Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mineralocorticoid receptor and cardiac arrhythmia

Mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) activation has been shown to play a deleterious role in the development of heart disease in studies using specific MR antagonists (spironolactone, eplerenone) in both experimental models and patients. Pharmacological MR blockade attenuates the transition to heart failure (HF) in models of systolic left ventricular dysfunction and myocardial infarction, as well as diastolic dysfunction, in rats and mice. In humans, MR antagonism is highly beneficial in patients with mild or advanced HF and postinfarct HF. The consequences of aldosterone and MR activation for cardiac arrhythmia and its prevention and/or correction by MR antagonists are often underestimated. Activation of MR modulates cardiac electrical activity, causing atrial and ventricular arrhythmias. A pro‐arrhythmogenic effect of aldosterone (possibly partly dependent on fibrosis) has been suggested by several studies. Cardiac MR activation has important consequences for the control of cellular calcium homeostasis, action potential lengthening, modulation of calcium transients and sarcoplasmic reticulum diastolic leaks, resulting in the promotion of rhythm disorders. Aldosterone and/or MR activation (in both cardiomyocytes and coronary vessels) result in vascular dysfunction and also contribute to pro‐arrhythmogenic conditions. Together, the pro‐arrhythmic effects of aldosterone and/or MR may explain the highly beneficial effect of MR antagonism, namely a decrease in the incidence of sudden death, observed in the Randomized Aldactone Evaluation Study (RALES) and Eplerenone Post‐Acute Myocardial Infarction Heart Failure Efficacy and Survival Study (EPHESUS) studies.
Disseminated human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) infection in SCID- hu mice after peripheral inoculation with HIV-1

A small animal model that could be infected with human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) after peripheral inoculation would greatly facilitate the study of the pathophysiology of acute HIV-1 infection. The utility of SCID mice implanted with human fetal thymus and liver (SCID-hu mice) for studying peripheral HIV-1 infection in vivo has been hampered by the requirement for direct intraimplant injection of HIV-1 and the continued restriction of the resultant HIV-1 infection to the human thymus and liver (hu-thy/liv) implant. This may have been due to the very low numbers of human T cells present in the SCID-hu mouse peripheral lymphoid compartment. Since the degree of the peripheral reconstitution of SCID-hu mice with human T cells may be a function of the hu-thy/liv implant size, we increased the quantity of hu-thy/liv tissue implanted under the renal capsule and implanted hu-thy/liv tissue under the capsules of both kidneys. This resulted in SCID-hu mice in which significant numbers of human T cells were detected in the peripheral blood, spleens, and lymph nodes. After intraimplant injection of HIV-1 into these modified SCID-hu mice, significant HIV-1 infection was detected by quantitative coculture not only in the hu- thy/liv implant, but also in the spleen and peripheral blood. This indicated that HIV-1 infection can spread from the thymus to the peripheral lymphoid compartment. More importantly, a similar degree of infection of the hu-thy/liv implant and peripheral lymphoid compartment occurred after peripheral intraperitoneal inoculation with HIV-1. Active viral replication was indicated by the detection of HIV-1 gag DNA, HIV-1 gag RNA, and spliced tat/rev RNA in the hu-thy/liv implants, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), spleens, and lymph nodes of these HIV-1-infected SCID-hu mice. As a first step in using our modified SCID-hu mouse model to investigate the pathophysiological consequences of HIV-1 infection, the effect of HIV-1 infection on the expression of human cytokines shown to enhance HIV-1 replication was examined. Significantly more of the HIV-1-infected SCID-hu mice expressed mRNA for human tumor necrosis factors alpha and beta, and interleukin 2 in their spleens, lymph nodes, and PBMC than did uninfected SCID-hu mice. This suggested that HIV-1 infection in vivo can stimulate the expression of cytokine mRNA by human T cells. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
PromFD 1.0: a computer program that predicts eukaryotic pol II promoters using strings and IMD matrices

