Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of carnosine, aminoguanidine, and aspirin drops on the prevention of cataracts in diabetic rats

Purpose To investigate the effect of carnosine (CA), aminoguanidine (AG), and aspirin (ASA) drops, all inhibitors of glycation, on the development of diabetic cataract in rat. Methods Rats were made diabetic with streptozotocin, and based on the level of plasma glucose, they were assigned as non-diabetic rats (<14 mmol/l plasma glucose) and diabetic rats (>14 mmol/l plasma glucose). Animals in the treated groups received CA, AG, and ASA as drops to the left eyes starting from the day of streptozotocin injection. Progression of lens opacification was recorded using the slit lamp at regular time intervals. All the rats were killed after the week 13, and the levels of advanced glycation end products (AGE), glutathione reductase (GR), catalase (CAT), and glutathione (GSH) were determined. Results Lens opacification progressed in a biphasic manner in the diabetic rats, an initial slow increase during the first eight weeks of diabetes followed by a steep increase in the next five weeks. Carnosine treatment delayed the progression of cataracts in diabetic rats, and the delay was statistically significant on the fourth week of diabetes (p<0.05, when compared with untreated moderately diabetic rats). A decrease in the antioxidant enzymes of CAT and the level of GSH was found in the lens of the untreated diabetic rats at 13 weeks after injection. Some protection was provided in the treated eyes. The level of glycation in the untreated diabetic rats was significantly higher than that in the normal rats (p<0.001). After treatment with CA, AG, and ASA, those diabetic rats had a lower level of glycated lens protein compared to the untreated diabetic rats (p<0.001). Conclusions These results thus suggest that the effect of CA, AG, and ASA is indeed inhibition of the formation of AGEs. However, the effect of CA, AG, and ASA is overwhelmed by the excessive accumulation of AGEs in the severely diabetic rats. CA compared with AG and ASA treatment can delay the progression of lens opacification in the diabetic rats only during the earlier stages. It also protects against the inactivation of enzymes.
Lifestyle Interventions to Prevent Cardiovascular Events After Stroke and Transient Ischemic Attack: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background and Purpose— Patients with a transient ischemic attack or ischemic stroke have an increased risk of subsequent cardiovascular events. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to determine whether lifestyle interventions focusing on behaviorally modifiable risk factors with or without an exercise program are effective in terms of (1) preventing recurrent cardiovascular events, (2) reducing mortality, and (3) improving modifiable risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease in patients after a transient ischemic attack or ischemic stroke. Methods— For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we systematically searched PubMed, Embase, PsycInfo, and the Cochrane Library from the start of the database to May 7, 2015. Subgroup analyses were conducted to explore the influence of therapy-related factors. Results— Twenty-two randomized controlled trials were identified with a total of 2574 patients. Pooling showed a significant reduction in systolic blood pressure by the lifestyle interventions applied, compared with usual care (mean difference, −3.6 mm Hg; 95% confidence interval, −5.6 to −1.6, I2=33%). No significant effect was found on cardiovascular events, mortality, diastolic blood pressure, or cholesterol. In the subgroup analyses, the trials with cardiovascular fitness interventions, trials with an intervention that lasted longer than 4 months, and interventions that used >3 behavior change techniques were more effective in reducing systolic blood pressure. Conclusions— We found that lifestyle interventions are effective in lowering systolic blood pressure. About other end points, this systematic review found no effect of lifestyle interventions on cardiovascular event rate mortality, diastolic blood pressure, or total cholesterol.
Estimating Visitor Preferences for Different Art Gallery Layouts Using a Choice Experiment

Abstract This article details the application of the microeconomic appraisal technique, Choice Experiment (CE), to an art gallery setting to investigate and estimate the value visitors place on various attributes of galleries. A questionnaire requiring visitors to make choices between scenarios containing various predetermined options for the layout and content of two art galleries in northeast England was administered. This allowed the tradeoffs that respondents were prepared to make between different gallery options to be estimated, and subsequently the utility visitors derived from these different elements. The results show that CE can be used to obtain estimates for visitor utility and satisfaction from various gallery layouts. The methodology thus has a potential use in the management of galleries and museums. The tailoring of art galleries and museums to improve visitor experience and provide increased visitor satisfaction is becoming increasingly important, as these cultural resources are essential components of leisure and tourism markets.
Algorithms for Imaging Inverse Problems Under Sparsity and Structured Sparsity Regularization .

