Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Success Rates of Conventional Versus Endoscope-Assisted Probing for Congenital Nasolacrimal Duct Obstruction in Children 12 Years and Younger.

PURPOSE To compare the success rates for congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction (CNLDO) treated with conventional probing versus endoscope-assisted probing. METHODS A retrospective nonrandomized comparison of the success rates in children (0 to 12 years) with CNLDO who underwent conventional probing or endoscope-assisted probing. Success was defined as absence of tearing or negative fluorescein dye disappearance test. Stent was evaluated. RESULTS A total of 270 patients with CNLDO comprised the study population. The mean age was 37 months in the conventional probing group and 48.5 months in the endoscope-assisted probing group. The subjective and objective success rates were 76.1% and 75.9%, respectively, in the conventional probing group and 95.7% and 95.7%, respectively, in the endoscope-assisted probing group. The success rates were higher for both methods in the endoscope-assisted probing group (P < .005). The success rate decreased in older children in the conventional probing group (100% < 6 months; 62.5% > 48 months) and remained stable in the endoscope-assisted probing group (100% < 6 months; 97% > 48 months). Stent did not improve success. CONCLUSIONS Endoscope-assisted probing increased success in older children and children with bilateral obstruction. [J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus. 2016;53(5):292-299. ].
Predictable Packet Latency in Xen-ARM

In this paper, we address latency issue in Xen-ARM virtual machines. Despite the advantages of virtualization in mobile systems, the current Xen-ARM is difficult to apply to mobile devices because it has unpredictable I/O latency. This paper analyzes the latency of incoming packet handling in Xen-ARM, and presents how virtualization affects the latency in detail. To make the latency predictable, firstly, we modify XenARM scheduler so that the driver domain can be promptly scheduled by the hypervisor. Secondly, we introduce additional paravirtualization of guest OS that minimizes non-preemptible code path. With our enhancements, 99% of incoming packets are predictably handled within one millisecond at the destined guest OS, which is a feasible time bound for most soft realtime applications. key words: virtual machine, I/O latency
Three distinctive steps in Peyer's patch formation of murine embryo.

Investigation of the process of Peyer's patch (PP) formation has been hampered by difficulties in identifying its initial step in the embryo. In this study, we overcame this problem by means of whole-mount immunohistochemistry using mAb against the molecules which were expressed in the cells accumulated at the site of PP development. This method was sensitive enough to distinguish a minute cell cluster in the developing gastrointestinal tract. We analyzed the time course of the expression of various surface markers and found that PP formation proceeds through three successive steps. The first is the appearance of a VCAM-1+ cell cluster at 15.5 days postcoitus (d.p.c.). Histological examination of the VCAM-1+ clusters suggested that VCAM-1+ cells represent a stromal component. The second step is characterized by the accumulation of round cells expressing la, IL-7R or CD4 at 17.5 d.p.c. Lymphocytes expressing CD3 or B220 were detected only in the final step which started at 18.5 d.p.c. Using any of these markers, the aggregation was initially detected on the upper jejunum and it extended to the colon as the number of clusters increased. At the neonatal stage, the number reached up to eight or nine, irrespective of the antibodies used for the detection. In the aly/aly mutant mouse, where no lymph nodes or PP are found in the adult, none of these three steps was detected. On the other hand, in the SCID mouse that is defective in the formation of mature lymphocytes, the first and second step proceeded, whereas the third step was undetectable. These findings suggest that the progression of each step is indeed regulated by different mechanisms.
Membrane Potential Fluctuations Resulting From Submembrane Ca2+ Releases in Rabbit Sinoatrial Nodal Cells Impart an Exponential Phase to the Late Diastolic Depolarization That Controls Their Chronotropic State

