Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Physical Properties of Soft Contact Lens Solutions

Purpose. To investigate the physical properties of commercially available soft contact lens solutions. Methods. The pH, osmolality, surface tension (ST), and viscosity of various soft contact lens solutions were measured at room temperature. Viscosity measurements were also taken at 34°C. The solutions examined were Opti-Free Express (OFX), Opti-Free RepleniSH (OFR), Complete Moisture Plus (COM), UltraCare (UC), ReNu MultiPlus, Sensitive Eyes, AOSept (AO), Clear Care, SoloCare Aqua, and SoftWear saline. The peroxide solutions were measured before and after neutralization. Results. The pH of most solutions was close to neutral (range 7.00–7.36), except for OFX and neutralized AO and Clear Care. The osmolality values of most solutions were in the 275 to 310 mOsm/kg range. OFX exhibited a significantly lower osmolality (225 mOsm/kg; p < 0.001), whereas UC was significantly higher (329 mOsm/kg; p < 0.001). Neutralized AO and SoftWear saline had ST values of approximately 67 mN/m. OFX, OFR, and SoloCare Aqua exhibited low ST values in the 30 to 35 mN/m range. The remaining solutions exhibited intermediate ST values of approximately 40 mN/m. These three groupings were significantly different (p < 0.001). The average viscosity of most solutions at room temperature was between 0.95 and 1.26 cP, except for COM (3.02 cP; p < 0.001). At 34°C, the average viscosity of most solutions was between 0.70 and 0.83 cP, except for COM, which had a viscosity of 1.92 cP (p < 0.001). The un-neutralized peroxide solutions had very different pH and osmolality values from all the solutions that would directly contact the eye (p < 0.001). Their viscosity and ST values were similar (p = NS). Conclusions. This study detailed many physical properties of soft lens solutions that are not readily available and indicated that certain properties vary significantly among these products.
Partage de données biomédicales : modèles, sémantique et qualité. (Sharing biomedical information : models, semantics and quality)

Le volume de donnees disponibles dans les systemes d'information est de plus en plus important et pour autant, nous n'avons jamais autant essayer d'interconnecter cette information pour en extraire de la connaissance sans veritable succes generalisable. L'origine du probleme est multiple. Tout d'abord, l'information est representee dans des structures differentes. Ensuite, les vocabulaires utilises pour exprimer les donnees sont heterogenes. Enfin, la qualite de l'information est souvent trop mauvaise pour utiliser une information et en deduire des connaissances. Ce diagnostic est d'autant plus vrai dans le cadre du partage d'information dans le domaine biomedical ou il reste difficile de s'entendre sur des representations (structures et vocabulaires) pivots d'un domaine de la medecine, et donc ou il apparait difficile de resoudre le probleme du partage d'information par l'imposition de standard de codage et de structuration de l'information. Plus recemment, l'introduction de la semantique dans des processus de partage d'information, nous offre la possibilite de mettre en oeuvre des representations pivots independantes de la structuration ou du nommage d'une donnee. Cette these s'inscrit dans cette problematique de partage de donnees biomedicales dans le cadre de l'evaluation de l'evolution de la resistance des bacteries aux antibiotiques en Europe. L'hypothese generale de travail que nous proposons est la suivante: comment partager de l'information biomedicale de maniere non ambigue, en temps reel, et a la demande en Europe. Cette hypothese pose diverses problematiques que nous abordons dans ce memoire. La problematique de la qualite des donnees. Celle de la representation des donnees a travers leur structure, leur vocabulaire et de leur semantique. Nous aborderons aussi les problemes d'alignement de donnees aux ontologies de domaine et de la federation de donnees aidee d'ontologie. Enfin, nous presenterons un systeme d'interoperabilite semantique base sur des regles qui aborde le probleme d'alignement semantique de systemes heterogenes applique a notre domaine. Nous discuterons finalement de l'apport de la semantique pour le partage d'information et des limites des outils et methodes actuels.
Default Mode Network Connectivity and Related White Matter Disruption in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients Concurrent with Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment.

