Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dietary &agr;-Linolenic Acid Inhibits Arterial Thrombus Formation, Tissue Factor Expression, and Platelet Activation

Objective—Plant-derived &agr;-linolenic acid (ALA) may constitute an attractive cardioprotective alternative to fish-derived n-3 fatty acids. However, the effect of dietary ALA on arterial thrombus formation remains unknown. Methods and Results—Male C57Bl/6 mice were fed a high-ALA or low-ALA diet for 2 weeks. Arterial thrombus formation was delayed in mice fed a high-ALA diet compared with those on a low-ALA diet (n=7; P<0.005). Dietary ALA impaired platelet aggregation to collagen and thrombin (n=5; P<0.005) and decreased p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase activation in platelets. Dietary ALA impaired arterial tissue factor (TF) expression, TF activity, and nuclear factor-&kgr;B activity (n=7; P<0.05); plasma clotting times and plasma thrombin generation did not differ (n=5; P=not significant). In cultured human vascular smooth muscle and endothelial cells, ALA inhibited TF expression and activity (n=4; P<0.01). Inhibition of TF expression occurred at the transcriptional level via the mitogen-activated protein kinase p38 in smooth muscle cells and p38, extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2, and c-Jun N-terminal kinases 1 and 2 in endothelial cells. Conclusion—ALA impairs arterial thrombus formation, TF expression, and platelet activation and thereby represents an attractive nutritional intervention with direct dual antithrombotic effects.
Lime Pretreatment of Switchgrass for Bioethanol Production

Lignocellulose-to-ethanol conversion is a promising technology to supplement corn-based ethanol production. To improve the enzymatic digestibility of lignocellulosic materials, pretreatment is necessary as it alters the structure of lignocellulosic matrix, thereby making the cellulose more accessible to cellulase enzymes during hydrolysis. In this research, switchgrass was used as lignocellulosic feedstock and lime was used as pretreatment agent to study the impact of lime loading, residence time and temperature on the reducing sugar yield of biomass after pretreatment. The results showed that lime pretreatment could effectively improve the digestibility of switchgrass at both high temperature and low temperature. At 121oC, increasing lime loading or extending residence time didn’t necessarily favor the improvement of biomass digestibility. 15 min pretreatment with the lime loading of 0.10 g/g raw biomass was recommended. At 50oC, longer residence times were needed while the lime requirement didn’t change. 24 h pretreatment with the lime loading of 0.10 g/g raw biomass was recommended. Using the recommended conditions, the reducing sugar yields of pretreated biomass were over 4 times that of unpretreated biomass. The research also showed that lime pretreatment was promising at even lower temperatures. At ambient temperature, the total reducing sugar yield from raw biomass reached 392 mg/g raw biomass after 24 h lime pretreatment, only 8% lower than that obtained under the recommended condition at 121oC or 50oC.
Retroviral Elements and Their Hosts: Insertional Mutagenesis in the Mouse Germ Line

The inbred mouse is an invaluable model for human biology and disease. Nevertheless, when considering genetic mechanisms of variation and disease, it is important to appreciate the significant differences in the spectra of spontaneous mutations that distinguish these species. While insertions of transposable elements are responsible for only ~0.1% of de novo mutations in humans, the figure is 100-fold higher in the laboratory mouse. This striking difference is largely due to the ongoing activity of mouse endogenous retroviral elements. Here we briefly review mouse endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) and their influence on gene expression, analyze mechanisms of interaction between ERVs and the host cell, and summarize the variety of mutations caused by ERV insertions. The prevalence of mouse ERV activity indicates that the genome of the laboratory mouse is presently behind in the “arms race” against invasion.
2 U RBAN D EVELOPMENT Why is the amount of impervious cover in the creek corridor important ?

