Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Superior Cardiovascular Effect of Aerobic Interval Training Versus Moderate Continuous Training in Heart Failure Patients: A Randomized Study

Background— Exercise training reduces the symptoms of chronic heart failure. Which exercise intensity yields maximal beneficial adaptations is controversial. Furthermore, the incidence of chronic heart failure increases with advanced age; it has been reported that 88% and 49% of patients with a first diagnosis of chronic heart failure are >65 and >80 years old, respectively. Despite this, most previous studies have excluded patients with an age >70 years. Our objective was to compare training programs with moderate versus high exercise intensity with regard to variables associated with cardiovascular function and prognosis in patients with postinfarction heart failure. Methods and Results— Twenty-seven patients with stable postinfarction heart failure who were undergoing optimal medical treatment, including &bgr;-blockers and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (aged 75.5±11.1 years; left ventricular [LV] ejection fraction 29%; &OV0312;o2peak 13 mL · kg−1 · min−1) were randomized to either moderate continuous training (70% of highest measured heart rate, ie, peak heart rate) or aerobic interval training (95% of peak heart rate) 3 times per week for 12 weeks or to a control group that received standard advice regarding physical activity. &OV0312;o2peak increased more with aerobic interval training than moderate continuous training (46% versus 14%, P<0.001) and was associated with reverse LV remodeling. LV end-diastolic and end-systolic volumes declined with aerobic interval training only, by 18% and 25%, respectively; LV ejection fraction increased 35%, and pro-brain natriuretic peptide decreased 40%. Improvement in brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (endothelial function) was greater with aerobic interval training, and mitochondrial function in lateral vastus muscle increased with aerobic interval training only. The MacNew global score for quality of life in cardiovascular disease increased in both exercise groups. No changes occurred in the control group. Conclusions— Exercise intensity was an important factor for reversing LV remodeling and improving aerobic capacity, endothelial function, and quality of life in patients with postinfarction heart failure. These findings may have important implications for exercise training in rehabilitation programs and future studies.
MISSING GIRLS AND SON PREFERENCE IN RURAL INDIA: LOOKING BEYOND POPULAR MYTH

Survival chances of girls in parts of South and East Asia have been adverse. Female foeticide, infanticide, abandonment, out-adoption, under-reporting of female births, and selective neglect of girls leading to higher death rates, have contributed to this adversity. Here, I reflect on an observed skewed sex ratio at birth in rural West Bengal, and discuss female foeticide, infanticide, son preference, and abortion. More boys were recorded at birth, and the majority of women desired sons. Trajectories of selective neglect of and discrimination against daughters have been researched extensively, but the related issues of female foeticide and infanticide have been less examined.
Yet another query algebra for XML data

XML has reached a widespread diffusion as a language for representing nearly any kind of data source, from relational databases to digital movies. Due to the growing interest toward XML, many tools for storing, processing, and querying XML data have appeared in the last two years. Three main problems affect XML query processing: path expression evaluation, nested query resolution, and preservation of document order. These issues, which are related to the hierarchical structure of XML and to the features of current XML query languages, require compile-time as well as run-time solutions. This paper describes a query algebra for XML data. The main purpose of this algebra, which forms the basis for the Xtasy database management system, is to combine good optimization properties with a good expressive power that allows it to model significant fragments of current XML query languages; in particular explicit support is given to efficient path expression evaluation, nested query resolution, and order preservation.
The Variable Discharge of Cortical Neurons: Implications for Connectivity, Computation, and Information Coding

Cortical neurons exhibit tremendous variability in the number and temporal distribution of spikes in their discharge patterns. Furthermore, this variability appears to be conserved over large regions of the cerebral cortex, suggesting that it is neither reduced nor expanded from stage to stage within a processing pathway. To investigate the principles underlying such statistical homogeneity, we have analyzed a model of synaptic integration incorporating a highly simplified integrate and fire mechanism with decay. We analyzed a “high-input regime” in which neurons receive hundreds of excitatory synaptic inputs during each interspike interval. To produce a graded response in this regime, the neuron must balance excitation with inhibition. We find that a simple integrate and fire mechanism with balanced excitation and inhibition produces a highly variable interspike interval, consistent with experimental data. Detailed information about the temporal pattern of synaptic inputs cannot be recovered from the pattern of output spikes, and we infer that cortical neurons are unlikely to transmit information in the temporal pattern of spike discharge. Rather, we suggest that quantities are represented as rate codes in ensembles of 50–100 neurons. These column-like ensembles tolerate large fractions of common synaptic input and yet covary only weakly in their spike discharge. We find that an ensemble of 100 neurons provides a reliable estimate of rate in just one interspike interval (10–50 msec). Finally, we derived an expression for the variance of the neural spike count that leads to a stable propagation of signal and noise in networks of neurons—that is, conditions that do not impose an accumulation or diminution of noise. The solution implies that single neurons perform simple algebra resembling averaging, and that more sophisticated computations arise by virtue of the anatomical convergence of novel combinations of inputs to the cortical column from external sources.
Respiratory Dose-Response Study of Normal and Asthmatic Volunteers Exposed to Sulfuric Acid Aerosol in the Sub-Micrometer Size Range

