Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Subglacial till: A physical framework for its properties and processes

The continuum theory of mixtures provides a framework around which present knowledge of subglacial till can be organized. The proposed framework is provisional in two senses: the constitutive description of till will require improvement, and not all potentially significant processes have been included. Till is treated as a three-component mixture of water, clasts (coarse-grained solids), and fine-grained matrix solids. These components obey mass balance equations, and their behavior is subject to constitutive relations that describe such processes as Darcian water transport, fine-grained sediment transport, consolidation, shear deformation, dilatancy, and comminution. Five state variables uniquely determine the compressibility, permeability, shear strength, and other physical properties. Numerical solutions of the state evolutions equations illustrate that the properties of till are highly responsive to changes in the subglacial environment.
tennis elbow : randomised trial corticosteroid injection , or wait and see for Mobilisation with movement and exercise

Objective To investigate the efficacy of physiotherapy compared with a wait and see approach or corticosteroid injections over 52 weeks in tennis elbow. Design Single blind randomised controlled trial. Setting Community setting, Brisbane, Australia. Participants 198 participants aged 18 to 65 years with a clinical diagnosis of tennis elbow of a minimum six weeks’ duration, who had not received any other active treatment by a health practitioner in the previous six months. Interventions Eight sessions of physiotherapy; corticosteroid injections; or wait and see. Main outcome measures Global improvement, grip force, and assessor’s rating of severity measured at baseline, six weeks, and 52 weeks. Results Corticosteroid injection showed significantly better effects at six weeks but with high recurrence rates thereafter (47/65 of successes subsequently regressed) and significantly poorer outcomes in the long term compared with physiotherapy. Physiotherapy was superior to wait and see in the short term; no difference was seen at 52 weeks, when most participants in both groups reported a successful outcome. Participants who had physiotherapy sought less additional treatment, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, than did participants who had wait and see or injections. Conclusion Physiotherapy combining elbow manipulation and exercise has a superior benefit to wait and see in the first six weeks and to corticosteroid injections after six weeks, providing a reasonable alternative to injections in the mid to long term. The significant short term benefits of corticosteroid injection are paradoxically reversed after six weeks, with high recurrence rates, implying that this treatment should be used with caution in the management of tennis elbow.
Stomatal Opening: The Role of Cell-Wall Mechanical Anisotropy and Its Analytical Relations to the Bio-composite Characteristics

Stomata are pores on the leaf surface, which are formed by a pair of curved, tubular guard cells; an increase in turgor pressure deforms the guard cells, resulting in the opening of the stomata. Recent studies employed numerical simulations, based on experimental data, to analyze the effects of various structural, chemical, and mechanical features of the guard cells on the stomatal opening characteristics; these studies all support the well-known qualitative observation that the mechanical anisotropy of the guard cells plays a critical role in stomatal opening. Here, we propose a computationally based analytical model that quantitatively establishes the relations between the degree of anisotropy of the guard cell, the bio-composite constituents of the cell wall, and the aperture and area of stomatal opening. The model introduces two non-dimensional key parameters that dominate the guard cell deformations—the inflation driving force and the anisotropy ratio—and it serves as a generic framework that is not limited to specific plant species. The modeling predictions are in line with a wide range of previous experimental studies, and its analytical formulation sheds new light on the relations between the structure, mechanics, and function of stomata. Moreover, the model provides an analytical tool to back-calculate the elastic characteristics of the matrix that composes the guard cell walls, which, to the best of our knowledge, cannot be probed by direct nano-mechanical experiments; indeed, the estimations of our model are in good agreement with recently published results of independent numerical optimization schemes. The emerging insights from the stomatal structure-mechanics “design guidelines” may promote the development of miniature, yet complex, multiscale composite actuation mechanisms for future engineering platforms.
Sharp threshold and scaling window for the integer partitioning problem

