Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Masked hypertension: a phenomenon of measurement.

Conventional measurement of blood pressure (BP) in individual patient care has several limitations that include causing spurious elevation of BP (white-coat hypertension) or giving normal readings when, in fact, the patient is hypertensive (masked hypertension). 1 Out-of-office BP measurements using home BP monitoring (HBPM) or ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) provide insight into the true behavior of BP in individual patients during various daily activities at home and at work and during sleep (with ABPM). Although it is acknowledged at the outset that masked phenomena are a consequence of the methodology of BP measurement, the condition, nevertheless, has serious consequences for the diagnosis and management of patients with hypertension. Recent advances in our understanding of masked hypertension will be examined in this review. Conventional BP in the office or clinic is considered to be normal if it is <140/90 mm Hg. In contrast, out-of office BP values must take into consideration the period of the day simply because BP levels are different during the day and night, and BP may be elevated during either of these periods or throughout the 24-hour period. Indeed the 24-hour period can be further subdivided into the white-coat window (generally the first hour and possibly also the last hour) when the patient is subject to the influence of the medical environment, and the preawakening period when the subject may exhibit a morning surge in BP.1,2 Current consensus guidelines define out-of office hypertension as daytime BP ≥135/85 mm Hg, nighttime BP ≥120/70 mm Hg, and 24-hour average BP ≥130/80 mm Hg (Table 1). 1 View this table: Table 1. Ambulatory and Home Blood Pressure Values (mm Hg) The daytime cutoff BP values for hypertension pertain to both ABPM and HBPM. Thus, for daytime measurements, the definition of masked hypertension in untreated individuals is an in-office BP of <140/90 …
Flavonolignans As a Novel Class of Sodium Pump Inhibitors

We examined the inhibitory effects of three flavonolignans and their dehydro- derivatives, taxifolin and quercetin on the activity of the Na+/K+-ATPase (NKA). The flavonolignans silychristin, dehydrosilychristin and dehydrosilydianin inhibited NKA with IC50 of 110 ± 40 μM, 38 ± 8 μM, and 36 ± 14 μM, respectively. Using the methods of molecular modeling, we identified several possible binding sites for these species on NKA and proposed the possible mechanisms of inhibition. The binding to the extracellular- or cytoplasmic C-terminal sites can block the transport of cations through the plasma membrane, while the binding on the interface of cytoplasmic domains can inhibit the enzyme allosterically. Fluorescence spectroscopy experiments confirmed the interaction of these three species with the large cytoplasmic segment connecting transmembrane helices 4 and 5 (C45). The flavonolignans are distinct from the cardiac glycosides that are currently used in NKA treatment. Because their binding sites are different, the mechanism of inhibition is different as well as the range of active concentrations, one can expect that these new NKA inhibitors would exhibit also a different biomedical actions than cardiac glycosides.
A Psychophysical Assessment of Multisensory Processing and Multiple Object Tracking in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are currently characterized by a triad of impairments including social dysfunction, communication deficits and perseverative behaviours. The simultaneous integration of multiple senses is crucial in everyday life as it allows for the creation of a unified percept. Similarly, the allocation of attention to multiple events at the same time is critical in the processing of dynamic environmental information. In daily interactions with the environment, both sensory processing as well as attentional functions are building blocks to typical development (TD). Although not part of the current diagnostic criteria, difficulties with attention functions and sensory processing are very common among autistic persons. The present thesis therefore examined both these functions in two separate studies. The first study is based on the premise that alterations in basic sensory processing might underlie atypical sensory behaviours in ASD, as proposed by current theories of ASD. We conceived a cross-modal size discrimination task to assess the integrity and developmental course of visuo-tactile information in children with ASD (N = 21, aged 6-18 years), compared to ageand performance IQ-matched children with TD. In a simultaneous two-alternative forced-choice task, participants were asked to make a judgement on the size of two stimuli, based on unisensory (visual or tactile) or multisensory (visuo-tactile) inputs. Difference thresholds evaluated the smallest difference at which participants were capable to discriminate size. Children with ASD showed diminished performance and no maturational effects in both unisensory and multisensory conditions, compared to TD participants. Our first study therefore extends
Wireless Distributed Measurement System Based on PDA and Dynamical Application Repository Server

