Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Anemia as a risk factor for childhood asthma

Objective: This prospective-(cohort) study was conducted to evaluate whether anemia is a risk factor for childhood asthma. Materials and Methods: Two hundred children in the age group of 2-18 years who attended the Outpatient Department with upper respiratory / lower respiratory tract infections were included in this study. One hundred children with anemia were taken as the study group and another 100, age - and sex-matched children without anemia were taken as the control.They were subjected to complete blood count (CBC) C-reactive protein (CRP) estimation, Mantoux test and chest X-ray. Pulmonary function tests (PFTs) were performed on those above six years showing evidence of asthma. Peripheral smear, serum ferritin and serum iron-binding capacity were estimated for all anemic children. Results: Asthma was present in 74 (74%) children in the study group and in 33 (33%) children in the control group. Iron-deficiency anemia was present in 85 (85%) anemia of chronic infection in 20 (20%) and the other five (5%) had hemolytic anemia. Anemia was found to be a risk factor for childhood asthma. Conclusion: Anemic children were 5.75 times more susceptible to asthmatic attacks when compared with nonanemic children.
Model Complexity in Diffusion Modeling: Benefits of Making the Model More Parsimonious

The diffusion model (Ratcliff, 1978) takes into account the reaction time distributions of both correct and erroneous responses from binary decision tasks. This high degree of information usage allows the estimation of different parameters mapping cognitive components such as speed of information accumulation or decision bias. For three of the four main parameters (drift rate, starting point, and non-decision time) trial-to-trial variability is allowed. We investigated the influence of these variability parameters both drawing on simulation studies and on data from an empirical test-retest study using different optimization criteria and different trial numbers. Our results suggest that less complex models (fixing intertrial variabilities of the drift rate and the starting point at zero) can improve the estimation of the psychologically most interesting parameters (drift rate, threshold separation, starting point, and non-decision time).
Jitter calculus in ATM networks: multiple nodes

We provide simple techniques for estimating the end-to-end jitter incurred by a periodic traffic in an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) network. Our analysis is based on the careful examination of light and heavy traffic behavior of jitter incurred to a tagged renewal stream in a single node. Our results indicate that, in the heavy traffic as the number of nodes increases, the jitter distribution approaches to a limiting distribution which only depends on the behavior of the background traffic. We provide the functional equation satisfying this limit which bounds the moments of the jitter for arbitrary level of traffic. A simple approximation method based on the heavy and light traffic analysis of the jitter process is also provided and the results is supported by extensive simulation.
Remote Sensing the Phytoplankton Seasonal Succession of the Red Sea

