Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of acute, intermittent exercise in hypoxic environments on the release of cardiac troponin

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of acute, intermittent exercise performed in hypoxic environments on the release of cardiac troponin (cTn). Ten well‐trained, male marathon runners (22.1 ± 2.6 years, 64.0 ± 4.9 kg and 177.3 ± 3.9 cm) completed three intermittent exercise protocols under normoxic (trial N) and hypoxic (trial AH and RH) conditions. In trial N, the fraction of inspiration oxygen (FIO2) was 21.0% and exercise intensity was 90% and 50% normoxic velocity of VO2max (vVO2max). In trial AH, FIO2 was 14.4% (simulated altitude of 3000 m) and exercise intensity was 90% and 50% normoxic vVO2max. In trial RH, FIO2 was 14.4% and exercise intensity was 90% and 50% hypoxic vVO2max. High‐sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs‐cTnT) and cardiac troponin I (cTnI) were measured pre‐ and 0, 2, 4, and 24 h post‐exercise. Hs‐cTnT was elevated in all three trials, peaking at 2 to 4 h and returning to the baseline 24 h post‐exercise. CTnI increased in trial AH, peaking at 2 to 4 h and returning below the detection limit 24 h post‐exercise. It is concluded that the stimulus of hypoxia did not in and of itself induce more cTn to be released, but exercise intensity could affect this response in hypoxic environments.
Keypoint-based object tracking using modified median flow

This paper proposed robust object tracking using error filter. Proposed method consists of four steps: i) execution of tracking algorithm based on key point, ii) estimation of key point using error filter, iii) selection of key point as filtering outliers using Random Sample Consensus (RANSAC), and determination of object movement. The proposed method can track when object is occluded, abruptly change of appearance. As a result, the proposed methods can be applied to various application such as advanced driver assistance system, surveillance system.
Evolutionary tradeoffs for nitrogen allocation to photosynthesis versus cell walls in an invasive plant

Many studies have shown that individuals from invasive populations of many different plant species grow larger than individuals from native populations and that this difference has a genetic basis. This increased vigor in invasive populations is thought to be due to life history tradeoffs, in which selection favors the loss of costly defense traits, thereby freeing resources that can be devoted to increased growth or fecundity. Despite the theoretical importance of such allocation shifts for invasions, there have been no efforts to understand apparent evolutionary shifts in defense-growth allocation mechanistically. Reallocation of nitrogen (N) to photosynthesis is likely to play a crucial role in any growth increase; however, no study has been conducted to explore potential evolutionary changes in N allocation of introduced plants. Here, we show that introduced Ageratina adenophora, a noxious invasive plant throughout the subtropics, appears to have evolved increased N allocation to photosynthesis (growth) and reduced allocation to cell walls, resulting in poorer structural defenses. Our results provide a potential mechanism behind the commonly observed and genetically based increase in plant growth and vigor when they are introduced to new ranges.
Reducing the dc-Link Capacitance: A Bridgeless PFC Boost Rectifier That Reduces the Second-Order Power Ripple at the dc Output

This Article Proposes a Novel single-phase bridgeles power factor correction (PFC) boost rectifier with a small dc-link capacitor that can reduce the second-order power ripple at the dc output side. An auxiliary circuit was added to decouple the active power at the dc link, which forces the voltage ripple to divert to the auxiliary capacitor. Therefore, the dc-link capacitance can be reduced significantly. As a result, the bulky electrolytic capacitor can be replaced with a small film capacitor. The experimental results verified the validation of the proposed method.
A Reassessment of Substrate Specificity and Activation of Phytochelatin Synthases from Model Plants by Physiologically Relevant Metals1

