Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Anterior Scleral Thickness and Anterior Segment Biometrics Measured with Swept Source Ocular Coherence Tomography in High Myopic Eyes with and without Glaucoma: A Comparative Study

Background: To assess the anterior scleral thickness (AST), Schlemm’s canal diameter (SCD), trabecular meshwork diameter (TMD) and conjunctiva tenon capsule thickness (CTT) in high myopic (HM) subjects and HM subjects with glaucoma (HMG) compared to control eyes. Methods: One hundred and twenty eyes were included, and AST at 0, 1, 2 and 3 mm from the scleral spur, SCD, TMD and CTT were measured. Results: Mean age was 64.2 ± 11.0 years, and the temporal SCD and temporal TMD were significantly longer in the HMG subjects compared to the controls (380.0 ± 62 μm vs. 316.7 ± 72 μm, p = 0.001) and (637.6 ± 113 μm vs. 512.1 ± 97 μm, p = 0.000), respectively. There were no significant differences between the HM and HMG subjects in SCD and TMD (all p > 0.025). Compared to the HM subjects, the temporal AST0 (432.5 ± 79 μm vs. 532.8 ± 99 μm, p = 0.000), temporal AST1 (383.9 ± 64 μm vs. 460.5 ± 80 μm, p = 0.000), temporal AST2 (404.0 ± 68 μm vs. 464.0 ± 88 μm, p = 0.006) and temporal AST3 (403.0 ± 80 μm vs. 458.1 ± 91 μm, p = 0.014) were significantly thinner in the HMG group. No differences were found between the CTT in the three groups (all p > 0.025). Conclusions: Our data indicate a thinner AST in HMG subjects and no differences in SCD and TMD between HM and HMG subjects.
Hepatitis B virus epidemiology, disease burden, treatment, and current and emerging prevention and control measures

Summary. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a serious global health problem, with 2 billion people infected worldwide, and 350 million suffering from chronic HBV infection. The 10th leading cause of death worldwide, HBV infections result in 500 000 to 1.2 million deaths per year caused by chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma; the last accounts for 320 000 deaths per year [ 1, 2 ]. In Western countries, the disease is relatively rare and acquired primarily in adulthood, whereas in Asia and most of Africa, chronic HBV infection is common and usually acquired perinatally or in childhood. More efficacious treatments, mass immunization programs, and safe injection techniques are essential for eliminating HBV infection and reducing global HBV‐related morbidity and mortality. Safe and effective vaccines against HBV infection have been available since 1982. The implementation of mass immunization programs, which have been recommended by the World Health Organization since 1991, have dramatically decreased the incidence of HBV infection among infants, children, and adolescents in many countries [ 2 ]. However, not all countries have adopted these recommendations and there remains a large number of persons that were infected with HBV prior to the implementation of immunization programs. Antiviral treatment is the only way to reduce morbidity and mortality from chronic HBV infection. Conventional interferon alfa and lamivudine have been the primary treatments to date. Conventional interferon alfa produces a durable response in a moderate proportion of patients but has undesirable side‐effects and must be administered subcutaneously three times per week. Lamivudine also produces a response in a modest proportion of patients and causes few side‐effects [ 3 ]. However, prolonged treatment is often necessary to prevent relapse on cessation of therapy, and continuous treatment can lead to the development of lamivudine resistance [ 4 ]. Promising emerging new treatments include adefovir [ 5 ], entecavir [ 6 ] and peginterferon alfa‐2a (40 kDa) [ 7 ].
JUMP-STARTING CONCEPT MAP CONSTRUCTION WITH KNOWLEDGE EXTRACTED FROM DOCUMENTS

Online documents provide a rich information resource for aiding the generation of concept-map-based knowledge models, but analyzing resources to select concepts and links is a time consuming task. This paper describes ongoing research on harnessing the information in unstructured textual documents, using information extraction algorithms, to generate a preliminary version of a concept map from a text document, for human refinement. The paper presents strategies for this task, implemented in an initial algorithm. The concept extraction phase of the algorithm has been evaluated with encouraging results.
Copying and Evolution of Neuronal Topology

We propose a mechanism for copying of neuronal networks that is of considerable interest for neuroscience for it suggests a neuronal basis for causal inference, function copying, and natural selection within the human brain. To date, no model of neuronal topology copying exists. We present three increasingly sophisticated mechanisms to demonstrate how topographic map formation coupled with Spike-Time Dependent Plasticity (STDP) can copy neuronal topology motifs. Fidelity is improved by error correction and activity-reverberation limitation. The high-fidelity topology-copying operator is used to evolve neuronal topologies. Possible roles for neuronal natural selection are discussed.
Effect of frequency of physical exercise on glycemic control and body composition in type 2 diabetic patients.

