Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Low-dose Methotrexate Therapy for Intravenous Immunoglobulin-resistant Kawasaki Disease

Purpose The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of low-dose oral methotrexate (MTX) as a treatment for patients with Kawasaki disease (KD) which was resistant to intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG). Patients and Methods The patients who had persistent or recrudescent fever after treatment with IVIG were subsequently treated with low-dose oral MTX [10 mg/body surface area (BSA)] once weekly. Results Seventeen patients developed persistent or recrudescent fever after treatment of KD with IVIG and were consequently given MTX. The proportion of children with coronary artery lesions (CALs) was 76%. The median value of maximum body temperatures decreased significantly within 24 hours of MTX therapy (38.6℃ vs. 37.0℃, p < 0.001). The median CRP (C-reactive protein) level was found to be significantly lower 1 week after administering the first dose of MTX (8.9 mg/dL vs. 1.2 mg/dL, p < 0.001). The median duration of fever before MTX treatment was shorter in CALs (-) group than in CALs (+) group (7 days vs. 10 days, p = 0.023). No adverse effects of MTX were observed. Conclusion MTX treatment for IVIG-resistant KD resulted in quick resolution of fever and rapid improvement of inflammation markers without causing any adverse effects. MTX therapy should further be assessed in a multicenter, placebo-blinded trial to evaluate whether it also improves coronary artery outcome.
A Review of Injury Patterns in Athletes Competing in Combined Competitions: Heptathlon and Decathlon

Decathlon and heptathlon, the flagship events in the category of “combined events” within the sport of track and field, are contested by athletes possessing skill and talent in running, jumping, and throwing. The athleticism required to excel in decathlon and heptathlon has led to the unofficial recognition of the Olympic champions in these events, as “the greatest athletes in the world. ” The diversity of training and the intense demands of competition place these athletes at risk for a variety of injuries. The team physician or event physician must be knowledgeable about this unique group of athletes to deliver appropriate medical care when needed. The purpose of this article is to review the common injuries and injury patterns affecting the combined event athlete.
Laboratory measurements and computer simulations of highly curved flow after sluice gate

Sluice-gates are widely used for such purposes as the control of discharges and water levels in hydraulic engineering systems. It is important to understand the features of turbulent flow passing underneath a sluice-gate. Previously, a great deal of research attention has centred on such flow features as the head-discharge relationship and the pressure distribution over the gate surfaces, leading to impressive progress in those aspects of the turbulent flow problem. However, little attention has been paid to the curvature of flow profiles immediately downstream of the gate. This is in spite of its relevance to the optimal design and safe operations of sluice-gates. The purpose of this research work is to characterise the highly curved turbulent flow through laboratory flume experiments and to extend the experimental results by computer simulations. The experiments covered the conditions that the gate opening ranged from one to two inches and the ratio of the upstream depth to the gate opening ranged from four to 16. The computer simulations produced finite volume solutions to the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations. Under the same conditions as the flume experiments, the computed flow profiles as well as pressure distributions from the simulations compare well with the experimental data. Much of the success in computations is attributable to the implementation of rigorous procedures to validate mesh convergence, the independence of numerical results on time step and initial conditions used, and the suitability of turbulence closure schemes. The shear stress transport k-ω model is shown to be a suitable model for turbulence closure. It is shown that the volume of fluid method works well for tracking the highly curved free water surface. This thesis reports further computational results of the flow and pressure fields for large gate openings up to 16 inches, which are close to field scales or prototype scales, and which are difficult and expensive to set up in laboratories. Using the new experimental and computational results, reliable relationships for flow curvature parameters, including the radius of the circle of curvature, the centre of the circle, and the angle of a tangent to the free surface with the channel-bottom, have been developed. The introduction of these new relationships to the permanent literature about sluice-gate flows represents a significant contribution from this research work. This thesis also provides an update of the contraction distance and coefficient, the results being consistent with the literature values. Moreover, corrections to some existing formulations of the sluice-gate flow problem are proposed.
The importance of subsurface lithology in controlling magma storage v. eruption: an example from offshore southern Australia

