Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Alpha Lipoic Acid Improves Endothelial Function and Oxidative Stress in Mice Exposed to Chronic Intermittent Hypoxia

Objective Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is characterized by recurrent airway collapse that causes chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH). OSA is associated with systemic inflammation and oxidative stress resulting in endothelial dysfunction and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Alpha lipoic acid (ALA) is a potent antioxidant with anti-inflammatory properties. We hypothesized that dietary ALA can improve endothelial function of mice exposed to CIH. Methods Mice were exposed to either CIH or intermittent air (IA) and treated with dietary ALA (0.2% w/w) or a regular chow diet for 8 weeks. Endothelial function, endothelial nitric oxide (eNOS) uncoupling, systemic oxidative stress, systemic inflammation, aortic expression of inflammatory cytokines, and antioxidant enzymes were measured after 8 weeks. Results Mice exposed to CIH exhibited endothelial dysfunction accompanied by systemic oxidative stress and inflammation as well as increased aortic expression of inflammatory cytokines. Furthermore, CIH led to eNOS uncoupling. Treatment with dietary ALA reversed endothelial dysfunction in mice exposed to CIH, lowered systemic oxidative stress and inflammation, prevented the increases of inflammatory cytokine gene expression, increased the expression of antioxidant enzymes, and preserved eNOS in a coupled state. Conclusion ALA attenuates endothelial dysfunction by preventing oxidative stress and inflammation and restoring nitric oxide bioavailability in mice exposed to CIH. Our data suggests the potential beneficial use of ALA as adjunctive therapy in OSA.
Cultural Differences in Chinese and American Address Forms

Address behavior is governed by politeness phenomenon which is culturally bound. This paper attempts to draw a cross-cultural comparison between Chinese and English address forms and, going beneath the surface, explore the cultural differences in value systems and their underlying philosophical sources. The study will help people develop a fuller understanding of the meanings of the address terms, and of the polite intention in social contacts so as to facilitate cross-cultural communication.
AIDA-PEx: Accurate parasitic extraction for layout-aware analog integrated circuit sizing

This paper presents a new parasitic extractor (PEx) embedded in an automatic layout-aware IC synthesis tool, AIDA, and has the main goal of providing accurate parasitic estimates to lead and accelerate the layout/parasitic-aware optimization of the circuit. Finding a circuit sizing solution that fulfills all specifications after circuit layout is a time-consuming task that requires non-systematic iterations between electrical and physical design steps, which increases the design time of analog integrated circuits (ICs). The performance of automatic layout-aware IC sizing methodologies is heavily dependent on the promptitude of the iterations. The in-loop circuit evaluation encompasses three main steps: circuit simulation, layout generation and parasitic extraction. The proposed approach, unlike previous approaches, it estimates the parasitic capacitances and resistances from a simplified layout that include the floorplan and a non-detailed routing, using an empirical method supported by the data from the process design kit (PDK) files. Experimental results are presented for the UMC 0. 13μm process and compared with the industry standard Mentor Graphics' Calibre®.
Regulation of postprandial motility in the canine ileum.

We describe here further observations on a novel motor phenomenon that can be recorded regularly from the canine ileum in the late postprandial period, i.e., when residue of a meal reaches the distal small bowel. We reported before that this unique pattern of motility consisted of intraluminal pressure waves at a frequency (20-24/min) much greater than that of the ileal slow wave. In the current experiments, we document that these intraluminal pressure waves coincide with contraction of the circular muscle layer, as recorded from serosal strain gauges. However, the cellular origin and propagation of these contractile events are still unclear. By studying dogs with ileal loops and those with an intact bowel, we conclude that this is a local response of the ileum to the arrival of nutrients in its lumen and that it is under cholinergic control. This report supports the concept that the ileum may be particularly sensitive to its local intraluminal environment.
Effects of negative pressure applied before storage (liquid storage, 17°C) on boar semen quality and fertilization ability

