Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Carotid Angioplasty with Autologous Facial Vein

Introduction: Carotid endarterectomy (CEA) is the „gold standard” for the treatment of carotid stenosises. In this study we evaluate the results after using an alternative patch material for arteriotomy closure. Material and methods: This study is a retrospective, observational study, in which we have compared 2 groups of 8 patients operated on in our clinic between 2008–2012, the first group of 8 patients with CEA and facial vein patch, the second group of 8 consecutive patients with CEA and PTFE patch. Results: In the A group there were 6 males, in the B group 5 males. Group A had a median age of 60 years, group B had a median age of 60.5 years. All patients were operated for severe carotid stenosis. We evaluated the time of surgery, which varied for group A between 70 and 85 minutes, with a median of 77 minute, for group B between 75 and 100 minutes, with a median of 88 minutes. We observed a significant difference between the 2 groups regarding the time of surgery, in favour of group A (p=0.010). Conclusions: The advantages of a autologous venous material are represented by endothelised patch, reduction of desendothelised area, higher resitance to infections. The use of facial vein for endarterectomy patch needs the same incision, elevating the cost-efficency of the procedure, and significantly reduces the operating time compared with PTFE due to a faster achievment of haemosthasis.
Cloninger’s TCI associations with adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies

Background Cognitive emotion regulation plays a crucial role in psychopathology, resilience and well-being by regulating response to stress situations. However, the relationship between personality and adaptive and maladaptive regulation has not been sufficiently examined. Methods Adaptive and maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies of 247 university students were measured using the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ) and their temperament and character characteristics were analyzed with the Temperament and Character Inventory—Revised Short (TCI-RS). Two-step hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to analyze whether TCI-RS explains the use of adaptive and maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies. The latent classes of cognitive emotion regulation strategies were extracted with Latent Class Analysis (LCA) and significant differences in the subscales of CERQ and TCI-RS were examined with Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) and Profile Analysis after controlling for sex and age. Results The two-step hierarchical multiple regression model using the seven TCI-RS subscales explained 32.30% of the adaptive and 41.70% of the maladaptive CERQ subscale scores when sex and age were introduced in the first step as covariates. As for temperament, Novelty Seeking (NS) and Persistence (PS) were pivotal for adaptive and Harm Avoidance (HA) and PS for maladaptive CERQ total scores. In addition, the character traits Self-Directedness (SD) and Cooperativeness (CO) were critical for high adaptive and low maladaptive CERQ scores. Four latent emotion regulation classes were confirmed through LCA, and distinct TCI-RS profiles were found. The temperament trait HA and character trait SD were significantly different among the four latent emotion regulation classes. Discussion This study demonstrated that SD and CO are related to cognitive emotion regulation strategies along with psychological health and well-being, and that PS exhibits dualistic effects when combined with NS or HA on response to stressful situations. The importance of developing mature character represented by higher SD and CO in regard to mental health and its clinical implementation was discussed.
EVALUATION OF THE ANTISENSE ACTIVITY OF OLIGONUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCES ON ESCHERICHIA COLI

Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is a growing and continuous problem. There is a high need to develop new classes of antibacterial agents to which bacteria have not evolved mechanisms of resistance. This study is based on the antisense strategy of nucleic acid mimics in Escherichia coli (E. coli). The antisense effect is obtained by base-pairing of a nucleic acid mimic oligonucleotide to complementary RNA or DNA sequences in the targeted bacteria, thereby inhibiting the expression of the target gene. Two different oligonucleotides were tested, one targeted to the AcpP gene and on targeted to the LacZ gene. The AcpP gene is an essential gene. Inhibiting the expression of this gene is supposed to inhibit the growth of the E. Coli. The LacZ gene is a reporter gene and will be used as a complement that allows a better understanding of the efficiency and the specificity of the antisense technique and as a confirmation of the working of the oligonucleotide. The AcpP oligonucleotide was evaluated in an inhibition assay, the LacZ oligonucleotide was evaluated in an enzyme activity assay. The main purpose of the study is to evaluate the inhibition capacity of the oligonucleotide at a hybridization temperature of 37 °C. If there is inhibition, it may be a good start for further investigations regarding application in vivo. The delivery of the oligonucleotide in the bacterial cells seemed to be the main problem. Permeabilization of the bacterial cell wall with 5 mM lactic acid and 2 mg/mL lysozyme resulted in the best permeabilization strategy. Applying this strategy in the inhibition assay showed a significant inhibition activity when a concentration of 1600 nM and 3200 nM AcpP oligonucleotide was used. However, the inhibition potency of the oligonucleotide has to be improved. Optimizing the permeabilization strategy or the use of other delivery strategies can improve the inhibition potency. A conclusion of the antisense activity of the LacZ oligonucleotide can not be defined as the results of the enzyme activity assay were too variable. Optimization of the protocol is needed.
Study of supercooled water droplet chain evolving in a cold environment: Experimental and modelling study

