Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Proximal pulmonary arterial wall disease in patients with persistent pulmonary hypertension after successful left-sided valve replacement according to the hemodynamic phenotype

Regression of pulmonary hypertension (PH) is often incomplete after successful left-sided valve replacement (LSVR). Proximal pulmonary arterial (PPA) wall disease can be involved in patients with persistent-PH after LSVR, affecting the right ventricular to pulmonary arterial (RV-PA) coupling. Fifteen patients underwent successful LSVR at least one year ago presenting PH by echo (> 50 mmHg). Prosthesis-patient mismatch and left ventricular dysfunction were discarded. All patients underwent hemodynamic and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) study. We estimated PPA stiffness (elastic modulus [EM]) and the relative area wall thickness (AWT). Acute vasoreactivity was assessed by inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) testing. RV-PA coupling was estimated by the tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion to systolic pulmonary arterial pressure ratio. Patients were classified as isolated post-capillary PH (Ipc-PH; pulmonary vascular resistance [PVR] ≤ 3 WU and/or diastolic pulmonary gradient [DPG] < 7 mmHg) and combined post- and pre-capillary PH (Cpc-PH; PVR > 3 WU and DPG ≥ 7 mmHg). Both Ipc-PH and Cpc-PH showed a significant increase of EM and AWT. Despite normal PVR and DPG, Ipc-PH had a significant decrease in pulmonary arterial capacitance and RV-PA coupling impairment. Cpc-PH had worse PA stiffness and RV-PA coupling to Ipc-PH (P < 0.05). iNO decreased RV afterload, improving the cardiac index and stroke volume only in Cpc-PH (P < 0.05). Patients with persistent PH after successful LSVR have PPA wall disease and RV-PA coupling impairment beyond the hemodynamic phenotype. Cpc-PH is responsive to iNO, having the worse PA stiffness and RV-PA coupling. The PPA remodeling could be an early event in the natural history of PH associated with left heart disease.
Fine-Scale Resolution of Runs of Homozygosity Reveal Patterns of Inbreeding and Substantial Overlap with Recessive Disease Genotypes in Domestic Dogs

Inbreeding leaves distinct genomic traces, most notably long genomic tracts that are identical by descent and completely homozygous. These runs of homozygosity (ROH) can contribute to inbreeding depression if they contain deleterious variants that are fully or partially recessive. Several lines of evidence have been used to show that long (> 5 megabase) ROH are disproportionately likely to harbor deleterious variation, but the extent to which long vs. short tracts contribute to autozygosity at loci known to be deleterious and recessive has not been studied. In domestic dogs, nearly 200 mutations are known to cause recessive diseases, most of which can be efficiently assayed using SNP arrays. By examining genome-wide data from over 200,000 markers, including 150 recessive disease variants, we built high-resolution ROH density maps for nearly 2,500 dogs, recording ROH down to 500 kilobases. We observed over 678 homozygous deleterious recessive genotypes in the panel across 29 loci, 90% of which overlapped with ROH inferred by GERMLINE. Although most of these genotypes were contained in ROH over 5 Mb in length, 14% were contained in short (0.5 - 2.5 megabase) tracts, a significant enrichment compared to the genetic background, suggesting that even short tracts are useful for computing inbreeding metrics like the coefficient of inbreeding estimated from ROH (FROH). In our dataset, FROH differed significantly both within and among dog breeds. All breeds harbored some regions of reduced genetic diversity due to drift or selective sweeps, but the degree of inbreeding and the proportion of inbreeding caused by short vs. long tracts differed between breeds, reflecting their different population histories. Although only available for a few species, large genome-wide datasets including recessive disease variants hold particular promise not only for disentangling the genetic architecture of inbreeding depression, but also evaluating and improving upon current approaches for detecting ROH.
Bandwidth-Enhanced Cavity-Backed Magneto-Electric Dipole Antenna

