Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Coupled optoelectronic oscillators: Design and performance comparison at 10 GHz and 30 GHz

Two SOA-based coupled optoelectronic oscillators (COEO) at 30 GHz and 10 GHz have been studied. These systems have been designed thanks to a preliminary study of the noise of various optical amplifiers (SOA and EDFA). The COEOs measured single sideband phase noise level is -132 dBc/Hz and -125 dBc/Hz at 10 kHz offset from 10 GHz and 30 GHz respectively. The architecture proposed enabled a rejection of spurious modes above 70 dB.
Graph-based low complexity detection algorithms in multiple-input-multiple-out systems: an edge selection approach

In this study, the problem of low complexity multiple-input–multiple-out signal detection based on belief propagation (BP) is addressed. The authors propose an edge selection approach that works on factor graph model to cut down the number of circles and high complexity of standard BP algorithm. The message passing from factor nodes to variable nodes is updated by only partial edges, and the mean feedback method is designed to compensate the information loss brought by the edge selection. Both binary and high-order modulations are considered, and the scheme of mapping between bit soft output and modulation symbols when computing the feedback information is discussed. In addition, a minimum mean-square error filter initialised algorithm is proposed, in which the initial message of BP detection is exploited. Both binary and high-order modulations are discussed as well when the authors design this initial message. Simulation results along with convergence and complexity analyses verify that the proposed edge selection approach can achieve good performance with low complexity, and significantly outperform the existing methods with comparative complexity. Moreover, our approach has asymptotic optimality and is a self-adapting scheme, which can achieve the trade-off between performance and complexity by varying the number of selected edges.
Deterministic, Compensatory Mutational Events in the Capsid of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus in Response to the Introduction of Mutations Found in Viruses from Persistent Infections

ABSTRACT The evolution of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) (biological clone C-S8c1) in persistently infected cells led to the emergence of a variant (R100) that displayed increased virulence, reduced stability, and other modified phenotypic traits. Some mutations fixed in the R100 genome involved a cluster of highly conserved residues around the capsid pores that participate in interactions with each other and/or between capsid protomers. We have investigated phenotypic and genotypic changes that occurred when these replacements were introduced into the C-S8c1 capsid. The C3007V and M3014L mutations exerted no effect on plaque size or viral yield during lytic infections, or on virion stability, but led to a reduction in biological fitness; the D3009A mutation caused drastic reductions in plaque size and viability. Remarkably, competition of the C3007V mutant with the nonmutated virus invariably resulted in the fixation of the D3009A mutation in the C3007V capsid. In turn, the presence of the D3009A mutation invariably led to the fixation of the M3014L mutation. In both cases, two individually disadvantageous mutations led, together, to an increase in fitness, as the double mutants outcompeted the nonmutated genotype. The higher fitness of C3007V/D3009A was related to a faster multiplication rate. These observations provide evidence for a chain of linked, compensatory mutational events in a defined region of the FMDV capsid. Furthermore, they indicate that the clustering of unique amino acid replacements in viruses from persistent infections may also occur in cytolytic infections in response to changes caused by previous mutations without an involvement of the new mutations in the adaptation to a different environment.
Postoperative nausea and vomiting in patients after craniotomy: incidence and risk factors.

OBJECT The purpose of this study was to assess the incidence and risk factors of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) after craniotomy because most available data about PONV in neurosurgical patients are retrospective in nature or derive from small prospective studies. METHODS Postoperative nausea and vomiting was prospectively assessed within 24 hours after surgery in 229 patients requiring supratentorial or infratentorial craniotomy. To rule out the relevance of the neurosurgical procedure itself to the development of PONV, the observed incidence of vomiting was compared with the rate of vomiting predicted with a surgery-independent risk score (Apfel postoperative vomiting score). RESULTS The overall incidence of PONV after craniotomy was 47%. Logistic regression identified female sex as a risk factor for postoperative nausea (OR 4.25, 95% CI 2.3-7.8) and vomiting (OR 2.62, 95% CI 1.4-4.9). Both the incidence of nausea (OR 3.76, 95% CI 2.06-6.88) and vomiting (OR 4.48, 95% CI 2.4-8.37) were increased in patients not receiving steroids. Postoperative nausea and vomiting occurred after infratentorial as well as after supratentorial procedures. The observed incidence of vomiting within 24 hours after surgery was higher (49%) than would be predicted with the Apfel surgery-independent risk score (31%; p = 0.0004). CONCLUSIONS The overall incidence of PONV within 24 hours after craniotomy was approximately 50%. One possible reason is that intracranial surgeries pose an additional and independent risk factor for vomiting, especially in female patients. Patients undergoing craniotomy should be identified as high-risk patients for PONV.
The effects of insula damage on decision-making for risky gains and losses

