Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sub-second changes in accumbal dopamine during sexual behavior in male rats

Transient (200–900 ms), high concentrations (200–500 nM) of dopamine, measured using fast-scan cyclic voltammetry, occurred in the nucleus accumbens core of male rats at the presentation of a receptive female. Additional dopamine signals were observed during subsequent approach behavior. Background-subtracted cyclic voltammograms of the naturally-evoked signals matched those of electrically-evoked dopamine measured at the same recording sites. Administration of nomifensine amplified natural and evoked dopamine release, and increased the frequency of detectable signals. While gradual changes in dopamine concentration during sexual behavior have been well established, these findings dramatically improve the time resolution. The observed dopamine transients, probably resulting from neuronal burst firing, represent the first direct correlation of dopamine with sexual behavior on a sub-second time scale.
ABayesian Model Averaging in Proportional Hazard Models: Assessing Stroke Risk

Evaluating the risk of stroke is important in reducing the incidence of this devastating disease Here we apply Bayesian model averaging to variable selection in Cox proportional hazard models in the context of the Cardiovascular Health Study a comprehensive investigation into the risk factors for stroke We introduce a technique based on the leaps and bounds algorithm which e ciently locates and ts the best models in the very large model space and thereby extends all subsets regression to Cox models For each independent variable considered the method provides the posterior probability that it belongs in the model This is more directly interpretable than the corresponding P values and also more valid in that it takes account of model uncertainty P values from models preferred by stepwise methods tend to overstate the evidence for the predictive value of a variable In our data Bayesian model averaging predictively outperforms standard model selection methods for assessing stroke risk
Angiotensin-(1-7) Attenuates Kidney Injury Due to Obstructive Nephropathy in Rats

Background Angiotensin-(1–7) [Ang-(1–7)] counteracts many actions of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. Despite its renoprotective effects, extensive controversy exists regarding the role of Ang-(1–7) in obstructive nephropathy, which is characterized by renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis and apoptosis. Methods To examine the effects of Ang-(1–7) in unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO), male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into three groups: control, UUO, and Ang-(1–7)-treated UUO rats. Ang-(1–7) was continuously infused (24 μg/[kg·h]) using osmotic pumps. We also treated NRK-52E cells in vitro with Ang II (1 μM) in the presence or absence of Ang-(1–7) (1 μM), Mas receptor antagonist A779 (1 μM), and Mas receptor siRNA (50 nM) to examine the effects of Ang-(1–7) treatment on Ang II-stimulated renal injury via Mas receptor. Results Angiotensin II (Ang II) and angiotensin type 1 receptor (AT1R) protein expression was higher in UUO kidneys than in controls. Ang-(1–7) treatment also decreased proapoptotic protein expression in UUO kidneys. Ang-(1–7) also significantly ameliorated TUNEL positive cells in UUO kidneys. Additionally, Ang-(1–7) reduced profibrotic protein expression and decreased the increased tumor growth factor (TGF)-β1/Smad signaling present in UUO kidneys. In NRK-52E cells, Ang II induced the expression of TGF-β1/Smad signaling effectors and proapoptotic and fibrotic proteins, as well as cell cycle arrest, which were attenuated by Ang-(1–7) pretreatment. However, treatment with A779 and Mas receptor siRNA enhanced Ang II-induced apoptosis and fibrosis. Moreover, Ang II increased tumor necrosis factor-α converting enzyme (TACE) and decreased angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) expression in NRK-52E cells, while pretreatment with Ang-(1–7) or A779 significantly inhibited or enhanced these effects, respectively. Conclusion Ang-(1–7) prevents obstructive nephropathy by suppressing renal apoptosis and fibrosis, possibly by regulating TGF-β1/Smad signaling and cell cycle arrest via suppression of AT1R expression. In addition, Ang-(1–7) increased and decreased ACE2 and TACE expression, respectively, which could potentially mediate a positive feedback mechanism via the Mas receptor.
Evergreening, Patent Challenges, and Effective Market Life in Pharmaceuticals

