Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Detection of Visual Deficits in Aging DBA/2J Mice by Two Behavioral Assays

Purpose: The DBA/2J mice have been used as an animal model for human pigmentary glaucoma. However, these mice develop various degrees of disease symptoms at different ages, making it difficult to detect pathological changes of retinal degeneration at glaucoma onset. The purpose of this study is to develop a non-invasive assay to identify individual mice that develop visual deficits. Materials and Methods: We apply two behavioral tests, a swimming test of visual discrimination and a test of optomotor response, to identify glaucomatous DBA/2J mice. We then examine whether the elevation of intraocular pressure (IOP), the common risk factor for glaucoma, affects visual performances of the DBA/2J mice. We further compare the retinal ganglion cell death, one of the signature glaucoma symptoms, in mice with normal behavior with those with poor visual performances. Results: Our data demonstrate that (1) the onset of visual deficits in DBA/2J mice is around 7 months of age; (2) within each age group, there are various degrees of visual deficits; and (3) the percentage of mice exhibiting visual deficits increases with age and their visual capacities decrease gradually. Furthermore, the poor visual performances of DBA/2J mice do not correlate with the elevation of IOP. Importantly, compared to mice with normal visual performances in the same age group, mice with poor visual performances exhibit significant loss of retinal ganglion cells. Conclusions: Our studies establish a reliable behavioral assay to identify glaucomatous DBA/2J mice, thus making it possible to examine subtle pathological changes and molecular mechanisms in glaucoma pathogenesis with a relatively small number of samples.
Outcome of ureteroscopy for stone disease in patients with horseshoe kidney: Review of world literature

Introduction and Objectives: The management of urolithiasis in patients with horseshoe kidney (HSK) is difficult. Stone formation occurred in 1:5 patients with HSK due to impaired urinary drainage and infections. Percutaneous nephrolithotomy and shock wave lithotripsy can be technically challenging due to altered anatomy. Materials and Methods: We conducted a systematic review of the literature to look at the role of ureteroscopy for stone management in these patients. We searched MEDLINE, PubMed and the Cochrane Library from January 1990 to April 2013 for results of ureteroscopy and stone treatment in HSK patients. Inclusion criteria were all English language articles reporting on ureteroscopy in patients with HSK. Data were extracted on the outcomes and complications. Results: A total of 3 studies was identified during this period. Forty-one patients with HSK underwent flexible ureteroscopy and stone treatment. The mean age was 42 with a male:female ratio nearly 3:1. The mean stone size was 16 mm (range: 3-35 mm). The mean operating time was 86 min with multiple stones seen in 15 patients. All 41 patients had a ureteral access sheath used and flexible ureteroscopy and holmium laser fragmentation done. Thirty-two (78%) patients were stone-free with a mean hospital stay of 1-day. Minor complications (Clavien I or II) were seen in 13 (32%) of which 6 had stent discomfort, 3 needed intravenous antibiotics for <24 h, 3 had hematuria of which 2 needed blood transfusion and one had pyelonephritis needing re-admission and antibiotics. There were no major complications found in the review. Conclusions: Retrograde stone treatment using ureteroscopy and lasertripsy in HSK patients can be performed with good stone clearance rate, but with a slightly higher complication rate. This procedure should, therefore, be done in high volume stone center with an experienced stone surgeon/team.
Analysis of ACE target level for evaluation of load frequency control performance

This paper discusses the determination of a target level for an area control error ACE that is used for the evaluation of a load frequency control (LFC) performance. According to the new ENTSO-E's network code on LFC a statistic model should be used which assumes random and normally distributed averaged ACE and frequency deviation. However this is not experienced in practice. Modifications are proposed based on the performed analysis of field measurements within an anonymous control block in a synchronous area Continental Europe (CE), whereas applying the standard frequency range. Moreover, the optimistic and pessimistic dependency models were also tested, whereas the optimistic dependency model was found to be more realistic. The obtained results show the correctness of the modified ENTSO-E's model for the discussed CE control block.
Pharyngeal mucosal pressures, airway sealing pressures, and fiberoptic position with the intubating versus the standard laryngeal mask airway.