We consider the problem of partitioning <italic>n</italic> integers chosen randomly between <italic>1</italic> and <italic>2^m</italic> into two subsets such that the discrepancy, the absolute value of the difference of their sums, is minimized. A partition is called <italic>perfect</italic> if the optimum discrepancy is <italic>0</italic> when the sum of all <italic>n</italic> integers in the original set is even, or <italic>1</italic> when the sum is odd. Parameterizing the random problem in terms of <italic>&kgr; = m/n</italic>, we prove that the problem has a sharp threshold at <italic>&kgr; = 1</italic>, in the sense that for <italic>&kgr; < 1</italic>, there are many perfect partitions with probability tending to <italic>1</italic> as <italic>n \to \infty</italic>, while for <italic &kgr;> 1</italic>, there are no perfect partitions with probability tending to <italic>1</italic>. Moreover, we show that the derivative of the so-called entropy is discontinuous at <italic>&kgr;=1</italic>. We also determine the scaling window about the transition point: <italic>&kgr;_n = 1 - (2n)^{-1}\log_2 n + λ_n / n</italic>, by showing that the probability of a perfect partition tends to <italic>0</italic>, <italic>1</italic>, or some explicitly computable <italic>p(λ) \in (0,1)</italic>, depending on whether <italic>λ_n</italic> tends to <italic>-\infty$, $\infty$, or $λ \in (-\infty, \infty)</italic>, respectively. For <italic>λ_n \to -\infty</italic> fast enough, we show that the number of perfect partitions is Gaussian in the limit. For <italic>λ_n \to \infty</italic>, we prove that with high probability the optimum partition is unique, and that the optimum discrepancy is <italic>&thgr;(λ_n)</italic>. Within the window, i.e., if <italic>|λ_n|</italic> is bounded, we prove that the optimum discrepancy is bounded. Both for <italic>λ_n \to \infty</italic> and within the window, the limiting distribution of the (scaled) discrepancy
Clinical implications of increased plasma angiotensin II despite ACE inhibitor therapy in patients with congestive heart failure.

AIMS The aim of the study was to assess the incidence and clinical implications of increased plasma angiotensin II despite chronic ACE inhibitor therapy in patients with heart failure. METHODS AND RESULTS The studied population consisted of 70 patients (mean age 59+/-9 years). Plasma renin activity and plasma concentration of aldosterone, norepinephrine, atrial natriuretic peptide, angiotensin II, tumour necrosis factor, interleukin-6 and interleukin-1B were assessed at 6 months of ACE inhibitor therapy. Mean left ventricular ejection fraction was 24+/-5% and the end-systolic and end-diastolic diameters were 59+/-9 and 71+/-8 mm, respectively. Despite chronic enalapril or captopril therapy, 35 patients (50%) had increased plasma angiotensin II (median 33 pg. ml(-1), range 17-84), while it was in the normal range in the remaining 35 patients (median 10 pg. ml(-1), range 5-15). Plasma renin activity (P=0.005), interleukin-6 (P=0.004), New York Heart Association functional class III-IV (P=0. 006), furosemide dose (P=0.01), lack of beta-blocker therapy (P=0. 04) and norepinephrine (P=0.04) were univariately associated with increased angiotensin II. Multivariate regression analysis identified the plasma renin activity (0.0004), norepinephrine (0.02) and interleukin-6 (0.03) as independent predictors of plasma angiotensin II. During follow-up (35+/-29 months), nine (12.8%) patients died and 13 had new heart failure episodes. Increased plasma angiotensin II, despite ACE inhibitor therapy, was a significant predictor of death or heart failure according to the Kaplan-Meier survival method by log rank test (P=0.002). CONCLUSION Fifty per cent of patients with heart failure, ha increased plasma angiotension II despite chronic ACE inhibitor therapy. These patients had higher neurohormonal activation and poor prognosis.
Successful Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation After Cardiac Arrest as a “Sepsis-Like” Syndrome

