Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prevalence of dyspepsia, heartburn, and peptic ulcer disease in veterans

OBJECTIVE:Medications used to treat gastrointestinal symptoms account for a substantial share of pharmacy expenses for veterans affairs medical centers. Prior studies have shown that the prevalence of peptic ulcer disease is higher in veterans than in nonveterans. Our aim was to determine the prevalence of upper gastrointestinal symptoms among patients seeking health care in the Department of Veterans Affairs outpatient clinics.METHODS:A total of 1582 veterans completed a previously validated bowel symptom questionnaire in the following clinics: gastroenterology (n = 693), walk-in (n = 403), general medicine (n = 379), and women's health (n = 107). RESULTS:Overall response was 78%. Dyspepsia was reported in 30%, 37%, 44%, and 53% of patients in general medicine, walk-in, women's health, and gastroenterology clinics, respectively. Heartburn, at least weekly, was reported in 21%, 21%, 28%, and 40% of patients in general medicine, walk-in, women's health, and gastroenterology clinics, respectively. Prior peptic ulcer disease (PUD) was reported in 29%, 26%, 22%, and 44% of patients in general medicine, walk-in, women's health, and gastroenterology clinics, respectively. Dyspepsia, heartburn, and PUD were significantly associated with increased physician visits and lower general health.CONCLUSIONS:Dyspepsia and heartburn are common symptoms among veterans. Lifetime prevalence of PUD is high among veterans. Gastrointestinal symptoms have a significant impact on health care utilization and general health. These prevalence estimates provide a basis for studies of resource utilization and for cost-effectiveness analyses of the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders in the veteran population. Moreover, the high prevalence of symptoms helps to explain the high utilization of gastrointestinal medications.
Specificity of the inhibitory effect of dextropropoxyphene on oxidative drug metabolism in man: effects on theophylline and tolbutamide disposition.

Two groups of six healthy male volunteers were studied to assess the possibility of an interaction between dextropropoxyphene and theophylline or tolbutamide using a randomised, crossover design. Subjects received theophylline 125 mg 8 hourly or tolbutamide 500 mg i.v. with and without dextropropoxyphene hydrochloride 65 mg 8 hourly. Theophylline 8-hydroxylation was reduced by a mean of 17% but there were no changes in theophylline 1-demethylation, theophylline 3-demethylation or tolbutamide hydroxylation.
Downregulation of caffeoyl-CoA O-methyltransferase (CCoAOMT) by RNA interference leads to reduced lignin production in maize straw

Lignin is a major cell wall component of vascular plants that provides mechanical strength and hydrophobicity to vascular vessels. However, the presence of lignin limits the effective use of crop straw in many agroindustrial processes. Here, we generated transgenic maize plants in which the expression of a lignin biosynthetic gene encoding CCoAOMT, a key enzyme involved in the lignin biosynthesis pathway was downregulated by RNA interference (RNAi). RNAi of CCoAOMT led to significantly downregulated expression of this gene in transgenic maize compared with WT plants. These transgenic plants exhibited a 22.4% decrease in Klason lignin content and a 23.3% increase in cellulose content compared with WT plants, which may reflect compensatory regulation of lignin and cellulose deposition. We also measured the lignin monomer composition of the RNAi plants by GC-MS and determined that transgenic plants had a 57.08% higher S/G ratio than WT plants. In addition, histological staining of lignin with Wiesner reagent produced slightly more coloration in the xylem and sclerenchyma than WT plants. These results provide a foundation for breeding maize with low-lignin content and reveal novel insights about lignin regulation via genetic manipulation of CCoAOMT expression.
Rotational deformation of the canine left ventricle measured by magnetic resonance tagging: effects of catecholamines, ischaemia, and pacing.

