Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Social-Aware Peer Discovery for Energy Harvesting-Based Device-To-Device Communications

In Device-to-Device (D2D) communications, the first step is to find all of the neighboring peers in the network by performing a peer discovery process. Most previous studies use the social behaviors of the users to adjust the sending rates of the peer discovery messages (i.e., beacons) under the constraint of consumed power for increasing the Peer Discovery Ratio (PDR). However, these studies do not consider the potential for energy harvesting, which allows for the User Equipments (UEs) to procure additional power within charging areas. Accordingly, this paper proposes an Energy-Ratio Rate Decision (ERRD) algorithm that comprises three steps, namely Social Ratio Allocation (SRA), Energy Ratio Allocation (ERA), and Beacon Rate Decision (BRD). The SRA step determines the allocated power quantum for each UE from the total budget power based on the social behavior of the UE. The ERA step then adjusts this allocated power quantum in accordance with the power that is harvested by the UE. Finally, the BRD step computes the beacon rate for the UE based on the adjusted power quantum. The simulation results show that ERRD outperforms the previously-reported Social-Based Grouping (SBG) algorithm by 190% on the PDR for a budget power of one watt and 8% for a budget power of 20 watts.
Oscillatory Properties of Functional Connections Between Sensory Areas Mediate Cross-Modal Illusory Perception

The presentation of simple auditory stimuli can significantly impact visual processing and even induce visual illusions, such as the auditory-induced double flash illusion (DFI). These cross-modal processes have been shown to be driven by occipital oscillatory activity within the alpha band. Whether this phenomenon is network specific or can be generalized to other sensory interactions remains unknown. The aim of the current study was to test whether cross-modal interactions between somatosensory-to-visual areas leading to the same (but tactile-induced) DFI share similar properties with the auditory DFI. We hypothesized that if the effects are mediated by the oscillatory properties of early visual areas per se, then the two versions of the illusion should be subtended by the same neurophysiological mechanism (i.e., the speed of the alpha frequency). Alternatively, if the oscillatory activity in visual areas predicting this phenomenon is dependent on the specific neural network involved, then it should reflect network-specific oscillatory properties. In line with the latter, results recorded in humans (both sexes) show a network-specific oscillatory profile linking the auditory DFI to occipital alpha oscillations, replicating previous findings, and tactile DFI to occipital beta oscillations, a rhythm typical of somatosensory processes. These frequency-specific effects are observed for visual (but not auditory or somatosensory) areas and account for auditory–visual connectivity in the alpha band and somatosensory–visual connectivity in the beta band. We conclude that task-dependent visual oscillations reflect network-specific oscillatory properties favoring optimal directional neural communication timing for sensory binding. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT We investigated the oscillatory correlates of the auditory- and tactile-induced double flash illusion (DFI), a phenomenon where two interleaved beeps (taps) set within 100 ms apart and paired with one visual flash induce the sensation of a second illusory flash. Results confirm previous evidence that the speed of individual occipital alpha oscillations predict the temporal window of the auditory-induced illusion. Importantly, they provide novel evidence that the tactile-induced DFI is instead mediated by the speed of individual occipital beta oscillations. These task-dependent occipital oscillations are shown to be mediated by the oscillatory properties of the neural network engaged in the task to favor optimal temporal integration between the senses.
Direct role for the RNA polymerase domain of T7 primase in primer delivery

