Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Intensity-dependent host mortality: what can it tell us about larval growth strategies in complex life cycle helminths?

SUMMARY Complex life cycle helminths use their intermediate hosts as both a source of nutrients and as transportation. There is an assumed trade-off between these functions in that parasite growth may reduce host survival and thus transmission. The virulence of larval helminths can be assessed by experimentally increasing infection intensities and recording how parasite biomass and host mortality scale with intensity. I summarize the literature on these relationships in larval helminths and I provide an empirical example using the nematode Camallanus lacustris in its copepod first host. In all species studied thus far, including C. lacustris, overall parasite volume increases with intensity. Although a few studies observed host survival to decrease predictably with intensity, several studies found no intensity-dependent mortality or elevated mortality only at extreme intensities. For instance, no intensity-dependent mortality was observed in male copepods infected with C. lacustris, whereas female survival was reduced only at high intensities (>3) and only after worms were fully developed. These observations suggest that at low, natural intensity levels parasites do not exploit intermediate hosts as much as they presumably could and that increased growth would not obviously entail survival costs.
CD69 is independently prognostic in chronic lymphocytic leukemia: a comprehensive clinical and biological profiling study

Background CD69 is expressed in several hemopoietic cells and is an early activation marker in chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia is a clinically heterogeneous disease which needs novel prognostic parameters which can be easily and efficiently managed. Design and Methods We investigated CD69 by flow cytometry in a series of 417 patients affected by chronic lymphocytic leukemia and compared this to other biological and clinical prognosticators. Results CD69 was associated with Rai stages (P=0.00002), β2-microglobulin (P=0.0005) and soluble CD23 (P<0.0001). CD69 and ZAP-70 (P=0.018) or CD38 (P=0.00015) or immunoglobulin variable heavy chain gene mutations (P=0.0005) were also significantly correlated. Clinically, CD69 positive chronic lymphocytic leukemias received chemotherapy more frequently (74%; P<0.0001), and presented a shorter duration of response after fludarabine plus rituximab (P=0.010) as well as shorter progression free survival and overall survival (P<0.0001). CD69 demonstrated true additive prognostic properties, since the CD69+ plus ZAP-70+ or CD38+ or immunoglobulin variable heavy chain gene unmutated patients had the worst progression free survival and overall survival (P<0.0001). Interestingly, low CD69 expression was necessary to correctly prognosticate the longer progression free survival of patients with a low tumor burden of β2-microglobulin (P=0.002), of soluble CD23 (P=0.020), or of Rai stages 0-I (P=0.005). CD69 was confirmed to be an independent prognostic factor in multivariate analysis of progression free survival (P=0.017) and overall survival (P=0.039). Conclusions Our data indicate that CD69 is significantly correlated with poor clinical and biological prognostic factors and is confirmed to be an independent disease prognosticator. This supports its introduction in a routine laboratory assessment and, possibly, in a prognostic scoring system for chronic lymphocytic leukemia, after an adequate standardization process.
In vitro effects of cilostazol, a phosphodiesterase 3A inhibitor, on mouse oocyte maturation and morphology

