Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The impact of age and Medicare status on bariatric surgical outcomes.

HYPOTHESIS Medicare status and increasing age are associated with poor outcomes from bariatric surgical procedures. DESIGN Survey. SETTING National sample of hospitalized patients in the United States. PATIENTS AND INTERVENTION Adult patients undergoing bariatric surgery in 2001 and 2002. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Mortality and adverse events. RESULTS We assessed 25 428 bariatric procedures with logistic regression, finding that age (odds ratio, 1.04; 95% confidence interval, 1.02-1.07), male sex (odds ratio, 2.45; 95% confidence interval, 1.48-4.03), electrolyte disorders (odds ratio, 13.91; 95% confidence interval, 8.29-23.33), and congestive heart failure (odds ratio, 4.96; 95% confidence interval, 2.52-9.77) were independent risk factors for bariatric surgery mortality. Adverse outcomes increased as a function of age in a nearly linear fashion, with a steep increase after the age of 65 years. Most Medicare patients undergoing these operations were younger than 65 years and had a much greater disease burden than non-Medicare patients. CONCLUSIONS Age, male sex, electrolyte disorders, and congestive heart failure were independent risk factors for bariatric surgical mortality. Limiting bariatric surgical procedures to those younger than 65 years is warranted because of the high morbidity and mortality associated with these operations in older patients.
The Relationship Between the Grief Process and the Family System: The Role of Affect, Communication, and Cohesion

Sixty-six people who had recently experienced the death of a parent or a spouse completed a questionnaire packet to assess their current grief symptomatology and some characteristics of the relationships within their family. Participants were asked to fill out a questionnaire 4-5 weeks after the death and then again six months later. The present study compared two competing models to explain whether the grief process affects the characteristics of relationships within the family system or that family characteristics affect the experienced grief symptoms.
Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology Impact of Female Age and Male Infertility on Ovarian Reserve Markers to Predict Outcome of Assisted Reproduction Technology Cycles

Background: This study was designed to assess the capability of ovarian reserve markers, including baseline FSH levels, baseline anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels, and antral follicle count (AFC), as predictors of live births during IVF cycles, especially for infertile couples with advanced maternal age and/or male factors.
Residents’ Household Solid Waste (HSW) Source Separation Activity: A Case Study of Suzhou, China

Though the Suzhou government has provided household solid waste (HSW) source separation since 2000, the program remains largely ineffective. Between January and March 2014, the authors conducted an intercept survey in five different community groups in Suzhou, and 505 valid surveys were completed. Based on the survey, the authors used an ordered probit regression to study residents’ HSW source separation activities for both Suzhou and for the five community groups. Results showed that 43% of the respondents in Suzhou thought they knew how to source separate HSW, and 29% of them have source separated HSW accurately. The results also found that the current HSW source separation pilot program in Suzhou is valid, as HSW source separation facilities and residents’ separation behavior both became better and better along with the program implementation. The main determinants of residents’ HSW source separation behavior are residents’ age, HSW source separation facilities and government preferential policies. The accessibility to waste management service is particularly important. Attitudes and willingness do not have significant impacts on residents’ HSW source separation behavior.
The Treatment of Patients with Locally Advanced Cancer of the Large Bowel

During the ten years up to June 1973, 198 patients with primary colorectal cancer were referred for their initial treatment to the Surgical Unit at Westminster Hospital. Of these, 43 patients presented with locally advanced adenocarcinoma of the large bowel, by which is meant carcinoma involving neighbouring tissues or organs. These patients are discussed, with reference to the effect of the degree of dissemination, the nature of the adhesions and the nature of the organ involved, on the prognosis. The patients were all reviewed in April 1974, and are reported here.
Proxy MSS based Synchronous Checkpointing Approach for Mobile Distributed Systems

