Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Congestive Heart Failure after Myocardial Infarction in the Rat: Cardiac Force and Spontaneous Sarcomere Activity

Abstract: The causes of reduced cardiac force development in congestive heart failure (CHF) are still uncertain. We explored the subcellular mechanisms leading to decreased force development in trabeculae from rats with a myocardial infarction. We defined CHF according to clinical and pathological criteria and compared properties of trabeculae from animals with CHF (cMI) to those of animals with a myocardial scar but without evidence of CHF (uMI), and sham‐operated animals. The new findings of this study on properties of cMI trabeculae are that (1) maximal twitch force following post‐extrasystolic potentiation is unchanged; (2) the sensitivity of cMI trabeculae to [Ca2+]o is increased; (3) spontaneous diastolic sarcomere length (SL) fluctuations (SA) are increased in cMI at all levels of SR Ca2+ loading; and (4) SA is accompanied by a proportional reduction of Fmax. The results suggest that the probability of spontaneous diastolic opening of SR Ca2+ channels is increased in CHF. These data provide the basis for a novel mechanism underlying systolic and diastolic dysfunction as well as arrhythmias in hearts in CHF. If SA proves to be a component of myocardial dysfunction in human CHF, our thinking about therapy of the patient with CHF may be profoundly changed.
YGHP-1807 Domain Wall and Three Dimensional Duality

We discuss 1/2 BPS domain walls in the 3d N = 4 supersymmetric gauge theory which is self-dual under the 3d mirror symmetry. We find that if a BF-type coupling is introduced, invariance of the BPS domain wall under the duality transformation can be explicitly seen from the classical BPS equations. It has been known that particles and vortices are swapped under the 3d duality transformations. We show that Noether charges and vortex topological charges localized on the domain walls are correctly exchanged under the 3d mirror symmetry. ar X iv :1 80 3. 11 14 1v 2 [ he pth ] 8 J un 2 01 8
Optogenetic dissection reveals multiple rhythmogenic modules underlying locomotion

Neural networks in the spinal cord known as central pattern generators produce the sequential activation of muscles needed for locomotion. The overall locomotor network architectures in limbed vertebrates have been much debated, and no consensus exists as to how they are structured. Here, we use optogenetics to dissect the excitatory and inhibitory neuronal populations and probe the organization of the mammalian central pattern generator. We find that locomotor-like rhythmic bursting can be induced unilaterally or independently in flexor or extensor networks. Furthermore, we show that individual flexor motor neuron pools can be recruited into bursting without any activity in other nearby flexor motor neuron pools. Our experiments differentiate among several proposed models for rhythm generation in the vertebrates and show that the basic structure underlying the locomotor network has a distributed organization with many intrinsically rhythmogenic modules.
CLODRONATE LIPOSOMES: PERSPECTIVES IN RESEARCH AND THERAPEUTICS

ABSTRACT Liposomes encapsulating the bisphosphonate clodronate can be used for the transient suppression of macrophage functions. Given the important role of macrophages in various disorders, the application of clodronate liposomes has been studied in several models of rheumatoid arthritis, neurological disorders such as experimental allergic encephalomyelitis and spinal cord injury, autoantibody mediated disorders such as immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) and for the improvement of the efficacy of gene transfer and drug targeting.
Discriminant Neighborhood Structure Embedding Using Trace Ratio Criterion for Image Recognition

Dimensionality reduction is very important in pattern recognition, machine learning, and image recognition. In this paper, we propose a novel linear dimensionality reduction technique using trace ratio criterion, namely Discriminant Neighbourhood Structure Embedding Using Trace Ratio Criterion (TR-DNSE). TR-DNSE preserves the local intrinsic geometric structure, characterizing properties of similarity and diversity within each class, and enforces the separability between different classes by maximizing the sum of the weighted distances between nearby points from different classes. Experiments on four image databases show the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Effectiveness of manual cervical traction and mechanical cervical traction with neural mobilization in cervical radiculopathy