Inhibition of phosphodiesterase 3A (PDE3A) in oocytes has been reported to arrest oocyte maturation and to increase intra‐oocyte cyclic adenosine monophosphate levels. Although many PDE3A inhibitors have been found to arrest oocyte maturation in different species, including humans, the most commonly prescribed PDE3A inhibitor named cilostazol (CLZ) has not yet been fully evaluated in reproduction. The present study was designed to investigate the potential inhibitory effects of CLZ on oocyte maturation and morphology in vitro. Antral oocytes were recovered from hyperstimulated mice and allocated to 10 different CLZ concentrations (0.00–67.66 μmol/L). Oocytes were then assessed after 24 and 48 h of incubation for maturation and morphology. Some of the evaluated CLZ concentrations (1.06–4.23 μmol/L) were made similar to those observed in human clinical trials. CLZ arrested oocyte maturation at the germinal vesicle (GV) stage at concentrations as low as 1.06 μmol/L (P < 0.0001). A selective degenerative impact of CLZ targeting arrested oocytes at the GV stage was observed during 24 h of incubation (r = −0.781, P < 0.0001). This was not the case with non‐arrested oocytes (r = −0.082, P = 0.64). Such degenerative impact was dose‐dependent (P < 0.0001), suggesting a role for cyclic adenosine monophosphate in this degenerative process. The degenerated oocytes were of distorted oolema or fragmented cytoplasm. Based on the experiments, it is concluded that CLZ can inhibit oocyte maturation in vitro, at concentrations similar to those observed in humans taking CLZ, and under such conditions the prolonged maintenance of oocytes at the GV stage is harmful.
Fatigue and fracture parameters of various glass fiber cement based composites

The search for construction materials with enhanced properties such as strength,ductility, toughness and durability has lead to an increasing interest in materialslike fiber concrete and high-performance concrete. The limited knowledge aboutthe long-term behavior or the effects of repeated loading on the properties of thesematerials has caused a growing interest on the fatigue performance of concrete.Examples of such cyclic loads include machine vibration, sea waves, wind action,automobile traffic etc. Additionally, reliable data are needed for the calibration ofaccurate models capable of predicting the fatigue behavior of structural concrete.
Configuring Software Product Lines by Combining Many-Objective Optimization and SAT Solvers

A feature model (FM) is a compact representation of the information of all possible products from software product lines. The optimal feature selection involves the simultaneous optimization of multiple (usually more than three) objectives in a large and highly constrained search space. By combining our previous work on many-objective evolutionary algorithm (i.e., VaEA) with two different satisfiability (SAT) solvers, this article proposes a new approach named SATVaEA for handling the optimal feature selection problem. In SATVaEA, an FM is simplified with the number of both features and constraints being reduced greatly. We enhance the search of VaEA by using two SAT solvers: one is a stochastic local search--based SAT solver that can quickly repair infeasible configurations, whereas the other is a conflict-driven clause-learning SAT solver that is introduced to generate diversified products. We evaluate SATVaEA on 21 FMs with up to 62,482 features, including two models with realistic values for feature attributes. The experimental results are promising, with SATVaEA returning 100% valid products on almost all FMs. For models with more than 10,000 features, the search in SATVaEA takes only a few minutes. Concerning both effectiveness and efficiency, SATVaEA significantly outperforms other state-of-the-art algorithms.
Family Members Providing Home-Based Palliative Care to Older Adults: The Enactment of Multiple Roles*

RÉSUMÉ L'espérance de vie des Canadiens s'accroît et, de ce fait, les maladies chroniques (Santé Canada, 2002) exigeant des soins en fin de vie (Fisher, Ross, & MacLean, 2000). La recherche est limitée sur le processus visant à établir la multiplicité des rôles pour les membres de la famille dispensant des soins palliatifs à domicile. En se fondant sur une étude ethnographique plus vaste des relations client-famille-fournisseur de soins palliatifs à domicile (Ward-Griffin & McWilliam, 2004), la présente analyse secondaire visait à évaluer l'adoption de multiples rôles par les membres de la famille dispensant des soins palliatifs à domicile aux aînés souffrant de cancer avancé. Les membres de la famille étaient d'avis que les attentes envers eux étaient nombreuses lors de la dispensation des soins, mais qu'on ne répondait pas à leurs attentes en matière de services. Jouer des rôles multiples était décrit par trois thèmes interreliés: équilibre des charges, établissement de nouvelles priorités, et évolution. Les réponses positives et négatives en matière de santé découlaient des tentatives de minimiser la santé personnelle tout en maintenant simultanément la santé. Les «véritables» soins de santé dans une perspective familiale étaient absents, mais devraient devenir l'un des objectifs des professionnels de la santé dispensant des soins de santé en fin de vie. ABSTRACT Canadians are experiencing increased life expectancy and chronic illness requiring end-of-life care. There is limited research on the multiple roles for family members providing home-based palliative care. Based on a larger ethnographic study of client-family-provider relationships in home-based palliative care, this qualitative secondary analysis explores the enactment of multiple roles for family members providing home-based palliative care to seniors with advanced cancer. Family members had multiple expectations to provide care but felt their expectations of services were unmet. The process of enacting multiple roles was depicted by three interrelated themes: balancing, re-prioritizing, and evolving. Positive and negative health responses resulted from attempts to minimize personal health while simultaneously maintaining health. “True” family-centred care was found to be lacking, but should be a goal of health professionals involved in end-of-life care.
Capillary Z-pinch discharge produced plasma EUV source

Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation is seen as the most promising candidate for the next generation of lithography and semiconductor chip manufacturing for the 32nrn node and below. This paper elaborately describes the EUV source in our lab based on the capillary Z-pinch discharge produced plasma (DPP).
Contrasting Reactive and Proactive Control of Emotional Distraction

Attending to emotional stimuli is often beneficial, because they provide important social and environmental cues. Sometimes, however, current goals require that we ignore them. To what extent can we control emotional distraction? Here we show that the ability to ignore emotional distractions depends on the type of cognitive control that is engaged. Participants completed a simple perceptual task at fixation while irrelevant images appeared peripherally. In 2 experiments, we manipulated the proportion of trials in which images appeared, to encourage use of either reactive control (rare distractors) or proactive control (frequent distractors). Under reactive control, both negative and positive images were more distracting than neutral images, even though they were irrelevant and appeared in unattended locations. However, under proactive control, distraction by both emotional and neutral images was eliminated. Proactive control was triggered by the meaning, and not the location, of distracting images. Our findings argue against simple bottom-up or top-down explanations of emotional distraction, and instead show how the flexible use of cognitive control supports adaptive processing of emotional distractors.
Lentivirus‐mediated disintegrin and metalloproteinase 17 RNA interference reversed the acquired resistance to gefitinib in lung adenocarcinoma cells in vitro

Objective: The aim of the study is to evaluate the effects of silencing a disintegrin and metalloproteinase 17 (ADAM17) gene expression by lentivirus‐mediated RNA interference (RNAi) in the gefitinib‐resistant lung adenocarcinoma cells, and then to explore whether the recombinant lentivirus mediated ADAM17 RNAi reversed the acquired resistance of lung adenocarcinoma to gefitinib in vitro.
Piezoresistive Performance of Long-Fiber Composites with Carbon Nanotube Doped Matrix

The electrical and mechanical properties of carbon nanotube (CNT) doped epoxy resin and composites based on this matrix were studied. The investigation was carried out on neat nanocomposites and on structural composites i.e., when the nanocomposite is used as matrix in composite materials reinforced with long continuous fibers. Tensile tests showed that CNT doped epoxy exhibited clear piezoresistive behavior. It was, however, also shown that geometrical changes of the specimen also contribute significantly to resistance changes during tensile loading. Particular effort was made to establish the relations between transverse cracking in glass fiber cross-ply laminates with nanotube doped matrix and changes of electrical resistance. It was shown that changes of electrical resistance during tensile loading of composites containing CNT doped matrix gives highly relevant information about the damage state of the material. In an unloaded state the resistance change is proportional to the relative change of stiffness. This work demonstrates that there are three different mechanisms, which contribute to changes of electrical resistance of a composite specimen subjected to tensile strain. These three mechanisms are: (a) geometrical changes of the specimen (b) piezoresistive material response, and (c) accumulation of micro-damage.
The global gas and dust budget of the Small Magellanic Cloud