The innovative software architecture of the wireless distributed measurement system (W-DMS) including the dynamic measurement application repository server (D-MARS) is proposed. The tasks of the D-MARS are devoted to supply the mobile devices, as the personal digital assistant (PDA) with the measurement applications in order to manage and control the measurement instruments. The D-MARS permits to download on demand two different topologies of virtual instruments (Vis). One concerns all the functionalities of the measurement instrument (MI). The other one concerns with the specific functionalities of the MI selected by the mobile user and it is organised by modules on the basis of the new design approach. The modules are obtained by splitting up the traditional VI in several functional entities. Each module implements specific functionalities of the MI and is able to operate as autonomous and self containing entity. The selection among these modules allows the user to dynamically configure the measurement procedure by operating on the PDA. The aspects concerning the design and the architecture of the D-MARS are discussed. The new design approach of the modules is shown. In order to evidence the innovative features, an applicative example is shown.
Topology Optimization of Sub-Wavelength Antennas

We propose a topology optimization strategy for the systematic design of a three-dimensional (3D), conductor-based sub-wavelength antenna. The post-processed finite-element (FE) models of the optimized structure are shown to be self-resonant, efficient and exhibit distorted omnidirectional, elliptically polarized far-field radiation patterns. The computed approximate <i>Q</i> value for this antenna is Q<sub>Z</sub>(ω<sub>0</sub>)≈ 7.74 for ω<sub>0</sub>=2π × 350.8 MHz and it is 1.64 times larger than the theoretical lower bound value.
Control of an articulatory speech synthesizer based on dynamic approximation of spatial articulatory targets

We present a novel approach to the generation of speech movements for an articulatory speech synthesizer. The movements of the articulators are modeled by dynamical third order linear systems that respond to sequences of simple motor commands. The motor commands are derived automatically from a high level schedule for the input phonemes. The proposed model considers velocity differences of the articulators and accounts for coarticulation between vowels and consonants. Preliminary tests of the model in the framework of an articulatory speech synthesizer indicate its potential to produce realistic speech movements and thereby to contribute to a higher quality of the synthesized speech. Index Terms: Speech synthesis, vocal tract model, articulatory control, target approximation
A P-SPACE Algorithm for Groebner Bases Computation in Boolean Rings

The theory of Groebner Bases, which has recently been honored with the ACM Paris Kanellakis Theory and Practice Award, has become a crucial building block to computer algebra, and is widely used in science, engineering, and computer science. It is wellknown that Groebner bases computation is EXP-SPACE in a general setting. In this paper, we give an algorithm to show that Groebner bases computation is P-SPACE in Boolean rings. We also show that with this discovery, the Groebner bases method can theoretically be as efficient as other methods for automated verification of hardware and software. Additionally, many useful and interesting properties of Groebner bases including the ability to efficiently convert the bases for different orders of variables making Groebner bases a promising method in automated verification. Keywords—Algorithm, Complexity, Groebner basis, Applications of Computer Science.
Various drug delivery approaches to the central nervous system

Importance of the field: The presence of the blood–brain barrier (BBB), an insurmountable obstacle, in particular, and other barriers in brain and periphery contribute to hindrance of the successful diagnosis and treatment of a myriad of central nervous system pathologies. This review discusses several strategies adopted to define a rational drug delivery approach to the CNS along with a short description of the strategies implemented by the authors’ group to enhance the analgesic activity, a CNS property, of chimeric peptide of Met-enkephalin and FMRFa (YGGFMKKKFMRFa-YFa). Areas covered in this review: Various approaches for drug delivery to the CNS with their beneficial and non-beneficial aspects, supported by an extensive literature survey published recently, up to August 2009. What the reader will gain: The reader will have the privilege of gaining an understanding of previous as well as recent approaches to breaching the CNS barriers. Take home message: Among the various strategies discussed, the potential for efficacious CNS drug targeting in future lies either with the non-invasively administered multifunctional nanosystems or these nanosystems without characterstics such as long systemic circulating capability and avoiding reticuloendothelial system scavenging system of the body, endogenous transporters and efflux inhibitors administered by convection-enhanced delivery.
Chromosomal mapping of chicken mega-telomere arrays to GGA9, 16, 28 and W using a cytogenomic approach

Four mega-telomere loci were mapped to chicken chromosomes 9, 16, 28, and the W sex chromosome by dual-color fluorescence in situ hybridization using a telomeric sequence probe and BAC clones previously assigned to chicken chromosomes. The in-common features of the mega-telomere chromosomes are that microchromosomes are involved rather than macrochromosomes; in three cases (9, 16, 28) acrocentrics are involved with the mega-telomeres mapping to the p arms. Three of the four chromosomes (9, 16, W) encode tandem repeats which in two cases (9 and 16) involve the ribosomal DNA arrays (the 5S and 18S-5.8S-28S gene repeats, respectively). All involved chromosomes have a typical-sized telomere on the opposite terminus. Intra- and interindividual variation for mega-telomere distribution are discussed in terms of karyotype abnormalities and the potential for mitotic instability of some telomeres. The diversity and distribution of telomere array quantity in the chicken genome should be useful in contributing to research related to telomere length regulation – how and by what mechanism genomes and individual chromosomes establish and maintain distinct sets of telomere array sizes, as well as for future studies related to stability of the chicken genome affecting development, growth, cellular lifespan and disease. An additional impact of this study includes the listing of BAC clones (26 autosomal and six W BACs tested) that were cytogenetically verified; this set of BACs provide a useful tool for future cytogenetic analyses of the microchromosomes.
Disaggregated FPGAs: Network Performance Comparison against Bare-Metal Servers, Virtual Machines and Linux Containers

FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays) are making their way into data centers (DC). They are used as accelerators to boost the compute power of individual server nodes and to improve the overall power efficiency. Meanwhile, DC infrastructures are being redesigned to pack ever more compute capacity into the same volume and power envelops. This redesign leads to the disaggregation of the server and its resources into a collection of standalone computing, memory, and storage modules. To embrace this evolution, we propose an architecture that decouples the FPGA from the CPU of the server by connecting the FPGA directly to the DC network. This proposal turns the FPGA into a network-attached computing resource that can be incorporated with disaggregated servers into these emerging data centers. We implemented a prototype and compared its network performance with that obtained from bare metal servers (Native), virtual machines (VM), and containers (CT). The results show that standalone network-attached FPGAs outperform them in terms of network latency and throughput by a factor of up to 35x and 73x, respectively. We also observed that the proposed architecture consumes only 14% of the total FPGA resources.
A-Tree: Distributed Indexing of Multidimensional Data for Cloud Computing Environments

Efficient querying of huge volumes of multidimensional data stored in cloud computing systems has become a necessity, due to the widespread of cloud storage facilities. With clouds getting larger and available data growing larger and larger it is mandatory to develop fast, scalable and efficient indexing schemes. In this paper, we propose the A-tree, a distributed indexing scheme for multidimensional data capable of handling both point and range queries, appropriate for cloud computing environments. A performance evaluation of the A-tree against the state-of-the-art competitor attests its superiority, achieving significantly lower latencies.
"Come in and look around." Professional development of student teachers through public pedagogy in a library exhibition.

This paper describes a public pedagogy project embedded into "The Global Teacher", a subject within the Bachelor of Education program for student teachers at an Australian university. The subject provides a global perspective on socio-political issues that shape education. In 2013, The Global Teacher introduced an approach that asked student teachers to create a museum-style exhibition depicting six global education themes. This exhibition was displayed in the State Library and the public were invited to engage with the installations and the student teachers who created them. Our paper describes how the project was implemented by means of close collaboration between the QUT teacher educators, curators at the State Library of Queensland (SLQ), and student groups working on visually translating their understandings of global educational issues into a public exhibition. We discuss what was learned by our students and ourselves, as teacher educators, by engaging in this public pedagogy.
Inter & intra-observer reliability of grading ultrasound videoclips with hand pathology in rheumatoid arthritis by using non- sophisticated internet tools (LUMINA study).

AIM To evaluate the inter- and intraobserver agreement of a group of European rheumatologist ultrasonographers in grading musculoskeletal ultrasound videoclips posted on the Internet by using a non-sophisticated electronic environment. METHODS Forty short movie clips (less than 30 secs) were made available over the Internet to all participants. Normal and pathological RA hand joints and tendons were included in the movie clips. In the first phase 30 investigators from European countries were invited to evaluate the clips and to interpret/grade them. No instruction session was held prior to the initiation of the study. For synovitis the requested scoring system included 0 to3 grades and for tenosynovitis a binary variable 0/1; separate evaluations were performed for gray scale (GS) and Power Doppler (PD) examinations. In the second phase the responders were asked to grade the same clips in a different order without having access to their first grading scale. Light's k and Cohen's k were used to analyse inter- and intraobserver reliability. RESULTS Twenty two European rheumatologists agreed to finalise both study phases. Mean Cohen's κ for intraobserver reliability was 0.614/0.689 for tenosynovitis GS/PD and 0.523/0.621 for synovitis GS/PD. Light's k for interobserver reliability was 0.503 for tenosynovitis evaluation and 0.455 for global (synovitis and tenosynovitis) evaluation. Mean global overall agreement was 84.95% (90.2% for global synovitis). CONCLUSIONS An over-the-net US evaluation and grading has shown moderate to good reliability. The results could be improved if a training session is added at the beginning of the study.
Optimal partial feedback design for SISO block fading channels

