Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The association between Chlamydia pneumoniae antibodies and wheezing in young children and the influence of sex

Background: The proposed association between Chlamydia pneumoniae (Cpn) infection and wheezing needs further clarification. Methods: Sera from 1581 children in a population-based cohort were tested for antibodies to Cpn and IgE-antibodies to common allergens. Data on environmental factors and disease were collected prospectively from birth. Sera were obtained at the age of 4 years. Results: Occurrence of IgG antibodies to Cpn at 4 years of age was associated with reported wheezing at different ages; however, these findings were most often not significant. In girls the occurrence of anti-Cpn-IgG was associated with wheezing at the ages of 1, 2 and 4 years, Odds ratio (OR)=3.41 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.46–7.96], OR=2.13 [95% CI: 1.02– 4.44], OR=2.01 [95% CI: 1.14–3.54], respectively, and even higher ORs were observed for each age category when only high level antibody responses to Cpn were analysed. At the time of blood sampling the association between anti-Cpn-IgG and wheezing was restricted to girls without atopic sensitisation, OR=2.39 [95% CI: 1.25–4.57]. No associations with wheezing were detected in boys, in whom IgE-sensitisation was inversely associated with the presence of anti-Cpn-IgG, OR=0.49 [95% CI: 0.26–0.90]. Conclusions: This study suggests an association between evidence of earlier Cpn infection and a history of wheezing in young girls. Infection with Cpn may be an important risk factor for wheezing and possibly for non-atopic asthma, predominantly in girls.
Location-based sound segregation

At a cocktail party, we can selectively attend to a single voice and filter out all the other acoustical interferences. How to simulate this perceptual ability remains a great challenge. This paper describes a novel location-based approach for speech segregation. The auditory masking effect motivates the notion of an “ideal” time-frequency binary mask, which selects the target if it is stronger than the interference in a local time-frequency region. We observe that within a narrow frequency band modifications to the relative energy of the target source with respect to the interfering energy trigger systematic deviations for binaural cues. For a given spatial configuration, this interaction produces characteristic clustering in the binaural feature space. Consequently, we perform pattern classification in order to estimate ideal binary masks. A systematic evaluation shows that the resulting system produces masks very close to ideal binary ones, and large improvement over previous models.
Accuracy of Urinary Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin in Quantifying Acute Kidney Injury after Partial Nephrectomy in Patients with Normal Contralateral Kidney

Background To evaluate the efficacy of urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (uNGAL) for predicting the degree of acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients following partial nephrectomy (PN). Methods This prospective study included 176 patients who underwent open or laparoscopic PN for solid renal tumors between June 2013 and May 2014. Urine samples were collected preoperatively and at 3, 24, and 48 h after renal pedicle clamp removal. Changes in uNGAL levels were analyzed for all patients and between subgroups that were dichotomized based on preoperative eGFR values of <60 and ≥60 mL/min/1.73m2, open and laparoscopic surgery, and according to the onset of AKI. Linear mixed models were used to investigate preoperative and perioperative features associated with postoperative uNGAL and eGFR changes at 6 months postoperatively. Results Among 146 patients included in the final analysis, 10 (6.8%) patients had preoperative eGFR <60 mL/min/1.73m2. In the overall group, uNGAL levels increased following PN. However, all subgroups demonstrated comparable changes in uNGAL levels over time. Multivariate analyses failed to reveal any correctable clinical features associated with postoperative uNGAL changes, whereas preoperative serum creatinine levels and the onset of AKI correlated with eGFR at 6 months postoperatively. Conclusions uNGAL levels may increase following PN. However, it does not appear to be a useful marker for quantifying the degree of AKI or predicting postoperative renal function in patients with normal contralateral kidney and relatively good preoperative renal function. Further analysis is necessary to assess the usefulness of uNGAL in patients with poor preoperative renal function.
Changes in Insulin Secretion and Action in Adults With Familial Risk for Type 2 Diabetes Who Curtail Their Sleep