The volumetric relationship between the intrusive and extrusive components of volcanic fields is difficult to constrain. This is because either the erupted products are commonly eroded or the intrusions are concealed by overburden. Three-dimensional seismic data therefore offer a unique opportunity to study ancient volcanic provinces, as these datasets can image both components without the need for erosional dissection. This study is based on 3D seismic data from the Bight Basin Igneous Complex (BBIC), a volcanic province constructed within a sedimentary basin, offshore southern Australia. We demonstrate that the BBIC contains abundant sills and laccoliths emplaced within deltaic sediments. The intrusions have a total volume of 92–111 km3, and the lava flows and volcanoes have a combined volume of 66–76 km3 (Dense Rock Equivalent). This indicates that the ratio of intrusive:extrusive products for the BBIC is between 1:1 and 2:1. The architecture of the BBIC contrasts markedly with the neighbouring Newer Volcanics Province (NVP), which lacks abundant sills and laccoliths. Because lava flows and volcanoes in the NVP were dominantly fed by dykes hosted in basement rock, we suggest that subsurface lithology plays an important role in causing sill formation and determining the total volume of magma stored in the subsurface.
Performance Analysis of Full-Duplex-MRC-MIMO With Self-Interference Cancellation Using Null-Space-Projection

In this paper, the performance analysis of a full-duplex maximum ratio combining multiple-input multiple-output (FD-MRC-MIMO) system based on equalize-and-forward (EF) relaying with self-interference-cancellation (SIC) is derived under imperfect channels state information (CSI). The performance of the system is investigated in the presence of additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) over Rayleigh fading channels. Self-interference cancellation is performed by applying null-space-projection (NSP) via singular-value-decomposition (SVD). Furthermore, exact, closed-form solutions for the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) distribution and outage probability are mathematically formulated and evaluated along with the average symbol-error-rate (ASER) for M-ary phase-shift keying (M-PSK) modulation. The coefficients of the EF-relay are obtained to attain the minimum mean square error (MMSE) between the transmission symbols. Comparison of the obtained results with relevant state-of-the-art techniques suggests significant improvements in the SINR figures and system capacity.
Algebraic Kasparov $K$-theory. I

This paper is to construct unstable, Morita stable and stable bivariant algebraic Kasparov K-theory spectra of k-algebras. These are shown to be homotopy invariant, excisive in each variable K-theories. We prove that the spectra represent universal unstable, Morita stable and stable bivariant homology theories respectively.
Spore germination and the life cycle of Frankia in vitro

Bacterial spores of Frankia produced in defined culture media were collected by filtration after washing in amounts approximating 106 spores/mL. Frankia strains UFGCeI5 from Casuarina equisetifolia and UFGCgI1 from C. glauca showed spontaneous release of spores in culture; strains HFPCcI3 from C. cunninghamiana and HFPAllI1 from Allocasuarina lehmanniana showed low spore release in culture unless homogenized. Spore germination was tested on plates of agar nutrient media under different physical and chemical environments. Strain CeI5 showed about 15% germination within 2 days in a defined (BAP) medium with an optimum pH of 6.0–6.8 at 28–35 °C. Under these conditions, strain CcI3 germinated less than 0.5%. In a series of trials with increasingly complex media, strain CeI5 showed 75% spore germination in 3 days at 28 °C and pH 6.7 in the most complex medium tested. Additions of specific single organic compounds to BAP medium caused either strong inhibition or slight stimulation of spore germination. Frankia .
The Illogicality of Stock-Brokers: Psychological Experiments on the Effects of Prior Knowledge and Belief Biases on Logical Reasoning in Stock Trading

