Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of experimental ocular inflammation on ocular immune privilege.

PURPOSE To determine whether the inflammation of endotoxin-induced uveitis (EIU) and experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis (EAU) alters key in vivo and in vitro parameters of ocular immune privilege. METHODS For EIU induction, C3H/HeN mice received 200 microg lipopolysaccharide (LPS). For EAU induction, B10.A mice were immunized with 50 microg interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein (IRBP) mixed with complete Freund's adjuvant. Aqueous humor (AqH) was collected at periodic intervals and assayed for leukocyte content and the ability to suppress or enhance T-cell proliferation. Eyes with EAU were assessed for the capacity to support anterior chamber (AC)-associated immune deviation (ACAID) induction after injection of ovalbumin (OVA). RESULTS Inflammation within the anterior segment in EIU peaked at 12 to 24 hours and was detected from 10 days onward in EAU. In AqH of EIU, protein content rose within 4 hours, followed by infiltrating leukocytes. EIU AqH promptly lost its capacity to suppress T-cell proliferation and became mitogenic for T cells. In AqH of EAU, protein and leukocyte content rose at 11 days and continued to remain elevated thereafter. Whereas 11-day EAU AqH failed to suppress T-cell proliferation, AqH at later time points reacquired immunosuppressive properties. Injection of OVA into the AC of eyes of mice with EAU failed to induce ACAID. CONCLUSIONS The intraocular inflammation of EIU and EAU disrupted important parameters of immune privilege, ranging from breakdown of the blood- ocular barrier, to loss of an immunosuppressive microenvironment, to abrogation of ACAID. Because AqH from inflamed EAU reacquired the ability to suppress T-cell proliferation, the authors conclude that the capacity to regulate immune expression and inflammation can be a property even of inflamed eyes.
Experts' Perceptions on China's Capacity to Manage Emerging and Re‐emerging Zoonotic Diseases in an Era of Climate Change

Zoonotic diseases transmitted by arthropods and rodents are a major public health concern in China. However, interventions in recent decades have helped lower the incidence of several diseases despite the country's large, frequently mobile population and socio‐economic challenges. Increasing globalization, rapid urbanization and a warming climate now add to the complexity of disease control and prevention and could challenge China's capacity to respond to threats of emerging and re‐emerging zoonoses. To investigate this notion, face‐to‐face interviews were conducted with 30 infectious disease experts in four cities in China. The case study diseases under discussion were malaria, dengue fever and haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, all of which may be influenced by changing meteorological conditions. Data were analysed using standard qualitative techniques. The study participants viewed the current disease prevention and control system favourably and were optimistic about China's capacity to manage climate‐sensitive diseases in the future. Several recommendations emerged from the data including the need to improve health literacy in the population regarding the transmission of infectious diseases and raising awareness of the health impacts of climate change amongst policymakers and health professionals. Participants thought that research capacity could be strengthened and human resources issues for front‐line staff should be addressed. It was considered important that authorities are well prepared in advance for outbreaks such as dengue fever in populous subtropical areas, and a prompt and coordinated response is required when outbreaks occur. Furthermore, health professionals need to remain skilled in the identification of diseases for which incidence is declining, so that re‐emerging or emerging trends can be rapidly identified. Recommendations such as these may be useful in formulating adaptation plans and capacity building for the future control and prevention of climate‐sensitive zoonotic diseases in China and neighbouring countries.
Docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) is a critical determinant of cubic membrane formation in amoeba Chaos mitochondria

Very long‐chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (VLC‐PUFAs), such as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and docosapentaenoic acid (DPA), have recently made it to the realm of “magical molecules” based on their multiple presumably beneficial effects in biological systems, making these PUFAs particularly interesting in biomedicine. Their specific biological functions, however, remain enigmatic. Here we provide evidence derived from studies in the amoeba Chaos that indicates a structural role for ω‐6 DPA in cell membrane organization, which may help to explain the multiple diverse effects of VLC‐PUFA in healthy and diseased states. Amoeba Chaos mitochondria undergo a remarkable and reversible morphological transition into cubic morphology on starvation. This morphological transition is reflected in major changes in fatty acid and lipid composition, as determined by gas liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry, in particular by a drastic increase in C22:5 modified phosphatidylcholine plasmalogen, phosphatidylethanolamine plasmalogen, and phosphatidylinositol species. Liposomes produced in vitro from lipids of starved amoeba cells show a high propensity to form hexagonal tubular and cubic morphologies. Addition of ω‐6 DPA, but not of ω‐3 DPA, to the cell culture also induced mitochondrial membrane transformation into cubic morphology in fed cells, demonstrating for the first time an important structural role of ω‐6 DPA‐containing lipids in cell membrane organization. —Deng, Y. , Almsherqi, Z. A. , Shui, G. , Wenk, M. R. , Kohlwein, S. D. Docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) is a critical determinant of cubic membrane formation in amoeba Chaos mitochondria. FASEB J . 23, 2866–2871 (2009). www.fasebj. org
The Anomalous Effect of Oxygen Ratio on the Mobility and Photobias Stability of Sputtered Zinc–Tin–Oxide Transistors

