Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Understanding Algorithm Performance on an Oversubscribed Scheduling Application

The best performing algorithms for a particular oversubscribed scheduling application, Air Force Satellite Control Network (AFSCN) scheduling, appear to have little in common. Yet, through careful experimentation and modeling of performance in real problem instances, we can relate characteristics of the best algorithms to characteristics of the application. In particular, we find that plateaus dominate the search spaces (thus favoring algorithms that make larger changes to solutions) and that some randomization in exploration is critical to good performance (due to the lack of gradient information on the plateaus). Based on our explanations of algorithm performance, we develop a new algorithm that combines characteristics of the best performers; the new algorithm's performance is better than the previous best. We show how hypothesis driven experimentation and search modeling can both explain algorithm performance and motivate the design of a new algorithm.
The Challenges of Validating Diagnostic Methods and Selecting Appropriate Gold Standards

Caries diagnostic methods are usually methods for caries lesion detection and measurement. Caries lesions occur on a continuous scale of tissue damage, from subclinical surface changes to macroscopic cavities reaching the pulp. Any change of a lesion on this continuous scale offers the opportunity for the diagnosis of disease activity or remission. Research aimed at remineralizing agents may focus on lesions that are amenable to remineralization, and select a method that will measure small changes in early lesions. General caries management strategies depend on detecting all stages of lesion development, and methods covering early to late stages are preferred. This paper addresses some methodological issues in validating caries diagnostic methods. The available gold standards for caries lesions are discussed, with their suitability in different applications, and their “validity” as far as it is known or can be inferred. The gold standards are compared as far as their measurement of lesion parameters and reproducibility is concerned. Tentative conclusions are formulated, and recommendations for future research are given.
Pressurised metered dose inhalers with spacers versus nebulisers for β-agonist delivery in acute asthma in children in the emergency department

Objectives: Wet nebulisers are widely used for β-2 agonist delivery in Australasian emergency departments (ED). An increasing body of work suggests that pressurised metered dose inhalers with spacers (pMDI-S) are as effective. This study aims to investigate the effect on admission rates, total time in the ED, and total time in hospital after initiation of routine pMDI-S treatment for mild to moderate asthma in children presenting to the ED. Methods: Children with a discharge diagnosis of asthma were identified over sequential 3 month time periods. In the first period, wet nebuliser treatment was routine and in the subsequent trial period pMDI-S treatment was instituted as routine. Admissions rates, total time in hospital, and total time in the ED were recorded for each group. Results: Admission rates fell significantly from 31% to 20.6% after routine use of pMDI-S treatment. There was a non-significant trend to an increase in total ED and total hospital times. Conclusion: Introduction of routine pMDI-S treatment in the paediatric ED results in a significant drop in admission rates but no significant change in total hospital times or total ED times.
Viral Gastroenteritis in Charleston, West Virginia, in 2007: From Birth to 99 Years of Age

Objective. To describe factors associated with a rectal swab or stool sample positive for norovirus, rotavirus, or adenovirus. Design. Retrospective study. Setting. Charleston Area Medical Center, a regional academic medical center in Charleston, West Virginia. Methods. Rectal swab or stool samples were obtained from patients suspected of having viral gastroenteritis. These samples were sent to the Charleston Area Medical Center virology laboratory for testing in 2007. Viral antigen in rectal swab and stool samples is detected by use of commercially available immunoassay kits for each virus. Data were extracted from the virology laboratory database for the following 1-year time period: January 1, 2007, through December 31, 2007. When necessary, additional information was obtained from electronic administrative data on patients. Results. There were 2,867 rectal swab and stool samples available for viral testing. Of these samples, 1,261 (44%) were positive for a virus. Of these positive samples, 972 (77%) were positive for norovirus, 182 (14%) were positive for rotavirus, and 110 (9%) were positive for adenovirus. The patients in the youngest age group had the highest number of test results positive for all 3 viruses. When the test results for the youngest age group (0-9 years) were compared with those for all the other age groups combined (10-99 years), the proportion of positive cases was highest for the youngest age group (P<.001). There were significant seasonal trends for all 3 viruses. Multivariate analysis of norovirus showed that season, source, sex, and age were significant predictors of a positive test result. Multivariate analysis of rotavirus showed that season and source were significant predictors of a positive test result. Multivariate analysis of adenovirus showed that season and age were significant predictors of a positive test result. Conclusions. We conclude (1) that these 3 viruses are common causes of gastroenteritis in Charleston, West Virginia; (2) that infants and young children are more likely to test positive for these viruses than are older individuals; (3) that norovirus was the most common cause of gastroenteritis; and (4) that there are seasonal trends for all 3 viruses.
Efficient Spectral-Galerkin Method II. Direct Solvers of Second- and Fourth-Order Equations Using Chebyshev Polynomials

