Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Incremental Risk of Coronary Stents on Postoperative Adverse Events: A Matched Cohort Study

Objective:To determine the incremental risk of coronary stents on adverse events in surgical patients and whether it varies over time from stent placement. Background:Postoperative adverse cardiac events decrease as the time from stent placement increases, but the risk attributable to the stent versus the underlying cardiac disease is uncertain, as prior studies lack a control surgical population. Methods:Data for patients with coronary stents implanted in a VA hospital from 2000 to 2010 were matched with VA Surgical Quality Improvement Program data to identify noncardiac surgery within 24 months of stent placement. Each patient with stent was matched with 2 surgical patients without stent on surgical characteristics and cardiac risk factors. Outcomes of myocardial infarction (MI), revascularization, and death within 30 days after surgery were modeled using logistic regression. Adjusted risk differences between stented and nonstented populations were compared across time after stent placement. Results:Adverse cardiac events followed surgery in 531 (5.7%) of the 9391 patients with stent and 680 (3.6%) of the 18,782 patients without stent (P < 0.001). In adjusted models, 30-day postoperative MI (odds ratio = 1.90; 95% confidence interval, 1.57–2.30) and revascularization (odds ratio = 2.03; 95% confidence interval, 1.65–2.50) but not mortality (odds ratio = 0.84; 95% confidence interval, 0.69–1.02) were higher in the stented cohort. Assessing trends over the 2 years after stent placement, the incremental risk for MI decreased from 5% immediately after stent placement to 2% at 1 year and then was no longer significantly elevated. The incremental risk did not vary by stent type. Conclusions:Surgery after coronary stent placement is associated with an approximate 2% absolute risk for postoperative MI but no difference in mortality compared with nonstented matched controls.
Population structure of Aedes albopictus from La Réunion Island (Indian Ocean) with respect to susceptibility to a dengue virus

Ten F1 Aedes albopictus samples collected from Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean were tested for oral susceptibility to dengue 2 virus and 20 were analysed for genetic polymorphism by starch gel electrophoresis. Data from infection rates defined two distinct geographical areas: east coast vs. west coast. Genetic differentiation was found to be dependent on ecological factors and the biological characteristics of Ae. albopictus. These results have implications for the vector ecology and pattern of migration, and have importance in the understanding of dengue transmission.
Apoptosis in molluscan immune defense

Apoptosis, or Type I programmed cell death, is a fundamental biological process involved in cellular homeostasis in metazoans. Apoptosis plays a key role in immune system homeostasis and function, defense against parasite and pathogens and self/non-self recognition. In this review, I present our current knowledge of the mechanisms and signaling pathways underlying apoptosis in mollusks and its roles in host-pathogen interactions and immune defense. Both signaling and execution pathways of apoptosis appear to be highly conserved in mollusks, although there is evidence that some apoptotic mechanisms (e.g., caspase-independent cell death) may differ from model invertebrates such as Caenorhabditis and Drosophila and more closely resemble those seen in vertebrates. Apoptosis is important for the functioning of the molluscan immune system as indicated by the high baseline apoptosis rates observed in circulating and resident hemocytes. Apoptosis also plays a role in host protection against parasites by limiting the spread of the pathogen while preventing inflammatory damage of surrounding tissues. In molluscs, interaction between immune cells and parasites or pathogens usually triggers apoptosis; however, some pathogens (especially obligatory intracellular parasites that depend on the host cell for their survival and proliferation) can inhibit this response and prevent host cell death. Currently, the mechanisms underlying pathogen-induced modulation of apoptosis in molluscs are not well understood. Summarizing our current knowledge of the immune functions of apoptosis in molluscs, and comparing them with the more widely studied vertebrate systems, this review will delineate the gaps in our understanding of this critical cellular process in molluscs and assist in the ongoing search for evolutionary novel mechanisms of apoptosis in immune defense and self/non-self-recognition.
Prevalence of celiac disease and its endoscopic markers among patients having routine upper gastrointestinal endoscopy