Observers worry that generic patent challenges are on the rise and reduce the effective market life of drugs. A related concern is that challenges disproportionately target high-sales drugs, reducing market life for these "blockbusters. " To study these questions, we examine new data on generic entry over the past decade. We show that challenges are more common for higher sales drugs. We also demonstrate a slight increase in challenges over this period, and a sharper increase for early challenges. Despite this, effective market life is stable across drug sales categories, and has hardly changed over the decade. To better understand these results, we examine which patents are challenged on each drug, and show that lower quality and later expiring patents disproportionately draw challenges. Overall, this evidence suggests that challenges serve to maintain, not reduce, the historical baseline of effective market life, thereby limiting the effectiveness of "evergreening" by branded firms.
Risk of drug-induced liver injury with the new oral anticoagulants: systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective In recent years, safety alerts have been made warning of the risk of serious drug-induced liver injury (DILI) caused by cardiovascular drugs. The new oral anticoagulants (NOACs) have now reached the market. However, safety concerns have been raised about their hepatic safety. Therefore we aimed to evaluate NOAC liver-related safety. Methods Systematic review and meta-analysis of phase III randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Medline and CENTRAL were searched to September 2013. Reviews and reference lists were also searched. Two reviewers independently searched for studies and retrieved data estimates. Primary outcome was DILI (transaminases elevations >3× upper limit of normal (ULN) with total bilirubin >2× ULN). NOACs were compared against any control group. Random-effects meta-analysis was performed, and pooled estimates were expressed as relative risk (RR) and 95% CI heterogeneity was evaluated with I2 test. Results Twenty-nine RCTs evaluating 152 116 patients (mean follow-up of 16 months) were included. All RCTs were rated as having low risk of bias. NOAC were not associated with an increased risk of DILI (RR 0.90, 95% CI 0.72 to 1.13, I2=0%). Similar results were obtained for individual NOAC (rivaroxaban, apixaban, dabigatran, darexaban, edoxaban) and considering the different control groups (vitamin K antagonists, low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) and placebo). The risk of transaminases elevations (>3×ULN) was lower among NOAC-treated patients, in particular in comparison with LMWH-treated patients (RR 0.71, 95% CI 0.59 to 0.85; I2=27%) Conclusions NOACs are not associated with an increased risk of DILI. The unexpected ‘protective’ effect of NOAC is probably due to LMWH-associated hepatotoxicity.
Memory fault diagnosis by syndrome compression

In this paper we present a data compression technique that can be used to speed up the transmission of diagnosis data from the embedded RAM with built-in self-diagnosis (BISD) support. The proposed approach compresses the faulty-cell address and March syndrome to about 28% of the original size under the March-17N diagnostic test algorithm. The key component of the compressor is a novel syndrome-accumulation circuit, which can be realized by a content-addressable memory. Experimental results show that the area overhead is about 0.9% for a 1Mb SRAM with 164 faults. The proposed compression technique reduces the time for diagnostic test, as well as the tester storage capacity requirement.
Improved Approximation for Weighted Tree Augmentation with Bounded Costs

