Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Observational Study Mortality in Treated Primary Aldosteronism: The German Conn's Registry

In comparison with essential hypertension, primary aldosteronism (PA) is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity. To date, no data on mortality have been published. We assessed mortality of patients treated for PA within the German Conn's registry and identified risk factors for adverse outcome in a case-control study. Patients with confirmed PA treated in 3 university centers in Germany since 1994 were included in the analysis. All of the patients were contacted in 2009 and 2010 to verify life status. Subjects from the population-based F3 survey of the Cooperative Health Research in the Region of Augsburg served as controls. Final analyses were based on 600 normotensive controls, 600 hypertensive controls, and 300 patients with PA. Kaplan-Meyer survival curves were calculated for both cohorts. Ten-year overall survival was 95% in normotensive controls, 90% in hypertensive controls, and 90% in patients with PA (P value not significant). In multivariate analysis, age (hazard ratio, 1.09 per year [95% CI, 1.03–1.14]), angina pectoris (hazard ratio, 3.6 [95% CI, 1.04–12.04]), and diabetes mellitus (hazard ratio, 2.55 [95% CI, 1.07–6.09]) were associated with an increase in all-cause mortality, whereas hypokalemia (hazard ratio, 0.41 per mmol/L [95% CI, 0.17–0.99]) was associated with reduced mortality. Cardiovascular mortality was the main cause of death in PA (50% versus 34% in hypertensive controls; P<0.05). These data indicate that cardiovascular mortality is increased in patients treated for PA, whereas all-cause mortality is not different from matched hypertensive controls.
Evaluation of the mean-variance mapping optimization for solving multimodal problems

Based on swarm intelligence principles and an enhanced mapping scheme, the extension of the original single-particle mean-variance mapping optimization (MVMO) to its swarm variant (MVMOS) is investigated in this paper. Numerical experiments and comparisons with other heuristic optimization methods, which were conducted on several composition test functions, demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of MVMOS when solving multimodal optimization problems. Sensitivity analysis of the algorithm parameters highlights its robust performance.
Variation in hippocampal glial cell numbers in food‐caching birds from different climates

Enhancements to memory are associated with enhanced neural structures that support those capabilities. A great deal of work has examined this relationship in the context of natural variation in spatial memory capability and hippocampal (Hp) structure. Most studies have focused on volumetric and neuron measures, but have seldom examined the role of glial cells. Once considered involved only in supportive functions associated with neurons, the importance of glial cells in cognitive processes, including memory, is gaining more attention. Building upon our previous study on the relationship between the brain, memory, and environmental severity in food‐caching birds, we compared the total number of Hp glial cells in wild‐sampled and in lab‐reared (common garden) black‐capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) originating from two different environmental extremes. We found that birds from more harsh climate tended to have significantly more Hp glial cells than those from more mild climate and that lab‐reared chickadees had significantly fewer Hp glial cells compared to the wild‐sampled birds. These results suggest that population differences in glial numbers may be controlled, at least in part, by heritable mechanisms, but glial numbers appear to be additionally regulated by an individual's environment. The pattern of Hp glial cell abundance among our treatment groups closely followed that of the Hp volume, suggesting that Hp glial cell number may be associated with the Hp volume. Unlike Hp neurons, however, the number of Hp glial cells may be, at least in part, affected by an individual's experiences and environment. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 73: 480–485, 2013
A smart-card-based conditional access subsystem separation scheme for digital TV broadcasting

In this paper we present a smart-card-based conditional access subsystem (CASS) separation scheme at the digital TV broadcasting receiving end. Following the proposed scheme, different conditional access (CA) systems can operate concurrently in one digital TV broadcasting network using a common receiving platform, which is independent of any specific CA system. The digital TV program subscriber needs only to change the corresponding CA smart card to view pay TV programs, which are scrambled by different CA systems. The main points of the proposed scheme and its reference implementation are presented in this paper. The reference implementation has been developed to verify the feasibility of the proposed scheme in practical broadcasting environment. The system architecture and the constituent logical function modules of this reference implementation, especially the part in STB, have been described in detail to better illustrate the working principle of this scheme. Compared to PC-card-based or other smart-card-based common interface schemes, the proposed one is much more cost performance efficient, succincter and easier to be accepted by CA system providers. This scheme is also one of the candidate standards for Chinese digital TV broadcasting.
A Fair Radio Resource Allocation Scheme for Ubiquitous High-Data-Rate Coverage in OFDMA-Based Cellular Relay Networks

