Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Emergency endoscopic variceal ligation in cirrhotic patients with blood clots in the stomach but no active bleeding or stigmata increases the risk of rebleeding

Background/Aims This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of emergency variceal ligation for the prevention of rebleeding in cirrhotic patients who are found on initial endoscopy to have blood clots in the stomach but no actively bleeding esophageal and gastric varices or stigmata. Methods This study included 28 cirrhotic patients who underwent emergency prophylactic EVL and 41 who underwent an elective intervention between January 2009 and June 2014. Clinical outcomes were analyzed, including the rebleeding, 6-week mortality, and rebleeding-free survival rates. Results The rebleeding rate was higher in the emergency than in the elective group (28.6% vs. 7.3%, P=0.041). Multivariate analysis showed that emergency prophylactic EVL (odds ratio [OR] = 7.4, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.634.8, P=0.012) and Child-Pugh score C (OR=10.6, 95% CI=1.4-80.8, P=0.022) were associated with rebleeding. In the emergency group, the gastric varices were associated with rebleeding (OR=12.0, 95% CI=1.7-83.5, P=0.012). Conclusion Emergency EVL may be associated with variceal rebleeding when blood clots are present in the stomach without active esophageal and gastric variceal bleeding or stigmata. Elective intervention should be considered as a safer strategy for preventing variceal rebleeding in this situation.
Adaptive traffic management for secure and efficient emergency services in smart cities

Rapid increase in number of vehicles on the roads as well as growing size of cities have led to a plethora of challenges for road traffic management authorities such as traffic congestion, accidents and air pollution. The work presented in this paper focuses on the particular problem of traffic management for emergency services, for which a delay of few minutes may cause human lives risks as well as financial losses. The goal is to reduce the latency of emergency services for vehicles such as ambulances and police cars, with minimum unnecessary disruption to the regular traffic, and preventing potential misuses. To this end, we propose to design a framework in which the Traffic Management System (TMS) may adapt by dynamically adjusting traffic lights, changing related driving policies, recommending behavior change to drivers, and applying essential security controls. The choice of an adaptation depends on the emergency severity level announced by the emergency vehicle(s). The severity level may need to be verified by corresponding authorities to preserve security measures. We discuss the details of our proposed framework and the potential challenges in the paper.
Prognostic factors during outpatient treatment for alcohol dependence: cohort study with 6 months of treatment follow-up.

AIMS To identify prognostic factors to outpatient alcohol treatment on admission as well as during the treatment period. METHODS A cohort study of n = 209 alcoholic patients (DSM-IV) during 6 months of outpatient treatment. Eight medical doctors from two hospitals were involved. Co-responsible participation in treatment was a necessary condition. At admission, we documented socio demographic factors, use of other drugs and severity of alcohol consumption. During the 6 months, we observed medication for prevention of alcohol relapse [disulfiram (DIS), acamprosate], number of sessions with the doctor, number of phases of the consultation and medication for depression. Primary outcome variables were time to first heavy relapse and abstinence of heavy alcohol consumption. These were measured with Timeline Followback. Five or more alcohol units of 10 g in one relapse day were considered heavy relapse. RESULTS The patients were 84% males, with 41 years median age; the median alcohol consumption was 192 g per day with a median duration of 13 years of heavy consumption. The median education was 6 years with 61% of the patients from lower socio-economic levels. The Kaplan-Meier heavy relapse rate at 6 months was 23%. On admission to treatment, female gender, lower socio-economic levels, cocaine use, >20 years of consumption, gamma glutamyl transferase values above normal and five or more alcohol-related problems on the Alcohol-Related Problem Questionnaire predicted worse outcomes. Having a full-time job and shorter abstinence time before treatment (until 7 days) predicted better outcomes. During the 6 months, we found that DIS for <120 days was a prognostic factor of worse outcomes. DIS for at least 120 days, >50% of adherence to consultations and more than two phases on each consultation predicted better outcomes. The combined sensitivity and specificity for DIS for at least 120 days, >50% of adherence to consultations and more than two phases on consultation regarding abstinence from heavy relapse were respectively 100 and 71%. CONCLUSIONS During 6 months of outpatient treatment, longer adherence to DIS and consultations as well as more phases in a consultation involving necessarily a co-responsible predict a good outcome independently of the patient features at admission.
Congestion control for fair resource allocation in networks with multicast flows

