Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Common LPA Null Allele Associates With Lower Lipoprotein(a) Levels and Coronary Artery Disease Risk

Objective— Increased levels of lipoprotein(a) are a highly heritable risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD). The genetic determinants of lipoprotein(a) levels are mainly because of genetic variation in the apolipoprotein(a) gene (LPA). We have tested the association of a relatively common null allele of LPA with lipoprotein(a) levels and CAD risk in a large case–control cohort. We have also examined how null allele genotyping complements apolipoprotein(a) isoform typing to refine the relationship between LPA isoform size and circulating lipoprotein(a) levels. Approach and Results— The LPA null allele (rs41272114) was genotyped in the PROCARDIS (Precocious Coronary Artery Disease) case–control cohort (4073 CAD cases and 4225 controls). Lipoprotein(a) levels were measured in 909 CAD cases and 922 controls; apolipoprotein(a) isoform size was estimated using sodium dodecyl sulfate–agarose gel electrophoresis and a high-throughput quantitative polymerase chain reaction–based method. Null carriers are common (null allele frequency, 3%) and have significantly lower circulating lipoprotein(a) levels (P=2.1×10−10) and reduced CAD risk (odds ratio, 0.79 [0.66–0.97]; P=0.023) compared with noncarriers. An additive allelic model of apolipoprotein(a) isoform size, refined by null allele genotype and quantitative polymerase chain reaction values, showed a sigmoid relationship with lipoprotein(a) levels, with baseline levels for longer isoform alleles and progressively higher levels of lipoprotein(a) for shorter isoform alleles. Conclusions— The LPA null allele (rs41272114) is associated with decreased circulating lipoprotein(a) levels and decreased CAD risk. Incorporating rs41272114 refined apolipoprotein(a) isoform size typing obtained by immunoblotting and quantitative polymerase chain reaction. A joint genomic and isoform analysis revealed details of the relationship between apolipoprotein(a) isoform size and circulating lipoprotein(a) level consistent with a threshold effect on lipoprotein secretion.
Extended Dissipative Analysis for Neural Networks With Time-Varying Delays

In this brief, an extended dissipativity analysis was conducted for a neural network with time-varying delays. The concept of the extended dissipativity can be used to solve for the H∞, L2 - L∞, passive, and dissipative performance by adjusting the weighting matrices in a new performance index. In addition, the activation function dividing method is modified by introducing a tuning parameter. Examples are provided to show the effectiveness and less conservatism of the proposed method.
Low-complexity turbo product code for high-speed fiber-optic systems based on expurgated BCH codes

We propose a low-complexity implementation architecture for turbo product code (TPC) suitable for next-generation fiber optic networks (e.g. ≳ 100 Gb/s). The proposed code makes use of expurgated Bose-Chaudhuri-Hocquenghem (BCH) codes to improve the performance and reduce implementation complexity. In comparison with existing solutions, our results show that the propos d TPC architecture is able to reduce approximately to a half the gate count and the memory size. This feature makes the new TPC an excellent candidate for practical VLSI implementation in commercial transceivers.
Human Endothelial Progenitor Cells From Type II Diabetics Exhibit Impaired Proliferation, Adhesion, and Incorporation Into Vascular Structures

Background—The recent discovery of circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) has altered our understanding of new blood vessel growth such as occurs during collateral formation. Because diabetic complications occur in conditions in which EPC contributions have been demonstrated, EPC dysfunction may be important in their pathophysiology. Methods and Results—EPCs were isolated from human type II diabetics (n=20) and age-matched control subjects (n=20). Proliferation of diabetic EPCs relative to control subjects was decreased by 48% (P <0.01) and inversely correlated with patient levels of hemoglobin A1C (P <0.05). Diabetic EPCs had normal adhesion to fibronectin, collagen, and quiescent endothelial cells but a decreased adherence to human umbilical vein endothelial cells activated by tumor necrosis factor-&agr; (TNF-&agr;) (P <0.05). In a Matrigel assay, diabetic EPCs were 2.5 times less likely to participate in tubule formation compared with controls (P <0.05). Conclusions—These findings suggest that type II diabetes may alter EPC biology in processes critical for new blood vessel growth and may identify a population at high risk for morbidity and mortality after vascular occlusive events.
‘No one prepared me to go home’: Cerebrovascular accident survivors’ experiences of community reintegration in a peri-urban context