The provision of very high data rates in a ubiquitous and fair manner throughout the service area is a great challenge for 4G and beyond-4G wireless networks. Towards that end, the deployment of fixed relays by the operators has become an accepted radio access network concept in various standardization activities including LTE-A and 802.16m. In this paper, we present a fair resource allocation scheme that can significantly reduce the co-channel interference and improve spectrum utilization in OFDMA-based multi-cellular networks enhanced by fixed relays. The major goal is to obtain an effective throughput-fairness trade-off through the combination of dynamic resource allocation, in-cell routing, traffic diversity, and history of users' past service. The proposed scheme achieves substantial fairness, throughput, and latency improvements in comparison to the reference schemes as well as to another scheme proposed, earlier by the authors. Numerical results indicate that the proposed scheme provides an almost ubiquitous high-data-rate service to users, irrespective of their locations (including cell-edge users), with a minimal sacrifice in the overall network throughput.
EMOCIONES DE AGRESORES Y VÍCTIMAS DE CYBERBULLYING: UN ESTUDIO PRELIMINAR EN ESTUDIANTES DE SECUNDARIA

Information and Communication Tech- nologies (ICT) have generated new forms of com- munication. As in traditional communication scenar- ios, potentially harmful relational dynamics, such as intimidation and harassment between peers (cyber- bullying), may develop in these scenarios. In addi- tion, some of the characteristics of these new forms of communication may facilitate the establishment of these forms of aggression. This study analyzes the emotional perceptions of the pupils involved in cy- berbullying via the Internet. Participants were 830 pupils from 10 secondary schools in Cordoba (Spain). The instrument used was "Cuestionario Cy- berbullying" (Ortega, Calmaestra & Mora-Merchan, 2007). Results confirmed that, as in traditional bully- ing, bullies and victims show different emotional perceptions about the victim's suffering. Data sug- gest that bullies and aggressive-victims may show an emotional perception deficit that could mean they are insensitive to the victim's feelings.
Distinct autophosphorylation sites sequentially produce autonomy and inhibition of the multifunctional Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase

The multifunctional Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase (multifunctional CaM kinase) may be an important mediator for neurotransmitters and hormones that utilize Ca2+ as a “second messenger. ” We examined the ability of autophosphorylation to convert the multifunctional CaM kinase to a Ca2+/calmodulin-independent (autonomous) form to determine whether autophosphorylation is a mechanism for short- or long-term enhancement of Ca2+ action. As the kinase incorporates phosphate during continuous stimulation by Ca2+/calmodulin, its ability to phosphorylate exogenous substrates becomes increasingly autonomous. Withdrawal of Ca2+ after a critical level of phosphate incorporation is reached leads to a “burst” or rapid increase in Ca2+-independent autophosphorylation. The “burst” of autophosphorylation is distinct from the initial Ca2+-dependent autophosphorylation, however, since it inhibits substrate phosphorylation. Both Ca2+-dependent and Ca2+-independent substrate phosphorylation are inhibited by this autonomous autophosphorylation. Thus, autophosphorylation has a dual role in modulating the activity of multifunctional CaM kinase. It initially enables the kinase to continue phosphorylating substrates after Ca2+ levels decline, but it eventually suppresses this autonomous activity. Tryptic phosphopeptide mapping demonstrates that appearance of phosphothreonine-containing peptides is common to several conditions used to generate an autonomous enzyme. Sequencing reveals the critical “autonomy” site to be threonine286. The inhibitory mode of autophosphorylation involves 3 additional phosphopeptides containing a serine and a threonine residue.
The 2-10 keV luminosity as a Star Formation Rate indicator

