Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Do Peritoneal Macrophages Play an Essential Role in the Progression of Acute Pancreatitis in Rats?

Introduction Macrophages are considered to play an essential role in the events leading to systemic inflammatory response. Some are known to reside in the peritoneal cavity but there are no reports defining the participation of peritoneal macrophages (PMs) in the progression of acute pancreatitis. Aim To clarify the role of PMs in the progression of acute pancreatitis. Methodology Acute pancreatitis was induced in rats from which macrophages other than PMs were greatly depleted, and in rats greatly depleted of macrophages including PMs. Macrophages were depleted by the injection of liposome encapsulated dichloromethylene bisphosphonate. After the induction of acute pancreatitis, local pancreatic inflammation, intraperitoneal inflammation and lung injury were compared between the 2 groups. Results Local pancreatic inflammation did not differ between the 2 groups. However, intraperitoneal inflammation was clearly improved by the depletion of PMs. Serum cytokine level and lung injury were also improved by the depletion of PMs. Conclusion Peritoneal macrophages extend inflammation from the pancreas to the peritoneal cavity and subsequently induce lung injury in acute pancreatitis. Peritoneal macrophages play an essential role in the systemic inflammatory response and the progression of acute pancreatitis in the rat.
Three-Component Lysine/Ornithine Decarboxylation System in Lactobacillus saerimneri 30a

ABSTRACT Lactic acid bacteria play a pivotal role in many food fermentations and sometimes represent a health threat due to the ability of some strains to produce biogenic amines that accumulate in foods and cause trouble following ingestion. These strains carry specific enzymatic systems catalyzing the uptake of amino acid precursors (e.g., ornithine and lysine), the decarboxylation inside the cell, and the release of the resulting biogenic amines (e.g., putrescine and cadaverine). This study aimed to identify the system involved in production of cadaverine from lysine, which has not been described to date for lactic acid bacteria. Strain Lactobacillus saerimneri 30a (formerly called Lactobacillus sp. 30a) produces both putrescine and cadaverine. The sequencing of its genome showed that the previously described ornithine decarboxylase gene was not associated with the gene encoding an ornithine/putrescine exchanger as in other bacteria. A new hypothetical decarboxylation system was detected in the proximity of the ornithine decarboxylase gene. It consisted of two genes encoding a putative decarboxylase sharing sequence similarities with ornithine decarboxylases and a putative amino acid transporter resembling the ornithine/putrescine exchangers. The two decarboxylases were produced in Escherichia coli, purified, and characterized in vitro, whereas the transporter was heterologously expressed in Lactococcus lactis and functionally characterized in vivo. The overall data led to the conclusion that the two decarboxylases and the transporter form a three-component decarboxylation system, with the new decarboxylase being a specific lysine decarboxylase and the transporter catalyzing both lysine/cadaverine and ornithine/putrescine exchange. To our knowledge, this is an unprecedented observation of a bacterial three-component decarboxylation system.
A Real-Time Multi-dimensional Visualization Framework for Critical and Complex Environments

The critical care environment is a complex and critical environment, containing numerous body sensors attached to critically ill patients and producing continuous streams of physiological data. In conjunction, human-generated clinical data are produced by clinicians providing care for those patients. Currently, physiological information is displayed in a limited univariate method, inherited from conventional practices of biomedical engineering firms who design and manufacture these medical devices. However, the method in which this information is displayed was developed with limited consideration from user-centered design practices, and largely excludes influential relationship to their underlying medical knowledge and experience. Moreover, these univariate displays have limited abilities to project trends. This paper proposes a framework for displaying multi-dimensional and complex data to users in the critical care environment. We present a case study of neonatal intensive care, a form of critical care for premature and ill term infants to illustrate the framework's practical impact.
Implementation and Operational Research: Effect of Integration of HIV Care and Treatment Into Antenatal Care Clinics on Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission and Maternal Outcomes in Nyanza, Kenya: Results From the SHAIP Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

Background:Many HIV-infected pregnant women identified during antenatal care (ANC) do not enroll in long-term HIV care, resulting in deterioration of maternal health and continued risk of HIV transmission to infants. Methods:We performed a cluster randomized trial to evaluate the effect of integrating HIV care into ANC clinics in rural Kenya. Twelve facilities were randomized to provide either integrated services (ANC, prevention of mother-to-child transmission, and HIV care delivered in the ANC clinic; n = 6 intervention facilities) or standard ANC services (including prevention of mother-to-child transmission and referral to a separate clinic for HIV care; n = 6 control facilities). Results:There were high patient attrition rates over the course of this study. Among study participants who enrolled in HIV care, there was 12-month follow-up data for 256 of 611 (41.8%) women and postpartum data for only 325 of 1172 (28%) women. By 9 months of age, 382 of 568 (67.3%) infants at intervention sites and 338 of 594 (57.0%) at control sites had tested for HIV [odds ratio (OR) 1.45, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.71 to 2.82]; 7.3% of infants tested HIV positive at intervention sites compared with 8.0% of infants at control sites (OR 0.89, 95% CI: 0.56 to 1.43). The composite clinical/immunologic progression into AIDS was similar in both arms (4.9% vs. 5.1%, OR 0.83, 95% CI: 0.41 to 1.68). Conclusions:Despite the provision of integrated services, patient attrition was substantial in both arms, suggesting barriers beyond lack of service integration. Integration of HIV services into the ANC clinic was not associated with a reduced risk of HIV transmission to infants and did not appear to affect short-term maternal health outcomes.
Spatial Structure Behind The Ripple Effect: The Case Of Hong Kong