source of many stressors in the Dry Creek watershed is the changing landscape: the conversion of open space to urban/suburban land uses. One way to measure these changes is by quantifying the amount of impervious cover. Impervious cover refers to hardscape of any type: roads, building, or parking lots. Impervious cover, especially in close proximity to the waterways, is the primary driver of the physical and chemical stressors in the watershed; it is a high risk source of stress. In the analysis of the source of stress-ors in the Dry Creek watershed, impervious cover (IC) was measured at six different spatial scalesin order to provide better information to guide potential actions that could reduce the adverse impacts on aquatic life. In this summary, the two scales that were most important are discussed: a) within the 100 foot stream buffer and b) within the sub-watershed. Impervious cover in the 100 foot stream buffer refers to all the hardscape contained within 100 feet of the banks on each side of the creek. What is the graph showing? Impervious cover was used as the metric for reporting on the impacts of urban development. Since the Dry Creek watershed has undergone significant urbanization during the past 25 years, impervious cover serves as a good measure of the landscape changes associated with this process. The data in Figure 1 suggests that disturbance near the waterways, measured by the percent IC, has had significant negative effects on aquatic life, measured as the benthic index of biotic integrity. Figure 1. The % IC in the 100 foot buffer. Each data point represents the % IC in the 100 ft. buffer upstream of each of the 10 sampling sites over a 5 year period (2001-2006). It reflects the amount of hardscape within a buffer that extends 100 ft. on either side of the creek (200 feet total). The B-IBI is a multi-metric index that sums scores for 5 key metrics for benthic macroinvertebrates (BMI). Lower scores generally indicate sensitive BMI populations are impaired. Correlation coefficient =-0.57, level of significance = . 000013, sample size = 50. As imperviousness increased, the abundance and di
There is no place for the psychoanalytic case report in the British Journal of Psychiatry

Summary As evidence-based mental health and the randomised controlled trial come to dominate the content of major psychiatric journals, the status and clinical utility of single case reports have been increasingly questioned. Arguably, owing to their subjective, anecdotal nature and unsuitability for rigorous scientific testing, this is particularly true of psychoanalytic case studies. Professor Peter Fonagy and Professor Lewis Wolpert debate here whether or not there is a place for such case reports in the British Journal of Psychiatry.
The controlled fabrication of nanopores by focused electron-beam-induced etching

The fabrication of nanometric holes within thin silicon-based membranes is of great importance for various nanotechnology applications. The preparation of such holes with accurate control over their size and shape is, thus, gaining a lot of interest. In this work we demonstrate the use of a focused electron-beam-induced etching (FEBIE) process as a promising tool for the fabrication of such nanopores in silicon nitride membranes and study the process parameters. The reduction of silicon nitride by the electron beam followed by chemical etching of the residual elemental silicon results in a linear dependence of pore diameter on electron beam exposure time, enabling accurate control of nanopore size in the range of 17–200 nm in diameter. An optimal pressure of 5.3 × 10−6 Torr for the production of smaller pores with faster process rates, as a result of mass transport effects, was found. The pore formation process is also shown to be dependent on the details of the pulsed process cycle, which control the rate of the pore extension, and its minimal and maximal size. Our results suggest that the FEBIE process may play a key role in the fabrication of nanopores for future devices both in sensing and nano-electronics applications.
Analytic combinatorics of connected graphs

We enumerate the connected graphs that contain a number of edges growing linearly with respect to the number of vertices. So far, only the first term of the asymptotics and a bound on the error were known. Using analytic combinatorics, that is, generating function manipulations, we derive a formula for the coefficients of the complete asymptotic expansion. The same result is derived for connected multigraphs.
Systematic review and meta-analysis of cannabis treatment for chronic pain.

