Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PET study of the neuroprotective effect of TRA-418, an antiplatelet agent, in a monkey model of stroke.

UNLABELLED The aim of this study was to evaluate the neuroprotective effect of TRA-418, an antiplatelet agent, using PET in a monkey model of stroke. TRA-418 is a nonprostanoid compound with dual action: antagonistic effects on thromboxane A(2) receptors and agonistic effects on prostaglandin I(2) receptors. METHODS Via a transorbital approach, cynomolgus monkeys underwent a 3-h occlusion of the right middle cerebral artery (MCA), followed by reperfusion and observation for 4 d. Starting 2 h after the MCA occlusion, TRA-418 was administered at low and high doses (6 animals at each dose). Six control animals received a bolus and infusion of drug vehicle after MCA occlusion. Steady-state (15)O continuous inhalation was used for assessment of local cerebral blood flow, cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen, and oxygen extraction fraction using high-resolution PET. Five consecutive PET scans (before occlusion; 2 h after occlusion; and 2 h, 24 h, and 4 d after reperfusion) were obtained for each monkey. The extent of the cerebral damage due to ischemia was measured histologically at 4 d after reperfusion. RESULTS Histologic observation 4 d after MCA occlusion showed that cerebral damage was less (P = 0.05) in animals treated with high-dose TRA-418 than in control animals. Although not affecting cerebral blood flow during the experiments, treatment with TRA-418 significantly (P < 0.05) suppressed reduction of the cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen after reperfusion. CONCLUSION Our observations suggest that TRA-418 has neuroprotective action, as displayed in a primate model of stroke using PET monitoring.
Development of a Multimedia-Based Vehicle Lane Departure Warning, Forward Collision Warning and Event Video Recorder Systems

This paper presents how an intelligent multimedia- based vehicle warning device is developed. The focal device incorporates the lane departure warning (LDW) function, the forward collision warning (FCW) function, and the event vide-recorder (EVR) function with a charged-coupled-diode (CCD) camera as the means to capture image. The LDW component uses a median filter, an edge-enhancement filter and the Hough Transform algorithm for lane recognition. The FCW component identifies vehicles with a feature- based approach while verifies the vehicle candidates by the appearance-based approach. Besides, we also propose a noble vehicle detecting scheme in which the task of vehicle detection depends not on the whole image within a frame but rather on the image's three constituent portions of different sizes, with a view to reduce the computing burden. The motion vector (MV) estimation is applied to track the detected vehicle in movement. This act helps that not all vehicles inside the image frame subject to detect in the vehicle detection stage. The EVR system is used to record the image captured in the event of a vehicle accident. The integration of LDW, FCW and EVR functions has successfully implemented in an ADI-BF561 600MHz dual core digital signal process (DSP).
Functional interaction between N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor and ascorbic acid during neuropathic pain induced by chronic constriction injury of the sciatic nerve

Abstract Background: Neuropathic pain is a chronic pain condition, which is resistant to therapy. Ascorbate was released because of the activation of glutaminergic neurons. Due to the important role of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors in the pathophysiology of neuropathic pain, this study investigated the analgesic efficacy of ascorbic acid (AA) in neuropathic pain condition and the role of NMDA receptors in this effect. Methods: For this purpose, adult male rats were randomly allocated to experimental groups (n=8 in each group). Neuropathic pain was induced by chronic constriction injury (CCI) of the sciatic nerve. During the second week after CCI, animals received a single injection of 1, 3, 5, or 10 mg/kg of AA intraperitoneally and pain threshold was determined 15 and 60 min later. The antinociceptive effect of chronic administration was also evaluated by intraperitoneal injection (IP) of 3 mg/kg AA for 3 weeks. To determine the role of NMDA receptors, separate groups of animals 30 min after single injection of AA (1 mg/kg) animals received i.p. injection of ketamine (5 mg/kg), MK-801 (0.01 mg/kg), or glutamate (1000 nmol) and were tested 20 min afterwards. Data analyzed by ANOVA and Newman-Keuls tests and p<0.05 were considered as significant. Results: IP of 3, 5 and 10 mg/kg increased the pain threshold during the second week after CCI (p<0.05, F=3 in tactile allodynia and p<0.01, F=3.2 in thermal and mechanical hyperalgeisa). Chronic administration of AA also produced antinociceptive effect. Ascorbic acid (1 mg/kg, i.p.) inhibited MK-801 and ketamine-induced antinociception response significantly (p<0.001, F=2). It also prevented the analgesic effect of glutamate administration (p<0.001, F=2). Conclusions: The results indicated that AA produced a dose-dependent antinociceptive effect that seems to mediate through its interaction with NMDA receptors.
Optimising Income Drawdown in the Dual Space

