Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Primal-Dual Meets Local Search: Approximating MSTs With Nonuniform Degree Bounds

We present a new bicriteria approximation algorithm for the degree-bounded minimum-cost spanning tree (MST) problem: Given an undirected graph with nonnegative edge weights and a degree bound B, find a spanning tree of maximum node-degree B and minimum total edge-cost. Our algorithm outputs a tree of maximum degree at most a constant times B and total edge-cost at most a constant times that of a minimum-cost degree-B-bounded spanning tree. While our new algorithm is based on ideas from Lagrangian relaxation, as is our previous work [SIAM J. Comput. , 31 (2002), pp. 1783--1793], it does not rely on computing a solution to a linear program. Instead, it uses a repeated application of Kruskal's MST algorithm interleaved with a combinatorial update of approximate Lagrangian node-multipliers maintained by the algorithm. These updates cause subsequent repetitions of the spanning tree algorithm to run for longer and longer times, leading to overall progress and a proof of the performance guarantee. A second useful feature of our algorithm is that it can handle nonuniform degree bounds on the nodes: Given distinct bounds Bv for every node $v \in V$, the output tree has degree at most O(Bv + log|V|) for every $v \in V$. As before, the cost of the tree is at most a constant times that of a minimum-cost tree obeying all degree bounds.
Association of p65 and C/EBPβ with HIV‐1 LTR modulates transcription of the viral promoter

In human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV‐1) latently infected cells, NF‐kappaB (NF‐κB) plays a critical role in the transcriptional induction of the HIV‐1 promoter. The trans‐activating ability of NF‐κB can be modified by another nuclear factor C/EBPβ that can physically bind to NF‐κB and regulate its activity. Because the HIV‐1 promoter also contains a C/EBPβ site adjacent to the NF‐κB site, the present study examined cooperative functional in vivo interaction of the p65 subunit of NF‐κB and C/EBPβ, and the impact of Tat in this event. We demonstrated that ectopic expression of p65 along with Tat increases p65 binding to HIV‐1 LTR, and that this increase correlates with enhanced HIV‐1 promoter activity. Further, co‐expression of C/EBPβ and Tat leads to a decrease in p65 binding, which allows C/EBPβ to bind more efficiently to the LTR. Inhibition of p65 expression by siRNA significantly decreases C/EBPβ‐binding and LTR expression. Using ChIP assay, we confirmed the existence of an interchange between p65 and C/EBPβ and their abilities to bind to the LTR in vivo. These observations demonstrate that a delicate balance of interaction between p65, C/EBPβ, and Tat can dictate the level of HIV‐1 LTR transcription. J. Cell. Biochem. 100: 1210–1216, 2007. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
left optic nerves and optic radiations within patients and control

· AIM:Toevaluatethevalueofquantitativediffusion tensorimaging(DTI)inassessingtheaxonalandmyelin damageoftheopticnervesandopticradiationsin patientswithchronicprimaryangle-closureglaucoma (PACG)byusinghigh-fieldmagneticresonance(MR) imaging(3T). · METHODS:Twentypatientswithbilateralchronic PACGandtwentyage-andsexmatcheddisease-free controlsubjectswereenrolled.ConventionalMRIandDTI wereperformedonallsubjectsusing3TMRscanner.
The Resilience of Self-Esteem in Late Adulthood