This paper aims to study the spatial structure of Hong Kong residential market using census data with the urban model, and examine more critically the ripple effect found by Lam (2015). Empirically, those irregularities observed can be explained rather satisfactorily following the lines of reasoning by Brueckner (2011). As for the aforesaid ripples, we demonstrate that the drift pattern no longer exists after introducing a structural breakpoint in End-2008. Instead, we contend that irrespective of house sizes, all price changes tend to originate from the New Territories. And we propose two theoretical explanations for it: internal migration and spatial coefficient heterogeneity.
The Welfare of Crustaceans at Slaughter

The most common methods of slaughtering crustaceans include splitting, spiking, chilling, boiling, gassing, “drowning,” and using chemicals or electricity. As crustaceans do not have a centralized nervous system, unlike vertebrates, they do not die immediately upon destruction of one discrete area, such as the brain. New technologies, including the Crustastun electrical stunning and killing system, may improve the welfare of crustaceans during slaughter, which is critically important as most if not all current techniques are inhumane.
Design and simulation of split-capacitor based three-phase four-wire shunt active power filter

This paper emphasis on design parameter and performance analysis of Split-Capacitor based Three-Phase Four-Wire Shunt Active Power Filter (3P4W2C SAPF). The 3P4W electrical distribution system have been widely used to deliver power to single-phase and/or three-phase loads. They cause harmonics, reactive power burden, unbalanced currents and excessive neutral current. This problems reduce power quality, system efficiency and increase losses in system. To overcome this issues four-wire shunt active power filter is used. In this paper 3P4W2C based on Instantaneous Reactive Power Theory (p-q Theory) and Synchronous Reference Frame Theory (SRF Theory) is simulated. All simulation done in PSIM Version 9.0 software.
Induction motor design considerations for LNG carrier dual fuel electric propulsion

This paper proposes a design procedure of induction motor for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) carrier applications, implementing dual fuel electric propulsion system. For the purposes of the analysis, a preliminary motor design stage is performed by using classical analytical formulae and a parameterization of the design is introduced. In a next step, a critical design stage is developed, based on a geometry optimization procedure at nominal operating conditions by using 2D Finite Element (FE) modeling. The optimization criteria are focused on the minimization of motor total losses at nominal load, in order to achieve high efficiency of the propulsion drive system, and the minimization of torque ripple, in order to provide increased reliability. Finally, for the final optimized motor design, the performance and efficiency indexes are evaluated as well as the equivalent circuit parameters for implementation in the drive control model are determined.
Role of the range in the fluid-crystal coexistence for a patchy particle model.

We evaluate the phase diagram of the four-site Kern-Frenkel patchy particle model [Kern, N. ; Frenkel, D. J. Chem. Phys. 2003, 118, 9882. ], a model representative of particles interacting via short-range orientational interactions, for several values of the interaction range. Similar to what has been found for isotropic potentials, the liquid phase disappears as an equilibrium phase for values of the range on the order of 15% of the particle diameter. For smaller ranges, the gas-liquid phase separation becomes metastable with respect to crystallization into a diamond-like structure. Interestingly, and differently from the isotropic case, the supersaturation of the fluid at the critical point does not significantly increase upon going toward the adhesive (vanishing interaction range) limit.
Fetal alcohol syndrome in Alaska, 1977 through 1992: an administrative prevalence derived from multiple data sources.

