Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
EFFECT OF ENALAPRIL TREATMENT ON THE SENSITIVITY OF CARDIOPULMONARY REFLEXES IN RATS WITH MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION

1 The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of treatment with enalapril on the sensitivity of cardiopulmonary reflexes 30 days after myocardial infarction in Wistar rats. 2 Animals were divided into four groups: (i) sham operated, receiving vehicle (SHAM); (ii) infarcted, receiving vehicle (0.9% NaCl; INF); (iii) sham operated, receiving enalapril (SHAME); and (iv) infarcted, receiving enalapril (INFE). 3 Enalapril was administered at a dose of 10 mg/kg per day. Serotonin (4–32 µg/kg, i.v.) was administered in order to activate the Bezold–Jarisch reflex, which was estimated as the percentage of reduction in heart rate. 4 The volume‐sensitive cardiopulmonary reflex was induced by saline overload and evaluated as the percentage increase in sodium and volume renal excretion. At the end of the experiments, rats were killed and hearts excised to estimate the size of the infarction. The weight of the kidneys, lungs, liver and cardiac chambers as ratios of bodyweight was used to estimate the extent of hypertrophy. 5 The results showed an impairment in the sensitivity of the cardiopulmonary reflexes in the INF group compared with the SHAM and SHAME groups. We observed right ventricle and pulmonary hypertrophy, a reduction in mean and systolic arterial pressure and an increase in heart rate in INF animals. In the INFE group, nearly all the parameters were normal compared with the INF group, except for systolic arterial pressure, which was only partially improved. 6 The main finding of the present study was that treatment with enalapril normalized the sensitivity of the cardiopulmonary reflexes, which could be due, in part, to the reduction of cardiac hypertrophy. The present study provides information about the beneficial effects of the angiotensin‐converting enzyme inhibitors by normalizing the cardiopulmonary reflexes involved with the regulation of volume and sodium, as well as control of arterial pressure and heart rate in infarcted animals.
Dementia and Nutrition. Intervention study in institutionalized patients with Alzheimer disease.

OBJECTIVES: To know nutritional status of a group of institutionalized patients with moderate Alzheimer's Disease (AD), and to ascertain the effects of an intervention with nutritional supplements on morbidity and mortality after one year follow-up. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 99 patients (mean age: 86.5 years), 80 women, with a diagnosis of AD according with NINCDS/ADRDA criteria, were recruited from 8 nursing-homes. 25 were included in an intervention group and received a nutritional supplements along 12 months. Evolution was evaluated according to the Functional Assessment Staging Test (FAST). Patients with FAST levels 5-6 were included. General clinical variables as well as variables reflecting cognitive state and nutritional status: anthropometric, biochemical data and Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) were analysed. Statistical analysis was carry out with the SPSS 10.0 package. RESULTS: Mean time since diagnosis was 49 months, with a 20.2 months duration of institutionalization. Mean value of MNA was 20.1 3.5. 16.5% of patients had a BMI equal o lower than 21. After one year the intervention group showed higher levels of albumin (P=05), pre-albumin (P=05), iron (P=01), zinc (P=05), and beta-carotene (P=05) than the control group. The same response in BMI (P=05), MNA (P=05), and triceps skinfold (P=01). Mortality was lower (16% vs. 22.7%), without statistical significance, in the intervention group, as it was the number of infectious events (47% vs. 66% P=05), and the days in bed (7.5 2.1 vs. 17.3 5.6 P=05). CONCLUSION: Nutritional supplements applied to a group of patients with AD living in nursing-homes can reduce morbidity and mortality after one year follow-up.
A fresh look: testing the internal/external frame of reference model with frame-specific academic self-concepts