A cavity-backed directional magneto-electric dipole antenna with enhanced impedance and gain bandwidths is presented, which is excited by a coaxial balun. The proposed antenna contains a rectangular parasitic element, a modified metal cavity, as well as a bowtie dipole with bending structures. The enhanced impedance and gain bandwidths are achieved by using the rectangular parasitic element and modified cavity. Two pairs of vertical metal plates with different heights and a horizontal metal plate are applied in the modified cavity. In the low-working frequency band, the combination of the bowtie dipole, the horizontal metal plate, and a pair of vertical metal plates with lower height acts as a magnetic dipole, as well as the rectangular parasitic element located above the bowtie dipole functions as a director. A new magnetic dipole is excited by combining the rectangular parasitic element and the bending structures in the high-working frequency band. The experimental results show that the antenna has an impedance bandwidth of 1.38–3.55 GHz (88%) for $S_{11} \le -15$ dB. In addition, low cross-polarization, high front-to-back ratio, stable radiation patterns, and a boresight gain of 9.05 ± 1.01 dBi are obtained in the whole operating band.
Line-of-Sight Massive MIMO Channel Characteristics in an Indoor Scenario at 94 GHz

The fading and correlation characteristics of virtual, yet realistic, line-of-sight (LOS) <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$4\times 2500$ </tex-math></inline-formula> millimetric (mmW) massive MIMO channels are investigated at 94 GHz in an indoor office environment for three different Tx–Rx distance scenarios. The capability of the mmW massive MIMO channel to spatially decorrelate the users is evaluated with the computation of the channel correlation and other channel metrics, such as power-to-interference ratio and condition number. In particular, the correlation between channel vectors for a given user and its influence on receiving correlation is discussed. The results clearly demonstrate the capability of mmW massive MIMO systems to reach orthogonal Tx–Rx streams even for a small <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$7\times 7$ </tex-math></inline-formula> antenna array subset with correlation between users <0.2. Moreover, strong phase variations at Tx side at this frequency range are highlighted through channel phase correlation studies and were shown to contribute to the decorrelation at Rx side between close users, paving the way for further massive MIMO system enhancements.
Bone Quality and Quantity Alterations After Socket Augmentation with rhPDGF-BB or BMPs: A Systematic Review.

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to systematically analyze the effect of growth factors, particularly recombinant human platelet-derived growth factor-BB (rhPDGF-BB) and bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), on volumetric and histomorphometric changes after socket augmentation in comparison with the natural healing sockets. MATERIALS AND METHODS An electronic search of four databases (1965 to February 2017) and a hand search of peer-reviewed journals for relevant articles were performed. Human clinical trials that reported quantitative and qualitative outcomes of soft and hard tissues in socket augmented sites with the use of rhPDGF-BB or BMPs, with a minimum five samples per group, were included. RESULTS Eight studies, including six randomized controlled trials and two case series, were selected. Five of them used BMPs, and three used rhPDGF-BB. Regarding linear bone width change, the weighted mean difference (WMD) between the sites with and without the use of BMPs was 1.66 mm (95% confidence interval = 0.29 to 3.02 mm, P = .02), favoring the BMP group. In terms of histomorphometric outcome, the WMD of the percentage of vital bone between the sites with the use of rhPDGF-BB and with grafting materials alone was 2.16% (95% confidence interval = -4.61% to 8.93%, P = .53). CONCLUSION This systematic review revealed that the use of BMPs in socket augmentation yields better ridge width in comparison with a natural healing socket. However, more studies are needed to warrant the effectiveness when using rhPDGF-BB in socket augmentation procedures.
Reliability in Systems Based on Some Probability Models

Systems in general consist of components which are usually electrical or mechanical. To determine the true reliability of the system, we have applied the continuous probability model to the system which determine the reliability of the system with time. In the present paper we consider a system in which components are connected in a mixture of series and parallel. The probabilistic behavior of each components is based on Exponential and Lindley probability models as these models are decaying functions and are suitable for electronic and electrical systems. Also, each component has different values of parameter. The joint probability of the system is used to evaluate the properties and reliability of the system. The graph of reliability curves show the decrease in reliability with time [6]. When reliability has decreased to a very low level, at this time it is suggested that the operation must be stopped, and components be either replaced or serviced so the system may start again with high value of reliability.
Alcohol and tobacco use in men: the role of alexithymia and externally oriented thinking style

