Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Left Atrial Strain and Strain Rate in Patients With Paroxysmal and Persistent Atrial Fibrillation: Relationship to Left Atrial Structural Remodeling Detected by Delayed-Enhancement MRI

Background—Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a progressive condition that begins with hemodynamic and/or structural changes in the left atrium (LA) and evolves through paroxysmal and persistent stages. Because of limitations with current noninvasive imaging techniques, the relationship between LA structure and function is not well understood. Methods and Results—Sixty-five patients (age, 61.2±14.2 years; 67% men) with paroxysmal (44%) or persistent (56%) AF underwent 3D delayed-enhancement MRI. Segmentation of the LA wall was performed and degree of enhancement (fibrosis) was determined using a semiautomated quantification algorithm. Two-dimensional echocardiography and longitudinal LA strain and strain rate during ventricular systole with velocity vector imaging were obtained. Mean fibrosis was 17.8±14.5%. Log-transformed fibrosis values correlated inversely with LA midlateral strain (r=−0.5, P=0.003) and strain rate (r=−0.4, P<0.005). Patients with persistent AF as compared with paroxysmal AF had more fibrosis (22±17% versus 14±9%, P=0.04) and lower midseptal (27±14% versus 38±16%, P=0.01) and midlateral (35±16% versus 45±14% P=0.03) strains. Multivariable stepwise regression showed that midlateral strain (r=−0.5, P=0.006) and strain rate (r=−0.4, P=0.01) inversely predicted the extent of fibrosis independent of other echocardiographic parameters and the rhythm during imaging. Conclusions—LA wall fibrosis by delayed-enhancement MRI is inversely related to LA strain and strain rate, and these are related to the AF burden. Echocardiographic assessment of LA structural and functional remodeling is quick and feasible and may be helpful in predicting outcomes in AF.
A pilot study of the eccentric decline squat in the management of painful chronic patellar tendinopathy

Objectives: This non-randomised pilot study investigated the effect of eccentric quadriceps training on 17 patients (22 tendons) with painful chronic patellar tendinopathy. Methods: Two different eccentric exercise regimens were used by subjects with a long duration of pain with activity (more than six months). (a) Nine consecutive patients (10 tendons; eight men, one woman; mean age 22 years) performed eccentric exercise with the ankle joint in a standard (foot flat) position. (b) Eight patients (12 tendons; five men, three women; mean age 28 years) performed eccentric training standing on a 25° decline board, designed to increase load on the knee extensor mechanism. The eccentric training was performed twice daily, with three sets of 15 repetitions, for 12 weeks. Primary outcome measures were (a) 100 mm visual analogue scale (VAS), where the subject recorded the amount of pain during activity, and (b) return to previous activity. Follow up was at 12 weeks, with a further limited follow up at 15 months. Results: Good clinical results were obtained in the group who trained on the decline board, with six patients (nine tendons) returning to sport and showing a significantly reduced amount of pain over the 12 week period. Mean VAS scores fell from 74.2 to 28.5 (p = 0.004). At 15 months, four patients (five tendons) reported satisfactory results (mean VAS 26.2). In the standard squat group the results were poor, with only one athlete returning to previous activity. Mean VAS scores in this group were 79.0 at baseline and 72.3 at 12 weeks (p = 0.144). Conclusion: In a small group of patients with patellar tendinopathy, eccentric squats on a decline board produced encouraging results in terms of pain reduction and return to function in the short term. Eccentric exercise using standard single leg squats in a similar sized group appeared to be a less effective form of rehabilitation in reducing pain and returning subjects to previous levels of activity.
Low-Fluoride Dentifrice and Caries Lesion Control in Children with Different Caries Experience: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Since there is no consensus on the anticaries effectiveness of low-fluoride (F) dentifrice, this randomized clinical trial evaluated its effect in children at different caries activity status. One hundred and twenty 2- to 4-year-old children, half with and half without active caries lesions, were randomly divided into 2 groups which used 500- or 1,100-µg F/g (NaF) dentifrices during 1 year. Caries progression or regression were evaluated as the number of lesions becoming active/cavities or inactive, respectively. The anticaries effect of the low-F dentifrice was similar to the conventional F dentifrice when used by caries-inactive children. However, in children with active caries lesions the low-F dentifrice was less effective than the 1,100-µg F/g dentifrice in controlling the progression of lesions. The data suggest that the child caries activity may be taken into account to recommend a low-F dentifrice.
Intrathecal IgM synthesis in pediatric MS is not a negative prognostic marker of disease progression: quantitative versus qualitative IgM analysis

