Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Star clusters with primordial binaries – I. Dynamical evolution of isolated models

In order to interpret the results of complex realistic star cluster simulations, which rely on many simplifying approximations and assumptions, it is essential to study the behaviour of even more idealized models, which can highlight the essential physical effects and are amenable to more exact methods. With this aim, we present the results of N-body calculations of the evolution of equal-mass models, starting with primordial binary fractions of 0–100 per cent, with values of N ranging from 256 to 16 384. This allows us to extrapolate the main features of the evolution to systems comparable in particle number with globular clusters. In this range, we find that the steady-state ‘deuterium main sequence’ is characterized by a ratio of the core radius to half-mass radius that follows qualitatively the analytical estimate by Vesperini & Chernoff, although the N dependence is steeper than expected. Interestingly, for an initial binary fraction f greater than 10 per cent, the binary heating in the core during the post-collapse phase almost saturates (becoming nearly independent of f), and so little variation in the structural properties is observed. Thus, although we observe a significantly lower binary abundance in the core with respect to the Fokker–Planck simulations by Gao et al., this is of little dynamical consequence. At variance with the study of Gao et al., we see no sign of gravothermal oscillations before 150 half-mass relaxation times. At later times, however, oscillations become prominent. We demonstrate the gravothermal nature of these oscillations.
Madurella Mycetomatis Infection Following Allogenic Stem Cell Transplantation for Aplastic Anemia

Madurella mycetomatis is the most common fungal agent causing eumycetoma. The commonest clinical presentation of the infection is the appearance of multiple sinuses with discharge of grains, which are the colonies of the fungus. It is an emerging fungal infection among transplant recipients and has not been reported following stem cell transplantation. We report here a case of aplastic anemia who developed madura foot, caused by Madurella mycetomatis , following allogenic peripheral blood stem cell transplantation. The diagnosis was made by the examination of discharged black grains under microscope which reavaled presence of septate hyphae and the culture of the discharged granules grew Madurella mycetomatis. The patient was treated with voriconazole followed by excision of the lesion, which resulted in complete recovery. Considering the increasing number of patients undergoing stem cell transplantation for various hematological diseases, the implications of this fungal infection should be recognized as delay in treatment may be life-threatening.
Illusory Contour Perception and Amodal Boundary Completion: Evidence of a Dissociation Following Callosotomy

A fundamental problem in form perception is how the visual system can link together spatially separated contour fragments to form the percept of a unitary shape. Illusory contours and amodal completion are two phenomena that demonstrate this linking process. In the present study we investigate these phenomena in the divided hemispheres of two callosotomy (split-brain) patients. The data suggest that dissociable neural mechanisms are responsible for the generation of illusory contours and amodal completion. Although both cerebral hemispheres appear to be equally capable of perceiving illusory contours, amodal completion is more readily utilized by the right hemisphere. These results suggest that illusory contours may be attributable to low-level visual processes common to both hemispheres, whereas amodal completion reflects a higher-level, lateralized process.
Rat Walking Tracks do not Reflect Maximal Muscle Force Capacity

The relationship between walking-track measurements and maximum force generation in reinnervated rat hindlimb muscles was assessed. A rat model was designed to result in a broad range of recoveries of both muscle force and walking-track measurements after unilateral sciatic nerve injury and reconstruction. Three months following sciatic nerve injury, maximal force in the extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscle ranged from 1325 to 3666 mN, and maximal specific forces ranged from 137.5 to 359.4 kNm(-2). In the same animals, functional intermediate toe spread factor (FIS) ranged from -0.03 to -0.78. Neither the correlation coefficient between EDL muscle maximal force and FIS (r = 0.4) nor that between EDL maximal specific force and FIS (r = -0.2) were statistically significant. The lack of correlation between muscle maximal force values and walking-track measurements suggests that these neuromuscular tests are assessing different factors.
Does treatment of split-thickness skin grafts with negative-pressure wound therapy improve tissue markers of wound healing in a porcine experimental model?

