Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nocturnal blood pressure in normotensive subjects and those with white coat, primary, and secondary hypertension

Abstract Objective: To compare the mean nocturnal blood pressure of patients with various forms of renal and endocrine hypertension with that in patients with primary and white coat hypertension, and normal blood pressure. Design: Ambulatory monitoring of blood pressure over 24 hours in a prospective study. Setting - Two German centres for outpatients with hypertension and kidney diseases. Subjects: 176 normotensive subjects, 490 patients with primary hypertension including mild and severe forms, 42 with white coat hypertension, 208 patients with renal and renovascular hypertension, 43 with hypertension and endocrine disorders, and three with coarctation of the aorta. Main outcome measures: Fall in nocturnal blood pressure. Results - Blood pressure in normotensive subjects fell by a mean of 14 mm Hg (11%) systolic and 13 mm Hg (17%) diastolic overnight (2200 to 0600). The falls in patients with primary and white coat hypertension were not significantly different. In all patients with renal and renovascular hypertension, however, the fall was significantly reduced (range of fall from 3/3 mm Hg to 7/9 mm Hg). In patients with hypertension and endocrine disorders the pattern of night time blood pressure was not uniform: patients with hyperthyroidism, primary hyperaldosteronism, and Cushing's syndrome had significantly smaller reductions in blood pressure (6/8, 4/7, 3/6 mm Hg, respectively). In patients with phaeochromocytoma the mean night time blood pressure increased by 4/2 mm Hg. In patients with hypertension, primary hyperparathyroidism, and unoperated coarctation of the aorta the falls in blood pressure were normal. Conclusions: In normotensive subjects and those with primary hypertension there is usually a reduction in blood pressure at night. In all renal forms of secondary hypertension and in most endocrine forms the reduction in blood pressure is only a third to a half of normal. Patients with primary hyperparathyroidism and unoperated coarctation of the aorta show a normal reduction.
Role of Nitric Oxide in the Renal Protective Effects of Ischemic Preconditioning

&NA; Possible involvement of nitric oxide (NO) in the protective effect of ischemic preconditioning against the ischemia/reperfusion‐induced acute renal failure was investigated. Ischemic preconditioning, which consists of three cycles of 2‐minute ischemia followed by 5‐minute reperfusion, was performed prior to 45‐minute ischemia. Ischemic preconditioning significantly improved the renal dysfunction induced by 45‐minute ischemia followed by 24‐hour reperfusion. Histopathological examination of the kidney of ischemia/reperfusion rats revealed severe renal damage, and suppression of the damage was seen with the ischemic preconditioning treatment. NO metabolites (NOx) production in the kidney after 45‐minute ischemia and reperfusion was markedly increased in ischemia/reperfusion rats with ischemic preconditioning, compared with animals not subjected to ischemic preconditioning, and these increases correlated with changes in endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) protein expression in renal tissues. The improvement of renal dysfunction in ischemic preconditioning rats was abolished by the pretreatment with NG‐nitro‐L‐arginine, a nonselective NOS inhibitor, but not with aminoguanidine, an inducible NOS inhibitor. In addition, increment of endothelin‐1 (ET‐1) content in the kidney after the reperfusion was markedly suppressed by ischemic preconditioning treatment. These findings suggest that the protective effect of ischemic preconditioning on ischemia/reperfusion ‐induced acute renal failure is closely related to the renal nitric oxide production following the increase in eNOS expression after the reperfusion and that the suppressive effect of ischemic preconditioning on the ischemia/reperfusion ‐induced renal ET‐1 overproduction may be partly involved in the ameliorating effect of ischemic preconditioning.
Partitioning Recent Greenland Mass Loss