OBJECTIVE Experimental sleep deprivation is accompanied by changes in glucose regulation. However, the effects of chronic sleep insufficiency on insulin secretion and action in populations at high risk for type 2 diabetes are not known. This study examined the relationship between objectively documented habitual sleep curtailment and measures of insulin sensitivity, insulin secretion, and oral glucose tolerance in free-living adults with parental history of type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A total of 47 healthy participants with parental history of type 2 diabetes (26 female/21 male, mean [SD] age 26 [4] years and BMI 23.8 [2.5] kg/m2) completed 13 (SD = 2) days of sleep and physical activity monitoring by wrist actigraphy and waist accelerometry while following their usual lifestyle at home. Laboratory polysomnography was used to screen for sleep disorders. Indices of diabetes risk based on oral glucose tolerance tests were compared between participants with habitual short sleep and those with usual sleep duration >6 h/day. RESULTS Consistent with a behavioral pattern of habitual sleep curtailment, short sleepers obtained an average of 1.5 h less sleep per night and showed signs of increased sleep pressure. Participants who habitually curtailed their sleep had considerably higher indices of insulin resistance and increased insulin secretion but maintained normal glucose tolerance similar to that of subjects who slept more. CONCLUSIONS Young lean adults with parental history of type 2 diabetes who habitually curtail their sleep have increased insulin resistance and compensatory hyperinsulinemia—a pattern that has been associated with higher risk of developing diabetes in such susceptible individuals.
Increased risk of sudden sensorineural hearing loss in patients with hepatitis virus infection

The etiology of sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) remains unclear. Possible causes of SSNHL include vascular diseases, viral infection, and autoimmune disorders. Therefore, we investigated whether hepatitis virus infection is correlated with the risk of SSNHL. Using data from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database, we conducted a retrospective matched-cohort study to compare patients diagnosed with hepatitis B or C virus (HBV/HCV) infections from January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2010, (N = 170,942) with frequency-matched controls (N = 512,826) at a ratio of 1:3 by sex, age, and index year. We followed each patient until the end of 2010 and evaluated the incidence of SSNHL. At the end of the follow-up period, 647 (0.38%, 647/170,942) patients developed SSNHL in the HBV/HCV group compared with 978 (0.19%, 978/512,826) in the control groups, with a statistical significance of P < 0.001 (using the log-rank test). The incidence rate ratio of SSNHL was 5.743-fold higher in the HBV/HCV group than in the control group (283.17 vs. 49.31 per 100,000 person-years, P < 0.001). The risk of SSNHL increased with HBV/HCV infection, and an adjusted hazard ratio of 5.103 (95% CI, 4.585–5.678) was determined using Cox proportional hazards regression. This study contributes to the awareness of the increased risk of SSNHL in HBV/HCV-infected populations. Our findings suggest that an underlying viral infection contributes to the development of SSNHL.
Antiarrhythmics After Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation (5A Study)

Background— Atrial arrhythmias are common early after atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation. We hypothesized that empirical antiarrhythmic drug (AAD) therapy for 6 weeks after AF ablation would reduce the occurrence of atrial arrhythmias. Methods and Results— We randomized consecutive patients with paroxysmal AF undergoing ablation to empirical antiarrhythmic therapy (AAD group) or no antiarrhythmic therapy (no-AAD group) for the first 6 weeks after ablation. In the no-AAD group, only atrioventricular nodal blocking agents were prescribed. All patients wore a transtelephonic monitor for 4 weeks after discharge and were reevaluated at 6 weeks. The primary end point of the study was a composite of (1) atrial arrhythmias lasting more than 24 hours; (2) atrial arrhythmias associated with severe symptoms requiring hospital admission, cardioversion, or initiation/change of antiarrhythmic drug therapy; and (3) intolerance to antiarrhythmic agent requiring drug cessation. Of 110 enrolled patients (age 55±9 years, 71% male), 53 were randomized to AAD and 57 to no-AAD. There was no difference in baseline characteristics between groups. During the 6 weeks after ablation, fewer patients reached the primary end point in the AAD compared with the no-AAD group (19% versus 42%; P=0.005). There remained fewer events in the AAD group (13% versus 28%; P=0.05) when only end points of AF >24 hours, arrhythmia-related hospitalization, or electrical cardioversion were compared. Conclusions— AAD treatment during the first 6 weeks after AF ablation is well tolerated and reduces the incidence of clinically significant atrial arrhythmias and need for cardioversion/hospitalization for arrhythmia management.
Characterization of transposon Tn5469 from the cyanobacterium Fremyella diplosiphon