The Weighted Tree Augmentation Problem (WTAP) is a fundamental well-studied problem in the field of network design. Given an undirected tree $G=(V,E)$, an additional set of edges $L \subseteq V\times V$ disjoint from $E$ called \textit{links}, and a cost vector $c\in \mathbb{R}_{\geq 0}^L$, WTAP asks to find a minimum-cost set $F\subseteq L$ with the property that $(V,E\cup F)$ is $2$-edge connected. The special case where $c_\ell = 1$ for all $\ell\in L$ is called the Tree Augmentation Problem (TAP). Both problems are known to be NP-hard. For the class of bounded cost vectors, we present a first improved approximation algorithm for WTAP since more than three decades. Concretely, for any $M\in \mathbb{Z}_{\geq 1}$ and $\epsilon > 0,$ we present an LP based $(\delta+\epsilon)$-approximation for WTAP restricted to cost vectors $c$ in $[1,M]^L$ for $\delta \approx 1.96417$. For the special case of TAP we improve this factor to $\frac{5}{3}+\epsilon$. Our results rely on a new LP, that significantly differs from existing LPs achieving improved bounds for TAP. We round a fractional solution in two phases. The first phase uses the fractional solution to decompose the tree and its fractional solution into so-called $\beta$-simple pairs losing only an $\epsilon$-factor in the objective function. We then show how to use the additional constraints in our LP combined with the $\beta$-simple structure to round a fractional solution in each part of the decomposition.
Management Effectiveness of a Secondary Coniferous Forest for Landscape Appreciation and Psychological Restoration

We investigated the influence of forest management on landscape appreciation and psychological restoration in on-site settings by exposing respondents to an unmanaged, dense coniferous (crowding) forest and a managed (thinned) coniferous forest; we set the two experimental settings in the forests of the Fuji Iyashinomoroi Woodland Study Center. The respondents were individually exposed to both settings while sitting for 15 min and were required to answer three questionnaires to analyze the psychological restorative effects before and after the experiment (feeling (the Profile of Mood States), affect (the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule), and subjective restorativeness (the Restorative Outcome Scale). To compare landscape appreciation, they were required to answer another two questionnaires only after the experiment, for scene appreciation (the semantic differential scale) and for the restorative properties of each environment (the Perceived Restorativeness Scale). Finally, we obtained these findings: (1) the respondents evaluated each forest environment highly differently and evaluated the thinned forest setting more positively; (2) the respondents’ impressions of the two physical environments did not appear to be accurately reflected in their evaluations; (3) forest environments have potential restorative effects whether or not they are managed, but these effects can be partially enhanced by managing the forests.
Coverage path planning for mobile robot based on genetic algorithm

Environment modeling for mobile robot is built up by using Boustrophedon cell decomposition method, and each sub-region is set numbers and basis point based on the characteristics of modeling, and connectivity relations among all sub-regions are established. All sub-regions are encoded by genetic algorithm (GA), and information of basis points between the sub-regions and sub-regions inside are set up and also achieved by GA, the optimal coverage sequences are obtained with GA, and in each sub-region a partial coverage is realized in the form of reciprocating movement, then problem of complete coverage for mobile robot is changed into a traveling salesman problem (TSP). Finally, the relationships between parameters of GA and search abilities are deeply studied, then the best parameters of GA are obtained. Simulation results show the effectiveness of GA for mobile robot's coverage path planning.
Bit and Frame Synchronization Techniques

All graphics in this paper are created by the authors unless otherwise stated. Bit and Frame Synchronization techniques are used in order to ensure that signals transmitted from one participant of the communication can be correctly decoded by the receiver. To achieve this goal, certain timing information must be passed to the receiver such as where communication units begin and end.In this article various bit and frame synchronization techniques are presented as well as underlying encoding schemes and applications using the described techniques.
Split connection scheme for session-based group communication

Group-oriented communication services have become more attractive due to diversifying demands of Internet users. In such emerging applications, information shared or exchanged by users in a group should be quickly and reliably delivered to other group members. However, the current Internet architecture is difficult to accommodate these applications efficiently. Therefore, a novel network architecture concept has been proposed to achieve group-oriented communication. Although this concept enables such communication, intelligent connection management schemes are also needed to improve the efficiency of network resource use. In this paper, we propose a session-based mechanism for efficient group communication. Furthermore, we show the effectiveness of the proposed scheme by means of simulations.
Stress-field Translation in the Healthy Human Temporomandibular Joint