Background The South African health system has policies and strategies to ensure effective rehabilitation and reintegration of individuals who have survived a cerebrovascular accident into their respective communities. However, implementation of such guidelines remains an issue. Aim This study sought to explore cerebrovascular accident (CVA) survivors’ experiences of community integration. Setting The study was located in a peri-urban community within the KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. Methods An explorative qualitative study with eight purposively selected CVA survivors was conducted via semi-structured individual interviews. Data were audio-recorded and manually transcribed prior to thematic analysis. Trustworthiness of the study was maintained by strategies such as analyst triangulation, an audit trail and use of thick descriptions. Ethical principles of autonomy, informed consent, confidentiality and privacy were also maintained in the study. Results Six themes emerged that highlighted (1) loss of autonomy and roles, (2) barriers to community reintegration, (3) social isolation of participants, (4) finding internal strength, (5) enablers of community reintegration including the positive influence of support and the benefits derived from rehabilitation and (6) recommendations for rehabilitation. Conclusion The study revealed both positive and negative influences that impact CVA survivors’ ability to effectively reintegrate into their respective communities following a CVA. Recommendations include the need for education and awareness around access to rehabilitation services for CVA survivors, advice on how to improve CVA survivors’ ability to mobilise in the community and make environmental adaption to facilitate universal access, provision of home programmes and caregiver training for continuity of care and for inclusion of home-based rehabilitation into current models of care.
Overview of the IWSLT 2009 evaluation campaign

This paper gives an overview of the evaluation campaign results of the International Workshop on Spoken Language Translation (IWSLT) 20091. In this workshop, we focused on the translation of task-oriented human dialogs in travel situations. The speech data was recorded through human interpreters, where native speakers of different languages were asked to complete certain travel-related tasks like hotel reservations using their mother tongue. The translation of the freely-uttered conversation was carried out by human interpreters. The obtained speech data was annotated with dialog and speaker information. The translation directions were English into Chinese and vice versa for the Challenge Task, and Arabic, Chinese, and Turkish, which is a new edition, into English for the standard BTEC Task. In total, 18 research groups participated in this year’s event. Automatic and subjective evaluations were carried out in order to investigate the impact of task-oriented human dialogs on automatic speech recognition (ASR) and machine translation (MT) system performance, as well as the robustness of state-of-the-art MT systems for speech-tospeech translation in a dialog scenario.
Rising inequality and the implications for the future of private insurance in Canada

Abstract Income and wealth inequality have risen in Canada since its low point in the 1980s. Over that same period we have also seen an increase in the amount that Canadians spend on privately financed health care, both directly and through private health insurance. This paper will explore the relationship between these two trends using both comparative data across jurisdictions and household-level data within Canada. The starting hypothesis is that the greater the level of inequality the more difficult it becomes for publicly provided insurance to satisfy the median voter. Thus, we should expect increased pressure to access privately financed alternatives as inequality increases. In the light of these implications, the paper considers the implications for the future of private insurance in Canada.
Endogenous progesterone levels and frontotemporal dementia: modulation of TDP-43 and Tau levels in vitro and treatment of the A315T TARDBP mouse model

