Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effect of Dermalix® on colon anastomosis leakage: experimental study

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of Dermalix® (Dx) on wound healing and anastomotic leakage in a rat model of end-to-end colon anastomosis. METHODS: The study was carried out on 40 rats, as divided into three groups, including a negative control group (n=10, laparotomy only) control group (n=15, colon anastomosis), and the experimental group (n=15, colon anastomosis plus Dx applied to anastomosis site). The rats were sacrificed on the 3rd post-operative day, and resected colon segments were evaluated for bursting pressure (mmHg) using an infusion pump set-up and for pathological parameters of wound healing including neutrophil infiltration, epithelial regeneration, granulation tissue formation, local inflammatory response, neovascularization, and foreign body reaction. RESULTS: Anastomotic leakage rate was significantly lower (1 rat vs. 6 rats, P=0.040). Moreover, mean bursting pressure was significantly (2.95 times) higher (mean 121 vs. 41 mmHg, respectively, P<0.05) in the Dx experimental group than in the control group. Dx was considered to significantly accelerate wound healing by increasing neovascularization (P<0.001). Control and experimental groups were similar in terms of other pathological parameters. CONCLUSION: Based on significantly lower rate of anastomotic leakage and its positive effects especially on the bursting pressure and neovascularization, Dx seems to be considered as a promising technology in preventing anastomotic leakage.
Changes of alpine ecosystem along the ground temperature of permafrost in the source region of Datong River in the Northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

The current study analyzes the effects of the thermal state of permafrost on the alpine ecosystem based on investigation data from 92 vegetation spots sampled in 2010 and permafrost temperatures from an equivalent-elevation model in the Datong River source region, in the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet plateau in China. The interactions among the permafrost temperature, vegetation (the species diversity indices and biomass), and soil properties (moisture, pH and nutrients) are discussed. The results showed that with the increase of permafrost temperature, the species diversity indices and plant biomass of alpine swamp meadow firstly ascended and then decreased, whereas the value of alpine meadow had an opposite trend. Soil moisture, soil organic matter, soil total nitrogen, and soil total phosphorus changed with the permafrost temperature and rose to the maximum at a certain temperature range. Subsequently, the contents began to descend. In contrast, soil total potassium content had an opposite regularity with the increase of the temperature. The values were higher in alpine swamp meadow than in alpine meadow, except the soil total phosphorus. Soil pH had a good positive correlation with the permafrost temperature, and the contents of soil pH were higher in alpine meadow than in alpine swamp meadow.
Distal Versus Proximal Radial Artery Access for Cardiac Catheterization: 30‐Day Outcomes of the DIPRA Study

Background Proximal radial artery (pRA) access for cardiac catheterization is safe but can jeopardize subsequent use of the artery because of occlusion. Distal radial artery (dRA) access in the anatomical snuffbox preserves the radial artery, but safety and potential detrimental effects on hand function are unknown. Methods and Results In the DIPRA (Distal Versus Proximal Radial Artery Access for Cardiac Catheterization and Intervention) study, a single‐center trial, 300 patients were randomized 1:1 to cardiac catheterization through dRA or pRA. The primary end point of change in hand function from baseline to 30 days was a composite of the QuickDASH (Quick Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand) questionnaire, hand‐grip test, and thumb forefinger pinch test. Secondary end points included access feasibility and complications; 254 of 300 patients completed follow‐up at 30 days; of these, 128 were randomized to dRA and 126 to pRA with balanced demographic and procedural characteristics. Both groups had similar rates of access site bleeding (dRA 0% versus pRA 1.4%; P=0.25). Six patients with dRA failed access compared with 2 patients with pRA. Radial artery occlusion occurred in 2 pRA versus none in dRA. There were no significant differences in change in hand function, median hand‐grip (dRA 0 [−3.2, 3.3] versus pRA 0.7 [−2.3, 3.3] kg; P=0.21), pinch‐grip (dRA −0.3 [−1.2, 0.5] versus pRA 0 [−0.9, 0.9] kg; P=0.09), and QuickDASH (dRA 0 [−4.6, 2.3] versus pRA 0 [−4.6, 2.3] points, P=0.96). There was no significant difference in the composite of hand function between pRA and dRA. Conclusions dRA is a safe strategy for cardiac catheterization with a low complication rate. Compared with pRA, there is no increased risk of hand dysfunction at 30 days. Registration URL: https://www.ClinicalTrials. gov. Unique identifier: NCT04318990.
Endothelial Microparticles: Markers of Inflammatory Response After Sutureless Valve Implantation