BACKGROUND As a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD), type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) itself causes cognitive impairment and has higher prevalence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to explore the cognition especially the episodic memory difference, the DMN functional connectivity and DMN-related white matter integrity in patients with both T2DM and amnestic MCI (T2DM-MCI) as compared to patients with T2DM only. METHODS Focusing especially on T2DM population, we investigated the default mode network (DMN) through resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging among 22 elderly T2DM-MCI patients and 24 elderly T2DM patients. Including primarily the bilateral cingulum, hippocampus and uncinate fasciculus, these DMN white matter fibers were also closely associated with episodic memory and the integrity of them was also investigated using diffusion tensor imaging in 19 elderly T2DM-MCI patients and 23 elderly T2DM patients. RESULTS Compared with the patients with T2DM, the T2DM-MCI patients performed worse in several areas of cognition besides episodic memory, and showed stronger DMN functional connectivity in the left precuneus and weaker functional connectivity in the left calcarine, as well as decreased integrity of the left cingulate bundle and bilateral uncinate fasciculus. Furthermore, a correlation analysis indicated that higher left calcarine connectivity was associated with better episodic memory performance among the overall group. CONCLUSION Our results demonstrated that T2DM patients with comorbid amnestic MCI had abnormal functional connectivity patterns and decreased white matter integrity, which could potentially serve as AD or AD risk biomarkers for early detection of those elderly individuals with T2DM.
Fractal analysis of heart rate variability reveals alterations of the integrative autonomic control of circulation in paraplegic individuals

The autonomic nervous system plays a major role in the integrative control of circulation, possibly contributing to the ‘complex’ dynamics responsible for fractal components in heart rate variability. Aim of this study is to evaluate whether an altered autonomic integrative control is identified by fractal analysis of heart rate variability. We enrolled 14 spinal cord injured individuals with complete lesion between the 5th and 11th thoracic vertebra (SCIH), 14 with complete lesion between 12th thoracic and 5th lumbar vertebra (SCIL), and 34 able-bodied controls (AB). These paraplegic subjects have an altered autonomic integrative regulation, but intact autonomic cardiac control and, as to SCIL individuals, intact autonomic splanchnic control. Power spectral and fractal analysis (temporal spectrum of scale coefficients) were performed on 10 min tachograms. AB and SCIL power spectra were similar, while the SCIL fractal spectrum had higher coefficients between 12 and 48 s. SCIH individuals had lower power than controls at 0.1 Hz; their fractal spectrum was morphologically different, diverging from that of controls at the largest scales (120 s). Therefore, when the lesion compromises the autonomic control of lower districts, fractal analysis reveals alterations undetected by power spectral analysis of heart rate variability.
Intermediate filaments: molecular architecture, assembly, dynamics and polymorphism

1. Introduction 100 2. Molecular architecture 107 2.1 Primary structure 108 2.1.1 Homologous regions 109 2.1.2 Chain typing 115 2.1.3 Post-translational modifications 117 2.2 Secondary structure 118 2.2.1 Central rod domain 118 2.2.2 Head and tail domains 119 2.3 Tertiary structure 123 2.3.1 Coiled-coil rod domain 123 2.3.1.1 Specificity through salt bridges 124 2.3.1.2 Specificity through apolar interactions 127 2.3.1.3 A consensus trigger sequence for two-stranded coiled-coils 128 2.3.2 Discontinuities in the rod domain 128 2.3.2.1 Links 129 2.3.2.2 Stutter 131 2.3.3 Head and tail domains 131 2.4 Electron microscope observations 133 3. Assembly 136 3.1 Role of the coiled-coil rod domain 137 3.2 Role of end domains 141 3.3 Experimentally induced crosslinks and modes of assembly 145 3.4 Naturally occurring crosslinks for tissue coordination 154 3.5 STEM data 154 4. Quaternary structure 160 4.1 Protofilaments and protofibrils 160 4.2 Head and tail domains 163 4.3 Surface lattice structure 164 4.4 Crystal studies on intermediate filament fragments 168 5. Polymorphism 169 5.1 Variations on a theme 170 5.1.1 Axial structure 170 5.1.2 Lateral structure 171 6. Keratin intermediate filament chains in diseases 172 7. Concluding remarks 175 8. Acknowledgments 176 9. References 176 Three types of intracellular filament have been identified in eukaryotic cells, and together they constitute the key elements of the cytoskeleton. They are the microtubules, the actin-containing microfilaments and the intermediate filaments. The uniqueness of the former two types of filament in cells has been well known for a long time but, in contrast, the intermediate filaments have been a relative new-comer to the scene. The microtubules and the microfilaments have always been easy to distinguish from one another on the grounds of their respective sizes (microtubules are about 25 nm in diameter and microfilaments are about 7–10 nm in diameter). Additionally, microtubules were capable of being disaggregated by the action of colchicine, and microfilaments could be disassembled by other drugs or be decorated with heavy meromyosin to generate arrowhead-like structures. Importantly, in both microtubules and microfilaments the constituent protein subunits were arranged to give the filaments a directionality, and the ability of these filaments to function in vivo depended crucially on this feature of their structure. Microtubules, for example, are involved in mitosis, motility and transport within the cell: each of these functions is clearly a ‘directional’ one. With this background the discovery and characterization of the intermediate filaments can begin.
Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 levels and polymorphisms.

