Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Increased salt sensitivity induced by impairment of sensory nerves: is nephropathy the cause?

Objective A unique model of hypertension developed in our laboratory shows that neonatal degeneration of capsaicin-sensitive sensory nerves renders a rat responsive to salt load with a significant rise in blood pressure. Considering that capsaicin impairs the micturition reflex, increased retention of urine in the bladder of capsaicin-treated rats may lead to nephropathy and therefore to an increase in blood pressure. The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that abnormalities in renal function and blood pressure in this model are independent of urine retention, and are reversible when a high-salt diet is withdrawn. Design and methods Newborn Wistar rats were given either 50 mg/kg capsaicin subcutaneously or vehicle on the first and second days of life. After weaning, one set of male rats was treated for 3 weeks with: capsaicin pretreatment plus high-sodium diet (4%, CAP-HS), capsaicin plus normal-sodium diet (0.5%, CAP-NS), control plus high-sodium diet (CON-HS), and control plus normal sodium diet (CON-NS). The other set of male rats was given the same treatment for 4 weeks except that the two high-salt-treated groups were switched to normal salt (CAP-HS-NS and CON-HS-NS) for the last week. Chronic bladder catheterization was carried out in all rats to maintain free flow of urine. Western blot was used for measurement of the capsaicin (vanilloid) receptor levels in dorsal root ganglia. Radioimmunoassay was used for measurement of plasma renin activity and plasma aldosterone levels. Results Capsaicin (vanilloid) receptor contents in dorsal root ganglia were markedly decreased in all capsaicin-treated groups. Plasma renin activity and plasma aldosterone levels were higher in CAP-HS rats than in CON-HS rats, but were not statistically different between CAP-HS-NS and CON-HS-NS rats. Urine Na+ excretion but not urine volume was decreased and water intake increased in CAP-HS compared with CON-HS, but these parameters were not statistically different between CAP-HS-NS and CON-HS-NS rats. Although systolic blood pressure and mean arterial pressure were higher in CAP-HS and CAP-HS-NS rats than in CON-HS and CON-HS-NS rats, they were higher in CAP-HS than in CAP-HS-NS rats. Conclusion Despite elimination of urine retention, sensory denervation impairs renal function and leads to an increase in blood pressure in response to high salt intake. The abnormalities in renal function and blood pressure in sensory denervated rats are reversible, at least in part, when high salt intake is withdrawn. These data support the hypothesis that sensory innervation counterbalances the pro-hypertensive systems and serves as a modulator to control salt sensitivity and cardiovascular function.
Cross-Layer Design and Optimization of CDMA Networks in Frequency-Selective Fading Channels

The cross-layer optimization technique in a recent paper [1] is extended and analyzed for frequency-selective channels with maximum ratio combining (MRC) coherent RAKE receiver. We assume random arrival time for a new user within a frame, and consider discrete spreading factors as a practical case. We show that the optimum outer-loop SNR-target does not depend on the received number of paths (Lp), and neither is dependent on the Uniformly-distributed arrival time of new users. Furthermore, an increase in Lp reduces the sum-throughput and the achievable gain in sum-throughput through our optimization approach.
A Fuzzy TOPSIS+Worst-Case Model for Personnel Evaluation Using Information Culture Criteria

Personnel evaluation process is aimed at choosing the best alternative to fill the defined vacancy in an organization. It determines the input quality of personnel and thus plays an important role in human resource management. The multi criteria nature and the presence of qualitative factors make it considerably more complex. This paper proposes a hybrid fuzzy MCDM model for personnel evaluation. It combines the fuzzy TOPSIS method with fuzzy worst-case or entropy method for linguistic reasoning under group decision making. Fuzzy worst-case and entropy methods are used to get weights of criteria, while fuzzy TOPSIS is utilized to rank the alternatives. The weights obtained from fuzzy worst-case and entropy methods are included in fuzzy TOPSIS computations and the alternatives are evaluated. The fuzzy MCDM for group decision making enables to aggregate subjective assessments of the decision-makers and thus offer an opportunity to perform more robust personnel evaluation procedures. To evaluate the alternatives the authors have formed an executive group consisting of five decision-makers. For evaluation the group has decided to consider five information culture criteria expressed in linguistic variables. A numerical example demonstrated the possibilities of application of the proposed method.
Comparison of different solar-assisted air conditioning systems for Australian office buildings

