Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Two randomized placebo-controlled trials to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of mirtazapine for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea.

OBJECTIVE Mirtazapine is an a2A antagonist and mixed 5-HT2/5-HT3 antagonist that has been proposed as a potential treatment for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). A small, randomized, controlled trial has previously found an approximate halving in the severity of OSA with daily doses of 4.5 and 15 mg. We aimed to confirm and extend these findings in 2 randomized placebo-controlled, proof-of-concept trials. METHODS Two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials of mirtazapine for OSA (apnea-hypopnea index 10-40/h). Study 1: 3-way crossover, dose-finding study testing the self-administration of mirtazapine (7.5, 15, 30, and/or 45 mg) or placebo 30 minutes prior to bedtime for 2 weeks at each dose. Twenty patients were randomly assigned to 1 of 6 different dose-sequence groups, with each patient exposed to a maximum of 3 doses. Study 2: 3-arm, randomized, parallel-group trial of mirtazapine at 15 mg or mirtazapine 15 mg + Compound CD0012 or placebo for 4 weeks in 65 patients with OSA. RESULTS Two patients withdrew from Study 1 after complaints of unacceptable lethargy. Fifteen patients were withdrawn from study 2, 7 after complaints of unacceptable lethargy or other side-effects. No measurement of sleep apnea improved due to mirtazapine in either study. Weight gain was significantly greater on mirtazapine than on placebo in both trials. CONCLUSIONS Mirtazapine did not improve sleep apnea in either trial. Mirtazapine caused weight gain, which may further worsen OSA. Therefore, mirtazapine is not recommended for the treatment of OSA.
Creditwatches and Their Impact on Financial Markets

Credit rating agencies (CRAs) monitor a firm's creditworthiness and place firms on creditwatch when they observe potential changes in firm characteristics. However, prior research largely focuses on a creditwatch as a single event and neglects the fact that a rating continues to be "on watch" until a final decision is made. This paper examines the impact of creditwatch placements on a firm's credit default swap (CDS) spread and its stock price during the time interval between the creditwatch placement and the final rating decision. The investigation includes 311 rating creditwatch placements (204 negative and 107 positive) from July 2006 to June 2014. The results indicate that stock returns are not different from zero for negative and positive creditwatch placements, whereas CDS spreads continuously increase between a negative creditwatch placement and the final decision. This is a novel result, and therefore creditwatch placements may potentially explain why prior studies found that CDS markets anticipate rating changes. However, this increase depends on the reason for the creditwatch announced by the CRA. The market reaction is strongest for firm specific performance announcements that may affect the future cashflow development of a company.
Configurable cooperative middleware for the next generation of CPS

Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) form an emerging discipline that integrates embedded computers with the physical processes under control. Typically, Cyber-Physical applications include low profile computing components, such as sensors and actuators that must communicate to carry out complex tasks. They may be found in different applications domains e.g. intelligent buildings, industrial automation or critical infrastructure control. This kind of applications requires certain features such as autonomy, fault tolerance, energy efficiency or solving heterogeneity and configurability issues. However, managing the communication issues in this kind of applications can be relatively complex. In this scenario, middleware technologies can help developers in the design of the next generation of CPS. This work describes the design principles of a type of CPS that requires cooperation. More specifically, it presents a generic family of logical cooperation topologies capable of adapting dynamically to changes in the environment.
Automatic Crude Patch Registration: Toward Automatic 3D Model Building

Three-dimensional shape models are often put together from several partial reconstructions. There are good algorithms available to perform the necessary, precise registration automatically, but only after the partial reconstructions have been brought into approximate positions. Providing the initial crude positions is often done manually. This paper proposes a technique to compute these initial positions automatically. The development of this automatic crude registration has allowed us to create a system that can generate complex 3D models from a set of partial reconstructions without any user intervention or prior knowledge of relative positions.
Chemical genetic screen in fission yeast reveals roles for vacuolar acidification, mitochondrial fission, and cellular GMP levels in lifespan extension

