Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Influence of balloon size on initial success, acute complications, and restenosis after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty. A prospective randomized study.

Restenosis after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) is strongly associated with incomplete initial dilatation. To determine if oversized PTCA balloons would reduce the restenosis rate without increasing the risk of arterial dissection and acute complications, we prospectively randomized 336 patients to receive either smaller or larger balloons. Thirty-four percent of patients had multivessel disease and 18% had multisite dilatation. One hundred sixty-nine patients were randomized to PTCA with a larger balloon and 167 to PTCA with a smaller balloon. Balloon:artery diameter ratios were 1.13 +/- 0.14 in the larger group and 0.93 +/- 0.12 in the smaller group (p less than 0.001). The trial was halted as clinically important differences in acute complications emerged. Emergency bypass graft surgery, usually for the treatment of arterial dissection, was required in 7.1% of patients in the larger balloon group and 3.6% of patients in the smaller balloon group (p = 0.15). Myocardial infarction (Q wave and non-Q wave) complicated 7.7% of procedures in which large balloons were assigned and 3.0% of procedures in which small balloons were assigned (p = 0.056). There were no deaths in either group. The incidence of bypass surgery was 1.7% when the balloon:artery ratio was less than 0.9, 3.1% when the ratio was 0.9-1.1, and 7.8% when it was greater than 1.1. Stepwise logistic regression analysis demonstrated that larger balloon assignment, multiple lesion dilatation, and multivessel coronary artery disease were independent predictors of emergency surgery. Angiographic restudy rates were 50% in the larger group and 60% in the smaller group (p = NS). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience Aging Neuroscience Review Article Brain Inflammation in Alzheimer's Disease

species (Aβ42) is formed in less amounts than Aβ40 but is more prone to aggregate into fi brils and makes up the major component of amyloid plaques. Amyloid fi brils present a dynamic nature with a mechanism of dissociation and re-association resulting in a recycling of molecules within the fi bril population (Carulla et al., 2005). Plaques may not be the main contributor to neuronal death, as there are consistent evidences that soluble oligomeric forms of Aβ are strongly neurotoxic (Shankar et al., 2008). In the last 10 years, most of the pharmaceutical efforts have been directed against the production and the accumulation of Aβ, the major component of the amyloid plaques, with the hope of slowing the deterioration rate of patients (Opar, 2008). In the AD brain, degenerating neurons, deposits of aggregated Aβ and neurofi brillary tangles are sites of infl ammation. Amyloid plaques are associated with activated microglia and reactive astrocytosis. These cellular events are accompanied by increased expression of members of the complement pathway (C1q, C3b, C3a, membrane attack complex), cytokines and chemokines (interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor α and
An electron microscopic study of the stratum radiatum of the rat hippocampus (regio superior, CA 1) with particular emphasis on synaptology

Compared to other parts of the cerebral cortex the stratum radiatum of the hippocampus is particularly well suited for study with the electron microscope. Its regular histological arrangement facilitates the recognition of structures known from light microscopy. Furthermore, the layer has been much studied earlier, in normal material with Gold and reduced silver preparations (Cajal, '11; Lorente de N6, '34 and others), and after transection of commissural afferents with reduced silver preparations (Blackstad, '56). The same afferents were studied by Andersen ('59, '6Oa-c) with electrophysiological methods. Other recent electrophysiological studies dealing with this layer are those of Andersen and Jansen ('61), Andersen and Loyning ('61), Eidelberg ('61), Kandel et al. ('61a-c) and Spencer and Kandel ('61 a-b), However, the lattler five papers dealt with CA 2-4. Finally, the stratum radiatum was investigated along with other parts of the hippocampal region with histochemical techniques for cholinesterase by Gerebtzoff ('60) and Shute and Lewis ('61). As a correlate to these studies the ultrastructure of the region seemed to be of interest. The axonal endings in this layer have never been stained and seen. Dendritic spines (gemmules) were observed long ago in the stratum radiatum in Golgi preparations. Although the reality of spines, and their contact with axonal endings have been established beyond doubt by Gray, with the electron microscope in admirable studies on the visual cortex ('59) and the cerebellum ('61b) and recently seen in cat suprasylvian cortex by Pappas and Purpura ('61), it seemed to US worth while to record their morphology and relations in other regions such as the stratum radiatum, and in particular to supplement studies on single sections with some on serial sections and three-dimensional reconstructions.
The Crystal Structure of Human Transketolase and New Insights into Its Mode of Action*

