Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Multipronged Approach Is Associated with Improved Breast Milk Feeding Rates in Very Low Birth Weight Infants of an Inner-City Hospital

Breast milk feeding has advantages over formula feeding in premature infants, but its use in them is low. We initiated measures in our inner-city hospital such as starting a dedicated lactation service, counseling the mothers prenatally and postnatally, educating hospital staff, and advocating with our state’s Medicaid insurance to provide free home breast pumps. These measures were associated with improvement in our breast milk feeding rates in very low birth weight infants from 22% to 88% over 5 years. This article describes our multipronged approach and can help encourage and guide other units with similar demographics to improve their breast milk feeding rates.
Mechanistic Model to Predict the Impact of the Aggregate Matrix on the Permanent Deformation of Asphalt Mixtures

Hot mix asphalt (HMA) is a granular composite material stabilized by the presence of asphalt binder. The behavior of HMA is highly influenced by the microstructure distribution in terms of the different aggregate particles present in the mix, the directional distribution of aggregates, the distribution of voids, and the nucleation and propagation of cracks. Conventional continuum modeling of HMA lacks the ability to explicitly account for the effect of aggregate microstructure distribution features. This report presents the development of elastic and visco-plastic models that account for important aspects of the aggregate and microstructure distribution in modeling the macroscopic behavior of HMA. The objective of Project 0-1707 is to develop tools by which engineers can judge the impact of the aggregate on the performance of HMA based on simple and repeatable tests. Of greatest concern in Project 0-1707 is the ability of the HMA to resist permanent deformation or to rut, which leads to safety concerns, especially under wet surface conditions. In this report, the research team develops an approach is developed to introduce a length scale to the elasticity constitutive relationship in order to capture the influence of aggregate particle sizes on HMA response. A finite element (FE) analysis is used to analyze the microstructure response and predict the macroscopic properties of HMA. Each point in the microstructure is assigned effective local properties that are calculated using an analytical micromechanical model that captures the influence of the number of particles on the microscopic response of the HMA. The moving window technique and autocorrelation function are used to determine the microstructure characteristic length scales that are used in strain gradient elasticity. A number of asphalt mixes with different aggregate types and size distributions are analyzed. An elasto-visco-plastic continuum model is developed to predict HMA response and performance. The model incorporates a Drucker-Prager yield surface that is modified to capture the influence of stress path direction on the material response. Parameters that reflect the directional distribution of aggregates and damage density in the microstructure are included in the model. The elasto-visco-plastic model is converted into a numerical formulation and is implemented in FE analysis using a user-defined material subroutine (UMAT). A fully implicit algorithm in time-step control is used to enhance the efficiency of the FE analysis. The FE model used in this project simulates experimental data and pavement section.
Crawling and Jumping by a Deformable Robot

We describe crawling and jumping by a soft robot. Locomotion over rough terrain has been achieved mainly by rigid body systems including crawlers and leg mechanisms. This paper presents an alternative method, one that employs deformation. First, we describe the principle of crawling and jumping as performed through deformation of a robot body. Second, in a physical simulation, we investigate the feasibility of the approach. Next, we show experimentally that a prototype of a circular soft robot can crawl and jump. Finally, we describe crawling and jumping performed by a spherical deformable robot.
Scaling and performance of a priority packet queue for real-time applications

Real-time multiprocessor applications are typically characterized by hard deadlines which severely constrain interprocessor communications. Contention for communication resources and the use of first-in-first-out (FIFO) buffering can introduce priority inversion, resulting in missed deadlines. This paper investigates the scaling and performance of a novel 1.2 /spl mu/m CMOS Priority Packet Queue (PPQ) design. Its unique segmented architecture effectively exploits the packetized nature of traffic within most real-time networks and achieves 96% the speed of a high-speed packet FIFO. The PPQ can either perform priority inheritance or overwrite lower priority packets during queue overflow, and robustly handles asynchronous read and write clocks of widely disparate frequencies. Comparison results show that the PPQ offers over twice the speed of the conventional design, and promises even greater relative speed improvement for larger designs. <<ETX>>
Design of the Language Replica for Hybrid PRAM-NUMA Many-core Architectures

