Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Osteogenic Responses of Human Mesenchymal Stromal Cells to Static Stretch

Molecular signals driving the regenerative process in distraction osteogenesis (DO) involve a complex system of cellular behavior triggered by mechanical strain. However, it remains unclear how mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) adapt to osteogenic demands during DO. We hypothesized that human MSCs (hMSCs) modulate early osteogenic metabolism during exposure to static stretch. The proliferation of hMSCs was increased by static stretch, which, in turn, suppressed TGF-β1-mediated decreases in cell proliferation. The amount of stretching force applied had little effect on osteoblast differentiation of hMSCs induced by dexamethasone treatment. However, this strain induced sustained production of nitric oxide and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which are critical factors in angiogenesis, from differentiated hMSCs. Mechanical stretch involved ERK and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways, the selective inhibitors of which decreased static-stretch-induced VEGF production. These findings provide evidence that hMSCs act to facilitate early osteogenic metabolism during exposure to static stretch.
GMD-SNAKE2: a snake-like robot driven by wheels and a method for motion control

Based on the experience with our first GMD-SNAKE, we now present the next generation robot, the GMD-SNAKE2, which is a robot for inspection tasks in areas difficult to access by humans. We aim to imitate the natural scale-driven propulsion of a snake by wheels around the body. After a description of our robot we concentrate on a method for motion control. It allows a very flexible and consistent method of path planning and calculation where smooth curves are desired. It is applicable not only to snake-like movement, but to any wheeled robot which is able to control the curvature of its path.
Improve K-means clustering for audio data by exploring a reasonable sampling rate

K-means clustering is sensitive to starting points and its time cost is expensive for large scale of data, such as audio. Sampling approach is widely applied to find “better” starting points for speeding up the clustering converging procedure. However, how to choose a reasonable sampling-rate remains a problem. In this paper, we reported our initial exploration of locating reasonable sampling-rates for different datasets. The procedure progressively increases sampling-rates and choose the cluster centers in the previous stage as the starting points for next clustering. The resulted relationship curve between sampling-rate and iteration number illustrates a turning point as reasonable sampling-rate. Based on two audio experimental data, the procedure can more efficiently cluster data while keeping similar clustering quality.
Symptoms of depression and anxiety after cardiac arrest.

OBJECTIVES The aim of the study was to assess the incidence of depression and anxiety symptoms in patients after cardiac arrest (SCA) in relation to patients with a history of myocardial infarction without SCA and in healthy individuals. The analysis of the impact of selected socio-demographic and clinical parameters and duration of SCA on the presence and severity of depression and anxiety symptoms in different groups was also performed. METHODS The study involved 30 patients after SCA and 31 patients with a history of myocardial infarction without SCA. The control group consisted of 30 healthy subjects. To assess the mental state, a specially developed questionnaire was used, while the presence and severity of the symptoms were assessed using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) and the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A). RESULTS Statistically, a significantly higher average level of depression and a higher incidence of anxiety was demonstrated in patients after a sudden cardiac arrest (study group) and after myocardial infarction (reference group) compared with the control group. There were no statistically significant differences in the incidence of anxiety between the study and reference groups. No impact of the duration of cardiac arrest on the incidence of depression and anxiety symptoms in the study group was observed. CONCLUSIONS In the group of people with a history of cardiac arrest, the most common mental disorder is depression. Anxiety and depression are significantly more frequent in patients with a history of SCA than in healthy individuals. There were no differences in the incidence and severity of depression symptoms in patients after SCA compared to patients after myocardial infarction without SCA. The described socio-demographic parameters and clinical characteristics had no impact on the symptoms of depression and anxiety in the investigated groups.
A review of the use of human papilloma virus (HPV) in cervical screening

Abstract Using key words online databases were searched to identify relevant publications to review the use of Human papilloma virus (HPV) in cervical screening. The mode of cervical screening in the UK has been decided but implementation plans have yet to be announced. The protracted uncertainty surrounding the initial announcement to move to HPV primary screening together with the lack of a national steer has resulted in a flight of staff which threatens the provision of the current and future service. The transition will be a challenging time but analysis of data from more than 176,000 women has shown clear evidence of a reduction in the incidence of cancer where HPV testing is used. There will however, be a population of women who are cytologically negative but high-risk HPV positive and the management of these women will be key to maximising the benefits of HPV primary screening. As cervical cytology becomes increasingly rare its effectiveness and role in cervical screening will come under scrutiny and we must ensure the specificity of reporting is maintained in order for it to survive.
Ontological conjunctive query answering over semi-structured KBs

In the context of ontological conjunctive query answering different paradigms for representation and their subsequent manipulation by dedicated reasoning systems have been successfully studied in the past. However, new challenges, problems and issues have appeared in the context of knowledge representation in AI that involve the logical manipulation of increasingly large information sets (see for example the Semantic Web). In this paper we explain these challenges by the means of an example and try to further identify the difficulties ahead of our goal.
The reliability and validity of the physical activity survey in long-term care.

