Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
How often do primary care veterinarians record the overweight status of dogs?*

Obesity is a prevalent medical condition in dogs caused by the excess accumulation of fat, with negative effects on quality of life, longevity and the risk of developing associated pathologies. However, it is unclear how frequently first-opinion veterinarians record dogs as overweight (OW) or obese in medical records, and what factors determine when they do. Data sourced through the Small Animal Surveillance Network were used to determine the relative frequency of recording OW status (obesity or OW) in dogs presented to the UK first-opinion practices. Cases were identified using a search of clinical record-free text for relevant keywords. A case–control study was then conducted, comparing dogs where the OW status was recorded with a control group of obese dogs with no diagnosis recorded. Of 49 488 consultations, the OW status was recorded in 671 dogs (relative frequency 1·4 %). Using multiple logistic regression, the OW status of a dog was more likely to be recorded when the consultation was for osteoarthritis (OR 5·42; 95 % CI 2·09, 14·07; P < 0·001) or lameness (OR 2·02; 95 % CI 1·20, 3·42; P = 0·006). Furthermore, the OW status was more commonly recorded in dogs that were members of a practice health scheme (OR 5·35; 95 % CI 1·57, 18·17; P = 0·04) and less commonly recorded in microchipped dogs (OR 0·43; 95 % CI 0·41, 0·91; P = 0·02). These results suggest that OW and obesity are underdiagnosed in the first-opinion practice. However, a presentation for orthopaedic disease appears a key prompt for recording the OW status. Further studies are now warranted to determine the reasons for such marked underdiagnosis.
A method for the morphological analysis of the regurgitant mitral valve using three dimensional echocardiography

Background: Atrial en-face reconstructions are commonly used to assess mitral valve morphology in three dimensional (3D) echocardiography but may miss important abnormalities. Objective: To present a systematic method for the analysis of the regurgitant mitral valve using a combination of en-face and longitudinal views for better anatomical evaluation. Methods: Detailed 3D assessment was done on 58 patients undergoing mitral valve repair. En-face and longitudinal views were compared for detection and location of primary pathology. The quality of acquisitions under general anaesthesia and sedation was also compared. Results: Recognition of valve structure was significantly better with longitudinal reconstruction for both mitral leaflets but not for the commissures. Accurate identification of pathology was possible in 95% cases, compared with 50% for en-face reconstruction (p < 0.001). There was no significant difference between imaging under sedation and anaesthesia. Conclusion: En-face reconstructions alone are inadequate. Additional longitudinal reconstructions are necessary to ensure full inspection of valve morphology.
Advanced keratomalacia with descemetocele in an infant with cystic fibrosis.

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Power quantification of multiband Radio Frequency harvesting

A conventional circuit design of a Radio Frequency (RF) energy harvester will be used in this paper but unlike the other papers, this study will focus on how will the output power be quantified for every frequency band covered in the ultra-high frequency (UHF) range. The group uses modular circuits to ease the quantifying process and the antennae in this study are GSM antenna, Wi-Fi antenna and Digital TV antenna. This study will help the future researchers in this field in their cost analysis and output power estimation for desired applications.
Explanation and Constructions: Response to Adger

David Adger asks why it is preferable to appeal to processes or biases of categorization, social cognition, and statistical learning in order to account for our remarkable ability to learn and use language rather than positing innate stipulations that are specifically about syntax. The answer is four-fold. First, these other processes are independently needed and it is self-evident that explanations that account for a broader range of phenomena are to be preferred over those that account for a more narrow slice of data. Secondly, the ability to categorize exemplars, share information, cooperate, and anticipate upcoming events by making various types of predictions are all clearly directly advantageous to the individual or group and so may plausibly have evolved, as Adger assumes.1 On the other hand, while our linguistic ability taken as a whole is clearly evolutionarily advantageous, the type of syntactic stipulations that have traditionally been claimed to comprise UG are not; in fact, by hypothesis, the type of modular, autonomous syntactic generalizations that have been posited over the past several decades serve no functions. For example, Adger assumes that constraints on long-distance dependencies are part of UG, but surely it is neither life-threatening nor sexually unattractive to produce an ill-formed dependency. An alternative might be to suggest that the properties of UG comprise a set of spandrels; that is, UG may contain the byproducts of other features that do have evolutionary advantages, but such an account has not been made explicit. Constructionists often look for explanations in terms of functions of the relevant constructions involved. The discovery of functional motivations obviates the need to stipulate that the constraints must be given a priori (Beckner et al., 2009; Bybee,
Interferometric Observations of the Nuclear Region of Arp 220 at Submillimeter Wavelengths