Efficient direct solvers based on the Chebyshev–Galerkin methods for second- and fourth-order equations are presented. They are based on appropriate base functions for the Galerkin formulation that lead to discrete systems with special structured matrices that can be efficiently inverted. Numerical results indicate that the direct solvers presented in this paper are significantly more accurate and efficient than those based on the Chebyshev-tau method.
Pilot Study of the Association of the DDAH2 −449G Polymorphism with Asymmetric Dimethylarginine and Hemodynamic Shock in Pediatric Sepsis

Background Genetic variability in the regulation of the nitric oxide (NO) pathway may influence hemodynamic changes in pediatric sepsis. We sought to determine whether functional polymorphisms in DDAH2, which metabolizes the NO synthase inhibitor asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), are associated with susceptibility to sepsis, plasma ADMA, distinct hemodynamic states, and vasopressor requirements in pediatric septic shock. Methodology/Principal Findings In a prospective study, blood and buccal swabs were obtained from 82 patients ≤18 years (29 with severe sepsis/septic shock plus 27 febrile and 26 healthy controls). Plasma ADMA was measured using tandem mass spectrometry. DDAH2 gene was partially sequenced to determine the −871 6g/7g insertion/deletion and −449G/C single nucleotide polymorphisms. Shock type (“warm” versus “cold”) was characterized by clinical assessment. The −871 7g allele was more common in septic (17%) then febrile (4%) and healthy (8%) patients, though this was not significant after controlling for sex and race (p = 0.96). ADMA did not differ between −871 6g/7g genotypes. While genotype frequencies also did not vary between groups for the −449G/C SNP (p = 0.75), septic patients with at least one −449G allele had lower ADMA (median, IQR 0.36, 0.30–0.41 µmol/L) than patients with the −449CC genotype (0.55, 0.49–0.64 µmol/L, p = 0.008) and exhibited a higher incidence of “cold” shock (45% versus 0%, p = 0.01). However, after controlling for race, the association with shock type became non-significant (p = 0.32). Neither polymorphism was associated with inotrope score or vasoactive infusion duration. Conclusions/Significance The −449G polymorphism in the DDAH2 gene was associated with both low plasma ADMA and an increased likelihood of presenting with “cold” shock in pediatric sepsis, but not with vasopressor requirement. Race, however, was an important confounder. These results support and justify the need for larger studies in racially homogenous populations to further examine whether genotypic differences in NO metabolism contribute to phenotypic variability in sepsis pathophysiology.
New Evidence for the Existence of a Particle of Mass Intermediate Between the Proton and Electron

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On Solutions of Holonomic Divided-Difference Equations on Nonuniform Lattices

