Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
High-Density Lipoprotein and Atherosclerosis Regression: Evidence From Preclinical and Clinical Studies

High-density lipoprotein (HDL) particles transport (among other molecules) cholesterol (HDL-C). In epidemiological studies, plasma HDL-C levels have an inverse relationship to the risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. It has been assumed that this reflects the protective functions of HDL, which include their ability to promote cholesterol efflux. Yet, several recent pharmacological and genetic studies have failed to demonstrate that increased plasma levels of HDL-C resulted in decreased cardiovascular disease risk, giving rise to a controversy regarding whether plasma levels of HDL-C reflect HDL function, or that HDL is even as protective as assumed. The evidence from preclinical and (limited) clinical studies shows that HDL can promote the regression of atherosclerosis when the levels of functional particles are increased from endogenous or exogenous sources. The data show that regression results from a combination of reduced plaque lipid and macrophage contents, as well as from a reduction in its inflammatory state. Although more research will be needed regarding basic mechanisms and to establish that these changes translate clinically to reduced cardiovascular disease events, that HDL can regress plaques suggests that the recent trial failures do not eliminate HDL from consideration as an atheroprotective agent but rather emphasizes the important distinction between HDL function and plasma levels of HDL-C.
Septicemia is associated with increased risk for dementia: a population-based longitudinal study

Background Systemic infection has been linked to cognitive impairment. We hypothesized that patients with septicemia are predisposed to increased risks for developing dementia in a long-term setting. Methods This observational, retrospective, longitudinal, nation-wide population-based study was conducted using the data deduced from Longitudinal Health Insurance Database (LHID) in Taiwan. All patients with septicemia hospitalized for the first time from 2001 to 2011 without prior dementia were included. The development of Alzheimer's disease (AD) or non-Alzheimer dementias (NAD) in relation to the development of septicemia for each patient was recorded. An age- and sex-matched cohort without septicemia and without prior dementia served as the control. Septicemia, dementia, and other confounding factors were defined according to International Classification of Diseases Clinical Modification Codes. Cox proportional-hazards regressions were utilized to analyze adjusted hazard ratios. Results Patients with septicemia had a higher risk for developing dementia based on hazard ratios (HRs) (p<0.001). Patients with septicemia in the younger age groups had a greater dementia risk (p<0.01). Septicemia was associated with subsequent NAD (p<0.001), whereas the increased risk of AD was statistically insignificant (p>0.05). Furthermore, higher severity of septicemia was associated with increased risk of developing dementia. Conclusions Our findings suggest that septicemia is associated with an increased risk in developing NAD but not AD. A likely causal role of septicemia in increasing the risk of NAD is suggested, according to the findings that patients with higher severity of septicemia carried greater risk of sustaining dementia.
Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders in children and adolescents

Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is a severe autoimmune disease of the CNS characterized by recurrent inflammatory events primarily involving the optic nerves and spinal cord. NMO is infrequent in children, but early recognition is important to start adequate treatment. In this article, we review the evolving diagnostic criteria of NMO and provide an update on the clinical and neuroimaging spectrum of the disorder in pediatric patients, including current knowledge on immunopathogenesis and treatment recommendations for children with NMO.
UbiBreathe: A Ubiquitous non-Invasive WiFi-based Breathing Estimator

Monitoring breathing rates and patterns helps in the diagnosis and potential avoidance of various health problems. Current solutions for respiratory monitoring, however, are usually invasive and/or limited to medical facilities. In this paper, we propose a novel respiratory monitoring system, UbiBreathe, based on ubiquitous off-the-shelf WiFi-enabled devices. Our experiments show that the received signal strength (RSS) at a WiFi-enabled device held on a person's chest is affected by the breathing process. This effect extends to scenarios when the person is situated on the line-of-sight (LOS) between the access point and the device, even without holding it. UbiBreathe leverages these changes in the WiFi RSS patterns to enable ubiquitous non-invasive respiratory rate estimation, as well as apnea detection. We propose the full architecture and design for UbiBreathe, incorporating various modules that help reliably extract the hidden breathing signal from a noisy WiFi RSS. The system handles various challenges such as noise elimination, interfering humans, sudden user movements, as well as detecting abnormal breathing situations. Our implementation of UbiBreathe using off-the-shelf devices in a wide range of environmental conditions shows that it can estimate different breathing rates with less than 1 breaths per minute (bpm) error. In addition, UbiBreathe can detect apnea with more than 96% accuracy in both the device-on-chest and hands-free scenarios. This highlights its suitability for a new class of anywhere respiratory monitoring.
Perceptually‐motivated Real‐time Temporal Upsampling of 3D Content for High‐refresh‐rate Displays

