Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Proinflammatory cytokine deficiency and pathogenesis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa keratitis in aged mice

Corneal clarity in young adult Swiss (HSD:ICR) mice is restored after Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection. Previous data showed that this response involves a rapid up-regulation of constitutive intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and migration of inflammatory cells into the cornea. In contrast, in aged mice, there is no up-regulation of corneal ICAM-1, inflammatory cell infiltration into the cornea is delayed, and the cornea perforates. Therefore, the aim of this study was to test whether specific cytokines which up-regulate ICAM-1 expression differ in young and aged mice. Corneas of young (6- to 8-week-old) and aged (1- to 2-year-old) mice were scarified and inoculated with P. aeruginosa. The eyes were graded for pathologic changes (score 0 to +4); at 6, 12, 24, and 48 h postinfection (p.i.), six mice from each age group were sacrificed. Three corneas from each respective group were excised for quantitation of interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), tumor necrosis factor alpha, and gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The remaining three corneas from each age group were harvested for quantitation of viable bacteria by direct plate count determination and for infiltrating polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) by a myeloperoxidase (MPO) assay. Compared to those of young mice, the corneas of infected aged mice had less IL-1beta at 6 h p.i. (P < or = 0.04) and less IFN-gamma at 12 to 48 h p.i. (P < or = 0.05). Also, compared to those of young mice, corneas of aged mice had fewer PMNs (P < or = 0.008) by the MPO assay at 6 h p.i. and more viable bacteria (P < or = 0.01) per cornea by plate count determination at 24 h p.i. These data suggest that the lack of up-regulation of ocular ICAM-1 in aged mice may reflect a reduction in both IL-1beta and IFN-gamma levels in the infected cornea. Consequently, a sufficient number of PMNs and other inflammatory cells fail to rapidly migrate into the infected corneas of aged mice, the bacterial load is initially greater than that in young mice, and the cornea perforates.
Joint Estimation of 2D-DOA and Frequency Based on Space-Time Matrix and Conformal Array

Each element in the conformal array has a different pattern, which leads to the performance deterioration of the conventional high resolution direction-of-arrival (DOA) algorithms. In this paper, a joint frequency and two-dimension DOA (2D-DOA) estimation algorithm for conformal array are proposed. The delay correlation function is used to suppress noise. Both spatial and time sampling are utilized to construct the spatial-time matrix. The frequency and 2D-DOA estimation are accomplished based on parallel factor (PARAFAC) analysis without spectral peak searching and parameter pairing. The proposed algorithm needs only four guiding elements with precise positions to estimate frequency and 2D-DOA. Other instrumental elements can be arranged flexibly on the surface of the carrier. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.
Dual role of protein kinase C on BK channel regulation

Large conductance voltage- and Ca2+-activated potassium channels (BK channels) are important feedback regulators in excitable cells and are potently regulated by protein kinases. The present study reveals a dual role of protein kinase C (PKC) on BK channel regulation. Phosphorylation of S695 by PKC, located between the two regulators of K+ conductance (RCK1/2) domains, inhibits BK channel open-state probability. This PKC-dependent inhibition depends on a preceding phosphorylation of S1151 in the C terminus of the channel α-subunit. Phosphorylation of only one α-subunit at S1151 and S695 within the tetrameric pore is sufficient to inhibit BK channel activity. We further detected that protein phosphatase 1 is associated with the channel, constantly counteracting phosphorylation of S695. PKC phosphorylation at S1151 also influences stimulation of BK channel activity by protein kinase G (PKG) and protein kinase A (PKA). Though the S1151A mutant channel is activated by PKA only, the phosphorylation of S1151 by PKC renders the channel responsive to activation by PKG but prevents activation by PKA. Phosphorylation of S695 by PKC or introducing a phosphomimetic aspartate at this position (S695D) renders BK channels insensitive to the stimulatory effect of PKG or PKA. Therefore, our findings suggest a very dynamic regulation of the channel by the local PKC activity. It is shown that this complex regulation is not only effective in recombinant channels but also in native BK channels from tracheal smooth muscle.
Social support in smoking cessation: reconciling theory and evidence.