SUMMARY Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is associated with motor neurone disease (FTD-MND), corticobasal syndrome (CBS) and progressive supranuclear palsy syndrome (PSPS). Together, this group of disorders constitutes a major cause of young-onset dementia. One of the three clinical variants of FTD is progressive nonfluent aphasia (PNFA), which is focused on in this study. The steroid hormone progesterone (PROG) is known to have an important role as a neurosteroid with potent neuroprotective and promyelination properties. In a case-control study of serum samples (39 FTD, 91 controls), low serum PROG was associated with FTD overall. In subgroup analysis, low PROG levels were significantly associated with FTD-MND and CBS, but not with PSPS or PNFA. PROG levels of >195 pg/ml were significantly correlated with lower disease severity (frontotemporal dementia rating scale) for individuals with CBS. In the human neuroblastoma SK-N-MC cell line, exogenous PROG (9300–93,000 pg/ml) had a significant effect on overall Tau and nuclear TDP-43 levels, reducing total Tau levels by ∼1.5-fold and increasing nuclear TDP-43 by 1.7- to 2.0-fold. Finally, elevation of plasma PROG to a mean concentration of 5870 pg/ml in an Ala315Thr (A315T) TARDBP transgenic mouse model significantly reduced the rate of loss of locomotor control in PROG-treated, compared with placebo, mice. The PROG treatment did not significantly increase survival of the mice, which might be due to the limitation of the transgenic mouse to accurately model TDP-43-mediated neurodegeneration. Together, our clinical, cellular and animal data provide strong evidence that PROG could be a valid therapy for specific related disorders of FTD.
Time Varying Volatility and the Origins of Financial Crises

I document that financial crises coincide with the sudden reversal of a long period of low aggregate volatility. I argue that shocks to the volatility of total factor productivity are a source of financial instability, and account for both the building-up of risk and the burst of financial crises. I develop a DSGE model with an occasionally binding collateral constraint and a frictional housing market which determines the liquidity of the collateral. In this environment, volatility shocks affect the frequency of fire sales by changing collateral liquidity. In a quantitative exercise, I find that the interaction of time-varying volatility and search frictions increases both the frequency financial crises and the corresponding fall in GDP by 62% and 71%, respectively. Moreover, in the model the liquidity of the collateral endogenizes agents' loan-to-value ratios. Volatility shocks generate sizable time variations in the loan-to-value ratios, providing a foundation of financial shocks.
Limited generalisability of UPLIFT findings to clinical practice

Background The findings of the Understanding Potential Long-term Impacts on Function with Tiotropium (UPLIFT) study may be poorly generalisable to tiotropium use in clinical practice. Methods An audit of 226 patients admitted to Wellington Hospital with a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation determined the proportion of patients prescribed tiotropium on discharge that would have been ineligible for inclusion in the UPLIFT study. Results Among 100 patients prescribed tiotropium, 38/100; 38% (95% CI 28.5% to 48.3%) would have been ineligible for UPLIFT at the time of the hospital discharge due to recent cardiovascular comorbidity or moderate to severe renal impairment. Conclusions The UPLIFT findings have limited generalisability to over a third of patients prescribed tiotropium following a hospital admission with a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation in New Zealand.
Herbivory: effects on plant abundance, distribution and population growth

Plants are attacked by many different consumers. A critical question is how often, and under what conditions, common reductions in growth, fecundity or even survival that occur due to herbivory translate to meaningful impacts on abundance, distribution or dynamics of plant populations. Here, we review population-level studies of the effects of consumers on plant dynamics and evaluate: (i) whether particular consumers have predictably more or less influence on plant abundance, (ii) whether particular plant life-history types are predictably more vulnerable to herbivory at the population level, (iii) whether the strength of plant–consumer interactions shifts predictably across environmental gradients and (iv) the role of consumers in influencing plant distributional limits. Existing studies demonstrate numerous examples of consumers limiting local plant abundance and distribution. We found larger effects of consumers on grassland than woodland forbs, stronger effects of herbivory in areas with high versus low disturbance, but no systematic or unambiguous differences in the impact of consumers based on plant life-history or herbivore feeding mode. However, our ability to evaluate these and other patterns is limited by the small (but growing) number of studies in this area. As an impetus for further study, we review strengths and challenges of population-level studies, such as interpreting net impacts of consumers in the presence of density dependence and seed bank dynamics.
Corporate Bond Rating Using Neural Networks

