Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Course of vascular access and relationship with treatment of anemia.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Maintenance of the vascular access is a crucial factor in hemodialysis, but large studies of factors that are predictive of thrombosis are lacking. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS This prospective, multicenter study investigated a cohort to describe the management of vascular access and establish the influence of anemia as a risk factor. The cohort included 1710 patients (aged 64.4 yr; 60% men) who were followed every 3 mo at 119 centers during 12 mo. On inclusion, 9.6% had a catheter, 80.3% had a native arteriovenous fistula, and 10.1% had a polytetrafluoroethylene graft. RESULTS Low baseline hemoglobin increased the risk for vascular access events. The risk was higher with a polytetrafluoroethylene graft and a catheter versus arteriovenous fistula. The multivariate model included type of vascular access, previous cardiovascular events, and noncorrected anemia. The likelihood of remaining free of vascular access events 12 mo later was 0.727 (baseline hemoglobin <10.0 g/dl), 0.801 (10.01 to 11.0 g/dl), 0.814 (11.01 to 12.0 g/dl), and 0.833 (>12.0 g/dl), figures similar to those obtained with hemoglobin from the trimester before the event. The Cox model included type of vascular access. CONCLUSIONS Correcting anemia did not increase the risk for vascular access-related events, and anemia that was resistant to treatment identified a subgroup of patients with higher comorbidity and higher likelihood of a vascular access event.
On the Design and Prototype Implementation of a Multimodal Situation Aware System

In this paper we describe the design concepts and prototype implementation of a situation aware ubiquitous computing system using multiple modalities such as National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) data from Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers, text, speech, environmental audio, and handwriting inputs. While most mobile and communication devices know where and who they are, by accessing context information primarily in the form of location, time stamps, and user identity, the concept of sharing of this information in a reliable and intelligent fashion is crucial in many scenarios. A framework which takes the concept of context aware computing to the level of situation aware computing by intelligent information exchange between context aware devices is designed and implemented in this work. Four sensual modes of contextual information like text, speech, environmental audio, and handwriting are augmented to conventional contextual information sources like location from GPS, user identity based on IP addresses (IPA), and time stamps. Each device derives its context not necessarily using the same criteria or parameters but by employing selective fusion and fission of multiple modalities. The processing of each individual modality takes place at the client device followed by the summarization of context as a text file. Exchange of dynamic context information between devices is enabled in real time to create multimodal situation aware devices. A central repository of all user context profiles is also created to enable self-learning devices in the future. Based on the results of simulated situations and real field deployments it is shown that the use of multiple modalities like speech, environmental audio, and handwriting inputs along with conventional modalities can create devices with enhanced situational awareness.
Effect of high-dose vitamin A supplementation on the immune response to Bacille Calmette-Guérin vaccine 1 4

Background: Vitamin A supplementation (VAS) at birth has been associated with decreased mortality in Asia. Bacille CalmetteGuérin (BCG) vaccine is given at birth in tuberculosis-endemic countries. Previous studies suggest that VAS may influence the immune response to vaccines. Objective: Our objective was to examine whether VAS influences the immune response to simultaneously administered BCG vaccine. Design: Within a randomized trial of 50 000 IU vitamin A or placebo given with BCG vaccine at birth in Guinea-Bissau, 2710 infants were examined for BCG scar formation and delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) to purified protein derivative of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (PPD) at 2 and 6 mo of age. The ex vivo cytokine response to PPD was measured in 607 infants. Results: At 2 mo of age, 39% (43% of the boys and 34% of the girls) responded to PPD. The prevalence ratio of a measurable PPD reaction for VAS compared with placebo recipients was 0.90 (95% CI: 0.80, 1.02) for all infants, 0.81 (95% CI: 0.69, 0.95) for boys, and 1.04 (95% CI: 0.86, 1.26) for girls. At 6 mo of age, 42% of the infants responded to PPD. No difference was observed between VAS and placebo recipients. The prevalence of BCG scar was not affected by VAS. The ex vivo interferonresponse to PPD was increased by VAS (means ratio: 1.40; 95% CI: 1.03, 1.91). Conclusions: VAS with BCG vaccination does not appear to interfere with the long-term immune response to BCG. However, VAS temporarily altered the DTH reaction to PPD in boys at 2 mo of age, suggesting sex differences in the immunologic response to VAS given with BCG. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials. gov as #NCT00168597. Am J Clin Nutr 2007;86:1152–9.
Meaningful stones: Obsidian stemmed tools from Barema, New Britain, Papua New Guinea