INTRODUCTION The majority of smokers attempt to quit smoking on their own, but in any given year, only 5% or less are successful. To improve cessation rates, tapping social networks for social support during quitting has been recommended or tested in some interventions. Prior reviews of this research, however, have concluded that there is little to no evidence that partner support interventions are effective. DISCUSSION Given the theoretical importance of the concept of social support, its demonstrated value in treatments that are implicitly supportive (e.g., telephone counseling), and the general lack of a guiding conceptual framework for research on the effects of peer or partner support for cessation, we describe theoretical models that explicitly incorporate social support constructs in predicting motivation for and success in quitting. CONCLUSION Better differentiation of support concepts and elucidating causal pathways will lead to studies that demonstrate the value of social relationships in improving smokers' likelihood of cessation.
Automated aesthetic enhancement of videos

In this paper, we present a content based single-shot video editing scheme. We follow the classic long take directing and editing schemes. This system automatically adjusts the projection velocity of raw video clips to enhance the aesthetic interest. We build up the mathematical model for projection rhythm manipulation based on film theories. The system segments interesting sub-shots and ordinary sub-shots within the single video clip. Different sub-shots are projected to different duration to maximize the video interest. The output video is rendered according to adjusted projection duration. Within this framework, we transform the screen rhythm and camera motion of a given single video shot. Motion interests of frames are re-distributed in projection duration modification and certain special projection patterns are introduced to enhance the aesthetic interest of original video. The user study shows that our scheme is very effective.
Mixed-mode WLAN: the integration of ad hoc mode with wireless LAN infrastructure

In the traditional IEEE 802.11 wireless LAN using infrastructure mode, all users share the same channel and all packets are forwarded by an access point (AP). As a result, as the number of users in the cell increases, the throughput for each user degrades substantially. If there are users communicating with each other within the cell (as in conferencing or file exchange applications), such throughput degradation could be relieved by making these users communicate through ad hoc connections without going through the AP. The advantages are multi-fold. First, the traffic load at the AP is reduced, hence relieving the contention. Second, ad hoc connections are single-hop, hence improving the channel efficiency. Moreover, ad hoc connections could use different channels, hence multiplying the system bandwidth. In this paper, we propose to integrate the infrastructure mode and the ad hoc mode in a wireless network so as to achieve these advantages. We present a framework for such mixed-mode wireless LAN (termed M/sup 2/-WLAN). In such a network, a node can dynamically switch between the infrastructure mode and the ad hoc mode according to the instruction of the AP, and hence the switching is transparent to the users. Using simulations, we show that M/sup 2/-WLAN can indeed improve system throughput substantially without user's manual configuration.
Three-year follow-up of palatal implants for the treatment of snoring

Abstract Conclusions: The safety of treatment with palatal implants remains high 3 years after the procedure. The implant extrusion rate decreases over time. Additional surgery to the palate is safe. The presence of the implants seems important in sustaining efficacy past 1 year. Objectives: To investigate long-term safety and treatment results of palatal implants for treatment of snoring. Methods: A prospective clinical non-randomized trial of 55 patients with primary snoring followed over a period of 3 years. Results: No major adverse events were observed. Eleven of the 55 patients (20%) experienced implant extrusions, 8 during the first year, 3 in the second, and none in the third year. Twenty-six patients (47.3%) had additional procedures past 1 year. Only one post-implant surgery caused an extrusion. The success defined as no additional surgery followed by endpoint satisfaction rate was 34.6%. For patients with implants intact it was 41.5% (17/41) at 3 years, significantly better than for those who experienced loss of implants.
Isolation and Characterization of a Thermotolerant Ammonia-Oxidizing Bacterium Nitrosomonas sp. JPCCT2 from a Thermal Power Station

