Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Systemic Acremonium species infection in a dog

Summary A 2-year-old female Magyar Viszla was referred with fever, lethargy, polyuria/polydipsia, and suspected systemic cryptococcosis. At presentation increased rectal temperature and enlarged lymph nodes were detected. Main laboratory abnormalities included lymphocytosis, eosinophilia, and mildly reduced urine specific gravity. Abdominal ultrasound was unremarkable. Lymph node cytology revealed mycotic infection. Acremonium species was isolated from urine as well as from a popliteal lymph node by fungal culture. Therapy with itraconazol (10 mg/kg p. o. q 12 h) was initiated based on susceptibility testing, but dosage had to be reduced by half due to adverse effects. Despite treatment, the dog developed progressive azotemia. Four months after initial presentation, the patient showed anorexia, lethargy, weight loss, diarrhea, vomitus, neurological signs, and severe azotemia and was euthanized. Acremonium species are emerging opportunistic mould fungi that can represent a potential threat for immunocompromised humans. In dogs, only two cases of systemic infection with this fungal species have been reported so far. This case highlights the fact that systemic fungal infections should be considered as a differential in cases of fever and lymphadenopathy.
Incidental frontal lobe mixed density epidermoid tumor in a patient of head injury: A rare case report

The incidence of the epidermoid tumor is approximately 0.2-1.8% of all intracranial tumors. Epidermoid tumors are typically intradural, but extra-axial in location and only rarely found within the brain substance. We are reporting the first case of incidental mixed density frontal epidermoid tumor in a patient of head injury. Difficulty in the preoperative diagnosis and uncommon presentation of the intracranial epidermoid tumor prompted us to report this case.
Population Aging, Unfunded Social Security and Economic Growth

This paper examines how population aging caused by a decline in the birth rate or a reduction in the mortality rate affects economic growth in an overlapping generations model with a general demographic structure and a sizable unfunded social security system. Through numerical simulations, we show that a decline in the birth rate has non-monotonic effects on economic growth, yielding a hump-shaped relationship between the population growth rate and the economic growth rate, whereas a reduction in the mortality rate has a monotonic positive effect on economic growth, yielding a monotonic positive relationship between the population growth rate and the economic growth rate. We also use our model to study how predicted and occurring demographic changes in Japan affect that country’s economic growth rate. We show that the growth effect of the predicted demographic changes in Japan is initially positive but it may turn out to be negative from the mid 2030s forward. This paper also examines the growth and welfare effects of a reduction in pension payments or an extension of the retirement age, and shows that the pension payment reduction policy is better than the retirement extension policy for both growth and welfare in response to population aging.
Suppression of histone deacetylation in vivo and in vitro by sodium butyrate.

In HeLa cells which have been exposed to 5 mM sodium butyrate for 21 h, the level of histone acetylation is greatly increased as compared to control cells (Riggs, M.G., Whittaker, R.G., Neumann, J.R., and Ingram, V.R. (1977) Nature 268, 462-464). Our experiments indicate that the increase in the relative amounts of multiacetylated forms of histones H4 and H3 following butyrate treatment is the result of an inhibition of histone deacetylase activity.
The prostate cancer pseudo-epidemic

Abstract Screening for prostate cancer with prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a simple blood test, is complex, controversial, intellectually challenging and ethically concerning. Sweden has contributed actively to the knowledge base for PSA screening in the last couple of years and a more informed debate is now possible. I will in this article summarize what we currently know about PSA testing. I discuss the closely related issues of the natural history of early-stage disease and the risks and benefits of radical local treatment. I propose that the mortality reduction following PSA screening is probably modest, whilst substantial harms are well documented. Furthermore, there is growing evidence that the PSA test is profoundly limited for screening purposes. I therefore concur with the growing number of health and professional agencies – notably outside the US – that advise against population screening with PSA. Through PSA screening the medical community has generated a pseudo-epidemic of over-diagnosed non-lethal prostate cancer. Molecular tools to distinguish innocent, over-diagnosed prostate cancer from lethal tumors that deserving curative treatment are necessary to improve screening test performance. To date, extensive attempts to identify molecular predictors of outcome have remained unsuccessful, and no ideal screening test is within sight.
What do they do? Competency and managing in Brazilian Olympic Sport Federations