High‐refresh‐rate displays (e. g., 120 Hz) have recently become available on the consumer market and quickly gain on popularity. One of their aims is to reduce the perceived blur created by moving objects that are tracked by the human eye. However, an improvement is only achieved if the video stream is produced at the same high refresh rate (i. e. 120 Hz). Some devices, such as LCD TVs, solve this problem by converting low‐refresh‐rate content (i. e. 50 Hz PAL) into a higher temporal resolution (i. e. 200 Hz) based on two‐dimensional optical flow.
Sonar independent ATR

This paper presents a model-based, filter response algorithm for Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) in Sidescan Sonar (SSS). The filters are created from the projection of a large set of generating boxes. The first and second-order statistics over the highlight and shadow regions of the projected boxes form a feature vector for each pixel in the image. The algorithm selects the features which best describe the target object, during training. When the algorithm is applied to an image, the projection of the generating boxes under rotation and translation is used to approximate invariant regions of the object under the equivalent transformation. The performance of the algorithm is compared to the standard Haar cascade. It is shown that the algorithm presented in this paper has a reduced dependence on the image formation model, requires a lower number of features to train and matches the performance of the Haar cascade. Operationally this brings two key advantages. A single classifier can be trained on data from several different models of sonar without a significant loss in performance. Additionally, the algorithm uses a smaller feature vector, reducing the time required to train the algorithm from several days to under one hour. This makes it possible to train the algorithm in-situ, increasing robustness with respect to new sea-floor types and environments.
The Arabidopsis E3 Ubiquitin Ligase HOS1 Negatively Regulates CONSTANS Abundance in the Photoperiodic Control of Flowering[W]

The transcriptional and posttranslational regulation of CONSTANS (CO) expression is crucial to accurately measure changes in daylength that influence flowering time in Arabidopsis thaliana. Here, we demonstrate that ESD6/HOS1 is required to modulate precisely the timing of CO accumulation to maintain low levels of FT expression during the first part of the day and a correct photoperiodic response. The Arabidopsis thaliana early in short days6 (esd6) mutant was isolated in a screen for mutations that accelerate flowering time. Among other developmental alterations, esd6 displays early flowering in both long- and short-day conditions. Fine mapping of the mutation showed that the esd6 phenotype is caused by a lesion in the HIGH EXPRESSION OF OSMOTICALLY RESPONSIVE GENES1 (HOS1) locus, which encodes a RING finger–containing E3 ubiquitin ligase. The esd6/hos1 mutation causes decreased FLOWERING LOCUS C expression and requires CONSTANS (CO) protein for its early flowering phenotype under long days. Moreover, CO and HOS1 physically interact in vitro and in planta, and HOS1 regulates CO abundance, particularly during the daylight period. Accordingly, hos1 causes a shift in the regular long-day pattern of expression of FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) transcript, starting to rise 4 h after dawn in the mutant. In addition, HOS1 interacts synergistically with CONSTITUTIVE PHOTOMORPHOGENIC1, another regulator of CO protein stability, in the regulation of flowering time. Taken together, these results indicate that HOS1 is involved in the control of CO abundance, ensuring that CO activation of FT occurs only when the light period reaches a certain length and preventing precocious flowering in Arabidopsis.
Free and Glucuronidated Olanzapine Serum Concentrations in Psychiatric Patients: Influence of Carbamazepine Comedication

The influence of carbamazepine on the glucuronidation of the antipsychotic olanzapine was studied in a group of psychiatric patients. Steady-state serum concentrations of free and glucuronidated olanzapine were measured in 31 psychiatric patients in monotherapy (dose range, 2.5–30 mg/d; median, 15 mg/d) and in 16 patients being comedicated with carbamazepine (dose range, 5–50 mg/d; median, 20 mg/d). The concentrations were determined by HPLC with and without acid hydrolysis of glucuronidated olanzapine. For the monotherapy group, the concentrations of free and glucuronidated olanzapine ranged from 0 nmol/L to 292 nmol/L (median, 94 nmol/L) and from 0 nmol/L to 180 nmol/L (median, 27 nmol/L), respectively. The serum concentrations of the carbamazepine-treated group ranged from 21 nmol/L to 310 nmol/L (median, 81 nmol/L) and from 0 to 376 nmol/L (median, 57 nmol/L) for free and glucuronidated olanzapine, respectively. Two patients with outlying values were excluded from further analysis. The median concentration-to-daily dose ratios (C/D) of free and glucuronidated olanzapine in the monotherapy group were 5.8 nmol/L/mg and 2.2 nmol/L/mg, respectively (n =30). The corresponding values for the group comedicated with carbamazepine were 3.6 and 3.1 nmol/L/mg (n =15). Thus, the median C/D of free olanzapine in the carbamazepine group was 38% lower than that of the monotherapy group (P <0.01), confirming that carbamazepine accelerates the metabolism of olanzapine. Further, for the carbamazepine group the median glucuronidated olanzapine fraction constituted 79% of the free fraction compared with 43% for the monotherapy group (P <0.01), which suggests that an increased rate of olanzapine glucuronidation contributes to the increased rate of metabolism of olanzapine induced by carbamazepine.
A comparison of albumin and saline for fluid resuscitation in the intensive care unit.