BACKGROUND The tube of the intubating laryngeal mask (ILM) is more rigid than the standard laryngeal mask airway (LMA), and the authors have tested the hypothesis that pharyngeal mucosal pressures, airway sealing pressures, and fiberoptic position are different when the two devices are compared. METHODS Twenty anesthetized, paralyzed adults were randomly allocated to receive either the LMA or ILM for airway management. Microchip sensors were attached to the size 5 LMA or ILM at locations corresponding to the pyriform fossa, hypopharynx, base of tongue, posterior pharynx, and distal and proximal oropharynx. Mucosal pressures, airway sealing pressures, and fiberoptic positioning were recorded during inflation of the cuff from 0 to 40 ml in 10-ml increments. RESULTS Airway sealing pressures were higher for the ILM (30 vs. 23 cm H2O), but epiglottic downfolding was more common (56% vs. 26%). Pharyngeal mucosal pressures were much higher for the ILM at five of six locations. Mean mucosal pressures in the distal oropharynx for the ILM were always greater than 157 cm H2O, regardless of cuff volume. There was no correlation between mucosal pressures and airway sealing pressures at any location for the LMA, but there was a correlation at three of six locations for the ILM. CONCLUSIONS The ILM provides a more effective seal than the LMA, but pharyngeal mucosal pressures are higher and always exceed capillary perfusion pressure. The ILM is unsuitable for use as a routine airway and should be removed after its use as an airway intubator.
Synthesis and optical properties of copper nanoparticles prepared by a chemical reduction method

Copper nanoparticles, due to their interesting properties, low cost preparation and many potential applications in catalysis, cooling fluid or conductive inks, have attracted a lot of interest in recent years. In this study, copper nanoparticles were synthesized through the chemical reduction of copper sulfate with sodium borohydride in water without inert gas protection. In our synthesis route, ascorbic acid (natural vitamin C) was employed as a protective agent to prevent the nascent Cu nanoparticles from oxidation during the synthesis process and in storage. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) was added and worked both as a size controller and as a capping agent. Cu nanoparticles were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy to investigate the coordination between Cu nanoparticles and PEG. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and UV–vis spectrometry contributed to the analysis of size and optical properties of the nanoparticles, respectively. The average crystal sizes of the particles at room temperature were less than 10 nm. It was observed that the surface plasmon resonance phenomenon can be controlled during synthesis by varying the reaction time, pH, and relative ratio of copper sulfate to the surfactant. The surface plasmon resonance peak shifts from 561 to 572 nm, while the apparent color changes from red to black, which is partly related to the change in particle size. Upon oxidation, the color of the solution changes from red to violet and ultimately a blue solution appears.
Human genetic adaptation to high altitude.