Mobile Distributed systems (MDSs) are made up of Mobile host (MH), Base Station (BS) and Mobile Support Station (MSS). Among which MSSs play a key role in mobile environment. This paper presents a low overhead Proxy MSS based framework to handle the fault in mobile distributed Systems. In the proposed scheme, one MSS lot of proxy MSS works as per the workload. One proxy MSS handles the specific group of BS. It is also suggested that all checkpointing data and their related overheads are forwarded to the proxy MSSs and as a result the workload of Mobile Hosts (MHs) will reduce substantially and battery power can be saved. Moreover, all the coordinated message and checkpoint requests will be decreased. The proposed non-blocking proxy based synchronous checkpointing approach has a simple data structure and forces minimum numbers of process to take checkpoint . At the end of the paper simulation results show the comparative analysis in different perspectives. Thus, in view of its unique features, the proposed scheme would be efficient and suitable for mobile distributed systems. Keword: Checkpointing, Mobile Host (MH), Mobile Support System (MSS), Proxy MSS.
Flow Diverters in the Treatment of Pediatric Cerebrovascular Diseases

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: There is very limited data concerning utilization of flow diverters in children. Our aim is to report results for the treatment of complex intracranial aneurysms and carotid cavernous fistulas by using flow diverters in children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective review of children (17 years of age or younger) treated with flow diverters between May 2011 and July 2014 was performed. Clinical and laboratory data and angiographic findings were extracted. Seven patients (6 males, 1 female; mean age, 12.7 years; range, 3–16 years) were included. Two presented with posttraumatic fistulas. The remaining patients presented with traumatic aneurysms of the cavernous carotid artery or fusiform aneurysms of the distal vertebral artery, M1, or A2 segments. All patients were premedicated with clopidogrel (75 mg daily for patients with body weights of >45 kg, 37.5 mg daily for 1 small child with a body weight of <45 kg) and aspirin (300 mg daily for ≥45 kg, 100 mg daily for smaller children). RESULTS: VerifyNow and Multiplate Analyzer values were higher than expected. No clinical complications were noted. Imaging performed at 7–52 months after the procedure (mean/median, 22.3/14 months) revealed occlusions of all aneurysms and fistulas. One patient had an asymptomatic occlusion of the parent artery; otherwise, no hemodynamically significant parent artery restenosis was observed. There were no clinically significant neurologic events during follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Although flow-diverter placement appears to be safe and effective on midterm follow-up in children, longer follow-up is critical. The current sizes of flow diverter devices and delivery systems cover the pediatric size range, obviating developing flow diverters specific to children.
The Agrobacterium tumefaciens virD3 gene is not essential for tumorigenicity on plants

Genetic studies indicate that three of the four polypeptides encoded within the virD operon of the Agrobacterium tumefaciens Ti plasmid are essential for virulence. In order to determine whether the fourth polypeptide, VirD3, has any role in virulence, complementation analysis was used. An A. tumefaciens strain, A348 delta D, which lacked the entire virD operon in the Ti plasmid pTiA6, was constructed. Plasmids containing defined regions of the virD operon were introduced into this strain, and virulence was tested by the strains' abilities to form tumors on Kalanchoe leaves, tomato stems, and potato tubers. As expected, deletion of the virD operon led to an avirulent phenotype. The virulence of this strain could be restored by providing virD1, virD2, and virD4 in trans. No requirement for virD3 in tumor formation was observed in these assays.
On logic and probability