Abstract Several lines of functional neuroimaging studies have attributed a role for the insula, a critical component of the brain's emotional circuitry, in risky decision-making. However, very little evidence yet exists as to whether the insula is necessary for advantageous decision-making under risk, specifically decisions involving uncertain gains and losses. The present study uses a risky decision-making task with lesion patients and healthy controls to investigate the effects of focal insula damage on risk-taking to achieve gains and to avoid losses. Compared to healthy controls, insula lesion patients showed an altered decision-making pattern in domains involving both risky gains and risky losses. Specifically, insula damage was associated with insensitivity to differences in expected value between choice options. Additionally, patients made significantly fewer risky choices than healthy adults in the gain domain. In conjunction with earlier findings, these results suggest that risky decision-making is dependent on the integrity of a neural circuitry that includes several brain regions known to be critical for the experience and expression of emotions, namely the insula, amygdala, and ventromedial prefrontal cortex. However, each neural region seems to provide a distinct contribution to the overall process of decision-making.
A Large-Scale Computational Analysis of Corneal Structural Response and Ectasia Risk in Myopic Laser Refractive Surgery.

PURPOSE To investigate biomechanical strain as a structural susceptibility metric for corneal ectasia in a large-scale computational trial. METHODS A finite element modeling study was performed using retrospective Scheimpflug tomography data from 40 eyes of 40 patients. LASIK and PRK were simulated with varied myopic ablation profiles and flap thickness parameters across eyes from LASIK candidates, patients disqualified for LASIK, subjects with atypical topography, and keratoconus subjects in 280 simulations. Finite element analysis output was then interrogated to extract several risk and outcome variables. We tested the hypothesis that strain is greater in known at-risk eyes than in normal eyes, evaluated the ability of a candidate strain variable to differentiate eyes that were empirically disqualified as LASIK candidates, and compared the performance of common risk variables as predictors of this novel susceptibility marker across multiple virtual subjects and surgeries. RESULTS A candidate susceptibility metric that expressed mean strains across the anterior residual stromal bed was significantly higher in eyes with confirmed ectatic predisposition in preoperative and all postoperative cases (P≤.003). The strain metric was effective at differentiating normal and at-risk eyes (area under receiver operating characteristic curve ≥ 0.83, P≤.002), was highly correlated to thickness-based risk metrics (as high as R(2) = 95%, P<. 001 for the percent of stromal tissue altered (PSTA)), and predicted large portions of the variance in predicted refractive response to surgery (R(2) = 57%, P<. 001). CONCLUSIONS This study represents the first large-scale 3-dimensional structural analysis of ectasia risk and provides a novel biomechanical construct for expressing structural risk in refractive surgery. Mechanical strain is an effective marker of known ectasia risk and correlates to predicted refractive error after myopic photoablative surgery.
[Analgesic Effect of Deqi Induced by Needling at Sanyinjiao (SP 6) Acupoint on Primary Dysmenorrheal Patients with Cold Damp Stagnation Syndrome].

