Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Functional ENTPD1 Polymorphisms in African Americans With Diabetes and End-Stage Renal Disease

OBJECTIVE The vascular ectonucleotidase ENTPD1 protects against renal injury and modulates glucose homeostasis in mouse models. We sought to determine whether human variation in ENTPD1 influences predisposition to diabetes or diabetic nephropathy. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We analyzed ENTPD1 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 363 African American control subjects, 380 subjects with type 2 diabetes and end-stage renal disease (DM-ESRD), and 326 subjects with ESRD unrelated to diabetes (non–DM-ESRD). Using human cell lines, we correlated disease-associated ENTPD1 haplotypes with ENTPD1 gene expression. Finally, we studied consequences of ENTPD1 deletion in a mouse model of type 2 diabetes (db/db). RESULTS A common ENTPD1 two-SNP haplotype was associated with increased risk for DM-ESRD (P = 0.0027), and an uncommon four-SNP haplotype was associated with protection against DM-ESRD (P = 0.004). These haplotypes correlated with ENTPD1 gene expression levels in human cell lines in vitro. Subjects with high ENTPD1-expressing haplotypes were enriched in the DM-ESRD group. By crossing ENTPD1-null mice with db mice, we show that ENTPD1 deletion has prominent effects on metabolic syndrome traits. Specifically, deletion of ENTPD1 lowered glucose levels in control (db/−) mice with one functional leptin receptor and dramatically lowered weights in db/db mice with no functional leptin receptors. Similar effects were seen in aged ENTPD1-null mice with normal leptin receptors. CONCLUSIONS ENTPD1 polymorphisms appear to influence susceptibility to type 2 diabetes and/or diabetic nephropathy in African Americans. Studies in human cell lines and in vivo mouse data support a potential role for ENTPD1 genetic variation in susceptibility to type 2 diabetes.
Memory system support for image processing

Image processing applications tend to access their data non-sequentially and reuse that data infrequently. As a result, they tend to perform poorly on conventional memory systems due to high cache and TLB miss rates and are particularly sensitive to the growing latency of main memory. We analyze the memory performance of three image processing algorithms (volume rendering, image warping and image filtering) on both a conventional memory system and on the Impulse memory system. The Impulse memory system allows application software to control how, when, and where data are loaded into a conventional processor cache. It does this by letting software configure how the memory controller interprets the physical addresses exported by the processor, which enables an application to dynamically change how data are fetched. Sparse data can be accessed densely, which improves both cache and TLB utilization, and memory latency is hidden by prefetching data within the memory controller. We find that for these image processing codes, using an Impulse memory system yields speedups of 40% to 226% over an otherwise identical machine with a conventional memory system.
Planning with Loops

Unlike the case for sequential and conditional planning, much of the work on iterative planning (planning where loops may be needed) leans heavily on theorem-proving. This paper does the following: it proposes a different approach where generating plans is decoupled from verifying them; describes the implementation of an iterative planner based on the situation calculus; presents a few examples illustrating the sorts of plans that can be generated; shows some of the strengths and weaknesses of the approach; and finally sketches the beginnings of a theory, where validation of plans is done offline.
The Influence of Chronic Cerebral Hypoperfusion on Cognitive Function and Amyloid β Metabolism in APP Overexpressing Mice