One attractive objective for a pensioner using the income drawdown option is to minimise the deviation of the pension fund from a prescribed deterministic target. Typically, this problem is formulated as a linear-quadratic optimal control problem, which has the shortcoming that over-performance of the fund is penalised as much as underperformance. If one adopts an asymmetric terminal loss function then it is not clear how to solve the optimisation problem. However, the dual optimisation problem suggests a particular asymmetric utility function, which expresses the pensioner's preference for the annuity rate at compulsory annuitisation. The transformation between the state variable and its dual is quadratic under this utility function, so that conversion between spaces is straightforward. Using this technique, simulation of the optimal controls reveals the effect of asymmetric preferences on the optimal investment and consumption during income drawdown. One feature of the asymmetric objective is that it can be optimal not to make any risky investment at all, but if and when this occurs depends strongly on the target drawdown rate.
Trapidil Enhances the Slowly Activating Delayed Rectifier Potassium Current and Suppresses the Transient Inward Current Induced by Catecholamine in Guinea Pig Ventricular Myocytes

We examined the electrophysiological effects of trapidil on the ionic currents influencing the repolarization and on the transient inward current (ITi) that can cause triggered arrhythmia using the whole-cell patch-clamp technique in guinea pig ventricular myocytes. Trapidil shortened the action potential duration (APD) and increased the delayed rectifier potassium current (IK) in a concentration-dependent manner. The effect of trapidil on the rapidly and slowly activating components of IK (IKr and IKs, respectively) was studied by the envelope of tails test. Trapidil failed to affect IKr and selectively enhanced IKs. Trapidil increased the amplitude of the L-type Ca2+ current (ICa,L), with an acceleration of its inactivation, whereas isoproterenol, a β-adrenoceptor agonist, increased the amplitude of the ICa,L in a different manner. Isoproterenol activated ITi; however, trapidil not only failed to facilitate ITi but also suppressed isoproterenol-induced ITi. The inhibitory effect of trapidil on isoproterenol-induced ITi is at least partly via a reduction of Ca2+ overload through an acceleration of ICa,L inactivation and/or a sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ channel modulation. These results suggest that trapidil does not prolong the QT interval and has an antiarrhythmic effect on arrhythmias elicited by triggered activity secondary to Ca2+ overload at much higher concentrations than clinical concentration.
Wage Rigidities in Western Germany

This paper investigates whether and in what sense the west German wage structure has been ‘rigid’ in the 1990s. To test the hypothesis that a rigid wage structure has been responsible for rising low-skilled unemployment, I propose a methodology which makes less restrictive identifying assumptions than some previous related work. I find that the relative stability of educational wage premia was justified by market forces. However, relative wages did not respond to negative net demand shocks for young workers, as well as white-collar workers. Acknowledgement I thank the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW), Mannheim, for letting me work with the full sample of the German Socio-Economic Panel. This research was partly supported by the Volkswagen Foundation. I am grateful to Michael Lechner, Markus Frolich, Ruth Miquel, SIAW, University of Sankt Gallen, Rob Euwals, IZA, Bonn, Herbert S. Buscher, ZEW, Mannheim, participants of the CEPRIZA European Summer Symposium in Labour Economics 2001, Buch, Germany, participants of the Meeting of the Econometrics and Statistics Study Group of the Swiss Society for Economics and Statistics, University of Berne, Switzerland, and participants of the Department of Economics, University of Sankt Gallen, Brown Bag Seminar, for helpful comments. All remaining errors are my own.
Cohort study of peanut and tree nut sensitisation by age of 4 years

