Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An ECG-on-Chip With 535 nW/Channel Integrated Lossless Data Compressor for Wireless Sensors

This paper presents a low-power ECG recording system-on-chip (SoC) with on-chip low-complexity lossless ECG compression for data reduction in wireless/ambulatory ECG sensor devices. The chip uses a linear slope predictor for data compression, and incorporates a novel low-complexity dynamic coding-packaging scheme to frame the prediction error into fixed-length 16 bit format. The proposed technique achieves an average compression ratio of 2.25× on MIT/BIH ECG database. Implemented in a standard 0.35 μm process, the compressor uses 0.565 K gates/channel occupying 0.4 mm2 for four channels, and consumes 535 nW/channel at 2.4 V for ECG sampled at 512 Hz. Small size and ultra-low-power consumption makes the proposed technique suitable for wearable ECG sensor applications.
Establishment and assessments of a new model for the postoperative fatigue syndrome by major small intestinal resection in rats

Abstract Objective. Postoperative fatigue syndrome (POFS) is a general and main complication after surgery. However, there is no stable and standardized animal model for POFS. The aim of the present study was to establish a rodent model of POFS by small intestinal resection, with POFS evaluated by acknowledged physical and behavioral methods. Material and Methods. Forty-two Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups according to the length of a “middle” small intestinal resection: 0% (sham group; i.e., laparotomy alone), 10%, 40% and 70% groups, with corresponding lengths of small intestinal resections. Following surgery, the general state of health was evaluated. Tail suspension test, open field test and Morris water maze test were used to evaluate the degree of POFS. Serum albumin, transferrin, prealbumin and fibronectin were measured to assess the nutritional status, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were also measured. Results. As compared with the other three groups, the 70% small intestinal resection group showed the worst general state of health, decreased strength of the tail suspension test and decreased score of Morris water maze test (p < 0.05) after operation. All rats in whom the small intestinal resection was done demonstrated a certain degree of malnutrition and behavior of depression, and the 70% resection group had the lowest levels of transferrin, prealbumin and fibronectin as compared with the other groups (p < 0.05), as well as decreased SOD and increased MDA in serum (p < 0.05). Conclusions. Resection of 70% of the small intestine resulted in typical characteristics of POFS. As this procedure is simple, stable and easily reproducible, it may serve as a model for research on POFS.
Proteomic‐based approach for biomarkers discovery in early detection of invasive urothelial carcinoma

Identification of reliable non‐invasive markers for the detection of invasive phenotype of urothelial carcinoma is needed. This study characterizes and compares protein expression profiles of adjacent non‐neoplastic urothelium and invasive urothelial carcinoma to identify biomarkers for early detection of de novo bladder cancer. Differences in protein expression between adjacent non‐neoplastic and high‐grade, stage T4, grade 3 invasive urothelial carcinoma tissues were investigated using 2‐DE, MALDI‐TOF‐MS, and data processing. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) was applied to examine the biological mechanisms represented by the altered proteins. The 2‐DE of the adjacent non‐neoplastic urothelium and invasive urothelial carcinoma showed reproducibly similar proteomic mapping for each group distinguishing adjacent non‐neoplastic urothelium from invasive urothelial carcinoma. Twenty‐one proteins were altered in expression and one of these proteins, Choroideremia‐like protein (CHML) was significantly overexpressed (p<0.005) and therefore was analyzed further using IHC and Western blot. Urothelial carcinoma presented an elevated expression of CHML but not adjacent non‐neoplastic or normal bladder tissues. IPA revealed the involvement of CHML in cell morphology, cellular assembly, and organization. Further investigation is warranted to elucidate the biological significance of CHML and to validate its role as a biomarker for early detection of invasive urothelial carcinoma de novo.
Cost-effectiveness of nevirapine to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission in eight African countries