BACKGROUND Diabetes and cardiovascular disease have emerged as key threats to human health, and the risk is increased in individuals with visceral obesity. The consensus is that physical exercise should be part of the treatment of diabetes mellitus (DM). OBJECTIVE To compare the influence of guided and structured physical exercise programs (SPEP), three to five times per week, during a period of 20 weeks, on glycemic control and body composition of type 2 diabetic patients (DM2). METHODS The research was conducted at the Universidade Federal de São Paulo (Federal University School of Medicine in São Paulo). At the clinical visit, patients from the Control Group (CG) n=17, mean age 55.8 years, were encouraged to engage in a physical exercise program. Patients from Group 3x (G3), n=14, mean age 57.4 years, were to engage in 1 hour of physical exercise, 3x/week, and Group 5x (G5), n=9, mean age 58.8 years, followed the same protocol but 5x/week. Mean of 5 years since diagnosis in all groups. Classes consisted of a 5-minute warm-up, 30-minute treadmill walk at 70% of maximum heart rate, and 10-minute relaxation. BMI, abdominal circumference (AC), percentage of body fat (BF), capillary glycemia (CG), fasting glycemia (FG), and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) were assessed. RESULTS A comparison was made between the baseline time point (B) and the 20th week (20th). BMI in G3 (B:29.5+/-2.9 vs. 20th: 28.3 +/- 2.2 Kg/sqm, p=0.005) and G5 (B:29.7+/-4.4 vs. 20th: 29.1 +/- 4.3 Kg/sqm, p=0.025); abdominal circumference in G5 (B:100.5+/-11.9 vs. 20th: 933 +/- 11.7 cm, p=0.001); BF in G3 (B:31+/-5.1 vs 20th: 26+/-5%, p=0.001) and G5 (B:32.4 +/- 5.4 vs. 20th: 30.3 +/- 6.9%, p=0.001); FG, G5 (B:150.8 +/- 47.5 vs. 20th: 109.2+/- 30.5 mg/dL, p=0.034), showed statistically significant differences. CG did not show statistically significant differences for these variables. CG showed a tendency to drop after physical exercise in G5. HbA1c showed no statistically significant differences in the three groups. CONCLUSION G5 did better than G3 in most parameters assessed. However, results failed to show a decrease of HbA1c in DM2 patients.
Sustainability marketing myopia

Sustainability communication in accommodation businesses tends to be factual and descriptive, as companies are concerned with product-based messages that focus on what they do, and they appear not to understand the potential benefits of constructing messages that would influence consumers to behave more sustainably, which is effectively sustainability marketing myopia. An analysis of 1835 sustainability messages from award-winning businesses shows that messages communicate facts not emotions and benefits for society as a whole rather than for the individual customer. The messages are explicit but passive and not experiential, hence they positively affect the cognitive but not the affective image of the business. The lack of message normalization and customer focus reinforces the image of sustainability being a niche concern. We reflect on the reasons for these shortcomings and highlight opportunities to improve persuasive communication, which we have now applied commercially in more than 400 website analyses and 60 training courses.
Semidefinite programming relaxation approach for multiuser detection of QAM signals

A semidefinite programming (SDP) relaxation approach is proposed to solve multiuser detection problems in systems with M-ary quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM). In the proposed approach, the optimal M-ary maximum likelihood (ML) detection is carried out by converting the associated M-ary integer programming problem into a binary integer programming problem. Then a relaxation approach is adopted to convert the binary integer programming problem into an SDP problem. This relaxation process leads to a detector of much reduced complexity. A multistage approach is then proposed to improve the performance of the SDP relaxation based detectors. Computer simulations demonstrate that the symbol-error rate (SER) performance offered by the proposed multistage SDP relaxation based detectors outperforms that of several existing suboptimal detectors.
Ultrasonographic Renal Subcapsular Thickening in Cats with Primary and Metastatic Carcinoma

