Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Traffic-related Air Pollution in Relation to Cognitive Function in Older Adults

Background: Few epidemiologic studies have investigated associations of air pollution with cognition in older adults, and none has specifically compared associations across particle sources. We investigated whether exposure to particulate air pollution, characterized by size and source, was associated with cognitive function and decline in cognitive function. Methods: We included participants of the Whitehall II cohort who were residents of greater London and who attended the medical examination in study wave 2007–2009 (n = 2867). Annual average concentrations of particulate matter (PM) (PM10 and PM2.5 from all sources and from traffic exhaust) were modeled at resolution of 20 × 20 m for 2003–2009. We investigated the relationship between exposure to particles and a cognitive battery composed of tests of reasoning, memory, and phonemic and semantic fluency. We also investigated exposure in relation to decline in these tests over 5 years. Results: Mean age of participants was 66 (standard deviation = 6) years. All particle metrics were associated with lower scores in reasoning and memory measured in the 2007–2009 wave but not with lower verbal fluency. Higher PM2.5 of 1.1 &mgr;g/m3 (lag 4) was associated with a 0.03 (95% confidence interval = −0.06 to 0.002) 5-year decline in standardized memory score and a 0.04 (−0.07 to −0.01) decline when restricted to participants remaining in London between study waves. Conclusions: This study provides support for an association between particulate air pollution and some measures of cognitive function, as well as decline over time in cognition; however, it does not support the hypothesis that traffic-related particles are more strongly associated with cognitive function than particles from all sources.
Amyloid precursor proteins are constituents of the presynaptic active zone

The amyloid precursor protein (APP) and its mammalian homologs, APLP1, APLP2, have been allocated to an organellar pool residing in the Golgi apparatus and in endosomal compartments, and in its mature form to a cell surface‐localized pool. In the brain, all APPs are restricted to neurons; however, their precise localization at the plasma membrane remained enigmatic. Employing a variety of subcellular fractionation steps, we isolated two synaptic vesicle (SV) pools from rat and mouse brain, a pool consisting of synaptic vesicles only and a pool comprising SV docked to the presynaptic plasma membrane. Immunopurification of these two pools using a monoclonal antibody directed against the 12 membrane span synaptic vesicle protein2 (SV2) demonstrated unambiguously that APP, APLP1 and APLP2 are constituents of the active zone of murine brain but essentially absent from free synaptic vesicles. The specificity of immunodetection was confirmed by analyzing the respective knock‐out animals. The fractionation experiments further revealed that APP is accumulated in the fraction containing docked synaptic vesicles. These data present novel insights into the subsynaptic localization of APPs and are a prerequisite for unraveling the physiological role of all mature APP proteins in synaptic physiology.
A splitting result for the free loop space of spheres and projective spaces

Let X be a 1-connected compact space such that the algebra H ∗ (X; F2) is generated by one single element. We compute the cohomology of the free loop space H ∗ (�X; F2) including the Steenrod algebra action. When X is a projective space CP n , HP n , the Cayley projective plane CaP 2 or a sphere S m we obtain a splitting result for integral and mod two cohomology of the suspension spectrum � ∞ (�X)+. The splitting is in terms of � ∞ X+ and the Thom spaces Th(q�), q ≥ 0 of the q-fold Whitney sums of the tangent bundle � over X.
Management of Undescended Testis

