Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Myocardial oxidative metabolism, blood flow and efficiency in rapid pacing induced heart failure in dogs.

PURPOSE Heart failure is the final common pathway for most forms of heart disease, and is characterized by a reduced energy status. Myocardial oxygen consumption (MV02) is closely related to the main determinants of systolic function (heart rate, pressure and contractility). The aim of the study was to compare myocardial blood flow, metabolism and mechanical efficiency in rapid pacing induced heart failure in dogs. METHODS 5 dogs were paced for 3 weeks at 240 bpm, with regular follow up of hemodynamic characteristics. Coronary blood flow and oxidative metabolism were evaluated with [(15)O] water and [(11)C]acetate clearance respectively, in baseline conditions (B) and after 3 weeks of rapid pacing (3 wk RP) using positron emission tomography. RESULTS Three weeks of rapid pacing in a dog model resulted in a severely depressed left ventricular function (LV dP/dtmax 3698 ± 314 mmHg (B) vs. 1365 ± 103 mmHg (3 wk RP)). On the contrary myocardial blood flow 1.29 ± 0.11 ml/min/g (B) vs. 1.05 ± 0.07 ml/min/g (3 wk RP) and oxidative metabolism 0.178 ± 0.1 min(-1) (B) vs. 0.161 ± 0.1 min(-1) (3 wk RP) remained essentially unchanged, indicating a reduced efficiency and a change in O2 utilization. CONCLUSIONS Heart failure induced by rapid ventricular pacing in dogs provokes a clearly reduced mechanical efficiency, illustrating the occurrence of a metabolic remodeling in heart failure induced by rapid pacing.
An invertible fuzzy scheme for securing a fragile watermark

A fragile watermark provides an effective solution to ascertain the integrity of an image. However, security of the watermark is endangered during transmission through an unsecured network. This paper aims to secure watermark by applying fuzzy model based invertible transformation to the cover image after embedding visual watermark into it. The controlled non-linear transformation permutes the watermark without distorting spatial correlation of the image space. This will neutralize any attempt to predict or copy the watermark directly from the image space, thus improving its security. By inverting non-linear transformation, spatial correlation of the watermark is restored and subsequently it can be used to check the integrity of an image. The scheme is tested using a well known least significant bit (LSB) watermarking framework.
Contact trees: adaptive contact sampling for robust dynamics

Algorithms for rigid body dynamics with contact are well known, but challenging to implement due to the interplay between large time steps, general purpose collision detection packages and pragmatic approximations of the underlying inequality constrained contact problems. While research on rigid body simulation has focused heavily both on contact resolution and collision detection, contact generation has essentially been ignored. Most contact resolution algorithms presume that an ideal set of contacts, fully characterizing system constraints, are available, while collision detection methods generally presume that their task is finished once a set of intersecting primitives has been identified. Bridging the gap between these domains, by generating representative contact samples, contact point locations and their associated normals, is crucial for the accuracy, robustness and speed of simulation. This is highlighted by two observations: • A contact resolution method, no matter how robust and accurate, is restricted by the quality of constraints it has been provided with. • Narrow phase collision detection algorithms, although in some senses highly optimized, often perform too much and the wrong kind of work because they do not consider the form of input desired by the physical solver.
A Novel Role for the BMP Antagonist Noggin in Sensitizing Cells to Non-canonical Wnt-5a/Ror2/Disheveled Pathway Activation

