Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Skeletal muscle microbiopsy: a validation study of a minimally invasive technique

The study of the peripheral skeletal muscle function in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is of growing interest, but often requires biopsies, usually with the Bergström technique. The current study was designed to test the validity of a minimally invasive technique: the microbiopsy. In 17 patients with COPD and four normal subjects, two specimens of the vastus lateralis were taken percutaneously under local anaesthesia, one with a 16-gauge needle (microbiopsy) and the other with the Bergström needle. The enzymatic activity of citrate synthase (CS) and phosphofructokinase (PFK), and the myosin heavy chain (MyoHC) composition were measured for both techniques. The subjects reported no pain or much less with the microbiopsy compared with the Bergström biopsy. The microbiopsy sample weight reached 55±17 mg. The two techniques showed excellent agreement for CS activity and MyoHC composition. The PFK activity did not differ statistically between the techniques, but the agreement was moderate. The agreement between both biopsy techniques was stable over time. The median (range) fibre number within the microbiopsy specimens was 144 (38–286). In conclusion, the current study shows the feasibility and validity of a minimally invasive muscle biopsy technique that appears more comfortable for subjects, compared with the Bergström technique.
Urgency Urinary Incontinence in Women 50 Years or Older: Incidence, Remission, and Predictors of Change

Objectives: To estimate 2-year incidence, remission, and predictors of urgency urinary incontinence (UUI) in a community-based population of women 50 years or older. Methods: We analyzed the 2004 to 2006 data in the Health and Retirement Study. Subjects were women 50 years or older with baseline and follow-up UUI information. Urgency urinary incontinence incidence and remission were calculated. Predictors of UUI progression and improvement were estimated controlling for age, ethnicity, body mass index, parity, psychiatric illness, medical comorbidities, functional limitations, and stress urinary incontinence. We evaluated whether baseline UUI status predicted follow-up status and used multivariable logistic regression to identify predictor variables. Results: A total of 8581 women reported UUI status at baseline and follow-up. Of 7244 women continent at baseline, 268 affirmed UUI at follow-up for a 2-year incidence of 3.7%. Of 581 women with UUI at baseline, 150 were continent at follow-up for a 2-year remission of 25.8%. Predictors of UUI development included increased age (7th and 10th decades compared with 6th decade; OR, 1.5 and 7.2; confidence interval [CI], 1.1-2.1 and 4.2-12.5, respectively), obesity (OR, 1.6; CI, 1.2-2.1), history of psychiatric illness (OR, 1.6; CI, 1.3-2.0), functional limitations (OR, 6.2; CI, 4.2-9.2), and stress urinary incontinence (OR, 5.0; CI, 3.0-8.3). Women who denied UUI at baseline were also likely to deny UUI at follow-up (OR, 47.4; CI, 22.9-98.1). Conclusions: In this community-based population of women 50 years or older, UUI incidence was low and remission was high. Predictors of UUI included increased age, severe obesity, functional limitations, a positive psychiatric history, and incontinence status at baseline.
The Design of a Dual-band antenna for GPS/Beidou Applications

A dual-band circularly polarized microstrip patch antenna for GPS and Beidou applications is proposed and simulated. Compared to existing navigation antennas, this antenna features dual GPS L1 and Beidou L band operation, circular polarization, and excellent near hemispherical coverage. The proposed antenna is formed by two layers of circular patches which is used M-probe as its feed network. The measured results confirm the validity of this design, which can meet the requirement of GPS and Beidou application.
Convergence of the Nelder-Mead Simplex Method to a Nonstationary Point

This paper analyzes the behavior of the Nelder--Mead simplex method for a family of examples which cause the method to converge to a nonstationary point. All the examples use continuous functions of two variables. The family of functions contains strictly convex functions with up to three continuous derivatives. In all the examples the method repeatedly applies the inside contraction step with the best vertex remaining fixed. The simplices tend to a straight line which is orthogonal to the steepest descent direction. It is shown that this behavior cannot occur for functions with more than three continuous derivatives. The stability of the examples is analyzed.
Local neighbourhood and regional climatic contexts interact to explain tree performance