A transposon, designated Tn5469, was isolated from mutant strain FdR1 of the filamentous cyanobacterium Fremyella diplosiphon following its insertion into the rcaC gene. Tn5469 is a 4,904-bp noncomposite transposon with 25-bp near-perfect terminal inverted repeats and has three tandemly arranged, slightly overlapping potential open reading frames (ORFs) encoding proteins of 104.6 kDa (909 residues), 42.5 kDa (375 residues), and 31.9 kDa (272 residues). Insertion of Tn5469 into the rcaC gene in strain FdR1 generated a duplicate 5-bp target sequence. On the basis of amino acid sequence identifies, the largest ORF, designated tnpA, is predicted to encode a composite transposase protein. A 230-residue domain near the amino terminus of the TnpA protein has 15.4% amino acid sequence identity with a corresponding domain for the putative transposase encoded by Lactococcus lactis insertion sequence S1 (ISS1). In addition, the sequence for the carboxyl-terminal 600 residues of the TnpA protein is 20.0% identical to that for the TniA transposase encoded by Tn5090 on Klebsiella aerogenes plasmid R751. The TnpA and TniA proteins contain the D,D(35)E motif characteristic of a recently defined superfamily consisting of bacterial transposases and integrase proteins of eukaryotic retroelements and retrotransposons. The two remaining ORFs on Tn5469 encode proteins of unknown function. Southern blot analysis showed that wild-type F. diplosiphon harbors five genomic copies of Tn5469. In comparison, mutant strain FdR1 harbors an extra genomic copy of Tn5469 which was localized to the inactivated rcaC gene. Among five morphologically distinct cyanobacterial strains examined, none was found to contain genomic sequences homologous to Tn5469.
Distribution, Population Biology, and Trophic Ecology of the Deepwater Demersal Fish Halosauropsis macrochir (Pisces: Halosauridae) on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Halosauropsis macrochir ranked amongst the most abundant and widespread demersal fishes on the mid-Atlantic Ridge of the North Atlantic (Iceland-Azores) with greatest abundance at 1700–3500 m. All sizes, ranging from 10–76 cm total length, occurred in the area without any apparent spatial pattern or depth trend. Using otolith sections displaying growth increments assumed to represent annuli, the age range recorded was 2–36 years, but most individuals were <20 years. Length and weight at age data were used to fit growth models. No differences between sexes in length and weight at age were observed. The majority of samples had a surplus of males. Diet analysis showed that H. macrochir feeds on Crustacea, Teleostei, Polychaeta, and Cephalopoda, but few prey could be identified to lower taxonomical levels. The mid-Atlantic Ridge constitutes a major portion of the North Atlantic living space of the abyssal halosaur where it completes its full life cycle, primarily as an actively foraging euryophagous micronekton/epibenthos and infauna feeder, becoming a partial piscivore with increasing size.
Improvement of JPEG2000 using curved wavelet transform

The wavelet transform in JPEG2000 is performed using one-dimensional (1D) filtering in the vertical and horizontal directions. This conventional wavelet transform is not effective to represent edges and lines in images. In this paper we present a curved wavelet transform that improves the performance of JPEG200. The curved wavelet transform is performed using 1D filtering along curves that are usually parallel to edges and lines in images. The pixels along these curves can be well represented by a small number of wavelet coefficients. A simple algorithm is proposed in this paper to determine the curves according to image content. Experimental results show that the curved wavelet transform can significantly improve the compression efficiency of JPEG2000, especially for images that contain sharp edges and lines. The coding gain can be up to 1.6 dB in the terms of PSNR.
Differential participation of temporal structures in the consolidation and reconsolidation of taste aversion extinction