Mammalian limb development is driven by the integrative input from several signaling pathways; a failure to receive or a misinterpretation of these signals results in skeletal defects. The brachydactylies, a group of overlapping inherited human hand malformation syndromes, are mainly caused by mutations in BMP signaling pathway components. Two closely related forms, Brachydactyly type B2 (BDB2) and BDB1 are caused by mutations in the BMP antagonist Noggin (NOG) and the atypical receptor tyrosine kinase ROR2 that acts as a receptor in the non-canonical Wnt pathway. Genetic analysis of Nog and Ror2 functional interaction via crossing Noggin and Ror2 mutant mice revealed a widening of skeletal elements in compound but not in any of the single mutants, thus indicating genetic interaction. Since ROR2 is a non-canonical Wnt co-receptor specific for Wnt-5a we speculated that this phenotype might be a result of deregulated Wnt-5a signaling activation, which is known to be essential for limb skeletal elements growth and patterning. We show that Noggin potentiates activation of the Wnt-5a-Ror2-Disheveled (Dvl) pathway in mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) cells in a Ror2-dependent fashion. Rat chondrosarcoma chondrocytes (RCS), however, are not able to respond to Noggin in this fashion unless growth arrest is induced by FGF2. In summary, our data demonstrate genetic interaction between Noggin and Ror2 and show that Noggin can sensitize cells to Wnt-5a/Ror2-mediated non-canonical Wnt signaling, a feature that in cartilage may depend on the presence of active FGF signaling. These findings indicate an unappreciated function of Noggin that will help to understand BMP and Wnt/PCP signaling pathway interactions.
Polarization Switching Dependence of VCSEL on Variable Polarization Optical Feedback

In this paper, the influence of variable-angle polarization-rotated optical feedback on the polarization switching properties of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) is investigated theoretically and experimentally. The optical feedback (OF) level and the rotated polarization angle <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\theta _{p}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> of OF are considered. Two configurations of OF are used to re-injected parallel and orthogonal polarization modes back into the VCSEL. For the parallel OF, it is shown that polarization switching (PS) of VCSELs’ modes can occur at a fixed feedback level and bias current with variable <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\theta _{p}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>. However, in case of orthogonal optical feedback, PS occurs only at certain values of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\theta _{p}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, particularly when the intensities of two polarization modes become comparable with each other. In the theoretical model for both OF conditions, there is good agreement between the experimental measurements and recent theoretical results reported in the literature.
Phosphate (Pi) Starvation Effect on the Cytosolic Pi Concentration and Pi Exchanges across the Tonoplast in Plant Cells: An in Vivo 31P-Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Study Using Methylphosphonate as a Pi Analog1[W][OA]

In vivo 31P-NMR analyses showed that the phosphate (Pi) concentration in the cytosol of sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) and Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) cells was much lower than the cytoplasmic Pi concentrations usually considered (60–80 μm instead of >1 mm) and that it dropped very rapidly following the onset of Pi starvation. The Pi efflux from the vacuole was insufficient to compensate for the absence of external Pi supply, suggesting that the drop of cytosolic Pi might be the first endogenous signal triggering the Pi starvation rescue metabolism. Successive short sequences of Pi supply and deprivation showed that added Pi transiently accumulated in the cytosol, then in the stroma and matrix of organelles bounded by two membranes (plastids and mitochondria, respectively), and subsequently in the vacuole. The Pi analog methylphosphonate (MeP) was used to analyze Pi exchanges across the tonoplast. MeP incorporated into cells via the Pi carrier of the plasma membrane; it accumulated massively in the cytosol and prevented Pi efflux from the vacuole. This blocking of vacuolar Pi efflux was confirmed by in vitro assays with purified vacuoles. Subsequent incorporation of Pi into the cells triggered a massive transfer of MeP from the cytosol to the vacuole. Mechanisms for Pi exchanges across the tonoplast are discussed in the light of the low cytosolic Pi level, the cell response to Pi starvation, and the Pi/MeP interactive effects.
Effects of Ear Acupuncture Therapy for Obesity on the Depression of Obese Women

Background Obesity is one of the leading health risks worldwide, and depression is among the leading causes of the burden of disease. These disorders are increasingly prevalent as comorbidities. Depressive symptoms are associated with obesity, and are more common in women. Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of ear acupuncture for obesity on the depression of obese women. Methods After baseline testing, 30 eligible patients with body mass index (BMI) >29.9 kg/m2 were included. The Beck Depression Inventory for Primary Care (BDI-PC) was used to assess changes in depression. BMI was also measured. Patients had six ear acupuncture sessions, every 15 days and were followed up for 3 months. Twenty four patients completed the study. Results The mean±SD age of patients was 42.9±9.0 years. Their mean±SD BMI was 39.0±4.7 kg/m2 before acupuncture, decreasing to 37.2±4.3 kg/m2 after acupuncture therapy (p<0.001). The mean depression score was 4.4±2.3 before acupuncture, decreasing to 2.7±1.4 (p<0.001) after treatment. There was no significant correlation between BMI and depression score before acupuncture therapy (p=0.104). After acupuncture therapy, no significant correlation was found between the percentage reduction of BMI and percentage reduction of the depression score (p=0.119). Conclusions Further research into the effects of ear acupuncture in the management of obesity and depression is justified.
Type Check Removal Using Lazy Interprocedural Code Versioning September 4