The problem of congestion control in networks with multirate multicast traffic along with unicast sessions has been addressed in this paper. We present a decentralized algorithm which enables the different rate-adaptive receivers in different multicast sessions to adjust their rates to satisfy some fairness criterion. We propose a one-bit explicit congestion notification (ECN) marking strategy to be used at the nodes. The congestion control mechanism does not require any per-flow state information for unicast flows at the nodes. Per receiver state information may be required for each multicast flow. The congestion control mechanism takes into account the diverse user requirements when different receivers within a multicast session have different utility functions, but does not assume the network to have any knowledge about the receiver utility functions and also converges under certain reasonable assumptions.
Association between the 15-kDa Selenoprotein and UDP-glucose:Glycoprotein Glucosyltransferase in the Endoplasmic Reticulum of Mammalian Cells*

Mammalian selenocysteine-containing proteins characterized with respect to function are involved in redox processes and exhibit distinct expression patterns and cellular locations. A recently identified 15-kDa selenoprotein (Sep15) has no homology to previously characterized proteins, and its function is not known. Here we report the intracellular localization and identification of a binding partner for this selenoprotein which implicate Sep15 in the regulation of protein folding. The native Sep15 isolated from rat prostate and mouse liver occurred in a complex with a 150-kDa protein. The latter protein was identified as UDP-glucose:glycoprotein glucosyltransferase (UGTR), the endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-resident protein, which was previously shown to be involved in the quality control of protein folding. UGTR functions by glucosylating misfolded proteins, retaining them in the ER until they are correctly folded or transferring them to degradation pathways. To determine the intracellular localization of Sep15, we expressed a green fluorescent protein-Sep15 fusion protein in CV-1 cells, and this protein was localized to the ER and possibly other perinuclear compartments. We determined that Sep15 contained the N-terminal signal peptide that was essential for translocation and that it was cleaved in the mature protein. However, C-terminal sequences of Sep15 were not involved in trafficking and retention of Sep15. The data suggest that the association between Sep15 and UGTR is responsible for maintaining the selenoprotein in the ER. This report provides the first example of the ER-resident selenoprotein and suggests a possible role of the trace element selenium in the quality control of protein folding.
Proses Komunikasi Interpersonal Antara Orang Tua Tunggal (Ibu) Dengan Anak Dalam Mempertahankan Intimacy

Penelitian ini membahas mengenai proses komunikasi antara ibu sebagai orang tua tunggal, dengan anak dalam mempertahankan intimacy dengan metode studi kasus. Menggunakan teori elemen komunikasi interpersonal dari Devito, yang terdiri dari sumber-penerima, enkoding-dekoding, pesan, media, hambatan, konteks, etika, dan kompetensi. Intimacy diantara mereka dikategorikan ke dalam 4 dimensi yaitu kedekatan emosional, kontak fisik, shared activities, serta intellectual sharing. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan tiga temuan, yaitu jarak geografis tidak mempengaruhi intimacy diantara mereka karena munculnya rasa saling mengerti dan toleransi. Kedua, intimacy diperkuat dengan adanya kebutuhan afeksi yang besar, terutama dari anak. Terakhir yaitu rasa percaya sebagai dasar mempertahankan intimacy diantara kedua belah pihak.
Hydraulic conductance of Acacia phyllodes (foliage) is driven by primary nerve (vein) conductance and density.