This paper explores three of the most well known supervised neural network paradigms  backpropagation, radial basis function and learning vector quantization  for the task of rating U.S. corporate bonds. Using generally available historic data, bonds are assigned to ratings based on a classification scheme. The classification schemes investigated were a binary categorical assignment and an integer classification. Comparisons are made with logistic regression models on both the data set used to create the predictive models and on new data. Accepted to a special issue on Engineering Valuation and Computational Intelligence of Journal of Engineering Valuation and Cost Analysis
Novel Microtechnique for Assessment of Postnatal Maturation of the Phagocytic Function of Neutrophils and Monocytes

ABSTRACT We describe a simple test for the evaluation of phagocytosis and provide a chart of reference values to evaluate normal phagocytosis by age. We assessed the postnatal maturation of phagocytic function of neutrophils and monocytes. Phagocytosis was evaluated in newborn children delivered vaginally or by cesarean section, infants, preschool children, schoolchildren, and adult subjects. Two drops of blood were placed on a microscope slide and incubated with Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeasts, and phagocytosis was evaluated by microscopy. Our technique showed results comparable to or better than those obtained by other usual techniques. The neutrophils of newborn children delivered by cesarean section showed a phagocytic capacity 45% higher than those of neonates delivered vaginally, whereas neutrophils from children in the latter group showed the lowest phagocytic capacity of all age groups. Phagocytosis by neutrophils reached the levels seen in adults at about the first year of life, while there were no important variations in phagocytosis by monocytes in the different age groups. The technique described is reliable and fast, uses only a few drops of blood, and allows better preservation of cell function due to the minimal manipulation to which the cells are submitted. The delayed maturation of the phagocytic function by neutrophils may account for the high levels of susceptibility of newborn and infant children to bacterial infections. This practical method of assessment of phagocytosis may allow the diagnosis of primary or secondary phagocytic deficiencies to be made more easily and may allow better monitoring and treatment of those with dysfunctions of these cells.
Prevalence of Oral Habits in Children with Cleft Lip and Palate

This study investigated the prevalence of oral habits in children with clefts aged three to six years, compared to a control group of children without clefts in the same age range, and compared the oral habits between children with clefts with and without palatal fistulae. The sample was composed of 110 children aged 3 to 6 years with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate and 110 children without alterations. The prevalence of oral habits and the correlation between habits and presence of fistulae (for children with clefts) were analyzed by questionnaires applied to the children caretakers. The cleft influenced the prevalence of oral habits, with lower prevalence of pacifier sucking for children with cleft lip and palate and higher prevalence for all other habits, with significant association (P < 0.05). There was no significant association between oral habits and presence of fistulae (P > 0.05). The lower prevalence of pacifier sucking and higher prevalence of other oral habits agreed with the postoperative counseling to remove the pacifier sucking habit when the child is submitted to palatoplasty, possibly representing a substitution of habits. There was no causal relationship between habits and presence of palatal fistulae.
The use of transcranial magnetic stimulation as a treatment for movement disorders: A critical review

Transcranial magnetic stimulation is a safe and painless non‐invasive brain stimulation technique that has been largely used in the past 30 years to explore cortical function in healthy participants and, inter alia, the pathophysiology of movement disorders. During the years, its use has evolved from primarily research purposes to treatment of a large variety of neurological and psychiatric diseases. In this article, we illustrate the basic principles on which the therapeutic use of transcranial magnetic stimulation is based and review the clinical trials that have been performed in patients with movement disorders.
The insulin A and B chains contain structural information for the formation of the native molecule. Studies with protein disulphide-isomerase.

