Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Increased Stroke Risk Is Related to a Binge Drinking Habit

Background and Purpose— Heavy alcohol consumption increases the risk for all strokes, whereas moderate regular alcohol consumption is associated with a lower risk for ischemic stroke. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of different drinking patterns on stroke risk, independent of average alcohol intake. Methods— A prospective cohort study of 15 965 Finnish men and women age 25 to 64 years who participated in a national risk factor survey and had no history of stroke at baseline were followed up for a 10-year period. The first stroke event during follow-up served as the outcome of interest (N=249 strokes). A binge drinking pattern was defined as consuming 6 or more drinks of the same alcoholic beverage in men or 4 or more drinks in women in 1 session. Cox proportional-hazards models were adjusted for average alcohol consumption, age, sex, hypertension, smoking, diabetes, body mass index, educational status, study area, study year, and history of myocardial infarction. Results— Binge drinking was an independent risk factor for total and ischemic strokes. Compared with non–binge drinkers, the hazard ratio for total strokes among binge drinkers was 1.85 (95% CI, 1.35 to 2.54) after adjusting for average alcohol consumption, age, and sex; the association was diluted after adjustment for other risk factors. Compared with non–binge drinkers, the risk for ischemic stroke was 1.99 (95% CI, 1.39 to 2.87) among binge drinkers; the association remained statistically significant after adjustment for potential confounders. Conclusions— This study found that a pattern of binge drinking is an independent risk factor for all strokes and ischemic stroke.
Efficient gene disruption in cultured primary human endothelial cells by CRISPR/Cas9.

RATIONALE The participation of endothelial cells (EC) in many physiological and pathological processes is widely modeled using human EC cultures, but genetic manipulation of these untransformed cells has been technically challenging. Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 nuclease (Cas9) technology offers a promising new approach. However, mutagenized cultured cells require cloning to yield homogeneous populations, and the limited replicative lifespan of well-differentiated human EC presents a barrier for doing so. OBJECTIVE To create a simple but highly efficient method using CRISPR/Cas9 to generate biallelic gene disruption in untransformed human EC. METHODS AND RESULTS To demonstrate proof-of-principle, we used CRISPR/Cas9 to disrupt the gene for the class II transactivator. We used endothelial colony forming cell-derived EC and lentiviral vectors to deliver CRISPR/Cas9 elements to ablate EC expression of class II major histocompatibility complex molecules and with it, the capacity to activate allogeneic CD4(+) T cells. We show the observed loss-of-function arises from biallelic gene disruption in class II transactivator that leaves other essential properties of the cells intact, including self-assembly into blood vessels in vivo, and that the altered phenotype can be rescued by reintroduction of class II transactivator expression. CONCLUSIONS CRISPR/Cas9-modified human EC provides a powerful platform for vascular research and for regenerative medicine/tissue engineering.
Administration of eptifibatide during transfer for primary PCI in patients with STEMI: effect on Pre-PCI TIMI flow and its correlation with pain-to-therapy time.

BACKGROUND Facilitation therapy in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is still controversial and no relationship between timing of treatment and efficacy has been reported to date. METHODS In order to evaluate the effect of pre-catheterization laboratory (cath lab) administration of eptifibatide on pre-percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) flow and its correlation with ischemia duration, we studied all 438 STEMI patients treated with primary PCI from January 2006 to December 2007: 310 patients were pretreated with eptifibatide (Group P), while 128 patients received either no glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors or were only given them in the cath lab (Group C). All ischemia times (chest pain onset, diagnostic electrocardiogram, eptifibatide administration, cath lab arrival, first balloon inflation) were recorded. Group P was divided into early (E:159 patients with symptoms duration <or= 90 minutes, and late (L: 151 patients) subgroups. Pre- and post-PCI TIMI grade flow, and 30-day outcomes were recorded. RESULTS At angiography, TIMI grade 2 or 3 flow was observed in 54% of cases in Group P vs. 34% in Group C (p < 0.001), and in 64% vs. 44% in E and L subgroups, respectively (p < 0.001). In Group P, there was a strong correlation between pre-PCI TIMI flow and timing of eptifibatide administration. Pretreatment with eptifibatide and symptom duration of <or= 90 minutes resulted in independent predictors of pre-PCI TIMI >or= 2 flow on multivariable analysis. Thirtyday mortality was 1.9% in Group P and 9.5% in Group C (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS In our experience, very early (< 90 minutes) eptifibatide therapy prior to primary PCI achieves a higher rate of pre-PCI TIMI flow >or= 2 with respect to late administration.
Using lightweight modeling to understand chord

