Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Pathophysiology of Serotonin Toxicity in Animals and Humans: Implications for Diagnosis and Treatment

Serotonin toxicity (or serotonin syndrome) has become an increasingly common and important clinical problem in medicine over the last 15 years with the introduction of many new antidepressants that can cause increased levels of serotonin (5-HT) in the central nervous system (CNS). Severe and life-threatening cases are almost exclusively a result of combinations of antidepressants (usually monoamine oxidase inhibitors and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors). Unfortunately, the term serotonin syndrome has a number of quite different meanings, and many people writing on this subject have failed to differentiate them. This has led to false conclusions regarding the 5-HT receptor subtypes responsible for the life-threatening effects in animal and human toxicity, and suggestions of ineffective treatment strategies. This review primarily addresses the serotonin receptor subtypes that underlie the clinical manifestations of excess CNS serotonin in humans and animals, and their implications for diagnosis and treatment. More specific diagnostic criteria for serotonin toxicity are required to identify situations when specific antidotes are likely to be useful. However, the mainstay of treatment of severe cases is good supportive care and early intubation and paralysis in life-threatening serotonin toxicity.
Dynamics of particle sedimentation in a vertical channel: Period-doubling bifurcation and chaotic state

The dynamics and interaction of two circular cylinders settling in an infinitely long narrow channel (width equal to four times the cylinder diameter) is explained by direct computational analysis. The results show that at relatively low Reynolds numbers (based on the average particle velocity and diameter), the particles undergo complex transitions to reach a low-dimensional chaotic state represented by a strange attractor. As the Reynolds number increases, the initial periodic state goes through a turning point and a subcritical transition to another periodic branch. Further increase in the Reynolds number results in a cascade of period-doubling bifurcations to a chaotic state represented by a low dimensional chaotic attractor. The entire sequence of transitions takes place in a relatively narrow range of Reynolds number between 2 and 6. The physical reason for the period-doubling transitions is explained based on the interaction of the particles with each other and the channel walls. The particles undergo near contact interactions as settling in the channel. To accurately capture the dynamics, the computational method requires accurate resolution of the particle interactions. The computational results are obtained with our lattice-Boltzmann method developed for suspended particles near contact. The results show that even in the most simple and ideal multiparticle sedimentation, the system undergoes transition to complex dynamics at relatively low Reynolds number.
Mining latent tag group based on tag dependency relation for recommendation in collaborative tagging systems

Currently, collaborative tagging systems have been applied in recommendation systems [2] on a large scale, during which the analysis of tags group is unavoidable. However, a sparsity problem is interfering with most of the current collaborative tagging systems, and there are only a few folks using a considerable number of tags to describe one resource. Through the deep investigation to the statistical relation between the tags in collaborative tagging systems, a mining method named BTDR based on the latent dependence between tags is proposed in this paper. We also conduct experiments to evaluate the proposed method.
A QoS-based scheduling algorithm for instance-intensive workflows in cloud environment

Along with the rapid development of the Internet, especially the advent of cloud computing era, instance-intensive workflow applications will play an increasingly important role in people's daily life. Most of the existing scheduling algorithms are designed just for a single complex workflow instance. This paper takes cloud workflow as a research background, completely generalizes and describes the instance-intensive workflow scheduling optimization problems based on QoS (Quality of Service) under the current architecture of cloud workflows. Then this paper classifies workflow tasks based on user's QoS preference, and combines with staggered sub-deadlines allocation criteria, proposes a QDA scheduling algorithm suitable for instance-intensive workflows in cloud environment. Simulation results show that, compared to other algorithms, QDA algorithm can better meets the different requirements from users, and also has a much better load balancing rate.
[Correlation analysis of serum calcium levels and risks of diabetes mellitus in middle-aged and elderly men].

OBJECTIVE To investigate the correlation of serum calcium levels and the risks of diabetes mellitus (DM) in middle-aged elderly men. METHODS A total of 3386 male subjects aged 40-79 years were selected from two local communities of Beijing using stratified random sampling for this cross-sectional survey. The survey was conducted using questionnaires, and all the subjects underwent physical examination and blood tests of serum calcium, vitamin D and other biochemical parameters. The subjects were divided into normal glucose group, prediabetic group and diabetic group to compare their blood biochemical parameters and analyze the risk factors of diabetes. RESULTS The prevalence of diabetes and pre-diabetes was 32.31% in the 3386 subjects surveyed. Serum calcium, vitamin D and Creatinine (Cr) levels were significantly higher in pre-diabetic and diabetic groups than in the non-diabetic group (P/0.05), and age, body mass index, serum calcium, vitamin D, and Cr levels differed significantly between the former two groups (P/0.05). The prevalence of diabetes increased significantly with serum calcium level (P/0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that age, body mass index, serum calcium, and serum vitamin D levels were independent risk factors for diabetes (P/0.05). CONCLUSION Male diabetic patients have abnormal serum calcium levels. An increased age and increased serum calcium levels are associated with higher risks of diabetes, and age, serum calcium, serum vitamin D, Cr, and body mass index are all risk factors of diabetes in men.
Universality of quantum Hall effect: Topological invariant and observable.