ABSTRACT Research question: This study explores the link between management competencies of 15 presidents of Brazilian Olympic Sport Federations (OSF) from the state of Minas Gerais and how they actually manage. Overemphasizing the conceptual importance of managers’ competencies at the expense of what they actually do can lead to the creation of an illusory image of the model manager whereas in reality such a person hardly exists. Research method: A mixed research sequential transformative design was employed where two theoretical frameworks guided the study and the initial quantitative phase of the research was followed by a qualitative phase of observations and interviews. Qualitative and quantitative data were analyzed with QSR NVivo 10 and SPSS. Results and findings: Presidents of OSFs perceived themselves as facilitators, visionary leaders and innovators, who are expected to develop the organization into a more professional entity. They have been working mainly on the people and information plane of management and were less concerned with conceptual issues, instant results and specific deadlines. OSF presidents’ competencies were intended to deliver greater organizational effectiveness but this was difficult to achieve due to the lack of strategic skills and resources. Presidents’ competencies were also not necessarily doing the right things and were only partly delivering the desired results. Implications: Understanding sport managers’ competencies and how they relate to their daily activities is important not just for the purposes of staff selection and appraisal and for development and learning, but also for the constant realignment of management as a science, intuition and practical activity.
Experimental demonstration of self-localized Ultra Wideband indoor mobile robot navigation system

A self-localized Ultra-Wide-Band (UWB) system that is suitable to navigate mobile robots in indoor environments is introduced. In impulse-based UWB systems, positional accuracy is inversely proportional to the signal bandwidth. In the work, a number of anchor nodes are located at fixed positions in an indoor environment transmitting synchronized 2ns pulses with Differential Binary Phase Shift Keying (DBPSK) modulation. An UWB receiver mounted on a mobile robot utilizes Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) between pairs of synchronized transmitting anchor nodes for localization. Self-localization implies that position estimation algorithms run locally on the mobile robot. A prototype non-coherent UWB system using off-the-shelf components is implemented where signal acquisition runs on a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). Measurement results indicate sub-20cm positional accuracy with Line Of Sight (LOS) and Non-Line of Sight (NLOS) conditions relative to fixed anchor nodes in a typical indoor environment.
SUIDroid: An Efficient Hardening-Resilient Approach to Android App Clone Detection

The huge benefit of mobile application industry has attracted a large number of developers. However, application cloning is becoming a serious threat to the entire Android ecosystem, as it not only compromises the security and privacy of the app users but also robs app developers' revenue. As massive approaches have been proposed to address this issue, plagiarists also fight back through hardening their malicious code with the help of commercial packers. Previous work either not considers the hardening issue or just simply cracks the entire packed app, which may threat the security of legitimate packed app. In this paper, we propose SUIDroid, a novel app clone detection approach that can accurately detect the packed clone app without compromising the app hardening strategy. Another advantage of our detection approach is the accuracy. We propose a counting based technique to effectively filter the noisy-layout that can cause deviation. We evaluate our approach on two sets of app dataset. The experimental results on 160 packed malware samples demonstrate that SUIDroid is resilient to app hardening, and the evaluation on more than 100,000 real-world apps shows the efficiency of SUIDroid in real-world scenario.
Diffusion Patterns in Convergence among High-Technology Industries: A Co-Occurrence-Based Analysis of Newspaper Article Data

Firms in high-technology industries have faced great technological and market uncertainty and volatility in the past few decades. In order to be competitive and sustainable in this environment, firms have been pursuing technological innovation, product differentiation, vertical integration, and alliances, which eventually drive industry convergence, defined as the process of blurring boundaries between previously distinct industries. Although industry convergence has greatly affected industrial structure and the economy, little research has investigated this phenomenon, especially its diffusion patterns; thus, it is still unclear which industries are converging more rapidly or have a higher potential for convergence. This paper explores these issues by investigating industry convergence in U.S. high-technology industries, using a large set of newspaper articles from 1987 to 2012. We perform a co-occurrence-based analysis to obtain information on industry convergence and estimate its diffusion patterns using an internal-influence logistic model. We find heterogeneous diffusion patterns, depending on convergent-industry pairs and their wide dispersion. In addition, we find that the potential degree of industry convergence is significantly negatively associated with its growth rate, which indicates that a great deal of time will be required for industry convergence between high-technology industries with this high potential to achieve a high degree of convergence.
Medial temporal lobe atrophy on MRI scans and the diagnosis of Alzheimer disease