Knowledge of the temperature of supercooled water droplet is essential for aircraft certification. In the present paper, characterisation of supercooled droplets is made by Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF). LIF technique allows a discrimination of the state of the droplet and a measurement of the droplets temperature. The technique is here used to characterise droplets falling in a cold environment. An experimental setup designed for supercooled droplet generation is built allowing a control of the ambient temperature for minimum temperature of. The study is performed on a line of equally-spaced droplets. This configuration allows changing several parameters as the droplet diameter the inter-droplet distance and the droplet injection temperature. Heat transfers in a droplet line are well known in the literature and their effect on Sherwood and Nusselt are still an opened issue. In this study, Nusselt and Sherwood numbers are estimated from experimental results and compared with correlation of isolated droplets. The comparison allows a quantification of the droplet interaction effect on heat and mass transfers. It is then shown that the inter-droplet distance parameter has a strong influence on the evolution of the correction of both Nusselt and Sherwood numbers.
Microglia exacerbate white matter injury via complement C3/C3aR pathway after hypoperfusion

Microglial activation participates in white matter injury after cerebral hypoperfusion. However, the underlying mechanism is unclear. Here, we explore whether activated microglia aggravate white matter injury via complement C3-C3aR pathway after chronic cerebral hypoperfusion. Methods: Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 80) underwent bilateral common carotid artery occlusion for 7, 14, and 28 days. Cerebral vessel density and blood flow were examined by synchrotron radiation angiography and three-dimensional arterial spin labeling. Neurobehavioral assessments, CLARITY imaging, and immunohistochemistry were performed to evaluate activation of microglia and C3-C3aR pathway. Furthermore, C3aR knockout mice were used to establish the causal relationship of C3-C3aR signaling on microglia activation and white matter injury after hypoperfusion. Results: Cerebral vessel density and blood flow were reduced after hypoperfusion (p<0.05). Spatial learning and memory deficits and white matter injury were shown (p<0.05). These impairments were correlated with aberrant microglia activation and an increase in the number of reactive microglia adhering to and phagocytosed myelin in the hypoperfusion group (p<0.05), which were accompanied by the up-regulation of complement C3 and its receptors C3aR (p<0.05). Genetic deletion of C3ar1 significantly inhibited aberrant microglial activation and reversed white matter injury after hypoperfusion (p<0.05). Furthermore, the C3aR antagonist SB290157 decreased the number of microglia adhering to myelin (p<0.05), attenuated white matter injury and cognitive deficits in chronic hypoperfusion rats (p<0.05). Conclusions: Our results demonstrated that aberrant activated microglia aggravate white matter injury via C3-C3aR pathway during chronic hypoperfusion. These findings indicate C3aR plays a critical role in mediating neuroinflammation and white matter injury through aberrant microglia activation, which provides a novel therapeutic target for the small vessel disease and vascular dementia.
Identificatie van achterstandsgebieden; een systematiek voor de verdeling van extra middelen aan huisartsen

OBJECTIVE: To develop a method for the identification of underprivileged areas in the Netherlands for resource allocation to general practitioners. DESIGN: Literature review and analysis of national data. SETTING: All postal codes in the Netherlands. METHOD: Definition of requirements of the method, selection of required data and calculation of deprivation scores. RESULTS: The method developed includes an index, based on income and number of people receiving income from benefit schemes, calculated for very strongly urbanized areas. Overall 87 four-digit postal codes were identified as underprivileged areas in which 875,000 people live. About one in three inhabitants of the four largest cities is living in such area. CONCLUSION: For the first time in the history of Dutch health care a national method for the identification of underprivileged areas was developed. This method was adopted as a basis for making enhanced payments to general practitioners for patients living in these areas. Taking into account the availability of relevant data, the method developed is the most feasible at this stage, but it is not yet perfect. This is especially true for medium sized cities. Therefore, further validation and refinement of the method are needed.
Enhancing Professional Practice: A Framework for Teaching

In 1987, Educational Testing Service (ETS) began a large-scale project to provide a framework for state and local agencies to use for making teacher licensing decisions. The resulting program is called The PRAXIS Series: Professional Assessments for Beginning Teachers®. Many states use PRAXIS I: Computer-Based Academic Skills Assessment and PRAXIS II: Subject Assessments to grant an initial teaching license. PRAXIS III: Classroom Performance Assessments is for use in assessing actual teaching skills and classroom performance.
Reducing the influence of environmental scattering in industrial computed tomography by system modifications and correction algorithms

