Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The scapular osteofasciocutaneous flap: a 12-year experience.

OBJECTIVE To elucidate the factors that play a role in the decision-making process to use the scapular donor site, we have reviewed our 15-year experience with 57 clinical cases, to our knowledge the largest case series to date. DESIGN Retrospective, single-surgeon medical record review. PATIENTS AND METHODS Retrospective review of 57 consecutive cases (53 patients) involving mandibular and maxillary reconstruction using bone-containing scapular free flaps over a 15-year period. Composite flap composition as well as donor and recipient site complications were recorded. RESULTS Forty-one reconstructions were performed for mandibular defects, 11 were performed for maxillary defects, and 5 for combined defects involving the mandible and maxilla. Seven flaps were composed of 2 separate bone flaps using the angular branch and the circumflex scapular artery. A total of 6 flaps were failures in 5 patients, giving an overall success rate of 89%. CONCLUSIONS The subscapular system of flaps is a versatile donor site that offers distinct advantages in the older patient population as well as in patients with a preexisting gait disturbance. It is particularly advantageous in patients requiring a large surface area of soft tissue to restore their defect.
DNA single‐strand break repair is impaired in aprataxin‐related ataxia

Early‐onset ataxia with ocular motor apraxia and hypoalbuminemia (EAOH)/ataxia with oculomotor apraxia type 1 (AOA1) is an autosomal recessive form of cerebellar ataxia. The causative protein for EAOH/AOA1, aprataxin (APTX), interacts with X‐ray repair cross‐complementing 1 (XRCC1), a scaffold DNA repair protein for single‐strand breaks (SSBs). The goal of this study was to prove the functional involvement of APTX in SSB repair (SSBR).
Low diastolic blood pressure and atherosclerosis in elderly subjects. The Rotterdam study.

BACKGROUND A low diastolic blood pressure has been associated with increased cardiovascular risk. The following proposed mechanisms underlie this phenomenon: a low diastolic pressure that compromises coronary blood flow, a low diastolic pressure that is due to deteriorating health, and a low diastolic pressure that is a consequence of stiffening of the large arteries. Atherosclerosis may be the link between stiffening of the arteries, a low diastolic pressure, and an increased cardiovascular risk. OBJECTIVE To study whether a low diastolic blood pressure in older subjects is a reflection of atherosclerosis. METHODS The Rotterdam (the Netherlands) Study is a population-based follow-up study of 7983 subjects (age, > or = 55 years) who are living in the suburb of Ommoord of Rotterdam. Baseline measurements included ultrasonographic evaluation of the carotid arteries, measurement of blood pressure, and determination of other cardiovascular risk factors. The main cross-sectional analyses were performed among 930 subjects who currently were not using blood pressure-lowering drugs. RESULTS A J-shaped association of the intima-media thickness of the common carotid artery with diastolic blood pressure was found with a nadir from 60 to 69 mm Hg. The intima-media thickness was increased in subjects with a diastolic pressure that was less than 60 mm Hg compared with that in subjects with a diastolic pressure that was between 60 and 69 mm Hg (a difference of 0.033 mm [95% confidence limits; 0.001, 0.065]). Beyond a diastolic pressure of 70 mm Hg, a gradual increase in the intima-media thickness was observed. The association was most pronounced among subjects with relatively high pulse pressures. CONCLUSIONS Results of the present study indicate the existence of a J-shaped association between carotid atherosclerosis and diastolic pressure. These findings support the hypothesis that in elderly subjects, a low diastolic pressure may be a reflection of widespread atherosclerosis.
Kobe University Repository : Kernel タイトル Tit le Small-parallel exemplar-based voice conversion in noisy environments using affine non-negat ive matrix

The need to have a large amount of parallel data is a large hurdle for the practical use of voice conversion (VC). This paper presents a novel framework of exemplar-based VC that only requires a small number of parallel exemplars. In our previous work, a VC technique using non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) for noisy environments was proposed. This method requires parallel exemplars (which consist of the source exemplars and target exemplars that have the same texts uttered by the source and target speakers) for dictionary construction. In the framework of conventional Gaussian mixture model (GMM)-based VC, some approaches that do not need parallel exemplars have been proposed. However, in the framework of exemplar-based VC for noisy environments, such a method has never been proposed. In this paper, an adaptation matrix in an NMF framework is introduced to adapt the source dictionary to the target dictionary. This adaptation matrix is estimated using only a small parallel speech corpus. We refer to this method as affine NMF, and the effectiveness of this method has been confirmed by comparing its effectiveness with that of a conventional NMF-based method and a GMM-based method in noisy environments.
Exposure to Smoking Imagery in the Movies and Experimenting with Cigarettes among Mexican Heritage Youth

