Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Achyranthes bidentata Polypeptides Reduces Oxidative Stress and Exerts Protective Effects against Myocardial Ischemic/Reperfusion Injury in Rats

Achyranthes bidentata, a Chinese medicinal herb, is reported to be neuroprotective. However, its role in cardioprotection remains largely unknown. Our present study aimed to investigate the effects of Achyranthes bidentata polypeptides (ABPP) preconditioning on myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (MI/R) injury and to test the possible mechanisms. Rats were treated with ABPP (10 mg/kg/d, i.p.) or saline once daily for one week. Afterward, all the animals were subjected to 30 min of myocardial ischemia followed by 4 h of reperfusion. ABPP preconditioning for one week significantly improved cardiac function following MI/R. Meanwhile, ABPP reduced infarct size, plasma creatine kinase (CK)/lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activities and myocardial apoptosis at the end of reperfusion in rat hearts. Moreover, ABPP preconditioning significantly inhibited superoxide generation, gp91phox expression, malonaldialdehyde formation and enhanced superoxide dismutase activity in I/R hearts. Furthermore, ABPP treatment inhibited PTEN expression and increased Akt phosphorylation in I/R rat heart. PI3K inhibitor wortmannin blocked Akt activation, and abolished ABPP-stimulated anti-oxidant effect and cardioprotection. Our study demonstrated for the first time that ABPP reduces oxidative stress and exerts cardioprotection against MI/R injury in rats. Inhibition of PTEN and activation of Akt may contribute to the anti-oxidant capacity and cardioprotection of ABPP.
The Determinants of Sovereign Bond Credit Spreads Changes

This paper aims to find the determinants of changes in credit spreads of sovereign bonds. We examine structural models of sovereign credit risk and identify variables which we expect to explain variation in sovereign credit spreads. Estimation of the model shows statistical significance and the predicted signs. However, the model fails to explain a great part of the variation in sovereign credit spreads. Principal Components Analysis reveals that one common factor is responsible for most of the variation in credit spreads. ∗Contact Information: Michael Westphalen, HEC Université de Lausanne, BFSH 1, 1015 Lausanne-Dorigny, Switzerland. Email: michael@westphalen.ch. Phone: +41 76 3656534
Heart failure as an independent predictor of thrombus persistence in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation: a transesophageal echocardiography-based study.

INTRODUCTION Formation of left atrial (LA) thrombus is one of the most serious complications in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). OBJECTIVES The aim of our study was to determine the predictors of LA thrombus resolution among patients with AF receiving oral anticoagulation. PATIENTS AND METHODS After a retrospective analysis of 1877 transesophageal echocardiographic examinations (TEEs) performed in our department between January 2009 and June 2013, we included 64 patients (women, 36%; mean age at diagnosis, 64 ±8.8 years) with nonvalvular AF and LA thrombi on TEE into the study. All patients received oral anticoagulation and underwent follow-up TEE within a few months since diagnosis. RESULTS After a mean follow-up period of 88 ±107 days, thrombus resolution was observed in 30 patients (47%). The univariate Cox proportional regression model showed that heart failure and reduced left ventricular ejection fraction were associated with the persistence of LA thrombus (hazard ratio [HR], 2.72; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.32-5.61; P = 0.007 and HR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.94-0.99; P = 0.04; respectively). The international normalized ratio and CHA2DS2-VASc score were not prognostic for thrombus resolution (HR, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.37-1.1; P = 0.1 and HR 1.10; 95% CI, 0.91-1.33; P = 0.3; respectively). In a multivariate analysis, heart failure was the only independent factor predicting unsuccessful resolution of LA thrombus (P = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS Heart failure is an independent negative predictor of LA thrombus resolution in patients with AF receiving oral anticoagulation.
Mandibular buccal bifurcation cyst treatment: report of two cases and literature review

The mandibular bifurcation cyst is an uncommon lesion that was first described by Stoneman and Worth in 1983. It is a site and age-specific lesion affecting the first or second permanent mandibular molar in children between 6 and 13 years old. Even if the clinical and radiological signs are well defined, this lesion can be misdiagnosed in particular with forms which would have a spontaneous resolution. The patient care is less well defined, the range of treatments being rather wide, from the simple follow-up to the extraction of the involved tooth. Both two clinical cases presented will illustrate the diagnostic criterias associated to the buccal bifurcation cyst. The etiopathogenesis and the therapeutic decision criterias will be discussed through a literature review.
Fragment, tag, enrich, and send: Enhancing social sharing of video

