Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Efficacy of various antioxidants in the protection of the retinal pigment epithelium from oxidative stress

Background Oxidative stress induced retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) dysfunction is hypothesized to be fundamental in the pathogenesis of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This study investigated whether vitamin C, vitamin C phosphate, vitamin E, propofol, betaxolol, and N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) protect human RPE cells from oxidative stress. Methods ARPE-19 cells were pretreated with the compounds under investigation. The chemical oxidant tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BOOH) was used to induce oxidative stress. Cell viability was determined using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Results Exposure to t-BOOH resulted in a dose- and time-dependent reduction in ARPE-19 cell viability. Compared with cells given t-BOOH alone, vitamin E and NAC pretreated cells had significantly improved viability, propofol and betaxolol pretreated cells had no significant difference in viability, and vitamin C and vitamin C phosphate pretreated cells had significantly reduced viability. Conclusion Of the compounds studied, only vitamin E and NAC significantly mitigated the effects of oxidative stress on RPE cells. Because of their potential therapeutic value for AMD patients, these and other RPE protective compounds continue to merit further investigation.
Real‐time testing of the on‐site warning algorithm in southern California and its performance during the July 29 2008 Mw5.4 Chino Hills earthquake

The real‐time performance of the τc‐Pd on‐site early warning algorithm currently is being tested within the California Integrated Seismic Network (CISN). Since January 2007, the algorithm has detected 58 local earthquakes in southern California and Baja with moment magnitudes of 3.0 ≤ Mw ≤ 5.4. Combined with newly derived station corrections the algorithm allowed for rapid determination of moment magnitudes and Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) with uncertainties of ±0.5 and ±0.7 units, respectively. The majority of reporting delays ranged from 9 to 16 s. The largest event, the July 29 2008 Mw5.4 Chino Hills earthquake, triggered a total of 60 CISN stations in epicentral distances of up to 250 km. Magnitude predictions at these stations ranged from Mw4.4 to Mw6.5 with a median of Mw5.6. The closest station would have provided up to 6 s warning at Los Angeles City Hall, located 50 km to the west‐northwest of Chino Hills.
Beyond main effects of gene‐sets: harsh parenting moderates the association between a dopamine gene‐set and child externalizing behavior

In a longitudinal cohort study, we investigated the interplay of harsh parenting and genetic variation across a set of functionally related dopamine genes, in association with children's externalizing behavior. This is one of the first studies to employ gene‐based and gene‐set approaches in tests of Gene by Environment (G × E) effects on complex behavior. This approach can offer an important alternative or complement to candidate gene and genome‐wide environmental interaction (GWEI) studies in the search for genetic variation underlying individual differences in behavior.
THE EFFECT OF WATER-QUENCHING ON THE ELECTROSTATIC CHARGING OF FIBERS AND FABRICS DURING THE MELT-BLOWING PROCESS

This paper considers the efficiency of electrostatic charging of water-sprayed fibers during the melt-blowing process. Two charging methods were used to charge the fibers near the die exit and the fabrics after the collector. Both showed that the charging efficiency was not affected by the water-spraying process if the amount of spraying was controlled.
DOTmark – A Benchmark for Discrete Optimal Transport

The Wasserstein metric or earth mover’s distance is a useful tool in statistics, computer science and engineering with many applications to biological or medical imaging, among others. Especially in the light of increasingly complex data, the computation of these distances via optimal transport is often the limiting factor. Inspired by this challenge, a variety of new approaches to optimal transport has been proposed in recent years and along with these new methods comes the need for a meaningful comparison. In this paper, we introduce a benchmark for discrete optimal transport, called DOTmark, which is designed to serve as a neutral collection of problems, where discrete optimal transport methods can be tested, compared with one another, and brought to their limits on large-scale instances. It consists of a variety of grayscale images, in various resolutions and classes, such as several types of randomly generated images, classical test images and real data from microscopy. Along with the DOTmark we present a survey and a performance test for a cross section of established methods ranging from more traditional algorithms, such as the transportation simplex, to recently developed approaches, such as the shielding neighborhood method, and including also a comparison with commercial solvers.
Fusion and comparison of multi-granulation rough sets

Multi-granulation rough sets are extended rough set models, which are based on a family of equivalence relations on universe of discourse. By applying join or intersection operations of binary relations, in this paper, two binary relations are defined in a multi-granulation approximation space, consequently two types of rough sets are introduced. Subsequently, in the views of approximation space fusion and approximation operator fusion, two types of rough sets in a multi-granulation approximation space are analyzed. Finally, comparison among the multi-granulation rough sets are made, and conditions for these approximation operators to be equivalent are obtained.
Apolipoprotein E/C1/C4/C2 Gene Cluster Diversity in Two Native Andean Populations: Aymaras and Quechuas

