Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Heterogeneity of microvascular dysfunction in women with chest pain not attributable to coronary artery disease: implications for clinical practice.

BACKGROUND Women with chest pain in the absence of obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) frequently have coronary microvascular dysfunction and inducible myocardial ischemia. Microvascular dysfunction is commonly diagnosed by demonstrating abnormal flow reserve in a single coronary artery during angiography. Therefore, diagnostic accuracy is dependent on homogeneity of microvascular dysfunction in the myocardium. METHODS In the Women's Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation (WISE), 34 women with chest pain and no significant CAD and 9 female control subjects underwent 13N-NH3 positron emission tomography to measure adenosine-induced changes in myocardial perfusion (ie, coronary flow reserve [CFR]). Flow reserve was correlated among the left anterior descending (LAD), circumflex (LCx), and right (RCA) coronary artery distributions. RESULTS The mean CFR in the LAD, LCx, and RCA was 2.85 +/- 1.35, 2.58 +/- 0.94, and 3.24 +/- 1.42, respectively. Concordance in the classification of microvascular function as normal (CFR > or =2.5) versus abnormal was present in the LAD and RCA, LAD and LCx, and RCA and LCx distributions in only 71.8%, 66.7%, and 61.6% of patients, respectively. There was a modest degree of correlation of CFR between the LAD and RCA (r = 0.79, P <.001), LAD and LCx (r = 0.61, P <.001), and LCx and RCA (r = 0.57, P <.001). Comparison of CFR in the 3 coronary arteries simultaneously in all patients demonstrated that the LCx had values that were significantly lower than the RCA and LAD distributions. CONCLUSION Substantial discordance of classification of microvascular function among coronary artery distributions in women with chest pain and no CAD suggests that microvascular dysfunction is distributed heterogeneously in the myocardium. Assessment of CFR in a single coronary artery during cardiac catheterization may not provide an accurate assessment of the coronary microcirculation in women with chest pain not attributable to CAD.
Monetary union and macroeconomic stabilization

It is conventionally held that countries are worse off by forming a monetary union when it comes to macroeconomic stabilization. However, this conventional view relies on assuming that monetary policy is conducted optimally. Relaxing the assumption of optimal monetary policy not only uncovers that countries do benefit from forming a monetary union under fairly general conditions. More importantly, it also reveals that a monetary union entails the inherent benefit of stabilizing private-sector expectations about future inflation. As a result, inflation rates are more stable in a monetary union.
HIGH RESOLUTION IMAGING OF VERY LOW MASS SPECTRAL BINARIES: THREE RESOLVED SYSTEMS AND DETECTION OF ORBITAL MOTION IN AN L/T TRANSITION BINARY

We present high resolution Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics imaging of 43 late-M, L and T dwarf systems with Keck/NIRC2. These include 17 spectral binary candidates, systems whose spectra suggest the presence of a T dwarf secondary. We resolve three systems: 2MASS J1341–3052, SDSS J1511+0607 and SDSS J2052–1609; the first two are resolved for the first time. All three have projected separations <8 AU and estimated periods of 14–80 years. We also report a preliminary orbit determination for SDSS J2052–1609 based on six epochs of resolved astrometry between 2005 and 2010. Among the 14 unresolved spectral binaries, 5 systems were confirmed binaries but remained unresolved, implying a minimum binary fraction of 47 − 11 + 12 % ? > for this sample. Our inability to resolve most of the spectral binaries, including the confirmed binaries, supports the hypothesis that a large fraction of very low mass systems have relatively small separations and are missed with direct imaging.
Radial Osteotomies for Teenage Patients with Kienböck Disease

