Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of antiplatelet agents on platelet-induced thrombin generation.

OBJECTIVES The influence of antiplatelet agents on platelet-induced thrombin generation may increase the risk of bleeding. Assessment of the endogenous thrombin potential (ETP), is therefore a parameter deserving attention in early pharmacodynamic studies with antiplatelet drugs. The aim ofthis study was to assess whether an automated ETP-assay can be used to determine possible inhibitory effects of antiplatelet drugs on platelet-associated thrombin generation. METHODS We first characterized the in vitro dose-response relationship of several platelet agonists (ADP, collagen, U46619, TRAP (amino acid sequence: SFLLRNP) and tissue factor (TF) using the generation of ETP. One submaximal concentration of each agonist was then used to assess the influence of in vivo treatment with aspirin (single oral dose of 500 mg as inhibitor of thromboxane synthesis) and clopidogrel (given orally for 6 days, as an inhibitor of the purinergic P2Y12-receptor on platelets) and in vitro treatment with abciximab (which inhibits the platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa-receptor for fibrinogen), on the ETP. RESULTS The effect of TF and the other platelet inducers on thrombin generation was dose-dependent. Repeat measurements on samples from the same subject, with the same inducer concentration on 2 different occasions showed a variability of approx. 22% (absolute difference between 2 measurements as % of mean). The coefficient on variation of repeat measurements of one sample varied between 7% and 17%, depending on the inducer. After a single dose of aspirin, ETP was reduced by 25-40%, depending on the platelet activating agent used. The reduction in ETP with abciximab in vitro was more pronounced. In contrast, TF-induced ETP was not influenced by aspirin or abciximab. Clopidogrel, administered for 6 days, reduced the ETP by 60% when platelets were stimulated using 20 microM ADP, whereas collagen-induced ETP and TF-induced ETP remained unchanged. CONCLUSIONS The ETP-method is a sensitive and reproducible method for the detection of drug effects on platelet-induced thrombin generation of high throughput, and can be recommended for studies on the pharmacodynamic profile of drugs interfering with platelet function.
Influence of high altitude on cerebrovascular and ventilatory responsiveness to CO2

An altered acid–base balance following ascent to high altitude has been well established. Such changes in pH buffering could potentially account for the observed increase in ventilatory CO2 sensitivity at high altitude. Likewise, if [H+] is the main determinant of cerebrovascular tone, then an alteration in pH buffering may also enhance the cerebral blood flow (CBF) responsiveness to CO2 (termed cerebrovascular CO2 reactivity). However, the effect altered acid–base balance associated with high altitude ascent on cerebrovascular and ventilatory responsiveness to CO2 remains unclear. We measured ventilation , middle cerebral artery velocity (MCAv; index of CBF) and arterial blood gases at sea level and following ascent to 5050 m in 17 healthy participants during modified hyperoxic rebreathing. At 5050 m, resting , MCAv and pH were higher (P < 0.01), while bicarbonate concentration and partial pressures of arterial O2 and CO2 were lower (P < 0.01) compared to sea level. Ascent to 5050 m also increased the hypercapnic MCAv CO2 reactivity (2.9 ± 1.1 vs. 4.8 ± 1.4% mmHg−1; P < 0.01) and CO2 sensitivity (3.6 ± 2.3 vs. 5.1 ± 1.7 l min−1 mmHg−1; P < 0.01). Likewise, the hypocapnic MCAv CO2 reactivity was increased at 5050 m (4.2 ± 1.0 vs. 2.0 ± 0.6% mmHg−1; P < 0.01). The hypercapnic MCAv CO2 reactivity correlated with resting pH at high altitude (R2= 0.4; P < 0.01) while the central chemoreflex threshold correlated with bicarbonate concentration (R2= 0.7; P < 0.01). These findings indicate that (1) ascent to high altitude increases the ventilatory CO2 sensitivity and elevates the cerebrovascular responsiveness to hypercapnia and hypocapnia, and (2) alterations in cerebrovascular CO2 reactivity and central chemoreflex may be partly attributed to an acid–base balance associated with high altitude ascent. Collectively, our findings provide new insights into the influence of high altitude on cerebrovascular function and highlight the potential role of alterations in acid–base balance in the regulation in CBF and ventilatory control.
Orthodontic treatment reduces the impact on children and adolescents' oral health-related quality of life

