Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Abciximab and heparin versus bivalirudin for non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND The combination of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors and heparin has not been compared with bivalirudin in studies specifically involving patients with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We compared the two treatments in this patient population. METHODS Immediately before PCI, we randomly assigned, in a double-blind manner, 1721 patients with acute non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction to receive abciximab plus unfractionated heparin (861 patients) or bivalirudin (860 patients). The study tested the hypothesis that abciximab and heparin would be superior to bivalirudin with respect to the primary composite end point of death, large recurrent myocardial infarction, urgent target-vessel revascularization, or major bleeding within 30 days. Secondary end points included the composite of death, any recurrent myocardial infarction, or urgent target-vessel revascularization (efficacy end point) and major bleeding (safety end point) within 30 days. RESULTS The primary end point occurred in 10.9% of the patients in the abciximab group (94 patients) and in 11.0% in the bivalirudin group (95 patients) (relative risk with abciximab, 0.99; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.74 to 1.32; P=0.94). Death, any recurrent myocardial infarction, or urgent target-vessel revascularization occurred in 12.8% of the patients in the abciximab group (110 patients) and in 13.4% in the bivalirudin group (115 patients) (relative risk, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.74 to 1.25; P=0.76). Major bleeding occurred in 4.6% of the patients in the abciximab group (40 patients) as compared with 2.6% in the bivalirudin group (22 patients) (relative risk, 1.84; 95% CI, 1.10 to 3.07; P=0.02). CONCLUSIONS Abciximab and unfractionated heparin, as compared with bivalirudin, failed to reduce the rate of the primary end point and increased the risk of bleeding among patients with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction who were undergoing PCI. (Funded by Nycomed Pharma and others; ISAR-REACT 4 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00373451.).
History of Periodontitis Diagnosis and Edentulism as Predictors of Cardiovascular Disease, Stroke, and Mortality in Postmenopausal Women

Background Few studies have reported associations between periodontitis and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in older women, which is the objective of the present investigation. Methods and Results Participants were 57 001 postmenopausal women ages 55 to 89 years (mean 68 years; >85% 60 and older) who were enrolled (1993–1998) in the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study, and were without known CVD when history of periodontitis and edentulism was assessed by questionnaire at study Year‐5 (1998–2003). There were 3589 incident CVD events and 3816 total deaths during a mean follow‐up of 6.7 years. In multivariable analysis, periodontitis was not associated with CVD events, but was associated with higher total mortality (hazard ratio (HR)=1.12, 95% CI: 1.05–1.21). Edentulism was associated with higher age‐ and smoking‐adjusted risks of CVD (HR=1.42, 95% CI: 1.27–1.59) and mortality (HR=1.47, 95% CI: 1.32–1.63). Further adjustment eliminated the association with CVD, but mortality remained significantly increased (HR=1.17, 95% CI: 1.02–1.33). Stratification on age, race‐ethnicity, smoking, and diabetes mellitus yielded comparable results; however, edentulism was more strongly associated with CVD in women reporting ≥1 dental visit (HR=1.57) compared with <1 visit (HR 1.03, interaction P=0.004) annually. Conclusions In community‐dwelling older women, edentulism was associated with increased risks of CVD and total mortality, and presence of periodontitis, which is more prevalent than edentulism, was associated with 17% higher mortality rate. These findings suggest that improving periodontal condition of the general population could reduce overall mortality.
Women's Education and Health Inequalities in Under-Five Mortality in Selected Sub-Saharan African Countries, 1990–2015

Background The aim of the study was to analyse trends in the relationship between mother’s educational level and mortality of children under the year of five in Sub-Saharan Africa, from 1990 to 2015. Data and Methods Data used in this study came from different waves of Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) of Sub-Saharan countries. Logistic regression and Buis’s decomposition method were used to explore the effect of mother’s educational level on the mortality of children under five years. Results Although the results of our study in the selected countries show that under-five mortality rates of children born to mothers without formal education are higher than the mortality rates of children of educated mothers, it appears that differences in mortality were reduced over the past two decades. In selected countries for our study, we noticed a significant decline in mortality among children of non-educated mothers compared to the decrease in mortality rates among children of educated mothers during the period of 1990–2010. The results show that the decline in mortality of children under five years was much higher among the children born to mothers who have never received formal education—112 points drop in Malawi, over 80 in Zambia and Zimbabwe, 65 points in Burkina Faso, 56 in Congo, 43 in Namibia, 27 in Guinea, Cameroon, and 22 to 15 in Niger. However, we noted a variation in results among the countries selected for the study—in Burkina Faso (OR = 0.7), in Cameroon (OR = 0.8), in Guinea (OR = 0.8) and Niger (OR = 0.8). It is normally observed that children of mothers with 0–6 years of education are about 20% more likely to survive until their fifth year compared to children of mothers who have not been to school. Conversely, the results did not reveal significant differences between the under-five deaths of children born to non-educated mothers and children of low-level educated mothers in Congo, Malawi and Namibia. Conclusion The decline in under-five mortality rates, during last two decades, can be partly due to the government policies on women’s education. It is evident that women’s educational level has resulted in increased maternal awareness about infant health and hygiene, thereby bringing about a decline in the under-five mortality rates. This reduction is due to improved supply of health care programmes and health policies in reducing economic inequalities and increasing access to health care.
Deep geothermal exploration by means of electromagnetic methods: New insights from the Larderello geothermal field (Italy)

