Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Automated carbon dioxide digital angiography for lower-limb arterial disease evaluation: safety assessment and comparison with standard iodinated contrast media angiography.

INTRODUCTION Carbon dioxide (CO2) has been validated as a contrast agent in a large series of studies. A particular advantages of CO2 over iodinated contrast medium (ICM) is the absence of nephrotoxicity and allergic reactions. One of the limitations of CO2 angiography is the difficulty of CO2 manual injection due to its compressibility. The manual gas injection does not permit optimal control of the gas output. Development of an automated CO2 injector has overcome these problems. AIM This study compares the feasibility, safety, and diagnostic accuracy of automated CO2 digital subtraction angiography (DSA) in comparison with ICM-DSA in the evaluation of critical limb ischemic (CLI) patients. METHODS We performed DSA with both CO2 and ICM on 40 consecutive CLI patients and directly compared the two techniques. Sixteen females and 24 males participated in the study (mean age, 71.7 years). We assessed the diagnostic accuracy of CO2 in identifying arterial stenosis in the lower limb, with ICM-DSA used as the gold standard. RESULTS The overall diagnostic accuracy of CO2-DSA was 96.9% (sensitivity, 99.0%; specificity, 96.1%; positive predictive value, 91.1%; negative predictive value, 99.6%). Tolerable minor symptoms occurred in 3 patients. No allergic reactions or significant decline in renal function were observed in patients receiving the CO2 injection. CONCLUSION Carbon dioxide DSA is a valuable and safe alternative to traditional ICM-DSA for evaluating CLI patients. This modality should be considered as the standard choice for CLI patients undergoing angiographic evaluation who are known to have renal insufficiency or contrast allergy.
Stochastic Modeling of Power Demand Due to EVs Using Copula

The driving patterns characterizing electric vehicles (EVs) are stochastic and, as a consequence, the electrical load due to EVs inherits their randomness. This paper presents a Monte Carlo procedure for the derivation of load due to EVs based on a fully stochastic method for modeling transportation patterns. Under the uncontrolled domestic charging scenario three variables are found to be crucial: the time a vehicle leaves home, the time a vehicle arrives home, and the distance traveled in between. A detailed transportation dataset is used to derive marginal cumulative distribution functions of the variables of interest. Since the variables are statistically dependent, a joint distribution function is built using a copula function. Subsequently, simulated EV trips are combined with a typical charging profile so that the energy contribution to the system is computed. The procedure is applied to analyze the effect of the EV load on the national power demand of The Netherlands under different market penetration levels and day/night electricity tariff scenarios.
Sleep Difficulties and Medications in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Registry Study

OBJECTIVES: Sleep difficulties are common in children with autism spectrum disorders, with wide-ranging effects on the child’s daytime behavior. We reviewed data within our Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network Registry to determine the prevalence of sleep difficulties and patterns of medication use. METHODS: Data from 1518 children ages 4 to 10 years were analyzed to determine the number of children documented to have sleep difficulties by parent-completed questionnaires and clinician-completed forms and how these findings related to the use of sleep medications. RESULTS: The Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire total score was ≥41 (associated with clinically significant sleep problems in past research) in 71% of children. The prevalence of sleep diagnoses was less frequent (30% of children aged 4–10 years; P < .0001). Medications for sleep were prescribed in 46% of 4- to 10-year-olds given a sleep diagnosis. The most common medication used for sleep was melatonin followed by α-agonists, with a variety of other medications taken for sleep (anticonvulsants, antidepressants, atypical antipsychotics, and benzodiazepines). Children taking medications for sleep had worse daytime behavior and pediatric quality of life than children not taking sleep medications. CONCLUSIONS: Parent concerns about sleep may not be reflected in the information gathered during a clinic visit, supporting the need to develop screening practice pathways for sleep in autism spectrum disorders. Furthermore, many medications taken for sleep have adverse effects, supporting the need for evidence-based interventions in this population.
‘I (do not) know what to do’: how ties, identities and home states influence Mexican-born immigrants' return migration intentions

