Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Arterial Elastance and Wave Reflection Augmentation of Systolic Blood Pressure: Deleterious Effects and Implications for Therapy

Systolic and pulse blood pressures are stronger predictors of stroke, coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction, heart failure, end-stage renal disease, and cardiovascular mortality than diastolic pressure. Furthermore, diastolic pressure is inversely related to coronary heart disease and cardiovascular mortality. Increased elastance (or stiffness, inverse of compliance) of the central elastic arteries is the primary cause of increased systolic and pulse pressure with advancing age and in patients with cardiovascular disease, including hypertension, and is due to degeneration and hyperplasia of the arterial wall; diastolic pressure decreases as arterial elastance increases. As elastance increases, transmission velocity of both forward and backward (or reflected) traveling waves increases, which causes the reflected wave to arrive earlier in the central aorta and augments pressure in late systole. These changes in arterial wall properties cause an increase in left ventricular afterload and myocardial oxygen consumption and a decrease in myocardial perfusion pressure, which may induce an imbalance in the supply-demand ratio, especially in hypertrophied hearts with coronary artery disease. Also, an increase in systolic pressure increases arterial wall circumferential stress, which promotes fatigue and development of athersclerosis. Vasodilator drugs have little direct active effect on large elastic arteries but can markedly reduce wave reflection amplitude and augmentation index by decreasing elastance of the muscular arteries and reducing pulse wave velocity of the reflected wave from the periphery to the heart. This decrease in intensity (or amplitude) and increase in travel time (or delay) of the reflected wave causes a generalized decrease in systolic pressure and arterial wall stress and an increase in ascending aortic flow during the deceleration phase. The decrease in systolic pressure brought about by this mechanism is grossly underestimated when systolic pressure is measured in the brachial artery.
Composition policies for gesture passwords: User choice, security, usability and memorability

Research on gesture passwords suggest they are highly usable and secure, leading them to be proposed as a strong alternative authentication method for touchscreen devices. However, studies demonstrate that user-chosen gesture passwords are biased towards familiar symbols, increasing the risk of guessing. Prior work on gesture elicitation focuses on creating sets with high overlap, but gesture passwords require solving an inverse problem: minimal overlap between different users. We present the results of the first study (N = 128) of composition policies for gesture passwords, wherein we compare four policies derived from unique properties of gesture passwords. Our main result is that implementing a policy changes user choice, security, usability, and memorability compared to a control group and that the strength of those changes depend on the policies. We report trade-offs among the instruction policies while showing that simple policies cause users to choose stronger and diverse gesture passwords.
Building a profile of subjective well-being for social media users

Subjective well-being includes ‘affect’ and ‘satisfaction with life’ (SWL). This study proposes a unified approach to construct a profile of subjective well-being based on social media language in Facebook status updates. We apply sentiment analysis to generate users’ affect scores, and train a random forest model to predict SWL using affect scores and other language features of the status updates. Results show that: the computer-selected features resemble the key predictors of SWL as identified in early studies; the machine-predicted SWL is moderately correlated with the self-reported SWL (r = 0.36, p < 0.01), indicating that language-based assessment can constitute valid SWL measures; the machine-assessed affect scores resemble those reported in a previous experimental study; and the machine-predicted subjective well-being profile can also reflect other psychological traits like depression (r = 0.24, p < 0.01). This study provides important insights for psychological prediction using multiple, machine-assessed components and longitudinal or dense psychological assessment using social media language.
Ostracode biostratigraphy of the Yorktown Formation (upper Miocene and lower Pliocene) of Virginia and North Carolina

