Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Open University ’ s repository of research publications and other research outputs Granular shear flow in varying gravitational environments

Despite their very low surface gravities, asteroids exhibit a number of different geological processes involving granular matter. Understanding the response of this granular material subject to external forces in microgravity conditions is vital to the design of a successful asteroid sub-surface sampling mechanism, and in the interpretation of the fascinating geology on an asteroid. We have designed and flown a Taylor-Couette shear cell to investigate granular flow due to rotational shear forces under the conditions of parabolic flight microgravity. The experiments occur under weak compression. First, we present the technical details of the experimental design with particular emphasis on how the equipment has been specifically designed for the parabolic flight environment. Then, we investigate how a steady state granular flow induced by rotational shear forces differs in varying gravitational environments. We find that the effect of constant shearing on the granular material, in a direction perpendicular to the effective acceleration, does not seem to be strongly influenced by gravity. This means that shear bands can form in the presence of a weak gravitational field just as on Earth.
AFFECTIVE USER EXPECTATIONS TOWARDS MOVING PRODUCTS

: Applying movement to products has emerged as a new design challenge due to the development of embodied computing technology and a design paradigm shift for affective user experience. Regarding the human sense-making tendencies, movement design for products can be expected to provide life-like qualities such as intentions, emotions and social relationships. In advance of the development of such products, this study seeks to clarify the universal knowledge of users by conducting two surveys. In Survey one, the pros and cons of moving products are envisioned by designers. Then, in Survey two, 12 cases of moving products are evaluated by users for a factor analysis. As a result, four dimensions of users’ affective expectations toward moving products were identified. These were Goal Fulfillment, Rich Expression, Faithful Relationship, and Intelligence . By looking into the 12 cases with this framework, we can explain how users make sense of the human-like qualities of various moving products. The resulted knowledge of this study provides designers with structured perspectives as to interpreting and foreseeing potential acceptance of moving products.
Multimodal Biometrics it is: Need for Future Systems

A biometric system is essentially a pattern recognition system that operates by acquiring biometric data from an individual, extracting a feature set from the acquired data, and comparing this feature set against the template set in the database. Multimodal biometric systems are becoming more and more popular, they have more accuracy as compared to unimodal biometric systems. On the other hand these systems are more complex. We discuss here different types of multimodal biometric systems, different decision fusion techniques used in these systems. We discuss their feasibility and advantage over unimodal biometric systems & some of the future directions of biometrics system.
Adolescent insomnia as a risk factor for early adult depression and substance abuse.

STUDY OBJECTIVE To evaluate the association between adolescent insomnia and mental health during adolescence and young adulthood. DESIGN Cross-sectional and prospective study. SETTINGS School and in home. PARTICIPANTS Nationally based population sample of 4494 adolescents, 12 to 18 years old at baseline (mean = 15.83 years), with 3582 young adults, 18 to 25 years old (mean = 21.25 years) at 6- to 7-year follow-up. MEASURES Self-report measures of mental health. RESULTS Insomnia symptoms were reported by 9.4% of the adolescents. Cross-sectionally, adolescent insomnia symptoms were associated with use of alcohol, cannabis, and drugs other than cannabis; depression; suicide ideation; and suicide attempts (all P values < 0.01) after controlling for sex. Prospectively, insomnia symptoms during adolescence were a significant risk factor for depression diagnosis (odds ratio = 2.3) in young adulthood after controlling for sex and baseline depression. CONCLUSION This study is the first to longitudinally evaluate insomnia symptoms during adolescence as a risk factor for mental health problems in young adulthood. The findings indicate that insomnia is a prevalent problem for adolescents and argue for future treatment-outcome studies to evaluate the efficacy and effectiveness of various insomnia interventions in this age group.
Integrating Wireless Sensors and RFID Tags into Energy-Efficient and Dynamic Context Networks

