Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Thymosin Beta 4 Protects Cardiomyocytes from Oxidative Stress by Targeting Anti-Oxidative Enzymes and Anti-Apoptotic Genes

Background Thymosin beta-4 (Tβ4) is a ubiquitous protein with many properties relating to cell proliferation and differentiation that promotes wound healing and modulates inflammatory mediators. The mechanism by which Tβ4 modulates cardiac protection under oxidative stress is not known. The purpose of this study is to dissect the cardioprotective mechanism of Tβ4 on H2O2 induced cardiac damage. Methods Rat neonatal cardiomyocytes with or without Tβ4 pretreatment were exposed to H2O2 and expression of antioxidant, apoptotic, and anti-inflammatory genes was evaluated by quantitative real-time PCR and western blotting. ROS levels were estimated by DCF-DA using fluorescent microscopy and fluorimetry. Selected antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antiapoptotic genes were silenced by siRNA transfections in neonatal cardiomyocytes and effect of Tβ4 on H2O2-induced cardiac damage was evaluated. Results Pre-treatment of Tβ4 resulted in reduction of the intracellular ROS levels induced by H2O2 in cardiomyocytes. Tβ4 pretreatment also resulted in an increase in the expression of antiapoptotic proteins and reduction of Bax/BCl2 ratio in the cardiomyocytes. Pretreatment with Tβ4 resulted in stimulating the expression of antioxidant enzymes copper/zinc SOD and catalase in cardiomyocytes at both transcription and translation levels. Tβ4 treatment resulted in the increased expression of anti-apoptotic and anti-inflammatory genes. Silencing of Cu/Zn SOD and catalase gene resulted in apoptotic cell death in the cardiomyocytes which was prevented by treatment with Tβ4. Conclusion This is the first report that demonstrates the effect of Tβ4 on cardiomyocytes and its capability to selectively upregulate anti-oxidative enzymes, anti-inflammatory genes, and antiapoptotic enzymes in the neonatal cardiomyocytes thus preventing cell death thereby protecting the myocardium. Tβ4 treatment resulted in decreased oxidative stress and inflammation in the myocardium under oxidative stress.
Rosiglitazone improves postprandial triglyceride and free fatty acid metabolism in type 2 diabetes.

OBJECTIVE Increased postprandial lipemia is part of diabetic dyslipidemia and is associated with accelerated atherosclerosis. We investigated the effects of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma agonist rosiglitazone on postprandial lipemia in patients with type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A randomized, 8-week, crossover, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial was performed in which rosiglitazone at 4 mg was administrated twice daily in 19 patients with type 2 diabetes. Standardized 6-h oral fat-loading tests were performed after each treatment period. Postprandial curves were calculated as the total area under the curve (AUC) and the incremental area under the curve (dAUC). RESULTS Rosiglitazone did not change fasting plasma triglycerides compared with placebo (1.97 +/- 0.22 vs. 1.88 +/- 0.20 mmol/l, respectively) but decreased postprandial triglyceride levels, leading to significantly lower triglyceride dAUC (-37%, P < 0.05), without changing total triglyceride AUC. Significant postprandial triglyceride reductions in the chylomicron fraction (Svedberg flotation rate [Sf] >400) were achieved with rosiglitazone, which resulted in a significant lower triglyceride AUC (-22%) in this fraction. The postprandial triglyceride increase in VLDL1 (Sf 60-400) was also lower after rosiglitazone (-27%), but this did not result in a significant lower triglyceride AUC. In VLDL2 (Sf 20-60), there were no significant differences in triglyceride AUC and triglyceride dAUC between rosiglitazone and placebo. Rosiglitazone decreased free fatty acid (FFA) AUC (-12%) and FFA dAUC (-18%) compared with placebo. CONCLUSIONS Rosiglitazone improves the metabolism of large triglyceride-rich lipoproteins and decreases postprandial FFA concentrations in type 2 diabetes. This may have clinical implications, as these effects may contribute to cardiovascular risk reduction.
Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences Conceptual and Computational Analysis of the Role of Emotions and Social Influence in Learning

