Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Arginase Inhibition Restores Peroxynitrite-Induced Endothelial Dysfunction via L-Arginine-Dependent Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase Phosphorylation

Purpose Peroxynitrite plays a critical role in vascular pathophysiology by increasing arginase activity and decreasing endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) activity. Therefore, the aims of this study were to investigate whether arginase inhibition and L-arginine supplement could restore peroxynitrite-induced endothelial dysfunction and determine the involved mechanism. Materials and Methods Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were treated with SIN-1, a peroxynitrite generator, and arginase activity, nitrite/nitrate production, and expression levels of proteins were measured. eNOS activation was evaluated via Western blot and dimer blot analysis. We also tested nitric oxide (NO) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and performed a vascular tension assay. Results SIN-1 treatment increased arginase activity in a time- and dose-dependent manner and reciprocally decreased nitrite/nitrate production that was prevented by peroxynitrite scavenger in HUVECs. Furthermore, SIN-1 induced an increase in the expression level of arginase I and II, though not in eNOS protein. The decreased eNOS phosphorylation at Ser1177 and the increased at Thr495 by SIN-1 were restored with arginase inhibitor and L-arginine. The changed eNOS phosphorylation was consistent in the stability of eNOS dimers. SIN-1 decreased NO production and increased ROS generation in the aortic endothelium, all of which was reversed by arginase inhibitor or L-arginine. NG-Nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) prevented SIN-1-induced ROS generation. In the vascular tension assay, SIN-1 enhanced vasoconstrictor responses to U46619 and attenuated vasorelaxant responses to acetylcholine that were reversed by arginase inhibition. Conclusion These findings may explain the beneficial effect of arginase inhibition and L-arginine supplement on endothelial dysfunction under redox imbalance-dependent pathophysiological conditions.
Unobtrusive Sensing and Wearable Devices for Health Informatics

The aging population, prevalence of chronic diseases, and outbreaks of infectious diseases are some of the major challenges of our present-day society. To address these unmet healthcare needs, especially for the early prediction and treatment of major diseases, health informatics, which deals with the acquisition, transmission, processing, storage, retrieval, and use of health information, has emerged as an active area of interdisciplinary research. In particular, acquisition of health-related information by unobtrusive sensing and wearable technologies is considered as a cornerstone in health informatics. Sensors can be weaved or integrated into clothing, accessories, and the living environment, such that health information can be acquired seamlessly and pervasively in daily living. Sensors can even be designed as stick-on electronic tattoos or directly printed onto human skin to enable long-term health monitoring. This paper aims to provide an overview of four emerging unobtrusive and wearable technologies, which are essential to the realization of pervasive health information acquisition, including: 1) unobtrusive sensing methods, 2) smart textile technology, 3) flexible-stretchable-printable electronics, and 4) sensor fusion, and then to identify some future directions of research.
Scribe

Quickly converting speech to text allows deaf and hard of hearing people to interactively follow along with live speech. Doing so reliably requires a combination of perception, understanding, and speed that neither humans nor machines possess alone. In this article, we discuss how our Scribe system combines human labor and machine intelligence in real time to reliably convert speech to text with less than 4s latency. To achieve this speed while maintaining high accuracy, Scribe integrates automated assistance in two ways. First, its user interface directs workers to different portions of the audio stream, slows down the portion they are asked to type, and adaptively determines segment length based on typing speed. Second, it automatically merges the partial input of multiple workers into a single transcript using a custom version of multiple-sequence alignment. Scribe illustrates the broad potential for deeply interleaving human labor and machine intelligence to provide intelligent interactive services that neither can currently achieve alone.
Estimating first‐passage time distributions from weighted ensemble simulations and non‐Markovian analyses

First‐passage times (FPTs) are widely used to characterize stochastic processes such as chemical reactions, protein folding, diffusion processes or triggering a stock option. In previous work (Suarez et al., JCTC 2014;10:2658‐2667), we demonstrated a non‐Markovian analysis approach that, with a sufficient subset of history information, yields unbiased mean first‐passage times from weighted‐ensemble (WE) simulations. The estimation of the distribution of the first‐passage times is, however, a more ambitious goal since it cannot be obtained by direct observation in WE trajectories. Likewise, a large number of events would be required to make a good estimation of the distribution from a regular “brute force” simulation. Here, we show how the previously developed non‐Markovian analysis can generate approximate, but highly accurate, FPT distributions from WE data. The analysis can also be applied to any other unbiased trajectories, such as from standard molecular dynamics simulations. The present study employs a range of systems with independent verification of the distributions to demonstrate the success and limitations of the approach. By comparison to a standard Markov analysis, the non‐Markovian approach is less sensitive to the user‐defined discretization of configuration space.
Unpacking the therapist effect: Impact of treatment length differs for high- and low-performing therapists