Cervical radiculopathy is an entity which frequently presents with upper extremity pain associated with neurological symptoms caused by compression of nerve roots. The purpose of the study was to know effects of manual and mechanical cervical traction with neural mobilization (ULTT-1) in cervical radiculopathy. The study was carried out with 30 samples from personalclinic, 15-15 sample is divided randomly into two groups for treatment. One group is treated with manual traction and neural mobilization and the second group is treated with mechanical traction and neural mobilization. The outcome measurement is taken by VAS for pain. Both the traction with neural mobilization technique was almost equally effective in reducing pain and increasing ROM.
ACTS-P 00075 EFFECT OF CONTACT RESISTANCES ON THERMAL AND ELECTRICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF METALLIC NANOWIRES

Despite numerous investigations have been reported on the electrical and thermal properties of individual metallic nanowires, the fundamental understanding of the transport phenomena still lacks consistency. The thermal and electrical contact resistances play an important role in the micro/nanoscale measurements, which have not been studied comprehensively. In this work, we fabricated the micro electrodes with the standard electron beam lithography process, and measured the thermal and electrical conductivities of the same individual silver nanowire using the standard four-probe and two-probe configurations, respectively, so that the electrical contact resistances between the nanowire and the electrodes can be extracted. Our results showed that, the electrical conductivity is about half of the bulk counterpart value, and decreases as temperature increases, while the thermal conductivity is found to increase with temperature. The electrical contact resistance is found to be temperature-independent, indicating that the electrons transport across the contacts in a ballistic behavior. The Lorenz number measured by the four-probe configuration is slightly smaller than the theoretical value (2.45×10 W Ω K), which can be probably interpreted by the thermal contact resistance at both ends of the nanowires.
Improvement of side-wall roughness in deep glass etched MEMS vibratory sensors

In this paper we report an optimized post-fabrication annealing process for improvement of sidewall roughness in deep glass etched resonant MEMS devices. The method utilizes thermal-reflow behavior of glass and does not require chemical or mechanical treatment. Experiments were conducted to explore the trade-off space between roughness improvement and structural deformation by varying temperature from 300 °C to 900 °c and duration from 2 to 240 minutes. The optimal results were obtained at 700 °C for 30 minutes, resulting in an 10x improvement in roughness from 900 nm Ra to 85 nm Ra and low feature deformation of <;10%. The method was successfully utilized in deep glass etching of micro-glassblown wineglass resonators, which resulted in very low side wall roughness and sub-hz frequency symmetry.
Torque Converter Clutch Systems

Modern vehicle drive-train engineering must exhaust all potential drive-train options in order to provide maximum acceleration and fuel efficiency with high overall efficiency and optimum comfort. At the same time, attention must be paid to ever stricter emission standards. These requirements often work at cross-purposes with each other, which means that improving emissions often entails increasing weight, fuel consumption and decreasing acceleration, not to mention incurring constantly increasing costs [1].
The Mobile Phone as the Tool to Redefine Savings for the Poor: Evidence from Kenya

Research conducted on the poor and their finances indicate that there is a need to develop financial instruments that specifically fit their needs. However, banks have not been able to provide such services, because the returns do not justify the cost of delivering them. The uptake of mobile phones and mobile money (in various guises) in recent years has been tremendous and widely documented. While the basic product is person-to-person money transfer, more sophisticated financial products designed for the poor are now coming on line. This article describes the experience of Kickstart in Kenya designing, piloting, deploying and sustaining a mobile phone savings application, leveraging the widely popular M-PESA money transfer service to target poor, small-scale farmers. KickStart, a non-profit organization headquartered in Kenya, designed a ‘Mobile Layaway’ service that enables farmers to make mobile payments of any amount and of any frequency to purchase human-powered irrigation pumps. The specific goal is to help farmers amass a lump sum for a major equipment purchase (foot-pedaled water pump). After the pilot, the flexible and targeted mobile-layaway program recorded over 95% success rate, with most farmers saving faster than they expected, giving a lot of hope that such saving tools can actually provide a safer, more secure, and more effective way to save for products and services. In addition, more women were able to buy water pumps than without the savings program. This article suggests that the success of Kickstart's Mobile Layaway provides a template for other similar products targeting the base of the pyramid, and draws lessons from the Kickstart pilot that may prove valuable for other mobile-money firms and financial service providers. The paper also presents two lessons learned in the design and implementation of the mobile money product; that iterative mobile money product design is critical for success and that simple solutions do overcome the issue of mistrust. It also makes some conclusions and recommendations for further research work.
AR-assisted in situ machining simulation: architecture and implementation

