Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Different fasting periods in tiletamine-zolezepam-anethetized cats : Glycemia , recovery , blood-gas and cardiorrespiratory parameters

The effects of different fasting periods on glycemia levels and on cardiorrespiratory parameters in tiletaminezolazepam-anesthetized cats were evaluated. Twenty one animals were randomly assigned to three groups: 8 hours (G8), 12 hours (G12) or 18 hours (G18) of the preoperative fasting. The tiletamine-zolazepam (2 mg/kg) was administered intravenously. The heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (fR), rectal temperature (TR), glycemia (G), laboratorial glycemia (Glab), venous oxygen partial pressure (PvO2), venous carbon dioxide partial pressure (PvCO2), venous hemoglobin saturation (SvO2), pH, base deficit (BD), bicarbonate concentration (HCO3 – ) and haematocrit were evaluated at 90 minutes after the last meal (T0), immediately before anesthesia (T1) and at ten (T2) and thirty (T3) minutes after tiletamine-zolezepam administration. The time between the administration of anesthetic and the cat’s trial to elevate head (Th) and the interval between drug administration and aniamal’s quadrupedal position (Tqp) were recorded. No differences among groups were recorded for glycemia, HR, PvO2, SvO2, pH, BD, HCO3 , Ht and Tqp. In G12 from T2, glycemia increased and from T1 PvCO2 decreased. At T1, PvO2 increased in all groups. In G8 and G12, from T1, DB and HCO3 decreased. In G12 and G18, from T2, Ht decreased. In G12, the Th mean was higher than G8. In conclusion, in tiletaminezolazepam-anesthetized cats, the different preoperative fasting did not influence glycemia, blood-gas and cardiorrespiratory parameters. Additionally, there was no relationship between glycemia and anesthesia recovery.
The statistical properties of host load 1

Understanding how host load changes over time is instrumental in predicting the execution time of tasks or jobs, such as in dynamic load balancing and distributed soft real-time systems. To improve this understanding, we collected weeklong, 1 Hz resolution traces of the Digital Unix 5 second exponential load average on over 35 different machines including production and research cluster machines, compute servers, and desktop workstations. Separate sets of traces were collected at two different times of the year. The traces capture all of the dynamic load information available to userlevel programs on these machines. We present a detailed statistical analysis of these traces here, including summary statistics, distributions, and time series analysis results. Two significant new results are that load is self-similar and that it displays epochal behavior. All of the traces exhibit a high degree of self-similarity with Hurst parameters ranging from 0.73 to 0.99, strongly biased toward the top of that range. The traces also display epochal behavior in that the local frequency content of the load signal remains quite stable for long periods of time (150–450 s mean) and changes abruptly at epoch boundaries. Despite these complex behaviors, we have found that relatively simple linear models are sufficient for short-range host load prediction.
New Journal of Physics Regularizing portfolio optimization

The optimization of large portfolios displays an inherent instability due to estimation error. This poses a fundamental problem, because solutions that are not stable under sample fluctuations may look optimal for a given sample, but are, in effect, very far from optimal with respect to the average risk. In this paper, we approach the problem from the point of view of statistical learning theory. The occurrence of the instability is intimately related to over-fitting, which can be avoided using known regularization methods. We show how regularized portfolio optimization with the expected shortfall as a risk measure is related to support vector regression. The budget constraint dictates a modification. We present the resulting optimization problem and discuss the solution. The L2 norm of the weight vector is used as a regularizer, which corresponds to a diversification ‘pressure’. This means that diversification, besides counteracting downward fluctuations in some assets by upward fluctuations in others, is also crucial because it improves the stability of the solution. The approach we provide here allows for the simultaneous treatment of optimization and diversification in one framework that enables the investor to trade off between the two, depending on the size of the available dataset. 3 Author to whom any correspondence should be addressed. New Journal of Physics 12 (2010) 075034 1367-2630/10/075034+15$30.00 © IOP Publishing Ltd and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft
Estimating Ordinal Reliability for Likert-Type and Ordinal Item Response Data: A Conceptual, Empirical, and Practical Guide.

