Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Early Ischemic Change on CT Versus Diffusion-Weighted Imaging for Patients With Stroke Receiving Intravenous Recombinant Tissue-Type Plasminogen Activator Therapy: Stroke Acute Management With Urgent Risk-factor Assessment and Improvement (SAMURAI) rt-PA Registry

Background and Purpose— Alberta Stroke Programme Early CT Score (ASPECTS) is a quantitative topographical score to evaluate early ischemic change in the middle cerebral arterial territory on CT as well as on diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). The aim of the present study was to elucidate the relationship between CT-ASPECTS and DWI-ASPECTS for patients with hyperacute stroke and their associations with outcomes after recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator therapy based on a multicenter registry. Methods— ASPECTS was assessed on both CT and DWI before intravenous 0.6 mg/kg alteplase in 360 patients with stroke (119 women, 71±11 years old). The outcomes were symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage within 36 hours and independence at 3 months defined by a modified Rankin Scale score of 0 to 2. Results— DWI-ASPECTS was positively correlated with CT-ASPECTS (&rgr;=0.511, P<0.001) and was lower than CT-ASPECTS (median 8 [interquartile range, 6 to 9] versus 9 [8 to 10], P<0.001). Higher baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score (standardized partial regression coefficient [&bgr;] 0.061, P<0.001) and cardioembolic stroke (&bgr; 0.35, P<0.001) were related to this discrepancy. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for predicting sICH (12 patients) using ASPECTS was 0.673 (95% CI, 0.503 to 0.807) by CT and 0.764 (95% CI, 0.635 to 0.858) by DWI (P=0.275). The area for predicting independence at 3 months (192 patients) was 0.621 (0.564 to 0.674) by CT and 0.639 (0.580 to 0.694) by DWI (P=0.535). Conclusions— For patients with hyperacute stroke, DWI-ASPECTS scored approximately 1 point lower than CT-ASPECTS. Both CT-ASPECTS and DWI-ASPECTS were useful predictors of symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage and independence at 3 months after recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator.
Changes in Mangrove Epifaunal Assemblages Caused by Forest Logging during Hunting of the Neotropical Cormorant (Phalacrocorax brasilianus) on the Colombian Pacific Coast

Although the importance of mangroves is clearly recognized around the world, these ecosystems are being strongly altered by the logging of their forests for multiple purposes. The Colombian Pacific coast is not an exception to this situation, and apart from the traditional logging of wood, the hunting of the Neotropical Cormorant or Pato-cuervo (Phalacrocorax brasilianus), an activity largely unknown but widespread in the region, is also causing the logging of great extensions of mangroves. The aim of this research was to determine if the assemblages of mollusks and crustaceans of these mangroves are being affected by the hunting of the cormorant. To answer this question, quantitative samplings were realized in four transects in logged and unlogged mangrove areas on the southwestern coast of the Colombian Pacific and diversity, equitability and dominance of macrofaunal assemblages of mangroves were calculated. The data show that although significant differences between diversity indices were not found, there were important differences in equitability (total J’: 0.55 in T1, 0.77 in T2, 0.46 in T3 and 0.65 in T4), specific dominance, and composition of species (T1: 11 species, T2: 13, T3: 9 and T4: 11) between logged and unlogged areas. Based on these results, although forest structure and interstitial salinity were different among transects, we conclude that the present practice of exploitation of the Neotropical Cormorant is affecting the epifaunal populations of mangroves, causing changes in the composition and dominance of species.
Educational Access and Social Mobility in a Rural Community College

Critics of the community college have argued that community colleges have not necessariily provided opportunity for lower socioeconomic groups to achieve social mobility. The findings of the study agree with assertions made by other researchers that social class position and class culture become a form of cultural capital that facilitates success in higher education. I have extended Bourdieu’s notion of cultural capital through inclusion of the voices of working-class students in their definition of what knowledge is and how they proceed to claim the knowledge they need to make educational decisions.
The Energy-Driven Hot Carrier Degradation Modes

