Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Association of higher serum calcium levels with smaller infarct volumes in acute ischemic stroke.

BACKGROUND Elevated serum calcium levels at admission in patients with stroke have been associated with less severe clinical deficits and with better outcomes; however, the relationship between serum calcium levels and volumetric measurement of cerebral infarct size on neuroimaging has not been studied, to our knowledge. OBJECTIVE To assess the relationship between serum calcium levels at admission and initial diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI) infarct volumes among patients with acute ischemic stroke. DESIGN Secondary analysis of prospectively collected hospital quality improvement data. SETTING Tertiary university hospital. PATIENTS One hundred seventy-three consecutive patients with acute ischemic stroke initially seen within 24 hours of the last known well time. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Total serum calcium levels were measured on admission and were collapsed into quartiles. The DWI lesions were outlined using a semiautomated threshold technique. The relationship between serum calcium level quartiles and DWI infarct volumes was examined using multivariate quartile regression analysis. RESULTS One hundred seventy-three patients (mean age, 70.3 years [age range, 24-100 years]; median National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score, 4 [range, 0-38]) met the study criteria. The median DWI infarct volumes for the serum calcium level quartiles (lowest to highest quartile) were 9.42, 2.11, 1.03, and 3.68 mL. The median DWI infarct volume in the lowest serum calcium level quartile was larger than that in the other 3 quartiles (P < .005). After multivariate analysis, the median adjusted DWI infarct volumes for the serum calcium level quartiles (lowest to highest) were 8.9, 5.8, 4.5, and 3.8 mL. The median adjusted DWI infarct volume in the lowest serum calcium level quartile was statistically significantly larger than that in the other 3 quartiles (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS Higher serum calcium levels at admission are associated with smaller cerebral infarct volumes among patients with acute ischemic stroke. These results suggest that serum calcium level may serve as a clinical prognosticator following stroke and may be a potential therapeutic target for improving stroke outcome.
A qualitative study on the experiences of female firefighters.

PURPOSE Firefighters are exposed to high physical and psychological occupational factors while providing an essential service to our communities. Female firefighters represent a minority group in this male dominated occupation. The purpose of this study was to qualitatively determine the impact of a male dominated, physically demanding occupation on women's work health and job satisfaction through the experiences of female firefighters. METHODS A phenomenological approach was used to collect data through semi-structured, recorded interviews with female firefighters. The recorded interviews were transcribed into text and inductive thematic analysis was used to qualitatively analyze the transcripts. RESULTS Review and analysis of the participant responses identified seven themes: physical demands/difficulties, gender related physiological differences, compensatory strategies, equipment mal-adaptation, earning respect, negative attitudes of male counterparts: impact on social inclusion and health behaviors, recognition of injury risk. CONCLUSION Female firefighters are exposed to increased risk of injury due to the psychological and physical occupational stressors in firefighting. Implications of this research are provided and include recommendations for future research to target the physical and psychosocial aspects of firefighting.
Time Series Modelling of Daily Metical/Rand Exchange Rate Returns, 1996-2014

This paper models daily returns of the exchange rate between the Mozambican Metical (MZN) and the South African Rand (ZAR) over the past 18 years. The results indicate that returns and volatility responses to shocks are asymmetric. They also indicate that the effects of shocks are relatively short lived for the returns and that they are quite persistent for volatility. There is also a tentative discussion and some results about exchange rate returns in the non-bank sector.
Influence of Press Pressure on the Properties of Parallel Strand Lumber Glued with Urea Formaldehyde Adhesive

The effects of press pressure on laboratory-made parallel strand lumbers (PSLs) that were manufactured from fast-growing rotary-peeled I-77/51 (Populus deltoides) hybrid poplar clones' veneer strands with a urea formaldehyde (UF) adhesive using press pressures ranging from 7.5 to 15 kg cm−2 in increments of 2.5 kg cm−2 were investigated. The physical and mechanical properties of PSL were affected by the press pressures. However, press pressures did not affect the combustion properties. Results indicated that higher press pressures lead to higher densification or compaction rates and specific gravities (SGs). For improved physical and mechanical properties, higher press pressures were found to be necessary. A press pressure of 12.5 kg cm−2 was found to be the optimum press pressure in relation to PSL properties. There are positive correlations among SG and mechanical properties as well as press pressures. The results may provide valuable information to assess the behavior of structural composite lumbers, including PSLs, that are manufactured using low and high press pressures. Utilization of fast-growing tree species is possible because their strength properties are improved through pressing.
Risk and vulnerability analysis of power systems including extraordinary events