Abstract This study examines the return migration intentions of Mexican immigrants to the U.S. by proposing three explanatory variables: (1) socioeconomic ties with the U.S. and Mexico, (2) ethnic identity, and (3) the human development levels of origin home states in Mexico. Utilizing the 2006 Latino National Survey, which included 3743 Mexican-born immigrants to the U.S., I developed a multilevel multinomial logistic regression model to distinguish between potential returners, potential stayers, and those who were undecided. While socioeconomic ties with the U.S positively predict staying intentions, socioeconomic ties with Mexico are positively related to intentions to return as well as with indecision. Self-identification as Latina/o or Hispanic is not associated with return migration intentions, while self-identification as Mexican and American is. Other components of ethnic identity, such as skin colour and co-ethnic friendship ties, are also associated with return intentions. Additionally, Mexican immigrants whose home states in Mexico have higher levels of human development are less likely to form return intentions and indecision.
"Functional Tissue Engineering"

Articular cartilage is the load-bearing tissue within all freely moving joints of mammals, i.e., the diarthrodial joints such as hips, knees, shoulders, etc. All diarthrodial joints must support loads of high magnitude, and function with a remarkably low coefficient friction even with the generally slow reciprocating motions. For example, in the knee or hip, the magnitude of loading may reach higher than 15x body weight, with a normal stress up to 20 MPa acting on its articulating surfaces. Even the shoulder, generally considered as a non-weight bearing joint, but it is actually not a non-load bearing joint. Due to the lever law effect, there is a 20 to 1 disadvantage; thus a 10N load carried by an outstretched arm may be magnified to 200N acting across the glenohumeral joint of the shoulder. Similarly, in the patello-femoral joint (PFJ) of the knee, again with an approximate 20 to 1 disadvantage, the force and stress levels acting across the PFJ may reach similar magnitudes. In addition, these loads are applied, in a normal young vigorous individual, about one million times a year, with a cyclic frequency usually less than 1Hz. For athletes, these operational mechanical requirements are increased many times. It is no wonder that for some unlucky individuals, they develop arthritis in the hip and knee (most frequently); this is a form of failure in these natural bearings.
Comparative evaluation of various grading systems for electric machinery stator windings

The surface potential characteristics of grading systems of various lengths and configurations used for medium voltage form-wound stator coils have been examined. The grading material used in this investigation was woven polyester fabric tape loaded with a varnish containing a semi-conductive silicon carbide filler. Form-wound stator coils for a machine rating of 13.8 kV (line-to-line) were manufactured. Stress grading tape was applied to the coils using two lapping configurations and with two overall lengths. All sample coils then received a vacuum pressure impregnation (VPI) treatment. The surface field distribution in the stress grading regions of the sample coils was measured at test voltages of 8 kV and 14 kVrms. In addition, the temperature profiles of the grading systems were recorded at applied voltages up to 28.6 kVrms. The experimental results revealed that the stress grading tape lapping configuration has an influence on the field distribution to some degree; however, little or no effect was observed on the field dependent property when the grading length in the endarm region was increased.
A Novel Element and a TEF-2-like Element Activate the Major Histocompatibility Complex Class II Transactivator in B-lymphocytes*

Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules play a central role in immune responses, and transcription of this family of genes requires the MHC class II transactivator (CIITA). CIITA has four promoters, which are transcribed in a tissue-specific manner. CIITA promoter III is constitutively active in mature B-lymphocytes. This report now describes the minimal 319-base pair promoter region necessary for maximal transcriptional activity in B-lymphocytes. Ultraviolet light and dimethylsulfate in vivo genomic footprinting analyses reveal five occupied DNA sequence elements present in intact B-lymphocytes. Functional analysis of these elements using promoter deletions and site-specific mutations demonstrates that at least two of the sites occupied in vivo are critical for transcriptional activity. In vitro protein/DNA analysis suggests that one of the sites is a TEF-2-like element and the other is occupied by a novel transcription activator. In addition, nuclear factor-1 associates with the promoter both in vivo and in vitro. In myeloma cell lines, loss of CIITA transcription correlates with a completely unoccupied CIITA promoter III. These findings suggest that CIITA transcription in B-lymphocytes is activated through at least two strong promoter elements, while loss of expression in myeloma cells is mediated through changes in promoter assembly.
AODV-COD: AODV routing protocol with coding opportunity discovery