Background. Undescended testis (UDT) or cryptorchidism is the most common genital anomaly seen in boys and can be treated surgically by orchidopexy. The age at which orchidopexy should be performed is controversial for both congenital and acquired UDT. Methods. A decision analysis is performed in which all available knowledge is combined to assess the outcomes of orchidopexy at different ages. Results. Without surgery, unilateral congenital UDT and bilateral congenital UDT are associated with average losses in quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) of 1.53 QALYs (3% discounting 0.66 QALYs) and 5.23 QALYs (1.91 QALYs), respectively. Surgery reduces this QALY loss to on average 0.84 QALYs (0.21 QALYs) for unilateral UDT and 1.66 QALYs (0.40 QALYs) for bilateral UDT. Surgery at detection will lead to the lowest QALY loss of 0.91 (0.34) and 1.73 (0.60) QALYs, respectively, for unilateral and bilateral acquired UDT compared with surgery during puberty and no surgery. No sensitivity analysis is able to change the preferences for these strategies. Conclusions. Based on our decision analytic model using societal valuations of health outcomes, surgery for unilateral UDT (both congenital and acquired) yielded the lowest loss in QALYs. Given the modest differences in outcomes, there is room for patient (or parent) preference with respect to the performance and timing of surgery in case of unilateral UDT. For bilateral UDT (both congenital and acquired), orchidopexy at any age provides considerable benefit, in particular through improved fertility. As there is no strong effect of timing, the age at which orchidopexy is performed should be discussed with the parents and the patient. More clinical evidence on issues related to timing may in the future modify these results and hence this advice.
Processing bimodal stimuli: integrality/separability of color and orientation

We examined how two distinct stimulus features, orientation and color, interact as contributions to global stimulus dissimilarity. Five subjects rated dissimilarity between pairs of bars (N = 30) varying in color (four cardinal hues, plus white) and orientation (six angles at 30° intervals). An exploratory analysis with individual-differences multidimensional scaling (MDS) resulted in a 5D solution, with two dimensions required to accommodate the circular sequence of the angular attribute, and red-green, blue-yellow and achromatic axes for the color attribute. Weights of the orientation subspace relative to the color subspace varied among the subjects, from a 0.32:0.61 ratio to 0.53:0.44, emphasis shifting between color and orientation. In addition to Euclidean metric, we modeled the interaction of color and orientation using Minkowski power metrics across a range of Minkowski exponents p, including the city-block (p = 1), Euclidean (p = 2) and Dominance metric (p → ∞) as special cases. For averaged data, p ~ 1.3 provided the best fit, i.e., intermediate between separable and integral features. For individual subjects, however, the metric exponent varied significantly from p = 0.7 to p = 3.1, indicating a subject-specific rule for combining color and orientation, as in Tversky and Gati's variable-weights model. No relationship was apparent between dimensional weights and individual p exponents. Factors affecting dimensional integrality are discussed, including possible underlying neural mechanisms where the interaction of the low-level vision attributes orientation and color might shift between uncorrelated (p = 1) or correlated (p ≥ 2) forms.
Role of misorientation angle in twinning and dislocation slip for nano Mg bicrystals with [2-1-10] symmetric tilt grain boundaries under uniaxial compression and tension

Atomistic modeling is employed to investigate the role of different mechanisms in the plastic response of Mg bicrystal with [2-1-10] symmetric tilt grain boundary (STGB). Excess potential energies for 30 stable STGBs with different misorientation angles are used to different models. The structure of [2-1-10] STGB consists of a base plane and an array of intrinsic grain boundary dislocations (GBDs). The STGB structures varying with the misorientation angle influence the deformation mode, and nucleation and propagation of twins and basal dislocations in the bicrystal models. Uniaxial compression and tension are imposed on 14 bicrystal models containing STGBs under a strain rate of 1 × 108 s−1 at 300 K. For the hcp lattice, non-symmetry of compressive and tensile response is demonstrated. Dislocation nucleation prefers to occur from the GBDs where intrinsic stacking fault facets may nucleate prior to the dislocation emission. Through reaction with (01-11) twin boundary (TB), the basal dislocation from matrix is dissociated into a residual dislocation and a pyramidal dislocation which can glide along the pyramidal plane of twin. While the basal dislocation reacting with (01-13) TB is dissociated into some serrated facets.
Real world performance of association rule algorithms