Abstract Objective: Differences between therapists in their average outcomes (i.e., therapist effects) have become a topic of increasing interest in psychotherapy research in the past decade. Relatively little work, however, has moved beyond identifying the presence of significant between-therapist variability in patient outcomes. The current study sought to examine the ways in which therapist effects emerge over the course of time in psychotherapy. Method: We used a large psychotherapy data set (n = 5828 patients seen by n = 158 therapists for 50,048 sessions of psychotherapy) and examined whether outcomes diverge for high-performing (HP) and low-performing (LP) therapists as treatment duration increases. Results: Therapists accounted for a small but significant proportion of variance in patient outcomes that was not explained by differences between therapists' caseload characteristics. The discrepancy in outcomes between HP and LP therapists increased as treatment duration increased (interaction coefficient = 0.071, p < .001). In addition, patients' trajectories of change were a function of their therapist's average outcome as well as the patient's duration of treatment (interaction coefficient = 0.060, p = .040). Conclusions: Indeed, patterns of change previously described ignoring between-therapist differences (e.g., dose-effect, good-enough level model) may vary systematically when disaggregated by therapist effect.
A high data rate QPSK demodulator for inductively powered electronics implants

A high data transfer rate quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) demodulator is proposed for wireless implantable electronic medical devices. The QPSK demodulator is an improved version from our previous binary phase shift keying (BPSK) demodulator, which is based on a modified Costas loop. Simulated QPSK model under Matlab Simulink obtained a data transmission rate of 8 Mbps with 13.56 MHz carrier frequency. Also, implemented differential topology of the proposed circuit using a 0.18mum CMOS technology achieves a data transmission rate up to 4Mbps with the same carrier frequency. The simulated power dissipation of the schematic is 0.75mW under 1.8V power supply
Development of poly(butylene succinate)/calcium phosphate composites for bone engineering

Bone tissue engineering offers the prospect of alternative therapies for clinically relevant skeletal defects. Poly(butylene succinate) (PBSu) is a biodegradable and biocompatible polyester which possesses some unfavorable biomaterial properties. In order to improve this limitation, we developed PBSu/hydroxyapatite (HA) and PBSu/β-tricalcium phosphate (TCP) composites to support the growth and osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). The results showed that phase separation morphology of the composites were detected in both PBSu/HA and PBSu/TCP films where calcium phosphate (HA and TCP) dispersed thoroughly into PBSu. The addition of either HA or TCP increased the hydrophilicity of the resulting composites. All the materials appeared to be biocompatible and supported in vitro growth and osteoblast differentiation of hMSCs. In conclusion, the currently developed composite materials possess good biocompatibility and allow the growth and osteogenic differentiation of hMSCs in vitro, suggesting their potential application in stem cell-based bone engineering.
What’s so appealing? An examination of emotional appeals and viewer engagement in safe-sex PSAs and condom advertisements

ABSTRACT Whereas advertisements strive to increase revenue, PSAs work to educate and inform. Even though both share the similar goal of persuasion, advertising tends to lead to more effective sales, unlike PSAs, which can have little effect on audience behaviors. Using a systematic, quantitative content analysis, this study examines emotional appeals and viewer engagement in safe-sex PSAs and condom advertisements in online videos (N = 132). PSAs with humor appeals received more viewer attention in terms of views, comments, and ratings than humorous advertisements. Recommendations for designing public health campaigns are discussed in terms of specific appeals for garnering audience attention.
2001–2011: A Decade of the LADIS (Leukoaraiosis And DISability) Study: What Have We Learned about White Matter Changes and Small-Vessel Disease?

Over the last 20 years, evidence about the clinical correlates of cerebral white matter changes (WMC; also called leukoaraiosis) has been accumulating. WMC are now listed among the neuroimaging expressions of cerebral small-vessel disease and are no longer considered an innocuous finding because they are associated, in cross-sectional surveys, with various disturbances and, in follow-up studies, with poor prognosis. The Leukoaraiosis And DISability (LADIS) study has contributed substantially to this body of knowledge. LADIS is a European multicenter collaboration that was started in 2001 with the aim of assessing the independent role of WMC in predicting disability in subjects aged 65–84. The main results of the LADIS study have been released in 2009 with the demonstration that severe WMC more than double the risk of transition from an autonomous to a dependent status after 3 years of follow-up. The LADIS study has also contributed more focused substudies assessing the possible role of WMC in the decline of cognitive and motor performances, depressive symptoms associated with aging and cerebrovascular diseases, urinary disturbances, and also the role of other brain lesions (lacunar infarcts, cerebral atrophy, and corpus callosum morphology). The LADIS study provides a good example of harmonization of instruments (MRI protocol, clinical, neuropsychological, and functional scales) within an international collaboration. Currently, the LADIS study is providing data about the natural history of WMC. In this paper, we review the background and the main results of the LADIS study. This review puts forward some considerations for future studies in the field.
Effect Of The Contact Area On Sliding Velocity

