Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Simvastatin Reverses Target Organ Damage and Oxidative Stress in Angiotensin II Hypertension: Comparison With Apocynin, Tempol, and Hydralazine

The ability of the 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase inhibitor simvastatin to reverse established cardiovascular and renal alterations and oxidative stress was assessed in angiotensin II (AngII) hypertension. Sprague-Dawley rats infused with AngII (200 ng/kg per minute for 17 days) were concomitantly treated or not for the last 7 days with simvastatin, apocynin, tempol, and hydralazine (60, 60, 30, and 15 mg/kg per day, respectively). Only hydralazine lowered AngII hypertension. Simvastatin and apocynin lowered cardiac hypertrophy by 52% and 54% and reversed the marked rise in albuminuria by 25% and 70%. Neither tempol nor hydralazine affected cardiac mass or albuminuria. None of the treatments modified the AngII-induced increase in carotid media thickness. The rise in cardiac superoxide anion production (lucigenin-enhanced chemiluminescence method) induced by AngII was reversed by all treatments. Enhanced plasma concentration of advanced oxidation protein products (spectrophotometry using chloramine T) was unaffected by simvastatin and tempol, but it was reversed by apocynin and hydralazine. Our results indicate that simvastatin reverse established cardiac and renal alterations in AngII hypertension independently of arterial pressure. It is suggested that oxidative stress participates in the maintenance of target organ damage and that antioxidant properties are involved in the beneficial influence of the statin.
An empirical study on the modification of China's current urban social security system

ABSTRACT This study challenges the conventional correlation between economic performance and the level of the development of social security systems. By focusing on China's urban areas, we provide an overview of the components and benefits, from a comparative perspective, of China's current social security system. We also create a comprehensive and generally applicable method using factors such as economics and population, among others, as standards to evaluate the efficacy of China's system. In order to demonstrate our primary hypothesis – that the Chinese Communist Party government has to modify its social security system to adapt to or bring about changes in the basis of its legitimacy – we analyse Chinese social security records and other related data after 1949 by statistical methods. The formula we provide in this study can be used to forecast China's expenditure on its urban social security system, and other scholars can apply our methods to countries in which conditions are broadly similar.
On Educational Ideas of Confucius

Confucius advocated that “There should be no class discinctions in education”. Obviously, the purpose of Confucius is to serve politics. He proposed the combination of “learning” “thinking” in the method of learning, laid stress on the teaching according to students' aptitude, advocated the atitude of “One should not feel ashamed to ask people below”. Today we are promoting quality education, and we ahould treasure this invaluable wealth.
A Hybrid Fault-Tolerant LEON3 Soft Core Processor Implemented in Low-End SRAM FPGA

In this work we implemented a hybrid fault-tolerant LEON3 soft-core processor in a low-end FPGA (Artix-7) and evaluated its error detection capabilities through neutron irradiation and fault injection in an incremental manner. The error mitigation approach combines the use of SEC/DED codes for memories, a hardware monitor to detect control-flow errors, software-based techniques to detect data errors and configuration memory scrubbing with repair to avoid error accumulation. The proposed solution can significantly improve fault tolerance and can be fully embedded in a low-end FPGA, with reduced overhead and low intrusiveness.
Antimicrobial-Induced Mania (Antibiomania): A Review of Spontaneous Reports

The authors reviewed reported cases of antibiotic-induced manic episodes by means of a MEDLINE and PsychLit search for reports of antibiotic-induced mania. Unpublished reports were requested from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Twenty-one reports of antimicrobial-induced mania were found in the literature. There were 6 cases implicating clarithromycin, 13 implicating isoniazid, and 1 case each implicating erythromycin and amoxicillin. The WHO reported 82 cases. Of these, clarithromycin was implicated in 23 (27.6%) cases, ciprofloxacin in 12 (14.4%) cases, and ofloxacin in 10 (12%) cases. Cotrimoxazole, metronidazole, and erythromycin were involved in 15 reported manic episodes. Cases reported by the FDA showed clarithromycin and ciprofloxacin to be the most frequently associated with the development of mania. Statistical analysis of the data would not have demonstrated a significant statistical correlative risk and was therefore not undertaken. Patients have an increased risk of developing mania while being treated with antimicrobials. Although this is not a statistically significant risk, physicians must be aware of the effect and reversibility. Further research clearly is required to determine the incidence of antimicrobial-induced mania, the rela-tive risk factors of developing an antimicrobialinduced manic episode among various demographic populations, and the incidence of patients who continue to have persistent affective disorders once the initial episode, which occurs while the patient is taking antibiotics, subsides. The authors elected to name this syndrome “antibiomania. ”
Exploring the atomic structure and conformational flexibility of a 320 Å long engineered viral fiber using X-ray crystallography.

