Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of auricular acupressure on menstrual symptoms and nitric oxide for women with primary dysmenorrhea.

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of auricular acupressure on relieving menstrual symptoms and decreasing nitric oxide (NO) for women with primary dysmenorrhea. DESIGN This was a randomized clinical trial comparing the effects of auricular acupressure by seed-pressure method and placebo adhesive patch. SETTING Settings included colleges in northern and central Taiwan. SUBJECTS Serum CA-125 testing was used as a screening test for primary dysmenorrhea (<35 mg/dL). The study included 36 college females randomized to acupressure group, 35 to control group. INTERVENTIONS The acupressure group received auricular acupressure by seed-pressure method on liver (CO12), kidney (CO10), and endocrine (CO18) acupoints. The control group had a plain adhesive patch placed on the same acupoints with no seed attached. Acupressure protocol included massaging 15 times on each acupoint, 3 times a day, for a total of 20 days. OUTCOME MEASURES Primary: Short-form Menstrual Distress Questionnaire (MDQs). Secondary: blood sample of NO. Assessments of MDQs and NO were performed at baseline and within the first 2 days of their next menses (after completion of 20 days of acupressure). RESULTS In the acupressure group, the overall menstrual symptoms (95% confidence interval [CI] = -49.8 to -6.5, effect size [ES] = 0.43, p = 0.01) and two subscales, menstrual pain (95% CI = -16.4 -to -2.2, ES = 0.45, p = 0.01) and negative affects (95% CI = -11.9-2.0, ES = 0.38, p = 0.04), revealed that menstrual symptoms decreased significantly after auricular acupressure by the seed-pressure method. The ES for the MDQs were in favor of the auricular acupressure by seed-pressure method. NO level increased in the acupressure group, although this difference did not achieve statistical significance (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS This study supports the effects of auricular acupressure by seed-pressure method in improving menstrual symptoms, and offers a noninvasive complementary therapy for women with primary dysmenorrhea.
RESEARCH ARTICLE A Nonparametric EM algorithm for Multiscale Hawkes Processes

Estimating the conditional intensity of a self-exciting point process is particularly challenging when both exogenous and endogenous e! ects play a role in clustering. We propose maximum penalized likelihood estimation as a method for simultaneously estimating the background rate and the triggering density of Hawkes process intensities that vary over multiple time scales. We compare the accuracy of the algorithm with the recently introduced Model Independent Stochastic Declustering (MISD) algorithm and then use the model to examine self-excitation in Iraq IED event patterns.
Examination of some factors responsible for a food-induced increase in absorption of atovaquone.

1. Atovaquone is a potent antiprotozoal slowly and irregularly absorbed after administration as tablets to fasting volunteers. A series of studies was performed to investigate the effects of food, bile and formulation on atovaquone absorption. 2. In 18 healthy male volunteers, a high-fat breakfast administered 45 min before 500 mg atovaquone as tablets increased AUC by 3.3-fold (95% CI 2.8-4.0) and Cmax 5.3-fold (4.3-6.6) compared with fasting. 3. The absorption of atovaquone from tablets was examined in 12 healthy male volunteers after an overnight fast, following toast alone, toast with 28 g butter (LOFAT), or toast with 56 g butter (HIFAT). Compared with absorption when fasted, toast had no significant effect but LOFAT increased AUC 3.0-fold (2.1-4.2) and Cmax 3.9-fold (2.6-5.8). HIFAT increased AUC 3.9-fold (2.7-5.5) and Cmax 5.6-fold (3.8-8.4). 4. The absorption of atovaquone was examined in nine healthy fasting male volunteers from tablets, an aqueous suspension, and an oily solution/suspension in miglyol (fractionated coconut oil). Compared with tablets, AUC following the aqueous suspension was increased 1.7-fold (1.0-2.7) and Cmax 2.4-fold (1.7-3.5). Following miglyol, AUC was increased to the same extent but Cmax was only increased 1.8-fold (1.2-2.6). 5. Atovaquone absorption was examined in eight healthy fasting male volunteers following an i.v. infusion of cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK-OP) which decreased gallbladder volume by 82% (73%-90%) on occasion 1 or saline on occasion 2. AUC(0,12) was increased following CCK-OP by 1.6-fold (1.1-2.4) and Cmax by 1.5-fold (0.98-2.4). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Entropic repulsion on a rarefied wall