BACKGROUND It remains uncertain whether the choice of resuscitation fluid for patients in intensive care units (ICUs) affects survival. We conducted a multicenter, randomized, double-blind trial to compare the effect of fluid resuscitation with albumin or saline on mortality in a heterogeneous population of patients in the ICU. METHODS We randomly assigned patients who had been admitted to the ICU to receive either 4 percent albumin or normal saline for intravascular-fluid resuscitation during the next 28 days. The primary outcome measure was death from any cause during the 28-day period after randomization. RESULTS Of the 6997 patients who underwent randomization, 3497 were assigned to receive albumin and 3500 to receive saline; the two groups had similar baseline characteristics. There were 726 deaths in the albumin group, as compared with 729 deaths in the saline group (relative risk of death, 0.99; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.91 to 1.09; P=0.87). The proportion of patients with new single-organ and multiple-organ failure was similar in the two groups (P=0.85). There were no significant differences between the groups in the mean (+/-SD) numbers of days spent in the ICU (6.5+/-6.6 in the albumin group and 6.2+/-6.2 in the saline group, P=0.44), days spent in the hospital (15.3+/-9.6 and 15.6+/-9.6, respectively; P=0.30), days of mechanical ventilation (4.5+/-6.1 and 4.3+/-5.7, respectively; P=0.74), or days of renal-replacement therapy (0.5+/-2.3 and 0.4+/-2.0, respectively; P=0.41). CONCLUSIONS In patients in the ICU, use of either 4 percent albumin or normal saline for fluid resuscitation results in similar outcomes at 28 days.
Asymptotic‐preserving schemes for kinetic–fluid modeling of disperse two‐phase flows with variable fluid density

We are concerned with a coupled system describing the interaction between suspended particles and a dense fluid. The particles are modeled by a kinetic equation of Vlasov–Fokker–Planck type, and the fluid is described by the incompressible Navier–Stokes system, with variable density. The systems are coupled through drag forces. High friction regimes lead to a purely hydrodynamic description of the mixture. We design first and second order asymptotic‐preserving schemes suited to such regimes. We extend the method introduced in [Goudon T, Jin S, Liu JG, Yan B. Journal of Computational Physics 2013; 246:145‐164] to the case of variable density in compressible flow. We check the accuracy and the asymptotic‐preserving property numerically. We set up a few numerical experiments to demonstrate the ability of the scheme in capturing intricate interactions between the two phases on a wide range of physical parameters and geometric situations. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Postnatal Development of Right Ventricular Myofibrillar Biomechanics in Relation to the Sarcomeric Protein Phenotype in Pediatric Patients with Conotruncal Heart Defects

Background The postnatal development of myofibrillar mechanics, a major determinant of heart function, is unknown in pediatric patients with tetralogy of Fallot and related structural heart defects. We therefore determined the mechanical properties of myofibrils isolated from right ventricular tissue samples from such patients in relation to the developmental changes of the isoforms expression pattern of key sarcomere proteins involved in the contractile process. Methods and Results Tissue samples from the infundibulum obtained during surgery from 25 patients (age range 15 days to 11 years, median 7 months) were split into half for mechanical investigations and expression analysis of titin, myosin heavy and light chain 1, troponin‐T, and troponin‐I. Of these proteins, fetal isoforms of only myosin light chain 1 (ALC‐1) and troponin‐I (ssTnI) were highly expressed in neonates, amounting to, respectively, 40% and 80%, while the other proteins had switched to the adult isoforms before or around birth. ALC‐1 and ssTnI expression subsequently declined monoexponentially with a halftime of 4.3 and 5.8 months, respectively. Coincident with the expression of ssTnI, Ca2+ sensitivity of contraction was high in neonates and subsequently declined in parallel with the decline in ssTnI expression. Passive tension positively correlated with Ca2+ sensitivity but not with titin expression. Contraction kinetics, maximal Ca2+‐activated force, and the fast phase of the biphasic relaxation positively correlated with the expression of ALC‐1. Conclusions The developmental changes in myofibrillar biomechanics can be ascribed to fetal‐to‐adult isoform transition of key sarcomeric proteins, which evolves regardless of the specific congenital cardiac malformations in our pediatric patients.
MailRank: using ranking for spam detection