OBJECTIVE To review the published evidence of a relationship between levels of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) or the 4G/5G polymorphism of the PAI-1 gene and the occurrence of venous thromboembolic disease. METHODS Review of the medical literature using computerized databases and a review of secondary sources identified through bibliographies. DATA SYNTHESIS Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 is an important inhibitor of the fibrinolytic system, so it is biologically plausible that elevated levels could suppress fibrinolysis and result in an increased risk of thrombosis. Several small studies reported associations between PAI-1 levels and venous thromboembolism, some of which appear to be familial. Problems with these studies include variations in PAI-1 plasma levels due to circadian changes and the acute phase response, as well as alterations due to common comorbid disease states. More recent investigations have focused on genetic polymorphisms, particularly the 4G/5G insertion/deletion in the promoter region, affecting transcription rates. The relation of 4G/5G to venous thrombosis has been investigated primarily in case-control studies, which have produced inconsistent findings. Most studies, however, have reported higher PAI-1 plasma levels in individuals with 4G/4G. CONCLUSIONS The evidence regarding the relationship between an elevated PAI-1 plasma level or PAI-1 genetic polymorphism and the risk of venous thromboembolism is conflicting. There is insufficient information to recommend use of PAI-1 levels or genotype in evaluating thrombophilia.
Composing with Brainwaves: Minimal Trial P300 Recognition as an Indication of subjective Preference for the control of a Musical Instrument

This paper presents a method for the stimulation and detection of P300 event related potentials in a real-time environment, and the application of this method for the sending of control signals to a computer music device. In the case of this study, an argument is advanced that the P300 can be triggered by certain types of visual stimuli, and that the following responses can be interpreted as an indication of subjective preference. Through this technique, a subject connected to an EEG can control a synthesiser or sequencer remotely without moving, by making a subjective decision to focus on a particular choice offered to them on a display. It is noted that this technique could be extended to a variety of contexts, not least the provision of a musical interface for the physically disabled. In addition, the implications of this study are discussed with respect to other work being carried out as part of the AHRC funded Cultural Processing project (Formerly C.A.V.E.).
Genome-Wide Association Study of Piglet Uniformity and Farrowing Interval

Piglet uniformity (PU) and farrowing interval (FI) are important reproductive traits related to production and economic profits in the pig industry. However, the genetic architecture of the longitudinal trends of reproductive traits still remains elusive. Herein, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to detect potential genetic variation and candidate genes underlying the phenotypic records at different parities for PU and FI in a population of 884 Large White pigs. In total, 12 significant SNPs were detected on SSC1, 3, 4, 9, and 14, which collectively explained 1–1.79% of the phenotypic variance for PU from parity 1 to 4, and 2.58–4.11% for FI at different stages. Of these, seven SNPs were located within 16 QTL regions related to swine reproductive traits. One QTL region was associated with birth body weight (related to PU) and contained the peak SNP MARC0040730, and another was associated with plasma FSH concentration (related to FI) and contained the SNP MARC0031325. Finally, some positional candidate genes for PU and FI were identified because of their roles in prenatal skeletal muscle development, fetal energy substrate, pre-implantation, and the expression of mammary gland epithelium. Identification of novel variants and candidate genes will greatly advance our understanding of the genetic mechanisms of PU and FI, and suggest a specific opportunity for improving marker assisted selection or genomic selection in pigs.
Virtual flux model predictive direct power control (VF-MPDPC) of afe rectifier with new current prediction method and negative sequence elimination