The extinction process has been described as the decline in the frequency or intensity of the conditioned response following the withdrawal of reinforcement. Hence, experimental extinction does not reflect loss of the original memory, but rather reflects new learning, which in turn requires consolidation in order to be maintained in the long term. During extinction of conditioned taste aversion (CTA), a taste previously associated with aversive consequences acquires a safe status through continuous presentations of the flavor with no aversive consequence. In addition, reconsolidation has been defined as the labile state of a consolidated memory after its reactivation by the presentation of relevant information. In this study, we analyzed structures from the temporal lobe that could be involved in consolidation and reconsolidation of extinction of CTA by means of new protein synthesis. Our results showed that protein synthesis in the hippocampus (HC), the perirhinal cortex (PR) and the insular cortex (IC) of rats participate in extinction consolidation, whereas the basolateral amygdala plays no part in this phenomenon. Furthermore, we found that inhibition of protein synthesis in the IC in a third extinction trial had an effect on reconsolidation of extinction. The participation of the HC in taste memory has been described as a downmodulator for CTA consolidation, and has been related to a context–taste association. Altogether, these data suggest that extinction of aversive taste memories are subserved by the IC, HC and PR, and that extinction can undergo reconsolidation, a process depending only on the IC.
AINSI: an inductive method for software process improvement: concrete steps and guidelines

Top-down approaches to process improvement based on generic "best practice" models (e.g., CMM, TRILLIUM, BOOTSTRAP, SPICE) have become popular. Despite the idiosyncrasies of each of these approaches, they share some common characteristics: all of them are based on numerous assumptions about what are best practices, and about the business goals of organizations and the problems they face. Other organizations, like the Software Engineering Laboratory of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center , HP and CRIM in Canada, have adopted the Quality Improvement Paradigm (QIP). The QIP stipulates a more bottomup and inductive approach to process improvement. The focus of this paradigm is to first understand what processes exist in the organization and to determine what causes the most significant problems. Based on this, opportunities for improvement are devised, and empirical studies are conducted to evaluate potential solutions. In this paper, we present a method, named AINSI 1 ( A n I N ductive Software process Improvment method), which defines general but concrete steps and guidelines for putting in place the QIP. This method is the result of the collective experiences of the authors and integrates many lessons learned from process improvement efforts in different environments. It also integrates many complementary techniques such as qualitative analysis, methods for data collection (e.g., the Goal/Question/Metric paradigm), and quantitative evaluation.
Mass-spring-damper motion dynamics-based particle swarm optimization

Mass-spring-damper motion dynamics-based particle swarm optimization (MMD-PSO) is a novel optimization paradigm based on motion dynamic model which consists of mass, spring and damper. In MMD-PSO some particles, which are located fitter places than other particles, drop their anchor and connect springs and dampers between the anchors and all the particles. These connections influence the movements of the particles so as to proceed to fitter places attracted by the anchors. To demonstrate the effectiveness of MMD-PSO, several experiments are carried out on numerical optimization problems with complex test functions. The results show that proposed MMD-PSO is more powerful than original PSO and PSO mass-spring analogy in terms of robustness and convergence speed with no tuning parameters.
Melatonin attenuates impairments of structural hippocampal neuroplasticity in OXYS rats during active progression of Alzheimer's disease‐like pathology

Translational research on Alzheimer's disease (AD) has often focused on reducing the high cerebral levels of amyloid‐β (Aβ) as a key characteristic of AD pathogenesis. There is, however, a growing body of evidence that synaptic dysfunction may be crucial for the development of the most common (sporadic) form of AD. The applicability of melatonin (mainly produced by the pineal gland) to the treatment of AD is actively evaluated, but usually, such studies are based on animal models of early‐onset AD, which is responsible for only ~5% of AD cases. We have shown previously that in OXYS rats (an established model of sporadic AD), accumulation of toxic forms of Aβ in the brain occurs later than does the development of signs of neurodegenerative changes and synaptic failure. In this regard, recently, we uncovered beneficial neuroprotective effects of melatonin (prophylactic dietary supplementation) in OXYS rats. Our aim here was to evaluate, starting at the age of active progression of AD‐like pathology in OXYS rats, the effects of long‐term oral administration of melatonin on the structure of synapses and on neuronal and glial cells of the hippocampus. Melatonin significantly increased hippocampal synaptic density and the number of excitatory synapses, decreased the number of inhibitory synapses, and upregulated pre‐ and postsynaptic proteins (synapsin I and PSD‐95, respectively). Furthermore, melatonin improved the ultrastructure of neuronal and glial cells and reduced glial density. Based on our past and present results, the repair of neuroplasticity by melatonin is a promising strategy against AD.
Multiple-Dose Safety and Pharmacokinetics of Oral Garenoxacin in Healthy Subjects

