Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Thujone corrects cholesterol and triglyceride profiles in diabetic rat model

Thujone, which is the major constituent in Salvia sp. (Lamiaceae), was found to correct the lipid profile (cholesterol and triglycerides) in diabetic rats. Oral treatment with thujone (5 mg kg−1 body weight dose) significantly adjusted cholesterol and triglyceride levels in diabetic rats (p ≤ 0.05) to normal levels compared to diabetic untreated rats. This provides a premise in the field of finding new agents to treat diabetic complications.
Evaluation of the Tzu Chi Institute for Complementary and Alternative Medicine's Integrative Care Program.

OBJECTIVE There are an increasing number of clinics providing integrative health care using new and innovative delivery models. The purpose of this study was to quantitatively and qualitatively evaluate the Integrative Care Program offered at the Tzu Chi Institute for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. DESIGN At enrollment, data are collected on demographics, health history, current health concerns and diagnoses, quality of life/health status (SF-36) and patient satisfaction. The measures are repeated 6 months into the program. Descriptive analysis was used to summarize the data. Focus groups were also included as part of the study design. RESULTS Patients seeking integrative care are a highly complex population living with numerous comorbid chronic conditions. Although their baseline scores on the SF-36 are lower than Canadian population norms across all subscales, significant improvement occurred from baseline to 6 months. Qualitative data support that patients were pleased with the clinical care they received and aligned with the philosophical underpinnings of the program. DISCUSSION This is one of the first studies to evaluate integrative health care. Studies like this are needed to develop appropriate methods to assess models of integrative health care delivery.
A comparison of accuracy of forecasting models: A study on selected foreign exchange rates

Exchange rate, an economic indicator of the country is the relative price of one country's currency in terms of another country's currency. Stability in exchange rate is important for stable economic growth. Exchange rates, a financial time series highly fluctuate and are chaotic in nature. Forecasting exchange rate fluctuations is very important to countries' economy. Many researchers reported that the three classes of models, namely stochastic models, Artificial Neural Network (ANN)models and Support Vector Regression(SVR) models provided good forecasts. The aim of this research was to compare the forecasting accuracy of most widely used classes of models and to identify better model for forecasting daily exchange rates of Sri Lankan Rupees to Euro and Yen. Daily time series data collected from 2nd July, 2012 to 31st August, 2016 (1008 trading days) from the official website of Central Bank of Sri Lanka were analysed using Eviews, MATLAB and R packages. Stochastic models fitted were found to be inefficient in explaining the variations of daily exchange rates. A Nonlinear autoregressive neural network (NAR) model using Scaled Conjugate Gradient (SCG) learning algorithm and aSVR model with Gaussian radial basis kernel function were designed to the exchange rate returns. Mean Squares Errors and directional accuracy measures revealed that both the machine learning models, ANN and SVR models explained the variation in the series well. However, SVR models provided a better directional accuracy than ANN models. These findings could be useful for domestic as well as foreign investors. Further the forecasting ability can be improved by evolutionary neural networks.
A symmetrical robotic arm design approach with stereo-vision ability for CubeSats

This paper introduces a design of a robotic system that can be mounted on a CubeSat. Robotic arms should be small enough to be mounted on a size as 30×10×10 cm or smaller. Meanwhile, robotic arms should provide sufficient space for their actuators, cameras and sensors. The robotic design has one camera on each arm to be used for stereo-vision ability. Velocity and position feedback are desired to be used for controlling the robotic arm's position and minimizing the speed of the arms' motion to reduce the disturbance on attitude control subsystem during arm motions. Each arm provides 5 degrees of freedom. For control design of the system, the Denavit-Hartenberg convention is used for forward and backward kinematics modeling, therefore the position and the orientation of the camera can be calculated after receiving a command from the ground station or ready mission parameters from the memory. By using forward kinematics matrices, the Jacobian matrix will be presented for the system, and it will be used to calculate the inertial tensor matrix which includes the effects of the mass and inertia. After calculating the inertial tensor matrix, Euler-Lagrangian method will be used for dynamic modeling which includes the nonlinear coriolis and centrifugal effects with the inertial forces. The dynamic equation of motion for two arms which includes inertial forces, coriolis and centrifugal effects, friction forces and gravity will be presented for space and the micro gravity environment. Moreover, spin-stabilized satellite motion effect is added to robotic arms' the dynamic equation of the motion. The dynamic equation is used with the proportional-integral coefficients for modeling the control of the prismatic links' actuators chosen for the arms.
Normal Asymmetry of the Planum Temporale in Patients with Schizophrenia