Age seems to affect the efficacy of radial osteotomies for Kienböck disease. We questioned whether an osteotomy would produce acceptable results in teenagers. We retrospectively identified 11 patients (six males and five females) between 11-19 years of age who were treated with radial osteotomies for Kienböck disease. Preoperatively, three patients had Lichtman Stage II disease, two patients had Stage IIIA disease, and six patients had Stage IIIB disease. Two patients with zero or positive ulnar variance had lateral closing wedge osteotomies, and nine patients with negative ulnar variance had radial shortenings. All patients were evaluated clinically and radiographically. At a mean followup of 50 months, 10 of 11 patients were free from pain, and the remaining one patient had moderate wrist pain during strenuous activity. All patients except one, who had Stage IIIB disease, had an excellent clinical outcome. Radiographic improvement, indicating lunate revascularization, was seen for eight patients. Despite Stage IIIB disease, radial osteotomies produced excellent clinical results in five of six teenage patients. The current results indicate that radial osteotomies are effective in improving not only short-term clinical outcomes, but also radiographic findings in teenage patients with Kienböck disease. Level of Evidence: Therapeutic study, Level IV (case series-no, or historical control group). See the Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Government ideology and citizen trust in times of recession

How does government ideology affect the likelihood of trusting national governments during economic hardship? There are well developed economic theories which indicate that economic hardship affects the popularity and the support in political institutions (Nannestad & Paldam 1994, Roth et al. 2011, Roth, Nowak-Lehman & Otter 2013, Lewis-Beck & Stegmaier 2013), but more research is needed, that studies how peoples' trust in government is moderated by party ideology during economic hardship. This thesis examines the relationship between government ideology and trust in national governments across eight European countries from 2005-2010. The time-series data derives from the standard European Commission's Eurobarometer survey, The Parliament and Government Composition Database (ParlGov), the International Monetary Fund and the OECD Social expenditure reference series. The empirical analysis seeks to explain whether government ideology has a moderating effect on peoples' life satisfaction and trust in national governments during economic hardship. The hypotheses build on issue ownership relating to fiscal issues and unemployment and centre-right and social democratic parties in government are given the main focus. A set of hypotheses concerning political trust and government ideology is tested empirically on quantitative time series data from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Spain and Sweden. Christian democratic and conservative parties are added together in the analysis, which assesses centre-right governments level of trust vis-a-vis social democratic governments. The results show that economic hardship causes serious legitimacy issues for both centre-right and social democratic parties. However, centre-right government maintains a higher level of trust when testing the effect of GDP recession separately, and the opposite is true for social democrats when running a separate test on unemployment. Having a liberal government was associated with an increase in trust, but only when assessing a situation of GDP recession separately.
Uncertainty Assessment of Input Parameters for Economic Evaluation: Gauss’s Error Propagation, an Alternative to Established Methods

In decision modeling for health economic evaluation, bootstrapping and the Cholesky decomposition method are frequently used to assess parameter uncertainty and to support probabilistic sensitivity analysis. An alternative, Gauss’s error propagation law, is rarely known but may be useful in some settings. Bootstrapping, the Cholesky decomposition method, and the error propagation law were compared regarding standard deviation estimates of a hypothetic parameter, which was derived from a regression model fitted to simulated data. Furthermore, to demonstrate its value, the error propagation law was applied to German administrative claims data. All 3 methods yielded almost identical estimates of the standard deviation of the target parameter. The error propagation law was much faster than the other 2 alternatives. Furthermore, it succeeded the claims data example, a case in which the established methods failed. In conclusion, the error propagation law is a useful extension of parameter uncertainty assessment.
Farm Family Resources and the Adoption of No-Plow Tillage in Southwestern Wisconsin

A probit model identifies variables related to the probability that a farm operator used a conservation tillage practice. Data from a 1983 survey of 529 randomly selected Wisconsin farmers were used to determine maximum likelihood estimates. Voluntary no-plow adopters were significantly different from traditional moldboard tillers in these respects: they were more likely to be risk takers; more aware of the effect of erosion damage on property values and yields; operated larger farms in areas that had less precipitation and a warmer climate; and were more often owners than renters. Several other variables, cited elsewhere in the literature, did not appear to be significant but are also reported.
ATF7IP as a novel PDGFRB fusion partner in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in children