Abstract The technology, typology, context and probable mid-Holocene date of a newly discovered group of exceptional obsidian stemmed tools at Barema, New Britain, Papua New Guinea, opens a rare window on social life and ideology during a poorly known period in Melanesia. We argue that, because of their size, fragility and the skill required for their manufacture, these artefacts were valuables, conferring status on their owners. Their deliberately constructed silhouette of a phallus implies that stemmed tools played a meaningful role in social and/or ritual practices.
Role of Sphingosine Kinase 2 in Cell Migration toward Epidermal Growth Factor*

Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P), produced by two sphingosine kinase isoenzymes, denoted SphK1 and SphK2, is the ligand for a family of five specific G protein-coupled receptors that regulate cytoskeletal rearrangements and cell motility. Whereas many growth factors stimulate SphK1, much less is known of the regulation of SphK2. Here we report that epidermal growth factor (EGF) stimulated SphK2 in HEK 293 cells. This is the first example of an agonist-dependent regulation of SphK2. Chemotaxis of HEK 293 cells toward EGF was inhibited by N,N-dimethylsphingosine, a competitive inhibitor of both SphKs, implicating S1P generation in this process. Down-regulating expression of SphK1 in HEK 293 cells with a specific siRNA abrogated migration toward EGF, whereas decreasing SphK2 expression had no effect. EGF contributes to the invasiveness of human breast cancer cells, and EGF receptor expression is associated with poor prognosis. EGF also stimulated SphK2 in MDA-MB-453 breast cancer cells. Surprisingly, however, down-regulation of SphK2 in these cells completely eliminated migration toward EGF without affecting fibronectin-induced haptotaxis. Our results suggest that SphK2 plays an important role in migration of MDA-MB-453 cells toward EGF.
Distributed Variational Filtering for Simultaneous Sensor Localization and Target Tracking in Wireless Sensor Networks

The tracking of a moving target in a wireless sensor network (WSN) requires exact knowledge of sensor positions. However, precise information about sensor locations is not always available. Given the observation that a series of measurements are generated in the sensors when the target moves through the network field, we propose an algorithm that exploits these measurements to simultaneously localize the detecting sensors and track the target (SLAT). The main difficulties that are encountered in this problem are the ambiguity of sensor locations, the unrestricted target moving manner, and the extremely constrained resources in WSNs. Therefore, a general state evolution model is employed to describe the dynamical system with neither prior knowledge of the target moving manner nor precise location information of the sensors. The joint posterior distribution of the parameters of interest is updated online by incorporating the incomplete and inaccurate measurements between the target and each of the sensors into a Bayesian filtering framework. A variational approach is adopted in the framework to approximate the filtering distribution, thus minimizing the intercluster communication and the error propagation. By executing the algorithm on a fully distributed cluster scheme, energy and bandwidth consumption in the network are dramatically reduced, compared with a centralized approach. Experiments on an SLAT problem validate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm in terms of tracking accuracy, localization precision, energy consumption, and execution time.
Data and web management research at Politecnico di Milano

Research in data management at Politecnico di Milano has a long and solid tradition; forefront books on distributed databases, conceptual database design, logical databases, and active databases contributed to shape the foundations of this discipline in the last two decades. Historically, our work has addressed both all aspects of innovation in the technology of modern data management systems and the consequent support of design methods and tools.
Strings and D-branes in a supersymmetric magnetic flux background