OBJECTIVE To observe the analgesic effect of deqi induced by needling at Sanyinjiao (SP 6) on primary dysmenorrheal (PD) patients with cold damp stagnation syndrome (CDSS). METHODS A total of 64 PD patients with CDSS experiencing abdominal pain (≥40 mm in visual analogue scale ，VAS) were randomly assigned into deqi-expectation(DE) group(n＝15) and no-deqi-expectation(NDE) group(n＝49). On the first day of abdominal pain attack, bilateral SP 6 were punctured respectively with thicker needles with deeper insertion for deqi-expectation patients and thin filiform needles with shallow insertion for no-deqi-expectation patients. The needles were removed after 30 minutes, a deqi scale was used to evaluate the deqi condition. According to the results, patients in the DE group were further divided into deqi DE group and no-deqi DE group, patients in the NDE group were also divided into deqi NDE group and no-deqi NDE group. The VAS was used to evaluate the patients' abdominal pain severity before treatment and 0, 10, 20, 30 min after acupuncture needle withdrawal. RESULTS The rate of deqi in the DE group was higher than that in the NDE group(P<0.05). The VAS scores of abdominal pain in the four groups were decreased at all time-points after needle withdrawal compared with those before treatment (P<0.01), while the VAS score in the deqi DE group were lower than in the no-deqi NDE group 30 min after needle withdrawal (P<0.05). CONCLUSION The intervention method of thick needle, deep insertion and some manipulation is easier in inducing deqi than that of thin needle, shallow insertion and no manipulation. The analgesic effect of deqi is better than that of no-deqi for PD patients with CDSS.
Metaface block sparse Bayesian learning for face recognition

Face recognition is an active and challenging task in pattern recognition and computer vision application. Sparse representation based classification has been verified to be powerful for face recognition. This paper proposes the metaface block sparse bayesian learning (MBSBL) based on the framework of sparse representation. The MBS-BL combines the metaface learning and block sparse bayesian learning together to treat the face recognition problem. After obtaining a trained optimal dictionary by the method metaface learning, the representation coefficient is solved through block sparse bayesian learning with the trained dictionary. Experimental results demonstrate that the MBSBL can combine the advantages of metaface learning and block sparse bayesian learning well to achieve better recognition rates.
Pretransplant Donor-Specific and Non-Specific Immune Parameters Associated With Early Acute Rejection

Background. New immunosuppression protocols have resulted in decreased rates of biopsy-proven acute rejection; however, it is unclear whether recipients without biopsy-proven acute rejection are still at risk for immune complication and chronic allograft dysfunction. The aim of our studies was to determine whether pretransplant immune parameters were associated with posttransplant early acute rejection, unstable creatinine courses, and poor graft outcome. Methods. Immune parameters, including human leukocyte antigen (HLA) mismatch, HLA-specific antibodies, global CD4+ cellular response as measured by intracellular adenosine triphosphate (iATP) synthesis, and IFN-&ggr; precursor frequencies to donor or third-party cells as measured by ELISPOT were determined for a total of 126 kidney recipients treated with a protocol, including rapid discontinuation of prednisone. Results. The donor specific pretransplant parameters of HLA class I mismatches (P=0.04) and total HLA mismatches (P=0.04) with the donor as well as the pretransplant HLA-donor specific antibodies (P=0.002) were associated with biopsy-proven acute rejection. Higher pretransplant iATP levels, a donor nonspecific parameter, were found associated with biopsy proven acute rejection (P=0.04). Pretransplant iATP levels were significantly greater for recipients with early unstable creatinine levels (P=0.01). Recipients with a pretransplant iATP value greater than 375 ng/ml were 3.67 times more likely to experience acute rejection (P=0.03). Conclusions. Pretransplant assessment of donor specific and nonspecific immune parameters may identify recipients who can benefit from closer clinical and immunological surveillance to allow for tailored immunsuppression and selective intervention aimed at optimizing both short and long-term graft outcome.
Depth and Area of Dental Erosions, and Dental Caries, in Bulimic Women

Dental caries and the severity (depth) and area of erosions of tooth substance were studied in 11 bulimic subjects and 22 matched controls. Erosions were seen in 69% of the bulimics' teeth and in only 7% of the controls' (p< 0.001). Depth of penetration was greater in the bulimics, extending even into the pulp, and the area of erosion was also larger. Scores for dental caries were higher in bulimics (mean DMFS 27.9, median 36) than in controls (mean DMFS 19.1, median 13.5), although the difference was not statistically significant. This study suggests that when erosions are present on the lingual surfaces of maxillary anterior teeth, as well as on the buccal surfaces of maxillary canines, premolars, and maxillary incisors, a diagnosis of bulimia is likely. Patients with these signs should be referred for medical help.
An indirect immunofluorescent antibody technique for detection and enumeration of Vibrio vulnificus serovar E (biotype 2): delevopment and applications