SETTING Cannabis preparations have been used as a remedy for thousands of years in traditional medicine. Clinical use of cannabinoid substances is restricted, due to legal and ethical reasons, as well as limited evidence showing benefits. OBJECTIVE To assess the efficacy and harms of cannabis preparations in the treatment of chronic pain. DESIGN Systematic review and meta-analysis of double-blind randomized controlled trials that compared any cannabis preparation to placebo among subjects with chronic pain. An electronic search was made in Medline/Pubmed, Embase, and The Cochrane Controlled Trials Register (TRIALS CENTRAL) of all literature published until February 2008, as well as specific web pages devoted to cannabis. Studies were cross-checked, selected, and assessed. RESULTS Eighteen trials were included. The efficacy analysis (visual analog scales) displayed a difference in standardized means in favor of the cannabis arm of -0.61 (-0.84 to -0.37), with statistical homogeneity (I(2) = 0.0%; P = 0.50). For the analysis of harms, the following Odds Ratios (OR) and number needed to harm (NNH) were obtained: for events linked to alterations to perception, OR: 4.51 (3.05-6.66), NNH: 7 (6-9); for events affecting motor function, 3.93 (2.83-5.47), NNH: 5 (4-6); for events that altered cognitive function, 4.46 (2.37-8.37), NNH: 8 (6-12). CONCLUSIONS Currently available evidence suggests that cannabis treatment is moderately efficacious for treatment of chronic pain, but beneficial effects may be partially (or completely) offset by potentially serious harms. More evidence from larger, well-designed trials is needed to clarify the true balance of benefits to harms.
Perceptual Reward Functions

Reinforcement learning problems are often described through rewards that indicate if an agent has completed some task. This specification can yield desirable behavior, however many problems are difficult to specify in this manner, as one often needs to know the proper configuration for the agent. When humans are learning to solve tasks, we often learn from visual instructions composed of images or videos. Such representations motivate our development of Perceptual Reward Functions, which provide a mechanism for creating visual task descriptions. We show that this approach allows an agent to learn from rewards that are based on raw pixels rather than internal parameters.
Long-term angiographic and histopathologic findings in experimental aneurysms of the carotid bifurcation embolized with platinum and tungsten coils.

PURPOSE To evaluate the long-term outcome of endovascular occlusion of arterial aneurysms effected with metal coils. METHODS Microsurgical methods were used to produce carotid bifurcation aneurysms in 20 rabbits and the radiologic and histologic changes were examined. Eight of these aneurysms were occluded with electrically detachable platinum coils (Guglielmi detachable coils [GDCs] and nine were treated with mechanically detachable tungsten coils (mechanical detachable system [MDS]). Three aneurysms remained untreated and served as controls. One animal died of embolic complications 12 hours after endovascular treatment. After observation periods of 3 to 6 months, the remaining animals were examined by intraarterial digital subtraction angiography and subsequent fixation and light and electron microscopy. RESULTS Large open spaces without signs of thrombosis were found between the loops of the coil baskets in 12 aneurysms (six treated with GDCs and six treated with MDS) regardless of the observation period. In very densely packed aneurysms (four cases with complete occlusion as determined by angiographic criteria), the coil surfaces were for the most part covered by thin cell layers; however, complete endothelialization was never seen. In aneurysms with an initial partial occlusion of 70% to 90%, coil compaction and/or recanalization was a consistent finding. A comparison of the radiologic findings with the histologic aspect revealed that the degree of occlusion was often overrated on the radiographs (in eight of 17 cases). In general, the fibrous tissue reaction appeared to be slightly more pronounced in aneurysms occluded with tungsten coils. CONCLUSIONS Platinum and tungsten coils were not always effective in causing endoluminal thrombosis leading to long-term occlusion by organized thrombus.
Nanomechanical characterisation of solid surfaces and thin films