OBJECTIVE The aim was to investigate the generation of rotation of the left ventricular apex with respect to the base by magnetic resonance tagging, a non-invasive method of labelling the myocardium, in a canine model. METHODS 18 dogs were imaged at baseline and during: (1) inotropic stimulation with dobutamine; (2) chronotropic stimulation with atrial pacing; (3) anterior wall ischaemia; (4) posterior wall ischaemia; and (5) varying left ventricular activation site; six dogs underwent each intervention. Apical rotation of the apex (torsion) was quantified. The epicardium and the endocardium were considered separately, as were the anterior and posterior walls. RESULTS Mean torsion of the epicardium [anterior 3.1(SEM 1.2) degrees, posterior 9.9(1.0) degrees] was less than that of the endocardium [anterior 8.1(2.6) degrees, posterior 14.9(2.0) degrees, p < 0.05 for both]. Anterior torsion was less than posterior torsion for both the epicardium, p < 0.05, and the endocardium, p < 0.05. Dobutamine increased torsion of both the epicardium [anterior 13.3(2.2) degrees, posterior 12.6(1.7) degrees, p < 0.05 for both] and the endocardium [anterior 24.6(2.3) degrees, posterior 16.5(2.1) degrees, p < 0.05 for both]. Atrial pacing at 160% baseline rate increased torsion of both the anterior wall [epicardium 6.6(1.0) degrees, endocardium 11.3(1.2) degrees, p < 0.05] and the posterior wall [epicardium 13.0(1.3) degrees, endocardium 19.4(1.9) degrees, p < 0.05]. Anterior wall ischaemia reduced torsion of the anterior wall only [epicardium -2.0(1.0) degrees, endocardium 6.7(2.3) degrees, both p < 0.05]. Posterior wall ischaemia reduced torsion of the posterior wall of the epicardium only [7.1(1.2) degrees, p < 0.05] but also reduced torsion of the anterior wall [epicardium 0.7(1.0) degrees, endocardium 2.4(1.6) degrees, p < 0.05 for both]. Altering the pattern of left ventricular activation by atrioventricular pacing reduced torsion of the posterior wall of the epicardium [6.6(1.2) degrees, p < 0.05] and of the anterior [3.6(1.9) degrees, p < 0.05] and posterior [7.1(1.6) degrees, p < 0.05] walls of the endocardium. CONCLUSIONS Rotational deformation of the left ventricle is dependent on the pattern of left ventricular activation and the contractile state. That a decrease in the contractile state in one area (by ischaemia) can cause a decrease in rotation in another suggests that this rotation depends on the complex fiber arrangement of the whole ventricle.
Image-based diffuse lighting using visibility maps

We present an efficient technique for systematically constructing texture maps that approximate the diffuse lighting of an object, based on illumination from an environment map. Image-based diffuse lighting involves integrating an irradiance function over the full visibility hemisphere at each point of the object’s surface. This requires expensive occlusion detection, typically using a ray tracer. Our technique factors out the ray tracing into an intermediate visibility map (VM). Once computed, the VM is rapidly combined with an arbitrary environment map to produce an approximate diffuse shaded texture, which is applied in the final render. The advantages of our method are: 1) fast initial computation of the diffuse lighting texture and 2) near real-time subsequent computation given a new environment map and any rotation of the object with respect to the map. Compared to the recent work by [Sloan et al. 2002], our approach is limited to diffuse shading but is simpler and requires less precomputation and storage. We have yet to implement our method in graphics hardware, which we expect will improve interactivity.
Nasal Respiration Entrains Human Limbic Oscillations and Modulates Cognitive Function

