LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Fatigue in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis: Is It Related to Pro- and Anti-Inflammatory Cytokines?

OBJECTIVE
To investigate the pathophysiological role of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in primary multiple sclerosis-related fatigue.


METHODS
Fatigued and non-fatigued patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) were recruited and their cytokine profiles compared. Patients with secondary fatigue were excluded. Fatigue was assessed with the self-reported Checklist Individual Strength (CIS20r), subscale fatigue. A CIS20r fatigue cut-off score of 35 was applied to differentiate between non-fatigued (CIS20r fatigue ≤34) and fatigued (CIS20r fatigue ≥35) patients with MS. Blood was collected to determine the serum concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, IL-12p70, IL-17, TNFα, and IFN-γ) and anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, and IL-13). We controlled for the confounding effect of age, gender, duration of MS, disease severity, type of MS, and use of immunomodulatory drugs.


RESULTS
Similar cytokine levels were observed between MS patients with (n = 21) and without fatigue (n = 14). Adjusted multiple regression analyses showed a single significant positive relationship, that of IL-6 with CIS20r fatigue score. The explained variance of the IL-6 model was 21.1%, once adjusted for the confounding effect of age.


CONCLUSION
The pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) may play a role in the pathophysiology of primary fatigue in patients with MS.


TRIAL REGISTRATIONS
ISRCTN69520623, ISRCTN58583714, and ISRCTN82353628.
Optimised constructions for variable-length error correcting codes

An optimised construction of variablelength error-correcting codes (VLEC) is proposed in this paper. Compared to the state-of-the-art, the three main improvements consist first in improving the codewords search algorithm complexity/efficiency trade-off, second in loosening the codewords deletion rule, and third in taking advantage of eventual previous searches. It is shown that the optimised algorithm can find good VLEC codes for alphabets up to 200 symbols, and outperforms existing algorithms. Index Terms — variable-length error-correcting codes, joint source-channel coding, variable-length codes, error correction coding, code construction
The Transfection of BDNF to Dopamine Neurons Potentiates the Effect of Dopamine D3 Receptor Agonist Recovering the Striatal Innervation, Dendritic Spines and Motor Behavior in an Aged Rat Model of Parkinson’s Disease

The progressive degeneration of the dopamine neurons of the pars compacta of substantia nigra and the consequent loss of the dopamine innervation of the striatum leads to the impairment of motor behavior in Parkinson's disease. Accordingly, an efficient therapy of the disease should protect and regenerate the dopamine neurons of the substantia nigra and the dopamine innervation of the striatum. Nigral neurons express Brain Derived Neurotropic Factor (BDNF) and dopamine D3 receptors, both of which protect the dopamine neurons. The chronic activation of dopamine D3 receptors by their agonists, in addition, restores, in part, the dopamine innervation of the striatum. Here we explored whether the over-expression of BDNF by dopamine neurons potentiates the effect of the activation of D3 receptors restoring nigrostriatal innervation. Twelve-month old Wistar rats were unilaterally injected with 6-hydroxydopamine into the striatum. Five months later, rats were treated with the D3 agonist 7-hydroxy-N,N-di-n-propy1-2-aminotetralin (7-OH-DPAT) administered i.p. during 4½ months via osmotic pumps and the BDNF gene transfection into nigral cells using the neurotensin-polyplex nanovector (a non-viral transfection) that selectively transfect the dopamine neurons via the high-affinity neurotensin receptor expressed by these neurons. Two months after the withdrawal of 7-OH-DPAT when rats were aged (24 months old), immunohistochemistry assays were made. The over-expression of BDNF in rats receiving the D3 agonist normalized gait and motor coordination; in addition, it eliminated the muscle rigidity produced by the loss of dopamine. The recovery of motor behavior was associated with the recovery of the nigral neurons, the dopamine innervation of the striatum and of the number of dendritic spines of the striatal neurons. Thus, the over-expression of BDNF in dopamine neurons associated with the chronic activation of the D3 receptors appears to be a promising strategy for restoring dopamine neurons in Parkinson's disease.
Prevalence of multiple organ dysfunction in the pediatric intensive
care unit: Pediatric Risk of Mortality III versus Pediatric
Logistic Organ Dysfunction scores for mortality prediction

OBJECTIVES
To assess the frequency of primary multiple organ failure and the role of sepsis as a causative agent in critically ill pediatric patients; and calculate and evaluate the accuracy of the Pediatric Risk of Mortality III (PRISM III) and Pediatric Logistic Organ Dysfunction (PELOD) scores to predict the outcomes of critically ill children.