The oxygen ratio-dependent device performance and reliability of zinc tin oxide (ZTO) thin-film transistors (TFTs) were examined. ZTO TFTs fabricated under pure Ar conditions exhibited a high saturation mobility of 21.5 cm<sup>2</sup>/Vs, low subthreshold gate swing of 0.34 V/decade, and high I<sub>ON/OFF</sub> ratio (10<sup>9</sup>), whereas modest mobility of 7.3 cm<sup>2</sup>/Vs was obtained for the ZTO TFTs prepared at an oxygen ratio [R = O<sub>2</sub>/(Ar + O<sub>2</sub>)] of 0.3. The photobias stability (AV<sub>th</sub> ≈-2.0 V) of the ZTO TFTs under the Ar only condition was much better than that (AV<sub>th</sub> ≈-5.9 V) of the device at R of 0.3, even though their channel layers contained the larger density of oxygen vacancies. This abnormal behavior was attributed to the compressive stress of ZTO films retarding the phototransition of oxygen vacancies.
On Intersectionality, Empathy and Feminist Solidarity: A Reply to Naomi Zack

Naomi Zack’s "Inclusive Feminism: A Third Wave Theory of Women’s Commonality" (2005), begins with an original reading of the paradigm shift from gender essentialism to intersectionality that ended U.S. second wave feminism. According to Zack there has been a crisis in academic and professional feminism since the late 1970s. Her project is to explain the motivation behind the shift from commonality to intersectionality, to outline its harmful effects, and to reclaim the idea that all women share something in common (2005, 2). To accomplish this Zack careful retools essentialism in ways that simultaneously acknowledge women’s differences and dodge what she perceives to be intersectionality’s fragmenting effects. This paper addresses Zack’s critique of intersectionality and her effort to ground a feminist empathy-based solidarity in women’s commonalities. My discussion begins with a basic account of intersectionality. I explore Zack’s reasons for rejecting this popular approach by replying to her two strongest arguments against intersectionality: (1) that intersectionality complicates the category woman by multiplying genders beyond necessity, and (2) that intersectionality has a segregating effect on feminist political movements. I argue that Zack’s inclusive feminism generates an oversimplified account of empathy and thus fails to engage the tensions among feminist movements that intersectionality makes visible. I conclude that her view requires a more robust epistemology of empathy if political solidarity is to be grounded in the FMP category.
Reforming the nations: a global study of the Need for Future Managerial Reforms in public administration

This study deals with the Need for Future Managerial Reforms (NFMR) in public administration as perceived by university professors from around the globe. We explore and validate a new NFMR scale based on traditional principles of the New Public Management (NPM) doctrine (e.g. downsizing government, debureaucratization, decentralization, managerialism, and privatization). We also propose a global professional selection (GPS) approach to the study of need for future managerial reforms, validating it with a theoretical model, eight propositions, and four hypotheses. According to the model, managerial quality, satisfaction with public services, trust in public services and NFMR are mutually related but should be considered within the cultural dimensions of each nation. Using data from a sample of 2995 faculty members in 191 major universities from 45 nations, we demonstrate the validity of the NFMR scale and of several direct and indirect hypotheses based on the theoretical model, as well as the advantage of the GPS-controlled mediating model over a simple mediating model. The findings are discussed theoretically and practically, with their implications for the study of future NPM-style reforms and the recent trends in modern governance. Points for practitioners This study suggests that greater calls for managerial reforms, especially from the knowledgeable community, are valuable inputs that should be heard and echoed in government halls. Improving managerial quality may reduce calls for managerial reforms. Public managers should invest in increasing citizens’ satisfaction and trust as they reduce pressures on policy makers to initiate expensive reforms. Cross-country transitions of lessons and knowledge about managerial reforms should be carried out with caution as values and traditions affect the type of required reforms and their meaning for the public.
Memory security in reconfigurable computers: Combining formal verification with monitoring

Ensuring memory access security is a challenge for reconfigurable systems with multiple cores. Previous work introduced access monitors attached to the memory subsystem to ensure that the cores adhere to pre-defined protocols when accessing memory. In this paper, we combine access monitors with a formal runtime verification technique known as proof-carrying hardware to guarantee memory security. We extend previous work on proof-carrying hardware by covering sequential circuits and demonstrate our approach with a prototype leveraging ReconOS/Zynq with an embedded ZUMA virtual FPGA overlay. Experiments show the feasibility of the approach and the capabilities of the prototype, which constitutes the first realization of proof-carrying hardware on real FPGAs. The area overheads for the virtual FPGA are measured as 2x-10x, depending on the resource type. The delay overhead is substantial with almost 100x, but this is an extremely pessimistic estimate that will be lowered once accurate timing analysis for FPGA overlays become available. Finally, reconfiguration time for the virtual FPGA is about one order of magnitude lower than for the native Zynq fabric.
Implacable images: why epileptiform events continue to be featured in film and television.

