Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Numerical Solution of Fractional Differential Equations by using Fractional Spline Functions.

In this paper, we consider a new suitable lacunary fractional interpolation with the idea of the spline function of polynomial form, and the method applied to solve linear fractional differential equations. The results obtained are in good agreement with the exact analytical solutions and the numerical results presented by several examples, results also show that the technique introduced here is robust and easy to apply.
BioContext: an integrated text mining system for large-scale extraction and contextualization of biomolecular events

Motivation: Although the amount of data in biology is rapidly increasing, critical information for understanding biological events like phosphorylation or gene expression remains locked in the biomedical literature. Most current text mining (TM) approaches to extract information about biological events are focused on either limited-scale studies and/or abstracts, with data extracted lacking context and rarely available to support further research. Results: Here we present BioContext, an integrated TM system which extracts, extends and integrates results from a number of tools performing entity recognition, biomolecular event extraction and contextualization. Application of our system to 10.9 million MEDLINE abstracts and 234 000 open-access full-text articles from PubMed Central yielded over 36 million mentions representing 11.4 million distinct events. Event participants included over 290 000 distinct genes/proteins that are mentioned more than 80 million times and linked where possible to Entrez Gene identifiers. Over a third of events contain contextual information such as the anatomical location of the event occurrence or whether the event is reported as negated or speculative. Availability: The BioContext pipeline is available for download (under the BSD license) at http://www.biocontext. org, along with the extracted data which is also available for online browsing. Contact: martin.gerner@gmail.com Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Mechanisms of AAV transduction in glaucoma‐associated human trabecular meshwork cells

Glaucoma is a chronic eye disease which leads to irreversible blindness. The trabecular meshwork tissue controls intraocular pressure (IOP), which is the major risk factor for glaucoma. Gene therapy treatment of chronic diseases requires the use of long‐term expression, low toxicity and lack of immune response vectors. Adeno‐associated viruses (AAV) possess these characteristics but have been unable to transduce the trabecular meshwork. Because of the importance of regulating elevated IOP by long‐term gene therapy, we investigated mechanisms of AAV transduction to the human trabecular meshwork (TM).
Interference alignment with analog CSI feedback

Interference alignment has been used to derive and realize the maximum multiplexing gain of the MIMO interference channel. Interference alignment requires some form of channel state information at the transmitter. This paper proposes analog CSI feedback as an alternative to limited feedback or reciprocity based alignment. We show that the maximum degrees of freedom of the K-user interference channel are preserved with the suggested feedback strategy, and that the mean loss in sum rate incurred by imperfect CSI is bounded by a constant provided that the signal-to-noise ratio is comparable in both forward and reverse channels. Finally, demonstrate the performance of the proposed strategy through simulation.
Author's Personal Copy Understanding the Relationships between Spike Rate and Delta/gamma Frequency Bands of Lfps and Eegs Using a Local Cortical Network Model

In most cases authors are permitted to post their version of the article (e.g. in Word or Tex form) to their personal website or institutional repository. Authors requiring further information regarding Elsevier's archiving and manuscript policies are encouraged to visit: a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f o Keywords: Electroencephalography Delta rhythm Gamma rhythm Integrate-and-fire network Field potential Natural stimuli Oscillations Cross-frequency coupling Despite the widespread use of EEGs to measure the large-scale dynamics of the human brain, little is known on how the dynamics of EEGs relates to that of the underlying spike rates of cortical neurons. However, progress was made by recent neurophysiological experiments reporting that EEG delta-band phase and gamma-band amplitude reliably predict some complementary aspects of the time course of spikes of visual cortical neurons. To elucidate the mechanisms behind these findings, here we hypothesize that the EEG delta phase reflects shifts of local cortical excitability arising from slow fluctuations in the network input due to entrainment to sensory stimuli or to fluctuations in ongoing activity, and that the resulting local excitability fluctuations modulate both the spike rate and the engagement of excitatory–inhibitory loops producing gamma-band oscillations. We quantitatively tested these hypotheses by simulating a recurrent network of excitatory and inhibitory neurons stimulated with dynamic inputs presenting temporal regularities similar to that of thalamic responses during naturalistic visual stimulation and during spontaneous activity. The network model reproduced in detail the experimental relationships between spike rate and EEGs, and suggested that the complementariness of the prediction of spike rates obtained from EEG delta phase or gamma amplitude arises from nonlinearities in the engagement of excitatory–inhibitory loops and from temporal modulations in the amplitude of the network input, which respectively limit the predictability of spike rates from gamma amplitude or delta phase alone. The model suggested also ways to improve and extend current algorithms for online prediction of spike rates from EEGs. Introduction Electroencephalography (EEG) is one the most important tools for non-invasively studying brain activity in humans at fine time resolution (Lopes da Silva and Van Rotterdam, 1987; Nunez, 1981). Despite its wide use in clinical applications and in neurophysiological research, the exact relationships between the surface EEG and the underlying physiological events at the cellular and network level remain only partly known. Early studies (Creutzfeldt et al., 1966a, b; Klee et al., 1965) demonstrated that …
Reducing Perioperative Cardiac Complications in Patients Undergoing Noncardiac Surgery