Radio and far infrared luminosities of star-forming galaxies follow a tight linear relation. Making use of ASCA and BeppoSAX observations of a well-defined sample of nearby star-forming galaxies, we argue that tight linear relations hold between the X-ray, radio and far infrared luminosities. The effect of intrinsic absorption is investigated taking NGC3256 as a test case. It is suggested that the hard X-ray emission is directly related to the Star Formation Rate. Star formation processes may also account for most of the 2-10 keV emission from LLAGNs of lower X-ray luminosities (for the same FIRand radio luminosity). Deep Chandra observations of a sample of radio-selected star-forming galaxies in the Hubble Deep Field North show that the same relation holds also at high (0.2 < z < 1.3) redshift. The X-ray/radio relations also allow a derivation of X-ray number counts up to very faint fluxes from the radio Log N-Log S, which is consistent with current limits and models. Thus the contribution of star-forming galaxies to the X-ray background can be estimated.
Mechanism of drain disturb in SONOS flash EEPROMs

We investigate the mechanism of drain disturb in SONOS flash memory cells. Our results show that drain disturb can be a serious concern in a programmed state and is caused by injection of holes from the substrate into the nitride. We identify the key factors responsible for this to be band-to-band tunneling at the drain junction and impact ionization of the channel leakage current.
Correlation of p 53 Mutations with Resistance to Platinum-based Chemotherapy and Shortened Survival in Ovarian Cancer 1

Purpose: The p53 tumor suppressor gene plays a central role in cell cycle regulation and induction of apoptosis. We analyzed p53 alterations and their impact on response to chemotherapy and clinical outcome in ovarian cancer patients. Experimental Design: One hundred seventy-eight ovarian carcinomas, snap frozen and stored at 80°C, were analyzed for mutations of the p53 gene (exons 2–11) by single-strand conformation polymorphism and DNA sequencing and for p53 overexpression by immunohistochemistry (monoclonal antibody DO7). Results: p53 mutations were found in 56% (99 of 178) of the tumors, and 62% of these were located in evolutionary highly conserved domains of the gene. Time to progression and overall survival were significantly shortened in patients with p53 mutations compared with wild-type p53 (P 0.029 and P 0.014) and patients with mutations in highly conserved domains as opposed to nonconserved domains or wild-type p53 (P 0.010 and P 0.007). p53 protein overexpression (>10% positively stained nuclei) was found in 62% (110 of 178). Time to progression and overall survival were shorter in cases with p53 overexpression (cutpoint, 10%: P 0.071 and P 0.056) but only marginally significant. Resistance to adjuvant cisplatin or carboplatin chemotherapy was significantly more frequent in patients with p53 overexpression (P 0.001) or p53 missense mutations (P 0.008) than patients with normal p53. Conclusions: p53 alterations correlate significantly with resistance to platinum-based chemotherapy, early relapse, and shortened overall survival in ovarian cancer patients in univariate analysis. In multivariable analysis though, p53 was not an independent prognostic factor.
Augmenting dimension group invariants for substitutional dynamical systems

This is a preliminary version of a paper in progress. Our main results have been carefully checked and full proofs are provided here. But the paper is still under development in the following aspects: (1) Although substantial efforts have been put into proof-reading, we have not completed the process, and small errors may persists. (2) The condition of constant length which we shall invoke frequently in the paper is not always necessary, but simply a technical convenience allowing shorter proofs. We have this far found it useful for our presentation to add this condition, but are considering taking the extra effort of replacing it by Mossé’s recognizability condition. We expect that this is possible, with added work, throughout the paper, but this claim has not yet been carefully checked. (3) We are considering subdividing the paper into several parts to improve readability of this rather long manuscript.
Solid-phase diffusion mechanism for GaAs nanowire growth