Parallel programming is widely considered very demanding for an average programmer due to inherent asynchrony of underlying parallel architectures. In this paper we describe the main design principles and core features of Replica -- a parallel language aimed for high-level programming of a new paradigm of reconfigurable, scalable and powerful synchronous shared memory architectures that promise to make parallel programming radically easier with the help of strict memory consistency and deterministic synchronous execution of hardware threads and multi-operations.
Endothelial progenitor cells – hype or hope?

Summary. The discovery of endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) radically altered our views of adult tissue angiogenesis, indicating the contribution of circulating bone marrow‐derived cells to new blood vessel formation, rather than migration and replication of local endothelial cells. This opened up the prospect of new ways to repair damaged tissues, using EPC to encourage neoangiogenesis or the re‐endothelialization of larger vessels. Within less than 5 years from the description of EPC and the inception of experimental studies, human studies were started with the aim of using autologous bone marrow‐derived EPC to enhance tissue function after ischemic vascular injury, particularly after myocardial infarction (MI). However, the clinical studies have shown at best modestly encouraging results. Moreover, subsequent investigation has made it clear that these EPC are not true endothelial progenitors, although they are likely to play a role in angiogenesis by virtue of the release of paracrine angiogenic factors. This review summarizes knowledge of EPC and our current understanding of their function, together with what is known of the properties of genuine endothelial progenitor cells and how they will be used in the future to design more effective means of therapeutic angiogenesis.
Severe Fertility Effects of sheepish Sperm Caused by Failure To Enter Female Sperm Storage Organs in Drosophila melanogaster

In Drosophila, mature sperm are transferred from males to females during copulation, stored in the sperm storage organs of females, and then utilized for fertilization. Here, we report a gene named sheepish (shps) of Drosophila melanogaster that is essential for sperm storage in females. shps mutant males, although producing morphologically normal and motile sperm that are effectively transferred to females, produce very few offspring. Direct counts of sperm indicated that the primary defect was correlated to failure of shps sperm to migrate into the female sperm storage organs. Increased sperm motion parameters were seen in the control after transfer to females, whereas sperm from shps males have characteristics of the motion parameters different from the control. The few sperm that occasionally entered the female sperm storage organs showed no obvious defects in fertilization and early embryo development. The female postmating responses after copulation with shps males appeared normal, at least with respect to conformational changes of uterus, mating plug formation, and female remating rates. The shps gene encodes a protein with homology to amine oxidases, including as observed in mammals, with a transmembrane region at the C-terminal end. The shps mutation was characterized by a nonsense replacement in the third exon of CG13611, and shps was rescued by transformants of the wild-type copy of CG13611. Thus, shps may define a new class of gene responsible for sperm storage.
Metabolomic Analyses of Plasma Reveals New Insights into Asphyxia and Resuscitation in Pigs