The crystal structure of human transketolase (TKT), a thiamine diphosphate (ThDP) and Ca2+-dependent enzyme that catalyzes the interketol transfer between ketoses and aldoses as part of the pentose phosphate pathway, has been determined to 1.75 Å resolution. The recombinantly produced protein crystallized in space group C2 containing one monomer in the asymmetric unit. Two monomers form the homodimeric biological assembly with two identical active sites at the dimer interface. Although the protomer exhibits the typical three (α/β)-domain structure and topology reported for TKTs from other species, structural differences are observed for several loop regions and the linker that connects the PP and Pyr domain. The cofactor and substrate binding sites of human TKT bear high resemblance to those of other TKTs but also feature unique properties, including two lysines and a serine that interact with the β-phosphate of ThDP. Furthermore, Gln189 spans over the thiazolium moiety of ThDP and replaces an isoleucine found in most non-mammalian TKTs. The side chain of Gln428 forms a hydrogen bond with the 4′-amino group of ThDP and replaces a histidine that is invariant in all non-mammalian TKTs. All other amino acids involved in substrate binding and catalysis are strictly conserved. Besides a steady-state kinetic analysis, microscopic equilibria of the donor half-reaction were characterized by an NMR-based intermediate analysis. These studies reveal that formation of the central 1,2-dihydroxyethyl-ThDP carbanion-enamine intermediate is thermodynamically favored with increasing carbon chain length of the donor ketose substrate. Based on the structure of human transketolase and sequence alignments, putative functional properties of the related transketolase-like proteins TKTL1 and -2 are discussed in light of recent findings suggesting that TKTL1 plays a role in cancerogenesis.
Goal attainment in a randomized controlled trial of rehabilitation after myocardial infarction.

PURPOSE Goal setting is an established strategy in health behavior change programs although its usefulness remains uncertain. The authors investigate the validity of attainment of a patient-identified goal as an outcome measure in cardiac rehabilitation after myocardial infarction. METHODS On entry into a randomized controlled trial of cardiac rehabilitation after an acute myocardial infarction, patients identified one activity that, if and when attained, would reflect their perception of a successful recovery. Patients reported whether they had attained their goal and the time of goal attainment. This was then related to trial outcomes that included generic and specific health-related quality of life and percent predicted exercise tolerance. RESULTS Goals identified by 180 of the 201 (89.6%) patients, were attained by 51.5% at 8 weeks and by 86.5% at 12 months. At the end of the 8-week intervention, there was a substantial trend for fewer rehabilitation than usual care patients to have attained their identified goal (P < 0.06), although rehabilitation patients demonstrated greater improvement in specific health-related quality of life and exercise tolerance than usual care patients (P < 0.05). Among patients who identified a recreational physical activity goal (26.7%), significantly fewer (P < 0.007) rehabilitation than usual care patients had attained their goal at the end of the intervention with no differences in improvement in outcomes. CONCLUSIONS Although improvement in outcomes was greater in rehabilitation patients than usual care patients at 8 weeks, goal attainment, particularly for the recreational physical activity goal, was greater among usual care patients. The validity of self-identified activity goal attainment as a measure of the efficacy of cardiac rehabilitation is unclear and might give misleading results.
Functional Variant Modeling for Adaptable Functional Networks