In this paper it is analysed how emotions and the social environment affect active and reflective learning processes. First a conceptual analysis is made using recent insights from Cognitive, Affective and Social Neuroscience on the roles of emotions and social interactions on learning. Next, a computational analysis is made using a computational model of learning processes following these insights. In this analysis neural mechanisms for the impact of both a person's own emotions and the emotions of others are taken into account. In particular, it is considered how these impacts work for different learning types, such as active or reflective learners. The analysis shows how the impacts of emotions and social interaction strengthen the learning process. It is discussed how from these insights indicators can be obtained that can be used to design technology-enhanced learning environments able to exploit these impacts.
Tracking Control for a Piezoelectric Nanopositioner Using Estimated States and Feedforward Compensation of Hysteresis

Abstract Nanopositioning stages utilizing piezoelectric actuators exhibit several undesired features inhibiting good reference tracking performance. The most salient features are lightly damped mechanical resonances, hysteresis, and creep. In addition, sensor noise can limit the resolution achievable when applying closed-loop control schemes. In order to reduce sensor noise when using closed-loop control, we develop a state estimator in the form of an adaptive Luenberger observer. Furthermore, we propose a novel method for compensating the hysteretic behavior in piezoelectric actuators when tracking a reference trajectory, and present a method for online identification of the parameters of the system, aiming for simplicity and ease of implementation. The backstepping framework is used to obtain an adaptive control law and to analyze stability and boundedness of the tracking error. Experimental results are presented in order to assess the performance of the proposed hysteresis compensation, as well as the backstepping control law, on a flexure-based nanopositioner using piezoelectric actuators.
Patient Satisfaction with Hospital Inpatient Care: Effects of Trust, Medical Insurance and Perceived Quality of Care

Objective Deteriorations in the patient-provider relationship in China have attracted increasing attention in the international community. This study aims to explore the role of trust in patient satisfaction with hospital inpatient care, and how patient-provider trust is shaped from the perspectives of both patients and providers. Methods We adopted a mixed methods approach comprising a multivariate logistic regression model using secondary data (1200 people with inpatient experiences over the past year) from the fifth National Health Service Survey (NHSS, 2013) in Heilongjiang Province to determine the associations between patient satisfaction and trust, financial burden and perceived quality of care, followed by in-depth interviews with 62 conveniently selected key informants (27 from health and 35 from non-health sectors). A thematic analysis established a conceptual framework to explain deteriorating patient-provider relationships. Findings About 24% of respondents reported being dissatisfied with hospital inpatient care. The logistic regression model indicated that patient satisfaction was positively associated with higher level of trust (OR = 14.995), lower levels of hospital medical expenditure (OR = 5.736–1.829 as compared with the highest quintile of hospital expenditure), good staff attitude (OR = 3.155) as well as good ward environment (OR = 2.361). But patient satisfaction was negatively associated with medical insurance for urban residents and other insurance status (OR = 0.215–0.357 as compared with medical insurance for urban employees). The qualitative analysis showed that patient trust—the most significant predictor of patient satisfaction—is shaped by perceived high quality of service delivery, empathic and caring interpersonal interactions, and a better designed medical insurance that provides stronger financial protection and enables more equitable access to health care. Conclusion At the core of high levels of patient dissatisfaction with hospital care is the lack of trust. The current health care system reform in China has yet to address the fundamental problems embedded in the system that caused distrust. A singular focus on doctor-patient inter-personal interactions will not offer a successful solution to the deteriorated patient-provider relationships unless a systems approach to accountability is put into place involving all stakeholders.
Membrane Lipid Remodelling of Meconopsis racemosa after Its Introduction into Lowlands from an Alpine Environment