We investigate how the presence of RR magnetic Fp+2 fluxes affects the energy of classical Dp branes, for specific string theory supersymmetric backgrounds which are solutions to the leading order in α' including back-reaction effects. The Dp brane dynamics is found to be similar to the well known dynamics of particles and strings moving in magnetic fields. We find a class of BPS solutions which generalize the BPS fundamental strings or BPS branes with momentum and winding to the case of non-zero magnetic fields. Remarkably, the interaction with the magnetic fields does not spoil the supersymmetry of the solution, which turns out to be invariant under four supersymmetry transformations. We find that magnetic fields can significantly reduce the energy of some BPS strings and Dp branes, in particular, some macroscopic Dp branes become light for sufficiently large magnetic fields.
[The evaluation of the influence of growth hormone therapy on growing process and metabolic functions in patients after treatment of craniopharyngioma].

INTRODUCTION Craniopharyngioma (CP) is a tumor, which damages pituitary function because of its localization. Panhypopituitarism (PHP) and excessive weight gain with lipid dysfunction are frequently observed. The growth hormone therapy (rGH) profits in the increase of growth rate and also may have metabolic effects like body weight reduction. AIM OF THE STUDY The evaluation of benefits from rGH therapy in patients cured from CP. MATERIAL AND METHODS 12 patients (7 boys and 5 girls) treated for CP with surgery; 3 of them also underwent radiotherapy. The mean age at examination time was 11.7 yrs; remission time 2.96 yrs; rGH therapy started on average 3.69 yrs after the surgery. Height (hSDS), weight, BMI were measured after the surgery, before and after 1 yr of rGH treatment. Height velocity (HV) was evaluated before and after 1 yr of rGH therapy. Pituitary GH-function was assessed. In addition, measurements of TSH, ACTH, LH, FSH. Cholesterol, LDL, HDL, triglycerides and HbA1c were estimated before and after one year of rGH therapy. RESULTS All patients presented PHP. The GH-peak average 1.53 mIU/l; IGF-1 39.37 ng/ml; TSH 0.1 U/l; ACTH 17.48 pg/ml; LH 0.13 U/l; FSH 0.41 mIU/ml. HSDS after oncological treatment (OT) average -1.66 SD and decreased significantly until rGH therapy; weight after OT average 28.45 kg and until rGH therapy increased significantly; BMI after OT average 19.26 and increased significantly until rGH therapy as well. HV was on average 3.34 cm/yr until rGH started. After one year of rGH therapy hSDS and HV increased significantly; they average -1.65SD and 10.21 cm/yr respectively. BMI, HbA1c and LDL decreased significantly. During rGH therapy neither tumor recurrence nor severe side effects were observed. CONCLUSIONS rGH therapy of patients cured from CP influences profitably not only growth rate, but also BMI reduction and the decrease in cholesterol LDL and HbA1c.
Centrifugal and biochemical comparison of proteoglycan aggregates from articular cartilage in experimental joint disuse and joint instability

