Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Thermal Modeling of Brushless DC Motor and Brake Solenoid in Electro-Mechanical Actuators for the More Electric Aircraft Engine

This paper describes the thermal modeling of a brushless dc motor and brake solenoid for electro-mechanical actuators developed for a prototype more electric aircraft engine. Lumped-parameter thermal circuits were modeled using a commercial package for the motor. An in-house tool was used to model the transient behavior of the solenoid, which was solved using the SimPowerSystems toolbox of Simulinkreg. The models were verified with experiments using constant dc current. Temperature rise and fall look-up tables were generated from the analysis and were used for dynamic simulation of the actuator system. A dynamic electro-mechanical model of the actuator system was implemented which calculates current waveforms for given operating conditions. Dynamic coil temperatures were calculated from the current waveforms and the look-up tables. This combined method provides a useful modeling tool to simulate the thermal and electro-mechanical characteristics of the actuator.
Cns1 Is an Activator of the Ssa1 ATPase Activity*

Hsp90 is a key mediator in the folding process of a growing number of client proteins. The molecular chaperone cooperates with many co-chaperones and partner proteins to fulfill its task. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, several co-chaperones of Hsp90 interact with Hsp90 via a tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR) domain. Here we show that one of these proteins, Cns1, binds both to Hsp90 and to the yeast Hsp70 protein Ssa1 with comparable affinities. This is reminiscent of Sti1, another TPR-containing co-chaperone. Unlike Sti1, Cns1 exhibits no influence on the ATPase of Hsp90. However, it activates the ATPase of Ssa1 up to 30-fold by accelerating the rate-limiting ATP hydrolysis step. This stimulating effect is mediated by the N-terminal TPR-containing part of Cns1, whereas the C-terminal part showed no effect. Competition experiments allow the conclusion that Hsp90 and Ssa1 compete for binding to the single TPR domain of Cns1. Taken together, Cns1 is a potent cochaperone of Ssa1. Our findings highlight the importance of the regulation of Hsp70 function in the context of the Hsp90 chaperone cycle.
Mobile Crowd Sensing-based noise monitoring as a way to improve learning quality on acoustics

The astonishing and continuously growing diffusion of mobile devices, especially amongst youngsters, represents a promising opportunity to improve learning quality in scientific disciplines for both high-school and university students. Mobile embedded sensors allows the development of complete and large-scale environmental monitoring solutions, according to the Mobile Crowd-Sensing (MCS) paradigm. In this research work, we present a MCS-based platform to engage students more effectively in learning acoustics and noise monitoring topics. The proposed system can be used for including experiential activities in didactic coursework on acoustics, as well as for performing fast and inexpensive preliminary monitoring campaigns to assess noise pollution levels. Actual research outcomes show how this approach offers students the possibilities for learning how to use sound level meters and how to perform measurements correctly.
Human DNA repair systems: An overview

DNA repair systems act to maintain genome integrity in the face of replication errors, environmental insults, and the cumulative effects of age. More than 70 human genes directly involved in the five major pathways of DNA repair have been described, including chromosomal location and cDNA sequence. However, a great deal of information as to the precise functions of these genes and their role in human health is still lacking. Hence, we summarize what is known about these genes and their contra part in bacterial, yeast, and rodent systems and discuss their involvement in human disease. While some associations are already well understood, it is clear that additional diseases will be found which are linked to DNA repair defects or deficiencies. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 33:3–20, 1999 © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Retinal branch artery occlusion following injection of hyaluronic acid (Restylane)

The authors report a retinal branch artery occlusion occurring after facial injection of a dermal filler. The superior temporal artery showed occlusion due to a clearly visible long and fragmented embolus suggestive of gel and clearly distinguishable from calcific or cholesterol emboli. The authors suppose that hyaluronic acid gel was embolized in the patient. The embolized material is supposed to enter the ocular circulation through retrograde arteriolar flow after intra‐arterial injection into one of the peripheral branches of the ophthalmic artery. If there is any evidence of a visual problem after facial injection of a dermal filler, prompt consultation of an ophthalmologist is recommended.
The classification of secondary colorectal liver cancer in human biopsy samples using angular dispersive x-ray diffraction and multivariate analysis