There is growing evidence that an adolescent's decision to try cigarettes is influenced by level of exposure to movies in which smoking is portrayed. Less is known about how ethnicity affects this process. We examined whether acculturation and/or country of birth influence the relationship between exposure to smoking imagery in the movies and experimenting with cigarettes among Mexican origin youth. We prospectively followed 1,328 Mexican origin adolescents ages 11 to 13 years at baseline. We assessed which of 50 movies (randomly selected from a pool of 250 popular contemporary movies released from 1999 to 2004 and content analyzed for smoking) adolescents had seen. Smoking behavior was assessed at baseline and at 6-month intervals over 24 months. Ten percent of the adolescents had experimented at baseline; 17% tried subsequently. Multivariate analyses revealed, as exposure to smoking imagery in the movies increased, the chances of having ever experimented [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.27; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.10-1.48] and of being a new experimenter (AOR = 1.19; 95% CI, 1.01-1.40) increased, equivalent to a 4.2% increased risk of ever and a 3.0% increased risk of new experimenting for each additional quartile of movie exposure. This effect was moderated by country of birth. For Mexican-born youth, exposure to smoking imagery in the movies was the strongest independent predictor of new experimentation (AOR = 1.52; 95% CI, 1.14-2.05). For U.S.-born youth, we observed a ceiling effect: the percent of experimenters increased with increasing exposure, and then flattened. Among Mexican-born youth, exposure to smoking imagery in the movies may be an important part of the acculturation process associated with smoking initiation. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2009;18(12):3435–43)
Mouse Barrel Cortex Functionally Compensates for Deprivation Produced by Neonatal Lesion of Whisker Follicles

In the murine somatosensory pathway, the metabolic whisker map in barrel cortex derived with the autoradiographic deoxyglucose method is spatially in register with the morphological whisker map represented by the barrels. The barrel cortex of adult mice, in which we had removed three whisker follicles from the middle row of whiskers shortly after birth, contained a disorganized zone surrounded by enlarged barrels with partially disrupted borders. With the fully quantitative autoradiographic deoxyglucose method, we investigated in barrel cortex of such mice the magnitude and the pattern of metabolic responses evoked by the deflection of whiskers. Most remarkably, the simultaneous deflection of six whiskers neighbouring the lesion activated not only the territory of the corresponding barrels, but also the unspecifiable area intercalated between the clearly identified barrels. This metabolic whisker map, unpredictable from the morphological ‘barrel’ map, may reflect a functional compensation for the deficit in input.
Does Performance Matter? Evaluating Political Selection Along the Chinese Administrative Ladder

Political selection is central to the survival of all regimes. This article evaluates the relative importance of performance and political connection for the advancement of local politicians under authoritarianism. We hypothesize that in a large-scale multilevel polity, economic performance plays a greater role in promotion at lower administrative levels of government than at higher ones, even after controlling for political connections. This dualist strategy allows the ruling elites to achieve economic performance while minimizing the advancement of potentially disloyal challengers. Thus, balancing between loyalty and competence among subordinates enhances regime survival. Our empirical evidence draws on a comprehensive panel dataset of provincial, prefectural, and county-level Communist party secretaries and government executives appointed between 1999 and 2007. We find consistent evidence for our argument under various model specifications. We also explore the heterogeneous effects of performance on promotion given the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) age ineligibility rule for cadre promotion and jurisdiction characteristics.
Mobile information systems for the private everyday life