Objectives: The authors examined the resilience of self-esteem after loss in the lives of older adults. Specifically, the authors investigated the relationship between loss and change in self-esteem during a 3-year period.Method: A subsample of older adults (n = 1,278) from the Americans’ Changing Lives Study was used to examine loss in the domains of health, financial security, or work and career and self-esteem before and after the loss.Results: There was a small but significant decrease in self-esteem between Wave I and Wave II of the study. Loss in one of the domains explained less than 1% of the variance in self-esteem change.Discussion: The low incidence of loss and small change in high levels of self-esteem are further evidence of resilience in older adults’ psychological well-being. The implications for older adults’ use of cognitive strategies to manage losses and promote gains are discussed.
Pattern of childhood blindness at a referral center in Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND An understanding of the causes of blindness and the magnitude of the problem is crucial in designing effective intervention and prevention programs. We undertook this retrospective review to determine the causes of childhood blindness at an eye referral center. PATIENTS AND METHODS We reviewed charts of children who presented between August 1997 and August 2003. All children had a complete ophthalmologic examination. Blindness was defined as a visual acuity <20/400, visual impairment as visual acuity between 20/400 and 20/60, and visual loss as a visual acuity <20/60. RESULTS A total of 5217 children included 220 (59%) males and 152 (41%) females (age range 2 to 18 years, mean age, 10 years). One hundred twelve (2%) were blind and 260 (5%) had visual impairment. The most common causes of bilateral blindness included optic nerve diseases, retinal disorders, and cataract. The most common causes of unilateral blindness included trauma, retinal diseases, refractive errors, and optic nerve diseases. The most common causes of bilateral visual impairment included refractive errors, corneal diseases, retinal disorders, cataract, and congenital nystagmus. Genetically determined disorders were observed in 37 (70%) of 53 patients with bilateral blindness, and in 52 (56%) of 93 patients with bilateral visual impairment. The incidence of consanguinity among parents of children with acquired causes was 2 (3%) of 59 patients compared to 34 (38%) of 89 among genetically determined causes (P<0.001). CONCLUSION Genetically determined disorders continue to play an important role in the causation of childhood blindness among patients attending our referral center in Saudi Arabia. Genetic counseling, early eye screening of children and public education may help in the prevention of visual disorders in children.
Performance evaluation of 3D vision-based semi-autonomous control method for assistive robotic manipulator

Abstract We developed a 3D vision-based semi-autonomous control interface for assistive robotic manipulators. It was implemented based on one of the most popular commercially available assistive robotic manipulator combined with a low-cost depth-sensing camera mounted on the robot base. To perform a manipulation task with the 3D vision-based semi-autonomous control interface, a user starts operating with a manual control method available to him/her. When detecting objects within a set range, the control interface automatically stops the robot, and provides the user with possible manipulation options through audible text output, based on the detected object characteristics. Then, the system waits until the user states a voice command. Once the user command is given, the control interface drives the robot autonomously until the given command is completed. In the empirical evaluations conducted with human subjects from two different groups, it was shown that the semi-autonomous control can be used as an alternative control method to enable individuals with impaired motor control to more efficiently operate the robot arms by facilitating their fine motion control. The advantage of semi-autonomous control was not so obvious for the simple tasks. But, for the relatively complex real-life tasks, the 3D vision-based semi-autonomous control showed significantly faster performance. Implications for Rehabilitation A 3D vision-based semi-autonomous control interface will improve clinical practice by providing an alternative control method that is less demanding physically as well cognitively. A 3D vision-based semi-autonomous control provides the user with task specific intelligent semiautonomous manipulation assistances. A 3D vision-based semi-autonomous control gives the user the feeling that he or she is still in control at any moment. A 3D vision-based semi-autonomous control is compatible with different types of new and existing manual control methods for ARMs.
Effects of Inhalational Anesthetics on L-type Ca2+ Currents in Human Atrial Cardiomyocytes during &bgr;-Adrenergic Stimulation