Of the 25 million people in the United States who underwent noncardiac surgery in 1998, Mangano [1] estimated that 8 million of them had known cardiac disease, major cardiac risk factors, or were older than 65 years of age [1]. Not surprisingly, perioperative cardiac events were common among these patients. Estimates of serious perioperative cardiac morbidity vary between 1% and 10%, depending on the subset of patients and the type of surgical procedure [1]. Continuous electrocardiographic monitoring with ST segment analysis has provided insight into the pathophysiologic features and frequency of perioperative myocardial ischemia [2,3]. The Perioperative Ischemia Research Group used continuous electrocardiographic monitoring before, during, and after noncardiac operations and found a 41% incidence of myocardial ischemia in the early postoperative period, compared with incidences of 25% and 20%, respectively, during the intraoperative and preoperative periods [2]. Postoperative ischemia has been well characterized. Its peak incidence is within 48 hours of surgery, which correlates with the peak incidence of postoperative myocardial infarction (MI). The ischemic episodes are not associated with tachycardia and follow a circadian rhythm, with most ischemia occurring in the early morning hours. Postoperative ischemia is more severe than ischemia detected during the preoperative or intraoperative period and is clinically silent in more than 90% of cases [3–5]. Silent postoperative ischemia has been reported to be present for more than 50 minutes before each clinical event [3]. Perioperative myocardial ischemia usually occurs in the presence of fixed severe coronary artery stenoses, which limit oxygen delivery during the stressful perioperative period. In one study, all postoperative MIs were preceded by prolonged ST-segment depression and an increase in heart rate [6]. Although prolonged stress-induced ischemia accounts for most perioperative MIs, some are caused by acute thrombosis. Histopathologic analysis of coronary arteries in patients who suffered fatal perioperative MIs has demonstrated the disruption
Antioxidants vitamin C and vitamin E for the prevention and treatment of cancer

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the evidence of the supplements vitamin C and vitamin E for treatment and prevention of cancer.METHODS: Systematic review of trials and meta-analysis.DATA SOURCES AND MAIN RESULTS: Thirty-eight studies showed scant evidence that vitamin C or vitamin E beneficially affects survival. In the ATBC Cancer Prevention Study Group, no statistically significant effect of treatment was seen for any cancer individually, and our pooled relative risk (regardless of tumor type) for α-tocopherol alone was 0.91 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.74, 1.12). All cause mortality was not significant. In the Linxian General Population Trial, the relative risks for cancer death for vitamin C (combined with molybdenum) was 1.06 (95% CI: 0.92, 1.21) and for vitamin E (combined with β-carotene and selenium) was 0.87 (95% CI: 0.76, 1.00). We identified only 3 studies that reported statistically significant beneficial results: vitamin C (in combination with BCG) was found to be beneficial in a single trial of bladder cancer and vitamin E (in combination with ω-3 fatty acid) increased survival in patients with advanced cancer. In the ATBC trial, in analyses of 6 individual cancers, the prevention of prostate cancer in subjects treated with α-tocopherol was statistically significant (RR=0.64, 95% CI: 0.44, 0.94). CONCLUSIONS: The systematic review of the literature does not support the hypothesis that the use of supplements of vitamin C or vitamin E in the doses tested helps prevent and/or treat cancer in the populations tested. There were isolated findings of benefit, which require confirmation.
A 3.6mW differential common-gate CMOS LNA with positive-negative feedback