Background Abnormal cerebral anatomical lateralisation has been reported in schizophrenia and may implicate anomalous neurodevelopment in the aetiology of this disease. A popular recent hypothesis has predicted that such disturbances in normal lateralisation should be especially apparent in the morphology of the temporal lobes. Method A temporal cortical region lying in the plane of the Sylvian fissure – known as the planum temporale – exhibits pronounced leftward asymmetry in normal right-handed males. We compared lateralisation of the planum temporale in schizophrenic and control males using MRI surface-rendering morphometry of the supratemporal cortex. Results Contrary to the lateralisation hypothesis, normal patterns of leftward planum asymmetry were detected in both the schizophrenic and control groups. Schizophrenics and controls also exhibited a predicted symmetry in the bilateral areas of Heschl's gyrus, a supratemporal cortical structure immediately anterior to the planum. Conclusion These data do not support the notion that neurodevelopmental mechanisms of cerebral asymmetry are abnormal in schizophrenia.
Evaluation of decay resistance for steam-heat-treated wood

The objective of this research was to evaluate the influence of steam-heat treatment on the decay resistance of Chinese white poplar and Chinese fir wood against the wood-rotting fungi Gloeophyllum trabeum (Pers.:Fr.) Murrill. The Chinese white poplar and Chinese fir specimens were obtained from Shandong and Hunan provinces, respectively. They were steam-heat-treated at 170, 185, 200, 215, or 230 oC with time duration of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 hrs in an air-tight chamber that comprised less than 2 per cent oxygen. According to the standard GB/T 13942.1-92, the decay resistance experiments were completed with the wood-rotting fungi G. trabeum on an agar block test with 12-week incubation. The results of steam-heat treatment indicated that, compared to a weight loss of 56% for untreated samples, a weight loss of 45% decreased to just 2% for Chinese white poplar with an increase in temperature from 170 to 230℃. No weight loss was observed in the steam-heat-treated China-fir heartwood, sapwood, and untreated sapwood specimens, while only a weight loss of 4.739% in untreated China-fir heartwood specimens was found.
NaCl-dependent expression of amiloride-blockable Na+ channel in Xenopus oocytes.

RNA was isolated from chicken lower intestine (both colon and coprodeum) and injected into Xenopus oocytes. 22Na+ fluxes measured after 1-4 days demonstrated the induction of an amiloride-blockable pathway. The Na+ transporter expressed by the exogenous RNA had a high affinity to amiloride (inhibitory constant less than 0.1 microM), but was insensitive to ethylisopropyl amiloride, i.e., it is likely to be the apical Na+ channel. Functional channels were readily expressed in oocytes injected with RNA derived from chickens fed a low-NaCl diet. On the other hand, no channel activity was detected in oocytes injected with RNA isolated from chickens fed a high-NaCl diet. Thus the previously reported regulation of transport by the dietary NaCl intake involves modulations in the level of mRNA that codes either for the Na+ channel or a posttranscriptional regulator of the channel.
Location-Sharing Systems With Enhanced Privacy in Mobile Online Social Networks

