Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multi-Axis Sinusoidal Whole-Body Vibrations: Part II — Relationship between Vibration Total Value and Discomfort Varies between Vibration Axes

The influence of vibration duration and the amount of rest between successive vibrations was addressed in Part I of this study. The relationship between discomfort and Vibration Total Value for different axes of vibration is assessed in Part II. Ten subjects were exposed to repeated single axis, planar, and 6 degree of freedom multi-axial vibrations. We observed statistically significant differences in discomfort between the different axes of vibration for similar ranges of Vibration Total Values. In particular. we observed that discomfort reports for vibrations in the Z axis and XY plane were less than discomfort reports associated with XZ plane and 6 df vibrations when the same range of Vibration Total Values were compared. Furthermore, single axis vertical vibrations were typically associated with less discomfort than multi-axis vibrations when similar ranges of Vibration Total Values were compared. This finding infers that the frequency weighting scheme presented in ISO 2631–1 does not achieve inter-axis equivalence and indicates that a more comprehensive study of multi-axis vibration is required to suggest changes to the ISO 2631–1 weighting factors.
Rayleigh Scattering Reduction by Means of Optical Frequency Dithering in Passive Optical Networks With Remotely Seeded ONUs

With the purpose of reducing the crosstalk caused by Rayleigh scattering in bidirectional centralized light systems, we propose and experimentally demonstrate an optical frequency modulation to broaden the optical spectrum effectively. Analytic expressions for the Q-parameter of the signal affected by Rayleigh backscattering are also given and experimentally checked, both for optical frequency stable and dithered sources
Dynamic Changes in the QT–R‐R Relationship during Head‐Up Tilt Test in Patients with Vasovagal Syncope

Background: QT interval is influenced by preceding R‐R intervals and autonomic nervous tone. Changes in QT intervals during vasovagal reflex might reflect autonomic modulation of ventricular repolarization; however, this issue has not been fully elucidated. This study aimed to evaluate dynamic response of QT interval to transient changes in R‐R interval during vasovagal syncope (VVS) induced by head‐up tilt test.
Review: exploration of psychological and physical health differences between caregivers and non-caregivers

Study selection and analysis: Eligible studies compared levels of perceived stress, depression, general subjective well being, physical health, or self-efficacy between a sample of informal caregivers of older adults and a sample of non-caregivers. Exclusions: studies where reported differences between caregivers and non-caregivers could not be converted to standard deviation units (see notes); not written in English, French, German, or Russian.
Prolongation of inhibitory postsynaptic currents by pentobarbitone, halothane and ketamine in CA1 pyramidal cells in rat hippocampus

1 Spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents (i.p.s.cs) were recorded in voltage‐clamped CA1 neurones in rat hippocampal slices. 2 The exponential decay of i.p.s.cs was prolonged by concentrations of sodium pentobarbitone as low as 50 μM. With concentrations up to 100 μM, there was no change in the amplitude or rise time of the currents but current amplitude was depressed at 200 μM. The prolongation of currents increased with drug concentration within the range tested (50 to 200 μM). 3 Halothane, at concentrations from 1 to 5%, also increased the time constant of decay of i.p.s.cs. The effect increased with concentration and was fully reversible. 4 Ketamine, at a concentration of 0.5 mM, increased the time constant of decay of i.p.s.cs by 50 to 80% and the effect was reversible. 5 Ethanol (10–200 mM), nitrous oxide (75–80%), and caffeine (10 μM‐5 mM) had no detectable effect on the i.p.s.cs. 6 It is suggested that pentobarbitone, halothane and ketamine increase the time constant of decay of the i.p.s.cs by stabilizing the open state of channels activated by γ‐aminobutyric acid.
Immunoreactivity to ubiquitin—protein conjugates is present early in the disease process in the brains of scrapie‐infected mice