ABSTRACT Background: A high prevalence of alexithymia has been consistently reported in alcohol- and drug-dependent populations. However, less is known about the role of alexithymia, and its individual dimensions on substance use in healthier populations. Objectives: To examine how different alexithymia dimensions associate with substance use, while controlling for confounding factors. Methods: In the FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, we analyzed a sample of 994 men. We assessed alexithymia levels (difficulty identifying feelings, difficulty describing feelings and externally oriented thinking (EOT) style), self-reported quantity and frequency of alcohol use in two different time points during and after their partners’ pregnancy, as well as cigarette smoking status. Age, education level, and anxiety scores were used as control variables. Results: Men scoring high on EOT style drank more alcohol per occasion, compared to low scorers (Cohen’s d = 0.43, p < 0.001 during pregnancy, and Cohen’s d = 0.3, p = 0.012 after pregnancy). Individuals in the high EOT quartile were also more likely to be daily smokers (8.7% vs. 17.3%, p = 0.023), and engage in binge drinking (23.7% vs. 43.6%, p = 0.001). Conclusions: The association of alexithymia and substance use may be specifically explained by EOT, a trait characterized by low levels of introspection and pragmatic thinking. It is important for future studies to distinguish between individual alexithymia dimensions and their specific roles in shaping mental health.
Clinical Decision Support System for Alcoholism Detection Using the Analysis of EEG Signals

Alcoholism is an adverse situation that changes the functioning of important part of nervous system which is neuron. This changes the functional behavior of alcoholic person. The diagnosis of this state is done with the help of EEG signals which gets modified with the electrical activity of the brain. The EEG data sets used in this paper are taken from the University of California at Irvine, Irvine, knowledge discovery and databases. A review on how the EEG signals get affected by the consumption of alcohol and the extraction of features from these signals help to differentiate alcoholic and uninfluenced people with the help of graphical user interface (GUI) is presented in this paper. GUI is an interface that showcases the features extracted from the raw EEG data and classifies the two different classes. This is achieved with the help of sample entropy, approximate entropy, mean, and standard deviation of raw EEG data collected from the electrodes frontal polar, frontal, and central. This GUI system is economical and efficient which is used as a proper clinical decision support system by clinicians and also helps rehabilitation centres in getting to know about the subject. Quadratic SVM gives a highest accuracy of 95% for the detection of alcoholic EEG signal.
Off-Path Attacks Against PKI

The security of Internet-based applications fundamentally relies on the trustworthiness of Certificate Authorities (CAs). We practically demonstrate for the first time that even a very weak attacker, namely, an off-path attacker, can effectively subvert the trustworthiness of popular commercially used CAs. We demonstrate an attack against one popular CA which uses Domain Validation (DV) for authenticating domain ownership. The attack exploits DNS Cache Poisoning and tricks the CA into issuing fraudulent certificates for domains the attacker does not legitimately own -- namely certificates binding the attacker's public key to a victim domain.
Electric Vehicle Valet

We propose a novel way to use Electric Vehicles (EVs) as dynamic mobile energy storage with the goal to support grid balancing during peak load times. EVs seeking parking in a busy/expensive inner city area, can get free parking with a valet company in exchange for being utilized for grid support. The valet company would have an agreement with the local utility company to receive varying rewards for discharging EVs at designated times and locations of need (say, where power lines are congested). Given vehicle availabilities, the valet company would compute an optimal schedule of which vehicle to utilize where and when so as to maximize rewards collected. Our contributions are a detailed description of this new concept along with supporting theory to bring it to fruition. On the theory side, we provide new hardness results, as well as efficient algorithms with provable performance guarantees that we also test empirically.
Device-Free Occupant Activity Sensing Using WiFi-Enabled IoT Devices for Smart Homes

