Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Plasma Osmolality Controls Dry Forage Intake in Large-type Goats

In large-type goats that were fed on dry forage twice daily, dry forage intake was markedly suppressed after 40 min of feeding had elapsed. The objective of this study was to clarify whether or not increases in plasma osmolality and subsequent thirst sensations produced by dry forage feeding suppress dry forage intake. Eight large-type male esophageal- and ruminal-fistulated goats (crossbred Japanese Saanen/Nubian, aged 3 to 6 years, weighing 72.3±2.74 kg) were used in two experiments conducted under sham feeding conditions. The animals were fed ad libitum a diet of roughly crushed alfalfa hay cubes for 2 h from 10:00 to 12:00 h during two experiments. Water was withheld during feeding in both experiments but was available for a period of 30 min after completion of the 2 h feeding period. In experiment 1, an intraruminal infusion of artificial parotid saliva (RIAPS) in the control replenished saliva lost via the esophageal fistula and an intraruminal infusion of hypertonic solution (RIHS) in the treatment was carried out in order to reproduce the effects of changing salt content due to feed entering the rumen. In experiment 2, the RIHS control was conducted in the same manner as the RIHS treatment of experiment 1. The treatment group consisted of RIHS-with an intravenous infusion of artificial mixed saliva (VIAMS) treatment that was carried out for 3 h to prevent increases in plasma osmolality during feeding. The results of the RIHS treatment in experiment 1 showed that ruminal fluid osmolality increased and then an increase in plasma osmolality was observed. This resulted in the production of thirst sensations and the reduction of cumulative dry forage intake to 43.3% (p<0.05) of the RIAPS control. The results of the RIHS-VIAMS treatment in experiment 2 indicated that ruminal fluid osmolality was the same as the RIHS control but plasma osmolality significantly decreased, and thirst level was markedly reduced. This caused a significant increase of 31.4% (p<0.05) in cumulative dry forage intake in the RIHS-VIAMS treatment compared to the RIHS control. These results indicate that increases in ruminal fluid osmolality during dry forage feeding indirectly suppresses dry forage intake by causing an increase in plasma osmolality and subsequently inducing thirst sensations. The results of the present study suggest that marked decreases in dry forage intake after 40 min of feeding are caused by increases in plasma osmolality and subsequent thirst sensations produced by dry forage feeding. (Key Words : Ruminal Fluid Osmolality, Plasma Osmolality, Thirst Level, Dry Forage Intake, Large-type Goats)
Adopting agile practices when developing software for use in the medical domain

Non‐safety critical software developers have been reaping the benefits of adopting agile practices for a number of years. However, developers of safety critical software often have concerns about adopting agile practices. Through performing a literature review, this research has identified the perceived barriers to following agile practices when developing medical device software. A questionnaire‐based survey was also conducted with medical device software developers in Ireland to determine the barriers to adopting agile practices. The survey revealed that half of the respondents develop software in accordance with a plan‐driven software development lifecycle and that they believe that there are a number of perceived barriers to adopting agile practices when developing regulatory compliant software such as being contradictory to regulatory requirements, insufficient coverage of risk management activities and the lack of up‐front planning. In addition, a comparison is performed between the perceived and actual barriers. Based upon the findings of the literature review and survey, it emerged that no external barriers exist to adopting agile practices when developing medical device software and the barriers that do exists are internal barriers such as getting stakeholder buy in. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Anthropomorphic Feedback in User Interfaces: The Effect of Personality Traits, Context and Grice's Maxims on Effectiveness and Preferences

Experimental work on anthropomorphic feedback in user interfaces has shown inconsistent results and researchers offer differing opinions as to the potential usefulness of this style of user interaction. A review of the literature shows that experimental work can be improved and enhanced by taking into account issues that characterise human-human communications. Results from three experiments are reported that exhibit the previously observed inconsistencies but this is arguably a function of task context. An alternative explanation is that the results are a reflection of the cognitive nature of tasks. Overall, the results point the way to further and future results in terms of refining procedures but also in terms of theoretical focus.
You Should Be Scared of German Ghost

Ghost is a popular word game played by two or more players. Players take turns adding a letter to the end of a growing word fragment, trying not to be the first to complete a valid word. We show that the game, when played on a regular language, is PSPACE-hard, and extend the result to four variants of the game. In addition, we take advantage of a quirk of the German language — that German words can be concatenated together to form longer words — to give a fun extension of our proof of PSPACE-hardness to subsets of the German language.
DNA Damage Response and Breast Cancer: An Overview