Dynamically typed languages use runtime type checks to ensure safety. These checks are known to be a cause of performance issues. Several strategies are used to remove type checks but are expensive in a JIT compilation context or limited in the absence of code duplication. This paper presents an interprocedural approach based on Basic Block Versioning that allows the removal of many type checks without using an expensive analysis while simplifying the compilation process by avoiding the use of an intermediate representation. The experimentations made with our Scheme implementation of the technique show that more than 75% of type checks are removed in generated code.
The grateful dead: calcium and cell death in plant innate immunity

Plant cells sensing pathogenic microorganisms evoke defence systems that can confer resistance to infection. This innate immune reaction can include triggering of basal defence responses as well as programmed cell death, or hypersensitive response (HR). In both cases (basal defence and HR), pathogen perception is translated into elevated cytosolic Ca2+ (mediated by plasma membrane and intracellular channels) as an early step in a signalling cascade. Cyclic nucleotide‐gated channels contribute to this influx of Ca2+ into the cell. The molecular nature of other transport proteins contributing to the Ca2+ elevation is unclear. Pathogen recognition occurs at two levels: the perception of pathogen‐associated molecular pattern (PAMP) molecules widely present in microorganisms, and an interaction between pathogen avirulence gene products (if present) and corresponding plant R (resistance) gene products. The Ca2+ elevation occurring in response to PAMP perception or R gene interactions could occur due to phosphorylation events, G‐protein signalling and/or an increase in cyclic nucleotides. Downstream from the initial Ca2+ rise, the signalling cascade includes: activation of calmodulin and protein kinases, and nitric oxide and reactive oxygen species generation. Some of these downstream events amplify the Ca2+ signal by further activation of Ca2+ transporters.
The Progression of Personality Changes in Senile Dementia of the Alzheimer's Type

Passive, agitated, and self‐centered behavioral changes were noted on initial evaluation in two‐thirds, one‐third, and one‐third, respectively, of subjects with mild senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type (SDAT). Over a 50‐month follow‐up period, the percentage of patients who exhibited agitated and self‐centered behaviors doubled. The percentage of subjects who demonstrated all three behavioral changes increased from 11% at entry to the study (mild SDAT) to over 50% when the dementia had reached a severe stage. The presence of personality changes at a mild stage of dementia did not predispose subjects to more rapid progression to a more advanced stage of illness.
Racial disparities in emergency general surgery: Do differences in outcomes persist among universally insured military patients?

BACKGROUND Racial disparities in surgical care are well described. As many minority patients are also uninsured, increasing access to care is thought to be a viable solution to mitigate inequities. The objectives of this study were to determine whether racial disparities in 30-/90-/180- day outcomes exist within a universally insured population of military-/civilian-dependent emergency general surgery (EGS) patients and ascertain whether differences in outcomes differentially persist in care received at military versus civilian hospitals and among sponsors who are enlisted service members versus officers. It also considered longer-term outcomes of EGS care. METHODS Five years (2006–2010) of TRICARE data, which provides insurance to active/reserve/retired members of the US Armed Services and dependents, were queried for adults (≥18 years) with primary EGS conditions, defined by the AAST. Risk-adjusted survival analyses assessed race-associated differences in mortality, major acute care surgery-related morbidity, and readmission at 30/90/180 days. Models accounted for clustering within hospitals and possible biases associated with missing race using reweighted estimating equations. Subanalyses considered restricted effects among operative interventions, EGS diagnostic categories, and effect modification related to rank and military- versus civilian-hospital care. RESULTS A total of 101,011 patients were included: 73.5% white, 14.5% black, 4.4% Asian, and 7.7% other. Risk-adjusted survival analyses reported a lack of worse mortality and readmission outcomes among minority patients at 30, 90, and 180 days. Major morbidity was higher among black versus white patients (hazard ratio [95% confidence interval): 30 days, 1.23 [1.13–1.35]; 90 days, 1.18 [1.09–1.28]; and 180 days, 1.15 [1.07–1.24], a finding seemingly driven by appendiceal disorders (hazard ratio, 1.69–1.70). No other diagnostic categories were significant. Variations in military- versus civilian-managed care and in outcomes for families of enlisted service members versus officers altered associations, to some extent, between outcomes and race. CONCLUSIONS While an imperfect proxy of interventions is directly applicable to the broader United States, the contrast between military observations and reported racial disparities among civilian EGS patients merits consideration. Apparent mitigation of disparities among military-/civilian-dependent patients provides an example for which we as a nation and collective of providers all need to strive. The data will help to inform policy within the Department of Defense and development of disparities interventions nationwide, attesting to important differences potentially related to insurance, access to care, and military culture and values. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Prognostic and epidemiologic study, level III
The use of Virtual Fixtures to Enhance Operator Performance in Time Delayed Teleoperation.