Copyright is retained by the first or sole author, who grants right of first publication to the Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation. Permission is granted to distribute this article for nonprofit, educational purposes if it is copied in its entirety and the journal is credited. PARE has the right to authorize third party reproduction of this article in print, electronic and database forms.
Reactive Oxygen Species-Mediated Loss of Synaptic Akt 1 Signaling Leads to Deficient Activity-Dependent Protein Translation Early in Alzheimer ’ s Disease

Aims: Synaptic deficits are known to underlie the cognitive dysfunction seen in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by b-amyloid has also been implicated in AD pathogenesis. However, it is unclear whether ROS contributes to synaptic dysfunction seen in AD pathogenesis and, therefore, we examined whether altered redox signaling could contribute to synaptic deficits in AD. Results: Activity dependent but not basal translation was impaired in synaptoneurosomes from 1-month old presymptomatic APP/PS1DE9 (APP/PS1) mice, and this deficit was sustained till middle age (MA, 9–10 months). ROS generation leads to oxidative modification of Akt1 in the synapse and consequent reduction in Akt1-mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling, leading to deficiency in activity-dependent protein translation. Moreover, we found a similar loss of activity-dependent protein translation in synaptoneurosomes from postmortem AD brains. Innovation: Loss of activity-dependent protein translation occurs presymptomatically early in the pathogenesis of AD. This is caused by ROS-mediated loss of pAkt1, leading to reduced synaptic Akt1-mTOR signaling and is rescued by overexpression of Akt1. ROS-mediated damage is restricted to the synaptosomes, indicating selectivity. Conclusions: We demonstrate that ROS-mediated oxidative modification of Akt1 contributes to synaptic dysfunction in AD, seen as loss of activity-dependent protein translation that is essential for synaptic plasticity and maintenance. Therapeutic strategies promoting Akt1-mTOR signaling at synapses may provide novel target(s) for disease-modifying therapy in AD. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 27, 1269–1280.
Model identification for robot manipulators using regressor-free adaptive control

This paper proposes a regressor-free adaptive feedback-linearization control technique that does not require a model approximation or a regressor matrix. Adaptation in the proposed feedback process is acquired through an update law involving adjustment of less control parameters as compared to existing controllers. Under the given constraints, the closed-loop asymptotic stability of the proposed control law is verified using Lyapunov techniques. The proposed controller is compared with existing adaptive controllers on a two degree-of-freedom robot manipulator. Based on the new adaptive technique, the model parameters of the robotic arm are identified using adequate excitation trajectories. The proposed adaptive technique was validated through simulations and experiments.
Visual Homing From Scale With an Uncalibrated Omnidirectional Camera

Visual homing enables a mobile robot to move to a reference position using only visual information. The approaches that we present in this paper utilize matched image key points (e.g., scale-invariant feature transform) that are extracted from an omnidirectional camera as inputs. First, we propose three visual homing methods that are based on feature scale, bearing, and the combination of both, under an image-based visual servoing framework. Second, considering computational cost, we propose a simplified homing method which takes an advantage of the scale information of key-point features to compute control commands. The observability and controllability of the algorithm are proved. An outlier rejection algorithm is also introduced and evaluated. The results of all these methods are compared both in simulations and experiments. We report the performance of all related methods on a series of commonly cited indoor datasets, showing the advantages of the proposed method. Furthermore, they are tested on a compact dataset of omnidirectional panoramic images, which is captured under dynamic conditions with ground truth for future research and comparison.
Gastric estradiol-17 b ( E 2 ) and liver ER a correlate with serum E 2 in the cholestatic male rat