We report the first submillimeter interferometric observations of an ultraluminous infrared galaxy. We observed Arp 220 in the CO J = 3-2 line and 342 GHz continuum with the single-baseline CSO-JCMT interferometer consisting of the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO) and the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT). Models were fitted to the measured visibilities to constrain the structure of the source. The morphologies of the CO J = 3-2 line and 342 GHz continuum emission are similar to those seen in published maps at 230 and 110 GHz. We clearly detect a binary source separated by ~1'' in the east-west direction in the 342 GHz continuum. The CO J = 3-2 visibility amplitudes, however, indicate a more complicated structure, with evidence for a compact binary at some velocities and rather more extended structure at others. Less than 30% of the total CO J = 3-2 emission is detected by the interferometer, which implies the presence of significant quantities of extended gas. We also obtained single-dish CO J = 2-1, CO J = 3-2, and HCN J = 4-3 spectra. The HCN J = 4-3 spectrum, unlike the CO spectra, is dominated by a single redshifted peak. The HCN J = 4-3/CO J = 3-2, HCN J = 4-3/HCN J = 1-0, and CO J = 3-2/2-1 line ratios are larger in the redshifted (eastern) source, which suggests that the two sources may have different physical conditions. This result might be explained by the presence of an intense starburst that has begun to deplete or disperse the densest gas in the western source, while the eastern source harbors undispersed high-density gas.
Some new light subgraphs in the 1-planar graphs

A graph is {\em 1-planar} if it can be drawn on the plane such that every edge cross at most one other edge. A connected graph $H$ is {\em strongly light} in a family of graphs $\mathfrak{G}$, if there exists a constant $\lambda$, such that every graph in $\mathfrak{G}$ contains a subgraph $K$ isomorphic to $H$ with $\deg_{G}(v) \leq \lambda$ for all $v \in V(K)$. In this paper, we present some strongly light subgraphs in the family of 1-planar graphs with minimum degree 7.
Changes in the Genetic Structure of Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) Populations in Queensland, Australia, Across Two Seasons: Implications for Potential Mosquito Releases

ABSTRACT Diseases transmitted by mosquitoes could be controlled if vector populations were replaced with strains that have reduced vector competency. Such a strategy is being developed for control of dengue virus which is transmitted by Aedes aegypti (L.) (Diptera: Culicidae). Mosquitoes artificially infected with the bacterium, Wolbachia pipientis Hertig, are being assessed as candidates for release at the adult stage with the aim of replacement of the wild population. Wolbachia can reduce the capacity of Ae. aegypti to transmit dengue virus and has potential to be driven through the natural population via a system of cytoplasmic incompatibility. Deployment of benign mosquito strains will be influenced by population size and structure of wild-type Ae. aegypti in proposed release areas, as well as rates of gene flow among populations in the wet and dry tropical seasons. Mosquitoes from northern Queensland were screened with genetic markers to find an optimal locality for release of a benign strain of Ae. aegypti. The inland towns of Chillagoe and Charters Towers and the coastal town of Ingham had mosquito populations that were partly genetically isolated from mosquitoes in other areas across both seasons. These locations may be suitable release sites if it is important for the released strain to be restricted during initial phases of implementation. Smaller genetic differences were also evident among other regions and were consistent over two seasons (wet and dry).
Natal and breeding dispersal of northern New Zealand dotterels

Dispersal patterns of juvenile northern New Zealand dotterels have been analysed, based on sight recoveries of birds colour-banded as chicks between 1986 and 1998. Birds bred 0-196 km from their natal site, with an average distance of 31 km and a median of 22 km. About 18% of birds returned to their natal site to breed and nearly all (93%) bred within 70 km of their natal site. Between fledging and breeding most juveniles moved much further than indicated by their natal dispersal distance. Natal and first breeding sites are known for 120 birds; 77 of these were raised in the Northland-Auckland area and 43 in the Coromandel-Bay of Plenty area. There appears to be very little movement of juveniles between the two areas; over a period of 13 years only nine of 240 banded chicks that fledged were seen outside their natal area and no birds raised in one area were found breeding in the other. Analysis of breeding dispersal by adults shows that they move less than juveniles; none of 25 adults that moved from one breeding site to another crossed between the two areas. There is apparently very little effective dispersal (gene flow) between birds in the two areas and they currently appear to constitute isolated groups. Information from some parts of the species range is sparse but it appears likely that birds in the Far North and the Auckland west coast are part of the Northland-Auckland group, and that birds on Great Barrier Island and in the Gisborne area are part of the Coromandel-Bay of Plenty group. The status of birds on the Waikato west coast is unknown. Managed sites should be maintained in the two areas; the distribution and number of managed sites within each area should take account of natal dispersal distances. Important areas currently without managed sites that may require them to maintain the range of the species include the Far North and northern and southern sections of the west coast.
Adaptive tracking control with uncertainties for robots

