Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Systemic vascular endothelial cell dysfunction in normal pressure glaucoma

Aim: Vascular risk factors, and particularly vasospasm, are thought to play a part in the pathogenesis of normal pressure glaucoma (NPG). This study aimed to determine whether the function of systemic resistance arteries was altered in patients with NPG. Methods: Contractile and relaxant function was assessed in arteries dissected from gluteal fat biopsies (11 NPG, 12 control) using small vessel myography. Results: Responses to K+ and noradrenaline were similar in patients and controls and were unaffected by endothelial removal. In contrast, responses to 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT; pD2; 7.29 (SD 0.16) v 6.66 (0.19); p=0.03) and endothelin-1 (ET-1; pD2, 9.12 (0.10) v 8.72 (0.13); p=0.03) were enhanced in arteries from patients with NPG. Removal of the endothelium enhanced responses to 5-HT (pD2, 6.66 (0.19) v 7.66 (0.08); p=0.003) and ET-1 (pD2, 8.72 (0.13) v 9.66 (0.39); p=0.02) in control arteries but not in those from patients. ET-1 mediated contraction in control and patient arteries was reduced in the presence of (10−5 M) nifedipine. Endothelium dependent and independent relaxation was not impaired in arteries from patients. Conclusions: This study has identified dysfunction of the systemic vascular endothelial cell in patients with normal pressure glaucoma. The vascular endothelium modulates contractile responses to 5-HT and ET-1 in human subcutaneous resistance arteries but this effect is lost in patients with NPG, indicating a selective defect in agonist mediated release of endothelium derived vasodilators. Selective antagonists of 5-HT and ET-1 may, therefore, help to prevent vasospasm in patients with NPG.
Wandering in VR environments by estimating head pose using an omnicam

In the walk-through via the Internet, we move a mouse to imitate a walk by our foot (Chen, 1995). Here, we consider the case which maps a real motion to an immersive virtual reality environment. For example, we wander in a computer room as if we do in a museum for watching some arts. The user's head motion at a relative large scale environment is needed to be known for realizing this immersive virtual reality. This research proposes a method of estimating the head motion based upon vision approaches for mapping a head motion to an immersive virtual reality environment. We put fiducial markers around the room to be changed virtually and use an omnidirectional image sensor to observe these markers. By mounting the visual sensor on a helmet, the head motion of a user who wears the helmet can be estimated by processing images captured from the omnidirectional image sensor. Since it has a 360 degree view, it can cope with a large head rotation motion compared with a normal camera. Since a head motion at every time is directly estimated from the observed markers, there is no accumulated errors in our method compared with an inertial sensor.
Preparation of rat serum for culturing mouse embryos.

The most important component of proper mammalian embryo culture is high-quality rat serum. Some commercial sources exist, but control over anesthetization methods and serum extractions means that preparations consistently give superior results. To obtain ~100 mL of rat serum, 30 adult male Sprague Dawley rats must be used. Depending on the number of cultures performed per week, this amount of rat serum can last for several months. This protocol requires two people to collect blood from the rat.
Molecular mechanisms of pattern formation by the BRE enhancer of the Ubx gene.

The core activity of the Ubx gene enhancer BRE (bx region enhancer) is encoded within a 500 bp module. bx DNA outside this active module increases the level of expression, expands the expression into ventro‐lateral ectoderm and partially stabilizes the late expression pattern. The products of the gap genes hb and tll and of the pair‐rule gene ftz bind to the 500 bp BRE module and control directly its initial pattern of expression. ftz enhances expression in even‐numbered parasegments within the correct spatial domain whose boundaries are set by hb and tll. In addition, en and twi products activate the enhancer, probably directly. en broadens the parasegmental stripe while twi cooperates with ftz to enhance expression in the mesoderm. Binding sites for the five regulators are closely clustered, often overlapping extensively with one another. In vitro, hb blocks the binding of ftz and can also displace ftz protein pre‐bound to an overlapping site, suggesting that competitive binding and/or interference by hb sets the initial boundaries of the domain of expression. Our results also suggest that this interaction is short‐range and the long distance interactions among different enhancers may depend on each enhancer's ability to complex with the promoter.
Comparative pathology and pathogenesis of naturally acquired and experimentally induced colonic spirochetosis