BACKGROUND Negative-pressure wound therapy (NPWT) has been used for to treat wounds for more than 15 years and, more recently, has been used to secure split-thickness skin grafts. There are some data to support this use of NPWT, but the actual mechanism by which NPWT speeds healing or improves skin graft take is not entirely known. The purpose of this project was to assess whether NPWT improved angiogenesis, wound healing, or graft survival when compared with traditional bolster dressings securing split-thickness skin grafts in a porcine model. METHODS We performed two split-thickness skin grafts on each of eight 30 kg Yorkshire pigs. We took graft biopsies on postoperative days 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 and submitted the samples for immunohistochemical staining, as well as standard hematoxylin and eosin staining. We measured the degree of vascular ingrowth via immunohistochemical staining for von Willenbrand’s factor to better identify blood vessel epithelium. We determined the mean cross-sectional area of blood vessels present for each representative specimen, and then compared the bolster and NPWT samples. We also assessed each graft for incorporation and survival at postoperative day 10. RESULTS Our analysis of the data revealed that there was no statistically significant difference in the degree of vascular ingrowth as measured by mean cross-sectional capillary area (p = 0.23). We did not note any difference in graft survival or apparent incorporation on a macroscopic level, although standard hematoxylin and eosin staining indicated that microscopically, there seemed to be better subjective graft incorporation in the NPWT samples and a nonsignificant trend toward improved graft survival in the NPWT group. CONCLUSION We were unable to demonstrate a significant difference in vessel ingrowth when comparing NPWT and traditional bolster methods for split-thickness skin graft fixation. More studies are needed to elucidate the manner by which NPWT exerts its effects and the true clinical magnitude of these effects.
From Phenoxyacetic Acids to Cellular Telephones: Is There Historical Evidence for the Precautionary Principle in Cancer Prevention?

In the late 1970s, the author and his colleagues published the first scientific evidence of an association between exposure to phenoxyacetic acids and chlorophenols and certain malignant tumors; the study subjects were also exposed to contaminating dioxins such as 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). The results have been corroborated in other studies. Over the years, industry and its allied experts have attacked these studies, but in 1997 IARC classified TCDD as a human carcinogen, Group I. The author and colleagues found an increased risk of non-Hodgkins lymphoma (NHL) for subjects exposed to these chemicals or to some persistent organic pollutants; the increasing incidence in Sweden leveled off in about 1990. The author postulated that the regulation of or ban on these chemicals in Sweden in the 1970s contributed to the now decreasing incidence of NHL. Recent findings of an association between cellular telephones and brain tumors have provoked much unfounded criticism from industry and from the Swedish Radiation Protection Authority. Thus the precautionary principle is prohibited and early warnings of a cancer risk ignored. The experience of cancer risks from certain chlorinated phenols may serve as a model of how the precautionary principle could be used to take early warnings seriously. Unfortunately, the lessons of history seem to go unheeded, as exemplified by the case of cellular telephones.
A comb-type pilot symbol aided channel estimation for STBC based OFDM system over frequency selective channel

In this paper, the channel estimation technique for space time block code (STBC) based multi-input multi-output (MIMO) orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is investigated for multipath fading channel. The channel estimation is based on the comb-type pilot arrangement where the pilot subcarriers are placed at regular interval of each OFDM symbol block and are orthogonal between different transmitting antennas. Due to the advantages of orthogonal pilot subcarrier, the original transmitted signal is completely recovered from the mixed transmitted signal at the receiver side. The least square (LS) algorithm is adopted for estimation of channel at pilot subcarrier while the interpolation is done at data subcarrier. The performance of the developed channel estimation technique is compared with the traditional single-input single-output (SISO) OFDM system on the basis of symbol error rate (SER). The simulation results show that the STBC OFDM gives better performance than SISO OFDM and the SER decreases as the signal to noise ratio (SNR) and the number of receive antenna increases.
Outcomes in Patients With Hemophilia and von Willebrand Disease Undergoing Invasive or Surgical Procedures

