Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Does a nondipping pattern impact the right ventricle in hypertensive patients?

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to determine the influence of a nondipping arterial blood pressure pattern on the right ventricular (RV) structure, diastolic, and global function in recently diagnosed hypertensive patients. MethodsThis cross-sectional study included 189 recently diagnosed hypertensive patients. All participants underwent 24 h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and a complete two-dimensional echocardiography examination. We determined the ratio of early diastolic transtricuspid and septal areas of the tricuspid annulus flow velocities (E/e′)t, as well as appropriate time intervals for the estimation of the Tei index. RV hypertrophy was defined by RV wall thickness of at least 6.0 mm in men and at least 5.5 mm in women. ResultsThe dipping blood pressure pattern was found in 107 (57%) participants, whereas the nondipping pattern was present in 82 (43%) hypertensive patients. The RV wall thickness as well as the (E/e′)t ratio (5.12±1.03 vs. 5.81±1.12, P<0.001) and the RV Tei index (0.42±0.08 vs. 0.48±0.11, P<0.001) were increased in the nondippers (4.2±0.84 vs. 4.7±0.87 mm, P<0.001). Analyses revealed that 24 h, daytime, and night-time systolic blood pressure, the nondipping status, and the left ventricular mass index were independently associated with RV wall thickness (P<0.001 for all). The same parameters, along with RV wall thickness, were identified as independent predictors of RV diastolic function [(E/e′)t] and RV global function (RV Tei index), respectively. ConclusionRV structure, diastolic, and global functions were significantly impaired in nondipper hypertensive patients. A nondipping blood pressure pattern represents one of the independent predictors of RV diastolic and global function as well as RV hypertrophy.
The Limiting Joint During a Failed Squat: A Biomechanics Case Series

Abstract Flanagan, SP, Kulik, JB, and Salem, GJ. The limiting joint during a failed squat: A biomechanics case series. J Strength Cond Res 29(11): 3134–3142, 2015—This investigation examined the characteristics of a failed back squat. Subjects were instructed to perform 3 repetitions of a barbell squat with a 3 repetition maximum load while instrumented for biomechanical analyses and standing atop force platforms. Inverse dynamics calculations were used to determine the net joint moment (NJM) power, work, and energy of the hip, knee, and ankle. Five subjects failed to complete all 3 repetitions, allowing for comparisons between a successful and the failed repetition. Although the NJM power and work were lower at all 3 joints during the failed attempt, the only statistically significant differences were at the hip. These findings suggest that the energy generated by the hip joint NJM limited performance of the task. However, examination of the NJM energy generation over time on an individual basis uncovered some features that were masked by the aggregated group mean data. For some subjects, the knee NJM limited the movement. Additionally, negligible to modest compensations occurred between the hip and knee NJM: a decreased energy generated by one NJM was often accompanied by an increase in energy generated at the other. A limiting joint, or “weak link,” may explain the failure to complete a lift. Interventions should address the limiting joint on an individual-specific basis and incorporate assistive exercises that target these deficiencies.
Immersion programs and preserving endangered indigenous languages

The urgency of halting the erosion of their languages has compelled many indigenous groups to step up efforts not only to preserve them for posterity but also to revitalize them via language education so that they would once again serve as tools for communication. Immersion is the choice that many groups have taken to promote this revitalization. The aim of this paper is to review the relevant literature regarding successful indigenous languages; more specifically, we provide examples of two successful indigenous immersion programs (Maori and Hawaiian), then we describe the preschool and K-12 indigenous immersion programs in Canada, which has a checkered history of success and failure. We will then analyze the factors that may contribute to the lack of success of some Canadian indigenous immersion programs. We argue that lack of instruction on the structure and form of the language in some immersion programs as one possible source of its documented flaws.
Total Lymphocyte Count as a Possible Surrogate of Cd4 Cell Count to Prioritize Eligibility for Antiretroviral Therapy among HIV-Infected Individuals in Resource-Limited Settings

