Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Thermal oscillations in rat kidneys: an infrared imaging study

A high-resolution infrared (IR) camera was used to assess rhythmicity in localized renal blood flow, including the extent of regions containing nephrons with spontaneous oscillations in their individual blood flow. The IR imaging was able to follow changes in rat renal perfusion during baseline conditions, during occlusion of the main renal artery and during the administration of either saline or papaverine. Concurrent recordings were made of tubular pressure in superficial nephrons. Spontaneous vascular oscillations centred around 0.02–0.05 Hz and approximately 0.01 Hz could be detected reproducibly by IR imaging. Their spectral characteristics and their response to papaverine were in line with tubular pressure measurements. The intensity of and synchrony between thermal signals from different local areas of the kidney may allow, after surgical exposure, non-invasive imaging of functional clusters involved in renal cortical blood flow. Through visualization of the spatial extent of thermal oscillations, IR imaging holds promise in assessing kidney autoregulatory mechanisms.
Mixtures of common spatial patterns for feature extraction of EEG signals

The method of common spatial patterns (CSP) is an effective feature extractor for representing electroencephalogram (EEG) signals with the purpose of classification in brain computer interfaces (BCIs). However, it has two apparent demerits mainly about the estimation of covariance matrices which sacrifice its performance. First, the estimator of sample covariance is non-robust; Second, the possible high dimension of the covariance matrices makes exact parameter estimation difficult. In this paper, we propose the approach of mixtures of CSP (MCSP) to conquer this problem. MCSP constructs multiple CSP feature extractors by the bootstrap sampling method, and has the potential to improve the performance of one single feature extractor. The classification result of a new EEG sample is obtained by combining several classifier outputs corresponding to the multiple feature extractors. Experimental comparisons with the state-of-the-art method for classifying real EEG signals of motor imagery tasks show the effectiveness of the proposed MCSP method.
A review of single-phase improved power quality AC-DC converters

— Solid-state switch-mode rectification converters have reached a matured level for improving power quality in terms of power-factor correction (PFC), reduced total harmonic distortion at input ac mains and precisely regulated dc output in buck, boost, buck–boost and multilevel modes with unidirectional and bidirectional power flow. This paper deals with a comprehensive review of improved power quality converters(IPQCs) configurations, con-trol approaches, design features, selection of components, other re-lated considerations, and their suitability and selection for specific applications. It is targeted to provide a wide spectrum on the status of IPQC technology to researchers, designers and application engineers working on switched-mode ac–dc converters. A classified list of more than 450 research publications on the state of art of IPQC is also given for a quick reference.
Simple noise formulas for MOS analog design

The designer needs simple and accurate models to estimate noise in MOS transistors as a function of their size, bias point and technology. In this work, we present a simple, continuous, physics-based model for flicker noise. We review also thermal noise and we examine the behavior of the corner frequency (f/sub c/) in terms of the bias point. The expressions that are presented are simple and valid in all the operating regions, from weak to strong inversion, constituting a useful set of equations for low noise analog design. Finally we examine the design of two low noise circuit elements, fabricated in a 0.8/spl mu/m technology.
Making sense of suicide missions

Foreword 1. Kamikaze 1943-5 2. Tamil Tigers 1987-2002 3. Palestinians 1981-2003 4. Al Qaeda, September 11, 2001 5. Dying Without Killing: Self-Immolations 1963-2002 6. Killing Without Dying: The Absence of Suicide Missions 7. Motivations and Beliefs in Suicide Missions 8. Can We Make Sense of Suicide Missions? References
Mesenchymal Cell Transplantation and Myocardial Remodeling After Myocardial Infarction