CARNAP, R. 1950. Logical foundations of probability. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL. HEMPEL, C. G. 1965. Aspects of scientific explanation and other essays in the philosophy of science. The Free Press, New York, NY. KEYNES, J. M. 1921. A treatise on probability. MacMillan, London, England. MCCARTHY, J., and HAYES, P. 1969. Some philosophical problems from the standpoint of artificial intelligence. In Machine intelligence 4. Edited by D. Meltzer and D. Michie. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, Scotland, pp. 463 -502. MCDEFNOTT, D. 1986. A critique of pure reason. Technical Report, Yale University, New Haven, CT. MICHAJSKI, R. S. , CARBONELL, J . G. , and MITCHELL, T. M. 1983. Machine learning. Tioga, Palo Alto, CA. NEUFELD, E. , and POOLE, D. 1987. Towards solving the multiple extension problem: combining defaults and probabilities. The Third Workshop on Uncertainty in Artificial Intelligence. Proceedings. Seattle, WA, pp. 305-312. POOLE, D. L. 1987a. The use of logic. Computational Intelligence, 3: 205-206. 19876. A logical framework for default reasoning. Artificial Intelligence. In press; Technical Report CS-87-59, Department of Computer Science, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ont. POOLE, D. L. , GOEBBEL, R. G. , ~ ~ ~ A L E L I U N A S , R. 1987. Theorist: a logical reasoning system for defaults and diagnosis. In The knowledge frontier: essays in the representation of knowledge. Edited by Nick Cercone and Gordon McCalla. Springer-Verlag, New York, NY. QUINE, W. V. , and ULLIAN, J. S . 1978. The web of belief. Random House, New York, NY.
Isotope fractionation factors controlling isotopocule signatures of soil-emitted N₂O produced by denitrification processes of various rates.

RATIONALE This study aimed (i) to determine the isotopic fractionation factors associated with N2O production and reduction during soil denitrification and (ii) to help specify the factors controlling the magnitude of the isotope effects. For the first time the isotope effects of denitrification were determined in an experiment under oxic atmosphere and using a novel approach where N2O production and reduction occurred simultaneously. METHODS Soil incubations were performed under a He/O2 atmosphere and the denitrification product ratio [N2O/(N2 + N2O)] was determined by direct measurement of N2 and N2O fluxes. N2O isotopocules were analyzed by mass spectrometry to determine δ(18)O, δ(15)N and (15)N site preference within the linear N2O molecule (SP). An isotopic model was applied for the simultaneous determination of net isotope effects (η) of both N2O production and reduction, taking into account emissions from two distinct soil pools. RESULTS A clear relationship was observed between (15)N and (18)O isotope effects during N2O production and denitrification rates. For N2O reduction, diverse isotope effects were observed for the two distinct soil pools characterized by different product ratios. For moderate product ratios (from 0.1 to 1.0) the range of isotope effects given by previous studies was confirmed and refined, whereas for very low product ratios (below 0.1) the net isotope effects were much smaller. CONCLUSIONS The fractionation factors associated with denitrification, determined under oxic incubation, are similar to the factors previously determined under anoxic conditions, hence potentially applicable for field studies. However, it was shown that the η(18)O/η(15)N ratios, previously accepted as typical for N2O reduction processes (i.e., higher than 2), are not valid for all conditions.
Autologous bone marrow transplantation in acute myeloid leukemia in first remission: results of a Dutch prospective study.

Recent investigations have suggested a role for marrow ablative chemotherapy and radiotherapy given with autologous bone marrow transplantation (auto-BMT) in the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), but prospective studies have not been reported. We assessed the comparative values of auto-BMT and allogeneic marrow transplantation (allo-BMT) in 117 15- to 60-year-old consecutive patients (median, 43 years) with AML following remission-induction therapy. In 32 cases of the 90 (77%) complete responders, auto-BMT (nonpurged) was undertaken at a median of 3.8 months and in 23 eligible cases human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-matched allo-BMT occurred at 3.0 months after attainment of remission. Thus, nearly 60% of complete responders had access to transplantation, the others being withdrawn because of relapse, refusal, or other causes. Median time of regeneration to neutrophils 0.5 x 10(9)/L and platelets 20 x 10(9)/L were 39 and 63 days following auto-BMT versus 21 and 19 days after allo-BMT, respectively. AML relapse was the predominant cause of failure after auto-BMT (17 of 32) and procedure-related death was seen in three of 32 patients. The actuarial rates of relapse at 3 years are 60% (auto-BMT) and 34% (allo-BMT) (log-rank, P = .03). Patients treated with auto-BMT and allo-BMT have an overall survival of 37% and 66% at 3 years posttransplant, respectively (P = .05). Relapse-free 3-year survival rates are 35% and 51%, respectively (P = .12). Survival of the nongrafted complete responders is less than 10%. This study shows that allo-BMT in adult patients with AML in first complete remission (CR) results in more rapid hematopoietic reconstitution, is followed by fewer recurrences, and provides better survival than auto-BMT.
Building facade detection, segmentation, and parameter estimation for mobile robot localization and guidance