Phytochelatin synthases (PCS) catalyze phytochelatin (PC) synthesis from glutathione (GSH) in the presence of certain metals. The resulting PC-metal complexes are transported into the vacuole, avoiding toxic effects on metabolism. Legumes have the unique capacity to partially or completely replace GSH by homoglutathione (hGSH) and PCs by homophytochelatins (hPCs). However, the synthesis of hPCs has received little attention. A search for PCS genes in the model legume Lotus (Lotus japonicus) resulted in the isolation of a cDNA clone encoding a protein (LjPCS1) highly homologous to a previously reported homophytochelatin synthase (hPCS) of Glycine max (GmhPCS1). Recombinant LjPCS1 and Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) PCS1 (AtPCS1) were affinity purified and their polyhistidine-tags removed. AtPCS1 catalyzed hPC synthesis from hGSH alone at even higher rates than did LjPCS1, indicating that GmhPCS1 is not a genuine hPCS and that a low ratio of hPC to PC synthesis is an inherent feature of PCS1 enzymes. For both enzymes, hGSH is a good acceptor, but a poor donor, of γ-glutamylcysteine units. Purified AtPCS1 and LjPCS1 were activated (in decreasing order) by Cd2+, Zn2+, Cu2+, and Fe3+, but not by Co2+ or Ni2+, in the presence of 5 mm GSH and 50 μm metal ions. Activation of both enzymes by Fe3+ was proven by the complete inhibition of PC synthesis by the iron-specific chelator desferrioxamine. Plants of Arabidopsis and Lotus accumulated (h)PCs only in response to a large excess of Cu2+ and Zn2+, but to a much lower extent than did with Cd2+, indicating that (h)PC synthesis does not significantly contribute in vivo to copper, zinc, and iron detoxification.
Optimal cut-off value and clinical usefulness of the Adherence Starts with Knowledge-12 in patients with asthma taking inhaled corticosteroids.

BACKGROUND Non-adherence to inhalation regimens is common in asthmatic patients. The Adherence Starts with Knowledge-12 (ASK-12) survey was developed to detect and address patient-specific barriers to medication adherence. Our objective is to investigate the clinical usefulness of the ASK-12 for assessing and addressing adherence to inhalation therapy in asthma. METHODS The ASK-12 was administered to 138 asthmatic patients. Using pharmacy-refill data, we examined the cut-off value of the ASK-12 to identify patients who were non-adherent to inhalation regimens and identify factors associated with non-adherence. To verify the usefulness of the ASK-12, inhalation regimens were prospectively switched to less-expensive and simpler (once-daily) dosing regimens in eight non-adherent asthmatic patients who reported specific-barriers in "inconvenience of twice-daily inhaler use" and "cost". RESULTS Valid responses were received from 114 (82.6%) patients. A significant correlation was found between pharmacy-refill rates and the ASK-12 total score (r=-0.55, P<0.0001). The optimal cut-off value of the ASK-12 total score to discriminate non-adherent patients (defined by pharmacy-refill rate <80%) was 23, with 71.4% specificity and 93.3% sensitivity. Using this value, 52 (45.6%) patients were classified as non-adherent. Univariate followed by multivariate analysis identified younger age as a predictor of non-adherence to inhalation regimens (odds ratio, 2.67; 95% CI, -0.95 to -0.06; P=0.027). Switching inhaled medicines in eight patients resulted in significant improvements in both ASK-12 scores and asthma control. CONCLUSIONS The ASK-12 is a brief, practical, and clinically useful measure for assessing and addressing adherence to inhalation regimens in asthma.
Comparison of Results from Different Imputation Techniques for Missing Data from an Anti-Obesity Drug Trial

Background In randomised trials of medical interventions, the most reliable analysis follows the intention-to-treat (ITT) principle. However, the ITT analysis requires that missing outcome data have to be imputed. Different imputation techniques may give different results and some may lead to bias. In anti-obesity drug trials, many data are usually missing, and the most used imputation method is last observation carried forward (LOCF). LOCF is generally considered conservative, but there are more reliable methods such as multiple imputation (MI). Objectives To compare four different methods of handling missing data in a 60-week placebo controlled anti-obesity drug trial on topiramate. Methods We compared an analysis of complete cases with datasets where missing body weight measurements had been replaced using three different imputation methods: LOCF, baseline carried forward (BOCF) and MI. Results 561 participants were randomised. Compared to placebo, there was a significantly greater weight loss with topiramate in all analyses: 9.5 kg (SE 1.17) in the complete case analysis (N = 86), 6.8 kg (SE 0.66) using LOCF (N = 561), 6.4 kg (SE 0.90) using MI (N = 561) and 1.5 kg (SE 0.28) using BOCF (N = 561). Conclusions The different imputation methods gave very different results. Contrary to widely stated claims, LOCF did not produce a conservative (i.e., lower) efficacy estimate compared to MI. Also, LOCF had a lower SE than MI.
A wearable biofeedback control system based body area network for freestyle swimming