Location sharing is one of the critical components in mobile online social networks (mOSNs), which has attracted much attention recently. With the advent of mOSNs, more and more users' location information will be collected by the service providers in mOSN. However, the users' privacy, including location privacy and social network privacy, cannot be guaranteed in the previous work without the trust assumption on the service providers. In this paper, aiming at achieving enhanced privacy against the insider attack launched by the service providers in mOSNs, we introduce a new architecture with multiple location servers for the first time and propose a secure solution supporting location sharing among friends and strangers in location-based applications. In our construction, the user's friend set in each friends' query submitted to the location servers is divided into multiple subsets by the social network server randomly. Each location server can only get a subset of friends, instead of the whole friends' set of the user as the previous work. In addition, for the first time, we propose a location-sharing construction which provides checkability of the searching results returned from location servers in an efficient way. We also prove that the new construction is secure under the stronger security model with enhanced privacy. Finally, we provide extensive experimental results to demonstrate the efficiency of our proposed construction.
Measurement of red cell deformability and whole blood viscosity using laser-diffraction slit rheometer

The present study investigated the deformability of red blood cells (RBC) and its effect on whole blood viscosity using a laser-diffraction slit-rheometer (LDSR). The LDSR has been recently developed with significant advances in laser-diffractometry design, operation and data analysis. While shear stress levels in a slit flow are continuously decreasing, both the deformation of red blood cells and the shear stress were simultaneously measured. Additionally, the viscosity of whole blood was measured using the LDSR. The present study found that the whole blood viscosity is strongly dependent on the RBC deformability. The less deformable the RBCs are, the higher the blood viscosity is.
Confidence Intervals for the Risk Ratio Using Double Sampling with Misclassified Binomial Data

We derive three likelihood-based confidence intervals for the risk ratio of two proportion parameters using a double sampling scheme for misclassified binomial data. The risk ratio is also known as the relative risk. We obtain closed-form maximum likelihood estimators of the model parameters by maximizing the full-likelihood function. Moreover, we develop three confidence intervals: a naive Wald interval, a modified Wald interval, and a Fieller-type interval. We apply the three confidence intervals to cervical cancer data. Finally, we perform two Monte Carlo simulation studies to assess and compare the coverage probabilities and average lengths of the three interval estimators. Unlike the other two interval estimators, the modified Wald interval always produces close-to-nominal confidence intervals for the various simulation scenarios examined here. Hence, the modified Wald confidence interval is preferred in practice.
Obesity in Latin America and the Caribbean

Rising obesity rates are a public health concern in the United States and around the world. Prolonged obesity has implications for health at older ages, and these health effects may increase the costs of health care for individuals and governments. The Behavioral and Social Research Program at the National Institute on Aging supports research on the health consequences of obesity and the factors associated with becoming obese. By better understanding the causes and consequences of obesity, more effective and cost-efficient interventions may be identified. This newsletter discusses NIA-funded and other recent research on obesity in the older population.
bito ~ connections between AVCN and DCN : Evidence from lidocaine injection in AVCN

Principal cells of the dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN) receive a variety of inhibitory influences, including some that are associated with the anteroventral co&ear nucleus (AVCN). Electrical stimulation in the caudal part of the AVCN produces long-lasting inhibition of DCN units [(1973) Exp. Brain Res. 17, 428-4421, including unit type IV, which is associated with principal cells. This inhibition may be mediated either by orthodromic activation of AVCN axons that terminate in DCN or by antidromic stimulation of DCN inhibitory interneurons whose axons send collaterals to the AVCN. These two possibilities cannot be distinguished with electrical stimulation alone. In this study, microinjections of lidocaine were made in the AVCN. These injections should block AVCN to DCN axons without directly affecting the activity, within the DCN, of DCN interneurons. Two effects of lidocaine injections were observed. In some cases, all activity of DCN cells was abolished by lidocaine. These cases involved either spread of lidocaine to the recording site or into the auditory nerve. In other cases, the inhibitory responses of DCN type IV units were weakened by lidocaine without changing the units’ thresholds or spontaneous activity. The latter result demonstrates that there are inhibitory pathways originating in AVCN or passing through AVCN and terminating in the DCN.
Mechanical Thrombectomy for Stroke After Cardiac Surgery