Abstract Depth-sensing nanoindentation measurement techniques are commonly used to measure nanomechanical properties of surface layers of bulk materials and of ultrathin coatings. The nanoindentation apparatus continuously monitors the load and the position of the indenter relative to the surface of the specimen (depth of an indent) during the indentation process. Mechanical property measurements can be made at a minimum penetration depth of about 20 nm (or a plastic depth of about 15 nm). In this paper, mechanical property measurements using nanoindentation techniques are reviewed and discussed. Emphasis is given to the use of sharp indenters and how they can be used to measure hardness, elastic modulus, continuous stiffness, scratch resistance, film-substrate adhesion, residual stresses, time dependent creep and relaxation properties, fracture toughness, and fatigue. Applications of the continuous stiffness measurement technique to the characterisation of multilayered structures and graded materials are presented. Recent progress in the development of the nanofatigue measurement technique is briefly reviewed. Directions for future research in nanoindentation are discussed.
A Method to Support Difficult Re-finding Tasks

Re-finding electronic documents from a personal computer is a frequent demand to users. In a simple re-finding task, people can use many methods to retrieve a document, such as navigating directly to the document's folder, searching with a desktop search engine, or checking the Recent Files List. However, when encountering a difficult re-finding task, people usually cannot remember the attributes used by conventional re-finding methods, such as file path, file name, keywords etc., the re-finding would fail. We propose a new method to support difficult re-finding tasks. When a user is reading a document, we collect all kinds of possible memory pieces of the user about the document, such as number of pages, number of images, number of math formulas, cumulative reading time, reading frequency, printing experiences etc. If the user wants to re-find a document later, we use these collected attributes to filter out the target document. To alleviate the user's cognitive burden, we use a question and answer wizard interface and provide recommendations to the answers for the user, the recommendations are generated by analyzing the collected attributes of each document and the user's experiences about them.
The Emergence of Social Consensus in Boolean Networks

Social order and unity require consensus among individuals about cooperation and other issues. Boolean network models (BN) help to explain the role played by peer interactions in the emergence of consensus. BN models represent a society as a network in which individuals are the nodes (with two states, e.g. agree/disagree) and social relationships are the edges. BN models highlight the influence of peer interactions on social cooperation, in contrast to models, such as prisoner's dilemma, that focus on individual strategies. In BN models, the behavior that emerges from peer interactions differs in subtle, but important ways from equivalent mathematical models (e.g. Markov, dynamic systems). Despite their simplicity, BN models provide potentially important insights about many social issues. They confirm that there is an upper limit to the size of groups within which peer interactions can create and maintain consensus. In large social groups, a combination of peer interaction and enforcement is needed to achieve consensus. Social consensus is brittle in the face of global influences, such as mass media, with the peer network at first impeding the spread of alternative views, then accelerating them once a critical point is passed. BN models are sensitive both to the network topology, and to the degrees of influence associated with peer-peer connections
Improving Image Quality for Lung Cancer Imaging With Optimal Monochromatic Energy Level in Dual Energy Spectral Computed Tomography

Objective The aim of this study was to find optimal monochromatic spectral computed tomography (CT) level to improve image quality of lung cancer. Methods Fifty patients with lung cancers were scanned by spectral CT; monochromatic images at 50, 60, 70 and 80 keV energy levels were generated; and objective analysis including image noise, lesion-to-lung contrast-to-noise ratio, and CT number difference between central and peripheral regions of tumor (dCT value) were measured and compared. Subjective assessment about the overall image quality and inhomogeneity enhancement was compared. Results The highest contrast-to-noise ratio value and subjective score of image quality were obtained at 70 keV, which were superior to those of 50- and 80-keV series (all P < 0.05). The subjective score of the inhomogeneity evaluation was peaked at 60-keV series and significantly higher than other energy levels (all P < 0.05). Conclusions Both objective and subjective image analysis of lung cancers may be improved with the combined observation of 60 keV and 70 keV monochromatic images in spectral CT.
EARP: Principled Storage, Sharing, and Protection for Mobile Apps

Modern mobile apps communicate and exchange data with other apps almost as much as they communicate and exchange data with the operating system. Many popular apps now occupy essential places in the app "ecosystem" and provide other apps with services, such as storage, that have traditionally been the responsibility of the OS. For example, an app may rely on Facebook to authenticate users, Google Drive to store users' data, WhatsApp to send messages to other users, Twitter to publicly announce users' activities, etc.
Magnetoelastic Relationships for Large Diameter Terfenol