Tree neighbourhood modelling has significantly contributed to our understanding of the mechanisms structuring communities. Investigations into the impact of neighbouring crowding on tree performance have generally been conducted at local scales, missing important regional-scale context such as the suitability of the climate for each species. Favourable climates may enhance tree performance, but this may come at the cost of increased neighbourhood crowding and competition negatively impacting survival and growth. Through the synthesis of continental-scale forest inventory and trait datasets from the northeast USA and Puerto Rico we present an analytical approach that elucidates the important interactions between local competitive and regional climatic contexts. Our results show strong asymmetries in competitive interactions and significant niche differences that are dependent on habitat suitability. The strong interaction between local neighbourhood and regional climate highlights the need for models that consider the interaction between these two processes that have been previously ignored.
Factors affecting the nutritional composition and digestibility of corn for silage: Cover crops and cell wall composition

The objectives of this study were to determine the nutritional quality of different winter crops for silage within various regions of Virginia and to determine the impact of the various winter crops on the succeeding productivity of corn and sorghum. Experimental plots were planted with 15 different winter crop treatments at 3 locations in Virginia. At each site, 4 plots of each treatment were planted in a randomized complete block design. The 15 treatments included 5 winter annual grasses (barley, wheat, rye, ryegrass, and triticale) in monoculture or with one of two winter annual legumes (crimson clover and hairy vetch (HV)). After harvesting the winter crops, each plot was split equally in half, and each half was planted with either corn or forage sorghum. The nutritional composition and in vitro digestibility were determined for the fresh samples. Additionally, 200-400 g of chopped material were placed into mini-silos and analyzed after 60 days of ensiling. Mixtures with crimson clover (2.84 Mg/ha) increased winter crop yield compared to monocultures (2.40 Mg/ha) but HV did not (2.47 Mg/ha). Adding legumes increased the crude protein concentration of the forages. Adding legumes reduced the fiber concentration of both fresh and ensiled forages. Addition of hairy vetch decreased the sugar concentration of the fresh forages from 14.3% DM with monocultures to 10.4% DM, resulting in a higher pH of the silage. Even though in vitro neutral detergent fiber digestibility was reduced with the addition of legumes, the concentration of highly digestible non-fibrous components was greater in the mixtures than the monocultures, increasing the nutritive value of the silage. The preceding grass or legume species had little to no effect on nutrient composition of the following
Over-expressed genes detected by suppression subtractive hybridization in carcinoma derived from transformed 16HBE cells induced by BPDE.

OBJECTIVE To screen the over differentially expressed genes in carcinoma induced by BPDE-transformed 16HBE cells (16HBE-C cells). METHODS The suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) method was performed to profile differentially expressed genes between 16HBE-C cells and 16HBE cells. The cDNA fragments of differentially expressed genes were inserted into TA cloning vector and transformed competent E. coli strain. Positive clones were randomly picked up and identified by the colony PCR method. Dot blot was used to test the same source with the tester. The differentially expressed cDNA fragments were sequenced and compared with known genes and EST database in Genbank. RESULTS Eight known genes were over-expressed in 16HBE-C cells including eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1 alpha 1, HIF-1 responsive RTP801, ribosomal protein L10 (RPL10), ribosomal protein S29 (RPS29), mitochondrion related genes, and laminin receptor 1. Three differentially expressed cDNA fragments could not be matched to the known genes but to the EST database. CONCLUSION The SSH method can detect differentially expressed genes between 16HBE-C and 16HBE cells. BPDE-induced carcinogenesis may be related to alteration of at least eight known genes and three unknown genes. These expression data provide a clue to further cloning novel genes and studying functions in BPDE-induced carcinoma.
Design of an efficient ready queue for earliest-deadline-first (EDF) scheduler