A thermotolerant ammonia-oxidizing bacterium strain JPCCT2 was isolated from activated sludge in a thermal power station. Cells of JPCCT2 are short non-motile rods or ellipsoidal. Molecular phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences demonstrated that JPCCT2 belongs to the genus Nitrosomonas with the highest similarity to Nitrosomonas nitrosa Nm90 (100%), Nitrosomonas sp. Nm148 (99.7%), and Nitrosomonas communis Nm2 (97.7%). However, G+C content of JPCCT2 DNA was 49.1 mol% and clearly different from N. nitrosa Nm90, 47.9%. JPCCT2 was capable of growing at temperatures up to 48°C, while N. nitrosa Nm90 and N. communis Nm2 could not grow at 42°C. Moreover, JPCCT2 grew similarly at concentrations of carbonate 0 and 5 gL−1. This is the first report that Nitrosomonas bacterium is capable of growing at temperatures higher than 37°C.
Software process tailoring using Situational Method Engineering based on criteria of quality improvement

There is not an appropriate process for all software projects. Models such as CMMI, ISO/IEC 15504 and MPS.BR propose the process tailoring to meet the project specific needs. Situational Method Engineering (SME) focuses to construct a specific software process for each project according to the situational at hand from method fragments. This paper proposes a set of method fragments created using SME concepts, which describe actions to implement quality goals recommended by CMMI. These fragments can be used in process tailoring, inserting the activities described in these to create software processes adhering to quality goals of the CMMI.
Design and implementation of an Attitude and Heading Reference System (AHRS)

This paper deals with the development and implementation of a cheap Micro Attitude and Heading Reference System (AHRS) using low-cost inertial and magnetic sensors. The orientation is parameterized with unit quaternion and the data fusion is done unifying a quaternion linear formulation of Wahba's problem with a Multiplicative Extended Kalman Filter. It includes the gyro bias model. The estimation methodology proposed in this work is implemented and evaluated in real time, in order to assess its effectiveness. Special attention was paid to the low power consumption, speed and weight requirements, leading to the selection of a 16-bit microcontroller. The sensor suite is based on a tri-axis accelerometer, a dual axis gyro, a single axis gyro and a tri-axis magnetometer. Furthermore, the system is equipped with a Bluetooth module, which provides wireless capabilities. The total system supply voltage is 3.3 V. The dimension and weight are 60×40×15 mm and 60 g, respectively. The attitude rate estimation is 55.5 Hz.
A miniaturized broadband four-port antenna based radar detection system

A novel compact four-port antenna based receiving radar detection system is presented. Emphasis is placed on the antenna and pattern transform algorithms development. The antenna, with size of 113×113×33.7mm3, operated within 1.0–1.8GHz (s11<−10dB) and 5.5dBi single port gain, is designed and integrated successfully in a specific cylindrical stepped conductor. Two different pattern transform algorithms corresponding to 3 excited modes for the four-port antenna are developed and firstly compared with indoor experimental results. It shows that a indoor target can be detected successfully by the radar system with spatial resolution of 3 degrees, which is agreement well with the numerical simulations.
Hospital Costs and Unexpected Demand: The Case of Greece §

Demand for hospital inpatient care varies in a consistent way. However, a part of this variability is unpredictable. Hospitals react to this situation by holding standby capacity in order to be prepared to meet unanticipated surges in demand. This paper examines the production responses to unexpected hospital demand on a sample of Greek public hospitals over the period 2001-2005. The hospital output is measured by the number of inpatient admissions, distinguishing them into elective and emergency. The unexpected demand is measured as the difference between actual emergency admissions and forecasted emergency admissions using an Autoregressive Moving Average model. The results support the hypothesis that production reactions to unexpected demand have a significant impact on hospital costs.
N-butyl Cyanoacrylate Embolotherapy for Acute Gastroduodenal Ulcer Bleeding