Brains from mice infected with either the 87V or the ME7 strains of mouse‐passaged sheep scrapie were taken at stages during the disease process and immunostained to show the localization of ubiquitin‐protein conjugates. In both models, conjugates were seen as fine, dot‐like structures; as coarser, granular lesions within or adjacent to neurones; and in areas surrounding plaques. The dot‐like structures were visible at 28 days post‐ME7 infection and at 55 days in 87V‐infected mice. In both models, the extent of immunoreactive changes increased as the disease progressed and terminal infection was as described earlier by us (Lowe et al., J. Pathot 1990; 162: 61–66). The patterns of development of these features were distinctive in two ways: progression from region to region was observable and the density of the pathological lesions grew exponentially as the clinical symptoms appeared. The earliest pathological dot‐like structures corresponded temporally with the earliest detection of PrPsc by Western blotting, and immunogold electron microscopic investigation of the dot‐like lesions indicated that they were the multi‐vesicular, lysosome‐related, dense bodies that we have described previously in terminal disease (Laszlo et al., J Pathol 1992; 166: 333–341).
Myrtaceae species resistance to rust caused by Puccinia psidii

Seeds from different species and provenances of Myrtaceae, collected from wild populations in Australia, were screened for resistance to rust caused by Puccini psidii. Seedlings were inoculated with a suspension of rust inoculum and incubated in a mist chamber in the dark for 24 h. Subsequently, the plants were transferred to a growth chamber and rust reaction was evaluated 12 days later. Inter- and intra-specific variability was observed among and within the myrtaceae species. Independent of the provenance, the most resistant species were: Corymbia calophylla ‘rosea’, C. tesselaris, Melaleuca ericifolia, Eucalyptus tereticornis, E. resinifera, E. scias subsp. scias, E. paniculata, E. pellita and C. intermediata. In contrast, M. nesophila, M. alternifolia, M. cajuputi subsp. cajuputi, M. leucadendra, M. quinquenervia, E. cloeziana, E. diversicolor, E. regnans and E. grandis displayed the highest number of susceptible plants. Among those additional myrtaceaceous genera which were tested for their reaction to rust the most resistant were Asteromyrtus dulcia, A. tenuifolia, Gossia fragrantissima, Lophostemon confertus, Syzygium australe, S. wilsonii subsp. cryptophlebium, Archirhodomytus beckleri, Acmena smithii and Syzygium alatoramulum. Pericalymma ellipticum, Kunzea baxteri, Astartea heteranthera, Regelia ciliata, Rhodomyrtus psidioides and Syncarpia glomulifera were the most susceptible species.
Myocardial Troponin T Release Is Associated with Enhanced Fibrinolysis in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndromes

Summary Patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) frequently present with signs of disturbed fibrinolysis. The present study investigates the correlation of alterations in the fibrinolytic system and the amount of myocardial damage characterized by troponin release. In 85 patients with ACS markers of plasmin activation, plasminogen activator system and troponin T (TnT) were measured initially and after 48 h. Patients with TnT release (≥ 0.01 g/l) at admission had higher TPA levels than those without release (10.2 ± 0.7 ng/ml vs. 7.6 ± 0.5 ng/ml; p <0.01). Additionally, patients with positive TnT had higher D-dimer levels initially (457 ± 39 ng/ml vs. 316 ± 22 ng/ml; p < 0.01) and 48 h later (451 ± 42 ng/ml vs. 275 ± 37 ng/ml; p < 0.01). The association of myocardial damage with a prothrombotic state and an enhanced fibrinolysis may explain the high prognostic value of troponin measurements in respect to future coronary events.
In silico analysis of simple sequence repeats (SSRs) in chloroplast genomes of Glycine species.

Microsatellites, also known as simple sequence repeats, are short (1-6 bp long) repetitive DNA sequences present in chloroplast genomes (cpDNAs). In this work, chloroplast genomes of eight species (Glycine canescens, G. cyrtoloba, G. dolichocarpa, G. falcata, G. max, G. soja, G. stenophita, and G. tomentella) from Glycine genus were screened for cpSSRs by utilisation of MISA perl script with a repeat size of ≥10 for mono-, 5 for di-, 3 for tri-, tetra-, penta- and hexa-nucleotide, including frequency, distributions, and putative codon repeats of cpSSRs. According to our results, a total of 1273 cpSSRs were identified and among them, 413 (32.4%) were found to be in genic regions and the remaining (67.6%) were all located in intergenic regions, with an average of 1.04 cpSSRs per kb. Trinucleotide repeats (45%) were the most abundant motifs, followed by mononucleotides (36%) and dinucleotides (11.8%) in the plastomes of the Glycine species. In genic regions, trimeric repeats, the most frequent one reached the maximum of 70.7%. Among the other repeats, mono- and tetrameric repeats were represented in proportions of 25.7% and 3.6%, respectively. Interestingly, there were no di-, penta-, and hexameric repeats in coding sequences. The most common motifs found in all plastomes were A/T (97.8%) for mono-, AT/AT (98%) for di-, and AAT/ATT (41.5%) for trinucleotides. Among the chloroplast genes, ycf1 had the highest number of cpSSRs, and G. cyrtoloba and G. falcata species had the maximum number of genes containing cpSSRs. The most frequent putative codon repeats located in coding sequences were found to be glutamic acid (21.2%), followed by serine (15.5%), arginine (8.3%) and phenylalanine (7.8%) in all species. Also, tryptophan, proline, and aspartic acid were not detected in all plastomes.
Remembering the Details: Effects of Emotion