Building facade detection is an important problem in computer vision, with applications in mobile robotics and semantic scene understanding. In particular, mobile platform localization and guidance in urban environments can be enabled with an accurate segmentation of the various building facades in a scene. Toward that end, we present a system for segmenting and labeling an input image that for each pixel, seeks to answer the question “Is this pixel part of a building facade, and if so, which one? ” The proposed method determines a set of candidate planes by sampling and clustering points from the image with Random Sample Consensus (RANSAC), using local normal estimates derived from Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to inform the planar model. The corresponding disparity map and a discriminative classification provide prior information for a two-layer Markov Random Field model. This MRF problem is solved via Graph Cuts to obtain a labeling of building facade pixels at the mid-level, and a segmentation of those pixels into particular planes at the high-level. The results indicate a strong improvement in the accuracy of the binary building detection problem over the discriminative classifier alone, and the planar surface estimates provide a good approximation to the ground truth planes.
Variation and evolution of sex ratios at the northern range limit of a sexually polymorphic plant

Gender strategies involve three fundamental sex phenotypes – female, male and hermaphrodite. Their frequencies in populations typically define plant sexual systems. Patterns of sex‐ratio variation in a geographical context can provide insight into transitions among sexual systems, because environmental gradients differentially influence sex phenotype fitness. Here, we investigate sex‐ratio variation in 116 populations of Sagittaria latifolia at the northern range limit in eastern N. America and evaluate mechanisms responsible for the patterns observed. We detected continuous variation in sex phenotype frequencies from monoecy through subdioecy to dioecy. There was a decline in the frequency and flower production of females in northerly populations, whereas hermaphrodite frequencies increased at the range limit, and in small populations. Tests of a model of sex‐ratio evolution, using empirical estimates of fitness components, indicated that the relative female and male contribution of males and hermaphrodites to fitness is closer to equilibrium expectations than female frequencies. Plasticity in sex expression and clonality likely contribute to deviations from equilibrium expectations.
Comparative Effectiveness of Empiric Antibiotics for Community-Acquired Pneumonia

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Narrow-spectrum antibiotics are recommended as the first-line agent for children hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). There is little scientific evidence to support that this consensus-based recommendation is as effective as the more commonly used broad-spectrum antibiotics. The objective was to compare the effectiveness of empiric treatment with narrow-spectrum therapy versus broad-spectrum therapy for children hospitalized with uncomplicated CAP. METHODS: This multicenter retrospective cohort study using medical records included children aged 2 months to 18 years at 4 children's hospitals in 2010 with a discharge diagnosis of CAP. Patients receiving either narrow-spectrum or broad-spectrum therapy in the first 2 days of hospitalization were eligible. Patients were matched by using propensity scores that determined each patient’s likelihood of receiving empiric narrow or broad coverage. A multivariate logistic regression analysis evaluated the relationship between antibiotic and hospital length of stay (LOS), 7-day readmission, standardized daily costs, duration of fever, and duration of supplemental oxygen. RESULTS: Among 492 patients, 52% were empirically treated with a narrow-spectrum agent and 48% with a broad-spectrum agent. In the adjusted analysis, the narrow-spectrum group had a 10-hour shorter LOS (P = .04). There was no significant difference in duration of oxygen, duration of fever, or readmission. When modeled for LOS, there was no difference in average daily standardized cost (P = .62) or average daily standardized pharmacy cost (P = .26). CONCLUSIONS: Compared with broad-spectrum agents, narrow-spectrum antibiotic coverage is associated with similar outcomes. Our findings support national consensus recommendations for the use of narrow-spectrum antibiotics in children hospitalized with CAP.
Open String Field Theory around Universal Solutions