In this paper a simple method is presented in order to control a three-phase active front end (AFE) rectifier under both balanced and unbalanced network voltage conditions which consists in virtual flux based model predictive direct power control (VF-MPDPC) with a new approach on the current and power prediction. A new approach for current prediction in the unbalanced condition is proposed. The prediction procedure of the proposed method is simpler than that of the previous methods. Moreover, the influence of the negative sequence component of the grid voltage on the calculated virtual flux is compensated by using a band stop filter in orthogonal coordination. This leads to low THD of the input currents and also the unity power factor is achieved even in the network malfunction condition. Also, the method makes it possible to use the simplified balanced condition equations in the network unbalanced condition. The proposed method is verified by simulations.
Functional parcellation of the hippocampus by clustering resting state fMRI signals

In this study, we propose a semi-supervised clustering method for parcellating the hippocampus into functionally homogeneous subregions based on resting state fMRI data. Particularly, the semi-supervised clustering is implemented as a graph partition problem by modeling each voxel as one node of the graph and connecting each pair of voxels with an edge weighted by a similarity measure between their functional signals. A geometric parcellation result of the hippocampus is adopted as prior information and a spatial consistent constraint is adopted as a regularization term to achieve spatially contiguous clustering. The graph partition problem is solved using an efficient algorithm similar to the well-known weighted kernel k-means algorithm. Our method has been validated based on resting state fMRI data of 28 subjects for the hippocampus parcellation with three subregions. The experiment results have demonstrated that the proposed method could parcellate the hippocampus into its head, body and tail parts. The distinctive functional and structural connectivity patterns of these subregions, derived from resting state fMRI and dMRI data respectively, have further demonstrated the validity of the parcellation results.
Complementary spintronic logic with spin hall effect driven magnetic tunnel junction

We propose a novel CSL family based on the SHE-MTJ device to perform CMOS-like logic design paradigm . We highlight the capability of the proposed CSL approach and realize all the Boolean logic functions using the proposed CSL concept . The CSL paradigm provides a unified standard design methodology for advanced spintronic logic computing beyond the classical Von-Neumann architecture.
Nutritional Status of Rural Pregnant Women

Pregnancy is a crucial period of woman’s life where socio-demographic factors affect her health as well as determine the health of future generation. A cross-sectional community based study was conducted in pregnant women in the field practice area of RCHTC, Hebbal. Variables considered for the study were: Age, religion, Socio-economics status, type of family & house, parity, spacing methods, utilization of health services, height, weight and Body Mass Index (BMI). Majority of pregnant woman had inadequate protien & calorie consumption during pregnancy; 23.93%, woman were having BMI<18.5; 66.67%, were anemic (Hb<11 gm%). The overall prevalence of anemia was found to be high among illiterate (98.2%), Hindu (92.31%) and moderately working woman (83.34% ). Anemia was found to be more common whose age at first pregnancy was <20 years (57.28%), age at marriage <20 years (87.17%), in IInd trimester of pregnancy (62.83% ) and in age group of 20-24 years (39.14%). Government hospital services were utilized by 78.63% but only 58.97% received iron & folic acid tablets and 70.94% had taken injection Tetanus Toxoid (TT). Hence, effective intervention should be directed towards young pregnant women <20 years of age to improve maternal nutritional status, literacy level, and health education for utilization of health services.
Telomere dysfunction and telomerase activation in cancer – a pathological paradox?