We identified ATF7IP as a novel PDGFRB fusion partner in B‐progenitor acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (B‐ALL) and showed that B‐ALL with ATF7IP/PDGFRB translocation is included within the genomic lesions of a Philadelphia chromosome (Ph)‐like ALL subgroup. Comprehensive analyses of previous repositories of gene expression data sets disclosed that B‐ALL cases with high PDGFRB expression level in the context of the Ph‐like ALL gene are likely to have a PDGFRB translocation. Thus, it is possible that measurement of the PDGFRB expression level can be utilized as a screening test for the detection of the cryptic PDGFRB translocation, especially within the Ph‐like ALL subgroup.
Processing of configural and componential information in face-selective cortical areas

We investigated how face-selective cortical areas process configural and componential face information and how race of faces may influence these processes. Participants saw blurred (preserving configural information), scrambled (preserving componential information), and whole faces during fMRI scan, and performed a post-scan face recognition task using blurred or scrambled faces. The fusiform face area (FFA) showed stronger activation to blurred than to scrambled faces, and equivalent responses to blurred and whole faces. The occipital face area (OFA) showed stronger activation to whole than to blurred faces, which elicited similar responses to scrambled faces. Therefore, the FFA may be more tuned to process configural than componential information, whereas the OFA similarly participates in perception of both. Differences in recognizing own- and other-race blurred faces were correlated with differences in FFA activation to those faces, suggesting that configural processing within the FFA may underlie the other-race effect in face recognition.
Evaluation of the morphologic characteristics and prevalence of canine urocystoliths from a regional urolith center.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether morphology of single-mineral urocystoliths and age, sex, or breed data could be applied to facilitate radiographic and clinical urocystolith mineral type prediction, respectively, in dogs. SAMPLE POPULATION Database of 2,041 dogs with pure mineral composition urocystoliths. PROCEDURE All uroliths were characterized according to geologic descriptive terminology and by breed, sex, and age of dog at time of sample submission. Summary statistics were used to compare features with specific mineral types. Observed trends were analyzed for statistical relevance between observed and expected frequencies for age, sex, color, size, shape, and surface, using the null hypothesis that differences by urocystolith mineral type did not exist. On the basis of expected breed occurrence derived by equations, the null hypothesis that urocystolith occurrence paralleled canine breed popularity was tested. RESULTS Urocystoliths > 10 mm in any dimension were > 92% likely to be magnesium ammonium phosphate hexahydrate (MAP). Smooth, blunt-edged or faceted, and pyramidal urocystoliths were usually MAP. Jackstone shapes were almost always silica. Botryoidal (grape-like clusters) urocystoliths were likely to be oxalates. Breeds with high relative likelihood of urocystoliths included: English Bulldog, Pekingese, Pug, Welsh Corgi, and West Highland White Terrier. Breeds with low relative likelihood of urocystolith production included: German Shepherd Dog, Shar-Pei, and German Shorthaired Pointer. About 94% of urocystoliths produced in females or spayed females were MAP, whereas males and neutered males produced a greater assortment. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE For pure mineral composition urocystoliths, trends in mineral type among breeds and between sexes can be exploited clinically in the diagnosis and management of urolith-related disease. Size and shape, used in conjunction with age, breed, and sex, can facilitate pure urocystolith mineral type prediction.
Total knees designed for normal kinematics evaluated in an up‐and‐down crouching machine

We constructed a crouching machine to study the motion of the knee joint, in which a motor was used to wind the quadriceps tendon so as to move the knee from high flexion to extension and back into flexion, while springs simulated hamstrings forces. Seven human cadaveric knees were tested intact and then after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) resection. Motions of the femur, tibia, and patella were recorded by an optical tracking system. We then inserted plastic models representing commonly used total condylar and posterior stabilized knee replacement designs. Femoral motion was described by successive positions of the transverse axis of the femur projected onto the tibial surface. In the knee replacements, motions were similar to that of an ACL‐deficient knee. We then tested two new designs with features intended to prevent anterior paradoxical sliding and to promote a medial pivot motion with femoral rollback primarily on the lateral side. The motion path more closely followed that of the normal intact knee. We concluded that motion guiding features in a total knee replacement could reproduce a normal neutral path that might result in functional improvements for the patient. © 2009 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 27: 1022–1027, 2009
A Total Variation compressive sensing technique for imaging large scatterers