This paper describes a framework and methodology for risk and vulnerability analysis including extraordinary events in power systems. The framework is based on a bow-tie structure and identifies threats, unwanted events, barriers and consequences. Application of the methodology is shown for a real case analyzing extraordinary events in a transmission system. In this case the consequence is unacceptable, but the risk is moderate due to the low probability for the event to occur. The case study and experience so far indicates that one of the most challenging parts of a risk and vulnerability analysis is how to identify the vulnerable operational states and extraordinary events.
Effect of Types and Amount of Dietary Fat During the Initiation Phase of Hepatocarcinogenesis

The effects of various levels of corn oil and lard fed during the initiation stage of azoxymethane (AOM)-induced hepatocarcinogenesis were studied in male Fischer 344 rats. The animals were fed diets containing 5%, 13.6%, and 23.5% corn oil or lard two weeks before, during, and until one week after injections of AOM (15 mg/kg body wt sc) once weekly for two weeks. One week after AOM treatment, groups of animals fed the 13.6% and 23.5% corn oil or lard diet were transferred to their respective 5% corn oil or lard diet and fed these diets until the termination of the study (34 wk). Immunohistochemical staining of glutathione S-transferase placental form was performed in the liver, and the number of glutathione S-transferase placental form-positive foci was determined. Density, average area, and unit area of foci were significantly inhibited in the animals fed the 13.6% and 23.5% lard diets compared with those fed the 13.6% and 23.5% corn oil diets. These results indicate that the effect of dietary fat during the initiation phase of AOM-induced hepatocarcinogenesis depends on the type of fat and its fatty acid composition. Additionally, the enhancing effect of a corn oil diet in hepatocarcinogenesis is mainly present during the initiation phase of carcinogenesis compared with a lard diet.
Light-Intensity Physical Activity and Medical Multimorbidity

Objectives No study has examined the association between objectively measured light-intensity physical activity (LIPA) and multimorbidity (≥2 chronic diseases) in a national sample of US adults. I undertook this examination. Methods Data from the 2005–2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were used (N = 2048 adults 20 years old and older). Physical activity was assessed via accelerometry, with multimorbidity assessed via physician diagnosis and biometric screening. Results In a multivariable linear regression and after adjustments, for every 60-minute/day increase in LIPA, participants had a lower multimorbidity index (&bgr;adjusted = −0.09, 95% confidence interval −0.12 to −0.05, P < 0.001). In a multivariable logistic regression and after adjustments, for every 60-minute/day increase in LIPA, participants had 13% (odds ratioadjusted 0.87, 95% confidence interval 0.79–0.96, P = 0.01) reduced odds of being multimorbid (ie, having ≥2 morbidities). Conclusions LIPA, independent of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, is associated with reduced odds of multimorbidity. As such, promotion of LIPA, as well as moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, may be a sensible strategy to help prevent and treat multimorbidity.
Analyzing information in complex collaborative tasks

In this article, we present a method for analyzing the communication of people who exchange dynamic and complex information to come to a shared understanding of situations and of the actions planned and monitored by one party, but executed remotely by another. To examine this situation, we analyzed dispatchers working in police dispatch center in a large city in the Netherlands and their communication behavior in three different settings. The results of our analyses answer the question of how collaborative parties should assess an emergency situation in order to decide how to handle the incident in accordance with the procedures. Our results indicate which information must be communicated in order to deal with the current problem during the course of an incident. We will also demonstrate the proposed way of analyzing the communication used here is needed to understand how information is collaboratively handled in complex tasks.
GLP-1 Receptor Expression in Human Tumors and Human Normal Tissues: Potential for In Vivo Targeting

Peptide hormone receptors overexpressed in human tumors, such as somatostatin receptors, can be used for in vivo targeting for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. A novel promising candidate in this field is the GLP-1 receptor, which was recently shown to be massively overexpressed in gut and lung neuroendocrine tumors—in particular, in insulinomas. Anticipating a major development of GLP-1 receptor targeting in nuclear medicine, our aim was to evaluate in vitro the GLP-1 receptor expression in a large variety of other tumors and to compare it with that in nonneoplastic tissues. Methods: The GLP-1 receptor protein expression was qualitatively and quantitatively investigated in a broad spectrum of human tumors (n = 419) and nonneoplastic human tissues (n = 209) with receptor autoradiography using 125I-GLP-1(7–36)amide. Pharmacologic competition experiments were performed to provide proof of specificity of the procedure. Results: GLP-1 receptors were expressed in various endocrine tumors, with particularly high amounts in pheochromocytomas, as well as in brain tumors and embryonic tumors but not in carcinomas or lymphomas. In nonneoplastic tissues, GLP-1 receptors were present in generally low amounts in specific tissue compartments of several organs—namely, pancreas, intestine, lung, kidney, breast, and brain; no receptors were identified in lymph nodes, spleen, liver, or the adrenal gland. The rank order of potencies for receptor binding—namely, GLP-1(7–36)amide = exendin-4 ≫ GLP-2 = glucagon(1–29)—provided proof of specific GLP-1 receptor identification. Conclusion: The GLP-1 receptors may represent a novel molecular target for in vivo scintigraphy and targeted radiotherapy for a variety of GLP-1 receptor-expressing tumors. For GLP-1 receptor scintigraphy, a low-background signal can be expected, on the basis of the low receptor expression in the normal tissues surrounding tumors.
Programming Abstractions and Synthesis-Aided Compilation for Emerging Computing Platforms