Although dynamic-priority-based EDF algorithm is known to be theoretically optimal for scheduling sporadic real-time tasks on uniprocessor, fixed-priority (FP) scheduling is mostly used in practice. One of the main reasons for FP scheduling being popular in the industry is its efficient implementation: operations on the ready queue can be done in constant time. On the other hand, ready queue of EDF scheduler is generally implemented as a priority queue, for example, using a binary min-heap data structure in which (insertion/deletion) operation cannot be done in constant time. This paper proposes a new design of ready queue for EDF scheduler: a simple data structure for the ready queue and efficient operations to insert and remove task control blocks (TCBs) to and from the ready queue are proposed. Insertion of a TCB of a newly released job (that cannot preempt the currently-executing job) is done in non-constant time. However, insertion of a TCB of a preempted job or the removal of the TCB of job having the highest EDF priority from the ready queue can be done in constant time. Simulation using randomly generated task sets shows that the overhead of managing jobs in our proposed ready queue for EDF scheduler is significantly lower than that of other approaches. We believe that theoretically optimal EDF algorithm implemented based on our proposed ready-queue data structure will make EDF popular in industry.
Comparing shared control approaches for alternative interfaces: A wheelchair simulator experiment

Independent mobility is important for the self-esteem and well-being of people with mobility impairments. For people with severe disabilities, there is a body of research investigating how best to share control of motion between a person with disabilities and a "smart wheelchair". Traditionally in "shared control", the control law is a linear combination of the human's intended velocity and the path planner's velocity. However, this formulation of sharing control between a human and a machine does not guarantee safety on a theoretical level. To guarantee safety in formulating the blending of the human's input velocity and planner's velocity, we implement a practical form of probabilistic shared control formulated by Trautman. We tested this shared control by conducting experiments in a simulation where participants drive a wheelchair. The results of the experiment suggest probabilistic shared control has similar performance to linear blending in terms of significant reduction in number of collisions. However, for the sip-puff switch (a particularly difficult interface to use), probabilistic shared control yielded a greater reduction in collisions than linear blending.
WNT-7a induces axonal remodeling and increases synapsin I levels in cerebellar neurons.

WNT factors play a key role in early patterning of the embryo. However, expression of Wnt genes after cell commitment suggests additional roles in later developmental processes. We report here that Wnt-7a is expressed in cerebellar granule cell neurons as they begin to extend processes and form synapses. WNT-7a increases axonal spreading and branching in cultured granule cells. Moreover, WNT-7a increases the levels of synapsin I, a presynaptic protein involved in synapse formation and function. Lithium mimics WNT-7a in granule cells by inhibiting GSK-3beta, a component of the WNT signaling pathway. These results suggest a direct effect of WNT-7a in the regulation of neuronal cytoskeleton and synapsin I in granule cell neurons. We propose that WNT proteins have a novel function in the formation of neuronal connections.
Evaluation, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Gastrointestinal Disorders in Individuals With ASDs: A Consensus Report

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are common and clinically heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorders. Gastrointestinal disorders and associated symptoms are commonly reported in individuals with ASDs, but key issues such as the prevalence and best treatment of these conditions are incompletely understood. A central difficulty in recognizing and characterizing gastrointestinal dysfunction with ASDs is the communication difficulties experienced by many affected individuals. A multidisciplinary panel reviewed the medical literature with the aim of generating evidence-based recommendations for diagnostic evaluation and management of gastrointestinal problems in this patient population. The panel concluded that evidence-based recommendations are not yet available. The consensus expert opinion of the panel was that individuals with ASDs deserve the same thoroughness and standard of care in the diagnostic workup and treatment of gastrointestinal concerns as should occur for patients without ASDs. Care providers should be aware that problem behavior in patients with ASDs may be the primary or sole symptom of the underlying medical condition, including some gastrointestinal disorders. For these patients, integration of behavioral and medical care may be most beneficial. Priorities for future research are identified to advance our understanding and management of gastrointestinal disorders in persons with ASDs.
Mast cells in the lungs of rats fed on Crotalaria spectabilis seeds.