Background Students' self-concepts play an important role in explaining achievement-related behaviour. According to the internal/external frame of reference model (I/E Model), students use two frames of reference to form their mathematical and verbal self-concepts. The model predicts that external comparisons will lead to a positive association, and internal comparisons to a negative association, between mathematics and verbal self-concepts. A test of these predictions is possible by asking students to rate their mathematical/verbal ability in relation to that of other students (external self-concept) or to their own ability in other subjects (internal self-concept). However, recent studies using this approach were unsuccessful in assessing self-concepts based on the internal comparison process. Purpose The present study is a new attempt to test the central assumptions of the I/E Model with frame-specific self-concepts in order to explain the process of self-concept formation. Sample A total of 674 students from 25 German secondary school classes (grades 7 – 10) participated in the study. 373 of the participants were female. Design and methods The students reported their most recent grades in mathematics and German. Frame-specific self-concepts were assessed via questionnaires. The data were analysed using structural equation modelling. Results The analyses of the data support the assumptions of the I/E Model. Positive effects of achievement on the corresponding external self-concepts and negative effects of achievement on the non-corresponding internal self-concepts were found. A strong negative relationship between the internal self-concept factors shows that the operationalization of the internal comparison process was successful. Conclusions These results contribute to a better understanding of how students form self-concepts.
Coupling anatomical and functional information for the computer-aided delineation of Phase-Contrast MRI images using active contours

Phase-Contrast (PC) velocimetry MRI is a useful modality to explore cardiovascular pathologies, but requires the automatic segmentation of vessels. Most existing segmentation approaches focus on the exploitation of anatomical information to guide algorithms, such as widely used active contours we consider in this paper, although acquisitions simultaneously provide functional information. Due to noisy regions surrounding vessels, it is difficult to integrate this information as a complementary guiding force for attracting contours towards vessel boundaries. As we illustrate, the recently proposed phase quality map is interesting but appears not appropriately formulated to build useful attraction forces. In this paper, a refinement is presented to overcome this issue, together with preliminary experimental results. We detail and illustrate how this refinement operates on phase information, and how the coupling of both anatomical and functional information can improve the efficiency of active contours, compared to the only use of anatomical information.
Securing Network-Assisted Direct Communication: The Case of Unreliable Cellular Connectivity

Network-assisted device-to-device (D2D) communication is a next-generation wireless technology enabling direct connectivity between proximate user devices under the control of cellular infrastructure. It couples together the centralized and the distributed network architectures, and as such requires respective enablers for secure, private, and trusted data exchange especially when cellular control link is not available at all times. In this work, we conduct the state-of-the-art overview and propose a novel algorithm to maintain security functions of proximate devices in case of unreliable cellular connectivity, whether a new device joins the secure group of users or an existing device leaves it. Our proposed solution and its rigorous mathematical implementation detailed in this work open door to a novel generation of secure proximity-based services and applications in future wireless communication systems.
Segmentation of large images based on super-pixels and community detection in graphs

Image segmentation has many applications which range from machine learning to medical diagnosis. In this paper, we propose a framework for the segmentation of images based on super-pixels and algorithms for community identification in graphs. The super-pixel pre-segmentation step reduces the number of nodes in the graph, rendering the method the ability to process large images. Moreover, community detection algorithms provide more accurate segmentation than traditional approaches, such as those based on spectral graph partition. We also compare our method with two algorithms: a) the graph-based approach by Felzenszwalb and Huttenlocher and b) the contour-based method by Arbelaez. Results have shown that our method provides more precise segmentation and is faster than both of them.
How can research inform ideas of good practice in teaching? The contributions of some official initiatives in the UK

There is evidence of progress over the last decade in the quest for research to inform ideas of good practice in teaching. This function of research had achieved increased status and funding, and attention has focused on issues such as how teachers learn and evidence‐based practice. This has been supported by several ‘official’ initiatives, three of which are given special attention in this paper. Teacher/researcher networking has contributed to greater involvement of teachers in research and discredited simple‐minded ideas of ‘delivery’ models of evidence to be embedded in practice. However, placing research entirely in teachers' hands has revealed concerns about research quality. Different forms of collaborative relationships between researchers and teachers, and among projects within a programme, have increased understanding of the conditions under which research can impact on practice. What and how to disseminate evidence to wider audiences remains a challenge.
High-power multilevel step-up DC/DC converter for offshore wind energy systems