Background: A comprehensive approach to preventing HIV infection in infants has been recommended, including: (a) preventing HIV in young women, (b) reducing unintended pregnancies among HIV-infected women, (c) preventing vertical transmission (PMTCT), and (d) providing care, treatment, and support to HIV-infected women and their families. Most attention has been given to preventing vertical transmission based on analysis showing nevirapine to be inexpensive and cost-effective. Methods: The following were determined using data from eight African countries: national program costs and impact on infant infections; reductions in adult HIV prevalence and unintended pregnancies among HIV-infected women that would have equivalent impact on infant HIV infections averted as the nevirapine intervention; and the cost threshold for drugs with greater efficacy than nevirapine yielding an equivalent cost per DALY saved. Results: Average national annual program cost was $4.8 million. There was, per country, an average of 1898 averted infant HIV infections (US$2517 per HIV infection and US$84 per DALY averted). Lowering HIV prevalence among women by 1.25% or reducing unintended pregnancy among HIV-infected women by 16% yielded an equivalent reduction in infant cases. An antiretroviral drug with 70% efficacy could cost US$152 and have the same cost per DALY averted as nevirapine at 47% efficacy. Conclusions: Cost-effectiveness of nevirapine prophylaxis is influenced by health system costs, low client uptake, and poor effectiveness of nevirapine. Small reductions in maternal HIV prevalence or unintended pregnancy by HIV-infected women have equivalent impacts on infant HIV incidence and should be part of an overall strategy to lessen numbers of infant infections.
The Effects of Age on Inflammatory and Coagulation-Fibrinolysis Response in Patients Hospitalized for Pneumonia

Objective To determine whether inflammatory and hemostasis response in patients hospitalized for pneumonia varies by age and whether these differences explain higher mortality in the elderly. Methods In an observational cohort of subjects with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) recruited from emergency departments (ED) in 28 hospitals, we divided subjects into 5 age groups (<50, 51–64, 65–74, 75–84, and ≥85). We measured circulating levels of inflammatory (TNF, IL-6, and IL-10), hemostasis (D-dimer, Factor IX, thrombin-antithrombin complex, antithrombin and plasminogen-activator inhibitor-1), and cell-surface markers (TLR-2, TLR-4, and HLA-DR) during the first week of hospitalization and at discharge and compared 90-day mortality. We used logistic regression to compare odds ratios (OR) for 90-day mortality between age groups, adjusting for differences in pre-infection factors alone and then additionally adjusting for immune markers. Results Of 2,183 subjects, 495, 444, 403, 583, and 258 subjects were <50, 51–64, 65–74, 75–84, and ≥85 years of age, respectively. Large age-related differences were observed in 90-day mortality (0.82% vs. 3.2% vs. 6.4% vs. 12.8% vs. 13.6%, p<0.01). No age-related differences in inflammatory and cell surface markers occurred during the first week. Older subjects had higher pro-coagulant markers on ED presentation and over first week (p≤0.03), but these differences were modest (1.0–1.7-fold differences). Odds of death for older adults changed minimally in models incorporating differences in hemostasis and inflammatory markers (for subjects ≥85 compared to those <50, OR = 4.36, when adjusted for pre-infection factors and OR = 3.49 when additionally adjusted for hemostasis markers). At discharge, despite clinical recovery as evidenced by normal vital signs in >85% subjects, older subjects had modestly increased hemostasis markers and IL-6 levels (p<0.01). Conclusions Modest age-related increases in coagulation response occur during hospitalization for CAP; however these differences do not explain the large differences in mortality. Despite clinical recovery, immune resolution may be delayed in older adults at discharge.
Hutchinson's duality: The once and future niche