Objective To characterize the value of total lymphocyte counts in predicting risk of death among patients initiating triple combination antiretroviral therapy. Methods Study subjects included antiretroviral-naive persons aged 18 years or older who initiated treatment with triple combination therapy between August 1 1996 and September 30 1999 in a population-based observational cohort of HIV-infected individuals. Total lymphocyte counts as well as CD4 count and plasma viral load were assessed at baseline. Separate Cox proportional hazards models were devised to evaluate the effect on survival of total lymphocyte count in lieu of or with CD4 count after adjustment for other prognostic factors including plasma viral load. Results A total of 733 antiretroviral-naive persons initiated triple drug combination antiretroviral therapy over the study period with a median follow-up of 29.5 months. In the first analysis, only baseline CD4 cell counts of 50–199 cells/μl or less than 50 μl were associated with an increased risk of mortality [adjusted relative risk (ARR) 2.90; 95% CI: 1.40, 5.98] and (ARR 6.30; 95% CI: 2.93, 13.54), respectively. When CD4 counts were excluded from the analysis as if unavailable, total lymphocyte count of between 0.8 and 1.4 G/l, and less than 0.8 G/l were both significantly associated with an increased risk of mortality (ARR 2.36; 95% CI: 1.16, 4.78) and (ARR 6.17; 95% CI: 2.93, 13.01), respectively. Conclusion Total lymphocyte count may provide a simple and cost-effective alternative for prioritizing therapy initiation in resource-limited settings. Our results suggest that, if appropriately validated, judicious application of total lymphocyte counts could overcome one of the practical obstacles to more widespread provision of antiretroviral therapy in resource-poor settings.
Regulation of chemotactic networks by ‘atypical’ receptors

Directed cell migration is a fundamental component of numerous biological systems and is critical to the pathology of many diseases. Although the importance of secreted chemoattractant factors in providing navigational cues to migrating cells bearing specific chemoattractant receptors is now well‐established, how the function of these factors is regulated is not so well understood and may be of key importance to the design of new therapeutics for numerous human diseases. While regulation of migration clearly takes place on a number of different levels, it is becoming clear that so‐called ‘atypical’ receptors play a role in scavenging, or altering the localisation of, chemoattractant molecules such as chemokines and complement components. These receptors do this through binding and/or internalising their chemoattractant ligands without activating signal transduction cascades leading to cell migration. The atypical chemokine receptor family currently comprises the receptors D6, DARC and CCX‐CKR. In this review, we discuss the evidence from in vitro and in vivo studies that these receptors play a role in regulating cell migration, and speculate that other orphan receptors may also belong to this family. Furthermore, with the advent of gene therapy on the horizon, the therapeutic potential of these receptors in human disease is also considered. BioEssays 29: 237–247, 2007. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
An exploration of unsheltered homelessness management on an urban riparian corridor

Park managers are increasingly faced with responding to the recent rise of those experiencing unsheltered homelessness residing in urban green spaces. In response, researchers have explored and attempted to mitigate a variety of negative social and ecological impacts associated with unsheltered homelessness in urban parks. However, these impacts are often mitigated through the enforcement of policies criminalizing homeless park use or through environmentally harmful changes to landscapes. To help generate more equitable and beneficial solutions to unsheltered homelessness in urban green spaces, this study based in the United States interrogated a variety of stakeholders’ perspectives, including park managers, local community members, and relevant social service organizations. Overall, data expressed how unsheltered homelessness and related cyclical mitigations negatively affected the social and environmental benefits of urban park systems, as well as illuminating the need for a more informed citizenry about the challenges facing individuals experiencing homelessness through public education. Implications for urban park managers and stakeholders are discussed.
DEPFET Macropixel Detectors for MIXS: Integration and Qualification of the Flight Detectors