ABSTRACT Garenoxacin (T-3811ME, BMS-284756) is a novel des-F(6) quinolone that has been shown to be effective in vitro against a wide range of clinically important pathogens, including gram-positive and gram-negative aerobes and anaerobes. This study was conducted to evaluate the safety and tolerability of multiple oral doses (100 to 1,200 mg/day) of garenoxacin in healthy subjects and to determine its multiple-dose pharmacokinetics. Forty healthy male and female subjects (18 to 45 years of age) were enrolled in this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, sequential, multiple- and ascending-dose study. Each subject received a once-daily oral dose of garenoxacin (100, 200, 400, 800, or 1,200 mg) or a placebo for 14 days. Blood and urine samples were collected for measurements of garenoxacin by validated liquid chromatography with dual mass spectrometry, and plasma garenoxacin concentration-time data were analyzed by noncompartmental methods. The effects of garenoxacin on Helicobacter pylori, psychometric test performance, and electrocardiograms were assessed, as was drug safety. Over the 14 days of dosing, geometric mean peak concentrations of garenoxacin in plasma (Cmax) at the 100- and 1,200-mg doses were within the ranges of 1.2 to 1.6 and 16.3 to 24 μg/ml, respectively. The corresponding values for the geometric mean area under the concentration-time curve over the dosing interval (AUCτ) for garenoxacin in plasma at the 100- and 1,200-mg doses were within the ranges of 11.5 to 15.7 and 180 to 307 μg · h/ml, respectively. Increases in systemic exposure to garenoxacin in terms of AUC and Cmax were approximately dose proportional over the 100- to 400-mg dose range but demonstrated increases that were somewhat greater than the dose increments at the 800- and 1,200-mg doses. Median values for the time to achieve Cmax were in the range of 1.13 to 2.50 h for all doses. The mean elimination half-life for garenoxacin in plasma appeared to be independent of dose and ranged from 13.3 to 17.8 h (day 14). Approximately 30 to 50% of an administered garenoxacin dose was excreted unchanged in the urine. At doses of 100 to 400 mg, steady-state concentrations of garenoxacin in plasma appeared to be attained by the fourth dose. Multiple oral doses of garenoxacin were well tolerated and did not demonstrate clinically significant effects on QTc or psychometric test results. Garenoxacin administered alone for 14 days at doses of ≥400 mg demonstrated activity against H. pylori. These results suggest that multiple once-daily oral doses of garenoxacin of up to 1,200 mg are safe and well tolerated and that the pharmacokinetics of garenoxacin support once-daily administration.
Late-type galaxies observed with SAURON: two-dimensional stellar and emission-line kinematics of 18 spirals

We present the stellar and gas kinematics of a sample of 18 nearby late-type spiral galaxies (Hubble types ranging from Sb to Sd), observed with the integral-field spectrograph SAURON at the 4.2-m William Herschel Telescope. SAURON covers the spectral range 4800-5380 angstrom, allowing us to measure the H beta, Fe, Mgb absorption features and the emission in the H beta line and the [Om]lambda lambda 4959, 5007 angstrom and [N(I)]lambda lambda 5198, 5200 angstrom doublets over a 33 x 41-arcsec(2) field of view. The maps cover the nuclear region of these late-type galaxies and in all cases include the entire bulge. In many cases the stellar kinematics suggests the presence of a cold inner region, as visible from a central drop in the stellar velocity dispersion. The ionized gas is almost ubiquitous and behaves in a complicated fashion: the gas velocity fields often display more features than the stellar ones, including wiggles in the zero-velocity lines, irregular distributions, ring-like structures. The line ratio [O(III)]/H beta often takes on low values over most of the field, probably indicating a wide-spread star formation.