Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
MR Imaging Findings in Patients with Secondary Intracranial Hypertension

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: IH can alter the configuration of anatomic structures of the central nervous system. We determined the sensitivity and specificity of MR imaging to detect these changes in patients with secondary IH. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients (n = 36) with IH were prospectively investigated with MR imaging and were matched to 36 controls. MR images were evaluated for elongation and edema of the optic nerves, protrusion of the optic disc, flattening of the posterior sclera, height of the pituitary gland, and width of the optic nerve sheath. On MRV, we recorded venous sinus abnormalities and measured the luminal width of the superior ophthalmic veins. A grading score was introduced to define cranial venous outflow obstruction. RESULTS: Cranial venous outflow obstruction and ONS hydrops were the most valid signs indicating IH with a sensitivity of 94% and 92% and a specificity of 100% and 89%, respectively. Sensitivities and specificities were 56% and 97% for reduced pituitary height, 64% and 78% for flattening of the posterior sclera, 31% and 97% for widening of the superior ophthalmic veins, 33% and 100% for optic disc protrusion, 14% and 100% for optic nerve edema, and 6% and 100% for elongation of the optic nerve. At least 2 MR imaging findings could be demonstrated in each patient but in none of the controls. The number of positive MR imaging findings correlated with CSF pressure (r = 0.62, P = .01). CONCLUSIONS: The combination of cranial and orbital MR imaging and MRV can be highly sensitive and specific in the diagnosis of patients with IH.
Concept Mapping in Science Education Assessment: An Approach to Computer-Supported Achievement Tests in Interdisciplinary Hypermedia Learning Environment

The acquisition of conceptual knowledge is a central aim in science education. In this study, an interdisciplinary hypermedia-media assisted learning unit about hibernation and thermodynamics was developed and evaluated. But the assessment of interdisciplinary knowledge is not trivial. Therefore, concept mapping procedures were used to assess the cognitive effects within this complex knowledge domain. Learners constructed in a pre-post-test research design computer-supported concept maps, which were analysed with specific software. For data analysis, structural attributes and correspondence to a targeted reference map were used. The results showed higher-order domain-specific knowledge structures after the intervention, which indicate successful interdisciplinary learning with the hypermedia learning environment. In general, the benefit of computer-assisted concept mapping assessment for science education practice is discussed.
Renal haemodynamic responses to exogenous and endogenous adenosine in conscious dogs

1 Adenosine has been suggested to be the mediator of a metabolic feedback mechanism which transfers acute changes in the tubular load into opposite changes in renal blood flow (RBF). The goal of the present experiments was to assess the importance of endogenously formed adenosine as a ‘homeostatic metabolite’ during short‐term changes in metabolic demand. 2 In nine chronically instrumented conscious foxhounds, both the direct effects of adenosine injections (10, 30 and 100 nmol) into the renal artery and the temporal changes of RBF after short renal artery occlusions (15, 30 and 60 s duration), the most widely used experimental model to study the metabolic feedback mechanism in vivo, were studied. 3 Intrarenal bolus injections of adenosine (10, 30 and 100 nmol) induced dose‐dependent decreases of RBF (RBF: −34 ± 5, −59 ± 4 and −74 ± 4 %, respectively). This vasoconstrictor effect of adenosine was significantly larger (RBF: −51 ± 4, −68 ± 4 and −83 ± 3 %, respectively) when the dogs received a low salt diet. 4 The post‐occlusive responses were characterized by a transient hyperaemia with no detectable drop of RBF below the preocclusion level. The post‐occlusive responses were affected neither by changes in local angiotensin II levels, nor by intrarenal infusions of hypertonic NaCl or blockade of A1 adenosine receptors. 5 When intrarenal adenosine levels were elevated by infusion of the adenosine uptake inhibitor dipyridamole, a transient, although weak, post‐occlusive vasoconstriction was detected. 6 In summary, the present data demonstrate that adenosine acts as a potent renal vasoconstrictor in the conscious dog. The endogenous production of adenosine during short‐lasting occlusions of the renal artery, however, appears to be too small to induce a post‐occlusive vasoconstrictor response of RBF. These results suggest that a metabolic feedback with adenosine as ‘homeostatic metabolite’ is of minor importance in the short‐term regulation of RBF in the conscious, unstressed animal.
Online matching with concave returns