Background: Intrathecal IgM synthesis is reported to be associated with a worse prognosis in adults with multiple sclerosis (MS). Objective: To study the predictive value of intrathecal IgM synthesis for the clinical course of pediatric MS. Methods: Seventy children with onset of MS before the age of 16 years and followed for a median period of 10.4 years (range: 0.4–22.8 years) were studied. The two subgroups with (n = 44) or without (n = 26) intrathecal IgM synthesis were distinguished by a new, very sensitive, evaluation of quantitative analysis in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)/serum quotient diagrams (Reibergrams). The clinical course and EDSS (Expanded Disability Status Scale) scores at five and ten years were compared with IgM frequencies between both groups with a new statistics program for CSF data. Results: The cohort of children without intrathecal IgM production had higher numbers of attacks in the first two years and shorter time intervals between first and second attack, although this was not statistically significant (p = 0.04, p = 0.15 respectively). In addition there was also a trend for girls without intrathecal IgM synthesis to have a higher EDSS score after 10 years compared with the group with IgM synthesis. Conclusion: Intrathecal IgM synthesis is not associated with a more rapid progression of disability in pediatric MS. Reevaluation of data from previous reports about the negative predictive value of intrathecal IgM synthesis in adult MS with a CSF statistics tool show that the apparent contradiction is due to a methodological bias in the qualitative detection of ‘oligoclonal’ IgM or linear IgM index.
Frugal path mechanisms

We consider the problem of selecting a low cost s --- t path in a graph, where the edge costs are a secret known only to the various economic agents who own them. To solve this problem, Nisan and Ronen applied the celebrated Vickrey-Clarke-Groves (VCG) mechanism, which pays a premium to induce edges to reveal their costs truthfully. We observe that this premium can be unacceptably high. There are simple instances where the mechanism pays Θ(k) times the actual cost of the path, even if there is alternate path available that costs only (1 + ε) times as much. This inspires the frugal path problem, which is to design a mechanism that selects a path and induces truthful cost revelation without paying such a high premium.This paper contributes negative results on the frugal path problem. On two large classes of graphs, including ones having three node-disjoint s - t paths, we prove that no reasonable mechanism can always avoid paying a high premium to induce truthtelling. In particular, we introduce a general class of min function mechanisms, and show that all min function mechanisms can be forced to overpay just as badly VCG. On the other hand, we prove that (on two large classes of graphs) every truthful mechanism satisfying some reasonable properties is a min function mechanism.
Searching for Stability in Interdomain Routing

The border gateway protocol (BGP) handles the task of establishing routes between the autonomous systems (ASes) that make up the Internet. It is known that it is possible for a group of ASes to define local BGP policies that lead to global BGP protocol oscillations. We close a long standing open question by showing that, for any network, if two stable routing outcomes exist then persistent BGP route oscillations are possible. This is the first non-trivial necessary condition for BGP safety. It shows that BGP safety must always come at the price of severe restrictions on ASes' expressiveness in their choice of routing policies. The technical tools used in our proof may be helpful in the detection of potential route oscillations and their debugging. We also address the question of how long it takes BGP to converge to a stable routing outcome. We analyze a formal measure of the convergence time of BGP for the policy class defined by Gao and Rexford, which is said to accurately depict the business structure underlying the Internet. We prove that, even for this restricted class of preferences, the convergence time might be linear in the size of the network. However, we show a much more reasonable bound if the network structure is similar to the current Internet: we prove that the number of phases required for convergence is bounded by approximately twice the depth of the customer-provider hierarchy.
Scintigraphic documentation of an improvement in hepatobiliary excretory function after treatment with ursodeoxycholic acid in patients with cystic fibrosis and associated liver disease

We have previously documented that ursodeoxycholic acid exerts a beneficial effect on liver function and bile acid metabolism in patients with cystic fibrosis. We hypothesized that the mechanism of action may be related in part to the choleretic properties of the administered bile acid. We therefore compared hepatobiliary scintigraphic images obtained before and 1 yr after initiation of ursodeoxycholic acid therapy to document an improvement in bile flow in 13 patients with cystic fibrosis and hepatobiliary involvement. Before therapy, hepatobiliary scintigraphy documented biliary stasis with retention of the isotope in intrahepatic and extrahepatic bile ducts in nine patients; during therapy, duct dilatation decreased substantially in eight patients, with decreased intrahepatic retention and more rapid biliary outflow of the tracer. The time of appearance of isotope in the intestine decreased (from a mean of 36.9 ± 17.8 min to 18.8 ± 9.0 min; p < 0.01) in all patients in whom it had been abnormal, and the half‐time of hepatic washout decreased from a mean of 35 ± 20.7 min to 26 ± 15.6 min (p < 0.05). During ursodeoxycholic acid administration enrichment of bile was achieved, with the mean ursodeoxycholic acid percent composition increasing from 5.8% ± 2.9% to 35.7% ± 8.5%. Ursodeoxycholic acid became the predominant bile acid in serum. Liver function improved in all 10 of the patients with abnormal values at baseline. We conclude that hepatobiliary scintigraphy is of value in monitoring the therapeutic responses of cystic fibrosis patients with liver disease to ursodeoxycholic acid therapy. These scintigraphic changes observed in our patients after treatment with ursodeoxycholic acid confirm the therapeutic effect of this bile acid in cystic fibrosis patients with associated liver disease. The effect may be mediated through an improvement in canalicular excretory function and biliary drainage. (Hepatology 1992;15:677–684).
Gastrin Induces Expression and Promoter Activity of the Vesicular Monoamine Transporter Subtype 2.