The main target of this research is the improvement of the knowledge on the deep structures of the Larderello-Travale geothermal field (Tuscany, Italy), with a focus on the Lago Boracifero sector, particularly on the heat source of the system, the tectonics and its relation with the hydrothermal circulation. In the frame of the PhD program and of the IMAGE project (Integrated Methods for Advanced Geothermal Exploration; EU FP7), we acquired new magnetotelluric (MT) and Time Domain EM (TDEM) data in a key sector of the field (Lago Boracifero). These data integrate the MT datasets previously acquired in the frame of exploration and scientific projects. This study is based also on a integrated modelling, which included and organized in Petrel (Schlumberger) environment, a large quantity of geological and geophysical data. We also propose an integrated approach to improve the reliability of the 2D MT inversion models, by using external information from the integrated model of the field as well as an innovative probabilistic analysis of the MT data. We present our attempt to treat the 1D magnetotelluric inverse problem with a probabilistic approach, by adopting the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), a heuristic method based on the concept of the adaptive behaviour to solve complex problems. The user-friendly software "GlobalEM" was implemented for the analysis and probabilistic optimization of MT data. The results from theoretical and measured MT data are promising, also for the possibility to implement different schemes of constrained optimization as well as joint optimization (e.g. MT and TDEM). The analysis of the a-posteriori distribution of the results can be of help to understand the reliability of the model. The 2D MT inversion models and the integrated study of the Larderello-Travale geothermal field improved the knowledge about the deep structures of the system, with a relevant impact on the conceptual geothermal model. In Micaschist and Gneiss complexes we observed a generally high electrical resistivity response locally interrupted by low resistivity anomalies that are well correlated with the most productive sectors of the field. A still partial melted igneous intrusion beneath the Lago Boracifero sector was detected based on the interpretation of the low resistivity anomalies located at a mid-crustal level (> 6 km). New insights on the tectonics are proposed in this research. The fundamental role of a large tectonic structure, i.e. the Cornia Fault, located along the homonymous river, was highlighted. In our opinion, this fault played an important role in the geothermal evolution of the Lago Boracifero sector, favouring both the hydrothermal circulation and the emplacement of magma bodies. In our opinion, the system can be ascribed to a "young convective and intrusive" field feed by a complex composite batholite.
Adaptively Biasing the Weights of Adaptive Filters

It is a well-known result of estimation theory that biased estimators can outperform unbiased ones in terms of expected quadratic error. In steady state, many adaptive filtering algorithms offer an unbiased estimation of both the reference signal and the unknown true parameter vector. In this correspondence, we propose a simple yet effective scheme for adaptively biasing the weights of adaptive filters using an output multiplicative factor. We give theoretical results that show that the proposed configuration is able to provide a convenient bias versus variance tradeoff, leading to reductions in the filter mean-square error, especially in situations with a low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). After reinterpreting the biased estimator as the combination of the original filter and a filter with constant output equal to 0, we propose practical schemes to adaptively adjust the multiplicative factor. Experiments are carried out for the normalized least-mean-squares (NLMS) adaptive filter, improving its mean-square performance in stationary situations and during the convergence phase.
Isolation and Characterization of Synovial Mesenchymal Stem Cell Derived from Hip Joints: A Comparative Analysis with a Matched Control Knee Group

Purpose. To determine the characteristics of MSCs from hip and compare them to MSCs from knee. Methods. Synovial tissues were obtained from both the knee and the hip joints in 8 patients who underwent both hip and knee arthroscopies on the same day. MSCs were isolated from the knee and hip synovial samples. The capacities of MSCs were compared between both groups. Results. The number of cells per unit weight at passage 0 of synovium from the knee was significantly higher than that from the hip (P < 0.05). While it was possible to observe the growth of colonies in all the knee synovial fluid samples, it was impossible to culture cells from any of the hip samples. In adipogenesis experiments, the frequency of Oil Red-O-positive colonies and the gene expression of adipsin were significantly higher in knee than in hip. In osteogenesis experiments, the expression of COL1A1 and ALPP was significantly less in the knee synovium than in the hip synovium. Conclusions. MSCs obtained from hip joint have self-renewal and multilineage differentiation potentials. However, in matched donors, adipogenesis and osteogenesis potentials of MSCs from the knees are superior to those from the hips. Knee synovium may be a better source of MSC for potential use in hip diseases.
Is drought tolerance in maize (zea maysl.) cultivars atthe juvenile stage maintainedat the reproductive stage