This study compares five well-known association rule algorithms using three real-world datasets and an artificial dataset. The experimental results confirm the performance improvements previously claimed by the authors on the artificial data, but some of these gains do not carry over to the real datasets, indicating overfitting of the algorithms to the IBM artificial dataset. More importantly, we found that the choice of algorithm only matters at support levels that generate more rules than would be useful in practice. For support levels that generate less than 1,000,000 rules, which is much more than humans can handle and is sufficient for prediction purposes where data is loaded into RAM, Apriori finishes processing in less than 10 minutes. On our datasets, we observed super-exponential growth in the number of rules. On one of our datasets, a 0.02% change in the support increased the number of rules from less than a million to over a billion, implying that outside a very narrow range of support values, the choice of algorithm is irrelevant.
60 GHz Multi-Gigabit Indoor WLANs: Dream or Reality?

The millimeter-wave (mmWave) technology, recently standardized by IEEE 802.11ad, is emerging as an attractive alternative to the traditional 2.4/5GHz wireless systems, promising multi-Gigabit wireless throughput. However, the high attenuation and vulnerability to blockage of 60 GHz links have limited its applications (until recently) to short-range, line-of-sight, static scenarios. On the other hand, the question of whether it is feasible to build general-purpose WLANs out of mmWave radios in dynamic indoor environments with non-line-of-sight links remains largely unanswered. In this paper, through extensive measurements with COTS 802.11ad hardware in an indoor office environment, we investigate the question of whether the mmWave technology, in spite of its unique propagation characteristics, can serve as a viable choice for providing multi-Gigabit ubiquitous wireless indoor connectivity. We study the range of 60 GHz transmissions in indoor environments, the impact of antenna height, location, orientation, and distance on 60 GHz performance, the interaction among metrics from different layers of the network stack, the increased opportunities for spatial reuse, and the impact of human blockage. Our results reveal a number of challenges that we have to address for 60 GHz multi-gigabit WLANs to become a reality.
Surveillance of Human Echinococcosis in Castilla-Leon (Spain) between 2000-2012

Abstract Background Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is an important health problem in many areas of the world including the Mediterranean region. However, the real CE epidemiological situation is not well established. In fact, it is possible that CE is a re-emerging disease due to the weakness of current control programs. Methodology We performed a retrospective observational study of inpatients diagnosed with CE from January 2000 to December 2012 in the Western Spain Public Health-Care System. Principal findings During the study period, 5510 cases of CE were diagnosed and 3161 (57.4%) of the cases were males. The age mean and standard deviation were 67.8 ± 16.98 years old, respectively, and 634 patients (11.5%) were younger than 45 years old. A total of 1568 patients (28.5%) had CE as the primary diagnosis, and it was most frequently described in patients <45 years old. Futhermore, a secondary diagnosis of CE was usually found in patients >70 year old associated with other causes of comorbidity. The period incidence rate was 17 cases per 105 person-years and was significantly higher when compared to the incidence declared through the Notifiable Disease System (1.88 cases per 105 person-years; p<0.001). Conclusions CE in western Spain is an underestimated parasitic disease. It has an active transmission, with an occurrence in pediatric cases, but has decreased in the recent years. The systematic search of Hospital Discharge Records of the National Health System Register (HDR) may be a more accurate method than other methods for the estimation of the incidence of CE in endemic areas.
Control schemes in a generalized utility for parallel branch-and-bound algorithms

Branch-and-bound algorithms are general methods applicable to various combinatorial optimization problems and parallelization is one of the most promising methods for improving these algorithms. Parallel branch-and-bound algorithm implementations can be divided into two types based on whether a central or a distributed control scheme is used. Central control schemes have reduced scalability because of bottleneck problems which are frequently encountered. In order to solve problem cases that cannot be solved with a sequential branch-and-bound algorithm distributed control schemes are necessary. However, compared to central control schemes, higher efficiency is not always achieved through the use of a distributed control scheme. A mixed control scheme is proposed, changing between the two different types of control schemes during execution. In addition, a dynamic load balancing strategy is applied in the distributed control scheme. Performance evaluation for three different cases is carried out: central, distributed and mixed control schemes. Several TSP instances from the TSPLIB are experimentally solved, using up to 101 workstations. The results of these experiments show that the mixed control scheme is one of the most promising control schemes and furthermore, the hybrid selection rule, which was introduced in the authors' previous work, has an advantage in parallel branch-and-bound algorithms.
Comparison of the Therapeutic Effect of Teriparatide With That of Combined Vertebroplasty With Antiresorptive Agents for the Treatment of New-onset Adjacent Vertebral Compression Fracture After Percutaneous Vertebroplasty