Abstract : This report reviews the notion of virtual fixtures for force-reflecting telepresence systems that has been introduced in a previous report and describes an additional study which demonstrates that such fixtures can reduce performance degradation due to transmission time delay. Real world tools and fixtures can enhance performance by guiding manual operations, providing localizing references, and reducing the mental processing required to perform a task. Virtual fixtures are computer-generated precepts overlaid onto the force-reflecting master workspace that have been shown to provide similar benefits in teleoperation tasks without time delay. Virtual fixtures are superimposed on top of the presentation of the remote site, completely independent of all sensory feedback from the remote worksite (and therefore unaffected by transmission delays). As a result, virtual fixtures act as high fidelity reference points overlaid on top of an otherwise time-distorted perceptual environment. This study expands the testing of the virtual fixture concept by using simple combinations of haptic surfaces as perceptual overlays in a standardized peg-insertion task, with the goal of minimizing performance degradation due to time delay. Six subjects were tested using a force-reflecting exoskeleton master device to control a slave robot arm with no time delay, 250 ms delay, and 450 ms delay. A Fitts' law paradigm quantified operator performance for each of four fixture configurations. Without the use of virtual fixtures, operator performance was reduced by 36% for the 250 ms delay and 44% for the 450 ms delay. With the use of the most effective virtual fixtures tested, there was no measured performance degradation in the time-delayed teleoperation.
The metabolism of glucose, acetate, palmitate, stearate and oleate in pigs

1. Isotope dilution techniques were used to measure the rates of entry and oxidation of glucose, acetate, palmitate, stearate and oleate in fed and fasted (16 h) pigs. 2. Glucose entry rates measured in eight fed and five fasted (16 h) pigs were 20.6 and 8.0 mg/min per kg0.75 (mean values) respectively. The entry rates in fed pigs were lower than the calculated rates of glucose uptake from the alimentary tract, and the validity of glucose entry rates determined under these conditions is discussed. 3. Acetate entry rates were unrelated to the fibre content of the diet, and acetate produced from endogenous metabolism was the main contributor to total acetate production. 4. Increased rates of entry and oxidation of palmitate, stearate and oleate were observed in fasted pigs. 5. Glucose production in fasted pigs was inhibited by raising the concentration of blood glucose. Infusion of insulin in the fed pig caused a decrease in glucose production and a simultaneous reduction in the mobilization of free fatty acids. When blood glucose concentrations fell below about 55 mg/100 ml the release of free fatty acid into the circulation was restored.
Arterial pressure variation and goal-directed fluid therapy.

