Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reproducibility of retinal and optic nerve head perfusion measurements using scanning laser Doppler flowmetry.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE To evaluate the reproducibility of full-field perfusion analysis using scanning laser Doppler flowmetry (SLDF) for perfusion measurements of the neuroretinal rim of the optic nerve head and the peripapillary retina in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension, and in normal subjects. PATIENTS AND METHODS SLDF perfusion measurements of the neuroretinal rim and the peripapillary retina were performed on 20 patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension (group G) and 20 normal volunteers (group N). Each subject underwent two independent sessions, 30 minutes apart, each involving 5 high quality images. Intrasession and intersession reproducibility coefficients for flow, volume, and velocity were calculated for a single image and for means of 3 and 5 images using analysis of variance models. flow, the intrasession coefficient of reliability was 0.99 each for the rim, nasal retina, and temporal retina in group G and 0.93, 0.93, and 0.95, respectively, in group N. The intersession coefficient of reliability for flow was 0.99 for the rim, 0.95 for the nasal retina, and 0.87 for the temporal retina in group G and 0.87, 0.82, and 0.80, respectively, in group N. Compared with single image analysis, intrasession and intersession reproducibility were generally better when a mean of 3 images and substantially better when a mean of 5 images was used. CONCLUSION SLDF full-field perfusion analysis is markedly more reproducible than the original software using 10 x 10 pixel windows. Obtaining mean values for at least 3 images improves the intrasession and intersession reproducibility of this technique.
Accuracy of Hospital Standardized Mortality Rates: Effects of Model Calibration

Background:Risk-adjusted mortality rates are commonly used in quality report cards to compare hospital performance. The risk adjustment depends on models that are assessed for goodness-of-fit using various discrimination and calibration measures. However, the relationship between model fit and the accuracy of hospital comparisons is not well characterized. Objectives:To evaluate the impact of imperfect model calibration (miscalibration) on the accuracy of hospital comparisons. Methods:We constructed Monte Carlo simulations where a risk-adjustment model is used in a population with a different mortality distribution than in the original model. We estimated the power of calibration metrics to detect miscalibration. We estimated the sensitivity and specificity of a hospital comparisons method under different imperfect model calibration scenarios using an empirical method. Results:The U-statistics showed the highest power to detect intercept and slope deviations in the calibration curve, followed by the Hosmer-Lemeshow, and the calibration intercept and slope tests. The specificity decreased with increased intercept and slope deviations and with hospital size. The effect of an imperfect model fit on sensitivity is a function of the true standardized mortality ratio, the underlying mortality rate, sample size, and observed intercept and slope deviations. Poorly performing hospitals can appear as good performers and vice versa, depending on the deviation magnitude and direction. Conclusions:Deviations from perfect model calibration have a direct impact on the accuracy of hospital comparisons. Publishing the calibration intercept and slope of risk-adjustment models would allow the users to monitor their performance against the true standard population.
Wireless charging power control for HESS through receiver side voltage control

Battery/Supercapacitor (SC) hybrid energy storage system (HESS) is widely researched due to the superiority of SC in high power density, high cycle capability, and long life time. The repetitive charge for HESS via Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) is a potential solution for reduction of battery size on board. For WPT charging, the load impedance control using DC-DC converter was proposed to improve the transmission efficiency. The charge power control is also necessary because of the limited capacity of HESS. Moreover, the power control should be done on the receiver side to simplify the configuration of transmission side. In this paper, charge power control via WPT without communication between transmitter and receiver side is proposed. The proposed method applied the feedforward controller is verified by experiments.
Rapid Change in the Thermal Tolerance of a Tropical Lizard

The predominant view is that the thermal physiology of tropical ectotherms, including lizards, is not labile over ecological timescales. We used the recent introduction (∼35 years ago) of the Puerto Rican lizard Anolis cristatellus to Miami, Florida, to test this thermal rigidity hypothesis. We measured lower (critical thermal minimum [CTmin]) and upper (critical thermal maximum [CTmax]) thermal tolerances and found that the introduced population tolerates significantly colder temperatures (by ∼3°C) than does the Puerto Rican source population; however, CTmax did not differ. These results mirror the thermal regimes experienced by each population: Miami reaches colder ambient temperatures than Puerto Rico, but maximum ambient temperatures are similar. The differences in CTmin were observed even though lizards from both sites experienced nearly identical conditions for 49 days before CTmin measurement. Our results demonstrate that changes in thermal tolerance occurred relatively rapidly (∼35 generations), which strongly suggests that the thermal physiology of tropical lizards is more labile than previously proposed.
Enhancement of Sindbis Virus Self-Replicating RNA Vaccine Potency by Linkage of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 VP22 Protein to Antigen