The Yorktown Formation of Virginia and North Carolina is divided into three ostracode assemblage zones based on the occurrence of 230 species in 43 samples. The samples were compared in Q-mode using the Dice binary similarity coefficient and cluster analysis. From oldest to youngest, the three zones are the Pterygocythereis inexpectata, Orionina vaughani, and Puriana mesacostalis Zones. The first two are late Miocene in age and the last, which is poorly represented in Virginia, is considered to be early Pliocene in age. The level of association (R-mode study using the Dice coefficient) between 80 of the more commonly occurring species is shown by means of a dendrogram; values for the biostratigraphic fidelity and constancy of each of these species for each of the zones are given. A general trend through time from late Miocene to early Pliocene for the Yorktown transgression and regression is suggested, based on the occurrence of brackish-water ostracodes and bivalves, particularly Cyprideis and Corbicula. It is suggested that rapid transgression of the sea occurred during early Yorktown time to a maximum during the time represented by the middle Orionina vaughani Zone. A more or less steady regression of the sea followed during the remainder of Yorktown time. INTRODUCTION The Yorktown Formation (upper Tertiary) of North Carolina and Virginia is a very fossiliferous, lithologically heterogeneous unit with an exposed thickness (natural exposures or open-pit mines) of about 70-120 feet. The sandy clays and clayey sands assigned to the Yorktown crop out discontinuously in a 16,800-squaremile area between the Rappahannock River in Virginia and the Neuse River in North Carolina (fig. 1). South of the Neuse River, deposits of the same general age as the Yorktown are usually mapped as Duplin Marl. No microfossil zonation exists for the Yorktown. This report presents the results of a reconnaissance collecting program in conjunction with examination of existing museum collections, the object being to provide a regional ostracode zonation. Localities (fig. 1; p. 10) were chosen on the basis of geographic and stratigraphic spread. More detailed collecting will be done in locally complex areas such as the York-James peninsula where the distribution of numerous lithofacies within the Yorktown is being studied (Johnson, 1969; Coch, 1968; Bick and Coch, 1969). 78 0 25 50 75 100 KILOMETERS i i i i 11 i I I FIGURE 1. Location of collections; numbers correspond to those in locality list (p. 10). Dashed line encloses area in which Yorktown Formation crops out in natural exposures.
Micromechanical test structures for the characterisation of electroplated NiFe cantilevers and their viability for use in MEMS switching devices

This paper presents the fabrication of a series of test devices designed to prove the viability of electroplated NiFe freestanding structures for use in magnetically actuated MEMS switches. Preliminary results show promising actuation responses and further release optimisation and testing will enable the quantitative measurement of the desired characteristics. In addition, this will potentially enable the mechanical characterisation of freestanding structures in other materials by means of magnetic actuation, simply by depositing small quantities of NiFe or other magnetic materials in convenient areas of existing devices.
Sedimentology and Petrophysical Character of Cretaceous Marine Shale Sequences in Foreland Basins—Potential Seismic Response Issues

Development of predictive models to estimate the distribution and petrophysical properties of potential mudstone-flow barriers can reduce risks inherent to exploration and exploitation programs. Such a predictive model, founded in sequence stratigraphy, requires calibration with outcrop and subsurface analogs. Detailed sedimentological, petrophysical, and geochemical analyses of Lewis Shale (lower Maastrichtian) samples from southeast Wyoming reveal considerable variability in petrophysically and seismically significant rock properties. Lower Lewis strata represent late-stage transgressive deposits that include a distinctive condensed interval. The overlying progradational Lewis interval consists mostly of interstratified very silty shales and argillaceous siltstones. High-frequency sheet and lenticular sandstone bodies occur in the progradational Lewis package. Sealing capacity, as measured by mercury injection-capillary pressure (MICP) analysis, varies with fabric, texture, and compositional factors that are related to sequence-stratigraphic position. Samples from the Lewis Shale transgressive interval have significantly greater MICP values (average 18,000 psia) and are markedly better seals relative to samples from the overlying Lewis Shale progradational package (average 3000 psia). Transgressive shales with enhanced sealing capacity are characterized by higher total organic carbon and hydrogen index values, lower permeability, and lower detrital silt content. These transgressive shales are enriched in iron-bearing clay minerals and authigenic pyrite. Greater shear wave velocities, larger shear moduli, and higher bulk density also characterize transgressive Lewis Shales. The most promising seal horizons are laterally extensive, silt-poor, pyritic shales occurring in the uppermost transgressive systems tract. Stacking patterns of slow and fast shale horizons can yield seismic responses comparable to those interpreted as hydrocarbon-bearing reservoirs.
Medullary Circuitry Regulating Rapid Eye Movement Sleep and Motor Atonia