Epileptiform events have been portrayed in film since 1900 and on television since the 1950's. Over time, portrayals have not reflected medicine's understanding of epilepsy. At present, it is unlikely that individuals who do not have a close relationship with someone with a seizure-disorder will witness a seizure. Because fictive and often incorrect images appear increasingly, many think of them as accurate depictions. The research addresses three questions in relation to these images: How do directors use the images? Why do uses of seizures in visual media not reflect contemporary scientific knowledge? Why have they persisted and increased in use? Data consist of material from 192 films and television episodes. The general category of seizures includes seizures in characters said to have epilepsy or some other condition, seizures related to drug or alcohol use, pseudoseizures and feigned seizures, and, a category in which, for example, someone is described as "having a fit. " The research demonstrates how epileptiform events drive the narrative, support the genre, evoke specific emotional reactions, accentuate traits of characters with seizures, highlight qualities of other characters through their responses to the seizures, act as catalysts for actions, and enhance the voyeuristic experience of the audience. Twenty video sequences are included in the manuscript. The authors conclude that the visual experience of seizures remains so enthralling that its use is most likely to increase particularly on television, and that as the public has less experience with real seizures, depictions in film will continue to be more concerned with what the image can do for the show and less interested in accurate portrayals. Ways to influence depictions are suggested.
Effect of sleeved ceramic femoral heads on titanium ion release

Introduction: Metal ion release from wear and corrosion at the femoral head-stem taper junction can evoke local adverse reactions to metal debris (ARMD). In a specific large-diameter head (LDH) total hip arthroplasty (THA) system, ceramic femoral heads of 44 to 48 mm are available with a titanium (Ti) adaptor sleeve, while heads of 36- to 40-mm come without sleeves. The hypothesis of this study is that the Ti adaptor sleeve with LDH ceramic-on-ceramic (CoC) bearings will not cause wear or corrosion at the taper junction and, thus, will not generate high whole blood Ti ion levels. Methods: We compared whole blood Ti levels at minimum 1-year follow-up in 27 patients with unilateral primary LDH CoC THA with head sizes ranging from 36 to 48 mm using a Ti stem and acetabular component. Results: Although Ti ion levels in patients with 36- to 40-mm head diameters without Ti sleeve were found to be statistically significantly higher (2.3 μg/l: 1.6-3.1, SD 0.44) compared to those with a Ti sleeve (1.9 μg/l: 1.6-2.2, SD 0.19) (p = 0.020), the found difference has no clinical importance. No patients presented clinical signs of ARMD, and the clinical results in both groups were similar. Conclusions: LDH CoC THA Ti levels were low and probably related to unavoidable passive corrosion of implant surfaces. Measurement of Ti in subjects with ceramic LDH, with or without Ti adaptor sleeve, did not disclose undirected signs of trunnionosis.
Secular motion in a hierarchic triple stellar system

A system of equations is derived for the secular motion of a hierarchic triple stellar system. Mean anomalies of the inner binary system and of the outer star orbit are eliminated up to order 9 in the ratio of their Delaunay momenta. Thanks to the use of vectorial elements (angular momenta and Laplace vectors) the equations are non-singular, compact, and independent on the choice of the reference frame axes directions. In the limit of circular outer orbit, the secular Hamiltonian agrees with the forgotten solution by Brown. Being more complete, yet simpler, the present model differs from that of Krymolowski & Mazeh, except for the circular outer orbit limit. A simple extension of the secular equations of motion describing tidal friction is also provided.
Age Patterns of Disease Incidences in the U . S . Elderly : Population-Based Analysis

Age patterns of incidence of major age-associated diseases (cancer, diabetes, cardioand cerebrovascular, and neurodegenerative diseases) are calculated in the U.S. elderly population (aged 66-107) using ICD-9 diagnosis reported in Medicare records linked to 1982 to 1999 NLTCS survey respondents. Detailed sensitivity analysis, including effects of latent censoring, incorrect age reporting, and other procedural uncertainties showed their stability. Found agreement between the U.S. age-specific incidence rates estimated from the linked NLTCS-Medicare files and results from other epidemiological datasets suggests the utility of Medicare administrative records for characterizing national disease incidence rates — data not available for many diseases from other sources.
Investigating a smartphone imaging unit for photoplethysmography

