Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Early Improvement in Left Atrial Remodeling and Function after Mitral Valve Repair or Replacement in Organic Symptomatic Mitral Regurgitation Assessed by Three‐Dimensional Echocardiography

Left atrial (LA) dilation is associated with worse prognosis in various clinical situations including chronic mitral regurgitation (MR). Real time three‐dimensional echocardiography (3DE) has allowed a better assessment of LA volumes and function. Little is known about LA size and function in early postoperative period in symptomatic patients with chronic organic MR. We aimed to investigate these aspects.
Expression of the Chemokine MCP-1 and Chemokine Receptors CXCR 4 and CCCR 2 in Egyptian Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients

Background: AML blasts of different FAB subsets express specific chemokines and chemokine receptors depending on their degree of maturation which might account for some aspects in their pattern of extramedullary invasion (EMI) and accumulation of leukemic cells. Objectives: We aimed to define the pattern of chemokine MCP1 and chemokine receptors CXCR4 and CCR2 expression by AML blasts in two AML FAB subgroups, myeloid M0/M1/ M2 and monocytic M4/M5 groups to determine their impact on tumor load and EMI. Patients and Methods: The study was performed on 50 de novo AML patients. Expression of CXCR4 and CCR2 was measured by flow cytometry while MCP-1 expression was detected by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR). Results: Median TLC was 65.6 x 10/L in MCP1 positive patients versus 37.2 x 10/L in MCP1 negative cases (p = 0.07). MCP1 was positive in 14/20 (70%) patients with EMI versus 6/20 (30%) patients only without EMI (p = 0.05). CXCR4 was positive in most AML patients (38/50, 76%) with no significant difference between AML FAB subgroups (p =0.9). However, median CXCR4 percent positivity by flow cytometry was 79% (0.3-98) in the M4/M5 group versus 57.5% (1.9-89) in the M0/M1/ M2 (p = 0.08). CXCR4 was positive in 35/43 patients (81%) with hypercellular bone marrow (BM) at diagnosis (p =0.02). CCR2 positivity was higher in M4/M5 group (8/21, 38%) than M0/M1/M2 group (2/29, 7%) (p =0.006). Meanwhile, MCP-1 expression was positive in 20/48 (41.7%) of our AML cohort and was insignificantly higher in M4/M5 group (10/21, 48%) than M0/M1/M2 group (10/29, 34%) (p =0.2). Regarding EMI, lymphadenopathy was found in 90% of patients in M4/M5 group versus 30% in M0/M1/M2 group (p =0.001). Conclusion: Data suggest that MCP-1 and CXCR4 have major impact on tumor load in AML at time of diagnosis. In addition, MCP1 have a striking role in EMI irrespective of the FAB subtype. Its ligand CCR2 seems to be restricted to monocytic group (M4/M5) which showed significant lymphadenopathy when compared to M0/M1/M2 group. [Magda M. Assem, Yasser H. ElNahass, Nahla M. Elsharkawy, Heba N. Raslan, Fatma A. Elrefaey and Yomna M. Elmeligui . Expression of the Chemokine MCP-1 and Chemokine Receptors CXCR4 and CCR2 in Egyptian Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients. Life Sci J 2012;9(4):4529-4535]. (ISSN: 1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite. com. 679
A study of the scalability of stop-the-world garbage collectors on multicores

Large-scale multicore architectures create new challenges for garbage collectors (GCs). In particular, throughput-oriented stop-the-world algorithms demonstrate good performance with a small number of cores, but have been shown to degrade badly beyond approximately 8 cores on a 48-core with OpenJDK 7. This negative result raises the question whether the stop-the-world design has intrinsic limitations that would require a radically different approach. Our study suggests that the answer is no, and that there is no compelling scalability reason to discard the existing highly-optimised throughput-oriented GC code on contemporary hardware. This paper studies the default throughput-oriented garbage collector of OpenJDK 7, called Parallel Scavenge. We identify its bottlenecks, and show how to eliminate them using well-established parallel programming techniques. On the SPECjbb2005, SPECjvm2008 and DaCapo 9.12 benchmarks, the improved GC matches the performance of Parallel Scavenge at low core count, but scales well, up to 48~cores.
Responses to adaptive feedback for software testing