A common-gate (CG) LNA has been widely investigated because it features superior bandwidth, linearity, stability, and robustness to PVT variations compared to a common-source (CS) topology [1]. In spite of these advantages, the dependence of gain and NF on the restricted transconductance (gm) renders this topology unsuitable for various wireless applications. The input impedance of a CG LNA is simplified as 1/gm, and the noise factor is inversely proportional to gm [2]. In order to achieve high gain and low NF, gm should be increased, which deteriorates the 50Ω input impedance matching for a conventional CG LNA.
Attribution of Inappropriate Visitor Behavior in a Theme Park Setting – A Conceptual Model

ABSTRACT Given the scarcity of academic research on customer-to-customer (C2C) interaction in theme parks, this study was designed to construct and test a conceptual model of visitors’ attribution of inappropriate behavior, satisfaction, and repeat patronage using attribution theory. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling, and analysis of the effect of visitor type were carried out. The results show that stability and controllability have a significant impact on satisfaction, and satisfaction also influences repeat patronage. Visitor type had no effect on the relationship between attribution and satisfaction. The theoretical and practical insights of the findings are presented along with the limitations of the study and future directions for research.
Random amplification of polymorphic DNA is useful for the differentiation of several anthropophilic dermatophytes

Summary. The efficacy of random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis, a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)‐based technology, as a tool for differentiation of several anthropophilic dermatophytes, that is, Trichophyton mentagrophytes var. interdigitale, T. rubrum and Epidermophyton floccosum, was examined. Total cellular DNA extracted by a mini‐preparation method were used as template DNAs and PCRs were performed using five primers, all of which were synthesized 10‐mers. All of the primers generated PCR products and their electrophoresed profiles were characteristic for each of the species. Since these anthropophilic dermatophyte species could be differentiated clearly by the RAPD analysis, this method may be useful for identification of these species. Minimal intraspecies polymorphisms were observed between the isolates of T. mentagrophytes var. interdigitale. The banding patterns were reproducible using template DNAs prepared at different times from each of stock cultures.
Institutional Integrated Teletandem: What have we been learning about writing and peer feedback?

We defi ne institutionally integrated teletandem (iiTTD) as a series ofteletandem sessions that are embedded in regular foreign language lessons,so that such lessons both feed and are fed by teletandem practice. In thispaper, we analyze prospective Brazilian teachers correcting Americanstudents’ writing productions in Portuguese during their participation in aniiTTD. We address issues about how pre-service FL teachers (participantsin iiTTD) offer writing feedback to their peers. Data included all the textswritten and revised during the length of their partnership. Results show thatmost participants tend to correct their iiTTD partners’ written productionsin a direct way, focusing mainly on language form and according to theirbeliefs and experience as learners.
Effect of upper airway surgery on heart rate variability in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome

To determine whether surgery influences cardiovascular autonomic modulation in obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS), the present study was performed to evaluate the effect of upper airway (UA) surgery on heart rate variability (HRV) using frequency domain analysis for patient groups who have had either successful or unsuccessful surgery. We compared body mass index (BMI), polysomnographic [apnoea index (AI), apnoea‐hypopnoea index (AHI), minimum SaO2] and HRV [very low frequency (VLF) power, low frequency (LF) power, high frequency (HF) power, HF/LF ratio, LFnu = LF/(LF + HF), HFnu = HF/(LF + HF)] parameters between the unsuccessful (n = 14) and successful (n = 22) surgical groups before and after UA surgery. Significant changes were observed for the successful patient group with respect to mean AI (from 29.1 ± 21.3 to 2.0 ± 3.2 events h−1, P < 0.001), AHI (from 38.6 ± 20.0 to 5.6 ± 5.1 events h−1, P < 0.001), minimum SaO2 (from 73.3 ± 12.7 to 86.3 ± 6.5%, P < 0.001), VLF power (from 25599 ± 12906 to 20014 ± 9839 ms2, P = 0.013), LF power (from 17293 ± 7278 to 14155 ± 4980 ms2, P = 0.016), LFnu (from 0.700 ± 0.104 to 0.646 ± 0.128, P = 0.031) and HFnu (from 0.300 ± 0.104 to 0.354 ± 0.128, P = 0.031); however, mean BMI, HF power and LF/HF ratio did not change significantly after UA surgery. No significant changes were observed in the unsuccessful surgical group. Successful UA surgery may improve cardiac sympathetic and parasympathetic modulation in patients with OSAS.
A zone-based hierarchical framework and clustering scheme for energy-efficient Wireless Sensor Networks

In Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), sensor-nodes are usually deployed with limited energy reserves in remote environments for a long period of time with less or no human intervention. It makes energy-efficiency as a challenging issue both for the design and deployment of WSNs. A novel aspect of our conducted research is the development of a new Zone-Based Hierarchical Framework (ZBHF) with integrated newly proposed Zone-Based Self-organizing Clustering (ZBSC) scheme for energy-efficient WSNS. The key feature of the proposed solutions is the minimization of energy consumption during the self-organization clustering process to maximize network lifetime. The scheme has been implemented and evaluated in a custom-designed Java based simulator. In the light of the conducted experiments proposed schemes have evolved as a better solution in addressing identified issues in comparison with LEACH, LEACH-C and BCDCP. Furthermore, it consumed less energy in sending sensed data to the base-station with an increased network lifetime.
Computing the distance to uncontrollability : the SISO case

In this paper, the problem of computing the distance from a given linear time-invariant system to the nearest uncontrollable system is posed and solved in the behavioral setting. In the case of a system with two external variables, the problem is restated as a Sylvester structured distance to singularity problem. The structured distance to singularity problem is then solved by integrating a system of ordinary differential equations which describes the gradient associated to the cost functional. An advantage of the method with respect to other approaches is in its capability to include further constraints. Numerical simulations also show that the method is more robust to the initial approximation than the Newton-type methods.
Assistive Technologies for Spinal Cord Injured Individuals A Survey

Spinal cord injured (SCI) individuals are often deprived from computer access and subsequent control and communication abilities. Their motor skills loss often translates in the inability to operate traditional inputs like the keyboard and mouse pointer devices. Moreover, with the enormous technology evolution in the last few years, our lifes, control and communication depend increasingly on gadgets (i.e., mobile devices). More than just leisure, jobs depend on those technologies. This technological evolution, contrary to what could be expected, has enlarged the damp between disabled and fully-capable individuals and indirectly reduced their life quality. In the past decades several approaches have been made to overcome this problem and re-approach SCI patients to computers or any other electronic device. In this report we review the major approaches to assistive technologies considering spinal cord injured individuals, discussing and comparing both their advantages and limitations.
Identification of a small topoisomerase I–binding peptide that has synergistic antitumor activity with 9-aminocamptothecin

The topoisomerase I (top1)–targeted camptothecin class of anticancer drugs is important in the treatment of several types of cancers. This class of drug inhibits the top1 enzyme during its catalytic DNA relaxation cycle, stabilizing the transient covalent top1-DNA complex by simultaneous noncovalent interactions with DNA and top1. We examined top1 using phage display because of the significance of this known top1-directed drug action. Several peptides that bind top1 were discovered and these were examined for top1 affinity, top1 catalytic and cleavage complex effects, and cytotoxic effects in cultured cell lines and in an in vivo tumor model. Although several peptides exhibited nanomolar and low-micromolar affinity for top1, none had cytotoxic effects when administered alone. However, in combination with 9-aminocamptothecin, one 15-mer peptide (SAYAATVRGPLSSAS) had synergistic cytotoxic effects with 9-aminocamptothecin both in the cytotoxicity assay and in nude mouse xenograft human tumor models. This report details the investigation of this peptide. [Mol Cancer Ther 2006;5(3):739–45]
Gene expression profile in diabetic KK/Ta mice.