The application of functional networks in the automotive industry is still very slowly adopted into their development processes. Reasons for this are manifold. A functional network gets very quickly complex, even for small subsystems. Furthermore, concepts for variability handling are not sufficient for future standards such as AUTOSAR. In this paper we will provide an approach to reduce the size of functional networks by applying abstraction and partitioning. The achieved improvements will be described. In addition we will provide an alternative concept to handle variants in functional networks. The approach is based on extracting variation points from the functional network and modeling them separately. Open problems and future work are discussed at the end.
Design of new low-power high-performance full adder with new XOR-XNOR circuit

This paper, presents a new design for 1-bit full adder cell using hybrid-CMOS logic style. The new full adder is based on a novel XOR-XNOR circuit that generates XOR and XNOR full-swing outputs simultaneously and outperforms its best counterpart showing 43% improvement in power-delay product (PDP). The proposed full adder provides full-swing output with good driving capability and it is a proper choice for low-voltage applications. According to the simulation results, the proposed full adder has the best power consumption, propagation delay, and PDP, such that the power-delay product of the proposed full adder is 30% better than the next best PDP. HSPICE simulations using TSMC 0. 18μm technology with a power supply of 1.8V was utilized to evaluate the performance of the circuits.
Analyzing the performance of code-copying virtual machines

Many popular programming languages use interpreter-based execution for portability, supporting dynamic or reflective properties, and ease of implementation. Code-copying is an optimization technique for interpreters that reduces the performance gap between interpretation and JIT compilation, offering significant speedups over direct-threading interpretation. Due to varying language features and virtual machine design, however, not all languages benefit from codecopying to the same extent. We consider here properties of interpreted languages, and in particular bytecode and virtual machine construction that enhance or reduce the impact of code-copying. We implemented code-copying and compared performance with the original direct-threading virtual machines for three languages, Java (SableVM), OCaml, and Ruby (Yarv), examining performance on three different architectures, ia32 (Pentium 4), x86_64 (AMD64) and PowerPC (G5). Best speedups are achieved on ia32 by OCaml (maximum 4.88 times, 2.81 times on average), where a small and simple bytecode design facilitates improvements to branch prediction brought by code-copying. Yarv only slightly improves over direct-threading; large working sizes of bytecodes, and a relatively small fraction of time spent in the actual interpreter loop both limit the application of codecopying and its overall net effect. We are able to show that simple ahead of time analysis of VM and execution properties can help determine the suitability of code-copying for a particular VM before an implementation of code-copying is even attempted.
Characteristics associated with physical activity among college students : an application of social cognitive theory and the stages of change model

Ph\ sical inactiv ity is a serious modifiable health risk, however, we are just discovering its prevalence in specific segments of the population. The purpose of this investigation was to examine personal, behavioral, and environmental characteristics associated with physical activity behavior among undergraduate students at The Ohio State University (OSU) based on an integration of Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) and the Stages of Change Model (SCM). The main objectives of the investigation were to (1) assess the prevalence o f self-reported moderate and vigorous physical activity among undergraduate students; (2) determine the proportion of students in each o f the five exercise stages of change; and, (3) test the efficacy of SCT characteristics (i.e. personal, behavioral, environmental) in predicting exercise stages of change. A valid and reliable written questionnaire was mailed to a random sample of 3488 undergraduate students enrolled at OSU during the fourth week of Autumn Quarter, 1997. \ loial i)t ‘■I useable questionnaires were returned for an overall response rate of 30% I C.i. ±3'/f ). The sample included 59.8% females and 40.2% males with a mean age of 22.0+5.6 years. Fifty-two percent of the sample were sedentary or exercised irregularly (precontemplation, contemplation or preparation stages), while 16.6% were in the action stage and 31.1% were in the maintenance stage. Females reported more days o f moderate physical activity than males (3.4+2.3 vs 2.9+2.5 d wk ‘, p<0.01), but less vigorous activity ( 1.9+1.9 vs 2.4+2.0 d wk ', p<0.0001 ) physical activity per week. Younger students (17-24 years) reported more moderate (3.4+2.4 vs 2.5+2.2 d wk ', p<0.0001) ii and vigorous (2.2+2.0 vs 1.7+1.8 dw k ', p<0.01) activity than older students (>25 years). Multivariate discriminant analysis revealed that exercise self-efficacy, physical activity history, and nonexercise estimation of aerobic capacity were significantly associated with exercise stage of change. Based on the Surgeon General’s Report (USDHHS, 1996), many undergraduate students at OSU do not engage in adequate amounts of physical activity and therefore are at risk o f several chronic diseases. The findings that females are less active than males and older students (> 25 years) are less active than younger students ( 17-24 years) are consistent throughout tlie physical activity literature. From a public health perspective, undergraduate students should learn behaviors that promote lifetime physical activity.
Single Whole-Body Cryostimulation Procedure versus Single Dry Sauna Bath: Comparison of Oxidative Impact on Healthy Male Volunteers