Movement over the surface of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disc produces tractional forces. These forces potentially increase the magnitude of shear stresses and contribute to wear and fatigue of the disc. Theoretically, tractional forces in all synovial joints are the result of frictional forces, due to rubbing of the cartilage surfaces, and plowing forces, due to translation of the stress-field through the cartilage matrix as the joint surface congruency changes during motion. For plowing forces to occur in the TMJ, there must be mediolateral translation of the stress-field as the condyle moves dorsoventrally during jaw function. To test whether mediolateral stress-field translation occurs in the intact TMJ, we measured stress-field position and translation velocities in ten normal individuals during rhythmic jaw opening and closing. Magnetic resonance imaging and jaw tracking were combined to animate the three-dimensional position of the stress-field between the articulating surfaces. This allowed for mediolateral translation velocity measurements of the centroid of the stress-field. The results showed that during jaw opening and closing at 0.5 Hz, the average peak mediolateral translation velocity was 35 ± 17 mm/sec. When opening and closing increased to 1.0 Hz, the average peak velocity was 40 ± 19 mm/sec. Theoretical model estimates of the work done during such translation ranged from 6 to 709 mJ between the individual joints studied. The potential clinical importance of this measure is that long-term exposure of the TMJ disc to high work may result in fatigue failure of the TMJ disc.
The Semantic Web: from Concept to Percept

We give a brief overview of a new and exciting research area: the Semantic Web. We introduce some of its main ideas and application domains (with an emphasis on e-business and e-commerce), and report on relevant public funding initiatives in Europe and the US. Finally, we discuss current challenges. The paper also contains a short bibliography as well as pointers to pertinent web sites and European Semantic Web projects.
The ASKAP/EMU Source Finding Data Challenge

Abstract The Evolutionary Map of the Universe (EMU) is a proposed radio continuum survey of the Southern Hemisphere up to declination + 30°, with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP). EMU will use an automated source identification and measurement approach that is demonstrably optimal, to maximise the reliability and robustness of the resulting radio source catalogues. As a step toward this goal we conducted a “Data Challenge” to test a variety of source finders on simulated images. The aim is to quantify the accuracy and limitations of existing automated source finding and measurement approaches. The Challenge initiators also tested the current ASKAPsoft source-finding tool to establish how it could benefit from incorporating successful features of the other tools. As expected, most finders show completeness around 100% at ≈ 10σ dropping to about 10% by ≈ 5σ. Reliability is typically close to 100% at ≈ 10σ, with performance to lower sensitivities varying between finders. All finders show the expected trade-off, where a high completeness at low signal-to-noise gives a corresponding reduction in reliability, and vice versa. We conclude with a series of recommendations for improving the performance of the ASKAPsoft source-finding tool.
Mesoscopic imaging of fluorescent proteins using multi-spectral optoacoustic tomography (MSOT)

Noninvasive imaging of biological tissues using visible and near-infrared light may provide numerous insights into the underlying morphology or tissue function using a great variety of contrast and probing mechanisms. Nevertheless, mesoscopic-scale (i.e 1mm-1cm sized) living organisms remain largely inaccessible by current optical imaging methods. Depending on the optical properties of a particular object, light diffusion can significantly limit the resolution that can be achieved at depths beyond several hundred microns. To enable in-vivo optical contrast imaging of many important model organisms, such as insects, worms and similarly sized biological specimens, we have developed a multi-spectral optoacoustic tomography technique for high-resolution imaging of optically diffusive organisms and tissues. The method is capable of imaging at depths from sub-millimeter up to a centimeter range with a scalable spatial resolution on the order of magnitude of a few tenths of microns. Furthermore, we show for the first time that the technique is capable of resolving spatial distribution of fluorescent proteins inside intact opaque organisms, thus overcoming depth limitations of current fluorescence microscopy techniques.
User-Guided Device Driver Synthesis