Adults with hemophilia A (HA), hemophilia B (HB), and von Willebrand disease (VWD) frequently require surgery and invasive procedures. However, there is variability in perioperative management guidelines. We describe our periprocedural outcomes in this setting. A retrospective chart review from January 2006 to December 2012 of patients with HA, HB, and VWD undergoing surgery or invasive procedures was conducted. Type of procedures, management including the use of continuous factor infusion, and administration of antifibrinolytics were reviewed. Adverse outcomes were defined as acute bleeding (<48 hours), delayed bleeding (≥48 hours), transfusion, inhibitor development, and thrombosis. We identified 59 patients with HA and HB. In all, 24 patients had severe hemophilia and 12 had mild/moderate hemophilia. Twelve patients had inhibitors. There were also 5 female carriers of HA and 6 patients with VWD. There were 34 major surgeries (26 orthopedic, 8 nonorthopedic) and 129 minor surgeries. Continuous infusion was used in 55.9% of major surgeries versus 8.5% of minor surgeries. Antifibrinolytics were administered in 14.7% of major surgeries versus 23.2% of minor surgeries. In all, 4 patients developed acute bleeding and 10 patients developed delayed bleeding. Delayed bleeding occurred in 28.6% of genitourinary procedures and in 16.1% of dental procedures. Five patients acquired an inhibitor and 2 had thrombosis. In conclusion, patients with HA, HB, or VWD had similar rates of adverse outcomes when undergoing minor surgeries or major surgeries. This finding underscores the importance of an interdisciplinary management and procedure-specific guidelines for patients with hemophilia and VWD prior to even minor invasive procedures.
Simulation model of a grid-connected single-phase photovoltaic system in PSCAD/EMTDC

In this paper, a complete simulation model of a grid-connected single-phase two-stage photovoltaic (PV) system with associated controllers is presented. The simulation model is developed in PSCAD/EMTDC simulation program. The component models of the grid-connected PV system include a PV array, a dc-dc boost converter, a voltage source converter (VSC) and an LCL filter. Components of the LCL filter, the dc-link capacitor of the VSC and the inductor of the dc-dc boost converter are established theoretically and that are used in modelling the grid-connected PV system. The control architecture of the presented system incorporates a synchronous reference frame phase-locked-loop (s-PLL), a stationary frame current controller, a dc-link voltage controller, a dc-dc boost converter controller and a maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm. Control design methodologies are described in detail. Simulation studies confirm that the modelling and control design approaches taken are robust and lead to a system with acceptable performance.
Byssinosis: as seen in cotton spinning mill workers of Karachi.

OBJECTIVE To identify Byssinosis in cotton spinning mill workers, probable associations of disease with factors such as different work areas, safety gadget usage and overtime and to ascertain proportions of byssinosis to accidental injuries. METHODS This study was conducted in a spinning mill of Karachi in June 2006. Mill workers who had worked for a period of minimum 5 years were selected. A sample size of 83 conveniently selected workers participated in the research study. Data collection was done via questionnaire, and pulmonary function tests. RESULTS The mean age of the sample was 30 +/- 6.9 years. Of all the workers 72% used safety gadgets (masks) while working and 50% availed overtime. Smokers amounted to 31% of the total subjects. Around 35% workers complained of having respiratory ailments of which 19% (16 workers) closely matched byssinotic symptoms. Pulmonary Function Tests (PFTs) confirmed 13 of 16 workers to be byssinotics, with the remaining being labeled as Probables. The overall proportion of Byssinotics in the mill was 19.28% (95% C.I. 11-27) and that of accidental injuries was 22.9%. The association of byssinosis with respect to work areas was significantly high in Ring area (O.R. = 2.04) followed by carding (O.R. = 1.3). The association of byssinosis was also high in workers who did not use safety gadgets, e.g. dust masks (O.R = 4.89) and in people who worked overtime (O.R. = 1.82). Associations with respect to duration of employment and smoking could not yield significant results. CONCLUSION Results indicate a very high probability of association of disease to non-usage of safety gadgets and overtime working. Studies comprising of a greater sample size would show precisely the overall prevalence of the disease.
An assessment of neurocognitive speed in relation to frailty.