Cholestasis is associated with changes in hepatic cholesterol metabolism and serum estrogen levels. Ueyama and colleagues reported that the gastric estradiol-17b (E2) level in the portal vein is several times higher than that in the artery. This study aimed to clarify the relationships between gastric E2, hepatic estrogen receptor (ER) a and cholesterol metabolism in cholestatic male rats induced by bile duct ligation (BDL). After BDL, serum E2 levels in the portal vein and artery were measured by ELISA. The gene expression of gastric estrogen-synthesizing enzymes and various hepatic enzymes for cholesterol metabolism were measured by real-time RT-PCR, and gastric aromatase and hepatic ERa proteins were determined by immunohistochemistry andwestern blotting. Portal E2 levels increased by 4.9, 5.0, and 3.6 times that of controls at 2 days after BDL (BDL2d), BDL4d, and BDL7d respectively. The change in arterial E2 levels was positively correlated with that in the portal vein. Under these conditions, the expression of hepatic Ers1 (ERa) mRNA and protein was significantly reduced in a negative correlation with serum E2 levels in the portal vein after BDL. The expression of hepatic male-specific cytochrome P450 (CYP) genes Cyp2c55 and Cyp3a2 decreased and female-specific Cyp2c12 increased after BDL. It is postulated that the increase in gastric E2 levels, which occurs after BDL, results in the reduction of hepatic ERa, the elevation of arterial E2 level and leads to cholesterol metabolism becoming sex steroid dependent.
Scene Configuration and Object Reliability Affect the Use of Allocentric Information for Memory-Guided Reaching

Previous research has shown that egocentric and allocentric information is used for coding target locations for memory-guided reaching movements. Especially, task-relevance determines the use of objects as allocentric cues. Here, we investigated the influence of scene configuration and object reliability as a function of task-relevance on allocentric coding for memory-guided reaching. For that purpose, we presented participants images of a naturalistic breakfast scene with five objects on a table and six objects in the background. Six of these objects served as potential reach-targets (= task-relevant objects). Participants explored the scene and after a short delay, a test scene appeared with one of the task-relevant objects missing, indicating the location of the reach target. After the test scene vanished, participants performed a memory-guided reaching movement toward the target location. Besides removing one object from the test scene, we also shifted the remaining task-relevant and/or task-irrelevant objects left- or rightwards either coherently in the same direction or incoherently in opposite directions. By varying object coherence, we manipulated the reliability of task-relevant and task-irrelevant objects in the scene. In order to examine the influence of scene configuration (distributed vs. grouped arrangement of task-relevant objects) on allocentric coding, we compared the present data with our previously published data set (Klinghammer et al., 2015). We found that reaching errors systematically deviated in the direction of object shifts, but only when the objects were task-relevant and their reliability was high. However, this effect was substantially reduced when task-relevant objects were distributed across the scene leading to a larger target-cue distance compared to a grouped configuration. No deviations of reach endpoints were observed in conditions with shifts of only task-irrelevant objects or with low object reliability irrespective of task-relevancy. Moreover, when solely task-relevant objects were shifted incoherently, the variability of reaching endpoints increased compared to coherent shifts of task-relevant objects. Our results suggest that the use of allocentric information for coding targets for memory-guided reaching depends on the scene configuration, in particular the average distance of the reach target to task-relevant objects, and the reliability of task-relevant allocentric information.
Natural marker extraction and learning for binocular images and 6 D pose estimation

In modern computer vision there are various tasks such as object detection or tracking which are beholden to keypoint detection. Recently there is a trend on learning 2D keypoints/features which have shown to be a good alternative to handcrafted features [1],[2],[3]. We aim to learn stereo keypoints of different poses for objects and use them as surface markers as input for other tasks such as 6-DOF pose estimation using marker point cloud registration. To find relevant keypoints we use a pool of different keypoints which we triangulate to find the 3D position of all extracted keypoints. Subsequently, we use different criteria to find the most reliable keypoints which can be used as selected markers and project them back on 2D object images to create the dataset. We train patches of different keypoints with a Deep Learning network to distinguish marker patches from non-marker patches. And finally we test the whole pipeline for the task of 3D pose estimation, which has 6 DOF.
Fast sensory motor control based on event-based hybrid neuromorphic-procedural system