Abstract Objective: To determine the prevalence of sensitisation to peanuts and tree nuts in all children born during one year in one geographical area. Design: Birth cohort study with structured review at ages 1, 2, and 4 years. Setting: All children born on the Isle of Wight between January 1989 and February 1990. Subjects: Of 1456 children originally included, 1218 were reviewed at age 4 years. Of these, 981 had skin prick tests. Main outcome measures: Positive skin test results, clinical atopic disease, and risk factors for the development of atopy. Results: 15 of 1218 (1.2%) children were sensitised to peanuts or tree nuts (13 to peanuts). Six had had allergic reactions to peanuts (0.5% of the population), one to hazelnuts, and one to cashew nuts; three had had anaphylactic reactions. Seven children had positive skin test results or detectable IgE to peanuts without clinical symptoms. Two children who reacted to peanut in infancy had lost their sensitivity by 4 years. Family history of atopy, allergy to egg (odds ratio 9.9, 95% confidence interval 2.1 to 47.9, and eczema (7.3, 2.1 to 26.1) were important predictors for peanut allergy. Conclusions: IgE mediated allergy to peanuts is common in early childhood. In many the allergy persists but a minority may develop tolerance. Key messages Key messages This study suggests that 1 in 200 children could have reactions to peanuts and tree nuts by the age of 4 years and a similar number could have asymp- tomatic sensitisation Children with allergy to peanuts invariably have another atopic disorder such as asthma, eczema, or rhinitis Sensitisation to peanuts and tree nuts may coexist
Close Relationships and Health in Daily Life: A Review and Empirical Data on Intimacy and Somatic Symptoms

Objective To review research on close relationships and health in daily life, with a focus on physiological functioning and somatic symptoms, and to present data on the within-person effects of physical intimacy on somatic symptoms in committed couples’ daily life. The empirical study tested whether prior change in physical intimacy predicted subsequent change in symptoms, over and above their concurrent association. In addition, the study tested if increasing and decreasing intimacy had asymmetric effects on symptom change. Methods In this study, 164 participants in 82 committed couples reported physical intimacy and somatic symptoms once a day for 33 days. Results Prior within-person change in intimacy predicted a subsequent reduction in symptoms; when a person’s intimacy increased from one day to the next day, then symptoms decreased over the following days (B = −0.098, standard error [SE] = 0.038, p = .013). This lagged effect of intimacy held over and above the association of concurrent change in intimacy and symptoms (B = −0.122, SE = 0.041, p = .004). The study found asymmetric effects of prior increase and decrease in intimacy; prior intimacy increase predicted reduced subsequent symptoms (B = −0.189, SE = 0.068, p = .047), whereas prior intimacy decrease was unrelated to subsequent symptoms (B = −0.003, SE = 0.063, not significant). There was no evidence for asymmetric effects of intimacy increase and decrease on concurrent symptom change. Conclusions Close relationships exert influences on health in daily life, and part of this influence is due to intimacy.
The LIM Domain Protein LPP Is a Coactivator for the ETS Domain Transcription Factor PEA3

ABSTRACT PEA3 is a member of a subfamily of ETS domain transcription factors which is regulated by a number of signaling cascades, including the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase pathways. PEA3 activates gene expression and is thought to play an important role in promoting tumor metastasis and also in neuronal development. Here, we have identified the LIM domain protein LPP as a novel coregulatory binding partner for PEA3. LPP has intrinsic transactivation capacity, forms a complex with PEA3, and is found associated with PEA3-regulated promoters. By manipulating LPP levels, we show that it acts to upregulate the transactivation capacity of PEA3. LPP can also functionally interact in a similar manner with the related family member ER81. Thus, we have uncovered a novel nuclear function for the LIM domain protein LPP as a transcriptional coactivator. As LPP continually shuttles between the cell periphery and the nucleus, it represents a potential novel link between cell surface events and changes in gene expression.
Auditory Cortex Encodes the Perceptual Interpretation of Ambiguous Sound