This paper presents a novel implementation of machining simulation in a real machining environment applying Augmented Reality (AR) technology. This in situ machining simulation system allows a machinist to analyze the simulation process, adjust the machining parameters, and observe the results in realtime in a real machining environment. Such a system is useful for machinists and trainees during the trial and learning stages, allowing them to experiment with different machining parameters on a real machine without having to worry about possibilities of machine and tool breakages. Two main functional modules in the system, namely, the tracking and registration module and the physical simulation module are presented in this paper. Experiments and a survey were conducted to validate and evaluate the performance of the system.
A dual role for β1 integrin in an in vitro Streptococcus mitis/human gingival fibroblasts co-culture model in response to TEGDMA.

AIM To evaluate the effect of TEGDMA on human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs) in vitro co-cultured with Streptococcus mitis, focusing on the signalling pathways underlying cell tissue remodelling and inflammatory response processes. METHODOLOGY β1 integrin expression was evaluated by means of imaging flow cytometry. The Western blot technique was used to investigate the expression of protein kinase C (PKC), extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) and 3 (MMP3). RT-PCR was performed to quantify nuclear factor-kb subunits (Nf-kb1, ReLa), IkB kinase β (IkBkB), cyclooxygenase II (COX-2) and tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) mRNA levels. Statistical analysis was performed using the analysis of variance (anova). RESULTS When HGFs are co-cultured with S. mitis, β1 integrin intensity, phosphorylated PKC (p-PKC), activated ERK (p-ERK), IkBkB mRNA level and MMP9 expression increased (for all molecules P < 0.05 HGFs versus HGFs co-cultured with S. mitis). A higher level of MMP3 in HGFs treated with TEGDMA was recorded (P < 0.05 HGFs versus HGFs exposed to TEGDMA). COX-2 inflammatory factor mRNA level appeared higher in HGFs exposed to 1 mmol L(-1) TEGDMA (P < 0.01 HGFs versus HGFs exposed to TEGDMA), whereas TNF-α gene expression was higher in HGFs co-cultured with S. mitis (P < 0.05 HGFs versus HGFs co-cultured with S. mitis). CONCLUSIONS β1 integrin triggered the signalling pathway, transduced by p-PKCα and involving ERK 1 and 2 and MMPs. This pathway resulted in an unbalanced equilibrium in tissue remodelling process, along with inflammatory response when HGFs are exposed to bacteria or biomaterial alone. On the contrary, the TEGDMA/S. mitis combination restored the balance between extracellular matrix deposition and degradation and prevented an inflammatory response.
Trends in overweight and obese adults in Malaysia (1996–2009): a systematic review

Like other nations experiencing rapid industrialization, urbanization and a nutrition transition, there is concern in Malaysia of a possible escalation in the prevalence of overweight and obesity. In 1996, the National Health and Morbidity Survey reported a 16.6% and 4.4% prevalence of overweight and obesity, respectively. In the following decade, there have been several national and community surveys on overweight and obesity in Malaysia. The objective of this systematic review is to describe the trend from 1996 to 2009 in the prevalence of overweight and obesity in adults in Malaysia nationally and by gender, age and race. Results indicate that there has been a small rise in overweight adults in the years 1996, 2003 and 2006 (20.7%, 26.7% and 29.1%) and a much more dramatic increase in obesity in 1996, 2003, 2004 and 2006 (5.5%, 12.2%, 12.3% and 14.0%). Evidence showed a greater risk for overweight and obesity among women compared with men. Based on the highest‐quality studies, overweight and obesity levels were highest among adults 40–59 years old. Overweight levels were highest among Indians, followed by Malays, Chinese and Aboriginals, with less consistency across studies on the order of risk or obesity by ethnicity.
Combined use of focused ultrasound and targeting microbubbles to enhanced therapeutic EGFR antibody delivery: Observations from small-animal ultrasound imaging