We determined effects of venation traits on hydraulic conductance of phyllodes (foliage), using an array of Acacia s.str. species with diverse phyllode morphologies as the source of variation. Measurements were made on phyllodes from 44 species, grown in common gardens but originating from different positions along a precipitation gradient. K(phyllode) varied 18-fold and was positively correlated with primary nerve hydraulic conductance, and with primary nerve (vein) density but not with minor nerve density, in contrast with previous studies of true leaves in other dicotyledons. Phyllodes with higher primary nerve density also had greater mass per area (PMA) and larger bundle sheath extensions (BSEs) from their minor nerves. We suggest that higher primary nerve conductivity and density may decrease the distance travelled in the high-resistance extra-xylem pathways of the phyllode. Further, larger BSEs may increase the area available for dispersion of water from the xylem to the extra-xylem tissue. High PMA phyllodes were more common in acacias from areas receiving lower annual precipitation. Maximizing efficient water movement through phyllodes may be more important where rainfall is meagre and infrequent, explaining relationships between nerve patterns and the climates of origin in Australian phyllodinous Acacia.
A Large Mid-Infrared Spectroscopic and Near-Infrared Imaging Survey of Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies: Their Nature and Evolution

We present a low-resolution mid-infrared spectroscopic survey of an unbiased sample of 62 ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs) (LIR > 1012L⊙, z ≤ 0.3) using ISOPHOT-S on board the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO). For comparison, we also present ISOPHOT-S spectra for 23 active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and 15 starburst and normal galaxies. The line-to-continuum ratio of the 7.7 μm polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission feature is used as a discriminator between starburst and AGN activity in ULIRGs. We find that the majority of ULIRGs are predominantly powered by starbursts. The ratio of PAH over infrared luminosities, LPAH/LIR, for starburst-dominated ULIRGs is very similar to the ratio found for template starbursts. The shapes of the PAH features are sometimes unusual. Extinction has a noticeable effect on the PAH spectra of ULIRG starbursts. We have obtained high-resolution near-infrared imaging for the southern ISOPHOT-S ULIRGs in order to investigate their evolution stage. The majority (68%) of the ULIRGs imaged are double systems, and all show distorted morphologies. Of the 23 double-nuclei systems, 17 appear at linear separations between 4 and 14 kpc, with a mean separation of 6.5 kpc. Using the separations measured from our new near-infrared imaging as well as from the literature, we have examined whether ULIRGs that are advanced mergers are more AGN-like. We have found no such evidence, contrary to what is postulated by the classical evolutionary scenario. No correlation is found between the stage of merger in ULIRGs and their infrared luminosity. In fact, we find that systems in the early stages of merging may well put out maximum luminosity. We also find that the total mass of interstellar gas, as estimated from the CO (1 → 0) luminosity, does not decrease with decreasing merger separation. When both an AGN and a starburst occur concurrently in ULIRGs, we find that the starburst dominates the luminosity output. We propose that the available gas reservoir and the individual structure of the interacting galaxies plays a major role in the evolution of the system.
Using AVs to explain NP-completeness

We argue that algorithm visualization techniques can be usefully applied to the teaching of NP-completeness results. On the ground of this opinion and of a quite positive preliminary student evaluation, we have thus included the visualization of four well-known NP-completeness proofs into the distribution of the AlViE algorithm visualization environment.
Instruction of myeloid cells by the tumor microenvironment

The versatility and plasticity of myeloid cell polarization/differentiation has turned out to be crucial in health and disease, and has become the subject of intense investigation during the last years. On one hand, myeloid cells provide a critical contribution to tissue homeostasis and repair. On the other hand, myeloid cells not only play an important role as first line defense against pathogens but also they are involved in a broad array of inflammation-related diseases such as cancer. Recent studies show that macrophages can exist in different activation states within the same tumor, underlining their plasticity and heterogeneity. In this review, we will discuss recent evidence on how the tumor microenvironment, as it evolves, shapes the recruitment, function, polarization and differentiation of the myeloid cell compartment, leading to the selection of myeloid cells with immunosuppressive and angiogenic functions that facilitate tumor progression and dissemination.
Philosophy and Madness. Radical Turns in the Natural Attitude to Life