The main aim of this paper is the development of suitable bases that enable the direct series representation of orthogonal polynomial systems on nonuniform lattices (quadratic lattices of a discrete or a q-discrete variable). We present two bases of this type, the first of which allows one to write solutions of arbitrary divided-difference equations in terms of series representations, extending results given by Sprenger for the q-case. Furthermore, it enables the representation of the Stieltjes function, which has already been used to prove the equivalence between the Pearson equation for a given linear functional and the Riccati equation for the formal Stieltjes function. If the Askey-Wilson polynomials are written in terms of this basis, however, the coefficients turn out to be not q-hypergeometric. Therefore, we present a second basis, which shares several relevant properties with the first one. This basis enables one to generate the defining representation of the Askey-Wilson polynomials directly from their divided-difference equation. For this purpose, the divided-difference equation must be rewritten in terms of suitable divided-difference operators developed in previous work by the first author.
Dynamic Coverage Verification in Mobile Sensor Networks Via Switched Higher Order Laplacians

In this paper, we study the problem of verifying dynamic coverage in mobile sensor networks using certain switched linear systems. These switched systems describe the flow of discrete differential forms on time-evolving simplicial complexes. The simplicial complexes model the connectivity of agents in the network, and the homology groups of the simplicial complexes provides information about the coverage properties of the network. Our main result states that the asymptotic stability the switched linear system implies that every point of the domain covered by the mobile sensor nodes is visited infinitely often, hence verifying dynamic coverage. The enabling mathematical technique for this result is the theory of higher order Laplacian operators, which is a generalization of the graph Laplacian used in spectral graph theory and continuous-time consensus problems.
Decline of the Critical Period of Visual Plasticity Is Concurrent with the Reduction of NR2B Subunit of the Synaptic NMDA Receptor in Layer 4

The specific composition of NMDA receptor subunits is thought to underlie the developmental plasticity of the cortex revealed by unbalanced binocular stimulation. However, evidence that NR2 subunits change in correlation with the critical period at locations that are relevant to visual plasticity has been missing. Using preembedding and postembedding immunostaining, as well as electron microscopy, we quantified the volumetric densities of NR1-, NR2A-, and NR2B-containing synapses in layers 4 and 2/3 of the ferret visual cortex at different postnatal ages. Before eye opening, NR2A is encountered infrequently at postsynaptic sites in layer 4, but it increases sharply by postnatal day 34. In the subsequent weeks, postsynaptic NR2A labeling increases gradually in both layers 4 and 2/3 to become the most prevalent subunit in the adult animal. The NR2B subunit is the more prevalent subunit at the onset of the critical period of cortical plasticity. However, it displays different developmental patterns in layers 4 and 2/3. Although no change occurs in synaptic NR2B density in layer 2/3, in layer 4, NR2B maintains its high levels through the peak of the critical period and then becomes significantly reduced by the end of the peak of the critical period. This low level is maintained throughout adulthood. Our results demonstrate a correlation between the loss of NR2B subunits from layer 4 synaptic sites and the decline of the critical period, suggesting that the presence of NR2B subunits at synaptic sites could be a permissive factor regulating the ocular dominance plasticity of the developing cortex.
Dyspnea-Related Cues Engage the Prefrontal Cortex

BACKGROUND: Dyspnea is the major source of disability in COPD. In COPD, environmental cues (eg, the prospect of having to climb stairs) become associated with dyspnea and may trigger dyspnea even before physical activity commences. We hypothesized that brain activation relating to such cues would be different between patients with COPD and healthy control subjects, reflecting greater engagement of emotional mechanisms in patients. METHODS: Using functional MRI (FMRI), we investigated brain responses to dyspnea-related word cues in 41 patients with COPD and 40 healthy age-matched control subjects. We combined these findings with scores on self-report questionnaires, thus linking the FMRI task with clinically relevant measures. This approach was adapted from studies in pain that enabled identification of brain networks responsible for pain processing despite absence of a physical challenge. RESULTS: Patients with COPD demonstrated activation in the medial prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex, which correlated with the visual analog scale (VAS) response to word cues. This activity independently correlated with patient responses on questionnaires of depression, fatigue, and dyspnea vigilance. Activation in the anterior insula, lateral prefrontal cortex, and precuneus correlated with the VAS dyspnea scale but not with the questionnaires. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that engagement of the emotional circuitry of the brain is important for interpretation of dyspnea-related cues in COPD and is influenced by depression, fatigue, and vigilance. A heightened response to salient cues is associated with increased symptom perception in chronic pain and asthma, and the findings suggest that such mechanisms may be relevant in COPD.
IScore: A Risk Score to Predict Death Early After Hospitalization for an Acute Ischemic Stroke