Among several abiotic stresses, drought or water scarcity is a major constraint for crop production in many parts of the world. Six maize (Zea mays L.) cultivars; DTC, EV-77, EV-78, EV-79, Faisalabad mays, and 6621 were evaluated for drought tolerance at germination and seedling stages. Distilled deionized water was used as control but uniform drought stress was induced using 3, 6 and 9% of polyethylene glycol-6000 (PEG-6000) which correspond to osmotic potential of - 0.0466, -0.0759 and -0.0876 MPa, respectively. PEG influenced the germination and growth of the cultivars in a concentration dependent manner but the highest level of PEG induced more drastic decline for the various attributes studied. The cultivars showed significantly variable responses to different levels of PEG. The result of study clearly suggested variability of characters for drought tolerance among maize cultivars. Based on the pattern of variability for various attributes, 3 groups of cultivars can be classified. The cultivar 6621 had a consistent degree of sensitivity to drought in terms the reduction of various attributes studied.
A 3D statistical shape model of the pelvic bone for segmentation

Statistical models of shape are a promising approach for robust and automatic segmentation of medical image data. This work describes the construction of a statistical shape model of the pelvic bone. An interactive approach is proposed for solving the correspondence problem which is able to handle shapes of arbitrary topology, suitable for the genus 3 surface of the pelvic bone. Moreover it allows to specify corresponding anatomical features as boundary constraints to the matching process. The model's capability for segmentation was tested on a set of 23 CT data sets. Quantitative results will be presented, showing that the model is well suited for segmentation purposes.
How somatic cortical maps differ in autistic and typical brains

The comorbidity of ‘core characteristics’ and sensorimotor abnormalities in autism implies abnormalities in brain development of a general and pervasive nature and atypical organization of sensory cortex. By using magnetoencephalography, we examined the cortical response to passive tactile stimulation of the thumb and index finger of the dominant hand and lip of the individuals with autism spectrum disorder and typically developing persons. The distance between the cortical representations of thumb and the lip was significantly larger in the autism group than in typicals. Moreover, in cortex, the thumb is typically closer to the lip than the index finger. This was not observed in persons with autism. Our findings are arguably the first demonstration of abnormality in sensory organization in the brains of persons with autism.
Heterogeneity of direct aftershock productivity of the main shock rupture

The epidemic type aftershock sequence (ETAS) model is widely used to describe and analyze the clustering behavior of seismicity. Instead of regarding large earthquakes as point sources, the finite‐source ETAS model treats them as ruptures that extend in space. Each earthquake rupture consists of many patches, and each patch triggers its own aftershocks isotropically. We design an iterative algorithm to invert the unobserved fault geometry based on the stochastic reconstruction method. This model is applied to analyze the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) catalog during 1964–2014. We take six great earthquakes with magnitudes >7.5 after 1980 as finite sources and reconstruct the aftershock productivity patterns on each rupture surface. Comparing results from the point‐source ETAS model, we find the following: (1) the finite‐source model improves the data fitting; (2) direct aftershock productivity is heterogeneous on the rupture plane; (3) the triggering abilities of M5.4+ events are enhanced; (4) the background rate is higher in the off‐fault region and lower in the on‐fault region for the Tohoku earthquake, while high probabilities of direct aftershocks distribute all over the source region in the modified model; (5) the triggering abilities of five main shocks become 2–6 times higher after taking the rupture geometries into consideration; and (6) the trends of the cumulative background rate are similar in both models, indicating the same levels of detection ability for seismicity anomalies. Moreover, correlations between aftershock productivity and slip distributions imply that aftershocks within rupture faults are adjustments to coseismic stress changes due to slip heterogeneity.
Spatio‐temporal variability of Great Lakes basin snow cover ablation events

