Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The interaction of chronic and acute glycemia with mortality in critically ill patients with diabetes*

Objectives:The relationship between hyperglycemia and mortality is altered by the presence of diabetes mellitus. Biological adjustment to preexisting hyperglycemia might explain this phenomenon. We tested whether the degree of preexisting hyperglycemia would modulate the association between glycemia and outcome during critical illness in patients with diabetes mellitus. Design:Retrospective observational study. Setting:Two tertiary intensive care units. Patients:Four hundred fifteen critically ill diabetic patients with HbA1c levels measured within 3 months of intensive care unit admission. Interventions:None. Measurements and Main Results:There were 9,946 blood glucose measurements in this study cohort (glucose measured 6.7 times per day; every 3.6 hrs on average). The median preadmission HbA1c level was 7.0%. There was no significant difference in HbA1c levels (p = .17) or time-weighted average of blood glucose concentrations (p = .49) between survivors and nonsurvivors. The time-weighted average of blood glucose concentrations during intensive care unit stay for nonsurvivors was lower than that of survivors when the HbA1c was >6.8%. In multivariate analysis, we found that there was a significant interaction between HbA1c and the time-weighted glucose level, indicating that the relationship between HbA1c and mortality changed according to the levels of time-weighted average of blood glucose concentrations (p = .008). As a consequence, in patients with higher (>7%) preadmission levels of HbA1c, the higher the time-weighted acute glucose concentration during intensive care unit stay (>10 mmol/L), the lower the hospital mortality compared with the lower HbA1c cohort (<7%). Conclusions:In patients with diabetes mellitus admitted to intensive care units, there was a significant interaction between preexisting hyperglycemia and the association between acute glycemia and mortality. These observations generate the hypothesis that glucose levels that are considered safe and desirable in other patients might be undesirable in diabetic patients with chronic hyperglycemia. Further studies are required to confirm or refute our findings.
Northwestern song sparrow populations show genetic effects of sequential colonization

Two genetic consequences are often considered evidence of a founder effect: substantial loss in genetic diversity and rapid divergence between source and founder populations. Single‐step founder events have been studied for these effects, but with mixed results, causing continued controversy over the role of founder events in divergence. Experiments of serial bottlenecks have shown losses of diversity, increased divergence, and rapid behavioural changes possibly leading to reproductive isolation between source and final populations. The few studies conducted on natural, sequentially founded systems show some evidence of these effects. We examined a natural vertebrate system of sequential colonization among northwestern song sparrows (Melospiza melodia). This system has an effectively linear distribution, it was probably colonized within the last 10 000 years, there are morphological and behavioural differences among populations, and the westernmost populations occur in atypical habitats for the species. Eight microsatellite loci from eight populations in Alaska and British Columbia (n = 205) showed stepwise loss of genetic diversity, genetic evidence for strong population bottlenecks, and increased population divergence. The endpoint population on Attu Island has extremely low diversity (HE = 0.18). Our study shows that sequential bottlenecks or founder events can have powerful genetic effects in reducing diversity, possibly leading to rapid evolutionary divergence.
The Number of Grafted Fragments Affects the Outcome of Testis Tissue Xenografting from Piglets into Recipient Mice

To optimize the procedure for testis tissue xenografting, we grafted 2, 4, 8, or 16 small fragments of immature porcine testis tissue under the back skin of immunodeficient castrated mice (n = 10 mice/group). At 8 months post grafting, the graft recovery rate did not differ between groups; however, not only the total but also the average graft weights were higher (by ∼12-fold and ∼2.5-fold, resp.) in mice receiving 16 fragments than those receiving 2 fragments (P < .05). The recipient mice with 16 fragments had the largest vesicular glands (indicators of testosterone release by the grafts) compared with those with 2 fragments (P = .007). The grafts in the group of 16 fragments also had more (P < .05) percentage of tubules with round spermatids than those of the group of mice receiving 2 fragments. Therefore, recipient mice can be grafted with at least 16 testis tissue fragments for optimal results.
Hearing and phonetic criteria in voice measurement: Clinical applications

Quantitative clinical voice analysis is discussed with special reference to four factors: 1) measurement criteria that are based on well established auditory parameters; 2) voice material that is modelled on the connected speech of ordinary spoken communication rather than sustained vowels; 3) direct monitoring so as to provide both acoustic and vocal fold contact signals; and 4) phonetic structural similarities across what are ordinarily regarded as highly dissimilar languages. These factors have motivated the development and clinical application of physical analyses that provide measurements related both to vocal fold function and to the perceptual attributes of pitch, loudness, and an important aspect of voice quality.
Nox4 as the Major Catalytic Component of an Endothelial NAD(P)H Oxidase

