Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fine Particulate Air Pollution and the Expression of microRNAs and Circulating Cytokines Relevant to Inflammation, Coagulation, and Vasoconstriction

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a key factor in epigenetic regulation of gene expression, but miRNA responses to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution and their potential contribution to cardiovascular effects of PM2.5 are unknown. Objective: We explored the potential influence of PM2.5 on the expression of selected cytokines relevant to systemic inflammation, coagulation, and vasoconstriction, and on miRNAs that may regulate their expression. Methods: We designed a double-blind, randomized crossover study in which true and sham air purifiers were used to expose 55 healthy young adult students in Shanghai, China, to reduced or ambient levels of indoor PM2.5 during two-week periods, and we measured the expression (mRNA and protein) of 10 serum cytokines, and miRNAs that target them, after each intervention period. We used linear mixed-effect models to estimate associations of the intervention, and time-weighted personal PM2.5 exposures, with the cytokines, mRNA, and miRNAs; we also explored potential mediation by miRNAs. Results: The findings were generally consistent for associations with the intervention and for associations with an interquartile range increase in time-weighted PM2.5. Specifically, higher PM2.5 exposure was positively associated with the expression (mRNA, protein, or both) of interleukin-1 (encoded by IL1), IL6, tumor necrosis factor (encoded by TNF), toll-like receptor 2 (encoded by TLR2), coagulation factor 3 (encoded by F3), and endothelin 1 (encoded by EDN1), and was negatively associated with miRNAs (miR-21-5p, miR-187-3p, miR-146a-5p, miR-1-3p, and miR-199a-5p) predicted to target mRNAs of IL1, TNF, TLR2, and EDN1. Conclusions: Our findings require confirmation but suggest that effects of PM2.5 on cardiovascular diseases may be related to acute effects on cytokine expression, which may be partly mediated through effects of PM2.5 on miRNAs that regulate cytokine expression. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP1447
Computer-aided characterization of the elastic properties of thin films

A computerized measuring system is presented which permits determination of the elastic properties of thin films. Membrane theory yields a definite relationship between the deflection of a thin membrane and an external load. From analysis of this function, both Young's modulus and intrinsic stress can be determined independently of each other. The applicability of the measuring method is demonstrated by investigations carried out on rectangular membranes of polycrystalline silicon and silicon nitride of various sizes.
The Empirical Foundations of Telemedicine Interventions in Primary Care.

INTRODUCTION This article presents the scientific evidence for the merits of telemedicine interventions in primary care. Although there is no uniform and consistent definition of primary care, most agree that it occupies a central role in the healthcare system as first contact for patients seeking care, as well as gatekeeper and coordinator of care. It enables and supports patient-centered care, the medical home, managed care, accountable care, and population health. Increasing concerns about sustainability and the anticipated shortages of primary care physicians have sparked interest in exploring the potential of telemedicine in addressing many of the challenges facing primary care in the United States and the world. MATERIALS AND METHODS The findings are based on a systematic review of scientific studies published from 2005 through 2015. The initial search yielded 2,308 articles, with 86 meeting the inclusion criteria. Evidence is organized and evaluated according to feasibility/acceptance, intermediate outcomes, health outcomes, and cost. RESULTS The majority of studies support the feasibility/acceptance of telemedicine for use in primary care, although it varies significantly by demographic variables, such as gender, age, and socioeconomic status, and telemedicine has often been found more acceptable by patients than healthcare providers. Outcomes data are limited but overall suggest that telemedicine interventions are generally at least as effective as traditional care. Cost analyses vary, but telemedicine in primary care is increasingly demonstrated to be cost-effective. CONCLUSIONS Telemedicine has significant potential to address many of the challenges facing primary care in today's healthcare environment. Challenges still remain in validating its impact on clinical outcomes with scientific rigor, as well as in standardizing methods to assess cost, but patient and provider acceptance is increasingly making telemedicine a viable and integral component of primary care around the world.
Improvement of Color Information in the Generation of 3D Models of Real Objects Using Range Intensity Images