Background Currently, a limited range of biochemical tests for hypoxia are in clinical use. Early diagnostic and functional biomarkers that mirror cellular metabolism and recovery during resuscitation are lacking. We hypothesized that the quantification of metabolites after hypoxia and resuscitation would enable the detection of markers of hypoxia as well as markers enabling the monitoring and evaluation of resuscitation strategies. Methods and Findings Hypoxemia of different durations was induced in newborn piglets before randomization for resuscitation with 21% or 100% oxygen for 15 min or prolonged hyperoxia. Metabolites were measured in plasma taken before and after hypoxia as well as after resuscitation. Lactate, pH and base deficit did not correlate with the duration of hypoxia. In contrast to these, we detected the ratios of alanine to branched chained amino acids (Ala/BCAA; R2.adj = 0.58, q-value<0.001) and of glycine to BCAA (Gly/BCAA; R2.adj = 0.45, q-value<0.005), which were highly correlated with the duration of hypoxia. Combinations of metabolites and ratios increased the correlation to R2adjust = 0.92. Reoxygenation with 100% oxygen delayed cellular metabolic recovery. Reoxygenation with different concentrations of oxygen reduced lactate levels to a similar extent. In contrast, metabolites of the Krebs cycle (which is directly linked to mitochondrial function) including alpha keto-glutarate, succinate and fumarate were significantly reduced at different rates depending on the resuscitation, showing a delay in recovery in the 100% reoxygenation groups. Additional metabolites showing different responses to reoxygenation include oxysterols and acylcarnitines (n = 8–11, q<0.001). Conclusions This study provides a novel strategy and set of biomarkers. It provides biochemical in vivo data that resuscitation with 100% oxygen delays cellular recovery. In addition, the oxysterol increase raises concerns about the safety of 100% O2 resuscitation. Our biomarkers can be used in a broad clinical setting for evaluation or the prediction of damage in conditions associated with low tissue oxygenation in both infancy and adulthood. These findings have to be validated in human trials.
Inferring Galaxy Morphology Through Texture Analysis

Galaxies are not static objects; they evolve by interacting with the gas, dust and other galaxies in the surrounding environment. The most visible tracer of galaxy evolution is the diverse range of galaxy mor-phologies that have been observed. Scientists are interested to know the distribution of morphological types of the early Universe and how it has changed over time. They also want to know how the local density of galaxies a(cid:11)ect the distribution of morphologies. The answers will provide important clues about the origin of the Universe. This paper proposes a new statistical approach to study galaxy morphology which will help scientists to answer these questions.
EGFR-activated Src family kinases maintain GAB1-SHP2 complexes distal from EGFR

Activation of Src family kinases enables ligand-initiated signaling to persist in the cytoplasm after the receptor is turned off. Remote control signaling The receptor tyrosine kinase EGFR promotes cell proliferation in response to ligand activation. One of the downstream responses to EGF binding to EGFR is the tyrosine phosphorylation of the adaptor GAB1, which associates with and activates the phosphatase SHP2. Furcht et al. found that Src family kinases counteracted GAB1 dephosphorylation, which disrupts the GAB1-SHP2 interaction and attenuates EGFR signaling. This pathway enabled GAB1 to remain in association with SHP2 and stay phosphorylated longer than EGFR was activated by EGF. Furthermore, the active GAB1-SHP2 complexes persisted in the cytosol away from the activated EGFR. Computational modeling indicated a requirement for a time delay between EGFR inactivation and that of Src family kinases to enable protracted GAB1-SHP2 persistence. Complexes of signaling proteins that are nucleated upon activation of receptor tyrosine kinases are dynamic macromolecular assemblies held together by interactions, such as the recognition of phosphotyrosines by Src homology 2 (SH2) domains. We predicted that reversible binding and phosphatase activity enable dynamic regulation of these protein complexes, which could affect signal transduction. We explored how dynamics in the interactions among the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor (EGFR), GRB2-associated binder protein 1 (GAB1), and SH2 domain–containing phosphatase 2 (SHP2) affected EGFR signaling output, specifically SHP2 binding to tyrosine-phosphorylated GAB1, which relieves the autoinhibition of SHP2. Among the effects of activated SHP2 is increased extracellular signal–regulated kinase (ERK) activity. We found that in H1666 lung adenocarcinoma cells, EGFR-activated Src family kinases (SFKs) counteracted repeated GAB1 dephosphorylation events and maintained the association of SHP2 with phosphorylated GAB1 at a cytosolic site distal from EGFR. A computational model predicted that an experimentally verified delay in SFK inactivation after EGFR inactivation, combined with an amplification of GAB1 phosphorylation in cells with proteins in a specific range of concentrations, enabled GAB1 phosphorylation and GAB1-SHP2 complexes to persist longer than EGFR phosphorylation persisted in response to EGF. This SFK-dependent mechanism was specific to EGFR and did not occur in response to activation of the receptor tyrosine kinase c-MET. Thus, our results quantitatively describe a regulatory mechanism used by some receptor tyrosine kinases to remotely control the duration of a signal by regulating the persistence of a signaling protein complex.
Buccal Corridors: A Fact or a Myth in the Eyes of Laymen?