The APOE/C1/C4/C2 gene cluster presents high relevance in lipid metabolism and, therefore, has important epidemiological implications. Here, we study for the first time the variation patterns of 25 polymorphisms (10 short tandem repeats, STRs, and 15 single nucleotide polymorphismas, SNPs) in two native Andean samples from Bolivia (45 Aymaras and 45 Quechuas) as well as one European sample (n = 41) as external reference. We estimated diversity parameters, linkage disequilibrium patterns, population structure, and possible selective effects. In general, diversity was low and could be partly attributed to selection (probably due to its physiological importance), since the APOE/C1/C4/C2 region was highly conserved compared to the flanking genes in both Bolivians and Europeans. Moreover, the lower gene diversity in Bolivians compared to Europeans for some markers might indicate different demographic histories. Regarding the APOE isoforms, in addition to ɛ3 (94%) and ɛ4 (5%), isoform ɛ2 (1%) was also detected in Bolivians. In relation to previous hypotheses, our results support that genetic drift or founder effects rather than selection for increased cholesterol absorption are the main factors that have shaped the distribution of APOE isoforms observed in South America.
Pathogenesis of a Model Gammaherpesvirus in a Natural Host

ABSTRACT Murine gammaherpesvirus 68 (MHV-68) infection of laboratory mice (Mus musculus) is an established model of gammaherpesvirus pathogenesis. The fact that M. musculus is not a host in the wild prompted us to reassess MHV-68 infection in wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus), a natural host. Here, we report significant differences in MHV-68 infection in the two species: (i) following intranasal inoculation, MHV-68 replicated in the lungs of wood mice to levels approximately 3 log units lower than in BALB/c mice; (ii) in BALB/c mice, virus replication in alveolar epithelial cells was accompanied by a diffuse, T-cell-dominated interstitial pneumonitis, whereas in wood mice it was restricted to focal granulomatous infiltrations; (iii) within wood mice, latently infected lymphocytes were abundant in inducible bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue that was not apparent in BALB/c mice; (iv) splenic latency was established in both species, but well-delineated secondary follicles with germinal centers were present in wood mice, while only poorly delineated follicles were seen in BALB/c mice; and, perhaps as a consequence, (v) production of neutralizing antibody was significantly higher in wood mice. These differences highlight the value of this animal model in the study of MHV-68 pathogenesis.
Comparison of emotion lexicons

Although the research of emotion detection from social media grows, not much research has been focused on the construction of emotion lexicon, which plays an important role on emotion classification. In this paper, we compare frequently used emotion lexicons EmoSenticNet (ESN), and National Research Council Canada (NRC) as well as relatively newer emotion lexicons DepecheMood (DPM), and Topic based DepecheMood (TDPM). Comparisons are performed in terms of size, type and kind of words used to construct lexicons. The lexicons, and some of their subset combinations, are evaluated via emotion classification process on Semeval-2007 test dataset. Experiments provide detailed comparison of the effects of lexicons on emotion classification process.
Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of Self-Describing Diabetes Medical Records: A Pilot Study

Background Each patient’s medical record consists of data specific to that patient and is therefore an appropriate source to adapt educational information content. Objectives This study aimed to design and implement an information provision system based on the medical records of diabetic patients and to investigate the attitudes of users toward using this product. Methods The study was organized into three phases: need analysis, design and implementation, and final evaluation. The aim of the need analysis phase was to investigate the questioning behavior of the patient in the real-world context. The design and implementation phase consisted of four stages: determining the minimum dataset for diabetes medical records, collecting and validating content, designing and implementing a diabetes electronic medical record system, and data entry. Evaluating the final system was done based on the constructs of the technology acceptance model in the two dimensions of perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. A semistructured interview was used for this purpose. Results Three main categories were extracted for the patient’s perceived usefulness of the system: raising the self-awareness and knowledge of patients, improving their self-care, and improving doctor-patient interaction. Both patients and physicians perceived the personalized sense of information as a unique feature of the application and believed that this feature could have a positive effect on the patient’s motivation for learning and using information in practice. Specialists believed that providing personal feedback on the patient’s lab test results along with general explanations encourages the patients to read the content more precisely. Moreover, accessing medical records and helpful notes was a new and useful experience for the patients. Conclusions One of the key perceived benefits of providing tailored information in the context of medical records was raising patient awareness and knowledge. The results obtained from field observations and interviews have shown that patients were ready to accept the system and had a positive attitude when it was put into practice. The findings related to user attitude can be used as a guideline to design the next phase of the research (ie, investigation of system effectiveness on patient outcomes).
Space-aware Data Flow Analysis *

