Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Source-specific fine particulate air pollution and systemic inflammation in ischaemic heart disease patients

Objective To compare short-term effects of fine particles (PM2.5; aerodynamic diameter <2.5 µm) from different sources on the blood levels of markers of systemic inflammation. Methods We followed a panel of 52 ischaemic heart disease patients from 15 November 2005 to 21 April 2006 with clinic visits in every second week in the city of Kotka, Finland, and determined nine inflammatory markers from blood samples. In addition, we monitored outdoor air pollution at a fixed site during the study period and conducted a source apportionment of PM2.5 using the Environmental Protection Agency's model EPA PMF 3.0. We then analysed associations between levels of source-specific PM2.5 and markers of systemic inflammation using linear mixed models. Results We identified five source categories: regional and long-range transport (LRT), traffic, biomass combustion, sea salt, and pulp industry. We found most evidence for the relation of air pollution and inflammation in LRT, traffic and biomass combustion; the most relevant inflammation markers were C-reactive protein, interleukin-12 and myeloperoxidase. Sea salt was not positively associated with any of the inflammatory markers. Conclusions Results suggest that PM2.5 from several sources, such as biomass combustion and traffic, are promoters of systemic inflammation, a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases.
Role and possible mechanisms of clenbuterol in enhancing reverse remodelling during mechanical unloading in murine heart failure

Abstract Aims Combined left ventricular assist device (LVAD) and pharmacological therapy has been proposed to favour myocardial recovery in patients with end-stage heart failure (HF). Clenbuterol (Clen), a β2-adrenoceptor (β2-AR) agonist, has been used as a part of this strategy. In this study, we investigated the direct effects of clenbuterol on unloaded myocardium in HF. Methods and results Left coronary artery ligation or sham operation was performed in male Lewis rats. After 4–6 weeks, heterotopic abdominal transplantation of the failing hearts into normal recipients was performed to induce LV unloading (UN). Recipient rats were treated with saline (Sal) or clenbuterol (2 mg/kg/day) via osmotic minipumps (HF + UN + Sal or HF + UN + Clen) for 7 days. Non-transplanted HF animals were treated with Sal (Sham + Sal, HF + Sal) or clenbuterol (HF + Clen). LV myocytes were isolated and studied using optical, fluorescence, and electrophysiological techniques. Clenbuterol treatment improved in vivo LV function measured with echocardiography (LVEF (%): HF 35.9 ± 2 [16], HF + Clen 52.1 ± 1.4 [16]; P < 0.001; mean ± SEM [n]). In combination with unloading, clenbuterol increased sarcomere shortening (amplitude (µm): HF + UN + Clen 0.1 ± 0.01 [50], HF + UN + Sal 0.07 ± 0.01 [38]; P < 0.001) by normalizing the depressed myofilament sensitivity to Ca2+ (slope of the linear relationship between Ca2+ transient and sarcomere shortening hysteresis loop during relaxation (μm/ratio unit): HF + UN + Clen 2.13 ± 0.2 [52], HF + UN + Sal 1.42 ± 0.13 [38]; P < 0.05). Conclusion Clenbuterol treatment of failing rat hearts, alone or in combination with mechanical unloading, improves LV function at the whole-heart and cellular levels by affecting cell morphology, excitation–contraction coupling, and myofilament sensitivity to calcium. This study supports the use of this drug in the strategy to enhance recovery in HF patients treated with LVADs and also begins to elucidate some of the possible cellular mechanisms responsible for the improvement in LV function.
Genome Sequencing of Giardia lamblia Genotypes A2 and B Isolates (DH and GS) and Comparative Analysis with the Genomes of Genotypes A1 and E (WB and Pig)