MOTIVATION A large number of new DNA sequences with virtually unknown functions are generated as the Human Genome Project progresses. Therefore, it is essential to develop computer algorithms that can predict the functionality of DNA segments according to their primary sequences, including algorithms that can predict promoters. Although several promoter-predicting algorithms are available, they have high false-positive detections and the rate of promoter detection needs to be improved further. RESULTS In this research, PromFD, a computer program to recognize vertebrate RNA polymerase II promoters, has been developed. Both vertebrate promoters and non-promoter sequences are used in the analysis. The promoters are obtained from the Eukaryotic Promoter Database. Promoters are divided into a training set and a test set. Non-promoter sequences are obtained from the GenBank sequence databank, and are also divided into a training set and a test set. The first step is to search out, among all possible permutations, patterns of strings 5-10 bp long, that are significantly over-represented in the promoter set. The program also searches IMD (Information Matrix Database) matrices that have a significantly higher presence in the promoter set. The results of the searches are stored in the PromFD database, and the program PromFD scores input DNA sequences according to their content of the database entries. PromFD predicts promoters-their locations and the location of potential TATA boxes, if found. The program can detect 71% of promoters in the training set with a false-positive rate of under 1 in every 13,000 bp, and 47% of promoters in the test set with a false-positive rate of under 1 in every 9800 bp. PromFD uses a new approach and its false-positive identification rate is better compared with other available promoter recognition algorithms. The source code for PromFD is in the 'c+2' language.
A spatiotemporal approach to extract the 3D trajectory of the baseball from a single view video sequence

In this paper, we propose a new method to extract and calculate the 3D trajectory of a pitched baseball in a video clip. Compared to previous methods, which require video clips from multiple view points, only a single-view television clip is required for our method. Since global search methods based on dynamic programming are used to find the trajectory of the ball, the system is more robust than previous incremental methods. Therefore, our technique can be used to analyze the pitches not only in live TV programs, but also in previous games by famous pitchers. It is also possible to display the 3D trajectory of the baseball in a virtual environment from the viewpoint of the hitter. Pitchers can improve their skills by viewing the trajectory of their balls, and the hitters can view the pitches of various pitchers. As a result, our system can be used for baseball training, as well as for entertainment such as video games. The method to extract the ball from the scene is also applicable to sports such as tennis, volleyball, and soccer
System Journal of Renin-angiotensin-aldosterone Journal of Renin-angiotensin-aldosterone System the Angiotensin Ii Type 2 Receptor in Cardiovascular Disease Journal of Renin-angiotensin-aldosterone System Additional Services and Information For

Journal of the Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System (Including other Peptidergic systems) Abstract Angiotensin II (Ang II) is considered the major final mediator of the renin-angiotensin system. The actions of Ang II have been implicated in many cardiovascular conditions, such as hypertension, atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, restenosis, and heart failure. Ang II can act through two different receptors: Ang II type 1 (AT 1) receptor and Ang II type 2 (AT 2) receptor. The AT 1 receptor is ubiquitously expressed in the cardiovascular system and mediates most of the physiological and pathophysiological actions of Ang II. The AT 2 receptor is highly expressed in the developing foetus, but its expression is very low in the cardiovascular system of the normal adult. Expression of the AT 2 receptor can be modulated by pathological states associated with tissue remodelling or inflammation such as hypertension, atherosclerosis, and myocardial infarction. The precise role of the AT 2 receptor remains under debate. However, it appears that the AT 2 receptor plays a vasodilatory role, and may be enhanced as a countervailing mechanism in cardiac hypertrophy, and in presence of vascular injury in hypertension and atherosclerosis. Signalling pathways induced by the stimulation of the AT 2 receptor are poorly understood, but three main mechanisms have been described: (a) activation of protein phosphatases causing protein dephosphorylation; (b) activation of bradykinin/nitric oxide/cyclic guanosine 3',5'-monophosphate pathway; and (c) stimulation of phospholipase A 2 and release of arachidonic acid. Vasodilatory effects of the AT 2 receptor, probably the only well-established role of the AT 2 receptor, have been attributed to the second of these mechanisms. The participation of the AT 2 receptor in cardiovascular remodelling and inflammation is more controversial. In vitro, AT 2 receptor stimulation clearly inhibits cardiac and vascular smooth muscle growth and proliferation, and stimulates apoptosis. In vivo, the situation is less clear, and depending on the studies, the AT 2 receptor appears to be required for cardiac hypertrophic growth or contrariwise, the AT 2 receptor has demonstrated no effects on cardiac hypertrophy. Similar controversial findings have been reported in atherosclerosis. Here we discuss the role of the AT 2 receptor on cardiovascular structure and disease, and the signalling pathways induced by its activation. Introduction Angiotensin II (Ang II), the major effector of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), acts mainly via two different receptors: Ang II type 1 (AT 1) receptor and Ang II type 2 (AT 2) receptor. These two …
A modular robot that exploits a spontaneous connectivity control mechanism