Protein fibers are widespread in nature, but only a limited number of high-resolution structures have been determined experimentally. Unlike globular proteins, fibers are usually recalcitrant to form three-dimensional crystals, preventing single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. In the absence of three-dimensional crystals, X-ray fiber diffraction is a powerful tool to determine the internal symmetry of a fiber, but it rarely yields atomic resolution structural information on complex protein fibers. An 85-residue-long minimal coiled-coil repeat unit (MiCRU) was previously identified in the trimeric helical core of tail needle gp26, a fibrous protein emanating from the tail apparatus of the bacteriophage P22 virion. Here, evidence is provided that an MiCRU can be inserted in frame inside the gp26 helical core to generate a rationally extended fiber (gp26-2M) which, like gp26, retains a trimeric quaternary structure in solution. The 2.7 Å resolution crystal structure of this engineered fiber, which measures ∼320 Å in length and is only 20-35 Å wide, was determined. This structure, the longest for a trimeric protein fiber to be determined to such a high resolution, reveals the architecture of 22 consecutive trimerization heptads and provides a framework to decipher the structural determinants for protein fiber assembly, stability and flexibility.
Change in Hematocrit during Trauma Assessment Predicts Bleeding Even with Ongoing Fluid Resuscitation

This study tests the hypothesis that a change in hematocrit (ΔHct) during initial trauma work-up is as reliable as conventional vital signs for detecting bleeding, even with ongoing fluid resuscitation. Consecutive trauma patients admitted to a Level I trauma center receiving two Hct measurements during initial resuscitation between January 2010 and January 2011 were stratified based on estimated blood loss greater than 250 mL (bleeding) or nonbleeding. Sensitivity, specificity, and receiver operating characteristic curves were calculated for systolic blood pressure (SBP), heart rate, base deficit, and ΔHct. In 168 (72%) nonbleeding versus 64 (28%) bleeding patients, age and gender were similar. Arrival SBP was highly specific (90 to 99%) but poorly sensitive (13 to 31%) for detecting bleeding. Combinations of vital signs increased specificity, albeit at the expense of sensitivity. For bleeding versus nonbleeding patients (all receiving resuscitation fluid), ΔHct was 9.0 versus 1.8, ΔHct/liter was 4.8 versus 1.5, and ΔHct/liter/hour was 2.8 vs 0.6 (all P < 0.001). Only SBP (area under the curve [AUC] 0.608 to 0.695) and ΔHct (AUC 0.731 to 0.921) were significant for identifying bleeding with ΔHct 6 or greater being the best predictor (sensitivity 89%, specificity 95%, AUC 0.921). During ongoing fluid resuscitation of a trauma victim, ΔHct is the single most reliable indicator of continuing blood loss. A ΔHct 6 or greater during initial resuscitation is highly suspicious for ongoing blood loss, but even lesser changes have predictive value. Altogether, these results support the idea that fluid shifts are rapid after hemorrhage and Hct can be valuable during initial trauma assessment.
Antiproteinuric versus antihypertensive effects of high-dose ACE inhibitor therapy.

BACKGROUND Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors effectively reduce proteinuria; however, the optimal antiproteinuric dose is still unknown. We conducted this study to determine whether an increase in ACE-inhibitor dose above the maximal antihypertensive effect has additional antiproteinuric potential. METHODS Twenty-three proteinuric patients were administered the ACE inhibitor spirapril at a starting dose of 3 to 6 mg/d. The dose was increased every 6 weeks until the maximal antihypertensive effect, assessed by 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) monitoring, was achieved (spir(max)), then increased to a supramaximal dose (spir(supramax)). Renal parameters, urinary protein excretion, and systemic activity of the renin-angiotensin system were compared between baseline, spir(max), and spir(supramax). Glomerular filtration rate and renal plasma flow were determined before the administration of spirapril and after administration of the supramaximal dose. RESULTS Median ABP and proteinuria decreased significantly between baseline and spir(max) (median, 102 mm Hg; range, 82 to 122 mm Hg versus 97 mm Hg; range, 82 to 113 mm Hg; median protein, 2.56 g/d; range, 1.05 to 22.1 g/d versus 1.73 g/d; range, 0.42 to 4.7 g/d). Both creatinine level and creatinine clearance remained unchanged. Suppression of angiotensin II formation led to a significant increase in renin and angiotensin I concentrations and a nonsignificant decrease in aldosterone levels. The increase in spirapril to a supramaximal dose had no further effect on serum renin or angiotensin I levels or proteinuria. There was an additional slight decrease in aldosterone levels and, subsequently, a significantly lower level than at baseline. CONCLUSION Our results show that the antiproteinuric effect of spirapril is associated with its antihypertensive effect. Although high-dose ACE-inhibitor therapy has no additional influence on proteinuria, a possible beneficial long-term effect cannot be ruled out.
The properties variation of PVC insulated plug damaged by poor contact