It has been shown previously [Tang, Wang & Tsou (1988) Biochem. J. 255, 451-455] that, under appropriate conditions, native insulin can be obtained from scrambled insulin or the S-sulphonates of the chains with a yield of 25-30%, together with reaction products containing the separated A and B chains. The native hormone is by far the predominant product among the isomers containing both chains. It is now shown that the presence of added C peptide has no appreciable effect on the yield of native insulin. At higher temperatures the content of the native hormone decreases whereas those of the separated chains increase, and in no case was scrambled insulin containing both chains the predominant product in the absence of denaturants. Both the scrambling and the unscrambling reactions give similar h.p.l.c. profiles for the products. Under similar conditions cross-linked insulin with native disulphide linkages can be obtained from the scrambled molecule or from the S-sulphonate derivative with yields of 50% and 75% respectively at 4 degrees C, and with a dilute solution of the hexa-S-sulphonate yields better than 90% can be obtained. The regenerated product is shown to have the native disulphide bridges by treatment with CNBr to give insulin and by the identity of the h.p.l.c. profile of its peptic hydrolysate with that for cross-linked insulin. It appears that the insulin A and B chains contain sufficient information for the formation of the native molecule and that the role of the connecting C peptide is to bring and to keep the two chains together.
Rescale-Invariant SVM for Binary Classification

Support Vector Machines (SVM) are among the best-known machine learning methods, with broad use in different scientiﬁc areas. However, one necessary pre-processing phase for SVM is normalization (scaling) of features, since SVM is not invariant to the scales of the features’ spaces, i.e., different ways of scaling may lead to different re-sults. We deﬁne a more robust decision-making approach for binary classiﬁcation, in which one sample strongly belongs to a class if it belongs to that class for all possible rescalings of features. We derive a way of characterising the approach for binary SVM that allows determining when an instance strongly belongs to a class and when the classiﬁ-cation is invariant to rescaling. The characterisation leads to a computational method to determine whether one sample is strongly positive, strongly negative or neither. Our experimental results back up the intuition that being strongly positive suggests stronger conﬁdence that an instance really is positive.
Controllability Metrics, Limitations and Algorithms for Complex Networks

This paper studies the problem of controlling complex networks, i.e., the joint problem of selecting a set of control nodes and of designing a control input to steer a network to a target state. For this problem, 1) we propose a metric to quantify the difficulty of the control problem as a function of the required control energy, 2) we derive bounds based on the system dynamics (network topology and weights) to characterize the tradeoff between the control energy and the number of control nodes, and 3) we propose an open-loop control strategy with performance guarantees. In our strategy, we select control nodes by relying on network partitioning, and we design the control input by leveraging optimal and distributed control techniques. Our findings show several control limitations and properties. For instance, for Schur stable and symmetric networks: 1) if the number of control nodes is constant, then the control energy increases exponentially with the number of network nodes; 2) if the number of control nodes is a fixed fraction of the network nodes, then certain networks can be controlled with constant energy independently of the network dimension; and 3) clustered networks may be easier to control because, for sufficiently many control nodes, the control energy depends only on the controllability properties of the clusters and on their coupling strength. We validate our results with examples from power networks, social networks and epidemics spreading.
Analysis and Implementation of A Passive Lossless Soft-Switching Snubber for PWM Inverters

In this paper, a passive lossless snubber circuit for pulse width modulation (PWM) inverters is proposed to achieve soft-switching purpose without extra switch or additional control circuitry. This passive lossless soft-switching snubber employs an inductor/capacitor snubber structure for each switching device in an inverter to achieve passive zero-current turn ON and zero-voltage turn OFF. Furthermore, inductors coupled closely on a single core are used to losslessly recover snubber energy to the input in the proposed snubber. In addition, freewheeling of output phase current of inverters can be realized via energy storage components of the snubber during the dead time to reduce the effect of dead time. The distortion ratio of the output phase current in low output frequency is also reduced. All components in the snubber circuit are passive, and thus have a better price/performance ratio than their active counterparts. The proposed snubber has been incorporated into a 14-kW PWM inverter. Experimental results are given to demonstrate the validity and features of the snubber.