Can we use social networks to combat spam? This paper investigates the feasibility of MailRank, a new email ranking and classification scheme exploiting the social communication network created via email interactions. The underlying email network data is collected from the email contacts of all MailRank users and updated automatically based on their email activities to achieve an easy maintenance. MailRank is used to rate the sender address of arriving emails such that emails from trustworthy senders can be ranked and classified as spam or non-spam. The paper presents two variants: Basic MailRank computes a global reputation score for each email address, whereas in Personalized MailRank the score of each email address is different for each MailRank user. The evaluation shows that MailRank is highly resistant against spammer attacks, which obviously have to be considered right from the beginning in such an application scenario. MailRank also performs well even for rather sparse networks, i.e., where only a small set of peers actually take part in the ranking of email addresses.
Precoding of orthogonal space-time block codes over correlated Ricean MIMO channels

A precoder is designed for orthogonal space-time block codes (OSTBCs) for arbitrarily correlated Ricean multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) channels. Unlike previous works, the precoder can be designed to minimize the exact symbol error rate (SER) as function of both a) the joint transmit-receive channel correlation coefficients, and b) the MIMO Rice component, which are fed back to the transmitter. Importantly, the covariance may or may not follow the so-called Kronecker structure. Exact SER expressions are given for multi-level PAM, PSK, and QAM signaling. Several properties of the minimum exact precoder are provided. An iterative numerical optimization algorithm is proposed for finding the exact minimum SER precoder under a power constraint.
Hardware emulation of transverse flux machines based on an analytical model considering saturation effects

Transverse flux machines have advantages at high torque densities and low speed. On the other hand, the torque ripple of a transverse flux machine is complicated to control. For many control methods the precise knowledge of the machine's behavior is essential. To describe this behavior and to get more detailed information about processes inside the machine, an analytical model is designed which uses the analogy between magnetic permeances and electric capacitors, coupled by a gyrator. At the input of the model are the phase voltages and the mechanical load. The outputs are the force and the rotor position. The model can be used for both verification of control methods and obtaining information of the machine's behavior. The results of the new analytical model are compared with measurements on a linear prototype and emphasize the capability of the model.
Structure and evolution of missed collaborations in large networks

We study the nature of missed collaboration opportunities in evolving collaboration networks. We define a k-way missed collaboration as one in which every (k-1)-subset of the k persons has collaborated but the set of k has not. Representing a collaboration network as a simplicial complex, we model a missed collaboration as a Minimal Non Face (MNF). Focusing on 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional MNFs, equivalent to 3-way and 4-way missed collaborations respectively, we analyze the DBLP publication network and the IMDB movie network. Our key findings are as follows. A large number of missed collaborations arise, but only a few persist for long. Specifically, the persistence time appears to be exponentially distributed for both 2-MNFs and 3-MNFs. Nodes with higher degree centrality are more likely to be part of 2-MNFs but little correlation was found with 3-MNFs. Considering the network of missed collaborations, the number of components as of year 2013 appears to be power law distributed across MNF types and data sets, but its evolution shows a divergence between DBLP and IMDB. Our results can help in developing random generative models of collaboration networks, cue researchers in on potential fruitful collaborations, and predict new collaborations.
Portable Multicore Resource Management for Applications with Performance Constraints

Many modern software applications have performance requirements, like mobile and embedded systems that must keep up with sensor data, or web services that must return results to users within an acceptable latency bound. For such applications, the goal is not to run as fast as possible, but to meet their performance requirements with minimal resource usage, the key resource in most systems being energy. Heuristic solutions have been proposed to minimize energy under a performance constraint, but recent studies show that these approaches are not portable - heuristics that are near-optimal on one system can waste integer factors of energy on others. The POET library and runtime system provides a portable method for resource management that achieves near-optimal energy consumption while meeting soft real-time constraints across a range of devices. Although POET was originally designed and tested on embedded and mobile platforms, in this paper we evaluate it on a manycore server-class system. The larger scale of manycore systems adds some overhead to adjusting resource allocations, but POET still meets timing constraints and achieves near-optimal energy consumption. We demonstrate that POET achieves portable energy efficiency on platforms ranging from low-power ARM big.LITTLE architectures to powerful x86 server-class systems.
An Inference Attack on Genomic Data Using Kinship, Complex Correlations, and Phenotype Information

Individuals (and their family members) share (partial) genomic data on public platforms. However, using special characteristics of genomic data, background knowledge that can be obtained from the Web, and family relationship between the individuals, it is possible to infer the hidden parts of shared (and unshared) genomes. Existing work in this field considers simple correlations in the genome (as well as Mendel’s law and partial genomes of a victim and his family members). In this paper, we improve the existing work on inference attacks on genomic privacy. We mainly consider complex correlations in the genome by using an observable Markov model and recombination model between the haplotypes. We also utilize the phenotype information about the victims. We propose an efficient message passing algorithm to consider all aforementioned background information for the inference. We show that the proposed framework improves inference with significantly less information compared to existing work.