We consider the motion of a discrete d-dimensional random surface interacting by exclusion with a rarefied wall. The dynamics is given by the serial harness process. We prove that the process delocalizes iff the mean number of visits to the set of sites where the wall is present by some random walk is infinite. In case where there is a delocalization, bounds on its speed are obtained.
Cross-Layer Optimization of Adaptive Multi-Rate Wireless Networks Using Truncated Chase Combining HARQ

A cross-layer performance analysis of a wireless network using adaptive modulation and coding at the physical layer and a truncated Chase combining hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ-CC) scheme for error control at the data link layer is developed. Based on a Markov chain queueing model, analytical expressions for performance metrics such as throughput, average packet delay and packet loss rate are derived and then used to formulate a constrained optimization problem to maximize the system throughput under the prescribed Quality-of-Service constraints. Numerical results reveal that HARQ-CC consistently outperforms the classical Type-I Hybrid forward error correction/automatic repeat request schemes.
Device modelling and model verification for the Euclid CCD273 detector

Euclid is one of the M-class missions selected for the next phase of ESA’s long-term Cosmic Vision programme. The primary goal of this mission is to observe the distribution and shapes of distant galaxies, with the aim of mapping and characterising the dark energy which makes up about 70% of the universe. This will be achieved by measuring the effects of weak lensing on the captured images, in terms of the distortion caused to the elipticity of galaxy shapes [1]. The e2v CCD273 was designed for the Euclid mission and is adapted from an older design (the CCD203) with changes made to improve CTE under irradiation by solar protons. Reducing the effects of radiation damage in the image sensor will result in images which have minimal distortion. This paper is focused on the on-going development and verification of 3D device models and their integration with Monte Carlo radiation damage models. Parameters such as charge interaction volume versus signal size, pixel full well capacity, and charge transfer behaviour for both the parallel and serial registers will be discussed. The main mission goals are aimed at measuring distortion due to weak lensing, so it is important to differentiate this from distortion due to radiation damage. This work will eventually lead to a method of post processing images to remove the effects of radiation damage.
Smooth Pursuit Eye Movements Experimental and Computational Analysis of Monkey

[PDF] [Full Text] [Abstract] 2008; 99 (2): 747-758. J Neurophysiol Hiromitsu Tabata, Kenichiro Miura and Kenji Kawano Based on Past Experience in Humans Trial-by-Trial Updating of the Gain in Preparation for Smooth Pursuit Eye Movement [PDF] [Full Text] [Abstract] 2008; 99 (6): 2798-2808. J Neurophysiol Ulrich Nuding, Seiji Ono, Michael J. Mustari, Ulrich Buttner and Stefan Glasauer A Theory of the Dual Pathways for Smooth Pursuit Based on Dynamic Gain Control [PDF] [Full Text] [Abstract] 2009; 102 (1): 110-118. J Neurophysiol Abtine Tavassoli and Dario L. Ringach Dynamics of Smooth Pursuit Maintenance [PDF] [Full Text] [Abstract] , September 14, 2011; 11 (5): . J Vis Alexander C. Schutz, Doris I. Braun and Karl R. Gegenfurtner Eye movements and perception: A selective review [PDF] [Full Text] [Abstract] , November 16, 2011; 31 (46): 16561-16569. J. Neurosci. Sonja S. Hohl and Stephen G. Lisberger Macaque Monkeys Representation of Perceptually Invisible Image Motion in Extrastriate Visual Area MT of
High-capacity DNA-based steganography

In this paper, a Steganography algorithm is proposed to communicate data securely using basic concepts and properties of the Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA). The proposed method is implemented in two main levels: In level one, a DNA-based Playfair cipher is initially applied to encrypt the secret message. In level two; a substitution method is used to hide the encrypted secret message into some reference DNA. That is, the bases of the reference DNA are replaced with the encrypted DNA depending on a generic two-by-two complementary rule. The performance of the presented algorithm is inspected with respect to the Hiding capacity as well as robustness against attacks.
Performance space diagram for the evaluation of high- and low-temperature asphalt mixture performance

