Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of oscillometric blood pressure monitor BLT M9000 VET in anaesthetised healthy adult dogs

To examine agreement in anaesthetised dogs between invasive blood pressure measurements and measurements obtained with an oscillometric blood pressure monitor. MATERIALS AND METHODS Paired invasive and oscillometric measurements were taken in 24 dogs every 5 minutes during anaesthesia (9 to 37 measurements per dog). Agreement between measurement methods was explored using Bland-Altman plots. To determine the accuracy of the oscillometric measurements, the results were compared with the guidelines recommended by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine and the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation. RESULTS In total, 493 paired readings were obtained: 98·6% of oscillometric readings were successful. Biases (±standard deviation) for oscillometric readings of systolic arterial blood pressure and mean arterial blood pressure were 2·1 (±11·5) and -9·8 (±7·6) mm Hg, indicating slight over- and under-estimation, respectively, versus invasive measurements. More than 50% and 80% of systolic arterial and mean arterial pressure measurements were within 10 and 20 mmHg of invasively measured values, respectively. A large negative bias (-14·1 ±9·2 mmHg) against invasive measurements revealed that the oscillometric measures of diastolic arterial blood pressure measurements were under-estimated. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE In healthy adult anaesthetised dogs, this oscillometric monitor met the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine requirements for systolic arterial and mean arterial pressure measurement but failed to meet the requirements for the measurement of diastolic arterial pressure.
SIRT1 Polymorphisms Associate with Seasonal Weight Variation, Depressive Disorders, and Diastolic Blood Pressure in the General Population

SIRT1 polymorphisms have previously been associated with depressive and anxiety disorders. We aimed at confirming these earlier findings and extending the analyses to seasonal variations in mood and behavior. Three tag single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were selected to capture the common variation in the SIRT1 gene. 5910 individuals (with blood sample, diagnostic interview, self-report of on seasonal changes in mood and behavior) were selected from a representative Finnish nationwide population-based sample. Logistic and linear regression models were used to analyze the associations between the SNPs and depressive and anxiety disorders, metabolic syndrome (EGIR criteria) and its components, and health examination measurements, Homeostasis Model Assessments, and diagnoses of type 2 and type 1 diabetes. SIRT1 rs2273773 showed evidence of association with seasonal variation in weight (C-allele, OR = 0.85, 95% CI = 0.76–0.95, p = 0.005). In addition, our study gave further support for the association of SIRT1 gene with depressive disorders (rs3758391) and diastolic blood pressure (rs2273773).
Spatiotemporal Variation of the Quality, Origin, and Age of Particulate Organic Matter Transported by the Yangtze River (Changjiang)

Information on the age dynamics of particulate organic matter (POM) in large river systems is currently sparse and represents an important knowledge gap in our understanding of the global carbon cycle. Here we examine variations in organic geochemical characteristics of suspended sediments from the Changjiang (Yangtze River) system collected between 1997 and 2010. Higher particulate organic carbon content (POC%) values were observed in the middle reach, especially after 2003, and are attributed to the increase of in situ (aquatic) primary production associated with decreased total suspended matter concentrations. Corresponding Δ14C values from depth profiles taken in 2009 and 2010 indicate spatial and temporal variations in POC sources within the basin. Two isotopic mass balance approaches were explored to quantitatively apportion different sources of Changjiang POM. Results indicate that contributions of biomass and pre‐aged soil organic matter are dominant, regardless of hydrological conditions, with soil‐derived organic carbon comprising 17–56% of POC based on a Monte Carlo three‐end‐member mixing model. In contrast, binary mixing model calculations suggest that up to 80% of POC (2009 samples only) derived from biospheric sources. The emplacement of the Three Gorges Dam and resulting trapping of sediment from the upper reach of the watershed resulted in a modification of POM 14C ages in the reservoir. With the resulting decline in sediment load and increase in the proportion of modern POC in the lower reach, these changes in POM flux and composition of the Changjiang have significant implications for downstream carbon cycle processes.
Neuroanatomical Study of the A11 Diencephalospinal Pathway in the Non-Human Primate