Recently, emerging discovery of the combined used of microbubbles (MBs), an ultrasound imaging contrast agent, in focused ultrasound (FUS) can enhance the blood-tissue permeability and may enhanced local drug delivery. When coating the targeting ligands on MBs, for example, therapeutic antibodies, may further improve the therapeutic efficacy. The aim of this study is to demonstrate the use of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-targeting MBs with focused ultrasound to enhance the permeability of tumor vessels and evaluate the potential of FUS mediates therapeutic-EGFR antibodies delivery to glioma tumor cells using EGFR-targeting MBs. 30 BALB/c nude mice were used with U87 cells were implant to right-lower limbs until the tumor reach 10 mm in diameter. Here, the biotinylated MBs mixed with avidin-modified therapeutic EGFR antibodies were served as the targeting MBs, whereas the biotinylated MBs only served as the non-targeting microbubbles. Three animal groups were conducted: (1) Non-targeting MBs injected intravenously (IV), (2) targeting MBs IV injection, and (3) FUS exposure (pulsed mode, burst length = 10 ms, PRF = 1Hz, duration = 30s; extra non-targeting MBs were simultaneously presented during exposure) prior to targeting MBs injection. All animal groups were monitored and analyzed by using high-frequency small-animal ultrasound imaging system (Vev02100, VisualSonics, CA). The lifetime of targeting MBs in the tumor was longer than non-targeting MBs. When adding the FUS exposure to enhance the blood-tissue permeability; the lifetime of targeting MBs was significantly improved. The mean half-time of the circulating targeting MBs among the three groups were (1) 2.34, (2) 3.13, and (3) 5.86 minutes, respectively. Moreover, inhibition of EGFR with targeting MBs after pulse-FUS mediated SonoVue treatment has been shown to reduce the growth rate in U87 glioma tumors. The tumor volume doubling times in targeting MBs and FUS+targeting MBs were -38.2343% and -209.83%, compared with control-treated animals. This study provides useful information for FUS mediates anti-cancer targeting therapy with targeting MBs.
Maximum likelihood eigenfunctions of the Fokker Planck equation and Hellinger projection

We apply the $L^2$ based Fisher-Rao vector-field projection by Brigo, Hanzon and LeGland (1999) to finite dimensional approximations of the Fokker Planck equation on exponential families. We show that if the sufficient statistics are chosen among the diffusion eigenfunctions the finite dimensional projection or the equivalent assumed density approximation provide the exact maximum likelihood density. The same result had been derived earlier by Brigo and Pistone (2016) in the infinite-dimensional Orlicz based geometry of Pistone and co-authors as opposed to the $L^2$ structure used here.
Pathophysiology and treatment of denutrition in chronic respiratory insufficiency

Denutrition is common in end-stage respiratory insufficiency. It is correlated with a poor prognosis. It is due to an unbalance between increased energy demand and decreased oral supply. Pathophysiology of denutrition differs according to aetiology of chronic respiratory insufficiency. In patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, it is well accepted that the high cost of work of breathing is the main explanation of the increased energy expenditure. In such situations, these patients do not eat enough nutrients and hence, may be considered for oral supplementation or enteral nutrition. However, some of them do not respond to this treatment, because cachexia may be the expression of the metabolic adaptation to chronic hypoxia. In other diseases, such as neurological disorders where difficulties of swallowing are involved, enteral nutrition via a gastrostomy is recommended. This support is also efficient in cystic fibrosis in which the intestinal absorption is impaired, mostly as a consequence of pancreatic insufficiency. © 2005 Société de réanimation de langue française. Publié par Elsevier SAS. Tous droits réservés. Mots clés : Insuffisance respiratoire chronique ; Dénutrition ; Physiopathologie ; Mucoviscidose ; Bronchopneumopathie chronique obstructive ; Sclérose latérale amyotrophique
Chronic WOUNDS Juxta CURES TM : when is it appropriate ?