The applications of an indirect fluorescent antibody technique (IFAT), developed to detect and enumerate the pathogenic bacterium Vibrio vulnificus serovar E from water and clinical samples, are described. This technique proved accurate for detecting V. vulnificus, even under starvation conditions and in the non‐culturable state, and could differentiate this species from other bacteria which share the same habitats. The IFAT was succesfully used to diagnose vibriosis from naturally‐ and artificially‐infected eels. The overall data suggest that applying this technique properly in environmental and epidemiological/epizootiological studies could significantly increase our knowledge of this bacterium.
Eating behavior and weight change in healthy postmenopausal women: results of a 4-year longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND The association of psychological eating behavior constructs with overweight and obesity during early adult life and middle age has been documented in several studies. However, the association of eating behavior with unexplained weight change in old age is relatively unexplored. METHODS Body weight, eating behavior (dietary restraint, disinhibition, and hunger as assessed by the Eating Inventory), reported dietary intake, and physical activity level were assessed at baseline in 36 nonobese postmenopausal women aged 61.3 +/- 3.1 years (mean +/- standard deviation). Measurements were repeated 4.4 +/- 0.9 years later, and changes in body weight were examined in relation to baseline and follow-up eating behavior scores, reported dietary intake, and physical activity level. RESULTS Participants had no major changes in health or lifestyle characteristics over the study interval. Weight change ranged from -7.5 to +5.8 kg (mean -0.3 +/- 3.5 kg), and there were no significant changes in reported dietary intake. Mean hunger score (calculated as the mean of baseline and follow-up hunger score) predicted weight change per year over the study period (bivariate r = 0.386, p =.020), even in statistical models adjusted for mean dietary intake variables (partial r = 0.658, p =.003). Restraint, disinhibition, and physical activity level did not predict weight change. CONCLUSIONS Reported hunger assessed by the Eating Inventory was associated with unintentional weight change in healthy postmenopausal women. The Eating Inventory questionnaire may provide a clinically useful tool for identifying older individuals at risk of undesirable weight change, and particularly unintentional weight loss, a factor strongly associated with increased morbidity and premature death in this population.
Plasmid-mediated degradation of dibenzothiophene by Pseudomonas species

The microbial transformation of dibenzothiophene (DBT) is of interest in the potential desulfurization of oil. We isolated three soil Pseudomonas species which oxidized DBT to characteristic water-soluble, sulfur-containing products. Two of our isolates harbored a 55-megadalton plasmid; growth in the presence of novobiocin resulted in both loss of the plasmid and loss of the ability to oxidize DBT. Reintroduction of the plasmid restored the ability to oxidize DBT to water-soluble products. The products resulting from the oxidation of DBT were characterized and included 3-hydroxy-2-formyl benzothiophene, 3-oxo-[3'-hydroxy-thionaphthenyl-(2)-methylene]-dihydrothionaph thene, and the hemiacetal and trans forms of 4-[2-(3-hydroxy)-thianaphthenyl]-2-oxo-3-butenoic acid. The products of DBT oxidation were inhibitory to cell growth and further DBT oxidation. DBT oxidation in our soil isolates was induced by naphthalene or salicylate and to a much lesser extent by DBT and was repressed by succinate.
A transient outward current in isolated cells from the crista terminalis of rabbit heart.