Due to the bandwidth-limited wireless broadcast channel and node mobility in Mobile Ad hoc Networks (MANETs), reactive on-demand routing protocols have attracted extensive attention because that the routes are established only when required. Ad hoc On-Demand Distance Vector (AODV) routing protocol is a prominent on-demand one which has been used widely. However, constrained by the limited topology information, the nodes with AODV can not execute XOR coding scheme which has been shown to be able to improve the throughput of unicast traffic in MANETs. In this paper, we analyze that two-hop neighbor nodes information and two-hop predecessor nodes information of the received packets are sufficient for the nodes with most distance-vector routing protocols to discover the coding opportunity effectively. Then we implement AODV routing protocol with Coding Opportunity Discovery (AODV-COD) and evaluate its performance by simulation. The results show that our implementation is effective and AODV-COD can increase network throughput in comparison with AODV.
Electron Holographic Visualization of Collective Motion of Electrons Through Electric Field Variation

Abstract This study demonstrates the accumulation of electron-induced secondary electrons by utilizing a simple geometrical configuration of two branches of a charged insulating biomaterial. The collective motion of these secondary electrons between the branches has been visualized by analyzing the reconstructed amplitude images obtained using in situ electron holography. In order to understand the collective motion of secondary electrons, the trajectories of these electrons around the branches have also been simulated by taking into account the electric field around the charged branches on the basis of Maxwell’s equations.
Fully uncoupled independent control of frequency and condition of oscillation: A caution

Over the years researchers have developed and reported a large number of sinusoidal oscillator circuits and classified them as enjoying fully uncoupled independent control of frequency and condition of oscillation. This classification is based on obtaining frequency and condition of oscillation using the Barkhausen criterion. This paper serves as a caution as it appears that this classification is incorrect. Experimental results obtained from recently published circuits; that support this caution, are included.
Time Course Change of IGF1/Akt/mTOR/p70s6k Pathway Activation in Rat Gastrocnemius Muscle During Repeated Bouts of Eccentric Exercise.

The purpose of this study was to examine whether insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) and Akt/mTOR/p70S6K pathway activity is altered by chronic eccentric exercise in rat medial gastrocnemius muscle. Male Wistar rats (n = 24) were randomly assigned to 1 of the 2 groups: eccentric exercise (ECC) group or sham-operated control (CON) group. Rats in the ECC group were trained every second day for 10 days (5 sessions in total) or 20 days (10 sessions in total). After either 5 or 10 exercise sessions, muscle specimens were dissected and weighed. The mRNA expression of IGF-1 and its variant, mechano growth factor (MGF), was evaluated using real time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Tissue concentrations of Akt (P), mTOR (P), and p70S6K (P) were measured by using western blot analysis. The medial gastrocnemius muscle mass of the ECC group did not show any significant difference after 5 exercise sessions, whereas the muscle mass increased significantly after 10 exercise sessions with a concomitant increase in the cross-sectional area of muscle fibers (p < 0.05). The expression of IGF-1 mRNA and the tissue concentrations of Akt (P) and p70S6K (P) after 10 exercise sessions was significantly higher than those of the age-matched controls and the rats that received 5 exercise sessions. The expression of MGF mRNA in both ECC5S and ECC10S were significantly higher than that in each period-matched control (p < 0.01). The tissue concentration of mTOR (P) after 10 sessions showed a significant increase when compared with period-matched controls (p < 0.01). These results suggest that activation of the IGF-1/Akt/mTOR/p70S6K signaling pathway becomes dominant in the later phase of chronic exercise, when significant muscular hypertrophy is observed. Key pointsWe confirmed that the rat muscular exercise model using originally-developed equipment increased the wet mass of the medial gastrocnemius muscle and cross-sectional areas of muscle fibres in 10 sessions (20 days) but not in 5 sessions (10days). We clarified that the increases of muscle mass and CSA of muscle fibers were accompanied by IGF-1 mRNA expression, the phosphorylated Akt, mTOR, and p70S6K.These results suggest that muscular hypertrophy in our model was achieved after 10 sessions of exercise and associated with the activation of IGF-1/Akt/mTOR/p70S6K signal pathway.
STO-609, a Specific Inhibitor of the Ca2+/Calmodulin-dependent Protein Kinase Kinase*