The duality between “niche” and “biotope” proposed by G. Evelyn Hutchinson provides a powerful way to conceptualize and analyze biogeographical distributions in relation to spatial environmental patterns. Both Joseph Grinnell and Charles Elton had attributed niches to environments. Attributing niches, instead, to species, allowed Hutchinson's key innovation: the formal severing of physical place from environment that is expressed by the duality. In biogeography, the physical world (a spatial extension of what Hutchinson called the biotope) is conceived as a map, each point (or cell) of which is characterized by its geographical coordinates and the local values of n environmental attributes at a given time. Exactly the same n environmental attributes define the corresponding niche space, as niche axes, allowing reciprocal projections between the geographic distribution of a species, actual or potential, past or future, and its niche. In biogeographical terms, the realized niche has come to express not only the effects of species interactions (as Hutchinson intended), but also constraints of dispersal limitation and the lack of contemporary environments corresponding to parts of the fundamental niche. Hutchinson's duality has been used to classify and map environments; model potential species distributions under past, present, and future climates; study the distributions of invasive species; discover new species; and simulate increasingly more realistic worlds, leading to spatially explicit, stochastic models that encompass speciation, extinction, range expansion, and evolutionary adaptation to changing environments.
Mixed dentition space analysis in kodava population: a comparison of two methods.

AIMS To evaluate the reliability of Tanaka and Johnston and Moyer's (75th percentile) mixed dentition prediction methods in Kodava population sample, to formulate regression equations for predicting the mesiodistal widths of unerupted canines and premolars and to construct probability tables for the Kodava population. SETTINGS AND DESIGN Data was obtained from Kodava subjects visiting the clinics for routine dental check up. MATERIALS AND METHODS Dental models of 30 male and 30 female Kodava subjects (age range is 16 - 23 yr) were used. Teeth measured included mandibular permanent incisors, maxillary and mandibular permanent canines, first and second premolars. Digital caliper calibrated to 0.01mm was used to record mesiodistal dimensions. The actual teeth measurements were then statistically compared with the predicted values derived from the Tanaka and Johnston's equations and Moyers probability tables at the 75(th) percentile. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED Descriptive statistics including means, standard deviations were calculated for the actual and predicted tooth sizes. Student's t-tests were performed to compare the differences between the measured mesiodistal widths of canine, first and second premolars and the predicted values derived from Moyers. Correlation and regression analysis were performed to formulate standard regression equations. RESULTS Tanaka and Johnston prediction equations overestimated the mesiodistal widths of permanent canines and premolars in both the arches. Moyers 75(th) percentile also overestimated the actual measurements except for the maxillary arch in female subjects. The percentage of overestimation was more for Tanaka - Johnston prediction method than that of Moyers (75(th) percentile). Correlation and regression analysis were performed between the predicted and actual tooth size and standard regression equations were developed for the Kodava population. Probability tables were also constructed from the data obtained. CONCLUSION The data from present study illustrates the limitation of Tanaka and Johnston regression equations and Moyer's (75(th) percentile) chart when applied to Kodava population. From this data, regression equations and probability tables were derived for tooth size prediction for Kodava population. This would be more accurate when applied to local children of Kodava community.
Fast and flexible convolutional sparse coding

Convolutional sparse coding (CSC) has become an increasingly important tool in machine learning and computer vision. Image features can be learned and subsequently used for classification and reconstruction tasks. As opposed to patch-based methods, convolutional sparse coding operates on whole images, thereby seamlessly capturing the correlation between local neighborhoods. In this paper, we propose a new approach to solving CSC problems and show that our method converges significantly faster and also finds better solutions than the state of the art. In addition, the proposed method is the first efficient approach to allow for proper boundary conditions to be imposed and it also supports feature learning from incomplete data as well as general reconstruction problems.
The He-rich stripped-envelope core-collapse supernova 2008ax