OBJECTIVES to evaluate the relationship between neurocognitive speed (NCS) and frailty; to consider how this relationship is affected by how frailty is operationalised. DESIGN secondary analysis of the baseline cohort of the Oxford Project To Investigate Memory and Aging (OPTIMA), a longitudinal observational cohort. SUBJECTS of 388 participants who underwent a comprehensive intake assessment followed by an annual follow-up for at least 3 years, data on all measures were available on 164 people. MEASUREMENTS NCS was defined as a combined score of <18 on the pattern comparison test (<11 is abnormal) and letter comparison test (<7 is abnormal). Frailty was defined from a modified Phenotype model, the Edmonton Frailty Scales (EFS) and a frailty index (FI); the latter two were adapted here to exclude cognitive measures. RESULTS in multivariate logistic (NCS as < or ≥18) and linear regression (NCS as continuous variable), only the FI (OR = 0.87) was significant (P < 0.05). When all frailty measures were included in the multivariate analysis only, FI (OR = 0.88) was significant (P < 0.05). Mini-mental Status Examination remained significantly related to NCS throughout all analysis. CONCLUSION NCS slows with increasing frailty as shown with the FI.
Effect of Aging on Animal Response to Chronic Fluoride Exposure

This study was conducted to test the hypothesis that physiological changes which occur during aging increase the biological impact of fluoride and reduce the threshold of safe fluoride exposure. Four groups of rats were fed a low-fluoride diet (< 1.2 ppm) ad libitum and received 0, 5,15, or 50 ppm fluoride in their drinking water. Animals were killed after three, six, 12, or 18 months of treatment. Blood and urine were monitored for biochemical markers of tissue function, and plasma, urine, feces, and representative tissues were analyzed for fluoride. In addition, bone marrow cells from animals killed after 18 months of treatment were examined for frequency of sister chromatid exchange (SCE), a marker of genetic damage. Study results indicated that, within treatment groups, fluoride intake, excretion, and retention did not change significantly between three and 18 months. Fluoride concentration in soft tissues did not change with treatment duration in the fluoride-treated animals. Mineralized tissue fluoride concentration and the total fluoride in the carcasses increased continually as the animals aged. In spite of significant, dose-related differences in tissue fluoride levels which occurred in all age groups in this study, there were no indications that increased fluoride in the tissues caused any adverse physiological or genotoxic effects. None of the monitored clinical "wellness" markers of tissue integrity and function was altered by fluoride in a clinically significant manner. Therefore, there was no evidence from this study that aging reduces the threshold of safe chronic fluoride exposure.
Lower bounds in the convolution structure density model

The aim of the paper is to establish asymptotic lower bounds for the minimax risk in two generalized forms of the density deconvolution problem. The observation consists of an independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) sample of n random vectors in R d. Their common probability distribution function p can be written as p = (1 − α)f + α[f ⋆ g], where f is the unknown function to be estimated, g is a known function, α is a known proportion, and ⋆ denotes the convolution product. The bounds on the risk are established in a very general minimax setting and for moderately ill posed convolutions. Our results show notably that neither the ill-posedness nor the proportion α play any role in the bounds whenever α ∈ [0, 1), and that a particular inconsistency zone appears for some values of the parameters. Moreover, we introduce an additional boundedness condition on f and we show that the inconsistency zone then disappears.
[10-year prospective study on the incidence and risk factors for type 2 diabetes mellitus].