Background The A11 diencephalospinal pathway is crucial for sensorimotor integration and pain control at the spinal cord level. When disrupted, it is thought to be involved in numerous painful conditions such as restless legs syndrome and migraine. Its anatomical organization, however, remains largely unknown in the non-human primate (NHP). We therefore characterized the anatomy of this pathway in the NHP. Methods and Findings In situ hybridization of spinal dopamine receptors showed that D1 receptor mRNA is absent while D2 and D5 receptor mRNAs are mainly expressed in the dorsal horn and D3 receptor mRNA in both the dorsal and ventral horns. Unilateral injections of the retrograde tracer Fluoro-Gold (FG) into the cervical spinal enlargement labeled A11 hypothalamic neurons quasi-exclusively among dopamine areas. Detailed immunohistochemical analysis suggested that these FG-labeled A11 neurons are tyrosine hydroxylase-positive but dopa-decarboxylase and dopamine transporter-negative, suggestive of a L-DOPAergic nucleus. Stereological cell count of A11 neurons revealed that this group is composed by 4002±501 neurons per side. A 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1, 2, 3, 6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) intoxication with subsequent development of a parkinsonian syndrome produced a 50% neuronal cell loss in the A11 group. Conclusion The diencephalic A11 area could be the major source of L-DOPA in the NHP spinal cord, where it may play a role in the modulation of sensorimotor integration through D2 and D3 receptors either directly or indirectly via dopamine formation in spinal dopa-decarboxylase-positives cells.
On the Boundedness of the Spectral Factorization Mapping on Decomposing Banach Algebras

In [SIAM J. Control Optim. , 40 (2001), pp. 88-106], Jacob and Partington studied the continuity and boundedness of the spectral factorization mapping on decomposing Banach algebras. Many function spaces considered in systems theory are decomposing Banach algebras. The most well known example is the Wiener algebra, the space of all absolutely convergent Fourier series. Jacob and Partington showed in the above paper that the spectral factorization is locally Lipschitz continuous on all decomposing algebras, but unbounded on the most important examples of decomposing algebras. Our paper gives an extension of this result and shows that the spectral factorization mapping is unbounded on every decomposing algebra.
Mechanisms of functional improvement in a 2-year trial of cognitive enhancement therapy for early schizophrenia

Background Cognitive rehabilitation has emerged as an effective treatment for addressing cognitive impairments and functional disability in schizophrenia; however, the degree to which changes in various social and non-social cognitive processes translate into improved functioning during treatment remains unclear. This research sought to identify the neurocognitive and social-cognitive mechanisms of functional improvement during a 2-year trial of cognitive enhancement therapy (CET) for early-course schizophrenia. Method Patients in the early course of schizophrenia were randomly assigned to CET (n=31) or an enriched supportive therapy control (n=27) and treated for up to 2 years. A comprehensive neurocognitive assessment battery and the Mayer–Salovey–Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) were completed annually, along with measures of functioning. Mediator analyses using mixed-effects growth models were conducted to examine the effects of neurocognitive and social-cognitive improvement on functional change. Results Improvements over 2 years in neurocognition and the emotion management branch of the MSCEIT were found to be significantly related to improved functional outcome in early-course schizophrenia patients. Neurocognitive improvement, primarily in executive functioning, and social-cognitive change in emotion management also mediated the robust effects of CET on functioning. Conclusions Improvements in neurocognition and social cognition that result from cognitive rehabilitation are both significant mediators of functional improvement in early-course schizophrenia. Cognitive rehabilitation programs for schizophrenia may need to target deficits in both social and non-social cognition to achieve an optimal functional response.
Feedback methods for collision avoidance using virtual fixtures for robotic neurosurgery in deep and narrow spaces

Robotic assistance enables a surgeon to perform dexterous and precise manipulations. However, conducting robot assisted neurosurgery within the deep and narrow spaces of the brain presents the risk of unexpected collisions between the shafts of robotic instruments and their surroundings out of the microscopic view. Thus, we propose the provision of feedback using a truncated cone shaped virtual fixture generated by marking the edges of the top and bottom plane of a workspace in the deep and narrow spaces within the brain with the slave manipulator. The experimental results show that the virtual fixture generation method could precisely model the workspace. We also implemented force feedback, visual feedback, and motion scaling feedback in the microsurgical robotic system in order to inform the surgeon of the risk of collision. Performance of each feedback method and their combinations was evaluated in two experiments. The experimental results showed that the combination of the force and the visual feedback methods were the most beneficial for avoiding collisions.
Noninvasive Visualization of RNA Delivery with 99mTc-Radiolabeled Small-Interference RNA in Tumor Xenografts