Fast sensory-motor processing is challenging when using traditional frame-based cameras and computers. Here the authors show how a hybrid neuromorphic-procedural system consisting of an address-event silicon retina, a computer, and a servo motor can be used to implement a fast sensory-motor reactive controller to track and block balls shot at a goal. The system consists of a 128times128 retina that asynchronously reports scene reflectance changes, a laptop PC, and a servo motor controller. Components are interconnected by USB. The retina looks down onto the field in front of the goal. Moving objects are tracked by an event-driven cluster tracker algorithm that detects the ball as the nearest object that is approaching the goal. The ball's position and velocity are used to control the servo motor. Running under Windows XP, the reaction latency is 2.8plusmn0. 5 ms at a CPU load of <10% with a minimum observed latency of 1.8 ms. A 2 GHz Pentium M laptop can process at >1 million events per second (Meps), although fast balls only create ~30 keps. This system demonstrates the advantages of hybrid event-based sensory motor processing
Genomic Characterization Provides New Insights for Detailed Phage- Resistant Mechanism for Brucella abortus

As the causative agent of cattle brucellosis, Brucella abortus commonly exhibits smooth phenotype (by virtue of colony morphology) that is characteristically sensitive to specific Brucella phages, playing until recently a major role in taxonomical classification of the Brucella species by the phage typing approach. We previously reported the discrepancy between traditional phenotypic typing and MLVA results of a smooth phage-resistant (SPR) strain Bab8416 isolated from a 45-year-old custodial worker with brucellosis in a cattle farm. Here, we performed whole genome sequencing and further obtained a complete genome sequence of strain Bab8416 by a combination of multiple NGS technologies and routine PCR sequencing. The detailed genetic differences between B. abortus SPR Bab8416 and large smooth phage-sensitive (SPS) strains were investigated in a comprehensively comparative genomic study. The large indels between B. abortus SPS strains and Bab8416 showed possible divergence between two evolutionary branches at a far phylogenetic node. Compared to B. abortus SPS strain 9-941 (Bab9-941), the specific re-arrangement event in Bab8416 displaying a closer linear relationship with B. melitensis 16M than other B. abortus strains resulted in the truncation of c-di-GMP synthesis, and 3 c-di-GMP-metabolizing genes, were present in Bab8416 and B. melitensis 16M, but absent in Bab9-941 and other B. abortus strains, indicating potential SPR-associated key determinants and novel molecular mechanisms. Moreover, despite almost completely intact smooth LPS related genes, only one mutated OmpA family protein of Bab8416, functionally related to flagellar and efflux pump, was newly identified. Several point mutations were identified to be Bab8416 specific while a majority of them were verified to be B. abortus ST2 characteristic. In conclusion, our study therefore identifies new SPR-associated factors that could play a role in refining and updating Brucella taxonomic schemes and provides resources for further detailed analysis of mechanism for Brucella phage resistance.
The Iranian Psychiatric Nurses' Perception of Transition in Psychiatric Wards: A Qualitative Study

Background: Transition means moving from one period to another and it is usually associated with significant changes in objectives, roles, and responsibilities. Considering the challenges of the psychiatric ward, psychiatric nurses experience numerous problems, especially at the early stages of their job engagement. This study aimed to examine the perception of the Iranian psychiatric nurses in psychiatric wards and their transition period. Materials and Methods: The study was designed as a qualitative content analysis study in three referral hospitals in Mazandaran and Tehran, Iran 2016. Participants included 18 nurses who had experienced transition at the psychiatric ward and had at least 3 months job experience in three referral hospitals of Iran and were selected purposefully. Data were collected using unstructured interviews and analyzed using the inductive approach and conventional content analysis. To ensure the trustworthiness of the data, Guba and Lincoln's criteria were used. Results: The major themes of transition among the nurses of psychiatric wards included “inadequate preparation,” “mental stress,” “self-awareness and capabilities,” and “the effective role of nurses' full support in adjustment. ” Conclusions: The findings revealed that nurses did not have a decent transition. In this regard, educational systems must provide training courses to prepare nurses to support them in their arrival stage and to facilitate their transition. The findings of this study can help mentally prepare nurses for their preparation to perform their role and improve the quality of care.
CRISPR/Cas9 System for Efficient Genome Editing and Targeting in the Mouse NIH/3T3 Cells