In this work, we confirm that the energy is the driving force of hot carrier effects. In the high energy-, long channel-case, the LEM picture is still valid. But when the energy is lowered, high energy electrons generated by electron-electron scattering (EES) become the dominant contribution to the degradation. Finally, for even lower energy, the hot carrier degradation becomes a composite mode combining both multiple vibrational excitation (MVE) mechanism (Hess, 1999) and medium-energy electrons heated by EES (Rauch, 2001)
Improving metal returns and eco-efficiency in electronics recycling - a holistic approach for interface optimisation between pre-processing and integrated metals smelting and refining

The efficient recovery of precious and special metals from electronic scrap has significant benefits - economically, environmentally, but also under a resource conservation aspect. The yields of these metals could be substantially improved by higher collection rates, less scrap exports to regions with insufficient recycling structures, and by interface optimisation, as pointed out in this document
Efficacy of an Emergency Department-based Motivational Teenage Smoking Intervention

Introduction Motivational interviewing techniques have been minimally researched as a function of a teenage smoking intervention. The present study examined the efficacy of a theory-based motivational tobacco intervention (MTI). Methods A randomized two-group design was used to compare 6-month post-baseline quit and reduction rates among teenagers who received the MTI with those who received brief advice or care as usual. Participants were smokers aged 14 to 19 years (N = 75) who presented for treatment in a university-affiliated hospital emergency department (ED). Motivational interviewing techniques were used by trained providers to facilitate individual change; stage-based take-home materials also were provided. Results Similar to past clinic-based studies of motivational interviewing with teenage smokers, our study found negative results in terms of intervention efficacy for cessation. Six-month follow-up cessation rates were nonsignificant — two teenagers quit smoking. Among teenagers who were available at follow-up, a medium effect size (Cohen's h = .38) was found for reduction and a large effect size (Cohen's h = .69) was found for percentage reduction, although these results also were not statistically significant. Conclusion Although the major findings of this study were not significant, the reductions in tobacco use suggest that motivational interviewing may be a clinically relevant counseling model for use in teenage smoking interventions. However, many questions remain, and the current literature lacks studies on trials with significant outcomes using motivational interviewing in smoking cessation. Additionally, more research is needed to examine the suitability of the ED for MTI-type interventions.
Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Gonadal Axis Hormones and Male Rheumatoid Arthritis: Novel Perspectives

The female to male (F:M) incidence ratio in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is almost 3:1, being exaggerated in child-bearing ages (5:1), as opposed to 2:1 in juveniles and older (50+ years) adults1. Female preponderance also occurs in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE; 9:1), particularly in child-bearing years2, when its age-specific incidence is highest2,3. In RA, however, the incidence is notably higher in postmenopausal than in premenopausal women. The age-specific gender differential in RA is attributable to adult men having significantly delayed disease onset1. Such incidence data imply that gonadal hormones may be protective of RA in younger adult men (testosterone), but may predispose to SLE in women (estrogens)2,3. In this issue of The Journal , Tengstrand, et al 4 report a longitudinal study of gonadal hormones in early diagnosed (within 1 year of symptoms) male RA. The baseline hormonal data on RA cases were compared to healthy control values. The longitudinal design over a 2-year duration of therapy permitted analyses of the change in hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) hormones as correlated with the change in RA disease activity. At baseline, the main findings were that the younger (< 50 yrs of age) RA males had lower mean serum levels of total testosterone (T) as well as bioavailable T, i.e., free T or non-sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG)-bound T than the healthy control subjects. The 2-year interval changes revealed an increased total T level from baseline that was associated significantly with decreased disease activity, as measured by Disease Activity Score 28 (DAS28), but without change in serum luteinizing hormone (LH)4. Cross-sectional (or longitudinal) studies cannot indicate whether observed baseline hormonal alterations reflect a primary risk effect or are secondary to disease severity4,5. Such question of a … Address reprint requests to Dr. Masi; E-mail: amasi{at}uic.edu
A convolutional neural network based approach to QRS detection