This paper presents a multilevel step-up DC/DC converter for DC grid-based offshore wind energy conversion applications. The main features of the proposed multilevel converter are as follows: 1) the voltage stress of the power devices can be lowered, making it suitable for high-voltage applications; 2) the boost inductor can be significantly reduced which leads to the outstanding dynamic performance; and 3) it can reach a high-voltage gain, which is well suited for high-gain applications. The theoretical analysis is carried out for a four-level step-up converter. Therefore, the converter can be extended to any arbitrary number of levels. The proposed four-level converter is verified by a simulation and evaluated to the conventional multilevel DC/DC converter in terms of component stress and power device count. The developed topology has been implemented on a 2-kW prototype converter to confirm its feasibility.
OHctG Levels in Brain Do Not Indicate Oxidative DNA Damage in Alzheimer ' s Disease

TE KOPPELE, J.M. , P.J. LUCASSEN, A.N. SAKKEE, J.G. VAN ASTEN, R. RAVID, D.F. SWAAB AND C. F. A. VAN BEZOOIJEN. 80HdG levels in brain do not indicate oxidative DNA damage in Alzheimer's Disease. NEUROBIOL AGING 17(6) 819-826, 1996. --Accumulation of oxidative DNA damage has been proposed to underlie aging and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's Disease (AD). The DNA adduct 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8OHdG) is considered a good indicator of oxidative DNA damage. To investigate whether this type of DNA damage is involved in AD etiology, 8OHdG levels were determined in postmortem human brain tissue of controls and AD patients (in frontal, occipital, and temporal cortex and in hippocampal tissue). Parametric studies in rat revealed no influences of postmortem delay, repeated freezing/thawing or storage time. In human brain, approximately two 8OHdG molecules were present per l0 s 2'-deoxyguanosines. In AD patients and controls, 8OHdG-levels were not related to age, sex, or brain region. Also, no differences were found between controls and AD patients. It was concluded that 8OHdG in nuclear DNA, although present throughout the brain in fairly high amounts, does not accumulate with age, nor does it appear to be involved in AD. More detailed studies are required to extend this conclusion to other types of oxidative damage. Copyright © 1996 by Elsevier Science Inc.
Joint Labor-Management Committees and Corporate Governance in Asia: Evidence from New Survey Data*

Using a unique cross-national survey of publicly traded firms in Indonesia, Korea and Thailand, we provide the first systematic cross-national evidence on the incidence, diffusion, nature, and scope of Joint Labor-Management Committees (JLMCs) and shed light on the potential role of employee stakeholders in corporate governance in Asia. We find insofar as publicly traded firms in these three countries are concerned, formal mechanisms to enhance employee participation and thus the role of employee stakeholders in corporate governance are often already in place. Furthermore, facilitating, complementary mechanisms, such as shopfloor participation and involvement and financial participation, are also in place. However, we also find evidence on the ineffectiveness of these formal mechanisms as practiced in Asian firms. Regarding what types of firms are more likely to use employee participation and involvement, we find that unionized are more likely to have JLMCs, pointing to potentially important complementarity between unions and employee participation and involvement. Finally, we find evidence that foreign firms are less likely to use JLMCs whereas firms run by founders as CEOs are more likely to use JLMCs. When any public policy initiatives to enhance the role of employees in corporate governance are considered, policy makers ought to be wary of the potentially differing reactions from diverse segments of the economy to such policy initiatives. (JEL: M54, J53, J41, O53).
Measurement reproducibility of two commercial knee test devices