Stroke after cardiac surgery remains a devastating complication and its treatment options are limited. Systemic fibrinolysis is a relative contraindication, because it raises the risk of systemic hemorrhage. Endovascular therapy, mechanical thrombectomy, and intra‐arterial fibrinolysis have emerged as safer options. We present three patients who developed strokes following cardiac surgery who underwent successful mechanical thrombectomy and review the literature on this subject. doi: 10.1111/jocs.12776 (J Card Surg 2016;31:517–520)
Signal Processing Technique for Time Domain Measurement of S-Parameters

In this paper, a simple and accurate technique for the measurement of the S-Parameters of a two-port network from time domain data is presented, based on Fourier theory and techniques. This method is proposed to circumvent the need of a network analyser when studying an unknown device, as no additional measurements other than the time domain data are required. An excellent correspondence between this technique's results and regular network analyser measurements is achieved for the entire operational band of the devices tested.
Low-Contrast Agent Dose Dual-Energy CT Monochromatic Imaging in Pulmonary Angiography Versus Routine CT

Objective This study aimed to retrospectively evaluate the feasibility and reliability of low-contrast agent dose dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) monochromatic imaging in pulmonary angiography. Methods Computed tomography pulmonary angiography was performed in 86 patients, 41 in 120-kVp computed tomography (CT) and 45 in DECT with low-contrast agent dose. The images in DECT were reconstructed at optimal kiloelectron-voltage (keV), demonstrating the best contrast-to-noise ratio between pulmonary artery and soft tissue, and at 70 keV. Image quality was compared by quantitative and subjective indexes. The radiation doses were recorded. Results Compared with 120-kVp CT, optimal keV showed superior quantitative indexes with inferior subjective image quality, whereas 70 keV demonstrated no statistical difference in quantitative indexes with superior subjective image quality. All suspicious pulmonary embolisms in DECT were diagnosed confidently by combination of 2 kinds of monochromatic imaging. The radiation dose in DECT is almost twice as 120-kVp CT. Conclusions Low-contrast agent dose DECT monochromatic imaging in pulmonary angiography accommodates superior intravascular enhancement and contrast in pulmonary arteries, and improves diagnostic confidence with compatible radiation dose.
The mitral valve : New insights into the clinical anatomy

The thorough knowledge of anatomical details regarding the mitral valve is of utmost importance for diagnostic interrogation and surgery. Considering the mitral valve into the larger context of “the mitral valvar complex” adds new and important details from the anatomic and physiologic points of view. This review article presents the more recent data and ideas regarding this vast topic and underlines some practical clinical applications. Eventually, the mitral valve does not represent solely a passive flap at the atrioventricular junction, but a finely-tuned and active set of elements acting in a coordinated manner. Age and the various disease processes change or alter this disposition and ask for a more elaborate medical thinking and skilled surgical maneuvers.
Tuberous Sclerosis Complex 2 Gene Product Interacts with Human SMAD Proteins

Tuberin (TSC2) is a tumor suppressor gene. At the cellular level, tuberin is required as a critical regulator of cell growth, neuronal differentiation (Soucek, T., Holzl, G., Bernaschek, G., and Hengstschlager, M. (1998) Oncogene 16, 2197–2204), and tumor suppression (Crino, P. B., and Henske, E. P. (1999) Neurology 53, 1384–1390). Here we report a critical role for tuberin in late stage myeloid cell differentiation. Tuberin strongly augments transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 signal transduction pathways, including SMAD activation. We also demonstrate that the amino-terminal region of tuberin interacts specifically with the MH2 domain of SMAD2 and SMAD3 proteins to regulate TGF-β1-responsive genes such as p21CIP. Inhibition of tuberin expression by Tsc2 antisense greatly reduces the ability of TGF-β to transcriptionally regulate p21CIP, p27KIP, and cyclin A leading to an abrogation of the antiproliferative effects of TGF-β1. Also, inhibition of tuberin expression during stimulation of monocytic differentiation with vitamin D3 and TGF-β1 significantly impaired myeloid cell growth inhibition and differentiation. Together, the data demonstrate the presence of a novel activation process following TGF-β1 stimulation that requires tuberin-dependent activity.
Automated Deduction and Proof Certification for the B Method. (Déduction Automatique et Certification de Preuve pour la Méthode B)