Though emotion conveys memory benefits, it does not enhance memory equally for all aspects of an experience, nor for all types of emotional events. In this review, I outline the behavioral evidence for arousal's focal enhancements of memory and describe the neural processes that may support those focal enhancements. I also present behavioral evidence to suggest that these focal enhancements occur more often for negative experiences than for positive ones. This result appears to arise because of valence-dependent effects on the neural processes recruited during episodic encoding and retrieval, with negative affect associated with increased engagement of sensory processes, and positive affect leading to enhanced recruitment of conceptual processes.
Pneumococcal resistance in the postvaccine era.

Conjugate vaccination is considered by many as the simple and effective solution that will control penicillin-resistant pneumococcal infection. This desired effect of vaccination may soon prove unsubstantiated, given pneumococcal population dynamics after vaccination. The recent article by Huang et al in Pediatrics1 provides evidence of serotype replacement, as several other studies have lately reported.2,3 It also clearly shows that this replacement is associated with an increase in the percentage of nonvaccine isolates that are nonsusceptible to penicillin. This point was a prediction of a mathematical model analysis of pneumococcal conjugate vaccination that we published earlier.4 For example, Figure 1 shows that starting from both a frequency distribution of heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV-7)/non-PCV-7 serotypes and resistance rates similar to those of the prevaccine era in the United States, the model not only predicted that a drastic change in frequencies should occur in 4 years but also that an increase in the percentage of nonsusceptible nonvaccine isolates was likely. Long term predictions of the model indicated replacement of PCV-7 serotypes with other serotypes, and, in the event of unchanged antibiotic exposure, a distribution of resistance levels peaked MIC values of >2 μg/mL in In conclusion, our predictions, now backed by field evidence, strongly suggest that resistance control is a key issue in the vaccine era. Reducing antibiotic exposure or updating the vaccine formulation should be considered, because both options lead to more optimistic predictions.
Exemplar-based Image Inpainting using Structure Tesnor

 This work was supported by the NSFC-Guangdong Joint Foundation Key Project (Grant No. U1135003), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.60773043, 61070227) and the Foundation for Key Program of Ministry of Education of China (No. 309017). Abstract – Exemplar-based image inpainting techniques face two main problems. One is the decision of filling-in order which has a strong impact on image inpainting effect. Another problem is greedy search process while searching for the best exemplar patch. This paper presents a robust method for exemplar-based image inpainting based on structure tensor. The novel priority function is redefined. Experimentation results show that our image inpainting method improves the quality of image inpainting compared with the conventional exemplar-based image completion algorithms. Index Terms – Image inpainting, texture synthesis, exemplar, structure tensor, structural similarity (SSIM)
Enhanced Inversion Mobility on 4H-SiC $(\hbox{11}\overline{\hbox{2}} \hbox{0})$ Using Phosphorus and Nitrogen Interface Passivation

Low interface trap density and high channel mobility on nonpolar faces of 4H-SiC, such as the (11[2̅]0) a-face, are of fundamental importance in the understanding of SiC MOS devices. It is also critical for high-voltage trench power MOSFET development. We report new results on the passivation of the SiO2/a-face 4H-SiC interface using phosphorus, yielding field effect mobility of ~125 cm2/V · s. We also revisit the conventional NO passivation, for which a mobility of ~85 cm2/V · s was achieved on the a-face. These results not only establish new levels of mobility in SiC MOSFETS but also lead to further insights into factors currently limiting SiC inversion layer mobility.
Induction of NKG2D Ligands and Subsequent Enhancement of NK Cell-mediated Lysis of Cancer Cells by Arsenic Trioxide