Two models involving altered joint loading were compared with regard to their effects on the biochemical composition and proteoglycan aggregate structure of articular cartilage. Disuse atrophy was created in greyhound dogs by nonrigid immobilization of the right knee in 90° of flexion, and joint instability was created by transection of the anterior cruciate ligament. Similarities and differences between the two experimental groups at two different time periods were examined to investigate why joint instability induces progressive and irreversible changes to the articular cartilage, whereas joint disuse induces changes that may be reversible when the joint is remobilized. The following studies were performed on the cartilage from all experimental and control groups: (a) compositional analyses to determine water, uronate, and hydroxyproline contents; (b) high performance liquid chromatography for detection of hyaluronan and chondroitin sulfates; and (c) centrifugation analyses of nondissociatively extracted and purified proteoglycans to isolate and quantify the populations of monomers and slow and fast‐sedimenting families of aggregates. In general, all cartilage was found to have a decreased ratio of proteoglycan to collagen after 4 weeks of disuse, and this ratio returned to control values at 8 weeks. In contrast, cartilage had an elevated ratio of proteoglycan to collagen as well as increased hydration at 12 weeks after transection of the anterior cruciate ligament. The most striking contrast between the two models was the finding of an approximately 80% decrease in the content of hyaluronan at both time periods after transection of the anterior cruciate ligament, with no evidence of a change after disuse. The results of centrifugation analyses indicated a significant decrease in the quantity of proteoglycan aggregates in both models. However, this decrease was associated primarily with a loss of slow‐sedimenting aggregates after disuse and a loss of both slow and fast‐sedimenting aggregates after transection of the anterior cruciate ligament. Furthermore, the population of fast‐sedimenting aggregates. The preservation of fast‐sedimenting aggregates as well as hyaluronan after periods of joint disuse but not joint instability suggests a possible mechanism for the reversibility of cartilage changes. Although the proteoglycan aggregates were depleted after disuse atrophy, it is possible that an aggregate‐depleted matrix could recover when normal proteoglycan synthesis is resumed. In contrast, although synthesis may be maintained or elevated after transection of the anterior cruciate ligament, the matrix may not be repopulated with aggregates because there is an insufficient amount of hyaluronan.
Systematic review of the management of incontinence and promotion of continence in older people in care homes: descriptive studies with urinary incontinence as primary focus

Aim This is a review of descriptive studies with incontinence as the primary focus in older people in care homes. Background Incontinence is prevalent among residents of care home populations. Data sources MEDLINE and CINAHL were searched from 1996 to 2007 using the highly sensitive search strings of the Cochrane Incontinence Review Group for urinary and faecal incontinence including all research designs. Search strings were modified to enhance selectiveness for care homes and older people and exclude studies involving surgical or pharmacological interventions. Searching of reference sections from identified studies was also used to supplement electronic searches. The Cochrane Library was searched for relevant systematic reviews to locate relevant studies from those included or excluded from reviews. The search was limited to English-language publications. Methods A systematic review of studies on the management of incontinence, promotion of continence or maintenance of continence in care homes was conducted in 2007–2009. This is a report of descriptive studies. Results Ten studies were identified that reported on prevalence and incidence of incontinence (urinary with or without faecal), policies, assessment, documentation, management or economic evaluation of its management. Use of incontinence pads and toileting programmes comprised the most common management approaches used. No studies were identified that attempted to maintain continence of residents in care homes. Conclusions Studies on maintaining continence and identifying components of toileting programmes that are successful in managing or preventing incontinence and promoting continence in residents of care home populations along with their economic evaluation are warranted.
Sodium and potassium fluxes and membrane potential of human neutrophils: evidence for an electrogenic sodium pump

Sodium and potassium ion contents and fluxes of isolated resting human peripheral polymorphonuclear leukocytes were measured. In cells kept at 37 degrees C, [Na]i was 25 mM and [K]i was 120 mM; both ions were completely exchangeable with extracellular isotopes. One-way Na and K fluxes, measured with 22Na and 42K, were all approximately 0.9 meq/liter cell water . min. Ouabain had no effect on Na influx or K efflux, but inhibited 95 +/- 7% of Na efflux and 63% of K influx. Cells kept at 0 degree C gained sodium in exchange for potassium ([Na]i nearly tripled in 3 h); upon rewarming, ouabain-sensitive K influx into such cells was strongly enhanced. External K stimulated Na efflux (Km approximately 1.5 mM in 140-mM Na medium). The PNa/PK permeability ratio, estimated from ouabain insensitive fluxes, was 0.10. Valinomycin (1 microM) approximately doubled PK. Membrane potential (Vm) was estimated using the potentiometric indicator diS-C3(5); calibration was based on the assumption of constant-field behavior. External K, but not Cl, affected Vm. Ouabain caused a depolarization whose magnitude dependent on [Na]i. Sodium-depleted cells became hyperpolarized when exposed to the neutral exchange carrier monensin; this hyperpolarization was abolished by ouabain. We conclude that the sodium pump of human peripheral neutrophils is electrogenic, and that the size of the pump-induced hyperpolarization is consistent with the membrane conductance (3.7-4.0 microseconds/cm2) computed from the individual K and Na conductances.
The structure of common DSM-IV and ICD-10 mental disorders in the Australian general population