Texture mapping on scanned objects, which is the method to map color images on a 3D geometric model measured by a range image sensor, is often used for constructing a realistic 3D model. Color images are affected by the illumination conditions. Therefore, discontinuities of seams occur when simply applying texture mapping. In this paper, we propose a method for correcting the discontinuities using a range intensity image. A range intensity image is a kind of intensity image that is related to the reflectance ratio of the measured points, simultaneously acquired with a range image using an active range sensor. The method estimates the color information that is not affected by the lighting environment using multiple color images and a range intensity image. As a result, the method is effective to construct a 3D model with seamless color images. The effectiveness of the correction method is illustrated by experiments with real-world objects.
Coaches’ Implementation of the USA Football “Heads Up Football” Educational Program

An integral part of the Heads Up Football (HUF) educational program is the Player Safety Coach (PSC), who is responsible for teaching other coaches within a youth football league about safer blocking/tackling and injury prevention. This study examines the association between youth football coaches’ interactions with the PSC (i.e., attending the PSC clinic at the beginning of the season and seeing the PSC on-field during practices) and their subsequent implementation of the HUF educational program. Data were collected via online questionnaire completed by 1,316 youth football coaches from HUF leagues. Data were analyzed with frequencies and logistic regression. Nearly half of coaches (44.8%) did not attend the PSC clinic; 25.9% reported not seeing their league’s PSC on the field on a regular basis. The lack of PSC on-site presence was significantly associated with worse implementation for “concussion recognition and response,” “heat preparedness and hydration,” and “sudden cardiac event preparedness. ” PSC clinic attendance was not associated with implementation. Opportunities exist for improvement in the HUF educational program as there appears to be inconsistent implementation. Further research is warranted to understand how to optimize the role of the PSC in the youth sports context.
Approximation Algorithms for the Unsplittable Flow Problem on Paths and Trees

We study the Unsplittable Flow Problem (UFP) and related variants, namely UFP with Bag Constraints and UFP with Rounds, on paths and trees. We provide improved constant factor approximation algorithms for all these problems under the no bottleneck assumption (NBA), which says that the maximum demand for any source-sink pair is at most the minimum capacity of any edge. We obtain these improved results by expressing a feasible solution to a natural LP relaxation of the UFP as a near-convex combination of feasible integral solutions.
Evidence for a role of platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 in endothelial cell mechanosignal transduction

Fluid shear stress (FSS) induces many forms of responses, including phosphorylation of extracellular signal–regulated kinase (ERK) in endothelial cells (ECs). We have earlier reported rapid tyrosine phosphorylation of platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1) in ECs exposed to FSS. Osmotic changes also induced similar PECAM-1 and ERK phosphorylation with nearly identical kinetics. Because both FSS and osmotic changes should mechanically perturb the cell membrane, they might activate the same mechanosignaling cascade. When PECAM-1 is tyrosine phosphorylated by FSS or osmotic changes, SHP-2 binds to it. Here we show that ERK phosphorylation by FSS or osmotic changes depends on PECAM-1 tyrosine phosphorylation, SHP-2 binding to phospho-PECAM-1, and SHP-2 phosphatase activity. In ECs under flow, detectable amounts of SHP-2 and Gab1 translocated from the cytoplasm to the EC junction. When magnetic beads coated with antibodies against the extracellular domain of PECAM-1 were attached to ECs and tugged by magnetic force for 10 min, PECAM-1 associated with the beads was tyrosine phosphorylated. ERK was also phosphorylated in these cells. Binding of the beads by itself or pulling on the cell surface using poly-l–coated beads did not induce phosphorylation of PECAM-1 and ERK. These results suggest that PECAM-1 is a mechanotransduction molecule.
Experimental determination of configurational entropy in a two-dimensional liquid under random pinning

A quasi two-dimensional colloidal suspension is studied under the influence of immobilisation (pinning) of a random fraction of its particles. We introduce a novel experimental method to perform random pinning and, with the support of numerical simulation, we find that increasing the pinning concentration smoothly arrests the system, with a cross-over from a regime of high mobility and high entropy to a regime of low mobility and low entropy. At the local level, we study fluctuations in area fraction and concentration of pins and map them to entropic structural signatures and local mobility, obtaining a measure for the local entropic fluctuations of the experimental system.
Mechanisms of lipid-lowering agents.