This paper presents a simple, yet powerful method for simultaneously evaluating the high- and low-temperature performance of asphalt paving mixtures for the purpose of mixture design, evaluation, and forensic investigation. A performance-space diagram approach is described, with an emphasis on Hamburg-DC(T) plots presented in this paper. Specifically, a plot of Hamburg wheel tracking results, plotted in reverse order on the y-axis using an arithmetic scale, along with DC(T) fracture energy results, plotted on the x-axis, constitutes the Hamburg-DC(T) plot. Plotting candidate mixture designs, research results, and so on yields a surprising amount of insight into mixture variables that affect overall performance. For instance, substitution of one straight-run binder grade for another results in a clear, predictable trade-off in the Hamburg-DC(T) performance space. Polymer-modified grades, on the other hand, provide a more beneficial shift in the Hamburg-DC(T) space. The benefits of using this approach in the design of mixtures containing recycled asphalt mixture and recycled asphalt shingles is also presented. Effects of rejuvenators and the benefits of stone-mastic asphalt designs are also demonstrated. Finally, a broad look at a large database of mixtures recently designed in Illinois is presented.
Numerical simulation for the yield behaviour of stochastic fibre reinforced composites with overlap

The transversely isotropic stochastic fibre reinforced composite with a novel geometrical structure is proposed in the present work and the 3D representative periodic volume element (RVE) has been generated for the study. Periodic boundary conditions are adopted in the finite element simulations [1, 2]. The number of cross-linkers and the degree of overlap are two key factors in determining the volume fraction of fibre networks which is the crucial parameter of fibre composites. In order to avoid the over constraint caused by embedded element technique (EET) while applying periodic boundary conditions (PBC) [1, 2] to the RVE, the automatic searching and coupling technique (ASC) is applied to couple the corresponding nodes between fibres and matrix. The results indicate that compared to the conventional stochastic fibre reinforced composites, fibres in the present geometry are bonded together to form a network among fibres [3, 4] and thus significantly enhance the stiffness [3] and strength of the composite.
International Journal of Copd Dovepress a Gender Difference in Circulating Neutrophils in Malnourished Patients with Copd

Background: Circulating markers of inflammation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) may correlate to disease progression and extrapulmonary complications such as malnourishment. However, surprisingly little is known about gender-related differences for circulating inflammatory markers in COPD. Purpose: To characterize differences in circulating markers of inflammation in malnourished female and male patients with COPD. Subjects: Thirty female and 11 male patients with a clinical diagnosis of COPD and malnour-ishment were examined. A group of control subjects without evidence of COPD was recruited for comparison of some variables. Methods: Blood samples were drawn, and the following parameters were studied: leukocytes and differential counts, C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8, myeloperoxidase (MPO), neutrophil elastase (NE), intracellular adhesion molecule-1, vascular endothelial adhesion molecule-1, and E-selectin. Results: The mean neutrophil concentration was significantly (P = 0.019) higher in female (4.5 × 10 9 /L) than in male patients with COPD (3.5 × 10 9 /L) and significantly higher than in female control subjects (3.1 × 10 9 /L) (P , 0.01, n = 85). The mean CRP values were considerably higher in female (4.9 mg/mL) than in male patients with COPD (1.5 mg/mL), but the difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.20). The mean concentrations of IL-6 and IL-8 tended to be higher in female than in male patients with COPD, but these differences did not reach statistical significance either (P. 0.05). Confounding factors (smoking, medication) could not explain the gender differences noted. The concentrations of MPO and NE displayed a strong correlation (r = 0.89; P , 0.01, n = 41) but revealed no gender differences. The latter was true for concentrations of adhesion molecules as well. Conclusions: Our study puts forward evidence of a gender-related difference in systemic inflammation in malnourished patients with COPD in terms of circulating neutrophils being more abundant in female patients. Among these female patients, there was also a trend toward an increase in two neutrophil-mobilizing cytokines. New and better-powered studies are warranted to confirm and characterize this potentially important phenomenon in greater detail.
Power and Resource Allocation for Orthogonal Multiple Access Relay Systems

