Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of Risk Factors That Contribute to High Prevalence of Premature Atherosclerosis in Chinese Premenopausal Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Patients

Objective:To evaluate the prevalence of atherosclerosis in Chinese premenopausal women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and study possible associations between traditional and nontraditional risk factors with premature atherosclerosis. Methods:We evaluated 111 premenopausal women with SLE and 40 healthy controls without clinical cardiovascular disease. B-mode ultrasound was used to measure carotid plaque and intima-media wall thickness (IMT). The frequency of risk factors for atherosclerosis in patients and controls was compared, and the relationship between the patients’ clinical characteristics and carotid plaque was examined. At the same time, we used B-mode ultrasound to measure flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and nitroglycerin-mediated dilation (NMD) in the brachial artery to assess for difference in endothelial function between SLE patients and controls. Results:Carotid plaque was more frequent in patients with lupus (16 of 111 patients) than in control subjects (0 of 40 subjects) (P = 0.007). The mean IMT was significantly higher in patients than in controls. Compared with controls, SLE patients were found to have a significantly higher prevalence of hypertension (P = 0.001), hypercholesterolemia (P = 0.022), and hypertriglyceridemia (P < 0.001). As compared with patients without plaque, patients with plaque were significantly older, had longer disease duration, higher body mass index, raised blood pressure, shorter prothrombin time, raised C-reactive protein, higher Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics damage index score, higher cumulative prednisone dose, used less hydroxychloroquine, had higher mean IMT, lower FMD, and NMD. In logistic regression analysis, older age, higher body mass index, and higher Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics damage index score were independently related to the presence of plaque. Using multiple regression analysis, we found SLE (P = 0.003) to be significantly associated with impaired FMD. Conclusion:In our Chinese SLE group, patients presented a higher prevalence of carotid atherosclerosis plaque than healthy controls. SLE patients have significant endothelial dysfunction. We found that risk factors identified in other SLE populations were associated with atherosclerosis in our Chinese group.
Awareness Equilibrium

We define awareness of rational agents by their perceptions. Awareness Equilibrium is then given by agents’ perceptions of the world, their conjectures about others’ perceptions, actions that are taken, and outcomes consistent with all of these. We first consider economic problems where agents may lack awareness of other agents. These setups have a natural interpretation in terms of social networks. We propose a model of technological choice with no payoff externalities. An example akin to this model is viral marketing. Second, we apply Awareness Equilibrium to strategic situations (normal-form games) where players may be aware only of subsets of actions. Generically the set of Action-awareness Equilibrium outcomes is much larger than the set of Nash equilibria. This provides a critique of the approach pursued by the epistemic literature on unawareness. We outline an evolutionary approach for the study of awareness.
Repeat self-harm: application of hurdle models

Summary Among those who present to the emergency department for self-harm, many will repeat. Self-harm repetition is an outcome of interest in both observational and intervention studies. However, few such studies analyse the number of repeat self-harm presentations. Here, hurdle models are introduced as a potentially useful statistical method for these analyses. Emergency department data from the Province of Ontario, Canada, are used to illustrate an example of implementing hurdle models and interpreting their results.
Learning Temporal Features Using a Deep Neural Network and its Application to Music Genre Classification

In this paper, we describe a framework for temporal feature learning from audio with a deep neural network, and apply it to music genre classiﬁcation. To this end, we revisit the conventional spectral feature learning framework, and reformulate it in the cepstral modulation spectrum domain, which has been successfully used in many speech and music-related applications for temporal feature extraction. Experimental results using the GTZAN dataset show that the temporal features learned from the proposed method are able to obtain classiﬁcation accuracy comparable to that of the learned spectral features.
Effect of feeding chayote (Sechium edule) meal on growth performance and nutrient utilization in indigenous pig (Zovawk) of Mizoram