We consider a significant generalization of the Adwords problem by allowing arbitrary concave returns, and we characterize the optimal competitive ratio achievable. The problem considers a sequence of items arriving online that have to be allocated to agents, with different agents bidding different amounts. The objective function is the sum, over each agent i, of a monotonically non-decreasing concave function Mi : R+ -> R+ of the total amount allocated to i. All variants of online matching problems (including the Adwords problem) studied in the literature consider the special case of budgeted linear functions, that is, functions of the form Mi(ui) = min {ui,Bi} for some constant Bi. The distinguishing feature of this paper is in allowing arbitrary concave returns. The main result of this paper is that for each concave function M, there exists a constant F(M) ≤ 1 such that: there exists an algorithm with competitive ratio of miniF(Mi), independent of the sequence of items. No algorithm has a competitive ratio larger than F(M) over all instances with Mi= M for all i. Our algorithm is based on the primal-dual paradigm and makes use of convex programming duality. The upper bounds are obtained by formulating the task of finding the right counterexample as an optimization problem. This path takes us through the calculus of variations which deals with optimizing over continuous functions. The algorithm and the upper bound are related to each other via a set of differential equations, which points to a certain kind of duality between them.
Public media communications about H1N1, risk perceptions and immunization behaviours: A Quebec–France comparison

During the H1N1 pandemic, governments tailored their communications plans in order to influence risk perception and promote public compliance with the public health plan measures. Considering the volume and the content of calls to flu information centres as indicators of the public risk perception, this mixed method study compares the relation between public communications, risk perception and immunization behaviour in Quebec and France. Results suggest that advocating for clear information and coordination between health authorities and the media promotes adherence to preventive behaviour. However, over-exaggerating the risks and minimizing the population’s agency may undermine health authority credibility.
The Effect of Foreign Direct Investment on Economic Growth: Evidence from South Africa

Foreign direct investment amongst other mechanisms provides capital inflow meant to stimulate economic growth. Apart from promoting economic growth, FDI can also lead to increase in employment, technology, technical knowhow and managerial skills. South Africa has implemented various policy initiatives in attempts to attract foreign investment. This study investigates on the effect of foreign direct investment on economic growth, with particular reference to the South African economy. The period of study is from 1980 to 2010. Johansen cointegration and Vector Error Correction Modelling (VECM) framework where utilised as estimation techniques. Variables specified in the methodology include real gross domestic product (RGDP), foreign direct investment (FDI), domestic investment (INVE), real exchange rate (REXCH) and foreign marketable debt (DEBT). The long run results showed that FDI, REXCH and DEBT have a negative impact on growth. INVE has a positive impact on growth. The impulse response and variance decomposition analysis complemented the long and short-run findings. Conclusions and policy recommendations were made using these results.
Watching 360° Videos Together

360° videos are made using omnidirectional cameras that capture a sphere around the camera. Viewers get an immersive experience by freely changing their field of view around the sphere. The problem is that current interfaces are designed for a single user, and we do not know what challenges groups of people will have when viewing these videos together. We report on the findings of a study where 16 pairs of participants watched 360° videos together in a "guided tour" scenario. Our findings indicate that while participants enjoyed the ability to view the scene independently, this caused challenges establishing joint references, leading to breakdowns in conversation. We conclude by discussing how gaze awareness widgets and gesturing mechanisms may support smoother collaborative interaction around collaborative viewing of 360° videos.
Comparison of noninvasive devices for assessing central blood pressure parameters: what to compare, when and why.