AIM: This study aimed to investigate laymen knowledge of the existence of the buccal corridor and whether it was an important factor for them in judging smile attractiveness and the effect of introducing the knowledge to them on their further judgment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Nine subjects were randomly selected with variable buccal corridor percentages. They were coached to smile in a posed fashion and full face smile photographs were taken from a standardised distance. The photographs were randomly arranged in a power point presentation and displayed to a panel of thirty-nine randomly selected laymen judges. The judges made their beauty judgment on a visual analogue scale (VAS) and filled a questionnaire. After their education about the buccal corridor, they were asked to make a second judgment on a second sheet with VAS and with a different random sequence of the photographs. RESULTS: Intra-class correlation agreement for all the judges between the first and second scores was 0.713. The Spearman’s rho Correlation coefficient indicated a positive correlation for all the photos. For the male judges, the agreement between the ratings was 0.839, and the correlation was positive for all the photos. For the female judges, the agreement between the ratings was 0.510, and the correlation was positive for all the photographs. Hundred percent of the judges were not familiar with the buccal corridor. Eighty percent of the female judges and 44.4% of the male judges mentioned that it would affect their further judgment. CONCLUSION: Laymen build their esthetic judgments on what we teach them, and modifying treatment plans to include corrections of buccal corridors for esthetic reasons only is a myth.
Prelamin A Accelerates Vascular Calcification Via Activation of the DNA Damage Response and Senescence-Associated Secretory Phenotype in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells

Rationale: Vascular calcification is prevalent in the aging population, yet little is known of the mechanisms driving age-associated vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) phenotypic change. Objective: To investigate the role of nuclear lamina disruption, a specific hallmark of VSMC aging, in driving VSMC osteogenic differentiation. Methods and Results: Prelamin A, the unprocessed form of the nuclear lamina protein lamin A, accumulated in calcifying human VSMCs in vitro and in vivo, and its overexpression promoted VSMC osteogenic differentiation and mineralization. During VSMC aging in vitro, prelamin A accumulation occurred concomitantly with increased p16 expression and osteogenic differentiation and was associated with increased levels of DNA damage. Microarray analysis showed that DNA damage repair pathways were significantly impaired in VSMCs expressing prelamin A and that chemical inhibition and siRNA depletion of the DNA damage response kinases ataxia–telangiectasia mutated/ataxia-telangiectasia– and Rad3-related effectively blocked VSMC osteogenic differentiation and mineralization. In coculture experiments, prelamin A–expressing VSMCs induced alkaline phosphatase activity in mesenchymal progenitor cells, and this was abrogated by inhibition of ataxia-telangiectasia–mutated signaling, suggesting that DNA damage induces the secretion of pro-osteogenic factors by VSMCs. Cytokine array analysis identified several ataxia-telangiectasia mutated–dependent senescence-associated secretory phenotype factors/cytokines released by prelamin A–positive VSMCs, including the calcification regulators bone morphogenetic protein 2, osteoprotegerin, and interleukin 6. Conclusions: Prelamin A promotes VSMC calcification and aging by inducing persistent DNA damage signaling, which acts upstream of VSMC osteogenic differentiation and the senescence-associated secretory phenotype. Agents that target the DNA damage response and prelamin A toxicity may be potential therapies for the treatment of vascular calcification.
Preparation and Performance of High-Barrier Low Density Polyethylene/Organic Montmorillonite Nanocomposite