Introduction Systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) is related to increased circulating endothelial microparticles (EMP). Objective The aim of this study was to compare the plasma concentration of EMP between patients undergoing aortic valve replacement with conventional bioprosthesis implantation and Perceval™ S (LivaNova) and to evaluate its impact on the inflammatory response in the short-term follow-up. Methods This is a randomized clinical trial with 24 patients submitted to isolated aortic valve replacement divided into two groups: Perceval™ S (Group P) and conventional bioprostheses (Group C). Incidence of severe SIRS (three or more criteria) in the first 48 hours postoperatively, EMP release profile, interleukins (IL) 6 and 8, C-reactive protein, and procalcitonin were analyzed preand postoperatively at 24 hours and three months. Results There were 24 patients (12 in each group), mean age was 69.92±5.17 years, 83.33% were female, the incidence of severe SIRS was 66.7% and 50% in groups C and P, respectively (P=0.68), and EMP showed a significant increase in the 24-hour postoperative period (P≤0.001) and subsequent decrease in the three-month postoperative period (P≤0.001), returning to baseline levels. For IL-6 and IL-8, there was a greater increase in group C at 24 hours postoperatively (P=.0.02 and P<0.001). Conclusion The incidence of severe SIRS was similar in both groups, with significantly higher levels of IL-6 and IL-8, at the 24-hour postoperative period, in group C, however with higher levels of EMP in group P, and subsequent return to baseline levels at the three-month postoperative period in both groups.
Design and implementation of scene visualization system based on dual engine structure

Intrusion detection is an advanced security technology that goes beyond traditional measures like access control, passwords, authentication, auditing, and firewalls. It safeguards against internal and external attacks, as well as misoperation. To establish a user's normal behavior, a set of behavior profiles must be created and maintained, describing the user's typical system usage. This paper presents a visualization algorithm for network intrusion scenes, employing a dual-engine structure that integrates network-based and host-based intrusion detection systems. The algorithm offers combined detection, reporting, and response capabilities. Simulation results demonstrate significant improvements in false alarm rates compared to traditional methods. The network engine implementation combines protocol analysis and pattern matching, narrowing down target matches and enhancing detection speed. The approach effectively meets the efficiency and accuracy requirements of intrusion detection systems in cloud computing environments.
The Hoffmann-Tinel sign: Historical Background and Clinical Significance

Abstract The Hoffmann-Tinel sign is well-known to professionals dealing with nerve lesions and is widely used as a provocative test. It was described by Paul Hoffman and Jules Tinel in the same year (1915), independently. In the present article, a biographical sketch of both authors is presented and the method for eliciting the sign and the sometimes controversial information of its results are discussed.
Climate change effects on forests: A critical review

While current projections of future climate change associated with increases in atmospheric greenhouse gases have a high degree of uncertainty, the potential effects of climate change on forests are of increasing concern. A number of studies based on forest simulation models predict substantial temperatures associated with increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. However, the structure of these computer models may cause them to overemphasize the role of climate in controlling tree growth and mortality. We propose that forest simulation models be reformulated with more realistic representations of growth responses to temperature, moisture, mortality, and dispersal. We believe that only when these models more accurately reflect the physiological bases of the responses of tree species to climate variables can they be used to simulate responses of forests to rapid changes in climate. We argue that direct forest responses to climate change projected by such a reformulated model may be less traumatic and more gradual than those projected by current models. However, the indirect effects of climate change on forests, mediated by alterations of disturbance regimes or the actions of pests and pathogens, may accelerate climate-induced change in forests, and they deserve further study and inclusion within forest simulation models.
Friendly Robot for Education and Healthcare: FRED