Context: Malocclusion is a chronic disability that is usually remedied by orthodontic treatment which can provide the patient with a satisfactory state of oral health. Aim: To assess the current evidence in the literature concerning the impact of malocclusion treatment on the oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) of children and adolescents. Settings and Design: Systematic review. Materials and Methods: Four databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and Virtual Health Library) were searched using specified indexing terms, including a manual search for of the references listed in the studies. The articles that met the inclusion criteria were classified regarding methodological quality and risk of bias in categories of high, moderate, or low. Results: The electronic search produced 426 titles and abstracts, and the manual search of their references detected another 1 article. After excluding duplicate abstracts and applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 3 studies were eligible for quality assessment. Among these, 1 was classified as high methodological quality/low risk of bias and 2 as moderate methodological quality/moderate risk of bias. These 3 articles were included in the final qualitative synthesis. Conclusions: Malocclusions treatment reduces the impact on children and adolescents' OHRQoL based on evidence assessed in the literature. The level of evidence was moderate to high to detect changes in the impact after orthodontic treatment.
VLSI Architectures for Turbo Decoding Message Passing Using Min-Sum for Rate-Compatible Array LDPC Codes

In the recent literature, turbo decoding message passing (TDMP) or layered decoding has been proposed for the decoding of low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes using a trellis-based BCJR algorithm in check node units (CNU). We present a new architecture for supporting rate compatible array LDPC codes that uses an offset-based min-sum decoding algorithm instead of the BCJR. The proposed architecture utilizes the value-reuse properties of min-sum and block-serial scheduling of computations, along with TDMP. This novel architecture has the following features: removal of memory needed to store the sum of the variable node messages and the channel values, removal of memory needed to store the variable node messages, 40%-72% savings in storage of extrinsic messages depending on rate of the codes, reduction of routers by 50%, and increase of throughput up to 2times. Implementations on our test-bed FPGA achieve decoded throughputs up to 1.36 Gbps and 2.27 Gbps for each iteration for (5,k) and (3,k) array LDPC codes, respectively. ASIC implementation achieve decoded throughputs up to 5.9 Gbps for each iteration for (5,k) array LDPC codes.
The prevalence of dementia in the People's Republic of China: a systematic analysis of 1980-2004 studies.

BACKGROUND Dementia has been a major public health problem. However, there has not yet been a nationwide investigation or systematic analysis of the prevalence of dementia in China from 1980 to 2004. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to analyse the prevalence of dementia and its major subtypes [Alzheimer disease (AD), vascular dementia (VD)] among the population aged 60 years and older in China from 1980 to 2004. METHODS Epidemiological investigations on dementia in China published in journals and covering the period from 1980 to 2004 were identified manually and on-line by using CBMDISK, Chongqing VIP database and CNKI database. Those reported in English journals were identified using MEDLINE. Selected studies had to describe an original study defined by strict screening and diagnostic criteria. The fixed effects model or random effects model was employed according to statistical test for homogeneity. RESULTS Twenty-five studies were selected, the statistical information of which was collected for systematic analysis. Our results showed that AD and VD were the two major subtypes of dementia in China, and the pooled prevalence of AD and VD for the population aged 60 years and older was 1.6 and 0.8%, respectively. There was a higher prevalence of AD in the illiterate elderly population (3.2%) than in those who received years of education. The chronological prevalence of AD increased significantly from 1980 to 2004. In southern and northern China, the prevalence of AD was 2.0 and 1.2%, respectively, while VD was 0.6 and 1.1%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS In the last 24 years, AD and VD were the two major subtypes of dementia in China. The prevalence of AD may be affected by sex, education, occupation or age. The prevalence of VD, which was higher in northern than in southern China, seems not to be affected by age, sex or education.
Derived Relational Responding and Generative Language: Applications and Future Directions for Teaching Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorders

While many individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) develop a flexible, generative language repertoire following intensive early intervention, many others continue to require intensive teaching and exhibit language repertoires that could be characterized as rigid or rote. Research in the area of derived stimulus relations shows promise for developing teaching procedures for students with ASD that focus on remediating these deficits and establishing generative verbal behavior. We provide an explanation of the theoretical background of derived stimulus relations research, with an emphasis on Relational Frame Theory, and review studies that (i) demonstrate the establishment of derived relational responding when such skills are absent, and (ii) use existing derived relational responding skills to teach educationally relevant skills to individuals with ASD or other developmental disabilities. Based on this review, we give a number of recommendations for teaching and curricular sequencing principles, assessment strategies, and areas for future research.
Bounds on timing jitter estimation in cooperative networks

Successful collaboration and resource sharing in cooperative networks require accurate estimation of multiple timing jitters. When combined with signal processing algorithms the estimated timing jitters can be applied to mitigate the resulting intersymbol interference (ISI) and improve performance. In this paper we seek to derive the Cramer-Rao lower bounds (CRLB) for timing jitter estimation in distributed cooperative networks. In addition to being a benchmark for judging the performance of timing jitter estimators, the CRLBs can be applied to determine the effect of the choices of training sequence and cooperative protocol on timing jitter estimation.
Self adaptivity in Grid computing