Correctness of the Chord ring-maintenance protocol would mean that the protocol can eventually repair all disruptions in the ring structure, given ample time and no further disruptions while it is working. In other words, it is "eventual reachability. " Under the same assumptions about failure behavior as made in the Chord papers, no published version of Chord is correct. This result is based on modeling the protocol in Alloy and analyzing it with the Alloy Analyzer. By combining the right selection of pseudocode and textual hints from several papers, and fixing flaws revealed by analysis, it is possible to get a version that may be correct. The paper also discusses the significance of these results, describes briefly how Alloy is used to model and reason about Chord, and compares Alloy analysis to model-checking.
Joint blind separation and restoration of mixed degraded images for document analysis

We consider the problem of extracting clean images from noisy mixtures of images degraded by blur operators. This special case of source separation arises, for instance, when analyzing document images showing bleed-through or show-through. We propose to jointly perform demixing and deblurring by augmenting blind source separation with a step of image restoration. Within the independent component analysis (ICA) approach, i.e. assuming the statistical independence of the sources, we adopt a Bayesian formulation where the priors on the ideal images are given in the form of Markov random field (MRF), and a MAP estimation is employed for the joint recovery of the mixing matrix and the images. We show that taking into account the blur model and a proper image model improves the separation process and makes it more robust against noise. Preliminary results on synthetic examples of documents exhibiting bleed-through are provided, considering edge-preserving priors that are suitable to describe text images.
Measuring group synchrony: a cluster-phase method for analyzing multivariate movement time-series

A new method for assessing group synchrony is introduced as being potentially useful for objectively determining degree of group cohesiveness or entitativity. The cluster-phase method of Frank and Richardson (2010) was used to analyze movement data from the rocking chair movements of six-member groups who rocked their chairs while seated in a circle facing the center. In some trials group members had no information about others' movements (their eyes were shut) or they had their eyes open and gazed at a marker in the center of the group. As predicted, the group level synchrony measure was able to distinguish between situations where synchrony would have been possible and situations where it would be impossible. Moreover, other aspects of the analysis illustrated how the cluster phase measures can be used to determine the type of patterning of group synchrony, and, when integrated with multi-level modeling, can be used to examine individual-level differences in synchrony and dyadic level synchrony as well.
N-best: the northern- and southern-dutch benchmark evaluation of speech recognition technology

In this paper, we describe N-best 2008, the first Large Vocabulary Speech Recognition (LVCSR) benchmark evaluation held for the Dutch language. Both the accent as spoken in the Netherlands (Northern-Dutch) and in Belgium (Southern-Dutch or Flemish), will be evaluated. The evaluation tasks are broadcast news (BN) and conversational telephone speech (CTS). The N-best evaluation will take place in the spring of 2008 and is open to all research institutes and industries on voluntary basis. The goals of this first N-best evaluation is to define, set-up and conduct a Dutch LVCSR benchmark evaluation. In this paper, we will describe the state-of-the-art of Dutch LVCSR, recognition problems that are typical for the Dutch language, and the evaluation protocol.
Power-Efficiency Characteristics of Class-F and Inverse Class-F Synchronous Rectifiers