Small-interference RNAs (siRNAs) are short, double-strand RNA molecules that target specific messenger RNAs for degradation via the process termed RNA interference. The efficacy of RNA interference depends greatly on effective delivery of siRNA, which calls for noninvasive methods for tracing siRNA in vivo. The purpose of this work was to develop a novel 99mTc-radiolabeled method to visualize siRNA targeting of a tumor biomarker of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) in HepG2 tumor xenografts. Methods: After conjugation with S-acetyl N-hydroxysuccinimide-mercaptoacetyltriglycine (NHS-MAG3), antisense RNA with 2′-O-methyl modification was annealed with sense strand to form a duplex and then radiolabeled with 99mTc. 99mTc-siRNAs were tested for stability in serum by measurement of radiochemical purity and for inhibitory activity by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting. In vitro cellular uptake was evaluated in HepG2 cells. Biodistribution studies and static imaging were performed in HepG2 tumor–bearing mice. Results: Radiochemical purity remained highly stable in saline and fresh human serum at room temperature and 37°C. Radiolabeled siRNA demonstrated strong inhibitory effects similar to those of unlabeled siRNA on both hTERT messenger RNA and protein in vitro. 99mTc-hTERT siRNA showed more uptake than did control siRNA in HepG2 cells after 1 h of incubation. After administration in HepG2 tumor–bearing mice, 99mTc-hTERT siRNA had significantly higher accumulation in tumors and a higher tumor-to-blood ratio than did control siRNA (P < 0.05). Scintigraphy of 99mTc-hTERT siRNA showed clear tumor images at 0.5, 1, 3, and 6 h after injection. In contrast, 99mTc-control siRNA failed to visualize the tumor. Ratios of uptake in tumor to uptake in contralateral region of hTERT-targeted siRNA were significantly higher than those of control siRNA (P < 0.05) at each time point. Conclusion: The 99mTc radiolabeling method with NHS-MAG3 chelator can be used successfully in siRNA radiolabeling, allowing for the noninvasive visualization of siRNA delivery in vivo.
An eLearning specification meets a game : authoring and integration with IMS Learning Design and < e-Adventure >

IMS Learning Design (IMS LD) is a specification to realize adaptive and interoperable Units of Learning. However, the authoring process remains difficult, mainly due to the lack of high-level authoring IMS LD tools. In order to improve this process, more powerful external resources could be used. Furthermore, the main challenges are a) the authoring process, and b) the integration between these external resources developed with other technologies and the personalized learning experience of an IMS LD Unit of Learning. On the other hand, electronic games and simulations (eGames) are useful for adaptive learning, as they can adapt content, flow and other features based on the user ́s inputs. The <e-Adventure> Project provides a full framework to develop conversational games that could be used together with IMS LD Units of Learning to improve personalized learning. The main challenge of this setting is the communication model between both parts, the IMS LD specification and <e-Adventure>, that enables a mutual influence of the adaptive learning experience. In this paper, we describe IMS LD and <e-Adventure>, their integration and communication model, and the authoring process to make the example case of a fully operational IMS LD Unit of Learning with an integrated eGame developed with <e-Adventure>.
Probabilistic broadcasting based on coverage area and neighbor confirmation in mobile ad hoc networks

Broadcasting is a fundamental and effective data dissemination mechanism for route discovery, address resolution and many other network services in ad hoc networks. While data broadcasting has many advantages, it also causes some problems such as the broadcast storm problem, which is characterized by redundant retransmission, collision, and contention. Although many approaches have been proposed to solve them, none of them guarantees the lowest bound. In this paper, we propose a probabilistic broadcasting based on coverage area and neighbor confirmation in mobile ad hoc networks. We use the coverage area of a node to adjust the rebroadcast probability. If a mobile node is located in the area closer to sender, which means it has small additional coverage and rebroadcast from this node can reach less additional nodes, its rebroadcast probability is set lower. On the other hand, if a mobile node is located in the area far from the sender, which means that the additional coverage from this node is large, its rebroadcast probability is set higher. The coverage area can be estimated from the distance between sender and receiver and the distance can be estimated by signal strength or Global Positional System. Our approach combines the advantages of probabilistic and area based approach. Simulation results show that our approach can improve the average performance of broadcasting in various network scenarios. Our approach is simple and can be easily implemented in MANET.
Oxidative DNA damage: mechanisms, mutation, and disease

Oxidative DNA damage is an inevitable consequence of cellular metabolism, with a propensity for increased levels following toxic insult. Although more than 20 base lesions have been identified, only a fraction of these have received appreciable study, most notably 8‐oxo‐2′deoxyguanosine. This lesion has been the focus of intense research interest and been ascribed much importance, largely to the detriment of other lesions. The present work reviews the basis for the biological significance of oxidative DNA damage, drawing attention to the multiplicity of proteins with repair activities along with a number of poorly considered effects of damage. Given the plethora of (often contradictory) reports describing pathological conditions in which levels of oxidative DNA damage have been measured, this review critically addresses the extent to which the in vitro significance of such damage has relevance for the pathogenesis of disease. It is suggested that some shortcomings associated with biomarkers, along with gaps in our knowledge, may be responsible for the failure to produce consistent and definitive results when applied to understanding the role of DNA damage in disease, highlighting the need for further studies. —Cooke, M. S. , Evans, M. D. , Dizdaroglu, M. , Lunec, J. Oxidative DNA damage: mechanisms, mutation, and disease. FASEB J. 17, 1195–1214 (2003)
A low-resources approach to Opinion Analysis: Machine Learning and Simple Approaches