Membrane lipids, which determine the integrity and fluidity of membranes, are sensitive to environmental changes. The influence of stresses, such as cold and phosphorus deficiency, on lipid metabolism is well established. However, little is known about how plant lipid profiles change in response to environmental changes during introduction, especially when plants are transferred from extreme conditions to moderate ones. Using a lipidomics approach, we profiled the changes in glycerolipid molecules upon the introduction of the alpine ornamental species Meconopsis racemosa from the alpine region of Northwest Yunnan to the lowlands of Kunming, China. We found that the ratios of digalactosyldiacylglycerol/monogalactosyldiacylglycerol (DGDG/MGDG) and phosphatidylcholine/phosphatidylethanolamine (PC/PE) remained unchanged. Introduction of M. racemosa from an alpine environment to a lowland environment results in two major effects. The first is a decline in the level of plastidic lipids, especially galactolipids. The second, which concerns a decrease of the double-bond index (DBI) and could make the membrane more gel-like, is a response to high temperatures. Changes in the lipidome after M. racemosa was introduced to a lowland environment were the reverse of those that occur when plants are exposed to phosphorus deficiency or cold stress.
Attitude is everything? The impact of workload, safety climate, and safety tools on medical errors: a study of intensive care units.

BACKGROUND Hospitals face an increasing pressure toward efficiency and cost reduction while ensuring patient safety. This warrants a closer examination of the trade-off between production and protection posited in the literature for a high-risk hospital setting (intensive care). PURPOSES On the basis of extant literature and concepts on both safety management and organizational/safety culture, this study investigates to which extent production pressure (i.e., increased staff workload and capacity utilization) and safety culture (consisting of safety climate among staff and safety tools implemented by management) influence the occurrence of medical errors and if/how safety climate and safety tools interact. METHODOLOGY/APPROACH A prospective, observational, 48-hour cross-sectional study was conducted in 57 intensive care units. The dependent variable is the incidence of errors affecting those 378 patients treated throughout the entire observation period. Capacity utilization and workload were measured by indicators such as unit occupancy, nurse-to-patient/physician-to-patient ratios, levels of care, or NEMS scores. The safety tools considered include Critical Incidence Reporting Systems, audits, training, mission statements, SOPs/checklists, and the use of barcodes. Safety climate was assessed using a psychometrically validated four-dimensional questionnaire.Linear regression was employed to identify the effects of the predictor variables on error rate as well as interaction effects between safety tools and safety climate. FINDINGS Higher workload has a detrimental effect on safety, whereas safety climate-unlike the examined safety tools-has a virtually equal opposite effect. Correlations between safety tools and safety climate as well as their interaction effects on error rate are mostly nonsignificant. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS Increased workload and capacity utilization increase the occurrence of medical error, an effect that can be offset by a positive safety climate but not by formally implemented safety procedures and policies.
Intelligent multimedia tutoring systems

e have used advanced technology, including intelligent modeling of the domain and the presumed knowledge of students, to build intelligent multimedia tutoring systems. Simulations, animations, sound, and video are also used to keep students learning and active. However, flashy graphics and simulations alone are not enough. For students to learn, the experience has to be authentic and relevant to their lives. Therefore we place students in situations where they solve problems while the system reasons about the problem being solved and about how to best respond to the students’ idiosyncratic actions. One such situation is a simulated hospital emergency room used for the Cardiac Tutor, and another is a computer-aided design (CAD) environment that proposes injection molding tooling configurations for a student’s part design. Intelligent multimedia tutors may use planners, plan recognizers, or user models to make assumptions about the situation and the user’s state of knowledge and learning needs. Complex representations and sophisticated control structures are also used to respond flexibly to the user. Traditional scenario-based simulations often provide only a few paths through a situation and no ability to adapt the presentation to perceived user needs or individual knowledge. They often classify student actions as correct or incorrect within a limited context. However, knowledge-based systems can suggest that the student’s action is out of order or too late, as compared to an expert’s action. These systems can reason about tutorial goals and situations toward which the simulation should be directed. Dynamic assessment, online calculations, and reasoning about user actions provide real-time comparisons between the student’s and expert’s actions. Because the system’s recommendations reflect the current context, they are often relevant and robust.
Coherent feedback that beats all measurement-based feedback protocols