Background—Recent evidence has suggested that reactive oxygen species are important signaling molecules in vascular cells and play a pivotal role in the development of vascular diseases. The activity of NAD(P)H oxidase has been identified as the major source of reactive oxygen species in vascular endothelial cells. However, the precise molecular structure and the mechanism of activation of the oxidase have remained poorly understood. Methods and Results—Here, we investigated the molecular identities and the superoxide-producing activity of endothelial NAD(P)H oxidase. We found that Nox4, a homologue of gp91phox/Nox2, was abundantly expressed in endothelial cells. The expression of Nox4 in endothelial cells markedly exceeded that of other Nox proteins, including gp91phox/Nox2, and was affected by cell growth. Using electron spin resonance and chemiluminescence, we measured the superoxide production and found that the endothelial membranes had an NAD(P)H-dependent superoxide-producing activity comparable to that of the neutrophil membranes, whereas the activity was not enhanced by the 2 recombinant proteins p47phox and p67phox, in contrast to that of the neutrophil membranes. Downregulation of Nox4 by an antisense oligonucleotide reduced superoxide production in endothelial cells in vivo and in vitro. Conclusions—These findings suggest that Nox4 may function as the major catalytic component of an endothelial NAD(P)H oxidase.
A review on airway biomarkers: exposure, effect and susceptibility

Current research in pulmonology requires the use of biomarkers to investigate airway exposure and diseases, for both diagnostic and prognostic purposes. The traditional approach based on invasive approaches (lung lavages and biopsies) can now be replaced, at least in part, through the use of non invasively collected specimens (sputum and breath), in which biomarkers of exposure, effect and susceptibility can be searched. The discovery of specific lung-related proteins, which can spill over in blood or excreted in urine, further enhanced the spectrum of airway specific biomarkers to be studied. The recent introduction of high-performance ‘omic’ technologies – genomics, proteomics and metabolomics, and the rate at which biomarker candidates are being discovered, will permit the use of a combination of biomarkers for a more precise selection of patient with different outcomes and responses to therapies. The aim of this review is to critically evaluate the use of airway biomarkers in the context of research and clinical practice.
Replication of enhancer‐deficient amphotropic murine leukemia virus in human fibrosarcoma but not in primary human fibroblasts

Amphotropic murine leukemia virus (MLV) replicates in cells from various mammalian species including humans and is a potential contaminant in MLV vector preparations for human gene transfer studies. In general, MLV replication depends on the expression of viral genes under the control of 75 bp enhancer elements in the long terminal repeat. However, in specific human fibrosarcoma and lymphoma lines replication of amphotropic MLV is possible without these enhancers. Fibrosarcomas are malignant tumors of fibroblast origin. To test the replication potential of intact and enhancerless amphotropic MLV in untransformed cells, infection studies with these viruses were carried out in three types of primary human fibroblasts. Replication of amphotropic MLV is observed in two of three tested fibroblast strains. None of these primary human fibroblasts is permissive for enhancer‐deficient MLV, suggesting that replication of this virus may be limited to transformed cells. J. Med. Virol. 68: 278–284, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A SINGLE CHIP DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF AES -128/192/256 ENCRYPTION ALGORITHMS

In this paper an efficient hardware architecture design and implementation of all candidates of AES encryption standards AES-128, AES-192 and AES-256 on the same hardware is proposed. AES algorithm proposed by NIST has been widely accepted as best cryptosystem for wireless communication security. The hardware implementation is useful in wireless security like military and mobile phones. This contribution investigates implementation of AES Encryption with regards to FPGA and VHDL.Optimized and synthesized VHDL code for AES-128, AES-192 and AES-256 for encryption of 128-bit data is implemented. Xilinx ISE 9.2i software is used for simulation. Each algorithm is tested with sample vectors provided by NIST output results are perfect with minimal delay. The proposed design consumes less power and area which is suitable battery driven mobile phones. Throughput reaches the value of 666.67 Mbps for encryption of 128-bit data with AES-128 key with FPGA device XC2V6000BF957-6.
Language Concordance as a Determinant of Patient Compliance and Emergency Room Use in Patients with Asthma

To test the hypothesis that the ability of physicians to speak the same language as asthmatic patients promotes patient compliance and the use of scheduled office appointments in preference to emergency services, the charts of 96 Spanish-speaking patients with asthma were reviewed. Of these patients, 65 were cared for by seven Spanish-speaking bilingual physicians and 31 were cared for by 23 non-Spanish speaking physicians. Compared with patients with language concordant physicians, patients with language discordant physicians were only slightly more likely to omit medication, to miss office appointments, and to make at least one emergency room visit. Subgroup analysis showed that, with extended follow-up, patients cared for by a language discordant physician were more likely to omit medication (rate ratio: 3.24; P=0.08), more likely to miss office appointments (rate ratio: 3.06; P=0.01), and were slightly more likely to make an emergency room visit (rate ratio: 2.07; P=0.12) than patients with language concordant physicians. Cox regression analyses taking account of differences in follow-up time, age, gender, pay-status, and severity of disease confirmed these findings. These data suggest that patient compliance and more cost-effective use of ambulatory care services may be associated with the ability of physicians to speak the same language as their patients.
Tales of science and defiance: the case for co-learning and collaboration in bridging the science/emotion divide in water recycling debates