Considerable data support a role for glycinergic ventromedial medulla neurons in the mediation of the postsynaptic inhibition of spinal motoneurons necessary for the motor atonia of rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep in cats. These data are, however, difficult to reconcile with the fact that large lesions of the rostral ventral medulla do not result in loss of REM atonia in rats. In the present study, we sought to clarify which medullary networks in rodents are responsible for REM motor atonia by retrogradely tracing inputs to the spinal ventral horn from the medulla, ablating these medullary sources to determine their effects on REM atonia and using transgenic mice to identify the neurotransmitter(s) involved. Our results reveal a restricted region within the ventromedial medulla, termed here the “supraolivary medulla” (SOM), which contains glutamatergic neurons that project to the spinal ventral horn. Cell-body specific lesions of the SOM resulted in an intermittent loss of muscle atonia, taking the form of exaggerated phasic muscle twitches, during REM sleep. A concomitant reduction in REM sleep time was observed in the SOM-lesioned animals. We next used mice with lox-P modified alleles of either the glutamate or GABA/glycine vesicular transporters to selectively eliminate glutamate or GABA/glycine neurotransmission from SOM neurons. Loss of SOM glutamate release, but not SOM GABA/glycine release, resulted in exaggerated muscle twitches during REM sleep that were similar to those observed after SOM lesions in rats. These findings, together, demonstrate that SOM glutamatergic neurons comprise key elements of the medullary circuitry mediating REM atonia.
Modeling of Tool-Tissue Interactions for Computer-Based Surgical Simulation: A Literature Review

Surgical simulators present a safe and potentially effective method for surgical training, and can also be used in robot-assisted surgery for pre- and intra-operative planning. Accurate modeling of the interaction between surgical instruments and organs has been recognized as a key requirement in the development of high-fidelity surgical simulators. Researchers have attempted to model tool-tissue interactions in a wide variety of ways, which can be broadly classified as (1) linear elasticity-based, (2) nonlinear (hyperelastic) elasticity-based finite element (FE) methods, and (3) other techniques not based on FE methods or continuum mechanics. Realistic modeling of organ deformation requires populating the model with real tissue data (which are difficult to acquire in vivo) and simulating organ response in real time (which is computationally expensive). Further, it is challenging to account for connective tissue supporting the organ, friction, and topological changes resulting from tool-tissue interactions during invasive surgical procedures. Overcoming such obstacles will not only help us to model tool-tissue interactions in real time, but also enable realistic force feedback to the user during surgical simulation. This review paper classifies the existing research on tool-tissue interactions for surgical simulators specifically based on the modeling techniques employed and the kind of surgical operation being simulated, in order to inform and motivate future research on improved tool-tissue interaction models.
The DNA Methylome and Transcriptome of Different Brain Regions in Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder

Extensive changes in DNA methylation have been observed in schizophrenia (SC) and bipolar disorder (BP), and may contribute to the pathogenesis of these disorders. Here, we performed genome-scale DNA methylation profiling using methylated DNA immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing (MeDIP-seq) on two brain regions (including frontal cortex and anterior cingulate) in 5 SC, 7 BP and 6 normal subjects. Comparing with normal controls, we identified substantial differentially methylated regions (DMRs) in these two brain regions of SC and BP. To our surprise, different brain regions show completely distinct distributions of DMRs across the genomes. In frontal cortex of both SC and BP subjects, we observed widespread hypomethylation as compared to normal controls, preferentially targeting the terminal ends of the chromosomes. In contrast, in anterior cingulate, both SC and BP subjects displayed extensive gain of methylation. Notably, in these two brain regions of SC and BP, only a few DMRs overlapped with promoters, whereas a greater proportion occurs in introns and intergenic regions. Functional enrichment analysis indicated that important psychiatric disorder-related biological processes such as neuron development, differentiation and projection may be altered by epigenetic changes located in the intronic regions. Transcriptome analysis revealed consistent dysfunctional processes with those determined by DMRs. Furthermore, DMRs in the same brain regions from SC and BP could successfully distinguish BP and/or SC from normal controls while differentially expressed genes could not. Overall, our results support a major role for brain-region-dependent aberrant DNA methylation in the pathogenesis of these two disorders.
Losses of nitrogen fertiliser under oil palm in Papua New Guinea: 2. Nitrogen transformations and leaching, and a residence time model