Context-aware systems have traditionally used distributed sensors to gather context information. The unique identity provided by radio frequency identification (RFID) tags could provide additional information to the sensor data. However, the task of matching identity and sensor information in the same context is not trivial. By placing wireless sensor nodes in the same RFID tagged objects, we can build distributed wireless networks that collaborate to produce uniquely identified context. In this paper, we introduce a set of network protocols that dictate the formation of context-specific wireless sensor networks (WSNs). One of the main goals of our protocols is to maintain an energy-efficient WSN, in which network members can join and leave the network in a dynamic, transparent way. Simulations show that our design provides important improvements in network lifetime and that it is specially suited for dynamic environments. Additionally, we describe our implementation experience and provide a set of tools for creating and evaluating our application.
Cerebral Amino Acid Profiles after Hypoxia-Reoxygenation and N-Acetylcysteine Treatment in the Newborn Piglet

Background: Neonatal hypoxia-ischemia (HI) is a common clinical occurrence. Recently, much evidence has been gathered to suggest that oxygen free radicals are implicated in the pathogenesis of hypoxia-reoxygenation injury through the initiation and propagation of toxic cascades including glutamate excitotoxicity and the manifestation of post-HI neurologic disorders. Following HI, excessive free radicals are formed and antioxidant defenses are diminished. N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is a clinically available antioxidant and has been previously shown to reduce oxidative stress and scavenge free radicals in multiple models of brain injury. Objectives: Using an acutely instrumented swine model of neonatal hypoxia-reoxygenation, the objective of the present study was to examine the neurochemical effects of NAC administration in 5 brain regions exquisitely vulnerable to severe hypoxia. Methods: In a blinded fashion, newborn piglets (1–4 d, 1.4–2.2 kg) were block randomized into surgical sham (SHAM), hypoxic control (HC) and NAC-treated (H-NAC) groups. Both HC and H-NAC piglets were subject to 2 h of alveolar hypoxia (paO2 = 20–40 mm Hg) and then resuscitated with 100% O2 for 1 h followed by 21% for an additional 3 h. Results: Our results show that two hours of severe hypoxemia causes metabolic acidosis and significant changes in cerebral amino acids including glutamate, aspartate and alanine, in all brain regions investigated including the cortex, basal ganglia and thalamus. The administration of NAC 10 min into the reoxygenation period and subsequently continued as an infusion, maintains post-resuscitation amino acid neurochemistry at the levels observed in SHAM piglets. Conclusions: In newborn piglets that have sustained brain injury related to hypoxia/reoxygenation, the administration of NAC does not disrupt cerebral amino acid balance and maintains cerebral amino acid homeostasis.
NO EVIDENCE OF RHODOCOCCUS EQUI INFECTION IN PIGS FROM THE SOUTHEAST REGION OF BRAZIL ( AUSÊNCIA DE INFECÇÃO POR RHODOCOCCUS EQUI EM SUÍNOS DA REGIÃO SUDESTE DO BRASIL )

SUMMARY Pigs and their environment have been pointed out as a possible source of Rhodococcus equi infection in AIDS patients. Intermediately virulent R. equi were detected in AIDS cases from Sao Paulo, and to establish a possible epidemiological association with pigs we searched for R. equi in submaxillary lymph nodes of pigs slaughtered in this geographic area. Although we used several protocols of culture and selective media for R. equi isolation, no case of R. equi infection was detected in 1,068 pigs from 12 municipal districts in the Southeast region of Brazil. This result suggests another source of human R. equi infection in AIDS patients from Sao Paulo.
Aspirin Attenuates Angiotensin II-induced Cardiomyocyte Hypertrophy by Inhibiting the Ca(2+)/Calcineurin-NFAT Signaling Pathway.