We study the problem of joint power and channel resource allocation for orthogonal multiple access relay (MAR) systems in order to maximize the achievable rate region. Four relaying strategies are considered; namely, regenerative decode-and-forward (RDF), nonregenerative decode-and-forward (NDF), amplify-and-forward (AF), and compress-and-forward (CF). For RDF and NDF we show that the problem can be formulated as a quasiconvex problem, while for AF and CF we show that the problem can be made quasiconvex if the signal-to-noise ratios of the direct channels are at least -3dB. Therefore, efficient algorithms can be used to obtain the jointly optimal power and channel resource allocation. Furthermore, we show that the convex subproblems in those algorithms admit a closed-form solution. Our numerical results show that the joint allocation of power and the channel resource achieves significantly larger achievable rate regions than those achieved by power allocation alone with fixed channel resource allocation. We also demonstrate that assigning different relaying strategies to different users together with the joint allocation of power and the channel resources can further enlarge the achievable rate region.
On the Decreasing Flexural Modulus of Glass/Vinylester Composite Beams Up to Failure State

COMPARISON OF THE FAILURE STATE FOR COMPOSITE LAMINATES UNDER BEND-ING AND TENSILE LOADS IS A WELL-KNOWN ISSUE WHICH IS DISCUSSED IN THE LITERATURE INTENSIVELY. THE SCOPE OF THIS PAPER IS INVESTIGATED BY THE AID OF EXPERIMENTAL AND NUMERICAL PROGRAMS. THE NUMERICAL STUDY IS PERFORMED THROUGH PROGRESSIVE DAMAGE ANALYSIS (PDA) APPROACH. THE OBTAINED RESULTS FROM PDA ARE VERIFIED BY THE EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS FOR THE TENSILE SPECIMENS. THEN THE PROCEDURE IS USED TO PREDICT FAILURE OF THE BEAM SPECIMENS UNDER THREE-POINT-BENDING (3PB) CONDITIONS. BOTH INTER-LAMINAR AND INTRA-LAMINAR DAMAGES ARE INCLUDED IN THE DEVELOPED MODELS. THE FIRST TYPE OF DAMAGE IS EXAM-INED BASED ON THE CONTINUUM DAMAGE MECHANICS (CDM) APPROACH AND THE SECOND ONE BASED ON THE VIRTUAL CRACK CLOSURE TECHNIQUE (VCCT). THE BOUNDARY CONDITIONS FOR THE BEAMS ARE SIMULATED ACCU-RATELY IN THE ANALYSES. THE FLEXURAL MODULUS AND STRENGTH OF THE BEAMS WITH VARIOUS LAYUPS ARE ESTIMATED TO BE COMPARED WITH THE TENSILE BEHAVIOR OF LAMINATES. THE STRAIN-BASED FAILURE CRITERION COULD PREDICT FAILURE OF THE COMPOSITE BEAMS IN CONSISTENCY WITH THE ULTIMATE STRAINS MEASURED FOR THE TENSILE SPECIMENS.
Morphological and quantitative angiographic analyses of progression of coronary stenoses. A comparison of Q-wave and non-Q-wave myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to determine differences in coronary stenosis severity and morphology and time course of progression between Q-wave and non-Q-wave myocardial infarction (MI). METHODS AND RESULTS We studied 32 patients with new Q-wave MI and 38 patients with new non-Q-wave MI who underwent coronary angiography both before and after MI without interval revascularization procedures. Quantitative coronary angiographic analysis was performed by the caliper method, and morphological analysis of coronary angiograms was obtained before and soon after acute MI. Before infarction, the stenosis severity at the site of future MI was worse in Q-wave (44 +/- 25%) versus non-Q-wave (23 +/- 35%) MI patients (P < .01). Eccentric and irregular plaques were more common in Q-wave MI patients (18 of 32, 56%, versus 5 of 38, 13%; P < .001). Non-Q-wave MI patients were more frequently found to have significant collaterals after MI compared with Q-wave MI patients (18 of 38, 47%, versus 1 of 32, 3%; P < .001) despite no difference in post-MI stenosis severity. Analysis according to time interval after pre-MI angiography showed that 9 of 11 patients (82%) with Q-wave MI < 18 months later had a stenosis of > or = 50% versus 7 of 21 (33%) with an interval > 18 months (P < .05). By comparison, non-Q-wave MI patients tended to fall into two categories regardless of time of progression: Either minimal or no stenosis (< 20%) or else a severe stenosis (> 70%) was typically present. CONCLUSIONS The atheromatous plaque substrate is different in Q-wave and non-Q-wave MI. Non-Q-wave MI occurs typically at a site shown by pre-MI angiography to involve either minimal luminal narrowing or a severe stenosis before MI, which is usually nonulcerated. By comparison, Q-wave MI follows a moderate stenosis in which the plaque is eccentric and ulcerated. Such differences culminate in differences in thrombus lability and collateral development and consequently in different clinical profiles.
Serum lipid profiles: novel biomarkers predicting advanced prostate cancer in patients receiving radical prostatectomy