Despite the high penetration of the private sector in mobile devices, only few applications and services based on mobile technologies are used, and those are rather trivial. This article suggests an approach for the identification of alternatives for the support of processes of everyday life by establishing services based on mobile applications, mobile devices and infrastructures for mobile dispositions. Therefore, a framework for the identification, as well as criteria for the analysis of potential fields of application is discussed. Exemplary benchmarks for selected basic processes in private everyday life visualise the suggested framework, which can be adapted for individual methodical analyses.
Colouring the Gaps in Learning Design: Aesthetics and the Visual in Learning

The visual is a dominant mode of information retrieval and understanding however, the focus on the visual dimension of Technology Enhanced Learning TEL is still quite weak in relation to its predominant focus on usability. To accommodate the future needs of the visual learner, designers of e-learning environments should advance the current attention on usability and functionality to include aesthetics, the visual and the affective. The challenge lies in finding a way to fully address the needs of the visual learner. This paper explores the role of visual aesthetics in improving engagement in online learning.
Semantic 3D Model Retrieval Based on Semantic Tree and Shape Feature

3D model retrieval emerges as an important part of multimedia information retrieval. Current researches in 3D model retrieval concentrate on the shape-based way. However, its performance isn’t satisfying because of the semantic gap. The paper explores the semantic-based 3D model retrieval method based on semantic tree and the hybrid method based on content and semantic. First, the semantic tree is adopted to illustrate models’ semantic relationship and the accurate semantic of each tree node is described with several keywords. The semantic tree of all 1814 models of the Princeton Shape Benchmark is constructed. Second, the paper realizes the semantic retrieval based on the semantic tree which facilitates user’s feedback. Third, the hybrid retrieval process integrating semantic and content is proposed. The content similarity is computed by adopting the combined shape feature. The experiments conduct on Princeton Shape Benchmark shows the effectiveness of our method.
Manöverübergreifende autonome Fahrzeugführung in innerstädtischen Szenarien am Beispiel des Stadtpilotprojekts

In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird ein System zur manoverubergreifenden autonomen Fahrzeugfuhrung in realer stadtischer Umgebung vorgestellt, das auf der praktischen Erfahrung aus der Teilnahme an der DARPA Urban Challenge beruht und im Projekt Stadtpilot weiter vertieft wurde. Die Analyse englisch- und deutschsprachiger Veroffentlichungen hat gezeigt, dass sich die autonome Fahrzeugfuhrung bisher vorrangig auf ausgewahlte Szenarien wie autobahnahnliche Umgebungen oder Gelandefahrten und auf selektierte Fahrmanover beschrankt hat. Das Verhalten der Fahrzeuge ergibt sich dabei meist durch eine Aneinanderreihung unterschiedlicher Fahrmanover. Die Umgebungsbedingungen des Braunschweiger Stadtrings sind hingegen fur ein ausschlieslich manoverbasiertes autonomes Fahren aufgrund der hohen Anzahl an gefahrenen Fahrmanovern pro Streckenlange sowie der grosen Menge an verschiedenen Situationsvarianten sehr vielfaltig. Ziel ist daher eine manoverubergreifende Optimierung aufeinanderfolgender Fahrmanover sowie eine Kombination unterschiedlicher Konzepte zur Entscheidungsfindung. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wurde dafur ein System zur Umsetzung von Fahrentscheidungen etabliert, das manoverubergreifend und unabhangig vom gewahlten Verfahren zur Entscheidungsfindung Trajektorien in Bezug auf Krummung und Krummungsanderung optimiert. Die resultierenden Trajektorien minimieren im Vergleich zu klassischen Verfahren die Lenkaktivitat und die Querbeschleunigung bei autonomen Fahrten. Die entwickelten Ansatze wurden mit den Versuchsfahrzeugen Caroline in der DARPA Urban Challenge und mit Leonie auf dem Braunschweiger Stadtring erfolgreich getestet. In einer Weltpremiere wurde Leonie im Oktober 2010 der Offentlichkeit vorgestellt und befuhr ein Teilstuck des Braunschweiger Stadtrings mehrfach autonom im alltaglichen Strasenverkehr. Das in dieser Arbeit vorgestellte System zur manoverubergreifenden autonomen Fahrzeugfuhrung hat dazu einen entscheidenden Beitrag geleistet.
Antimicrobial activity of selected plants employed in the Spanish mediterranean area. Part II