Natural killer (NK) cells are important effector cells in immune responses to tumor cells and the activation of NK cells is mediated through specific interactions between activating receptors and their cognate ligands. Recently, it has been demonstrated that induction of NKG2D ligands on tumor cells by various stresses render them more sensitive to NK cell-mediated killing. Therefore, in this study, it was investigated whether arsenic trioxide (ATO) could up-regulate NKG2D ligands on tumor cells and increase the susceptibility of cancer cells against NK cells. ATO increased transcription of NKG2D ligands, predominantly ULBP1, in various cancer cell lines, such as K562 chronic myelogenous leukemic cells, NB4 acute promyelocytic leukemic cells, and MCF7 breast cancer cells, and subsequently the surface expression of NKG2D ligands. These results were followed by increased susceptibility of cancer cells to NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity after treatment with ATO. This increase in cytotoxicity was abolished by addition of a blocking NKG2D monoclonal antibody, indicating that the increased susceptibility of ATO-treated cancer cells to cytotoxicity of NK cells was mediated through up-regulation of NKG2D ligands. In addition, abrogation of heat shock proteins induction with KNK437 would sensitize the ATO-treated MCF-7 cells to NK cell-mediated killing. This study suggests that the immunomodulatory property of ATO would be an attractive strategy to improve the effectiveness of NK cell-based cancer immunotherapy.
Copper, iron, and selenium dietary deficiencies negatively impact skeletal integrity: A review

Nutrients have been known to have a significant role in maintaining the health of the skeleton, both bone and cartilage. The nutrients that have received the majority of the attention are Vitamin D and calcium. However, limited attention has been directed toward three trace elements that may have mechanistic impact upon the skeletal tissues and could compromise skeletal health resulting from inadequate intakes of copper, iron, and selenium. The role of copper and selenium has been known, but the role of iron has only received recent attention. Copper deficiency is thought to impact bone health by a decrease in lysyl oxidase, a copper-containing enzyme, which facilitates collagen fibril crosslinking. Iron deficiency impact upon bone has only recently been discovered but the exact mechanism on how the deficient states enhance bone pathology is speculative. Selenium deficiency has an impact on cartilage thereby having an indirect impact on bone. However, several studies suggest that a mycotoxin when consumed by humans is the culprit in some cartilage disorders and the presence of selenium could attenuate the pathology. This review summarizes the current knowledge base with respect to skeletal integrity when each of these three trace elements are inadequate in diets of both animals and humans.
Mechanistic explanations of community structure : Introduction Lep

Lepš, J., Goldberg, D.E. , Herben, T. & Palmer, M. — Mechanistic explanations of community structure: Introduction Stampfli, A. & Zeiter, M. — Plant species decline due to abandonment of meadows cannot easily be reversed by mowing. A case study from the southern Alps Brewer, S.W. & Rejmánek, M. — Small rodents as significant dispersers of tree seeds in a Neotropical forest Kotorová, I. & Lepš, J. — Comparative ecology of seedling recruitment in an oligotrophic wet meadow Braakhekke, W.G. & Hooftman, D.A. P. — The resource balance hypothesis of plant species diversity in grassland Lejeune, O. & Tlidi, M. — A model for the explanation of vegetation stripes (tiger bush) Klimeš, L. — Small-scale plant mobility in a species-rich grassland Lepš, J. — Nutrient status, disturbance and competition: an experimental test of relationships in a wet meadow Based on contributions presented at the session ‘Experimental tests of mechanistic hypotheses of community patterns’ at the 40th IAVS Symposium held in České Budějovice, 18 – 23 August, 1997.
Role of tumor necrosis factor-α in myocardial dysfunction and apoptosis during hindlimb ischemia and reperfusion