I n this issue of the Journal of Hypertension two separate groups of investigators report on the precision and accuracy of new devices designed to noninvasively assess central SBP (cSBP). Both groups (Pucci et al. [1] and Ding et al. [2]) present carefully performed and thoroughly analyzed work comparing the effects of the different inherent approaches of the specific devices for the estimation of central blood pressure (BP). They also report on the impact of the different methods of calibration that can be used in these noninvasive devices for estimating cSBP. Whereas most scrutiny and discussion is usually, and understandably, of the inherent ‘accuracy’ of these new devices, it is also important that they be considered in the broader context of what a user might expect of a particular device if it is used clinically. This type of wider discussion is in general lacking and is often hampered by lack of suitable and appropriate basic data – the work presented in this issue by the two groups is a welcome addition and provides very relevant performance data on three devices proposed for use in estimating cSBP [SpygmoCor (AtCor Medical, Sydney, Australia), Vicorder (Skidmore Medical, Bristol, UK) and Omron HEM 9000AI (Omron Healthcare, Kyoto, Japan)]. The SphygmoCor device represents well known early technology for this application with the other two being relative newcomers. It is important to divorce issues around accuracy from those around applicability and clinical or research usefulness. Full consideration of clinical usefulness is outside the topic of this commentary and whereas the jury is still out on the additional advantage of general assessment of central BP, the applicability of any clinical measurement must be assessed in the context of patient benefit.
Digital Data Streams: Creating Value from the Real-Time Flow of Big Data

There is no escaping the Big Data hype. Vendors are peddling Big Data solutions; consulting firms employ Big Data specialists; Big Data conferences are aplenty. There is a rush to extract golden nuggets (of insight) from mountains (of data). By focusing merely on the mountain (of Big Data), these adventurers are overlooking the source of the revolution—namely, the many digital data streams (DDSs) that create Big Data—and the opportunity to improve real-time decision making. This article discusses the characteristics of DDSs, describes their common structure, and offers guidelines to enable firms to profit from their untapped potential.
Characterization of the Elongation Complex of Dengue Virus RNA Polymerase

Dengue virus (DENV) infects 50–100 million people worldwide per year, causing severe public health problems. DENV RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, an attractive target for drug development, catalyzes de novo replication of the viral genome in three phases: initiation, transition, and elongation. The aim of this work was to characterize the mechanism of nucleotide addition catalyzed by the polymerase domain of DENV serotype 2 during elongation using transient kinetic methods. We measured the kinetics of formation of the elongation complex containing the polymerase and a double-stranded RNA by preincubation experiments. The elongation complex assembly is slow, following a one-step binding mechanism with an association rate of 0.0016 ± 0.0001 μm−1s−1 and a dissociation rate of 0.00020 ± 0.00005 s−1 at 37 °C. The elongation complex assembly is 6 times slower at 30 °C and requires Mg2+ during preincubation. The assembled elongation complex incorporates a correct nucleotide, GTP, to the primer with a Kd of 275 ± 52 μm and kpol of 18 ± 1 s−1. The fidelity of the polymerase is 1/34,000, 1/59,000, 1/135,000 for misincorporation of UTP, ATP, and CTP opposite CMP in the template, respectively. The fidelity of DENV polymerase is comparable with HIV reverse transcriptase and the poliovirus polymerase. This work reports the first description of presteady-state kinetics and fidelity for an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase from the Flaviviridae family.
Lethal control of an apex predator has unintended cascading effects on forest mammal assemblages

Disruption to species-interaction networks caused by irruptions of herbivores and mesopredators following extirpation of apex predators is a global driver of ecosystem reorganization and biodiversity loss. Most studies of apex predators' ecological roles focus on effects arising from their interactions with herbivores or mesopredators in isolation, but rarely consider how the effects of herbivores and mesopredators interact. Here, we provide evidence that multiple cascade pathways induced by lethal control of an apex predator, the dingo, drive unintended shifts in forest ecosystem structure. We compared mammal assemblages and understorey structure at seven sites in southern Australia. Each site comprised an area where dingoes were poisoned and an area without control. The effects of dingo control on mammals scaled with body size. Activity of herbivorous macropods, arboreal mammals and a mesopredator, the red fox, were greater, but understorey vegetation sparser and abundances of small mammals lower, where dingoes were controlled. Structural equation modelling suggested that both predation by foxes and depletion of understorey vegetation by macropods were related to small mammal decline at poisoned sites. Our study suggests that apex predators’ suppressive effects on herbivores and mesopredators occur simultaneously and should be considered in tandem in order to appreciate the extent of apex predators’ indirect effects.
Effect of Intensive Glycemic Control on Levels of Markers of Inflammation in Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus in the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial

Background—Type 1 diabetes mellitus is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) that is not fully explained by conventional risk factors. The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) showed that intensive diabetes therapy reduced levels of LDL cholesterol and triglycerides but increased the risk of major weight gain, which might adversely affect CVD risk. The present study examined the effect of intensive therapy on levels of several markers of inflammation that have been linked to risk of CVD. Methods and Results—We measured levels of inflammatory biomarkers in stored baseline and 3-year follow-up serum specimens from a random sample of 385 participants in the DCCT, a multicenter trial in which 1441 subjects aged 13 to 39 years with type 1 diabetes mellitus were randomized to intensive or conventional diabetes treatment. The markers included high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), soluble intercellular adhesion molecule type 1 (sICAM-1), soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule type 1 (sVCAM-1), and the 55-kDa soluble tumor necrosis factor-α receptor 1 (sTNF-R1). We examined the effect of intensive therapy on the change in levels of the inflammatory markers. In unadjusted analyses, levels of hsCRP and sTNF-R1 increased in both treatment groups after 3 years of follow-up, with no significant difference between groups for hsCRP (P=0.53) but with a greater increase of sTNF-R1 in the intensive therapy group (P=0.002). In contrast, mean levels of sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 decreased among participants assigned to intensive therapy, whereas they did not change among those in the conventional treatment group (P=0.03 for sICAM-1; P=0.03 for sVCAM-1). After adjustment for baseline levels and other factors, intensive therapy remained associated with a significant decrease in sICAM-1 (P=0.02) and an increase in sTNF-R1 (P=0.03). For hsCRP, there was a significant interaction between the top third of weight gain and treatment assignment (P=0.03). In subgroup analyses among subjects undergoing intensive therapy, hsCRP levels increased among those who gained the most weight, whereas it decreased among those in the bottom third of weight gain (P=0.0004). Conclusions—Intensive therapy in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus reduced levels of sICAM-1 and increased levels of sTNF-R1 and of hsCRP among those who gained weight. These data demonstrate that the effect of intensive therapy on inflammation is complex and, to the extent that hsCRP is a risk factor, suggest that the risk of atherosclerosis among diabetic patients may be influenced by the degree of weight gain while undergoing intensive therapy.
Gatekeeper: Supporting Bandwidth Guarantees for Multi-tenant Datacenter Networks

Cloud environments should provide network performance isolation for co-located untrusted tenants in a virtualized datacenter. We present key properties that a performance isolation solution should satisfy, and present our progress on Gatekeeper, a system designed to meet these requirements. Experiments on our Xen-based implementation of Gatekeeper in a datacenter cluster demonstrate effective and flexible control of ingress/egress link bandwidth for tenant virtual machines under both TCP and greedy unresponsive UDP traffic.
Deficiency in Nucleotide Excision Repair Family Gene Activity, Especially ERCC3, Is Associated with Non-Pigmented Hair Fiber Growth

We conducted a microarray study to discover gene expression patterns associated with a lack of melanogenesis in non-pigmented hair follicles (HF) by microarray. Pigmented and non-pigmented HFs were collected and micro-dissected into the hair bulb (HB) and the upper hair sheaths (HS) including the bulge region. In comparison to pigmented HS and HBs, nucleotide excision repair (NER) family genes ERCC1, ERCC2, ERCC3, ERCC4, ERCC5, ERCC6, XPA, NTPBP, HCNP, DDB2 and POLH exhibited statistically significantly lower expression in non- pigmented HS and HBs. Quantitative PCR verified microarray data and identified ERCC3 as highly differentially expressed. Immunohistochemistry confirmed ERCC3 expression in HF melanocytes. A reduction in ERCC3 by siRNA interference in human melanocytes in vitro reduced their tyrosinase production ability. Our results suggest that loss of NER gene function is associated with a loss of melanin production capacity. This may be due to reduced gene transcription and/or reduced DNA repair in melanocytes which may eventually lead to cell death. These results provide novel information with regard to melanogenesis and its regulation.
Topical Review