Simple Summary Renal subcapsular thickening is an ultrasonographic finding often related to lymphoma or feline infectious peritonitis in cats. Although a previous study reported that other renal neoplasia may cause subcapsular thickening, detailed information is lacking. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to describe ultrasonographic findings in renal subcapsular thickening and renal parenchyma in cats diagnosed with primary and metastatic carcinoma in the kidney. Nine kidneys from six cats met the inclusion criteria, including one primary renal carcinoma, four metastatic carcinomas, and four presumed metastatic carcinomas in kidneys from primary pulmonary carcinomas. In our study population, metastatic subcapsular thickening lesions were relatively thin, focal, homogeneous, and hypoechoic, whereas the primary ones were circumferential and heterogeneous. Additionally, hyperechoic renal parenchyma was observed in seven kidneys, three of which had concurrent hypoechoic striations. This is the first report documenting ultrasonographic subcapsular thickening in feline kidneys affected by metastatic carcinoma. Renal metastases, especially those arising from pulmonary carcinoma, should be included in the differential diagnosis when subcapsular thickening with the aforementioned ultrasonographic features is observed. The ultrasonographic findings of primary renal carcinoma may vary and require further investigation. Abstract Ultrasonographic subcapsular thickening caused by renal neoplasia other than lymphoma has been previously reported in cats; however, detailed information is lacking. This study aims to describe ultrasonographic findings in renal subcapsular thickening and renal parenchyma in cats diagnosed or presumed with primary and metastatic carcinoma in the kidney. Ultrasound reports were retrospectively searched from 3 veterinary hospitals and 6 cats with 9 affected kidneys were included. Renal lesions were confirmed either cytologically or histopathologically as primary renal carcinoma with metastasis in the contralateral kidney (in 1 case), or metastatic pulmonary carcinoma (in 3 cases). Two patients were cytologically diagnosed with pulmonary carcinoma with concurrent renal subcapsular thickening. Eight kidneys affected by metastatic carcinomas showed relatively thin, focal, and homogeneously hypoechoic subcapsular thickening while a single kidney affected by primary renal carcinoma showed markedly thick, circumferential, and heterogeneously mixed iso- to hypoechoic lesion. The renal parenchyma, especially when just beneath the subcapsular lesion, exhibited at least one abnormality in all affected kidneys, most characterized by hyperechoic renal cortex with concurrent hypoechoic striations. This is the first report describing metastatic carcinoma causing renal ultrasonographic subcapsular thickening in cats. Our results suggest that renal carcinoma should be included in differential diagnoses when ultrasonographic subcapsular thickening is present in cats.
Wind Tunnel Simulation on the Pedestrian Level and Investigation of Flow Characteristics Around Buildings

The purpose of this study was to determine the wind velocity at the Pedestrian-Level Conditions (PLC) of a tall building in urban environments. This paper at first, discusses wind aerodynamic investigation based on the architecture design. Then, patterns of wind flow behavior at pedestrian level and shape optimization strategies were considerate. Wind tunnel test and CFD approach were conducted to study the wind condition and characteristics at a Golsar site in Rasht. The Suggested new tall building in this research, is located in the center of the site with an area about of 11000 m2. In order to evaluate of wind velocity, the predicted results are compared with actual building specifications data to study the discrepancy between the two phases. The results of first phase for actual building specifications data showed that wind velocity more than comfortable environment (6 m / s).
Speed and accuracy of movement as related to fencing success.