Twenty-one healthy and 21 asthmatic volunteers were exposed to respirable sulfuric acid aerosol (mass median particle diameter approximately 0.9 pm, geometric standard deviation 2.5) in a chamber at 21° and 50% relative humidity. Measured sulfuric acid concentrations averaged 0, 380, 1060, and 1520 μg/m3 (in the occupational range, higher than concentrations observed in ambient air pollution). Exposures to different concentrations occurred in randomized order 1 week apart. They lasted 1 hr and included three 10-min periods of heavy exercise. Healthy volunteers showed no statistically significant changes in pulmonary function. airway reactivity to inhaled methacholine, or overall reporting of irritant symptoms which could be attributed to acid exposure. They did show a slight statistically significant (P <. 01) increase in cough with increasing acid concentration. At the two highest acid concentrations, asthmatics showed significant increases in irritant symptoms and decrements in pulmonary function, without significant changes in airway reactivity. Their function decrements appeared to increase with time during exposure. Previous studies in fog (10°, median particle diameter approximately 10 urn) with similar concentrations of sulfuric acid showed more symptoms but less pulmonary function change, perhaps reflecting different sites of particle deposition in airways and/or different degrees of neutralization by airway ammonia. This and earlier evidence predicts little, if any, acute irritant response in short-term (1 hr or less) exposures to sulfuric acid at concentrations found in ambient air pollution.
Working Memory, but Not IQ, Predicts Subsequent Learning in Children with Learning Difficulties

The purpose of the present study was to compare the predictive power of working memory and IQ in children identified as having learning difficulties. The term "working memory" refers to the capacity to store and manipulate information in mind for brief periods of time. Working-memory capacity is strongly related to learning abilities and academic progress, predicting current and subse- quent scholastic attainment of children across the school years in both literacy and numeracy. Children aged between 7 and 11 years were tested at Time 1 on measures of working memory, IQ, and learning. They were then retested 2 years later on the learning measures. The findings indicated that working-memory capacity and domain-specific knowledge at Time 1, but not IQ, were significant predictors of learning at Time 2. The implications for screening and intervention are discussed.
Grid-based outlier detection in large data sets for combine harvesters

Outlier detection is one of the most widely used technique to identify abnormal behavior in raw data. The sense of abnormal deviation mentioned here accounts not only for human made or system errors that naturally occur as part of the data but also as seldomly occuring events. In this paper, we propose a new algorithm called Grid Based Outlier Detection (GBOD) to find the hidden outliers in large data sets. In contrast to existing grid based methods which are limited to only some statistical based approaches, the GBOD algorithm is raised with two alternations to figure out different range of outliers depending on the interest of the user. First, the number of points in a local grid cell is used to decide whether a point is an outlier or not. In a second step, this approach is extended to method that assigns an outlier score to each data point. The simple design makes this algorithm extremely efficient for large data sets.
mtDNA mutations variously impact mtDNA maintenance throughout the human embryofetal development

Mitochondria are the largest generator of ATP in the cell. It is therefore expected that energy‐requiring processes such as oocyte maturation, early embryonic or fetal development, would be adversely impacted in case of mitochondrial deficiency. Human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations constitute a spontaneous model of mitochondrial failure and offer the opportunity to study the consequences of energetic defects over fertility and embryofetal development. This review provides an update on the mtDNA metabolism in the early preimplantation embryo, and compiles data showing the impact of mtDNA mutations over mtDNA segregation. Despite convincing evidences about the essential role of mitochondria in oogenesis and preimplantation development, no correlation between the presence of a mtDNA mutation and fertilization failure, impaired oocyte quality, or embryofetal development arrest was found. In some cases, mutant cells might upregulate their mitochondrial content to overcome the bioenergetic defects induced by mtDNA mutations, and might escape negative selection. Finally we discuss some of the clinical consequences of these observations.
A novel Fourier transform estimation method using random sampling

This paper considers Fourier transform estimation of deterministic signals from a finite number of random samples. We refer to the recently reported methods by Masry facilitating significant acceleration of the convergence rates of the Fourier transform estimates with the growing number of samples. The acceleration does not start uniformly across all frequencies. It starts at DC and its close neighborhood. Then it spreads to higher frequencies once the average sampling rates significantly increase. In this paper we propose a modification of the signal sampling methods and appropriate to them data processing algorithms to allow moving away from zero the frequency about which the acceleration starts to practically any point in the frequency domain. We derive an expression of the mean-square error of the estimated spectrum as a measure of accuracy. Simulation results confirm the validity of the results presented in this paper.
Clinical Experience of Using Cortical Auditory Evoked Potentials in the Treatment of Infant Hearing Loss in Australia