BACKGROUND The aims of this study were to determine the incidence of diabetes mellitus type 2 and to define the associated risk factors. PATIENTS AND METHOD A 10-year prospective study was done over 584 people identified by screening of the Lejona (Vizcaya, Spain) adult population in 1985. Data on age, sex, body mass index, family history of diabetes mellitus and blood pressure were collected. Also an oral glucose tolerance test was done following the criteria recommended by the WHO. RESULTS Age-adjusted cumulative incidence per year was 8 per 1,000 persons. In a multivariate logistic regression analysis, impaired glucose tolerance was the major predictor of worsening to diabetes (relative risk 4.17; 95% confidence interval 1.80-9.63). Age and sex were also statistically significant predictors (p < 0.05), and family history of diabetes was almost significant (p = 0.057). Body mass index was not an independent and significant risk factor in this study. However, the rise in body mass index was larger in those who progressed to diabetes mellitus type 2 than in those who did not. CONCLUSIONS The incidence of diabetes mellitus type 2 found in Lejona was similar to that reported in other european countries. Subjects having impaired glucose tolerance as well as those with elevated blood glucose levels are at higher risk of worsening to diabetes mellitus type 2. Body mass index seems to play a precipitating role in the progression to diabetes mellitus type 2.
Human Coinfection with Borrelia burgdorferi and Babesia microti in the United States

Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, and Babesia microti, a causative agent of babesiosis, are increasingly implicated in the growing tick-borne disease burden in the northeastern United States. These pathogens are transmitted via the bite of an infected tick vector, Ixodes scapularis, which is capable of harboring and inoculating a host with multiple pathogens simultaneously. Clinical presentation of the diseases is heterogeneous and ranges from mild flu-like symptoms to near-fatal cardiac arrhythmias. While the reason for the variability is not known, the possibility exists that concomitant infection with both B. burgdorferi and B. microti may synergistically increase disease severity. In an effort to clarify the current state of understanding regarding coinfection with B. burgdorferi and B. microti, in this review, we discuss the geographical distribution and pathogenesis of Lyme disease and babesiosis in the United States, the immunological response of humans to B. burgdorferi or B. microti infection, the existing knowledge regarding coinfection disease pathology, and critical factors that have led to ambiguity in the literature regarding coinfection, in order to eliminate confusion in future experimental design and investigation.
Pareto efficient multi-objective test case selection

Previous work has treated test case selection as a single objective optimisation problem. This paper introduces the concept of Pareto efficiency to test case selection. The Pareto efficient approach takes multiple objectives such as code coverage, past fault-detection history and execution cost, and constructs a group of non-dominating, equivalently optimal test case subsets. The paper describes the potential bene? ts of Pareto efficient multi-objective test case selection, illustrating with empirical studies of two and three objective formulations.
Toward a low-jitter 10 GHz pulsed source with an optical frequency comb generator.

We demonstrate low residual timing jitter of 10 GHz pulses from a 1.55 ? m optical frequency comb generator based on a doubly-resonant electro-optic modulator. The comb spectral phase is shown to be linear but of different slopes for the two sides of the optical spectrum. The linear phase delay predicts well the measured timing delay of the two pulse trains from the comb generator. The pulse timing jitter is analyzed, and we illustrate that the pump laser's linewidth plays a dominant role in the timing jitter. For Fourier frequencies from 1 Hz to 10 MHz, integrated residual timing jitter at 10 GHz was reduced from approximately 94 fs to approximately 8 fs when the pump laser's linewidth was reduced from approximately 10 MHz to approximately 1 kHz. An electronic servo was then used to stabilize the Fabry-Pérot cavity in the comb generator. Integrated residual timing jitter was further reduced to approximately 6 fs, and the corresponding residual phase noise power density is -105 dBc/Hz at 1 Hz frequency offset from the 10 GHz pulse carrier.
An empirical study of hot/cold data separation policies in solid state drives (SSDs)

Separating hot data from cold data is known to allow for efficient management of NAND flash memory in Solid State Drives (SSDs). However, most of previous work has been evaluated with the trace-driven simulations under different workloads and testing conditions. The goal of this paper is to empirically study the performance, computation overhead, and memory consumption of the existing hot/cold data separation policies on a real SSD platform. After devising a general framework where a different policy can be easily plugged in, we have evaluated three hot/cold data separation policies: 2-level LRU (LRU), Multiple Bloom Filter (MBF), and Dynamic dAta Clustering (DAC). Our evaluation results show that DAC performs best, improving the performance by up to 58% in real workloads with a reasonable computation and memory overhead.