Background and Purpose Cognitive impairment resulting from cerebrovascular insufficiency has been termed vascular cognitive impairment, and is generally accepted to be distinct from Alzheimer's disease resulting from a neurodegenerative process. However, it is clear that this simple dichotomy may need revision in light of the apparent occurrence of several shared features between Alzheimer's disease and vascular cognitive impairment. Nevertheless, it still remains largely unknown whether the burden of vascular- and Alzheimer-type neuropathology are independent or interdependent. Therefore, we investigated whether chronic cerebral hypoperfusion influences cognitive ability or amyloid β deposition in amyloid precursor protein (APP) overexpressing transgenic mice. Methods Two months old mice overexpressing a mutant form of the human APP bearing both the Swedish and Indiana mutations (APPSw/Ind-Tg mice), or their wild-type littermates, were subjected to chronic cerebral hypoperfusion with bilateral common carotid artery stenosis (BCAS) using microcoils or sham operation. Barnes maze test performance and histopathological findings were analyzed at eight months old by 2×2 factorial experimental designs with four groups. Results BCAS-operated APPSw/Ind-Tg mice showed significantly impaired learning ability compared to the other three groups of mice. Two-way repeated measures analysis of variance showed a synergistic interaction between the APP genotype and BCAS operation in inducing learning impairment. The cognitive performances were significantly correlated with the neuronal densities. BCAS significantly reduced the density of Nissl-stained neurons and silver-stained cored plaques in the hippocampus of APPSw/Ind-Tg mice but increased the amount of filter-trap amyloid β in the extracellular-enriched soluble brain fraction, compared to those from sham operated mice. Conclusions The results suggest interaction between chronic cerebral hypoperfusion and APPSw/Ind overexpression in cognitive decline in mice through enhanced neuronal loss and altered amyloid β metabolism.
On the integration of artifact lifecycles

Artifact-based processes do not only unify databases and how data tuples are processed through their lifecycles but they also provide a new paradigm to easily express the way business activities should evolve towards achieving goals. In this paper, we tackle the problem of integrating heterogeneous artifacts from different sources in order to provide unified views for managing them. To this end, we introduce an artifact lifecycle integration approach augmented with sets of first-order logic rules to specify mapping and correspondence relationships between artifact lifecycles. Our integration approach is a first step towards a full artifact integration approach taking into account the semantics and complexity of integrating artifact constructs (e.g., information models, states, lifecycles, tasks and conditions).
Simulating energy, water and CO2 fluxes at representative desert ecosystems over Central Asia

In current terrestrial ecosystem modelling used by hydrological and biochemical cycle researchers, arid and semiarid biomes should receive much more attention because they cover a large proportion of total land area. Limited understanding of ecophysiological parameters of desert shrubs makes it very difficult to estimate evapotranspiration with ecosystem models over Central Asia. This research determined two important parameters, the initial quantum efficiency ( ) and the maximum carboxylation rate (Vcmax), required in the current widely used modelling strategies for two desert shrubs (Haloxylon ammodendron and Tamarix ramosissima). The photosynthetic parameters were applied to a coupled model of stomatal conductance, photosynthesis and transpiration to simulate the diurnal dynamics of transpiration and seasonal patterns of evapotranspiration and soil evaporation. The stomatal conductance, photosynthesis, and transpiration models were adopted from Ball-Berry, Farquhar (for C3), Collatz (for C4), and Shuttleworth-Wallace as commonly parameterised in most current terrestrial ecosystem models. It was found that the Shuttleworth-Wallace model was able to explain 61% and 52% of the variances of the measured transpiration for Tamarix ramosissima and Haloxylon ammodendron, respectively. In addition, the model explained 78% and 57% of the variances of the observed total evapotranspiration and soil evaporation for a desert ecosystem where Tamarix ramosissima is sparsely distributed. This result suggests that the Shuttleworth-Wallace model implemented with a coupled photosynthesis-stomatal conductance-transpiration modelling strategy is a promising approach for estimating evapotranspiration in desert ecosystems over Central Asia. In contrast, a very simple format of evapotranspiration modelling approach, the Priestley-Taylor model, was only able to yield a fair estimation of evapotranspiration during some periods of the growing season even though the soil moisture effect is integrated into the Priestley-Taylor parameter. We recommend that the physically-based Shuttleworth-Wallace model be used for estimating evapotranspiration in related ecohydrological research in desert ecosystems over Central Asia.
Symptom profile as assessed on delirium rating scale-revised-98 of delirium in respiratory intensive care unit: A study from India