An innovative compressive sensing (CS) technique is proposed for microwave imaging non-sparse scatterers under Born Approximation. Toward this end, the microwave imaging problem is reformulated within the Total Variation paradigm, and an Augmented Lagrangian Functional is deduces which encodes the a-priori knowledge of the stepwise nature of the contrast profiles at hand. Preliminary numerical examples are reported to assess the features of the proposed methodology.
Depressive affect and hospitalization risk in incident hemodialysis patients.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Recent studies demonstrated an association between depressive affect and higher mortality risk in incident hemodialysis patients. This study sought to determine whether an association also exists with hospitalization risk. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS All 8776 adult incident hemodialysis patients with Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36 survey results treated in Fresenius Medical Care North America facilities in 2006 were followed for 1 year from the date of survey, and all hospitalization events lasting >24 hours were tracked. A depressive affect score was derived from responses to two Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36 questions ("down in the dumps" and "downhearted and blue"). A high depressive affect score corresponded with an average response of "some of the time" or more frequent occurrence. Cox and Poisson models were constructed to determine associations of depressive affect scores with risk for time to first hospitalization and risk for hospitalization events, as well as total days spent in the hospital, respectively. RESULTS Incident patients with high depressive affect score made up 41% of the cohort and had a median (interquartile range) hospitalization event rate of one (0, 3) and 4 (0, 15) total hospital days; the values for patients with low depressive affect scores were one (0, 2) event and 2 (0, 11) days, respectively. For high-scoring patients, the adjusted hazard ratio for first hospitalization was 1.12 (1.04, 1.20). When multiple hospital events were considered, the adjusted risk ratio was 1.13 (1.02, 1.25) and the corresponding risk ratio for total hospital days was 1.20 (1.07, 1.35). High depressive affect score was generally associated with lower physical and mental component scores, but these covariates were adjusted for in the models. CONCLUSIONS Depressive affect in incident hemodialysis patients was associated with higher risk of hospitalization and more hospital days. Future studies are needed to investigate the effect of therapeutic interventions to address depressive affect in this high-risk population.
Removal of Ammonia and Phosphate from Water Resources using Free and Immobilized Microalgae

Laboratory experiments were performed to study nitrogen and phosphorus uptake by the green microalga Scenedesmus quadricauda. The treatment process was studied using different forms of microalga i.e. free, immobilized and co-immobilized microalga in sodium alginate beads. The study revealed that the maximum removal percentage of 1 mg/l ammonia and phosphate solutions reached up to 100% and 86%, respectively, after 4 days using free microalga; meanwhile, at 5mg/l ammonia and phosphate concentrations, the maximum removal percentage reached 91.8% after 4 days and 61% after 6 days, respectively. To solve the harvesting problem, immobilization process was carried out for the microalga and the removal percentage of immobilized microalga was nearly close to the removal percentage of free microalga. The removal percentage was enhanced by the addition of microalga growth promoting bacteria MGPB Azotobacter chroococcum and Bacillus megatherium where the removal capacity reached up to 100% for ammonia, and 80.4% for phosphate after the 3 and 6 days, respectively, as compared to 100% ammonia, and 61% phosphate after 4 and 6 days, respectively, by using the immobilized microalga.
Dynamic MR imaging of breast lesions: correlation with microvessel distribution pattern and histologic characteristics of prognosis.