The antimicrobial properties of 59 plants used in folk medicine to treat general infectious diseases were studied. The in vitro antimicrobial activity of chloroform and methanol plant extracts were assayed using the agar‐streak method and 38 of them showed activity against some of the microorganisms tested. Bioautography established the probable active compounds. Inhibition bands were identified as containing terpenoids and polyphenolic compounds.
Reduced immunopathology and mortality despite tissue persistence in a Mycobacterium tuberculosis mutant lacking alternative σ factor, SigH

The pathogenesis of tuberculosis involves multiple phases and is believed to involve both a carefully deployed series of adaptive bacterial virulence factors and inappropriate host immune responses that lead to tissue damage. A defined Mycobacterium tuberculosis mutant strain lacking the sigH-encoded transcription factor showed a distinctive infection phenotype. In resistant C57BL/6 mice, the mutant achieved high bacterial counts in lung and spleen that persisted in tissues in a pattern identical to those of wild-type bacteria. Despite a high bacterial burden, the mutant produced a blunted, delayed pulmonary inflammatory response, and recruited fewer CD4+ and CD8+ T cells to the lung in the early stages of infection. In susceptible C3H mice, the mutant again showed diminished immunopathology and was nonlethal at over 170 days after intravenous infection, in contrast to isogenic wild-type bacilli, which killed with a median time to death of 52 days. Complete genomic microarray analysis revealed that M. tuberculosis sigH may mediate the transcription of at least 31 genes directly and that it modulates the expression of about 150 others; the SigH regulon governs thioredoxin recycling and may be involved in the maintenance of intrabacterial reducing capacity. These data show that the M. tuberculosis sigH gene is dispensable for bacterial growth and survival within the host, but is required for the production of immunopathology and lethality. This phenotype demonstrates that beyond an ability to grow and persist within the host, M. tuberculosis has distinct virulence mechanisms that elicit deleterious host responses and progressive pulmonary disease.
Matrix-Product Constructions for Hermitian Self-Orthogonal Codes

Self-orthogonal codes have been of interest due to there rich algebraic structures and wide applications. Euclidean self-orthogonal codes have been quite well studied in literature. Here, we have focused on Hermitian self-orthogonal codes. Constructions of such codes have been given based on the well-known matrix-product construction for linear codes. Criterion for the underlying matrix and the input codes required in such constructions have been determined. In many cases, the Hermitian self-orthogonality of the input codes and the assumption that the underlying matrix is unitary can be relaxed. Some special matrices used in the constructions and illustrative examples of good Hermitian self-orthogonal codes have been provided as well.
Effects of Leptin on Fetal Plasma Adrenocorticotropic Hormone and Cortisol Concentrations and the Timing of Parturition in the Sheep1

Abstract We investigated whether leptin can suppress the prepartum activation of the fetal hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and delay the timing of parturition in the sheep. First, we investigated the effects of a 4-day intravascular infusion of recombinant ovine leptin (n = 7) or saline (n = 6) on fetal plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol concentrations, starting from 136 days gestation (i.e., at the onset of the prepartum activation of the fetal HPA axis. The effects of a continuous intrafetal infusion of leptin (n = 7) or saline (n = 5) from 144 days gestation on fetal plasma ACTH and cortisol concentrations and the timing of delivery were also determined in a separate study. There was an increase in fetal plasma ACTH (P < 0.01) and cortisol (P < 0.001) concentrations when saline was infused between 136–137 and 140–141 days gestation. Plasma ACTH and cortisol concentrations did not rise, however, when leptin was infused during this period of gestation. When leptin was infused after 144 days gestation, there was no effect of a 4- to 5-fold increase in circulating leptin on fetal ACTH concentrations. In contrast, leptin infusion from 144 days gestation suppressed (P < 0.05) fetal plasma cortisol concentrations by around 40% between 90 and 42 h before delivery. There was no difference, however, in the length of gestation between the saline- and leptin-infused groups (saline infused, 150.2 ± 0.5 days; leptin infused, 149.8 ± 1.0 days). In saline-infused fetuses, there was a significant negative relationship between the plasma concentrations of cortisol (y) and leptin (x) between 138 and 146 days gestation (y = 81.4 − 7.7x, r = 0.38, P < 0.005). This study provides evidence for an endocrine negative feedback loop between leptin and the HPA axis in fetal life.
Polar Localization of Replicon Origins in the Multipartite Genomes of Agrobacterium tumefaciens and Sinorhizobium meliloti

