside the homeodomain, and not associated with AV block. These findings suggest that NKX2.5 mutations in nonhomeodomain regions may be important in the development of human structural cardiac defects. (J Am Coll Cardiol 2003;42:1650–5) © 2003 by the American College of Cardiology Foundation
Osteogenesis Imperfecta

Osteogenesis imperfecta is a common heritable connective tissue disorder. Nearly ninety percent are due to Type I collagen mutations. Type I-IV are autosomal dominant, and Type VI–XIII are autosomal recessive. They are Graded 1-5 based on severity. Genomic testing is done by collagen analysis from fibroblasts. The mainstay of treatment is bisphosphonate therapy. The prognosis is variable.
Linkage Validation of RP25 Using the 10K GeneChip Array and Further Refinement of the Locus by New Linked Families

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous group of retinal dystrophies, characterised by rod photoreceptor cell degeneration with autosomal recessive RP (arRP) as the commonest form worldwide. To date, a total of 26 loci have been reported for arRP, each having a prevalence of 1–5%, except for the RP25 locus which was identified as the genetic cause of 14% of arRP cases in Spain. In order to validate the original linkage of RP25, we undertook a total genome scan using the 10K GeneChip mapping array on three of the previously linked families. The data obtained supported the initial findings of linkage. Additionally, linkage analysis in 18 newly ascertained arRP families was performed using microsatellite markers spanning the chromosome 6p12.1‐q15 interval. Five out of the 18 families showed suggestive evidence of linkage to RP25, hence supporting the high prevalence of this locus in the Spanish population. Furthermore, the finding of a crossover in one of these families is likely to have refined the disease interval from the original 16 cM to only a 2.67 cM region between D6S257 and D6S1557.
Vacuolar Membrane Dynamics in the Filamentous Fungus Aspergillus oryzae

ABSTRACT Vacuoles in filamentous fungi are highly pleomorphic and some of them, e.g., tubular vacuoles, are implicated in intra- and intercellular transport. In this report, we isolated Aovam3, the homologue of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae VAM3 gene that encodes the vacuolar syntaxin, from Aspergillus oryzae. In yeast complementation analyses, the expression of Aovam3 restored the phenotypes of both Δvam3 and Δpep12 mutants, suggesting that AoVam3p is likely the vacuolar and/or endosomal syntaxin in A. oryzae. FM4-64 [N-(3-triethylammoniumpropyl)-4-(p-diethylaminophenyl-hexatrienyl)pyridinium dibromide] and CMAC (7-amino-4-chloromethylcoumarin) staining confirmed that the fusion protein of enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) with AoVam3p (EGFP-AoVam3p) localized on the membrane of the pleomorphic vacuolar networks, including large spherical vacuoles, tubular vacuoles, and putative late endosomes/prevacuolar compartments. EGFP-AoVam3p-expressing strains allowed us to observe the dynamics of vacuoles with high resolutions, and moreover, led to the discovery of several new aspects of fungal vacuoles, which have not been discovered so far with conventional staining methods, during different developmental stages. In old hyphae, EGFP fluorescence was present in the entire lumen of large vacuoles, which occupied most of the cell, indicating that degradation of cytosolic materials had occurred in such hyphae via an autophagic process. In hyphae that were not in contact with nutrients, such as aerial hyphae and hyphae that grew on a glass surface, vacuoles were composed of small punctate structures and tubular elements that often formed reticulum-like networks. These observations imply the presence of so-far-unrecognized roles of vacuoles in the development of filamentous fungi.
Memory consistency for traumatic events in Dutch soldiers deployed to Iraq

Retrospective accounts of traumatic events are consistently associated with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This has often been interpreted as causal impact of such events on psychological functioning, but recent studies suggest that the causal direction is (partly) reversed: high levels of PTSD symptoms may be associated with amplified recollections of precipitating traumatic events. The aim of this prospective study was to index the consistency with which Dutch Army soldiers reported traumatic stressors and nontraumatic stressors on their deployment to Iraq, and to examine to what extent PTSD symptoms and pre-existing reporting biases, such as that arising from neuroticism, affect memory inconsistency. Retrospective accounts of stressors were highly variable over time. Individuals with higher levels of PTSD symptoms and neuroticism, lower levels of extraversion and fewer prior missions, were more prone to increased reporting over time.
Modeling Interactions between Low-Level and High-Level Features for Human Action Recognition

Recognizing human action in complex scenes is a challenging problem in computer vision. Some action-unrelated concepts, such as camera position features, could significantly affect the appearance of local spatio-temporal features, and therefore the performance of low-level features based methods degrades. In this letter, we define the action-unrelated concept: the position of camera as high-level features. We observe that they can serve as a prior to local spatio-temporal features for human action recognition. We encode this prior by modeling interactions between spatio-temporal features and camera position features. We infer camera position features from local spatio-temporal features via these interactions. The parameters of this model are estimated by a new max-margin algorithm. We evaluate the proposed method on KTH, IXMAS and Youtube actions datasets. Experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Impact of curcumin on the pharmacokinetics of rosuvastatin in rats and dogs based on the conjugated metabolites

Abstract 1. Plasma concentrations of curcumin-O-glucuronide (COG) and curcumin-O-sulfate (COS) significantly increased after Sprague-Dawley rats dealt with the Oatp inhibitor rifampicin, with the Cmax ascending 2.9 and 6.7 times, and the AUC0–∞ ascending 4.4 and 10.8 times, respectively. When pretreated with the Oat inhibitor probenecid, the Cmax increased 4.4 and 20 times, and the AUC0–∞ increased 3.2 and 13.9 times, respectively. The results suggested that COG and COS may be the substrates of Oatp and Oat. 2. The accumulation of curcumin significantly increased in organic anion transporting polypeptide (OATP)- and organic anion transporter (OAT)-transfected human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 systems, which suggested that curcumin was a substrate of OATP1B1, OATP1B3, OATP2B1, OAT1, and OAT3; and COG was a substrate of OATP1B1, OATP1B3, and OAT3. 3. Inhibition study using rosuvastatin as the substrate in OATP1B1- and OATP1B3-transfected cells indicated that curcumin was an OATP1B1 and 1B3 inhibitor, with IC50 at 5.19 ± 0.05 and 3.68 ± 0.05 μM, respectively; the data for COG were 1.04 ± 0.01 and 1.08 ± 0.02 μM, respectively. COS was speculated to be an inhibitor of hepatic OATP1B1 as calculated using the ADMET Predictor. 4. COG and COS are substrates and inhibitors of OATP/Oatp. Co-administration of curcumin significantly increased rosuvastatin concentration in rat and dog plasma.
Association of the glutathione S-transferase M1 homozygous null genotype with susceptibility to Sjögren's syndrome in Japanese individuals.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the role of polymorphisms of the glutathione S-transferase M1 (GSTM1) and GSTT1 genes in determining susceptibility to Sjögren's syndrome (SS) and autoantibody production. METHODS Polymorphisms of the GSTM1 and GSTT1 genes in 106 Japanese patients with primary SS and in 143 healthy controls were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS Frequency of the GSTM1 homozygous null genotype was significantly increased in SS patients compared with controls (57.5% versus 44.1%; P = 0.035). Moreover, a significantly greater frequency of SSA antibodies was found among SS patients with the GSTM1 null genotype than among those with the GSTM1 non-null genotype (P = 0.0013). Frequency of the GSTT1 polymorphism was not different between SS patients and controls. CONCLUSION The GSTM1 homozygous null genotype could be a genetic factor that determines susceptibility to SS and may be involved in SSA antibody production.