The purpose of this study was to develop and test a measure of physical activity for residents in long-term-care facilities, the Physical Activity Survey in Long-Term Care (PAS-LTC). Sixty-six activities are included in the PAS-LTC: routine physical activity, personal-care activities, structured exercise, recreational activities, caretaking activities, and repetitive activities. The study included 13 residents in a long-term-care facility, most of whom were women (62%), with an average age of 84 years (+/- 6.0) and an average Mini Mental State Examination score of 6 (+/- 6.9). There was evidence of interrater reliability of the PAS-LTC with intraclass correlations of . 83-. 94. There was some evidence of validity of the measure with statistically significant correlations between PAS-LTC recorded during the evening and night shifts and the number of counts of activity per the ActiGraph (r = .60 and r = .57, respectively, p < .05) and the calories estimated (r = .58 and r = .60, respectively, p < .05). The PAS-LTC completed during the day shift and total activity based on the PAS-LTC showed nonsignificant correlations of . 40 or greater with the ActiGraph activity counts and calories.
Data-driven wavefield focusing and imaging with multidimensional deconvolution: Numerical examples for reflection data with internal multiples

Standard imaging techniques rely on the single scattering assumption. This requires that the recorded data do not include internal multiples, i.e., waves that have bounced multiple times between reflectors before reaching the receivers at the acquisition surface. When multiple reflections are present in the data, standard imaging algorithms incorrectly image them as ghost reflectors. These artifacts can mislead interpreters in locating potential hydrocarbon reservoirs. Recently, we introduced a new approach for retrieving the Green’s function recorded at the acquisition surface due to a virtual source located at depth. We refer to this approach as data-driven wavefield focusing. Additionally, after applying source-receiver reciprocity, this approach allowed us to decompose the Green’s function at a virtual receiver at depth in its downgoing and upgoing components. These wavefields were then used to create a ghost-free image of the medium with either crosscorrelation or multidimensional deconvolution, presenting an advantage over standard prestack migration. We tested the robustness of our approach when an erroneous background velocity model is used to estimate the first-arriving waves, which are a required input for the datadriven wavefield focusing process. We tested the new method with a numerical example based on a modification of the Amoco model.
Bipartite Structure of Working Memory

The problem whether working memory (WM) structure is unitary or bipartite is being analysed in the present paper. We modified an original unitary ACT-R theory introducing a model of WM that assumes its two distinct substructures: a focus of attention (FA) and an activated part of memory outside FA. The access to the focus of attention is serial while the retrieval from the activated part of memory is parallel. We present results from a recognition memory task and we simulate these data with the manipulation in one crucial parameter of our bipartite model: the capacity of FA. We suggest that explanation of our data would be difficult to obtain on a ground of the original unitary ACT-R theory and thus we claim that bipartite model of WM fit the data better.
Impact of climate change on national vulnerability

The issue of climate change is a topic of close concern to both domestic and foreign society, and it is also an important issue affecting the sustainable development of all mankind. This article explains the impact of climate change on the country in two representative countries: Chad and Afghanistan. To measure a country’s vulnerability index and how it is affected by climate change, we identified four main indicators of climate change: temperature, precipitation, forest area, and agricultural land area to analyse the country’s vulnerability index. The indirect effects of climate change are measured using the Spearman coefficient matrix.
A new architecture for the implementation of force-feedback tunable mechanical monolithic horizontal sensor

This paper describes a new mechanical version of the monolithic tunable folded pendulum, developed at the University of Salerno, configurable both as seismometer and, in a force-feedback configuration, as accelerometer. Typical applications of the sensors are in the field of geophysics, including the study of seismic and newtonian noise for characterization of suitable sites for underground interferometers for gravitational waves detection. The sensor, shaped with precision machining and electric-discharge machining, is a very compact instrument, very sensitive in the low-frequency seismic noise band, with a very good immunity to environmental noises. Important characteristics are the tunable resonance frequency and the integrated laser optical readout, consisting of an optical lever and/or an interferometer. The theoretical sensitivity curves, largely improved due to a new design of the pendulum arms and of the electronics, are in a very good agreement with the measurements. The results of the monolithic sensor as accelerometer (force feed-back configuration) are also presented and discussed.
Methamphetamine-Induced Dopamine Transporter Complex Formation and Dopaminergic Deficits: The Role of D2 Receptor Activation

