Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nephrotoxic Potential and Toxicokinetics of Melamine Combined with Cyanuric Acid in Rats

To investigate the nephrotoxic potential of melamine (MEL) and cyanuric acid (CA) in male Sprague-Dawley rats, 7-d repeated-dose studies were performed. The experimental groups of MEL100 and CA100 were orally administered with MEL and CA at 100 mg/kg/d for 7 d, respectively. In groups dosed with MEL–CA mixtures, melamine and cyanuric acid (1:1) were simultaneously administered at 4, 20, or 100 mg/kg/d for 7 d (i.e., MEL-CA4, MEL-CA20, or MEL-CA100, respectively). Body weights were not markedly affected in MEL100, CA100, and MEL-CA4 groups, but significantly reduced in MEL-CA 20 and 100 rats. Most parameters determined in sera and tissues were not markedly altered in MEL100, CA100, and MEL-CA4-treated rodents. However, BUN, creatinine, total protein, and kidney weights were significantly increased in MEL-CA20- and MEL-CA100-treated animals. Renal histopathologic findings also revealed signs of toxicity, including tubular dilatation, crystal deposition, granulomatous tubulo-interstitial inflammation, and tubular necrosis with regeneration. Data suggested that the combination of MEL and CA might be responsible for observed nephrotoxicity that was not seen following individual exposure to either MEL or CA alone. Subsequently, the concentrations of MEL and CA were determined in serum, urine, and kidney tissues by using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry. Toxicokinetic studies indicated that MEL or CA alone might be eliminated almost completely within 24 h after dosing showing no accumulation in kidney. However, the combined MEL-CA dose produced marked accumulation of chemicals in blood and kidneys. These results suggested that combined MEL and CA might produce renal toxicity due to significant chemical accumulation in kidney accompanied by low excretion.
Compensatory responses to nephron deficiency: Adaptive or maladaptive?

Compensatory renal growth is a characteristic adaptation to reduced renal mass that appears to recapitulate the normal pattern of maturation of the kidney during the postnatal period. Hypertrophy of tubules (predominantly the proximal tubule) and glomeruli is accompanied by increased single nephron glomerular filtration rate and tubular reabsorption of sodium. We propose that the very factors, which contribute to the increase in growth and function of the renal tubular system, are, in the long term, the precursors to the development of hypertension in those with a nephron deficit. The increase in single nephron glomerular filtration rate is dependent on multiple factors, including reduced renal vascular resistance associated with an increased influence of nitric oxide, and a rightward shift in the tubuloglomerular feedback curve, both of which contribute to the normal maturation of renal function. The increased influence of nitric oxide appears to contribute to the reduction in tubuloglomerular feedback sensitivity and facilitate the initial increase in glomerular filtration rate. The increased single‐nephron filtered load associated with nephron deficiency may promote hypertrophy of the proximal tubule and so increased reabsorption of sodium, and thus a rightward shift in the pressure natriuresis relationship. Normalization of sodium balance can then only occur at the expense of chronically increased arterial pressure. Therefore, alterations/adaptations in tubules and glomeruli in response to nephron deficiency may increase the risk of hypertension and renal disease in the long‐term.
VUEMS: a virtual urban environment modeling system

The Praxitele project is responsible for the design of a new kind of transportation in an urban environment, which consists of a fleet of electric public cars. The realization of such a project requires experimentations with the behaviour of autonomous vehicles in the urban environment. It was necessary to design a virtual urban environment in which simulations could be done. Reproducing the real traffic of a city as completely as possible, implies the simulation of autonomous entities like living beings. Such entities are able to perceive their environment, to communicate with other creatures and to execute some actions either on themselves or on their environment. Interactions between an object and its environment are, most of the time, very simple: sensors and actuators are reduced to minimal capabilities which permit them only to avoid obstacles in a 2D or 3D world. This is due to the fact that databases for virtual environments are often confined to the geometric level, when they must also contain physical, topological and semantic information. Accordingly, we propose a model which is designed to connect different levels of representation, by assembling geometric, topological and semantic data in the field of traffic simulation, and its implementation in VUEMS, a Modelling System of Urban Road Network. From real world data (when available), we construct a model of the virtual urban environment, integrating all the information needed to describe the realistic behaviour of car drivers and pedestrians.
Fluorescence spectroscopy of dermal wounds in rats.