The present study was aimed to investigate the effects of negative pressure applied before storage on the quality and fertilization ability of boar semen. Boar semen samples were collected and pooled, and diluted with Modena solution containing 0.4% (w/v) of bovine serum albumin. Negative pressure was applied for 2–5 min using a vacuum pump with a barometer. The pressure applied were 0 (Control), -0.02 MPa (P200), -0.04 MPa (P400), and -0.08 MPa (P800). The sperm motility, acrosome integrity and sperm fertilizing ability were evaluated. Application of –0.04 MPa improved the sperm motility, acrosome integrity and fertilizing ability, compared with the other groups. The sperm motility and acrosome integrity decreased with increasing storage time in vitro. After 5 days, the sperm motility and acrosome integrity of the P400 group were all higher than those of the other groups (P less than 0.05). The cleavage rate (64.5% ± 2.4%) and blastocyst development rate (33.9% ± 2.8%) for semen stored for 7 days were similar to those of fresh semen. In conclusion, application of –0.04 MPa before liquid storage at 17°C can improve the quality and fertilization ability of boar semen.
A Semantics-Based Privacy-Aware Approach for Fragmenting Business Processes

There is a growing need for the ability to fragment ones business processes effectively, in order to get useful fragments for future reutilization in building business processes. This can prove to increase the productivity and shorten the development time. The decomposition task aims at clustering workflow activities into fragments according to business constraints. Existing approaches lack semantic and privacy concerns. In this paper, we propose a semantic fragment identification approach to assemble activities that are semantically close according a semantic attraction threshold. Moreover, Fragments must be aware of sensitive information preserving. Our fragmentation approach is based on the so-called formal concept analysis approach, while integrating a semantic clustering technique for avoiding the association of sensitive information.
Preclinical Pharmacology and Pharmacokinetics of GW433908, a Water-Soluble Prodrug of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus Protease Inhibitor Amprenavir

ABSTRACT GW433908 is the water-soluble, phosphate ester prodrug of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 protease inhibitor amprenavir (APV). A high-yield synthesis of GW433908 is achieved by phosphorylation of the penultimate precursor of APV with phosphorous oxychloride (POCl3) in pyridine. A single-dose pharmacokinetic study of GW433908 sodium salt in dogs showed that APV exposure was similar to that achieved with an equivalent molar dose of the APV clinical formulation (Agenerase) and that systemic exposure to the prodrug was minimal (0.3% of the APV exposure). However, the sodium salt of GW433908 was a hygroscopic, amorphous solid and thus not suitable for pharmaceutical development. The calcium salt was a developable crystalline solid, but oral dosing afforded only 24% of the APV exposure in dogs compared with Agenerase. Acidification of the dog stomach by coadministration of HCl increased the bioavailability of the calcium salt to levels near those of the sodium salt. Single-dose administration of GW433908 calcium salt in dogs and rats produced portal vein GW433908 concentrations that were maximally 1.72 and 0.79% of those of APV concentrations, respectively. Furthermore, GW433908 had poor transepithelial flux and APV showed significant flux across human-derived Caco-2 cell monolayers (a model of intestinal permeability). Taken together, these results suggest that GW433908 is primarily metabolized to APV at or in the epithelial cells of the intestine and that the prodrug is not substantially absorbed. Based in part on these findings, GW433908 was advanced to clinical development.
Channel Estimation Based on IOTA Filter in OFDM/OQPSK and OFDM/OQAM Systems

In this paper, we present a study of bit error rate (BER) for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing/offset quadrature phase shift keying (OFDM/OQPSK) and OFDM/offset quadrature amplitude modulation (OQAM) systems with an isotropic orthogonal transfer algorithm (IOTA) filter. The novel noise suppression method based on an IOTA filter is proposed to reduce the error of channel estimation caused by additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN). The OFDM/OQPSK and OFDM/OQAM systems do not insert the guard interval (GI) and pilots in the signal frames, thus they possess transmission efficiency. An analysis was carried out for convolutional coded OFDM/OQPSK and OFDM/OQAM systems in Rayleigh fading channels with generator polynomials and constraint lengths. Compared with conventional OFDM/QPSK and OFDM/QAM systems with the insertion of comb-type pilots, the proposed IOTA filter-based channel estimation method can provide significant energy per bit to time-varying noise power spectral density ratio gains over time and frequency-selective propagation Rayleigh fading channels in OFDM/OQPSK and OFDM/OQAM systems.
FM19G11: A new modulator of HIF that links mTOR activation with the DNA damage checkpoint pathways