Background Explanations for the current worldwide financial crisis are primarily provided by economists and politicians. However, in the present work we focus on the psychological-cognitive factors that most likely affect the thinking of people on the economic stage and thus might also have had an effect on the progression of the crises. One of these factors might be the effect of prior beliefs on reasoning and decision-making. So far, this question has been explored only to a limited extent. Methods We report two experiments on logical reasoning competences of nineteen stock-brokers with long-lasting vocational experiences at the stock market. The premises of reasoning problems concerned stock trading and the experiments varied whether or not their conclusions—a proposition which is reached after considering the premises—agreed with the brokers' prior beliefs. Half of the problems had a conclusion that was highly plausible for stock-brokers while the other half had a highly implausible conclusion. Results The data show a strong belief bias. Stock-brokers were strongly biased by their prior knowledge. Lowest performance was found for inferences in which the problems caused a conflict between logical validity and the experts' belief. In these cases, the stock-brokers tended to make logically invalid inferences rather than give up their existing beliefs. Conclusions Our findings support the thesis that cognitive factors have an effect on the decision-making on the financial market. In the present study, stock-brokers were guided more by past experience and existing beliefs than by logical thinking and rational decision-making. They had difficulties to disengage themselves from vastly anchored thinking patterns. However, we believe, that it is wrong to accuse the brokers for their “malfunctions”, because such hard-wired cognitive principles are difficult to suppress even if the person is aware of them.
Evaluation of the Anti-Inflammatory Effect of Locally Delivered Vitamin C in the Treatment of Persistent Gingival Inflammation: Clinical and Histopathological Study

Objective. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role and efficiency of the locally injected vitamin C in the treatment of persistent gingival inflammation. Design. Twenty adult patients with persistent chronic gingival inflammation were included in this study. The same dose of sterile vitamin C was injected in gingival tissues after the completion of phase I therapy. Gingival biopsies were taken after total resolution of inflammation. The specimens were examined histologically, using H&E stain. Results. Clinical evaluation revealed great improvement of the injected sites with recall visits. Histopathological results revealed marked decrease in inflammatory cells and epithelial thickness and a higher number of newly formed subbasal capillaries. Conclusions. Vitamin C is an effective adjunctive treatment in reducing various degrees of chronic gingival inflammation.
A Knowledge Ecosystem for the Food, Energy, and Water System

Food, energy, and water (FEW) are key resources to sustain human life and economic growth. There is an increasing stress on these interconnected resources due to population growth, natural disasters, and human activities. New research is necessary to foster more efficient, more secure, and safer use of FEW resources in the U.S. and globally. In this position paper, we present the idea of a knowledge ecosystem for enabling the semantic data integration of heterogeneous datasets in the FEW system to promote knowledge discovery and superior decision making through semantic reasoning. Rich, diverse datasets published by U.S. federal agencies will be utilized. Our knowledge ecosystem will build on Semantic Web technologies and advances in statistical relational learning to (a) represent, integrate, and harmonize diverse data sources and (b) perform ontology-based reasoning to discover actionable insights from FEW datasets.
Convergence Properties of Iterative Methods for Symmetric Positive Semidefinite Linear Complementarity Problems

We consider iterative methods using splittings for solving symmetric positive semidefinite linear complementarity problems. We prove strong convergence, i.e., convergence of the whole sequence, for these types of methods with the only hypothesis of existence of a solution. To do this we introduce dual methods for solving a dual quadratic programming problem and we prove linear convergence of such methods.
Joint Relay Selection and Power Allocation in Large-Scale MIMO Systems With Untrusted Relays and Passive Eavesdroppers