GRACE and Movement Together Recent measurements of the rate of mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet vary approximately by a factor of three. Resolving these discrepancies is essential for determining the current mass balance of the ice sheet and to project sea level rise in the future. Van den Broeke et al. (p. 984) obtained consistent estimates from two independent methods, one based on observations of ice movement combined with model calculations and the other on remote gravity measurements made by the GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) satellites. The combination of these approaches also resolves the separate contributions of surface processes and of ice dynamics, the two major routes of ice mass loss. The major components of decay contributing to mass loss from the Greenland Ice Sheet can be quantified. Mass budget calculations, validated with satellite gravity observations [from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites], enable us to quantify the individual components of recent Greenland mass loss. The total 2000–2008 mass loss of ~1500 gigatons, equivalent to 0.46 millimeters per year of global sea level rise, is equally split between surface processes (runoff and precipitation) and ice dynamics. Without the moderating effects of increased snowfall and refreezing, post-1996 Greenland ice sheet mass losses would have been 100% higher. Since 2006, high summer melt rates have increased Greenland ice sheet mass loss to 273 gigatons per year (0.75 millimeters per year of equivalent sea level rise). The seasonal cycle in surface mass balance fully accounts for detrended GRACE mass variations, confirming insignificant subannual variation in ice sheet discharge.
Do Primary Dysfunctions in Neural Control of Arterial Pressure Contribute to Hypertension?

This article is a summary of the physiological and clinical evidence that links the cause of essential hypertension to the brain. We stress the potential importance of a biochemical disturbance in the central role of angiotensin II in the regulation of arterial pressure. While the evidence is compelling, we acknowledge the need for further complete studies on this timely subject
An Introduction to the LS-DYNA ® Smoothed Particle Galerkin Method for Severe Deformation and Failure Analyses in Solids

This paper presents a new particle method in LS-DYNA for the severe deformation and failure analyses of solid mechanics problems. The new formulation is first established following a standard meshfree Galerkin approach for a solving of the partial differential equation of linear elastic problems. A smoothed displacement field is introduced to the Galerkin formulation and leads to a regularized smoothed strain approximation. The resultant smoothed/regularized strain formulation can be related to the residual-based stabilization method for the elimination of zeroenergy modes in the conventional particle methods. The discretized system of equations are consistently derived within the meshfree Galerkin variational framework and integrated using a direct nodal integration scheme. The linear formulation is next extended to the large deformation and failure analyses of inelastic materials. In the severe deformation range, an adaptive Lagrangian or Eulerian kernel approach can be preformed to reset the reference configuration and maintain the injective deformation mapping at the particles. Several numerical benchmarks are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed method.
Sterols in Brain and Liver of Young Rats Fed 20,25-Diaza-Cholesterol

Summary Feeding 0.03% diazasterol in essentially cholesterol-free diets to weanling rats for 3 or 6 weeks caused a large concentration of desmosterol in the brain and liver sterols. Studies using C14 showed that small amounts of acetate and glucose were incorporated into brain sterol of both control and inhibitor-fed rats and a mode by which this incorporation may account for the rate of desmosterol accumulation is postulated.
Process, Temperature, and Supply-Noise Tolerant 45$~$nm Dense Cache Arrays With Diffusion-Notch-Free (DNF) 6T SRAM Cells and Dynamic Multi-Vcc Circuits

This paper addresses the stability problem of diffusion-notch-free (DNF) SRAM cells used in dense last level caches (LLC). A DNF cell eliminates lithographic induced variations due to nMOS diffusion notches used in conventional 6T SRAM cells. However, it also results in reduced overall cell stability. We describe a new WL under-drive (WLUD) circuit that enables a read stable DNF cell with all minimally sized devices (called M-cell). The proposed WLUD circuit is both PT and supply noise tolerant. Write stability is maintained at low voltage thanks to a VCC dynamic voltage collapse (DVC) scheme that trades large dynamic cell retention margin for improving write stability. Another DNF cell, called P-cell, with pMOS pass device and charged high bit-lines is also presented. This cell is inherently read ratio-ed and extra read margin can be obtained through upsizing the nMOS PD without creating a notch as in conventional cell. A VSS DVC circuit is used along the P-cell to recover write stability. Two SRAM macros in 45 nm were fabricated to experiment with the proposed schemes. Both simulation and measurement results confirm that ~20% WLUD along with proper VCC DVC enables a stable M-cell across a wide voltage range. A low voltage operating window for the P-cell also exists by appropriately selecting pMOS strength, nMOS pull-down size, and VSS DVC.
Antimicrobial activity of Elaeocarpus sphaericus