There are many electrical connection parts in the electrical apparatus. Electrical connectors (for example; an outlet or a plug, etc) are devices that connect electric energy and complete electrical circuits. In these connections, the heat is generated by the poor contact according to the slack and the vibration between an outlet receptacle and a plug pins. Excessive heat generation can occur when current, acceptable for the rating of the wire, passes through a poor contact. When overheating due to poor contact occurs, current passes through the increased resistance of a poor connection that is connected in series with the desired load. The heat is generated and the temperature increases, causing degradation of the surrounding combustibles at a focused point or small area. In this paper, it is studied the heating and electrical properties according to the poor contact at PVC insulated plug, and analyzed surface state, surface structure of the grown oxide at the contact part of PVC insulated plug pins. We expect to contribute to prevention of the electrical accident occurring at PVC insulated plug contact part on the basis of this paper.
Microstructural Consequences of Blast Lung Injury Characterized with Digital Volume Correlation

This study focuses on microstructural changes that occur within the mammalian lung when subject to blast and how these changes influence strain distributions within the tissue. Shock tube experiments were performed to generate the blast injured specimens (cadaveric Sprague-Dawley rats). Blast overpressures of 100 kPa and 180 kPa were studied. Synchrotron tomography imaging was used to capture volumetric image data of lungs. Specimens were ventilated using a custom-built system to study multiple inflation pressures during each tomography scan. This data enabled the first digital volume correlation (DVC) measurements in lung tissue to be performed. Quantitative analysis was performed to describe the damaged architecture of the lung. No clear changes in the microstructure of the tissue morphology were observed due to controlled low to moderate level blast exposure. However, significant focal sites of injury were observed using DVC, which allowed detection of bias and concentration in the patterns of strain level. Morphological analysis corroborated the findings, illustrating that the focal damage caused by a blast can give rise to diffuse influence across the tissue. It is important to characterise the non-instantly fatal doses of blast, given the transient nature of blast lung in the clinical setting. This research has highlighted the need for better understanding of focal injury and its zone of influence (alveolar inter-dependency and neighbouring tissue burden as a result of focal injury). Digital volume correlation techniques show great promise as a tool to advance this endeavour, providing a new perspective on lung mechanics post-blast.
Rotavirus Gastroenteritis: Precursor of Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders?

Background and Aims: Abdominal pain-related functional gastrointestinal disorders (AP-FGIDs) following bacterial acute gastroenteritis (AGE) have been demonstrated in adults and children. An adult study demonstrated AP-FGIDs resulting from an outbreak of viral AGE. Viral AGEs are common in children. Thus, the demonstration of AP-FGIDs occurring after a viral infection in children could constitute a significant finding. The aim of the study was to investigate the development of FGIDs following an episode of acute rotavirus gastroenteritis in children. This is the first pediatric multicenter study designed to assess postviral AP-FGIDs. Patients and Methods: It is a cohort study. Inclusion criteria of the study are children ages 4 to 18 years with history of AGE secondary to rotavirus. Sample size is 44 exposed and 44 controls (unidirectional α of 0.05, power of 0.80). Children consulting at 2 hospitals (Chicago, IL, and Naples, Italy) for AGE (2002–2004) who tested positive for rotavirus were randomly contacted by telephone >2 years after the episode. Each exposed child who visited the emergency department or outpatient site for acute trauma or well-child visit within 4 weeks of the index case was matched with a control of the same age and sex. Gastrointestinal symptoms and disability were evaluated with a validated pediatric questionnaire. Results: Eighty-eight patients (46 boys, mean age 5.3 years) were recruited. Contacted patients presented with AGE in 2002 (9), 2003 (11), and 2004 (24). Seven (16%) exposed patients and 3 (7%) controls reported AP-FGIDs (P = 0.31). Conclusions: Our study suggests that rotavirus infection does not seem to place children at increased risk for AP-FGIDs at long-term follow-up. Larger, prospective studies should be conducted to evaluate whether rotavirus gastroenteritis leads to AP-FGIDs in children.
A layout-aware x-filling approach for dynamic power supply noise reduction in at-speed scan testing

Power Supply Noise (PSN) has emerged as an important resilience issue in nano-scale CMOS technology. Due to simultaneous switching of various gates, the actual supply voltage seen by individual gates inside the circuit might be lower than the nominal supply voltage, leading to extra delays. Since in at-speed scan testing simultaneous switchings are higher than the functional mode, test invalidation due to excessive PSN can happen, which may impact yield loss. In this paper, we propose a Linear Programming-based X-filling approach to minimize PSN in at-speed scan test by assigning appropriate values to X-bits in partially specified test patterns. In this paper, spatial and transition time correlations due to circuit layout, power mesh, and netlist are taken into account to increase the accuracy of dynamic PSN estimation and for the first time the delay of the circuit is directly targeted to minimize the effect of PSN during the at-speed scan test.
Aeromedical evacuation of biological warfare casualties: a treatise on infectious diseases on aircraft.