Data Flow Analysis (DFA for short) is a basic technique to collect statical information on run-time behaviors of programs: it is essential in optimizing compilers and is also used in type inference problems [1]. When performing a DFA, the program to be analyzed is modeled by its Control Flow Graph (CFG) and by a set of transformation functions, one for each node in the graph. The set of program execution states is generally abstracted in a lattice. Each function models the effect of execution of the corresponding program instruction on the (abstracted) program execution state. Then, starting from the initial node in the CFG, and from an abstraction of the initial execution state, every possible execution path in the CFG should be tried, and the execution states encountered at each node collected. Standard DFA uses a fix point iteration to find an approximation of this information. DFA is expensive in time (because of the fixed point iteration), but also in space: a representation of the program execution state must be stored for each CFG node for the entire duration of the ∗Technical Report IET-05-03. This paper may not be, either entirely or in part, published
Elastic deformation of coating/substrate composites in axisymmetric indentation

Elastic deformation of coating/substrate composites was examined for axisymmetric indentations with three different geometries of flat-ended cylinder, sphere, and cone. Intensive theoretical considerations were made for the Boussinesq problems not only in its Fredholm integral equation of the second kind, but also in its Green function using the principle of superposition for the approximated contact stress distribution. The agreement and the disagreement between these two different numerical/analytical assessments for elastic surface deformations are discussed. Along with these theoretical considerations, experimental scrutiny was conducted for the theoretical predictions for spherical indentation by the use of a sol-gel-derived MeSiO_3/2 film coated on a soda-lime glass plate. A novel technique is also proposed for estimating in a simultaneous manner the elastic moduli of both the coating film and of the substrate or the elastic modulus of the film and its thickness in spherical indentation tests.
Visual Learning 2: Pronunciation App Using Ultrasound, Video, and MRI

We demonstrate Visual Learning 2, an English pronunciation app for second-language (L2) learners and phonetics students. This iOS app links together audio, front and side video, MRI and ultrasound movies of a native speaker reading a phonetically balanced text. Users can watch and shadow front and side video overlaid with an ultrasound tongue movie. They are able to play the video at three speeds and start the video from any word by tapping on it, with a choice of display in either English or IPA. Users can record their own audio/video and play it back in sync with the model for comparison.
Experimental biofilm-related Candida infections.

AIM We investigated the pathogenic role of biofilm and the therapeutic efficacy of anidulafungin in experimental infections of the wax moth Galleria mellonella by Candida albicans clinical strains. MATERIALS & METHODS On the basis of the in vitro propensity to form biofilm, five biofilm-producer (BP) and four nonproducer (NP) C. albicans clinical strains were used in this study. For each strain, we assessed the virulence by infecting G. mellonella larvae and observing survival. Anidulafungin was administered 2 h after yeast inoculum at 0.6 µg, according to the therapeutic dose recommended for humans. RESULTS Biofilm-forming ability highly influenced the larva-killing rate. A significant (p < 0.0001) survival decrease was observed in the BP group, with 80% of the infected larvae dying within 72 h. NP isolates did not reach the same killing rate, even at the end of experiments (216 h). Larval survival was enhanced (p < 0.0001) by anidulafungin administration in both groups. Survival rate at 72 h was similar in both groups (BP 78.5% and NP 87.5%); whereas there were still differences at the end of the experiments, with a higher survival in the NP group (75 vs 48%). CONCLUSION Our data confirm the pathogenic role of biofilm in C. albicans infections. Its importance was further enhanced by a lack of contribution from extracellular enzymes, detected in both NP and BP strains. In addition, we demonstrated anidulafungin efficacy in treating biofilm-related invasive candidiasis.
Road Image Shadow Removal Method Based on Retinex Algorithm

There were some shadows, such as cars and trees on road images, which make great interference to extract and recognize the image features. A novel algorithm was proposed to remove the single road image shadows based on Retinex model. The algorithm consists of three steps: first, the study converted RGB space into HSV space and abstracted saturation information to detect the shadow regions in road scene. Second, set up light scale factor to shadow regions to fight back a certain illuminant. Finally, The Multi Scale Retinex algorithm was adopted in shadow and non-shadow regions separately to eliminate the effect of the illuminant. Images had high-quality results that shadow regions restored the illuminance, color and texture. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of this algorithm.
Model resin permeation of fiber reinforcements after shear deformation