High energetic X-ray photons are scattered in both the object and the system’s components and cause artefacts in industrial computed tomography (CT). In this contribution, we investigate the influence of individual CT components on environmental scattering by experimentally verified Monte Carlo simulations. An assessment of different configurations indicates a potential reduction in environmental scattering by 81 ± 4 % due to system modifications. The contribution of environmental scattering to the transmission signal displays only a weak spatial variation. Thus, an analytical correction method is suggested, which is applied on the transmission images prior to reconstruction. This procedure requires a single input parameter and is applied on measurements of an industrial CT system operating a source with 450 kV maximum acceleration voltage. The suggested procedure increases the contrast of the central hole in an aluminium step cylinder with a diameter larger than 160 mm by more than a factor of 2.4 compared to non-corrected data.
2 A Formal Model for Mobile Map Adaptation

Computing has become increasingly mobile and pervasive, which implies that services must be aware of and adapt to changing contexts in highly dynamic environments. Services that require a lot of user interaction have less potential of being used, because they tend to be obstructive. Thus, context-awareness and adaptation are important research issues in the area of mobile computing. A major goal is to minimize user interaction through service adaptation, and to provide context-sensitive and personalized information to the user. Adaptations for mobile map applications must consider a wide range of factors – from technical requirements to cognitive abilities and goals of the user. However, specifying contextual facts in an accurate and traceable manner is challenging. Initial approaches have focused on information visualization for mobile map applications through context information. These typically focus on simplifying and generalizing route segments rather than adapting to personal information. In this paper we propose a formal conceptual model for automatic mobile map adaptation that can be employed for different applications, such as pedestrian navigation. This model is composed of three components – a context model, a user model, and a task model. Through specifi ed adaptation operations it aims at a reduction of both the user interaction with the service and the cognitive load for the user. mobile computing, location-based services, mobile maps,
Automated Short Answer Grading: A Simple Solution for a Difficult Task

English. The task of short answer grading is aimed at assessing the outcome of an exam by automatically analysing students’ answers in natural language and deciding whether they should pass or fail the exam. In this paper, we tackle this task training an SVM classifier on real data taken from a University statistics exam, showing that simple concatenated sentence embeddings used as features yield results around 0.90 F1, and that adding more complex distance-based features lead only to a slight improvement. We also release the dataset, that to our knowledge is the first freely available dataset of this kind in Italian.1
Enabling ontology validation using validation-oriented verbalizations

One of the methods for validation of ontologies uses natural language to generate textual description of the axioms in the ontology for domain experts to validate. The main reason for using natural language is that domain experts are not always familiar with the underlying knowledge formalism of the ontology. Therefore, the domain expert is presented with verbalizations of the original ontology axiom ‘as they are’. This work proposes the use of dedicated validation-oriented verbalization of ontology axioms. By using these verbalizations in combination with exact descriptions, the validation process becomes more varied which should help domain experts to retain attention. Furthermore, the specific validation-oriented verbalizations should avoid confirmation bias and should stimulate thinking on behalf of the expert. We propose an architecture for automatically generating the dedicated validationoriented verbalizations from any OWL 2 ontology. The architecture allows for interoperability with third-party applications and generic use, such as different ontology verbalization tasks. This architecture generates natural language by means of a grammar formalism called Grammatical Framework (GF).
Long-term experience with a tonal language shapes the perception of intonation in English words: How Chinese–English bilinguals

Long-term experience with a tonal language shapes the perception of intonation in English words: How Chinese–English bilinguals perceive “Rose? ” vs. “Rose”∗ M A RTA O RT E G A L L E BA R I A Department of Linguistics, University of Pittsburgh, Learning Research & Development Center, University of Pittsburgh M A R I T Z A N E M O G Á Department of Linguistics, University of Pittsburgh N O R A P R E S S O N Learning Research & Development Center, University of Pittsburgh
Development of the Soft Canned Taro (Colocasia esculenta)

Canned taro (Colocasia esculenta) products on the market are tinplate cans with large capacity, which are difficult to carry. In order to develop a convenient and edible soft canned product of taro, the optimum formula of soft canned taro was studied by single factor and orthogonal test with sensory score and soluble solids content as indicators in this experiment. The same formulation technology was used to make soft canned taro and glass canned taro, and the two cans were compared with commercially available canned tinplate taro products. The results showed that the formulation technology of soft canned taro was as follows: with the addition of 0.6% honey, the solid -liquid ratio was 2.00:1, the sugar addition was 24% and the salt addition was 0.15%. The sensory evaluation of three kinds of canned taro was carried out by the method of fuzzy comprehensive evaluation. According to the comprehensive sensory evaluation, physical and chemical indexes and microbial indexes, the soft canned taro had the best sensory evaluation. Most of the other physical and chemical indexes were better than glass canned and tinplate canned, and reaches the commercial sterilization standard. The research on the processing conditions of soft canned taro provides a theoretical basis for the development of related products of taro.
How green is your garden?: Urban form and socio-demographic factors influence yard vegetation, visitation, and ecosystem service benefits