Study Design: Comparing a prospective group of 32 patients, who underwent percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) and who were treated with teriparatide for at least 18 months after a new-onset adjacent vertebral compression fracture (VCF), and compared it with a retrospective group of 33 patients, who received antiresorptive agents combined with repeated PVPs for post-PVP new-onset adjacent VCFs. Objective: This comparative study aimed to assess the immediate and mid-term efficacy and safety of teriparatide for treating new adjacent VCFs after vertebroplasty. Summary of Background Data: Vertebroplasty may provoke fractures in adjacent, nonaugmented vertebrae. Subsequent VCFs can occur much sooner and more frequently after PVPs. Antiresorptive agents do not effectively prevent new-onset VCFs or prompt pain relief. Treatment with teriparatide is effective and rapid in increasing spinal bone mineral density (BMD) and in decreasing vertebral fracture risk in patients with osteoporosis. Methods: Relevant clinical data were compared between a prospective group of patients who received teriparatide and a retrospective group of patients who received antiresorptive agents and repeated PVPs for new-onset adjacent VCFs after PVP. Results: Data in prospective group, including visual analogue scale scores and BMD were compared with those in a retrospective group. In group A, only 1 new-onset VCF occurred during the mean follow-up period of 22.56 months. In group B, 5 patients (6 vertebrae) developed new-onset VCFs after the second PVP, and 2 of these 5 patients had additional new VCFs after the third PVP. Teriparatide significantly reduced the risk of new VCFs after vertebroplasty (odds ratio=0.18; 95% confidence interval, 0.02–1.64). The increase of lumbar spine BMD was 26.32% after 18 months of treatment with teriparatide and 4.62% after 18 months of treatment with antiresorptive agents. In addition, at the 18-month follow-up, mean visual analogue scale scores had decreased from 8.03±1.97–1.37±0.52 in the teriparatide group and from 7.91±1.95–4.23±1.21 in the antiresorptive group. Conclusions: For the treatment of new-onset adjacent VCF after PVPs, the therapeutic effects of teriparatide is better than that of the combined vertebroplasty and an antiresorptive agent in fracture prevention, BMD change, and sustained pain relief.
A 16-Channel Receive, Forced Current Excitation Dual-Transmit Coil for Breast Imaging at 7T

Purpose To enable high spatial and temporal breast imaging resolution via combined use of high field MRI, array coils, and forced current excitation (FCE) multi channel transmit. Materials and Methods A unilateral 16-channel receive array insert was designed for use in a transmit volume coil optimized for quadrature operation with dual-transmit RF shimming at 7T. Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) maps, g-factor maps, and high spatial and temporal resolution in vivo images were acquired to demonstrate the utility of the coil architecture. Results The dual-transmit FCE coil provided homogeneous excitation and the array provided an increase in average SNR of 3.3 times (max 10.8, min 1.5) compared to the volume coil in transmit/receive mode. High resolution accelerated in vivo breast imaging demonstrated the ability to achieve isotropic spatial resolution of 0.5 mm within clinically relevant 90 s scan times, as well as the ability to perform 1.0 mm isotropic resolution imaging, 7 s per dynamics, with the use of bidirectional SENSE acceleration of up to R = 9. Conclusion The FCE design of the transmit coil easily accommodates the addition of a sixteen channel array coil. The improved spatial and temporal resolution provided by the high-field array coil with FCE dual-channel transmit will ultimately be beneficial in lesion detection and characterization.
Systemic mycoplasmosis with dystocia and abortion in a North American bison (Bison bison) herd