This paper discusses a fully decentralized algorithm able to control the morphology of a two-dimensional modular robot called "Slimebot", consisting of many identical modules, according to the environment encountered. One of the significant features of our approach is that we explicitly exploit "emergent phenomena" stemming from the interplay between control and mechanical systems in order to control the morphology in real time. To this end, we particularly focus on a "functional material" and a "mutual entrainment", the former of which is used as a spontaneous connectivity control mechanism between the modules, and the latter of which plays as the core of the control mechanism for the generation of locomotion. Simulation results indicate that the proposed algorithm can induce locomotion, which allows us to successfully control the morphology of the modular robot in real time according to the situation without losing the coherence of the entire system.
Query Algebra and Query Optimization for Concept Assertion Retrieval

We develop a query algebra that supports efficient assertion retrieval—a natural extension of instance retrieval. The algebra is based on previously developed techniques for indexing concept descriptions. We show how relational-style query processing, including the use of secondary indices, of multiple cascaded indices, and so on, can be used to improve query performance, and also develop general conditions that enable query reformulation.
Sharing daily-life images with videoProbe

videoProbe is a device that takes pictures of everyday family life and shares them among multiple households. By providing family members with a new means of lightweight and informal communication, videoProbe allows unusual picture sharing and is likely to modify interactions within families. From a research perspective, videoProbe is an instance of a new class of device built to inspire ideas for the design of new communication technologies and to gather data about life in family.
Multi-view Deep Learning for Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes

This research note concerns the application of deep-learning-based multi-view-imaging techniques to data from the High Energy Stereoscopic System Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescope array. We find that the earlier the fusion of layer information from different views takes place in the neural network, the better our model performs with this data. Our analysis shows that the point in the network where the information from the different views is combined is far more important for the model performance than the method used to combine the information.
Characterizing the spatio-temporal burstiness of storage workloads

Computing technology are undergoing evolutionary changes in platform and environment. Computing becomes more and more data-intensive. The design of the data center storage of cloud-based system determines whether data could be accessed efficiently. Characterizing storage workloads can provide valuable information for storage system design on various aspects, such as system modeling, design decision-making, and simulation-based performance evaluation. I/O behaviors in data center environments typically exhibit temporal burstiness and spatial locality. The strong spatio-temporal correlation of I/O behaviors motivates us to study the spatio-temporal burstiness of storage workloads. In this paper, we analyze several I/O traces collected in enterprise storage systems and characterize the spatio-temporal burstiness by abstracting the spatio-temporal correlation of temporal and spatial behaviors. Then a stochastic model is proposed to emulate and predict I/O arrival rates. We conduct an experimental study based on real-world I/O workloads traces. The results demonstrate that abstracting the spatio-temporal correlation of I/O behaviors contributes to improving the accuracy of the storage workloads prediction.
Reconfigurable distributed software platform for a group of UUVs (yet another robot platform)