Background. Patterns of co-occurrence among the common mental disorders may provide information about underlying dimensions of psychopathology. The aim of the current study was to determine which of four models best fits the pattern of co-occurrence between 10 common DSM-IV and 11 common ICD-10 mental disorders. Method. Data were from the Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Well-Being (NSMHWB), a large-scale community epidemiological survey of mental disorders. Participants consisted of a random population-based sample of 10641 community volunteers, representing a response rate of 78%. DSM-IV and ICD-10 mental disorder diagnoses were obtained using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI), version 2.0. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to assess the relative fit of competing models. Results. A hierarchical three-factor variation of a two-factor model demonstrated the best fit to the correlations among the mental disorders. This model included a distress factor with high loadings on major depression, dysthymia, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and neurasthenia (ICD-10 only); a fear factor with high loadings on social phobia, panic disorder, agoraphobia and obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD); and an externalizing factor with high loadings on alcohol and drug dependence. The distress and fear factors were best conceptualized as subfactors of a higher order internalizing factor. Conclusions. A greater focus on underlying dimensions of distress, fear and externalization is warranted.
NFC based applications for visually impaired people - A review

Recent technological developments provide technical assistance that enables supporting people with visual disabilities in their everyday tasks and improve their quality of life. Considering that about 90% of the world visually impaired people live in developing countries, particularly in the local context, in Saudi Arabia, there is a lack of assistive tools and adapted environment supporting people with visual disabilities. To overcome this problem, a wide variety of relatively inexpensive applications adapt Near Field Communications (NFC) tagging technology in the development of assistive tools for people with visual disabilities. In this article, we will systematically review the current adaptation of NFC technology for visually disabled people and introduce NFC practical applications to help them overcome challenging tasks that they may encounter every day.
2 Methods of Detecting Aberrations in RNA-Seq and WGS datasets 2 . 1 Fusion Detection in Transcriptomic Data

Yen-Yi Lin1,†, Alex Gawronski1,†, Faraz Hach1,3,†, Sujun Li, Ibrahim Numanagić, Iman Sarrafi, Swati Mishra, Andrew McPherson, Colin Collins, Milan Radovich, Haixu Tang, and S. Cenk Sahinalp School of Computing Science, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada School of Informatics and Computing, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA Vancouver Prostate Centre, Vancouver, BC, Canada Dept. of Urologic Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada Department of Surgery, Indiana University, School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA †The authors wish it to be known that the first three authors should be regarded as joint first authors. To whom the correspondence should be addressed
The development, construct validity, and clinical utility of the Healthy Humility Inventory

The Development, Construct Validity, and Clinical Utility of the Healthy Humility Inventory. (August 2006) Alexander Edward Quiros, B.S., Texas A&M University; M.S., Texas A&M University Co-Chairs of Advisory Committee: Dr. David Rosen Dr. Les Morey Research on humility has long been handicapped by the lack of a valid and reliable measure. This research focuses on constructing and validating a measure of Healthy Humility, defined as an unexaggerated, open perception of the abilities, achievements, accomplishments, and limitations of oneself and of others – a perception that focuses primarily, but not exclusively, on the value of the non-self. Through a series of two separate studies using a total sample of 678 undergraduates, an 11-item scale scored on a 6-point Likert scale was developed. A third study using a sample of 183 undergraduates used measures of self-esteem, hope, existential meaning, depression, and anxiety to validate and explore the relationship between the Healthy Humility Inventory (HHI) and the aforementioned variables. Regression analyses supported hypothesized relationships between the HHI and measures of hope and existential meaning, and the trend of the relationship between measures of self-esteem and the HHI, though not significant, also followed along the lines of the hypothesized relationship. A hierarchical regression analysis demonstrated that the HHI explained a significant amount of variance (p<.05) on measures of depression and anxiety above and beyond that explained by self-esteem.