Aim: This study was planned to investigate the effect of feeding different levels of chayote (Sechium edule) meal by replacing standard concentrate mixture (CM) on the growth parameters such as feed intake, body weight gain, average daily gain (ADG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR), and nutrient utilization in indigenous pig of Mizoram. Materials and Methods: Twenty-four growing indigenous pigs (Zovawk) were used to study the effect of feeding chayote (Sechium edule) meal (fruits and leaves at the ratio 4:1) on growth performance and nutrient utilization. They were allocated randomly into 4 treatment groups (G1, G2, G3, and G4). Chayote meal was used to replace standard CM (pig grower ration) at 0% (G1), 20% (G2), 30% (G3), and 40% (G4). Results: During the feeding trial of 90 days, it was found that the dry matter (DM) intake decreased as the level of chayote meal increased. For G1, G2, G3, and G4, the ADG (kg) was 0.24±0.04, 0.23±0.03, 0.18±0.02, and 0.18±0.02, respectively, and the feed conversion efficiency was 5.42±0.44, 4.93±0.17, 5.38±0.05, and 5.74±0.53, respectively. However, there was no significant difference (p>0.05) among the different treatment groups in respect to ADG and FCR. At the end of the feeding trial, digestibility trial was conducted to study the effect of feeding chayote meal in the digestibility of the different nutrients by the experimental animals. From the digestibility trial, it was revealed that the digestibility coefficient of DM, crude protein, and crude fiber were also similar (p>0.05), although the ether extract digestibility in G1 was significantly low (p<0.01) as compared to G2, G3, and G4. Conclusion: Chayote meal could safely replace the standard grower ration up to 40% in the diet of growing local pigs without causing any adverse effects on growth and nutrient utilization.
Structural evidence for the continuity of liquid and glassy water

An open question is whether the liquid and glassy phases of water are thermodynamically distinct or continuous. Here we address this question using molecular dynamics simulations in comparison with neutron scattering experiments to study the effect of temperature and pressure on the local structure of liquid water. From both simulations and experiments, we find that the liquid structure at high pressure is nearly independent of temperature, and remarkably similar to the known structure of the high-density amorphous ice (HDA). Further at low pressure, the liquid structure appears to approach the experimentally-measured structure of low-density amorphous ice (LDA) as temperature decreases. These results are consistent with continuity between the liquid and glassy phases of H$_2$O.
Critical Role of Signaling Through IL-1 Receptor for Development of Arthritis and Sepsis During Staphylococcus aureus Infection1

IL-1R-deficient mice (IL-1R−/−) and their wild-type controls (IL-1R+/+) were i.v. inoculated with 1 × 107 or 106 Staphylococcus aureus per mouse to mimic bacterial sepsis and septic arthritis. The disease outcome was severely worsened in the IL-1R−/− mice as compared with IL-1R+/+ mice. Indeed, 3 days after inoculation of 107 S. aureus per mouse 84% of IL-1R−/− mice displayed clinical signs of septicemia as compared with none of the IL-1R+/+ mice. On day 9 after inoculation with 106 S. aureus per mouse 75% of the IL-1R−/− mice were dead as compared with none of the IL-1R+/+ mice. Also, the number of staphylococci in circulation was 25- to 30-fold increased in IL-1R−/− mice as compared with IL-1R+/+ mice, the most probable reason for the outcome. The frequency and severity of septic arthritis were significantly increased in IL-1R−/− mice, as compared with IL-1R+/+ mice, following i.v. inoculation of staphylococci. This was probably due to an increased accumulation of bacteria in the joints of IL-1R−/− mice as compared with their wild-type controls. Interestingly, while serum levels of IL-18 in IL-1R−/− mice were significantly lower than in IL-1R+/+ mice 24 h after inoculation of S. aureus, both IL-18 and IL-1β were significantly increased in IL-1R−/− vs IL-1R+/+ mice 4 days after the bacterial inoculation. In conclusion, IL-1R signaling plays a crucial role in host protection during systemic S. aureus infection as seen by the fatal outcome of S. aureus sepsis and arthritis in IL-1R-deficient mice.
Impact of the 2008 Economic and Financial Crisis on Child Health: A Systematic Review