The B Method is a formal method heavily used in the railway industry to specify and develop safety-critical software. It allows the development of correct-by-construction programs, thanks to a refinement process from an abstract specification to a deterministic implementation of the program. The soundness of the refinement steps depends on the validity of logical formulas called proof obligations, expressed in a specific typed set theory. Typical industrial projects using the B Method generate thousands of proof obligations, thereby relying on automated tools to discharge as many as possible proof obligations. A specific tool, called Atelier B, designed to implement the B Method and provided with a theorem prover, helps users verify the validity of proof obligations, automatically or interactively. Improving the automated verification of proof obligations is a crucial task for the speed and ease of development. The solution developed in our work is to use Zenon, a first-order logic automated theorem prover based on the tableaux method. The particular feature of Zenon is to generate proof certificates, i.e. proof objects that can be verified by external tools. The B Method is based on first-order logic and a specific typed set theory. To improve automated theorem proving in this theory, we extend the proof-search algorithm of Zenon to polymorphism and deduction modulo theory, leading to a new tool called Zenon Modulo which is the main contribution of our work. The extension to polymorphism allows us to deal with problems combining several sorts, like booleans and integers, and generic axioms, like B set theory axioms, without relying on encodings. Deduction modulo theory is an extension of first-order logic with rewriting both on terms and propositions. It is well suited for proof search in axiomatic theories, as it turns axioms into rewrite rules. This way, we turn proof search among axioms into computations, avoiding unnecessary combinatorial explosion, and reducing the size of proofs by recording only their meaningful steps. To certify Zenon Modulo proofs, we choose to rely on Dedukti, a proof-checker used as a universal backend to verify proofs coming from different theorem provers, and based on deduction modulo theory. This work is part of a larger project called BWare, which gathers academic entities and industrial companies around automated theorem proving for the B Method. These industrial partners provide to BWare a large benchmark of proof obligations coming from real industrial projects using the B Method and allowing us to test our tool Zenon Modulo. The experimental results obtained on this benchmark are particularly conclusive since Zenon Modulo proves more proof obligations than state-of-the-art first-order provers. In addition, all the proof certificates produced by Zenon Modulo on this benchmark are well checked by Dedukti, increasing our confidence in the soundness of our work.
A transmitter diversity scheme for wideband CDMA systems based on space-time spreading

We present a transmit diversity technique for the downlink of (wideband) direct-sequence (DS) code division multiple access (CDMA) systems. The technique, called space-time spreading (STS), improves the downlink performance by using a small number of antenna elements at the base and one or more antennas at the handset, in conjunction with a novel spreading scheme that is inspired by space-time codes. It spreads each signal in a balanced way over the transmitter antenna elements to provide maximal path diversity at the receiver. In doing so, no extra spreading codes, transmit power or channel information are required at the transmitter and only minimal extra hardware complexity at both sides of the link. Both our analysis and simulation results show significant performance gains over conventional single-antenna systems and other open-loop transmit diversity techniques. Our approach is a practical way to increase the bit rate and/or improve the quality and range in the downlink of either mobile or fixed CDMA systems. A STS-based proposal for the case of two transmitter and single-receiver antennas has been accepted and will be included as an optional diversity mode in release A of the IS-2000 wideband CDMA standard.