METHODS
Retrospective study, which evaluated data from patients admitted from January to December 2011 in the pediatric intensive care unit of the Children's Hospital of the University of Cairo.


RESULTS
Out of 237 patients in the study, 72% had multiple organ dysfunctions, and 45% had sepsis with multiple organ dysfunctions. The mortality rate in patients with multiple organ dysfunction was 73%. Independent risk factors for death were mechanical ventilation and neurological failure [OR: 36 and 3.3, respectively]. The PRISM III score was more accurate than the PELOD score in predicting death, with a Hosmer-Lemeshow X2 (Chi-square value) of 7.3 (df = 8, p = 0.5). The area under the curve was 0.723 for PRISM III and 0.78 for PELOD.


CONCLUSION
A multiple organ dysfunctions was associated with high mortality. Sepsis was the major cause. Pneumonia, diarrhea and central nervous system infections were the major causes of sepsis. PRISM III had a better calibration than the PELOD for prognosis of the patients, despite the high frequency of the multiple organ dysfunction syndrome.
Technology in Vehicles

This talk will review the progress and status of the Foresight Vehicle Programme, including some examples of vehicle electronic projects. The emergence of related technologies will be discussed along with the practicalities of their introduction into vehicles, from both the engineering and political perspectives.
Stereo self-calibration for seafloor mapping using AUVs

Visual maps of the seafloor should ideally provide the ability to measure individual features of interest in real units. Two-dimensional photomosaics cannot provide this capability without making assumptions that often fail over 3-D terrain, and are generally used for visualization, but not for measurement. Full 3-D structure can be recovered using stereo vision, structure from motion (SFM), or simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM); of these techniques, only stereo vision is suitable for fully dense (a distance measurement for each imaged pixel) 3-D structure in the absence of significant frame-to-frame overlap. Stereo vision is notoriously dependent on camera calibration, however, which is difficult to compute and maintain in the field. The fewer dependencies an AUV mapping system has on camera calibration, the more reliably it will be able to produce useful maps of the seafloor. We present a system for recovering the 7-DOF relationship between the AUV's estimation frame and the camera rig (Euclidean offsets plus scale), which reconciles the robot's odometry-based pose estimate with stereo visual odome-try. The combination of robust frame-to-frame visual feature matching, subpixel stereo correspondence estimation, and high-accuracy on-board vehicle navigation sensors enables us to self-calibrate the extrinsic parameters of the stereo rig including scale, and produce metric maps using only vehicle navigation and the computed camera calibration. Using data acquired in the Bering Sea by the SeaBED AUV in August, 2009, our initial results indicate that accumulated navigation drift is less than 0.5% of distance travelled, suggesting that a visual SLAM system for correcting drift and building a final map would only require the robot's path to cross itself every few hundred meters. In addition to providing a large-scale metric 3-D map, the corrected stereo calibration enables scientists to measure the sizes of imaged objects without additional hardware such as laser points or acoustic ranging systems.
Reaching for the "cloud": How SMEs can manage

Cloud computing is an emerging new computing paradigm for delivering computing services. The approach relies on a number of existing technologies e.g., the Internet, virtualization and grid computing. However, the provision of this service in a pay-as-you-go way through the popular medium of the Internet renders this computing service approach unique compared with currently available computing
MATHEMATICAL MODEL FOR MALARIA TRANSMISSION DYNAMICS IN HUMAN AND MOSQUITO POPULATIONS WITH NONLINEAR FORCES OF INFECTION