ABSTRACT Recently, self-replicating and self-limiting RNA vaccines (RNA replicons) have emerged as an important form of nucleic acid vaccines. Self-replicating RNA eventually causes lysis of transfected cells and does not raise the concern associated with naked DNA vaccines of integration into the host genome. This is particularly important for development of vaccines targeting proteins that are potentially oncogenic. However, the potency of RNA replicons is significantly limited by their lack of intrinsic ability to spread in vivo. The herpes simplex virus type 1 protein VP22 has demonstrated the remarkable property of intercellular transport and provides the opportunity to enhance RNA replicon vaccine potency. We therefore created a novel fusion of VP22 with a model tumor antigen, human papillomavirus type 16 E7, in a Sindbis virus RNA replicon vector. The linkage of VP22 with E7 resulted in a significant enhancement of E7-specific CD8+ T-cell activities in vaccinated mice and converted a less effective RNA replicon vaccine into one with significant potency against E7-expressing tumors. These results indicate that fusion of VP22 to an antigen gene may greatly enhance the potency of RNA replicon vaccines.
Bilobalide attenuates hypoxia induced oxidative stress, inflammation, and mitochondrial dysfunctions in 3T3-L1 adipocytes via its antioxidant potential

Abstract Excessive expansion of white adipose tissue leads to hypoxia which is considered as a key factor responsible for adipose tissue dysfunction in obesity. Hypoxia induces inflammation, insulin resistance, and other obesity related complications. So the hypoxia-signalling pathway is expected to provide a new target for the treatment of obesity-associated complications. Inhibition or downregulation of the HIF-1 pathway could be an effective target for the treatment of obesity related hypoxia. In the present study, we evaluated the effect of hypoxia on functions of 3T3-L1 adipocytes emphasising on oxidative stress, antioxidant status, inflammation and mitochondrial functions. We have also evaluated the protective role of bilobalide, a bioactive from Gingko biloba, on hypoxia induced alterations. The results revealed that hypoxia significantly altered all the vital parameters of adipocyte biology like HIF-1α expression (103.47% ↑), lactate and glycerol release (184.34% and 69.1% ↑, respectively), reactive oxygen species (ROS) production (432.53% ↑), lipid and protein oxidation (376.6% and 566.6% ↑, respectively), reduction in antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase and catalase) status, secretion of inflammatory markers (TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β and IFN-γ) and mitochondrial functions (mitochondrial mass, membrane potential, permeability transition pore integrity, superoxide generation). Bilobalide significantly protected adipocytes from adverse effects of hypoxia in a dose-dependent manner by attenuating oxidative stress, inflammation and protecting mitochondria. Acriflavine (HIF-1 inhibitor) was used as positive control. On the basis of this study, a detailed investigation is needed to delineate the mechanism of action of bilobalide to develop it as therapeutic target for obesity.
Front and rear wheel independent drive type electric vehicles (FRID EVs) with outstanding running performance suitable for next-generation electric vehicles

The safety and running performance of front and rear wheel independent drive type electric vehicles (FRID EVs) for use as advanced, next-generation electric vehicles (EVs) is clarified under severe running conditions, with particular focus on energy saving control performance and braking and cornering performance on low-friction coefficient (n) roads. The running performance of FRID EVs, which could not be obtained from the propulsion power generating systems of the EVs developed until now, is produced from propulsion power generating systems that can mutually or independently control the driving and braking forces of the front and rear wheels. The first energy saving control performance was obtained by applying the driving forces (torques) corresponding to the friction coefficient between the tire and road surface to the front and rear wheels while estimating the friction coefficient and the load movement occurring during acceleration. Outstanding braking and cornering performance is obtained by optimizing the relationship between the longitudinal and lateral forces acting on the tires so as to prevent an imbalanced torque between the left and right wheels from occurring, based on the friction circle principle. These outstanding functions were verified by undertaking tests performed under various running conditions using a prototype FRID EV.
The Effect of Combination Therapy of Hyperbaric Oxygen, Meropenem, and Selective Nitric Oxide Synthase Inhibitor in Experimental Acute Pancreatitis