OBJECTIVE:The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of duodenal villous atrophy (VA) among patients undergoing routine upper gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy and the value of endoscopic markers for VA in selecting patients for duodenal biopsy.METHODS:One hundred and fifty adult patients with upper GI symptoms or iron-deficiency anemia had inspection and biopsy of the second part of the duodenum during endoscopy. Endoscopic markers for VA sought were mosaic or nodular mucosa, scalloping of duodenal folds, and reduction in number or absence of duodenal folds.RESULTS:Endoscopic markers were seen in seven patients (5%): scalloped folds with mosaic pattern mucosa (three patients), scalloped folds, reduced in number with mosaic pattern mucosa (three patients), and nodular mucosa with reduction in fold numbers (one patient). All seven patients had partial, subtotal, or total VA. One of 143 patients with no endoscopic abnormality had patchy VA. The prevalence of VA was thus 1:19 (8 of 150). Endoscopic markers had a sensitivity of 87.5% (7 of 8), specificity of 100% (142 of 142), positive predictive value of 100% (7 of 7), and negative predictive value of 99% (142 of 143). Of the eight patients with VA, the indications for endoscopy were upper GI symptoms in seven patients (two with anemia) and anemia without GI symptoms in one. After 6 months of dietary gluten exclusion, improvement by at least one criterion was documented in all eight patients.CONCLUSIONS:Careful inspection of the duodenum during routine upper GI endoscopy allows accurate selection of patients for biopsy but may not detect patchy VA or milder enteropathy. Celiac disease should be considered as a cause of dyspeptic and reflux symptoms, as well as of iron-deficiency anemia.
Preoperative pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with non-small cell lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Introduction The aim of this study was to assess the effects of preoperative pulmonary rehabilitation (PPR) on preoperative clinical status changes in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and net effects of PPR and cancer resection on residual pulmonary function and functional capacity. Material and methods This prospective single group study included 83 COPD patients (62 ±8 years, 85% males, FEV1 = 1844 ±618 ml, Tiffeneau index = 54 ±9%) with NSCLC, on 2–4-week PPR, before resection. Pulmonary function, and functional and symptom status were evaluated by spirometry, 6-minute walking distance (6MWD) and Borg scale, on admission, after PPR and after surgery. Results Following PPR significant improvement was registered in the majority of spirometry parameters (FEV1 by 374 ml, p < 0.001; VLC by 407 ml, p < 0.001; FEF50 by 3%, p = 0.003), 6MWD (for 56 m, p < 0.001) and dyspnoeal symptoms (by 1.0 Borg unit, p < 0.001). A positive correlation was identified between preoperative increments of FEV1 and 6MWD (r s = 0.503, p = 0.001). Negative correlations were found between basal FEV1 and its percentage increment (r s = –0.479, p = 0.001) and between basal 6MWD and its percentage change (r s = –0.603, p < 0.001) during PPR. Compared to basal values, after resection a significant reduction of most spirometry parameters and 6MWD were recorded, while Tiffeneau index, FEF25 and dyspnoea severity remained stable (p = NS). Conclusions Preoperative pulmonary rehabilitation significantly enhances clinical status of COPD patients before NSCLC resection. Preoperative increase of exercise tolerance was the result of pulmonary function improvement during PPR. The beneficial effects of PPR were most emphasized in patients with initially the worst pulmonary function and the weakest functional capacity.
Optimizing Cost and Performance in Online Service Provider Networks

We present a method to jointly optimize the cost and the performance of delivering traffic from an online service provider (OSP) network to its users. Our method, called Entact, is based on two key techniques. First, it uses a novel route-injection mechanism to measure the performance of alternative paths that are not being currently used, without disturbing current traffic. Second, based on the cost, performance, traffic, and link capacity information, it computes the optimal cost vs. performance curve for the OSP. Each point on the curve represents a potential operating point for the OSP such that no other operating point offers a simultaneous improvement in cost and performance. The OSP can then pick the operating point that represents the desired trade-off (e.g., the "sweet spot"). We evaluate the benefit and overhead of Entact using trace-driven evaluation in a large OSP with 11 geographically distributed data centers. We find that by using Entact this OSP can reduce its traffic cost by 40% without any increase in path latency and with acceptably low overheads.
Breakdown of the N=0 quantum Hall state in graphene: Two insulating regimes