Abstract Research in the past decade has led to the recognition of Brachyspira (formerly Serpulina) pilosicoli as the primary etiologic agent of colonic spirochetosis (CS), an emerging cause of colitis in humans and animals. Attachment of spirochetes to the epithelial surface of the lower intestine is considered to be the hallmark of CS. However, because B. pilosicoli, B. aalborgi and unclassified flagellated bacteria are found singly or together in humans and non-human primates with CS lesions, attachment of spiral-shaped bacteria may not represent the same etiopathogenetic entity in all hosts. Moreover, North American opossums with CS are infected with B. aalborgi-like spirochetes together with flagellated bacteria, whereas B. pilosicoli is found alone in dogs, pigs, chickens and other species of birds with CS. Conversely, guinea-pigs with CS have unidentified spirochetes that may be B. pilosicoli or B. aalborgi. The pig model of CS suggests that attachment of B. pilosicoli to epithelial cells may be transient. By contrast, persistence of B. pilosicoli in the cecal and colonic crypt lumina, chronic inflammation caused by spirochetal invasion into the subepithelial lamina propria and translocation to extraintestinal sites may be more important than previously thought. This review describes the lesions seen in naturally occurring and experimentally induced CS of animals, and it sets the stage for future research into the pathogenic mechanisms of infection and colitis caused by B. pilosicoli.
Sorbitol as the Primary Carbon Source for the Growth of Embryogenic Callus of Maize

The effects of various carbon sources on initiation and maintenance of embryogenic callus of maize (Zea mays L.) and on the regeneration of plants from embryogenic callus were studied. Growth of embryogenic callus tissue on media containing sucrose was typified by the subsequent growth of both embryogenic (regenerable) and nonembryogenic (nonregenerable) callus. Growth of embryogenic callus on sorbitol was unique among the carbon sources tested in that sorbitol supported the subsequent growth of only embryogenic callus. Further experiments demonstrated that embryogenic callus grown on sorbitol had a greater regenerative capacity (more plants produced per gram fresh weight of callus) than callus grown on sucrose. Sorbitol dehydrogenase was detected in embryogenic callus of maize at a specific activity roughly equivalent to that found in zygotic embryos of developing seeds. Nonembryogenic callus did not contain significant levels of sorbitol dehydrogenase activity.
High-bandwidth piezoresistive force probes with integrated thermal actuation

We present high-speed force probes with on-chip actuation and sensing for the measurement of pN-scale forces at the microsecond timescale. We achieve a high resonant frequency in water (1–100 kHz) with requisite low spring constants (0.3–40 pN nm−1) and low integrated force noise (1–100 pN) by targeting probe dimensions on the order of 300 nm thick, 1–2 μm wide and 30–200 μm long. Forces are measured using silicon piezoresistors, while the probes are actuated thermally with an aluminum unimorph and silicon heater. The piezoresistive sensors are designed using the open-source numerical optimization code that incorporates constraints on operating temperature. Parylene passivation enables operation in ionic media and we demonstrate simultaneous actuation and sensing. The improved design and fabrication techniques that we describe enable a 10–20-fold improvement in force resolution or measurement bandwidth over prior piezoresistive cantilevers of comparable thickness.
MODELOS ANIMALES: UNA REVISIÓN DESDE TRES PRUEBAS UTILIZADAS EN ANSIEDAD

El objetivo de este articulo es presentar una revision de los modelos animales mas utilizados para estudiar ansiedad, buscando hacer una presentacion de tres instrumentos usados en laboratorio. Se describe la importancia del uso de modelos animales para la comprension del comportamiento humano, se presentan los dos grupos de modelos animales y las pruebas mas representativas para cada uno de estos.
High levels of circulating Abeta42 are sequestered by plasma proteins in Alzheimer's disease.

A previously unrecognized large pool of Abeta was discovered in freshly drawn plasma of patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and non-demented control subjects. This Abeta pool was revealed after acid denaturation and chromatographic separation of plasma proteins followed by Abeta quantitation in the 4.5 kDa fractions by europium immunoassay. The mean values of Abeta42 in the AD and control individuals amounted to 236 ng/ml and 38 ng/ml, respectively. These Abeta values are on the average far higher than previously measured. Surprisingly, the circulating Abeta42 is about 16 times more abundant than Abeta40 in the AD population. Addition of Abeta to freshly drawn plasma demonstrated the rapid disappearance of Abeta epitopes, as detected by immunochemical techniques, suggesting either proteolytic degradation or Abeta sequestration. Incubation of Abeta with purified plasma proteins and lipoproteins rapidly decreases detectable levels of free Abeta suggesting epitope masking as the likely mechanism. The free and protein-bound Abetab in the circulation may represent a potential source for deposition in the cerebrovasculature and brain parenchyma of AD.
A Review of Behaviour of Prestressed Concrete Sleepers