The Red Sea holds one of the most diverse marine ecosystems, primarily due to coral reefs. However, knowledge on large-scale phytoplankton dynamics is limited. Analysis of a 10-year high resolution Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) dataset, along with remotely-sensed sea surface temperature and wind, provided a detailed description of the spatiotemporal seasonal succession of phytoplankton biomass in the Red Sea. Based on MODIS (Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) data, four distinct Red Sea provinces and seasons are suggested, covering the major patterns of surface phytoplankton production. The Red Sea Chl-a depicts a distinct seasonality with maximum concentrations seen during the winter time (attributed to vertical mixing in the north and wind-induced horizontal intrusion of nutrient-rich water in the south), and minimum concentrations during the summer (associated with strong seasonal stratification). The initiation of the seasonal succession occurs in autumn and lasts until early spring. However, weekly Chl-a seasonal succession data revealed that during the month of June, consistent anti-cyclonic eddies transfer nutrients and/or Chl-a to the open waters of the central Red Sea. This phenomenon occurs during the stratified nutrient depleted season, and thus could provide an important source of nutrients to the open waters. Remotely-sensed synoptic observations highlight that Chl-a does not increase regularly from north to south as previously thought. The Northern part of the Central Red Sea province appears to be the most oligotrophic area (opposed to southern and northern domains). This is likely due to the absence of strong mixing, which is apparent at the northern end of the Red Sea, and low nutrient intrusion in comparison with the southern end. Although the Red Sea is considered an oligotrophic sea, sporadic blooms occur that reach mesotrophic levels. The water temperature and the prevailing winds control the nutrient concentrations within the euphotic zone and enable the horizontal transportation of nutrients.
Engineering greater aluminium resistance in wheat by over-expressing TaALMT1.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Expected increases in world population will continue to make demands on agricultural productivity and food supply. These challenges will only be met by increasing the land under cultivation and by improving the yields obtained on existing farms. Genetic engineering can target key traits to improve crop yields and to increase production on marginal soils. Soil acidity is a major abiotic stress that limits plant production worldwide. The goal of this study was to enhance the acid soil tolerance of wheat by increasing its resistance to Al(3+) toxicity. METHODS Particle bombardment was used to transform wheat with TaALMT1, the Al(3+) resistance gene from wheat, using the maize ubiquitin promoter to drive expression. TaALMT1 expression, malate efflux and Al(3+) resistance were measured in the T(1) and T(2) lines and compared with the parental line and an Al(3+)-resistant reference genotype, ET8. KEY RESULTS Nine T(2) lines showed increased TaALMT1 expression, malate efflux and Al(3+) resistance when compared with untransformed controls and null segregant lines. Some T(2) lines displayed greater Al(3+) resistance than ET8 in both hydroponic and soil experiments. CONCLUSIONS The Al(3+) resistance of wheat was increased by enhancing TaALMT1 expression with biotechnology. This is the first report of a major food crop being stably transformed for greater Al(3+) resistance. Transgenic strategies provide options for increasing food supply on acid soils.
Efficient Single‐Layer Polymer Light‐Emitting Diodes

Organic/polymeric light emitting diodes (LEDs) have been actively investigated in recent years for display and solid-state lighting due to their rapidly improving effi ciency and performance. [ 1 ] Amongst other critical aspects, the interfaces between the electrodes and emissive semiconductors play important roles in determining their operating characteristics and stability. [ 2 , 3 ] We and others have shown that ZnO can provide adequate electron injection into F8BT [ 4–10 ] Coating of ZnO with a thin layer of Cs 2 CO 3 has been shown to further improve the current effi ciency in hybrid PLEDs. [ 8 ] Ohmic hole injection into the deep HOMO level of F8BT ( ∼ 5.8 eV, chemical structure shown in Figure 1a ) is diffi cult using high work function metals or a layer of the conducting polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS). Recent work on hybrid PLEDs has demonstrated that MoO 3 is a potential candidate to achieve good hole injection into F8BT. [ 4 , 6 , 7 ] It has recently been shown in photoelectron spectroscopy study that the work-function of MoO 3 is as large as 6.9 eV. [ 11 ] This enables ohmic hole injection into materials with ionisation potentials signifi cantly deeper than that for F8BT. [ 12 ] MoO 3 has also been utilized in OLEDs [ 13 ] and in transistor [ 14 ] structures for improved hole injection. The hybrid inverted PLED structures, as shown in Figure 1b , have metal-oxides as charge transporting and injection layers. Most of the studies in this area are focused on the bottom n-type metal-oxides layer for example compact TiO 2 , [ 4 , 6 ] mesoporous TiO 2 , [ 4 , 9 , 15 ] ZnO [ 4 , 5 , 7 , 8 , 16 ]
Patellofemoral Instability in Children: Correlation Between Risk Factors, Injury Patterns, and Severity of Cartilage Damage.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to compare MRI findings between groups with and without patellofemoral instability and to correlate the MRI findings with the severity of patellar cartilage damage. MATERIALS AND METHODS Fifty-three children with patellofemoral instability and 53 age- and sex-matched children without patellofemoral instability (15.9 ± 2.4 years) were included. Knee MRI with T2-weighted mapping was performed. On MR images, femoral trochlear dysplasia, patellofemoral malalignment, medial retinaculum injury, and bone marrow edema were documented. The degree of patellar cartilage damage was evaluated on MR images by use of a morphologic grading scale (0-4) and on T2 maps with mean T2 values at the medial, central, and lateral facets. MRI findings were compared between the two groups. In cases of patellofemoral instability, MRI findings were correlated with the severity of cartilage damage at each region. RESULTS Trochlear structure and alignment were significantly different between the two groups (Wilcoxon p < 0.0001). In patellofemoral instability, a high-riding patella was associated with central patellar cartilage damage with a higher morphologic grade and T2 value (Spearman p < 0.05). The severity of medial retinacular injury and presence of bone marrow edema at either the medial patella or the lateral femoral condyle were associated with a higher grade of medial patellar cartilage damage (Wilcoxon p < 0.05). None of the other findings correlated with the severity of patellar cartilage damage. CONCLUSION Patients with patellofemoral instability have significantly different trochlear structure and alignment than those who do not, and these differences are known risk factors for patellofemoral instability. However, the only risk factors or injury patterns that directly correlated with the severity of patellar cartilage damage were patella alta, medial stabilizer injury, and bone marrow edema.
Fast solvers and efficient implementations for distance metric learning