Lipid-lowering agents are used with the purpose of ameliorating hyperlipoproteinemias, in order to prevent arterial disease. Lipid-lowering drugs can be classified into absorbable agents and into nonabsorbable compounds, acting within the gastrointestinal lumen. Absorbable drugs (fibric acids, nicotinic acid, probucol, HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors) reduce plasma very-low-density lipoproteins (VLDL) and/or low-density lipoproteins (LDL) by a variety of mechanisms. Fibric acids, in particular, act by stimulating the catabolism of VLDL and also, as a consequence, improving LDL delipidation, thus favoring receptor uptake. Nicotinic acid and acipimox interfere with the biosynthesis of LDL and can also improve the clearance of VLDL/LDL. Probucol acts by a newly described mechanism, i.e. accelerating reverse transport of cholesteryl esters from high-density lipoproteins to lower-density lipoproteins. Finally, HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, interfering with the biosynthesis of cholesterol, can induce an increased expression of liver high-affinity lipoprotein receptors. Nonabsorbable agents (anion-exchange resins, neomycin, beta-sitosterol) interrupt the recirculation of bile acids and/or reduce the absorption of cholesterol with the gut. They display a selective activity on hypercholesterolemia, again by increasing LDL receptor expression. The choice of one or more lipid-lowering agents will depend upon the patient's phenotype, determining responsiveness to the pharmacological treatment.
The Measurement and Modelling of Residual Stresses in a Stainless Steel Pipe Girth Weld

This paper presents results from a program of residual stress measurements and modelling carried out for a pipe girth weld of 369 mm outer diameter and 40 mm thickness. The component consisted of two 316 stainless steel pipe sections joined together using a “single-V” nickel base alloy (alloy 82) weld. The residual stresses were measured using the Deep-Hole Drilling (DHD) technique and modelled using ABAQUS. Biaxial, through-thickness residual stresses were measured through the weld centreline at a total of 6 different locations around the component. At three of the measurement locations the DHD process was carried out from the outer surface of the component with the remaining three, one of which coinciding with the weld start/stop position, carried out from the inner surface of the component. The differences in DHD process application (i.e. outer-to-inner or inner-to-outer) was carried out as a sub-objective to investigate the sequence of residual stress relaxation and its influence on the measured results. Good measurement repeatability was found between all locations. The hoop residual stresses were tensile at the outer surface, increasing to a maximum of 350 MPa at 10 mm depth, then decreasing to a minimum of −325 MPa at a depth of 34 mm, before increasing again towards the inner surface. The axial residual stresses were found to be similar in profile to the hoop residual stresses albeit lower in absolute magnitude by roughly 100 MPa. For this component it was found that the hoop residual stresses showed an influence of process direction, whereas for the axial residual stresses no influence was found. The modelling of the residual stresses generated was undertaken using a 2D axisymmetric finite element analysis containing 25 discrete weld beads. Each of the 25 weld beads were analysed sequentially using the following stages: heat source modelling, thermal analysis, elastic-plastic mechanical analysis. The sensitivity of the residual stresses generated with respect to the material hardening model used was investigated (i.e. kinematic, isotropic and mixed mode – kinematic/isotropic). Generally, the isotropic hardening model produces the highest predictions, the kinematic hardening model produces the lowest predictions with the mixed mode model lying in-between. Good agreement was found between the measured and modelled residual stresses. The main discrepancy existed in the hoop direction with the modelled residual stresses being the most tensile by roughly 200 MPa at depths within 15 mm of the outer surface of the pipe.Copyright © 2008 by ASME
Preparation and Properties of Polylactide/Poly(ethylene-co-octene)/nano-SiO2 Ternary Composites