Extensive optical and near-infrared (NIR) observations of the Type IIb supernova (SN IIb) 2008ax are presented, covering the first year after the explosion. The light curve is mostly similar in shape to that of the prototypical SN IIb 1993J, but shows a slightly faster decline rate at late phases and lacks the prominent narrow early-time peak of SN 1993J. From the bolometric light curve and ejecta expansion velocities, we estimate that about 0.07–0.15 M_⊙ of ^(56)Ni was produced during the explosion and that the total ejecta mass was between 2 and 5 M_⊙, with a kinetic energy of at least 10^(51) erg. The spectral evolution of SN 2008ax is similar to that of SN Ib/IIb 2007Y, exhibiting high-velocity Ca ii features at early phases and signs of ejecta–wind interaction from Hα observations at late times. NIR spectra show strong He i lines similar to SN Ib 1999ex and a large number of emission features at late times. Particularly interesting are the strong, double-peaked He i lines in late NIR spectra, which – together with the double-peaked [O i] emission in late optical spectra – provide clues for the asymmetry and large-scale Ni mixing in the ejecta.
Unraveling the causal role of immune cells in gastrointestinal tract cancers: insights from a Mendelian randomization study

Background Despite early attempts, the relationship between immune characteristics and gastrointestinal tract cancers remains incompletely elucidated. Hence, rigorous and further investigations in this domain hold significant clinical relevance for the development of novel potential immunotherapeutic targets. Methods We conducted a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis using the tools available in the “TwoSampleMR” R package. The GWAS data for these 731 immune traits were sourced from the GWAS Catalog database. Concurrently, data on gastrointestinal tract cancers, encompassing malignant tumors in the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, colon, and rectum, were extracted from the FinnGen database. The immune traits subjected to MR analysis predominantly fall into four categories: median fluorescence intensities (MFI), relative cell (RC), absolute cell (AC), and morphological parameters (MP). To ensure the reliability of our findings, sensitivity analyses were implemented to address robustness, account for heterogeneity, and alleviate the impact of horizontal pleiotropy. Results A total of 78 immune traits causally linked to gastrointestinal tract cancers were identified, encompassing esophageal cancer (12 traits), gastric cancer (13 traits), small intestine cancer (22 traits), colon cancer (12 traits), and rectal cancer (19 traits). Additionally, 60 immune traits were recognized as protective factors associated with gastrointestinal tract cancers, distributed across esophageal cancer (14 traits), gastric cancer (16 traits), small intestine cancer (7 traits), colon cancer (14 traits), and rectal cancer (9 traits). Furthermore, it was observed that seven immune traits are causally related to gastrointestinal tract cancers in at least two locations. These traits include “CCR2 on CD14- CD16+ monocyte,” “CD19 on IgD+ CD38-,” “CD19 on IgD+ CD38- naive,” “CD25hi CD45RA+ CD4 not Treg AC,” “CD27 on unsw mem,” “CD28 on CD39+ activated Treg,” and “CD45 on CD4+. ” Conclusion This study elucidates a causal link between immune cells and gastrointestinal tract cancers at various sites through genetic investigation. The findings of this research open up new perspectives and resources for exploring tumor prevention strategies and immunotherapeutic targets.
In silico-mediated virtual screening and molecular docking platforms for discovery of non β-lactam inhibitors of y-49 β-lactamase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB), caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), is a worldwide health concern. The world health organization in its 2017 tuberculosis report states, “TB is the ninth leading cause of death worldwide and the leading cause from a single infectious agent, ranking above HIV/AIDS” [1-3]. The failure to control TB is due to the emergence of Mtb strains that are resistant to first line beta lactam antibiotics, because of overuse. One of the most effective resistance mechanisms to β-lactam antibiotics involves the production of β-lactamases which cleave the amide bond in the target β-lactam ring hydrolyzing the drug before it reaches its target. The beta-lactamases are classified into four classes: A, B, C and D. These classes are based on conserved and distinguishing amino acid motifs [1-3]. Classes A, C, and D include enzymes that hydrolyze their substrates by forming an acyl enzyme through an active site serine. Class B β-lactamases are metalloenzymes that utilize at least one active-site zinc ion to facilitate β-lactam hydrolysis. One of the most efficient and prevalent mechanisms of resistance to β-lactam antibiotics is the production of β-lactamases in both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria that hydrolyze the drugs before they can reach their target and exert the desired effect. These resistance mechanisms are important, and each bacterium can create a combination of defenses depending on the selective pressures placed on it [1-4]. The intrinsic resistance to β-lactam antibiotics was demonstrated to be mainly due to the presence of a chromosomally-encoded gene (blaC) in M. tuberculosis for a Class A, Ambler β-lactamase (BlaC). The BlaC enzyme has already been validated as one of the leading targets of tuberculosis therapy. This enzyme is extremely active against Volume 7 Issue 1 2018
Differential Accumulation of Manganese-Superoxide Dismutase Transcripts in Maize in Response to Abscisic Acid and High Osmoticum