Background Anesthetics may cause cardiac side effects by their action on L-type Ca2+ channels. Direct effects on the channels have not yet been discriminated from an interference with the &bgr;-adrenergic channel regulation. The authors therefore studied the effects of halothane, sevoflurane, and xenon on human cardiac Ca2+ currents during stimulation with isoproterenol. Methods Currents through L-type Ca2+ channels were measured with the patch clamp technique in atrial cardiomyocytes obtained from patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Cells were superfused with solutions equilibrated with anesthetics at the desired concentrations. Ca2+ currents during pulses to 10 mV were evaluated with respect to their peak value (Imax) and to the total moved charge (Q). Results In the absence and in the presence of isoproterenol (1 &mgr;m), sevoflurane (0.29 mm, 1 minimum alveolar concentration [MAC]) significantly depressed Q by 37.8 ± 7.2% (mean ± SD) and 40.8 ± 10.3%, respectively. Imax was not significantly affected in comparison with control cells never exposed to an anesthetic. Xenon (65%, 1 MAC) did not evoke significant effects. Exposure to halothane (0.39 mm, 1 MAC) during stimulation with isoproterenol significantly reduced Q by 31.3 ± 23.3% (but not Imax). After washout of halothane, Q was increased above the level prior to the application of halothane. Moreover, whereas Q promptly declined to baseline levels after washout of isoproterenol in controls, the previous exposure to halothane markedly delayed this decline, leaving Q significantly elevated for several minutes. Conclusions Halothane exerts a dual effect on Ca2+ currents. The long-lasting stimulatory effect may contribute to the proarrhythmic potency of the drug that exceeds that of sevoflurane, which only depressed Ca2+ currents.
A max-margin training of RNA secondary structure prediction integrated with the thermodynamic model

Motivation: A popular approach for predicting RNA secondary structure is the thermodynamic nearest neighbor model that finds a thermodynamically most stable secondary structure with the minimum free energy (MFE). For further improvement, an alternative approach that is based on machine learning techniques has been developed. The machine learning based approach can employ a fine-grained model that includes much richer feature representations with the ability to fit the training data. Although a machine learning based fine-grained model achieved extremely high performance in prediction accuracy, a possibility of the risk of overfitting for such model has been reported. Results: In this paper, we propose a novel algorithm for RNA secondary structure prediction that integrates the thermodynamic approach and the machine learning based weighted approach. Ourfine-grained model combines the experimentally determined thermodynamic parameters with a large number of scoring parameters for detailed contexts of features that are trained by the structured support vector machine (SSVM) with the ℓ1 regularization to avoid overfitting. Our benchmark shows that our algorithm achieves the best prediction accuracy compared with existing methods, and heavy overfitting cannot be observed. Availability: The implementation of our algorithm is available at https://github.com/keio-bioinformatics/mxfold. Contact: satoken@bio.keio. ac.jp
Partners’ Long-term Appraisal of Their Caregiving Experience, Marital Satisfaction, Sexual Satisfaction, and Quality of Life 2 Years After Prostate Cancer Treatment

Background: Partners of men treated for prostate cancer report more emotional distress associated with a diagnosis of prostate cancer than the men report; the duration of distress for partners is seldom examined. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the long-term effects of prostate cancer treatment on partners’ appraisal of their caregiving experience, marital satisfaction, sexual satisfaction, and quality of life (QOL) and factors related to these variables. Methods: This exploratory study evaluated QOL among spouses of prostate cancer survivors at 24 months after treatment. Partners completed a battery of self-report questionnaires in a computer-assisted telephone interview. Results: The sample consisted of 121 partners with average age of 60 years. There was a significant relationship between partners’ perceptions of bother about the man’s treatment outcomes and negative appraisal of their caregiving experience and poorer QOL. Younger partners who had a more negative appraisal of caregiving also had significantly worse QOL. Conclusions: Men’s treatment outcomes continued to bother the partner and resulted in more negative appraisal and lower QOL 2 years after initial prostate cancer treatment. Younger partners may be at greater risk of poorer QOL outcomes especially if they have a more negative view of their caregiving experience. Implications for Practice: Findings support prior research indicating that prostate cancer affects not only the person diagnosed with the disease but also his partner. Partners may benefit from tailored interventions designed to decrease negative appraisal and improve symptom management and QOL during the survivorship period.
Evaluation of antipsychotic and concomitant medication use patterns in patients with schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE To describe antipsychotic medication use patterns in an inner-city, outpatient population of indigent patients with schizophrenia. METHODS This retrospective cohort study used the Regenstrief Medical Record System to identify schizophrenic patients receiving antipsychotic medication(s). Patients were included and identified as initiating a new treatment episode if they did not receive any antipsychotic prescription for 90 days before their first antipsychotic prescription in 1995. Each patient was followed for 1 year. RESULTS Three hundred and sixteen patients met study criteria. Typical and atypical (clozapine and risperidone) antipsychotic agents were selected as initial therapy in 88% and 12% patients, respectively. The majority of patients (71.5%) were exposed to only one antipsychotic agent during their treatment year. Approximately 25% of all patients switched from one antipsychotic to a different antipsychotic during 12 months of therapy. Nearly 90% of patients augmented their prescribed antipsychotic with a concomitant medication during the 12-month study period. Approximately 30% of the cohort received treatment with an antipsychotic for 12 continuous months and were, thus, classified as having stable antipsychotic therapy. The majority of patients (67.1%) had periods of interrupted therapy (range, 1-11 months) during the 12 month study period. CONCLUSION As of 1995 an overwhelming majority of schizophrenic patients in this indigent, inner-city population initiated therapy with a typical antipsychotic. Patients frequently switched antipsychotics and discontinued their therapy during the 1 year study period. Reasons for switching or discontinuing may include the following: ineffective therapy; patient intolerance; change in symptoms; and improved assessment and understanding of the diagnosis or physician preference.
How I read.