Exposure to extreme heat and cold is one of the environmental factors whose action is precisely based on the mechanisms involving free radicals. Fluctuations in ambient temperature are among the agents that toughen the human organism. The goal of the study was to evaluate the impact of extremely high (dry sauna, DS) and low (whole-body cryostimulation, WBC) environmental temperatures on the oxidant-antioxidant equilibrium in the blood of healthy male subjects. The subjects performed a single DS bath (n = 10; 26.2 ± 4.6 years) and a single WBC procedure (n = 15; 27.5 ± 3.1 years). In the subjects' blood taken immediately before and 20 min after the interventions, the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and the concentration of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances in erythrocytes (TBARSer) and blood plasma (TBARSpl) were determined. Single WBC and DS procedures induced an increase in the activity of SOD and GPx, as well as SOD and CAT, respectively. The SOD activity was higher after WBC than after DS. Extremely high and low temperatures probably induce the formation of reactive oxygen species in the organisms of healthy men and, therefore, disturb the oxidant-antioxidant balance.
Anemia and mortality in hemodialysis patients: accounting for morbidity and treatment variables updated over time.

BACKGROUND The objective of this study was to gain insight into the associations of anemia with mortality among maintenance hemodialysis (HD) patients and patient subgroups by an analysis that more comprehensively represents hemoglobin (Hb) level, morbidity, and treatment characteristics over time than was possible in prior observational studies. METHODS A cohort study was conducted among 5517 subjects in the American arm of the Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study Phase I. We used proportional hazard analysis to model all-cause mortality as a function of Hb level measured 1, 3, and 6 months previously. Forty-five potentially confounding patient-level characteristics were considered, including demographics, comorbidities, and time-updated levels of erythropoietin and parenteral iron dosing, medical events, and laboratory and dialysis measures. RESULTS Compared to Hb 11 to <12 g/dL, subjects with Hb <11 g/dL had increased mortality [adjusted hazard ratios (95% confidence interval) in the 3-month-lagged model = 1.74 (1.24 to 2.43) for <9 g/dL, 1.25 (0.96 to 1.63) for 9 to <10 g/dL, and 1.22 (0.99 to 1.49) for 10 to <11 g/dL categories]. Mortality rates for subjects with Hb 12 to <13 g/dL and > or = 13 g/dL did not differ significantly from those with Hb 11 to <12 g/dL. The relationships between Hb and mortality varied modestly with changes in the time interval between Hb measurement and the time at risk for mortality, but did not vary according to ESRD vintage or health status indicators. CONCLUSION Our findings confirm the associations of Hb levels > or =11 g/dL with longer survival among maintenance HD patients, but show no additional survival advantage for patients with Hb levels > or =12 g/dL. Further investigation of the relationships among anemia, treatment of anemia, and survival is warranted.
Direction-of-arrival estimation of an amplitude-distorted wavefront