Voltage‐clamp experiments were carried out with the objective of identifying and characterizing the time‐ and voltage‐dependent properties of a transient outward current recorded in single myocytes from the crista terminalis region of the rabbit heart. A collagenase enzymic dispersion procedure similar to that described by Desilets & Horackova (1982) was used to obtain these viable individual myocytes. Transmembrane ionic currents were recorded using a single micro‐electrode voltage‐clamp technique. In experiments aimed at studying a tetrodotoxin‐resistant transient inward current, (ICa); a transient outward current was consistently recorded following blockade of ICa with Cd2+ (5 X 10(‐4) M). The time and voltage dependence of the activation and inactivation of this current were measured. Its steady‐state inactivation curve spans the voltage range ‐70 to ‐10 mV, and it is activated between ‐20 and +10 mV. The reversal potential of this transient outward current is approximately ‐75 mV in [K+]O 5 mM, suggesting that it is carried mainly by K+. This transient outward current can be inhibited completely by external application of 4‐aminopyridine (4‐AP, 3 mM). The time‐ and voltage‐dependent properties, the reversal potential, and the sensitivity to 4‐AP of this transient outward current are all very similar to those of a transient outward current first identified in molluscan neurones. Hence, we have labelled it, IA. Selective inhibition of IA and knowledge of its voltage‐ and time‐dependent properties yield specific predictions concerning its role in the action potential of isolated crista terminalis cells. Consistent with these predictions, a decrease in stimulus rate is found to decrease the duration of the action potential and vice versa; and application of effective doses of 4‐AP results in a substantial lengthening of the action potential. These results are discussed in terms of the possible physiological role of IA in subsidiary or follower pace‐maker tissue, and the anatomical and physiological heterogeneity of the sino‐atrial node region of the rabbit heart.
Increased Expression of Death Receptors 4 and 5 Synergizes the Apoptosis Response to Combined Treatment with Etoposide and TRAIL

ABSTRACT Chemotherapeutic genotoxins induce apoptosis in epithelial-cell-derived cancer cells. The death receptor ligand TRAIL also induces apoptosis in epithelial-cell-derived cancer cells but generally fails to induce apoptosis in nontransformed cells. We show here that the treatment of four different epithelial cell lines with the topoisomerase II inhibitor etoposide in combination with TRAIL (tumor necrosis factor [TNF]-related apoptosis-inducing ligand) induces a synergistic apoptotic response. The mechanism of the synergistic effect results from the etoposide-mediated increase in the expression of the death receptors 4 (DR4) and 5 (DR5). Inhibition of NF-κB activation by expression of kinase-inactive MEK kinase 1(MEKK1) or dominant-negative IκB (ΔIκB) blocked the increase in DR4 and DR5 expression following etoposide treatment. Addition of a soluble decoy DR4 fusion protein (DR4:Fc) to cell cultures reduced the amount of etoposide-induced apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. The addition of a soluble TNF decoy receptor (TNFR:Fc) was without effect, demonstrating the specificity of DR4 binding ligands in the etoposide-induced apoptosis response. Thus, genotoxin treatment in combination with TRAIL is an effective inducer of epithelial-cell-derived tumor cell apoptosis relative to either treatment alone.
Added value of routine chest MDCT after blunt trauma: evaluation of additional findings and impact on patient management.

OBJECTIVE The objective of our study was to evaluate the added value of a low-threshold routine thoracic MDCT algorithm compared with a selective MDCT algorithm in adult blunt trauma patients. SUBJECTS AND METHODS A prospective cohort study was conducted in 464 consecutive blunt trauma patients who met criteria indicative of severe blunt trauma (66% male; age range, 16-93 years; median injury severity score, 13). After clinical evaluation and conventional radiography of the chest and thoracic spine, all patients underwent routine thoracic MDCT with an IV contrast agent (routine MDCT algorithm). Within this routine MDCT group, a subgroup was prospectively defined with abnormal or inconclusive clinical or conventional radiography evaluation (selective MDCT group). Two investigators determined the type, extent, and clinical impact of additional injuries found on MDCT as compared to conventional radiography for both MDCT groups. RESULTS Of all 464 patients within the routine MDCT group, 164 patients underwent selective MDCT, which resulted in detection of additional diagnoses compared with conventional radiography in 97 (59%) patients. The routine MDCT algorithm detected additional diagnoses compared with conventional radiography in 201 of 464 patients (43%). Compared with the selective MDCT algorithm, this was an absolute increase of 104 of 464 (22%) extra patients, resulting in a change in patient management in 34 (7%; 95% CI, 5-9.7%), mostly because of additional findings of pulmonary and mediastinal injury. CONCLUSION Routine MDCT has relatively lower, though still substantial, added diagnostic value compared with selective MDCT of the chest.