We show that when the speed of control is bounded, there is a widely applicable minimal-time control problem for which a coherent feedback protocol is optimal, and is faster than all measurement-based feedback protocols, where the latter are defined in a strict sense. The superiority of the coherent protocol is due to the fact that it can exploit a geodesic path in Hilbert space, a path that measurement-based protocols cannot follow.
Automated spectro-goniometer: A spherical robot for the field measurement of the directional reflectance of snow

We describe an automated spectro-goniometer (ASG) that rapidly measures the spectral hemispherical-directional reflectance factor (HDRF) of snow in the field across the wavelength range 0.4⩽λ⩽2.5 μm. Few measurements of snow’s HDRF exist in the literature, in part caused by a lack of a portable instrument capable of rapid, repeatable sampling. The ASG is a two-link spherical robot coupled to a field spectroradiometer. The ASG is the first revolute joint and first automated field goniometer for use over snow and other smooth surfaces. It is light enough (∼50 kg) to be portable in a sled by an individual. The ASG samples the HDRF at arbitrary angular resolution and 0.5 Hz sampling rate. The arm attaches to the fixed-point frame 0.65 m above the surface. With vertical and oblique axes, the ASG places the sensor of the field spectroradiometer at any point on the hemisphere above a snow target. In standard usage, the ASG has the sun as the illumination source to facilitate in situ measurements over fragile sur.
Intelligent Object and Pattern Recognition using Ensembles in Back Propagation Neural Network

Object and Pattern Recognition applications are one of the most active research fields in the Neural Network research community today. Neural networks are mostly preferred in predictive and classification problems because they are unstable classifier that is little change in input causes drastic changes in output. Now in some scenarios the Neural Networks are not enough to do the required job such as classification or regression analysis so an evolved architecture called ensembles is used that is instead of one classifier such as a neural network many are used. In the paper we are going to incorporate Back Propagation Neural Network for the classification of two datasets (the sonar and ionosphere datasets) in bagging ensemble architecture using PCA and standalone architecture.
Pennsylvania State Hospital system's seclusion and restraint reduction program.

OBJECTIVES This study examined the use of seclusion and mechanical restraint from 1990 to 2000 and the rate of staff injuries from patient assaults from 1998 to 2000 in a state hospital system. METHODS Records of patients older than 18 years who were civilly committed to one of the nine state hospitals in Pennsylvania were included in the analyses. Two databases were used in each of the nine hospitals: one identified date, time, duration, and justification for each episode of seclusion or restraint and the other identified when a patient was hospitalized and the demographic characteristics and the diagnosis of the patient. Rate and duration of seclusion and restraint were calculated. Reports from compensation claims were used to determine staff injuries from patient assaults. RESULTS The rate and duration of seclusion and mechanical restraint decreased dramatically during this period. From 1990 to 2000, the rate of seclusion decreased from 4.2 to . 3 episodes per 1,000 patient-days. The average duration of seclusion decreased from 10.8 to 1.3 hours. The rate of restraint decreased from 3.5 to 1.2 episodes per 1,000 patient-days. The average duration of restraint decreased from 11.9 to 1.9 hours. Patients from racial or ethnic minority groups had a higher rate and longer duration of seclusion than whites. Seclusion tended to be less likely, but longer, during the night shift. Patients were restrained less often during the night shift, but for a longer duration. The rate of restraint was higher during the week than during weekends and holidays. Younger patients were more likely to be secluded and restrained, but older patients remained secluded and restrained longer. No significant changes were seen in rates of staff injuries from 1998 to 2000. CONCLUSIONS Many factors contributed to the success of this effort, including advocacy efforts, state policy change, improved patient-staff ratios, response teams, and second-generation antipsychotics.
M-subdwarfs: spectroscopic classification and the metallicity scale