OBJECTIVES The prevalence and characteristics of fetal alcohol syndrome cases and the usefulness of various data sources in surveillance were examined in Alaska to guide prevention and future surveillance efforts. METHODS Sixteen data sources in Alaska were used to identify children with fetal alcohol syndrome. Medical charts were reviewed to verify cases, and records were reviewed to provide descriptive data. RESULTS Fetal alcohol syndrome rates varied markedly by birth year and race, with the highest prevalence (4.1 per 1000 live births) found among Alaska Natives born between 1985 and 1988. Screening and referral programs to diagnostic clinics identified 70% of all recorded cases. The intervention program for children 0 to 3 years of age detected 29% of age-appropriate cases, and Medicaid data identified 11% of all cases; birth certificates detected only 9% of the age-appropriate cases. CONCLUSIONS Our findings indicate a high prevalence of fetal alcohol syndrome in Alaska and illustrate that reliance on any one data source would lead to underestimates of the extent of fetal alcohol syndrome in a population.
A Battery-Less Sensor Concept Outputting Perceivable Signal Demonstrated With an Accelerometer

A stringent battery-less sensor concept stipulating the entire operation of sensing and result indication to be driven solely by the sensing element without any additional power source has been proposed and implemented with a completely self-powered accelerometer as an example. The operation involves energy harnessing of the vibration into electrical charge with a piezoelectric cantilever, accumulating the charge and then releasing it into an indicator device via an ultra-sharp switch. Deemed as an unprecedented accelerometer feature, the acceleration information at a single frequency is quantitatively indicated by the period of the pulsed light or sound from the self-powered indicator device, which is directly perceivable and comprehensible to the user. This letter realizes an energy autonomous sensor system as highly desired by the end users.
Structural and functional abnormalities in migraine patients without aura

Migraine is a primary headache disorder characterized by recurrent attacks of throbbing pain associated with neurological, gastrointestinal and autonomic symptoms. Previous studies have detected structural deficits and functional impairments in migraine patients. However, researchers have failed to investigate the functional connectivity alterations of regions with structural deficits during the resting state. Twenty‐one migraine patients without aura and 21 age‐ and gender‐matched healthy controls participated in our study. Voxel‐based morphometric (VBM) analysis and functional connectivity were employed to investigate the abnormal structural and resting‐state properties, respectively, in migraine patients without aura. Relative to healthy comparison subjects, migraine patients showed significantly decreased gray matter volume in five brain regions: the left medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), right occipital lobe, cerebellum and brainstem. The gray matter volume of the dACC was correlated with the duration of disease in migraine patients, and thus we chose this region as the seeding area for resting‐state analysis. We found that migraine patients showed increased functional connectivity between several regions and the left dACC, i.e. the bilateral middle temporal lobe, orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Furthermore, the functional connectivity between the dACC and two regions (i.e. DLPFC and OFC) was correlated with the duration of disease in migraine patients. We suggest that frequent nociceptive input has modified the structural and functional patterns of the frontal cortex, and these changes may explain the functional impairments in migraine patients. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
LPPS: Location privacy protection for smartphones

Location-based service (LBS) is useful for many applications. However, LBS has raised serious concerns about users' location privacy. Utilizing the computation and storage capacity of smart phones, we propose a novel system architecture, called Location Privacy Protection for Smartphone (LPPS), to provide a privacy-preserving top-k query. LPPS does not rely on a trust third party (TTP), nor does it requires LBS servers to change their business model. The main idea of LPPS is to rank the Points of Interests (POIs) on the client side of the application using a small amount of metadata and then to make a request to the LBS server for real-time and detailed information about the POIs. Based on LPPS, we propose a novel metric called location indistinguishability to evaluate the privacy level of users in the proposed scheme. Then, we propose two dummy-POI selection algorithms to generate a superset of the actual top-k POIs when the query cannot meet the privacy requirement. Our experimental results demonstrate the validity and practicality of the proposed schemes.
Towards robot systems for small batch manufacturing

In this paper, we present a prototypical system as platform for a new generation of robotic workers. Dealing with customization, individualization and finally customer driven batch sizes of products of highest quality requires robot technologies that are able to compensate uncertainties inherent in processes and environment. Existing production plants are planned for the majority of variants, but for a significant portion of all products the flexibility of human workers is still required for production. Therefore technologies are required allowing intuitive access to robotic system components without being a robot expert. The main contribution of the paper is a novel framework for robotic workers combining perception, autonomous planning and a user-centered design of human-robot interaction. We also present an industrial interface that allows the operator to immerse into complex industrial robot processes and to transfer task knowledge and strategies for commanding robots on a high-level. The framework and its embedded methods have been implemented and evaluated in a bin picking scenario for small batch sizes.
Compensation Method of Cross-Axis Effect for AMR Sensor

Cross-axis effect, which is inherent to anisotropic magnetoresistive sensor (referred to as AMR sensor), would have an impact on accurate measurement of magnetic field. For non-orthogonal system, model and compensation algorithm of cross-axis effect for AMR three-axis sensor were established. Taking measurement of proton precession magnetometer as a standard, AMR magnetometer and non-magnetic rotary table were used for outdoor experiments. According to test data, Newton-Raphson iteration method was utilized to calculate compensation parameters. The results showed that compensation method further reduced error of total magnetic field.
Mitigation of privacy issues in IoT by modifying CoAP