Automatic device driver synthesis is a radical approach to creating drivers faster and with fewer defects by generating them automatically based on hardware device specifications. We present the design and implementation of a new driver synthesis toolkit, called Termite-2. Termite-2 is the first tool to combine the power of automation with the flexibility of conventional development. It is also the first practical synthesis tool based on abstraction refinement. Finally, it is the first synthesis tool to support automated debugging of input specifications. We demonstrate the practicality of Termite-2 by synthesizing drivers for a number of I/O devices representative of a typical embedded platform.
A design of the persistent operating system with non-volatile memory

In today's computing environment, novel memory devices with non-volatile characteristics are increasing in practicality when used as the main memory, due to the persistence with no additional battery that significantly enhances usability of personal devices.In our research, we have built a persistent operating system using non-volatile main memory. This paper describes our strategy in detail on how atomicity of execution is maintained for each device driver method so that the state of peripheral devices can also recovered consistently. The method was implemented on the Linux kernel using a UART device driver. We have confirmed correct system recovery through our experiments.
Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity of Different Varieties of Strawberry and the Antioxidant Stability in Storage

Total antioxidant capacity of different varieties of strawberry (Ningfeng, Ningyu, Zijin 4, Toyonoka, Benihope, Sweet Charlie) in different developmental stages (including green unripe stages, half red stages, and red ripe stages) was investigated by oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assay. In addition, effects of the antioxidant properties of strawberry stored at 4 °C or −18 °C for a period of five months were studied. The results showed that antioxidant capacity of strawberry changed based on tested part, developmental stage, variety, and time of collection. Calyces had significantly higher ORAC values compared with fruits. Strawberry fruits had higher ORAC values during the green unripe stages than the half red stages and red ripe stages. Strawberries got higher ORAC values during short-time storage, and then decreased during long-time storage. Samples stored at −18 °C exhibited higher antioxidant capacity than those stored at 4 °C, while vacuum treatment could further increase ORAC values. The results indicated the potential market role of strawberries as a functional food and could provide great value in preventing oxidation reaction in food processing and storage for the dietary industry.
A Typology of Rhotic Duration Contrast and Neutralization

Rhotics are known for the considerable phonetic variety they exhibit across languages and dialects. Most of the world's languages exhibit a single type of rhotic sound, but some languages have more than one, usually contrastive in type rather than place (Ladefoged & Maddieson 1996:237). A number of languages have a phonological durational distinction between an extra-short apical tap and a sustainable multiple-cycle trill. These languages differ with respect to the environments in which rhotic duration contrast is maintained, and further differences are found in the phonetic outcomes of neutralization. In short, this paper is concerned with the expression of rhotic duration contrast and the phonetic nature of neutralization in contexts where the contrast is disallowed. Section 1 of this paper explores patterns of tap/trill contrast and neutralization from Spanish, Basque, Kaliai-Kove, Palauan, Kairiru, Ngizim and Kurdish. Section 2 develops a phonetically-based Optimality-theoretic account of why these languages allow the tap/trill contrast where they do and of what happens in positions of neutralization. Section 3 accounts for the observed patterns in terms of interaction between faithfulness constraints that enforce contrast preservation and articulatory markedness constraints that trigger fortition to trill and lenition to tap. Section 4 discusses the special case of wordinitial fortition in Kurdish. Finally, Section 5 summarizes the analysis.
Physical activity/exercise and type 2 diabetes.

For decades, exercise has been considered a cornerstone of diabetes management, along with diet and medication. However, high-quality evidence on the importance of exercise and fitness in diabetes was lacking until recent years. The last American Diabetes Association (ADA) technical review of exercise and type 2 diabetes (formerly known as non–insulin dependent diabetes) was published in 1990. The present work emphasizes the advances that have occurred since the last technical review was published. Major developments since the 1990 technical review include: Based on this new evidence, we have refined the recommendations on the desired types, amounts, and intensities of aerobic physical activity for people with diabetes. Resistance training will now be recommended in a broader group of patients and at a broader range of intensity than done previously. There are other areas in which new evidence is lacking, but we feel that previous recommendations may have been more conservative than necessary. These areas include indications for exercise stress test before beginning an exercise program and precautions regarding …