Optimizing a given software system to exploit the features of the underlying system has been an area of research for many years. Recently, a number of self‐adapting software systems have been designed and developed for various computing environments. In this paper, we discuss the design and implementation of a software system that dynamically adjusts the parallelism of applications executing on computational Grids in accordance with the changing load characteristics of the underlying resources. The migration framework implemented by our software system is aimed at performance‐oriented Grid systems and implements tightly coupled policies for both suspension and migration of executing applications. The suspension and migration policies consider both the load changes on systems as well as the remaining execution times of the applications thereby taking into account both system load and application characteristics. The main goal of our migration framework is to improve the response times for individual applications. We also present some results that demonstrate the usefulness of our migration framework. Published in 2005 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Pediatric Exercise Stress Laryngoscopy following Laryngotracheoplasty

Objective Exercise-induced airway obstruction in pediatric patients is a unique phenomenon with multiple potential etiologies. An accurate diagnosis can be challenging to establish in pediatric patients because they are frequently asymptomatic at rest. Exercise stress laryngoscopy (ESL) is a modality by which pediatric patients can be evaluated under physiologic conditions that produce their symptoms. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate (1) the diagnostic effectiveness of pediatric ESL and (2) the ability of ESL to guide treatment for “normal” and post–airway reconstruction patients with exercise intolerance. Study Design Case series with chart review. Setting Tertiary care children’s hospital. Subjects and Methods Patients undergoing ESL for exercise intolerance were reviewed. Demographics, surgical history, examination findings, and management recommendations were extracted. Results Thirty-seven patients (average age, 13.5 years; range, 5-21 years) were included. There were 14 male and 23 female patients. Airway abnormalities became evident in 56% of patients. Of these, 24% had focal supraglottic collapse, 43% had evidence of paradoxical vocal fold motion, 24% had combined supraglottic and glottic dysfunction, and 9% had distal airway abnormalities. Overall, 18 patients had changes in management after ESL. Twelve patients in this review had histories of laryngotracheoplasty with equivocal findings on operative bronchoscopy. Of these patients, 10 (83%) received focal diagnoses after ESL. Conclusion ESL is a contemporary modality by which complex patients with undiagnosed exercise intolerance can be effectively evaluated. ESL can be an important tool used to guide treatment in pediatric patients with exercise-induced dyspnea after airway reconstruction.
STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF ACCIDENTS ON CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

As the construction industry is carried out in hazardous environments, it experiences accidents in different levels of severity, some causing minor and major injuries with even some resulting in fatality. In addition to the human cost involved, it also causes bad publicity to the profession. Worldwide, authorities have tightened up safety standards, which have enhanced the performance in construction sites. However, accidents are still happening and there is a need for further research on this important subject. From construction organization’s point of view, accidents are unexpected events and unplanned costs. Some accidents may change the organizational goals or it could even make the company uncompetitive in the industry. A good understanding of accident forecasting is vital in construction project management. This research explores four questions that arise in accidents in construction sites. Namely, (1) What are the impacts of accidents on construction work? (2) What are the uncertain contributory factors in these accidents? (3) How are human and financial aspects linked to accidents? (4) What are the possible project performance enhancements under uncertainty factors of the accident? The objectives of this research paper are (i) to investigate construction site accidents to identify the critical causes and effects; and (ii) establish relationship of accidents with additional project cost, additional time, project scope, company reputation, and impact on national safety indexes. While human errors were identified as the main cause for construction accidents, negligence or mistakes can happen due to the uncertain circumstances. Hence, unavoidable accidents have to be expected in the construction industry. The commitment of all humans involved, from the project manager to the labourer towards good practices would enhance the safety performance in construction sites.
MobileNets: Efficient Convolutional Neural Networks for Mobile Vision Applications

We present a class of efficient models called MobileNets for mobile and embedded vision applications. MobileNets are based on a streamlined architecture that uses depth-wise separable convolutions to build light weight deep neural networks. We introduce two simple global hyper-parameters that efficiently trade off between latency and accuracy. These hyper-parameters allow the model builder to choose the right sized model for their application based on the constraints of the problem. We present extensive experiments on resource and accuracy tradeoffs and show strong performance compared to other popular models on ImageNet classification. We then demonstrate the effectiveness of MobileNets across a wide range of applications and use cases including object detection, finegrain classification, face attributes and large scale geo-localization.
Framing Discussions about Teaching.