This study has investigated the feasibility of three different solar-assisted air conditioning systems for typical medium-sized office buildings in all eight Australian capital cities using the whole building energy simulation software EnergyPlus. The studied solar cooling systems include: solar desiccant-evaporative cooling (SDEC) system, hybrid solar desiccant-compression cooling (SDCC) system, and solar absorption cooling (SAC) system. A referenced conventional vapor compression variable-air-volume (VAV) system has also been investigated for comparison purpose. The technical, environmental, and economic performances of each solar cooling system have been evaluated in terms of solar fraction (SF), system coefficient of performance (COP), annual HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) electricity consumption, annual CO2 emissions reduction, payback period (PBP), and net present value (NPV). The results demonstrate that the SDEC system consumes the least energy in Brisbane and Darwin, achieving 56.9% and 82.1% annual energy savings, respectively, compared to the conventional VAV system, while for the other six cities, the SAC system is the most energy efficient. However, from both energy and economic aspects, the SDEC system is more feasible in Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney because of high annual SF and COP, low yearly energy consumption, short PBP and positive NPV, while for Canberra and Hobart, although the SAC system achieves considerable energy savings, it is not economically beneficial due to high initial cost. Therefore, the SDEC system is the most economically beneficial for most of Australian cities, especially in hot and humid climates. The SAC system is also energy efficient, but is not as economic as the SDEC system. However, for Canberra and Hobart, reducing initial cost is the key point to achieve economic feasibility of solar cooling applications.
Applicability of the rapid estimate of adult health literacy in medicine –short form among patients attending a university hospital in southernIndia

Background and aim: Persons with limited general literacy skills usually also have limited health literacy. Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine (REALM) is a very commonly used health literacy tool in advanced countries. We decided to test the applicability of shorter version of the REALM test consisting of seven test words among patients attending a tertiary care teaching hospital in southern India. It was hypothesized that those familiar with English language may be able read a word correctly without knowing the meaning of the word or the converse may also be true. Both would yield false results. Methodology: REALM-Short Form (REALM-SF) was used among 200 patients attending the outpatient department. Both pronunciation and comprehension was tested and scored. Results: Of the 200 study participants, 53.5% had attended college and 12.5% had post-graduate qualifications. Most of the subjects (75.5%) obtained a REALM score of 7 with regards to pronunciation. When the same scoring system was applied to score comprehension only 2.5% of the subjects obtained a score of 7. While correctness of pronunciation and comprehension increased with increasing educational status, even among subjects with an educational status higher than the 12th grade, number of words correctly comprehended was lower in comparison to pronunciation. Conclusions: The results show that consideration of only pronunciation as a parameter to assess health literacy, as suggested by the developers of the REALM-SF tool, can be misleading since analysis of comprehension shows that mere reading skills is likely to be misleading resulting in a large number of false positive results.
A Search for Dark Matter Annihilation with the Whipple 10 m Telescope

We present observations of the dwarf galaxies Draco and Ursa Minor, the Local Group galaxies M32 and M33, and the globular cluster M15 conducted with the Whipple 10 m gamma-ray telescope to search for the gamma-ray signature of self-annihilating weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), which may constitute astrophysical dark matter (DM). We review the motivations for selecting these sources based on their unique astrophysical environments and report the results of the data analysis that produced upper limits on the excess rate of gamma rays for each source. We consider models for the DM distribution in each source based on the available observational constraints and discuss possible scenarios for the enhancement of the gamma-ray luminosity. Limits on the thermally averaged product of the total self-annihilation cross section and velocity of the WIMP, ⟨συ⟩ , are derived using conservative estimates for the magnitude of the astrophysical contribution to the gamma-ray flux. Although these limits do not constrain predictions from the currently favored theoretical models of supersymmetry (SUSY), future observations with VERITAS will probe a larger region of the WIMP parameter phase space, ⟨συ⟩ , and WIMP particle mass (mχ).
A posture control method for a hopping robot based on a linear dual mode system