In this paper, an adaptive Jacobian tracking control of robot manipulators is presented. The proposed controller is based on the inverse robot manipulator dynamics and estimated uncertainty which can compensate for the uncertain parameters and external disturbances. Using the Lyapunov approach, the paper incorporates sliding mode control to enhance the asymptotic stability that shows the tracking errors of end-effector motion converge asymptotically to zero. Simulation results are presented to show the robustness and the performance of the proposed controller applied to a two-degrees of freedom (2DOF) manipulator.
Altered Structural Brain Connectivity in Healthy Carriers of the Autism Risk Gene, CNTNAP2

Recently, carriers of a common variant in the autism risk gene, CNTNAP2, were found to have altered functional brain connectivity using functional MRI. Here, we scanned 328 young adults with high-field (4-Tesla) diffusion imaging, to test the hypothesis that carriers of this gene variant would have altered structural brain connectivity. All participants (209 women, 119 men, age: 23.4±2.17 SD years) were scanned with 105-gradient high-angular-resolution diffusion imaging (HARDI) at 4 Tesla. After performing a whole-brain fiber tractography using the full angular resolution of the diffusion scans, 70 cortical surface-based regions of interest were created from each individual's co-registered anatomical data to compute graph metrics for all pairs of cortical regions. In graph theory analyses, subjects homozygous for the risk allele (CC) had lower characteristic path length, greater small-worldness and global efficiency in whole-brain analyses, and lower [corrected] eccentricity (maximum path length) in 60 of the 70 nodes in regional analyses. These results were not reducible to differences in more commonly studied traits such as fiber density or fractional anisotropy. This is the first study that links graph theory metrics of brain structural connectivity to a common genetic variant linked with autism and will help us understand the neurobiology of the circuits implicated in the risk for autism.
Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK and PI3K/PTEN/Akt/mTOR Inhibitors: Rationale and Importance to Inhibiting These Pathways in Human Health

The Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK and PI3K/PTEN/Akt/mTOR cascades are often activated by genetic alterations in upstream signaling molecules such as receptor tyrosine kinases (RTK). Integral components of these pathways, Ras, B-Raf, PI3K, and PTEN are also activated/inactivated by mutations. These pathways have profound effects on proliferative, apoptotic and differentiation pathways. Dysregulation of these pathways can contribute to chemotherapeutic drug resistance, proliferation of cancer initiating cells (CICs) and premature aging. This review will evaluate more recently described potential uses of MEK, PI3K, Akt and mTOR inhibitors in the proliferation of malignant cells, suppression of CICs, cellular senescence and prevention of aging. Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK and Ras/PI3K/PTEN/Akt/mTOR pathways play key roles in the regulation of normal and malignant cell growth. Inhibitors targeting these pathways have many potential uses from suppression of cancer, proliferative diseases as well as aging.
Thymosin β4 and cardiac protection: implication in inflammation and fibrosis

Thymosin beta 4 (Tβ4) is a ubiquitous protein with diverse biological functions. The effecter molecules targeted by Tβ4 in cardiac protection remain unknown. We summarize previously published work showing that treatment with Tβ4 in the myocardial infarction setting improves cardiac function by activating Akt phosphorylation, promoting the ILK–Pinch–Parvin complex, and suppressing NF‐κB and collagen synthesis. In the presence of Wortmannin, Tβ4 showed minimal cardiac protection. In vitro findings revealed that pretreatment with Tβ4 resulted in reduction of intracellular ROS in the cardiac fibroblasts and was associated with increased expression of antioxidant enzymes, reduction of Bax/Bcl2 ratio, and attenuation of profibrotic genes. Silencing of Cu/Zn‐SOD, catalase, and Bcl2 genes abrogated the protective effect of Tβ4. Our findings suggest that Tβ4 improves cardiac function by enhancing Akt and ILK activation and suppressing NF‐κB activity and collagen synthesis. Furthermore, Tβ4 selectively upregulates catalase, Cu/Zn‐SOD, and Bcl2, thereby protecting cardiac fibroblasts from H2O2‐induced oxidative damage. Further studies are warranted to elucidate the signaling pathway(s) involved in the cardiac protection afforded by Tβ4.
Liquid Density Sensing Using Resonant Flexural Plate Wave Device with Sol-Gel PZT Thin Films