Robots are expected to become ubiquitous devices with the ability to transform people’s lives. Socially Assistive Robots (SARs) can provide assistance to humans through stimuli during the interaction process. This work presents the FRED robot, a proposal for a low-cost open-source robotic platform that can be used in educational applications and healthcare therapies. The robot has several multimodal interaction capabilities, being able to speak and recognize speech, it can express emotions through its gaze and is also able to recognize the user’s facial expressions.
A gem5 based Platform for Micro-Architectural Security Analysis

In this article we present a simulation platform based on gem5 for security analysis. On top of gem5’s architectural exploration and performance estimation capability, our platform permits attacks on ARM Trustzone, security evaluation of cypto libraries, and attacks from accelerators or 3rd party IPs present in the SoC. We discuss various components of our platform such as GDB, gem5, SystemC TLM 2.0 and the steps to boot an open source trusted execution environment called OPTEE. We present an in-vitro experimental attack in Syscall mode on the mbedTLS library and we show how this attack can be fine-tuned. We also present two in-vivo attacks on OPTEE on the RSA signing Trustlet and the Secure Storage Trustlet to demonstrate the capabilities and usage of our platform.
Performance Evaluation of Communication Lifetime Prediction Model for Autonomous Vehicular Networks

Reliable wireless communication is pivotal for the advancement of Autonomous Vehicular Networks within Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). Ensuring stable connectivity between vehicles and access points is crucial for promoting safe and efficient transportation. Accurate prediction of this communication lifetime can significantly enhance network performance, facilitating optimal routing, handovers, and resource allocation decisions. In this paper, we propose a novel model tailored for Autonomous Vehicular Networks to estimate the connectivity duration time. Through leveraging various machine learning techniques, we seek the most accurate approach for predicting the communication lifetime between vehicles and infrastructure units. Our assessments utilize realistic mobility traces derived from the Cologne city dataset, ensuring practical relevance and applicability.
A Shared Intuitive (Mis)understanding of Psychophysical Law Leads Both Novices and Educated Students to Believe in a Just Noticeable Difference (JND)

Abstract Humans are both the scientists who discover psychological laws and the thinkers who behave according to those laws. Oftentimes, when our natural behavior is in accord with those laws, this dual role serves us well: our intuitions about our own behavior can serve to inform our discovery of new laws. But, in cases where the laws that we discover through science do not agree with the intuitions and biases we carry into the lab, we may find it harder to believe in and adopt those laws. Here, we explore one such case. Since the founding of psychophysics, the notion of a Just Noticeable Difference (JND) in perceptual discrimination has been ubiquitous in experimental psychology—even in spite of theoretical advances since the 1950’s that argue that there can be no such thing as a threshold in perceiving difference. We find that both novices and psychologically educated students alike misunderstand the JND to mean that, below a certain threshold, humans will be unable to tell which of two quantities is greater (e.g., that humans will be completely at chance when trying to judge which is heavier, a bag with 3000 grains of sand or 3001). This belief in chance performance below a threshold is inconsistent with psychophysical law. We argue that belief in a JND is part of our intuitive theory of psychology and is therefore very difficult to dispel.
Regulating the proinflammatory response to implanted composite biomaterials comprising polylactide and hydroxyapatite by targeting immunometabolism