Polylactide (PLA)/poly(ethylene-co-octene)(POE) blends with various contents of nano-SiO2 were prepared via melt mixing. The structure and properties of the PLA/POE/nano-SiO2 ternary composites were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), rheometry, and tensile testing. The particle size of the dispersed POE phase first decreased with increasing nano-SiO2 content and then remained constant. Nano-SiO2 played an important role in the heterogeneous nucleation of PLA, which resulted in an increase of the crystallinity of PLA. The synergistic effect of both POE and nano-SiO2 can significantly improve the toughness, strength, and modulus of PLA. When the ratio of PLA/POE/nano-SiO2 was 90/10/0.5, PLA/POE/nano-SiO2 composite had the best comprehensive properties.
A real time micro-expression detection system with LBP-TOP on a many-core processor

The implementation of a micro-expression detection system introduces challenges to sustain a real time recognition result. In order to surmount these problems, this paper examines the algorithm of a serial Local Binary Pattern from Three Orthogonal Planes (LBP-TOP) in order to identify the performance limitations for real time system. Videos from SMIC and CASMEII were up sampled to higher resolutions (280×340, 560×680 and 1120×1360) to cater the need of real life implementation. Then, a parallel multicore-based LBP-TOP algorithm is studied as a benchmark. Experimental results show that the parallel LBP-TOP algorithm exhibits 7× and 8× speedup against serial LBP-TOP for SMIC and CASMEII database respectively for the highest tested video resolution utilising 24- logical processor multi-core architecture. To further reduce the computational time, this paper also proposes a many-core parallel LBP-TOP algorithm using Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA). In addition, a method is designed to calculate the threads and blocks required to launch the kernel when processing videos from different resolutions. The proposed algorithm increases the performance speedup to 117× and 130× against the serial algorithm for the highest tested resolution videos.
Quantitative OCT Angiography of the Retinal Microvasculature and the Choriocapillaris in Myopic Eyes.

Purpose To study the retinal capillary microvasculature and the choriocapillaris (CC) in myopic eyes using quantitative optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) analysis. Methods Macular OCTA images of 3 × 3 mm were obtained using the RTVue-XR Avanti with AngioVue. Quantitative measurements of the retinal capillary microvascular layers and the CC were analyzed using en face projection images. Vessel density and fractal dimension of the superficial and deep retinal capillary plexus, and area and density of flow reduction in the CC were analyzed, quantified, and compared with an age-matched control group. Results Fifty eyes with myopia and 34 age-matched healthy eyes were included in this study. The vessel density and the vessel branching complexity using fractal dimension of the retinal capillary microvasculature were significantly lower in myopic eyes (P < 0.001 and P = 0.001). The total number of flow voids in the CC was lower (108.93 vs. 138.63, P = 0.001) but the total and average flow void area was significantly higher (total area 3.715 ± 0.257 vs. 3.596 ± 0.194 mm2, P = 0.026; average area 0.044 ± 0.029 vs. 0.028 ± 0.010 mm2, P = 0.002) compared with the healthy control group. Average choroidal thickness was lower in the myopic group versus the normal control cohort (123.538 ± 73.477 vs. 246.97 ± 41.745 μm, P < 0.05) and significantly reduced in eyes with lacquer cracks (LC) compared with myopic eyes without LC formation (P = 0.003). There was no correlation between choroidal thickness and quantitative parameters of the CC in the myopic eyes. Conclusions The density of the retinal capillary microvasculature is reduced and the area of flow deficit in the CC is increased in eyes with greater myopia. The relevance of microvascular alterations in the setting of myopia warrants further study.
Smart caching for QoS-guaranteed device-to-device content delivery