Gene 4 protein (gp4) encoded by bacteriophage T7 contains a C-terminal helicase and an N-terminal primase domain. After synthesis of tetraribonucleotides, gp4 must transfer them to the polymerase for use as primers to initiate DNA synthesis. In vivo gp4 exists in two molecular weight forms, a 56-kDa form and the full-length 63-kDa form. The 56-kDa gp4 lacks the N-terminal Cys4 zinc-binding motif important in the recognition of primase sites in DNA. The 56-kDa gp4 is defective in primer synthesis but delivers a wider range of primers to initiate DNA synthesis compared to the 63-kDa gp4. Suppressors exist that enable the 56-kDa gp4 to support the growth of T7 phage lacking gene 4 (T7Δ4). We have identified 56-kDa DNA primases defective in primer delivery by screening for their ability to support growth of T7Δ4 phage in the presence of this suppressor. Trp69 is critical for primer delivery. Replacement of Trp69 with lysine in either the 56- or 63-kDa gp4 results in defective primer delivery with other functions unaffected. DNA primase harboring lysine at position 69 fails to stabilize the primer on DNA. Thus, a primase subdomain not directly involved in primer synthesis is involved in primer delivery. The stabilization of the primer by DNA primase is necessary for DNA polymerase to initiate synthesis.
The inhibitory effect of tachyplesin I on thrombosis and its mechanisms

Thrombotic diseases are major cause of cardiovascular diseases. This study was designed to investigate the effect of tachyplesin I on platelet aggregation and thrombosis. Platelet aggregation was analysed with a whole blood aggregometer. The mice were employed to investigate the effect of tachyplesin I on thrombosis in vivo. Tachyplesin I inhibited thrombin‐induced platelet aggregation in a dose‐dependent manner. Furthermore, tachyplesin I significantly reduced thrombosis in carrageenan‐induced tail thrombosis model by intraperitoneal injection (0.1, 0.2 or 0.4 mg/kg) or intragastric administration (15, 30 or 60 mg/kg). Tachyplesin I also prolonged the bleeding time (BT) and clotting time (CT). The results revealed that tachyplesin I inhibited platelet aggregation and thrombosis by interfering the PI3K/AKT pathway. Tachyplesin I did not show significantly toxicity to mice under 300 mg/kg via intravenous injection. The results show that tachyplesin I inhibits thrombosis and has low toxicity. It is suggested that tachyplesin I has the potential to develop a new anti‐thrombotic drug.
Cardiorespiratory and Autonomic Nervous System Responses to Prolonged Eccentric Cycling

Abstract Offering large muscle benefits despite low metabolic demand, continuous eccentric exercise appears to be an interesting alternative to concentric exercise. Nevertheless, further knowledge is needed about prolonged eccentric exercise. This work sought to investigate the cardiovascular responses to prolonged constant-load eccentric compared to concentric cycling. Ten healthy males performed two 45-min exercise sessions of either concentric or eccentric cycling separated by a month and matched for heart rate during the first 5 min of exercise. Cardiorespiratory, autonomic nervous system and vascular responses were assessed at rest, and during exercise and recovery. During cycling, oxygen uptake, cardiac output and systolic blood pressure were similar but heart rate and diastolic blood pressure were greater whereas stroke volume was lower during eccentric than concentric cycling (118±21 vs. 104±10 bpm; 77±9 vs. 65±8 mmHg; 122±12 vs. 135±13 mL). Baroreflex and noradrenaline concentration were altered during eccentric cycling, and after eccentric exercise, vascular tone was greater than after concentric cycling. We observed increased cardiovascular strain and altered baroreflex activity during eccentric compared with concentric exercise, suggesting eccentric cycling triggers greater sympathetic activity.
Research Regarding Debriefing as Part of the Learning Process

Introduction: Debriefing is a process involving the active participation of learners, guided by a facilitator or instructor whose primary goal is to identify and close gaps in knowledge and skills. A review of existing research and a process for identifying future opportunities was undertaken. Methods: A selective critical review of the literature on debriefing in simulation-based education was done. An iterative process of analysis, gathering input from audience participants, and consensus-based synthesis was conducted. Results: Research is sparse and limited in presentation for all important topic areas where debriefing is a primary variable. The importance of a format for reporting data on debriefing in a research context was realized and a “who, when, where, what, why” approach was proposed. Also, a graphical representation of the characteristics of debriefing studies was developed (Sim-PICO) to help guide simulation researchers in appropriate experimental design and reporting. Conclusion: A few areas of debriefing practice where obvious gaps that deserve study were identified, such as comparing debriefing techniques, comparing trained versus untrained debriefers, and comparing the effect of different debriefing venues and times. A model for publication of research data was developed and presented which should help researchers clarify methodology in future work.
Condition Assessment of Belted PILC Cables After 7 to 68 Years of Service