So mancher Englischlehrer beneidet seinen Deutsch unterrichtenden Kollegen: Dessen Schüler lesen meist direkt los, steigen schnell in den Inhalt ein und lesen oft aus purer Neugier weiter. Leider scheinen viele junge Leser ihre unbewussten Lesestrategien aus der Muttersprache nicht in die Fremdsprache zu übertragen: Sie lesen nun alles Wort für Wort und wollen jeden vermeintlich unklaren Ausdruck nachschlagen. Lesefreude entwickeln sie dabei nicht. Hilft man den Schülern aber, in der Fremdsprache so zu lesen, wie sie es auch auf Deutsch tun, wird bald klar: Reading is fun – even in English.
Brief Intervention and Social Work: A Primer for Practice and Policy

Most individuals in need of help for alcohol use disorders do not receive care. Screening and brief intervention (SBI) is an evidence-based practice for reducing at-risk drinking and alcohol-related risk behaviors. Health care reform sets the stage for a large expansion of SBI to individuals in the United States. Social workers have the opportunity to play an important role in helping establish SBI nationally, but they must become more involved in its delivery, educating new social workers with respect to SBI practice, and taking part in research to expand the field's knowledge of this service.
Utility of Submucosal Turbinoplasty for the Treatment of Chronic Nasal Obstruction

Introduction: Surgery of inferior turbinates is a divisive subject. Surgical management includes functional and invasive procedures. There is currently no consensus on the most effective technique. Radiofrequency ablation is one of numerous interventions available for the treatment of nasal opstruction secondary to inferior turbinate hypertrophy. The goals of inferior turbinate surgery include volume reduction, reduction in nasal obstruction, and maintenance of nasal function while minimizing complications. Two hundred patients, who had nasal obstruction due to inferior turbinate hypertrophy and obstinate to medical therapy, underwent submucosal turbinoplasty procedure in the ENT office “dr Vukoje“ in Petrovaradin, Republic of Serbia, from January 2012 to December 2015. The diagnosis was based by anamnesis, clinical examination, nasal endoscopy, ephedrine test, palpation mucosis test and imaging. We used radiofrequency device Ellman Sugitron dual 4.0 Mhz, (inventor Dr Jon C. Garito, PhD) unit with power of 70 watts of radio wave emission in monopolar mode for 10-15 seconds. Postoperative follow-up was scheduled at 1, 3 and 6 months. Among 200 patients 158 patients (79%) were completely relieved of symptoms, 9 patients (4.5%) partialy relieved and 33 patients (16.5%) showed no improvement based on both subjective and objective parameters. Conclusion: Due to its simplicity, minimally invasive nature and efficiency, the radiofrequency tissue ablation procedure is one amongst the best apt surgical option for management of inferior turbinate hypertrophy and the current study added credit to its efficiency once again.
A characterization of parity space and its application to robust fault detection

Deals with problems related to the parity relation-based residual generation. A characterization of parity vectors and a relationship between the order of parity relations and the dimension of the parity space are derived. The achieved results are used to determine the degree of freedom for designing parity relation-based residual generators and to study the robustness problem.
A multicenter randomized controlled trial to compare a self-ligating bracket with a conventional bracket in a UK population: Part 2: Pain perception.