In a number of array signal processing applications, such as underwater source localization, the propagation medium is not homogeneous, which causes a distortion of the wavefront received by the array. There has been some interest in the direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation of such distorted wavefronts. Most works on this problem considered the so-called multiplicative noise scenario based on the rather strong assumption that the distortion is random and can be parameterized by a small number of parameters. To gain robustness against mismodeling, we assume a scenario in which the wavefront amplitude is distorted in a completely arbitrary way. Our main contribution consists of showing how to eliminate all nuisance (distortion) parameters from the likelihood function corresponding to such a scenario and obtain a robust maximum likelihood DOA estimate by means of a simple one-dimensional (1-D) search. Despite its simplicity, it is shown that the estimator has a performance close to the Cramer-Rao Bound (CRB), for which we derive a closed-form expression. Moreover, its accuracy is comparable with that of estimators that require knowledge of the form of amplitude distortions.
The Effects of Gender and Type of Disability on the Attitudes of Children Toward Their Peers with Physical Disabilities

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of gender and type of physical disability on the attitudes of kindergarten, first, second, and third grade elementary school children toward participating in recreational activities with peers who have physical disabilities. Eighteen females and 15 males volunteered to participate. Subjects were presented stimulus drawings of a peer who either used a wheelchair, had an arm amputated, or did not possess a visible physical disability. Subjects then marked whether they felt "really happy," "did not care," or "really sad" about engaging in recreational activities with each peer on a five-item attitude questionnaire. ANOVA was conducted to determine if there were any significant effects for gender and condition, as well as to determine whether any significant interactions between gender and condition were present. Subjects were significantly (p < 0.05) more positive about going camping with an individual in a wheelchair then with a peer with an arm amputated or a peer without a physical disability. Males were found to be significantly (p < 0.05) more positive than females about attending a movie and going camping with a peer with a physical disability.
Microstructural White Matter Tissue Characteristics Are Modulated by Homocysteine: A Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study

Homocysteine level can lead to adverse effects on the brain white matter through endothelial dysfunction, microstructural inflammation, and neurotoxin effects. Despite previously observed associations between elevated homocysteine and macroscopic structural brain changes, it is still unknown whether microstructural associations of homocysteine on brain tissue properties can be observed in healthy subjects with routine MRI. To this end, we investigated potential relationships between homocysteine levels and microstructural measures computed with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in a cohort of 338 healthy participants. Significant positive correlations were observed between homocysteine levels and diffusivity measures in the bilateral temporal WM, the brainstem, and the bilateral cerebellar peduncle. This is the first study demonstrating that DTI is sufficiently sensitive to relate microstructural WM properties to homocysteine levels in healthy subjects.
Effects of a Specific Benzodiazepine Antagonist (RO 15–1788) on Cerebral Blood Flow

RO 15–1788, a specific benzodiazepine antagonist, although it effectively antagonizes the clinical effects of benzodiazepines (i.e., sedation and amnesia), can also induce subjective agonist effects such as sedation or inverse agonist effects such as anxiety. The purpose of this study was to investigate in seven healthy volunteers the effect of RO 15–1788 on cerebral blood flow when intravenously injected alone or with midazolam and to compare its effects with midazolam administered alone. Cerebral blood flow was measured with the 133xenon inhalation technique and the drugs were administered simultaneously in a double-blind, randomized fashion during the four following sessions: 1) placebo-placebo; 2) midazolam-placebo; 3) RO 15–1788-placebo; 4) midazolam-RO 15–1788. No difference in cerebral blood flow was noted between the placebo-placebo, the RO 15–1788-placebo, and the RO 15–1788-midazolam sessions—although midazolam injected alone decreased cerebral blood flow by 30%. The sedation, amnesia, and the electroencephalogmph (EEG) and muscle tone changes observed with midazolam-placebo were not present during the RO 15–1788-placebo and RO 15–1788-midazolam sessions. This study demonstrates the absence of effects of RO 15–1788 on cerebral blood flow when injected alone and the efficacy of this new drug in antagonizing the depressant effects of midazolam on cerebral hemodynamics.