In this paper we present a QRS detection algorithm based on pattern recognition as well as a new approach to ECG baseline wander removal and signal normalization. Each point of the zero-centred and normalized ECG signal is a QRS candidate, while a 1-D CNN classifier serves as a decision rule. Positive outputs from the CNN are clustered to form final QRS detections. The data is obtained from the 44 non-pacemaker recordings of the MIT-BIH arrhythmia database. Classifier was trained on 22 recordings and the remaining ones are used for performance evaluation. Our method achieves a sensitivity of 99.81% and 99.93% positive predictive value, which is comparable with most state-of-the-art solutions. This approach opens new possibilities for improvements in heartbeat classification as well as P and T wave detection problems.
Comparing Small Group and Tutorial Instruction in Resource Rooms

A series of studies compared small group and tutorial instruction in resource room settings. Each child was fought both by a cross-age tutor individually and by a resource teacher in a small group. Results suggested that children learned more from a tutor than in a small group. The effect was observed for word recognition, spelling, oral reading, and multiplication. Tutorial instruction was also superior to self instruction, and tutors appeared to benefit academically from the experience. The results are seen to have policy implications for resource programs.
Dynamic behavior of fundamental-mode stabilized VCSELs using a shallow surface relief

An extensive theoretical study was performed on the dynamic behavior of 850-nm-wavelength oxide-confined fundamental-mode stabilized vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs), using a shallow surface relief. The surface relief is used to provide lower mirror loss for the fundamental mode, thus acting as a mode discriminator. In this way, single-mode operation at high power levels can be obtained. We utilized a comprehensive model that includes the detailed epitaxial layer structure and device geometry when calculating the optical fields and that accurately accounts for the dynamic effects of carrier density and temperature on the modal distributions. Modulation response, eye diagrams, bit error rate (BER), and relative intensity noise (RIN) were simulated and compared to the performance of VCSELs without a mode discriminator, i.e., conventional multimode VCSELs. The fundamental-mode stabilized VCSELs are associated with a higher out-coupling, which lowers the relaxation oscillation frequency and damping, and strong spatial hole burning, which induces a low-frequency roll-off in the modulation response and contributes to the damping of the relaxation oscillation at low bias. However, their dynamics is fully competitive with conventional multimode VCSELs at both 2.5 and 10 Gb/s although they exhibit a slightly higher eye closure. We only found a 0.5-dB power penalty in the BER. The RIN is enhanced, with a peak that is about 10-15 dB higher, caused by the lower damping of the relaxation oscillation. It should be noted that in the comparison we assume that all modes are equally captured from the multimode VCSEL. A mode-selective loss can severely degrade its performance.
Trigeminal Trophic Syndrome—Report of Four Cases and Review of the Literature

BACKGROUND Trigeminal trophic syndrome is a unilateral, frequently crescent-shaped neurotrophic ulceration of the face occurring after injury to the trigeminal nerve. The appearance of the ulcers resembles other disease entities such as granulomatous disease, neoplasm, vasculitis, infection, and factitial dermatitis. OBJECTIVES The objectives of this study are to increase awareness of this disorder and to emphasize the importance of eliciting a thorough neurologic history when evaluating facial ulcerations. METHODS Four cases are reported and, using MEDLINE, the English and non-English literature from 1982 to 2002 is reviewed. RESULTS Including this report, there have been 60 cases of trigeminal trophic syndrome reported from 1982 to 2002. The age at presentation ranged from 14 months to 93 years. Time of onset from injury to the trigeminal ganglion or its branches and the development of the ulcers ranged from 2 weeks to 30 years. One-third of the patients had undergone trigeminal nerve ablation for the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia and another third had a history of stroke. Other causes included craniotomy, head trauma, herpes infection. CONCLUSION The majority of cases of trigeminal trophic syndrome are associated with a history of stroke or trigeminal nerve ablation. Successful surgical outcome can be achieved if the underlying neurologic pathology is addressed before the reconstructive procedure.
Effect of dietary calcium: Phosphorus ratio on bone mineralization and intestinal calcium absorption in ovariectomized rats