The motivation behind this study is to assess whether angular dispersive x-ray diffraction (ADXRD) data, processed using multivariate analysis techniques, can be used for classifying secondary colorectal liver cancer tissue and normal surrounding liver tissue in human liver biopsy samples. The ADXRD profiles from a total of 60 samples of normal liver tissue and colorectal liver metastases were measured using a synchrotron radiation source. The data were analysed for 56 samples using nonlinear peak-fitting software. Four peaks were fitted to all of the ADXRD profiles, and the amplitude, area, amplitude and area ratios for three of the four peaks were calculated and used for the statistical and multivariate analysis. The statistical analysis showed that there are significant differences between all the peak-fitting parameters and ratios between the normal and the diseased tissue groups. The technique of soft independent modelling of class analogy (SIMCA) was used to classify normal liver tissue and colorectal liver metastases resulting in 67% of the normal tissue samples and 60% of the secondary colorectal liver tissue samples being classified correctly. This study has shown that the ADXRD data of normal and secondary colorectal liver cancer are statistically different and x-ray diffraction data analysed using multivariate analysis have the potential to be used as a method of tissue classification.
Binocular-Combination-Oriented Perceptual Rate-Distortion Optimization for Stereoscopic Video Coding

In the chain of stereoscopic video processing, stereoscopic video coding and viewing are usually two independent stages. Conventional stereoscopic video coding puts an emphasis on improving the coding efficiency by seeking the optimal tradeoff between the coding bit rate and the signal-based distortion, while neglecting the perceptual behaviors of binocular combination when stereoscopic video is viewed by human beings. In this paper, we propose to utilize binocular combination to optimize the stereoscopic video coding from the perspective of perceptual quality measurement. Specifically, we propose a novel binocular-combination-oriented measurement for visual distortion and then derive the Lagrange multiplier for the binocular-combination-oriented rate-distortion optimization (RDO). Via extensive subjective tests, the results show that the proposed perceptual RDO can save more than 5% BD rate over the traditional RDO in multiview extension of High Efficiency Video Coding for stereoscopic video coding.
Aflibercept for exudative AMD with persistent fluid on ranibizumab and/or bevacizumab

Objective To investigate the effect of aflibercept 2.0 mg in cases resistant to ranibizumab 0.5 mg and/or bevacizumab 1.25 mg treatment. Purpose To evaluate the anatomic and visual effect of intravitreal aflibercept 2.0 mg in cases of exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD) with persistent fluid on optical coherence tomography (OCT) despite regular ranibizumab 0.5 mg and/or bevacizumab 1.25 mg treatment at 1 and 6 months. Methods Retrospective review at Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, USA of exudative AMD cases with persistent fluid on regular ranibizumab 0.5 mg and/or bevacizumab 1.25 mg treatment switched to intravitreal aflibercept 2.0 mg treatment and followed for 6 months. Tabulated data included details of prior treatments, best available visual acuity, central subfoveal thickness on registered spectral domain OCT before and after aflibercept injection centred on the anatomic fovea and macular description before and after aflibercept injection. Results A total of 353 eyes with exudative AMD were switched to aflibercept during the study period. Of these, 28 eyes in 28 patients had persistent fluid after an average of 20 regular ranibizumab/bevacizumab injections (range 7–37). At 1 month, 89% (25 eyes) showed anatomic improvement and 18% (five eyes) were dry after a single aflibercept injection. Central subfoveal thickness improved from 295 to 272 microns (p<0.001) after one aflibercept injection. After an average of 4.4 aflibercept injections (range 3–6) over 6 months, the central subfoveal thickness remained improved (274 microns, p=0.008); 64% (18 eyes) showed anatomic improvement and a quarter of eyes (25%, seven eyes) were dry. Visual acuity did not improve at 1 month (logarithm of minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) 0.54, Snellen 20/69, p=0.64) or 6 months (logMAR 0.57, Snellen 20/76, p=0.49). Treatment was well tolerated with no adverse events reported. Conclusions A significant proportion of exudative AMD cases with persistent fluid on OCT despite regular ranibizumab 0.5 mg and/or bevacizumab 1.25 mg treatment respond anatomically to aflibercept 2.0 mg. Visual acuity did not improve. Aflibercept may be beneficial anatomically in cases of exudative AMD treated with persistent fluid on ranibizumab and/or bevacizumab.
[The memory clinic].

The aim of the Memory Clinic, in operation at Basel since 1986, is the early detection of dementing disorders in ambulatory elderly patients. Special emphasis is put on the differential diagnosis and detection of reversible mental disorders such as depression. Treatment comprises medical, psychological and social measures. For suitable patients, drug treatment with investigational compounds is offered. Memory training programs and therapeutic groups for patients with coexisting affective disorders as well as groups for relatives are held. By these means the Memory Clinic attempts to improve the situation of elderly patients with cognitive disturbances and to maintain them longer in the community. Experience with the first 180 patients is reported.
Role of Antiplatelet Therapy in Stroke Prevention in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation

Abstract Patients with atrial fibrillation are at increased risk of having a cardioembolic stroke. The use of oral anticoagulation is now well established to prevent strokes in patients with atrial fibrillation and a CHA2DS2-VASc (congestive heart failure, hypertension, age ≥75 years [2 points], diabetes mellitus, prior stroke/transient ischemic attack or thromboembolism [2 points], vascular disease, age 65 to 74 years, and sex category) score of greater than 1, beyond sex. However, the role of antiplatelet therapy, specifically aspirin in low-risk patients or as an alternative to oral anticoagulation, remains controversial. The most recent US guidelines conflict with the European guidelines, which do not recommend antiplatelet monotherapy for stroke prevention irrespective of stroke risk. The aim of this review is to summarize published studies that question the role of aspirin in preventing strokes associated with atrial fibrillation. Overall, aspirin is found to play a limited role in the prevention of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation and is associated with a similar risk of hemorrhagic events compared with anticoagulants. The benefit of dual antiplatelet therapy as an alternative to oral anticoagulation requires further study.
Communication about prostate cancer between men and their wives.

OBJECTIVES Metastatic prostate cancer is a serious disease that affects both men and their intimate partners. We explored the perceptions of men who have been treated for metastatic prostate cancer and the views of their wives regarding the changes that were caused by prostate cancer and its treatment. STUDY DESIGN We conducted retrospective focus group interviews with married men and separate focus groups with their wives. POPULATION Twenty married men (11 white and 9 African American) with an average age of 69 years (range=60-82 years) and 7 of the wives (5 white and 2 African American) participated in our study. Thirteen of the men were treated with orchiectomy, and 7 received monthly hormone ablation therapy. OUTCOMES MEASURED We compared the accounts of husbands and wives concerning the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer. RESULTS The participants' accounts indicate little spousal communication about the implications of prostate cancer on their lives. In particular, couples appear to talk little about their emotions, worries, and fears. CONCLUSIONS Although wives have a profound interest in their husbands' prostate cancer, actual communication about the disease, its treatment, and the feelings it evokes may be less than we believe. Noncommunication in marriages might indicate that these couples are at increased risk for poor adjustment to prostrate cancer.
Structural Characterization of a Flavonoid-Inducible Pseudomonas aeruginosa A-Band-Like O Antigen of Rhizobium sp. Strain NGR234, Required for the Formation of Nitrogen-Fixing Nodules

ABSTRACT Rhizobium (Sinorhizobium) sp. strain NGR234 contains three replicons, the smallest of which (pNGR234a) carries most symbiotic genes, including those required for nodulation and lipo-chito-oligosaccharide (Nod factor) biosynthesis. Activation of nod gene expression depends on plant-derived flavonoids, NodD transcriptional activators, and nod box promoter elements. Nod boxes NB6 and NB7 delimit six different types of genes, one of which (fixF) is essential for the formation of effective nodules on Vigna unguiculata. In vegetative culture, wild-type NGR234 produces a distinct, flavonoid-inducible lipopolysaccharide (LPS) that is not produced by the mutant (NGRΩfixF); this LPS is also found in nitrogen-fixing bacteroids isolated from V. unguiculata infected with NGR234. Electron microscopy showed that peribacteroid membrane formation is perturbed in nodule cells infected by the fixF mutant. LPSs were purified from free-living NGR234 cultured in the presence of apigenin. Structural analyses showed that the polysaccharide portions of these LPSs are specialized, rhamnose-containing O antigens attached to a modified core-lipid A carrier. The primary sequence of the O antigen is [-3)-α-l-Rhap-(1,3)-α-l-Rhap-(1,2)-α-l-Rhap-(1-]n, and the LPS core region lacks the acidic sugars commonly associated with the antigenic outer core of LPS from noninduced cells. This rhamnan O antigen, which is absent from noninduced cells, has the same primary sequence as the A-band O antigen of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, except that it is composed of l-rhamnose rather than the d-rhamnose characteristic of the latter. It is noteworthy that A-band LPS is selectively maintained on the P. aeruginosa cell surface during chronic cystic fibrosis lung infection, where it is associated with an increased duration of infection.
Use of rRNA fluorescence in situ hybridization for measuring the activity of single cells in young and established biofilms

We describe the in situ use of rRNA-targeted fluorescent hybridization probes in combination with digital microscopy to quantify the cellular content of ribosomes in relationship to the growth rate of single cells of a specific population of sulfate-reducing bacteria in multispecies anaerobic biofilms. Using this technique, we inferred that this population was growing with an average generation time of 35 h in a young biofilm, whereas the doubling time in an established biofilm was significantly longer. Conventional chemical determinations of the RNA, DNA, and protein contents of this culture at different growth rates were also carried out, and the resulting data were compared with the rRNA fluorescence in situ hybridization data.
Physical self-esteem and personality traits in Swedish physically inactive female high school students: an intervention study