Although science is generally assumed to be well integrated into rational decision-making models, it can be used to destabilise consultative processes, particularly when emotions are involved. Water policies are often seen as debates over technical and engineering issues, but can be highly controversial. Recycled water proposals, in particular, can create highly emotive conflicts. Through a case study regarding the rejection of recycled water proposals in the south-east Queensland, Australia, we explore the influence of science and emotions in contemporary water planning. We highlight the dangers inherent in promoting technical water planning issues at the expense of appropriate consideration of citizen concerns. Combining the science–policy interface and stakeholder engagement literatures, we advocate for collaborative decision-making processes that accommodate emotions and value judgements. A more collaborative stakeholder engagement model, founded on the principles of co-learning, has the potential to broaden the decision-making base and to promote better and more inclusive decision-making.
Learning to Live Together: Harnessing Regulatory T cells to Induce Organ Transplant Tolerance

The discovery of immune cells with regulatory effects has created considerable excitement for their potential use in inducing tolerance to transplanted tissues. Despite the fact that these cells possess essential functions in vivo, attempts to translate them into effective clinical therapies has proved challenging due to a number of unanticipated complexities in their behavior. This article provides a broad summary of research done to understand the largest of the regulatory cell subtypes, namely CD4+Foxp3+ Regulatory T cells (TRegs). Special attention will be paid to current and future difficulties in using TRegs clinically, as well as room for improvement and innovation in this field.
Subgroup Discovery Meets Bayesian Networks -- An Exceptional Model Mining Approach

Whenever a dataset has multiple discrete target variables, we want our algorithms to consider not only the variables themselves, but also the interdependencies between them. We propose to use these interdependencies to quantify the quality of subgroups, by integrating Bayesian networks with the Exceptional Model Mining framework. Within this framework, candidate subgroups are generated. For each candidate, we fit a Bayesian network on the target variables. Then we compare the network’s structure to the structure of the Bayesian network fitted on the whole dataset. To perform this comparison, we define an edit distance-based distance metric that is appropriate for Bayesian networks. We show interesting subgroups that we experimentally found with our method on datasets from music theory, semantic scene classification, biology and zoogeography.
Relationship between Ethanol-Induced Gastritis and Gastric Ulcer Formation in Rats

Background/Aims: Patients with peptic ulcer diseases have a high prevalence of coexisting chronic gastritis. The mechanism of how gastritis leads to gastric ulcer formation is yet to be determined. The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship between gastritis and gastric ulcer in rats. Methods: Ethanol (80% v/v, p.o.) was given repeatedly in rats to induce subchronic gastritis. Gastric ulcer was then induced by 60% acetic acid. Results: Findings showed that subchronic gastritis potentiated gastric ulcer formation. It also produced more apoptotic cells, together with an overexpression of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα) in the gastric mucosa. Inhibition of the production/release of TNFα by pentoxifylline prevented the increase in apoptosis and the enhancement of susceptibility to ulcerative damage by subchronic gastritis. However, such subchronic gastritis did not further affect the rate of ulcer healing in these animals. Conclusion: The induction of gastritis resulted in an activation of TNFα expression followed by apoptosis in the gastric mucosa. This could lead to an increase in the severity of ulcerative damage in the stomach.
Measuring Nepotism through Shared Last Names: The Case of Italian Academia

Nepotistic practices are detrimental for academia. Here I show how disciplines with a high likelihood of nepotism can be detected using standard statistical techniques based on shared last names among professors. As an example, I analyze the set of all 61,340 Italian academics. I find that nepotism is prominent in Italy, with particular disciplinary sectors being detected as especially problematic. Out of 28 disciplines, 9 – accounting for more than half of Italian professors – display a significant paucity of last names. Moreover, in most disciplines a clear north-south trend emerges, with likelihood of nepotism increasing with latitude. Even accounting for the geographic clustering of last names, I find that for many disciplines the probability of name-sharing is boosted when professors work in the same institution or sub-discipline. Using these techniques policy makers can target cuts and funding in order to promote fair practices.
Thinking backward: some curable and incurable consequences of cognitive busyness

Social interaction imposes a variety of attentional demands on those who attempt it. Such cognitively busy persons often fail to use contextual information to correct the impressions they form of others. The 4 experiments reported here examined the corrigibility of this effect. Although formerly busy perceivers were able to correct their mistaken impressions retroactively (Experiment 1), such retroactive correction was not inevitable (Experiment 2). In addition, when perceivers were able to correct their original impressions retroactively, they were still unable to correct subseque nt inferences that had been biased by those original impressions (Experiments 3 and 4). As such, perceivers were occasionally able to overcome the primary, but not the sucsidiary, effects of cognitive busyness. The results are discussed in terms of the metastasis of false knowledge.
No effect of MMR withdrawal on the incidence of autism: a total population study.