Background: Despite convenience, accessibility, and strong correlation to severity of Alzheimer disease (AD) pathology, medial temporal lobe atrophy (MTA) has not been used as a criterion in the diagnosis of prodromal and probable AD. Methods: Using a newly validated visual rating system, mean MTA scores of three bilateral medial temporal lobe structures were compared for subjects with no cognitive impairment (NCI) (n = 117), nonamnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI) (n = 46), amnestic MCI (n = 45), and probable AD (n = 53). Correlations between MTA scores and neuropsychological test scores at baseline, and predictors of change in diagnosis at 1-year follow-up were evaluated. Results: With NCI as the reference group, a mean MTA cut score of 1.33 yielded an optimal sensitivity/specificity of 85%/82% for probable AD subjects and 80%/82% for amnestic MCI subjects. MTA and Clinical Dementia Rating Sum of Boxes scores at baseline were independent and additive predictors of diagnosis at baseline, and of transition from NCI to MCI or from MCI to dementia at 1-year follow-up. Conclusion: Medial temporal lobe atrophy (MTA) scores 1) distinguish probable Alzheimer disease (AD) and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI) subjects from nonamnestic MCI and no cognitive impairment (NCI) subjects, 2) help predict diagnosis at baseline, and 3) predict transition from NCI to MCI and from MCI to probable AD. MTA scores should be used as a criterion in the clinical diagnosis of AD. AD = Alzheimer disease; ADRDA = Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association; aMCI = amnestic mild cognitive impairment; ANOVA = analysis of variance; CDRSB = Clinical Dementia Rating Sum of Boxes; ERC = entorhinal cortex; FADRC-CC = Florida Alzheimer's Disease Research Center–Clinical Core; HPC = hippocampus; HR = hazard ratio; MCI = mild cognitive impairment; MMSE = Mini-Mental State Examination; MTA = medial temporal lobe atrophy; MTL = medial temporal lobe; NACC = National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center; naMCI = nonamnestic mild cognitive impairment; NCI = no cognitive impairment; NINCDS = National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke; NS = not significant; PRC = perirhinal cortex; VRS = visual rating system.
Effect of short-term antidepressant treatment on early maladaptive schemas in patients with major depressive and panic disorder

Abstract Objective. We aimed to investigate the effect of anti-depressant treatment on early maladaptive schemas (EMSs). Methods. Eighty patients were self-referred to a psychiatric outpatient clinic and were diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD) (n = 40) and panic disorder (PD) (n = 40) according to the criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV-TR). These patients were administered the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and the Young Schema Questionnaire-Short Form (YSQ-SF) before and after a 2-month period of antidepressant treatment and were compared with 40 healthy control subjects. Results and Conclusion. Depressive mood states were more likely to activate early maladaptive schemas compared to the anxious mood states, and treating these mood states simply with anti-depressive medications led to significant improvements in the activation of these schemas. We concluded that half of the schemas might be accepted as antidepressant treatment-resistant EMSs, or, in other words, they can be viewed in part as those specific to depressive mood states.
College and Career Readiness: Access to Advanced Mathematics and Science Courses in Virginia Public High Schools

A renewed focus to produce college and career ready graduates capable of thriving in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and other career and technical education professions has made access to advanced mathematics and science courses for all students a priority in K-12 education. Previous research on achievement has indicated that Black and Latino students are underrepresented in advanced mathematics and science courses and are lagging behind their peers in academic performance. Some researchers have suggested that these disparities in participation and achievement result from unequal access to educational opportunities. This purpose of this study was to examine student access to advanced mathematics and sciences courses in Virginia public high schools as an indicator of college and career readiness. This study employed secondary data analysis of school level data from the Virginia Department of Education. Regression analyses, simple and multiple, were used to examine access to advanced mathematics (Algebra II and higher) and advanced science (Chemistry and higher) course offerings by school characteristics, including school size, economically disadvantaged percentage, the percentage of minority students, and urbanicity locale. The results of this study indicated that student access to advanced mathematics and science course offerings, excluding and including AP mathematics and science courses, as in indicator of college and career readiness, differed based upon school size, economically disadvantaged percentage, and urbanicity locale. These findings, consistent with national statistics and other research,
Statistically speaking... How long can Pope Francis expect to live

W elected pope of the Roman Catholic Church on 13 March 2013, the Argentinian priest Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, took the papal name of Francis and instantly became one of the most famous people in the world. In August 2014, Pope Francis jokingly announced that he expected to live another two or three years, and that he might even retire within this period (bit.ly/1J1JV6H). Like other populations, popes have experienced a generally increased life expectancy – but statistically, how many years can the present pope expect to live after his election? To answer this question we analysed data on the post-election survival times of popes, starting with Pope Innocent VII, whose pontificate began in 1404. We arbitrarily started at the beginning of the fifteenth century as dates of birth, election and death (or resignation) are well documented from that century onwards. The resulting data set (bit.ly/1ZSrpjt) is based on the 62 popes before Pope Francis. Note that apart from Gregory XII and Benedict XVI – who choose to resign the papacy in 1415 and 2013, respectively – all the popes analysed died in office. After an initial analysis of the data, we modelled ti, the post-election survival time of the i th pope in our data set, using a Weibull survival model – a common model for positive times to events. Our data included one observation that is censored – that is, the pope in question (Pope Francis’s predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI) is still alive. Effectively, we have a lower bound on his survival. Our model also had two centred covariates: age at election (x1i) and year of election (x2i), both of which were centred by the subtraction of the sample mean. Our model took the form:
Public sector shock in Europe: Between structural reforms and quantitative adjustment