Abstract Sixty-six college women enrolled in fencing classes provided measures of reaction time, response time, and movement accuracy on a specially designed apparatus. The subjects then foil-fenced in round-robin tournaments. Criterion measures of fencing achievement derived from tournament matches correlated little better than zero with reaction time, response time, and movement accuracy.
Radioactive iodine ablation does not prevent recurrences in patients with papillary thyroid microcarcinoma

on OC. Further studies will, however, be needed to finally assess possible direct effects of oestrogens on adrenal function in humans. From our results, it can be concluded that UFC is not a valid tool to exclude hypercortisolism in women on oral contraceptives. In summary, we found oral contraceptives to have dosedependent effects on basal and dexamethasone-suppressed serum cortisol levels. In addition, free urinary cortisol was altered by OC. We therefore suggest discontinuation of OC use for 2 months and subsequent evaluation with a DST for those patients with a relevant clinical suspicion of hypercortisolism.
Phase 3 Randomized Low-Dose Paclitaxel Chemoradiotherapy Study for Locally Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Introduction Concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) is the standard treatment for locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (LA-NSCLC) but is associated with poor chest tumor control. Here, we report results of a randomized phase 3 study comparing two CCRT regimens in improving chest tumor control by low-dose paclitaxel chemoradiation for LA-NSCLC. Methods Due to the logistics of local referral pattern, the study was designed to enroll patients with stage III LA-NSCLC who had completed 2–4 cycles of full-dose chemotherapy. One hundred thirty four were randomized to either Arm 1 [paclitaxel at 15 mg/m2, three times per week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) for 6 weeks, n = 74] or Arm 2 (weekly paclitaxel at 45 mg/m2 for 6 weeks, n = 60). Chest radiotherapy was 60–70 Gy in standard fractionation. Response rate was the primary endpoint, with recurrence-free survival (RFS) as the secondary endpoint. Results From March 2006 to February 2013, 71 patients completed Arm 1 treatment and 59 completed Arm 2 treatment. The response rate for Arm 1 was significantly higher (83.1%) than Arm 2 (54.2%) (p=0.001). RFS was superior in Arm 1: median 14.6 vs. 9.4 months, p = 0.005, Hazard ratio (HR) 1.87 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.20, 2.90]. Overall survival was not significantly different: median 32.6 months in Arm 1 vs. 31.3 months in Arm 2, p = 0.91, HR 0.97 (95% CI 0.55, 1.70). Toxicity was significantly lower in Arm 1 for Grade 3 and 4 leukopenia/neutropenia (p < 0.001). Conclusion Pulsed low-dose paclitaxel CCRT resulted in significantly better RFS and tumor response rate, and less hematologic toxicities than weekly CCRT for LA-NSCLC.
In obese Zucker rats, lipids accumulate in the heart despite normal mitochondrial content, morphology and long‐chain fatty acid oxidation

The storage of fat within the heart muscle has been associated with reductions in force production, which has implications for the ability of the heart to adequately pump blood. With the assistance of membrane proteins known as transport proteins, fats from the blood can be moved into heart muscle cells, where they can either be stored or used for generating energy (within a structure called mitochondria) to pump blood. We provide evidence that in obese animals more fat accumulates within the heart as a result of their increased transport across the membranes of heart cells, not due to reductions in mitochondrial number or function. The knowledge of why fat accumulates in the heart may provide insight into novel treatments/therapies, and the current study suggests therapies focused on limiting the entry of fats into the heart may restore the ability of the heart to pump blood.
Discourse coherence and gesture interpretation

In face-to-face conversation, communicators orchestrate multimodal contributions that meaningfully combine the linguistic resources of spoken language and the visuo-spatial affordances of gesture. In this paper, we characterise this meaningful combination in terms of the COHERENCE of gesture and speech. Descriptive analyses illustrate the diverse ways gesture interpretation can supplement and extend the interpretation of prior gestures and accompanying speech. We draw certain parallels with the inventory of COHERENCE RELATIONS found in discourse between successive sentences. In both domains, we suggest, interlocutors make sense of multiple communicative actions in combination by using these coherence relations to link the actions’ interpretations into an intelligible whole. Descriptive analyses also emphasise the improvisation of gesture; the abstraction and generality of meaning in gesture allows communicators to interpret gestures in open-ended ways in new utterances and contexts. We draw certain parallels with interlocutors’ reasoning about underspecified linguistic meanings in discourse. In both domains, we suggest, coherence relations facilitate meaning-making by RESOLVING the meaning of each communicative act through constrained inference over information made salient in the prior discourse. Our approach to gesture interpretation lays the groundwork for formal and computational models that go beyond previous approaches based on compositional syntax and semantics, in better accounting for the flexibility and the constraints found in the interpretation of speech and gesture in conversation. At the same time, it shows that gesture provides an important source of evidence to sharpen the general theory of coherence in communication.
Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Mutations in Lung Adenocarcinoma in Malaysian Patients