This paper reviews our recent work on the application of a class of techniques known as ADMM (alternating direction method of multipliers, which belongs to the family of augmented Lagrangian methods) to several imaging inverse problems under sparsity-inducing regularization. After reviewing ADMM, a formulation that allows handling problems with more than two terms is introduced; this formulation is then applied to a variety of problems, namely: standard image restoration/reconstruction from linear observations (e.g., compressive sensing, deconvolution, inpainting) with Gaussian or Poisson noise, using either analysis or synthesis regularization, and unconstrained or constrained optimization. We also show how the proposed framework can be used to address hybrid analysissynthesis regularization. In all these cases, the proposed approach inherits the theoretic convergence guarantees of ADMM and achieve state-of-the-art speed.
The Effects of Distractor Words on Naming Pictures at the Subordinate Level

Three experiments are reported in which participants are asked to name pictures at the subordinate level (e.g. POODLE) whilst ignoring a distractor word. In Experiment 1, the distractor words included the names of other exemplars from the same basic-level category (e.g. spaniel). Naming latencies were prolonged in this condition, relative to unrelated conditions. In Experiment 2, the distractor words included the correct basic level names (e.g. dog) and the names of related basic level objects (e.g. cat). Subordinate naming latencies were faster in these conditions than in unrelated conditions, suggesting that basic level names can be eliminated as competitors and that it can even be useful to have simultaneous activation of the correct basic level representation when retrieving subordinate names. Finally, Experiment 3 showed that when the names of subordinate objects from a related basic-level category (e.g. koala) are printed on objects, subordinate naming latencies are again delayed when compared with unrelated conditions. The results are discussed with reference to current models of object name retrieval.
Cost-Friendly Differential Privacy for Smart Meters: Exploiting the Dual Roles of the Noise

Smart meters have been widely installed to monitor residential electricity usage worldwide. This brings a serious privacy challenge for the customers, because the meter readings can possibly expose their activities in the house. To address this privacy issue, battery-based privacy preserving schemes have already been studied for several years. In these schemes, a rechargeable battery can both prevent the meter readings from leaking the customer’s energy consumption and play a role of saving the cost. However, to the best of our knowledge, none of the existing schemes can achieve differential privacy and cost saving simultaneously. In this paper, we first propose a battery-based differential privacy-preserving (BDP) scheme. We further present two cost-friendly differential privacy-preserving (CDP) schemes by extending BDP scheme. Simulation analyses show that the privacy loss of both CDP schemes are smaller than the existing works. Meanwhile, both CDP schemes stably save the cost under multiple pricing policies.
Analysis of Selective Strategies to Build a Dependency-Analyzed Corpus

This paper discusses sampling strategies for building a dependency-analyzed corpus and analyzes them with different kinds of corpora. We used the Kyoto Text Corpus, a dependency-analyzed corpus of newspaper articles, and prepared the IPAL corpus, a dependency-analyzed corpus of example sentences in dictionaries, as a new and different kind of corpus. The experimental results revealed that the length of the test set controlled the accuracy and that the longest-first strategy was good for an expanding corpus, but this was not the case when constructing a corpus from scratch.
H/sub /spl infin// observer design for lipschitz nonlinear systems