Nitrogen fertiliser is an expensive input to oil palm in Papua New Guinea, and prone to leaching due to the about 3000mm/year of rainfall. Transfer function theory is used to describe this leaching, and to devise ways of reducing it. Four variants of a leaching experiment were conducted at 2 sites to parameterise and check the theory. The experiment involved the application of ammonium chloride to an area of 25m 2 , and then from 6 days to 5 months later taking soil samples at 200-mm intervals down to 2m depth and analysing them for chloride, ammonium, and nitrate. Background concentrations were obtained by contemporaneous sampling nearby. In one variant of the experiment 353mm of rain in 6 days moved nearly half the applied nitrogen to below 400mm depth. Nitrification was rapid, with ammonium half-lives ranging from 2 to 16 days once the soil was wet. The theory is used to demonstrate how the fertiliser residence time in the root-zone can be increased by applying it in certain months and about 2m from the trunk where there is less throughfall.
MUC5B is the major mucin in the gel phase of sputum in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

RATIONALE Overproduction of mucus is a contributory factor in the progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The polymeric mucins are major macromolecules in the secretion. Therefore, we hypothesized that the polymeric mucin composition or properties may be different in the sputum from individuals with COPD and smokers without airflow obstruction. OBJECTIVES To determine the major polymeric mucins in COPD sputum and whether these are different in the sputum from individuals with COPD compared with that from smokers without airflow obstruction. METHODS The polymeric mucin composition of sputum from patients with COPD and smokers without airflow obstruction was analyzed by Western blotting analysis. The tissue localization of the mucins was determined by immunohistochemistry, and their size distribution was analyzed by rate-zonal centrifugation. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS MUC5AC and MUC5B were the major mucins. MUC5AC was the predominant mucin in the smoker group, whereas MUC5B was more abundant from the patients with COPD, with a significant difference in the ratio of MUC5B to MUC5AC (P = 0.004); this ratio was correlated with FEV(1) in the COPD group (r = 0.63; P = 0.01). The lower-charged glycosylated form of MUC5B was more predominant in COPD (P = 0.012). No significant associations were observed with respect to sex, age, or pack-year history. In both groups, MUC5AC was produced by surface epithelial cells and MUC5B by submucosal gland cells. Finally, there was a shift toward smaller mucins in the COPD group. CONCLUSIONS Our data indicate that there are differences in mucin amounts and properties between smokers with and without COPD. Further studies are needed to examine how this may impact disease progression.
U–Pb and Re–Os Ages of the Huaheitan Molybdenum Deposit, NW China

The Huaheitan molybdenum deposit in the Beishan area of northwest China consists of quartz‐sulfide veins. Orebodies occur in the contact zone of the Huaniushan granite. LA‐ICPMS U–Pb zircon dating constrains the crystallization of the granite at 225.6 ± 2.2 Ma (2σ, MSWD = 4.5). Re–Os dating of five molybdenite samples yield model ages ranging from 223.2 ± 3.5 Ma to 228.6 ± 3.4 Ma, with an average of 225.2 ± 2.4 Ma. The U–Pb and Re–Os ages are identical within the error, suggesting that the granite and related Huaheitan molybdenum deposit formed in the Late Triassic. Our new data, combined with published geochronological results from the other molybdenum deposits in this region, imply that intensive magmatism and Mo mineralization occurred during 240 Ma to 220 Ma throughout the Beishan area.
Commit Bubbles