BACKGROUND To identify susceptibility genes for diabetic nephropathy, GeneChip Expression Analysis was employed to survey the gene expression profile of diabetic KK/Ta mouse kidneys. METHODS Kidneys from three KK/Ta and two BALB/c mice at 20 weeks of age were dissected. Total RNA was extracted and labeled for hybridizing to the Affymetrix Murine Genome U74Av2 array. The gene expression profile was compared between KK/Ta and BALB/c mice using GeneChip expression analysis software. Competitive reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to confirm the results of GeneChip for a selected number of genes. RESULTS Out of 12,490 probe pairs present on GeneChip, 98 known genes and 31 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were found to be differentially expressed between KK/Ta and BALB/c kidneys. Twenty-one known genes and seven ESTs that increased in expression and 77 known genes and 24 ESTs that decreased in KK/Ta kidneys were identified. These genes are related to renal function, extracellular matrix expansion and degradation, signal transduction, transcription regulation, ion transport, glucose and lipid metabolism, and protein synthesis and degradation. In the vicinity of UA-1 (quantitative trait locus for the development of albuminuria in KK/Ta mice), candidate genes that showed differential expression were identified, including the Sdc4 gene for syndecan-4, Ahcy gene for S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase, Sstr4 gene for somatostatin receptor 4, and MafB gene for Kreisler leucine zipper protein. CONCLUSION The gene expression profile in KK/Ta kidneys is different from that in age-matched BALB/c kidneys. Altered gene expressions in the vicinity of UA-1 may be responsible for the development of albuminuria in diabetic KK/Ta mice.
A Genome Scan in 260 Inflammatory Bowel Disease-Affected Relative Pairs

We report the results of a new genome scan in 260 IBD-affected relative pairs from 139 families that we have recruited since our previous IBD genome scans were performed. The goal of our study was to determine whether we could extend the linkage evidence in any of the more than 20 regions with nominal evidence for linkage to IBD in previous individual genome scans in order to prioritize regions for further study.
Dehydration affects the electronic structure of the primary electron donor in bacterial photosynthetic reaction centers: evidence from visible-NIR and light-induced difference FTIR spectroscopy

The photosynthetic reaction center (RC) is a membrane pigment—protein complex that catalyzes the initial charge separation reactions of photosynthesis. Following photoexcitation, the RC undergoes conformational relaxations which stabilize the charge-separated state. Dehydration of the complex inhibits its conformational dynamics, providing a useful tool to gain insights into the relaxational processes. We analyzed the effects of dehydration on the electronic structure of the primary electron donor P, as probed by visible-NIR and light-induced FTIR difference spectroscopy, in RC films equilibrated at different relative humidities r . Previous FTIR and ENDOR spectroscopic studies revealed that P, an excitonically coupled dimer of bacteriochlorophylls, can be switched between two conformations, P_866 and P_850, which differ in the extent of delocalization of the unpaired electron between the two bacteriochlorophyll moieties (P_L and P_M) of the photo-oxidized radical P^+. We found that dehydration (at r = 11%) shifts the optical Q_y band of P from 866 to 850845_ nm, a large part of the effect occurring already at r = 76%. Such a dehydration weakens light-induced difference FTIR marker bands, which probe the delocalization of charge distribution within the P^+ dimer (the electronic band of P^+ at 2700 cm^−1, and the associated phase-phonon vibrational modes at around 1300, 1480, and 1550 cm^−1). From the analysis of the P^+ keto C? O bands at 1703 and 1713-15 cm^−1, we inferred that dehydration induces a stronger localization of the unpaired electron on P_L^+. The observed charge redistribution is discussed in relation to the dielectric relaxation of the photoexcited RC on a long (10^2 s) time scale.