Intelligent occupancy sensing is becoming a vital underpinning for various emerging applications in smart homes, such as security surveillance and human behavior analysis. However, prevailing approaches mainly rely on video camera, ambient sensors, or wearable devices, which either requires arduous deployment or arouses privacy concerns. In this paper, we present a novel real-time, device-free, and privacy-preserving WiFi-enabled Internet of Things platform for occupancy sensing, which can promote a myriad of emerging applications. It is designed to achieve an optimal tradeoff between performance and scalability. Our system empowers commercial off-the-shelf WiFi routers to collect channel state information (CSI) measurements and provides an efficient cloud server for computing via a lightweight communication protocol. To demonstrate the usefulness of our platform, an occupancy detection system is developed by exploiting the CSI curve of human presence. Furthermore, we also design an innovative activity recognition system based on our platform and machine learning techniques with high availability and extensibility. In the evaluation, the experimental results show that our platform enables these applications efficiently, with the accuracy of 96.8% and 90.6% in terms of occupancy detection and recognition, respectively.
Electroacupuncture Restores Locomotor Functions After Mouse Spinal Cord Injury in Correlation With Reduction of PTEN and p53 Expression

Background: We previously showed that electroacupuncture (EA) at Jiaji points promotes expression of adhesion molecule L1 in spinal cord tissue after mouse spinal cord injury (SCI) and contributes to recovery of neural functions. Objective: We investigated the effects of EA on downstream signaling molecules of L1 and molecules relevant to apoptosis with the aim to understand the underlying molecular mechanisms. Methods: Female C57BL/6 mice were divided into a sham group, injury group, injury+acupuncture (AP) group and injury+EA group. We investigated the changes in cognate L1-triggered signaling molecules after SCI by immunofluorescence staining and immunoblot analysis. Results: Protein levels of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) and p53 were decreased by EA at different time points after injury, whereas the levels of phosphorylated mammalian target of rapamycin (pmTOR), p-Akt and phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulatedkinase (p-Erk) were increased. Also, levels of myelin basic protein (MBP) were increased by EA. AP alone showed less pronounced changes in expression of the investigated molecules, when compared to EA. Conclusion: We propose that EA contributes to neuroprotection by inhibiting PTEN and p53 expression and by increasing the levels of pmTOR/Akt/Erk and of MBP after SCI. These observations allow novel insights into the beneficial effects of EA via L1-triggered signaling molecules after injury.
Role for intraflagellar transport in building a functional transition zone

Genetic disorders caused by cilia dysfunction, termed ciliopathies, frequently involve the intraflagellar transport (IFT) system. Mutations in IFT subunits—including IFT‐dynein motor DYNC2H1—impair ciliary structures and Hedgehog signalling, typically leading to “skeletal” ciliopathies such as Jeune asphyxiating thoracic dystrophy. Intriguingly, IFT gene mutations also cause eye, kidney and brain ciliopathies often linked to defects in the transition zone (TZ), a ciliary gate implicated in Hedgehog signalling. Here, we identify a C. elegans temperature‐sensitive (ts) IFT‐dynein mutant (che‐3; human DYNC2H1) and use it to show a role for retrograde IFT in anterograde transport and ciliary maintenance. Unexpectedly, correct TZ assembly and gating function for periciliary proteins also require IFT‐dynein. Using the reversibility of the novel ts‐IFT‐dynein, we show that restoring IFT in adults (post‐developmentally) reverses defects in ciliary structure, TZ protein localisation and ciliary gating. Notably, this ability to reverse TZ defects declines as animals age. Together, our findings reveal a previously unknown role for IFT in TZ assembly in metazoans, providing new insights into the pathomechanism and potential phenotypic overlap between IFT‐ and TZ‐associated ciliopathies.
Recurrent Spiking Neural Network Learning Based on a Competitive Maximization of Neuronal Activity