Some 140 million persons live permanently at high altitudes (>2500 m) in North, Central and South America, East Africa, and Asia. Reviewed here are recent studies which address the question as to whether genetic adaptation to high altitude has occurred. Common to these studies are the use of the oxygen transport system and the passage of time as organizing principles, and the recognition of the multifaceted ways in which genetic factors can influence physiological processes. They differ in terms of study approach and sources of evidence for judging duration of high altitude residence. Migrant, family set, and admixture study designs have been used for comparisons within populations. These collectively demonstrate the existence of genetic influences on physiological characteristics of oxygen transport. Differences in oxygen transport-related traits between Tibetan, Andean and European populations have been interpreted as having demonstrated the existence of genetic influences on high altitude adaptation but there is not consensus as to which groups are the best-adapted. Part of the controversy lies in the kinds of evidence used to assess duration of high altitude habitation. More other information is needed for a fuller appreciation of duration of residence and also features of population history (genetic drift, gene flow) but existing data are consistent with Tibetans having lived at high altitude longer than the other groups studied. Another issue surrounds usage of the term "adaptation. " The definition should be based on evolutionary biology and physiological traits linked to indices of differential fertility and/or mortality. Two examples are developed to illustrate such linkages; intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) at high altitude and the prevalence of Chronic Mountain Sickness (CMS). Interpopulational as well as intrapopulational variation exists in these conditions which appear linked to characteristics of oxygen transport. Both adversely influence survival and appear to be less severe (IUGR) or less common (CMS) among Tibetans than other groups. Thus available evidence suggest that Tibetans are better adapted. Needed, however, are studies which are better controlled for population ancestry, especially in South America, to determine the extent to which Tibetans differ from Andean highlanders. More precise information is also needed regarding the genetic factors underlying characteristics of oxygen transport. Such studies in Tibetan, Andean and Europeans as well as other high altitude populations offers a promising avenue for clarifying the adaptive value of physiological components of oxygen transport and the extent to which such factors differ among high altitude populations.
A survey of open accessibility data

This paper presents the research of using Linked Data for enhancing accessibility data, especially for accessible travelling. With the aim of addressing the gap between users' special needs and accessibility data, this research initially explores the current situation of open accessibility data. Open accessibility data is the data related to the accessibility issues and associated with geographical data, which could benefit people with disabilities or special needs. This paper proposed a survey of open accessibility data in UK based on the datasets retrieved from five different resources. After examining the features of each dataset, a mapping approach using Semantic Web technologies is proposed to interlink these datasets together to generate a linked open accessibility repository and link this repository to other resources on the Linked Open Data Cloud (LODC). As a result, this research would not only benefit people with disabilities, but also contribute to a novel method to address accessibility information barriers by establishing a linked open accessibility data repository for publishing, integrating and consuming the accessibility data.
Lack of efficacy of 5 grams daily of creatine in schizophrenia: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE Creatine plays a pivotal role in brain energy homeostasis and has been tried in the treatment of neurologic, neuromuscular, and atherosclerotic disease with a paucity of side effects. Creatine monohydrate supplementation may enhance cognitive functions in healthy subjects. Several independent lines of evidence suggest the possible involvement of altered cerebral energy metabolism in schizophrenia. Creatine effects on brain energy metabolism and its possible cognitive-enhancing properties raise the possibility of developing a new therapeutic strategy in schizophrenia by focusing on treating metabolic hypoactive brain areas including frontal regions. METHOD Twelve schizophrenia patients (DSM-IV criteria) were enrolled into a treatment study with creatine or placebo, and each treatment was administered for 3 months (dosage, 3-5 grams per day) in a randomized, double-blind crossover design. Ten patients completed the study, which was conducted from November 2004 through February 2006. Rating scales included the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the Clinical Global Impressions (CGI) scale, scales for the assessment of side effects, and a cognitive battery. RESULTS Creatine treatment was not superior to placebo in improving the scores of PANSS, CGI, or the neurocognitive measures administered. Side effects of creatine treatment were few. CONCLUSION Three months of creatine administration failed to detect any efficacy in treating symptoms of schizophrenia, but further research is suggested. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT00140192.
Point-of-care chest ultrasound in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Chest ultrasound is a useful diagnostic tool in adult emergency medicine. Echography does not generate a clear image of the lung but is able to generate artifacts that are combined in disease-specific profiles. Reflections of the pleural image appear as short straight lines also known as A-lines. Vertical, comet-tail artifacts departing from the pleura are named B-lines. The former are present in the normal lung while the latter have been described in the adult wet lung. Lung ultrasonography outperforms conventional radiology in the emergency diagnosis of pneumothorax and pleural effusions. Neonatologists and pediatricians are now adapting lung ultrasound to their specific clinical issues. The normal image is relatively unchanged throughout the age span, while progressively fading B-lines describe the fluid-to-air transition of the neonatal lung. Also, an homogeneous white (hyperechogenic) lung with pleural image abnormalities and absence of spared areas is accurate in diagnosing Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS). The prevalence of A-lines in the upper lung fields with B-lines at the bottom fields (aka double lung point artifact) is highly sensitive and specific in describing Transient Tachypnea of the Newborn. Infantile pneumonia has recently been proved an accurate diagnosis by ultrasound after a short training. In summary, chest ultrasonography has no ground to replace conventional chest radiology tout court. However, when appropriately applied, a lung ultrasound scan can save time and radiation exposure to achieve a critical diagnosis. Proceedings of the 9 th International Workshop on Neonatology · Cagliari (Italy) · October 23 rd -26 th , 2013 · Learned lessons, changing practice and cutting-edge research
Frictional Behavior of Material Couples in Superconducting MRI Magnet Systems at 4.2 K