This paper presents analytic and experimental results for high-efficiency GaN HEMT class-F and inverse class-F (class-F-1) synchronous rectifiers. The rectifier designs are based on time-reversed duals of corresponding class-F amplifiers. A detailed analysis of the power efficiency of a class-F rectifier is presented. The analysis shows that, unlike the amplifier dual, the rectifier configuration does not have significant overlap loss because of device constraints in terms of operation in quadrant III. Consequently, the power efficiency of the class-F rectifier is slightly higher than the amplifier circuit under equal source power conditions. Experimental measurements are shown, which compare the rectification efficiency of a class-F rectifier with class-F-1 rectifiers. It is shown that operation of the rectifiers under back-off conditions mimics the power efficiency of an amplifier with envelope tracking. Based on this paper, it is concluded that the class-F-1 mode has better rectification efficiency compared with that of class-F, both at peak power and under back-off conditions.
Construction of extended adoption Model of CRM systems at the healthcare organizational level in Malaysian private hospitals

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) System is very important to enhance healthcare services, improve cost-effectiveness, and accessibility of the healthcare.Therefore, study of the adoption of the CRM in healthcare at organizational level is necessary to identify factors that influence the CRM adoption.Hence, this study aims at proposing an extended adoption model of CRM systems in Malaysian private hospitals. Finding from previous studies show that the adoption factors may be influenced by innovation, organizational, and environmental factors to the perception, adoption, and implementation of CRM system. The theoretical foundations of the model is based on Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT) and Model of Information System Innovation (ISI). Survey and interview techniques were utilized to validate the proposed extended adoption model of CRM systems. The data collected were analyzed using Structural Equation Model(SEM). The model is beneficial to the healthcare at organizational level for the short and long term planning associating the adoption of CRM in organizations.
Macroscopic analysis of robot foraging behaviour

Microscopic analysis is a standard approach in the study of robot behaviour. Typically, the approach comprises the analysis of a single (or sometimes a few) robot–environment system(s) to reveal specific properties of robot behaviour. In contrast to microscopic analysis, macroscopic analysis focuses on averaged properties of systems. The advantage is that such a property is easier to generalize so that it can be established to what extent the property is universal. This paper investigates whether a macroscopic analysis can reveal a universal property of adaptive behaviour in a robot model of foraging behaviour. Our analysis reveals that the step lengths of the most successful robots are distributed according to a Lévy-flight distribution. From studies on a variety of natural species, it is known that such a distribution constitutes a universal property of foraging behaviour. Thereafter, we discuss an example of how macroscopic analysis can be applied to existing research in evolutionary robotics, and relate the macroscopic and microscopic analyses of foraging behaviour to the framework of scientific research described by Cohen (1995, Empirical Methods for Artificial Intelligence (Cambridge MA: MIT Press)). We conclude that macroscopic analysis may predict universal properties of adaptive behaviour and that it may complement microscopic analysis in the study of adaptive behaviour.
The defective seed5 (des5) mutant: effects on barley seed development and HvDek1, HvCr4, and HvSal1 gene regulation

Barley, one of the major small grain crops, is especially important in climatically demanding agricultural areas of the world, with multiple uses within food, feed, and beverage. The barley endosperm is further of special scientific interest due to its three aleurone cell layers, with the potential of bringing forward the molecular understanding of seed development and cell specification from Arabidopsis and maize. Work done in Arabidopsis and maize indicate the presence of conserved seed developmental pathways where Crinkly4 (Cr4), Defective kernel1 (Dek1), and Supernumerary aleurone layer1 (Sal1) are key players. With the use of microscopy, a comprehensive phenotypic characterization of the barley defective seed5 (des5) mutant is presented here. The analysis further extends to molecular quantification of gene expression changes in the des5 mutant by qRT-PCR. Moreover, full-length genomic sequences of the barley orthologues were generated and these were annotated as HvDek1, HvCr4, and HvSal1. The most striking results in this study are the patchy reduction in number of aleurone cells, rudimentary anticlinal aleurone cell walls, and the specific change of HvCr4 expression compared to HvDek1 and HvSal1. The data presented support the involvement of Hvdes5 in establishing aleurone cells. Finally, how these results might affect the current model of aleurone and epidermal cell identity and development is discussed with a speculation regarding a possible role of Des5 in regulating cell division/ secondary cell wall building.
Task-Specific Generalization of Discrete and Periodic Dynamic Movement Primitives