In this paper, we shall investigate the problem of optimal transmission and feedback strategies design when feedback link has a capacity constraint. Optimization is based on forward channel capacity and forward error exponent. Channel state information is estimated at the receiver and feedback to the transmitter. The feedback is assumed to be noiseless and casual with a feedback capacity constraint, C/sub fb/. We show that the design of the optimal feedback scheme is identical to the design of scalar quantizer (Lloyd's algorithm with a modified distortion measure). The feedback optimization algorithm could be applied to both the forward capacity and error exponent with modifications of distortion measure. The optimal tradeoff of forward channel capacity and forward channel error exponent versus the feedback link capacity could be clearly illustrated. It is shown that the optimal transmission strategy also has a general form of temporal water-filling. Furthermore, while feedback enhances the forward channel capacity more effectively in low SNR region compared with high SNR region, the enhancement in error exponent is significant in both high and low SNR region. This indicates that significant gain in practical coding design could be expected with partial feedback.
Role of Knowledge in Value Creation in Business Nets

This paper focuses on the role of knowledge in intentionally created business networks called nets. Nets are seen to offer firms collective benefits beyond those of a single firm or market transaction. We propose that the types of knowledge and learning required in the management of different types of business net are dependent on the value creation characteristics of the net types. Based on this we suggest a classification of three generic net types - 'current business nets', 'business renewal nets', and 'emerging new business nets' - and argue that they pose different conditions for management in nets. Using this framework and integrating notions from the industrial network approach, strategic management and dynamic capabilities view, and organizational learning we make a number of observations and propositions about the role of knowledge and learning in the three types of business net. The paper contributes to the emerging theory of network management.
Differential Effectiveness of Interdependent and Dependent Group Contingencies in Reducing Disruptive Classroom Behavior

ABSTRACT Disruptive behavior in the classroom negatively affects all students' academic engagement, achievement, and behavior. Group contingencies have been proven effective in reducing disruptive behavior as part of behavior interventions in the classroom. The Good Behavior Game is a Tier 1 classwide intervention that utilizes an interdependent group contingency to decrease rates of disruptive behavior. Previous research comparing the effects of the different group contingencies has been inconclusive, inconsistent, and unable to rule out sequence carryover effects. This study employed an alternating treatments design across three elementary classrooms to compare the effectiveness of interdependent and dependent group contingencies in decreasing rates of disruptive behavior. Results showed that the Good Behavior Game was effective overall in reducing rates of disruptive behavior and teachers found the intervention to be acceptable and effective. Additionally, improvements in teachers' global ratings of students' social skills and academic behaviors were associated with the intervention. Both interdependent and dependent group contingencies reduce disruptive classroom behavior but their use by educators may depend upon preference, goals for behavior change, student characteristics, and practical considerations.
Hydroxysafflor yellow A attenuates left ventricular remodeling after pressure overload-induced cardiac hypertrophy in rats

Abstract Context: Hydroxysafflor yellow A (HSYA), the main chemical component of the safflower yellow pigments, is used extensively in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases. Objective: The present study determined the effects of HSYA on left ventricular hypertrophy after pressure overload and investigated the underlying mechanisms. Materials and methods: Cardiac hypertrophy was induced by the ligation of abdominal aorta in male Wistar rats. The rats were then divided into five groups and treated with captopril (100 mg/kg) or HSYA at different doses (0, 10, 20 and 40 mg/kg). Six weeks after treatment, the weight of left ventricle, LVMI (left ventricular mass index) and pathological changes were measured. MMP-2 (metalloproteinase 2) and MMP-9 (metalloproteinase 9) levels were determined by ELISA. Protein expressions of Bcl-2 and Bax were evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Results: HSYA (20, 40 mg/kg) significantly attenuated the increase of LVMI (ventricular weight/body weight) by 13.04 and 30.43% respectively, when compared with the model group. This was associated with the amelioration of pathological lesion, such as cardiac muscle fibers were smaller and the nuclei of cardiomyocytes were lightly stained in animals treated with HSYA (20, 40 mg/kg). In addition, the administration of HSYA at doses of 20 and 40 mg/kg increased the Bcl-2/Bax ratio (1.17 ± 0.08 and 1.39 ± 0.07 versus 0.71 ± 0.06). In addition, the serum MMP-2 and MMP-9 levels were blocked by the treatment at doses of 20 and 40 mg/kg HSYA (MMP-2, 76.1 ± 9.2 and 65.6 ± 6.8 versus 82.9 ± 6.2, ng/ml; MMP-9, 66.6 ± 4.8 and 57.5 ± 5.0 versus 83.5 ± 6.0, ng/ml). Conclusion: These findings indicated that HSYA has beneficial effects on hypertensive ventricular remodeling, which may involve mechanisms of inhibiting cell apoptosis and suppressing metalloproteinases expression.