In I96I Lalich and MerkowI described the occurrence of pulmonary arteritis in a proportion of rats fed on a diet which contained the powdered seeds of Crotalaria spectabilis. It was later reported by Turner and Lalich 2 that rats maintained on a similar diet developed enlarged hearts, thickened pulmonary arteries, and multiple exudative changes in the lungs. It was suggested that the cardiac and pulmonary vascular lesions might be associated with pulmonary hypertension. Recent quantitative studies8 have confirmed these observations and shown that the cardiac enlargement is due to right ventricular hypertrophy and that there is pronounced medial hypertrophy of the muscular pulmonary arteries. Structural changes have been described in the pulmonary trunk,4 and direct measurement of the right ventricular pressure in affected rats has demonstrated the presence of severe pulmonary hypertension. " Lalich and Ehrhart6 showed that the active principle of Crotalaria spectabilis seeds is the pyrrolizidine alkaloid monocrotaline, and that oral administration to rats of the pure alkaloid induced pathological changes identical to those caused by the seeds. The mechanism by which oral administration of the seeds or alkaloid produces pulmonary hypertension is obscure. However, in this connection Takeoka, Angevine, and Lalich7 reported an increase in the number of mast cells in the lungs and mediastinal lymph nodes of rats poisoned by these substances. The mast cells of the rat are known to synthesize and store 5-hydroxytryptamine,8 and since this is known to be a potent pulmonary vasoconstrictor in many animal species,9 it was tempting to postulate that mast cell proliferation might be concerned in the genesis of the pulmonary vascular disease. However, mast cells have been traditionally associated with chronic exudation and organization,10 so that in rats poisoned with these seeds, the proliferation of mast cells in the lung might be more closely related to the development of exudative changes. We have counted the number of mast cells in the lungs of a group of rats fed on Crotalaria spectabilis seeds. On the one hand we have com-
Collective pulsational velocity broadening due to gravity modes as a physical explanation for macroturbulence in hot massive stars

Aims. We aimed at finding a physical explanation for the occurrence of macroturbulence in the atmospheres of hot massive stars, a phenomenon found in observations for more than a decade but that remains unexplained. Methods. We computed time series of line profiles for evolved massive stars broadened by rotation and by hundreds of low-amplitude nonradial gravity-mode pulsations which are predicted to be excited for evolved massive stars. Results. In general, line profiles based on macrotubulent broadening can mimic those subject to pulsational broadening. In several cases, though, good fits require macroturbulent velocities that pass the speed of sound for realistic pulsation amplitudes. Moreover, we find that the rotation velocity can be seriously underestimated by using a simple parameter description for macroturbulence rather than an appropriate pulsational model description to fit the line profiles. Conclusions. We conclude that macroturbulence is a likely signature of the collective effect of pulsations. We provide line diagnostics and their typical values to decide whether or not pulsational broadening is present in observed line profiles, as well as a procedure to avoid an inaccurate estimation of the rotation velocity.
Comparison of Phase-Based 3D Near-Field Source Localization Techniques for UHF RFID

In this paper, we present multiple techniques for phase-based narrowband backscatter tag localization in three-dimensional space with planar antenna arrays or synthetic apertures. Beamformer and MUSIC localization algorithms, known from near-field source localization and direction-of-arrival estimation, are applied to the 3D backscatter scenario and their performance in terms of localization accuracy is evaluated. We discuss the impact of different transceiver modes known from the literature, which evaluate different send and receive antenna path combinations for a single localization, as in multiple input multiple output (MIMO) systems. Furthermore, we propose a new Singledimensional-MIMO (S-MIMO) transceiver mode, which is especially suited for use with mobile robot systems. Monte-Carlo simulations based on a realistic multipath error model ensure spatial correlation of the simulated signals, and serve to critically appraise the accuracies of the different localization approaches. A synthetic uniform rectangular array created by a robotic arm is used to evaluate selected localization techniques. We use an Ultra High Frequency (UHF) Radiofrequency Identification (RFID) setup to compare measurements with the theory and simulation. The results show how a mean localization accuracy of less than 30 cm can be reached in an indoor environment. Further simulations demonstrate how the distance between aperture and tag affects the localization accuracy and how the size and grid spacing of the rectangular array need to be adapted to improve the localization accuracy down to orders of magnitude in the centimeter range, and to maximize array efficiency in terms of localization accuracy per number of elements.
Immunohistochemical Characterization of Sonic Hedgehog and its Downstream Signaling Molecules During Human Penile Development