The aim of this study was to provide an overview of studies in which the impact of the 2008 economic crisis on child health was reported. Structured searches of PubMed, and ISI Web of Knowledge, were conducted. Quantitative and qualitative studies reporting health outcomes on children, published since 2007 and related to the 2008 economic crisis were included. Two reviewers independently assessed studies for inclusion. Data were synthesised as a narrative review. Five hundred and six titles and abstracts were reviewed, from which 22 studies were included. The risk of bias for quantitative studies was mixed while qualitative studies showed low risk of bias. An excess of 28,000–50,000 infant deaths in 2009 was estimated in sub-Saharan African countries, and increased infant mortality in Greece was reported. Increased price of foods was related to worsening nutrition habits in disadvantaged families worldwide. An increase in violence against children was reported in the U.S., and inequalities in health-related quality of life appeared in some countries. Most studies suggest that the economic crisis has harmed children’s health, and disproportionately affected the most vulnerable groups. There is an urgent need for further studies to monitor the child health effects of the global recession and to inform appropriate public policy responses.
A Three-Level T-Type Indirect Matrix Converter Based on the Third-Harmonic Injection Technique

An indirect matrix converter (IMC) is a direct ac-ac power converter. As an improvement of the output waveform quality, several types of three-level IMC are proposed and investigated. However, two major problems of these converters still exist. First, in some specific situations, such as wind energy conversion systems and flexible ac transmission systems, these converters’ capabilities of generating input reactive power must be improved greatly. Second, neutral-point voltage balancing is a key challenge to the normal operation of multilevel IMCs, but the control of balancing the neutral-point voltage for multilevel IMCs has not been investigated so far. To address these issues, a three-level T-type indirect MC (3LT2IMC) topology as well as a carrier-based modulation method is proposed. In addition to inheriting the advantages of the third-harmonic injection two-stage MC such as extended input reactive power control range and no need for synchronization in modulation, 3LT2IMC could provide an improved output power quality. Besides, a closed-loop control algorithm for balancing the neutral-point voltage is developed. The presented modulation strategy and control algorithm are generalized and can be extended to other three-level IMCs. Finally, the proposed topology and method are verified by simulation and experimental results.
Distribution of Porphyromonas gingivalis fimA genotypes in cardiovascular specimens from Japanese patients.

INTRODUCTION Porphyromonas gingivalis, a major periodontal pathogen, is gaining increasing attention for its possible association with cardiovascular diseases. Its fimbriae are classified into six genotypes (types I-V and Ib) based on the diversity of the fimA genes encoding the fimbrial subunits. In this study, fimA genotypic distribution was analyzed in P. gingivalis-infected cardiovascular specimens. METHODS A total of 112 heart valves and 80 atheromatous plaque specimens were collected from patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery, as well as 56 dental plaque specimens. Bacterial DNA was extracted from each, and polymerase chain reaction analysis was carried out with a P. gingivalis-specific set of primers. P. gingivalis-positive specimens were further analyzed to discriminate the fimA genotype using polymerase chain reaction with fimA type-specific primer sets. RESULTS P. gingivalis was detected in 10.4% of the cardiovascular specimens and 50.0% of the dental plaque samples. In the latter, type II was most frequently detected (35.7%), followed by types I (28.6%) and IV (21.4%), while types IV and II were detected with considerable frequencies of 45.0% and 30.0%, respectively, in the cardiovascular specimens. In contrast, the occurrence of type I was limited (5.0%) in the cardiovascular specimens. CONCLUSION These results suggest that specific fimA genotypic clones, which are reportedly associated with periodontitis, are also frequently harbored in cardiovascular specimens, indicating the possible involvement of type II and IV clones in the initiation and progression of cardiovascular diseases.
Defining Ethical Guidelines for Ambient Intelligence Applications on a Mobile Phone