In this article, the relation between philosophy and madness is examined from both the perspective of phenomenological philosophy and psychiatry, and the narratives of those with a diagnosis of psychosis. Three theses are proposed: 1) a (phenomenological) philosophical attitude toward psychotic experience yields more insightful, substantial descriptions of madness, 2) serious and consistent philosophical reasoning shows remarkable affinities and similarities with patterns in psychotic experience, and 3) from madness proto-philosophical thought springs forward. In following the lines of intense mad ‘hyper-reflexivity’ and perplexity we may discover a rich world of para-philosophy, one that corresponds with philosophical ideas driven by a less strained reflexivity and wonder. By examining the relation between philosophy and madness, both parties may profit: psychotic experience may be further clarified and brought into easier relation with non-psychotic thought and practice, and philosophy may gain by widening its range of perspectives on reality and human subjectivity.
Proteasome inhibition measurements: clinical application.

BACKGROUND PS-341, a selective inhibitor of the proteasome, currently is under evaluation as an anticancer agent in multiple phase I clinical trials. In animal-model studies, PS-341 was rapidly removed from the vascular compartment and distributed widely, quickly approaching the limits of detection. An accurate pharmacodynamic assay has been developed as an alternative or complement to pharmacokinetic measurements. METHODS Fluorogenic kinetic assays for both the chymotryptic and tryptic activities of the proteasome have been optimized for both whole blood and blood cells. Using the ratio of these activities and the catalytic mechanism of the proteasome, we developed a novel method of calculating percentage of inhibition, using two structurally unrelated inhibitors (PS-341 and lactacystin). RESULTS This ratio method was demonstrated to be sensitive (detection limit of 13% inhibition with 10 microgram of cell lysate), specific to the proteasome (PS-341 provides >98% inhibition), accurate (112% analyte recovery), and precise (0% +/- 5% inhibition at 0 nmol/L PS-341 and 74.5% +/- 1.7% inhibition at 200 nmol/L PS-341). Using these assays, we found that both erythrocytes and leukocytes contain proteasome at 3 micromol/L. Pharmacodynamic results for PS-341 obtained from the whole-blood ratio method were comparable to those using leukocytes determined by another method. CONCLUSIONS The described assay provides a reliable method for studying the pharmacodynamics of proteasome inhibitors and is now in use in concurrent phase I clinical trials with PS-341.
Overall job satisfaction: how good are single-item measures?

A meta-analysis of single-item measures of overall job satisfaction (28 correlations from 17 studies with 7,682 people) found an average uncorrected correlation of . 63 (SD = .09) with scale measures of overall job satisfaction. The overall mean correlation (corrected only for reliability) is . 67 (SD = .08), and it is moderated by the type of measurement scale used. The mean corrected correlation for the best group of scale measures (8 correlations, 1,735 people) is . 72 (SD = .05). The correction for attenuation formula was used to estimate the minimum level of reliability for a single-item measure. These estimates range from . 45 to . 69, depending on the assumptions made.
Depression as a Predictor of Weight Regain Among Successful Weight Losers in the Diabetes Prevention Program

OBJECTIVE To determine whether depression symptoms or antidepressant medication use predicts weight regain in overweight individuals with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) who are successful with initial weight loss. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A total of 1,442 participants who successfully lost at least 3% of their baseline body weight after 12 months of participation in the randomized controlled Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) continued in their assigned treatment group (metformin, intensive lifestyle, or placebo) and were followed into the Diabetes Prevention Program Outcome Study (DPPOS). Weight regain was defined as a return to baseline DPP body weight. Participant weight and antidepressant medication use were assessed every 6 months. Depression symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory [BDI] score ≥11) were assessed every 12 months. RESULTS Only 2.7% of the overall cohort had moderate to severe depression symptoms at baseline; most of the participants with BDI score ≥11 had only mild symptoms during the period of observation. In unadjusted analyses, both depression symptoms (hazard ratio 1.31 [95% CI 1.03–1.67], P = 0.03) and antidepressant medication use at either the previous visit (1.72 [1.37–2.15], P < 0.0001) or cumulatively as percent of visits (1.005 [1.002–1.008], P = 0.0003) were predictors of subsequent weight regain. After adjustment for multiple covariates, antidepressant use remained a significant predictor of weight regain (P < 0.0001 for the previous study visit; P = 0.0005 for the cumulative measure), while depression symptoms did not. CONCLUSIONS In individuals with IGT who do not have severe depression and who initially lose weight, antidepressant use may increase the risk of weight regain.
Spatial Noise Stabilizes Periodic Wave Patterns in Oscillatory Systems on Finite Domains