In this paper we study how to improve nearest neighbor classification by learning a Mahalanobis distance metric. We build on a recently proposed framework for distance metric learning known as large margin nearest neighbor (LMNN) classification. Our paper makes three contributions. First, we describe a highly efficient solver for the particular instance of semidefinite programming that arises in LMNN classification; our solver can handle problems with billions of large margin constraints in a few hours. Second, we show how to reduce both training and testing times using metric ball trees; the speedups from ball trees are further magnified by learning low dimensional representations of the input space. Third, we show how to learn different Mahalanobis distance metrics in different parts of the input space. For large data sets, the use of locally adaptive distance metrics leads to even lower error rates.
In resource limited areas complete enteral feed in stable very low birth weight infants (1000–1500 g) started within 24 h of life can improve nutritional outcome

Abstract Objective: To evaluate feasibility of complete enteral feed (CEF) in stable very low birth weight neonates weighing 1000–1500 g. Subjects and interventions: One hundred and three stable very low birth weight (vlbw) neonates (1000–1500 g) irrespective of gestational age (GA) were randomized to receive either CEF with expressed breast milk (EBM) (n = 51) or minimal enteral feed (MEF) supplemented with intravenous fluid (IVF). (MEF) (n = 52). Feed volume was increased progressively. Primary outcome measures were feed intolerance (FI) and necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in first 21 days of life or discharge from NICU, whichever was earlier. Secondary outcome measures were the time taken to reach calorie intake of 110 kcal/kg/D and regain of birthweight. Results: FI was observed in n = 12 (23.53%) in CEF group versus n = 6 (11.53%) in MEF group (p = 0.1264). NEC was observed in 4 (7.8%) in CEF group versus 1(1.9%) in MEF group (p = 0.16) and results were comparable in both groups. Birthweight regain (10.6 ± 1.6 days versus 11.8 ± 1.6 days, p = 0.038), NICU discharge (11.7 ± 2.6 days versus 13.0 ± 3.45 days, p = 0.038) and time to reach 110 kcal/kg/day (9.571 ± 1.458 days versus 10.833 ± 1.655 days, p = 0.001) were significantly earlier in CEF compared to MEF group. Conclusion: Complete enteral feeds started within 24 h of life is feasible in vlbw neonates.
The 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey: hierarchical galaxy clustering