As students learn to program they also learn basic software development methods and techniques, but educators do not often directly assess students' development processes or evaluate their adherence to specific techniques. However, automated grading systems provide opportunities to evaluate students' programming and provide feedback while the student is still in the process of developing. Consequently, automated adaptive feedback may help reinforce effective techniques and processes. This paper describes an adaptive feedback system that uses strategic reinforcement techniques to reward and encourage incremental software testing. By analyzing changes in students' code after they receive the system's reinforcement, we investigated students' responses to the presence and absence of rewards. We found that after receiving rewards, students respond with more test code in their subsequent submission.
Mitochondria-Derived and Extra-Mitochondrial Human Type-1 Porin Are Identical as Revealed by Amino Acid Sequencing and Electrophysiological Characterisation

Abstract In mammalian cells porin channels are localised in both mitochondrial outer membranes and extra-mitochondrial membranes. We isolated mitochondria-derived porin of a human lymphoblastoid B cell line, determined its amino acid sequence and characterised its channel properties. Interestingly, the amino acid sequence of this porin preparation and, correspondingly, its electrophysiological characteristics in a reconstituted system were identical to those of ‘Porin 31HL’, the human type-1 porin purified from a crude membrane preparation of the same cell line using a different purification protocol. The results raise questions about targeting, insertion and orientation of human type-1 porin in different membranes.
The ESO Nearby Abell Cluster Survey. XII. The Mass and Mass-to-Light Ratio Profiles of Rich Clusters

We determine the mass profile of an ensemble cluster built from 3056 galaxies in 59 nearby clusters observed in the ESO Nearby Abell Cluster Survey. The mass profile is derived from the distribution and kinematics of the early-type (elliptical and S0) galaxies only, with projected distances from the centers of their clusters ≤1.5r200. These galaxies are most likely to meet the conditions for the application of the Jeans equation, since they are the oldest cluster population and are thus quite likely to be in dynamical equilibrium with the cluster potential. In addition, the assumption that the early-type galaxies have isotropic orbits is supported by the shape of their velocity distribution. For galaxies of other types (the brightest elliptical galaxies, with MR ≤ -22 + 5 log h, and the early and late spirals) these assumptions are much less likely to be satisfied. For the determination of the mass profile we also exclude early-type galaxies in subclusters. Application of the Jeans equation yields a nonparametric estimate of the cumulative mass profile M(<r), which has a logarithmic slope of -2.4 ± 0.4 in the density profile at r200 (approximately the virial radius). We compare our result with several analytical models from the literature and estimate their best-fit parameters from a comparison of observed and predicted velocity-dispersion profiles. We obtain acceptable solutions for all models (NFW, Moore et al., softened isothermal sphere [SIS], and Burkert). Our data do not provide compelling evidence for the existence of a core; as a matter of fact, the best-fitting core models have core-radii well below 100 h-1 kpc. The upper limit that we put on the size of the core-radius provides a constraint for the scattering cross section of dark matter particles. The total-mass density appears to be traced remarkably well by the luminosity density of the early-type galaxies. On the contrary, the luminosity density of the brightest elliptical galaxies increases faster toward the center than the mass density, while the luminosity density profiles of the early and late spirals are somewhat flatter than the mass density profile.
Excess lung function decline in gold miners following pulmonary tuberculosis

Background Few if any studies of the association between pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) and lung function loss have had access to premorbid lung function values. Methods Using a retrospective cohort design, the study recruited employed South African gold miners who had undergone a pulmonary function test (PFT) between January 1995 and August 1996. The ‘exposed’ group comprised 185 miners treated for pulmonary TB after the initial PFT and the ‘unexposed’ group comprised 185 age-matched miners without TB. All participants had a follow-up PFT between April and June 2000. The outcome of interest was decline in lung function during the follow-up period as measured by forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1). Results After controlling for age, height, baseline lung function, silicosis, years of employment, smoking and other respiratory diagnoses, pulmonary TB during the follow-up period was associated with a mean excess loss of 40.3 ml/year in FEV1 (95% CI 25.4 to 55.1) and 42.7 ml/year in FVC (95% CI 27.0 to 58.5). Lung function loss was greater among those with more severe or later clinical presentation of TB. Breathlessness was twice as common among TB cases (OR 2.20, 95% CI 1.18 to 4.11). Conclusion There is a need for greater clinical recognition of the long-term respiratory consequences of treated pulmonary TB. Early detection of TB would help to reduce these sequelae and remains a priority, particularly in a workforce already subject to silica dust disease. However, strategies such as dust control, worker education about TB and dust and TB preventive therapy are also needed to avert the disease itself.
Effectiveness of oral dexamethasone in the treatment of moderate to severe pharyngitis in children.