The network consisting of mTOR and p53 pathways is crucial to understanding a wide variety of physiological and pathological events, including cancer and aging. In addition, the HIF1α protein, a downstream target of mTOR, is a hallmark of different tumor types and was the desired strategy of many drug discovery efforts. Here we present the novel chemical entity FM19G11, a new modulator of HIF1a expression, which was used as a molecular tool to dissect and further characterize the cross-talk between these signaling cascades in human colon carcinoma cell lines. To our knowledge, FM19G11 is the first drug that triggers a DNA damage response (DDR) associated with G1/S-phase arrest in a p53-dependent manner, due to rapid hyper-activation of the growth signaling pathway through mTOR. Assessment of colonies demonstrated that FM19G11 decreases the clonogenicity of HT29, HCT116/p53+/+ and HCT116/p53-/- cells. Moreover, FM19G11 causes significant lower colony growth in soft agar of p53-proficient human colon cancer cells. Consequently, p53 sensitizes human colon cancer cells to FM19G11 by significant reduction of their viability, lessening their colony formation capability and shrinking their anchorage-independent growth. Cell signaling studies served to assign a new mode of action to FM19G11, whose tumor-suppressant activity compromises the survival of functional p53 malignant cells.
Simulated Data for Genomic Selection and Genome-Wide Association Studies Using a Combination of Coalescent and Gene Drop Methods

An approach is described for simulating data sequence, genotype, and phenotype data to study genomic selection and genome-wide association studies (GWAS). The simulation method, implemented in a software package called AlphaDrop, can be used to simulate genomic data and phenotypes with flexibility in terms of the historical population structure, recent pedigree structure, distribution of quantitative trait loci effects, and with sequence and single nucleotide polymorphism-phased alleles and genotypes. Ten replicates of a representative scenario used to study genomic selection in livestock were generated and have been made publically available. The simulated data sets were structured to encompass a spectrum of additive quantitative trait loci effect distributions, relationship structures, and single nucleotide polymorphism chip densities.
Histone modifications affect timing of oligodendrocyte progenitor differentiation in the developing rat brain

Timely differentiation of progenitor cells is critical for development. In this study we asked whether global epigenetic mechanisms regulate timing of progenitor cell differentiation into myelin-forming oligodendrocytes in vivo. Histone deacetylation was essential during a specific temporal window of development and was dependent on the enzymatic activity of histone deacetylases, whose expression was detected in the developing corpus callosum. During the first 10 postnatal days, administration of valproic acid (VPA), the specific inhibitor for histone deacetylase activity, resulted in significant hypomyelination with delayed expression of late differentiation markers and retained expression of progenitor markers. Differentiation resumed in VPA-injected rats if a recovery period was allowed. Administration of VPA after myelination onset had no effect on myelin gene expression and was consistent with changes of nucleosomal histones from reversible deacetylation to more stable methylation and chromatin compaction. Together, these data identify global modifications of nucleosomal histones critical for timing of oligodendrocyte differentiation and myelination in the developing corpus callosum.
Predictors of clinical and microbiological treatment failure in patients with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteraemia: a retrospective cohort study in a region with low MRSA prevalence.

Invasive infections with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) have been associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The aim of the present study was to identify independent predictors of early mortality and treatment failure in patients with MRSA bacteraemia. A total of 132 adult patients who developed MRSA bacteraemia during hospitalization in the University Hospital of Vienna between 2000 and 2011 were screened and 124 were included in a retrospective cohort study. Patient demographics, source of bacteraemia, antimicrobial treatment and microbiological characteristics were evaluated. The 28-day crude mortality was 30.6%. Predictors of early mortality identified in multivariate Cox regression analysis included higher patient age (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) 1.03, 95% CI 1.01-1.06, p 0.006), pneumonia (aHR 3.86, 95% CI 1.83-8.12, p <0.001) and failure to use MRSA active treatment (aHR 8.77, 95% CI 3.50-21.93, p <0.001). Ninety-one (73.4%) patients received glycopeptides as specific MRSA treatment. Of 63 patients treated with vancomycin, only 14 (22.6%) patients had aimed trough levels of 15-20 mg/L. Vancomycin MIC ≥2 mg/L was detected in 28.2% and was associated with glycopeptide pretreatment (p 0.001). All MRSA isolates were susceptible to linezolid and tigecycline. Persistent bacteraemia ≥7 days was documented in 25 (20.2%) patients. Independent determinants for microbiological eradication failure in patients with MRSA bacteraemia included endocarditis (p <0.001) and vancomycin trough levels (p 0.014), but not vancomycin MIC. Failure of clinical and microbiological eradication of MRSA among patients with MRSA bacteraemia was associated with clinical entity rather than with bacterial traits. Pharmacokinetic parameters seem to be decisive on microbiological and clinical success.
Diagnosis and Management of Anomalous Coronary Arteries with a Malignant Course