Background— Targeted delivery of mesenchymal precursor cells (MPCs) can modify left ventricular (LV) cellular and extracellular remodeling after myocardial infarction (MI). However, whether and to what degree LV remodeling may be affected by MPC injection post-MI, and whether these effects are concentration-dependent, remain unknown. Methods and Results— Allogeneic MPCs were expanded from sheep bone marrow, and direct intramyocardial injection was performed within the borderzone region 1 hour after MI induction (coronary ligation) in sheep at the following concentrations: 25×106 (25 M, n=7), 75×106 (75 M, n=7), 225×106 (225 M, n=10), 450×106 (450 M, n=8), and MPC free media only (MI Only, n=14). LV end diastolic volume increased in all groups but was attenuated in the 25 and 75 M groups. Collagen content within the borderzone region was increased in the MI Only, 225, and 450 M groups, whereas plasma ICTP, an index of collagen degradation, was highest in the 25 M group. Within the borderzone region matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and MMP tissue inhibitors (TIMPs) also changed in a MPC concentration–dependent manner. For example, borderzone levels of MMP-9 were highest in the 25 M group when compared to the MI Only and other MPC treatment group values. Conclusions— MPC injection altered collagen dynamics, MMP, and TIMP levels in a concentration-dependent manner, and thereby influenced indices of post-MI LV remodeling. However, the greatest effects with respect to post-MI remodeling were identified at lower MPC concentrations, thus suggesting a therapeutic threshold exists for this particular cell therapy.
Application of Ant Colony Optimization for Mapping the Combinatorial Phylogenetic Search Space

In bioinformatics, landscapes of phylogenetic trees for an alignment of sequence data are defined by a discrete state combinatorial space. The optimal solution in such a space is the best-fitting tree which provides insight on the evolutionary relationship between taxonomic groups. The underlying structure of this space is poorly understood. The Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) algorithm is applied in a novel manner to sample phylogenetic tree landscapes in order to understand more about this structure. The proposed implementation provides a probabilistic model for exploring this combinatorial space. This probabilistic model allows us to circumvent the complexity that arises due to increasing the number of sequences. In order to evaluate its performance, quantities of resultant solutions were judged in order to determine how much of the space can be sampled. The results show that the algorithm is robust to the starting location and consistently samples a majority of the
Coordination Costs for School-Located Influenza Vaccination Clinics, Maine, 2009 H1N1 Pandemic

School nurses played a key role in Maine’s school-located influenza vaccination (SLV) clinics during the 2009–2010 pandemic season. The objective of this study was to determine, from the school district perspective, the labor hours and costs associated with outside-clinic coordination activities (OCA). The authors defined OCA as labor hours spent by staff outside of clinic operations. The authors surveyed a convenience sample of 10 school nurses from nine school districts. Eight nurses responded to the survey, representing seven districts, 45 schools and 84 SLV clinics that provided a total of 22,596 vaccine doses (H1N1 and seasonal combined) to children and adolescents. The mean total OCA time per clinic was 69 hours: out of total hours, 22 (36%) were spent outside regular clinic operation time. The authors estimated the mean cost of OCA to be $15.36 per dose. Survey respondents reported that costs would be lower during non-pandemic seasons and as schools become more proficient at planning clinics.
Global Reconstruction for Extensive Destruction in Tuberculosis of the Lumbar Spine and Lumbosacral Junction: A Case Report

Study Design Case report. Objective To analyze the surgical difficulties in restoring global spinal stability and to describe an effective surgical option for tuberculosis with extensive destruction of the lumbosacral spine. Advanced tuberculosis with destruction of the lumbosacral spine can result in a kyphosis or hypolordosis, leading to back pain, spinal instability, and neurological deficits. The conventional treatment goals of lumbosacral tuberculosis are to correct and prevent a lumbar kyphosis, treat or prevent a neurological deficit, and restore global spinal stability. Instrumentation at the lumbosacral junction is technically demanding due to the complex local anatomy, the unique biomechanics, and the difficult fixation in the surrounding diseased bone. Methods We report a 21-year-old woman with tuberculosis from L1 to S2 with back pain and spinal instability. The radiographs showed a kyphosis of the lumbar spine. The magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scans revealed extensive destruction of the lumbar and lumbosacral spine. Spinopelvic stabilization combined with anterior debridement and reconstruction with free fibular strut graft was performed. Results The radiographs at follow-up showed a good correction of the kyphosis and excellent graft incorporation and fusion. Conclusions Anterior column reconstruction with a fibular strut graft helps restore and maintain the vertebral height. Posterior stabilization with spinopelvic fixation can be an effective surgical option for reconstructing the spine in extensive lumbosacral tuberculosis with sacral body destruction, requiring long fusions to the sacrum. It augments spinal stability, prevents graft-related complications, and accelerates the graft incorporation and fusion, thereby permitting early mobilization and rehabilitation. In spinal tuberculosis, antitubercular therapy may have to be prolonged in cases with large disease load, based on the clinicoradiographic and laboratory parameters.
A constraint based algorithm for learning Bayesian network structure from distributed data with overlapping variables