PURPOSE To evaluate the association of dynamic enhancement parameters of benign and malignant breast lesions at magnetic resonance (MR) imaging with microvessel distribution and histologic prognostic tumor characteristics. MATERIALS AND METHODS Regional review board approval and informed consent were obtained. Surgical resection specimens of breast lesions (32 benign, 86 malignant) in 118 patients (age range, 28-86 years; mean, 58 years) who had undergone dynamic T1-weighted MR imaging of both breasts were included in the study. Different MR enhancement parameters and microvessel density (MVD) distribution were determined. In malignant lesions, TNM stage, tumor grade, proliferative activity, and hormone receptor expression were determined. Spearman correlation coefficients; Wilcoxon, Fisher exact, Kruskal Wallis, and chi(2) tests; and logistic regression analysis were used for evaluation. RESULTS Malignant lesions exhibited a higher ratio of microvessels in tumor periphery versus tumor center than did benign lesions (P < .0005). High vessel ratios (P = .001) and low central vessel numbers (P = .007) were associated with high tumor grade. In malignant lesions, initial enhancement ratios of periphery to center of lesion correlated with the corresponding microvessel ratios (r = 0.61). Yet, a high peripheral MVD was not associated with strong peripheral enhancement (r = -0.09). High enhancement ratios, washout rates, and early enhancement peaks were associated with unfavorable, albeit not significant, prognostic indicators. Visible rim enhancement was the most accurate prognostic enhancement criterion for estrogen receptor status (P = .007), tumor grade (P = .06), and lymph node status (P = .046). Washout was the best discriminating criterion for proliferative activity. CONCLUSION The different enhancement behaviors of malignant and benign breast lesions cannot be explained by MVD alone; however, a low MVD in the center of carcinoma is reflected quantitatively by a high enhancement ratio and qualitatively by rim enhancement, with an implication of adverse prognosis.
EXPRESSION OF CYCLIN‐DEPENDENT KINASE INHIBITOR p21WAF1/CIP1 IN NON‐NEOPLASTIC MUCOSA AND NEOPLASIA OF THE STOMACH: RELATIONSHIP WITH p53 STATUS AND PROLIFERATIVE ACTIVITY

The expression of the p53‐inducible cyclin‐dependent kinase inhibitor p21WAF1/CIP1 in non‐neoplastic mucosa, adenoma, and adenocarcinoma of the stomach was examined immunohistochemically and its relationship with p53 expression and proliferative activity was analysed. In normal gastric mucosa as well as in intestinal metaplasia the epithelial cells at the surface which showed no proliferative activity expressed p21whereas the cells in the deep area of the glands expressing Ki‐67 did not. In the neoplastic lesions, the expression of p21WAF1/CIP1 was detected in 78 per cent (112/144) of the adenomas and 76 per cent (262/343) of the adenocarcinomas. The incidence of p21WAF1/CIP1 expression did not differ among histological types of gastric carcinoma. The strong expression of p21WAF1/CIP1 was more frequently observed in carcinomas invading into submucosa or in cases of stages 2, 3, and 4 than in carcinomas limited to the mucosa or in stage 1 cases. The incidence of strongly positive cases was higher in carcinomas with lymph node metastasis than in those without metastasis. There was no apparent correlation between the expression of p21WAF1/CIP1 and the abnormal accumulation of p53 or with proliferative activity measured by Ki‐67 expression. These findings overall suggest that p21WAF1/CIP1 might be associated with the senescence of non‐neoplastic gastric epithelial cells; that a p53‐independent pathway might be substantially involved in the induction of p21WAF1/CIP1 in gastric neoplasia; and that the proliferative activity of gastric cancer might not be solely dependent on control of the cell cycle by p21WAF1/CIP1.
The Balance Between Small and Large: Effects of a Double-Majority System on Voting Power in the European Union

In the beginning of 1995, the European Union (EU) has been enlarged by three countries: Austria, Finland, and Sweden. In view of the implications on the EU's institutional balance and the possible accession of more states in the future, different proposals are currently made to change the system of decision making to one that is more transparent and that more adequately represents member-states' population sizes. The issue will certainly be intensely debated in the framework of the 1996 Review Conference of the Maastricht Treaty. One of the current suggestions aims at establishing a double-majority voting system in the Council of the EU—formerly the Council of Ministers—requiring a majority of both member-states and their populations within that institution. Another one aims at introducing a bicameral system. This article analyzes what effects the resort to a double-majority voting system and the introduction of a bicameral structure would have in terms of the member-states' quantitative influence in the EU's decision-making process. Voting under the double-majority requirement is modeled by a simple game and relative voting power calculated by a (composite) Banzhaf power index.