Professional conversations aimed at improving teaching practice are a particularly important type of communication, and they hold a central role within schools. Conversations about teaching occur between teaching partners; between teachers and their mentors, coaches, or supervisors; and within teaching teams or professional learning communities. In the Danielson Group, our consultants hear again and again from educators that when it comes to professional learning, "it's all about the conversation. " Whether educators are discussing observation data, assessment results, the rigor of activities and assignments, or student work samples, what they value are not the data per se, but the conversations they have about the data.
Physical activity and depressive symptoms in community-dwelling elders from southern Brazil.

OBJECTIVE To determine the existence of a relationship between physical activity and depressive symptoms in community-dwelling elders. METHOD This is a cross-sectional, population-based study, which included 379 community-dwelling elders from Novo Hamburgo, state of RS, Brazil. The level of physical activity was estimated using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire and depressive symptoms were diagnosed according to the Yesavage Geriatric Depression Scale. The association between the level of physical activity and depressive symptoms was analyzed by logistic regression. RESULTS A tendency towards a lower prevalence of depressive symptoms was observed in individuals with higher levels of physical activity, both in the sample as a whole as well as among men, but not among women (p for linear trend 0.04, 0.03 and 0.36, respectively). The odds ratio of the presence of depressive symptoms in the very active group as compared against that of the insufficiently active group was 0.32 (95% CI: 0.12-0.86) for men and 0.76 (95% CI: 0.39-1.46) for women. CONCLUSION In this population of aged individuals, more intense physical activity is related to a lower prevalence of depressive symptoms. As shown by gender stratification, physical activity is inversely related to depressive symptoms in men, albeit not in women.
A Comprehensive Empirical Study of Data Privacy, Trust, and Consumer Autonomy

Modern society is driven by data. Data storage is practically unlimited with today’s technology, and analytical tools make it very easy to find patterns and make predictions in a way that is very useful for private businesses and governments. These uses of digital data also raise considerable privacy issues that are of great concern to consumers. In this article, we present and analyze the results of an extensive survey that we conducted to explore what people know, what people do, and what people want, when it comes to privacy online. Our survey is the first comprehensive examination of the intersection of knowledge and opinions among the survey participants concerning online privacy, law, and the data practices of both the private sector and the government. Our survey results indicate that consumers often want more options than the market gives them. Over 80% of our survey participants, for example, indicated that on some occasion they have submitted information online when they wished that they did not have to do so. One of the possible reasons why consumers still participate in these markets is that they do not have any meaningful alternatives. The private sector currently has very little incentive to provide these alternatives because consumers have been responding to unattractive business practices with complacency. Responses to our survey also indicate a low level of trust of the government as a data collector and data keeper. Our results indicate that significant changes are needed to increase consumer engagement in the online marketplace and improve trust between the government and its citizens. These improvements should begin by empowering users and giving them more control over their digital data, and we present ambitious proposals to this end. The long-term solution that we propose would involve an overhaul of current data privacy laws, and the creation of a profile clearinghouse that would serve a similar purpose as credit reporting bureaus. Through this clearinghouse, consumers could view and challenge most information that private businesses and the government hold about them. Dramatic changes are necessary in order to ensure that consumers can have empowering and engaging experiences in today’s world of digital data.
Prevalence and psychosocial background of anxiety and depression emerging during the first trimester of pregnancy: data from a Hungarian population-based sample.

BACKGROUND There are few surveys of antenatal depression and anxiety in Eastern-European countries. The aim of the present study was to gather prevalence data from a Hungarian sample and to search for associations between antenatal depression/anxiety and some psycho-social variables. SUBJECTS AND METHODS A population-based monitoring system was created, covering every pregnant woman in the town of Szombathely, Western-Hungary for symptoms of depression and anxiety during the first trimester of pregnancy. Data were gathered in the period February 1, 2008 - February 1, 2010. Five-hundred and three pregnant women were included in the sample under survey. RESULTS Mean age of our participants was 29.8 yr. (SD=4.94/). One fifth (19.9%; 95%CI = 16.6-23.6) of pregnant women were suffering from mild to severe depression as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory. Frequency of severe depression was low (1.4%). 14.2% of the sample (95%CI =11.5-17.6) showed signs of trait anxiety as measured by the Spielberger Inventory. Mean scores for depression and anxiety proved to be significantly higher among women who were unemployed, less than 20 years of age, having low educational or/and socio-economic status, and displaying higher level of social mistrust. Those living in common-law marriage had more depressive symptoms while reciprocity was associated only to anxiety. CONCLUSIONS Except for prevalence of severe depression, our data did not differ from prevalence found in market economic countries. Teen age, unfavourable socio-economic conditions and high social mistrust were associated with the emergence of clinically meaningful depression and anxiety during the first trimester of pregnancy.