In this paper I present a system for automatic opinion analysis built in a short time-frame using freely available open-source processing tools and lexical resources available from prior research. I use a simple feature-set that is largely language independent and a freely available machine-learning framework to model the subtasks as classification problems and report on my system’s performance. Additionally, I show that blind relevance feedback improves results sentencelevel relevance judgment. My system shows that it is possible to quickly build an opinion analysis system in a short period of time that can perform at an average level.
Bias‐reduced and separation‐proof conditional logistic regression with small or sparse data sets

Conditional logistic regression is used for the analysis of binary outcomes when subjects are stratified into several subsets, e.g. matched pairs or blocks. Log odds ratio estimates are usually found by maximizing the conditional likelihood. This approach eliminates all strata‐specific parameters by conditioning on the number of events within each stratum. However, in the analyses of both an animal experiment and a lung cancer case–control study, conditional maximum likelihood (CML) resulted in infinite odds ratio estimates and monotone likelihood. Estimation can be improved by using Cytel Inc.'s well‐known LogXact software, which provides a median unbiased estimate and exact or mid‐p confidence intervals. Here, we suggest and outline point and interval estimation based on maximization of a penalized conditional likelihood in the spirit of Firth's (Biometrika 1993; 80:27–38) bias correction method (CFL). We present comparative analyses of both studies, demonstrating some advantages of CFL over competitors. We report on a small‐sample simulation study where CFL log odds ratio estimates were almost unbiased, whereas LogXact estimates showed some bias and CML estimates exhibited serious bias. Confidence intervals and tests based on the penalized conditional likelihood had close‐to‐nominal coverage rates and yielded highest power among all methods compared, respectively. Therefore, we propose CFL as an attractive solution to the stratified analysis of binary data, irrespective of the occurrence of monotone likelihood. A SAS program implementing CFL is available at: http://www.muw. ac.at/msi/biometrie/programs. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Owner's beliefs on the ability of their pet dogs to understand human verbal communication: A case of social understanding

We asked Hungarian pet dog owners to fill out a questionnaire about their verbal communication toward their dogs. Thirty-seven owners listed 430 different utterances (30 on average), which they thought their dogs knew. Twenty-one percent of these were synonyms. Utterances could be ranged into categories of actions (in ascending order of occurrence): Disallowance, Posture, Invitation, Referring to object or person, Unique, Information giving, Permission, Question. Owners believed that dogs executed 31 % of commands every time, 53% in contextually adequate situations, and 16% only occasionally. Age of the owners or dogs, breed of dogs, and the educational status of owners did not strongly affect the utterance structure. A large share of synonyms and actions were believed to be executed only in adequate situations, supporting our idea that the communication between dogs and owners could be described as a form of social understanding. Social understanding is defined as a complex cognitive process in which the subject is able to integrate contextual and social information, and modify his/her behaviour accordingly. The owners' verbal commands accompanying gestural and contextual cues could operate as information which facilitates the understanding process.
In the Heat of the Moment: Subjective Interpretations of Thermal Feedback During Interaction

Research has shown that thermal feedback can be an engaging and convincing means of conveying experimenter-predefined meanings, e.g., material properties or message types. However, thermal perception is subjective and its meaning in interaction can be ambiguous. Interface designers may not be sure how users could naïvely interpret thermal feedback during interaction. Little is also known about how users would choose thermal cues to convey their own meanings. The research in this paper tested subjective interpretations of thermal stimuli in three different scenarios: social media activity, a colleague's presence and the extent of use of digital content. Participants were also asked to assign their own thermal stimuli to personal experiences, to help us understand what kinds of stimuli people associate with different meanings. The results showed strong agreement among participants concerning what warmth (presence, activity, quality) and cool mean (absence, poor quality). Guidelines for the design of thermal feedback are presented to help others create effective thermal interfaces.
SOLE meets MOOC: Designing Infrastructure for Online Self-organised Learning with a Social Mission

We present the design, deployment and evaluation of three configurations of an online learning activity for would-be social innovators and activists, with the aim of understanding the factors that are critical to the design of an infrastructure to support such communities of learners. Our research was inspired and motivated by the example of SOLEs (self-organised learning environments) and builds upon the experiences of early connectivist MOOCs (massive open online courses). Our configurations were used to deliver three pilot courses on the topic of Sustainable Development, in partnership with United World Colleges (an organisation of international schools). Our work is distinctive in putting a focus on civic engagement and the autonomy of student learners throughout the course. Our primary design goals were to enable activist empowerment, self-organized learning, and the creation of social bonds to facilitate a lasting and self-sufficient international activist community. We base our analysis on a sample of 114 active learners and 33 mentors; including data from 223 applications, 705 Facebook posts, 48 participant survey responses and a variety of quantitative metrics.