The plant growth regulator abscisic acid (ABA) has multiple physiological effects during embryogenesis and seed formation. Although a number of genes induced by ABA have been characterized, the functions of the encoded proteins remain, for the most part, obscure. In this paper we demonstrate that members of the manganese-superoxide dismutase (MnSod) gene family encoding antioxidant isozymes of known function during development and oxidative stress respond differentially to ABA and high osmoticum in developing maize (Zea mays L.) embryos. Expression of the maize Sod3.1 does not respond to ABA or high osmoticum, whereas the steady-state levels of the maize Sod3.2, Sod3.3, and Sod3.4 transcripts are induced by ABA. Total SOD-3 protein and enzymatic activity, however, remain constant. Additionally, we examined the requirement for ABA in the accumulation of MnSod transcripts in response to high osmoticum in wild-type and mutant embryos of an ABA-deficient line (M1A4; vp5). RNA blot analyses show that multiple Sod3 transcripts are also found in line M1A4, and ABA increases the accumulation of the Sod3.2, Sod3.3, and Sod3.4 transcripts in both wild-type and vp5 mutant embryos. Interestingly, although accumulation of the Sod3.3 and Sod3.4 transcripts in the vp5 mutant embryo was induced by ABA, it was not induced by high osmoticum. Both superoxide dismutase and ABA have been implicated in plant tolerance to environmental stress; results from this study demonstrate a connection between the action of ABA and oxidative stress during embryo maturation in maize.
Regional Concept Drift Detection and Density Synchronized Drift Adaptation

In data stream mining, the emergence of new patterns or a pattern ceasing to exist is called concept drift. Concept drift makes the learning process complicated because of the inconsistency between existing data and upcoming data. Since concept drift was first proposed, numerous articles have been published to address this issue in terms of distribution analysis. However, most distributionbased drift detection methods assume that a drift happens at an exact time point, and the data arrived before that time point is considered not important. Thus, if a drift only occurs in a small region of the entire feature space, the other non-drifted regions may also be suspended, thereby reducing the learning efficiency of models. To retrieve nondrifted information from suspended historical data, we propose a local drift degree (LDD) measurement that can continuously monitor regional density changes. Instead of suspending all historical data after a drift, we synchronize the regional density discrepancies according to LDD. Experimental evaluations on three benchmark data sets show that our concept drift adaptation algorithm improves accuracy compared to other methods.
Narrow Proofs May Be Maximally Long

We prove that there are 3-CNF formulas over n variables that can be refuted in resolution in width w but require resolution proofs of size nΩ(w). This shows that the simple counting argument that any formula refutable in width w must have a proof in size nO(w) is essentially tight. Moreover, our lower bounds can be generalized to polynomial calculus resolution (PCR) and Sherali-Adams, implying that the corresponding size upper bounds in terms of degree and rank are tight as well. Our results do not extend all the way to Lasserre, however-the formulas we study have Lasserre proofs of constant rank and size polynomial in both n and w.
Serum high‐mobility group box 1 protein correlates with cognitive decline after gastrointestinal surgery

Accumulating evidence has indicated that inflammation may act as a potential mechanism underlying post‐operative cognitive dysfunction (POCD). High‐mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), as a known late mediator of inflammation, is involved in the development of post‐operative complications. Thus, we sought to determine the role of HMGB1 in reflecting POCD following major gastrointestinal surgery.