The need to breathe links the mammalian olfactory system inextricably to the respiratory rhythms that draw air through the nose. In rodents and other small animals, slow oscillations of local field potential activity are driven at the rate of breathing (∼2–12 Hz) in olfactory bulb and cortex, and faster oscillatory bursts are coupled to specific phases of the respiratory cycle. These dynamic rhythms are thought to regulate cortical excitability and coordinate network interactions, helping to shape olfactory coding, memory, and behavior. However, while respiratory oscillations are a ubiquitous hallmark of olfactory system function in animals, direct evidence for such patterns is lacking in humans. In this study, we acquired intracranial EEG data from rare patients (Ps) with medically refractory epilepsy, enabling us to test the hypothesis that cortical oscillatory activity would be entrained to the human respiratory cycle, albeit at the much slower rhythm of ∼0.16–0.33 Hz. Our results reveal that natural breathing synchronizes electrical activity in human piriform (olfactory) cortex, as well as in limbic-related brain areas, including amygdala and hippocampus. Notably, oscillatory power peaked during inspiration and dissipated when breathing was diverted from nose to mouth. Parallel behavioral experiments showed that breathing phase enhances fear discrimination and memory retrieval. Our findings provide a unique framework for understanding the pivotal role of nasal breathing in coordinating neuronal oscillations to support stimulus processing and behavior. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Animal studies have long shown that olfactory oscillatory activity emerges in line with the natural rhythm of breathing, even in the absence of an odor stimulus. Whether the breathing cycle induces cortical oscillations in the human brain is poorly understood. In this study, we collected intracranial EEG data from rare patients with medically intractable epilepsy, and found evidence for respiratory entrainment of local field potential activity in human piriform cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus. These effects diminished when breathing was diverted to the mouth, highlighting the importance of nasal airflow for generating respiratory oscillations. Finally, behavioral data in healthy subjects suggest that breathing phase systematically influences cognitive tasks related to amygdala and hippocampal functions.
Noise resilient image fusion based on orthogonal matching pursuit

A novel image fusion algorithm based on orthogonal matching pursuit(OMP) is proposed, which is named IFOMP algorithm and can be used for noise free or noise images. The matching pursuit algorithm provides an efficient image representation using an overcomplete dictionary. Firstly, the source images are decomposed into sub-images at different scales through laplacian pyramid transform. The OMP method is exploited for capturing and fusing edges and texture feaures in the high frequency domain. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm improves performance compared to traditional wavelet fusion with slightly increased computational complexity, and the fusion image has good robustness.
A novel content-based image retrieval approach based on attention-driven model

Visual attention plays a vital role for humans to understand a scene by intuitively emphasizing some focused objects, and recent work in the model of visual attention has demonstrated that a purely bottom-up approach to identify salient regions within an image can be successfully applied to diverse problems. Being aware of this, a novel approach of extracting objects of interest (OOIs) based on attention-driven in an image is proposed. In this approach, the modified Itti-Koch model (M-Itti-Koch) of visual attention is used to find salient peaks, and then if these peaks overlap with regions generated by EM (expectation-maximization) algorithm, we proceed to extract attentive object around that point. Only these objects are considered for the next step, feature extraction and match. This attention-driven model used for CBIR provides a promising performance, as compared with some current peer systems in the literature.
Effects of lengthened immobilization on functional and histochemical properties of rabbit tibialis anterior muscle

The imposition of long‐term lengthened immobilization on rabbit tibialis anterior (TA) muscles resulted in rapid increases in slow oxidative (SO) fibre number. After 2 weeks, SO number had increased 2‐fold and was 5 times greater after 6 weeks immobilization. There were also fibre‐type‐specific effects on SO, fast oxidative glycolytic (FOG) and fast glycolytic (FG) fibre areas. Twitch strength was unchanged throughout immobilization whilst production of tetanic tension was impaired during the initial period but had returned to control levels by 6 weeks. Twitch contraction times and isometrically determined rates of rise and relaxation were largely unaffected by immobilization despite the marked increase in expression of slow myosin. The change in phenotypic expression of the lengthened TA was not attributable to chronically increased levels of activation since integrated EMG activity was unchanged from control values throughout the immobilization period. Thus it is suggested that a chronic increase in tension consequent on the lengthening procedure is a potent stimulus for fast‐to‐slow myosin transformation.
Assessment of quality of life in the younger child: the use of an animated computer program.