We studied the unusual quantum Hall effect QHE near the charge neutrality point in high-mobility graphene sample for magnetic fields up to 18 T. We observe breakdown of the delocalized QHE transport and strong increase in resistivities xx,xy with decreasing Landau-level filling for 2, where we identify two insulating regimes. First, xx,xy increases nearly exponentially within the range of several resistance quanta RK, while the Hall effect gradually disappears and the off-diagonal resistivity xy eventually becomes independent of the direction of magnetic field, consistent with the Hall insulator with local transport. Then, at a filling 1 /2, there is a cusp in xx and an onset of even faster growth with the decreasing , indicating transition to a collective insulator state. A likely candidate for this state is a pinned Wigner crystal.
HEK293T cell lines defective for O-linked glycosylation

Here we describe derivatives of the HEK293T cell line that are defective in their ability to generate mucin-type O-linked glycosylation. Using CRISPR/Cas9 and a single-cell GFP-sorting procedure, the UDP-galactose-4-epimerase (GALE), galactokinase 1 (GALK1), and galactokinase 2 (GALK2) genes were knocked out individually and in combinations with greater than 90% of recovered clones having the desired mutations. Although HEK293T cells are tetraploid, we found this approach to be an efficient method to target and disrupt all 4 copies of the target gene. Deficient glycosylation in the GALE knockout cell line could be rescued by the addition of galactose and N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) to the cell culture media. However, when key enzymes of the galactose/GalNAc salvage pathways were disrupted in tandem (GALE+GALK1 or GALE+GALK2), O-glycosylation was eliminated and could not be rescued by the addition of either galactose plus GalNAc or UDP-galactose plus UDP-GalNAc. GALK1 and GALK2 are key enzymes of the galactose/GalNAc salvage pathways. Mass spectrometry was performed on whole cell lysate of the knockout cell lines to verify the glycosylation phenotype. As expected, the GALE knockout was almost completely devoid of all O-glycosylation, with minimal glycosylation as a result of functional salvage pathways. However, the GALE+GALK1 and GALE+GALK2 knockout lines were devoid of all O-glycans. Mass spectrometry analysis revealed that the disruption of GALE, GALK1, and GALE+GALK2 had little effect on the N-glycome. But when GALE was knocked out in tandem with GALK1, N-glycans were exclusively of the high mannose type. Due to the well-characterized nature of these five knockout cell lines, they will likely prove useful for a wide variety of applications.
Cut-To-Length Harvesting of Short Rotation Eucalyptus at Simpson Tehama Fiber Farm

A system consisting of a cut-to-length harvester, forwarder, mobile chipper and chip screen was tested :r screening apparently did not reduce bark content any further. Estimated stump-to-truck costs (without screening) for the system in stands of good form varied from $17/BDT for 11” DBH trees to $65/BDT for 3” trees. The system may be cost-competitive with whole tree systems.
Iterative Plan Construction for the Workflow Satisfiability Problem

The Workflow Satisfiability Problem (WSP) is a problem of practical interest that arises whenever tasks need to be performed by authorized users, subject to constraints defined by business rules. We are required to decide whether there exists a plan - an assignment of tasks to authorized users - such that all constraints are satisfied. It is natural to see the WSP as a subclass of the Constraint Satisfaction Problem (CSP) in which the variables are tasks and the domain is the set of users. What makes the WSP distinctive is that the number of tasks is usually very small compared to the number of users, so it is appropriate to ask for which constraint languages the WSP is fixed-parameter tractable (FPT), parameterized by the number of tasks. This novel approach to the WSP, using techniques from CSP, has enabled us to design a generic algorithm which is FPT for several families of workflow constraints considered in the literature. Furthermore, we prove that the union of FPT languages remains FPT if they satisfy a simple compatibility condition. Lastly, we identify a new FPT constraint language, user-independent constraints, that includes many of the constraints of interest in business processing systems. We demonstrate that our generic algorithm has provably optimal running time O*(2k log k), for this language, where k is the number of tasks.
Human neutrophil defensins selectively chemoattract naive T and immature dendritic cells