Acquisition of new sensorimotor knowledge by imitation is a promising paradigm for robot learning. To be effective, action learning should not be limited to direct replication of movements obtained during training but must also enable the generation of actions in situations a robot has never encountered before. This paper describes a methodology that enables the generalization of the available sensorimotor knowledge. New actions are synthesized by the application of statistical methods, where the goal and other characteristics of an action are utilized as queries to create a suitable control policy, taking into account the current state of the world. Nonlinear dynamic systems are employed as a motor representation. The proposed approach enables the generation of a wide range of policies without requiring an expert to modify the underlying representations to account for different task-specific features and perceptual feedback. The paper also demonstrates that the proposed methodology can be integrated with an active vision system of a humanoid robot. 3-D vision data are used to provide query points for statistical generalization. While 3-D vision on humanoid robots with complex oculomotor systems is often difficult due to the modeling uncertainties, we show that these uncertainties can be accounted for by the proposed approach.
Embedded Wafer Level Ball Grid Array (eWLB)

Wafer Level Packaging (fan-in WLB, Wafer Level Ball Grid Array) is the upcoming future packaging technology with many advantages in comparison to standard Ball Grid Array Packages. Advantages are especially the small package dimensions, excellent electrical and thermal performance, highest package interconnect density and integration possibilities at lowest packaging cost. Today, standard (fan-in) WLBs are the technology of choice mainly for small to medium sized chips with a moderate number of interconnects. The reason for the limited number of interconnects is the need to fit all interconnects on the die in a given terminal pitch. Since this is not generally possible, Infineon has developed a fan-out WLB Technology, called embedded Wafer Level Ball Grid Array (eWLB). The technology is based on a reconstituted wafer which is built prior to the thin-film technology, adding space around the dies to increase the possible number of interconnects on the package. This Reconstituted Wafer is afterwards processed by applying dielectric, redistribution, solder stop and balls in a modified thin-film and backend technology. The new wafer level package concept complies with the directives for environmental friendly technologies like WEEE and RoHS. eWLB passed all performed Standard JEDEC reliability tests without optical or electrical fails on a test vehicle basis. We will introduce recent results of the platform development of the eWLB technology and show the capabilities of Infineon's molded embedded Wafer Level Package for future system integration.
Thioredoxin-Interacting Protein (TXNIP) Suppresses Expression of Glutamine Synthetase by Inducing Oxidative Stress in Retinal Muller Glia Under Diabetic Conditions

Background Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease with early-stage symptoms such as dysfunction of Muller cells, which leads to ganglion cell death. Its pathogenesis is probably associated with oxidative stress and a recently discovered protein, thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP). Material/Methods To explore the role of TXNIP in DR, we cultured Muller cells under diabetic conditions, and then used immunohistochemistry, Western blot, and RT-PCR to detect the expression level of TXNIP under diabetic conditions. We demonstrated the expression level of glutamine synthetase (GS) when TXNIP was inhibited. To explore the potential pathway of TXNIP-induced cell damage in DR, we confirmed the role of IL-1β under diabetic conditions. Results Diabetes induces TXNIP expressions at mRNA levels, but shows the opposite effect on GS. IL-1β plays an important role in this pathway. Azaserine effectively increased the expression of GS via attenuating the expression of TXNIP. Conclusions This study demonstrates the role of TXNIP and its mechanism in DR, provides a possible treatment for DR, and lays a new theoretical foundation for the clinical treatment of DR and other diabetic microvascular changes.
A Study of Virtual Resistor-Based Active Damping Alternatives for LCL Resonance in Grid-Connected Voltage Source Inverters