Fluorescence spectra of dermal lesions on 48 rats were investigated using excitation wavelengths of 275, 300, and 340 nm. Emissions at 340 and 460 nm were measured in both the forequarter and hindquarter lesions as function of time after incision. Unlike the 460-nm emission, intensity at 340 nm increased with time and then saturated. Control studies on intact skin and lesions in dead rats failed to demonstrate any time-dependent changes at these wavelengths. It appears that the increase in the 340-nm intensity is due to changes in the tryptophan level, and may reflect accumulation of fibrinogen in the early wound healing process. © 1997 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.
Dose of physical activity, physical functioning and disability risk in mobility-limited older adults: Results from the LIFE study randomized trial

Understanding the minimal dose of physical activity required to achieve improvement in physical functioning and reductions in disability risk is necessary to inform public health recommendations. To examine the effect of physical activity dose on changes in physical functioning and the onset of major mobility disability in The Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders (LIFE) Study. We conducted a multicenter single masked randomized controlled trial that enrolled participants in 2010 and 2011 and followed them for an average of 2.6 years. 1,635 sedentary men and women aged 70–89 years who had functional limitations were randomized to a structured moderate intensity walking, resistance, and flexibility physical activity program or a health education program. Physical activity dose was assessed by 7-day accelerometry and self-report at baseline and 24 months. Outcomes included the 400 m walk gait speed, the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), assessed at baseline, 6, 12, and 24 months, and onset of major mobility disability (objectively defined by loss of ability to walk 400 m in 15 min). When the physical activity arm or the entire sample were stratified by change in physical activity from baseline to 24 months, there was a dose-dependent increase in the change in gait speed and SPPB from baseline at 6, 12, and 24 months. In addition, the magnitude of change in physical activity over 24 months was related to the reduction in the onset of major mobility disability (overall P < 0.001) (highest versus the lowest quartile of physical activity change HR 0.23 ((95% CI:0.10–0.52) P = 0.001) in the physical activity arm. We observed a dose-dependent effect of objectively monitored physical activity on physical functioning and onset of major mobility disability. Relatively small increases (> 48 minutes per week) in regular physical activity participation had significant and clinically meaningful effects on these outcomes. Trial registration: ClinicalsTrials.gov NCT00116194
Extent of Protection via Anti-dumping Law: A Case Study of the Vitamin C Industry in India

We look at the trade effects of antidumping (AD) policy in the Vitamin C industry in India. We find that AD is very effective in restricting imports from the countries that are named to be dumping. However, we also find a strong evidence of trade diversion: imports are diverted away from the named source country to the nonnamed countries. More over, after the imposition of AD duties on the named countries there is an influx of new entrants. Countries that were not supplying Vitamin C to India earlier now become an important source of imports. Our study highlights how the entry of alternate foreign suppliers (new entrants) significantly mitigates the restrictive effect of AD Law. It has been suggested in the literature (Prusa (1996)) that multiple petition filing or using the cumulation amendment is one way to curb import diversion. However, our study shows that the entry of new foreign suppliers could lend such a solution ineffective, as these foreign suppliers enter the market only after the petition has been filed. This case study also highlights the possibility of abuse of the AD law by the domestic industry. One way to mitigate abuse is for national authorities to incorporate the views of the importing industry in its decision making process.
Improving Time-Sharing Performance of Pilots Through Training

Even with special display devices in gestation, a pilot must satisfy his complete visual information needs by “time-sharing” between the intra- and extra-cockpit data sources. A sample of sixty military attack pilots, selected with the variable of flying experience in view, was divided into control and trainee groups. Using simple, generalized but adaptive simulation devices, the trainee group was trained over an eight-week period in display reading and in hazard detection. A comparison of the trainee group with the control group in a highly specific and complex simulated flying task, showed that hazard detection (such as collision) was improved significantly without in any way compromising other flying tasks.
Calcineurin inhibitor‐free immunosuppression in kidney transplantation

The introduction of calcineurin inhibitors (CNI) revolutionized kidney transplantation (KTx). Exceptionally low acute rejection rates and excellent graft survival could be achieved with CNI‐based (cyclosporine and tacrolimus) immunosuppressive protocols. However, despite short‐term success, long‐term graft attrition continues to be a significant problem, thus leaving clinicians looking for possible interventions. CNI nephrotoxicity is but one of numerous factors that may be contributing to long‐term damage in transplant kidneys. Therefore, newer immunosuppressive agents such as mycophenolate mofetil and sirolimus (Rapa) have raised the possibility of withdrawing or avoiding CNIs altogether. Protocols exploring these options have gained greater attention over the last few years. Herein, we review studies addressing either CNI withdrawal or CNI avoidance strategies as well as discuss the risks versus benefits of these protocols. Given the accumulated experience to date, in our opinion, the use of CNIs as a part of immunosuppressive regimens remains the proven standard of care for renal transplant patients. The long‐term safety and efficacy of CNI withdrawal and avoidance strategies need to be further validated in controlled clinical trials.
Use of the ferritin/alanine aspartate transaminase ratio as an iron overload marker independent of liver cell damage