In this paper, a joint relay selection and power allocation (JRP) scheme is proposed to enhance the physical layer security of a cooperative network, where a multiple antennas source communicates with a single-antenna destination in the presence of untrusted relays and passive eavesdroppers (Eves). The objective is to protect the data confidentially while concurrently relying on the untrusted relays as potential Eves to improve both the security and reliability of the network. To realize this objective, we consider cooperative jamming performed by the destination while the JRP scheme is implemented. With the aim of maximizing the instantaneous secrecy rate, we derive a new closed-form solution for the optimal power allocation and propose a simple relay selection criterion under two scenarios of non-colluding Eves (NCE) and colluding Eves (CE). For the proposed scheme, a new closed-form expression is derived for the ergodic secrecy rate (ESR) and the secrecy outage probability as security metrics, and a new closed-form expression is presented for the average symbol error rate as a reliability measure over Rayleigh fading channels. We further explicitly characterize the high signal-to-noise ratio slope and power offset of the ESR to highlight the impacts of system parameters on the ESR. In addition, we examine the diversity order of the proposed scheme to reveal the achievable secrecy performance advantage. Finally, the secrecy and reliability diversity-multiplexing tradeoff of the optimized network are provided. Numerical results highlight that the ESR performance of the proposed JRP scheme for NCE and CE cases is increased with respect to the number of untrustworthy relays.
Novel X-Linked Genes Revealed by Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction in the Green Anole, Anolis carolinensis

The green anole, Anolis carolinensis (ACA), is the model reptile for a vast array of biological disciplines. It was the first nonavian reptile to have its genome fully sequenced. During the genome project, the XX/XY system of sex chromosomes homologous to chicken chromosome 15 (GGA15) was revealed, and 106 X-linked genes were identified. We selected 38 genes located on eight scaffolds in ACA and having orthologs located on GGA15, then tested their linkage to ACA X chromosome by using comparative quantitative fluorescent real-time polymerase chain reaction applied to male and female genomic DNA. All tested genes appeared to be X-specific and not present on the Y chromosome. Assuming that all genes located on these scaffolds should be localized to the ACA X chromosome, we more than doubled the number of known X-linked genes in ACA, from 106 to 250. While demonstrating that the gene content of chromosome X in ACA and GGA15 is largely conserved, we nevertheless showed that numerous interchromosomal rearrangements had occurred since the splitting of the chicken and anole evolutionary lineages. The presence of many ACA X-specific genes localized to distinct contigs indicates that the ACA Y chromosome should be highly degenerated, having lost a large amount of its original gene content during evolution. The identification of novel genes linked to the X chromosome and absent on the Y chromosome in the model lizard species contributes to ongoing research as to the evolution of sex determination in reptiles and provides important information for future comparative and functional genomics.
Virtual morality in the helping professions: Simulated action and resilience

Recent advances in virtual technologies have allowed the investigation of simulated moral actions in aversive moral dilemmas. Previous studies have employed diverse populations to explore these actions, with little research considering the significance of occupation on moral decision-making. For the first time, in this study we have investigated simulated moral actions in virtual reality made by professionally trained paramedics and fire service incident commanders who are frequently faced with and must respond to moral dilemmas. We found that specially trained individuals showed distinct empathic and related personality trait scores and that these declined with years of experience working in the profession. Supporting the theory that these professionals develop resilience in moral conflict, reduced emotional arousal was observed during virtual simulations of a distressing dilemma. Furthermore, trained professionals demonstrated less regret following the execution of a moral action in virtual reality when compared to untrained control populations. We showed that, contrary to previous research, trained individuals made the same moral judgements and moral actions as untrained individuals, though showing less arousal and regret. In the face of increasing concerns regarding empathy decline in health care professionals, we suggest that the nature of this decline is complex and likely reflects the development of a necessary emotional resilience to distressing events.
Impacts of 1.5 and 2.0 °C Warming on Pan‐Arctic River Discharge Into the Hudson Bay Complex Through 2070

Discharge projections into the Hudson Bay Complex to 2070 are investigated for global mean temperature warming levels of 1.5 and 2.0 °C. Median precipitation increases from 1986–2005, ranging from 2% during summer to 19% during winter, are projected to increase discharge in all seasons except summer. The rise in discharge is greatest furthest north, into Foxe Basin, Ungava Bay, and Hudson Strait, exceeding 10% above historical annual means. A 2.0 °C warming results in higher discharge than 1.5 °C warming owing to greater precipitation (e.g., 6.5% greater spring discharge increase); however, summer discharge for 2.0 °C warming is lower due to enhanced evaporation and lower precipitation increase from historical (4.0% lower summer discharge increase). Extreme daily high flows are projected to be greater than historical, more so for 2.0 °C warming than 1.5 °C warming, and this is greatest in the eastern and northern regions. These projections suggest continued increasing river discharge into pan‐Arctic coastal oceans.
Hydrogen sulfide attenuates cardiac dysfunction in a rat model of heart failure: a mechanism through cardiac mitochondrial protection