Controllable production of nanometre-sized structures is an important field of research, and synthesis of one-dimensional objects, such as nanowires, is a rapidly expanding area with numerous applications, for example, in electronics, photonics, biology and medicine. Nanoscale electronic devices created inside nanowires, such as p–n junctions1, were reported ten years ago. More recently, hetero-structure devices with clear quantum-mechanical behaviour have been reported, for example the double-barrier resonant tunnelling diode2 and the single-electron transistor3. The generally accepted theory of semiconductor nanowire growth is the vapour–liquid–solid (VLS) growth mechanism4, based on growth from a liquid metal seed particle. In this letter we suggest the existence of a growth regime quite different from VLS. We show that this new growth regime is based on a solid-phase diffusion mechanism of a single component through a gold seed particle, as shown by in situ heating experiments of GaAs nanowires in a transmission electron microscope, and supported by highly resolved chemical analysis and finite element calculations of the mass transport and composition profiles.
Clouds, Gravity, and Metallicity in Blue L Dwarfs: The Case of 2MASS J11263991–5003550

Optical and near-infrared spectroscopy of the newly discovered peculiar L dwarf 2MASS J11263991–5003550 are presented. Folkes et al. classified this source as a high proper motion L9±1 dwarf based on its strong H2O absorption at 1.4 μ m . We find that the optical spectrum of 2MASS J1126–5003 is in fact consistent with that of a normal L4.5 dwarf with notably enhanced FeH absorption at 9896 Å. However, its near-infrared spectrum is unusually blue, with strong H2O and weak CO bands similar in character to several recently identified “blue L dwarfs. ” Using 2MASS J1126–5003 as a case study, and guided by trends in the condensate cloud models of Burrows et al. and Marley et al., we find that the observed spectral peculiarities of these sources can be adequately explained by the presence of thin and/or large-grained condensate clouds as compared to normal field L dwarfs. Atypical surface gravities or metallicities alone cannot reproduce the observed peculiarities, although they may be partly responsible for the unusual condensate properties. We also rule out unresolved multiplicity as a cause for the spectral peculiarities of 2MASS J1126–5003. Our analysis is supported by examination of Spitzer mid-infrared spectral data from Cushing et al. which show that bluer L dwarfs tend to have weaker 10 μ m absorption, a feature tentatively associated with silicate oxide grains. With their unique spectral properties, blue L dwarfs like 2MASS J1126–5003 should prove useful in studying the formation and properties of condensates and condensate clouds in low-temperature atmospheres.
Cytogenetic characterization of three Balistoidea fish species from the Atlantic with inferences on chromosomal evolution in the families Monacanthidae and Balistidae

Abstract The Tetraodontiformes are the most derived group of teleostean fish. Among other apomorphies, they are characterized by a high degree of fusions or significant bone loss in the head and body. In the early phylogenetic proposals presented for this order, the families Balistidae and Monacanthidae have been unanimously considered to be closely related. Although they have moderate species diversity, they are scarcely known in cytogenetic aspect and chromosomal pattern comparisons between these groups have yet to be established. The species Cantherhines macrocerus (Hollard,1853), Cantherhines pullus (Ranzani, 1842) (Monacanthidae) and Melichthys niger (Bloch, 1786) (Balistidae) were cytogenetically analyzed using conventional (Ag-impregnation, C-banding, CMA3- and DAPI-fluorescence) and molecular (FISH with an 18S rDNA probe) cytogenetic protocols. The karyotypes of all three species were very similar possessing diploid chromosome numbers 2n = 40 and composed exclusively of acrocentric chromosomes. Single NOR-bearing pair as well as positive heterochromatic blocks at pericentromeric regions were identified in the karyotypes of the three species studied. NOR-bearing sites were positively labeled after Ag-impregnation, C-banding, CMA3-fluorescence and FISH with an 18S rDNA probe but were negative after DAPI-fluorescence. Such remarkable shared conspicuous chromosomal characters corroborate either close phylogenetic relationship of these families, previously established by morphological and molecular data, or rather conservative nature of karyotype differentiation processes. The later hypothesis, however, appears less probable due to centric or in tandem fusions documented for another Balistoidea species.
Lactic Acid Fermentation, Urea and Lime Addition: Promising Faecal Sludge Sanitizing Methods for Emergency Sanitation