The Mercury imaging X-ray spectrometer (MIXS) on board of ESA's fifth cornerstone mission BepiColombo will be the first space instrument using DEpleted P-channel FET (DEPFET) based detectors. The MIXS spectrometer comprises two channels with identical focal plane detectors and is dedicated to energy resolved imaging of X-ray fluorescence from the mercurial surface. We report on the characterization, integration, and spectroscopic qualification of MIXS flight detectors. Detector chips were precharacterized at die level in order to select the best dies for integration and to do homogeneity and yield studies. Then, the detector chips were integrated to MIXS Detector Plane Arrays (DPAs), a complicated process due to the sophisticated mechanical structure, which allows the thermal decoupling of the detector from its readout and control chips. After integration, spectroscopic qualification measurements were done in order to analyze the detector performance and to prove the excellent spectroscopic performance of the DEPFET Macropixel detectors over a wide temperature range. The integration and spectroscopic qualification of all flight grade modules is now successfully completed.
The Environmental Consequences of Growth: Empirical Evidence from the Republic of Kazakhstan

The main objective of this paper is to examine the effect growth has on CO2 emissions in Kazakhstan, controlling for energy consumption, in the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) cointegration framework. We find that the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis seems to hold for Kazakhstan; this effect at a low level of income increases CO2 but at a high level decreases it. We also find that energy consumption increases CO2 emissions.
NSE and S100 after Hypoxia in the Newborn Pig

Perinatal asphyxia is an important cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. There is the potential to halt cerebral damage if neural rescue strategies are applied within a short period of time after an insult. It is therefore important to be able to accurately identify neonates who may benefit from neural rescue therapies. Recent studies in asphyxiated neonates have correlated S100B and NSE with outcome; however, interpretation of these studies were difficult, as the timing of the measurements were not consistent. We measured NSE and S100 in 1-d-old piglets after a mild or severe hypoxic insult. Measurements were performed at 6–72 h after the insult and correlated with histologic outcome. There were no differences of the NSE or S100 concentrations between controls and the mild hypoxia group. After 24 h, there was a significant difference of NSE between the control/mild insult group and severe insult group. After 48 h, the S100 concentrations were significantly different between the control/mild insult group and the severe insult group. Both proteins showed good correlation at these time points with outcome as measured by histology score at 72 h. In conclusion, NSE and S100B measured in the serum of piglets after hypoxia increased significantly and correlated with outcome. This increase occurs too late to be used within the first 24 h but might be helpful for the clinician in determining the timing of an insult.
Fusion of EEG and fMRI for the investigation of functional connectivity during a visual oddball task

The combined use of EEG and fMRI allows the fusion of electrophysiological and hemodynamic information for the study of the human brain function. In order to investigate functional connectivity during a visual oddball task, we performed simultaneous EEG/fMRI recording from 14 healthy subjects. A completely data-driven approach, based on trial-by-trial coupling of concurrent EEG and fMRI, was used for the retrieval of cerebral networks linked to P300. An ICA-based analysis of fMRI BOLD data allowed to characterize neuro-anatomically defined patterns, each of them with a definite spatial map and a specific time-course of activation. In addition, we performed single-trial analysis on EEG data, reconstructing the temporal evolution of the P300 amplitude. This time-course, convolved with a canonical HRF, was considered as an estimate of the P300-related activity in the BOLD signals, and allowed to identify two cerebral networks linked to target detection. They showed spatial maps already observed in previous studies, which could be respectively associated with the dorsal attention and the change-detection networks. Time-domain analysis of BOLD data suggested that the attention network might account for sustained activity reflecting amplitude modulations of P300, whereas the change-detection network for transient activity associated with the event-related P300 response.
Theories of the Firm and their Value Creation Assumptions