Caching at user equipment (UE) provides a feasible way for device-to-device (D2D) content delivery among proximal users without deploying additional infrastructures. To support D2D content delivery for mobile traffics with quality-of-service (QoS) requirements, smart caching problem is essential to be solved especially when there is no prior knowledge on demands of proximal users. In this paper, impacts of QoS requirements and limited caching capacity on UE caching are analyzed, respectively, based on which a caching scheme is proposed. With the proposed caching scheme, UE can determine whether caching a content or not intelligently to guarantee a content request via D2D communications in the network. Simulation results are presented which verify the analyzed influencing factors on D2D caching and the proposed QoS-provisioning caching scheme.
Network measures and evaluation of traveling salesman instance hardness

Assessing the hardness of combinatorial optimization problem instances is not a trivial task. Although it is easy to compute the size of the search space, associated with particular problem instance, its actual shape is usually unknown. Traveling salesman problem (TSP) is an NP-hard combinatorial optimization problem that has been solved by a number of exact and approximate algorithms. It also often serves as a testbed for new heuristic and metaheuristic optimization methods. The hardness of a TSP instance cannot be determined easily. Simple measures such as the number of cities do not capture its internal structure sufficiently. In this work, we propose a new network-based method for the assessment of TSP instance hardness. The new approach is evaluated on a set of randomized TSP instances with different structure and its relation to the performance of a selected metaheuristic TSP solver is studied.
Research on Industry Manufacturing Materials Based on Managers Compensation and Fair Value Changes

Managers play a decisive role in the allocation and utilization of industry manufacturing materials in industrial enterprises. Research has demonstrated that the profit and loss from fair value changes has significant impact on managers compensation. This article studies the profit and loss from fair value changes and sensitivity of Chinese managers compensation in industrial enterprises and finds out that the current managers compensation design cannot reflect the revenue information and profit and loss changes in fair value measurement effectively, and there is non-equivalence in impact of profit and loss. Therefore, new compensation stimulation mechanism based on performance contribution and weight ratio should be came up with as early as possible, to guide and maintain the positive relationship between profit and loss from fair value changes and managers compensation, and adjust the stickiness between them to avoid the negative impact on the utilization of industry manufacturing materials caused by distorted managers compensation system.
Dynamically Regulating Mobile Application Permissions

Current smartphone operating systems employ permission systems to regulate how apps access sensitive resources. These systems are not well-aligned with users’ privacy expectations: users often have no idea how often and under what circumstances their personal data is accessed. We conducted a 131-person field study to devise ways to systematically reduce this disconnect between expectations and reality. We found that a significant portion of participants make contextual privacy decisions: when determining whether access to sensitive data is appropriate, they consider what they are doing on their phones at the time, including whether they are actively using the applications requesting their data. We show that current privacy mechanisms do not do a good job of accounting for these contextual factors, but that by applying machine learning to account for context, we can reduce privacy violations by 80, while also minimizing user involvement.
Antiphlogistic effect of catalase on experimental phacoanaphylactic endophthalmitis.

Oxygen-derived free radicals generated by polymorphonuclear leukocytes have recently been implicated as important pathogenic mediators of tissue damage in immune complex-mediated acute inflammatory reactions. In order to study the role of oxygen radicals in experimentally induced phacoanaphylactic endophthalmitis, rats were immunized with soluble bovine lens protein and, following surgical disruption of the anterior lens capsule, subjected to treatment with catalase. Our data show that phacoanaphylactic endophthalmitis, as determined morphologically and by measurements of retinal edema, choroidal inflammation, retinal hemorrhage and necrotizing vasculitis, is greatly diminished in catalase-treated animals. This protective effect of catalase indicates that hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and/or conversion products of H2O2 (e.g., hydroxyl radical, hypochlorous acid) may play an important role in the development of experimental phacoanaphylactic endophthalmitis.