Wearable posture measurement units are capable of enabling real-time performance evaluation and providing feedback to end users. This paper presents a wearable feedback prototype designed for freestyle swimming with focus on trunk rotation measurement. The system consists of a nine-degree-of-freedom inertial sensor, which is built in a central data collection and processing unit, and two vibration motors for delivering real-time feedback. Theses devices form a fundamental body area network (BAN). In the experiment setup, four recreational swimmers were asked to do two sets of 4 x 25m freestyle swimming without and with feedback provided respectively. Results showed that real-time biofeedback mechanism improves swimmers kinematic performance by an average of 4.5% reduction in session time. Swimmers can gradually adapt to feedback signals, and the biofeedback control system can be employed in swimmers daily training for fitness maintenance.
Recovery and Drift Dynamics of Resistance and Threshold Voltages in Phase-Change Memories

The electronic behavior of the chalcogenide material used in phase-change memory (PCM) plays a key role in defining the operation voltages and times of the memory cell. In particular, the threshold voltage for electronic switching of the amorphous chalcogenide determines the boundary between programming and readout operation, while its resistance allows the recognition of the bit status. This paper present a time-resolved analysis of threshold voltage and resistance in a PCM. Both dynamics of threshold voltage and resistance display a fast transient, named recovery behavior, in the first 30 ns after programming. A slower, nonsaturating drift transient is found for longer times. The two transients are discussed referring to electronic and structural rearrangements in the amorphous chalcogenide. Finally, the impact on the device level is considered
Real-time preview for layered depth video in 3D-TV

In this paper we propose a hardware capture system for the generation of layered depth video content, and realtime feedback mechanismus required to ensure optimal data acquisition for 3DTV productions. The capture system consists of five color cameras and two time of flight cameras. The time of flight cameras allow direct depth measurements and thus help to overcome difficulties of classical stereo matching. However they suffer from low resolution and must be combined with stereo to achieve acceptable results in a post production process. Realtime previews are hence necessary, so that a dynamic adaption of the scene as well as the capture parameters becomes possible, and a good data quality can be assured.
Endothelin-1 expression in hearts of transgenic hypertensive mice overexpressing angiotensin II.

Cardiac myocytes and vascular endothelial cells produce endothelin (ET)-1, which has potent hypertrophic effects on cardiac myocytes. Although in cultured cardiomyocytes, angiotensin II (Ang II) was reported to enhance ET-1 production in vitro, it is not known whether ET-1 production is enhanced by Ang II in vivo. We investigated the production and pathophysiologic roles of ET-1 in 20-week-old male transgenic hypertensive mice (THM), in which the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) was markedly activated because of the presence of both human renin and angiotensinogen genes. Systolic blood pressure and the ratio of left ventricular weight to body weight were significantly higher in the THM than in control mice, indicating that THM developed cardiac hypertrophy. ET-1 production was significantly increased in the heart of THM because both ET-1 mRNA expression and peptide levels were significantly higher than in controls. However, circulating plasma ET-1 levels did not differ between the groups, and blood pressure did not change after i.v. injection with a high dose (3 mg/kg) of the ETA/B-nonselective receptor antagonist SB209670. These findings suggest that increased cardiac ET-1 production may contribute to the progression of cardiac hypertrophy and that endogenous ET-1 may not be involved in the short-term modulation of blood pressure in THM of this age.
Selective COX-2 Inhibitory Properties of Dihydrostilbenes from Liquorice Leaves–In Vitro Assays and Structure/Activity Relationship Study