The migration of media consumption to personal computers retains distributed social viewing, but only via nonsocial, strictly personal interfaces. This article presents an architecture, and implementation for media sharing that allows for enhanced social interactions among users. Using a mixed-device model, our work allows targeted, personalized enrichment of content. All recipients see common content, while differentiated content is delivered to individuals via their personal secondary screens. We describe the goals, architecture, and implementation of our system in this article. In order to validate our results, we also present results from two user studies involving disjoint sets of test participants.
Lithic patterning and land-use during the Middle-Upper Palaeolithic transition in Moravia (Czech Republic)

This thesis applies a materialist approach to the analysis of stone artefacts excavated from four stratified sites dating to the Middle-Upper Palaeolithic transition in Moravia, Czech Republic. Between 50,000 and 30,000 thousand BP two distinct groups of hominids, the Neanderthals and anatomically modem humans, occupied this territory. The data presented in this thesis are used to analyse the differences between and within the sites. The documented lithic patterns indicate that the two hominid groups had distinctly different ways of using the landscape. In addition, relatively sm_all differences in lithic patterning over time at one of the sites Stranska Skala suggest a shift in mobility patterns as a response to climatic change. Although much of the inter-site lithic variability can be explained by proximal factors such as mobility regime, technological organization and subsistence patterns, some of the variability is more difficult to link to proximal factors and could potentially be linked to cultural traditions. There is evidence that some of the morphological variability in retouched flakes reflects different stages of reduction and resharpening, while the lack of morphological clustering argues against the idea of discrete typological categories. Although there is no evidence that one of the two hominid groups was superior to the other in any particular aspect of culture, they differed in their lithic provisioning strategies, technological organization, territory size, mobility regime and exploitation of raw material sources. Using the current bioclimatic model for human interactions in Europe during Oxygen Isotope Stage 3, the data in this thesis fit the theory that a solely climate-driven mechanism is sufficient to explain the extinction of Neanderthals.
Incubation effort in relation to male attractiveness in zebra finches Taeniopygia guttata

Gorman, H. E. , Arnold, K. E. and Nager R. G. 2005. Incubation effort in relation to male attractiveness in zebra finches Taeniopygia guttata . / J. Avian Biol. 36: 413/420. The division of labour in parental care between the two sexes varies between and within species. In birds, parents have been shown to invest more into egg production and nestling care when paired with an attractive rather than an unattractive mate, as predicted by the differential allocation hypothesis. Here we investigate variation in the female’s and male’s share of incubation behaviour, a vital, and costly, period of parental care during which the embryo is vulnerable to perturbations in developmental conditions. We manipulated the attractiveness of male zebra finches Taeniopygia guttata , using red or green leg-rings. To simulate their natural social environment we allowed them to breed in outdoor aviaries. All males within an aviary were given the same coloured ring to avoid ring-colour related assortative mating. Males within a colony, however, were still expected to show some variation in attractiveness with the earliest laying females possibly pairing with the most attractive males. Indeed we found that both factors played a role in explaining female incubation effort. Among females mated to red ringed males, earlier laying females contributed significantly more to incubation than late laying females, but no such pattern was found in females mated to green ringed males. Overall, there were no differences in the level of incubation provided by both parents between treatment groups, suggesting some compensation within the pair. Hatching success was correlated with a pair’s total incubation effort. These results suggest that variation in the division of parental care between the sexes is in agreement with both increased effort of females mated with attractive males, and females compensating for the reduced effort of attractive males seeking further mating opportunities. These two factors can act at the same time in natural populations and both should be considered when explaining variation in division of labour between the sexes.
Building the Mega-Collaboration Interface: Behavioral, Cultural, and Cognitive Factors in Visualization Support

Technology has enabled mega-collaboration on an unprecedented scale. A tool is needed to coordinate these activities and link them to government response efforts. However, in defining and responding to problems, teammates need to be able to visualize each other's mental models. The tool must encourage the team to advance promptly through team "forming, norming, storming, and performing. " Finally, it must help individual teams visualize efficiently the "big picture," using agents to enhance the process. The usability of a prototype mega-collaboration interface has been tested, the second generation interface is being implemented, and a novel agent-based interface is being planned.
The Interface between Fungal Biofilms and Innate Immunity

Fungal biofilms are communities of adherent cells surrounded by an extracellular matrix. These biofilms are commonly found during infection caused by a variety of fungal pathogens. Clinically, biofilm infections can be extremely difficult to eradicate due to their resistance to antifungals and host defenses. Biofilm formation can protect fungal pathogens from many aspects of the innate immune system, including killing by neutrophils and monocytes. Altered immune recognition during this phase of growth is also evident by changes in the cytokine profiles of monocytes and macrophages exposed to biofilm. In this manuscript, we review the host response to fungal biofilms, focusing on how these structures are recognized by the innate immune system. Biofilms formed by Candida, Aspergillus, and Cryptococcus have received the most attention and are highlighted. We describe common themes involved in the resilience of fungal biofilms to host immunity and give examples of biofilm defenses that are pathogen-specific.
Hybrid regularization for mri reconstruction with static field inhomogeneity correction