Invasions in oscillatory systems generate in their wake spatiotemporal oscillations, consisting of either periodic wavetrains or irregular oscillations that appear to be spatiotemporal chaos. We have shown previously that when a finite domain, with zero-flux boundary conditions, has been fully invaded, the spatiotemporal oscillations persist in the irregular case, but die out in a systematic way for periodic traveling waves. In this paper, we consider the effect of environmental inhomogeneities on this persistence. We use numerical simulations of several predator-prey systems to study the effect of random spatial variation of the kinetic parameters on the die-out of regular oscillations and the long-time persistence of irregular oscillations. We find no effect on the latter, but remarkably, a moderate spatial variation in parameters leads to the persistence of regular oscillations, via the formation of target patterns. In order to study this target pattern production analytically, we turn to λ-ω systems. Numerical simulations confirm analagous behavior in this generic oscillatory system. We then repeat this numerical study using piecewise linear spatial variation of parameters, rather than random variation, which also gives formation of target patterns under certain circum- stances, which we discuss. We study this in detail by deriving an analytical approximation to the targets formed when the parameter λ0 varies in a simple, piecewise linear manner across the do- main, using perturbation theory. We end by discussing the applications of our results in ecology and chemistry.
Scattering matrices of mineral aerosol particles at 441.6 nm and 632.8 nm

We present measured scattering matrices as functions of the scattering angle in the range 5°–173° and at wavelengths of 441.6 nm and 632.8 nm for seven distinct irregularly shaped mineral aerosol samples with properties representative of mineral aerosols present in the Earth's atmosphere. The aerosol samples, i.e., feldspar, red clay, quartz, loess, Pinatubo and Lokon volcanic ash, and Sahara sand, represent a wide variety of particle size (typical diameters between 0.1 and 100 μm) and composition (mainly silicates). We investigate the effects of differences in size and complex refractive index on the light-scattering properties of these irregular particles. In particular, we find that the measured scattering matrix elements when plotted as functions of the scattering angle are confined to rather limited domains. This similarity in scattering behavior justifies the construction of an average aerosol scattering matrix as a function of scattering angle to facilitate, for example, the use of our results for the interpretation of remote sensing data. We show that results of ray-optics calculations, using Gaussian random shapes, are able to describe the experimental data well when taking into account the high irregularity in shape of the aerosols, even when these aerosols are rather small. Using the results of ray-optics calculations, we interpret the differences found between the measured aerosol scattering matrices in terms of differences in complex refractive index and particle size relative to the wavelength. The importance of our results for studies of astronomical objects, such as planets, comets, asteroids, and circumstellar dust shells is discussed.
Predicting Tags for StackOverflow Questions

We present a system that is able to automatically assign tags to questions from the question-answering site StackOverflow. Our system consists of a programming language detection system and a SVM using content-based features. When testing on an unseen test set, we achieve a mean F1 of 0.41 on this task.
Explaining the change in skill structure of labour demand in Norwegian manufacturing

In most OECD-countries, labour demand has shifted from unskilled to skilled over time. Many analyses of this phenomenon focus on either the effect of technical change, capital-skill complementarity or labour-labour substitution. We present a more general analysis of labour demand in Norwegian manufacturing, and estimate a multivariate error-correction model of the cost-shares of skilled and unskilled labour, materials and energy on industry-level panel data. The results show that skilled-biased technical change, primarily due to a positive effect on skilled labour and less due to a negative effect on unskilled labour, as well as labour-labour substitution and capital stock growth are important for explaining the shift in Norwegian labour demand. Of minor importance is also non-homotheticity.