The confounding of physical stimulus characteristics and perceptual interpretations of stimuli poses a problem for most neuroscientific studies of perception. In the auditory domain, this pertains to the entanglement of acoustics and percept. Traditionally, most study designs have relied on cognitive subtraction logic, which demands the use of one or more comparisons between stimulus types. This does not allow for a differentiation between effects due to acoustic differences (i.e., sensation) and those due to conscious perception. To overcome this problem, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in humans and pattern-recognition analysis to identify activation patterns that encode the perceptual interpretation of physically identical, ambiguous sounds. We show that it is possible to retrieve the perceptual interpretation of ambiguous phonemes—information that is fully subjective to the listener—from fMRI measurements of brain activity in auditory areas in the superior temporal cortex, most prominently on the posterior bank of the left Heschl's gyrus and sulcus and in the adjoining left planum temporale. These findings suggest that, beyond the basic acoustic analysis of sounds, constructive perceptual processes take place in these relatively early cortical auditory networks. This disagrees with hierarchical models of auditory processing, which generally conceive of these areas as sets of feature detectors, whose task is restricted to the analysis of physical characteristics and the structure of sounds.
Significant pathways detection in osteoporosis based on the bibliometric network.

BACKGROUND Osteoporosis is a significant public health issue worldwide. The underlying mechanism of osteoporosis is an imbalance between bone resorption and bone formation. However, the exact pathology is still unclear, and more related genes are on demand. AIM Here, we aim to identify the differentially expressed genes in osteoporosis patients and control. MATERIALS AND METHODS Biblio-MetReS, a tool to reconstruct gene and protein networks from automated literature analysis, was used for identifying potential interactions among target genes. Relevant signaling pathways were also identified through pathway enrichment analysis. RESULTS Our results showed that 56 differentially expressed genes were identified. Of them, STAT1, CXCL10, SOCS3, ADM, THBS1, SOD2, and ERG2 have been demonstrated involving in osteoporosis. Further, a bibliometric network was constructed between DEGs and other genes through the Biblio-MetReS. CONCLUSIONS The results showed that STAT1 could interact with CXCL10 through Toll-like receptor signaling pathway and Chemokine signaling pathway. STAT1 interacted with SOCS3 through JAK/STAT pathway.
Nonsurgical Management of Pelvic Organ Prolapse

Although surgical management of symptomatic pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is common and often necessary, conservative treatments such as pessaries, pelvic floor muscle training, or both can usually result in symptomatic improvement. When treating patients with POP, health care practitioners should focus primarily on identification and alleviation of POP-related symptoms. It is appropriate to offer nonsurgical management to most people with POP. This article reviews the objective and subjective evaluation and nonsurgical management of POP, emphasizing a simple, practical approach to pessary fitting and management.
Failover of Software Services with State Replication

Computing systems are becoming more and more complex and assuming more and more responsibilities in all sectors of human activity. Applications do not run locally on a single computer any more. A lot of today's applications are built as distributed system; with services on different computers communicating with each other. Distributed systems arise everywhere. The Internet is one of the best-known distributed systems and used by nearly everyone today. It is obvious that we are more and more dependent on computer services. Many people expect to be able to buy things like clothing or electronic equipment even at night on the Internet. Computers are expected to be operational and available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. Downtime, even for maintenance, is no longer acceptable.
Sensitivity-Based Approaches for Handling Discrete Variables in Optimal Power Flow Computations

This paper proposes and compares three iterative approaches for handling discrete variables in optimal power flow (OPF) computations. The first two approaches rely on the sensitivities of the objective and inequality constraints with respect to discrete variables. They set the discrete variables values either by solving a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) problem or by using a simple procedure based on a merit function. The third approach relies on the use of Lagrange multipliers corresponding to the discrete variables bound constraints at the OPF solution. The classical round-off technique and a progressive round-off approach have been also used as a basis of comparison. We provide extensive numerical results with these approaches on four test systems with up to 1203 buses, and for two OPF problems: loss minimization and generation cost minimization, respectively. These results show that the sensitivity-based approach combined with the merit function clearly outperforms the other approaches in terms of: objective function quality, reliability, and computational times. Furthermore, the objective value obtained with this approach has been very close to that provided by the continuous relaxation OPF. This approach constitutes therefore a viable alternative to other methods dealing with discrete variables in an OPF.
Update on developments with SGLT2 inhibitors in the management of type 2 diabetes