Three dihydrostilbenes belonging to the polyphenol pool characterized in the leaves of Sicilian liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra L.) have been tested for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. The three dihydrostilbenes (PA-82, GA-23, DO-07) were in vitro tested to evaluate their capability to scavenge the stable radical 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), and to decrease thromboxane B2 (TxB2) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) release in human whole blood samples. On the basis of the observed capability of these compounds to affect the cell COX-1/COX-2 pathway, a molecular docking study was carried out in order to understand in detail the ability of these compounds to bind to COX-1 and COX-2. The results show that the liquorice dihydrostilbenes are preferred ligands for COX-2 rather than for COX-1, providing a good rational for the observed selectivity in ex vivo experiments. Therefore, they appear to be good candidates for employment in human therapy against inflammation-related pathological conditions.
Optimization of propagation models for the radio performance evaluation of wireless local area network

The wireless local area network (WLAN) has become very popular in recent years because of its utilization on free frequency bands and high speed of data transmission. However, due to increasing applications of wireless communications in these free bands, WLANs are facing interference from themselves and other applications, not only because the utilization of these free bands are very crowed, but also because most of the networks in these bands are not well planned. Optimizations of network planning are thus very important. Among the planning procedures, accurate propagation predictions are the most essential step. This paper optimizes the propagation models based on measurement techniques and employs the optimized models to evaluate the network performance of WLANs in an indoor environment where the WLAN is most popularly employed.
Stimulated Shedding of Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule 1 (VCAM-1) Is Mediated by Tumor Necrosis Factor-α-converting Enzyme (ADAM 17)*

A variety of cell surface adhesion molecules can exist as both transmembrane proteins and soluble circulating forms. Increases in the levels of soluble adhesion molecules have been correlated with a variety of inflammatory diseases, suggesting a pathological role. Although soluble forms are thought to result from proteolytic cleavage from the cell surface, relatively little is known about the proteases responsible for their release. In this report we demonstrate that under normal culture conditions, cells expressing vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1) release a soluble form of the extracellular domain that is generated by metalloproteinase-mediated cleavage. VCAM-1 release can be rapidly simulated by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), and this induced VCAM-1 shedding is mediated by metalloproteinase cleavage of VCAM-1 near the transmembrane domain. PMA-induced VCAM-1 shedding occurs as the result of activation of a specific pathway, as the generation of soluble forms of three other adhesion molecules, E-selectin, platelet-endothelial cell adhesion molecule 1, and intercellular adhesion molecule 1, are not altered by PMA stimulation. Using cells derived from genetically deficient mice, we identify tumor necrosis factor-α-converting enzyme (TACE or ADAM 17) as the protease responsible for PMA-induced VCAM-1 release, including shedding of endogenously expressed VCAM-1 by murine endothelial cells. Therefore, TACE-mediated shedding of VCAM-1 may be important for the regulation of VCAM-1 function at the cell surface.
A Supervised Pattern Recognition Approach for Human Movement Onset Detection

Applications of robotics and mechatronics to neurorehabilitation are getting more and more consensus in the clinical community thanks to early encouraging results. They enable an objective assessment of patient's motor recovery and the administration of rehabilitation treatments specific for each patient. In particular, isometric force/torque measurements in post-stroke patients were recently used in clinical trials for the functional assessment, with encouraging results. A challenging issue in the processing of such measurements is to detect the initiation of the voluntary contraction of the patient (i.e., onset time). The onset detection is crucial to obtain clinically relevant data. In previous works, different deterministic methods for onset detection were presented. Each of those methods is signal-structure dependant, causing drop of performance when applied to different kind of signals. In this paper, we introduce an innovative technique for the automatic selection of the best onset detection method. To this aim, we adopt a supervised pattern recognition approach that dynamically selects, from a pool of deterministic methods, the one that is best suited for each signal according to the signal structure. The method has been tested on annotated force and torque datasets, showing that such a method improves not only the performance achieved by the single deterministic techniques, but also those attained by a group of clinical experts.
Different Ca2+ releasing action of caffeine and depolarisation in skeletal muscle fibres of the rat