OBJECTIVE To determine the effectiveness of a single dose of oral dexamethasone in reducing the pain associated with moderate to severe pharyngitis in pediatric patients. DESIGN Prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. SETTING Large, urban pediatric emergency department between March 2002 and November 2003. PATIENTS Children aged 5 to 18 years with moderate to severe pharyngitis (odynophagia or dysphagia, moderate to severe pharyngeal erythema or swelling, and a McGrath Facial Affective Scale score of 0.75 or higher [scale 0.0-1.0]). INTERVENTIONS Study patients were randomly assigned to receive 1 dose of either oral dexamethasone suspension (0.6 mg/kg with a maximum of 10 mg) or placebo of the same volume. All participants were tested for group A beta-hemolytic streptococcal pharyngitis and treated accordingly. Daily telephone follow-up was conducted until complete resolution of sore throat. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Primary outcome variables included hours to initial relief of sore throat and time to the complete resolution of pain. Secondary outcome variables included changes in the McGrath Facial Affective Scale score at 24 and 48 hours, persistence of associated symptoms, use of anti-inflammatory or antipyretic medication, and subsequent use of medical resources for dehydration or pain. RESULTS A convenience sample of 150 patients was randomized to receive either dexamethasone (n = 75) or placebo (n = 75). Twenty-five patients were lost to follow-up, leaving 125 patients available for data analysis; 57 received dexamethasone and 68 received placebo. Patients who received dexamethasone reported earlier onset of pain relief (9.2 vs 18.2 hours; P<.001), fewer hours to complete resolution of sore throat (30.3 vs 43.8 hours; P = .04), and larger changes in the McGrath Facial Affective Scale score in the first 24 hours (-0.58 vs -0.43; P = .002). Children who tested negative for group A beta-hemolytic streptococci had greater pain relief with dexamethasone compared with placebo (onset of pain relief, 8.7 vs 24 hours; P = .001), less time to complete resolution of sore throat (37.9 vs 70.8 hours; P = .006), and greater changes in the McGrath Facial Affective Scale score in the first 24 hours (-0.50 vs -0.21; P<.001). CONCLUSION Children with moderate to severe pharyngitis had earlier onset of pain relief and shorter duration of sore throat when given oral dexamethasone.
Mid-infrared spectroscopy of Spitzer-selected ultra-luminous starbursts at z ~ 2

Context. Spitzer's wide-field surveys and followup capabilities have allowed a new breakthrough in mid-IR spectroscopy up to red- shifts ≥2, especially for 24 μm detected sources. Aims. We want to study the mid-infrared properties and the starburst and AGN contributions, of 24 μm sources at z ∼ 2, through analysis of mid-infrared spectra combined with millimeter, radio, and infrared photometry. Mid-infrared spectroscopy allows us to recover accurate redshifts. Methods. A complete sample of 16 Spitzer-selected sources (ULIRGs) believed to be starbursts at z ∼ 2( "5.8μm-peakers") was selected in the (0.5 deg 2 ) J1064+56 SWIRE Lockman Hole field ("Lockman-North"). These sources have S 24 μm > 0.5 mJy, a stellar emission peak redshifted to 5.8 μm, and ra > 23. The entire sample was observed with the low resolution units of the Spitzer/IRS infrared spectrograph. These sources have 1.2 mm observations with IRAM 30 m/MAMBO and very deep 20 cm observations from the VLA. Nine of our sources also benefit from 350 μm observation and detection from CSO/SHARC-II. All these data were jointly analyzed. Results. The entire sample shows good quality IRS spectra dominated by strong PAH features. The main PAH features at 6.2, 7.7, 8.6, and 11.3 μ mh ave highS /N average luminosities of 2.90 ± 0.31, 10.38 ± 1.09, 3.62 ± 0.27, and 2.29 ± 0.26 × 10 10 L� , respec- tively. Thanks to their PAH spectra, we derived accurate redshifts spanning from 1.750 to 2.284. The average of these redshifts is 2.017 ± 0.038. This result confirms that the selection criteria of "5.8 μm-peakers" associated with a strong detection at 24 μ ma re reliable to select sources at z ∼ 2. We have analyzed the different correlations between PAH emission and infrared, millimeter, and radio emissions. Practically all our sources are strongly dominated by starburst emission, with only one source showing an important AGN contribution. We have also defined two subsamples based on the equivalent width at 7.7 μm to investigate AGN contributions. Conclusions. Our sample contains strong starbursts and represents a particularly 24 μm-bright class of SMGs. The very good cor- relation between PAH and far-IR luminosities is now confirmed in high-z starburst ULIRGs. These sources show a small AGN contribution to the mid-IR, around ∼20% or less in most cases.
Synchrony in Metapopulations with Sporadic Dispersal