The discovery that genetic mutations in several cellular pathways can increase lifespan has lent support to the notion that pharmacological inhibition of aging pathways can be used to extend lifespan and to slow the onset of age‐related diseases. However, so far, only few compounds with such activities have been described. Here, we have conducted a chemical genetic screen for compounds that cause the extension of chronological lifespan of Schizosaccharomyces pombe. We have characterized eight natural products with such activities, which has allowed us to uncover so far unknown anti‐aging pathways in S. pombe. The ionophores monensin and nigericin extended lifespan by affecting vacuolar acidification, and this effect depended on the presence of the vacuolar ATPase (V‐ATPase) subunits Vma1 and Vma3. Furthermore, prostaglandin J2 displayed anti‐aging properties due to the inhibition of mitochondrial fission, and its effect on longevity required the mitochondrial fission protein Dnm1 as well as the G‐protein‐coupled glucose receptor Git3. Also, two compounds that inhibit guanosine monophosphate (GMP) synthesis, mycophenolic acid (MPA) and acivicin, caused lifespan extension, indicating that an imbalance in guanine nucleotide levels impinges upon longevity. We furthermore have identified diindolylmethane (DIM), tschimganine, and the compound mixture mangosteen as inhibiting aging. Taken together, these results reveal unanticipated anti‐aging activities for several phytochemicals and open up opportunities for the development of novel anti‐aging therapies.
The Chloroplast Tat Pathway Transports Substrates in the Dark*

Photosynthetic electron transport pumps protons into the thylakoid lumen, creating an electrochemical potential called the protonmotive force (PMF). The energy of the thylakoid PMF is utilized by such machinery as the chloroplast F0F1-ATPase as well as the chloroplast Tat (cpTat) pathway (a protein transporter) to do work. The bulk phase thylakoid PMF decays rapidly after the termination of actinic illumination, and it has been well established via potentiometric measurements that there is no detectable electrical or chemical potential in the thylakoid after a brief time in the dark. Yet, we report herein that cpTat transport can occur for long periods in the dark. We show that the thylakoid PMF is actually present long after actinic illumination of the thylakoids ceases and that this energy is present in physiologically useful quantities. Consistent with previous studies, the dark-persisting thylakoid potential is not detectable by established indicators. We propose that cpTat transport in the dark is dependent on a pool of protons in the thylakoid held out of equilibrium with those in the bulk aqueous phase.
A nationwide Danish survey on the use of green spaces by people with mobility disabilities

Background: There is increasing awareness of the importance and health benefits of living near green spaces. Research usually focuses on the general population’s use of green spaces and there has been little focus on the use of green spaces by specific groups, such as people with mobility disabilities. This represents a significant knowledge gap with regard to facilitating access to healthy green environments by all population groups. This study aims to provide knowledge of the use of green spaces by people with mobility disabilities. Methods: The study was based on data from the Danish Health and Morbidity Survey in 2005. The study participants consisted of 11,238 adult Danes, 383 of whom reported mobility disabilities, meaning that they were dependent on assistive devices for walking or moving around. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the association between mobility disability and use of green spaces. Results: The results show that respondents who reported mobility disabilities visited green spaces less often than respondents without mobility disabilities. The severity of the mobility disability was associated with the frequency of visits. Frequency of visits was also related to the respondents’ health-related quality of life status. Conclusions: These results highlight the need for further research into the constraints faced by people with mobility disabilities with regard to visiting green spaces.
Diagnosing the nutritional status of schoolchildren: a comparison between Brazilian and international criteria.

OBJECTIVE To compare Brazilian and international criteria for assessing the nutritional status of schoolchildren. METHODS This was a cross-sectional study that enrolled 160 schoolchildren from a public school in the city of Rio de Janeiro, 91 boys and 69 girls, aged 7 to 9 full years. Body mass index (BMI) for sex and age was used to diagnose underweight, healthy weight and overweight, according to Cole et al., Conde & Monteiro and the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. Student's t test, the chi-square test, the Kendall concordance test and the chi-square test for tendencies were used to analyze the data; graphs were plotted demonstrating BMI by age, according to the nutritional diagnosis at each set of criteria. RESULTS Mean BMI did not differ by sex (t = 0.2845, p = 0.7789). According to the first two sets of criteria, none of the children were underweight, whereas, according to the WHO criteria, one of the boys was underweight. The Kendall test did not demonstrate any significant difference between the three sets of criteria (coefficient of concordance for boys was W < 0.0004 and for girls it was W < 0.0008, with p = 1.00). There was a greater proportion of assessments that did not agree among the boys, at 15.13%, while for the girls this figure was 13.04%. A significant tendency was observed for the difference between the criteria to increase with age among the boys (chi-square for tendencies = 6.552, p = 0.0105), which was evident on the graph and was independent of nutritional status. CONCLUSIONS The criteria used here converged on the same result, without discrepancies between them or advantages for either. Nevertheless, among the boys there was a significant tendency for the diagnoses to differentiate and BMI to increase with age, which is a warning to take care when choosing among criteria.
Financial document image coding with regions of interest using JPEG2000