Internet of Things (IoT) has emerged as a global network, which intelligently connects different devices or systems which are having self-configuring capabilities. The key idea is to bind or to connect miscellaneous devices or objects via wireless or wired connections along with unique addressing system and make omnipresent environment where an individual can communicate at any time with digital and physical word. Because of the connection between physical objects and unsafe internet, security has become key point for the success of IoT based services. Objects in IoT are constrained objects as they have limited storage capacity and lower processing power. By looking this, Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) is taken into consideration as a powerful prospect to deliver security in IoT networks. Here we propose to use ECC for the IoT communication to develop secure, fast as well as effective IoT based services. To the best of our knowledge, this will be the lightest possible solution in the context of IoT privacy issues concerns. Furthermore, we will try to evaluate this on a real hardware IoT platform.
Site-specific inversion sequence of the herpes simplex virus genome: domain and structural features.

The genome of herpes simplex virus-1 consists of two covalently linked components, L and S, that invert relative to each other. The L and S components consist of unique DNA sequences bracketed by inverted repeats. The inverted repeats of the L component are designated ab and b' a' and those of the S component are designated a' c' and ca. The number of a sequences at the termini and at the L-S component junction varies from one to several copies. Insertion into the middle of the L component of a DNA fragment consisting of 156 base pairs (bp) of the b sequence, an entire a sequence of 501 bp, and 618 bp of the c sequence created a new site through which additional inversions in the genome occurred. Comparison of the nucleotide sequences of DNA fragments containing one and two a sequences defined the domain of the a sequence. The single a sequence consists of two 20-bp direct repeats (designated as DR1) bracketing a region that contains 19 tandem direct repeats of a 12-bp sequence (DR2) adjacent to three direct repeats of a 37-bp sequence (DR4), in addition to short stretches of unique sequences. The fragment with two tandem a sequences contained three copies of DR1-i.e., the intervening DR1 was shared by the two a sequences. Furthermore, one a sequence contained 22 copies of DR2 and two copies of DR4 whereas the second a sequence contained 19 copies of DR2 and two copies of DR4. These observations suggest that (i) amplification of the number of terminal and internal a sequences is the consequence of intramolecular or intermolecular recombination through DR1, (ii) the number of copies of DR2 and DR4 within the a sequence is not fixed and may vary as a consequence of unequal crossing over or slippage, and (iii) inversion results from intramolecular recombination between terminal and inverted a sequences.
Variegin, a Novel Fast and Tight Binding Thrombin Inhibitor from the Tropical Bont Tick*

Tick saliva contains potent antihemostatic molecules that help ticks obtain their enormous blood meal during prolonged feeding. We isolated thrombin inhibitors present in the salivary gland extract from partially fed female Amblyomma variegatum, the tropical bont tick, and characterized the most potent, variegin, one of the smallest (32 residues) thrombin inhibitors found in nature. Full-length variegin and two truncated variants were chemically synthesized. Despite its small size and flexible structure, variegin binds thrombin with strong affinity (Ki ∼10.4 pm) and high specificity. Results using the truncated variants indicated that the seven residues at the N terminus affected the binding kinetics; when removed, the binding characteristics changed from fast to slow. Further, the thrombin active site binding moiety of variegin is in the region of residues 8–14, and the exosite-I binding moiety is within residues 15–32. Our results show that variegin is structurally and functionally similar to the rationally designed thrombin inhibitor, hirulog. However, compared with hirulog, variegin is a more potent inhibitor, and its inhibitory activity is largely retained after cleavage by thrombin.
Effects of Sea‐Level Rise on Ground Water Flow in a Coastal Aquifer System

The effects of sea‐level rise on the depth to the fresh water/salt water interface were simulated by using a density‐dependent, three‐dimensional numerical ground water flow model for a simplified hypothetical fresh water lens that is similar to shallow, coastal aquifers found along the Atlantic coast of the United States. Simulations of sea‐level rise of 2.65 mm/year from 1929 to 2050 resulted in an increase in water levels relative to a fixed datum, yet a net decrease in water levels relative to the increased sea‐level position. The net decrease in water levels was much greater near a gaining stream than farther from the stream. The difference in the change in water levels is attributed to the dampening effect of the stream on water level changes in response to sea‐level rise. In response to the decreased water level altitudes relative to local sea level, the depth to the fresh water/salt water interface decreased. This reduction in the thickness of the fresh water lens varied throughout the aquifer and was greatly affected by proximity to a ground water fed stream and whether the stream was tidally influenced. Away from the stream, the thickness of the fresh water lens decreased by about 2% from 1929 to 2050, whereas the fresh water lens thickness decreased by about 22% to 31% for the same period near the stream, depending on whether the stream was tidally influenced. The difference in the change in the fresh water/salt water interface position is controlled by the difference in the net decline in water levels relative to local sea level.