Developers who use version control are expected to produce systematic commit histories that show well-defined steps with logical forward progress. Existing version control tools assume that developers also write code systematically. Unfortunately, the process by which developers write source code is often evolutionary, or as-needed, rather than systematic. Our contribution is a fragment-oriented concept called Commit Bubbles that will allow developers to construct systematic commit histories that adhere to version control best practices with less cognitive effort, and in a way that integrates with their as-needed coding workflows.
Exploitation of Pairwise Class Distances for Ordinal Classification

Ordinal classification refers to classification problems in which the classes have a natural order imposed on them because of the nature of the concept studied. Some ordinal classification approaches perform a projection from the input space to one-dimensional (latent) space that is partitioned into a sequence of intervals (one for each class). Class identity of a novel input pattern is then decided based on the interval its projection falls into. This projection is trained only indirectly as part of the overall model fitting. As with any other latent model fitting, direct construction hints one may have about the desired form of the latent model can prove very useful for obtaining high-quality models. The key idea of this letter is to construct such a projection model directly, using insights about the class distribution obtained from pairwise distance calculations. The proposed approach is extensively evaluated with 8 nominal and ordinal classifiers methods, 10 real-world ordinal classification data sets, and 4 different performance measures. The new methodology obtained the best results in average ranking when considering three of the performance metrics, although significant differences are found for only some of the methods. Also, after observing other methods of internal behavior in the latent space, we conclude that the internal projections do not fully reflect the intraclass behavior of the patterns. Our method is intrinsically simple, intuitive, and easily understandable, yet highly competitive with state-of-the-art approaches to ordinal classification.
Range Image Segmentation by Randomized Region Growing and Bayesian Edge Regularization

We presented and evaluated a new Bayesian method for range image segmentation. The method proceeds in to stages. First, an initial segmentation was produced by a randomized region growing technique. The produced segmentation was considered as a degraded version of the ideal segmentation, which should be then refined. In the second stage, image pixels not labeled in the first stage were labeled by using a Bayesian estimation, based on some prior assumptions on the regions in the image. Image priors were modeled by a new Markov Random Field (MRF) model. Contrary to most of the authors in range image segmentation, who use only surface smoothness MRF models, our MRF model takes into account also the smoothness of region boundaries. Tests performed with real images from the ABW database show the great potential of the proposed method for significantly improving the segmentation results.
Genetic approach for optimizing the placement of all-optical regenerators in WSON

In wavelength switched optical networks (WSONs), the placement of opto-electronic regenerators has always been optimized to keep the cost and power consumption contained, while ensuring the quality of transmission (QoT) for the optical signals. Nowadays, with the increase of the transmission rates and the spectral efficiency of the modulation formats, optical signal regeneration is still relevant for ensuring QoT. The progress in integrated photonics makes possible the realization of integrated optical regenerators that can replace the traditional opto-electronic regenerators. All-optical regenerators enable a reduction of size and energy consumption. However, differently from opto-electronic regenerators, recently fabricated integrated optical regenerators neither perform wavelength conversion nor regenerate multiple lightpaths at the same wavelength. Thus, novel constraints and limitations are introduced to the conventional regenerator placement problem, which has been well studied in the past for opto-electronic regenerators. This paper addresses the all-optical regenerator placement (ORP) problem in WSONs with guaranteed QoT. A genetic algorithm (GA) is proposed for optimizing the ORP while jointly solving the routing and wavelength assignment problem. GA results are compared with the optimal solutions found by solving a binary linear programming (BLP) formulation. When properly tuned, GA is able to quickly achieve the optimal solutions found by the BLP solver. The performance analysis indicates that the additional constraints have a negligible impact on the overall number of regenerators, compared to the case with opto-electronic regenerators.