To define an iron overload index independent of liver cell damage, the mean annual levels of alanine aspartate transaminase (ALAT) and serum ferritin and their ratios were determined. Ferritin/ALAT ratio values were compared between two groups of patients with acute or chronic hepatitis without iron overload, and one group of thalassaemic patients with iron overload. The two groups without iron overload exhibited ferritin/ALAT ratio values of 2 and 1.2 respectively; a ratio value higher than 10 was always observed in those patients with iron overload. The ferritin/ALAT ratio is correlated with the degree of iron overload. This ratio increases in regularly‐transfused patients without chelation treatment. It generally remains stable or decreases after initiation of iron chelation therapy. The ferritin/ALAT ratio thus appears useful in the follow‐up of patients subjected to a long‐term transfusional treatment particularly when acute or chronic lilver cell damage may interfere with iron overload by increasing serum ferritin values.
Electromyographic Response of the Porcine Multifidus Musculature After Nerve Stimulation

Study Design In this study, a porcine model was used to study whether a nerve reaction in the anulus fibrosus of a lumbar disc or in a facet joint capsule could cause a muscular response in the multifidus musculature. Objectives To determine if there is an interrelationship between the intervertebral disc and facet joint innervation and the multifidus musculature as a possible pain mechanism. Summary of Background Data The innervation of the anulus fibrosus of the intervertebral disc and the capsule of the facet joint is well described in the literature, although the functions of these nerves are poorly understood. An interrelationship between this innervation and the paraspinal musculature has not been previously described. Methods Fifteen adult pigs were used to measure the electromyographic response in the multifidus musculature to electrical stimulation of the lateral region of the disc anulus and the facet joint capsule in the L1-L2 motion segment. Motor unit action potentials were recorded using three sets of bipolar needle electrodes placed into the deepest fascicles of the multifidus, bilateral to the L2, L3, and L4 spinous processes. The effect of lidocaine injection into the facet joint and subperiosteal muscle detachment on the electromyographic response were studied. Results Stimulation of the disc anulus fibrosus induced reactions in the multifidus on multiple levels and on the contralateral side, whereas stimulation of the facet joint capsule induced reactions predominantly on the same side and segmental level as the stimulation. Introduction of lidocaine into the facet joint resulted in a significantly reduced electromyographic response to either stimulation, with the most drastic reduction seen when stimulation, with the most drastic reduction seen when stimulating the facet joint capsule. Subperiosteal detachment of the paraspinal muscles prevented any muscular response. Conclusions Stimulation of the disc and the facet joint capsule produced contractions in multifidus fascicles. The clinical implications are that there may be interactive responses between injured or diseased structures, i.e., disc or facet joints, and the paraspinal musculature. Activation of the multifidus muscles may have a stabilizing effect, constraining the motion of the lumbar spine. Longstanding muscular contraction may produce ischemic conditions and may be a potential source of pain.
Injectable Bone Applied for Ridge Augmentation and Dental Implant Placement: Human Progress Study

Purpose:The aim of this study was to clinically evaluate the success of implants placed in conjunction with a new material, tissue-engineered bone, and the stability of the regenerated bone after functional loading on a long-term basis. Methods:The tissue-engineered bone was applied to 14 cases, in which 6 patients were with partially or totally edentulous arches scheduled for sinus floor grafting and 8 patients underwent concurrent onlay plasty. Results:This study showed that the injectable bone formation induced bone in this anatomical site in 100% of the patients. The results also indicate that it might be possible to achieve the osseointegration of simultaneous implant placements with the grafts. Conclusions:It may be possible that injectable bone can shorten the period of implant treatment and reduce the patient’s burden and expect good long-term prognosis.
MRAM: Enabling a sustainable device for pervasive system architectures and applications

MRAM, specifically, perpendicular spin-transfer-torque (STT) MRAM, has reached a stage to serve early adopters. With its unique attributes and tunability, MRAM can create desirable system differentiations which were not possible due to inherent limitations of various memories. MRAM is poised for a unified memory subsystem that can revamp the architectures of emerging ultra-low-energy systems such as Internet-of-Things (IOT) and wearable devices. Furthermore, MRAM has a potential to transform computing-centric architectures at more advanced nodes.
Anatomical and electrophysiological determinants of the human thenar compound muscle action potential