Methamphetamine (METH) abuse is a serious public health issue. Of particular concern are findings that repeated high-dose administrations of METH cause persistent dopaminergic deficits in rodents, nonhuman primates, and humans. Previous studies have also revealed that METH treatment causes alterations in the dopamine transporter (DAT), including the formation of higher molecular mass DAT-associated complexes. The current study extends these findings by examining mechanisms underlying DAT complex formation. The association among DAT complex formation and other METH-induced phenomena, including alterations in vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) immunoreactivity, astrocytic activation [as assessed by increased glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) immunoreactivity], and persistent dopaminergic deficits was also explored. Results revealed that METH-induced DAT complex formation and reductions in VMAT2 immunoreactivity precede increases in GFAP immunoreactivity. Furthermore, and as reported previously for DAT complexes, pretreatment with the D2 receptor antagonist eticlopride [S-(−)-3-chloro-5-ethyl-N-[(1-ethyl-2-pyrrolidinyl)methyl]-6-hydroxy-2-methoxybenzamide hydrochloride] attenuated the decrease in VMAT2 immunoreactivity as assessed 24 h after METH treatment. DAT complexes distinct from those present 24 h after METH treatment, decreases in VMAT2 immunoreactivity, and increased GFAP immunoreactivity were present 48 to 72 h after METH treatment. Pretreatment with eticlopride attenuated each of these phenomena. Finally, DAT complexes were present 7 days after METH treatment, a time point at which VMAT2 and DAT monomer immunoreactivity were also reduced. Eticlopride pretreatment attenuated each of these phenomena. These findings provide novel insight into not only receptor-mediated mechanisms underlying the effects of METH but also the interaction among factors that probably are associated with the persistent dopaminergic deficits caused by the stimulant.
Successive Rank-One Approximations for Nearly Orthogonally Decomposable Symmetric Tensors

Many idealized problems in signal processing, machine learning, and statistics can be reduced to the problem of finding the symmetric canonical decomposition of an underlying symmetric and orthogonally decomposable (SOD) tensor. Drawing inspiration from the matrix case, the successive rank-one approximation (SROA) scheme has been proposed and shown to yield this tensor decomposition exactly, and a plethora of numerical methods have thus been developed for the tensor rank-one approximation problem. In practice, however, the inevitable errors (say) from estimation, computation, and modeling necessitate that the input tensor can only be assumed to be a nearly SOD tensor---i.e., a symmetric tensor slightly perturbed from the underlying SOD tensor. This paper shows that even in the presence of perturbation, SROA can still robustly recover the symmetric canonical decomposition of the underlying tensor. It is shown that when the perturbation error is small enough, the approximation errors do not accumulate with .
The Biosynthesis of Porphyrins and Porphyrin Metabolism

The ensphasis at this symposium was on the biosynithesis amid intermediary nsetahohismss of porphyrins. Clinical problems and investigations were msot discussed, but one of the 5 half-day sessions was devoted to experimental porphyria in amsimals. The discussiomss were held unsder the chairmanship of Prof. C. Rimington of London. Six of the 26 pamsel Issemuh)ers were from the United States. The Symposium was opened by Shemin (Columbia, New York) who discimssed thuc msset abolic pathway of 1)orphyrin biosynthesis via the succinate-glycimse cycle. “Active” sitecinate derived from the tricarboxylic acid cycle, consdetises with glvcine to form a-ami 110-
Modeling and Transmission Optimization of Full-Duplex Energy Harvesting Enabled Hybrid Relaying

Energy harvesting (EH) enabled relaying has attracted lots of interests recently, as the network energy consumption can be reduced and the coverage range can be extended simultaneously. In most existing literatures, the Harvest-Store-Use (HSU) model is utilized to describe the energy flow behavior of the EH system. However, the half-duplex (HD) constraint of HSU that harvested energy can only be used for powering load after being temporally stored in energy storage unit may reduce the effective transmission time. Thus, we first model the full-duplex (FD) energy flow behavior of the EH system where harvested energy can be tuned to power load and being stored simultaneously, and then prove the FD model is equivalent to the HSU model when time interval is small enough. With consideration of some key physical variabilities, e.g., the wireless channel and the amount of harvested energy, and the energy consumption difference between FD and HD relaying protocols, we further model the transmission optimization problem to improve the utilization of harvested energy by optimizing the short-term throughput. Finally, to numerically obtain the optimized short-term throughput, we propose the joint power adaption, relay selection and transmission protocol switching algorithm. Results show that the performance of the proposed algorithm outperforms that of fixed relaying algorithms, e.g., the short-term throughput of the proposed algorithm is improved by about 40% comparing with fixed HD relaying algorithm, with 20 user equipments, and loop interference power and EH rate equal to 23 dB and 120 J/s, respectively.
As-sessing the Modifiability of two Object-oriented Design Alternatives - a Controlled Experiment Replication