1 The relative abilities of caffeine and transverse tubular (T‐) system depolarisation to induce Ca2+ release in mammalian skeletal muscle were compared in mechanically skinned fibres of the rat, in order to determine whether normal excitation‐contraction (E‐C) coupling is achieved by up‐regulating the Ca2+‐induced Ca2+ release process, as caffeine is known to do. 2 Caffeine triggered Ca2+ release in soleus (slow‐twitch) fibres at much lower concentrations than in extensor digitorum longus (EDL) (fast‐twitch) fibres when the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) of each type was loaded with Ca2+ at close to endogenous levels. The difference in caffeine sensitivity resulted at least in part from the SR being loaded endogenously at near maximal capacity in soleus fibres but at less than half of maximal capacity in EDL fibres. The caffeine sensitivity could be reversed by reversing the relative level of SR loading. 3 The ability of caffeine to induce Ca2+ release was markedly reduced by lowering the level of SR loading or by raising the free [Mg2+] from 1 to 3 mm. Caffeine, even at 30 mm, triggered little or no Ca2+ release in EDL fibres (a) at 1 mm (physiological) Mg2+ when the SR was loaded at two‐thirds or less of the endogenous level, and (b) at 3 mm Mg2+ when the SR was loaded at close to the endogenous level. In contrast, depolarisation potently elicited Ca2+ release under these conditions in the same fibres. 4 The inability of 30 mm caffeine to induce Ca2+ release under certain conditions was not attributable to desensitisation or inactivation of the release channels, because there was no response even upon initial exposure to caffeine and depolarisation always remained able to trigger Ca2+ release. It instead appeared that caffeine was a relatively ineffectual stimulus in EDL fibres except under conditions where (a) the SR was heavily loaded, (b) the free [Mg2+] was low, or (c) a high [Cl−] was present. 5 These results show that the normal E‐C coupling mechanism in mammalian skeletal muscle does not involve just enhancing Ca2+‐induced Ca2+ release, and evidently requires the removal or bypassing of the inhibitory effect of Mg2+ on the Ca2+ release channels.
Effect of Substrate Traps on Hepatitis C Virus NS 3 Helicase Catalyzed DNA Unwinding : Evidence for Enzyme Catalyzed Strand Exchange

The helicase encoded by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) is shown in this chapter to catalyze homologous DNA strand exchange. Single-stranded DNA oligonucleotides complementary to either the short or long strand of a partially duplex DNA substrate affected the rate and extent of unwinding catalyzed by either the full-length HCV NS3 protein fused to a portion of HCV NS4A, or a truncated NS3 protein lacking the protease domain. The oligonucleotides did not, however, sequester HCV helicase and prevent it from separating the original duplex after a single binding cycle. Furthermore, when DNA oligonucleotides were pre-incubated with HCV helicase, they did not prevent subsequent duplex separation, indicating that the enzyme catalyzes strand exchange. The protease portion of NS3 was not needed for this strand exchange. Fluorescent DNA substrates were further used to directly monitor both this ssDNA assisted unwinding and homologous strand exchange, and the effect of a protein trap (poly(U) RNA) on HCV helicase-catalyzed strand exchange was examined. The results demonstrate that HCV helicase can simultaneously bind at least three DNA strands and imply that HCV NS3 helicase could play an important role not only in viral RNA unwinding, but also in the folding of the HCV genome. ∗ To whom correspondence should be addressed: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY 10595. Tel. :914-594-4190; Fax: 914-594-4058; E-mail: David_Frick@NYMC.edu Ryan S. Rypma, Angela M. I. Lam and David Frick 2
The Narcissistic Personality Inventory: alternative form reliability and further evidence of construct validity.

The aim of this study was twofold: (a)to measure the alternate form reliability of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, and (b)to determine its construct validity by correlating it with the four scales of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ). The alternate form reliability was . 72. The Extraversion and Psychoticism scales of the EPQ were positively and significantly correlated with the narcissism measure, and the Lie scale showed a significant negative correlation. The Neuroticism scale showed a nonsignificant relationship with narcissism. In addition, the combined Extraversion and Psychoticism scales produced[ a Multiple R with the narcissism measure that accounted for significantly more of the variance in narcissism than did either measure alone.