STO-609, a selective inhibitor of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase kinase (CaM-KK) was synthesized, and its inhibitory properties were investigated both in vitro and in vivo. STO-609 inhibits the activities of recombinant CaM-KKα and CaM-KKβ isoforms, with K i values of 80 and 15 ng/ml, respectively, and also inhibits their autophosphorylation activities. Comparison of the inhibitory potency of the compound against various protein kinases revealed that STO-609 is highly selective for CaM-KK without any significant effect on the downstream CaM kinases (CaM-KI and -IV), and the IC50 value of the compound against CaM-KII is ∼10 μg/ml. STO-609 inhibits constitutively active CaM-KKα (glutathione S-transferase (GST)-CaM-KK-(84–434)) as well as the wild-type enzyme. Kinetic analysis indicates that the compound is a competitive inhibitor of ATP. In transfected HeLa cells, STO-609 suppresses the Ca2+-induced activation of CaM-KIV in a dose-dependent manner. In agreement with this observation, the inhibitor significantly reduces the endogenous activity of CaM-KK in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells at a concentration of 1 μg/ml (∼80% inhibitory rate). Taken together, these results indicate that STO-609 is a selective and cell-permeable inhibitor of CaM-KK and that it may be a useful tool for evaluating the physiological significance of the CaM-KK-mediated pathway in vivo as well as in vitro.
Wavelength-interleaving bidirectional circulators

We report a wavelength-interleaving bidirectional circulator, in which the even and odd ITU channels circulate in opposite handedness. Demonstrated three-port bidirectional isolation ranges from 45 dB for single-pass to 90 dB for dual-pass over the entire C-band with low loss, large flat-top bandwidth, low PDL, and good temperature stability. This new device technology is an enabler for bidirectional optical networks and opens up a range of possibilities for bidirectional fiber devices: isolators, circulators, add-drops, cross-connects, and uni- to bidirectional optical network interfaces.
Miniaturized matched band-stop filter based dual mode resonator

Band-stop filters are very important components for microwave transceivers. Wireless communication systems, the current application usually require small devices to fulfill the miniaturization requirements of mobile unit. Various methods for this point have been proposed for band-stop filters implementation involving the use of shunt stub with large circuit. The conventional band-stop filter reflects stop-band signals, and resonator with finite Q tends to reduce and limit their stop-band attenuation. Recently, new filter topology using a lossy resonator has been introduced. The shortcoming of such type of filter is its large size because it is using second order resonator to produce single notch with infinite attenuation. In this paper, a novel technique to construct a miniaturized matched band-stop filter Based dual mode resonator which is compact and matches at all frequencies is introduced. It is achieved by incorporating the stepped impedance dual-mode resonator into the matched band-stop topology. The proposed technique results in 50 % size reduction compared with the dual-mode ring resonator that has an electrical length of 360˚. In addition for the short electrical length of the proposed technique the first spurious resonance occurs at 4.7 times the fundamental resonance frequency.
Physical fitness related to age and physical activity in older persons.