BACKGROUND In the past, quality of life was primarily assessed using objective measurements of the condition of the patient. Today, most quality-of-life measurements include several aspects regarding the patient's opinions and feelings. There has been an extensive development of quality-of-life instruments particularly in adults, including those for people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, only a few instruments, mostly questionnaires, have been developed for the pediatric population. It has been noted, even in young patients with IBD, that there is reduced self-esteem and more anxiety and depression. Altogether, these are important aspects for early measurement of psychosocial functioning and possibly intervention during the treatment of children with IBD. METHODS For the current study, an instrument was developed for young children aged 5 years or more in which a computer-based animated program was used to measure quality of life in children with inflammatory bowel disease. The instrument was designed to be similar for boys and girls with no reference to racial identity. In addition, it was culturally acceptable for all Dutch children. The program was in the form of a story of a bear and a clown playing in an attic of an old house where they come across many objects with which they play and where many adventures occur. All 35 questions were interwoven in this story. RESULTS The animated computer program was well accepted and easily used by 16 children between the ages of 5 and 12 in a small pilot study. In those older than 11 years, another approach is probably necessary, using an age-appropriate animated program. CONCLUSIONS The computer program can easily be used in an outpatient setting and thus ensures that quality-of-life measurement will become a routine part of a medical visit.
Subarachnoid haemorrhage occurrence exhibits a temporal pattern – evidence from meta‐analysis

The aim of the present meta‐analysis was to determine a temporal pattern of occurrence of subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH). A MEDLINE 1966–2001 and EMBASE (1980–2001) literature search and hand search of relevant references were performed for population‐based incidence studies that reported the time of SAH occurrence. Data from all identified relevant studies were combined into a pooled rate ratio (RR), with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) using the Mantel–Haenszel method. Overall, eight population‐based studies were included in the analysis. A total of 2533 first‐ever cases of SAH were reported in the studies identified. Risk of SAH occurrence was the highest in the period between 6 am and 12 am (RR = 3.19; 95% CI 3.03–3.36; early morning as a reference variable) and between 12 p.m. and 6 p.m. (RR = 2.63; 95% CI 2.47–2.80), in winter and spring (RR = 1.10; 95% CI: 1.02–1.17; and RR = 1.07; 95% CI: 1.01–1.13, respectively; summer as a reference variable) and on Sunday (RR = 1.22; 95% CI 1.09–1.37; Monday as a reference variable). The evidence suggests that occurrence of SAH exhibits a seasonal (winter and spring) peak, diurnal (late morning peak) and daily (Sunday peak) pattern. It is suggested that the occurrence of some major acute vascular events (total ischaemic strokes, intracerebral haemorrhage and myocardial infarction) may be influenced by common triggering factors.
Multitechnology (I-UWB and OFDM) Coexistent Communications on the Power Delivery Network

To improve the performance and to support novel command and control applications in the smart-grid context, novel or alternative transmission schemes can be used in combination with existent power-line communication (PLC) solutions that are based on multicarrier or narrowband single carrier modulation schemes. In this respect, it is fundamental to ensure the coexistence between different systems yet respecting electromagnetic-compatibility (EMC) constraints. We consider the deployment of impulsive-ultrawideband (I-UWB) modulation for low-data-rate PLC. First, we study the design of the modulation parameters as a function of the application scenario. We consider the in-home, the outdoor low-voltage, and the outdoor medium-voltage scenario. Furthermore, we discuss EMC aspects and, according to the norms, we derive the limits for the power spectral density of the I-UWB signal. Then, we study the coexistence between existing orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) PLC solutions and I-UWB when they (partly) share the spectrum. We focus on the physical layer and we perform the analysis in terms of maximum achievable rate. The results show that I-UWB is suitable for low-data-rate applications and, further, it can coexist with existing OFDM PLC systems.
Robust adaptive control of strict-feedback nonlinear systems with unmodelled dynamics and time-varying delays

ABSTRACTThis paper presents a novel robust adaptive neural control scheme which can be taken as a robustification of the adaptive backstepping design. The considered class of uncertainties contains unknown non-symmetric dead-zone inputs, time-varying delay uncertainties, unknown dynamic disturbances and unmodelled dynamics. The radial basis function neural networks (RBFNNs) are employed to approximate the unknown nonlinear functions obtained by Young’s inequality. By constructing exponential Lyapunov-Krasovskii functionals, the upper bound functions of the time-varying delay uncertainties are compensated for. Using Young’s inequality and RBFNNs, the assumptions with respect to unmodelled dynamics are relaxed. It is demonstrated that the proposed controller guarantees that all the signals in the closed-loop system are semi-globally uniformly ultimately bounded and the tracking error eventually converges to a neighbourhood of zero.
3 mm Deep microelectrode needle array based on aluminum for neural applications