Current-generation smartphones boast a video unit comprising a camera next to a white light emitting diode and this configuration would be suitable for reflection-mode bio-optical sensing and imaging applications. We demonstrate reflection photoplethysmographic (PPG) imaging using this technology on the index finger of a male volunteer during rest and immediately after performing a short run. The returned signals carry useful PPG signals and were used, for example, to compute change in heart rate. Our results are encouraging, especially in the area of personal and home-based care applications.
Integrated Molecular Diagnosis of Theileria and Babesia Species of Cattle in Italy

Abstract: A reverse line blot hybridization (RLB) test was developed to specifically identify six Theileria spp. (T. annulata, T. parva, T. mutans, T. velifera, T. taurotragi, and T. buffeli/orientalis) and three Babesia spp. (B. bovis, B. bigemina, and B. divergens). No cross reaction was observed with other livestock pathogens (such as Anaplasma marginale, A. centrale, A. ovis, Cowdria ruminantium, Trypanosoma brucei, T. congolense, and T. vivax). This method was used to test bovine blood samples collected in Sicily in April and November, 1998. Preliminary results indicated that T. annulata and T. buffeli/orientalis were the main species observed in cattle blood. Babesia species represented 1.8% and 23.5% in April and November, respectively.
Implementation of experimental equipment with Wideband Non-Contiguous OFDM

Mobile data traffic continues to rapidly increase. Even though more frequency resources are needed to handle such mobile data traffic, acquiring new wide and continuous frequency bandwidth is difficult in lower frequency bands under 1 GHz. To handle additional mobile data traffic, we are studying the technology of Wideband Non-Contiguous Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (WNC-OFDM), whose main characteristic is gathering the unused frequency resources that are generally found in extremely wide bands and dispersed in frequency domains by activating OFDM subcarriers in the fragmented frequency bands that are not used by other wireless systems. In this paper, we describe the technical issues and the key technologies to implement WNC-OFDM equipment, the structure of our implemented experimental equipment, and its basic performance.
Rating systems in the evaluation of knee ligament injuries.

Many different methods of evaluating disability after knee ligament injury exist. Most of them differ in design. Some are based on only patients' symptoms. Other include patients' symptoms, activity grading, performance in a test, and clinical findings. The rating in these evaluating systems can be either numerical, as in a score, or binary, with yes/no answers. Comparison between a symptom-related score and a score of more complex design showed that the symptom-related score gave a more differentiated picture of the disability. It was also shown that the binary rating system gave less detailed information than a score and that differences in a binary rating can depend on at what level the symptoms are regarded as "significant. " A new activity grading scale, where work and sport activities were graded numerically, was constructed as complement to the functional score. When evaluating knee ligament injuries, stability testing, functional knee score, performance test, and activity grading are all important. However, the relative importance varies during the course of treatment, and therefore they should not all be included in one and the same score.
Biomechanical comparison of spondylolysis fixation techniques.

STUDY DESIGN A load-controlled biomechanical analysis of flexion, extension, and torsional stiffness in instrumented calf spines. OBJECTIVES To compare biomechanically the performance of various fixation techniques for the repair of spondylolytic defects in the pars interarticularis. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Several techniques have been developed to stabilize a spondylolytic defect in the lumbar spine. There are, however, no comprehensive biomechanical studies in which these techniques are compared. METHODS Nine fresh-frozen and thawed calf cadaveric lumbar L2-L6 spines were used for mechanical testing. Scott's technique, Buck's technique (screw fixation in the lamina across the defects), modified Scott's technique (wire loops around cortical screws placed into both pedicles and tightened under the spinous process), and screw-rod-hook fixation were applied on the calf lumbar spines in which bilateral spondylolytic defects were created in the L4 vertebra. Motion across the defects for each direction of loading in flexion, extension, and rotation was measured using extensometers. The intervertebral rotations and the strain at the site of the spondylolytic defect were computed from the acquired load-displacement data. RESULTS Each fixation technique significantly increased stiffness and returned the intervertebral rotational stiffness to nearly intact levels. Displacement across the defect under flexion loading was significantly suppressed by each instrumentation technique, but the least motion (P < 0.05) was allowed with the screw-rod-hook fixation or Buck's technique. CONCLUSIONS All four fixation techniques restored the intervertebral rotational displacements under flexion and torsional loading to the intact condition. The screw-rod-hook fixation allowed the least amount of motion across the defect during flexion.
Study on Transpiration Model for Fruit Tree Based on Generalized Regression Neural Network

In order to explore the water use characteristics of fruit tree and provide theoretical basis of effective and reasonable water conservation measures in Beijing. The transpiration of cherry was continuously monitored by heat pulse technology, and meteorological data were synchronously recorded. Because soil water contend (SWC),photosynthetically active radiation(PAR) and Vapor Pressure Deficit (VPD) were closely related to transpiration, generalized regression neural network (GRNN) model for transpiration was constructed based those factors, and experiment verification showed that the model had a higher prediction accuracy.