The problem of observer design for Lipschitz nonlinear systems is considered. A new dynamic framework which is a generalization of previously used Lipschitz observers is introduced and the generalized sufficient condition that ensures asymptotic convergence of the state estimates is presented. The equivalence between this condition and an H/sub /spl infin// optimal control problem which satisfies the standard regularity assumptions in H/sub /spl infin// optimization theory is shown and a parameterization of all possible observers is also presented. A design procedure which is less restrictive than the existing design approaches is proposed, and a simulation example is given to illustrate the observer design.
Violating Orientational Metaphors Slows Reading

Lakoff and Johnson (1980) proposed that conceptual metaphors underlie thinking. Previous research demonstrated that whereas these conceptual metaphors may be available in long-term memory, they do not seem to be accessed in online comprehension tasks. Most of this research investigated structural metaphors (e.g., "argument is war"). The research reported here investigated orientational metaphors (e.g., "more is up"). The results are that texts that violate orientational metaphors are more difficult to comprehend than texts that are consistent with these metaphors. The results suggest that there are situations in which metaphors will be accessible during online comprehension.
A fault-tolerant deadlock-free adaptive routing for on chip interconnects

Future applications will require processors with many cores communicating through a regular interconnection network. Meanwhile, the Deep submicron technology foreshadows highly defective chips era. In this context, not only fault-tolerant designs become compulsory, but their performance under failures gains importance. In this paper, we present a deadlock-free fault-tolerant adaptive routing algorithm featuring Explicit Path Routing in order to limit the latency degradation under failures. This is particularly interesting for streaming applications, which transfer huge amount of data between the same source-destination pairs. The proposed routing algorithm is able to route messages in the presence of any set of multiple nodes and links failures, as long as a path exists, and does not use any routing table. It is scalable and can be applied to multicore chips with a 2D mesh core interconnect of any size. The algorithm is deadlock-free and avoids infinite looping in fault-free and faulty 2D meshes. We simulated the proposed algorithm using the worst case scenario, with different failure rates. Experimentation results confirmed that the algorithm tolerates multiple failures even in the most extreme failure patterns. Additionally, we monitored the interconnect traffic and average latency for faulty cases. For 20×20 meshes, the proposed algorithm reduces the average latency by up to 50%.
Proteome dynamics in complex organisms: Using stable isotopes to monitor individual protein turnover rates

The complete definition of changes in a proteome requires information about dynamics and specifically the rate at which the individual proteins are turned over intracellularly. Whilst this can be achieved in single‐cell culture using stable isotope precursors, it is more challenging to develop methods for intact animals. In this study, we show how dietary administration of stable isotope‐labelled amino acids can obtain information on the relative rates of synthesis and degradation of individual proteins in a proteome. The pattern of stable isotope‐labelling in tryptic peptides can be deconstructed to yield a highly reliable measure of the isotope abundance of the precursor pool, a parameter that is often difficult to acquire. We demonstrate this approach using chickens fed a semisynthetic diet containing [2H8]valine at a calculated relative isotope abundance (RIA) of 0.5. When the labelling pattern of gel‐resolved muscle proteins was analyzed, the intracellular precursor isotope abundance was 0.35, consistent with dilution of the amino acid precursor pool with unlabelled amino acids derived from degradation of pre‐existing proteins. However, the RIA was stable over an extended labelling window, and permitted calculation of the rates of synthesis and degradation of individual proteins isolated by gel electrophoresis. For the first time, it is feasible to contemplate the analysis of turnover of individual proteins in intact animals.
Software for Graphical Investigation of Planar and Spatial Closed Kinematic Chains for Robots and Manipulators

Abstract The aim of this paper is to present a developed computational program for computer graphical modelling of planar and spatial robots and manipulators closed kinematic chains. In order to demonstrate the functionality of the program two types of 5-bars and two types of 8-bars closed manipulators are used for simulation of the kinematic models. The basic mathematical calculations for visual representation of kinematic models are made, as well as calculations and visualisation of the manipulators zone of reachability frame by frame. The presented program can be used for analyzing closed kinematic chains, solving tasks from the real practice or for students training.
Characterization of progressive keratitis in otariids.