Background— A predictive model of stroke mortality may be useful for clinicians to improve communication with and care of hospitalized patients. Our aim was to identify predictors of mortality and to develop and validate a risk score model using information available at hospital presentation. Methods and Results— This retrospective study included 12 262 community-based patients presenting with an acute ischemic stroke at multiple hospitals in Ontario, Canada, between 2003 and 2008 who had been identified from the Registry of the Canadian Stroke Network (8223 patients in the derivation cohort, 4039 in the internal validation cohort) and the Ontario Stroke Audit (3720 for the external validation cohort). The mortality rates for the derivation and internal validation cohorts were 12.2% and 12.6%, respectively, at 30 days and 22.5% and 22.9% at 1 year. Multivariable predictors of 30-day and 1-year mortality included older age, male sex, severe stroke, nonlacunar stroke subtype, glucose ≥7.5 mmol/L (135 mg/dL), history of atrial fibrillation, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, cancer, dementia, kidney disease on dialysis, and dependency before the stroke. A risk score index stratified the risk of death and identified low- and high- risk individuals. The c statistic was 0.850 for 30-day mortality and 0.823 for 1-year mortality for the derivation cohort, 0.851 for the 30-day model and 0.840 for the 1-year mortality model in the internal validation set, and 0.790 for the 30-day model and 0.782 for the 1-year model in the external validation set. Conclusion— Among patients with ischemic stroke, factors identifiable within hours of hospital presentation predicted mortality risk at 30 days and 1 year. The predictive score may assist clinicians in estimating stroke mortality risk and policymakers in providing a quantitative tool to compare facilities.
Computing location from ambient FM radio signals [commercial radio station signals]

We present a method for computing the location of a device down to a radius of several miles within a greater metropolitan area by analyzing the signal strengths observed from commercial FM radio stations. The use of ambient commercial radio signals allows for wide coverage, both indoor and outdoor reception, client-side computing for privacy, and the feasibility of employing inexpensive, low-power measurement hardware. Our technique is based on a model for computing the likelihood of locations using both received signal strengths and information from a simulated signal strength map. Using simulated signal strengths relieves the burden of manually measuring signal strength as a function of location. We account for the inevitable measurement variations among devices by comparing rankings of radio stations by signal strength. Our experiments show we can measure location down to a median error of about 8 kilometers (5 miles) in the greater Seattle area by listening to seven different radio stations.
Regeneration of Infarcted Myocardium by Intramyocardial Implantation of Ex Vivo Transforming Growth Factor-&bgr;–Preprogrammed Bone Marrow Stem Cells