In this study, we investigated the sliding friction of Teflon (polytetrafluoroethylene: PTFE) samples on an inclined glass plate with a smooth transparent surface. The sliding velocity and contact area of the samples were evaluated as functions of the sliding length and inclined angle, and their relationships were determined to examine the effect of the contact area on the sliding velocity. Our results showed that the velocity decreased as the contact area increased, due to the wear of the samples, suggesting that the contact area plays an important role in sliding friction.
Quantifying the Drilling Effect during the Application of Incremental Hole-Drilling Technique in Laminate Composites

In this work, a methodology to quantify the effect of the drilling operation, during the application of the incremental hole-drilling technique (IHD) for measuring residual stresses in laminate composites, in particular, the polymer matrix composites (PMC), is presented. This technique will allow the optimization of the drilling procedures and its parameters, enabling the quantification of the drilling effect. This quantification is obtained by using an experimental calibration procedure followed by a numerical simulation of the whole process. The direct comparison of the experimental and numerical results will allow quantifying the effect of the drilling operation. As example, the methodology was applied to the case of carbon/epoxy cross-ply laminate [0°/90°]5s. The holes have been made by using two different drilling procedures, but the same tool geometry. High speed milling powered by air compression, a process usually employed in the case of the application of hole-drilling technique to metal alloys and a conventional computer numerically controlled (CNC) milling machine, were used. The results seem to show that incremental hole-drilling could be a reliable technique to determine residual stresses in fibre-reinforced polymers.
The Role of Inflation-Indexed Bond in Optimal Management of Defined Contribution Pension Plan During the Decumulation Phase

This paper investigates the optimal investment strategy for a defined contribution (DC) pension plan during the decumulation phase which is risk-averse and pays close attention to inflation risk. The plan aims to maximize the expected constant relative risk aversion (CRRA) utility from the terminal real wealth by investing the fund in a financial market consisting of an inflation-indexed bond, an ordinary zero coupon bond and a risk-free asset. We derive the optimal investment strategy in closed-form using the dynamic programming approach by solving the related Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equation. The results reveal that, with any level of the parameters, an inflation-indexed bond has significant advantage to hedge inflation risk.
Comparative Expression Analysis of DFL, a LFY/FLO Homologue Gene in Dendranthema lavandulifolium Responds to Photoperiodic Induction

he expression of the floral regulators DFL, a LFY/FLO homologue from Chrysanthemum lavandulifolium was examined during short day light treatments. Quantitative real-time RT-PCR experiments showed that DFL was expressed in the vegetative apices and throughout the shoot apex following photoperiodic induction. After 5 days of induction, DFL expression was increased markly and expressed in highest levels after 20 days induction. Expression of DFL in the shoot apex at the time of floral determination indicating that DFL gene is involved in the first steps of the transition from vegetative to reproductive development.
Real-time spectral scattering in large-scale natural participating media

Real-time rendering of participating media in nature presents a difficult problem. The reason is that realistic reproduction of such media requires a proper physical simulation in all cases. In our work we focus on real-time rendering of planetary atmospheres and large areas of water. We first formulate a physically-based model for simulation of light transport in these environments. This model accounts for all necessary light contributions --- direct illumination, indirect illumination caused by the scattered light and interreflections between the planetary surface and the atmospheric volume, as well as reflections from the seabed. We adopt the precomputation scheme presented in the previous works to precompute the colours of the arbitrarily dense atmosphere and large-scale water surfaces into a set of lookup tables. All these computations are fully spectral, which increases the realism. Finally we utilize these tables in a GPU-based algorithm that is capable of rendering a whole planet with its atmosphere from all viewpoints above the planetary surface. This approach is capable to achieve hundreds of frames per second on today's graphics hardware.
DETAILED ANALYSIS OF HIGH SHEET RESISTANCE EMITTERS FOR SELECTIVELY DOPED SILICON SOLAR CELLS