Despite the new diagnostic and therapeutic advancements, acute pancreatitis has still high rate of morbidity and mortality. We aimed to evaluate the effects of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy alone or combined with S-methylisothiourea (SMT), and meropenem (MER) therapy in an experimental rat model of acute necrotizing pancreatitis. Rats were randomly divided into 8 groups, and acute pancreatitis was induced in all groups except group 1. Treatment protocols were saline for group 2, SMT for group 3, SMT + MER for group 4, SMT + HBO for group 5, HBO for group 6, HBO + MER for group 7, and MER for group 8. All surviving animals were killed 48 hours after the induction of pancreatitis, and specimens were collected. Oxidative stress parameters, histopathologic scores and amylase levels were better in treatment groups than in the positive control group (group 2). The most favorable results were obtained in HBO treatment groups, especially in HBO + MER group (group 7). Our results indicate that adding HBO therapy to the antibiotic therapy will decrease oxidative stress parameters, serum amylase levels, and histopathological score. We suggest that adding the HBO therapy as an adjunctive to the treatment protocol of acute necrotizing pancreatitis may yield improvement in the morbidity and mortality of the disease.
Quality of Life in Children With Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease

The authors studied the health-related quality of life of children aged 5 to 18 years with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease of varying types and severity and compared it with the general pediatric population. To capture and compare the quality-of-life data across a broad range of ages, the Child Health Questionnaire was completed by parents of 127 children with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. Affected children exhibited lower physical, psychological, and social well-being than the general pediatric population, with subsequent worsening of many domains with age. The type of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease influenced some physical and behavioral quality-of-life domains, while gender, body size, and ethnicity did not. Parent characteristics had generally little impact on the reporting of their child’s quality of life, although parents with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease reported higher bodily pain in their children than those without. Overall, quality of life is negatively affected by the presence and severity of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease in childhood.
Combination of microsatellite instability and lymphocytic infiltrate as a prognostic indicator in colon cancer.

BACKGROUND Microsatellite instability (MSI) is a genetic aberration associated with less aggressive tumor biology. Some tumors with MSI also have lymphocytic infiltrate (LI), which suggests a heightened immune response against the tumor. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the combined prognostic significance of MSI and LI in a colon cancer population. DESIGN Colon cancers were prospectively evaluated for MSI by assessing 11 satellite markers and were classified as MSI+ if 2 or more satellite markers displayed instability. Tumors were classified as LI+ if at least 5 lymphocytes were observed per 10 high-power fields. SETTING Community hospital system. PATIENTS Individuals undergoing definitive surgery for colon cancer. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Overall and disease-free survival were compared according to combined MSI and LI status. RESULTS In 150 patients, tumors were classified as follows: 95 were MSI-/LI-, 9 were MSI-/LI+, 30 were MSI+/LI-, and 16 were MSI+/LI+. Median follow-up was 40.6 months. Five-year disease-free survival was 56.7% for patients with MSI-/LI- tumors and 88.9% for those with MSI+/LI+ tumors (P = .01). Patients with MSI+/LI- and MSI-/LI+ tumors had 5-year survival of 75.4% and 75.0%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Patients with colon cancer and MSI-/LI- tumors have worse disease-free survival rate regardless of stage at diagnosis. Patients exhibiting both MSI+ and LI+ tumors have more favorable disease-free survival rates. Both MSI and LI show promise as a combined prognostic marker and with further study may prove to be particularly useful in selecting patients with stage II disease for adjunctive therapy.
Fluorescent probes and nanoparticles for intracellular sensing of pH values

Intracellular pH regulates a number of cell metabolism processes and its sensing is thus of great importance for cell studies. Among various methods, fluorescent probes have been widely used for sensing intracellular pH values because of their high sensitivity and spatiotemporal resolution capability. In this article, the development of fluorescent probes with good practicability in sensing intracellular pH values and pH variation during 2009 − 2014 is reviewed. These fluorescence probes are divided into two kinds: small molecules and nanoparticles. Photophysical properties, advantages/disadvantages and applications of the two kinds of probes are discussed in detail.
A TV agent system that integrates knowledge and answers users' questions

Aiming to close the digital divide in the television viewing environment, we are developing a TV system with an agent that controls the TV and peripherals on behalf of the user and provides information to the user. We propose a TV system function that answers viewers' questions about TV programs by calling upon multiple question-answering agents that search for relevant information.
Temporal and spatial patterns of insect emergence from a Lake Michigan coastal wetland

Emergence traps were used to sample insects along a transect through a river delta wetland on Green Bay, Lake Michigan in an attempt to document spatial and temporal patterns in insect emergence. Various abiotic factors were also measured to determine which factors influenced these dynamics. Significant decreasing gradients in dissolved oxygen and pH with distance from the river, coupled with trends in sum nitrate (nitrate + nitrite), revealed that riverine water was mixing with wetland water up to 100 m from the wetland-river interface. Annual emerging insect densities decreased exponentially with distance from the river while emerging insect biomass decreased linearly with distance, both of which were significant. Insects were largely comprised of Chironomidae, which represented 7–88% of the insects emerging. Loss of biomass was largely due to emergence of Aeshnidae (0–34%), Libellulidae (0–69%), Coenagrionidae (0–23%), Siphlonuridae (0–63%), and Chironomidae (1–25%). Major Chironomidae emergence events occurred from early spring until early summer and again from late summer to early fall. These events were likely an important source of energy needed for avian egg production, duckling growth, or migratory flights. Spatial and temporal patterns revealed the importance of wetland areas adjacent to the Peshtigo River to emerging insects, as well as to the transient organisms that use them as a food source.
Age differences in vocal emotion perception: on the role of speaker age and listener sex