OBJECTIVE To compare pain experience between self-ligating and conventional preadjusted edgewise appliance systems with a two-arm parallel trial. MATERIALS AND METHODS A prospective multicenter randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted in three hospital orthodontic departments. Subjects were randomly allocated to receive treatment with either a self-ligating (3M SmartClip™) or conventional (3M Victory™) bracket system with stratification for operator and center. Standardized protocol was followed for bracket bonding procedure and archwire sequence. Subject pain was recorded using a Verbal Rating Scale to assess discomfort felt on the teeth and soft tissues at the time of the appointment and 1, 3, and 5 days after each archwire change up to the working archwire. Multilevel modeling was used to analyze the data by blinded assessors. RESULTS One hundred thirty-eight subjects (mean age 14 years 11 months) were enrolled in the study, of which 135 subjects (97.8%) completed the study and 113 (82%) returned the required data regarding pain/discomfort. Perceived pain was statistically higher with the SmartClip™ system compared to the Victory™ system, but this difference was not deemed to be clinically significant. Discomfort was greatest after placement of the initial 0.014-inch nickel-titanium archwire, compared with subsequent wires, and was greatest on day 1, less on day 3, and much less on day 5 after each archwire change. Age and gender did not affect the level of discomfort experienced by subjects undergoing fixed appliance treatment. CONCLUSION No clinically significant difference in pain experience was found between patients treated with a self-ligating bracket system compared to those treated with a conventional ligation system.
Pure Shear Properties of Lumbar Spinal Joints and the Effect of Tissue Sectioning on Load Sharing

Study Design. An in vitro biomechanical study on lumbar intervertebral joints. Objectives. To examine the mechanical properties of lumbar motion segments under pure shear loading and establish whether a simple model for functional differentiation between the anterior column and the posterior elements is applicable. Summary of Background Data. Anteroposterior shear has been implicated as a major factor in spinal instability. There is a substantial amount of data on shear motion as a coupled part of flexion–extension; data on the pure shear properties of intervertebral joints is limited. Methods. Eighteen human cadaver lumbar motion segments were subject to nondestructive testing under pure shear loads (anterior shear and posterior shear). An MTS standard testing machine was used to record the load-deformation characteristics of specimens subject to deformation at a constant rate to a maximum shear load of approximately 250 N. Tissue sectioning was then performed with the specimen mounted in the testing machine. Eight specimens were sectioned through the intervertebral disc, including the anterior and posterior longitudinal ligaments, and 8 specimens were sectioned through the pedicles to remove the posterior elements. The same deformation pattern applied to the intact specimen was then reapplied to the sectioned specimen, and the load-deformation characteristics following sectioning were evaluated. Results. The shear stiffness of the intact segments were found to be higher in anterior shear (mean group A = 583.8, B = 607 N/mm) than in posterior shear (mean group A = 469, B = 438.4 N/mm). Section of the anterior column and adjacent longitudinal ligaments resulted in a mean stiffness decreased by 22.8% of the intact value under anterior shear and 23.9% under posterior shear. Much larger change in shear stiffness was seen, and the mean sectioned stiffness dropped by 77.7% in anterior shear and 79% in posterior shear after removal of the posterior elements. After the anterior column was sectioned, 12% and 18% increases in the deformation for anterior and posterior directions were seen, whereas a distinct increase in the deformations was found after posterior elements sectioned. Conclusions. The posterior elements of the lumbar spine are more efficient in resisting anterior and posterior shear loads. However, the anterior column will exhibit similar load-displacement characteristics if subject to greater deformations. The sum of the normalized mean shear loads of the anterior column and posterior elements sustained at maximum intact deformation is significantly different from the shear load sustained by the intact spine at the same deformation. A simple concept of load sharing between the anterior column and the posterior elements may not be valid.