INTRODUCTION In this study, we examined whether aspirin could inhibit cardiac hypertrophy. METHODS We utilized cultured neonatal mouse cardiomyocytes and mice for the study and subjected to cardiomyocyte immunochemistry, qRT-PCR, and immunoblotting analysis. The cardiac function was measured using M-mode echocardiography. RESULTS Ten μM aspirin significantly inhibited Ang II-induced increase in cardiomyocyte size, the mRNA, and protein levels of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), and β-myosin heavy chain (β-MHC) (P < 0.05). Meantime, consistent with the result in vitro, the increase in HW/BW ratio, the mRNA, and protein levels of ANP, BNP, and β-MHC could be reduced by aspirin in vivo (P < 0.05). Analysis of cardiac function revealed that mouse hearts treated with Ang II displayed thickening of the ventricular walls, left ventricular end-diastolic dimensions, and left ventricular end-systolic dimensions were significantly decreased (P < 0.05), whereas interventricular septal thickness at end-diastole, interventricular septal thickness at end-systole, posterior wall thickness in diastole, and posterior wall thickness in systole were markedly increased (P < 0.05), which could be reversed by aspirin (P < 0.05). Moreover, aspirin blunted the increase inCa(2+) and inhibited the calcineurin activity and NFAT dephosphorylation caused by Ang II (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Aspirin inhibited cardiac hypertrophy in vitro and in vivo through inhibition of the Ca(2+)/calcineurin-NFAT signaling pathway. Therefore, these findings suggested that aspirin might become a therapeutic option to reduce cardiac hypertrophy.
Tumefactive Brain Demyelination Accompanying Multifocal Acquired Demyelinating Sensory and Motor Neuropathy

Ad dress for Cor res pon den ce/Ya z›fl ma Ad re si: Aslı Tuncer Kurne MD, Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Ankara, Turkey Phone: +90 312 305 25 85 E-mail: akurne@hacettepe.edu. tr Re cei ved/Ge lifl Ta ri hi: 22.02. 2014 Ac cep ted/Ka bul Ta ri hi: 21.10. 2014 Multifocal acquired demyelinating sensory and motor (MADSAM) neuropathy is characterized by asymmetric multifocal motor and sensory loss and conduction blocks in peripheral nerves. Peripheral demyelinating diseases may be accompanied by demyelination in the central nervous system (CNS). In this report, we present a patient with MADSAM who had a solitary tumefactive demyelinating lesion in the brain. Neuroimaging was performed because of a visual field defect revealed a right parietooccipital lesion, which was initially misdiagnosed as a tumor. A pathologic examination showed that it was demyelinating in nature. The patient developed peripheral nervous symptoms two years later and was then diagnosed as having MADSAM. There was a prominent clinical and electrophysiologic response to steroid treatment. Tumefactive brain involvement has not previously been reported for MADSAM neuropathy, although it has been documented in a single case of typical chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP). CNS involvement should therefore be considered in patients with MADSAM.
Three‐dimensional magnetization‐prepared rapid gradient‐echo imaging (3D MP RAGE)

A new three‐dimensional imaging technique which is applicable for 3D MR imaging throughout the body is introduced. In our preliminary investigations we have acquired high‐quality 3D image sets of the abdomen showing minimal respiratory artifacts in just over 7 min (voxel size 2.7 × 2.7 × 2.7 mm3), and 3D image sets of the head showing excellent gray/white contrast in less than 6 min (voxel size 1.0 × 2.0 × 1.4 mm3). © 1990 Academic Press, Inc.
Study the effect of system parameters on controller gains for discrete AGC of hydro-thermal system

This paper investigates the effect of system parameters on optimum controller gains for discrete data automatic generation control of an interconnected power system. The optimum gains of the system have been analyzed for different values of sampling periods in discrete mode of operation. The effect of different loading conditions on the optimum gains is also investigated. As we know that load varies widely throughout the day. The optimum gains calculated for the nominal loading may not be optimum at other loading condition. Therefore the system has been analyzed for different loading conditions. The load variation of 30-100% has been considered for the investigation. This paper also deals with the proper selection of speed regulation parameter R for the design of speed governor. The hydro-thermal system has been taken for investigation. The dynamic responses are obtained for 1% load perturbation in thermal area system. The Matlab/simulink software is used for the simulation work.
Secure transmission in multi-cell massive MIMO systems