In the Great Lakes basin of North America, annual run‐off is dominated by snowmelt. This snowmelt‐induced run‐off plays an important role within the hydrologic cycle of the basin, influencing soil moisture availability and driving the seasonal cycle of spring and summer lake levels. Despite this, relatively little is understood about the patterns and trends of snow ablation event frequency and magnitude within the Great Lakes basin. This study uses a gridded dataset of Canadian and United States surface snow depth observations to develop a regional climatology of snow ablation events from 1960 to 2009. An ablation event is defined as an interdiurnal snow depth decrease within an individual grid cell. A clear seasonal cycle in ablation event frequency exists within the basin and peak ablation event probability is latitudinally dependent. Most of the basin experiences peak ablation frequency in March, while the northern and southern regions of the basin experience respective peaks in April and February. An investigation into the interannual frequency of ablation events reveals ablation events significantly decrease within the northeastern and northwestern Lake Superior drainage basins and significantly increase within the eastern Lake Huron and Georgian Bay drainage basins. In the eastern Lake Huron and Georgian Bay drainage basins, larger ablation events are occurring more frequently, and a larger impact to the hydrology can be expected. Trends in ablation events are attributed primarily to changes in snowfall and snow depth across the region.
Direct Link Aware Cooperative Relaying

Cooperative relaying strategies enable spatial diversity gains. Using a proper forwarding strategy, these techniques can achieve diversity order as high as the number of diverse paths. We derive a strategy named direct link-aware relaying (DLA), which uses the source-destination link status as a condition to forward or not the signal at the relay. DLA is shown to achieve full diversity and to save energy compared to decode- and-forward strategies. Compared to selective-forwarding, DLA overcomes the use of error detection codes. Extension to the multi-branch case is developed. Simulations corroborate our analytical claims.
Genetic Variability and Population Structure of the Potential Bioenergy Crop Miscanthus sinensis (Poaceae) in Southwest China Based on SRAP Markers

The genus Miscanthus has great potential as a biofuel feedstock because of its high biomass, good burning quality, environmental tolerance, and good adaptability to marginal land. In this study, the genetic diversity and the relationship of 24 different natural Miscanthus sinensis populations collected from Southwestern China were analyzed by using 33 pairs of Sequence Related Amplified Polymorphism (SRAP) primers. A total of 688 bands were detected with 646 polymorphic bands, an average of 19.58 polymorphic bands per primer pair. The average percentage of polymorphic loci (P), gene diversity (H), and Shannon’s diversity index (I) among the 24 populations are 70.59%, 0.2589, and 0.3836, respectively. The mean value of total gene diversity (HT) was 0.3373 ± 0.0221, while the allelic diversity within populations (HS) was 0.2589 ± 0.0136 and the allelic diversity among populations (DST) was 0.0784. The mean genetic differentiation coefficient (Gst = 0.2326) estimated from the detected 688 loci indicated that there was 76.74% genetic differentiation within the populations, which is consistent with the results from Analysis of Molecular Variance (AMOVA) analysis. Based upon population structure and phylogenetic analysis, five groups were formed and a special population with mixed ancestry was inferred indicating that human-mediated dispersal may have had a significant effect on population structure of M. sinensis. Evaluating the genetic structure and genetic diversity at morphological and molecular levels of the wild M. sinensis in Southwest China is critical to further utilize the wild M. sinensis germplasm in the breeding program. The results in this study will facilitate the biofuel feedstock breeding program and germplasm conservation.
A comparison study between CaSO4·2H2O and Na2SO4 effects on geotechnical properties of clayey soils stabilised with mineral additives to recommend adequate mixtures as materials for road pavements

Abstract This paper presents a comparison study between calcium (CaSO4·2H2O) and sodium (Na2SO4) sulphates effects on physico-mechanical properties (pH, plasticity index (PI), unconfined compressive strength (UCS) and shear strength parameters) of both grey and red clayey soils (GS and RS) stabilised with lime (L), natural pozzolana (NP) and their combination (L–NP) in order to recommend adequate mixtures which can be used as building materials for road pavements. In this study, Atterberg limits, pH, UCS and shear strength tests were carried out after different curing periods (1–120 days). Tests results showed that the addition of L as an additive produced a high decrease in the PI of both clayey soils but a considerable increase in UCS, cohesion (C), internal friction angle (φ) and pH was recorded, whereas the NP caused a slight effect. However, when combining both additives, a high decrease in the PI and a further increase in other properties were recorded. Moreover, it was found that the CaSO4·2H2O lowered the PI of both clayey soils whereas the Na2SO4 increased it. Thus, the increase in pH values of all mixtures with sulphate content was more pronounced with the Na2SO4 than with the CaSO4·2H2O. On the other hand, both CaSO4·2H2O and Na2SO4 accelerated the pozzolanic reactions responsible for strength gain. However, at a later stage, the degradation of RS specimens can be explained by the formation of ettringite observed in X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns. In general, the CaSO4·2H2O developed better effects for soil improvement whereas the presence of Na2SO4 (with a high content) can be classified as a deleterious element for soil stabilisation. From these results, tow tables were given for choosing an adequate mixture for pavement subgrade soil stabilisation.