Giardia lamblia (syn G. intestinalis, G. duodenalis) is the most common pathogenic intestinal parasite of humans worldwide and is a frequent cause of endemic and epidemic diarrhea. G. lamblia is divided into eight genotypes (A–H) which infect a wide range of mammals and humans, but human infections are caused by Genotypes A and B. To unambiguously determine the relationship among genotypes, we sequenced GS and DH (Genotypes B and A2) to high depth coverage and compared the assemblies with the nearly completed WB genome and draft sequencing surveys of Genotypes E (P15; pig isolate) and B (GS; human isolate). Our results identified DH as the smallest Giardia genome sequenced to date, while GS is the largest. Our open reading frame analyses and phylogenetic analyses showed that GS was more distant from the other three genomes than any of the other three were from each other. Whole-genome comparisons of DH_A2 and GS_B with the optically mapped WB_A1 demonstrated substantial synteny across all five chromosomes but also included a number of rearrangements, inversions, and chromosomal translocations that were more common toward the chromosome ends. However, the WB_A1/GS_B alignment demonstrated only about 70% sequence identity across the syntenic regions. Our findings add to information presented in previous reports suggesting that GS is a different species of Giardia as supported by the degree of genomic diversity, coding capacity, heterozygosity, phylogenetic distance, and known biological differences from WB_A1 and other G. lamblia genotypes.
ROLE OF ACETYLCHOLINE IN NEUROMUSCULAR TRANSMISSION *

Excitable membranes are endowed with the special ability of changing rapidly and reversibly their permeability t o ions. Since the turn of t,he century, two notions were widely accepted: (1) K ’ and N a ’ are the carriers of bioelectric currents, as has since been confirmed with radioactive isotopes; and (2) these ion movements are because of t,he permeability changes of the membranes. There is no alternative to the assumption tha t chemical reactions are in control of the permeability cycle. Forty years ago A . V. Hill found a very small “initial” heat in axons during electrical activity. In 1951, Hodgkin’ explained this heat by ion mixing, implying simple diffusion and excluding chemical reactions. In 1957, A. V. Hill and his associates’ found, with much faster recording instruments, that the initial heat in Maja axons is about 2 millical.ig active material/impulse, i.e., a heat comparable to that per g muscle per twitch. Discussing other explanations, A . V. Hill stated in 1958:? “I can see no alternative to the hypothesis t ha t the early production and absorption of heat after a stimulus are largely due to chemical reactions associated with, and following, the permeability cycle. ” The neurohumoral transmitter hypothesis postulated that acetylcholine (ACh) is secreted from nerve terminals and acts as a mediator between two cells. 1,eading elect.rophysiologists, such as Erlanger, Gasser, Fulton, Lorente d r N6 and many others, never accepted this view. They did not question the facts but the interpretation; in their view, electrical parameters do not justify a basicdifference of the properties of excitable membranes at junctions and in axons. The idea of neurohumoral transmission was based on classical methods of physiology and pharmacology. These methods alone do not permit the analysis of chemical reactions taking place in a few millionths of a second in a membrane which is about 100 A thick, as we know from electron microscopy. I n t.he t,hirty years since the neurohumoral transmission was proposed, life sciences went through a real revolution. The rise of dynamic biochemistry, the spectacular advances of protein and enzyme and, more generally, of macromolecular chemistry, of instrumentation and methods, such as x-ray
Get round and stiff for mitosis

Cell rounding is a common feature of cell division. The spherical shape that cells adopt during mitosis is apparently neither a simple detachment nor a global softening or stiffening that allows cells to adopt what seems to be a mechanical equilibrium. It is a highly complex mechanical transformation by which membrane folding and peripheral signals focusing can match spindle size in order to ensure a proper cell division. Recent new insight into the mechanism involved will prompt the scientific community to focus on the regulation of the physical links that exist between the lipid bilayer membrane and the underlying actin cytoskeleton since it now appears that these will strongly influence some crucial cellular events such as the spatial organization of cell division.
NeuroImage , in press , 2003 ICA-based spatiotemporal approach for single-trial analysis of post-movement MEG beta synchronization

* Laboratory of Integrated Brain Research, Department of Medical Research & Education, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan † Institute of Radiological Sciences, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan ‡ Center for Neuroscience, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan § Faculty of Medicine, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan # Institute of Neuroscience, School of Life Science, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
SEMANTIC MODELLING OF CONTEXT AWARE SYSTEMS IN A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK

The paper presents a logical framework for the modelling of context aware systems. The framework consists of three first order languages that together make it possible to represent all aspects of such systems and which thus provide a transparent modelling framework. The framework is constructed for the use in semantic modelling of context aware systems and models can for most parts easily be implemented in OWL/SWIRL. In addition to presenting the three languages an account is given on how to model a system, i.e. how the different elements of a context aware system are to be represented by the symbolic elements of the languages.
3D Printing and Immersive Visualization for Improved Perception of Ancient Artifacts

This article investigates the use of 3D immersive virtual environments and 3D prints for interaction with past material culture over traditional observation without manipulation. Our work is motivated by studies in heritage, museum, and cognitive sciences indicating the importance of object manipulation for understanding present and ancient artifacts. While virtual immersive environments and 3D prints have started to be incorporated in heritage research and museum displays as a way to provide improved manipulation experiences, little is known about how these new technologies affect the perception of our past. This article provides first results obtained with three experiments designed to investigate the benefits and tradeoffs in using these technologies. Our results indicate that traditional museum displays limit the experience with past material culture, and reveal how our sample of participants favor tactile and immersive 3D virtual experiences with artifacts over visual non-manipulative experiences with authentic objects.
The Determination of Cognitive Behavior Mode Based on Fuzzy Logic System

A new method of determining cognitive behavior mode (CBM) is proposed. Firstly, the SRK framework of CBM is briefly introduced and the method of determining CBM, Hanaman decision tree method, is analyzed. Its strengths and weaknesses are summarized respectively. It is pointed out that it is extremely necessary to consider the uncertainties of influence factors (IFs) in the determination of CBM. Secondly, a new method to determine CBM is constructed, which introduces fuzzy logic approach to handle the uncertainties of IFs and constructs fuzzy inference rules based on the idea of Hanaman decision tree method. Lastly, the method proposed in this paper is validated by comparison with the Hanaman decision tree method and the results prove its validity.
Serving Class: Masculinity and the Feminisation of Domestic Service in Tanzania

This is a book about contradictions. About the men who are better at housework than women and still retain their view of themselves as real men. In colonial Tanganyika, when housework for some was transformed into wage labour for others, the only available labour force was predominantly male, so men became domestic servants, even nursemaids to babies. Even today men are preferred over women as servants. Paradoxically, these were also militant domestics, in an occupation usually characterised by passivity and inability to organise. A wave of strikes involving domestic workers swept East Africa in the 1950s-60s. Given this unusual militancy, why did domestic servants become so politically passive after independence? And equally contradictory: how did an institution so sharply expressing class differences persist in a period when the Tanzanian state was proclaiming 'socialism' and the end of class exploitations? Exploring the institution of domestic service, this book discloses processes of postcolonial class formation both as exploitation and cultural elaboration. It also uncovers gender struggles amongst workers and those who employ them.
AP-1 as a Regulator of MMP-13 in the Stromal Cell of Giant Cell Tumor of Bone

Matrix-metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13) has been shown to be an important protease in inflammatory and neoplastic conditions of the skeletal system. In particular, the stromal cells of giant cell tumor of bone (GCT) express very high levels of MMP-13 in response to the cytokine-rich environment of the tumor. We have previously shown that MMP-13 expression in these cells is regulated, at least in part, by the RUNX2 transcription factor. In the current study, we identify the expression of the c-Fos and c-Jun elements of the AP-1 transcription factor in these cells by protein screening assays and real-time PCR. We then used siRNA gene knockdown to determine that these elements, in particular c-Jun, are upstream regulators of MMP-13 expression and activity in GCT stromal cells. We conclude that there was no synergy found between RUNX2 and AP-1 in the regulation of the MMP13 expression and that these transcription factors may be independently regulated in these cells.
Weibull statistics for multiple flaw distributions and its application in silicon fracture prediction