Document image coding is a very important issue in document analysis and recognition systems provided with vast samples. An image compression algorithm with regions of interest (ROIs) using JPEG2000 is proposed for financial document images which have various categories, complex layouts, and irregular noises. Three types of ROIs: filled information ROIs, seal ROIs, and handwriting ROIs, are detected and extracted through document knowledge analysis and handwriting identification. The first ROIs are detected by document classification, the second are extracted by connected component analysis based on color and shape information, and the third are located by handwriting identification using an incremental Fisher linear discriminant classifier. A ROI mask with a random shape is constructed by thresholding and merging these ROIs. Finally, a financial document image is encoded using JPEG2000 Part I with this ROI mask. Compared to JPEG and DjVu, the method improves visual quality while decreasing storing space.
Decompressive craniectomy after intra-arterial thrombolysis: safety and outcome

Objectives Data on decompressive craniectomy (DC) after intra-arterial thrombolysis (IAT) for treatment of malignant middle cerebral artery (MCA) stroke are lacking. Methods The authors compared consecutive patients with middle cerebral artery (MCA) strokes who underwent decompressive craniectomy (DC) after IAT with DC patients without prior thrombolysis. Results Thirty of 2395 consecutive patients with acute ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack were treated with DC because of space-occupying oedema 12–72 h after symptom onset. Fifteen patients underwent intra-arterial thrombolysis (IAT) prior to DC. Baseline characteristics did not differ between thrombolysed and non-thrombolysed patients except for lower National Institute of Health Stroke Scale score in non-thrombolysed patients (median National Institute of Health Stroke Scale 17 vs 14, p=0.033). The outcome at 3 months was favourable (modified Rankin scale 0–3) in seven (47%) thrombolysed patients and in four (27%) non-thrombolysed patients (p=0.45). Mortality and major complications after DC did not differ between the two groups (p>0.05). Older age (p=0.037) and previous hypertension (p=0.047) independently predicted unfavourable outcome in DC patients, but not IAT prior DC. Conclusions There was no difference of outcome of patients with DC with or without prior IAT. DC after IAT did not cause any more complications than DC without prior thrombolysis.
Using a hierarchical model to estimate risk-adjusted mortality for hospitals not included in the reference sample.

OBJECTIVE To provide a method for any hospital to evaluate patient mortality using a hierarchical risk-adjustment equation derived from a reference sample. DATA SOURCE American College of Surgeons National Trauma Data Bank (NTDB). STUDY DESIGN Hierarchical logistic regression models predicting mortality were estimated from NTDB data. Risk-adjusted hospital effects obtained directly from models using standard software were compared with approximations derived from a summary equation and data from each individual hospital. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Theoretical approximations were similar to results using standard software. CONCLUSIONS To allow independent verification, agencies using reference databases for hospital mortality "report cards" should publish their risk-adjustment equations. Similar hospitals not in the reference database may also use the published equations along with the approximations described to evaluate their own outcomes using their own data.
H/sub /spl infin// PID controller stabilization for stable processes with time delay

The Hinfin PID controller has been analytically developed on the basis of modern Hinfin optimal control theory and it can be tuned by only one control parameter in terms of given quantitative performance and robustness. This paper considers the problem of stabilizing a stable process with time delay using the Hinfin PID controller of this kind. Making use of the extended Hermite-Biehler theorem applicable to quasi-polynomials, the stabilizing set of the Hinfin PID parameters is determined for open-loop stable plant with time delay. Simulation results not only demonstrate the validity of the obtained stabilizing set but also show that the Hinfin PID controller parameter can be tuned in a convenient manner
High frequency resonant inverter for contactless energy transmission over large air gap

The paper investigates the influence of geometrical and electrical parameters on energy transmission through air gaps of several hundred millimetres. The transferable electric power and the efficiency of magnetic assemblies with large air gaps can be considerably improved by using higher transmission frequencies in the range of several hundred kilohertz. Contactless energy transmission systems operate at resonance. With a proper choice of the resonance capacitors on the primary and secondary side, the contactless system represents an ohmic load for the primary inverter. Therefore switching events take place at zero current (ZCS) without auxiliary commutation elements, which is an important precondition for reaching higher transmission frequencies. For this application a special inverter was developed. The phase-shifted controlled bridge at the primary side is equipped with IGBT and freewheeling SiC Schottky diodes. Because of their ultra low reverse recovery charge, the operation behaviour is much better compared to fast Si diodes. The different switching events of the inverter with freewheeling SiC Schottky diodes are investigated in detail. An experimental arrangement transfers an electric power of 1 kW through an air gap of 300 mm. At a 100 kHz transmission frequency the overall efficiency, including magnetic and power electronic components, is greater than 80%.
Adaptive predictive robust control for fuel cells hybrid vehicles

The transient behavior of a Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell System (PEMFCS) under an efficient Adaptive Predictive Control with Robust Filter (APCWRF) is analyzed. This control scheme is tested to evaluate its performance when sudden changes in the load occur. It is produced by the demands of the electric motor of a hybrid vehicle, powered by a PEMFC and a supercapacitor bank to fulfil Standard Driving Cycles. The objective of the proposed advanced strategy is to control the oxygen excess ratio in the cathode to improve the system efficiency and to ensure a safe operation for the PEM. Several results through a simulation environment are presented. They are useful for showing the potentiality of the APCWRF for the proposed exigent scenarios.
Wideband late gadolinium enhanced magnetic resonance imaging for imaging myocardial scar without image artefacts induced by implantable cardioverter-defibrillator: a feasibility study at 3 T.