Composite biomaterials comprising polylactide (PLA) and hydroxyapatite (HA) are applied in bone, cartilage and dental regenerative medicine, where HA confers osteoconductive properties. However, after surgical implantation, adverse immune responses to these composites can occur, which have been attributed to size and morphology of HA particles. Approaches to effectively modulate these adverse immune responses have not been described. PLA degradation products have been shown to alter immune cell metabolism, which drives the inflammatory response. Therefore, we aimed to modulate the inflammatory response to composite biomaterials by regulating glycolytic flux with small molecule inhibitors incorporated into composites comprised of amorphous PLA (aPLA) and HA (aPLA+HA). Inhibition at specific steps in glycolysis reduced proinflammatory (CD86+CD206-) and increased pro-regenerative (CD206+) immune cell populations around implanted aPLA+HA resulting in a pro-regenerative microenvironment. Notably, neutrophil and dendritic cell (DC) numbers along with proinflammatory monocyte and macrophage populations were decreased, and Arginase 1 expression among DCs was increased. Targeting immunometabolism to control the inflammatory response to biomaterial composites, and creating a pro-regenerative microenvironment, is a significant advance in tissue engineering where immunomodulation enhances osseointegration, and angiogenesis, which will lead to improved bone regeneration.
Structural Requirements for Reverse Transcription by a Diversity-generating Retroelement

Diversity-generating retroelements (DGRs), which are pervasive among microbes, create massive protein sequence variation through reverse transcription of a protein-coding RNA template coupled to frequent misincorporation at template adenines. For cDNA synthesis, the template must be surrounded by up- and downstream sequences. Cryo-EM revealed that this longer RNA formed an integral ribonucleoprotein (RNP) with the DGR reverse transcriptase bRT and associated protein Avd. The downstream, noncoding (nc) RNA formed stem-loops enveloping bRT and laying over barrel-shaped Avd, and duplexes with the upstream and template RNA. These RNA structural elements were required for reverse transcription, and several were conserved in DGRs from distant taxa. Multiple RNP conformations were visualized, and no large structural rearrangements occurred when adenine replaced guanine as the template base, suggesting energetics govern misincorporation at adenines. Our results explain how the downstream ncRNA primes cDNA synthesis, promotes processivity, terminates polymerization, and stringently limits mutagenesis to DGR variable proteins.
Germline novelty through recurrent copy-number, protein, and regulatory evolution of the synaptonemal complex

The synaptonemal complex (SC) is a protein-rich structure necessary to tether homologous chromosomes for meiotic recombination and faithful segregation. Despite being found in most major eukaryotic taxa implying a deep evolutionary origin, components of the complex can exhibit unusually high rates of sequence evolution, particularly in Drosophila where orthologs of several components could not be identified outside of the genus. To understand the cause of this paradoxical lack of conservation, we examine the evolutionary history of the SC in Drosophila, taking a comparative phylogenomic approach with high species density to circumvent obscured homology due to rapid sequence evolution. We find that in addition to elevated rates of coding evolution due to recurrent and widespread positive selection, components of the SC, in particular the central element cona and transverse filament c(3)G have diversified through tandem and retro-duplications, repeatedly generating paralogs with novel germline functions. Strikingly, independent c(3)G duplicates under positive selection in separate lineages both evolved to have high testes expression and similar structural changes to the proteins, suggesting molecular convergence of novel function. In other instances of germline novelty, two cona derived paralogs were independently incorporated into testes- expressed lncRNA. Surprisingly, the expression of SC genes in the germline is exceedingly prone to change suggesting recurrent regulatory evolution which, in many species, resulted in high testes expression even though Drosophila males are achiasmic. Overall, our comprehensive study recapitulates the adaptive sequence evolution of several components of the SC, and further uncovers that the lack of conservation not only extends to other modalities including copy number, genomic locale, and germline regulation, it may also underlie repeated germline novelties especially in the testes. Given the unexpected and frequently elevated testes expression in a large number of species and the ancestor, we speculate that the function of SC genes in the male germline, while still poorly understood, may be a prime target of constant evolutionary pressures driving repeated adaptations and innovations.
Spindle architecture constrains karyotype in budding yeast