Antibacterial activity of petroleum ether (PE), benzene (BE), chloroform (CE), acetone (AE) and ethanol (EE) extracts of dried Elaeocarpus sphaericus fruit was investigated against 28 gram‐positive and gram‐negative bacteria using the disc diffusion and plate dilution methods.
Trilayer Electron-beam Lithography and surface preparation for sub-micron Schottky contacts on GaAs heterostructures

Foreseen operation at sub-THz frequencies of Schottky contacts for diodes and transistor gates on GaAs based heterostructures requires area reduction down to 0.1×1 microns, and wet chemical processes. We report on the compatibility of Trilayer Electron-beam Lithography with such wet processes.
Differential regulation of 5‐hydroxytryptamine release by GABAA and GABAB receptors in midbrain raphe nuclei and forebrain of rats

1 Extracellular 5‐hydroxytryptamine (5‐HT) was determined in dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN), median raphe nucleus (MRN) and nucleus accumbens by use of microdialysis in unanaesthetized rats. 2 Infusion of the γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA)A receptor agonist muscimol into DRN and MRN resulted in decreased 5‐HT in DRN and MRN, respectively. Muscimol infusion into nucleus accumbens had no effect on 5‐HT. 3 Infusion of the GABAA receptor antgonist bicuculline into DRN resulted in increased DRN and nucleus accumbens 5‐HT. Bicuculline infusion into MRN had no effect on 5‐HT. This suggests that endogenous GABA had a tonic, GABAA receptor‐mediated inhibitory effect on 5‐HT in DRN, but not in MRN. 4 Infusion of the GABAB receptor agonist baclofen into DRN produced a decrease in DRN 5‐HT. Baclofen infusion into nucleus accumbens resulted in decreased nucleus accumbens 5‐HT. This suggests that GABAB receptors are present in the area of cell bodies and terminals of 5‐hydroxytryptaminergic neurones. 5 Infusion of the GABAB receptor antagonists phaclofen and 2‐hydroxysaclofen had no effect on midbrain raphe and forebrain 5‐HT. This suggests that GABAB receptors did not contribute to tonic inhibition of 5‐HT release. 6 In conclusion, 5‐HT release is physiologically regulated by distinct subtypes of GABA receptors in presynaptic and postsynaptic sites.
Phytophotodermatitis due to the application of Citrus hystrix as a folk remedy

We report a case of extensive phytophotodermatitis in a hiker. This was caused by the application of the juice of a member of the Rutaceae family, Citrus hystrix, as a folk remedy to ward off biting insects. Besides the Rutaceae, plants belonging to the families Umbelliferae, Moraceae and Leguminosae also contain psoralens and can cause phytophotodermatitis. In temperate countries, cases are often seen among children playing outdoors during summer, when psoralens are most abundant in wild and garden plants.
Plasma copper and zinc levels in patients with malignant tumors of digestive organs. Clinical evaluation of the Cu/Zn ratio

The plasma copper level (PCL) and plasma zinc level (PZL) were determined in 126 patients: 54 had carcinomas of which 40 were carcinomas of the digestive organs, 37 had benign lesions, and 35 were without disease. The PCL increased and the PZL decreased significantly in the group with carcinoma of the digestive organs. The Cu/Zn ratio was not only significantly higher than in the normal group, but also was high in cases with advanced carcinoma especially when liver metastasis was present. Therefore, the Cu/Zn ratio may be valuable in estimating the extent of the carcinoma as well as in determining the prognosis of the cancer patients.
Diagnosis and treatment of chronic arterial insufficiency of the lower extremities: a critical review.