A new posture control method for a hopping robot has been proposed in this paper. The motion of the hopping robot can be approximated by a hybrid system composed of two linear systems for the stance phase and the flight phase, and two phase transition maps for touchdown and lift-off events. We have shown that the whole system can be stabilized by properly selected linear feedback laws for those linear systems. The effectiveness of the method has been shown by simulations and experiments.
Outcome and prognostic factors of patients with acute leukemia admitted to the intensive care unit for septic shock

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate outcomes and identify prognostic factors in patients with acute leukemia who were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) with septic shock. Medical records of 50 patients with acute leukemia who were treated for septic shock in the Medical ICU of Samsung Medical Centre between September 2001 and June 2006 were retrospectively reviewed. The data were analysed for patient outcomes and for predictors of ICU mortality. ICU mortality and in-hospital mortality were 60% and 68%, respectively. The need for mechanical ventilation (p < 0.001), the addition of norepinephrine to dopamine (p < 0.001) and a poor Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score (p < 0.001) were associated with ICU mortality in the univariate analysis. In the multivariate analysis using the Cox-model, a relapsed/refractory status for leukemia and poor SOFA score were independent predictors for ICU mortality. In conclusion, although the mortality was high in patients with acute leukemia who were admitted to the ICU for septic shock management, it was not high enough to preclude intensive care. Patients with severe organ failure and a relapse/refractory status for leukemia had a significantly worse prognosis.
On the existence of the Yamabe problem on contact Riemannian manifolds

It was proved in [25] that for a contact Riemannian manifold with non-integrable almost complex structure, the Yamabe problem is subcritical in the sense that its Yamabe invariant is less than that of the Heisenberg group. In this paper we give a complete proof of the solvability of the contact Riemannian Yamabe problem in the subcritical case. These two results implies that the Yamabe problem on a contact Riemannian manifold is always solvable. By constructing normal coordinates on a contact Riemannian manifold, we can osculate the contact Riemannian structure at each point by the standard structure on the Heisenberg group. This osculation makes the machine of singular integral operators work on general contact Riemannian manifolds. We apply it to obtain the regularity of the SubLaplacians and the Yamabe equation, which allow us to solve the contact Riemannian Yamabe problem in the subcritical case by Jerison-Lee’s approach in the CR case. We also clarify two claims in their proof. M.S.C. 2010: 53D10, 53D35, 32V99.
Is FGF23 the long sought after phosphaturic factor phosphatonin?

Genetic defects in familial hypophosphataemias associated with low renal phosphate reabsorption The kidney is the principal organ responsible for phosphate homeostasis. It regulates serum phosphate by modulating phosphate reabsorption. This process takes place in the renal proximal tubule and is regulated by dietary phosphate and PTH. A large amount of evidence designates the sodium-phosphate cotransporter NPT2a activity as the rate limiting and regulated step in phosphate reabsorption w1,2x. Thus, NPT2a has been considered an attractive candidate gene in familial hypophosphataemia associated with low renal phosphate reabsorption. However, no familial hypophosphataemia due to a primary decrease in renal phosphate reabsorption has yet been associated with a defect in the NPT2a gene. X-linked hypophosphataemic rickets (XLH) is associated with mutations in the PHEX gene w3x (Table 1). Mutations in the coding region of the NPT2a gene have been excluded in hereditary hypophosphataemic rickets with hypercalciuria (HHRH) w4,5x (and the gene defect is not yet identified). Mutations in the NPT2a gene have been identified only in unrelated adult patients presenting with hypophosphataemia associated with osteoporosis or renal stone disease (D. Prie ´, unpublished observation). These observations imply that other genes are involved in the regulation of renal phosphate excretion. These genes could encode for as yet unidentified sodium-phosphate cotransporters. Alternatively, products of these genes could directly or indirectly regulate NPT2a activity. Supporting this possibility, experimental and clinical data derived from XLH and one clinically distinct disorder, tumour-induced osteomalacia (TIO), provided evidence for the presence of a novel hormone activity, termed ‘phosphatonin’, that regulates phosphate homeostasis through a PTH-independent mechanism w3,6,7x . I s FGF23—a novel factor independently identified by three groups in the last year w8–10x—the long sought after humoral factor phosphatonin?
Introducing the compression wave cochlear amplifier