We study synchronization in ecological networks under the realistic assumption that the coupling among the patches is sporadic/stochastic and due to rare and short-term meteorological conditions. Each patch is described by a tritrophic food chain model, representing the producer, consumer, and predator. If all three species can migrate, we rigorously prove that the network can synchronize as long as the migration occurs frequently, i.e. fast compared to the period of the ecological cycle, even though the network is disconnected most of the time. In the case where only the top trophic level (i.e. the predator) can migrate, we reveal an unexpected range of intermediate switching frequencies where synchronization becomes stable in a network which switches between two nonsynchronous dynamics. As spatial synchrony increases the danger of extinction, this counterintuitive effect of synchrony emerging from slower switching dispersal can be destructive for overall metapopulation persistence, presumably expected from switching between two dynamics which are unfavorable to extinction.
On the impact of alternate path routing for load balancing in mobile ad hoc networks

Alternate path routing (APR) can provide load balancing and route failure protection by distributing traffic among a set of diverse paths. These benefits make APR appear to be an ideal candidate for the bandwidth limited and mobile ad-hoc networks. However, we find that APR's potential is not fully realized in ad-hoc networks because of route coupling resulting from the geographic proximity of candidate paths between common endpoints. In multiple channel networks, coupling occurs when paths share common intermediate nodes. The coupling problem is much more serious in single channel networks, where coupling also occurs where one path crosses the radio coverage area of another path, The network's inherent route coupling is further aggravated by the routing protocol, which may provide an incomplete view of current network connectivity. Through analysis and simulation, we demonstrate the impact of route coupling on APR's delay performance in ad-hoc networks. In multiple channel environments, APR is able to provide a 20% reduction in end-to-end delay for bursty data streams. Though these gains are appreciable, they are about half what we would expect from APR with independently operating routes. Route coupling is so severe in single channel networks that APR provides only negligible improvements in quality of service.
Injectable paromomycin for Visceral leishmaniasis in India.

BACKGROUND Visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar) affects large, rural, resource-poor populations in South Asia, Africa, and Brazil. Safe, effective, and affordable new therapies are needed. We conducted a randomized, controlled, phase 3 open-label study comparing paromomycin, an aminoglycoside, with amphotericin B, the present standard of care in Bihar, India. METHODS In four treatment centers for visceral leishmaniasis, 667 patients between 5 and 55 years of age who were negative for the human immunodeficiency virus and had parasitologically confirmed visceral leishmaniasis were randomly assigned in a 3:1 ratio to receive paromomycin (502 patients) at a dose of 11 mg per kilogram of body weight intramuscularly daily for 21 days or amphotericin B (165 patients) at a dose of 1 mg per kilogram intravenously every other day for 30 days. Final cure was assessed 6 months after the end of treatment; safety assessments included daily clinical evaluations and weekly laboratory and audiometric evaluations. Noninferiority testing was used to compare 6-month cure rates, with a chosen margin of noninferiority of 10 percentage points. RESULTS Paromomycin was shown to be noninferior to amphotericin B (final cure rate, 94.6% vs. 98.8%; difference, 4.2 percentage points; upper bound of the 97.5% confidence interval, 6.9; P<0.001). Mortality rates in the two groups were less than 1%. Adverse events, which were more common among patients receiving paromomycin than among those receiving amphotericin B (6% vs. 2%, P=0.02), included transient elevation of aspartate aminotransferase levels (>3 times the upper limit of the normal range); transient reversible ototoxicity (2% vs. 0, P=0.20); and injection-site pain (55% vs. 0, P<0.001); and in patients receiving amphotericin B, as compared with those receiving paromomycin, nephrotoxicity (4% vs. 0, P<0.001), fevers (57% vs. 3%), rigors (24% vs. 0, P<0.001), and vomiting (10% vs. <1%, P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS Paromomycin was shown to be noninferior to amphotericin B for the treatment of visceral leishmaniasis in India. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00216346.)
Activation and Survival Responses: Differential Regulation of Cells-1 in Neutrophil Inflammatory Triggering Receptor Expressed on Myeloid

P olymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) 4 are the most abundant leukocytes in human peripheral blood and have crucial functions as the first line of defense against microbial pathogens. They contribute to the early innate immune response by rapidly migrating into inflamed tissues, where they use potent ef-fector mechanisms like phagocytosis, production of reactive oxygen species, and the release of inflammatory mediators and anti-microbial substances (1– 4). In inflammation, neutrophil activation occurs i.e., in the presence of IL-8, IFN-␥, and heat shock proteins (3, 5, 6), or is initiated upon recognition of Ab or complement opsonized particles (4). In addition, PMN directly recognize microbial products via pathogen recognition receptors or Toll-like receptors (TLR) (7–10). Under inflammatory conditions and also in homeostasis, it is critical that the activation and survival of neutrophils is tightly regulated, since the release of cytotoxic substances by PMN can easily cause collateral damage of adjacent healthy tissue (11, 12). Apoptosis is an important mechanism of safely eliminating PMN during the resolution of inflammation. In parallel with the activation of PMN effector functions, many inflammatory mediators also regulate cell survival by altering apoptosis (13). Cytokines like GM-CSF, as well as bacterial products like LPS, delay apoptosis (10, 14) while other factors may promote programmed cell death of PMN, i.e., TNF-␣ or CD137 (15, 16). Recently, the triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells (TREM)-1 was described as a novel activating receptor on PMN and monocytes (17). TREM-1 is a 30-kDa Ig super family member , and expression is up-regulated by lipoteichoic acid (LTA) or LPS. In synergy with LPS, TREM-1 ligation has been shown to stimulate the release of IL-8 and myeloperoxidase (MPO) from PMN. In monocytes, this synergistic effect of TREM-1 and LPS has been demonstrated for a variety of inflammatory mediators like MCP-1, MIP-1␣, and IL-8, as well as TNF-␣ and GM-CSF (17, 18). Although the natural ligands for TREM-1 remain to be identified , the importance of TREM-1 in acute inflammatory responses has been demonstrated in mouse models for septic shock where competition of TREM-1 by a recombinant soluble TREM-1 fusion protein saved mice from lethal LPS challenge or bacterial sepsis (19). In the present study, we investigated the activation and survival of PMN using a TREM-1-specific agonistic mAb. We describe that ligation of TREM-1 induces rapid degranulation of neutrophilic granules and beyond this, respiratory burst as well as phagocytosis, the major effector functions for clearance of …
Secure Two-Party Association Rule Mining

Association rule mining algorithm provides a means for determining rules and patterns from a large collection of data. However, when two sites want to engage in an association rule mining, data privacy concerns are raised. These concerns include loosing a competitive edge in the market place and breaching privacy laws. Techniques that have addressed this problem are data perturbation and homomorphic encryption. Homomorphic encryption based solutions produce more accurate results than data perturbation. Most previous solutions for privacy preserving association rule mining require the disclosure of intermediate mining results such as support counts and database size to determine frequent itemset. To overcome this weakness we propose a secure comparison technique based on state-of-the-art fully homomorphic encryption scheme, by which we build secure two-party association rule mining protocol. Our solution preserves complete privacy of both parties and it is more efficient than other solutions because there is no need for exponentiation of numbers.