We show a universality in the quantum Hall effect in that the flux-averaged Hall conductivity in any two- or three-dimensional system with or without disorder is given by a topological invariant quantized in units of $\frac{{e}^{2}}{h}$ at $T=0$ for every energy level in a finite system. Relevance to the observable Hall conductivity over the whole energy spectrum is presented together with numerical results for lattice systems.
Microwave Dosimetry in Biological Exposure Studies and in Practical Safety Evaluations

This thesis considers the risk evaluation of microwaves from two important points of view. First, the methodology of the exposure studies elucidating the health effects of mobile phones is considered starting from the general aspects of designing setups and proceeding to the assessment of the exposure level (dosimetry) and practical execution of the experiments. Second, the exposure assessment in practical safety evaluations of fixed radio transmitters, such as mobile phone base stations, is studied. The dosimetry and the exposure setup design are critical for the success of exposure studies since the biological results are worthless if the used exposure level is not known. Furthermore, the experiments with test animals or human volunteers are always very challenging in practice. This work aimed to design, implement and analyse setups for four separate biological experiments. The first experiment related to a novel study of the effects of mobile phone (GSM) radiation in human skin in vivo. In the second experiment the brain functions of domestic pigs exposed to high level GSM type radiation were studied. The third setup was used for long term exposure of over 200 unrestrained rats. The rat setup was further utilised in another experiment searching the effects of microwave radiation on central nervous system of juvenile rats. The dosimetric analysis was performed by means of numerical simulations in all cases. The simulations were validated by measurements and the uncertainty of achieved results was analysed. The functionality of the setups was proven in practice; all experiments were successfully executed and the results of both methodological and biological studies were reported in peer reviewed journals. The need for microwave safety evaluations has increased quickly during the last decade. The number of base station (BS) antennas has increased rapidly and they are often placed on roof tops etc. where various professionals have to work. Hence, efficient methods for assessing the compliance with exposure limits are needed. The scope of the work, presented in this thesis, was to study the near field exposure caused by real commercial BS models. Experimental measurements
Research on the wind power active power control strategies and the energy storage device optimal allocation

The initiative for wind power active power output control for grid security, economic and reliable operation has the important practical significance. This paper discussed the relation between wind farm output and qualitative system load. From the angle of reducing wind power grid-connected operation impact, proposed an improved wind power output control strategy. Under the consideration of peak load and wind farm power output control requirements, the configuration optimization scheme of energy storage device was proposed. And the proposed method was validated by simulation.
Real-time planar segmentation of depth images : from 3 D edges to segmented planes

Real-time execution of processing algorithms for handling depth images in a 3D data framework is a major challenge. More specifically, considering depth images as point-clouds and performing planar segmentation requires heavy computation, because available planar-segmentation algorithms are mostly based on surface normals and/or curvatures, and consequently, do not provide real-time performance. Aiming at the reconstruction of indoor environments, the spaces mainly consist of planar surfaces, so that a possible 3D application would strongly benefit from a real-time algorithm. In this paper, we introduce a real-time planar-segmentation method for depth images avoiding any surface-normal calculation. First, we detect 3D edges in a depth image and generate line-segments between the identified edges. Second, we fuse all the points on each pair of intersecting line-segments into a plane candidate. Third and finally, we implement a validation phase to select planes from the candidates. Furthermore, various enhancements are applied to improve the segmentation quality. The GPU implementation of the proposed algorithm segments depth images into planes at the rate of 58 fps. Our pipeline-interleaving technique increases this rate up to 100 fps. With this throughput rate improvement, the application benefit of our algorithm may be further exploited in terms of quality and enhancing the localization.
A mechanism of ryanodine receptor modulation by FKBP12/12.6, protein kinase A, and K201.