This study aimed to evaluate the role of serum lipid profiles as novel biomarkers in predicting pathological characteristics of prostate cancer (PCa). We retrospectively analyzed 322 consecutive patients with clinically localized PCa receiving radical prostatectomy (RP) and extended pelvic lymphadenectomy. Unconditional logistic regression was used to estimate the prostatectomy Gleason score (pGS), pathological stage and lymph node involvement (LNI) in RP specimens. Preoperative prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, biopsy GS (bGS), and preoperative tumor, node, metastasis staging were used as basic variables to predict postoperative pathological characteristics. Preoperative serum lipid profiles were introduced as potential predictors. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to determine predictive efficacy. Significant differences in pathological characteristics were observed among patients with normal and abnormal total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels, with the exception of pGS in the TG group. Multivariable regression analysis revealed that the odds ratio for high levels of TC for LNI compared with normal TC levels was 6.386 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.510-27.010), 3.270 (95% CI: 1.470-7.278) for high levels of TG for pT3-4 disease, and 2.670 (95% CI: 1.134-6.287) for high levels of LDL for pGS. The area under the ROC curve of the models with dyslipidemia was larger than that in models without dyslipidemia, in predicting pathological characteristics. Abnormal TC, TG, and LDL levels are significantly associated with postoperative pathological status in PCa patients. Together with preoperative PSA levels, bGS, and clinical stage, dyslipidemia is more accurate in predicting pathological characteristics.
Static Analysis of Nippers Pinch

The purpose of the study was to present a method for the assessment of finger joint torques in two‐fingered precision grips. The static analysis of various grips is important for the analysis of the mechanics of a human hand and the functional evaluation of grasping. We have built a grip‐measuring device assessing the endpoint forces of two‐oppositional grips. Through the simultaneous use of an optical measuring system and the grip‐measuring device, the finger positions and the grip force acting on the object were obtained. A recursive computational method was used within the proposed static model of the finger to calculate the finger joint torques. In the paper a three‐dimensional static model of the grip is presented and the calculated finger joint torques are shown. The repeatability within subject is analyzed for the assessed grip force and finger joint torques. The estimated joint torques corresponds to the amount of load on the finger joints during the isometric muscle contraction in nippers pinch.
Deconstructing Transactional Semantics: The Subtleties of Atomicity

Researchers have recently proposed software and hardware support for transactions as a replacement for the traditional lock-based synchronization most common in multithreaded programs. Transactions allow the programmer to specify a region of the program that should appear to execute atomically, while the hardware and runtime system optimistically execute the transactions concurrently to obtain high performance. The transactional abstraction is thus a promising approach for creating both faster and simpler multithreaded programs. Although transactions have great potential for simplifying multithreaded programming due to their strong atomicity guarantees, this work shows that these same guarantees can have unexpected and potentially serious negative effects on programs that were written assuming weaker synchronization primitives. We make three contributions: (1) we show that a direct translation (statically or dynamically) of lock-based critical sections into transactions can introduce deadlocks into otherwise correct programs, (2) we define an atomicity model for transactions, in which we introduce the terms strong and weak atomicity, and (3) we show that the decision to enforce strong atomicity as opposed to weak atomicity can also result in deadlock. These results invalidate the intuitive idea that transactions are strictly safer than lock-based critical sections and strong atomicity is strictly safer than weak atomicity. We assert that the research community must confront these subtle issues of transactional semantics by exploring the design space and deciding upon the most appropriate semantics for future transactional systems.