A basic understanding of the transmission and isolation of infections would be essential to the safe and effective aeromedical evacuation (AE) of biological warfare (BW) casualties. First, the airframe as microbial environment is considered, and relevant preventive and disinfecting measures are discussed. A survey of past infectious disease transmission on civilian aircraft (including tuberculosis, influenza, measles, smallpox, and viral hemorrhagic fevers) is presented, and the communicability and stability of likely BW agents is described. A brief history of U.S. military aeromedical evacuation (as it relates to contagious diseases and U.S. Air Force BW doctrine) is also outlined. Special containment procedures (especially as used by the U.S. Army Aeromedical Isolation Team) are described. Finally, international legal and regulatory aspects of the AE of BW casualties are considered, and some unanswered questions and suggestions for future research are offered. It is concluded that, given adequate foresight, expertise, and resources, the AE of even contagious BW casualties could be safely and effectively accomplished.
Multi-genre summarization: Approach, potentials and challenges

In our current context, the Social Web is fostering the creation of a wide range of new textual genres (e.g., review sites, blogs, fora, social networks or microblogs). These new textual genres are becoming more and more important for both users and also for the business sector. Their effective analysis and exploitation may offer an added-value for the decision-making processes of customers but also from the company perspective to monitor possible competitors. Given these premises, in this paper, we outline and discuss the importance of a novel type of text summarization, i.e., multi-genre summarization, by means of reviewing the most relevant literature aiming at generating automatic summaries from new textual genres, specifically, reviews and microblogs, since they are growing in popularity. We report the main findings in the literature, and, different from what is being done at the moment regarding the production of automatic summaries, we stress the need for addressing different genres within the same approach, and we describe the challenges involved in the creation of this new type of summaries.
Mapping the electrophysiological and morphological properties of CA1 pyramidal neurons along the longitudinal hippocampal axis

Differences in behavioral roles, anatomical connectivity, and gene expression patterns in the dorsal, intermediate, and ventral regions of the hippocampus are well characterized. Relatively fewer studies have, however, focused on comparing the physiological properties of neurons located at different dorsoventral extents of the hippocampus. Recently, we reported that dorsal CA1 neurons are less excitable than ventral neurons. There is little or no information for how neurons in the intermediate hippocampus compare to those from the dorsal and ventral ends. Also, it is not known whether the transition of properties along the dorsoventral axis is gradual or segmented. In this study, we developed a statistical model to predict the dorsoventral position of transverse hippocampal slices. Using current clamp recordings combined with this model, we found that CA1 neurons in dorsal, intermediate, and ventral hippocampus have distinct electrophysiological and morphological properties and that the transition in most (but not all) of these properties from the ventral to dorsal end is gradual. Using linear and segmented regression analyses, we found that input resistance and resting membrane potential changed linearly along the V–D axis. Interestingly, the transition in resonance frequency, rebound slope, dendritic branching in stratum radiatum, and action potential properties was segmented along the V–D axis. Together, the findings from this study highlight the heterogeneity in CA1 neuronal properties along the entire longitudinal axis of hippocampus. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The Influence of Argumentation on Understanding Nature of Science.

The aim in conducting this study is to explore the effects of argumentation on preservice science teachers’ views of the nature of science. This study used a qualitative case study and conducted with 20 pre-service science teachers. Data sources include an open-ended questionnaire and audio-taped interviews. According to pretest and posttest scores, 3 participants were selected for gathering qualitative data and follow-up interviews. Analyses of the findings revealed that the argumentation based instruction was effective in 2 of 3 participants’ views of the nature of science. According to the results, 2 aspects of the nature of science were the most developed aspects of the nature of science assessed in this study; the social and cultural and the creative and imaginative nature of science. These findings highlight the need for teacher preparation programs to incorporate argumentation based instruction that promotes the development of the nature of science views.
An Algorithm for Energy Efficient Cooperative Communication in Wireless Sensor Networks

In this paper, we propose an algorithm for energy efficient cooperative communication in wireless sensor network (WSN). The algorithm computes the appropriate transmission distance corresponding to optimal broadcast bit error probability, while taking the circuit energy consumption and the number of cooperating nodes into consideration. The algorithm guarantees minimum energy consumption by choosing higher value of bit error probability for cooperative phase and lower value of bit error probability for broadcast phase while maintaining the required end-to-end reliability. The simulation results show that the proposed algorithm provides significant energy saving gain when compared with traditional fixed distance schemes and is suitable for applications demanding energy efficiency with high quality of reception.