Objective evaluation of patients' knee motion using mechanical devices, whether for diagnostic purposes or for assessing rehabilitative procedures, requires that these devices be reproducible, in order to avoid errors independent of the patients' condition. This study prospectively evaluates the reproducibility of two commercial knee test systems, the KT 1000 Knee Ligament Arthrometer and the Genucom Knee Analysis System, by performing repeated measurements on twenty normal men. Average knee motion, between‐subject variance, and within‐subject variance were determined by performing repeat tests on the same day and one week later. No significant difference was found between measurements taken on the two different test days, but the within‐subject variation was high. We found that larger applied forces or moments resulted in a larger variation in mean displacements. However, the percent variation about the mean (coefficient of variation) decreased with increasing applied loads. The coefficient of variation for the KT 1000 varied from 8 to 33% and for the Genucom, from 13 to 87%. On an individual basis, large variations were found in repeated measures for both devices. To minimize errors, we recommend that repeated tests be performed, higher forces and moments utilized, and specific flexion angles be used for each device and test. Even under these conditions, caution must be exercised when evaluating individual subjects.
The group II metabotropic glutamate receptor agonist LY354740 and the D2 receptor antagonist haloperidol reduce locomotor hyperactivity but fail to rescue spatial working memory in GluA1 knockout mice

Group II metabotropic glutamate receptor agonists have been suggested as potential anti‐psychotics, at least in part, based on the observation that the agonist LY354740 appeared to rescue the cognitive deficits caused by non‐competitive N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonists, including spatial working memory deficits in rodents. Here, we tested the ability of LY354740 to rescue spatial working memory performance in mice that lack the GluA1 subunit of the AMPA glutamate receptor, encoded by Gria1, a gene recently implicated in schizophrenia by genome‐wide association studies. We found that LY354740 failed to rescue the spatial working memory deficit in Gria1−/− mice during rewarded alternation performance in the T‐maze. In contrast, LY354740 did reduce the locomotor hyperactivity in these animals to a level that was similar to controls. A similar pattern was found with the dopamine receptor antagonist haloperidol, with no amelioration of the spatial working memory deficit in Gria1−/− mice, even though the same dose of haloperidol reduced their locomotor hyperactivity. These results with LY354740 contrast with the rescue of spatial working memory in models of glutamatergic hypofunction using non‐competitive NMDAR antagonists. Future studies should determine whether group II mGluR agonists can rescue spatial working memory deficits with other NMDAR manipulations, including genetic models and other pharmacological manipulations of NMDAR function.
Inversion-based control of modular high frequency inverters

Inversion-based control for modular high frequency (MHF) inverters in a two-degree-of-freedom structure is presented in this paper. This establishes a state-space average model of MHF inverters. The results of this paper are illustrated using simulation and experiment based on an MHF3P inverter with four submodules.
MAKING DECISIONS FROM AN INTERVIEW: EXPERT MEASUREMENT AND MECHANICAL COMBINATION

One way of making decisions on the basis of qualitative impressions is to identify a number of relevant dimensions, translate the impressions into quantitative ratings on each of the dimensions, and integrate the ratings using a mechanical combination scheme. The paper compares the output of this method to global (clinical) judgment. The basis for the comparison is a large database that includes both information collected in a structured interview and a relevant criterion. The results clearly suggest that mechanical combination outperforms clinical judgment, but also that the combination of both schemes produces the highest accuracy.
Recognizing Reality: Dharmakirti's Philosophy and Its Tibetan Interpretations