Windings in superconducting magnets operating at 4.2 K are highly susceptible to quenching caused by small frictional heat inputs. Small movements in the magnet system are inevitable during ramping due to the increasing electromagnetic forces. Friction pairs of polymer based materials have been investigated at 4.2 K to gain an understanding of their sliding behavior in conditions representative of superconducting MRI systems. The results indicate that polymer-polymer pairs experience unstable sliding behavior with repeated stick-slip whereas polymer-aluminum couples have stable sliding behavior up to high contact pressures of 20 MPa.
Enabling Software Defined Networking with QoS Guarantee for Cloud Applications

Due to the centralized control, network-wide monitoring and flow-level scheduling of Software-Defined-Networking (SDN), it can be utilized to achieve Quality of Service (QoS) for cloud applications and services, such as voice over IP, video conference and online games, etc. However, most existing approaches stay at the QoS framework design and test level, while few works focus on studying the basic QoS techniques supported by SDN. In this paper, we enable SDN with QoS guaranteed abilities, which could provide end-to-end QoS routing for each cloud user service. First of all, we implement an application identification technique on SDN controller to determine required QoS levels for each application type. Then, we implement a queue scheduling technique on SDN switch. It queues the application flows into different queues and schedules the flows out of the queues with different priorities. At last, we evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed SDN-based QoS technique through an experimental analysis. Results show that when the output interface has sufficiently available bandwidth, the delay can be reduced by 28% on average. In addition, for the application flow with the highest priority, our methods can reduce 99.99% delay and increase 90.17% throughput on average when the output interface utilization approaches to the maximum bandwidth limitation.
Decreased secretion of MMP by non‐lesional late‐stage scleroderma fibroblasts after selection via activation of the apoptotic fas‐pathway

Our hypothesis is that the development of lesional areas of skin in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) originates from the selection of profibrotic cell subpopulations within their non‐lesional skin areas, due to their greater resistance to apoptosis. Sensitivity to apoptosis of early‐stage or late‐stage SSc fibroblasts as well as of healthy cells was compared using extrinsic or intrinsic apoptotic pathway‐inducers. Subpopulations of non‐lesional SSc cells and healthy cells obtained after repeated Fas‐induced apoptosis were compared with respect to their fibrotic parameters such as collagen and MMP secretion. Only late‐stage lesional SSc cells were more resistant to Fas‐induced apoptosis than their non‐lesional counterparts isolated from the same patient. This result correlated with an increase in the levels of the anti‐apoptotic proteins cFLIPs and cIAP in lesional cells compared to non‐lesional cells. Healthy and non‐lesional cell populations could be selected to generate a subpopulation that was more resistant to apoptosis. However, only the late‐stage non‐lesional SSc fibroblast populations showed a significant decrease in MMP secretion, one of parameters of the fibrosis. Our results show that resistance to apoptosis is an important characteristic of the late‐stage lesional SSc fibroblast phenotype. We thus hypothesized that a selection of specific fibroblast subpopulations from late‐stage non‐lesional SSc skin areas could be at the origin of lesional populations. These cells should become independent of any exogenous stimuli and can induce or maintain SSc skin lesions. J. Cell. Physiol. 226: 1907–1914, 2011. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Effect of Additive Noise for Multi-Layered Perceptron with AutoEncoders