This paper deals with the design principles and implementation of a reconfigurable real-time software platform designed for data exchange between software modules of unmanned underwater and surface vehicles. The aim of developing a new robotic platform was the realization of a light-weight OS-independent library that allows integrating AUVs, ROVs and surface vehicles to a single computing cluster. The advantage of the developed system is the possibility of information interaction through the low-speed and unstable acoustic channel. It should be noted that the developed platform does not require any additional tools or software modules in the robot control system. All that is needed is a single library for inter-process communication, data logging and web-based graphical user interface. The developed system is used in several autonomous and remotely operated underwater vehicles, designed at the Institute for Marine Technology Problems and Far Eastern Federal University. The graphical user interface of this platform is based on the mechanism of web sockets and is compatible with the Robot Operating System.
Noncontact Tactile Display Based on Radiation Pressure of Airborne Ultrasound

This paper describes a tactile display which provides unrestricted tactile feedback in air without any mechanical contact. It controls ultrasound and produces a stress field in a 3D space. The principle is based on a nonlinear phenomenon of ultrasound: Acoustic radiation pressure. The fabricated prototype consists of 324 airborne ultrasound transducers, and the phase and intensity of each transducer are controlled individually to generate a focal point. The DC output force at the focal point is 16 mN and the diameter of the focal point is 20 mm. The prototype produces vibrations up to 1 kHz. An interaction system including the prototype is also introduced, which enables users to see and touch virtual objects.
Chain Conditions in $C_p(X)$

We present new results regarding calibers in function spaces $C_p(X)$. We calculate the calibers of $C_p(X)$ when $X$ is an interval of ordinals and when $X$ is the one-point $\lambda$-Lindel\"of extension of a discrete space of cardinality $\geq \lambda$. We give sufficient conditions to characterize the calibers of $C_p(X)$ when $X$ is a topological sum, and we calculate the calibers of $C_p(X)$ when $X = \prod_{\xi<\lambda}X_\xi$ is a product of non-trivial Tychonoff spaces with $i$-weight less or equal to $\lambda$. The main theorem is: If $\kappa$ and $\lambda$ are cardinals with $\omega \leq \lambda\leq \kappa$, then the set of calibers of the space of the real-valued continuous functions defined on the one-point $\lambda$-Lindel\"of extension of the discrete space of cardinality $\kappa$ with its pointwise convergence topology, $C_p(L(\lambda, \kappa))$, is $\{\mu\in CN : cf(\mu)>\omega \ \wedge \ \mu\not\in (\lambda ,\kappa] \ \wedge \ cf(\mu)\not\in (\lambda,\kappa]\}$.
Congestion Control and Channel Assignment in Multi-Radio Multi-Channel Wireless Mesh Networks

We address the problem of congestion control in multi-radio, multi-channel, wireless mesh networks. Compared to its single radio counterpart for which solutions exist, this problem is significantly more complex because it requires th e radio channel assignments and the traffic allocations per ch annel be jointly optimized. We address the problem by introducinga formulation that allows its decomposition in two subproblems: A congestion control subproblem for traffic allocation to a fixed channel assignment over a node path and a discrete combinatorial channel assignment subproblem. We solve the conditional congestion control subproblem by mapping it toan optimization problem of traffic distribution to a set of radi o paths. The solution provides channel congestion information thatis utilized to address the channel assignment subproblem. Thi s leads to an iterative procedure which guarantees successive incr eases to overall network utilization. Compared to existing work on multiradio, multi-channel mesh networks, we show that our approach can yield significant gains both in terms of network utilization and establishing fairness.
Aortic Calcification and Femoral Bone Density Are Independently Associated with Left Ventricular Mass in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease

Background Vascular calcification and reduced bone density are prevalent in chronic kidney disease and linked to increased cardiovascular risk. The mechanism is unknown. We assessed the relationship between vascular calcification, femoral bone density and left ventricular mass in patients with stage 3 non-diabetic chronic kidney disease in a cross-sectional observational study. Methodology and Principal Findings A total of 120 patients were recruited (54% male, mean age 55±14 years, mean glomerular filtration rate 50±13 ml/min/1.73 m2). Abdominal aortic calcification was assessed using lateral lumbar spine radiography and was present in 48%. Mean femoral Z-score measured using dual energy x-ray absorptiometry was 0.60±1.06. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging was used to determine left ventricular mass. One patient had left ventricular hypertrophy. Subjects with aortic calcification had higher left ventricular mass compared to those without (56±16 vs. 48±12 g/m2, P = 0.002), as did patients with femoral Z-scores below zero (56±15 vs. 49±13 g/m2, P = 0.01). In univariate analysis presence of aortic calcification correlated with left ventricular mass (r = 0.32, P = 0.001); mean femoral Z-score inversely correlated with left ventricular mass (r = −0.28, P = 0.004). In a multivariate regression model that included presence of aortic calcification, mean femoral Z-score, gender and 24-hour systolic blood pressure, 46% of the variability in left ventricular mass was explained (P<0.001). Conclusions In patients with stage 3 non-diabetic chronic kidney disease, lower mean femoral Z-score and presence of aortic calcification are independently associated with increased left ventricular mass. Further research exploring the pathophysiology that underlies these relationships is warranted.
A multifaceted validation study of Spence and Robbins' (1992) Workaholism Battery

Workaholism, an excessive focus on work without apparent economic reason, has been conceptualized by Spence and Robbins (1992) as comprising three dimensions; Work Involvement (WI), Enjoyment (E), and Drive (D). The corresponding measure, the Workaholism Battery (WorkBAT; Spence & Robbins, 1992) is widely used in workaholism research. Cluster and factor analyses in the present study of 320 employed participants failed to confirm Spence and Robbins' three-scale model of workaholism: only E and D were apparent (α=.85 and .75, respectively). Convergent validity was demonstrated by significant correlations between E and job satisfaction (.48), between D and intrinsic job motivation (.39) and with the Schedule for Nonadaptive and Adaptive Personality—Workaholism scale (E=.27, D=.61). Criterion validity against hours worked was weak (E=.16, D=.22, respectively). Overall, the data endorse Kanai, Wakabayashi, and Fling's (1996) elimination of the Work Involvement factor in favour of a two-factor structure of workaholism.
HyRRT-Connect: A Bidirectional Rapidly-Exploring Random Trees Motion Planning Algorithm for Hybrid Systems

This paper proposes a bidirectional rapidly-exploring random trees (RRT) algorithm to solve the motion planning problem for hybrid systems. The proposed algorithm, called HyRRT-Connect, propagates in both forward and backward directions in hybrid time until an overlap between the forward and backward propagation results is detected. Then, HyRRT-Connect constructs a motion plan through the reversal and concatenation of functions defined on hybrid time domains, ensuring the motion plan thoroughly satisfies the given hybrid dynamics. To address the potential discontinuity along the flow caused by tolerating some distance between the forward and backward partial motion plans, we reconstruct the backward partial motion plan by a forward-in-hybrid-time simulation from the final state of the forward partial motion plan. By applying the reversed input of the backward partial motion plan, the reconstruction process effectively eliminates the discontinuity and ensures that as the tolerance distance decreases to zero, the distance between the endpoint of the reconstructed motion plan and the final state set approaches zero. The proposed algorithm is applied to an actuated bouncing ball example and a walking robot example so as to highlight its generality and computational improvement.
FPI: a novel indexing method using frequent patterns for approximate string searches

Approximate string searches locates strings in a database that are similar to input query strings. Forms of this techniques are used in a variety of applications, such as record linkage, spell checking, and Web searches. Many use fixed n-gram-based indexing, in which fixed n-grams are substrings that have a certain length. One disadvantage of this approach is that the n-gram length can have a negative effect on the performance of the algorithms. To solve this problem, using variable length n-grams for indexing have been proposed. However, these methods have difficulty extracting variable length n-grams to use for the index. We therefore developed the algorithm, FPI(Frequent Pattern Indexing), to extract variable length n-grams for use with approximate string searches, FPI uses high-frequency patterns that appear in a dataset for index and returns exact answers Patterns used by the proposed algorithms run in linear-time using a suffix array and an LCP array.