We investigated the effect of dietary calcium:phosphorus (Ca:P) ratio on bone mineralization and intestinal Ca absorption in ovariectomized (OVX) rat models of osteoporosis and sham‐operated rats. Thirty 12‐wk‐old female Wistar rats were divided into three groups of OVX rats and three groups of sham rats. Thirty days after the adaptation period, OVX rats and sham rats were fed a diet formulated Ca:P, 1:0.5, 1:1 or 1:2 (each diet containing 0.5% Ca), respectively for 42 d. In both sham and OVX rats, serum osteocalcin, a marker of bone turnover, was increased by decreasing Ca:P ratio (1:2). In contrast, rats fed the Ca:P = 1:0.5 diet (dietary P restriction) suppressed the increased serum parathyroid hormone, osteocalcin and urinary deoxypyridinoline, and increased Ca absorption in both sham and OVX rats compared to the Ca:P = 1:1 and 1:2 diets. Especially, in OVX rats, the decreased bone mineral density of the fifth lumbar was also suppressed when rats were fed the Ca:P = 1:0.5 diet. These results indicated that the elevation of dietary Ca:P ratio may inhibit bone loss and increase intestinal Ca absorption in OVX rats.
Growth and childhood asthma.

We read the recent article by Dr Balfour-Lynn with interest.1 In this study the prepubertal height centile from a 'distance' chart of each individual child was extrapolated to the adult centile as an assessment of final height prognosis. It is the degree of epiphysial maturation, however, that determines the proportion of growth that has occurred and hence the height potential remaining; only 40% of the children in this study had an assessment of bone age. A further assumption was the use of development of pubic hair as a sign of the onset of puberty. Pubic hair, which is predominantly associated with adrenal androgen secretion, is not necessarily a sign of the onset of puberty. Luxurious development of pubic hair is common in children with absent puberty secondary to hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism or gonadal dysgenesis. Figure 1 of this article depicted the timing of the growth spurt of a boy with asthma coincident with the onset of puberty. One of the characteristics of puberty in boys is that the onset of the spontaneous growth acceleration occurs late in puberty, between genitalia stage 3 and 42 or more accurately at the attainment of a 10 ml testicular volume. Clearly, in Figure 1 the growth spurt was either unrelated to the spontaneous growth acceleration of puberty and perhaps due to 'catch up' growth secondary to effective treatment or the assessment of the onset of pubertal maturation was incorrect. If the former was correct then the growth pattern was not due to delayed puberty; the latter would put the accuracy of the entire study into doubt. The data presented showed a loss of the harmony of normal growth and puberty. and this usually points to an endocrine abnormality.3 Such a longitudinal study should be an important contribution to our understanding of the growth of children with asthma, many of whom have delayed growth and puberty. The data presented and the errors in methodology, however, do not permit the conclusions that Dr Balfour-Lynn has made.
Physical activity for youth with disabilities: A critical need in an underserved population

The recommended amount of daily physical activity for youth is 60 minutes a day, most days of the week. Youth with disabilities are not achieving this target and are significantly less active and more obese than their non-disabled peers. The combination of the health risks associated with physical inactivity and obesity presents a serious health concern in this population. While there is a small amount of research on interventions aimed at improving fitness among youth with disabilities, the majority of these studies were conducted in clinical settings where most or all of the common barriers to participation were eliminated (e.g. transportation, lack of knowledgeable staff, adaptation of programmes and/or facilities to child's needs). One of the most important challenges for paediatric rehabilitation and healthcare professionals is finding ways to increase physical activity and fitness among youth with disabilities in community-based settings. The use of information technology (IT) to customize physical activity programmes for youth with disabilities offers a promising approach to addressing this important health issue in the future.
Local auxin biosynthesis regulation by PLETHORA transcription factors controls phyllotaxis in Arabidopsis