This paper summarizes the results of laboratory evaluation of eight service aged paper-insulated lead-covered belted cables, produced by different manufacturers in the period between 1937 and 1998. Cable performance was evaluated from different perspectives, including partial discharge pattern, ionization factor at room temperature, dissipation factor at elevated temperatures, up to 90 °C, dielectric strength of the cable insulation, analysis of the laminated insulation structure, moisture content, etc. Overall results indicate that unless cable insulation is affected by moisture intrusion, most of the cable characteristics still meet the requirements for new cables. The only exception is dissipation factor at elevated temperature, which suggests that cable ampacity is reduced by cable aging.
Microarray Profiling of Circular RNA Identifies hsa_circ_0126991 as a Potential Risk Factor for Essential Hypertension

Essential hypertension (EH), a major cause of cardiovascular diseases, is an important public health issue. However, the molecular mechanisms involved in EH remain unknown. Circular RNA (circRNA) is a novel promising biomarker for the disease. The purpose of the present study was to determine the expression of circRNAs in the blood of EH patients and to evaluate the performance of circRNA for early diagnosis of EH. A total of 178 subjects were recruited in the case-control study. Initial screening was done by using the Agilent human circRNA microarray followed by qRT-PCR validation. Finally, miRNAs were combined with circRNAs to create a new early prediction model for EH. The expression level of hsa_circ_0126991 in EH patients was significantly higher in comparison with healthy controls (p < 0.0001). Using the interaction of miR-10a-5p in combination with hsa_circ_0126991 led to a sensitivity of 0.708, a specificity of 0.764, and combined area under the curve of 0.774 (95% CI: 0.705-0.843) for early diagnosis of EH. In summary, the present study uncovered a novel perspective that hyperexpression of hsa_circ_0126991 is correlated with the risk of EH and may serve as a stable biomarker for early diagnosis of EH.
Diagnosis and outcome of acute respiratory failure in immunocompromised patients after bronchoscopy

Objective We wished to explore the use, diagnostic capability and outcomes of bronchoscopy added to noninvasive testing in immunocompromised patients. In this setting, an inability to identify the cause of acute hypoxaemic respiratory failure is associated with worse outcome. Every effort should be made to obtain a diagnosis, either with noninvasive testing alone or combined with bronchoscopy. However, our understanding of the risks and benefits of bronchoscopy remains uncertain. Patients and methods This was a pre-planned secondary analysis of Efraim, a prospective, multinational, observational study of 1611 immunocompromised patients with acute respiratory failure admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). We compared patients with noninvasive testing only to those who had also received bronchoscopy by bivariate analysis and after propensity score matching. Results Bronchoscopy was performed in 618 (39%) patients who were more likely to have haematological malignancy and a higher severity of illness score. Bronchoscopy alone achieved a diagnosis in 165 patients (27% adjusted diagnostic yield). Bronchoscopy resulted in a management change in 236 patients (38% therapeutic yield). Bronchoscopy was associated with worsening of respiratory status in 69 (11%) patients. Bronchoscopy was associated with higher ICU (40% versus 28%; p<0.0001) and hospital mortality (49% versus 41%; p=0.003). The overall rate of undiagnosed causes was 13%. After propensity score matching, bronchoscopy remained associated with increased risk of hospital mortality (OR 1.41, 95% CI 1.08–1.81). Conclusions Bronchoscopy was associated with improved diagnosis and changes in management, but also increased hospital mortality. Balancing risk and benefit in individualised cases should be investigated further. In a pre-planned analysis of immunocompromised critically ill patients with acute respiratory failure, bronchoscopy was associated with better diagnosis and management but worse outcome. The decision to perform bronchoscopy should be individualised. http://bit.ly/2Dusahh
Organized Sports for Children, Preadolescents, and Adolescents