The cells throughout the human body are constantly subjected to both internal forces and external insults that cause damage to their DNA. This damage to the DNA can be harmful to the overall integrity of the cell and the ability for replication. Accurate transmission of genetic information from one cell to its progeny is dependent upon mechanisms within the cell to monitor any defects within its genome and to repair these deficiencies so as not to pass them to subsequent generations. These mechanisms are mainly mediated through an array of DNA damage response proteins including DNA damage sensors, signal transducers and effectors. Sensors, such as ATM (ataxia telangiectasia mutated) and ATR (ATM-Rad3-related), have the ability to recognize areas of damage and activate signal transducers, which either activate or inactivate effectors. Effector proteins trigger cell cycle checkpoint and the cell may successfully repair the damage or proceed towards apoptosis if these damages are irreparable. These molecules are not only necessary for surveillance of occasional non-lethal DNA damage, but are also important for the survival of the cell and the organism. Moreover, mutations to these DNA damage response proteins may contribute to an unstable genome and the development of cancer. In this chapter we will briefly review the cell cycle and relevant checkpoint proteins. We will also discuss in detail the DNA damage response signal transduction pathway and associated proteins: ATM, ATR, ChK1, Chk2, p53, BRCA-1, PARP-1, and BRIT-1,. Finally, we will discuss the future strategy in targeting the defects of these proteins in the treatment of breast cancer.
Non-Independent Randomized Rounding for Link Scheduling in Wireless Mesh Networks

In this paper, a family of integer linear programs is formulated for performing collision free scheduling in Spatial-TDMA wireless mesh networks. We extend previous formulations for power aware STDMA scheduling to include discrete power transmission and multi-rate support via adaptive constellation selection. Despite the theoretical attractiveness of these (mixed) integer linear programs, STDMA scheduling problems are in general intractable (NP-hard problems). Thus, the practicality of providing optimal solutions is rather limited. To this end, we study approximation algorithms that are based on linear programming relaxation and randomized rounding. Based on these approximation algorithms we focus our study on the trade-off between optimality of the solution and feasibility. Conducted numerical investigations aim to vindicate the claim regarding the strength of randomized algorithms. In that respect the performance of the approximation algorithms under different scenarios, such as the number of active links and number of nodes in the mesh network, is investigated.
Endothelium-dependent relaxation in resistance arteries from spontaneously hypertensive rats: effect of long-term treatment with perindopril, quinapril, hydralazine or amlodipine

Objective To examine the effects of different types of anti hypertensive treatment on endothelium-dependent relaxation in resistance arteries from spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). Design and methods Three-week-old SHRs were treated with the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor perindopril (1 mg/kg/day) or quinapril (3 mg/kg/day) or the vasodilator hydralazine (50 mg/kg/day) or the calcium antagonist amlodipine (10mg/kg/day). Control SHRs and Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats were treated with water. After 21 weeks rats were culled and mesenteric resistance arteries were mounted in a myograph. Relaxation responses to the endothelium-dependent vasodilators acetylcholine (ACh) and bradykinin were recorded before and after incubation with the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor A/G-nitro-L-arginine (L-NOARG), as was the relaxation response to the nitric oxide donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP). Results All drugs prevented the rise in blood pressure found in the untreated SHRs. ACh-induced relaxation was significantly impaired in the untreated SHRs compared with the WKY rats. Treatment with either ACE inhibitor prevented the development of this impaired response. ACE inhibitor treatment significantly increased the relaxation response to bradykinin. Despite lowering blood pressure, hydralazine or amlodipine had no effect on ACh- or bradykinin-induced relaxation. Responses to SNP were not different between untreated SHRs and WKY rats and were not affected by drug treatment. Conclusion Specific properties of certain antihypertensive drugs may play an important role in restoring endothelium-dependent relaxation in the small arteries that regulate peripheral resistance in the SHR.
Next-generation sequencing reveals a novel NDP gene mutation in a Chinese family with Norrie disease