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the phenomenology of delirium in patients admitted in a Respiratory Intensive Care Unit (RICU). Methods: Consecutive patients admitted to RICU were screened for delirium using Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale (RASS), Confusion Assessment Method for ICU (CAM-ICU) assessment tool and those found positive for delirium were evaluated by a psychiatrist to confirm the diagnosis. Those with a diagnosis of delirium as per the psychiatrist were evaluated on Delirium Rating Scale-Revised-98 (DRS-R-98) to study phenomenology. Results: All the 75 patients fulfilled the criteria of “acute onset of symptoms” and “presence of an underlying physical disorder” as per the DRS-R-98. Commonly seen symptoms of delirium included disturbances in attention (100%), thought process abnormality (100%), fluctuation in symptoms (97.33%) disturbance in, sleep-wake cycle, language disturbance (94.7%), disorientation (81.33%), and short-term memory impairments (73.33%). No patient had delusions and very few (5.3%) reported perceptual disturbances. According to RASS subtyping, hypoactive delirium was the most common subtype (n = 34; 45.33%), followed by hyperactive subtype (n = 28; 37.33%) and a few patients had mixed subtype of delirium (n = 13; 17.33%). Factor structure of DRS-R-98 symptoms yielded 3 factors (Factor-1: cognitive factor; Factor-2: motoric factor; Factor-3; thought, language, and fluctuation factor). Conclusion: The phenomenology of delirium in ICU patients is similar to non-ICU patients, but hypoactive delirium is the most common subtype.
Disturbance, Restoration, and Soil Carbon Dynamics in Desert and Tropical Ecosystems

Author(s): Swanson, Amanda Cantu | Advisor(s): Allen, Edith B | Abstract: Disturbances, natural or anthropogenic, alter ecosystem functioning by changing the biotic composition, biogeochemical cycling, or the physical structure of an environment. As carbon dioxide is a major contributor to global climate change, disturbances to different components of the carbon (C) cycle may further affect atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Soils store vast amounts of C and have the potential to sequester or release CO2. Two of the most extreme ecosystems, deserts and tropical forests, play an important role in the global C cycle, storing C in soils and vegetative biomass. The overarching objective of this dissertation is to quantify changes in soil C cycling after a disturbance in desert and tropical ecosystems. My first chapter addressed how soil inorganic C cycling changes with vegetation removal in a Colorado desert ecosystem. Through manipulative field and lab experiments, I explored changes in C pools after vegetation removal by measuring changes in the isotopic composition of C pools and effluxed CO2. I found that there were significant changes in C cycling after the vegetation was removed; there were fewer newer C inputs and that a greater proportion of CO2 comes soil inorganic C in unvegetated soils. For my second chapter, I looked at soil C recovery with revegetation of Larrea tridentata, finding that there was some recovery of the water extractable organic and microbial biomass C pools. Although the isotopic composition of soil carbon pools did not change with restoration, I also found some seasonal patterns such that changes in soil C pools may have been linked to timing of shrub and microbial activity. My third chapter addressed spatial differences in root and hyphal dynamics and production associated with soil disturbances created by leaf cutter ants (LCA). I collected continuous soil data and automated minirhizotron images to assess belowground dynamics, finding that LCA altered their soil environment and increase root and hyphal production in LCA nests. Overall, my dissertation work demonstrates that disturbances impact various components of the C cycle and that changes to C cycling processes may change how relevant those processes are at different temporal and spatial scales.
Inflammatory macrophage phenotype in BTBR T+tf/J mice