Abstract : This paper discusses the proper form of the piezomagnetic matrix appropriate for Terfenol-D using material that is commercially available today. The full piezomagnetic matrix consists of the compliance matrix, the piezomagnetic matrix and the permeability matrix. The general matrix has 45 independent constants, however these can be reduced to 5 independent constants by applying symmetry appropriate Terfenol-D driver material. We also briefly discuss methods of measuring these constants.
HIV testing strategies across European countries

With universal access to effective combination antiretroviral therapy (ART), people in need can gain effective treatment but are only able to benefit from these advances if they are aware of their serostatus and have effectively accessed testing services. Despite the expectation that ART would lead individuals to seek earlier testing, this trend has not been observed in practice, with stable or even increasing rates of late diagnosis in Europe being witnessed. Ahead of a gathering of key European stakeholders in Brussels in November 2007, we reviewed testing strategies across European countries. We show differences in policy and practices. Moreover, HIV testing strategies are changing, in line with new global guidelines issued by World Health Organization headquarters, and a number of countries are promoting an expansion of routine and opt‐out testing. However, gaps in our understanding of effective testing strategies remain and, as a consequence, national policies across Europe remain incoherent and often lack an evidence base. This is likely to have serious public health implications.
Transient Neonatal Hyperparathyroidism: A Presenting Feature of Mucolipidosis Type II

The phenotype of mucolipidosis type II (ML II), a disorder of lysosomal enzyme transport, includes mucopolysaccharidosis type I (Hurler syndrome)-like features and dysostosis multiplex, usually apparent after 6 months of age. We describe here the natural history of neonatal hyperparathyroidism, a recently described presentation of ML II. A female neonate presented with multiple fractures and radiological features of osteopenia and 'rickets-like' changes. Longitudinal evaluation, while the patient was treated with vitamin D 800-3,000 IU/day orally, indicated secondary hyperparathyroidism which resolved, biochemically and radiologically, by age 4 months. Neonatal hyperparathyroidism in ML II is severe, transient, and probably secondary to impaired placental calcium transport, simulating a condition observed in the offspring of chronically hypocalcemic mothers.
Bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) use social information as an indicator of safety in dangerous environments

Avoiding predation is one of the most important challenges that an animal faces. Several anti-predation behaviours can be employed, yet simply using the presence of conspecifics can be a good signal of safety in an environment with potential predation hazards. Here, we show, for the first time, that past experience of predation causes bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) to aggregate with conspecifics, facilitating the identification of safe foraging patches. Bees were trained to differentiate between flowers that harboured predators and flowers that were predator free. When test subjects were subsequently presented solely with the previously predator-infested flower species, there was a significant preference to only land on flowers occupied by other feeding conspecifics. Yet, when safe flowers were made available to subjects previously entrained to discriminate safe from predator-occupied flowers, subjects ignored other bees and the social information potentially provided by them, demonstrating that attraction towards conspecifics is confined to dangerous situations. Our findings demonstrate a previously unknown social interaction in pollinators which may have important implications for plant–pollinator interactions.
Power consumption evaluation in random cellular networks

Recently, issues of power consumption at base stations (BSs) in wireless cellular networks have attracted great interest in both research communities and the industry. In this paper, we investigate the BS power consumption in multiple-input single-output (MISO) Poisson-Voronoi tessellation (PVT) random cellular networks. Taking into account the inter-cell interference, the impact of the traffic demands of users and the spatial traffic intensity on the BS power consumption are jointly considered for MISO PVT random cellular networks. Furthermore, the power consumption required at the BS in a typical PVT cell is modeled through characteristic functions. Simulation results are employed to evaluate the BS power consumption and the performance of the random cellular networks.