OBJECTIVE To characterize a form of progressive keratitis that occurs commonly in otariids. MATERIALS AND METHODS One hundred and thirteen captive otariids were evaluated by ophthalmologic examination and digital photography. RESULTS Forty-six females and 67 males were in the reference population, average age of 14 years. California sea lions predominated (n = 100); there were also six Steller sea lions, five brown fur seals, one Guadalupe fur seal and one northern fur seal. Three stages of progressive keratitis are described. Overall, 64.6% animals and 142 eyes from 113 animals (62.8%) were affected with one of three stages. The mildest form, Stage 1 keratitis, occurred in 78 of 226 eyes (34.5%); the intermediate Stage 2 keratitis occurred in 30 of 226 eyes (13.3%); and the most severe, Stage 3 keratitis, occurred in 34 of 226 eyes (15%). All but six animals had bilateral disease. Animals with Stage 1 keratitis were significantly younger than those in more advanced stages. DISCUSSION 'Otariid Keratitis' occurs in all populations of eared seals evaluated. A large-scale epidemiological study is ongoing to identify the risk factors that contribute to this disease. Exposure to chronic sunlight appears to be an important risk factor as shade diminishes clinical signs; animals kept out of sunlight the majority of the time have less severe clinical signs. Age may be important since exposure accumulates with aging. Progression of the disease is also associated with secondary opportunistic bacterial and fungal infections. The surface immune system may be imbalanced contributing to these infections and progression.
Thermal resistance of Salmonella senftenberg 775W in dry animal feeds.

SUMMARY The thermal resistance of Salmonella senftenberg 775W was determined in meat and bone meal and chick starter contaminated by broth culture and by a simulated-natural method employing cells grown and dried in wet meat and bone meal base. Data obtained from modified thermal-death-time (TDT) tubes indicated that, except for initial fast killing rates, the heat resistance of S. senftenberg 775W in dry feeds is an exponential function of heating time, as in liquid media. The z values obtained (18 to 20 F) were higher than for vegetative cells heated in liquid media and similar to those of the more heat-resistant spores. Heat resistance in feeds was markedly higher with contamination by the simulated-natural method than by broth cultures. Increasing feed moisture levels decreased heat resistance, with a declining effect starting between 15 and 20% moisture. Results obtained with a laboratory-model steam feed conditioner indicated that the data obtained from TDT tubes are generally applicable to requirements for industrial-feed pasteurization. It is suggested that feed pasteurization can be accomplished by processing conditions which reduce the salmonella population by five log cycles. Processing feed at a moisture level of 15% or greater and a temperature of 190 F is indicated. Data are provided to allow prediction of thermal destruction under varying moisture and temperature conditions by use of the formula log D2 - log Dj+ (1/z) (T1 T2).
Software Reliability Measurement using Sequential Bayesian Approach

This paper presents a model for sequential Bayesian techniques for the software reliability engineering with respect to predicting reliability and other elements of software quality such as size, complexity and statistical models that can be used for reliability prediction for the analysis of failure data. This technique and the proposing model evaluates for integrating approach as well as all the types of historical information and opinion from experts in the form of distribution with respect to parameters.
Trichosanthes cucumerina Linn. improves glucose tolerance and tissue glycogen in non insulin dependent diabetes mellitus induced rats