We study the physical spectrum of cubic open string field theory around universal solutions, which are constructed using the matter Virasoro operators and the ghost and anti-ghost fields. We find the cohomology of the new BRS charge around the solutions, which appear with a ghost number that differs from that of the original theory. Considering the gauge-unfixed string field theory, we conclude that open string excitations perturbatively disappear after the condensation of the string field to the solutions.
Speech Clarity and Coarticulation in Modern Standard Arabic and Dialectal Arabic

This study deals with the co-variation of speech clarity and coarticulatory patterns. Two experiments were conducted to investigate the influence of two parameters on coarticulation, the speech style (formal vs. non formal) and the prosodic position (stressed vs. unstressed syllable). The speech material was composed of four word lists varying CV syllable contexts with pharyngealized /t d s / vs. non- pharyngealized consonants /t d s / in Modern standard Arabic and dialectal Arabic. Acoustic and EMA materials were analyzed. The results revealed evident relationship between speech clarity and coarticulation: more coarticulation in formal speech (MSA) and under stressed syllable.
Roles for Mitochondrial and Reverse Mode Na+/Ca2+ Exchange and the Plasmalemma Ca2+ ATPase in Post-Tetanic Potentiation at Crayfish Neuromuscular Junctions

We have explored the processes regulating presynaptic calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) in the generation of post-tetanic potentiation (PTP) at crayfish neuromuscular junctions, using spectrophotometric dyes to measure changes in [Ca2+]i and [Na+]i and effects of inhibitors of Ca2+-transport processes. The mitochondrial Na+/Ca2+ exchange inhibitor CGP 37157 was without effect, whereas the reverse mode plasmalemmal Na+/Ca2+ exchange inhibitor KB R7943 reduced PTP and Ca2+ accumulation caused by increased [Na+]i. Exchange inhibitory peptide and C28R2 had opposite effects, consistent with their block of the plasma membrane Ca2+ ATPase. All drugs except CGP 37157 reduced Ca2+ accumulation caused by Na+ accumulation, which occurred on block of the Na+/K+ pump, acting in proportion to their effects on plasmalemmal Na+/Ca2+ exchange. We find no role for mitochondrial Na+/Ca2+exchange in presynaptic Ca2+ regulation. The plasma membrane Na+/Ca2+ exchanger acts in reverse mode to admit Ca2+ into nerve terminals during and for some minutes after tetanic stimulation, while at the same time the plasma membrane Ca2+ ATPase operates as an important Ca2+ removal process. The interplay of these two Ca2+ transport processes with Na+-independent mitochondrial Ca2+ fluxes and the plasmalemma Na+/K+ pump determines the magnitude of tetanic [Ca2+]iaccumulation and potentiation of excitatory transmission, and the post-tetanic time courses of decay of elevated [Ca2+]i and PTP.
Marikana: Analysing Miners’ Subjectivity and the Crisis of Representation 1

This article analyses some of the reasons for the violent repression of the miners’ strike in Marikana, South Africa, in which 34 people died on 16 August 2012. It explores the economic and productive context which led the Rock Drill Operators to demand a wage increase outside the usual wage-bargaining structures. It goes on to examine the strikers’ subjectivity and the principles of their strike. Because the strike was organised independently of the main union, the National Union of Mineworkers, by miners demanding direct talks with their employer, as a sign of recognition, it illustrated a crisis of representation and embodied an alternative politics. The author argues that the African National Congress government was faced with a challenge to its instituted forms of political representation and, as a result, ordered the police to fire on the demonstrators.