Purpose: Norrie disease (ND) is a rare X-linked genetic disorder, the main symptoms of which are congenital blindness and white pupils. It has been reported that ND is caused by mutations in the NDP gene. Although many mutations in NDP have been reported, the genetic cause for many patients remains unknown. In this study, the aim is to investigate the genetic defect in a five-generation family with typical symptoms of ND. Methods: To identify the causative gene, next-generation sequencing based target capture sequencing was performed. Segregation analysis of the candidate variant was performed in additional family members using Sanger sequencing. Results: We identified a novel missense variant (c.314C>A) located within the NDP gene. The mutation cosegregated within all affected individuals in the family and was not found in unaffected members. By happenstance, in this family, we also detected a known pathogenic variant of retinitis pigmentosa in a healthy individual. Conclusion: c.314C>A mutation of NDP gene is a novel mutation and broadens the genetic spectrum of ND.
Migration and Invasion of Brain Tumors

Recent advances in molecular biology have led to new insights in the development, growth and infiltrative behaviors of primary brain tumors (Demuth and Berens, 2004; Huse and Holland, 2010; Johnson et al., 2009; Kanu et al., 2009). These tumors are derived from various brain cell lineages and have been historically classified on the basis of morphological and, more recently, immunohistochemical features with less emphasis on their underlying molecular pathogenesis (Huse and Holland, 2010). The detailed molecular characterization of brain tumors has laid the groundwork for augmentation of standard treatment with patient-specific designed targeted therapies (Johnson et al., 2009; Kanu et al., 2009). Nevertheless, these tumors are extremely aggressive in their infiltration of brain tissue (Altman et al., 2007; Hensel et al., 1998; Yamahara et al., 2010), as well as in their metastasis outside of brain (Algra et al., 1992). Further, it now appears that the physiological conditions of the normal brain itself constitute a biological environment conducive to the uncontrolled dissemination of primary tumors (Bellail et al., 2004; Sontheimer, 2004). This review surveys the latest research on the invasive behavior of two major types of primary brain tumors: gliomas and medulloblastomas the most common tumors diagnosed within adult and pediatric brain, respectively (Rickert and Paulus, 2001). The material has been divided into five sections: i) Characteristics of malignant brain tumors; ii) Mechanisms of tumor cell migration; iii) Models for the study of brain tumor invasion in vivo and ex vivo; iv) Models for the study of brain tumor invasion in vitro; and v) Future prospects of anti-invasive brain tumor therapy.
VARIABILITY IN CENTRAL VENOUS PRESSURE MEASUREMENTS AND THE POTENTIAL IMPACT ON FLUID MANAGEMENT

In the intensive care unit (ICU) of our tertiary care university medical center, central venous pressure (CVP) measurements derived from bedside monitors differ considerably from measurements by trained intensivists using paper tracings. To quantify these differences, printed CVP tracings and concurrent respiratory waveforms were collected from 100 consecutive critically ill patients along with the corresponding monitor-displayed CVP. Four blinded intensivists interpreted the tracings. The mean difference between the intensivists and the monitor was −0.26 mmHg (95% confidence interval, +7.19 to −7.71 mmHg). Seventy-six percent of the paired measurements were within 2 mmHg, whereas 7% differed by more than 5 mmHg. To determine the potential clinical impact of these differences, we used the original Surviving Sepsis Campaign Guidelines for fluid administration based upon the measurement of CVP. For individual physicians, protocol-driven fluid management strategy would have differed in 19.2% to 25.3% of cases, dependent upon which measured value was chosen. Although protocol-driven strategies to direct fluid infusion therapy may improve outcomes, these interventions in a specific patient are dependent upon the method by which the CVP is measured.
Identifying dietary patterns using a normal mixture model: application to the EPIC study

Background Finite mixture models posit the existence of a latent categorical variable and can be used for probabilistic classification. The authors illustrate the use of mixture models for dietary pattern analysis. An advantage of this approach is taking classification uncertainty into account. Methods Participants were a random sample of women from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer. Food consumption was measured using dietary questionnaires. Mixture models identified latent classes in food consumption data, which were interpreted as dietary patterns. Results Among various assumptions examined, models allowing the variance of foods to vary within and between classes fit better than alternatives assuming constant variance (the K-means method of cluster analysis also makes the latter assumption). An eight-class model was best fitting and five patterns validated well in a second random sample. Patterns with lower classification uncertainty tended to be better validated. One pattern showed low consumption of foods despite being associated with moderate body mass index. Conclusion Mixture modelling for dietary pattern analysis has advantages over both factor and cluster analysis. In contrast to these other methods, it is easy to estimate pattern prevalence, to describe patterns and to use patterns to predict disease taking classification uncertainty into account. Owing to substantial error in food consumptions, any analysis will usually find some patterns that cannot be well validated. While knowledge of classification uncertainty may aid pattern evaluation, any method will better identify patterns from food consumptions measured with less error. Mixture models may be useful to identify individuals who under-report food consumption.
A Software Tool to Visualize Verbal Protocols to Enhance Strategic and Metacognitive Abilities in Basic Programming