Ambient Intelligence applications based on information and communication technology embedded in our environment and everyday objects raise several ethical issues. Even if ethical principles tend to be easily acceptable they are not so easy to concretize for design guidance. In this paper we describe how we have defined ethical guidelines for ambient intelligence applications on a mobile phone parallel to the development of the mobile phone platform architecture. Our aim has been to define guidelines that are concrete enough to be easy to understand and easy to follow by service and application designers as well as by platform developers. Our work highlights that it is possible and beneficial to study ethical issues when developing platforms and architectures for future applications. In that way we can identify ethical concerns well before the actual commercial application development takes place and we can find solutions to the concerns together with technology developers.
Patient and provider satisfaction with medical care.

BACKGROUND This study compares patient and provider satisfaction with medical care and waiting time in a large family medicine residency program. Few published studies have dealt with both patient and provider perceptions. METHODS Telephone interviews were conducted with 156 adult, English-speaking patients who were randomly selected from daily appointment schedules. The patients were asked to rate their satisfaction with 10 aspects of medical care and to estimate the length of time they waited to see their physicians. Sixty-five family health care providers responded to the same survey items through a self-administered questionnaire. RESULTS In general, 97% of patients and 89% of providers were satisfied with the overall medical care provided at the family health center. Approximately 8% of patients and 22% of providers were dissatisfied with waiting time, and 11% of patients and nearly 60% of providers were dissatisfied with appointment scheduling. Patients' estimates of waiting time for care (mean = 16.1 minutes) were significantly shorter than providers' estimates (mean = 27.5 minutes). Patients who were dissatisfied with the length of waiting time estimated waiting 41.8 minutes, while satisfied patients estimated waiting 13.3 minutes (P less than .001). CONCLUSIONS Family medicine patients reported higher levels of satisfaction with medical care than did providers. Both groups were the least satisfied with access to care.
Use of Wild Relatives and Closely Related Species to Adapt Common Bean to Climate Change

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is an important legume crop worldwide. However, abiotic and biotic stress limits bean yields to <600 kg ha−1 in low-income countries. Current low yields result in food insecurity, while demands for increased yields to match the rate of population growth combined with the threat of climate change are significant. Novel and significant advances in genetic improvement using untapped genetic diversity available in crop wild relatives and closely related species must be further explored. A meeting was organized by the Global Crop Diversity Trust to consider strategies for common bean improvement. This review resulted from that meeting and considers our current understanding of the genetic resources available for common bean improvement and the progress that has been achieved thus far through introgression of genetic diversity from wild relatives of common bean, and from closely related species, including: P. acutifolius, P. coccineus, P. costaricensis and P. dumosus. Newly developed genomic tools and their potential applications are presented. A broad outline of research for use of these genetic resources for common bean improvement in a ten-year multi-disciplinary effort is presented.
Flow and Heat Transfer Performance of Slag and Matte in the Settler of a Copper Flash Smelting Furnace

Simulation of two‐phase flow in a copper flash smelting settler with simultaneous tapping of slag and matte is carried out using Eulerian‐Eulerian two‐fluid model and the flow and heat transfer performance of slag and matte is examined. Detailed velocity vectors, temperature and volume fraction distributions are obtained. The results show that the small copper droplets will be suspended in the slag. When the droplet diameter is large enough, the slag and matte layer are clearly formed and the dispersion layer between the slag and matte layers becomes thinner at larger droplet sizes and its thickness remains nearly unchanged when the copper droplet diameter is larger than about 500 μm.
A Reduction in Adult Blood Stream Infection and Case Fatality at a Large African Hospital following Antiretroviral Therapy Roll-Out