Stochastic but roughly periodic LCRs (Local subsarcolemmal ryanodine receptor–mediated Ca2+Releases) during the late phase of diastolic depolarization (DD) in rabbit sinoatrial nodal pacemaker cells (SANCs) generate an inward current (INCX) via the Na+/Ca2+ exchanger. Although LCR characteristics have been correlated with spontaneous beating, the specific link between LCR characteristics and SANC spontaneous beating rate, ie, impact of LCRs on the fine structure of the DD, have not been explicitly defined. Here we determined how LCRs and resultant INCX impact on the DD fine structure to control the spontaneous SANC firing rate. Membrane potential (Vm) recordings combined with confocal Ca2+ measurements showed that LCRs impart a nonlinear, exponentially rising phase to the DD later part, which exhibited beat-to-beat Vm fluctuations with an amplitude of approximately 2 mV. Maneuvers that altered LCR timing or amplitude of the nonlinear DD (ryanodine, BAPTA, nifedipine or isoproterenol) produced corresponding changes in Vm fluctuations during the nonlinear DD component, and the Vm fluctuation response evoked by these maneuvers was tightly correlated with the concurrent changes in spontaneous beating rate induced by these perturbations. Numerical modeling, using measured LCR characteristics under these perturbations, predicted a family of local INCX that reproduced Vm fluctuations measured experimentally and determined the onset and amplitude of the nonlinear DD component and the beating rate. Thus, beat-to-beat Vm fluctuations during late DD phase reflect the underlying LCR/INCX events, and the ensemble of these events forms the nonlinear DD component that ultimately controls the SANC chronotropic state in tight cooperation with surface membrane ion channels.
A Hessian-free algorithm for solving quadratic optimization problems with nonlinear equality constraints

The classical method to solve a quadratic optimization problem with nonlinear equality constraints is to solve the Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) optimality conditions using Newton's method. This approach however is usually computationally demanding, especially for large-scale problems. This paper presents a new algorithm which is more computationally efficient, since it does not require either additional optimization variables or computation of the Hessian matrix. It is proven that the proposed algorithm converges locally to a solution of the KKT optimality conditions. An application example is presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.
Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials Comparing the Long-Term Outcomes of Carotid Artery Stenting Versus Endarterectomy

Background—Stenting is an endovascular alternative to endarterectomy for the management of carotid stenosis, but its long-term safety and efficacy relative to endarterectomy remain unclear. Our objective was to compare the safety and efficacy of stenting with those of endarterectomy, with a particular focus on long-term outcomes, via meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Methods and Results—We systematically searched PubMed, EMBASE, MEDLINE, and the Cochrane Library for RCTs with ≥50 patients that compared stenting with endarterectomy in patients with carotid stenosis. Periprocedural and long-term outcomes were assessed, with data pooled across RCTs using random-effects models. Eight RCTs were included in our meta-analysis (n=7091), with follow-up ranging from 2.0 to 10.0 years. When compared with endarterectomy, stenting was associated with an increased risk of periprocedural stroke (relative risk, 1.49, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.11 to 2.01; risk difference, 1.7%; 95% CI, 0.3 to 3.0) but a decreased risk of periprocedural myocardial infarction (relative risk, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.29 to 0.78; risk difference, −0.4%; 95% CI, −0.8% to 0.1%). During long-term follow-up, stenting was associated with an increased risk of stroke (relative risk, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.16 to 1.61) and a composite end point of ipsilateral stroke, periprocedural stroke, or periprocedural death (relative risk, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.20 to 1.75). Conclusions—Although stenting has more favorable periprocedural outcomes with respect to myocardial infarction, the observed increased risk of stroke and death throughout follow-up with stenting suggests that endarterectomy remains the treatment of choice for carotid stenosis.
Research Records and the Resolution of Misconduct Allegations at Research Universities