The compression wave cochlear amplifier (CW-CA) model is introduced for the first time. This is the first cochlear amplifier model that is soundly based on the physiology of the inner ear and neural centres. The CW-CA, which is assumed to be driven by the basilar travelling wave (TW), includes outer hair cell (OHC) motility and neural signal transmissions between the hair cells and the central nervous system as key elements. The OHC motility sets up a pressure wave in the cochlear fluids, which is modulated by the neural feedback. The CW-CA is represented mathematically as a delay-differential equation (DDE). Even the simplest model based on this concept is capable of explaining a wide range of hearing phenomena, including various types of otoacoustic emissions, distortion products, twotone suppression, amplifier gain and compression, frequency specificity, neural spontaneous rates and many other phenomena including various pathological conditions.
A new version of conjugate gradient method parallel implementation

In the article the authors describe an idea of parallel implementation of a conjugate gradient method in a heterogeneous PC cluster and a supercomputer Hitachi SR-2201. The new version of algorithm implementation differs from the one applied earlier (Jordan and Bycul, 2002), because it uses a special method for storing sparse coefficient matrices: only non-zero elements are stored and taken into account during computations, so that the sparsity of the coefficient matrix is taken full advantage of. The article includes a comparison of the two versions. A speedup of the parallel algorithm has been examined for three different cases of coefficient matrices resulting in solving different physical problems. The authors have also investigated a preconditioning method, which uses the inversed diagonal of the coefficient matrix, as a preconditioning matrix.
Evaluation of Dynamic-Threshold Logic for Low-Power VLSI Design in 0.13um PD-SOI

Dynamic Threshold (DTMOS) circuits have been proposed as a circuit style for low-power VLSI systems that takes advantage of the independent body control in partially-depleted SOI. As SOI technologies have scaled, the increasing body capacitance and body resistance have limited the effectiveness of DTMOS circuits that drive the body at the same speed as the gate. An analysis of DTMOS in 0. 13μm PD-SOI shows that a near-static body control independent of the gate is the lowest power DTMOS configuration, provides reduced delay and energy-delay-product over floating-body circuits, and allows for leakage control during low activity. Simulations show that DTMOS is effective at low power supply voltages when used in gates with large transistors, high fan-in, and/or high wire capacitance. Under these conditions, a delay improvement up to 40% while using 20% less energy than floating-body transistors can be
Dynamic testing of an ADC for real application input

This paper presents a new approach for determination of nonlinearity and Effective Number of Bits (ENOB) of an Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) for application input. Many times the input to ADC in an application is other than standard signals such as sine wave or triangular wave. Parameters of ADC determined using dynamic testing with standard signals are not useful if input signals are different. Different sinusoidal components of application input can be determined by spectrum analyzer. Application input can be generated by downloading data points created by computer in an Arbitrary Waveform Generator (AWG). Differential Nonlinearity (DNL) of an ADC is determined using deviation of actual histogram from reference or ideal histogram. Further estimation of Integral Nonlinearity (INL) is done from summation of DNL. ENOB is determined by estimating ideal rms error and actual rms error. These rms errors are computed by taking difference of sampled ADC input value available in computer and corresponding ADC output. Simulation results for 5 and 8 bit ADCs are reported and experimental results for an actual 8 bit ADC are also reported. Comparison of simulation results by proposed method is done for standard sine wave, triangular wave and application inputs. It is expected that this work will initiate research toward ADC testing using application input.
On the origin of the stereoselective affinity of Nutlin-3 geometrical isomers for the MDM2 protein