Introduction Blood-stream infection (BSI) is one of the principle determinants of the morbidity and mortality associated with advanced HIV infection, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Over the last 10 years, there has been rapid roll-out of anti-retroviral therapy (ART) and cotrimoxazole prophylactic therapy (CPT) in many high HIV prevalence African countries. Methods A prospective cohort of adults with suspected BSI presenting to Queen's Hospital, Malawi was recruited between 2009 and 2010 to describe causes of and outcomes from BSI. Comparison was made with a cohort pre-dating ART roll-out to investigate whether and how ART and CPT have affected BSI. Malawian census and Ministry of Health ART data were used to estimate minimum incidence of BSI in Blantyre district. Results 2,007 patients were recruited, 90% were HIV infected. Since 1997/8, culture-confirmed BSI has fallen from 16% of suspected cases to 10% (p<0.001) and case fatality rate from confirmed BSI has fallen from 40% to 14% (p<0.001). Minimum incidence of BSI was estimated at 0.03/1000 years in HIV uninfected vs. 2.16/1000 years in HIV infected adults. Compared to HIV seronegative patients, the estimated incidence rate-ratio for BSI was 80 (95% CI:46–139) in HIV-infected/untreated adults, 568 (95% CI:302–1069) during the first 3 months of ART and 30 (95% CI:16–59) after 3 months of ART. Conclusions Following ART roll-out, the incidence of BSI has fallen and clinical outcomes have improved markedly. Nonetheless, BSI incidence remains high in the first 3 months of ART despite CPT. Further interventions to reduce BSI-associated mortality in the first 3 months of ART require urgent evaluation.
Ron receptor regulates Kupffer cell‐dependent cytokine production and hepatocyte survival following endotoxin exposure in mice

Previous studies demonstrated that targeted deletion of the Ron receptor tyrosine kinase (TK) domain in mice leads to marked hepatocyte protection in a well‐characterized model of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐induced acute liver failure in D‐galactosamine (GalN)‐sensitized mice. Hepatocyte protection in TK−/− mice was observed despite paradoxically elevated serum levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF‐α). To understand the role of Ron in the liver, purified populations of Kupffer cells and hepatocytes from wildtype (TK+/+) and TK−/− mice were studied. Utilizing quantitative reverse‐transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR), we demonstrated that Ron is expressed in these cell types. Moreover, we also recapitulated the protected hepatocyte phenotype and exaggerated cytokine production observed in the TK−/− mice in vivo through the use of purified cultured cells ex vivo. We show that isolated TK−/− Kupffer cells produce increased levels of TNF‐α and select cytokines compared to TK+/+ cells following LPS stimulation. We also show that conditioned media from LPS‐treated TK−/− Kupffer cells was more toxic to hepatocytes than control media, suggesting the exaggerated levels of cytokines produced from the TK−/− Kupffer cells are detrimental to wildtype hepatocytes. In addition, we observed that TK−/− hepatocytes were more resistant to cell death compared to TK+/+ hepatocytes, suggesting that Ron functions in both the epithelial and inflammatory cell compartments to regulate acute liver injury. These findings were confirmed in vivo in mice with hepatocyte and macrophage cell‐type‐specific conditional Ron deletions. Mice with Ron loss selectively in hepatocytes exhibited less liver damage and increased survival compared to mice with Ron loss in macrophages. Conclusion: We dissected cell‐type‐specific roles for Ron such that this receptor modulates cytokine production from Kupffer cells and inhibits hepatocyte survival in response to injury. (HEPATOLOGY 2011;)
Key Success Factors for Managing Projects

The use and management of projects has risen to a new prominence, with projects seen as critical to economic in both the private and public sectors due challenging and dynamic business environment. However, failure in managing project is encountered regularly, which cause the waste of company resources. The impacts of projects that failed to meet stakeholders expectations have left behind long lasting negative consequences in organization. Therefore, this research aims to investigate on key success factors of project management in an organization. It is believed that recognizing important factors that contribute to successful project will help companies to increase the overall profitability. 150 questionnaires were distributed to respondents and 110 questionnaires were collected and used in performing the data analysis. The result has strongly supported the relationship between independent variables and project performance. Keywords—Project Performance, Leadership, Top Management Involvement