Background—We investigated the immunoinflammatory profile of patients successfully resuscitated after cardiac arrest, representing a model of whole-body ischemia/reperfusion syndrome. Methods and Results—Plasma cytokine, endotoxin, and ex vivo cytokine production in whole-blood assays was assessed in 61, 35, and 11 patients, respectively. On admission, high levels of plasma interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, IL-10, and soluble tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor type II could discriminate between survivors and nonsurvivors. Among nonsurvivors, the initial need for a vasopressor agent was associated with higher levels of IL-1 receptor antagonist, IL-10, and IL-6 on day 1. Plasma endotoxin was detected in 46% of the analyzed patients within the 2 first days. Endotoxin-induced TNF and IL-6 productions were dramatically impaired in these patients compared with healthy control subjects, whereas an unaltered production was observed with heat-killed Staphylococcus aureus. In contrast, IL-1 receptor antagonist productions were enhanced in these patients compared with healthy control subjects. The productions of T-cell–derived IL-10 and interferon-&ggr; were also impaired in these patients. Finally, using in vitro plasma exchange between healthy control subjects and patients, we demonstrated that the endotoxin-dependent hyporeactivity was an intrinsic property of patients’ leukocytes and that an immunosuppressive activity was also present in their plasma. Conclusions—Altogether, the high levels of circulating cytokines, the presence of endotoxin in plasma, and the dysregulated production of cytokines found in these patients recall the immunological profile found in patients with sepsis.
Soil Properties on Ski Runs

Much of the surface area in mountain regions has been converted to recreational activities in recent decades due to the increasing demand of tourists for winter sports. In general, ski-run construction and management have a great influence on the chemical and physical properties of underlying soils. To create ski-runs the natural landform is often changed to level the surface, thus exposing unweathered parent material or deep soil horizons. Thus the original soil thickness can be reduced, often resulting in a "turbated" topsoil. The result is that soils in ski-runs have an almost complete lack of structure, with subsequent problems of soil compaction and reduction of water and air permeability. Erosion on ski-runs is thus enhanced. One control that is often pursued is artificial seeding. However, depletion of soil organic matter, reduction in soil aggregate stability, and nutrient imbalance may affect plant development. In ski- run restoration the improvement of soil organic matter and nutrient status is one of the most crucial tasks. A greater understanding of soil physico-chemical characteristics, plant colonisation and soil microbial activity after ski-run construction is necessary to enhance conservation and restoration of these disturbed pedoenvironments.
Long-Term (7 Years) Follow-Up of Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass on Obese Adolescent Patients (<18 Years)

Background: Few data are available about obesity surgery in adolescent patients. Objective: To assess long-term outcomes after laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB) in patients <18 years. Setting: University Hospital, Europe. Methods: A retrospective study of prospectively collected data of patients <18 years (childhood group; ChG) (n = 28) treated by LRYGB of which 19 were available for follow-up between 2.4 and 10.2 years (mean 7.2 years). This group of patients was matched with an adult control group (AdG) of randomly chosen patients with similar characteristics who underwent LRYGB during the same period. The extensive survey included a telephonic questionnaire. Results: 19 (12 females) of the 28 patients (67.9%) were available for follow-up. Preoperatively, 3 had type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), 1 arterial hypertension, 5 dyslipidemia and 1 sleep apnea. In the ChG, average BMI after 7 years dropped from 38.9 kg/m2 preoperatively to 27.5 kg/m2. In the AdG, average BMI decreased from 39.4 to 27.1 kg/m2 in the same time period (nonsignificant between groups). One patient in the ChG needed a reoperation (internal hernia) versus 3 patients in the AdG (1 leak, 2 obstructions). All patients resolved their initial comorbidities. Two of 12 female patients in the ChG became pregnant 6 and 8 years after surgery, respectively, despite seemingly adequate oral contraception. Compliance with postoperative guidelines was good in 16/19 patients in ChG and in 14/18 patients in the AdG. Overall degree of satisfaction was high: 8.2/10 (SD 1.2, range 6-10) in the ChG and 8.9/10 (SD 1.7, range 5-10) in the AdG. Conclusion: LRYGB seems to be safe, provide good weight loss, and cure comorbidities in an adolescent population. Satisfaction degree is high. Inadvertent pregnancy despite conventional contraception is a possible issue.
Pupil Diameter Tracks Lapses of Attention