This paper presents a replication study of a controlled experiment, investigating the impact of many design characteristics on one of the most desirable quality factors, modifiability. Two alternative design structures were used; a responsibility-driven (RD) versus a control-oriented “mainframe” (MF) design. Two groups of undergraduate students participated, each performing on one of the two designs. The subjects designed, implemented in Java, and tested a set of three maintenance tasks in order to assess the degree of their understanding, effort, and performance. The results indicate that the RD version due to its delocalised structure, exhibited higher correctness, better extensibility, and design stability, than the MF version. In order to provide an objective assessment of the differences between the two versions, a considerable number of metrics were used on the delivered solutions, quantifying separately each produced design’s characteristics.
Multiscale modelling of Notch-mediated lateral induction

A published model of Notch-mediated lateral induction is re-implemented as a multiscale model using Compucell3D. The implications of the model for regulatory processes during the growth of the endocardial cushions are investigated. During embryonic heart development, Notch signaling operates by lateral induction to demarcate the endocardial cells capable of an epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT). This process underlies much of the inner structure of the heart, including the heart valves. Thus it is key to an understanding of congenital heart defects. Notch has a direct role to play in regulating endocardial cadherin proteins. The resulting loss of endocardial cohesion contributes to EMT. Thus cells with a higher Notch activation are more disposed to EMT. The simulations indicate that Notch-mediated lateral induction could provide a simple mechanism for preferential growth towards the centers of the endocardial cushions.
Missing texture reconstruction via power spectrum-based sparse representation

This paper presents a method for missing texture reconstruction via power spectrum-based sparse representation. We reconstruct missing areas based on minimizing the mean square error between power spectra (P-MSE). In our method, missing areas are reconstructed by embedding some known patches. Mathematically, we obtain the optimal linear combination of measurement patches by P-MSE minimization. The optimization can be solved as a combinatorial problem based on sparse representation. In this way, the optimal approximation which minimizes the P-MSE is obtained and we embed it in the missing area. Experimental results show effectiveness of our method for reconstructing texture images.
Omnidirectional stereo systems for robot navigation

This paper discusses how stereo vision achieved through the use of omnidirectional sensors can help mobile robot navigation providing advantages, in terms of both versatility and performance, with respect to the classical stereo system based on two horizontally-displaced traditional cameras. The paper also describes an automatic calibration strategy for catadioptric omnidirectional sensors and results obtained using a stereo obstacle detection algorithm devised within a general framework in which, with some limitations, many existing algorithm designed for traditional cameras can be adapted for use with omnidirectional sensors.
Efficient Max-Norm Distance Computation for Reliable Voxelization

We present techniques to efficiently compute the distance under max-norm between a point and a wide class of geometric primitives. We formulate the distance computation as an optimization problem and use this framework to design efficient algorithms for convex polytopes, algebraic primitives and triangulated models. We extend them to handle large models using bounding volume hierarchies, and use rasterization hardware followed by local refinement for higher-order primitives. We use the max-norm distance computation algorithm to design a reliable voxel-intersection test to determine whether the surface of a primitive intersects a voxel. We use this test to perform reliable voxelization of solids and generate adaptive distance fields that provides a Hausdorff distance guarantee between the boundary of the original primitives and the reconstructed surface.
Anticholinesterase and pharmacokinetic profile of phenserine in healthy elderly human subjects.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the safety, maximum tolerated dose (MTD), pharmacokinetics (PK), and pharmacodynamics (PD) of the acetyl-selective anticholinesterase, phenserine tartrate, in healthy elderly subjects. METHODS 32 healthy elderly volunteers received single oral doses of phenserine tartrate (5-20 mg). Physical and vital signs were monitored over the ensuing 24 hours. Analyses were performed on plasma samples to determine PK, and PD were assessed using an erythrocyte acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition assay. RESULTS No serious adverse events (AEs) occurred; the most common were headache and vomiting. The MTD of phenserine tartrate was 10 mg. The Cmax and AUC(0-24) of phenserine increased with dose, but neither were dose-proportional. Subjects receiving 10 mg of phenserine tartrate had a Cmax of 1.95 ng/mL at 1.5 hours, and the mean peak inhibition (Imax) of AChE was 26% (range: 18-34%) at 1.75 hours (tImax) following dosing. The half-life of AChE inhibition (tI1/2) was 11 hours. Evaluation of PK/PD relationships suggested a linear correlation between plasma phenserine concentration and AChE inhibition in the blood. CONCLUSIONS Phenserine tartrate was safe and well tolerated when administered as a single oral dose of either 5 mg or 10 mg. An increase in the severity and frequency of AEs occurred at the 20 mg dose level.