Interest and participation in organized sports for children, preadolescents, and adolescents continue to grow. Because of increased participation, and younger entry age, in organized sports, appropriate practice, game schedules, and content become more important, taking into account athlete developmental stage and skills. Parental support for organized sports in general, with focus on development and fun instead of winning, has emerged as a key factor in the athlete’s enjoyment of sports. Schools and community sports organizations who support multiple levels of sport (eg, recreational, competitive, elite) can include more youth who want to play sports and combat sport dropout. This report reviews the benefits and risks of organized sports as well as the roles of schools, community organizations, parents, and coaches in organized sports. It is designed to complement the American Academy of Pediatrics clinical reports “Physical Activity Assessment and Counseling in Pediatric Clinical Settings” and “Sports Specialization and Intensive Training in Young Athletes” by reviewing relevant literature on healthy organized sports for youth and providing guidance on organized sport readiness and entry. The report also provides guidance for pediatricians on counseling parents and advocating for healthy organized sports participation.
A Guide to Understanding Antimicrobial Drug Dosing in Critically Ill Patients on Renal Replacement Therapy

A careful management of antimicrobials is essential in the critically ill with acute kidney injury, especially if renal replacement therapy is required. Acute kidney injury may lead per se to clinically significant modifications of drugs’ pharmacokinetic parameters, and the need for renal replacement therapy represents a further variable that should be considered to avoid inappropriate antimicrobial therapy. ABSTRACT A careful management of antimicrobials is essential in the critically ill with acute kidney injury, especially if renal replacement therapy is required. Acute kidney injury may lead per se to clinically significant modifications of drugs’ pharmacokinetic parameters, and the need for renal replacement therapy represents a further variable that should be considered to avoid inappropriate antimicrobial therapy. The most important pharmacokinetic parameters, useful to determine the significance of extracorporeal removal of a given drug, are molecular weight, protein binding, and distribution volume. In many cases, the extracorporeal removal of antimicrobials can be relevant, with a consistent risk of underdosing-related treatment failure and/or potential onset of bacterial resistance. It should also be taken into account that renal replacement therapies are often not standardized in critically ill patients, and their impact on plasma drug concentrations may substantially vary in relation to membrane characteristics, treatment modality, and delivered dialysis dose. Thus, in this clinical scenario, the knowledge of the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of different antimicrobial classes is crucial to tailor maintenance dose and/or time interval according to clinical needs. Finally, especially for antimicrobials known for a tight therapeutic range, therapeutic drug monitoring is strongly suggested to guide dosing adjustment in complex clinical settings, such as septic patients with acute kidney injury undergoing renal replacement therapy.
Global Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals Insights into the Response of ‘Etrog’ Citron (Citrus medica L.) to Citrus Exocortis Viroid Infection

Citrus exocortis viroid (CEVd) is the causal agent of citrus exocortis disease. We employed CEVd-infected ‘Etrog’ citron as a system to study the feedback regulation mechanism using transcriptome analysis in this study. Three months after CEVd infection, the transcriptome of fresh leaves was analyzed, and 1530 differentially expressed genes were detected. The replication of CEVd in citron induced upregulation of genes encoding key proteins that were involved in the RNA silencing pathway such as Dicer-like 2, RNA-dependent RNA polymerase 1, argonaute 2, argonaute 7, and silencing defective 3, as well as those genes encoding proteins that are related to basic defense responses. Many genes involved in secondary metabolite biosynthesis and chitinase activity were upregulated, whereas other genes related to cell wall and phytohormone signal transduction were downregulated. Moreover, genes encoding disease resistance proteins, pathogenicity-related proteins, and heat shock cognate 70 kDa proteins were also upregulated in response to CEVd infection. These results suggest that basic defense and RNA silencing mechanisms are activated by CEVd infection, and this information improves our understanding of the pathogenesis of viroids in woody plants.
Diurnal Variation of Corneal and Corneal Epithelial Thickness Measured Using Optical Coherence Tomography