In this research, three faecal sludge sanitizing methods—lactic acid fermentation, urea treatment and lime treatment—were studied for application in emergency situations. These methods were investigated by undertaking small scale field trials with pit latrine sludge in Blantyre, Malawi. Hydrated lime was able to reduce the E. coli count in the sludge to below the detectable limit within 1 h applying a pH > 11 (using a dosage from 7% to 17% w/w, depending faecal sludge alkalinity), urea treatment required about 4 days using 2.5% wet weight urea addition, and lactic acid fermentation needed approximately 1 week after being dosed with 10% wet weight molasses (2 g (glucose/fructose)/kg) and 10% wet weight pre-culture (99.8% pasteurised whole milk and 0.02% fermented milk drink containing Lactobacillus casei Shirota). Based on Malawian prices, the cost of sanitizing 1 m3 of faecal sludge was estimated to be €32 for lactic acid fermentation, €20 for urea treatment and €12 for hydrated lime treatment.
Programmer performance and the effects of the workplace

Wide variation in programmer performance has been frequently reported in the literature [1, 2, 3]. In the absence of other explanation, most managers have come to accept that the variation is due to individual characteristics. The presumption that there are order-of-magnitude differences in individual performance makes accurate cost projection seem nearly impossible. In an extensive study, 166 programmers from 35 different organizations, participated in a one-day implementation benchmarking exercise. While there were wide variations across the sample, we found evidence that characteristics of the workplace and of the organization seemed to explain a significant part of the difference.
Stunting in Infancy Is Associated with Decreased Risk of High Body Mass Index for Age at 8 and 12 Years of Age123

Background: Effects of early-life stunting on adiposity development later in childhood are not well understood, specifically with respect to age in the onset of overweight and obesity. Objectives: We analyzed associations of infant stunting with prevalence of, incidence of, and reversion from high body mass index–for-age z score (BMIZ) later in life. We then estimated whether associations of infant stunting with BMIZ varied by sex, indigenous status, and rural or urban residence. Methods: Data were collected from 1942 Peruvian children in the Young Lives cohort study at ages 1, 5, 8, and 12 y. Multivariable generalized linear models estimated associations of stunting (height-for-age z score <−2) at age 1 y with risk of BMIZ > 1 and BMIZ > 2 prevalence, incidence (moving above a BMIZ threshold between ages), and reversion (moving below a BMIZ threshold between ages) at later ages. Results: After adjustment for covariates, stunting at age 1 y was associated with a lower prevalence of BMIZ > 1 at age 8 y (RR: 0.81; 95% CI: 0.66, 1.00; P = 0.049) and 12 y (RR: 0.75; 95% CI: 0.61, 0.91; P = 0.004), as well as a lower prevalence of BMIZ > 2 at age 8 y. Stunting was not associated with incident risk of BMIZ > 1 or BMIZ > 2. Stunting was positively associated at age 5 y with risk of reversion from BMIZ > 1 (RR: 1.22; 95% CI: 1.05, 1.42; P = 0.008) and BMIZ > 2. We found evidence that the association of stunting with prevalent and incident BMIZ > 1 was stronger for urban children at ages 5 and 8 y, and for nonindigenous children at age 8 y. Conclusions: Stunting predicted a lower risk of prevalent BMIZ > 1 and BMIZ > 2, even after controlling for potential confounders. This finding may be driven in part by a higher risk of reversion from BMIZ > 1 by age 5 y. Our results contribute to an understanding of how nutritional stunting in infancy is associated with BMIZ later in life.
Dimensional reduction in numerical relativity: Modified cartoon formalism and regularization

We present in detail the Einstein equations in the Baumgarte-Shapiro-Shibata-Nakamura formulation for the case of $D$ dimensional spacetimes with $SO(D-d)$ isometry based on a method originally introduced in Ref.1. Regularized expressions are given for a numerical implementation of this method on a vertex centered grid including the origin of the quasi-radial coordinate that covers the extra dimensions with rotational symmetry. Axisymmetry, corresponding to the value $d=D-2$, represents a special case with fewer constraints on the vanishing of tensor components and is conveniently implemented in a variation of the general method. The robustness of the scheme is demonstrated for the case of a black-hole head-on collision in $D=7$ spacetime dimensions with $SO(4)$ symmetry.