This paper presents a seven-dimensional ordinary differential equation modelling the transmission of Plasmodium falciparum malaria between humans and mosquitoes with non-linear forces of infection in form of saturated incidence rates. These incidence rates produce antibodies in response to the presence of parasite-causing malaria in both human and mosquito populations.The existence of region where the model is epidemiologically feasible is established. Stability analysis of the disease-free equilibrium is investigated via the threshold parameter (reproduction number R0) obtained using the next generation matrix technique. The model results show that the disease-free equilibrium is asymptotically stable at threshold parameter less than unity and unstable at threshold parameter greater than unity. The existence of the unique endemic equilibrium is also determined under certain conditions. Numerical simulations are carried out to confirm the analytic results and explore the possible behavior of the formulated model. AMS Subject Classification: 92B05, 93A30
Education and Crime

Economic theory implies a negative correlation between educational attainment and most types of crime. First, schooling increases the returns from legitimate work (relative to most types of crime) and may also socialize youth. Second, youth who plan to engage frequently in crime benefit little from a good education. Empirically, an increase in educational attainment significantly reduces subsequent violent and property crime yielding sizeable social benefits. Schooling has small positive effects on white collar crime. School attendance reduces contemporaneous property crime but increases contemporaneous violent crime among juveniles. Incarceration during late adolescence appears to reduce educational attainment.
Asynchronous interconnect for synchronous SoC design

System-on-chip (SoC) designs integrate a variety of cores and I/O interfaces, which usually operate at different clock frequencies. Communication between unlocked clock domains requires careful synchronization, which inevitably introduces metastability and some uncertainty in timing. Thus, any chip with multiple clock domains is already globally asynchronous. We have devised a more elegant and efficient solution to the multiple-clock-domain problem. Instead of gluing synchronous domains directly to each other with clock-domain bridges, we use asynchronous-circuit design techniques to handle all clock-domain crossing as well as all cross-chip communication and routing. The phase-locked loop (PLL) and clock distribution can be entirely local to each synchronous core, easing timing closure and improving the reusability of cores across multiple designs. Our solution, Nexus, is a globally asynchronous, locally synchronous (GALS) interconnect that features a 16-port, 36-bit asynchronous crossbar. The crossbar connects through asynchronous channels to clock-domain converters for each synchronous module. To ensure that Nexus will work robustly in a commercial application, we developed and applied many verification and test strategies, including novel variations of noise analysis, timing analysis, and fault and delay testing.
Comparison of Capacity of Single- and Double-Track Rail Lines

Single-track line capacity is limited by the need for trains to decelerate , stop, and accelerate out of sidings to allow other trains to use the intermediate single-track sections. Meeting at these sidings is the largest cause of train-interference delays on single tracks (3). Double-track configurations largely eliminate this dynamic and allow the line to operate at a significantly higher capacity. Because of these inherent efficiencies, double-track lines can run more trains at higher average speeds than a single-track configuration. In the absence of meetings, passing conflicts and train spacing become key capacity constraints for a double-track line. For both single-and double-track configurations, previous research has determined that simultaneous operation of different train types consumes more capacity than homogeneous operations. Vromans et al. used simulation to investigate options to improve passenger operations (4). Leilich and Dingler et al. used simulation analysis to determine the delay caused by the interaction of unit trains and intermodal trains and found a capacity loss due to heterogeneous operations (5, 6). Harrod used integer programming to show that it can be feasible to run higher-speed trains in a single-track freight network provided there is a lane available (7). Petersen and Taylor used simulation analysis of where to locate sidings in single track to accommodate higher-speed trains (8). Sogin et al. used simulation analyses to show that there is a larger increase in delay to freight trains by adding a passenger train instead of a freight train in both single-(9) and double-track networks (10). METHODOLOGY Four key factors (Table 1) were considered in the simulation experiments. The different permutations of Table 1 can represent various shared-corridor conditions. Traffic volume is defined as the total number of trains per day (TPD). Traffic mixture (heterogeneity) is the percentage of these that are freight trains and describes the train-type heterogeneity of the corridor. The parameters of total TPD and percent freight are also described interchangeably by number of passenger trains and number of freight trains per day. The subsequent analyses use both pairs of parameters. The maximum speed of the passenger train was analyzed at 79 and 110 mph with intermediate speeds used in a correlation analysis. The fourth factor was the number of main tracks on the line. The full factorial of Table 1 was simulated. Each simulation run featured a unique combination of the four factors described in Table 1. RTC was used to simulate a dispatcher …
Molecular organisms