Private yards provide city residents with access to ecosystem services that can be realized through passive (vegetation availability) and active (time spent in yards: frequency and duration) means. However, urban densification is leading to smaller yards with less vegetation. Here, we examine how urban form and socio-demographic factors affect the potential ecosystem service benefits people can gain via passive (e.g. climate regulation) and active (e.g. recreation) pathways. Two measures of vegetation cover (0.15–2 m, >2 m) are used as a proxy for passive ecosystem service benefits, and two measures of yard use (use frequency, total time spent across a week) are used for active ecosystem service benefits. We use survey and GIS data to measure personal and physical predictors that could influence these variables for 520 residents of detached housing in Brisbane, Australia. We found house age and yard size were positively correlated with vegetation cover, and people with a greater nature relatedness and lower socio-economic disadvantage also had greater vegetation cover. Yard size was an important predictor of yard use, as was nature relatedness, householder age, and presence of children in the home. Vegetation cover showed no relationship, indicating that greater cover alone does not promote ecosystem service delivery through the active use pathway. Together our results show that people who have higher nature relatedness may receive greater benefits from their yards via both passive and active means as they have more vegetation available to them in their yards and they interact with this space more frequently and for longer time
Current title: Cyanidin 3-glucoside improves diet-induced metabolic syndrome in rats

Increased consumption of dark-coloured fruits and vegetables may mitigate metabolic syndrome. This study has determined the changes in metabolic parameters, and in cardiovascular and liver structure and function, following chronic administration of either cyanidin 3-glucoside (CG) or Queen Garnet plum juice (QG) containing cyanidin glycosides to rats fed either a corn starch (C) or a high-carbohydrate, high-fat (H) diet. Eight to nine-week-old male Wistar rats were randomly divided into six groups for 16-week feeding with C, C with CG or QG, H or H with CG or QG. C or H were supplemented with CG or QG at a dose of ~8mg/kg/day cyanidin glycosides from week 8 to 16. H rats developed signs of metabolic syndrome including visceral adiposity, impaired glucose tolerance, hypertension, cardiovascular remodelling, increased collagen depots in left ventricle, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, increased plasma liver enzymes and increased inflammatory cell infiltration in the heart and liver. Both CG and QG reversed these cardiovascular, liver and metabolic signs. However, no intact anthocyanins or common methylated/conjugated metabolites could be detected in the plasma samples and plasma hippuric acid concentrations were unchanged. Our results suggest CG is the most likely mediator of the responses to QG but that further investigation of the pharmacokinetics of oral CG in rats is required. Professor Clementi Editor, Pharmacological Research 1 st September, 2015. Dear Dr Clementi, Please find enclosed our original article entitled “Cyanidin 3-glucoside reverses diet-induced metabolic syndrome in rats” by my colleagues Maharshi Bhaswant (cmaharshi@gmail.com), Kent Fanning (Kent.Fanning@daf.qld.gov.au), Michael Netzel (m.netzel@uq.edu.au), Michael Mathai (Michael.Mathai@vu.edu.au), Sunil Panchal (Sunil.Panchal@usq.edu.au), and myself (Lindsay.Brown@usq.edu.au) that we now submit for publication in Pharmacological Research. All correspondence should be addressed to me at the Department of Biological and Physical Sciences, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Queensland 4350, Australia (email: Lindsay.Brown@usq.edu.au; tel +61 7 4631 1319). This manuscript has not been published previously nor is it under consideration for publication elsewhere. No portion of the manuscript, including the Abstract, has been published or posted on the Internet. Further, all co-authors have read the final version of the manuscript and have approved the submission of this manuscript to Pharmacological Research. I am looking forward to receiving the reports of the expert referees, and remain, Yours faithfully, Professor Lindsay Brown School of Health and Wellbeing University of Southern Queensland Toowoomba, QLD 4350 Australia. Cover Letter
Delta-Sigma Modulator with Relaxed Feedback Timing for High Speed Applications

In this paper, a ΔΣ analog-to-digital converter (ADC) was designed and measured for broadband and high-resolution applications by applying the simple circuit technique to alleviate the feedback timing of input feed-forward architecture. With the proposed technique, a low-speed comparator and dynamic element matching (DEM) logic can be applied even for high-speed implementation, which helps to decrease power dissipation. Two prototypes using slightly different input branch topologies were fabricated with a 0.18 um 2-poly and 4-metal CMOS process, and measured to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed circuit technique. The sampling capacitor and feedback DAC capacitors were separated in prototype A, while they were shared in prototype B. The prototypes achieved 81.2 dB and 72.4 dB of SNDR in a 2.1 MHz signal band, respectively.