Fetal tissues are well known for their therapeutic potential. They contain numerous growth factors, cytokines, and matrix components that promote regeneration of tissues while downregulating inflammation and scar formation. As a result, use of these treatments has expanded over the previous 20 years throughout various surgical specialties, including orthopaedics. With improved methods of sterilization, processing, and storage, surgeons need to be informed about the potential benefits of fetal tissue in foot and ankle surgery. The aim of this review is to provide a brief historical background, basic anatomy and physiology, and a current review of the literature in regard to chronic wounds, diabetic foot ulcerations, plantar fasciitis, tendon repair, adhesion prevention, nerve repair, and bone healing. Levels of Evidence: Level V: Expert Opinion
PPARγ regulates hypoxia‐induced Nox4 expression in human pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells through NF‐κB

The Nox4 NADPH oxidase, which is highly expressed in vascular wall cells, is selectively upregulated in the lungs of human subjects and experimental animals with pulmonary hypertension. We demonstrated that rosiglitazone, a synthetic PPARγ agonist, attenuated hypoxia‐induced pulmonary hypertension, vascular remodeling, Nox4 induction and reactive oxygen species generation in the mouse lung. The current study examined PPARγ‐regulated, hypoxia‐induced Nox4 expression in human pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (HPASMC). Exposure to 1% oxygen for 72 hours increased Nox4 gene expression and HPASMC H2O2 production, both of which were reduced by treatment with rosiglitazone or with siRNA to Nox4. Rosiglitazone also attenuated hypoxia‐induced HPASMC proliferation and the activity of a Nox4 promoter luciferase reporter. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays demonstrated that hypoxic‐induced binding of the NF‐κB subunits, p65 and C‐rel, to the Nox4 promoter was attenuated by rosiglitazone. The role of NF‐κB in Nox4 regulation was further supported by demonstrating that overexpression of p65 stimulated Nox4 promoter activity whereas siRNA to p50 or p65 attenuated hypoxic‐stimulated Nox4 promoter activity. These results provide novel evidence for NF‐κB‐mediated stimulation of Nox4 expression in HPASMC that can be negatively regulated by PPARγ.
Automated detection of branch dimensions in woody skeletons of leafless fruit tree canopies

Light driven physiological processes of tree canopies need to be modelled based on detailed 3Dcanopy structure – we explore the possibilities offered by terrestrial LIDAR to automatically represent woody skeletons of leafless trees as a basis for adequate models of canopy structure. The automatic evaluation method for LIDAR data of fruit trees is based on a previously developed skeletonization algorithm. Branch length was chosen as example parameter to test the performance of the algorithm with manually measured data. The extraction of the brach length utilizes a graph splitting procedure to extract the individual branches from the skeleton. The algorithm is validated against six leafless apple trees and one cherry tree with small blossoms. The validation against a manually measured ground truth resulted in a good correlation up to 0.81.
Half-filled orbital and unconventional geometry of a common dopant in Si(001)

The determining factor of the bulk properties of doped Si is the column rather than the row in the periodic table from which the dopants are drawn. It is unknown whether the basic properties of dopants at surfaces and interfaces, steadily growing in importance as microelectronic devices shrink, are also solely governed by their column of origin. The common light impurity P replaces individual Si atoms and maintains the integrity of the dimer superstructure of the Si(001) surface, but loses its valence electrons to surface states. Here we report that isolated heavy dopants are entirely different: Bi atoms form pairs with Si vacancies, retain their electrons and have highly localized, half-filled orbitals.