Rapid acquisition of magnetic resonance (MR) images via reconstruction from undersampled k-space data has the potential to greatly decrease MRI scan time on existing medical hardware. To this end iterative image reconstruction based on the technique of compressed sensing has become the method choice for many researchers [1]. However, while conventional compressed sensing relies on random measurements from a discrete Fourier transform, actual MR scans often suffer from off-resonance effects and thus generate data by way of a non-Fourier operator, complicating image reconstruction methods and introducing additional computational bottlenecks [2]. In this work we introduce a combined TV-framelet regularization to the undersampled MR reconstruction problem in inhomogeneous fields. We show that the inclusion of a framelet regularization term decreases computation time and improves image quality over the traditional total variation (TV)-based approach.
X-autosome and X-Y Translocations in Female Carriers: X-chromosome Inactivation Easily Detectable by 5-ethynyl-2-deoxyuridine (EdU)

Abstract Here we report one new case each of an X-autosome translocation (maternally derived), and an X-Y-chromosome translocation. Besides characterizing the involved breakpoints and/or imbalances in detail by molecular cyto-genetics, also skewed X-chromosome inactivation was determined on single cell level using 5-ethynyl-2-deoxyuridine (EdU). Thus, we confirmed that the recently suggested EdU approach can be simply adapted for routine diagnostic use. The latter is important, as only by knowing the real pattern of the skewed X-chromosome inactivation, correct interpretation of obtained results and subsequent reliable genetic counseling, can be done.
Modelling and analysis of non-linear time series

The modelling of non-linear time series is reviewed and new results are introduced by employing some ideas from the identification of non-linear control systems. Both global and local conditions for stationary and invertibility are established for the general non-linear time-series model and it is shown how these results provide a framework for time-series estimators. Methods of computing multistep-ahead predictions are studied and the usefulness of polynomial models is discussed.
Image-based pixel clustering and connected component labeling in left ventricle segmentation of cardiac MR images

This research demonstrates a completely automated sub-second fast technique for left ventricle (LV) segmentation from clinical cardiac MRI images for the crucial assessment of left ventricular dysfunction as a measure of cardiac diseases. In this work left ventricle segmentation is achieved using the combination of fuzzy c-means which is a pixel based classification method and connected component labeling. This strategic combination obviates user intervention and problem of seed point initialization as it automatically segments the LV accurately on all frames in the complete cardiac cycle in multi-frame MRI. The both methods complement each other such that it achieves sub-second fast computational speed of 0.7 seconds on average per frame. Thus this technique's computational time for left ventricle segmentation is much faster than iteration based methods. The accuracy of the automatic segmentation technique was tested against manual segmentation on the basis of correlation coefficient. The value of correlation coefficient between the automatic and manually traced LV boundaries was 0.932 which can be considered clinically significant.
Immunohistochemical fiber typing of harbor seal skeletal muscle

SUMMARY There is strong evidence that pinnipeds maintain a lipid-based, aerobic metabolism during diving. However, the few fiber-typing studies performed on pinniped skeletal muscles are not consistent with an aerobic physiological profile. The objective of this study was to reexamine the fiber type distribution throughout the primary locomotory muscles of the harbor seal Phoca vitulina. Results from immunohistochemical (IHC) fiber typing indicated that harbor seal swimming muscles (the epaxial muscles) are composed of 47.4% type I (slow twitch, oxidative) fibers and 52.8% IIa (fast twitch, oxidative) fibers, which are homogeneously distributed throughout the muscle. Harbor seal pectoralis, a secondary swimming muscle, was composed of 16.2% type I and 84.3% type IIa fibers. No fast twitch, glycolytic (type IIb) fibers were detected in either muscle, in contrast to published data on fiber typing of harbor seal epaxial muscles using traditional histochemical techniques. The extreme specificity inherent in the IHC fiber typing procedure leads us to conclude that harbor seal swimming muscle is entirely composed of oxidative fibers. Our results are consistent with the enzymatic analyses of pinniped skeletal muscle that support the use of lipid-derived aerobic catabolism to fuel working muscle during diving in these marine mammals.
Modelling and simulation of sensor-guided autonomous driving

This paper presents a modelling and simulation method for sensor-guided autonomous driving. A generic model of range sensing and object detection in 3D space is discussed first that represents their high-level functions. The low-level physical characteristics of range sensing and object detection are further investigated based on Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) radar which is gaining wide popularity in automotive applications. These are the enablers to modelling and simulation of vehicle interactions with one another under traffic and with surrounding environment. A closed-loop adaptive cruise control is then used as an example to demonstrate the vehicle limited autonomous driving with the proposed model and method that has been shown to be valid, effective and numerically efficient.
Low CSF Levels of Both α-Synuclein and the α-Synuclein Cleaving Enzyme Neurosin in Patients with Synucleinopathy