volume, as well as a helpful appendix of Qing reign periods and a handy glossary of various names and terms. The index is also well done. The appendix on Manchu ujen cooha, a term often equated with Chinese Hanjun baqi, will undoubtedly be of interest only to specialists in Manchu and Qing history, but it does explain the author's grammatically faithful, if not somewhat awkward, choice of "Chinese martial" to render this term. A less literal, but more easily understood, translation might have been preferable. Specialists in Manchu or Qing history, or even students of Asian studies, may be frustrated by the sparseness of footnotes. The minimal annotation may be a reflection of the publisher's intentions about the series, rather than the author's choice, but it is regrettable nonetheless. One obvious shortcoming of the monograph, however, is the paucity of maps: there are just two and the legend of the first one is somewhat cryptic. A volume dealing extensively with the rise and fall of an empire should include many maps. Another criticism of the work is that it contains an excessive number of typographic errors, the most egregious of which is the misspelling— twice—of Stephen Durrant's surname as Current (pp. 218, 227). There are more than a dozen errors in the text proper and at least the same number in the appendices, notes, bibliography and index. There is also a marked dearth of umlaute over as in pinyin romanization. Such editorial carelessness does a disservice to what is otherwise a very fine work. Finally, a monograph as enjoyable and engaging as The Manchus would have benefited from a more compelling conclusion. Pamela Crossley is to be commended for her lucid style and ability to keep the reader's interest. She utilizes a wide variety of sources, including primary and secondary materials written in many languages, as well as recent research on the Manchus. She is particularly adept at incorporating quotations from primary materials, which bring the subject matter to life. She also demonstrates impressive linguistic knowledge, although she unfortunately errs, as do many other sinologists, by subscribing to the idea that ideographic writing systems exist and classifying Chinese as such a script. (See John DeFrancis, "The Ideographic Myth," The Chinese Language: Fact and Fantasy [Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1984], pp. 133-48.) It should be emphasized that the above criticisms are all relatively minor. Pamela Crossley has done an admirable job of balancing the expectations and needs of a general audience and those of specialists. Her monograph makes me eager for the publication of the other volumes in The Peoples of Asia. Judging from the first volume in this new series, it will prove to be an important resource to general readers and scholars alike.
The RAD23 Family Provides an Essential Connection between the 26S Proteasome and Ubiquitylated Proteins in Arabidopsis[W]

This study describes the collection of UBL/UBA domain proteins in Arabidopsis that participate in the ubiquitin/26S proteasome system, with a focus on the RAD23 family. The data point to a specific role for RAD23s in plants and suggest that the four isoforms have both redundant and unique roles in Arabidopsis development by helping shuttle ubiquitin conjugates to the 26S proteasome. The ubiquitin (Ub)/26S proteasome system (UPS) directs the turnover of numerous regulatory proteins, thereby exerting control over many aspects of plant growth, development, and survival. The UPS is directed in part by a group of Ub-like/Ub-associated (UBL/UBA) proteins that help shuttle ubiquitylated proteins to the 26S proteasome for breakdown. Here, we describe the collection of UBL/UBA proteins in Arabidopsis thaliana, including four isoforms that comprise the RADIATION SENSITIVE23 (RAD23) family. The nuclear-enriched RAD23 proteins bind Ub conjugates, especially those linked internally through Lys-48, via their UBA domains, and associate with the 26S proteasome Ub receptor RPN10 via their N-terminal UBL domains. Whereas homozygous mutants individually affecting the four RAD23 genes are without phenotypic consequences (rad23a, rad23c, and rad23d) or induce mild phyllotaxy and sterility defects (rad23b), higher-order mutant combinations generate severely dwarfed plants, with the quadruple mutant displaying reproductive lethality. Both the synergistic effects of a rad23b-1 rpn10-1 combination and the response of rad23b plants to mitomycin C suggest that RAD23b regulates cell division. Taken together, RAD23 proteins appear to play an essential role in the cell cycle, morphology, and fertility of plants through their delivery of UPS substrates to the 26S proteasome.
The origin and tidal evolution of cuspy triaxial haloes

We present a technique for constructing equilibrium triaxial N-body haloes with nearly arbitrary density profiles, axial ratios and spin parameters. The method is based on the way in which structures form in hierarchical cosmological simulations, where prolate and oblate haloes form via mergers with low and high angular momentum, respectively. We show that major mergers between equilibrium spherical cuspy haloes produce similarly cuspy triaxial remnants and higher angular-momentum mergers produce systems with lower concentrations. Triaxial haloes orbiting within deeper potentials become more spherical and their velocity dispersion tensors more isotropic. The rate of mass loss depends sensitively on the halo shape: a prolate halo can lose mass at a rate several times higher than an isotropic spherical halo with the same density profile. Subhaloes within cosmological simulations are significantly rounder than field haloes with axial ratios that are ∼30 per cent larger.