Gastric enterochromaffin-like cells produce histamine in response to the antral hormone gastrin and accumulate the biogenic amine in secretory organelles via vesicular monoamine transporter subtype 2. The putative effects of gastrin on vesicular monoamine transporter subtype 2 expression and promoter activity are poorly understood. In the present study we used highly enriched rat enterochromaffin-like cells (purity, >90%) and rat pheochromocytoma cells stably transfected with a gastrin/cholecystokinin B receptor to investigate the expression and transcriptional regulation of vesicular monoamine transporter subtype 2. Stimulation of vesicular monoamine transporter subtype 2 mRNA and protein expression was observed in isolated enterochromaffin-like cells after 3- to 7-h incubation with gastrin (10−7 m), forskolin (10−5 m), or ionomycin (10−5 m). Deletion analysis of the rat vesicular monoamine transporter subtype 2 promoter defined the minimal promoter sequence necessary for full basal activity as a −121 bp.
Virtual Proprioception for eccentric training

Wireless inertial sensors enable quantified feedback, which can be applied to evaluate the efficacy of therapy and rehabilitation. In particular eccentric training promotes a beneficial rehabilitation and strength training strategy. Virtual Proprioception for eccentric training applies real-time feedback from a wireless gyroscope platform enabled through a software application for a smartphone. Virtual Proprioception for eccentric training is applied to the eccentric phase of a biceps brachii strength training and contrasted to a biceps brachii strength training scenario without feedback. During the operation of Virtual Proprioception for eccentric training the intent is to not exceed a prescribed gyroscope signal threshold based on the real-time presentation of the gyroscope signal, in order to promote the eccentric aspect of the strength training endeavor. The experimental trial data is transmitted wireless through connectivity to the Internet as an email attachment for remote post-processing. A feature set is derived from the gyroscope signal for machine learning classification of the two scenarios of Virtual Proprioception real-time feedback for eccentric training and eccentric training without feedback. Considerable classification accuracy is achieved through the application of a multilayer perceptron neural network for distinguishing between the Virtual Proprioception real-time feedback for eccentric training and eccentric training without feedback.
A 4pt bending bond test approach to evaluate water effect in a composite beam

Abstract Considering that water may cause a separation of interfaces between layers of pavement structures, specific test on bi-layer specimens is performed in a water bath. For the study of the bond between layers made of cement concrete overlay on bituminous material, four-point bending results show a competition between different failure mechanisms. Actually a very good bond resistance between layers compared to the fracture tension resistance of the cement concrete layer is preliminary observed in dry conditions. In this work, first results of the water effect on the behaviour of such a material interface are presented. The final fracture length of the specimen and the corresponding curve of force-displacement highlight the influence of water immersion on the debonding failure mode. The field displacement measurement obtained by Digital Image Correlation is used to improve the understanding of the fracture scenario.
Parallel implementation of QRD algorithms on the Fujitsu AP1000

This paper addresses several important aspects of parallel implementation of QR decomposition of a matrix on a distributed memory MIMD machine, the Fujitsu AP1000. They include: Among various QR decomposition algorithms, which one is most suitable for implementation on the AP1000? With the total number of cells given, what is the best aspect ratio of the array to achieve optimal performance? How efficient is the AP1000 in computing the QR decomposition of a matrix? To help answer these questions we have implemented various orthogonal factorisation algorithms on a 128-cell AP1000 located at the Australian National University. After extensive experiments some interesting results have been obtained and are presented in the paper. Comments Only the Abstract of [4] is given here. For related work see [1, 2, 3].
Fasciocutaneous flap reconstruction of the tongue and floor of mouth: outcomes and techniques.