Objective:Peripheral vascular surgery involving limb ischemia/reperfusion is associated with tumor necrosis factor-α production and an increased risk of cardiac complications. The objective of this study was to investigate the role of tumor necrosis factor-α in myocardial apoptosis and dysfunction following hindlimb ischemia/reperfusion. Design:Randomized perspective animal study. Setting:Research laboratory. Subjects:Adults male tumor necrosis factor-α−/− and littermate wild-type mice. Interventions:Bilateral hindlimb ischemia/reperfusion was induced in wild-type and tumor necrosis factor-α−/− mice using tourniquet occlusion. After 2 hrs of hindlimb ischemia, the tourniquets were released, allowing reperfusion for 0.5–24 hrs. Measurements and Main Results:In wild-type mice, hindlimb ischemia/reperfusion resulted in myocardial depression early during the reperfusion period (p < .05). These effects were temporally correlated with enhanced levels of myocardial and plasma tumor necrosis factor-α. All variables were restored to baseline levels by 24 hrs of reperfusion. Myocardial apoptosis, assessed by cell death enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated biotin-dUTP nick-end labeling staining, and caspase-3 activity, was also significantly higher at 6 hrs of reperfusion (p < .05) but returned to baseline levels by 24 hrs. Interestingly, cardiac dysfunction and myocardial apoptosis were abolished in tumor necrosis factor-α−/− mice subjected to the same degree of hindlimb ischemia/reperfusion as the wild-type mice. Treatment of etanercept restored cardiac function in wild-type mice. Conclusions:Tumor necrosis factor-α contributes significantly to myocardial dysfunction and apoptosis in hindlimb ischemia/reperfusion. Although a causal link between myocardial apoptosis and cardiac dysfunction is not established, our study does suggest that tumor necrosis factor-α may be a potential therapeutic target for cardiac injury in clinical situations involving prolonged remote ischemia/reperfusion.
Low-Cost Wireless Monitoring and Decision Support for Water Saving in Agriculture

A decision support system based on the combination of the wireless sensor and actuation network technology and the fuzzy logic theory is proposed to support the irrigation management in agriculture. The farmers’ experience and the irrigation best practices are modeled through fuzzy rule sets, and the outputs of numerical soil and crop models are used to provide a context-aware and optimized irrigation schedule. The suggested actions are devoted to reduce the waste of water and to maximize the crop yield according to the weather conditions and the real water needs. The proposed methodology is embedded in the network gateway making the system, a truly smart and autonomous wireless decision support system. The numerical validation and the experiments performed in a vineyard in the north of Italy point out a considerable water saving respect to other state-of-the-art methods based on parameters thresholding, and an improved exploitation of the irrigated water thanks to the reduction of the percolation phenomenon without affecting the quality of the crops.
Pathogens, patterns of pneumonia, and epidemiologic risk factors associated with respiratory disease in recently weaned cattle in Ireland

We examined the pathogens, morphologic patterns, and risk factors associated with bovine respiratory disease (BRD) in 136 recently weaned cattle (“weanlings”), 6–12 mo of age, that were submitted for postmortem examination to regional veterinary laboratories in Ireland. A standardized sampling protocol included routine microbiologic investigations as well as polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry. Lungs with histologic lesions were categorized into 1 of 5 morphologic patterns of pneumonia. Fibrinosuppurative bronchopneumonia (49%) and interstitial pneumonia (48%) were the morphologic patterns recorded most frequently. The various morphologic patterns of pulmonary lesions suggest the involvement of variable combinations of initiating and compounding infectious agents that hindered any simple classification of the etiopathogenesis of the pneumonias. Dual infections were detected in 58% of lungs, with Mannheimia haemolytica and Histophilus somni most frequently recorded in concert. M. haemolytica (43%) was the most frequently detected respiratory pathogen; H. somni was also shown to be frequently implicated in pneumonia in this age group of cattle. Bovine parainfluenza virus 3 (BPIV-3) and Bovine respiratory syncytial virus (16% each) were the viral agents detected most frequently. Potential respiratory pathogens (particularly Pasteurella multocida, BPIV-3, and H. somni) were frequently detected (64%) in lungs that had neither gross nor histologic pulmonary lesions, raising questions regarding their role in the pathogenesis of BRD. The breadth of respiratory pathogens detected in bovine lungs by various detection methods highlights the diagnostic value of parallel analyses in respiratory disease postmortem investigation.