In this paper, we consider a multi-cell massive MIMO system with matched-filter precoding and artificial noise (AN) generation at the base station (BS) for secure downlink transmission in the presence of multi-antenna passive eavesdroppers. We derive two tight lower bounds for the achievable ergodic secrecy rate and a tight upper bound on the secrecy outage probability of the considered system. The analytical results are used to optimize the amount of power allocated for AN generation. Our results reveal that AN generation is not required in massive MIMO systems as long as the number of BS antennas is much larger than the number of eavesdropper antennas. However, as the number of eavesdropper antennas increases relative to the number of BS antennas, AN becomes beneficial and the amount of power optimally allocated to AN generation increases with the number of eavesdropper antennas.
A reduced-order partial differential equation model for dynamics of the flow in athermosyphon

By E. A. BURROUGHS , E. A. COUTSIAS 2 AND L. A. ROMERO 3 Department of Mathematics Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA, USA email: burroughs@humboldt.edu Department of Mathematics and Statistics University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA email: vageli@math.unm. edu Department of Computational Mathematics and Algorithms Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM, USA email: lromero@sandia.gov Sandia is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed-Martin Company, for the United States Department of Energy under Contract DE-AC04-94AL85000
Even slight movements disturb analysis of cardiovascular dynamics

Fortrat, Jacques-Olivier, Cédric Formet, Jean Frutoso, and Claude Gharib. Even slight movements disturb analysis of cardiovascular dynamics. Am. J. Physiol. 277 (Heart Circ. Physiol. 46): H261–H267, 1999. —We hypothesized that spontaneous movements (postural adjustments and ideomotion) disturb analysis of heart rate and blood pressure variability and could explain the discrepancy between studies. We measured R-R intervals and systolic blood pressure in nine healthy sitting subjects during three protocols: 1) no movement allowed, 2) movements allowed but not standing, 3) movements and standing allowed. Heart rate and blood pressure were not altered by movements. Movements with or without standing produced a twofold or greater increase of the overall variability of R-R intervals and of the low-frequency components of spectral analysis of heart rate variability. The spectral exponent b of heart rate variability (1.123 at rest) was changed by movements (1.364), and the percentage of fractal noise (79% at rest) was increased by standing (91%, coarse-graining spectral analysis). Spontaneous movements could induce a plateau in the correlation dimensions of heart rate variability, but they changed its nonlinear predictability. We suggest that future studies on short-term cardiovascular variability should control spontaneous movements.
Recent studies on the neurocognitive effects of second-generation antipsychotic medications

Neurocognitive deficits are core features of schizophrenia, and they are also consistent predictors and correlates of functional outcome. Although the neurocognitive effects of conventional antipsychotic medications have been minimal, the story with regard to second-generation medications is more promising. Over the past year, the literature has been expanded by comprehensive overviews as well as data-based papers. Several of the newer papers are notable in that they take advantage of more specialized measures to explore the nature of neurocognitive effects. The recent overviews point out the limitations of the existing literature, as well as intriguing new avenues. There are now sufficient studies to conclude that second-generation medications convey a neurocognitive advantage compared with conventional medications administered at standard dosages. These advantages, although encouraging, do not bring patients' performance up to that of normal controls. For larger effect sizes, the field may need to consider other types of medications. In general, the literature is starting to move beyond trying to demonstrate the neurocognitive advantages of second-generation medications, and is trying to identify the boundary conditions and implications of any such differences.
Modeling and Analysis of the Execution Context in WS-BPEL

In order to better support the long-running transactions, Web Service Business Process Execution Language (WS-BPEL) provides some special exception handling and compensation mechanisms. To examine the availability of exception handling and compensation mechanisms in WS-BPEL process, the modeling and analysis for the execution context in WS-BPEL process should be done at first. In this paper, we analyze the state transitions and operational semantic in WSBPEL business workflow both in the case of correct execution and exceptional execution. Consequently, based on the state transition system we propose the state space models for three types of activities in WS-BPEL. In the end, we present a formal approach to model the execution context in WS-BPEL based on the state space model. Based on the formal model, the control flow result from the exception handler and compensation mechanism can be described and analyzed. Keywords-modeling; state transition; compensation; WS-BPEL
High-salt diet impairs vascular relaxation mechanisms in rat middle cerebral arteries.