We present a spectroscopic classification system for M-dwarfs and M-subdwarfs based on quantitative measures of TiO and CaH features in the region 6200 - 7400 Angstroms. Our sample of cool stars covers the range from solar metallicity stars to the most extreme subdwarfs known. Using synthetic spectra computed by Allard and Hauschildt (1995), we derive metallicities for the stars. Stars are classified as dwarfs (M V), subdwarfs (sdM), or extreme subdwarfs (esdM). These classifications correspond to [m/H] ~ 0.0, -1.2, and -2.0 respectively. Our metallicity scale agrees with theoretical HR diagrams and HST globular cluster measurements. We discuss some nearby subdwarfs of particular interest in light of our metallicity scale.
A low-cost field and laboratory goniometer system for estimating hyperspectral bidirectional reflectance

The derivation of the bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) from earth-surface features provides a more complete basis for the estimation of both surface composition and physical structure than is possible using single-angle reflectance measurements. With the increase in number of remote sensors capable of multi-angular earth observation and the increased use and sophistication of canopy BRDF models, the need for field and laboratory BRDF data and validation has correspondingly grown to ensure proper calibration and improved understanding of the directional reflectance properties of earth-surface features. Goniometers are specialized devices for near-surface measurement of bidirectional reflectance factors and are typically used in the field but can also be used in controlled laboratory settings. Current goniometer systems are often prohibitively expensive, however, and are not always robust for use in different field environments or the laboratory. This paper presents the University of Lethbridge Goniometer System (ULGS) as a low-cost, flexible, and capable alternative for estimating BRDF in a variety of field and laboratory situations. The ULGS uses an analytical spectral devices full-range hyperspectral spectroradiometer sensor (ASD-FR, 350–2500 nm) to acquire 217 unique angular hemispherical measurements (–60° to +60° zenith angle over the full 360° azimuth with an angular resolution of 10° in both dimensions). The system is manually operated, reducing the significant overhead (cost, design, and weight) associated with computer and robotic control systems. BRDF results are presented as example applications for three different field and laboratory targets: (i) a Lambertian calibration panel, (ii) a field grassland site in a river valley coulee, and (iii) laboratory-based measurements of a moss sample from Fluxnet-Canada. It was concluded that the ULGS hyperspectral goniometer is capable of estimating the directional reflectance properties of non-Lambertian structured canopies. Compared with other goniometer systems, the ULGS is considerably more accessible due to its much lower cost and feasibility to construct and its portability and versatility, yet it sacrifices little in terms of the quality and speed of BRDF data acquisition.
The Inclusion of Stocks in Multi-species Fisheries: The Case of Danish Seiners

Efficiency analysis in fisheries has become an area of increased research. However, setting up models to perform such analyses is complicated and several important modeling issues, including choice of inputs and outputs, level of aggregation and inclusion of stock indices, have only briefly been addressed in the literature. The latter issue is addressed in this paper, using data on Danish seiners and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to estimate efficiency. Production in fisheries is obviously dependent on the fish stocks, and comparing vessel efficiency, therefore, needs to account for stock developments. Three methods to include fish stocks are analyzed. It is shown that estimations based on the Catch Per Unit Effort (CPUE) stock measure differ from the estimations based on independent stock measures, and are independent of the choice of time horizon and choice of input/output measures.
Agent-based modeling of lottery markets with the expected-utility paradigm

This paper proposes an agent-based computational model of a lottery market based on an expected-utility paradigm, in which agents' decisions regarding lottery participation are based on their own subjective beliefs, and those beliefs are evolving over time with genetic algorithms. The simulation results are then compared with another agent-based lottery market with different agent engineering. It is found that almost all emergent properties, such as the Laffer curve, the halo effect (lottomania), conscious-selection behavior, and the interdependent preference (regretting effect) are qualitatively robust with these two different designs of agents