Background—Recent studies have shown that bone marrow–derived stem cells differentiate into the phenotype of cardiomyocytes in vivo and in vitro. We tried to regenerate infarcted myocardium by implanting ex vivo transforming growth factor (TGF)-&bgr;–preprogrammed CD117 (c-kit)–positive (CD117+) stem cells intramyocardially. Methods and Results—CD117+ cells were isolated from the bone marrow mononuclear cells of GFP-transgenic or normal C57/BL6 mice. The myogenic differentiation of CD117+ cells was achieved by cultivation with TGF-&bgr;. Using an acute myocardial infarction model, we also tried to regenerate infarcted myocardium by implanting untreated (newly isolated) or preprogrammed (24 hours of cultivation with 5 ng/mL TGF-&bgr;1) CD117+ cells intramyocardially. TGF-&bgr; increased the cellular expression of myosin, troponins, connexin-43, GATA-4, and NKx-2.5, which suggested that it induced the myogenic differentiation of CD117+ cells. Compared with the effects of PBS injection only, the microvessel density in the infarcted myocardium was increased significantly 3 months after the implantation of either TGF-&bgr;–preprogrammed or untreated CD117+ cells. Moreover, many of the TGF-&bgr;–preprogrammed CD117+ cells were stained positively for myosin, whereas few of the untreated CD117+ cells were. Histological analysis revealed newly regenerated myocardium in the left ventricular anterior wall after the implantation of TGF-&bgr;–preprogrammed cells but not untreated cells. Furthermore, the left ventricular percent fraction shortening was significantly higher after the implantation of TGF-&bgr;–preprogrammed cells than after the implantation of untreated CD117+ cells. Conclusions—TGF-&bgr; conducted the myogenic differentiation of CD117+ stem cells by upregulating GATA-4 and NKx-2.5 expression. Therefore, the intramyocardial implantation of TGF-&bgr;–preprogrammed CD117+ cells effectively assisted the myocardial regeneration and induced therapeutic angiogenesis, contributing to functional cardiac regeneration.
Methods for Analysis and Visualization of SNP Genotype Data for Complex Diseases

SNP markers are becoming central for studying genetic determinants of complex diseases. Large SNP data collected in such studies call for the development of specialized analysis tools. We present methods for selecting sets of SNPs that can be associated to sample properties in case/control studies. We also describe how scoring and selection can be statistically tested. This is done at the single locus as well as at the set level.
Health-related quality of life in patients with chronic hepatitis B during antiviral treatment and off-treatment

Introduction Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) has emerged as an important consideration in the care of patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). However, whether benefits from the improved HRQoL that occurs after antiviral treatment or drug discontinuation outweigh the risks of viral relapse is an unanswered question. The aim of this study was to evaluate the HRQoL among patients with CHB during antiviral treatment and withdrawal of treatment. Patients and methods There were 102 patients who met the enrollment criteria with 54 patients in the treatment group and 48 patients in the discontinuation group. Sociodemographic information was collected. The 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions, and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were adopted to evaluate life quality and mental health. Results In the treatment group, SF-36 showed that the physical functions were significantly increased. In the discontination group, the psychological functions showed improvement. A multivariate regression analysis indicated that baseline SF-36 score was a predictor for improvement in HRQoL (odds ratio =1.17, P=0.003) and baseline BDI score was a factor for remission of depression (odds ratio =0.75, P=0.005) after medical intervention. When the cutoff value of SF-36 score was set at 79.5, the sensitivity and specificity to predict improvement in HRQoL were 82.8% and 74.0%, respectively. When the cutoff value of BDI was found as 8.5, the sensitivity and specificity to predict alleviation of depression were 58.6%, and 76.0%, respectively. Conclusion Antiviral treatment benefits the physical health of the patients with CHB, while conferring no obvious improvement in their psychological condition. Improved psychological interventions for patients with CHB, especially for those with lower baseline SF-36 scores and higher BDI scores, may improve their quality of life.
End-link dynamics of redundant robotic limbs: The Reaction Null Space approach

It is shown that the Reaction Null Space formulation - a method developed for motion analysis and reactionless motion generation of free-floating and flexible-base robots - can be used to fully decouple the end-link dynamics of a kinematically redundant fixed-base robot. Decoupling is achieved thereby via the pseudoinverse of a coupling-inertia submatrix, in quite a different way from the dynamic decoupling achieved via the inertia-weighted generalized inverse of the manipulator Jacobian and known from the Operational Space formulation. The properties of the new formulation are clarified with the help of a comparative study on a representative motion/force control scenario. The simulation results show that the two formulations deliver identical results as far as end-link dynamics are concerned. The new method has an advantage with regard to joint space dynamics, though, which becomes apparent especially in the neighborhood of kinematic singularities, where the inertiaweighted generalized inverse of the manipulator Jacobian is ill-behaved.