Focus of this paper is the prediction of silicon fracture in microchips of electronic devices. The strength of silicon chips strongly depends on flaw distributions introduced by wafer manufacturing processes. Consequently strength data scatter and a probabilistic approach to failure is required. For this purpose Weibull theory will be used and combined with test procedures and numerical tools for prediction of fracture probability. Multiple active flaw distributions on the surface of the chip and its sawing edges will be considered. Test procedures for strength measurements and Weibull parameter extraction will be presented. Failure prediction will be demonstrated for a microchip showing multiple active flaw distributions which is assembled on a leadframe.
Analysis of Incremental Growth in Image Steganography Techniques for Various Parameters

Data hiding techniques are getting very large support from research community during the last two decades. Steganography is the widely used technique during the last few years for data hiding. Steganography is the art and science of hiding the data in some cover media like image file, audio file, video file, text file etc. Out of the various cover media available image file is the most widely used cover media. There are many techniques that are widely used for image steganagraphy during the last decade. In this paper, we will analyze how the incremental growth takes place in various image steganography techniques for different parameters.
The role of parents of children with Down syndrome and other disabilities in early intervention

Contemporary early intervention has been closely tied to the proposition that interventions that directly involve parents are more effective at promoting children's learning and development than those that do not (White et al., 1992). This proposition was part of the rationale for the design of the federally mandated early intervention program in the United States, which required that every family in this program have an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP). While one of the purposes of the IFSP was to ensure that parents have the resources and supports they need to care for their children, an equally important purpose was to help parents become active participants in their children's intervention. The committee report for the 1986 amendments to the Education of the Handicapped Act (Public Law 99–457) stated, The committee received overwhelming testimony affirming the family as the primary learning environment for children less than six years of age and pointing out the critical need for parents and professionals to function in a collaborative manner. (From House Report No. 99–860, as cited in Gilkerson et al., 1987, p. 20.) The emphasis on involving parents in children's intervention services stems from ecological theories of child development (Bronfenbrenner, 1992, 1999; Dunst et al., 2000, 2006; Sameroff & Fiese, 2000). These theories postulate that early developmental learning is a continuous process that can be affected by each of the experiences children have in their daily environment.
Functional Outcomes After Tibial Shaft Fractures Treated Using the Taylor Spatial Frame

Objectives: To analyze functional and radiologic outcomes of tibial shaft fractures treated with the Taylor spatial frame (TSF). Design: Prospective follow-up study of radiologic and functional outcomes. Setting: University teaching hospital. Patients: From January 2006 to December 2012, prospective data were collected for 56 consecutive patients completing treatment of a tibial shaft fracture with the TSF. Intervention: Treatment of tibial shaft fractures, including those with simple extension into the knee or ankle joints, using the TSF. Main Outcome Measurements: Residual deformity on x-ray and functional outcomes using the EQ-5D health status questionnaire, Iowa Knee and Ankle Evaluation Rating System scores, and Olerud and Molander Ankle score were recorded 1 year after frame removal. Results: Average residual deformity was 1.8 degrees in the coronal and 1.6 degrees in the sagittal planes. EQ-5D outcomes showed patients returning to a health status no different from scores for the UK population as a whole. Iowa Knee scores demonstrated “good” or “excellent” outcomes in 87.3% of our cohort (mean, 90). Ankle Evaluation Rating System scores and Olerud and Molander Ankle scores showed “good” or “excellent” outcomes in 76.8% and 89.3% of our cohort, respectively (mean, 84.1 and 84). Conclusions: Use of the TSF for treatment of tibial fractures, with support from a dedicated limb reconstruction rehabilitation team, has a number of technical advantages while producing good functional and surgical outcomes, with patients recovering to a pre-injury health status. Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Significant Delay of Apoptosis and Fas Resistance in Eosinophils of Subjects with Intrinsic and Extrinsic Type of Atopic Dermatitis