Since Coase’s (1937) seminal paper on ‘The Nature of the Firm’, strategy scholars are invested in developing so-called ‘theories of the firm’ (ToFs). These are theories that should answer four questions on the nature of firms: Why do firms exist? Why are their boundaries as they are? Why are they organized the way they are? and Why are they so heterogeneous? In answering these questions, at least twenty ToFs have been put forward in the last decades. These include economics-based ToFs such as principal-agent theory and transaction-cost economics; organization theory-based ToFs such as behavioral theory and bureaucratic theory; and strategy-based ToFs such as the value-chain model and stakeholder theory. Assuming that all ToFs attempt to answer the four questions above, the question arises why we would need so many ToFs. Do we really need so many? And, if so, why? The extant literature provides a partial answer to this question by looking at complementarities between ToFs. Along that line, scholars have suggested to combine various ToFs (e.g., Coff, 1999; Foss & Foss, 2005; Pitelis, 2007). However, as these suggestions typically concern the combination of two or of three ToFs, they do not account for the fact that we have at least twenty now. Also more comprehensive reviews (e.g., Conner, 1991; Foss, 1993; Madhok, 2002) do not explain the multitude of ToFs in our literature. To find an answer to this question, this paper provides a two-step comparison of ToFs. The first step is a bird’s eye view comparison of eighteen well-known ToFs along some apparent differences. This step reveals differences between some ToFs, but it also leaves a group of ToFs that are apparently similar. In the second step we further compare this group of ToFs on their more implicit assumptions. Based on this two-step comparison, we conclude that we do indeed need a variety of ToF. The reason is that the various ToFs have different assumptions on how firms create value and from which sources this value is derived. Since firms in practice also differ in the way they create value, our conclusion is that we need more than one ToF to explain this variety. The implication is that scholars engaged in the ToF debate may want to put firm value creation center stage. This, we shall argue, requires adding a fifth question to the ToF that precedes the other four questions: what value does a firm create?
Fibrin monomer protects thrombin from inactivation by heparin-antithrombin III: implications for heparin efficacy.

Fibrin II monomer has a dramatic inhibitory effect on the rate of heparin-catalyzed inactivation of human alpha-thrombin by antithrombin III. At 6 microM fibrin II monomer, equivalent to the concentration of fibrinogen in plasma, the second-order rate constant was reduced by a factor of 308--from 2.05 x 10(8) M-1.s-1 to 6.65 x 10(5) M-1.s-1. Fibrin II monomer minimally affected the uncatalyzed rate of thrombin inactivation showing a reduction in the second-order rate constant by a factor of only 1.6. Fibrinogen and the product of plasmin degradation of fibrinogen, fragment E, at 6 microM concentrations also decreased the second-order rate constant for heparin-catalyzed thrombin inactivation, but by factors of only 2.7 and 1.9, respectively. On the basis of these observations it is proposed that protection of thrombin from inactivation by heparin-antithrombin III by fibrin II monomer can explain the limited efficacy of heparin in preventing coronary reocclusion in patients treated with tissue plasminogen activator and other fibrinolytic agents.
Phase II trial of weekly paclitaxel in patients with previously treated advanced urothelial cancer.

PURPOSE We evaluated the efficacy and toxicity of weekly paclitaxel in patients with previously treated advanced urothelial cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients with urothelial cancer who had received one prior systemic chemotherapy regimen for advanced disease and had evidence of disease progression were eligible for enrollment. Patients received paclitaxel 80 mg/m(2) by 1-hour intravenous infusion weekly. A cycle of therapy consisted of four weekly treatments. RESULTS The study enrolled 31 patients. Mean age was 66 years, and 45% of patients had three or more involved metastatic sites. Only 26% of patients had responded to prior chemotherapy. The median number of cycles delivered was three (range, one to eight) at a mean weekly paclitaxel dose of 79 mg/m(2). Three patients achieved a partial response (10%; 95% confidence interval, 0% to 20%). Median time to progression was 2.2 months, and median overall survival time was 7.2 months. Therapy was well tolerated with minimal hematologic toxicity. Grade 3 nonhematologic toxicities were also uncommon. CONCLUSION Although the overall response rate to weekly paclitaxel in patients with previously treated advanced urothelial cancer was modest, the chemotherapy-refractory nature of the study population should be considered.
Status of Aquarius/SAC-D and Aquarius Salinity Retrievals