BACKGROUND A causal relationship between the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine and occurrence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has been claimed, based on an increase in ASD in the USA and the UK after introduction of the MMR vaccine. However, the possibility that this increase is coincidental has not been eliminated. The unique circumstances of a Japanese MMR vaccination program provide an opportunity for comparison of ASD incidence before and after termination of the program. METHODS This study examined cumulative incidence of ASD up to age seven for children born from 1988 to 1996 in Kohoku Ward (population approximately 300,000), Yokohama, Japan. ASD cases included all cases of pervasive developmental disorders according to ICD-10 guidelines. RESULTS The MMR vaccination rate in the city of Yokohama declined significantly in the birth cohorts of years 1988 through 1992, and not a single vaccination was administered in 1993 or thereafter. In contrast, cumulative incidence of ASD up to age seven increased significantly in the birth cohorts of years 1988 through 1996 and most notably rose dramatically beginning with the birth cohort of 1993. CONCLUSIONS The significance of this finding is that MMR vaccination is most unlikely to be a main cause of ASD, that it cannot explain the rise over time in the incidence of ASD, and that withdrawal of MMR in countries where it is still being used cannot be expected to lead to a reduction in the incidence of ASD.
Program slicing based on runtime dataflow measurements

Multicore architectures enable increasing the performance of the system with parallel processing. One of the challenges of a multicore embedded system is the correct usage of the processor cores. It is possible to achieve balanced processor load on the different cores, but the communication bandwidth between the cores is often a bottleneck. Passing large amounts of data between tasks mapped to different processor cores can result in cache misses in the local cache of a processor core. This paper introduces an analyzation method based on runtime generated data flow graphs to find the data paths of an algorithm. It shows that a spectral cluster analysis can help to discover data independent subsets in the algorithm under test. Finding the data independent parts helps to partition the program to multiple slices where the inter-slice communication is kept as low as possible. With our proposed method the communication bottleneck can be evaded in a multicore, multitask implementation, possibly resulting in better performance.
The relationship between body image disturbance and coping with stress in patients suffering from anorexia nervosa

The objective of this study was to identify coping strategies that infl uence body attitudes in women with anorexia nervosa (n = 34). We used the BAT, the FRS and the Brief COPE. Coping strategies based on focus on and venting of emotions, positive reframing and seeking instrumental social support were predictive factors for the negative appreciation of body size. Seeking emotional social support, positive reframing and use of instrumental support constituted a risk profi le for development of lack of familiarity with one’s body. Denial, focus on and venting of emotions, seeking instrumental social support positive reframing and humour are predictors of general body dissatisfaction. Emotion-oriented coping had an adverse effect on body attitudes and body experience among patients with anorexia
372:Comparing the Benefit of Different Dependency Parsers for Textual Entailment Using Syntactic Constraints Only

We compare several state of the art dependency parsers with our own parser based on a linear classification technique. Our primary goal is therefore to use syntactic information only, in order to keep the comparison of the parsers as fair as possible. We demonstrate, that despite the inferior result using the standard evaluation metrics for parsers like UAS or LAS on standard test data, our system achieves comparable results when used in an application, such as the SemEval-2 #12 evaluation exercise PETE. Our submission achieved the 4th position out of 19 participating systems. However, since it only uses a linear classifier it works 17--20 times faster than other state of the parsers, as for instance MaltParser or Stanford Parser.
Head pose estimation based on steerable filters and likelihood parametrized function

In this paper, we propose a new discrete head pose estimator that combines appearance template and discriminative learning. Our approach consists on constructing a reference model for each considered head orientation. To do this, we first locate the head patch using a skin color based filter. The reference models are then elaborated from steerable filters which are applied in order to extract feature vectors. We chose to apply such filters since they are robust to global geometric deformations and view point changes. Next, we learn parameters of likelihood function from training data with a discriminative approach. When a new image is considered, a feature vector based on steerable filters is extracted from the localized head patch. Subsequently, head pose is estimated using likelihood parametrized function. The performance of our estimator is evaluated on PRIMA-POINTING database showing that the proposed approach is very competitive compared to other existing methods.