AIM Late gadolinium enhanced (LGE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a useful tool for facilitating ventricular tachycardia (VT) ablation. Unfortunately, most VT ablation candidates often have prophylactic implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) and do not undergo cardiac MRI largely due to image artefacts generated by ICD. A prior study has reported success of 'wideband' LGE MRI for imaging myocardial scar without image artefacts induced by ICD at 1.5T. The purpose of this study was to widen the availability of wideband LGE MRI to 3T, since it has the potential to achieve higher spatial resolution than 1.5T. METHODS AND RESULTS We compared the performance of standard and wideband LGE MRI pulse sequences in phantoms and canines with myocardial lesions created by radiofrequency ablation. Standard LGE MRI produced image artefacts induced by ICD and 49% accuracy in detecting 97 myocardial scars examined in this study, whereas wideband LGE MRI produced artefact-free images and 94% accuracy in detecting scars. The mean image quality score (1 = nondiagnostic, 2 = poor, 3 = adequate, 4 = good, 5 = excellent) was significantly (P < 0.001) higher for wideband (3.7 ± 0.8) than for standard LGE MRI (2.1 ± 0.7). The mean artefact level score (1 = minimal, 2 = mild, 3 = moderate, 4 = severe, 5 = nondiagnostic) was significantly (P < 0.001) lower for wideband (2.1 ± 0.8) than for standard LGE MRI (4.0 ± 0.6). Wideband LGE MRI agreed better with gross pathology than standard LGE MRI. CONCLUSION This study demonstrates the feasibility of wideband LGE MRI for suppression of image artefacts induced by ICD at 3T.
Serum versus heparinized plasma for eighteen common chemistry tests: is serum the appropriate specimen?

The results of 18 chemistry tests performed on serum and heparinized plasma from 206 unselected patients admitted to Barnes Hospital are reported. In 138 cases, platelet counts, leukocyte counts, and erythrocyte counts were also determined. For 11 of the 18 tests, statistically significant differences between serum and plasma values were observed. The differences for calcium, glucose, inorganic phosphorus, potassium, and total protein were felt to be of sufficient magnitude to alter clinical interpretation in certain instances. The magnitude of differences between serum and plasma potassium correlated positively with the platelet counts and leukocyte counts but could not be predicted by these values. A relatively high correlation (r = .459) was found for differences between serum and plasma calcium and the differences between serum and plasma total protein. The use of combinations of heparin and fluoride or heparin and iodoacetate as anticoagulant-antiglycolytic agents caused inaccurate potassium results. Iodoacetate appears to be more effective than fluoride in stabilizing values for reducing sugars. The data suggest that plasma specimens are preferable to serum specimens for routine clinical chemistry analysis and are essential for accurate potassium measurement.
Practical Acquisition and Rendering of Diffraction Effects in Surface Reflectance

We propose two novel contributions for measurement-based rendering of diffraction effects in surface reflectance of planar homogeneous diffractive materials. As a general solution for commonly manufactured materials, we propose a practical data-driven rendering technique and a measurement approach to efficiently render complex diffraction effects in real time. Our measurement step simply involves photographing a planar diffractive sample illuminated with an LED flash. Here, we directly record the resultant diffraction pattern on the sample surface due to a narrow-band point source illumination. Furthermore, we propose an efficient rendering method that exploits the measurement in conjunction with the Huygens-Fresnel principle to fit relevant diffraction parameters based on a first-order approximation. Our proposed data-driven rendering method requires the precomputation of a single diffraction look-up table for accurate spectral rendering of complex diffraction effects. Second, for sharp specular samples, we propose a novel method for practical measurement of the underlying diffraction grating using out-of-focus “bokeh” photography of the specular highlight. We demonstrate how the measured bokeh can be employed as a height field to drive a diffraction shader based on a first-order approximation for efficient real-time rendering. Finally, we also drive analytic solutions for a few special cases of diffraction from our measurements and demonstrate realistic rendering results under complex light sources and environments.