Background: The Clustered, Regularly Interspaced, Short Palindromic Repeats (CRIS-PR) and CRISPR-associated protein (Cas) system has been used as a powerful tool for genome engineering. In this study, the application of this system is reported for targeting Rag genes to produce mutant mouse NIH/3T3 cell line. The Rag1 and Rag2 genes are essential for generation of mature B and T lymphocytes. Disruption of Rag genes causes disease like Severe Combined Immunodeficiency syndrome (SCID). Here, the efficiency and specificity of CRISPR system were tested with highly active sgRNAs to generate novel mutations in the NIH/3T3 mouse cell line. Methods: Four single guide RNAs were designed to target sequences in the coding region of the Rag1 and Rag2 genes. Four sgRNA-CAS9 plasmids were tested to target Rag1 and Rag2. Results: Based on T7 endonuclease assay and sequencing analysis, the expression of sgRNAs targeting two sites in Rag1 resulted in deletion of the intervening DNA fragment. The expression of sgRNAs with Cas9 targeting two sites in Rag2 gene resulted in indel mutations at both sites. In this report, fragment deletion in Rag1 gene was detected in about 50% of transfected cells. Conclusion: Therefore, CRISPR/Cas9 system can be highly efficient and specific when gRNAs are designed rationally and provides a powerful approach for genetic engineering of cells and model animals.
Ovarian Sensitivity Index (OSI): Validating the Use of a Marker for Ovarian Responsiveness in IVF

Background: In this study, an attempt was made to validate the use of OSI as a measure of ovarian response during IVF treatment and to correlate OSI with age and BMI and other measures of ovarian response such as AMH, antral follicle count (AFC), total dose of administered gonadotrophins, and duration of stimulation. Methods: This study was a retrospective comparative cohort one. The study included a total of 2150 women who underwent the first IVF cycle between January 2008 and December 2017 at our center using long-agonist protocol. Patients were divided into four subgroups according to the circulating AMH level: below the 25th percentile (AMH 0.25–1.1 ng/ml, subgroup A), between 25th and 50th percentiles (AMH 1.2–1.6 ng/ml, subgroup B), between the 50th and 75th percentiles (AMH1.7–2.6 ng/ml, subgroup C), and above the 75th percentile (AMH 2.7–8.5 ng/ml, subgroup D). Qualitative data were analyzed by Chi-square or Fisher’s exact test. The p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The four subgroups formed on the basis of the AMH level did not significantly differ for age, BMI and infertility duration. OSI was significantly correlated to age (r=0.167; p=0.001), and has negative correlation with AFC (r=−0.236, p=0.001) and AMH levels (r=−0.123, p=0.001). Multiple linear regression analysis was done on OSI with other independent variables such as age, BMI, AFC, AMH. Analysis showed that approximately 8% variation in the value of OSI can be attributed to these variables with the highest correlation with antral follicle count. Conclusion: The present study showed that OSI appears to be a highly reliable index of ovarian responsiveness to recombinant FSH and can be useful to estimate the FSH dose.
Cognitive rehabilitation of the updating sub-component of working memory in schizophrenia: A case study

Working memory problems have been identified as a core cognitive deficit in schizophrenia. In this paper, we present the results of a cognitive rehabilitation programme (Duval & Coyette, 2005) administered to a schizophrenia patient, and specifically designed to improve the updating sub-component of working memory. The original feature of this programme was that it involved two types of updating exercises: cognitive and ecological. The purpose was to enable the patient to acquire cognitive strategies that alleviate the mental load of the central executive and to transfer them to daily life. The specificity and efficacy of the programme were assessed with multiple (cognitive, ecological and non-target) baseline measurements. In addition, several questionnaires were administered to assess the effect of the programme on subjective cognitive complaints affecting daily life, psychiatric symptoms and self-esteem. The results demonstrated the efficacy of the rehabilitation programme on the updating function and the generalisation of these beneficial effects to daily life. A significant decrease in both subjective cognitive complaints and psychiatric symptoms was also observed. However, the patient's self-esteem did not improve.