In order to understand the evolution of the interstellar medium (ISM) of a galaxy, we have analysed the gas and dust budget of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). Using the Spitzer Space Telescope, we measured the integrated gas mass-loss rate across asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars and red supergiants (RSGs) in the SMC, and obtained a rate of 1.4 × 10−3 M⊙ yr−1. This is much smaller than the estimated gas ejection rate from Type II supernovae (SNe) (2–4 × 10−2 M⊙ yr−1). The SMC underwent an increase in star formation rate in the last 12 Myr, and consequently the galaxy has a relatively high SN rate at present. Thus, SNe are more important gas sources than AGB stars in the SMC. The total gas input from stellar sources into the ISM is 2–4 × 10−2 M⊙ yr−1. This is slightly smaller than the ISM gas consumed by star formation (∼8 × 10−2 M⊙ yr−1). Star formation in the SMC relies on a gas reservoir in the ISM, but eventually the star formation rate will decline in this galaxy, unless gas infalls into the ISM from an external source. The dust injection rate from AGB and RSG candidates is 1 × 10−5 M⊙ yr−1. Dust injection from SNe is in the range 0.2–11 × 10−4 M⊙ yr−1, although the SN contribution is rather uncertain. Stellar sources could be important for ISM dust (3 × 105 M⊙) in the SMC, if the dust lifetime is about 1.4 Gyr. We found that the presence of poly-aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the ISM cannot be explained entirely by carbon-rich AGB stars. Carbon-rich AGB stars could inject only 7 × 10−9 M⊙ yr−1 of PAHs at most, which could contribute up to 100 M⊙ of PAHs in the lifetime of a PAH. The estimated PAH mass of 1800 M⊙ in the SMC cannot be explained. Additional PAH sources, or ISM reprocessing should be needed.
Pricing of monoclonal antibody therapies: higher if used for cancer?

OBJECTIVES The rising prices of specialty drugs have prompted a debate about how medications are priced. With the average price of cancer drugs doubling in the last decade, the unsustainability of drug prices is especially concerning in oncology and hematology. The objective of this study was to compare the prices of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) approved in the last 20 years by the FDA across disease states. STUDY DESIGN We identified all indications approved by the FDA for mAbs from 1997 to 2016 and calculated the annual price of 1-year treatment for each mAb-indication combination as the product of the US average wholesale price per milligram and the recommended dose. METHODS We compared the annual price of treatment with each mAb across disease states using generalized linear models with gamma distribution and log link, controlling for route of administration, chemical structure, source, and time since FDA approval. RESULTS The average annual price of a mAb was $96,731, exceeding $100,000 for 34 mAb-indication combinations. Oncology and hematology mAbs represented 40% of the mAb-indication combinations approved, yet they accounted for more than 85% of those priced $100,000 or higher. After adjusting for factors that can affect production costs, the annual price of oncology or hematology mAbs was $149,622 higher than those used in cardiovascular or metabolic disorders; $98,981 higher than in immunology; $128,856 higher than in infectious diseases or allergy; and $106,830 higher than in ophthalmology (all P <.001). CONCLUSIONS The annual price of mAb therapies is about $100,000 higher in oncology and hematology than in other disease states.
Segment-based speech emotion recognition using recurrent neural networks

Recently, Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) have produced state-of-the-art results for Speech Emotion Recognition (SER). The choice of the appropriate time-scale for Low Level Descriptors (LLDs) (local features) and statistical functionals (global features) is key for a high performing SER system. In this paper, we investigate both local and global features and evaluate the performance at various time-scales (frame, phoneme, word or utterance). We show that for RNN models, extracting statistical functionals over speech segments that roughly correspond to the duration of a couple of words produces optimal accuracy. We report state-of-the-art SER performance on the IEMOCAP corpus at a significantly lower model and computational complexity.
Characteristics associated with mortality in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)–heart failure coexistence