This paper presents the design, fabrication and preliminary experimental results of a flexure plate wave (FPW) resonator using sol-gel derived lead zirconate titanates (PZT) thin films. The resonator adopts a two-port structure with reflecting grates on the composite membrane of PZT and SiNx. The design of the reflecting grating is derived from a SAW resonator model using COM theory to produce a sharp resonant peak. The comparison between the mass and the viscosity effects from the theoretical expression illustrates the applications and the constraints of the proposed device in liquid sensing. Multiple coatings of sol-gel derived PZT films are adopted because of the cost advantage and the high electromechanical coupling effect over other piezoelectric films. The fabrication issues of the proposed material structure are addressed. Theoretical estimations of the mass and the viscosity effects are compared with the experimental results. The resonant frequency has a good linear correlation with the density of low viscosity liquids, which demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed device.
Torsional eigenfrequency identification of squirrel cage rotors of induction motors

This paper deals with the dynamical modeling of squirrel cage rotors in induction motors. A simple mathematical model is presented in order to analytically identify the torsional eigenfrequencies, based on the estimation of the effective length of the bar overhang. A satisfactory agreement between experimental results and theoretical estimations is achieved.
Inhibition of Matrix Metalloproteinase 14 (MMP-14)-mediated Cancer Cell Migration*

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) have been shown to be key players in both extracellular matrix remodeling and cell migration during cancer metastasis. MMP-14, a membrane-anchored MMP, in particular, is closely associated with these processes. The hemopexin (PEX) domain of MMP-14 has been proposed as the modulating region involved in the molecular cross-talk that initiates cell migration through homodimerization of MMP-14 as well as heterodimerization with the cell surface adhesion molecule CD44. In this study, minimal regions required for function within the PEX domain were investigated through a series of substitution mutations. Blades I and IV were found to be involved in cell migration. We found that blade IV is necessary for MMP-14 homodimerization and that blade I is required for CD44 MMP-14 heterodimerization. Cross-talk between MMP-14 and CD44 results in phosphorylation of EGF receptor and downstream activation of the MAPK and PI3K signaling pathways involved in cell migration. Based on these mutagenesis analyses, peptides mimicking the essential outermost strand motifs within the PEX domain of MMP-14 were designed. These synthetic peptides inhibit MMP-14-enhanced cell migration in a dose-dependent manner but have no effect on the function of other MMPs. Furthermore, these peptides interfere with cancer metastasis without affecting primary tumor growth. Thus, targeting the MMP-14 hemopexin domain represents a novel approach to inhibit MMP-14-mediated cancer dissemination.
Anatomy of Love: A Natural History of Mating, Marriage, and Why We Stray

In this brilliant book, Fisher looks at the innate aspects of love, sex, and marriage. She examines flirting behavior and other courting postures we use to woo each other. She explores the brain chemistry of attraction and attachment, and posits a new theory--"the four-year itch"--about when and why marriages are most likely to end.
Congress, the Press, and Political Accountability

Congress, the Press, and Political Accountability. R. Douglas Arnold. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2004. 279 pp. $35 hbk. R. Douglas Arnold's latest book, Congress, the Press, and Political Accountability, is based upon a complex interplay of three studies addressing how citizens and the press interact in their evaluations of public officials. The fundamental questions examined in this book are (1) how informative and variable the local newspapers are in their coverage of members of Congress, (2) how knowledgeable citizens are as a result of reading newspapers, and (3) how politicians are held accountable as a consequence. The findings reported in this book show a good deal of variation in newspaper coverage of local representatives. Some papers are quite informative; others not so. Some of Arnold's results appear to confirm some previously known conclusions. For example, contested elections get more coverage than noncontested ones. Heavily funded races get more coverage than under-funded ones. The author makes some new points as well, however. For example, that the use of horserace stories is not common in Congressional campaigns is a new point. The author also finds that local papers report on their representatives in a regular fashion, rather than simply during election seasons. This book is commendable in many ways. A notable strength is the detailed methodological thought-processes explaining the creation and functionality of these studies. Arnold displays an amazing dexterity in this regard by skillfully weaving the three approaches to address the aforementioned questions. It is also clear that Arnold sees the questions he explores from multiple perspectives. This work should be a model of study not only for the beginner but for the seasoned veteran as well. The downside of this strength, however, is that it is awfully easy for one to get lost in the maze of detail that Arnold covers. Yet another strength is the insight into the journalism process. It is abundantly clear that Arnold fully comprehends the business of journalism. For instance, he took into account regional editions of newspapers, which resulted in more stories being analyzed. Such comprehensive coverage provides a better sense of how information is truly available to citizens. The author's innovative approach of using a computerized text searching system for the local newspapers creates a wonderfully rich dataset. Using this technology, the author is able to affordably access over 45,000 daily newspapers. The dataset comprises a true random sample, providing a recommendation for others to follow. …