Objective: To study the effect of Trichosanthes cucumerina Linn. on non insulin dependent diabetes mellitus induced rats. Materials and Methods: Non Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (NIDDM) was induced by administering streptozotocin (90 mg/kg, i.p.) in neonatal rat model. NIDDM animals were treated with aqueous extract of Trichosanthes cucumerina (100 mg/kg/day) orally for six weeks. Parameters such as fasting blood glucose, Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) and tissue glycogen content were evaluated. Results: Aqueous extract of Trichosanthes cucumerina significantly (P<0.01) decreased the elevated blood glucose of NIDDM induced rats. OGTT of NIDDM animals showed glucose intolerance. Blood glucose of diabetic animals reached peak at 45 min and remains high even after 2h. In case of Trichosanthes cucumerina treated group, the blood glucose reached peak level at 30 min, followed by decrease in glucose level up to 2h. The drug has significantly (P<0.01) reduced the postprandial blood glucose of diabetic animals. Glycogen content of insulin dependent tissues such as liver and skeletal muscle was found to be improved by 62% and 58.8% respectively with Trichosanthes cucumerina as compared to NIDDM control. Conclusion: Studies revealed that, Trichosanthes cucumerina possess antidiabetic activity. The drug improved the oral glucose tolerance of NIDDM subjects. Increase in tissue glycogen content indicates the effect of the drug on the uptake of glucose by the peripheral tissues to reduce insulin resistance of NIDDM.
Space-time-range three dimensional adaptive processing

Space-time adaptive processing (STAP) is an effective tool for moving target detection. Conventional STAP methodologies process the angular and Doppler two dimensional data vector. In practical applications, adjacent range cells are statistically dependent due to filtering, since the point spreading function of a target is not an ideal delta function. In this paper, a novel approach incorporating range (fast time) information in STAP is presented for clutter rejection, which we term space-time-range adaptive processing (STRAP). This method takes advantage of the correlation information of neighboring range cells. Therefore, the stationary clutter can be suppressed better compared with traditional STAP algorithms ignoring fast time information, resulting in more effective moving target detection. The validity of the STRAP algorithm is verified by the experiments of processing the real measured data of the three-channel X-band radar and MCARM radar systems.
Statistical pattern-based machine translation with statistical French-English machine translation

We developed a two-stage machine translation (MT) system. The first stage consists of an automatically created pattern-based machine translation system, and the second stage consists of a standard statistical machine translation (SMT) system. For French-English machine translation, we first used a French-English pattern-based MT, and we obtained ”English” sentences from French sentences. Second, we used a standard SMT. This means that we translated ”English” to English machine translation. We obtained a Bilingual Evaluation Understudy (BLEU) score of 0.5201 in the Basic Travel Expression Corpus French English (BTEC-FE) task using our proposed system. In contrast, we obtained a BLEU score of 0.5077 in the BTEC-FE task using a standard SMT system (Moses). This means that our proposed system is effective in the BTEC-FE task. However, our system placed 7th out of 9 systems.
A Systematic Review of the Religiosity and Delinquency Literature

The influence of religion on delinquency has been debated for more than 30 years, and yet, there remains a lack of consensus about the nature of this relationship. In an effort to bring some clarity to this area, this study assesses the religion-delinquency literature by using a methodological approach to reviewing a body of literature that is new to the social sciences—the systematic review (SR). This SR revealed that the literature is not disparate or contradictory, as previous studies have suggested. Religious measures are generally inversely related to deviance, and this is especially true among the most rigorous studies. As criminologists continue to examine the neglected topic of religion or what has been referred to as the forgotten factor, this article is a warning that measurement issues around a complex topic like religion, or even spirituality or forgiveness, is of paramount concern. The findings further indicate that future research on delinquency may gain explanatory power by incorporating religious variables in relevant theoretical models.
Building a Rhino Harness A Software Defined Radio Toolflow for rapid prototyping upon FPGAs

The Rhino Project is a response to the need for Software Defined Radio (SDR) platforms for training and research. Presented in this paper is a toolflow for rapidly prototyping SDR applications upon Rhino. This Toolflow allows for end-users to describe their SDR application in a high level manner and then take it through various levels of abstraction, validated at each transition point, with a resulting implementation upon the Rhino FPGA Platform. An example application developed in a matter of months using this Toolflow is shown to be comparable to an industry standard implementation, illustrating the efficacy of the toolflow.