Our ability to sustain attention for prolonged periods of time is limited. Studies on the relationship between lapses of attention and psychophysiological markers of attentional state, such as pupil diameter, have yielded contradicting results. Here, we investigated the relationship between tonic fluctuations in pupil diameter and performance on a demanding sustained attention task. We found robust linear relationships between baseline pupil diameter and several measures of task performance, suggesting that attentional lapses tended to occur when pupil diameter was small. However, these observations were primarily driven by the joint effects of time-on-task on baseline pupil diameter and task performance. The linear relationships disappeared when we statistically controlled for time-on-task effects and were replaced by consistent inverted U-shaped relationships between baseline pupil diameter and each of the task performance measures, such that most false alarms and the longest and most variable response times occurred when pupil diameter was both relatively small and large. Finally, we observed strong linear relationships between the temporal derivative of pupil diameter and task performance measures, which were largely independent of time-on-task. Our results help to reconcile contradicting findings in the literature on pupil-linked changes in attentional state, and are consistent with the adaptive gain theory of locus coeruleus-norepinephrine function. Moreover, they suggest that the derivative of baseline pupil diameter is a potentially useful psychophysiological marker that could be used in the on-line prediction and prevention of attentional lapses.
Do new cellulolytic enzyme preparations affect the industrial strategies for high solids lignocellulosic ethanol production?

Production of ethanol from lignocellulosic materials has a promising market potential, but the process is still only at pilot/demonstration scale due to the technical and economical difficulties of the process. Operating the process at very high solids concentrations (above 20% dry matter—DM) has proven essential for economic feasibility at industrial scale. Historically, simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) was found to give better ethanol yields compared to separate hydrolysis and fermentation (SHF), but data in literature are typically based on operating the process at low dry matter conditions. In this work the impact of selected enzyme preparation and processing strategy (SHF, presaccharification and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation—PSSF, and SSF) on final ethanol yield and overall performance was investigated with pretreated wheat straw up to 30% DM. The experiments revealed that an SSF strategy was indeed better than SHF when applying an older generation enzyme cocktail (Celluclast‐Novozym 188). In case of the newer product Cellic CTec 2, SHF resulted in 20% higher final ethanol yield compared to SSF. It was possible to close the mass balance around cellulose to around 94%, revealing that the most relevant products could be accounted for. One observation was the presence of oxidized sugar (gluconic acid) upon enzymatic hydrolysis with the latest enzyme preparation. Experiments showed gluconic acid formation by recently discovered enzymatic class of lytic polysaccharides monoxygenases (LPMO's) to be depending on the processing strategy. The lowest concentration was achieved in SSF, which could be correlated with less available oxygen due to simultaneous oxygen consumption by the yeast. Quantity of glycerol and cell mass was also depending on the selected processing strategy. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2014;111: 59–68. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Surface microscopic examination of quartz grains from rock avalanche basal facies

The Wenchuan earthquake, which occurred on 12 May 2008, triggered many rock avalanches that presented abundant fractured surface textures. The surface textures of the rock avalanche clasts bear abundant characteristic signatures that are significant for understanding the mechanical behavior of rock avalanche dynamic fragmentation. To study this mechanism of rock avalanche basal facies further, two large rock avalanches were investigated using microscopic surface texture examination of quartz grains sampled from their basal facies with a scanning electron microscope. After the morphological and statistical analyses of the surface textures on the quartz grains, the following features are noted: (i) surface textures on the quartz grains are all fresh, with obvious irregular shapes and very sharp edges; (ii) the display of brittle fractures, including conchoidal fractures, step fractures, concavities, and V depressions or marks, is very common; (iii) cracks or fissures are also visible on the quartz grains. T.
Automatic Detection of Parkinson's Disease Based on Modulated Vowels

In this paper we present a novel approach of automatic detection of phonatory and articulatory impairments caused by Parkinson’s disease (PD). Modulated (varying between low and high pitch) and sustained vowels are considered and analysed. The fundamental frequency of the phonations and its range are computed using the Hilbert-Huang transformation. Additionally, a set with “standard” measures are calculated to model phonatory and articulatory deficits exhibited by Parkinson’s patients. Kernel Principal Component Analysis was also applied in order to reduce the dimensionality of the representation space. The automatic discrimination between speakers with PD and healthy controls (HC) is performed using decision trees. According to the results, modulated vowels are suitable to evaluate phonatory and articulatory deficits observed in PD speech.
A Unique MicroRNA Signature Associated With Plaque Instability in Humans