Atherosclerosis is the most common cause of chronic arterial occlusive disease of the lower extremities. The arterial narrowing or obstruction that occurs as a result of the atherosclerotic process reduces blood flow to the lower limb during exercise or at rest. A spectrum of symptoms results, the severity of which depends on the extent of the involvement and the available collateral circulation. Thus, symptoms may range from intermittent claudication to pain at rest. Intermittent claudication denotes pain that develops in the affected limb with exercise and is relieved with rest. This pain usually occurs distal to the arterial narrowing or obstruction. Since the superficial femoral and popliteal arteries are the vessels most commonly affected by the atherosclerotic process, the pain of intermittent claudication is most often localized to the calf. The distal aorta and its bifurcation into the two iliac arteries are the next most frequent sites of involvement. Narrowing of these arteries may produce pain in the buttocks or the thighs as well as the legs. Epidemiological studies indicate that up to 5% of men and 2.5% of women 60 years of age or older have symptoms of intermittent claudication.1 2 The prevalence is at least threefold higher when sensitive noninvasive tests are used to make the diagnosis of arterial insufficiency in asymptomatic and symptomatic individuals.3 The symptoms of chronic arterial insufficiency of the lower extremities progress rather slowly over time. Thus, after 5 to 10 years, more than 70% of patients report either no change or improvement in their symptoms, while 20% to 30% have progressive symptoms and require intervention, and less than 10% need amputation.4 5 Despite the relatively benign prognosis for the affected limb, however, symptoms of intermittent claudication should be viewed as a sign of systemic atherosclerosis. This explains why, compared with …
Bayesian Classification and Non‐Bayesian Label Estimation via EM Algorithm to Identify Differentially Expressed Genes: a Comparative Study

Gene classification problem is studied considering the ratio of gene expression levels, X, in two‐channel microarrays and a non‐observed categorical variable indicating how differentially expressed the gene is: non differentially expressed, down‐regulated or up‐regulated. Supposing X from a mixture of Gamma distributions, two methods are proposed and results are compared. The first method is based on an hierarchical Bayesian model. The conditional predictive probability of a gene to belong to each group is calculated and the gene is assigned to the group for which this conditional probability is higher. The second method uses EM algorithm to estimate the most likely group label for each gene, that is, to assign the gene to the group which contains it with the higher estimated probability. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Adenosine Triphosphate‐Competitive mTOR Inhibitors: A New Class of Immunosuppressive Agents That Inhibit Allograft Rejection

The mechanistic/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is inhibited clinically to suppress T cell function and prevent allograft rejection. mTOR is the kinase subunit of two mTOR‐containing complexes, mTOR complex (mTORC) 1 and 2. Although mTORC1 is inhibited by the macrolide immunosuppressant rapamycin (RAPA), its efficacy may be limited by its inability to block mTORC1 completely and its limited effect on mTORC2. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP)‐competitive mTOR inhibitors are an emerging class of mTOR inhibitors that compete with ATP at the mTOR active site and inhibit any mTOR‐containing complex. Since this class of compounds has not been investigated for their immunosuppressive potential, our goal was to determine the influence of a prototypic ATP‐competitive mTOR inhibitor on allograft survival. AZD8055 proved to be a potent suppressor of T cell proliferation. Moreover, a short, 10‐day course of the agent successfully prolonged murine MHC‐mismatched, vascularized heart transplant survival. This therapeutic effect was associated with increased graft‐infiltrating regulatory T cells and reduced CD4+ and CD8+ T cell interferon‐γ production. These studies establish for the first time, that ATP‐competitive mTOR inhibition can prolong organ allograft survival and warrant further investigation of this next generation mTOR inhibitors.
Male Facial Anthropometry and Attractiveness