Neurosin is a protease that in vitro degrades α-synuclein, the main constituent of Lewy bodies found in brains of patients with synucleinopathy including Parkinson's disease (PD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Several studies have reported reduced cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of α-synuclein in synucleinopathy patients and recent data also proposes a significant role of α-synuclein in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD). To investigate potential links between neurosin and its substrate α-synuclein in vivo we used a commercially available sandwich ELISA and an in-house developed direct ELISA to quantify CSF levels of α-synuclein and neurosin in patients diagnosed with DLB, PD and PD dementia (PDD) versus AD patients and non-demented controls. We found that patients with synucleinopathy displayed lower CSF levels of neurosin and α-synuclein compared to controls and AD patients. In contrast, AD patients demonstrated significantly increased CSF α-synuclein but similar neurosin levels compared to non-demented controls. Further, CSF neurosin and α-synuclein concentrations were positively associated in controls, PD and PDD patients and both proteins were highly correlated to CSF levels of phosphorylated tau in all investigated groups. We observed no effect of gender or presence of the apolipoprotein Eε4 allele on neither neurosin or α-synuclein CSF levels. In concordance with the current literature our study demonstrates decreased CSF levels of α-synuclein in synucleinopathy patients versus AD patients and controls. Importantly, decreased α-synuclein levels in patients with synucleinopathy appear linked to low levels of the α-synuclein cleaving enzyme neurosin. In contrast, elevated levels of α-synuclein in AD patients were not related to any altered CSF neurosin levels. Thus, altered CSF levels of α-synuclein and neurosin in patients with synucleinopathy versus AD may not only mirror disease-specific neuropathological mechanisms but may also serve as fit candidates for future biomarker studies aiming at identifying specific markers of synucleinopathy.
Interseasonal Movements of Greater Sage-Grouse, Migratory Behavior, and an Assessment of the Core Regions Concept in Wyoming

Animals can require different habitat types throughout their annual cycles. When considering habitat prioritization, we need to explicitly consider habitat requirements throughout the annual cycle, particularly for species of conservation concern. Understanding annual habitat requirements begins with quantifying how far individuals move across landscapes between key life stages to access required habitats. We quantified individual interseasonal movements for greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter sage-grouse) using radio-telemetry spanning the majority of the species distribution in Wyoming. Sage-grouse are currently a candidate for listing under the United States Endangered Species Act and Wyoming is predicted to remain a stronghold for the species. Sage-grouse use distinct seasonal habitats throughout their annual cycle for breeding, brood rearing, and wintering. Average movement distances in Wyoming from nest sites to summer-late brood-rearing locations were 8.1 km (SE ¼ 0.3 km; n ¼ 828 individuals) and the average subsequent distances moved from summer sites to winter locations were 17.3 km (SE ¼ 0.5 km; n ¼ 607 individuals). Average nest-to-winter movements were 14.4 km (SE ¼ 0.6 km; n ¼ 434 individuals). We documented remarkable variation in the extent of movement distances both within and among sites across Wyoming, with some individuals remaining year-round in the same vicinity and others moving over 50 km between life stages. Our results suggest defining any of our populations as migratory or non-migratory is innappropriate as individual strategies vary widely. We compared movement distances of birds marked using Global Positioning System (GPS) and very high frequency (VHF) radio marking techniques and found no evidence that the heavier GPS radios limited movement. Furthermore, we examined the capacity of the sage-grouse core regions concept to capture seasonal locations. As expected, we found the core regions approach, which was developed based on lek data, was generally better at capturing the nesting locations than summer or winter locations. However, across
Skin cancer induced by natural UV‐radiation as an occupational disease – Requirements for its notification and recognition

In Germany over 2.5 million employees have an increased risk of skin cancer due to their occupational exposure to natural UV‐irradiation. The medical consultation board “Occupational diseases” of the Ministry of Labor and Social affairs has investigated the association between occupational UV‐irradiation and skin cancer risk and recommends to add the following new occupational disease into the appendix1 of the German ordinance on occupational diseases: “Squamous cell carcinoma and multiple actinic keratosis due to natural UV‐irradiation”.
Scanline Optimization for Stereo on Graphics Hardware

In this work we propose a scanline optimization procedure for computational stereo using a linear smoothness cost model performed by programmable graphics hardware. The main idea for an efficient implementation of this dynamic programming approach is a recursive scheme to calculate the min-convolution in a manner suitable for the parallel stream computation model of graphics processing units. Since many image similarity functions can be efficiently calculated by modern graphics hardware, it is reasonable to address the final disparity extraction by graphics processors as well. Our timing results indicate that the proposed approach is beneficial for larger image resolutions and disparity ranges in particular.