Purpose: Various embolic agents have been used for embolization of acute gastrointestinal (GI) arterial bleeding. N-butyl cyanoacrylate (NBCA) is not easy to handle, but it is a useful embolic agent. In this retrospective study, we describe our experience with NBCA embolization of acute gastroduodenal ulcer bleeding. Materials and Methods: NBCA embolization was performed in seven patients with acute upper GI arterial bleeding; they had five gastric ulcers and two duodenal ulcers. NBCA embolization was done in the left gastric artery (n = 3), right gastric artery (n = 2), gastroduodenal artery (n = 1) and pancreaticoduodenal artery (n = 1). Coil was used along with NBCA in a gastric bleeding patient because of difficulty in selecting a feeding artery. NBCA was mixed with Lipiodol at the ratio of 1:1 to 1:2. The blood pressure and heart rate around the time of embolization, the serial hemoglobin and hematocrit levels and the transfusion requirements were reviewed to evaluate hemostasis and rebleeding. Results: Technical success was achieved in all the cases. Two procedure-related complications happened; embolism of the NBCA mixture to the common hepatic artery occurred in a case with embolization of the left gastric artery, and reflux of the NBCA mixture occurred into the adjacent gastric tissue, but these did not cause any clinical problems. Four of seven patients did not present with rebleeding, but two had rebleeding 10 and 16 days, respectively, after embolization and they died of cardiac arrest at 2 months and 37 days, respectively. One other patient died of sepsis and respiratory failure within 24 hours without rebleeding. Conclusion: NBCA embolization with or without other embolic agents could be safe and effective for treating acute gastroduodenal ulcer bleeding.
Cell swelling has differential effects on the rapid and slow components of delayed rectifier potassium current in guinea pig cardiac myocytes

Cell swelling has been shown to cause activation of a variety of cardiac sarcolemmal ionic conductances including potassium channels. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of swelling on the two subtypes of delayed rectifier potassium current (IKr and IKs) in single guinea pig myocytes using the whole-cell configuration of the patch clamp technique. When the holding potential was set at -40 mV and stepped to +40 mV for 1 s under isoosmotic conditions (300 mOsm) a delayed rectifier current (IK) was activated (0.86 +/- 0.05 nA; n = 43). Switching to a hypoosmotic solution (200 mOsm) caused a rapid increase in IK to a mean value of 1.43 +/- 0.10 nA (p < 0.05; n = 43). The effect of swelling on the two subtypes of IK was studied by analysis of deactivating tail currents using an envelope of tails protocol (stepping from -40 to +40 mV for 18 different pulse durations between 50 ms and 2.9 s; n = 16). Swelling caused a decrease in current amplitude measured at the end of the pulse (and IKtail) at short durations (< or = 150 ms) however, when the pulse duration was > 1 s swelling caused a significant increase in current. Using a pulse protocol to measure IKr with minimal contamination by IKs (voltage step from -40 to -10 mV for 250 ms) a 50-100 pA current was elicited which could be completely blocked by dofetilide (0.2 microM; n = 3). Introduction of hypoosmotic solution caused a significant decrease in IKr and when dofetilide (0.2 or 1.0 microM) was introduced the current remaining was decreased further (p < 0.05; n = 5), but was not completely blocked, thus suggesting that swelling had decreased the ability of dofetilide to block IKr. Similar results were obtained over a range of dofetilide concentrations and with a second IKr blocker, La3+. In Ca(2+)-free external solutions, pulsing to -10 mV for 500 ms to measure IKr in the absence of IKs, and to +60 mV for 5 s (with 0.2 microM dofetilide) to evoke only IKs, it was clear that swelling significantly increased IKs (pulse and tail currents) and decreased IKr. In addition, when measured using the perforated patch method, swelling modulated IKt and IKs in a similar fashion. We conclude that swelling has differential effects on the subtypes of the classical cardiac IK, which may have important implications in our understanding of the mechanisms underlying ischaemia- and reperfusion-induced arrhythmogenesis.
Beating the Placebo in HIV Prevention Efficacy Trials: The Role of the Minimal Efficacy Bound