Abstract This article presents the clinical protocol that is currently being used within Australian Hearing for infant hearing aid evaluation using cortical auditory evoked potentials (CAEPs). CAEP testing is performed in the free field at two stimulus levels (65 dB sound pressure level [SPL], followed by 55 or 75 dB SPL) using three brief frequency-distinct speech sounds /m/, /ɡ/, and /t/, within a standard audiological appointment of up to 90 minutes. CAEP results are used to check or guide modifications of hearing aid fittings or to confirm unaided hearing capability. A retrospective review of 83 client files evaluated whether clinical practice aligned with the clinical protocol. It showed that most children could be assessed as part of their initial fitting program when they were identified as a priority for CAEP testing. Aided CAEPs were most commonly assessed within 8 weeks of the fitting. A survey of 32 pediatric audiologists provided information about their perception of cortical testing at Australian Hearing. The results indicated that clinical CAEP testing influenced audiologists' approach to rehabilitation and was well received by parents and that they were satisfied with the technique. Three case studies were selected to illustrate how CAEP testing can be used in a clinical environment. Overall, CAEP testing has been effectively integrated into the infant fitting program.
The dynamic nature of the Golgi complex

The intracellular transport of newly synthesized G protein of vesicular stomatitis virus is blocked at 20 degrees C and this spanning membrane glycoprotein accumulates in the last Golgi compartment, the trans Golgi- network (TGN). Previous morphological evidence suggested that the TGN enlarged significantly under this condition. In the present study we have used stereological procedures to estimate the volume and surface area of the Golgi stack and the TGN of baby hamster kidney cells under different conditions. The results indicate that the increase in the size of the TGN at 20 degrees C is accompanied by a significant decrease in the surface area and volume of the preceding Golgi compartments. A similar effect is also seen in uninfected cells at 20 degrees C, as well as during normal (37 degrees C) infection with Semliki Forest virus. In the latter case, however, the decrease in the size of the Golgi stack and the increase in that of the TGN is not accompanied by inhibition of transport from the Golgi complex to the cell surface. The results indicate that the Golgi stack and the TGN are dynamic and interrelated structures that are capable of rapid alteration in total surface area in response to changes in the rates of membrane transport.
Acute Urinary Morbidity Following Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy for Prostate Cancer with Prophylactic Alpha-Adrenergic Antagonist and Urethral Dose Reduction

Background Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) delivers high doses of radiation to the prostate while minimizing radiation to the adjacent critical organs. Large fraction sizes may increase urinary morbidity due to unavoidable treatment of the prostatic urethra. This study reports rates of acute urinary morbidity following SBRT for localized prostate cancer with prophylactic alpha-adrenergic antagonist utilization and urethral dose reduction (UDR). Methods From April 2013 to September 2014, 102 patients with clinically localized prostate cancer were treated with robotic SBRT to a total dose of 35–36.25 Gy in five fractions. UDR was employed to limit the maximum point dose of the prostatic urethra to 40 Gy. Prophylactic alpha-adrenergic antagonists were initiated 5 days prior to SBRT and continued until resolution of urinary symptoms. Quality of life (QoL) was assessed before and after treatment using the American Urological Association Symptom Score (AUA) and the Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite-26 (EPIC-26). Clinical significance was assessed using a minimally important difference (MID) of one half SD change from baseline. Results One hundred two patients underwent definitive prostate SBRT with UDR and were followed for 3 months. No patient experienced acute urinary retention requiring catheterization. A mean baseline AUA symptom score of 9.06 significantly increased to 11.83 1-week post-SBRT (p = 0.0024) and 11.84 1-month post-SBRT (p = 0.0023) but returned to baseline by 3 months. A mean baseline EPIC-26 irritative/obstructive score of 87.7 decreased to 74.1 1-week post-SBRT (p < 0.0001) and 77.8 1-month post-SBRT (p < 0.0001) but returned to baseline at 3 months. EPIC-26 irritative/obstructive score changes were clinically significant, exceeding the MID of 6.0. At baseline, 8.9% of men described their urinary function as a moderate to big problem, and that proportion increased to 37.6% 1 week following completion of SBRT before returning to baseline by 3 months. Conclusion Stereotactic body radiation therapy for localized prostate cancer with utilization of prophylactic alpha-adrenergic antagonist and UDR was well tolerated as determined by acute urinary function and bother, and symptoms were comparable to those observed following conventionally fractionated external beam radiation therapy (EBRT). Longer follow-up is required to assess long-term toxicity and efficacy following SBRT with UDR.
OsHAK1, a High-Affinity Potassium Transporter, Positively Regulates Responses to Drought Stress in Rice