Defensins, a family of cationic, structurally related, antimicrobial peptides, contribute to host defense by disrupting the cytoplasmic membrane of microbes. Here we show that human neutrophil defensins selectively induce the migration of human CD4+/CD45RA+ naive and CD8+, but not CD4+/CD45RO+ memory, T cells. Moreover, human neutrophil defensins are chemotactic for immature human dendritic cells derived from either CD34+ progenitors or peripheral blood monocytes. Upon maturation induced by treatment with tumor necrosis factor α (TNF‐α), dendritic cells lose their responsiveness to human neutrophil defensins. The chemotactic effect of human neutrophil defensins on both T and dendritic cells is pertussis toxin‐sensitive, suggesting that a Giα protein‐coupled receptor is responsible. Human neutrophil defensins are also chemotactic for immature murine dendritic cells. These data suggest that, in addition to their antimicrobial role, human neutrophil defensins also contribute to adaptive immunity by mobilizing T cells and dendritic cells.
An Extended Scheme for Fitting X-Ray Data with Accretion Disk Spectra in the Strong Gravity Regime

Accreting black holes are believed to emit X-rays, which then mediate information about strong gravity in the vicinity of the emission region. We report on a set of new routines for the XSPEC package for analyzing X-ray spectra of black-hole accretion disks. The new computational tool significantly extends the capabilities of the currently available fitting procedures that include the effects of strong gravity and allows one to systematically explore the constraints on more model parameters than previously possible (e.g., black-hole angular momentum). Moreover, axial symmetry of the disk intrinsic emissivity is not assumed, although it can be imposed to speed up the computations. The new routines can be used also as a stand-alone and flexible code with the capability of handling time-resolved spectra in the regime of strong gravity. We have used the new code to analyze the mean X-ray spectrum from the long XMM-Newton 2001 campaign of the Seyfert 1 galaxy MCG -6-30-15. Consistent with previous findings, we obtained a good fit to the broad Fe K line profile for a radial line intrinsic emissivity law in the disk that is not a simple power law, and for near maximal value of black hole angular momentum. However, equally good fits can be obtained also for small values of the black hole angular momentum. The code has been developed with the aim of allowing precise modeling of relativistic effects. Although we find that current data cannot constrain the parameters of black-hole/accretion disk system well, the code allows, for a given source or situation, detailed investigations of what features of the data future studies should be focused on in order to achieve the goal of uniquely isolating the parameters of such systems.
Inner Plant Values: Diversity, Colonization and Benefits from Endophytic Bacteria

One of the most exciting scientific advances in recent decades has been the realization that the diverse and immensely active microbial communities are not only ‘passengers’ with plants, but instead play an important role in plant growth, development and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. A picture is emerging where plant roots act as ‘gatekeepers’ to screen soil bacteria from the rhizosphere and rhizoplane. This typically results in root endophytic microbiome dominated by Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and to a lesser extent Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes, but Acidobacteria and Gemmatimonadetes being almost depleted. A synthesis of available data suggest that motility, plant cell-wall degradation ability and reactive oxygen species scavenging seem to be crucial traits for successful endophytic colonization and establishment of bacteria. Recent studies provide solid evidence that these bacteria serve host functions such as improving of plant nutrients through acquisition of nutrients from soil and nitrogen fixation in leaves. Additionally, some endophytes can engage ‘priming’ plants which elicit a faster and stronger plant defense once pathogens attack. Due to these plant growth-promoting effects, endophytic bacteria are being widely explored for their use in the improvement of crop performance. Updating the insights into the mechanism of endophytic bacterial colonization and interactions with plants is an important step in potentially manipulating endophytic bacteria/microbiome for viable strategies to improve agricultural production.
Development of an Equine Groove Model to Induce Metacarpophalangeal Osteoarthritis: A Pilot Study on 6 Horses