Lateral organ distribution at the shoot apical meristem defines specific and robust phyllotaxis patterns that have intrigued biologists and mathematicians for centuries. In silico studies have revealed that this self-organizing process can be recapitulated by modeling the polar transport of the phytohormone auxin. Phyllotactic patterns change between species and developmental stages, but the processes behind these variations have remained unknown. Here we use regional complementation experiments to reveal that phyllotactic switches in Arabidopsis shoots can be mediated by PLETHORA-dependent control of local auxin biosynthesis.
Effects of Cyclosporin A on Immune Activation Markers in Patients with Active Psoriasis

Background: Psoriasis is a T-cell mediated autoimmune disease. The objective of this work was to investigate the presence of cellular and soluble activation molecules in the blood of patients with psoriasis, not responding to local treatment and to study the effect of cyclosporin A (CsA) on these markers. Methods: Twenty-seven patients and 30 healthy controls were included in the study. The results were evaluated at baseline and at 15 days, 3, 6 and 12 months following initiation of treatment. Results: We found increased baseline values of lymphocytes and cells expressing the marker CD3+CD25+, CD54+ (ICAM-1) and CD58+ (LFA-3). Following CsA treatment, a significant decrease in the percentage of activated T cells expressing CD3+CD25+ and CD3+HLA-DR+ was noted at 6 and 12 months. Among the soluble factors studied, increased baseline serum levels of sIL-2R, sCD23 and neopterin were observed. CsA significantly reduced the levels of sIL-2R and IL-12. Conclusion: Although there is evidence for systemic immune activation in psoriasis, sIL-2R is the most consistently increased activation marker, related to the Th1 immune response, that may be used as a marker for monitoring disease activity and response to treatment with CsA in psoriatic patients.
Growth in a Cross-section of Cities: Location, Increasing Returns or Random Growth?

Abstract This article analyses empirically the main existing theories on income and population city growth: increasing returns to scale, locational fundamentals and random growth. To do this we consider a large database of urban, climatological and macroeconomic data from 1,173 US cities observed in 1990 and 2000. The econometric model is robust to the presence of spatial effects. Our analysis shows the existence of increasing returns and two distinct equilibria in per-capita income and population growth. We also find important differences in the structure of productive activity, unemployment rates and geographical location between cities in low-income and high-income regimes.
Stochasticity in N-body simulations of disc galaxies

We demonstrate that the chaotic nature of N-body systems can lead to macroscopic variations in the evolution of collisionless simulations containing rotationally supported discs. The unavoidable stochasticity that afflicts all simulations generally causes mild differences between the evolution of similar models but, in order to illustrate that this is not always true, we present a case that shows an extreme bimodal divergence. The divergent behaviour occurs in two different types of code, and is independent of all numerical parameters. We identify and give explicit illustrations of several sources of stochasticity, and also show that macroscopic variations in the evolution can originate from differences at the round-off error level. We obtain somewhat more consistent results from simulations in which the halo is set-up with great care compared with those started from more approximate equilibria, but we have been unable to eliminate diverging behaviour entirely because the main sources of stochasticity are intrinsic to the disc. We show that the divergence is only temporary and that halo friction is merely delayed, for a substantial time in some cases. We argue that the delays are unlikely to arise in real galaxies, and that our results do not affect dynamical friction constraints on halo density. Stochastic variations in the evolution are inevitable in all simulations of disc-halo systems, irrespective of how they were created, although their effect is generally far less extreme than we find here. The possibility of divergent behaviour complicates comparison of results from different workers.