Although autism is a behaviorally defined disorder, many studies report an association with increased pro-inflammatory cytokine production. Recent characterization of the BTBR T+tf/J (BTBR) inbred mouse strain has revealed several behavioral characteristics including social deficits, repetitive behavior, and atypical vocalizations which may be relevant to autism. We therefore hypothesized that, asocial BTBR mice, which exhibit autism-like behaviors, may have an inflammatory immune profile similar to that observed in children with autism. The objectives of this study were to characterize the myeloid immune profile of BTBR mice and to explore their associations with autism-relevant behaviors. C57BL/6J (C57) mice and BTBR mice were tested for social interest and repetitive self-grooming behavior. Cytokine production was measured in bone-marrow derived macrophages incubated for 24 h in either growth media alone, LPS, IL-4/LPS, or IFNγ/LPS to ascertain any M1/M2 skewing. After LPS stimulation, BTBR macrophages produced higher levels of IL-6, MCP-1, and MIP-1α and lower IL-10 (p < 0.01) than C57 mice, suggesting an exaggerated inflammatory profile. After exposure to IL-4/LPS BTBR macrophages produced less IL-10 (p < 0.01) than C57 macrophages and more IL-12p40 (p < 0.01) suggesting poor M2 polarization. Levels of IL-12(p70) (p < 0.05) were higher in BTBR macrophages after IFNγ/LPS stimulation, suggesting enhanced M1 polarization. We further observed a positive correlation between grooming frequency, and production of IL-12(p40), IL-12p70, IL-6, and TNFα (p < 0.05) after treatment with IFNγ/LPS across both strains. Collectively, these data suggest that the asocial BTBR mouse strain exhibits a more inflammatory, or M1, macrophage profile in comparison to the social C57 strain. We have further demonstrated a relationship between this relative increase in inflammation and repetitive grooming behavior, which may have relevance to repetitive and stereotyped behavior of autism.
ScatterTouch: a multi touch rubber sheet scatter plot visualization for co-located data exploration

This paper introduces a touch-sensitive two-dimensional scatter plot visualization, to explore and analyze movie data. The design focuses on the ability to work co-located with several users. These are able to create several focus regions through distortion techniques triggered by multi touch gestures. Furthermore, the introduced visualization is an example how promising concepts from InfoVis research can be transferred onto multi touch tables in order to offer more natural interaction.
Extensions of closeness centrality?

The concept of vertex centrality has long been studied in order to help understand the structure and dynamics of complex networks. It has found wide applicability in practical as well as theoretical areas. Closeness centrality is one of the fundamental approaches to centrality, but one difficulty with using it is that it degenerates for disconnected graphs. Some alternate versions of closeness centrality have been proposed which rectify this problem. This paper points out that these are not true extensions of closeness centrality in the sense that they do not rank the vertices of connected graphs in the same way that closeness centrality does.
Towards management of machine to machine networks

Machine to Machine (M2M) technology has the potential to increase the revenue, decrease the costs and improve the customer services of an organization. We have analyzed the management requirements of M2M systems, which are based on existing M2M network use cases and services. The most important characteristics including sleeping devices, low power lossy area networks, heterogeneous networks, device intelligence, mobility, two way communication, network dynamics, time sensitivity of data and data volume of M2M systems have been comprehensively investigated and reflected in management requirements discussed in this paper. The main management functionalities are fault, configuration, mobility, QoS and security management.
Green Coordinates

We introduce Green Coordinates for closed polyhedral cages. The coordinates are motivated by Green's third integral identity and respect both the vertices position and faces orientation of the cage. We show that Green Coordinates lead to space deformations with a shape-preserving property. In particular, in 2D they induce conformal mappings, and extend naturally to quasi-conformal mappings in 3D. In both cases we derive closed-form expressions for the coordinates, yielding a simple and fast algorithm for cage-based space deformation. We compare the performance of Green Coordinates with those of Mean Value Coordinates and Harmonic Coordinates and show that the advantage of the shape-preserving property is not achieved at the expense of speed or simplicity. We also show that the new coordinates extend the mapping in a natural analytic manner to the exterior of the cage, allowing the employment of partial cages.
Prevalence of Comorbidities and Their Impact on Hospital Management and Short-Term Outcomes in Vietnamese Patients Hospitalized with a First Acute Myocardial Infarction