Abstract Aim To investigate if cardiac/pulmonary functional tests and variables obtained from clinical practice (body mass index, dyspnea, functional class, clinical judgment of disability to perform an exercise test and previous hospitalization rate) are related to mortality in patients with overlap chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and chronic heart failure (CHF). Background Although the coexistence of COPD and CHF has been growingly reported, description of survival predictors considering the presence of both conditions is still scarce. Methods Using a cohort design, outpatients with the previous diagnosis of COPD and/or CHF that performed both spirometry and echocardiography in the same year were followed-up during a mean of 20.9±8.5 months. Findings Of the 550 patients initially evaluated, 301 had both spirometry and echocardiography: 160 (53%) with COPD on isolation; 100 (33%) with CHF on isolation; and 41 (14%) with overlap. All groups presented similar mortality: COPD 17/160 (11%); CHF 12/100 (12%); and overlap 7/41 (17%) (P=0.73). In the overlap group (n=41), inability to exercise and hospitalization rate were the unique parameters associated with higher mortality (seven events) in univariate analyses. In conclusion, inability to exercise and hospitalization rate emerged as the unique parameters associated with mortality in our sample.
Optimal sensor power control via a correlated block fading channel

This paper considers the scenario that a power-limited sensor transmits the states of a physical plant to a remote estimator through a correlated block fading communication channel. From the perspective of the system operator, it is of importance to design a proper sensor power control strategy to gain desirable state estimation quality at the remote estimator side and save the power cost at the sensor side concurrently. To achieve this objective, an optimization problem is constructed to minimize the weighted sum of the average remote estimation error and the average power cost in an infinite time horizon. Then a Markov decision process framework is adopted to show that the optimal sensor power control strategy exists. Unfortunately, owing to an implicit part existing in its expression, the optimal solution cannot be used directly. In order to approximate the optimal solution, we derive the analytical expression of optimal solution when the sensor power control policy is restrained. Drawing support from it, we present a suboptimal power control strategy with the explicit expression. Finally, a simulation example is presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed sensor power control strategy.
Use of Serum Transthyretin as a Prognostic Indicator and Predictor of Outcome in Cardiac Amyloid Disease Associated With Wild-Type Transthyretin

Background: Wild-type transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTRwt), an underappreciated cause of heart failure in older adults, is challenging to diagnose and monitor in the absence of validated, disease-specific biomarkers. We examined the prognostic use and survival association of serum TTR (transthyretin) concentration in ATTRwt. Methods and Results: Patients with biopsy-proven ATTRwt were retrospectively identified. Serum TTR, cardiac biomarkers, and echocardiographic parameters were assessed at baseline and follow-up evaluations. Statistical analyses included Kaplan–Meier method, Cox proportional hazard survival models, and receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis. Median serum TTR concentration at presentation was 23 mg/dL (n=116). Multivariate predictors of shorter overall survival were decreased TTR, left ventricular ejection fraction and elevated cTn-I (cardiac troponin I); an inclusive model demonstrated superior accuracy in 4-year survival prediction by receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis (area under the curve, 0.77). TTR values lower than the normal limit, <18 mg/dL, were associated with shorter survival (2.8 versus 4.1 years; P=0.03). Further, TTR values at 1- and 2-year follow-ups were significantly lower (P<0.001) in untreated patients (n=23) compared with those treated with TTR stabilizer, diflunisal (n=12), after baseline evaluation. During 2-year follow-up, unchanged TTR corresponded to increased cTn-I (P=0.006) in untreated patients; conversely, the diflunisal-treated group showed increased TTR (P=0.001) and stabilized cTn-I and left ventricular ejection fraction at 1 year. Conclusions: In this series of biopsy-proven ATTRwt, lower baseline serum TTR concentration was associated with shorter survival as an independent predictor of outcome. Longitudinal analysis demonstrated that decreasing TTR corresponded to worsening cardiac function. These data suggest that TTR may be a useful prognostic marker and predictor of outcome in ATTRwt.