Clinical interpretation of the compound muscle action potential (CMAP) requires a precise understanding of its underlying mechanisms. We recorded normal thenar CMAPs and motor unit action potentials using different electrode configurations and different thumb positions. Computer simulations show that the CMAP has four parts: rising edge, negative phase, positive phase, and tail, which correspond to four distinct stages of electrical activity in the muscle: initiation at the end‐plate, propagation, termination at the muscle/tendon junctions, and slow repolarization. The shapes of volume‐conducted signals recorded beyond the muscle are also explained by these four stages. Changes in CMAP shape associated with thumb abduction are due to changes in termination times resulting from changes in muscle‐fiber lengths. These findings demonstrate that the negative and positive phases of the CMAP are due to different mechanisms, and that anatomical factors, particularly muscle‐fiber lengths, play an important role in determining CMAP shape. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Neural speech synthesis system for Arabic language using CELP algorithm

Speech is the most natural and widespread form of human communication. That is why speech synthesis has interested researchers for decades. It turns out that developing an unlimited text-to-speech system is an enormous task. The traditional methods (synthesis by rule and synthesis by concatenation of pre-recorded sounds) used for this have not given good results. In such a situation, neural networks (NNs) have the potential to give better results thanks to their property of interpolation and their capacity of generalisation. We present a synthesis system for the Arabic language. The choice of parameters which will be used to drive the NN is very important and have an effective influence on the quality of produced speech. Work has been done to evaluate different methods based on linear predictive coding; the resulting speech was machine-like and not intelligible. We suggest to use CELP to drive the NN, which provides high quality speech.
A Proximal Strictly Contractive Peaceman-Rachford Splitting Method for Convex Programming with Applications to Imaging

A strictly contractive Peaceman--Rachford splitting method was proposed recently for solving separable convex programming problems. In this paper we further discuss a proximal version of this method, where a subproblem at each iteration is regularized by a proximal point term. The resulting regularized subproblem thus may have closed-form or easily computable solutions, especially in some interesting applications such as a class of sparse and low-rank optimization models. We establish the worst-case convergence rate measured by the iteration complexity in both the ergodic and nonergodic senses for the new algorithm. Some applications arising in image processing are tested to demonstrate the efficiency of the new algorithm.
Positivstellensatz for Trigonometric Polynomials and Multidimensional Stability Tests

We propose a Positivstellensatz for trigonometric polynomials that is simpler than its correspondent for polynomials of real variable. Using it, we give a stability test for multidimensional systems, consisting of checking the feasibility of a linear matrix inequality. The same result is used for a robust stability test for systems whose coefficients depend polynomially on some bounded parameters. The new tests are either more accurate or faster than previous ones
The impact of genetic variation in DRD2 and SLC6A3 on smoking cessation in a cohort of participants 1 year after enrollment in a lung cancer screening study

Smoking cessation strategies continue to have disappointing results. By determining the interindividual genetic differences that influence smoking behaviors, we may be able to develop tailored strategies that increase the likelihood of successful cessation. This study attempts to determine genetic influences on the relationship between the dopamine pathway and smoking cessation by examining associations with a variable number tandem repeat variation in SLC6A3 and the DRD2 variants TaqIA (A2 vs. A1), TaqIB (B2 vs. B1), C957T (C vs. T), and −141C Ins/Del (C vs. Del). Baseline smokers in the Pittsburgh Lung Screening Study who provided information on smoking status 1 year later were evaluated. We frequency‐matched those who were not abstinent at 1 year to those who were abstinent at 1 year by gender, decade of age, and time of enrollment (3‐month intervals) in a 3:1 ratio (N = 881). Logistic regression was used to identify the effect of genotype on abstinence at 1 year. In a model containing the matching variables and other genotypes, DRD2 TaqIA was significantly associated with being abstinent at 1 year (P = 0.01). Compared to participants who were homozygous for the TaqIA major allele (A2A2), participants who carried at least one minor allele (A1) were less likely to quit (Odds Ratio: 0.47, 95% CI: 0.24–0.94). The other dopamine receptor genotypes and the SLC6A3 genotype were not associated with smoking status at 1 year. The association between DRD2 TaqIA and smoking cessation supports the hypothesis that genetic variation in the dopamine pathway influences smoking cessation. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Sentiment Analysis on News Articles for Stocks

In this paper we have used sentiment analysis on news articles to see its effect on stock prices. We collected our dataset using Bing API which gave us links to news articles about a specific company. As no pre-existing sentiment dictionary specifically for stock articles exited, we created a specialized sentiment dictionary only meant to analyze stock articles. Two different machine learning algorithms were applied to the dataset and the accuracy of the two was compared. In order to test our results we attached an overall sentiment to each article in our data set which was compared to the predicted sentiment by the algorithm. We also compared the predicted results with the actual change in the stock prices on the market.