m n E LUID MANAGEMENT AND OPTIMIZATION are daily problems in anesthesiology and in the critical care setting. emodynamic management is related to the optimization of xygen delivery to the tissues and has been shown to be able to mprove postoperative outcome and to decrease the cost of urgery.1-7 Schematically, in the operating room, the anestheiologist and his/her patients have to deal with 2 distinct risks: ypovolemia on one side and hypervolemia on the other side. oth risks potentially can lead to a decrease in oxygen delivery o the tissues and to an increase in postoperative morbidity (Fig ). However, despite evidence showing that organ perfusion equires 2 physiologic objectives, adequate perfusion pressure n order to force blood into the capillaries of all organs and dequate cardiac output to deliver oxygen and substrates and to emove carbon dioxide and other metabolic products,8 and espite data showing the impact of cardiac output optimization n postoperative outcome, cardiac output monitoring rarely is sed in the daily anesthesiology practice; clinicians still rely on linical judgment, blood loss estimates, and the vague concept f third-space losses.9 Since the 1980s, a significant portion of the medical literaure focusing on perioperative hemodynamics has been related o the concept of fluid responsiveness that describes the ability f the circulation to increase cardiac output in response to olume expansion.10-23 It now is clear that dynamic parameters f fluid responsiveness, based on cardiopulmonary interactions n patients under general anesthesia and mechanical ventilation, re superior to static indicators (such as central venous presure). 10,24,25 These dynamic indicators can be derived from a ingle arterial pressure waveform (systolic pressure variations SPVs] and pulse-pressure variations [PPVs]) (Fig 2) or from he plethysmographic waveform (respiratory variations in the lethysmographic waveform amplitude [ POP] and plethysographic variability index [PVI]). 10,26 Their aim is to predict n increase in cardiac output induced by volume expansion efore volume expansion is actually performed. Described ore than 40 years ago,27 these dynamic indices have underone significant improvement of late.28 During the past 2 years, everal new software applications and algorithms have been eveloped to automatically and continuously calculate these ndices.17,19,29-33 These new monitoring parameters open the oor to the optimization of these dynamic indicators of fluid esponsiveness and to an alternative to cardiac output monitorng and optimization.26 Recent studies suggest that this aproach has the ability to improve postoperative outcome.34-36 In he present article, how these dynamic parameters may be used n clinical practice as a means to guide fluid management is iscussed. o
GaN HEMT large-signal model research

This paper gives an AlGaN/GaN HEMT large-signal model for large-scaled device. It's the first time to add sub-threshold current based on [1], and introduces self-heating effect under high Vds large Ids in the device. AlGaN/GaN HEMT semi-empirical DC model is optimized. I-V curves are fitted well. An AlGaN/GaN HEMT large-signal model is developed. A comparison of simulation results with experiments data is made, and good agreements of (output power) and Gain at the bias of Vgs = -2V, Vds = -25V have been obtained at operational frequency of 5.4 GHz. Accurate model is offered for GaN HEMTs MIC and MMIC design, and it enhanced the practicability of GaN HEMTs' large-signal model.
Differential Abilities of SNAP-25 Homologs to Support Neuronal Function

The SNAP receptor (SNARE) complex, consisting of synaptosome-associated protein of 25 kDa (SNAP-25), synaptobrevin-2, and syntaxin-1, is involved in synaptic vesicles exocytosis. In addition, SNAP-25 has been implicated in constitutive exocytosis processes required for neurite outgrowth. However, at least three isoforms of SNAP-25 have been reported from neurons: SNAP-23, which is also present in non-neuronal cells, and the two alternative splice variants SNAP-25a and SNAP-25b. Here, we studied the differential ability of these isoforms to support the functions previously broadly ascribed to “SNAP-25. ” We studied the rescue of snap-25 null neurons in culture with different SNAP-25 homologs. We find that deletion of SNAP-25 leads to strongly reduced neuron survival, and, in the few surviving cells, impaired arborization, reduced spontaneous release, and complete arrest of evoked release. Lentiviral expression of SNAP-25a, SNAP-25b, or SNAP-23 rescued neuronal survival, arborization, amplitude, and frequency of spontaneous events. Also evoked release was rescued by all isoforms, but synchronous release required SNAP-25a/b in both glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons. SNAP-23 supported asynchronous release only, reminiscent of synaptotagmin-1 null neurons. SNAP-25b was superior to SNAP-25a in vesicle priming, resembling the shift to larger releasable vesicle pools that accompanies synaptic maturation. These data demonstrate a differential ability of SNAP-25b, SNAP-25a, and SNAP-23 to support neuronal function.