Accurate record keeping is an important part of the responsible conduct of research. However, there is very little empirical research on scientific record keeping. No one knows the incidence of serious problems with research records, the types of problems that occur, nor their consequences. In this study, we examined the role of research records in the resolution of misconduct allegations as a useful barometer for the incidence and types of problems that occur with records. We interviewed Research Integrity Officers (RIOs) at 90 major research universities and conducted focus groups with active research faculty. RIOs reported problems with research records in 38% of the 553 investigations they conducted. Severe problems with research records often prevented completion of investigations while problems that are more typical lengthened them by 2 to 3 weeks. Five types of poor record keeping practices accounted for 75% of the problems with incomplete/inadequate records being the most common (30%). The focus groups concurred with the findings from the interviews with RIOs, stressed the importance of the research group leader in setting and maintaining record practices, and offered additional insights. While university officials and faculty members have suspected for many years that there are serious problems with research record keeping, our study provides empirical evidence for this belief. By documenting some of the problems with record keeping in university-based research, the results of our study provide information that will be useful for policy development at academic institutions.
A Role for Protein Phosphatases 1, 2A, and 2B in Cerebellar Long-Term Potentiation

Cerebellar parallel fiber (PF)-Purkinje cell (PC) synapses can undergo postsynaptically expressed long-term depression (LTD) or long-term potentiation (LTP). PF-LTD induction requires the coactivity of the PF and CF (climbing fiber) inputs to PCs and a concomitant calcium transient and activation of protein kinase C (PKC). PF-LTP can be induced by PF activity alone and requires a lower calcium transient for its induction than PF-LTD. The cellular events triggering PF-LTP induction are not well characterized. At other types of synapses (e.g., in the hippocampus), bidirectional synaptic plasticity is under control of a kinase/phosphatase switch, with PKC and CaMKII (calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase II) activity promoting LTP induction and phosphatase activity promoting LTD induction. Here, we have tested for the involvement of protein phosphatase 1 (PP1), PP2A, and PP2B (calcineurin) in cerebellar LTP induction using whole-cell patch-clamp recordings in rat cerebellar slices. LTP induction was blocked in the presence of the PP1/2A inhibitors okadaic acid and microcystin LR, the PP1 inhibitory peptide inhibitor-2, the PP2A inhibitor fostriecin, and the PP2B inhibitor cyclosporin A. LTP induction was not impaired by the PKC inhibitor chelerythrine. Conversely, LTD induction was not blocked by microcystin LR but instead was reduced when active PP2B was injected into PCs. These data indicate that a kinase/phosphatase switch controls bidirectional cerebellar plasticity, but in a manner “inverse” to the dependencies found at other types of synapses. Therefore, cerebellar LTP constitutes the only form of LTP described so far that depends on phosphatase rather than kinase activity.
Neonatal Mouse–Derived Engineered Cardiac Tissue: A Novel Model System for Studying Genetic Heart Disease

Rationale: Cardiomyocytes cultured in a mechanically active 3-dimensional configuration can be used for studies that correlate contractile performance to cellular physiology. Current engineered cardiac tissue (ECT) models use cells derived from either rat or chick hearts. Development of a murine ECT would provide access to many existing models of cardiac disease and open the possibility of performing targeted genetic manipulation with the ability to directly assess contractile and molecular variables. Objective: To generate, characterize, and validate mouse ECT with a physiologically relevant model of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Methods and Results: We generated mechanically integrated ECT using isolated neonatal mouse cardiac cells derived from both wild-type and myosin-binding protein C (cMyBP-C)–null mouse hearts. The murine ECTs produced consistent contractile forces that followed the Frank-Starling law and accepted physiological pacing. cMyBP-C–null ECTs showed characteristic acceleration of contraction kinetics. Adenovirus-mediated expression of human cMyBP-C in murine cMyBP-C–null ECT restored contractile properties to levels indistinguishable from those of wild-type ECT. Importantly, the cardiomyocytes used to construct the cMyBP-C−/− ECT had yet to undergo the significant hypertrophic remodeling that occurs in vivo. Thus, this murine ECT model reveals a contractile phenotype that is specific to the genetic mutation rather than to secondary remodeling events. Conclusions: Data presented here show mouse ECT to be an efficient and cost-effective platform to study the primary effects of genetic manipulation on cardiac contractile function. This model provides a previously unavailable tool to study specific sarcomeric protein mutations in an intact mammalian muscle system.
Generating efficient tests for continuous scan