Introduction: Despite available data from other Asian countries, the prevalence of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations among lung adenocarcinoma patients has not been reported in Malaysia. This study sought to determine the frequency of EGFR mutations among multiethnic Malaysian patients diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma. Methods: Demographic and clinical information of patients whose lung adenocarcinoma biopsy specimens were submitted for EGFR mutation testing at Sime Darby Medical Center from 2009 to 2011 were analyzed. EGFR mutations at exons 18, 19, 20, and 21 were detected either through bidirectional sequencing or real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results: Among 812 patients in the study, 49% were female, 63.7% were ethnic Chinese, 29.4% Malay, 4.8% Indian, and 2.1% other ethnic groups. Mutations were present in the tumors of 321 patients (39.5%), with mutations at exons 19 (23.5%) and 21 (14.9%) being the most common. Mutations were significantly more frequent among women than in men (52.5% versus 27.8%, p < 0.001). Although mutations were more common among Chinese (40.8%) compared with Malay (37.2%) or Indian (33.3%) patients, the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.591). Of 211 patients with smoking history records, never-smokers had a higher mutation rate compared with ever-smokers (54.8% versus 20.7%, p < 0.001). Conclusion: EGFR mutations were present in 39.5% of patients. Mutations were more common in women and never-smokers with no differences in mutation frequency between different ethnicities. Because of the high mutation rates, reflex testing for EGFR mutation should be a routine practice for advanced lung adenocarcinoma patients in Malaysia.
Proof Techniques for Synthesis of Sorting Algorithms

In the context of constructive synthesis of sorting algorithms, starting from the specification of the problem (input and output conditions), the proof of existence of a sorted tuple is performed inductively and we design, implement, and experiment with different proof techniques: First we use a back-chaining mechanism similar to a Prolog engine for first order logic, in which meta-variables are used for finding the existential witnesses. In order to overcome the search space explosion, we introduce various specific prove-solve methods for the theory of tuples. For instance, the equivalence relation on tuples "have same elements'' can be treated using a normal form based on multisets -- this leads to a very efficient inference rule for rewriting. When reasoning about sorting, we also have an ordering relation between elements. We extend this to an ordering between an element and a tuple, and even between tuples. Ordering relations create specific problems in Prolog style reasoning, because of transitivity and reflexivity. We demonstrate that ordering can be treated very efficiently by decomposing atomic statements into simpler ones (containing only symbols instead of terms), both for goals (backward reasoning) as well as for assumptions (forward reasoning). This leads to an interesting combination of backward and forward inferences which goes beyond and complements Prolog style reasoning. Finally, we develop a solving mechanism for finding sorted tuples, which performs the proof more efficiently, by combining relatively simple inference rules and small searches with goal directed solving rules. The techniques are implemented in the Theorem a system and are able to produce automatically proofs and algorithms for various problems: Insertion Sort, Insertion, Merge Sort, and Merge. Besides the special proof techniques, this work also gives useful hints about finding appropriate induction principles for tuples, as well as for the construction of appropriate collections of properties of tuples which are necessary for reasoning about sorting.
A systemic performance evaluation method for Residue Number System

In Residue Number System-based systems, how to select moduli set and evaluate its performance is an important issue. The objective of this study is to propose a systemic performance evaluation method for RNS based on the properties of moduli set. By abstracting the inherent properties of moduli sets, such as the complexity of arithmetic units, utilization ratio of dynamic range, parallelism and balance between residue channels, this method can provide advices on moduli set selection and carry out performance estimation before circuits implementation. Furthermore, we also propose a new multi-channel moduli set by introducing a new radix component in this paper. Performance analysis and comparison results show that the proposed multi-channel moduli set has better performance of dynamic range utilization ratio, parallelism and balance than that of the commonly used moduli set with the same number of channels.