Hypospadias is a common congenital anomalies, yet its molecular basis remains unknown. Recent studies have linked perturbations in the Hedgehog signaling pathway to hypospadias. However, the expression of Sonic hedgehog (Shh) has not been reported during genital development. Immunohistochemical staining for Shh and its receptors was applied to 10 human fetal penises ranging from 12 to 29 weeks gestation. The intensity of Shh staining was greatest in the urethral epithelium at 14 weeks gestation, correlating with the time of urethral tubularization. Results suggest a role for Shh in human male genital development.
USING QUALITY REQUIREMENTS TO SYSTEMATICALLY DEVELOP QUALITY SOFTWARE

Although quality issues such as accuracy, security, and performance are often crucial to the success of a software system, there has been no systematic way to achieve quality requirements during system development. We offer a framework and an implemented tool which treat quality requirements as goals to be achieved systematically during the system development process. We illustrate the process that a developer would go through, in building quality into a system. We have tested the framework on a number of studies involving a variety of quality requirements, organisational settings, and system types.
Dissociating Effects of Number of Phonemes, Number of Syllables, and Syllabic Complexity on Word Production in Aphasia: It's the Number of Phonemes that Counts

Many people with aphasia show effects of word length on the accuracy of their word production. However, it is unclear from previous research whether this is an effect of number of phonemes, number of syllables or the complexity of the syllable structure (number of consonant clusters), as these factors are usually confounded. This paper is the first to attempt to dissociate the effects of these three factors on word production in a case series of nine English‐speaking aphasic individuals. Using carefully controlled stimuli and analysis using logistic regression, the effects of these highly intercorrelated variables can be distinguished. Significant effects of number of phonemes were found on word production accuracy in English but there was no evidence for independent effects of number of syllables, number of clusters (syllabic complexity), or syllable frequency (once the intercorrelations between these variables had been controlled). It is argued that these data are consistent with any theory of spoken word production that incorporates a level of processing where phonemes are represented and that level is a potential source of error.
DELAY OF CELL DIFFERENTIATION IN Anabaena aequalis CAUSED BY UV‐B RADIATION AND THE ROLE OF PHOTOREACTIVATION AND EXCISION REPAIR

The effect of ultraviolet light on cell differentiation was studied in the cyanobacterium Anabaena aequalis. Exposure of cells to UV‐B wavelengths (280‐320 nm) significantly delayed the differentiation of vegetative cells into heterocysts and akinetes at doses up to 56 kJ m‐2. Heterocyst differentiation was essentially stopped at all exposure levels when photoreactivation was prevented, even when excision repair was available to the cells. Photoreactivated samples produced heterocysts at doses through 28 kJ m‐2, after which differentiation dropped steeply to near zero levels. Some recovery of differentiation was evident at higher doses but at levels much below that of controls. Akinete differentiation was only slightly delayed by the exposures when cells were photoreactivated. Samples then showed rapid differentiation with the numbers of akinetes significantly greater than controls. Cells that did not receive photoreactivating light showed a greater initial delay in differentiation but 2 weeks after the exposures had recovered to control levels. Caffeine had more effect on the differentiation of akinetes than heterocysts. Inhibition of excision repair greatly reduced differentiation in photoreactivated samples and essentially eliminated differentiation in the nonphotoreactivated samples.