ABSTRACT Older adults have greater difficulty than younger adults perceiving vocal emotions. To better characterise this effect, we explored its relation to age differences in sensory, cognitive and emotional functioning. Additionally, we examined the role of speaker age and listener sex. Participants (N = 163) aged 19–34 years and 60–85 years categorised neutral sentences spoken by ten younger and ten older speakers with a happy, neutral, sad, or angry voice. Acoustic analyses indicated that expressions from younger and older speakers denoted the intended emotion with similar accuracy. As expected, younger participants outperformed older participants and this effect was statistically mediated by an age-related decline in both optimism and working-memory. Additionally, age differences in emotion perception were larger for younger as compared to older speakers and a better perception of younger as compared to older speakers was greater in younger as compared to older participants. Last, a female perception benefit was less pervasive in the older than the younger group. Together, these findings suggest that the role of age for emotion perception is multi-faceted. It is linked to emotional and cognitive change, to processing biases that benefit young and own-age expressions, and to the different aptitudes of women and men.
Anchoring of Surface Proteins to the Cell Wall of Staphylococcus aureus

Surface proteins of Staphylococcus aureus are anchored to the cell wall envelope by a mechanism requiring a C-terminal sorting signal with an LPXTG motif. Sortase A cleaves surface proteins between the threonine (T) and the glycine (G) residues of the LPXTG motif and catalyzes the formation of an amide bond between the carboxyl group of threonine at the C-terminal end of polypeptides and the amino group of pentaglycine cross-bridges of cell wall peptidoglycan. Previous work showed that Cys184 and His120 of sortase A are absolutely essential for catalysis; however an active site thiolateimidazolium ion pair may not be formed. The three-dimensional crystal structure of sortase A revealed that Arg197 is located in close proximity to both the active site Cys184 and the scissile peptide bond between threonine and glycine. We show here that substitution of Arg197 with alanine, lysine, or histidine severely reduced sortase A function both in vivo and in vitro, whereas Asn98, which had earlier been implicated in hydrogen bonding to His120, was found to be dispensable for catalysis. As the structural proximity of Arg197 and Cys184 is conserved in sortase enzymes and as ionization of the Cys184 sulfhydryl group seems required for sortase activity, we propose that Arg197 may function as a base, facilitating thiolate formation during sortase-mediated cleavage and transpeptidation reactions.
Molecular authentication of the traditional medicinal plant Peucedanum praeruptorum and its substitutes and adulterants by DNA - barcoding technique

Background: Peucedanum praeruptorum L. , a traditional Chinese medicine known as Qian-hu, is commonly used for dispelling wind-heat and expectorant and loss of energy. However, due to similar morphological characters and high market demand, there are many substitutes and adulterants of P. praeruptorum. DNA barcoding is an approach to identify species based on sequences from a short, standardized DNA region. Objective: To authenticate P. praeruptorum from its substitutes and adulterants. Materials and Methods: The differential identification of P. praeruptorum and 13 regional substitutes and 23 adulterants was investigated by means of DNA sequence analysis of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA), a bootstrap neighbor-joining (NJ) tree according to Kimura's 2-parameter method was also calculated. Results: The data showed that P. praeruptorum, its substitutes and adulterants could be easily distinguished at the DNA level, while almost all species were well resolved, and successfully identified on the NJ tree. Conclusion: The ITS sequence can be used for the identification of P. praeruptorum and to distinguish it from common substitutes and adulterants.
A selective and adaptive image filtering approach based on impulse noise detection

The paper proposes a novel approach to remove impulse noises selectively and adaptively in a grayscale image based on impulse noise detection results. It first detects impulse noises in an image one by one in a serial mode. The threshold, which is used to estimate noise pixels, can be modified adaptively according to the mean brightness value of different regions. The results collected in the previous detection processes can be used in the subsequent detection processes. Modified median filtering is adopted to remove the noise, whose window lengths and selected samples are decided on the basis of the noise detection results. This method can effectively remove the impulse noises while successfully preserving the image edge details. The experimental results show that this approach is valid and worthy of application to image processing.