HF (heart failure) after MI (myocardial infarction) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Recent studies have shown that hydrogen sulfide (H2S) has cardioprotective effects. Hence, we aimed to elucidate the potential effects of H2S on HF after MI in rats. The HF model after MI was made by ligating the left anterior descending coronary artery. HF groups and sham-operated groups of rats were treated with vehicle, sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS) or PAG (propagylglycine). Equal volumes of saline, 3.136 mg·kg−1·day−1 NaHS or 37.5 mg·kg−1·day−1 PAG, were intraperitoneally injected into rats for 6 weeks after operation. Survival, lung-to-body weight ratio and left ventricular haemodynamic parameters were measured. The protein and gene expression of Bcl-2, Bax, caspase 3 and cytochrome c were analysed by Western blotting and RT–PCR (reverse transcription–PCR). TUNEL (terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labelling) and EM (electron microscopy) were used to examine apoptosis of heart tissues. NaHS was found to improve the survival and lower the lung-to-body weight ratio. It increased the LVSP (left ventricular systolic pressure) and the maximum rate of pressure and decreased LVEDP (left ventricular end-diastolic pressure). Furthermore, NaHS promoted Bcl-2 protein and mRNA expression and demoted Bax, caspase 3 protein and mRNA expression in HF rats. We also showed that NaHS decreased the leakage of cytochrome c protein from the mitochondria to the cytoplasm. Histological observation by TUNEL and EM proved that NaHS inhibited cardiac apoptosis in HF hearts and improved mitochondrial derangements, but that PAG aggravated those indices. Hence, H2S has protective effects in HF rats.
On Cooperative Wireless Network Secrecy

Given that wireless communication occurs in a shared and inherently broadcast medium, the transmissions are vulnerable to undesired eavesdropping. This occurs even when a point-to-point communication is sought, and hence a fundamental question is whether we can utilize the wireless channel properties to establish secrecy. In this paper we consider secret communication between two special nodes ("source" and "destination") in a wireless network with authenticated relays: the message communicated to the destination is to be kept information-theoretically (unconditionally) secret from any eavesdropper within a class. Since the transmissions are broadcast and interfere with each other, complex signal interactions occur. We develop cooperative schemes which utilize these interactions in wireless communication over networks with arbitrary topology, and give provable unconditional secrecy guarantees.
Microsatellite Analysis of Museum Specimens Reveals Historical Differences in Genetic Diversity between Declining and More Stable Bombus Species

Worldwide most pollinators, e.g. bumblebees, are undergoing global declines. Loss of genetic diversity can play an essential role in these observed declines. In this paper, we investigated the level of genetic diversity of seven declining Bombus species and four more stable species with the use of microsatellite loci. Hereto we genotyped a unique collection of museum specimens. Specimens were collected between 1918 and 1926, in 6 provinces of the Netherlands which allowed us to make interspecific comparisons of genetic diversity. For the stable species B. pascuorum, we also selected populations from two additional time periods: 1949–1955 and 1975–1990. The genetic diversity and population structure in B. pascuorum remained constant over the three time periods. However, populations of declining bumblebee species showed a significantly lower genetic diversity than co-occurring stable species before their major declines. This historical difference indicates that the repeatedly observed reduced genetic diversity in recent populations of declining bumblebee species is not caused solely by the decline itself. The historically low genetic diversity in the declined species may be due to the fact that these species were already rare, making them more vulnerable to the major drivers of bumblebee decline.