The stereoselective affinity of small-molecule binding to proteins is typically broadly explained in terms of the thermodynamics of the final bound complex. Using Brownian dynamics simulations, we show that the preferential binding of the MDM2 protein to the geometrical isomers of Nutlin-3, an effective anticancer lead that works by inhibiting the interaction between the proteins p53 and MDM2, can be explained by kinetic arguments related to the formation of the MDM2:Nutlin-3 encounter complex. This is a diffusively bound state that forms prior to the final bound complex. We find that the MDM2 protein stereoselectivity for the Nutlin-3a enantiomer stems largely from the destabilization of the encounter complex of its mirror image enantiomer Nutlin-3b, by the K70 residue that is located away from the binding site. On the other hand, the trans-Nutlin-3a diastereoisomer exhibits a shorter residence time in the vicinity of MDM2 compared with Nutlin-3a due to destabilization of its encounter complex by the collective interaction of pairs of charged residues on either side of the binding site: Glu25 and Lys51 on one side, and Lys94 and Arg97 on the other side. This destabilization is largely due to the electrostatic potential of the trans-Nutlin-3a isomer being largely positive over extended continuous regions around its structure, which are otherwise well-identified into positive and negative regions in the case of the Nutlin-3a isomer. Such rich insight into the binding processes underlying biological selectivity complements the static view derived from the traditional thermodynamic analysis of the final bound complex. This approach, based on an explicit consideration of the dynamics of molecular association, suggests new avenues for kinetics-based anticancer drug development and discovery.
The Oncoprotein E2A-Pbx1a Collaborates with Hoxa9 To Acutely Transform Primary Bone Marrow Cells

ABSTRACT A recurrent translocation between chromosome 1 (Pbx1) and 19 (E2A) leading to the expression of the E2A-Pbx1 fusion oncoprotein occurs in ∼5 to 10% of acute leukemias in humans. It has been proposed that some of the oncogenic potential of E2A-Pbx1 could be mediated through heterocomplex formation with Hox proteins, which are also involved in human and mouse leukemias. To directly test this possibility, mouse bone marrow cells were engineered by retroviral gene transfer to overexpress E2A-Pbx1a together withHoxa9. The results obtained demonstrated a strong synergistic interaction between E2A-Pbx1a andHoxa9 in inducing growth factor-independent proliferation of transduced bone marrow cells in vitro and leukemic growth in vivo in only 39 ± 2 days. The leukemic blasts which coexpressE2A-Pbx1a and Hoxa9 showed little differentiation and produced cytokines such as interleukin-3, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, and Steel. Together, these studies demonstrate that the Hoxa9 and E2A-Pbx1a gene products collaborate to produce a highly aggressive acute leukemic disease.
0 Subset Basis Approximation of Kernel Principal Component Analysis

Principal component analysis (PCA) has been extended to various ways because of its simple definition. Especially, non-linear generalizations of PCA have been proposed and used in various areas. Non-linear generalizations of PCA, such as principal curves (Hastie & Stuetzle, 1989) and manifolds (Gorban et al., 2008), have intuitive explanations and formulations comparing to the other non-linear dimensional techniques such as ISOMAP (Tenenbaum et al., 2000) and Locally-linear embedding (LLE) (Roweis & Saul, 2000).
Optimal power exchange of Multi-Microgrids with hierarchical coordination

A Microgrid (MG) has a major role in power system. Because of its numerous benefits, such as its ability to reduce environmental impact and enhance the reliability of a power system. Hence, Multi-MG (MMG) consisted of multiple MGs is being studied intensively. This paper proposes the optimal power exchange of MMG with hierarchical coordination. The whole system architecture consists of two layers: 1) upper layer including MG of MG Center (MoMC) which is in charge of the overall management and coordination and 2) lower layer comprised of several Microgrid-Energy Management Systems (MG-EMSs) which make a decision for own schedule. In order to accomplish the optimal power exchange, the proposed coordination algorithm is applied to MMG system. The objective of this process is to achieve optimal operation for improving economics under the grid-connected operation. The simulation results show that how the output of each MG can be changed through coordination algorithm.