While there has been considerable research in learning Bayesian network structure from data, until recently most of this research assumed that every variable of interest may be jointly measured in a single dataset. In practice, however, it is often the case that researchers only have access to data that is distributed across multiple datasets, which share some variables, but have other unique variables. Tillman et al. [2008] proposed the ION algorithm for learning causal structure in these scenarios. The space complexity of ION, however, prevents its use in many cases where the number of variables of interest is not relatively small. We present the Distributed Causal Inference (DCI) algorithm, which is asymptotically correct and displays similar performance in practice, but has space complexity that is bounded by the number of structures that will be output, which no asymptotically correct algorithm can beat, and is thus scalable to a wider variety of distributed data cases.
Incentives from Curriculum Tracking: Cross-national and UK Evidence

Curriculum tracking creates incentives before its start, and we should expect scores in tested subjects to be higher at that point. I find evidence from both UK and international data for sizable incentive effects. Incentive effects are important from a methodological perspective because they lead to downward bias in value-added estimates of the later age effect of tracking on achievement. They also invalidate placebo tests that work by regressing pre-tracking scores on tracking policies.
Sinapic Acid Prevents Hypertension and Cardiovascular Remodeling in Pharmacological Model of Nitric Oxide Inhibited Rats

Objectives Hypertensive heart disease is a constellation of abnormalities that includes cardiac fibrosis in response to elevated blood pressure, systolic and diastolic dysfunction. The present study was undertaken to examine the effect of sinapic acid on high blood pressure and cardiovascular remodeling. Methods An experimental hypertensive animal model was induced by L-NAME intake on rats. Sinapic acid (SA) was orally administered at a dose of 10, 20 and 40 mg/kg body weight (b.w.). Blood pressure was measured by tail cuff plethysmography system. Cardiac and vascular function was evaluated by Langendorff isolated heart system and organ bath studies, respectively. Fibrotic remodeling of heart and aorta was assessed by histopathologic analyses. Oxidative stress was measured by biochemical assays. mRNA and protein expressions were assessed by RT-qPCR and western blot, respectively. In order to confirm the protective role of SA on endothelial cells through its antioxidant property, we have utilized the in vitro model of H2O2-induced oxidative stress in EA.hy926 endothelial cells. Results Rats with hypertension showed elevated blood pressure, declined myocardial performance associated with myocardial hypertrophy and fibrosis, diminished vascular response, nitric oxide (NO) metabolites level, elevated markers of oxidative stress (TBARS, LOOH), ACE activity, depleted antioxidant system (SOD, CAT, GPx, reduced GSH), aberrant expression of TGF-β, β-MHC, eNOS mRNAs and eNOS protein. Remarkably, SA attenuated high blood pressure, myocardial, vascular dysfunction, cardiac fibrosis, oxidative stress and ACE activity. Level of NO metabolites, antioxidant system, and altered gene expression were also repaired by SA treatment. Results of in vitro study showed that, SA protects endothelial cells from oxidative stress and enhance the production of NO in a concentration dependent manner. Conclusions Taken together, these results suggest that SA may have beneficial role in the treatment of hypertensive heart disease by attenuating fibrosis and oxidative stress through its antioxidant potential.
A PDZ‐Binding Motif Controls Basolateral Targeting of Syndecan‐1 Along the Biosynthetic Pathway in Polarized Epithelial Cells

The cell surface proteoglycan, syndecan‐1, is essential for normal epithelial morphology and function. Syndecan‐1 is selectively localized to the basolateral domain of polarized epithelial cells and interacts with cytosolic PDZ (PSD‐95, discs large, ZO‐1) domain‐containing proteins. Here, we show that the polarity of syndecan‐1 is determined by its type II PDZ‐binding motif. Mutations within the PDZ‐binding motif lead to the mislocalization of syndecan‐1 to the apical surface. In contrast to previous examples, however, PDZ‐binding motif‐dependent polarity is not determined by retention at the basolateral surface but rather by polarized sorting prior to syndecan‐1’s arrival at the plasma membrane. Although none of the four known PDZ‐binding partners of syndecan‐1 appears to control basolateral localization, our results show that the PDZ‐binding motif of syndecan‐1 is decoded along the biosynthetic pathway establishing a potential role for PDZ‐mediated interactions in polarized sorting.
Scattered data interpolation: tests of some methods