Purpose. To determine the feasibility of optical coherence tomography (OCT) measurement of overnight corneal swelling and de-swelling and, specifically, to examine overnight changes in the corneal epithelium and recovery during the day. Methods. Ten healthy volunteers were recruited. Corneal OCT imaging was performed at 10:00 PM (baseline), 8:30 AM, and every 2 hours thereafter until 4:30 PM. Either the right or left eye was taped shut (using a gauze pad and surgical tape) until the 8:30 AM session of the next day. Measurements were made along a 1-mm strip centered on the visual axis. Results. At baseline, there were no differences in corneal or epithelial thickness between control and experimental eyes (all p > 0.05). Immediately after patch removal, corneal and epithelial thicknesses of patched eyes were higher than the baseline (all p < 0.05). In patched eyes, the cornea and epithelium swelled 5.5% and 8.1% overnight, respectively (p > 0.05). Two hours later, the epithelial thickness of the experimental eyes recovered to baseline level (p > 0.05), but corneal thickness did not reach to baseline level until 4 hours after patch removal. For control eyes, there were no differences compared with baseline (all p > 0.05). Conclusion. Both cornea and corneal epithelium experience proportionately similar amounts of overnight swelling. Recovery of overnight swelling may be slower for the cornea than for the epithelium. OCT provides valuable information about anterior segment morphometry.
Cholinergic and noradrenergic modulation of the slow (approximately 0.3 Hz) oscillation in neocortical cells.

1. The pedunculopontine tegmental (PPT) cholinergic nucleus and the locus coeruleus (LC) noradrenergic nucleus were electrically stimulated to investigate their effects on the recently described slow oscillation (approximately 0.3 Hz) of neocortical neurons. Intracellular recordings of slowly oscillating, regular-spiking and intrinsically bursting neurons from cortical association areas 5 and 7 (n = 140) were performed in anesthetized cats. 2. Pulse trains to the PPT nucleus produced the blockage of rhythmic (approximately 0.3 Hz) depolarizing-hyperpolarizing sequences in 79% of tested cortical neurons and transformed this slow cellular rhythm into tonic firing. The latency of the cortical cellular response to PPT stimulation was 1.2 +/- 0.5 (SE) s and its duration was 15.9 +/- 1.9 s. The PPT-elicited suppression of the slow cellular oscillation was accompanied by an activation of the electroencephalogram (EEG) having a similar time course. Fast Fourier transform analyses of EEG activities before and after PPT stimulation showed that the PPT-evoked changes consisted of decreased power of slow rhythms (0-8 Hz) and increased power of fast rhythms (24-33 Hz); these changes were statistically significant. 3. The blockage of the slow cellular oscillation was mainly achieved through the diminution or suppression of the long-lasting hyperpolarizations separating the rhythmic depolarizing envelopes. This effect was observed even when PPT pulse trains disrupted the oscillation without inducing overt depolarization and increased firing rate. The durations of the prolonged hyperpolarizations were measured during a 40-s window (20 s before and 20 s after the PPT pulse train) and were found to decrease from 1.5 +/- 0.2 to 0.7 +/- 0.1 s. The values of the product resulting from the duration (in seconds), the amplitude (in millivolts), and number of such hyperpolarizing events within 20-s periods were 51.5 +/- 5 and 5.1 +/- 1.9 before and after PPT stimulation, respectively. 4. The PPT effect was suppressed by systemic administration of a muscarinic antagonist, scopolamine, but not by mecamylamine, a nicotinic antagonist. 5. The PPT effect on cellular and EEG cortical slow oscillation survived, although its duration was reduced, in animals with kainate-induced lesions of thalamic nuclei projecting to areas 5 and 7 (n = 3) as well as in animals with similar excitotoxic lesions leading to extensive neuronal loss in nucleus basalis (n = 2). These data indicate that the PPT effect is transmitted to neocortex through either thalamic or basal forebrain relays. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)