OBJECTIVES To quantify functional and other outcomes after major resection and fasciocutaneous free-flap reconstruction of the tongue and floor of mouth, and to describe reconstructive technique. DESIGN A hypothesis-generating, retrospective cohort study of 43 patients who underwent, at minimum, a hemiglossectomy and resection of the floor of the mouth for oral cancer followed by fasciocutaneous free-flap reconstruction. SETTING A tertiary academic medical center in the midwestern United States. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Speech intelligibility, swallowing, interval to decannulation, length of stay, free-flap success rates, patient survival, and complications. RESULTS Thirty patients underwent oral tongue reconstructions, and 13, tongue base reconstructions. Median intelligibility scores were greater among patients in the tongue base group (98% intelligibility) than in the oral-tongue group (76% intelligibility) (P<.001). Of the 38 patients undergoing swallowing evaluation, 32 (85%) were able to feed entirely by mouth, most with mild to moderate dysphagia. All patients underwent decannulation (mean interval, 13.7 days). The mean length of hospital stay was 11 days, and free flaps in 42 patients (98%) survived. Twenty-eight patients (65%) were still alive by the end of the study, yielding a mean survival time of 27.4 months. Seven patients (16%) had severe medical and 3 (7%) had major surgical complications. CONCLUSION The folding techniques used in this study for reconstruction of the tongue with fasciocutaneous free flaps were associated with recovery of adequate speech and swallowing in most patients.
Vaccine-Induced Opsonophagocytic Immunity to Neisseria meningitidis Group B

ABSTRACT The role of opsonophagocytosis (OP) in protection against meningococcal disease is controversial because patients with deficiencies in terminal complement proteins whose sera support OP but not bactericidal activity (BA) are at greatly increased risk of disease. We assayed complement-mediated BA and OP bactericidal activity in sera from 32 adults immunized with an outer membrane vesicle vaccine given alone or combined with an investigational recombinant protein, genome-derived neisserial antigen (GNA2132). The sera were heat inactivated to remove internal complement activity, and BA was measured with exogenous nonimmune human serum as a complement source. OP was measured with human polymorphonuclear cells (PMNs) and C6-depleted complement, which without PMNs did not support BA. Before immunization, 9 to 19% of sera from subjects in both vaccine groups combined had BA titers of ≥1:4, which increased to 41 to 72% after immunization (P < 0.01 against each of three test strains). The percentages of sera with OP titers of ≥1:5 were 3 to 16%, which increased to 55 to 72% (P < 0.001 for each strain). Most postimmunization BA-positive sera were OP positive, but 10 to 37% of BA-negative sera also were OP positive. Comparing the two vaccine groups, there were no significant differences in the percentages of sera with BA or OP activity except for a higher percentage of OP against one strain in postimmunization sera from subjects in the combination vaccine group (P ≤ 0.02). The data support independent roles for serum BA and OP bactericidal activity in protection against group B disease.
Principles and Applications of Static, Thyristor-Controlled Shunt Compensators

In recent years, there has been a rapid increase in the number of thyristor-controlled shunt compensators used in industrial and utility systems for dynamic power factor correction and terminal voltage stabilization. These thyristor-controlled shunt compensators function as variable reactances operated in both the inductive and capacitive domains.
Effect of Selenite on Growth and Protein Synthesis in the Phototrophic Bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides

ABSTRACT The effect of selenite on the growth rate and protein synthesis has been investigated in Rhodobacter sphaeroides. This photosynthetic bacterium efficiently reduces selenite with intracellular accumulation under both dark aerobic and anaerobic photosynthetic conditions. Addition of 1 mM selenite under these two growth conditions does not affect the final cell density, although a marked slowdown in growth rate is observed under aerobic growth. The proteome analysis of selenite response by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis shows an enhanced synthesis of some chaperones, an elongation factor, and enzymes associated to oxidative stress. The induction of these antioxidant proteins confirms that the major toxic effect of selenite is the formation of reactive oxygen species during its metabolism. In addition, we show that one mutant unable to precipitate selenite, selected from a transposon library, is affected in the smoK gene. This encodes a constituent of a putative ABC transporter implicated in the uptake of polyols. This mutant is less sensitive to selenite and does not express stress proteins identified in the wild type in response to selenite. This suggests that the entry of selenite into the cytoplasm is mediated by a polyol transporter in R. sphaeroides.
Enhancing the use of e-learning systems in the public sector: a behavioural intention perspective

Using electronic learning (e-learning) can enhance a civil servant's proficiency in performing quality service to civilians. However, civil servants tend to be passive adopters of innovative technology. Increasing the intention of them to adopt e-learning has the potential of improving the quality of civil services. This study proposes a research model based on the Decomposed Theory of Planned Behaviour. 416 responses were collected from four counties of Taiwan. The analysis results indicate that attitude and behavioural control have a positive effect on a civil servant's behavioural intention of adopting e-learning. However, the subjective norm has a negative effect on behavioural intention. Usefulness, compatibility, and ease of use have a positive effect on attitude. Interpersonal influence and external influence have a positive effect on the subjective norm. Self-efficacy and professional core competency have a positive effect on behavioural control. Academic and practical implications are drawn from these findings.