Prestressed concrete sleepers (PCSs) are the most commonly used type of sleepers. They play an essential role in track performance, behaviour and safety. The focus of the published literature on PCSs has primarily been on quantification of dynamic load and resulting structural behaviour of sleepers, interaction with other components of track and failure mechanisms. While structural performance of PCSs is very important and researched as reflected by the large volume of published literature, concrete sleepers also need to meet the durability requirements. It is known that only a small percentage of concrete sleepers remain in service when reaching their intended design life, resulting in heavy maintenance and replacement costs. This paper reports a summary of the review of literature conducted as part of a broader investigation undertaken at the University of Melbourne. The aim of the investigation is to establish the material requirements of the concrete sleepers in order to meet the structural and durability requirements. A summary of the latest works on dynamic responses (including natural frequencies and mode shapes, damping, bending moments and strain rates), failure modes, fatigue and durability aspects of PCSs are presented. Moreover, design approach and dynamic loads are discussed briefly. It is established that a comprehensive research with a focus on material characterisation for concrete sleepers is currently lacking.
Sequential antibiotic therapy

Antimicrobials are an important source of hospital expenditure. Traditionally, severe bacterial infections have been treated initially with intravenous antibiotics, followed by physician-directed switch to oral therapy. Unfortunately this approach results in unnecessary prolongation of intravenous treatment, with all its inherent disadvantages. Sequential antibiotic therapy, however, ensures an early switch to the oral route when the patient is clinically stable. This increasingly employed strategy is safe and results in improved quality and cost-effectiveness of health care. To ensure timely and appropriate switch, such programmes need to be underpinned by clear guidelines and supported by a multidisciplinary team. In the future, key questions, such as what is the optimal time of switch for specific infections, and can conditions such as osteomyelitis and endocarditis be efficaciously treated with oral therapy, need to be answered. Only then will clinicians be able to practise evidence-based infection management incorporating sequential antimicrobial therapy.
Hysteresis-Dependent Model for the Brushless Exciter of Synchronous Generators

In this paper, a model is developed to incorporate the magnetic hysteresis effects into a brushless exciter model. The developed model reconstructs the magnetization flux linkage current loops using the Energetic hysteresis model. The model requires measurements from the armature and field terminals of the brushless exciter at standstill, and the model can be applied for detailed analysis of brushless excited synchronous generators. The developed model is also verified experimentally through measurements on a brushless excited synchronous generator.
Preoperative Gabapentin Decreases Anxiety and Improves Early Functional Recovery from Knee Surgery

Gabapentin has antihyperalgesic and anxiolytic properties. We thus tested the hypothesis that premedication with gabapentin would decrease preoperative anxiety and improve postoperative analgesia and early postoperative knee mobilization in patients undergoing arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament repair under general anesthesia. Forty patients were randomly assigned to receive 1200 mg oral gabapentin or placebo 1–2 h before surgery; anesthesia was standardized. Patients received morphine, 0.1 mg/kg, 30 min before the end of surgery and postoperatively via a patient-controlled pump. Pain scores and morphine consumption were recorded over 48 h. Degrees of active and passive knee flexion and extension were recorded during physiotherapy on days 1 and 2. Preoperative anxiety scores were less in the gabapentin than control group (visual analog scale scores of 28 ± 16 mm versus 66 ± 15 mm, respectively; P < 0.001). The gabapentin group required less morphine than the control group (29 ± 22 mg versus 69 ± 40 mg, respectively; P < 0.001). Visual analog scale pain scores at rest and after mobilization were significantly reduced in the gabapentin group. First and maximal passive and active knee flexions at 24 and 48 h were significantly more extensive in the gabapentin than in the control group. In conclusion, premedication with 1200 mg gabapentin improved preoperative anxiolysis, postoperative analgesia, and early knee mobilization after arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament repair.
A better ATPG algorithm and its design principles

The traditional goal of an ATPG algorithm is to achieve a high fault coverage by producing a small number of tests. However, since usually a high fault coverage does not imply a high defect coverage, such an objective can mislead us to overtrust an ATPG method which is optimal for faults but inefficient for defects. The paper presents several new principles to design an ATPG algorithm for solve this problem. The new principles direct an ATPG algorithm to improve its efficiency and reliability for detecting the non target defects through the target faults. Theory and experiments are presented to demonstrate the superiority of the new principles and the new test generation algorithm.
Apport de la réalité virtuelle pour la rééducation fonctionnelle