Although the prevalence of anomalous coronary artery from the opposite sinus (ACAOS) in the general population is low, more frequent use of invasive and non-invasive imaging to rule out coronary artery disease has seen an increase in absolute numbers of ACAOS. ACAOS are traditionally classified as malignant (with an interarterial course) and benign variants. Malignant variants have been recognised in autopsy studies to be an underlying cause of sudden cardiac death in young athletes. Conversely, it seems that older people with ACAOS are less predisposed to adverse cardiac events. Non-invasive anatomic imaging is complementary to invasive imaging and helps to further identify high-risk anatomic features. Using functional non-invasive perfusion imaging can assess potential ischaemia induced by dynamic compression of malignant ACAOS. Information gained from clinical imaging guides the management of these patients.
Strategic Rat Control for Restoring Populations of Native Species in Forest Fragments

Forest fragments have biodiversity value that may be enhanced through management such as control of non‐native predators. However, such efforts may be ineffective, and research is needed to ensure that predator control is done strategically. We used Bayesian hierarchical modeling to estimate fragment‐specific effects of experimental rat control on a native species targeted for recovery in a New Zealand pastoral landscape. The experiment was a modified BACI (before‐after‐control‐impact) design conducted over 6 years in 19 forest fragments with low‐density subpopulations of North Island Robins (Petroica longipes). The aim was to identify individual fragments that not only showed clear benefits of rat control, but also would have a high probability of subpopulation growth even if they were the only fragment managed. We collected data on fecundity, adult and juvenile survival, and juvenile emigration, and modeled the data in an integrated framework to estimate the expected annual growth rate (λ) of each subpopulation with and without rat control. Without emigration, subpopulation growth was estimated as marginal (λ = 0.95–1.05) or negative (λ = 0.74–0.90) without rat control, but it was estimated as positive in all fragments (λ = 1.4–2.1) if rats were controlled. This reflected a 150% average increase in fecundity and 45% average increase in adult female survival. The probability of a juvenile remaining in its natal fragment was 0.37 on average, but varied with fragment connectivity. With juvenile emigration added, 6 fragments were estimated to have a high (>0.8) probability of being self‐sustaining (λ > 1) with rat control. The key factors affecting subpopulation growth rates under rat control were low connectivity and stock fencing because these factors were associated with lower juvenile emigration and higher fecundity, respectively. However, there was also substantial random variation in adult survival among fragments, illustrating the importance of hierarchical modeling for fragmentation studies.
Cardioprotection by kappa-opioid receptor agonist U50488H is mediated by opioidergic regulation but not by calcium current modulation