The current study describes a fatal Mycoplasma bovis infection in a North American bison (Bison bison) cow and her aborted fetus in a herd suffering unusual mortality associated with dystocia and abortion. Postmortem evaluation of the subject case found severe caseonecrotic bronchopneumonia, chronic fibrinous pleuritis and pulmonary sequestra, foci of caseous necrosis in the kidneys, and necrotizing endometritis and placentitis. Histologic findings in the maternal tissues include endometrial and placental necrotizing vasculitis and changes in the lung similar to those previously described for M. bovis–associated pneumonia in feedlot bison. Gross and microscopic lesions were not observed in the fetus. Maternal lung, uterus, kidney, and placenta as well as fetal lung and kidney were positive for M. bovis by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) as were the Mycoplasma-like colonies cultured from these tissues. The presence of M. bovis in maternal and fetal tissues was further demonstrated using nucleic acid extracts in a pan-Mycoplasma SYBR Green PCR assay targeting the 16S-23S ribosomal RNA spacer region with post-PCR dissociation curve analysis and sequencing of the resulting amplicons. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) testing on maternal lung and uterine caruncle was strongly positive for M. bovis antigen. A variety of methods, including culture, PCR, and IHC, failed to identify other bacterial or viral pathogens in any of the tissues evaluated. These data are the first to implicate M. bovis as a cause of placentitis and abortion in bison.
Genetic causes and neonatal diagnosis of congenital isolated central hypothyroidism

Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) is the most common cause of preventable mental retardation. While CH is usually caused by abnormalities of the thyroid gland (primary CH), it may also be caused by abnormalities of the hypothalamus or pituitary, i.e. central CH. This thesis a) studies the genetic etiology of isolated central CH, b) describes the clinical characteristics of earlier described phenotypes, and c) establishes reference intervals for thyroid hormone concentrations in the neonatal period to provide cut-off values for the diagnosis of central CH. Genetic analysis in affected families detected mutations in two genes located on the X-chromosome: transducin β-like protein 1, X-linked (TBL1X), an essential subunit of the NCoR/SMRT corepressor complex, and insulin receptor substrate 4 (IRS4), an interface between tyrosine kinase receptors and their intracellular pathways. A single mutation in the transducin β-like protein 1, X-linked receptor 1 (TBL1XR1) causes Pierpont syndrome, suggesting that despite their close homology, TBL1X and TBL1XR1 do not have identical functions. IGSF1 mutations cause a phenotype including central hypothyroidism, adult macroorchidism, a delayed and disharmonious puberty, and prolactin deficiency. Despite the marked macroorchidism in males, fertility is unaffected. Finally, neonatal day-to-day reference intervals for FT4 and TSH based on an independent data meta-analysis show that commonly used cut-off values for TSH are adequate, while commonly used FT4 cut-off values are probably too low. Based on our findings, FT4 cut-off values during the first two to three weeks of life should be increased to allow for more sensitive testing.
Low-power division: comparison among implementations of radix 4, 8 and 16

Although division is less frequent than addition and multiplication, because of its longer latency it dissipates a substantial part of the energy in floating-point units. In this paper we explore the relation between the radix and the energy dissipated. Previous work has been done an radix-4 and radix-8 division. Here we extend this study to a radix-4 scheme with two overlapped radix-4 stages and compare the latency, area, and energy of the three implementations. Results show that by applying the low-power techniques the energy dissipation is reduced from 30% to 40%, with respect to the standard implementation. An additional 20% reduction can be obtained using a dual voltage. Moreover the energy dissipated to complete the division is roughly the same for the three radices. However, the power dissipation, proportional to the average current, increases with the radix. If reducing the energy is the priority, for the same latency radix-16 with dual voltage produces the smallest energy dissipation.