Drought is one of the environmental factors that severely restrict plant distribution and crop production. Recently, we reported that the high-affinity potassium transporter OsHAK1 plays important roles in K acquisition and translocation in rice over low and high K concentration ranges, however, knowledge on the regulatory roles of OsHAK1 in osmotic/drought stress is limited. Here, transcript levels of OsHAK1 were found transiently elevated by water deficit in roots and shoots, consistent with the enhanced GUS activity in transgenic plants under stress. Under drought conditions, OsHAK1 knockout mutants (KO) presented lower tolerance to the stress and displayed stunted growth at both the vegetative and reproductive stages. Phenotypic analysis of OsHAK1 overexpression seedlings (Ox) demonstrated that they present better tolerance to drought stress than wild-type (WT). Compared to WT seedlings, OsHAK1 overexpressors had lower level of lipid peroxidation, higher activities of antioxidant enzymes (POX and CAT) and higher proline accumulation. Furthermore, qPCR analysis revealed that OsHAK1 act as a positive regulator of the expression of stress-responsive genes as well as of two well-known rice channel genes (OsTPKb and OsAKT1) involved in K homeostasis and stress responses in transgenic plants under dehydration. Most important, OsHAK1-Ox plants displayed enhanced drought tolerance at the reproductive stage, resulting in 35% more grain yield than WT under drought conditions, and without exhibiting significant differences under normal growth conditions. Consequently, OsHAK1 can be considered to be used in molecular breeding for improvement of drought tolerance in rice.
On Antijamming in General CDMA Systems-Part II: Antijamming Performance of Coded Multicarrier Frequency-Hopping Spread Spectrum Systems

In the first part of the paper, the capacity of a general multiuser code division multiple access (CDMA) jamming channel was analyzed for noncooperative and cooperative users in uplink and downlink static and Nakagami fading channels when the receiver has or lacks jammer state information. The results were applied to a unified channel model encompassing a variety of multiuser spread spectrum systems contaminated by jamming. It was found that the jammer should spread its energy evenly over all degrees of freedom in order to minimize the average capacity. In the second part of the paper, using a standard orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) model, the performance of a coded version of a multicarrier frequency-hopping (MC-FH) CDMA system in static and Rayleigh fading jamming uplink channels is analyzed. The MC-FH system under study is a hybrid of the OFDM and frequency hopping concepts, and is also a practical example of the model developed in the first part. It is demonstrated that in the cases where the receiver knows the jammer state and the receiver lacks the jammer state, spreading and contracting the jamming power over the system bandwidth, respectively, will give rise to the worst performance for the communicators. Optimal decorrelator weights for the receiver soft outputs in different channels, valuable for practical system design, are also obtained.
Quantitative mapping of T2 using partial spoiling

Fast quantitative MRI has become an important tool for biochemical characterization of tissue beyond conventional T1, T2, and T2*‐weighted imaging. As a result, steady‐state free precession (SSFP) techniques have attracted increased interest, and several methods have been developed for rapid quantification of relaxation times using steady‐state free precession. In this work, a new and fast approach for T2 mapping is introduced based on partial RF spoiling of nonbalanced steady‐state free precession. The new T2 mapping technique is evaluated and optimized from simulations, and in vivo results are presented for human brain at 1.5 T and for human articular cartilage at 3.0 T. The range of T2 for gray and white matter was from 60 msec (for the corpus callosum) to 100 msec (for cortical gray matter). For cartilage, spatial variation in T2 was observed between deep (34 msec) and superficial (48 msec) layers, as well as between tibial (33 msec), femoral, (54 msec) and patellar (43 msec) cartilage. Excellent correspondence between T2 values derived from partially spoiled SSFP scans and the ones found with a reference multicontrast spin‐echo technique is observed, corroborating the accuracy of the new method for proper T2 mapping. Finally, the feasibility of a fast high‐resolution quantitative partially spoiled SSFP T2 scan is demonstrated at 7.0 T for human patellar cartilage. Magn Reson Med, 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
"You can't block people offline": examining how facebook's affordances shape the disclosure process

Guided by the underlying question of how--if at all--the self-disclosure process varies online, the present study explores the self-disclosure practices of 26 American graduate students on Facebook through in-depth interviews. Building on work by Derlega and Grzelak [12] on self- disclosure goals and focusing on the affordances of the site, findings reveal both commonalities with and extensions to existing communication research on self-disclosure, as users saw both benefits and drawbacks to the high visibility and persistence of content shared through the site. Furthermore, users employed a wide spectrum of strategies to help them achieve their disclosure goals while decreasing perceived risks associated with making disclosures in a public forum. Importantly, these strategies generally sought to recreate the offline boundaries blurred or removed by the technical structure of the site and allow users to engage in a more strategic disclosure process with their network.