La realite virtuelle est un domaine pluridisciplinaire qui se trouve a la croisee des chemins des sciences de l'ingenieur et des sciences humaines. Dans le domaine de la medecine, la realite virtuelle s'est imposee comme un nouvel outil therapeutique non seulement pour la medecine et la chirurgie mais egalement pour le traitement des troubles psychologiques et de la reeducation des personnes handicapees. Nos travaux de recherche presentes dans ce memoire ont pour but de developper des techniques d'aide a la reeducation fonctionnelle en utilisant les technologies de la realite virtuelle. La question de recherche au cœur de nos travaux concerne l'effet des metaphores de representation sur la realisation de gestes observes en environnement virtuel. Pour cela, nous avons discute et considere des problematiques essentielles a la fois en aspects technologiques et aspects scientifiques. Trois verrous scientifiques et technologiques ont ete adresses et etudies dans nos travaux. Le premier verrou est relatif a l'evaluation des gestes. Nous avons developpe un outil permettant d'evaluer les gestes pour aider le patient dans son apprentissage et l'informer de ses progres dans le processus de reeducation motrice. Le second verrou est relatif a l'evaluation de l'utilisabilite de l'environnement virtuel pour la reeducation motrice. Nous avons realise un travail pour evaluer le role de l'avatar virtuel, un facteur important de l'environnement virtuel, pour favoriser le processus d'empathie postural est la representation de l'avatar. Le dernier verrou que nous avons adresse a pour but d'ameliorer la capacite du sujet de travailler en autonomie au sein de l'environnement virtuel pour sa reeducation motrice. Pour cela, nous avons realise un outil qui permette au sujet de fouiller automatiquement le geste humain pour l'entrainement. Dans ces travaux, nous avons implemente des protocoles d'evaluation qui ont permis de mettre en evidence la pertinence de nos hypotheses.
Physician Market Structure, Patient Outcomes, and Spending: An Examination of Medicare Beneficiaries

OBJECTIVE To understand the impact of changes in physician market structure on clinical outcomes and health care utilization. DATA SOURCES 2005-2012 Medicare fee-for-service claims and enrollment data. STUDY DESIGN We consider the effect of cardiology market structure on utilization and health outcomes for four patient populations. We estimate the risk-adjusted impact of competition using multivariate regression models. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS The study finds that an increase in consolidation leads to statistically and economically significant increases in negative health outcomes. For example, we find that moving from a zip code at the 25th percentile of cardiology market concentration to one at the 75th percentile would be associated with 5 to 7 percent increases in risk-adjusted mortality for three of the sample populations. We also found higher expenditures in more concentrated markets. For example, moving from a zip code at the 25th percentile of cardiology market concentration to one at the 75th would be associated with 7 to 11 percent increases in expenditures, depending on sample population. CONCLUSIONS Our estimates indicate that increases in cardiology market concentration are associated with worse health outcomes and higher health care expenditures. Some effects may be attributed to vertical as well as horizontal changes.
Negative Outcome After IMeurosurgery for Refractory Obsessive-compulsive Spectrum Disorder

Summary: Objective: The authors sought to determine the long-term outcome of patients with severe and refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder spectrum (OCDS) following neurosurgery. Method: Five patients who underwent neurosurgery as a last-resort treatment for refractory OCDS were evaluated. On all patients, posttest data was obtained from the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale, The Overvalued Ideas Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory and the Beck Anxiety Inventory. Pretest scores were available on three patients as well. Results: All patients failed to maintain initial improvements after surgery and relapsed. In addition, they became depressed with suicidal ideation or attempt. Conclusion: Complications of neurosurgery are discussed, notably relapse and depression.
The MTHFR C677T polymorphism and risk of acute lymphoblastic leukemia: an updated meta-analysis based on 37 case-control studies.

BACKGROUND The C677T polymorphism of the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) has been associated with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). However, results were conflicting. The aim of this study was to quantitatively summarize the evidence for the MTHFRC677T polymorphism and ALL risk. METHODS Electronic searches of PubMed and the Chinese Biomedicine database were conducted to select case-control studies containing available genotype frequencies of C677T and the odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to assess the strength of any association. RESULTS Case-control studies including 6,371 cases and 10,850 controls were identified. The meta-analysis stratified by ethnicity showed that individuals with the homozygous TT genotype had decreased risk of ALL (OR= 0.776, 95% CI: 0.687~0.877, p< 0.001) in Caucasians (OR= 0.715, 95% CI: 0.655~0.781, p= 0.000). However, results among Asians (OR=0.711, 95% CI: 0.591~1.005, p= 0.055) and others (OR=0.913, 95% CI: 0.656~1.271, p= 0. 590) did not suggest an association. A symmetric funnel plot, the Egger's test (P=0.093), and the Begg- test (P=0.072) were all suggestive of the lack of publication bias. CONCLUSION This meta-analysis supports the idea that the MTHFR C677T genotype is associated with risk of ALL in Caucasians. To draw comprehensive and true conclusions, further prospective studies with larger numbers of participants worldwide are needed to examine associations between the MTHFRC677T polymorphism and ALL.
Spotify: Music Access At Scale

Spotify provides users with access to a massive repository of streaming music. While some aspects of music access are familiar to the information retrieval community (e.g. semistructured data, item recommendation), nuances of the music domain require the development of new models of user understanding, intent modeling, relevance, and content understanding. These models can be studied using the large amount of content and usage data at Spotify, allowing us to extend previous results in the music information retrieval community. In this presentation, we will highlight the research involved in developing Spotify and outline a research program for large scale music access.