—Learning to program is difficult for many first year undergraduate students. Instructional strategies of traditional programming courses tend to focus on syntactic issues and assigning practice exercises using the presenta-tion-examples-practice formula and by showing the verbal and visual explanation of a teacher during the “step by step” process of writing a computer program. Cognitive literature regarding the mental processes involved in programming suggests that the explicit teaching of certain aspects such as mental models, strategic knowledge and metacognitive abilities, are critical issues of how to write and assemble the pieces of a computer program. Verbal protocols are often used in software engineering as a technique to record the short term cognitive process of a user or expert in evaluation or problem solving scenarios. We argue that verbal protocols can be used as a mechanism to explicitly show the strategic and metacognitive process of an in-structor when writing a program. In this paper we present an Information System Prototype developed to store and visualize worked examples derived from transcribed verbal protocols during the process of writing introductory level programs. Empirical data comparing the grades obtained by two groups of novice programming students, using ANOVA, indicates a statistically positive difference in performance in the group using the tool, even though these results still cannot be extrapolated to general population, given the reported limitations of this study.
The 3'-Untranslated Region of the Human Estrogen Receptor α Gene Mediates Rapid Messenger Ribonucleic Acid Turnover.

Human estrogen receptor-alpha messenger RNA (hERalpha mRNA) has a relatively short half-life, which was determined to be approximately 5 h in MCF-7 cell line after actinomycin D treatment. The 3'-untranslated region (3'UTR) of hERalpha mRNA was previously shown to completely down-regulate chloramphenicol acetyltransferase activity when present at the 3'-end of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase transcripts, suggesting a destabilizing function of the hERalpha 3'UTR sequence. Chimeric genes composed of a serum-inducible Fos promoter, GH-coding sequences, and different segments of the hERalpha complementary DNA 3'UTR sequence were used to confirm this hypothesis and to localize the RNA region responsible for the destabilizing effect. The presence of the complete hERalpha 3'UTR reduced the half-life of the reporter mRNA from more than 24 to 3 h. When the hERalpha 3'UTR was subdivided into four fragments (UTR1-4), one fragment, UTR2, retained the most ability to down-regulate the reporter mRNA (t1/2 = 4 h). A stretch of four AUUUA motifs within UTR2 was shown not to mediate mRNA destabilization. In contrast, further subdivision of the UTR2 into three parts (UTR2a-c) resulted in the loss of the destabilizing activity. Finally, recombination of two UTR2 subfragments (UTR2a and -b) partially restored this function, indicating a cooperative role among the three UTR2a-c subfragments in the process that leads to destabilization of the hERalpha transcript.
Smoothed multiple model adaptive estimation

This paper discusses the subject of unmeasurable parameter (or state) estimation. It presents a viable option for carrying out this task, as well as augmentations for mending its flaws. The selected basic method is Multiple Model Adaptive Estimation, using multiple Kalman Filters (KFs) in parallel to determine the current value of the parameter (or state) using other sensor measurements. However, this method is proven to give a staircase function as estimate in case of continuous variation of the unknown parameter. In some cases this leads to unacceptable estimation errors. One possible solution is to increase the number of KFs but this can also highly increase the computational load. Searching for alternative solutions resulted in the idea of using parabolic curve fitting on the discrete parameter values, so that the minimal value of the parabola could interpolate between the fixed values and so better locate the true parameter. Tests in an example showed that this method gives satisfactory results inside the covered parameter range but on the boundaries it can be inaccurate. With supplementation of the original parameter range (extension of the boundaries) and extrapolation of the parabolic curve one can finally achieve a highly accurate parameter estimate. This is demonstrated by an application example which offers calibrated airspeed estimation on a high-fidelity Airbus civil aircraft model.
Taking ECG-signals from a human voxel model

This paper reports first results in applying CST Microwave Studio in combination with a human voxel model and a dedicatedly developed equivalent cardiac cycle source. Based on first coarse-meshing simulation results it may be concluded that it is feasible to model the heart in a three-dimensional anthropomorphic voxel model of a human being by an equivalent fixed dipole volume source. Through changing the amplitude and orientation over the cardiac cycle, ECG signals may be obtained from the chest area of the voxel model.