Background and Purpose— Atherosclerotic plaque rupture is considered the most important mechanism that underlies the onset of stroke, myocardial infarction, and sudden death. Several evidences demonstrated the pivotal role of inflammatory processes in plaque destabilization. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small endogenous RNAs and represent a new important class of gene regulators. Nevertheless, no data exist about the expression profile of miRNAs in atherosclerotic plaques. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the expression level of miRNAs in human plaques and to correlate it with clinical features of plaque destabilization. Methods— Two separate groups of plaques were collected from patients who underwent carotid endarterectomy in Chieti (n=15) and Ancona (n=38) Hospitals. All the plaques were subdivided in symptomatic (n=22) and asymptomatic (n=31) according to the presence/absence of stroke. Results— First, on the plaques collected at Chieti Hospital, we performed large-scale analysis of miRNA expression. Between the 41 miRNAs examined, we discovered profound differences in the expression of 5 miRNAs (miRNA-100, miRNA-127, miRNA-145, miRNA-133a, and miRNA-133b) in symptomatic versus asymptomatic plaques. Remarkably, when we repeated the analysis on the Ancona plaque subset, all these 5 miRNAs confirmed to be significantly more expressed in the symptomatic plaques. Finally, in vitro experiments on endothelial cells transfected with miRNA-145 and miRNA-133a confirmed the importance of these miRNAs in the modulation of stroke-related proteins. Conclusions— These results are the first to report alterations in the expression of specific miRNAs in human atherosclerotic plaques and suggest that miRNAs may have an important role in regulating the evolution of atherosclerotic plaque toward instability and rupture. Furthermore, by identifying the specific miRNA signature for stroke now, we are able to use computer algorithms to identify previously unrecognized molecular targets.
Overexpression of centromere protein K (CENPK) in ovarian cancer is correlated with poor patient survival and associated with predictive and prognostic relevance

Ovarian cancer has a poor prognosis. Most patients are diagnosed with ovarian cancer when the disease has reached an advanced stage and cure rates are generally under 30%. Hence, early diagnosis of ovarian cancer is the best means to control the disease in the long term and abate mortality. So far, cancer antigen 125 (CA125) and human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) are the gold-standard tumor markers for ovarian cancer; however, these two markers can be elevated in a number of conditions unrelated to ovarian cancer, resulting in decreased specifically and positive predictive value. Therefore, it is urgent to identify novel biomarkers with high reliability and sensitivity for ovarian cancer. In this study for the first time, we identified a member of the centromere protein (CENP) family, CENPK, which was specifically upregulated in ovarian cancer tissues and cell lines and the overexpression of which was associated with poor prognoses in patients with ovarian cancer. In addition, the presence of CENPK significantly improved the sensitivity of CA125 or HE4 for predicting clinical outcomes of ovarian cancer patients. In conclusion, we identified that CENPK was specifically upregulated in ovarian cancer cells and can be used as a novel tumor marker of ovarian cancer.
A Genetic-Algorithm-Optimized Fractal Model to Predict the Constriction Resistance From Surface Roughness Measurements

The electrical contact resistance greatly influences the thermal behavior of substation connectors and other electrical equipment. During the design stage of such electrical devices, it is essential to accurately predict the contact resistance to achieve an optimal thermal behavior, thus ensuring contact stability and extended service life. This paper develops a genetic algorithm (GA) approach to determine the optimal values of the parameters of a fractal model of rough surfaces to accurately predict the measured value of the surface roughness. This GA-optimized fractal model provides an accurate prediction of the contact resistance when the electrical and mechanical properties of the contacting materials, surface roughness, contact pressure, and apparent area of contact are known. Experimental results corroborate the usefulness and accuracy of the proposed approach. Although the proposed model has been validated for substation connectors, it can also be applied in the design stage of many other electrical equipments.