Abstract Background: Physical activity provides fundamental health benefits and plays a positive role in physical well-being. The aim of this present study was to investigate whether a 6-month physical activity program could influence physical self-esteem and frequency of physical activity in physically inactive female high school students in short- and long-term periods and whether personality traits were related to physical activity behaviour and compliance with the program. Methods: The study was a cluster-randomised controlled intervention study including 104 physically inactive female high school students aged 16–19 years, 60 females in an intervention group and 44 females in a control group. The intervention group exercised at sport centres at least once per week during a 6-month period. Questionnaires were used for evaluation. Results: At a 6-month follow up, the intervention group improved physical self-perception in all subdomains and significantly improved physical condition, physical self-worth and self-related health compared to the control group. At 1-year follow up, 25 females out of 53 females were still physically active, and all ratings remained almost the same as at the 6-month follow up. There were no particular personality traits that were dominant in the groups. Conclusion: A 6-month physical activity program can positively influence physical self-esteem and the frequency of physical activity, both from a short- and long-term perspective.
The neurogenetics of remembering emotions past

Even if you have not waded through all seven volumes of Marcel Proust's Remembrance of Things Past (1), you are probably familiar with its most famous scene where the narrator bites into a little cake called a madeleine, dipped in tea, and experiences a wash of vivid emotional memories. This literary moment has captured popular imagination (madeleines are now sold by Starbucks) because it so effectively captures the powerful and involuntary nature of emotional memory. Indeed, Proust's novels developed a distinction between voluntary and involuntary memories: The former involve more of our own efforts, but it is the latter, often characterized by emotions, that form the narrative of our life stories. Regarding his own flood of emotional memories Proust asked, “Whence did it come? What did it signify? How could I seize upon and define it? ” Almost a century later, memory researchers are asking similar questions about what happens during an emotional event and its later retrieval. What leads us to recall such an event with effortless vividness long afterward? Further, why are some of us more likely to remember emotional memories with Proustian vividness than others or more likely to relive traumatic events? Echoing Proust's thesis that one's emotional memories are closer to the heart than to the mind, a study in this issue of PNAS by Rasch et al. (2) suggests that individual differences in the ADRA2B gene that codes the α2B adrenoreceptor, which plays an important role in vasoconstriction and blood pressure regulation, is also related to brain activation patterns underlying heightened emotional recall.
Strategic Alliance Between the Infectious Diseases Specialist and Intensive Care Unit Physician for Change in Antibiotic Use

Abstract There is a general consensus that antimicrobial use in intensive care units (ICU) is greater than that in general wards. By implementing a strategy of systematic infectious disease consultations in agreement with the ICU chief, we have modified the antibiotic prescription habits of the ICU physician. A reduction was observed in the use of selected antibiotics (third-generation cephalosporins, vancomycin, carbapenems and piperacillin-tazobactam), with a significant reduction in the length of hospital stay for ICU patients and lower antibiotic costs without negative impact on patient mortality. Leadership by the infectious diseases consultant in combination with commitment by ICU physicians is a simple and effective method to change antibiotic prescription habits in the ICU.
Support Persons’ Perceptions of Giving Vocational Rehabilitation Support to Clients With Acquired Brain Injury in Sweden

ABSTRACT The aim of this article is to explore the perception of being a support person for clients with acquired brain injury undergoing vocational rehabilitation. Nine support persons, identified by clients with brain injury, were interviewed. Interviews were analyzed using qualitative content analysis, resulting in 3 themes for assisting the client: commitment, adaptation, and cooperation. Within each theme, multiple dimensions were identified, reflecting the complexity of vocational rehabilitation following acquired brain injury. Commitment built on social relations is linked to sustainability of support. The included support persons’ role was especially valuable in contexts where adaptation and cooperation were required.
Age at natural menopause and sociodemographic status in Finland.

Differences in age at natural menopause by occupation, education, and place of residence were examined using a cross-sectional population sample of Finnish women aged 45-64 years (n = 1,713, response rate 86%). The sample was selected at random from the Finnish Population Register in 1989 (final n = 1,505, 75%). Kaplan-Meier estimates showed the median age at natural menopause to be 51 years for all women (95% confidence interval (CI) 50.6-51.4). The median menopausal age of smokers and nulliparous women was 50 years; that of nonsmokers and women whose first full-term pregnancy occurred before the age of 25 years was 52 years. Differences between occupational and educational groups were statistically significant (Mantel-Cox test for occupation, p < 0.02; for education, p < 0.03). In the Cox proportional hazards model, the odds ratio of the occurrence of natural menopause among upper white-collar women was 0.74 (95% CI 0.57-0.96) and among the most educated women (education > 11 years) it was 0.75 (95% CI 0.59-0.96), adjusted to reflect smoking, use of hormones, body mass index, and age at first full-term pregnancy. Sociodemographic variables appear to be associated with age at natural menopause in a representative sample of Finnish women.