Background Because the κ-opioid receptor (OR) agonist U50488H stimulates opioidergic regulation and inhibits L-type Ca2+ channels, this study was aimed at assessing the roles of OR and L-type Ca2+ channels on U50488H-induced cardioprotection. Methods Langendorff-perfused rat hearts were subjected to 30 min of regional ischemia and 2 h of reperfusion. Isolated hearts were treated with U50488H with or without the κ-OR antagonist nor-binaltorphimine (nor-BNI) or the Ca2+ channels activator BAY K 8644. Infarct size was measured with 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining. Results U50488H treatment at reperfusion: (1) significantly reduced infarct size (11.3 ± 1.3%) compared to control hearts (27.7 ± 1.1%, P < 0.001), an effect that was completely blocked by nor-BNI (24.0 ± 0.9%, P < 0.001 vs. U50488H) but not by BAY K 8644 (7.1 ± 1.7%, P > 0.05 vs. U50488H); (2) significantly increased left ventricular developed pressure (65.3 ± 4.8%) after 2 h of reperfusion compared to control hearts (44.8 ± 3.6%, P < 0.05), an effect that was abrogated by nor-BNI (40.5 ± 4.5%, P > 0.05 vs. control) but not by BAY K 8644 (64.3 ± 5.6%, P < 0.01 vs. control); and (3) significantly decreased heart rate (P < 0.01 vs. control), an effect that was completely abrogated by both nor-BNI and BAY K 8644. Conclusions U50488H significantly limits myocardial infarction and stunning in isolated rat hearts after ischemia-reperfusion induction. The infarct size limitation and contractility improvement observed with U50488H treatment during reperfusion are entirely mediated by OR stimulation and not by Ca2+ channel modulation.
Self-adjoint Extensions of Restrictions

We provide a simple recipe for obtaining all self-adjoint extensions, together with their resolvent, of the symmetric operator $S$ obtained by restricting the self-adjoint operator $A:\D(A)\subseteq\H\to\H$ to the dense, closed with respect to the graph norm, subspace $\N\subset \D(A)$. Neither the knowledge of $S^*$ nor of the deficiency spaces of $S$ is required. Typically $A$ is a differential operator and $\N$ is the kernel of some trace (restriction) operator along a null subset. We parametrise the extensions by the bundle $\pi:\E(\fh)\to\P(\fh)$, where $\P(\fh)$ denotes the set of orthogonal projections in the Hilbert space $\fh\simeq \D(A)/\N$ and $\pi^{-1}(\Pi)$ is the set of self-adjoint operators in the range of $\Pi$. The set of self-adjoint operators in $\fh$, i.e. $\pi^{-1}(1)$, parametrises the relatively prime extensions. Any $(\Pi,\Theta)\in \E(\fh)$ determines a boundary condition in the domain of the corresponding extension $A_{\Pi,\Theta}$ and explicitly appears in the formula for the resolvent $(-A_{\Pi,\Theta}+z)^{-1}$. The connection with both von Neumann's and Boundary Triples theories of self-adjoint extensions is explained. Some examples related to quantum graphs, to Schr\"odinger operators with point interactions and to elliptic boundary value problems are given.
[Comparison between the results of intramedullary nailing and compression plate fixation in the treatment of humerus fractures].

OBJECTIVES The results of open reduction and internal fixation of humeral shaft fractures by either an intramedullary nail or a dynamic compression plate were compared. METHODS The study included 60 patients (43 males, 17 females; mean age 38 years; range 19 to 61 years) with humerus fractures. Thirty-three patients were treated with intramedullary nails and 27 patients with dynamic compression plates. Functional results were evaluated according to the Stewart and Hundley's criteria. The two methods were compared. The mean follow-up period was 42 months (range 28 to 72 months). RESULTS Healing times did not differ between the two treatment groups (p>0.05). Radial nerve palsy occurred only in the dynamic compression plate group, with four patients being affected. On the other hand, the rate of non-union was significantly higher in patients treated with intramedullary nailing (p<0.05). CONCLUSION No ideal fixation technique exists in the treatment of humerus fractures. Despite higher non-union rates, intramedullary nailing may be the method of choice in the treatment of humerus fractures because of such advantages as low morbidity, small dissection of soft tissues, and greater ease of application.
A GPGPU-based Pipeline for Accelerated Rendering of Point Clouds

Direct rendering of large point clouds has become common practice in architecture and archaeology in recent years. Due to the high point density no mesh is reconstructed from the scanned data, but the points can be rendered directly as primitives of a graphics API like OpenGL. However, these APIs and the hardware, which they are based on, have been optimized to process triangle meshes. Although current API versions provide lots of control over the hardware, e.g. by using shaders, some hardware components concerned with rasterization of primitives are still hidden from the programmer. In this paper we show that it might be beneﬁcial for point primitives to abandon the standard graphics APIs and directly switch to a GPGPU API like OpenCL.