Telomerase is expressed in more than 90% of human cancers. Telomere maintenance by this enzyme is believed to safeguard genomic integrity in neoplastic cells. Nevertheless, many telomerase-expressing tumours exhibit chromosomal instability triggered by short, dysfunctional telomeres, implying that active telomerase is not sufficient for preserving a functional telosomic nucleoprotein complex in cancer cells. We here examine three possible solutions to this ostensible paradox. First, prior to telomerase activation, telomere erosion may have evolved to a level where telomeric repeat sequences are too short to provide a functional substrate for telomerase enzyme activity. Second, mechanisms other than the continuous telomere erosion counteracted by telomerase may contribute to rapid shortening of telomere repeats. Third, dysfunction of telomere-regulating proteins may result in direct telomere uncapping. Moreover, telomerase may contribute to tumour development also through mechanisms unrelated to telomere length maintenance. Taken together, the available data on the role of telomerase in cancer strongly support that inhibition of this enzyme is a feasible strategy for cancer therapy.
Timing of postpartum enoxaparin administration and severe postpartum hemorrhage

The appropriate time to restart anticoagulation in the postpartum period is not known. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether the timing of postpartum enoxaparin influences hemorrhagic outcomes. A total of 95 women were treated with peripartum enoxaparin and compared with 303 consecutive deliveries where anticoagulation was not administered. The overall rate of severe postpartum hemorrhage did not differ significantly for women treated with peripartum enoxaparin (4.2%) versus nonanticoagulated control individuals (2.0%, P = 0.40) nor for the subgroup of women who underwent vaginal delivery (3.6 versus 1.4%, P = 0.55) or cesarean section (5.1 versus 3.4%, P = 0.98). We did not observe any severe hemorrhagic events attributable to administration of postpartum enoxaparin. The first dose of enoxaparin was administered less than 24 h following delivery in 75% of vaginal deliveries and in 49% of cesarean sections where enoxaparin was given in the postpartum period. Two incisional hematomas were observed in the group of women who received enoxaparin within 24 h following cesarean section. Severe postpartum hemorrhage is an infrequent complication when enoxaparin is administered to hemostatically intact women between 5 and 24 h following a vaginal delivery or 12–36 h following cesarean section.
PET Imaging of Copper Trafficking in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer Disease

Alzheimer disease (AD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive neuronal loss and cognitive decline. The lack of reliable and objective diagnostic markers for AD hampers early disease detection and treatment. Growing evidence supports the existence of a dysregulation in brain copper trafficking in AD. The aim of this study was to investigate brain copper trafficking in a transgenic mouse model of AD by PET imaging with 64Cu, to determine its potential as a diagnostic biomarker of the disorder. Methods: Brain copper trafficking was evaluated in 6- to 8-mo-old TASTPM transgenic mice and age-matched wild-type controls using the 64Cu bis(thiosemicarbazone) complex 64Cu-GTSM (glyoxalbis(N4-methyl-3-thiosemicarbazonato) copper(II)), which crosses the blood–brain barrier and releases 64Cu bioreductively into cells. Animals were intravenously injected with 64Cu-GTSM and imaged at 0–30 min and 24–25 h after injection. The images were analyzed by atlas-based quantification and texture analysis. Regional distribution of 64Cu in the brain 24 h after injection was also evaluated via ex vivo autoradiography and compared with amyloid-β plaque deposition in TASTPM mice. Results: Compared with controls, in TASTPM mice PET image analysis demonstrated significantly increased (by a factor of ∼1.3) brain concentration of 64Cu at 30 min (P < 0.01) and 24 h (P < 0.05) after injection of the tracer and faster (by a factor of ∼5) 64Cu clearance from the brain (P < 0.01). Atlas-based quantification and texture analysis revealed significant differences in regional brain uptake of 64Cu and PET image heterogeneity between the 2 groups of mice. Ex vivo autoradiography showed that regional brain distribution of 64Cu at 24 h after injection did not correlate with amyloid-β plaque distribution in TASTPM mice. Conclusion: The trafficking of 64Cu in the brain after administration of 64Cu-GTSM is significantly altered by AD-like pathology in the TASTPM mouse model, suggesting that 64Cu-GTSM PET imaging warrants clinical evaluation as a diagnostic tool for AD and possibly other neurodegenerative disorders.