LCL resonance complicates the design of a current control loop and can even threaten its stability. Extensive approaches have been proposed to deal with this resonance, among which active damping (AD) schemes based on the feedback of a single filter variable have been shown to be effective and cost-efficient. This paper presents a study of such AD techniques, where a generalized approach to developing an AD controller by relating a control diagram to an equivalent circuit is proposed. Based on this approach, AD controller forms with any one of four commonly used filter variables to realize virtual resistors (VRs) in six different connections to the LCL filter are derived. Comparisons are then made between these 24 AD controller alternatives by considering the implementation complexity of the AD controller, the number of measuring sensors, and the effect of the AD controller on the power stage. Consequently, grid-side current feedback AD to realize a VR in parallel with the filter capacitor is selected as a considered alternative. Next, two issues associated with the practical implementation of the selected grid-side current feedback AD, caused by the second-order differential expression and the digital time delay, are discussed and solved. Finally, the selected AD method is analyzed in the discrete z-domain, and its effectiveness is experimentally verified.
Antigenic variation by Borrelia hermsii occurs through recombination between extragenic repetitive elements on linear plasmids

The relapsing fever agent Borrelia hermsii undergoes multiphasic antigenic variation through gene conversion of a unique expression site on a linear plasmid by an archived variable antigen gene. To further characterize this mechanism we assessed the repertoire and organization of archived variable antigen genes by sequencing ∼85% of plasmids bearing these genes. Most archived genes shared with the expressed gene a ≤ 62 nucleotide (nt) region, the upstream homology sequence (UHS), that surrounded the start codon. The 59 archived variable antigen genes were arrayed in clusters with 13 repetitive, 214 nt long downstream homology sequence (DHS) elements distributed among them. A fourteenth DHS element was downstream of the expression locus. Informative nucleotide polymorphisms in UHS regions and DHS elements were applied to the analysis of the expression site of relapse serotypes from 60 infected mice in a prospective study. For most recombinations, the upstream crossover occurred in the UHS’s second half, and the downstream crossover was in the DHS’s second half. Usually the closest archival DHS element was used, but occasionally a more distant DHS was employed. The downstream extragenic crossover site in B. hermsii contrasts with the downstream extragenic crossover site for antigenic variation in African trypanosomes.
Generation and Feasibility Assessment of a New Vehicle for Cell-Based Therapy for Treating Corneal Endothelial Dysfunction

The corneal endothelium maintains corneal transparency by its pump and barrier functions; consequently, its decompensation due to any pathological reason causes severe vision loss due to corneal haziness. Corneal transplantation is the only therapeutic choice for treating corneal endothelial dysfunction, but associated problems, such as a shortages of donor corneas, the difficulty of the surgical procedure, and graft failure, still need to be resolved. Regenerative medicine is attractive to researchers as a means of providing innovative therapies for corneal endothelial dysfunction, as it now does for other diseases. We previously demonstrated the successful regeneration of corneal endothelium in animal models by injecting cultured corneal endothelial cells (CECs) in combination with a Rho kinase (ROCK) inhibitor. The purpose of the present study was to optimize the vehicle for clinical use in cell-based therapy. Our screening of cell culture media revealed that RELAR medium promoted CEC adhesion. We then modified RELAR medium by removing hormones, growth factors, and potentially toxic materials to generate a cell therapy vehicle (CTV) composed of amino acid, salts, glucose, and vitamins. Injection of CECs in CTV enabled efficient engraftment and regeneration of the corneal endothelium in the rabbit corneal endothelial dysfunction model, with restoration of a transparent cornea. The CECs retained >85% viability after a 24 hour preservation as a cell suspension in CTV at 4°C and maintained their potency to regenerate the corneal endothelium in vivo. The vehicle developed here is clinically applicable for cell-based therapy aimed at treating the corneal endothelium. Our strategy involves the generation of vehicle from a culture medium appropriate for a given cell type by removing materials that are not favorable for clinical use.