Between 1% and 2% of the UK population are said to be affected by leg ulcers (Graham et al, 2003). Posnett and Franks (2007) equated this to mean that at any given time between 70,000 and 190,000 individuals have an open ulcer. More women than men are affected and prevalence increases with age. Not only do patients suffer pain and restricted mobility, they are psychologically affected by altered body image. Many patients live in social isolation because of the embarrassment and discomfort of wearing wet, malodourous bandages, with frequency of dressing change at the behest of a health professional.
Numerical simulation of magnetostrictive Lamb wave EMATs on steel plate

Lamb wave has been widely used for large structure inspection. Generally, piezoelectric transducers or electromagnetic acoustic transducers (EMATs) can be used to generate Lamb wave. The driving mechanism of EMATs includes Lorentz force, magnetization force and magnetostriction. A finite element model for magnetostrictive Lamb wave EMATs has been presented including the three mechanisms. The simulation result shows that magnetostriction is the main transduction mechanism under the horizontal magnetic field. The magnetic field dependence of EMATs has been evaluated by simulation and experiment on a 3mm thick low carbon steel plate.
REGIONAL NEW ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY : AN APPRAISAL

During the last century there has been a huge reduction in trade costs at almost every spatial scale impulsed not only by technological advances applied to transport and communication systems, but also by the spread of regional trade agreements and other related schemes. This estringent fall has provoked an explosion of physical, trade and investment integration and, hence, important and lasting effects on the economy at different dimensions. Among them, one that has received special attention from economic literature is the spatial dimension, which indeed is the focus of this article. Since our emphasis is put on countries or ‘large spatial scales’, where the type of externalities that more likely operates is neither localization nor urban economies but pecuniary external effects, the paper concentrates on NEG models. More specifically, it presents a very up-dated and complete survey of the NEG literature, both theoretical and empirical, on the spatial effects of trade costs on the distribution of economic activity within countries. The NEG framework has successfully evolved thanks to many fruitful contributions and extensions proposed enhancing first-generation models. As a result, there is by now an extensive and rich theoretical literature that examines the role of trade costs in determining the distribution of economic activity. Nonetheless, despite the considerable advances, to date theoretical research still has some limitations regarding relevant issues, such as the application of a general model of monopolistic competition, the discussion on the appropriate treatment of alternative cumulative causation processes at different spatial scales, and the proper inclusion of the transport sector, which is central for thereafter carrying out insightful applied work. With reference to empirical literature, this article finds that the number of papers studying intracountry spatial effects of trade costs has multiplied within the last ten years. The challenge now is, taking theory more seriously, to apply structural specifications, to exploit natural experiments for analysing spatial phenomena and to use innovative research tools –such as spatial econometric techniques and CGE simulations. Moreover, the invitation is to further advance in useful policyoriented analyses. JEL classification: R00, F13, F15, R40
A Gradient-free Approach to Inverse-conditioning of Heterogeneous Reservoir Models to Pressure Data

The gradient-free calibration method works without the need for expensive or technicallyinvolved computations of sensitivity coefficients and the associated gradient of the model response with respect to the parameters. A simple and effective approximation procures a matrix of sensitivity indicators as a substitute for the computation of the Jacobian matrix. A rules-based approach for determining the required parameter sensitivity information is based upon: (1) delineation of flowpaths relevant to the calibration head data, (2) transforming the permeability field into a categorical variable in order to define relatively high-transmissivity and lowpermeability geobodies, and (3) identification of geobody connections to fluid sources or sinks in the model. Parameter optimization is based on the deterministic gradient information inferred from the sign on the sensitivity coefficients and the head mismatch at each calibration point. The optimization algorithm uses an approximation of the gradient of the model response with respect to the parameters that is adapted from a proven gradient-free optimization technique (SPSA).