AIMS Our objective was to explore the functional interdependence of protein kinase A (PKA) phosphorylation with binding of modulatory FK506 binding proteins (FKBP12/12.6) to the ryanodine receptor (RyR). RyR type 1 or type 2 was prepared from rabbit skeletal muscle or pig cardiac muscle, respectively. In heart failure, RyR2 dysfunction is implicated in fatal arrhythmia and RyR1 dysfunction is associated with muscle fatigue. A controversial underlying mechanism of RyR1/2 dysfunction is proposed to be hyperphosphorylation of RyR1/2 by PKA, causing loss of FKBP12/12.6 binding that is reversible by the experimental inhibitory drug K201 (JTV519). Phosphorylation is also a trigger for fatal arrhythmia in catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia associated with point mutations in RyR2. METHODS AND RESULTS Equilibrium binding kinetics of RyR1/2 to FKBP12/12.6 were measured using surface plasmon resonance (Biacore). Free Ca(2+) concentration was used to modulate the open/closed conformation of RyR1/2 channels measured using [(3)H]ryanodine binding assays. The affinity constant-K(A), for RyR1/2 binding to FKBP12/12.6, was significantly greater for the closed compared with the open conformation. The effect of phosphorylation or K201 was to reduce the K(A) of the closed conformation by increasing the rate of dissociation k(d). K201 reduced [(3)H]ryanodine binding to RyR1/2 at all free Ca(2+) concentrations including PKA phosphorylated preparations. CONCLUSION The results are explained through a model proposing that phosphorylation and K201 acted similarly to change the conformation of RyR1/2 and regulate FKBP12/12.6 binding. K201 stabilized the conformation, whereas phosphorylation facilitated a subsequent molecular event that might increase the rate of an open/closed conformational transition.
Arterial Endothelium-derived Hyperpolarization: Potential Role in Pregnancy Adaptations and Complications

Abstract: Pregnancy encompasses substantial changes in vascular function to accommodate dramatic increases in blood volume and uteroplacental blood flow to the growing fetus. Despite increased hemodynamics, decreased peripheral resistance results in a reduction in mean arterial blood pressure. Vascular tone, and hence peripheral resistance, is determined by a delicate balance of constrictor and dilator capacities. In the normal physiological response to pregnancy, endothelial-derived hyperpolarization (EDH) has been shown to be a major contributor; both EDH and nitric oxide (NO) are predominantly involved in providing an increased vascular capacity for vasodilation. The ability of EDH and NO to adequately accommodate increased blood volume is tested in pathological states such as placental insufficiency or diabetes and both EDH and NO-dependent mechanisms seem to be impacted in these situations. Pregnancy complications also have an impact on the cardiovascular health of the offspring. In adult offspring born from complicated pregnancies, the data suggest that EDH mechanisms are largely maintained, whereas NO is commonly reduced. A diversity of EDH mechanisms may be useful in providing many targets for potential therapeutic avenues for compromised pregnancies; however, further research delineating the mechanisms of EDH and the interactions of NO and EDH, in normal and pathological pregnancies is required.
Antithrombin therapy for intracerebral hemorrhage.

To the Editor: We read the article by Xi et al1 and the Editorial Comment by Dr J. Paul Muizelaar with great interest. In the article the authors stress that blood clot formation is required for the rapid development of persistent edema in the white and gray matter surrounding intracerebral bleeding. Thrombin itself was found to contribute to prolonged edema in gray matter. Muizelaar cautioned that the experimental findings may not be applicable to clinical practice, making the points that the hematoma is difficult to remove in the early phase after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) and that tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) may worsen hemorrhage. We propose consideration of antithrombin therapy with use of a selective thrombin inhibitor such as argatroban to avoid such problems. Argatroban differs from tPA in that it has no effect on the fibrolytic system, so it does not promote bleeding. We suggest that …
Cobalt Targets Multiple Metabolic Processes in Salmonella enterica

ABSTRACT Cobalt is essential for growth of Salmonella enterica and other organisms, yet this metal can be toxic when present in excess. Wild-type Salmonella exhibits several metabolic defects when grown in the presence of cobalt, some of which generate visible growth consequences. Work herein identifies sulfur assimilation, iron homeostasis, and Fe-S cluster metabolism as targets for cobalt toxicity. In each case it is proposed that cobalt exerts its effect by one of two mechanisms: direct competition with iron or indirectly through a mechanism that involves the status of reduced thiols in the cell. Cobalt toxicity results in decreased siroheme production, increased expression of the Fur regulon, and decreased activity of Fe-S cluster proteins. The consequences of reduced sulfite reductase activity in particular are exacerbated by the need for glutathione in cobalt resistance. Significantly, independent metabolic perturbations could be detected at cobalt concentrations below those required to generate a detectable growth defect.
Dynamic and temperature effects in spin-transfer switching