Male Sprague-Dawley rats were maintained on a low-salt (LS) diet (0.4% NaCl) or a high-salt (HS) diet (4% NaCl) for 3 days or 4 wk. PO(2) reduction to 40-45 mmHg, the stable prostacyclin analog iloprost (10 pg/ml), and stimulatory G protein activation with cholera toxin (1 ng/ml) caused vascular smooth muscle (VSM) hyperpolarization, increased cAMP production, and dilation in cerebral arteries from rats on a LS diet. Arteries from rats on a HS diet exhibited VSM depolarization and constriction in response to hypoxia and iloprost, failed to dilate or hyperpolarize in response to cholera toxin, and cAMP production did not increase in response to hypoxia, iloprost, or cholera toxin. Low-dose angiotensin II infusion (5 ng x kg(-1) x min(-1) i.v. ) restored normal responses to reduced PO(2) and iloprost in arteries from animals on a HS diet. These observations suggest that angiotensin II suppression with a HS diet leads to impaired relaxation of cerebral arteries in response to vasodilator stimuli acting at the cell membrane.
Cost Effective Management of CKD-MBD: An Observational Study

Chronic Kidney Disease and Mineral Bone Disorder (CKD-MBD) is often present in dialysis patients and is associated with increased hospitalization, cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. It is manifested by abnormalities in serum calcium, phosphate, parathyroid hormone (PTH) or vitamin D metabolism. Multiple interventions that often interact are possible to change biochemical parameters. The choice of treatment can greatly affect both biochemical outcomes and possibly also cost. The aim of this study was to compare management of CKD-MBD between two centres and test whether this comparison can lead to changes in management strategy. A prospective observational study of prevalent hemodialysis patients treated in two general hospitals in the Netherlands between September 2011 and October 2012. Treatment strategies in the management of CKD-MBD, biochemical parameters and cost effectiveness were compared. After the comparison, measures were taken in one hospital to improve cost effectiveness without compromising biochemical outcomes, increasing the total calcium load, or depleting patients from vitamin D. In September 2011, 93 patients in the MCA and 82 patients in the WFG underwent intermittent hemodialysis. In both hospitals, CKB-MBD was managed according to KDIGO guidelines. Albumin-corrected calcium and phosphate levels were similar, while PTH was higher in the MCA at both time points. Average daily elemental calcium supplementation per patient did not differ significantly between the hospitals, though it was slightly higher in the WFG. On the contrary, within the group of patients who were prescribed calcium-based phosphate binders, the mean dose of calcium was significantly higher in the WFG (1.7 g/pt/day vs 0.7 g/pt/day in the MCA in September 2012). The total costs of treatment of CKB-MBD in euro per patient per day in the MCA and WFG differed significantly at baseline (11 vs 4 euro), but not one year thereafter (4.50 vs 5.00 euro). In conclusion, considerable differences in CKD-MBD management can exist within KDIGO guidelines. In the absence of randomized trials, comparison of management strategies between centres can help to improve care. Cost effective management of CKB-MBD is possible without increasing calcium load or depleting patients from vitamin D.
Aberrant methylation of heparan sulfate glucosamine 3-O-sulfotransferase 2 genes as a biomarker in colorectal cancer.

AIM The first aim was to determine whether hypermethylation of certain tumor related genes, including 3OST2, CHFR, RUNX3, and p16, could be detected in Japanese colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. The second was to utilize the most frequently hypermethylated genes as biomarkers for early detection of CRC. MATERIALS AND METHODS We investigated the aberrant promoter methylation profile of 4 genes in 129 colorectal tumors and corresponding normal mucosa. For the second step, bowel lavage and blood of the main tumor drainage vein from 21 CRC patients were analyzed. RESULTS The 3OST2 gene was the most frequently methylated (57%) and was methylated frequently (9/21, 43%) in bowel lavage but rarely (1/21; 4.7%) in the venous drainage. The concordance between 3OST2 methylation in bowel lavage and corresponding tumor samples was 71.4%. CONCLUSION These results may show the possibility of early detection for CRC by examining 3OST2 gene methylation status in DNA extracted from stool.