jects with AD which was increased per se. EOS supernatants of patients with AD more than of patients with inhalant allergy dose-dependently inhibited apoptosis in nonatopic EOS, and it was shown by cytokine-specific ELISAs that this effect was possibly due to autocrine production of GM-CSF, probably IL-5, but not IL-3 or TGFâ1. The observed effects in AD were, in fact, mediated by an autocrine production of GM-CSF, since neutralizing anti-GM-CSF mAbs significantly reduced AD EOS survival. Next it was shown that eosinophils from subjects with inhalant allergy and particularly AD eosinophils demonstrated a certain resistance to anti-Fas mAb-induced apoptosis in comparison to nonatopic eosinophils although eosinophil expression of Fas receptor (CD95) was similar, did not change over time in culture and was not modulated by cytokines prolonging eosinophil survival as assessed by flow cytometric analysis. Further elucidation of eosinophil apoptosis in AD will have implications for the control of eosinophil residence and functional state and may shed light on the intracellular events of apoptosis. Food Allergy, Atopic Dermatitis
Hypercapnia-Induced Cerebral Hyperperfusion: An Underrecognized Clinical Entity

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The incidence of cerebral hyperperfusion and hypoperfusion, respectively, resulting from hypercapnia and hypocapnia in hospitalized patients is unknown but is likely underrecognized by radiologists and clinicians without routine performance of quantitative perfusion imaging. Our purpose was to report the clinical and perfusion imaging findings in a series of patients confirmed to have hypercapnic cerebral hyperperfusion and hypocapnic hypoperfusion. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Conventional cerebral MR imaging examination was supplemented with arterial spin-labeled (ASL) MR perfusion imaging in 45 patients during a 16-month period at a single institution. Patients presented with an indication of altered mental status, metastasis, or suspected stroke. Images were reviewed and correlated with arterial blood gas (ABG) analysis and clinical history. RESULTS: Patients ranged in age from 1.5 to 85 years. No significant acute findings were identified on conventional MR imaging. Patients with hypercapnia showed global hyperperfusion on ASL cerebral blood flow (CBF) maps, respiratory acidosis on ABG, and diffuse air-space abnormalities on same-day chest radiographs. Regression analysis revealed a significant positive linear relationship between cerebral perfusion and the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2; β, 4.02; t, 11.03; P < .0005), such that rates of cerebral perfusion changed by 4.0 mL/100 g/min for each 1-mm Hg change in pCO2. CONCLUSIONS: With the inception of ASL as a routine perfusion imaging technique, hypercapnic-associated cerebral hyperperfusion will be recognized more frequently and may provide an alternative cause of unexplained neuropsychiatric symptoms in hospitalized patients. In a similar fashion, hypocapnia may account for a subset of patients with normal MR imaging examinations with poor ASL perfusion signal.
A System to Describe and Reduce Medical Errors in Primary Care

Although much attention has been focused on finding ways to identify medical errors and thereby reduce harm in hospital settings, few efforts have been directed at these issues in ambulatory settings. Duke University’s Department of Community and Family Medicine has developed and implemented a practical, voluntary reporting system with classification and tracking of types of errors. Initially created in the Family Medicine Center, this system is now used in all of the department’s wide variety of clinical operations. By reporting errors, analyzing error patterns, and addressing them, the clinical practices have become better able to identify faulty systems and error-prone areas and to change processes to prevent future errors.
Metrics and laws of software evolution-the nineties view

The process of E-type software development and evolution has proven most difficult to improve, possibly due to the fact that the process is a multi-input, multi-output system involving feedback at many levels. This observation, first recorded in the early 1970s during an extended study of OS/360 evolution, was recently captured in a FEAST (Feedback, Evolution And Software Technology) hypothesis: a hypothesis being studied in on-going two-year project, FEAST/1. Preliminary conclusions based on a study of a financial transaction system-Logica's Fastwire (FW)-are outlined and compared with those reached during the earlier OS/360 study. The new analysis supports, or better does not contradict, the laws of software evolution, suggesting that the 1970s approach to metric analysis of software evolution is still relevant today. It is hoped that FEAST/1 will provide a foundation for mastering the feedback aspects of the software evolution process, opening up new paths for process modelling and improvement.