Author(s): Phothilimthana, Phitchaya | Advisor(s): Bodik, Rastislav; Yelick, Katherine | Abstract: Today's cutting-edge applications, ranging from wearable devices and embedded medical sensors to high-performance data centers, put new demands on computer architectures. Those demands include more computation capability, a tight power budget, low latency, high throughput, and many more. To meet these requirements, specialized architectures with low energy consumption are becoming more prevalent. Many of these architectures trade off programmability features for gains in energy efficiency and performance. Hence, programmability challenges are inevitable as applications continue to evolve and make new demands on computing architectures.I propose key principles for improving programmability intended for application writers as well as compiler developers and language designers. First, I address programmability issues by providing a programming model that hides low-level details but sufficiently exposes essential details for application writers to control. Second, to compile and optimize programs, I apply a new compilation methodology based on synthesis. Unlike a classical compiler's transformation, synthesis obtains a correct and optimal solution by searching for an optimal candidate that is semantically equivalent to a specification program. This search helps compilers generate efficient code without deriving a program via a sequence of transformations, which are challenging for compiler developers to design for new unconventional architectures.In this thesis, I demonstrate the key principles in three projects: Chlorophyll, a language and compiler for low-power spatial architectures; Floem, a programming system for NIC-accelerated data center applications; and GreenThumb, a framework for building a superoptimizer (an assembly program optimizer based on synthesis).
Synergistic antitumor effect of melatonin with several chemotherapeutic drugs on human Ewing sarcoma cancer cells: potentiation of the extrinsic apoptotic pathway

Abstract: Ewing sarcoma, the second most frequent bone cancer type, affects mainly adolescents, who have a survival of 50% 5 yr after diagnosis. Current treatments include a combination of surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, which present potential serious side effects. Melatonin, a natural molecule without relevant side effects, has been previously shown to induce cytotoxicity in SK‐N‐MC cells, a Ewing sarcoma cell line. Here, we found that there is a synergy in the antitumor effect when melatonin (50 μm–1 mm) is combined with vincristine at the concentration of 5–10 nm or with ifosfamide at the range of 100 μm–1 mm. This synergism is due to the potentiation of cell death, particularly to the potentiation of apoptosis, i.e., mainly the extrinsic apoptotic pathway. There is a significant increase in the activation of caspase‐3, ‐8, ‐9 and Bid when melatonin is combined with vincristine or ifosfamide compared to the individual treatments. Finally, there is also a potentiation of the early free radical production, likely dependent on the extrinsic apoptosis pathway activation, when the drugs are combined with melatonin. Other proteins which are related to this pathway including mitogen‐activated protein kinase or protein kinase B/Akt are not involved in apoptosis induced by these agents separately or when combined. The results shown here together with the facts that: (i) no relevant side effects have been reported for melatonin and (ii) melatonin has a cytoprotective effect on noncancer cells, opens the door for a new approach in the treatment of the Ewing sarcoma family of tumors.
Field Validation of Laboratory Tests for Clinical Diagnosis of Sheep-Associated Malignant Catarrhal Fever

ABSTRACT Until recently, sheep-associated malignant catarrhal fever (SA-MCF) was diagnosed mainly on the basis of clinical presentation and histopathological changes. Using clinically diagnosed field cases, we have evaluated a seminested PCR and a competitive inhibition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (CI-ELISA) and compared these assays in the diagnosis of SA-MCF in cattle with histopathology as a provisional “gold standard. ” Samples from 44 cattle with clinical signs suggestive of SA-MCF were examined by histopathology, PCR, and CI-ELISA. In addition, samples from healthy cattle were evaluated by PCR (n = 96) and CI-ELISA (n = 75). Based on histopathology, 38 of the 44 clinical cases were classified as SA-MCF positive, 3 were classified as inconclusive, and 3 were classified as SA-MCF negative. The sensitivity of PCR was 95 to 97%, whereas the specificity ranged between 94 and 100%. The CI-ELISA showed a sensitivity of 56 to 87% and a specificity between 91 and 100%. In the field, there is good correlation between the diagnoses of SA-MCF by histopathology, PCR, and CI-ELISA. These data also confirm the close association of ovine herpesvirus 2 with SA-MCF in Switzerland.
Human Security and Sustainability: Sharing Reverence for the Dignity of Life