Objectives:To produce an effect on the HIV epidemic, preventive interventions need to achieve a minimum level of efficacy to offset potential indirect effects such as an increase in risky behavior. The current generation of HIV prevention trials on oral preexposure prophylaxis and on vaginal microbicides were designed using different set points for minimum individual-level efficacy (MIE). Some trials were designed not only to show superiority over placebo but also to rule out lower efficacies. The MIE has a substantial impact on the size and cost of a trial. Ideally, the MIE should be chosen to reduce uncertainty in the estimation of population-level effects. In this article, we investigate the effect of MIE on estimates of population-level impact to better inform trial design. Methods:We used mathematical model simulations assuming various rates of efficacy obtained from trials and different MIEs to study the impact of wide-scale interventions on 2 public health indicators. Results:Implementation factors were the main drivers of uncertainty in public health indicators for an intervention, although MIE also contributed. The level of uncertainty introduced by the MIE was substantially lower than that of the other factors. Conclusions:Investigators in clinical trials have set the MIE solely on the basis of potential public health impact. However, the substantial increase in trial costs associated with a large MIE is unlikely to be justified. These additional funds would be better spent in evaluating more critical implementation factors that cannot be assessed in clinical trials.
Coordinated Protection and Control Based on Synchrophasor Data Processing in Smart Distribution Networks

Modern distribution grids are shifting toward resilient and sustainable energy networks through the use of unprecedented number of distributed generation (DG) units and renewable energy sources. However, unlike conventional grids, they are also highly integrative in the sense that, centralized control applications must support critical protective actions to reliably provide power to consumers. To achieve this goal, this paper presents a novel mechanism for coordinated protection and control of DG systems under permanent line faults in distribution networks. First, a centralized fault detector employs voltage phasors and frequency data to identify and isolate the fault within a tolerance time. Upon fault detection, a secondary control algorithm retrieves archived synchrophasor datasets to calculate real and reactive power disturbances caused by the fault isolation. In this mechanism, the secondary controller facilitates voltage/frequency recovery by adapting reference points of local controllers to the postfault conditions. Coordination is carried out based on the knowledge of the response time of protective devices and communication delays in control links. The proposed approach is a promising paradigm for reliable networked protection and improved situational awareness in smart distribution networks.
Performance analysis of a dual microphone superdirective beamformer and approximate expressions for the near-field propagation regime

A linear array of sensors with small spacing (compared to the wavelength) can be processed with superdirective beamforming. Specifically when applying minimum variance distortionless response (MVDR) weights designed for a diffuse noise-field, high gains are attainable in theory. A classical result relating to the far-field regime states that the gain with respect to diffuse noise (i.e., the directivity factor) for a source in the endfire direction may approach the number of sensors squared (N2). However, as the wavelength increases, the beamformer encounters increasingly severe robustness issues. Results pertaining to the near-field regime are less well known. In this paper we analyze MVDR beamforming in a generic dual-microphone array scenario. Our analysis is not restricted to the far-field regime. We derive precise expressions for the directivity factor and the white-noise gain, as well as simplified approximations for the near- and far-field regimes. We show that in the near-field regime the directivity factor approaches infinity as the wavelength increases, and that the white-noise gain depends only on the ratio between the distance from the source to the distance between sensors. These properties of the beamformer (BF) behave differently than in the far-field regime.
New insights into the pathophysiology of postoperative cognitive dysfunction

There is evidence that postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is a significant problem after major surgery, but the pathophysiology has not been fully elucidated. The interpretation of available studies is difficult due to differences in neuropsychological test batteries as well as the lack of appropriate controls. Furthermore, there are no internationally accepted criteria for defining POCD. This article aims to provide an update of current knowledge of the pathogenesis of POCD with a focus on perioperative pathophysiology and possible benefits achieved from an enhanced postoperative recovery using a fast‐track methodology. It is concluded that the pathogenesis of POCD is multifactorial and future studies should focus on evaluating the role of postoperative sleep disturbances, inflammatory stress responses, pain and environmental factors. Potential prophylactic intervention may include minimal invasive surgery, multi‐modal non‐opioid pain management and pharmacological manipulation of the inflammatory response and sleep architecture.