A selective emitter structure is a promising approach to improve the cell efficiency of industrial type silicon solar cells by minimizing the losses at the front surface and in the emitter. Selective emitters can be produced by numerous processing sequences, resulting in different doping profiles. This work focuses on evaluating the potential of the high sheet resistance emitters that are created by the selective emitter processes developed at the University of Konstanz (UKN). In these processes, the high sheet resistance emitter is created by a heavy diffusion and an etchback of the heavily doped surface layer (1, 2), or by a weak diffusion with a subsequent drive-in step (4, 5). QSSPC samples were fabricated to evaluate the emitter quality by measuring the emitter saturation current j0E. On some emitter profiles, SIMS measurements were performed. For the etchback emitter a strong improvement in j0E can be achieved by etching back a heavily doped emitter, resulting in a highest cell efficiency of 18.9%. For the drive-in emitter we have shown that the masking SiNX layer should be removed and redeposited after drive-in in order to obtain a good hydrogen passivation and a low emitter saturation current.
JOB SATISFACTION AND PREFERENCES REGARDING JOB CHARACTEREISTICS OF VOCATIONALS AND MASTER CRAFTSMAN SCHOLARS AND HORTICULTURE STUDENTS IN GERMANY

Labour costs account for 40 % of all the costs in German horticulture. Employee satisfaction has a significant impact on the economic and social sustainability of horticultural companies. Traditional linear relationships between environmental characteristics and subjective job satisfaction have been assumed in psychological research. Warr (2007) challenged this conception with the non-linear vitamin model. The present study examines the possibility of non-linear relationships between job characteristics and job satisfaction. For this purpose, a survey was carried out using an online and a paper-and-pencil questionnaire from August 2013 to February 2015. In addition, the preferences of employees (N=229), vocational and master craftsman scholars (N=205) and students of horticulture science (N=204) regarding job characteristics were examined. This article focuses on the later two. The relationships between characteristic values and work and life satisfaction are analysed and the results of the three groups are compared. The strongest relationships with job satisfaction can be observed for vocational and master craftsman scholars for the job features emotional dissonance and considerate leadership. Additionally, employers' fair treatment of the society as a whole has a strong impact on job satisfaction. The salary can be found only in the lower middle range. The data support the assumption of non-linear relationships between job characteristic values and satisfaction. Furthermore, the personal characteristics of the study participants are included in the analysis. The study indicates a change in the preference structure of employees, who in the future would prefer a good work–life balance in particular as well as other "soft" factors.
Motivation for brief dynamic psychotherapy.

BACKGROUND Preliminary research indicates that motivation may be a key predictor of success in brief dynamic psychotherapy, but different aspects of motivation have not been studied as predictors. METHODS In this study 48 out-patients were clinically evaluated before therapy with regard to different aspects of motivation. Seven motivation items modified after Sifneos were rated by several experienced judges. Forty-three patients were treated and followed up 2 and 4 years after brief dynamic psychotherapy. The predictive validity of each of the motivation items was tested by their direct correlations with long-term outcome, and their collective predictive validity was tested by use of multiple regression analyses. RESULTS The interrater reliability was problematic for single items, but when the average scores of 4 judges were used, adequate reliabilities on 4 items were achieved. Two items, Motivation for change and Realistic expectations, showed the best predictive validity of long-term outcome. CONCLUSIONS An Active engagement aspect of motivation may predict both successful and unsuccessful cases. Our data indicate that patients should be instructed about the principles and procedures of dynamic psychotherapy and they should be told why it is important for them to actively test alternative problem-solving strategies during and after therapy.
Energy Optimization of Robotic Cells

This study focuses on the energy optimization of industrial robotic cells, which is essential for sustainable production in the long term. A holistic approach that considers a robotic cell as a whole toward minimizing energy consumption is proposed. The mathematical model, which takes into account various robot speeds, positions, power-saving modes, and alternative orders of operations, can be transformed into a mixed-integer linear programming formulation that is, however, suitable only for small instances. To optimize complex robotic cells, a hybrid heuristic accelerated by using multicore processors and the Gurobi simplex method for piecewise linear convex functions is implemented. The experimental results showed that the heuristic solved 93% of instances with a solution quality close to a proven lower bound. Moreover, compared with the existing works, which typically address problems with three to four robots, this study solved real-size problem instances with up to 12 robots and considered more optimization aspects. The proposed algorithms were also applied on an existing robotic cell in Škoda Auto. The outcomes, based on simulations and measurements, indicate that, compared with the previous state (at maximal robot speeds and without deeper power-saving modes), the energy consumption can be reduced by about 20% merely by optimizing the robot speeds and applying power-saving modes. All the software and generated datasets used in this research are publicly available.