We use the Two-Degree Field Galaxy Redshift Survey (2dFGRS) to test the hierarchical scaling hypothesis: namely, that the p-point galaxy correlation functions can be written in terms of the two-point correlation function or variance. This scaling is expected if an initially Gaussian distribution of density fluctuations evolves under the action of gravitational instability. We measure the volume-averaged p-point correlation functions using a counts-in-cells technique applied to a volume-limited sample of 44 931 L-* galaxies. We demonstrate that L-* galaxies display hierarchical clustering up to order p= 6 in redshift space. The variance measured for L-* galaxies is in excellent agreement with the predictions from a Lambda-cold dark matter N-body simulation. This applies to all cell radii considered, 0.3 < (R/h(-1) Mpc) < 30. However, the higher order correlation functions of L-* galaxies have a significantly smaller amplitude than is predicted for the dark matter for R < 10 h(-1) Mpc. This disagreement implies that a non-linear bias exists between the dark matter and L-* galaxies on these scales. We also show that the presence of two rare, massive superclusters in the 2dFGRS has an impact on the higher-order clustering moments measured on large scales.
Laboratory Characterization of Blends with Recycled Materials Using High Replacement Binder Ratios and a Recycling Agent Type

The effects of using recycling agents (RAs) on hot mixture asphalt (HMA) have recently acquired special attention in the academic community due to the fact that recycled mixtures typically have high stiffness as a result of long periods of oxidative aging, mainly driven by environmental conditions (e.g., sunlight, temperature, and oxygen). In addition, the use of RAs in HMA aims at restoring the rheological and physicochemical properties of the aged binder contained in the reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) and reclaimed asphalt shingles (RAS) to provide the HMA mixtures with adequate performance, similar or superior to that of virgin HMA (i.e., without RAP, RAS, or RA). Subsequently, the objective of this thesis is to study the rheological and ageing characteristics of asphalt binder blends fabricated with RAP, RAS, and recycling agents using high recycled binder ratios (RBRs). The materials were retrieved from a recent field project constructed in Texas that incorporated high percentages of RAP/RAS materials with recycling agents and warm mixture asphalt additives in five highway sections. The laboratory characterization included: (1) blending charts, dosage estimations, and master curves from dynamic shear rheometer, (2) the Glover-Rowe (GR) parameter in Black Space diagrams, and (3) Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The results indicated that the use of the T1 recycling agent allowed for restoring the rheology (i.e., G* and phase angle) in all the combinations studied. Furthermore, validation of the regional linear blending concept allowed for calculating dosages of RA.
Enhanced control of Listeria monocytogenes by in situ-produced pediocin during dry fermented sausage production

To determine whether pediocin is produced and has effective antilisterial activity during food fermentation, six sausage fermentation trials were conducted with antibiotic-resistant, pediocin-producing (Bac+) Pediococcus acidilactici PAC 1.0 (Strr Rifr) and an isogenic pediocin-negative (Bac-) derivative used as a control. Meat was inoculated (ca. 10(5) CFU/g) with a composite of five Listeria monocytogenes strains, each electrotransformed with pGK12 (Cmr Emr). P. acidilactici and L. monocytogenes populations were selectively enumerated by plating on media with antibiotics. This study indicated that the dry sausage fermentation process can reduce L. monocytogenes populations. Effective inactivation of L. monocytogenes was observed when the pH at the end of the fermentation portion of the process was less than 4.9. Pediocin was responsible for part of the antilisterial activity during the fermentation in each of the six trials. Furthermore, inhibition of L. monocytogenes during drying was enhanced in the presence of pediocin in the three trials in which L. monocytogenes could be detected throughout the drying process. Thus, pediocin production contributed to an increase in safety during both the fermentation and drying portions of sausage manufacturing.
Type 2 DM is not coronary artery disease equivalent

Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) is the foremost complication of Type 2 DM. Major support to the concept that Type 2 DM is a CAD equivalent came from Haffner et al’s study. [1] However this study had major pitfalls it study was not powered to look into CAD. Majority of the patients were hypertensive, most patients with diabetes had uncontrolled glycemia, and their lipids were not at target as per current standards. Subsequently one more study showed in fact patients with T2DM were at lower risk for cardiovascular outcomes compared to patients with established CAD. [2] Major clarification regarding this came from the Barbara et al.’s[3] study wherein they studied the influence of single and multiple risk factors on the 10-year cumulative incidence of fatal and nonfatal CAD and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in diabetics and nondiabetics. This study showed that CAD risk equivalence in diabetics depends on concomitant risk factors for CAD than on diabetic status alone. [3] A recent meta-analysis involving in excess of 45,000 patients did not support the hypothesis that diabetes is CAD equivalent. [4] Even DIAD study showed that cardiac event rates in diabetic subjects were low. [5] In fact it is the coronary artery status that determines the future cardiac event rate than the diabetic state per se. In epidemiological studies, diabetes was shown as CAD risk equivalent mainly because moderaterisk diabetic patients without significant CAD and very high-risk diabetic patients with significant CAD add up to a grand total of high-risk diabetic patients. [6] Even ADA recent guidelines do not recommend routine screening for CAD in asymptomatic diabetic patients, as it does not improve the outcomes as long as CVD risk factors are treated, and has level A of evidence. [7] Hence, it is not the diabetic status but the additional CAD risk factors which confer the CAD equivalent state in diabetic subjects. I feel CAD risk prevention strategy in diabetes subjects still should be based on the absolute risk rather than diabetic state alone.
Qualitative Analysis of Naturalistic Decision Making in Adults With Chronic Heart Failure

Background:Self-care of heart failure has been described as a naturalistic decision-making process, but the data available to defend this description are anecdotal. Objectives:The aim of this study was to explore the process used by adults with chronic heart failure to make decisions about their symptoms. Methods:This was a secondary analysis of data obtained from four mixed methods studies. The full data set held qualitative data on 120 adults over the age of 18 years. For this analysis, maximum variation sampling was used to purposively select a subset of 36 of the qualitative interviews to reanalyze. Results:In this sample, equally distributed by gender, 56% Caucasian, between 40 and 98 years, the overarching theme was that decisions about self-care reflect a naturalistic decision-making process with components of situation awareness with mental simulation of a plausible course of action and an evaluation of the outcome of the action. In addition to situation awareness and mental simulation, three key factors were identified as influencing self-care decision making: (a) experience; (b) decision characteristics such as uncertainty, ambiguity, high stakes, urgency, illness, and involvement of others in the decision-making process; and (c) personal goals. Discussion:These results support naturalistic decision making as the process used by this sample of adults with heart failure to make decisions about self-care.
Proteoglycans in health and disease: novel roles for proteoglycans in malignancy and their pharmacological targeting

The expression of proteoglycans (PGs), essential macromolecules of the tumor microenvironment, is markedly altered during malignant transformation and tumor progression. Synthesis of stromal PGs is affected by factors secreted by cancer cells and the unique tumor‐modified extracellular matrix may either facilitate or counteract the growth of solid tumors. The emerging theme is that this dual activity has intrinsic tissue specificity. Matrix‐accumulated PGs, such as versican, perlecan and small leucine‐rich PGs, affect cancer cell signaling, growth and survival, cell adhesion, migration and angiogenesis. Furthermore, expression of cell‐surface‐associated PGs, such as syndecans and glypicans, is also modulated in both tumor and stromal cells. Cell‐surface‐associated PGs bind various factors that are involved in cell signaling, thereby affecting cell proliferation, adhesion and motility. An important mechanism of action is offered by a proteolytic processing of cell‐surface PGs known as ectodomain shedding of syndecans; this facilitates cancer and endothelial cell motility, protects matrix proteases and provides a chemotactic gradient of mitogens. However, syndecans on stromal cells may be important for stromal cell/cancer cell interplay and may promote stromal cell proliferation, migration and angiogenesis. Finally, abnormal PG expression in cancer and stromal cells may serve as a biomarker for tumor progression and patient survival. Enhanced understanding of the regulation of PG metabolism and the involvement of PGs in cancer may offer a novel approach to cancer therapy by targeting the tumor microenvironment. In this minireview, the implication of PGs in cancer development and progression, as well as their pharmacological targeting in malignancy, are presented and discussed.