Aquarius was launched in June 2011 to monitor the global salinity field in the open ocean. This radiometer/scatterometer (i.e., passive/active) instrument is part of the Aquarius/SAC-D mission, a partnership between the USA and Argentina. In general, the observatory and instruments have functioned well with mostly minor issues. Aquarius has been operating successfully since being turned on August 25, 2011. The quality of the salinity retrieval has improved continuously and is approaching the accuracy goal of 0.2 psu (monthly global RMS). The maps produced by Aquarius show the global structure and dynamic features of the salinity field and, now after 3 years of operations, data are available to give a first look at the interannual changes in sea surface salinity. An improved salinity product, Version 3.0, has been released to the public (June 2014) and includes significant refinements in the retrieval algorithm such as reduced ascending/descending differences and improved calibration. Additional data such as global maps of soil moisture and maps of RFI are also available.
Fiscal Synchronisation or Institutional Separation: An Examination of Tax-Spend Hypothesis in Nigeria

This paper investigates the position of Nigeria within the various fiscal hypotheses (tax-spend, spend-tax, fiscal synchronization and fiscal neutrality hypotheses) using Granger Causality and Block Exogeneity Wald Test within the framework of Vector Error Correction (VEC) Model. The study established one-directional causality that runs from revenue to expenditure (Tax-Spend Hypothesis). This suggests that current government effort at increasing tax revenue is a positive development to reduce or revert the economy from fiscal deficit path. By implication the ongoing government policy towards increase tax revenue and her decision to halt fiscal leakages would sail the economy through the current fiscal crises that are motivated by global crash in the price of crude oil.
Relationship between Entrepreneurship Education and Innovative Start-Up Intentions among University Students

In this study, the relationship between entrepreneurship education and innovative start-up intentions were invested among university students in northern Vietnam. Three factors of entrepreneurship, (curricular programmes, extracurricular programmes and social education) were adopted as independent variables and were assessed in combination with three factors (entrepreneurial capabilities, attitude and self-efficacy) as mediating factors. Curricular and extracurricular programmes for entrepreneurship based on self-efficacy, but not social education, had significant effects on innovative start-up intentions. In addition, self-efficacy did not affect the attitude of university students. It can be inferred that university students tend to increase their start-up intention when they study entrepreneurship and are confident in their capabilities and self-efficacy. Entrepreneurial attitude is also a factor of success.
Inflation of the type I error rate when a continuous confounding variable is categorized in logistic regression analyses

This paper demonstrates an inflation of the type I error rate that occurs when testing the statistical significance of a continuous risk factor after adjusting for a correlated continuous confounding variable that has been divided into a categorical variable. We used Monte Carlo simulation methods to assess the inflation of the type I error rate when testing the statistical significance of a risk factor after adjusting for a continuous confounding variable that has been divided into categories. We found that the inflation of the type I error rate increases with increasing sample size, as the correlation between the risk factor and the confounding variable increases, and with a decrease in the number of categories into which the confounder is divided. Even when the confounder is divided in a five‐level categorical variable, the inflation of the type I error rate remained high when both the sample size and the correlation between the risk factor and the confounder were high. Copyright 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
An electrically tunable absorbing metasurface for surface waves and plane waves

When illuminated by high power microwaves, electronic devices are usually suffered from energy that leaks inside through inevitable gaps or cracks on the metallic shells. To solve this issue, an absorbing metasurface that is effective for both surface waves and plane waves is proposed. Owing to the varactor diodes and biasing circuits embedded in the lattice structure, the absorption rate can be tuned with a large range by varying direct current biasing voltage. These performances are demonstrated by simulations and measurements. If incorporating with integrated-circuit sensors, the absorbing properties could potentially be extended. For example, they could be tuned in response to environmental variables, such as microwave power, light, or pressure, and thus lead to varieties of applications.