This paper presents a simple and cost-effective fabrication method of invasive neural microelectrode arrays based on aluminum, which is a viable alternative to other state-of-the-art technologies that rely primarily on silicon. A 10 × 10 array with 3.0 mm deep reaching pillars were fabricated, each having a pyramidal tip profile. Each aluminum pillar is insulated with a biocompatible layer of aluminum oxide. The electrode tip was covered by an iridium oxide thin-film layer via pulsed sputtering, providing a stable and a reversible behavior for recording/stimulation purposes, each with a 145 Ohm impedance in a wide frequency range of interest (10 Hz-100 kHz). Each pillar is electrically individualized from the adjacent ones by an insulating layer of epoxy resin. High-aspect-ratio pillars (20:1) are achieved through a combination of dicing, thin-film deposition, anodizing and wet-etching. The described approach allows an array of deeper penetrating electrodes and a simpler fabrication procedure when compared to previous works.
Stability of antibiotics bound to polytetrafluoroethylene with cationic surfactants

This study evaluated the effect of prolonged storage and sterilization on the noncovalent bonding of penicillin to polytetrafluoroethylene grafts. The surfactant tridodecylmethylammonium chloride was unaffected by prolonged storage or sterilization, and its ability to bind penicillin remained constant for as long as 3 months. Steam or ethylene oxide sterilization markedly diminished the antibacterial activity of bound penicillin. However, the antibacterial properties of penicillin remained constant for up to 12 weeks when the grafts were stored at either 4 degrees C or room temperature. Thus, the bonding process appears to increase the stability of the antibiotic, and the data presented suggest that vascular prostheses can be treated with a surfactant, sterilized, and stored for at least 3 months. Grafts can then be treated with an antibiotic in the operating room, washed, and implanted.
Pedestrian Detection, Tracking and Re-Identification for Search in Visual Surveillance Data

Visual surveillance data might encompass vast data amounts. Given the amount of data the need for search and data exploration arises naturally. Various authorities such as infrastructure operators and law enforcement agencies are confronted with search needs based on a visual description and/or behavioral patterns (motion path, activity) in order to find a ”needle in a haystack of digital data”. In this paper we present a framework which allows for an efficient search in visual surveillance archives. The paper describes following core algorithmic components of the search framework: Human detection employing pedestrian-specific shape and motion cues along with occlusion modelling; Tracking of multiple interacting pedestrians using a hierarchical spatio-temporal association scheme. Finally, pedestrian re-identification is demonstrated based on appearance matching in order to recognize a given person across a network of spatially disjoint cameras. We present results for the detection, tracking and re-identification subtasks on various challenging datasets and describe the overall framework in detail.
Functional Characterization of a Syntaxin Involved in Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) Resistance against Powdery Mildew

Specific syntaxins, such as Arabidopsis AtPEN1 and its barley ortholog ROR2, play a major role in plant defense against powdery mildews. Indeed, the impairment of these genes results in increased fungal penetration in both host and non-host interactions. In this study, a genome-wide survey allowed the identification of 21 tomato syntaxins. Two of them, named SlPEN1a and SlPEN1b, are closely related to AtPEN1. RNAi-based silencing of SlPEN1a in a tomato line carrying a loss-of-function mutation of the susceptibility gene SlMLO1 led to compromised resistance toward the tomato powdery mildew fungus Oidium neolycopersici. Moreover, it resulted in a significant increase in the penetration rate of the non-adapted powdery mildew fungus Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei. Codon-based evolutionary analysis and multiple alignments allowed the detection of amino acid residues that are under purifying selection and are specifically conserved in syntaxins involved in plant-powdery mildew interactions. Our findings provide both insights on the evolution of syntaxins and information about their function which is of interest for future studies on plant–pathogen interactions and tomato breeding.