Protistology, and evolutionary protistology in particular, is experiencing a golden research era. It is an extended one that can be dated back to the 1970s, which is when the molecular rebirth of microbial phylogeny began in earnest. John Archibald, a professor of evolutionary microbiology at Dalhousie University (Nova Scotia, Canada), focuses on the beautiful story of endosymbiosis in his book, John Archibald, One Plus One Equals One: Symbiosis and the Origin of Complex Life (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014). However, this historical narrative could be treated as synecdochal of how the molecular revolution has changed evolutionary biology forever, and that is how Archibald has structured his book. I will address the encompassing theme of molecular methods in detail, but also pay careful attention to the endosymbiosis thread in its own right.
Overview of resistive switching memory (RRAM) switching mechanism and device modeling

In this paper, the recent progress on the understandings of the switching mechanisms in oxide resistive switching memory (RRAM) is reviewed. Several representative device modeling approaches including numerical discretized models, numerical continuous models and analytical compact models are discussed using HfOx bipolar RRAM as a model system. The future challenges of RRAM modeling are finally discussed.
Effect of glyburide-metformin combination tablet in patients with type 2 diabetes.

BACKGROUND
To evaluate the efficacy and safety of glyburide/metformin combined tablet compared to glyburide or metformin alone in patients with type 2 diabetes.


METHODS
In this 16-week, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, 4-arm and parallel clinical trial study, 100 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were recruited and 76 patients were available for statistical analysis at the end of the study. After 1 week of placebo washout period, eligible patients were randomly assigned into 1 of 4 treatment groups: glyburide 5 mg b.i.d.; metformin 500 mg b.i.d.; glyburide/metformin 2.5 mg/500 mg b.i.d.; or glyburide/metformin 5.0 mg/500 mg b.i.d. The doses were titrated every 2 weeks to a maximum of 4 tablets per day if the patients fasting plasma glucose (FPG) still exceeded 140 mg/dL. Efficacy was evaluated by the changes from baseline in glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and FPG at week 16. Adverse events were recorded and summarized by treatment group.


RESULTS
At week 16, patients who received glyburide/metformin 2.5 mg/500 mg or 5.0 mg/500 mg tablets had greater reductions in FPG (all p<0.001) compared with glyburide or metformin monotherapy. Patients who took glyburide/ metformin 2.5 mg/500 mg tablet and glyburide/metformin 5.0 mg/500 mg tablet had significant decreases in HbA1c (both p<0.0125). Furthermore, treatment with glyburide/metformin 2.5 mg/500 mg resulted in significantly greater reduction in HbA1c compared to glyburide or metformin (-1.77%, p<0.001 and -1.34%, p=0.002), and treatment with glyburide/metformin 5.0 mg/500 mg resulted in significant lowering of HbA1c compared to glyburide or metformin alone (-1.73%, p<0.001 and -1.30%, p=0.005). Both the glyburide/metformin 2.5 mg/500 mg and glyburide/metformin 5.0 mg/500 mg combination therapy groups experienced fewer gastrointestinal adverse events than the metformin monotherapy group.


CONCLUSION
Both glyburide/metformin 2.5 mg/500 mg and glyburide/metformin 5.0 mg/500 mg combination therapy were efficacious and well tolerated in the treatment of Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Reliability of tissue Doppler wall motion monitoring after heart transplantation for replacement of invasive routine screenings by optimally timed cardiac biopsies and catheterizations.

BACKGROUND
Invasive screenings at predefined time intervals for acute rejection and transplant coronary artery disease (TxCAD) are standard procedures. However, cardiac biopsies and catheterizations are distressing and risky for the patients and are also costly. We assessed the reliability of pulsed-wave tissue Doppler imaging (PW-TDI) for the timing of invasive examinations in heart recipients in an attempt to avoid unnecessary endomyocardial biopsies (EMBs) and catheterizations.