Spiking neural networks (SNNs) are believed to be highly computationally and energy efficient for specific neurochip hardware real-time solutions. However, there is a lack of learning algorithms for complex SNNs with recurrent connections, comparable in efficiency with back-propagation techniques and capable of unsupervised training. Here we suppose that each neuron in a biological neural network tends to maximize its activity in competition with other neurons, and put this principle at the basis of a new SNN learning algorithm. In such a way, a spiking network with the learned feed-forward, reciprocal and intralayer inhibitory connections, is introduced to the MNIST database digit recognition. It has been demonstrated that this SNN can be trained without a teacher, after a short supervised initialization of weights by the same algorithm. Also, it has been shown that neurons are grouped into families of hierarchical structures, corresponding to different digit classes and their associations. This property is expected to be useful to reduce the number of layers in deep neural networks and modeling the formation of various functional structures in a biological nervous system. Comparison of the learning properties of the suggested algorithm, with those of the Sparse Distributed Representation approach shows similarity in coding but also some advantages of the former. The basic principle of the proposed algorithm is believed to be practically applicable to the construction of much more complicated and diverse task solving SNNs. We refer to this new approach as “Family-Engaged Execution and Learning of Induced Neuron Groups”, or FEELING.
Immortalized murine fibroblast cell lines are refractory to reprogramming to pluripotent state

To date different cell types of various mammalian species have been reprogrammed to induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) using Yamanaka's cocktail of transcription factors (Oct4, Klf4, Sox2, and cMyc). It has been shown that several primary human cancer cell lines could be reprogrammed to iPSCs. We sought if immortalized mouse fibroblast cell lines could also be reprogrammed to iPSCs. The approach of generating iPSCs from such cells should be valuable in different experimental settings as it allows clonally derive cell lines carrying mutations whose impact on reprogramming could be next evaluated. Therefore, we investigated reprogramming of widely used immortalized cell lines (NIH3T and STO), as well as of de novo immortalized fibroblast line (tKM) with the use of highly effective lentiviral polycistronic OKSM expression system. Our reprogramming experiments have shown that in contrast to mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs), none of the immortalized cell lines can be reprogrammed to pluripotent state. Contrary to colonies derived from MEFs, those derived from the immortalized cells lines (1) developed much later, (2) contained large round cells, not typical for iPSCs, and (3) were negative for trusted markers of matured iPSCs, Nanog and SSEA1. Immortalized cell lines NIH3T and STO are known to be mostly aneuploid, whereas tKM population includes cells with normal karyotype, however, neither cell type can be reprogrammed. Thus our data argue that aneuploidy per se is not a reason for the observed refractoriness of mouse immortalized cells to reprogramming to pluripotent state.
Evaluation of a Visual–Tactile Multimodal Display for Surface Obstacle Avoidance During Walking

The future of human space exploration will involve extra-vehicular activities (EVAs) on foreign planetary surfaces (i.e., Mars), an activity that will have significantly different characteristics than exploration scenarios on Earth. These activities become challenging due to restricted vision and limitations placed on sensory feedback from altered gravity and the space suit. The use of a bulky, pressurized EVA suit perceptually disconnects human explorers from the hostile environment, increasing navigation workload and the risk of collision associated with traversing through unfamiliar terrain. Multimodal displays are considered as a means to provide information to the astronaut as cues to multiple sensory modalities enhance cognitive processing through taking advantage of multiple sensory resources, and are believed to communicate the risk more efficiently than unimodal cues. This paper presents a wearable multimodal interface system to examine human performance when visual, vibratory, and visual–vibratory cues are provided to aid in ground obstacle avoidance. The wearable system applies vibrotactile cues to the feet and visual cues through augmented reality glasses to convey obstacle location and proximity. Participants (n = 16) performed an overground obstacle avoidance task with the multimodal device. Performance metrics included completion time, subjective workload, head-down time, collisions, as well as gait parameters. Results indicate that information displays enhance task performance, with the visual-only display promoting the least head-down time over tactile-only or visual–tactile displays. Head-down time was the highest for trials without a display. Results provide implications for presenting information during physically active tasks such as suited obstacle avoidance.