This paper investigates the effect of noises added to hidden units of AutoEncoders linked to multilayer perceptrons. It is shown that internal representation of learned features emerges and sparsity of hidden units increases when independent Gaussian noises are added to inputs of hidden units during the deep network training. It is also shown that the weights that connect the contaminated hidden units with the next layer have smaller values and outputs of hidden units tend to be more definite (0 or 1). This is expected to improve the generalization ability of the network through this automatic structuration by adding the noises. This network structuration was confirmed by experiments for MNIST digits classification via a deep neural network model. key words: AutoEncoder, deep neural network, additive noise, gaussian noise, classification
The AASM Scoring Manual four years later.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW Review published studies and critiques which evaluate the impact and effects of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) Sleep Scoring Manual in the four years since its publication. FINDINGS USING THE AASM MANUAL RULES TO SCORE SLEEP AND EVENTS IN A POLYSOMNOGRAM (PSG) RESULTS IN: (1) very large differences in apnea-hypopnea indexes (AHI) when using the recommended and alternative rule for scoring hypopneas in adults; (2) increases in NREM 1 and sleep stage shifts with compensatory decreases in NREM 2 in children and adults when following rule 5.C. b. for ending NREM 2 sleep; (3) increases in NREM 3 in adults scoring slow wave activity in the frontal EEG derivations; (4) improved interscorer reliability; and (5) successfully identified fragmented sleep in children with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) from primary snorers or normal controls because they had more NREM 1 and stage shifts using rule 5.C. b. Criticism of the Manual most often cited: (1) two rules for scoring hypopneas; (2) alternative EEG montage cancellation effects; (3) scoring stages 3 and 4 as NREM 3; and (4) too few rules for scoring arousals and REM sleep without atonia. SUMMARY Four years have passed since the AASM Scoring Manual was published with far less criticism than those who developed it feared. The AASM Manual provides a foundation upon which we all can build rules and methods which identify the complexity of sleep and its disorders.
The roles of district education officers in the implementation of the guidance and counselling curriculum in Zimbabwe

This study presents a description of the roles District Education Officers in the implementation of the Guidance and Counselling curriculum in Zimbabwe. The roles of the District Education Officers were researched through the literature study and empirical research. It was found that although their professional contribution is vital in successful implementation, there are other obstacles namely, financial constraints, very high workload, lack of government support and inferior appointment procedures for District Education Officers which tend to hamper them to fulfil their duties.
A Lagrangian Decomposition Approach to Energy Storage Transportation Scheduling in Power Systems

In this paper, we propose a security-constrained unit commitment (SCUC) model which considers the impact of mobility of Battery-based Energy Storage Transportation (BEST) system. The BEST technology considers the transmission of electricity via rails (in the form of storage) rather than utilizing transmission lines, which allows transmission grid operators to focus on certain geographical regions of the grid and provides the grid with more flexibility to relieve the congestion. To solve the resulting large-scale MILP model, a Lagrangian decomposition-based technology is presented, which uses a modified sub-gradient method to accelerate the convergence of the BEST algorithm. The IEEE 118-bus system integrated with a railway network composed of 8 railway stations and 10 rail lines is used to illustrate the applicability of the BEST model and the performance of the algorithm. The results show that the BEST solution can reduce the overall cost of power delivery by transporting the electricity from low locational marginal price (LMP) areas to high LMP areas, relieve transmission congestion, reduce the need for acquiring additional transmission right-of-ways, and optimize the use of existing space on freight trains which is already vacated by the closure of coal power plants throughout the country.