Conventional scan-based designs spend a lot of testing time in shifting test patterns and output responses, which greatly increases the testing cost. In this paper, we propose a modified approach for scan-based design in which a test is conducted in every clock cycle. This approach may significantly reduce the test application time when appropriate test vectors are applied. We develop algorithms to generate efficient test input for the test environment, and experimental results show that we can achieve high fault coverage with only about 10%-30% of the clock cycles required in conventional scan-based design.
On the determinants of population structure in antigenically diverse pathogens

Many pathogens exhibit antigenic diversity and elicit strain–specific immune responses. This potential for cross–immunity structure in the host resource motivates the development of mathematical models, stressing competition for susceptible hosts in driving pathogen population dynamics and genetics. Here we establish that certain model formulations exhibit characteristics of prototype pattern–forming systems, with pathogen population structure emerging as three possible patterns: (i) incidence is steady and homogeneous; (ii) incidence is steady but heterogeneous; and (iii) incidence shows oscillatory dynamics, with travelling waves in strain–space. Results are robust to strain number, but sensitive to the mechanism of cumulative immunity.
Bayesian analyses of Yemeni mitochondrial genomes suggest multiple migration events with Africa and Western Eurasia

Anatomically modern humans (AMHs) left Africa ˜60,000 years ago, marking the first of multiple dispersal events by AMH between Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. The southern dispersal route (SDR) out of Africa (OOA) posits that early AMHs crossed the Bab el-Mandeb strait from the Horn of Africa into what is now Yemen and followed the coast of the Indian Ocean into eastern Eurasia. If AMHs followed the SDR and left modern descendants in situ, Yemeni populations should retain old autochthonous mitogenome lineages. Alternatively, if AMHs did not follow the SDR or did not leave modern descendants in the region, only young autochthonous lineages will remain as evidence of more recent dispersals. We sequenced 113 whole mitogenomes from multiple Yemeni regions with a focus on haplogroups M, N, and L3(xM,N) as they are considered markers of the initial OOA migrations. We performed Bayesian evolutionary analyses to generate time-measured phylogenies calibrated by Neanderthal and Denisovan mitogenome sequences in order to determine the age of Yemeni-specific clades in our dataset. Our results indicate that the M1, N1, and L3(xM,N) sequences in Yemen are the product of recent migration from Africa and western Eurasia. Although these data suggest that modern Yemeni mitogenomes are not markers of the original OOA migrants, we hypothesize that recent population dynamics may obscure any genetic signature of an ancient SDR migration.
HIV‐1 protease and HIV‐1 integrase inhibitory substances from Eclipta prostrata

The bioassay‐guided fractionation for anti‐HIV‐1 integrase activity led to the isolation of six compounds from the whole plant extract of Eclipta prostrata extract. They were identified as 5‐hydroxymethyl‐(2,2′:5′,2″)‐terthienyl tiglate (1), 5‐hydroxymethyl‐(2,2′:5′,2″)‐terthienyl agelate (2), 5‐hydroxymethyl‐(2,2′:5′,2″)‐terthienyl acetate (3), ecliptal (4), orobol (5) and wedelolactone (6). Of these, compound 6 showed the highest activity against HIV‐1 integrase (IN) with an IC50 value of 4.0 ± 0.2 µm, followed by compound 5 (IC50 = 8.1 ± 0.5 µm), whereas the four terthiophene compounds (1–4) were inactive (IC50 > 100 µm). Regarding HIV‐1 protease (PR) inhibitory activity, compound 1 exhibited appreciable activity against HIV‐1 PR with an IC50 of 58.3 ± 0.8 µm, followed by compound 4 (IC50 = 83.3 ± 1.6 µm) and compound 3 (IC50 = 93.7 ± 0.8 µm), while compounds 2, 5 and 6 were inactive against HIV‐1 PR (IC50 > 100 µm). This is the first report of anti‐HIV‐1 IN activities for wedelolactone (6), a coumarin derivative, and orobol (5), an isoflavone derivative. This study supports the use of E. prostrata in AIDS patients, which is in accord with its traditional use by Thai traditional doctors for curing blood related diseases. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Acoustic-Prosodic Entrainment and Social Behavior