Absract. This paper is concerned with the evaluation of methods for scattered data interpolation and some of the results of the tests when applied to a number of methods. The process involves evaluation of the methods in terms of timing, storage, accuracy, visual pleasantness of the surface, and ease of implementation. To indicate the flavor of the type of results obtained, we give a summary table and representative perspective plots of several surfaces.
Peculiarities of piRNA-mediated post-transcriptional silencing of Stellate repeats in testes of Drosophila melanogaster

Silencing of Stellate genes in Drosophila melanogaster testes is caused by antisense piRNAs produced as a result of transcription of homologous Suppressor of Stellate (Su(Ste)) repeats. Mechanism of piRNA-dependent Stellate repression remains poorly understood. Here, we show that deletion of Su(Ste) suppressors causes accumulation of spliced, but not nonspliced Stellate transcripts both in the nucleus and cytoplasm, revealing post-transcriptional degradation of Stellate RNA as the predominant mechanism of silencing. We found a significant amount of Su(Ste) piRNAs and piRNA-interacting protein Aubergine (Aub) in the nuclear fraction. Immunostaining of isolated nuclei revealed co-localization of a portion of cellular Aub with the nuclear lamina. We suggest that the piRNA–Aub complex is potentially able to perform Stellate silencing in the cell nucleus. Also, we revealed that the level of the Stellate protein in Su(Ste)-deficient testes is increased much more dramatically than the Stellate mRNA level. Similarly, Su(Ste) repeats deletion exerts an insignificant effect on mRNA abundance of the Ste-lacZ reporter, but causes a drastic increase of β-gal activity. In cell culture, exogenous Su(Ste) dsRNA dramatically decreases β-gal activity of hsp70-Ste-lacZ construct, but not its mRNA level. We suggest that piRNAs, similarly to siRNAs, degrade only unmasked transcripts, which are accessible for translation.
Higher-order Fourier analysis of $\mathbb{F}_p^n$ and the complexity of systems of linear forms

Consider a subset $A$ of $\mathbb{F}_p^n$ and a decomposition of its indicator function as the sum of two bounded functions $1_A=f_1+f_2$. For every family of linear forms, we find the smallest degree of uniformity $k$ such that assuming that $\|f_2\|_{U^k}$ is sufficiently small, it is possible to discard $f_2$ and replace $1_A$ with $f_1$ in the average over this family of linear forms, affecting it only negligibly. Previously, Gowers and Wolf solved this problem for the case where $f_1$ is a constant function. Furthermore, our main result solves Problem 7.6 in [W. T. Gowers and J. Wolf. Linear forms and higher-degree uniformity for functions on $\mathbb{F}_p^n$. Geom. Funct. Anal. , 21(1):36--69, 2011] regarding the analytic averages that involve more than one subset of $\mathbb{F}_p^n$. ] regarding the analytic averages that involve more than one subset of $\mathbb{F}_p^n$.
Social research and the practicing professions

Originally published by Abt Books in 1982, this three-part collection of essays taps the seminal thinking of Robert Merton, one of America's foremost sociologists, a social theorist whose work has long had what are described as 'potentials of relevance' for diverse domains of practice. This book examines the interplay between social research and social policy with a focus on the practicing professions | medicine and its allied disciplines, the law, social services, and the clergy. Aimed at members of the practicing professions, sociologists, economists and makers of policy.
LHX2 Is Necessary for the Maintenance of Optic Identity and for the Progression of Optic Morphogenesis