The importance of the kidney’s role in glucose homeostasis has gained wider understanding in recent years. Consequently, the development of a new pharmacological class of anti-diabetes agents targeting the kidney has provided new treatment options for the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Sodium glucose co-transporter type 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, such as dapagliflozin, canagliflozin, and empagliflozin, decrease renal glucose reabsorption, which results in enhanced urinary glucose excretion and subsequent reductions in plasma glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin concentrations. Modest reductions in body weight and blood pressure have also been observed following treatment with SGLT2 inhibitors. SGLT2 inhibitors appear to be generally well tolerated, and have been used safely when given as monotherapy or in combination with other oral anti-diabetes agents and insulin. The risk of hypoglycemia is low with SGLT2 inhibitors. Typical adverse events appear to be related to the presence of glucose in the urine, namely genital mycotic infection and lower urinary tract infection, and are more often observed in women than in men. Data from long-term safety studies with SGLT2 inhibitors and from head-to-head SGLT2 inhibitor comparator studies are needed to fully determine their benefit–risk profile, and to identify any differences between individual agents. However, given current safety and efficacy data, SGLT2 inhibitors may present an attractive option for T2DM patients who are failing with metformin monotherapy, especially if weight is part of the underlying treatment consideration.
Policy-Making in Public Welfare: The 1962 Amendments

c=> The federal welfare amendments of 1962 were hailed by many as a fundamental change. The chief reason for this was their acceptance of social work doctrine about the need for "services" in public assistance. The amendments' history illustrates the difficult substantive issues in that program as well as the effects of its political, governmental, and professional contexts. In the present study the influence of professionalism is emphasized. Public assistance is affected by several endemic tensions: between central and decentralized control in the federal system; between comprehensive and narrowly categorical programs; between the formal requirements of public administration and the informal tradition of professional social work; between emphasis on personal independence and agency paternalism in eligibility determination and rendering of "services"; and, fundamentally, between stringency and liberality in public attitudes and admiinistrative practices toward the poor. Most of these dilemmas are closely related; none of them is easily resolved.
Compact Model of Carbon Nanotube Transistor and Interconnect

A noniterative physics-based compact model is developed for carbon nanotube (CNT) transistor and interconnect in order to support early stage design exploration. Based on the derivation of surface potential, the new model accurately predicts both I-V and C-V characteristics. It is scalable to key process and design parameters, such as the diameter, chirality, contact materials, gate dielectrics, and bias voltages. Without any iteration in model computation, the proposed model significantly enhances the simulation efficiency for large-scale design research. By benchmarking circuit performance, the optimal space of the CNT process is further localized. It is observed that for a Schottky-barrier CNT transistor with the diameter range of 1-1.5 nm, the circuit can be more than 8&times; faster than that of 22-nm CMOS, with the tolerance to the variation in contact materials.
3D face recognition based on kinect depth data

In this paper, a contour map human facial recognition algorithm is proposed to implement the three-dimensional (3D) face recognition with the Kinect Xbox One. Since the scale of 3D depth data collected from Kinect is tremendous, the face recognition process cannot be handled in real time. To improve the speed and accuracy of the recognition process, the proposed algorithm turns the 3D depth data to the two-dimensional (2D) contour map. Furthermore, due to the 3D depth data obtained by Kinect, there is no need of expensive, ponderous and slow 3D scanners. Ten male and female subjects were involved in the validation experiment and the results verify that the proposed algorithm was feasible for face recognition. In addition, compared with other methods, Eigenface, Local Binary Patterns (LBP) and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), the proposed algorithm has the better security and reliability.