The members of the SGI throughout the world are committed to the work of constructing--through a movement for peace, education and culture--a global society in which the dignity of each person shines and all people can live in security. The spiritual foundations for this effort are found in the philosophy of Buddhism which reverences the inherent value and dignity of life. Specifically, we are inspired by the fervent desire expressed by second Soka Gakkai president Josei Toda (1900-58): "I wish to see the word 'misery' no longer used to describe the world, any country, any individual. " [1]
A review on speech emotion recognition: Case of pedagogical interaction in classroom

Emotions play a key role in cognitive processes, particularly in learning. Educators should know the emotional state of each student during a teaching activity. They must help students to experiment, interact and explore new topics and constructs. Students must feel in a state that maximize their performance. To know the emotional state of student, we need an emotion recognition system. It can be based on emotion recognition from speech (SER). SER is an important research area in humancomputer systems interaction (HCI). The major challenges for making a speech emotion recognition system are selecting the most suitable features and choosing the appropriate classification method. In this paper, we overview emotional speech recognition bearing in mind the role of emotions in learning. Here below we present briefly the obtained results by our SER system.
Kinematic control equations for simple manipulators

The basis for all advanced manipulator control is a relationship between the cartesian coordinates of the end-effector and the manipulator joint coordinates. A direct method for assigning link coordinate systems and obtaining the end effector position, and Jacobian, in terms of joint coordinates is reviewed. Techniques for obtaining the solution to these equations for kinematically simple manipulators, which includes all commercially available manipulators, is presented. Finally the inverse Jacobian is developed from the solution.
Titanium surface alterations following the use of different mechanical instruments: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE To systematically collect and evaluate existing evidence on the effects of different mechanical instruments on the surface characteristics of smooth and rough titanium surfaces. MATERIALS AND METHODS PubMed-MEDLINE, Cochrane-CENTRAL and EMBASE databases were searched up to December 2010 to identify appropriate studies. The eligible studies were controlled studies investigating titanium surface alterations following treatment with different mechanical instruments. RESULTS In total, 3275 unique papers were identified. A screening of the titles and abstracts resulted in 34 publications that met all of the eligibility criteria. Surface roughness was evaluated using scanning electron microscopy in most studies and using a profilometer in only 10 studies. The rough surfaces evaluated were titanium plasma sprayed and sandblasted and acid-etched surfaces only. Non-metal instruments were found to cause minimal or no damage to both smooth and rough titanium surfaces. Metal instruments were found to cause major damage to smooth surfaces. Burs seemed to be the instruments of choice, if smoothening of a rough surface was required. CONCLUSION Non-metal instruments and rubber cups seem to be the instruments of choice for the treatment of smooth surfaces. Similarly, for rough implant surfaces, non-metal instruments and air abrasives are the instruments of choice, if surface integrity needs to be maintained. Metal instruments and burs are recommended only in cases requiring the smoothening of the surface roughness. The clinical impact of these findings requires clarification.
Corporate Insurance and the Underinvestment Problem

A casualty loss produces option-like characteristics in assets because their value depends on further discretionary investment. With risky debt in the firm's capital structure, the shareholders can have incentives to forgo the discretionary investment, even though it has a positive net present value. Thus a potential incentive conflict exists between the bondholders who want the investment made and the shareholders who do not. The incentive problem can be controlled by including a covenant in the bond contract requiring insurance coverage. Full coverage is generally not required. The maximum deductible depends on the amount of debt in the firm's capital structure and the feasible set of net casualty losses.
Explicit data caching at mobile edge networks: A cross-layer perspective

To fully exploit the increasingly dense deployments of mobile base station (BS) infrastructure, this paper proposes a novel caching paradigm called explicit caching, which stores selective contents at BSs and exposes such contents to users for volunteer browsing and download. We formulate the explicit caching problem as a joint content recommendation and delivery problem, which aims to maximize the expected quality-of-experience (QoE) per user over the long term. Optimal algorithms are given to solve the problem with varying degrees of cross-layer information. The impacts of user interest profile, cache storage space, BS backhaul capacity, cross-layer information, user mobility, and user mobility prediction on the system performance are analyzed and discussed.