The aim of this work was to develop an equine metacarpophalangeal joint model that induces osteoarthritis that is not primarily mediated by instability or inflammation. The study involved six Standardbred horses. Standardized cartilage surface damage or “grooves” were created arthroscopically on the distal dorsal aspect of the lateral and medial metacarpal condyles of a randomly chosen limb. The contralateral limb was sham operated. After 2 weeks of stall rest, horses were trotted 30 minutes every other day for 8 weeks, then evaluated for lameness and radiographed. Synovial fluid was analyzed for cytology and biomarkers. At 10 weeks post-surgery, horses were euthanized for macroscopic and histologic joint evaluation. Arthroscopic grooving allowed precise and identical damage to the cartilage of all animals. Under the controlled exercise regime, this osteoarthritis groove model displayed significant radiographic, macroscopic, and microscopic degenerative and reactive changes. Histology demonstrated consistent surgically induced grooves limited to non-calcified cartilage and accompanied by secondary adjacent cartilage lesions, chondrocyte necrosis, chondrocyte clusters, cartilage matrix softening, fissuring, mild subchondral bone inflammation, edema, and osteoblastic margination. Synovial fluid biochemistry and cytology demonstrated significantly elevated total protein without an increase in prostaglandin E2, neutrophils, or chondrocytes. This equine metacarpophalangeal groove model demonstrated that standardized non-calcified cartilage damage accompanied by exercise triggered altered osteochondral morphology and cartilage degeneration with minimal or inefficient repair and little inflammatory response. This model, if validated, would allow for assessment of disease processes and the effects of therapy.
Broadcast channel: Degrees of freedom with no CSIR

We analyze a broadcast channel with no initial assumption of channel state information neither at the base station (BS) nor at the users' side. For the case when there is no possibility of feedback to the BS and it remains oblivious of the channel state information throughout the transmission, it is shown that the capacity region is bounded by the capacity of a point-to-point MISO link and hence the pre-log of the sum rate is (1 - 1/T ) for a block fading channel of coherence length T. When the BS is allowed to acquire channel knowledge, operating under time-division duplex (TDD) mode, we give a very simple scheme through which BS and all users get necessary channel state information and the high SNR sum rate shows significant multiplexing gain or degrees of freedom (DOF).
Kinetochore microtubule dynamics and the metaphase-anaphase transition

We have quantitatively studied the dynamic behavior of kinetochore fiber microtubules (kMTs); both turnover and poleward transport (flux) in metaphase and anaphase mammalian cells by fluorescence photoactivation. Tubulin derivatized with photoactivatable fluorescein was microinjected into prometaphase LLC-PK and PtK1 cells and allowed to incorporate to steady-state. A fluorescent bar was generated across the MTs in a half-spindle of the mitotic cells using laser irradiation and the kinetics of fluorescence redistribution were determined in terms of a double exponential decay process. The movement of the activated zone was also measured along with chromosome movement and spindle elongation. To investigate the possible regulation of MT transport at the metaphase-anaphase transition, we performed double photoactivation analyses on the same spindles as the cell advanced from metaphase to anaphase. We determined values for the turnover of kMTs (t1/2 = 7.1 +/- 2.4 min at 30 degrees C) and demonstrated that the turnover of kMTs in metaphase is approximately an order of magnitude slower than that for non-kMTs. In anaphase, kMTs become dramatically more stable as evidenced by a fivefold increase in the fluorescence redistribution half-time (t1/2 = 37.5 +/- 8.5 min at 30 degrees C). Our results also indicate that MT transport slows abruptly at anaphase onset to one-half the metaphase value. In early anaphase, MT depolymerization at the kinetochore accounted, on average, for 84% of the rate of chromosome movement toward the pole whereas the relative contribution of MT transport and depolymerization at the pole contributed 16%. These properties reflect a dramatic shift in the dynamic behavior of kMTs at the metaphase-anaphase transition. A release-capture model is presented in which the stability of kMTs is increased at the onset of anaphase through a reduction in the probability of MT release from the kinetochore. The reduction in MT transport at the metaphase-anaphase transition suggests that motor activity and/or subunit dynamics at the centrosome are subject to modulation at this key cell cycle point.