In conversation, speakers have been shown to entrain, or become more similar to each other, in various ways. We measure entrainment on eight acoustic features extracted from the speech of subjects playing a cooperative computer game and associate the degree of entrainment with a number of manually-labeled social variables acquired using Amazon Mechanical Turk, as well as objective measures of dialogue success. We find that male-female pairs entrain on all features, while male-male pairs entrain only on particular acoustic features (intensity mean, intensity maximum and syllables per second). We further determine that entrainment is more important to the perception of female-male social behavior than it is for same-gender pairs, and it is more important to the smoothness and flow of male-male dialogue than it is for female-female or mixed-gender pairs. Finally, we find that entrainment is more pronounced when intensity or speaking rate is especially high or low.
Theoretical comparisons of average normalized gain calculations

Since its introduction, the normalized gain or the g-factor has been widely used in assessing students’ performance in preand post-tests. The average g-factor can be calculated using either the average scores of the class or individual student’s scores. In general, these two calculations produce different results. The nature of these two results is explored for several idealized situations. The results suggest that we may be able to utilize the difference between the two results to extract information on how the population may have changed as a result of instruction. © 2006 American Association of Physics Teachers. DOI: 10.1119/1.2213632
Functional organization of a Schwann cell enhancer

HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés. Functional organization of a Schwann cell enhancer. Eric Denarier, Reza Forghani, Hooman F. Farhadi, Samar Dib, Nancy Dionne, Hana Friedman, Pierre Lepage, Thomas J. Hudson, Régen Drouin, Alan Peterson
Epidemiology of invasive pneumococcal disease in southern California: implications for the design and conduct of a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine efficacy trial.

Population-based prospective surveillance of invasive pneumococcal disease was done in Southern California from 31 March 1992 to 1 April 1995; 814 cases were identified, for an incidence of 12.5/100,000 persons/year. The incidence among persons < or = 2, < or = 5, and > or = 65 years of age was 145, 72, and 32/100,000, respectively. More than 95% of cases included bacteremia; incidence of meningitis was 0.8/100,000. Among children < or = 2 years of age, 79% of isolates were obtained in the outpatient setting, compared with 16% of isolates among persons > or = 15 years of age. Eighty percent of isolates were serotypes included in heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccines currently being evaluated. Children < or = 2 years of age were at highest risk of having an isolate resistant to penicillin. Among resistant isolates, high-level resistance increased from 4% to 21% over a 3-year period. Prospective epidemiologic data are needed to perform a protective efficacy trail of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines in infants, among whom most invasive pneumococcal disease is vaccine-preventable.
Impairment of T helper and T regulatory cell responses at birth

Background: There is strong evidence that reduced exposures to microbial compounds triggering innate immune responses early in life are critical for the development of allergic illnesses. The underlying mechanisms remain unknown, but will include T‐cell responses either along T helper type 1 (Th1)/Th2 pathways or via T regulatory and Th17 cells. Yet, little is known about innate immune responses and the function of T regulatory/Th17 cells at birth. The aim of this study was to investigate T‐cell responses to innate (Lipid A/LpA, peptidoglycan/Ppg) and adaptive (phytohemagglutinin) stimuli at birth and to compare these findings with adult immune responses.
Face tracking for model‐based coding and face animation

We present a face and facial feature tracking system able to extract animation parameters describing the motion and articulation of a human face in real‐time on consumer hardware. The system is based on a statistical model of face appearance and a search algorithm for adapting the model to an image. Speed and robustness is discussed, and the system evaluated in terms of accuracy. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Imaging Syst Technol 13: 8–22, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ima.10042