OBJECTIVE This study investigated physical fitness as a function of age and leisure time physical activity (LTPA) in a community-based sample of 624 persons aged 57 yr and older. METHODS LTPA during the last 12 months was assessed through personal interviews. A wide range of physical fitness components was measured using performance-based tests. RESULTS Physical fitness was associated with the interaction age by LTPA in only a few components, in a gender-specific way, with generally larger differences in fitness between active and less active persons with increasing age. All LTPA, including low intensity LTPA, is positively and age-independent associated with most physical fitness components. CONCLUSION The importance of LTPA typically participated in by the general population lies not so much in the delaying of the motor aging process but rather in a general, age-independent, positive effect.
Quality-of-Life and Disability in Patients with Stroke

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to assess the impact of stroke on health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) and disability, the relationships between the two constructs, and to what extent these two constructs are affected when perceived health state changes. DesignThe World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHO-DAS II) and the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) were administered via mail to a sample of adult stroke survivors. Comparison against normative Italian values was made using one-sample t test. SF-36 and WHO-DAS II scores were compared between employed and unemployed patients and between patients self-reporting improved, unchanged, and decreased health state using analysis of variance with least significant difference post hoc test. The relationships between SF-36 and WHO-DAS II were assessed using Pearson correlation. ResultsA total of 111 patients were enrolled. The SF-36 and WHO-DAS II scores of stroke patients were worse in comparison with Italian normative values. Moderate to strong correlations between all scales and the summary score of WHO-DAS II and SF-36 were found: The worse the disability is, the lower the HRQoL. Patients reporting worse health status in the previous year reported higher levels of disability and lower HRQoL. Employed persons had higher HRQoL and lower disability levels. ConclusionsThe generic HRQoL instrument and disability schedule used in this study demonstrated strong relationship between these two dimensions. It also gave a more detailed picture of the aspects of disability and HRQoL that are most relevant for the persons after stroke and that should be studied further in the future research.
Pulsed magnetization transfer imaging with body coil transmission at 3 Tesla: Feasibility and application

Pulsed magnetization transfer (MT) imaging has been applied to quantitatively assess brain pathology in several diseases, especially multiple sclerosis (MS). To date, however, because of the high power deposition associated with the use of short, rapidly repeating MT prepulses, clinical application has been limited to lower field strengths. The contrast‐to‐noise ratio (CNR) of MT is limited, and this method would greatly benefit from the use of higher magnetic fields and phased‐array coil reception. However, power deposition is proportional to the square of the magnetic field and scales with coil size, and MT experiments are already close to the SAR limit at 1.5T even when smaller transmit coils are used instead of the body coil. Here we show that these seemingly great obstacles can be ameliorated by the increased T1 of tissue water at higher field, which allows for longer maintenance of sufficiently high saturation levels while using a reduced duty cycle. This enables a fast (5–6 min) high‐resolution (1.5 mm isotropic) whole‐brain MT acquisition with excellent anatomical visualization of gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) structures, and even substructures. The method is demonstrated in nine normal volunteers and five patients with relapsing remitting MS (RRMS), and the results show a clear delineation of heterogeneous lesions. Magn Reson Med, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A STUDY OF PERFORMANCE OF MOVING AVERAGE, BOLLINGER BANDS AND RELATIVE STRENGTH INDEX IN SELECTED STOCKS AND STOCK INDICES

The present study “A Study of Performance of Moving Average, Bollinger Bands and Relative Strength Index (RSI) in Selected Stocks and Stock Indices” was undertaken to assess the performance of Moving Average, Bollinger Bands and RSI i n selected stocks and stock indices. Objectives of the study were to study the performance of these techniques in selected stocks and indices. For the purpose of study two Indices BSE SENSEX and S&P CNX 500 were chosen and 15 stocks were chosen from S&P CNX NIFTY. It was found out that average returns from 200 Day Moving Average were higher in stocks and both the indices. Average return of all the stocks covered under study came out to be about 22 percent in case of 200 Day Moving Average. This average was higher as compared to other techniques. RSI technique provided consistent returns. Average return from RSI was highest in 8 out of 15 stocks. Average return from RSI was 10.03 percent in case of all stocks. Average return from Bollinger Bands was 4.61 percent in case of all stocks. Significant difference was found in returns from RSI and Bollinger Bands and also Bollinger bands and Buy and Hold in case of stocks. No significant difference was found in average return from the selected techniques in case of indices.