Eye formation is regulated by a complex network of eye field transcription factors (EFTFs), including LIM-homeodomain gene LHX2. We disrupted LHX2 function at different stages during this process using a conditional knock-out strategy in mice. We find that LHX2 function is required in an ongoing fashion to maintain optic identity across multiple stages, from the formation of the optic vesicle to the differentiation of the neuroretina. At each stage, loss of Lhx2 led to upregulation of a set of molecular markers that are normally expressed in the thalamic eminence and in the anterodorsal hypothalamus in a portion of the optic vesicle or retina. Furthermore, the longer LHX2 function was maintained, the further optic morphogenesis progressed. Early loss of function caused profound mispatterning of the entire telencephalic-optic-hypothalamic field, such that the optic vesicle became mispositioned and appeared to arise from the diencephalic-telencephalic boundary. At subsequent stages, loss of Lhx2 did not affect optic vesicle position but caused arrest of optic cup formation. If Lhx2 was selectively disrupted in the neuroretina from E11.5, the neuroretina showed gross dysmorphology along with aberrant expression of markers specific to the thalamic eminence and anterodorsal hypothalamus. Our findings indicate a continual requirement for LHX2 throughout the early stages of optic development, not only to maintain optic identity by suppressing alternative fates but also to mediate multiple steps of optic morphogenesis. These findings provide new insight into the anophthalmic phenotype of the Lhx2 mutant and reveal novel roles for this transcription factor in eye development.
Organization of the basic agent

The Basic Agent is an attempt to create a conscious, mindlike AI artifact embedded in time and functioning in a simulated dynamic environment. The agent integrates temporal planning, temporal reasoning, reactive replanning, action execution, limited natural language understanding and generation, symbolic perception, episodic memory and reflection, and some general knowledge associated with the vocabulary items. A state-change style semantics for action verbs, based on a set of primitive relations, allows convenient integration of the natural language and planning components. The architectural elements of the system and their interaction are described.
Cardiovascular and selected comorbidities in early arthritis and early spondyloarthritis, a comparative study: results from the ESPOIR and DESIR cohorts

Objectives To investigate the prevalence of comorbidities in early rheumatoid arthritis (ERA) and early axial spondyloarthritis (ESpA) versus the general population. Methods Baseline data of 689 patients with ERA from the Etude et Suivi des Polyarthrites Indifférenciées Récentes (ESPOIR) cohort (age 48.2±12.1 years, symptoms duration 14.2±14.5 weeks) and 645 patients with ESpA from Devenir des Spondylarthropathies Indifférenciées Récentes (DESIR; age 32.8±8.4 years, axial symptoms duration 79.0±45.7 weeks) were analysed. Metabolic and cardiovascular diseases (CVD), infections and neoplasia were determined in each cohort. The prevalence (95% CI) of several comorbidities was compared with that in the French general population. For patients without CVD, the 10-year risk of developing CVD was calculated using the Framingham and SCORE equations. The heart age was calculated using the 2008 Framingham points system. Results 42% of patients with ERA and 20.3% of patients with ESpA had at least 1 comorbidity; the most common were arterial hypertension (AHT) and dyslipidaemia. AHT prevalence (95% CI) in ERA (18.2% (15.5% to 21.3%)), but not in ESpA (5.08% (3.57% to 7.14%)), was significantly increased (p<0.05) compared with the general population (7.58%). Prevalence of tuberculosis history was higher in ERA (4.7% (3.3% to 6.6%)), and ESpA (0.99% (0.4% to 2.3%)) than in the general population (0.02%; both p<0.05). No differences were observed in malignancies, coronary heart disease or diabetes. In ERA, among patients without a history of CVD, an intermediate to high CVD risk was found. The heart age exceeded the real age by 4.1±9.6 years in ERA and by 2.1±7.0 years in ESpA (p<0.001). Conclusions We found an increased prevalence of AHT and tuberculosis history in ERA and ESpA, and an increased CVD risk. These results should prompt rheumatologists to check these comorbidities early in the disease.
Robust parametric stabilization of moving cells with intensity correction in light microscopy image sequences

Automatically stabilizing moving living cells in fluorescence microscopy image sequences is required to attain and analyze the actual displacements of subcellular particles. We have designed a stabilization method which can handle within a single parametric framework, the estimation of the global motion and of the temporal intensity variation (e.g., due to photobleaching effect) that we have to compensate for. We have introduced extended parametric motion-intensity constraints and exploited a robust multiresolution estimation scheme insensitive to local independent motions (outliers). We demonstrate the efficiency and the accuracy of our stabilization method on three challenging cellular events: cell development, endosome displacements, protein recruitment.