Background Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in Vietnam. We conducted a pilot study of Hanoi residents hospitalized with a first acute myocardial infarction (AMI) at the Vietnam National Heart Institute in Hanoi for purposes of describing the prevalence of cardiovascular (CVD) and non-CVD comorbidities and their impact on hospital management, in-hospital clinical complications, and short-term mortality in these patients. Methods The study population consisted of 302 Hanoi residents hospitalized with a first AMI at the largest tertiary care medical center in Hanoi in 2010. Results The average age of study patients was 66 years and one third were women. The proportions of patients with none, any 1, and ≥ 2 CVD comorbidities were 34%, 42%, and 24%, respectively. Among the CVD comorbidities, hypertension was the most commonly reported (59%). There were decreasing trends in the proportion of patients who were treated with effective cardiac medications and coronary interventions as the number of CVD comorbidities increased. Patients with multiple CVD comorbidities tended to develop acute clinical complications and die at higher rates during hospitalization compared with patients with no CVD comorbidities (Odds Ratio: 1.40; 95% Confidence Interval: 0.40–4.84). Conclusions Our data suggest that patients with multiple cardiac comorbidities tended to experience high in-hospital death rates in the setting of AMI. Full-scale surveillance of Hanoi residents hospitalized with AMI at all Hanoi hospitals is needed to confirm these findings. Effective strategies to manage Vietnamese patients hospitalized with AMI who have multiple comorbidities are warranted to improve their short-term prognosis.
International Journal of Food Engineering Effects of Dry Ice and Superchilling on Quality and Shelf Life of Arctic Charr ( Salvelinus alpinus ) Fillets

The influence of different cooling techniques (dry ice/ice packs) and storage temperature (-2°C/3°C) to prolong the shelf life of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) fillets were evaluated by sensory analysis, physical methods, chemical and microbial analysis. The effects of storage temperature were stronger than of different cooling agents. Superchilling (-2°C) of fillets packed with dry ice resulted in 6 days extension of shelf life compared to chilling (3°C). The use of dry ice parallel to superchilling prolonged shelf life for 1 day compared to fillets stored with ice packs. No negative effects on quality of the fillets where detected that could be linked to cell destruction caused by partial freezing or to sour taste, caused by absorption of CO2 gas in fish flesh.
TherMAP - Assessing Subsurface Temperatures in Australia from a Geothermal Systems Perspective

Understanding the distribution of subsurface temperatures is an important early step in a geothermal exploration process. With the exception of a few areas of hot springs, there are no surface manifestations of anomalous temperature at depth in Australia. The Australian continent has no active magmatism, the deep heat flow regime is conductive, and thick layers of insulating sediments are necessary to obtain elevated temperatures at depths suitable for electricity generation or industrial use. The distribution of direct temperature measurements and surface heat flow determinations is described in Gerner and Holgate (2010). The majority of these measurements were made by the petroleum industry and, while there are over 5000 wells, they are heterogeneously distributed, resulting in unconstrained temperature uncertainties over many parts of the continent. An alternative approach is needed to provide indications of temperature at depth in uncharacterised areas, so that the whole of Australia can be evaluated for geothermal prospectivity. A new approach for developing a 3D temperature map of the Australian continent is being developed that combines available proxy data using high-performance computing and large continental-scale datasets. The Thermal Map from Assessed Proxies (TherMAP) is a new 3D modelling approach that brings together up-to-date national-scale datasets collected by Geoscience Australia and others, including OzTemp, OZ SEEBASE TM , OZCHEM, surface temperature, Australian Geological Provinces, Moho depth, thermal conductivity of sedimentary basins and the National Gravity Map of Australia. Bringing together such a range of datasets provides a geoscientific basis by which to estimate temperature in regions where direct observations are not available. Furthermore, the performance of computing facilities, such as the Australian National University’s (ANU) National Computational Infrastructure (NCI), is enabling insights into the nature of Australia’s geothermal resources that had not been previously available. This includes developing an understanding of the errors involved in such a mapping study through the quantification of uncertainties. At this stage the reported uncertainties around thermal anomalies remain high, but still provide a basis by which to assess temperature estimates at different locations. Encouragingly, TherMAP has been able to reproduce many observed temperature features without using direct bore-hole temperature observations as an input into the modelling process. Furthermore, a number of areas have been identified, due to the difference in estimated temperature distributions from previous methods, which may warrant further study.