Montmorillonite (MMT) was first modified with dodecyl dimethylbenzyl ammonium (DDA) salt and octadecyl trimethyl ammonium (OTA) salt. Then low density polyethylene (LDPE)/organic montmorillonite (OMMT) nanocomposites were prepared by twin-screw extruder and hot-press. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results showed that OMMT layers were homogeneously intercalated into the LDPE matrix. In terms of MMT, the modification effect of OTA is superior to that of DDA. CO2 and O2 barrier properties of nanocomposites were increased by 7 times and 4 times with 0.5 wt. % OTA-MMT loading, respectively. At 2 wt% OTA-MMT loading, water vapor permeability of LDPE has also decreased about 2.5 times. Compared with pure PE film, 49.5% and 178% improvement of tensile strength of nanocomposites films were obtained by addition of only 4 wt. % DDA-MMT and OTA-MMT, respectively. In addition, with only 0.5 wt. % OMMT loading, the onset degradation temperature of nanocomposites increases by 23°C and 26°C for LDPE/DDA-MMT and LDPE/OTA-MMT, respectively.
A Conserved Region of the R Domain of Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator Is Important in Processing and Function*

The R domain of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) connects the two halves of the protein, each of which possess a transmembrane-spanning domain and a nucleotide binding domain. Phosphorylation of serine residues, which reside mostly within the C-terminal two-thirds of the R domain, is required for nucleotide-dependent activation of CFTR chloride channel activity. The N terminus of the R domain is also likely to be important in CFTR function, since this region is highly conserved among CFTRs of different species and exhibits sequence similarity with the “linker region” of the related protein, P-glycoprotein. To date, however, the role of this region in CFTR channel function remains unknown. In this paper, we report the effects of five disease-causing mutations within the N terminus of the CFTR-R domain. All five mutants exhibit defective protein processing in mammalian HEK-293 cells, suggesting that they are mislocalized and fail to reach the cell surface. However, in theXenopus oocyte, three mutants reached the plasma membrane. One of these mutants, L619S, exhibits no detectable function, whereas the other two, D614G and I618T, exhibit partial activity as chloride channels. Single channel analysis of these latter two mutants revealed that they possess defective rates of channel opening, consistent with the hypothesis that the N terminus of the R domain participates in ATP-dependent channel gating. These findings support recent structural models that include this region within extended boundaries of the first nucleotide binding domain.
Speech–sound-selective auditory impairment in children with autism: They can perceive but do not attend

In autism, severe abnormalities in social behavior coexist with aberrant attention and deficient language. In the attentional domain, attention to people and socially relevant stimuli is impaired the most. Because socially meaningful stimulus events are physically complex, a deficiency in sensory processing of complex stimuli has been suggested to contribute to aberrant attention and language in autism. This study used event-related brain potentials (ERP) to examine the sensory and early attentional processing of sounds of different complexity in high-functioning children with autism. Acoustically matched simple tones, complex tones, and vowels were presented in separate oddball sequences, in which a repetitive “standard” sound was occasionally replaced by an infrequent “deviant” sound differing from the standard in frequency (by 10%). In addition to sensory responses, deviant sounds elicited an ERP index of automatic sound-change discrimination, the mismatch negativity, and an ERP index of attentional orienting, the P3a. The sensory sound processing was intact in the high-functioning children with autism and was not affected by sound complexity or “speechness. ” In contrast, their involuntary orienting was affected by stimulus nature. It was normal to both simple- and complex-tone changes but was entirely abolished by vowel changes. These results demonstrate that, first, auditory orienting deficits in autism cannot be explained by sensory deficits and, second, that orienting deficit in autism might be speech–sound specific.
The case for automatic higher-level features in forensic speaker recognition

Approaches from standard automatic speaker recognition, which rely on cepstral features, suffer the problem of lack of interpretability for forensic applications. But the growing practice of using “higher-level” features in automatic systems offers promise in this regard. We provide an overview of automatic higher-level systems and discuss potential advantages, as well as issues, for their use in the forensic context.