The eukaryotic cell division machinery must rapidly and reproducibly duplicate and partition the cell’s chromosomes in a carefully coordinated process. However, chromosome number varies dramatically between genomes, even on short evolutionary timescales. We sought to understand how the mitotic machinery senses and responds to karyotypic changes by using a set of budding yeast strains in which the native chromosomes have been successively fused. Using a combination of cell biological profiling, genetic engineering, and experimental evolution, we show that chromosome fusions are well tolerated up until a critical point. However, with fewer than five centromeres, outward forces in the metaphase spindle cannot be countered by kinetochore-microtubule attachments, triggering mitotic defects. Our findings demonstrate that spindle architecture is a constraining factor for karyotype evolution.
Prony Filtering of Seismic Data

Prony filtering is a method of seismic data processing which can be used to solve various geological and production tasks, involving an analysis of target horizons characteristics and a prediction of possible productive zones. This method is based on decomposing the observed seismic signals by exponentially damped cosines at short-time intervals. As a result, a discrete Prony spectrum including values of four parameters (amplitude, damping factor, frequency, phase) can be created. This decomposition occurs at many short-time intervals moving along an observed trace. The combined Prony spectrum of the trace can be used to create images of the trace through a selection of some values of the parameters. These images created for all traces of a seismic section provide an opportunity for locating zones of frequency-dependent anomalous scattering and absorption of seismic energy. Subsequently, the zones can be correlated with target seismic horizons. Analysis and interpretation of these zones may promote understanding of the target horizons features and help to connect these features with the presence of possible reservoirs.
Crystallographic, kinetic, and calorimetric investigation of PKA interactions with L-type calcium channels and Rad GTPase

β-adrenergic signalling leads to activation of cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA), which can regulate the activity of L-type voltage-gated calcium channels (CaVs) in multiple tissues. In CaV1.2, various sites have been proposed to be involved, including Ser1981 in the C-terminal tail. Its phosphorylation is linked to diabetes progression, synaptic plasticity, and the augmentation of Ca2+ currents in smooth muscle. Its role in augmenting cardiac Ca2+ currents has been heavily scrutinized, with alternative models including the sites Ser1718 and Ser1535. Recently, the GTPase Rad has been identified as a critical PKA target that mediates the augmentation of cardiac CaV1.2 currents upon its phosphorylation. However, it is unclear which of the four potential sites (Ser25, Ser38, Ser272, and Ser300) are favored by PKA. Using quantitative binding experiments and enzyme kinetics, we show that there are two Tiers of target sites, with CaV1.2 residue Ser1981 and Rad residues Ser25 and Ser272 forming Tier 1 substrates for PKA. The other sites form a second Tier, with PKA only showing minimal detectable activity. The Tier 1 substrates share a common feature with two arginine residues that anchor the peptide into the active site of PKA. We report crystal structures of the PKA catalytic subunit (PKAc) with and without a CaV1.2 substrate that represent different successive conformations prior to product turnover. Different target sites utilize different anchoring residues, highlighting the plasticity of PKAc to recognize substrates. Summary Stress signals can alter the electrical properties of excitable cells. cAMP-dependent protein kinase A (PKA) is a key enzyme that is activated upon β-adrenergic stimulation and can alter the function of L-type voltage-gated calcium channels (CaVs) in various tissues. There is a lot of controversy surrounding the exact recognition and specificity of PKA towards CaV1.2, a key calcium channel located in neuronal, cardiac, and smooth muscle tissue, among others. Using a quantitative and unbiased approach, we determined the substrate specificities of PKA towards various sites in CaV1.2 and Rad, an inhibitory protein. Our work highlights two Tiers of substrates, suggesting a potential graded response. Using X-ray crystallography, we determined a high-resolution structure of PKA bound to its strongest target site in CaV1.2, showing how PKA undergoes multiple structural transitions towards binding and how it makes use of a unique anchoring residue.