The symmetry and masculinity of the face are often considered important elements of male facial attractiveness. However, facial preferences are rarely studied on natural faces. We studied the effect of these traits and facial metric parameters on facial attractiveness in Spanish and Colombian raters. In total, 13 metric and 11 asymmetry parameters from natural, unmanipulated frontal face photographs of 50 Spanish men were measured with the USIA semiautomatic anthropometric software. All raters (women and men) were asked to rank these images as potential long-term partners for females. In both sexes, facial attractiveness was negatively associated with facial masculinity, and preference was not associated with facial symmetry. In Spanish raters, both sexes preferred male traits that were larger in the right side of the face, which may reflect a human tendency to prefer a certain degree of facial asymmetry. We did not find such preference in Colombian raters, but they did show stronger preference for facial femininity than Spanish raters. Present results suggest that facial relative femininity, which is expected to signal, eg good parenting and cooperation skills, may be an important signal of mate quality when females seek long-term partners. Facial symmetry appears unimportant in such long-term mating preferences.
Partial Inhibition of Brain Succinate Dehydrogenase by 3‐Nitropropionic Acid Is Sufficient to Initiate Striatal Degeneration in Rat

Abstract: Chronic inhibition of succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) by systemic injection of the selective inhibitor 3‐nitropropionic acid (3NP) has been used as an animal model for Huntington's disease (HD). However, the mechanisms by which 3NP produces lesions in the striatum are not fully characterized. A quantitative histochemical method was developed to study the level of regional SDH inhibition resulting from intraperitoneal injection of 3NP or chronic intoxication using osmotic pumps. The results showed that (a) 3NP was an irreversible SDH inhibitor in vivo, (b) the level of SDH inhibition in the striatum (the brain region most vulnerable to 3NP) was similar to that observed in other brain regions not affected by the toxin, such as the cerebral cortex, and (c) the neurotoxic threshold of SDH inhibition in the brain was 50–60% of control levels. The present study demonstrates that the selective degeneration in the striatum observed after chronic 3NP administration cannot be ascribed to a preferential inhibition of SDH in this particular brain region. This work also suggests that the partial decrease in the activity of the respiratory chain complex II–III reported in HD patients may be sufficient to induce the selective striatal degeneration observed in this disorder.
A new diagnostic instrument to detect generalized roughness in rolling bearings for induction motors

In this paper the external stray flux around a motor has been investigated as a possible new diagnostic instrument to detect generalized roughness. This very common bearing fault has been slightly considered in the literature so far. Stray flux was measured by two probes, one commercially available and one realized in laboratory; the diagnostic content of both signals has been compared also with the measurement of the stator current. The experimental tests have been carried out on an induction motor by substituting one of its bearings with an artificially damaged one, according to three steps of progressive wear. The three measured variables have been analyzed in the frequency domain, by evaluating in particular the characteristic frequencies of the single-point bearing defects. The diagnostic content of the stray flux has been discovered as definitely higher with respect to the stator current and therefore its use to detect generalized roughness is promising.
Enhancement of erase speed using silicide drain in nanowire SONOS NAND flash memory

Since recent mobile electronic devices have started to adopt NAND flash memory as their main data storage device, the demand for low cost and high density NAND flash memory has been rapidly increasing. As a promising candidate, nanowire SONOS NAND flash memory array has been introduced and reported for highly scalable device structure [1], [2], [3]. However, since it is hard to bias floating body of memory cells, a reliable erase operation is not easy for nanowire NAND flash memory technology. So, a method which uses the hole current generated by GIDL near the select gate has been proposed for erase operation of this structure [4]. In this paper, we propose a new method for significantly enhancing the erase speed of nanowire SONOS NAND flash memory through the use of silicide drain.
Bayesian digital terrain model reconstruction on Virtex-II FPGA

A digital terrain model (DTM) is a 3D discrete representation of the Earth's terrain or topography. A fully Bayesian approach to DTM reconstruction (or elevation field estimation) is developed using the general projection equations frequently encountered in photogrammetry. The hardware implementation of the Bayesian DTM reconstruction algorithm is investigated due to its high computational demand. Here, we describe the implementation on a hybrid processor-FPGA system to improve on the processing performance of the DTM reconstruction.