ABSTRACT The origins of replication of many different bacteria have been shown to reside at specific subcellular locations, but the mechanisms underlying their positioning and segregation are still being elucidated. In particular, little is known about the replication of multipartite genomes in bacteria. We determined the cellular positions of the origins of the replicons in the alpha proteobacteria Agrobacterium tumefaciens and Sinorhizobium meliloti and found that they are located at the poles of the cells. Our work demonstrates the conserved extreme polar localization of circular chromosome origins in these alpha proteobacteria and is also the first to specify the cellular location of origin regions from the repABC family. The cellular location of a derivative of the RK2 plasmid is distinct from that of the alpha proteobacterium genomic replicon origins but is conserved across bacteria. Colocalization experiments with the genomic replicons of A. tumefaciens revealed that the repABC replicons, although preferentially positioned at the cell pole, colocalize only rarely. For the repABC replicons in this organism, occupying discrete spatial locations may contribute to their coexistence and stable inheritance.
On Linear Algebraic Techniques for Liveness Analysis of P/T Systems

Liveness is a basic property that in many discrete event dynamic systems is considered essential for their correct behavior. It expresses that no action (transition in P/T models) will ever become unattainable. A polynomial time necessary condition for the existence of a live and bounded marking of a P/T net is given. This condition is shown to be also sufficient for some subclasses. The applicability of these results is extended by the use of transformation techniques that allow for their exploitation in the analysis of more general nets. Some results for the structural analysis of actual liveness are also overviewed, in particular, sufficient conditions for deadlock-freeness and absence of dead transitions.
Comparisons of somatic action potentials from dispersed and intact rat nodose ganglia using patch-clamp technique.

AIM To differentiate the electrophysiological characteristics of somatic action potentials (AP) from isolated Neo and Juv nodose sensory neurons (NSN) and those from slices of intact Juv and adult rat nodose ganglia. METHODS For isolated cell recordings nodose ganglia from 3-8 d old Neo and 4 weeks old Juv rats were dissociated using trypsin and collagenase, respectively. Nodose ganglia slices with attached vagus were prepared using a sequential treatment of collagenase and trypsin for both Juv and adult rats. Conduction velocity (CV) was collected by vagal stimulation. Whole-cell patch was applied for somatic AP recordings. RESULTS (1) 281 NSN from both isolated cells and nodose slices were studied. Across all age groups, there was no difference observed among either C- or A-types. The difference between C- and A-type was significant. (2) Neurons exhibiting AP with prominent repolarization hump, broader APD50 (>2.0 ms), upstroke velocity at the point of APD50 (UV(APD50)) and downstroke velocity at the point of APD50 (DV(APD50)) below 100 V . s-1 and 50 V . s-1 were classified as C-type (n = 222). Those without a hump, brief APD50 (<1.0 ms), and UV(APD50) and DV(APD50) greater than 200 V . s-1 and 100 V . s-1 were classified as A-type (n = 59). (3) With slices, except for hump, APD, UV, and DV, significant differences were also observed (C- vs A-type) in CV from both Juv (0.56 +/- 0.15 vs 15.6 m.s-1) and adult (0.9 +/- 0.4 vs 14.5 +/- 1.0 m . s-1) nodose slices, discharge rate (single or burst vs repetitive), and frequency follow (<20 Hz vs >100 Hz). (4) Phase analysis showed that C-type had higher AP firing threshold, and lower total in- and outward peak currents than A-type. CONCLUSION C- and A-type AP from isolated NSN of Neo or Juv rats exhibited electrophysiological characteristics that closely followed those of AP recorded in nodose slices. Therefore, isolated NSN can effectively serve as an experimental surrogate for electrophysiological studies of NSN requiring prior identification of afferent fiber type. Features of the AP wave-form such as the repolarization hump, APD50), and UV are strongly correlated with CV and are therefore reliable measures for classifying isolated NSN as either C- or A-type. It is most important that the nodose slice enables us to study the AP and ion channel characteristics on identified NSN by afferent fiber CV with adult animals.