METHODS AND RESULTS
PW-TDI obtained at the basal left ventricular posterior wall before 408 EMBs and 293 catheterizations was tested for its diagnostic value regarding rejection and TxCAD with the use of International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation biopsy grading, coronary angiography, and intravascular ultrasound as standards. Early diastolic peak wall motion velocity and relaxation time showed high sensitivities for clinically relevant rejection diagnosis (90.0% and 93.3%, respectively). The negative and positive predictive values for rejection of diastolic parameter changes appeared high enough (up to 96% and 92%, respectively) to allow a reliable noninvasive PW-TDI monitoring with efficiently timed, instead of routinely scheduled, EMBs. At definite cutoff values for systolic parameters, the probability for TxCAD reached 92% to 97%. The Fisher classification functions allowed TxCAD exclusion with 80% probability.


CONCLUSIONS
Without diastolic parameter changes, acute rejection can be practically excluded, and serial PW-TDI can save patients from routine EMBs. The high specificity and negative predictive value for TxCAD of reduced systolic peak velocities and extended systolic time allow optimized timed catheterizations. Peak systolic velocity and systolic time allow diagnostic classifications that enable patients without known TxCAD but with high risk for catheterization to be spared routine angiographies.
Teaching Value-Laden Curricula in Physical Education

Research on physical educators' value orientations has identified five orientations: disciplinary mastery, learning process, self-actualization, social responsibility, and ecological integration. An interpretive research design was used to compare the extent to which 2 physical education teachers' content differed because of their value orientations. Findings revealed that the 2 teachers established curriculum goals and emphasized aspects of the physical education content that were associated with their individual value orientations. Dan, a learning-process-oriented teacher, stressed teaching students learning skills by breaking down movement skills into simple elements. John, a social-responsibility-oriented teacher, emphasized teaching social responsibility through physical activities. Both teachers viewed learning physical activities as a means to develop students' analytic or social skills. However, philosophical differences were found in how curricular goals and content were determined. The findings suggest that clarifying teachers' value orientations should be considered an appropriate initial step in curriculum innovation and change.
Azole-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus in Denmark: a laboratory-based study on resistance mechanisms and genotypes.

Azole-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus originating from the environment as well as induced during therapy are continuously emerging in Danish clinical settings. We performed a laboratory-based retrospective study (2010-2014) of azole resistance and genetic relationship of A. fumigatus at the national mycology reference laboratory of Denmark. A total of 1162 clinical and 133 environmental A. fumigatus isolates were identified by morphology, thermotolerance and/or β-tubulin sequencing. Screening for azole resistance was carried out using azole agar, and resistant isolates were susceptibility tested by the EUCAST (European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing) E.Def 9.2 reference method and CYP51A sequenced. Genotyping was performed for outbreak investigation and, when appropriate, short tandem repeat Aspergillus fumigatus microsatellite assay. All 133 environmental A. fumigatus isolates were azole susceptible. However, from 2010 to 2014, there was an increasing prevalence of azole resistance (from 1.4 to 6% isolates (p <0.001) and 1.8 to 4% patients (p <0.05)) among the clinical isolates, with the well-known environmental CYP51A variant TR34/L98H responsible for >50% of the azole resistance mechanisms. Among 184 Danish A. fumigatus isolates, 120 unique genotypes were identified and compared to a collection of 1822 international genotypes. Seven (5.8%) Danish genotypes were shared between isolates within Denmark but with different origin, 19 (15.8%) were shared with foreign genotypes, and two (11.8%) of 17 genotypes of isolates carrying the TR34/L98H resistance mechanisms were identical to two Dutch TR34/L98H isolates. Our findings underlines the demand for correct identification and susceptibility testing of clinical mould isolates. Furthermore, although complex, genotyping supported the hypotheses regarding clonal expansion and the potential of a single origin for the TR34/L98H clone.