We have studied the dynamic switching triggered by spin angular momentum transfer in a pulsed current of a spin-valve-type trilayer structure, and its dependence on thermal effects. In order to determine the current pulse parameters, where fast and stable switching can be achieved, we have studied the magnetization’s dynamics properties as a function of applied current pulse amplitude and shape, waiting time, and initial orientation, and also as a function of the Gilbert damping constant. The magnetic layer is assumed to be single domain, ellipsoid shaped. In this paper also we present the thermal fluctuation effects on the switching behavior. The model is based on the Landau–Lifshitz–Gilbert equation and the stochastic Landau–Lifshitz–Gilbert equation with a spin-transfer term included, which are numerically integrated.
Advances in endophenotyping schizophrenia

The search for the genetic architecture of schizophrenia has employed multiple, often converging strategies. One such strategy entails the use of tracing the heritability and neurobiology of endophenotypes. Endophenotypes are quantifiable traits not visible to the eye, which are thought to reflect an intermediate place on the path from genes to disorder. Endophenotype abnormalities in domains such as neurophysiology or neurocognition occur in schizophrenia patients as well as their clinically "unaffected" relatives, and reflect polymorphisms in the DNA of schizophrenia spectrum subjects which create vulnerability to developing schizophrenia. By identifying the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with endophenotypes in schizophrenia, psychiatric neuroscientists can select new strong inference based molecular targets for the treatment of schizophrenia.
Satellite imagery fusion methods to improve urban land cover classes identification

The growing use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has led to new research opportunities in the application of satellite imagery to urban analysis. The information content of such images is a function of the combined influence of the radiometric, spatial, and spectral resolution of the sensor. The different bands of satellite sensors are recorded synchronously so that their pixels may be precisely matched and compared with their counterpart pixels in other bands. This means that we can use spectral ("colour") differences to identify urban features to the extent that colours are diagnostic sort of a coarse spectroscopy from space. Spectral sensor technology, however, coupled with the complexity of ground features in urban areas, can make visual interpretations of satellite imagery both labour intensive and uncertain. Moreover, the informational utility of a multispectral image for land cover classification is often limited by the spectral and spatial resolution of the imaging system. No currently existing single system offers both high spatial and high spectral resolution. Furthermore, if the same techniques that were developed for earlier lower resolution satellite imagery are used on high-resolution imagery (such as maximum likelihood classification), the results can create a negative impact. Lower resolution data are not affected greatly by artefacts, such as shadows, and they also “smooth” out variations across ranges of individual pixels, allowing statistical processing to create effective land cover maps. Individual pixels in higher resolution data can represent individual objects and contiguous pixels in an image can vary dramatically, creating very mixed or “confused” classification results. This paper proposes a two-stage classification procedure that effectively reduces negative impacts related to spectral ambiguity and spatial complexity of land cover classes of high resolution imagery in urban environments. In order to achieve both high spatial and spectral resolution in a single image, image fusion is employed and its influences on thematic accuracy of land cover classification, through an example using IKONOS panchromatic and multispectral images, is examined. Three fused images were generated using intensity-hue-saturation (IHS), principal component analysis (PCA) and high pass filter (HPF) fusion methods. All the images were then classified under the supervised classification approaches of maximum likelihood classifier (MLC). Using the classified result of the original multispectral image as a benchmark, integrative analysis of overall accuracy, with the degree of improvement in the classification from using the fused images, are executed. Validity and limitations of image fusion for land cover classification are finally drawn.
[The regulatory effect of human bone morphogenetic protein 7 gene transfer on the proliferation and differentiation of rabbit bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells].

OBJECTIVE To detect the proliferation and differentiation of rabbit bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSc) transferred by retroviral vector carrying human bone morphogenetic protein 7 (hBMP-7) gene. METHODS hBMP-7-expressing replication-deficient retroviral vector(PT-PLNCX2-hBMP7) was reconstructed using clone technique and recombinant DNA technique. BMSc were infected with the virus granules. The protein of BMP-7 gene in transferred cells were determined by immunohistochemistry. The proliferativity of the transferred cell were assayed by methabenzthiazuron (MTT) method and flow cytometer. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were also detected using enzyme kinetics. RESULTS Cells transferred by PT-PLNCX2-hBMP7 expressed abundant hBMP7 protein in the cytoplasm. Positive findings were not found in those cells that were not transferred. After infected with virus there were not significant difference of cell proliferation and cell cycle between the cells transferred by hBMP-7 or not (P > 0.05). ALP activity in transferred cells were increased significantly (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS hBMP-7 can be transferred and stably expressed in the cultured rabbit bone marrow stem cells. Proliferation and cell cycle of the transferred cell were not affected. hBMP7 gene transfer can be used to induce differentiation of BMSc into osteoblast-like cells.