In liquid composite molding processes such as resin transfer molding and structural reaction injection molding, fiber reinforcements are formed with automated processes to conform to the complex shape of the mold cavity. Deformation of the fiber reinforcement during the forming operation can be characterized by factors such as the local surface curvature of the mold and the type of reinforcement. For bidirectional fiber fabrics, simple shear is the major deformation mode in the forming process. Deformation of the fiber reinforcement after being formed to the mold cavity shape results in variations of local fiber content. In addition, the network structure of the fiber reinforcement is also rearranged. This may cause some significant effects on the fiber permeability and result in a mold filling pattern quite different from that expected. Therefore, a good understanding and measurement of the permeabilities for the deformed fiber reinforcements is of great importance. In the flow simulation of the filling process, the success of the prediction depends greatly on the correct values of in-plane permeabilities. A change of the in-plane permeability of the fabric after shear deformation must be well understood before an accurate flow simulation can be obtained. This article investigates the permeability of fiber reinforcements in relation to different shear angles. Several flow experiments were conducted on bidirectional woven roving fabrics at different shear angles. Two relevant factors—the ratio of principal permeabilities and the direction of principal axes with respect to the orientation of the fabric—are studied to investigate their variations with respect to shear deformation of the fiber reinforcements. It is found that the angle shift of the principal axes increases with the shear angle. At the same time, the in-plane permeability ration may decrease with the shear angle.
Measuring function in rheumatoid arthritis: Identifying reversible and irreversible components.

OBJECTIVE Measurement of physical function at one point in time cannot distinguish impairment caused by the active disease process from chronic irreversible impairment. We aimed to dissect these two components of functional limitation in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by using the disability index of the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) as the measure of function. METHODS We performed a secondary analysis of data from 6 contemporary clinical trials of RA (2,763 patients). Patients in whom remission was achieved in the trials, based on a simplified disease activity index, were identified. In an individual patient, HAQ scores at trial entry represented both reversible and irreversible impairments, while HAQ scores at the time of RA remission represented the mostly irreversible component, and the difference between these corresponded to the component related to disease activity. We tested the concept that the HAQ has a reversible and an irreversible component by associating the HAQ score during remission with 2 measures associated with the degree of accrued damage: duration of RA and radiographic severity. RESULTS Among patients in whom clinical remission was achieved (n = 295), average HAQ scores despite clinical remission increased progressively with the duration of RA, from 0.19 (<2 years of RA) to 0.36 (2-<5 years) to 0.38 (5-<10 years) to 0.55 (>/=10 years) (P < 0.001). The reversibility of HAQ scores decreased with the duration of RA (median 100%, 83.3%, 81.9%, and 66.7%, respectively; P < 0.001). Findings were similar in patients subgrouped by quartile of radiographic scores. CONCLUSION Differences in the sources of functional limitations should be considered in the interpretation of functional measures, and in their use for prediction and in cost analyses.
C-reactive protein levels and outcomes after statin therapy.

BACKGROUND Statins lower the levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and C-reactive protein (CRP). Whether this latter property affects clinical outcomes is unknown. METHODS We evaluated relationships between the LDL cholesterol and CRP levels achieved after treatment with 80 mg of atorvastatin or 40 mg of pravastatin per day and the risk of recurrent myocardial infarction or death from coronary causes among 3745 patients with acute coronary syndromes. RESULTS Patients in whom statin therapy resulted in LDL cholesterol levels of less than 70 mg per deciliter (1.8 mmol per liter) had lower event rates than those with higher levels (2.7 vs. 4.0 events per 100 person-years, P=0.008). However, a virtually identical difference was observed between those who had CRP levels of less than 2 mg per liter after statin therapy and those who had higher levels (2.8 vs. 3.9 events per 100 person-years, P=0.006), an effect present at all levels of LDL cholesterol achieved. For patients with post-treatment LDL cholesterol levels of more than 70 mg per deciliter, the rates of recurrent events were 4.6 per 100 person-years among those with CRP levels of more than 2 mg per liter and 3.2 events per 100 person-years among those with CRP levels of less than 2 mg per liter; the respective rates among those with LDL cholesterol levels of less than 70 mg per deciliter were 3.1 and 2.4 events per 100 person-years (P<0.001). Although atorvastatin was more likely than pravastatin to result in low levels of LDL cholesterol and CRP, meeting these targets was more important in determining the outcomes than was the specific choice of therapy. Patients who had LDL cholesterol levels of less than 70 mg per deciliter and CRP levels of less than 1 mg per liter after statin therapy had the lowest rate of recurrent events (1.9 per 100 person-years). CONCLUSIONS Patients who have low CRP levels after statin therapy have better clinical outcomes than those with higher CRP levels, regardless of the resultant level of LDL cholesterol. Strategies to lower cardiovascular risk with statins should include monitoring CRP as well as cholesterol.