The goal of this volume is to study this ‘public sector shock’. While budgetary reforms seek to ensure a more balanced and sound economic policy, they may generate new work inequalities among public sector employees, most particularly among women, who account for a considerable proportion of public sector employment. Cuts in education and training may also have an impact on the quality of human capital in both the public and private sectors, despite the fact that the recent crisis has shown the value of education as employees with better skills and training are more likely to maintain their jobs and incomes.
Complete Genome Sequence of a Highly Divergent Dengue Virus Type 2 Strain, Imported into Australia from Sabah, Malaysia

ABSTRACT In 2015, a female patient returning to Australia from Sabah, Malaysia, was diagnosed with a suspected sylvatic dengue virus type 2 (DENV-2) infection, becoming the second case of imported highly divergent dengue virus infection recorded in Australia. We describe here the complete genome sequencing of the DENV-2 strain isolated from this patient.
Hypoxia aggravates lipopolysaccharide‐induced lung injury

The animal model of inflammatory response induced by intratracheal application of lipopolysaccharide includes many typical features of acute lung injury or the acute respiratory distress syndrome. A number of experimental investigations have been performed to characterize the nature of this injury more effectively. In inflammatory conditions, hypoxia occurs frequently before and in parallel with pulmonary and non‐pulmonary pathological events. This current study was designed to examine the in vivo effect of hypoxia as a potentially aggravating condition in endotoxin‐induced lung injury. Lipopolysaccharide, 150 µg, was instilled intratracheally into rat lungs, and thereafter animals were exposed to either normoxia or hypoxia (10% oxygen). Lungs were collected 2, 4, 6 and 8 h later. Inflammatory response and tissue damage were evaluated by quantitative analysis of inflammatory cells and mediators, surfactant protein and vascular permeability. A significantly enhanced neutrophil recruitment was seen in lipopolysaccharide‐animals exposed to hypoxia compared to lipopolysaccharide‐animals under normoxia. This increased neutrophil accumulation was triggered by inflammatory mediators such as tumour necrosis factor‐α and macrophage inflammatory protein‐1β, secreted by alveolar macrophages. Determination of vascular permeability and surfactant protein‐B showed enhanced concentrations in lipopolysaccharide‐lungs exposed to hypoxia, which was absent in animals previously alveolar macrophage‐depleted. This study demonstrates that hypoxia aggravates lipopolysaccharide injury and therefore represents a second hit injury. The additional hypoxia‐induced inflammatory reaction seems to be predominantly localized in the respiratory compartment, underlining the compartmentalized nature of the inflammatory response.
An Empirical Model of the Decarburization Process in Stainless Steel Production

The argon-oxygen decarburization (AOD) is the refining process of stainless steel to get its final chemical composition through several stages where tons of materials are added and oxygen and inert gas are blown. We present in this paper the design of an empirical model of this process to predict critical values of the decarburization process in order to automate it and enhance the production performance of the AOD. We show that it is possible to build an empirical model, simpler than analytical parameterized models, based on Multilinear Regression or Neural Network Perceptron to predict the amount of oxygen to be blown and the temperature to be reached.
Concussion Incidence and Time Lost from Play in the NHL During the Past Ten Years

Background: The problem of concussions in professional hockey has attracted much recent attention. To evaluate the current state of this injury in the National Hockey League (NHL), we analyzed the concussion incidence and time lost from play due to concussions during the past ten NHL seasons. Methods: Data were obtained from a complete review of injury reports in two different sports media sources covering the NHL seasons 1997-98 through 2007-08. Time lost from play was measured in missed games per concussion. Results: The incidence of concussions reported in the regular season ranged from a high of 1.81/1000 athlete exposures in 1998-99 to a low of 1.04/1000 athlete exposures in 2005-06. There was a downward trend in the number of concussions reported per season during the past ten years (p=0.01). However, average time lost from play per concussion increased over the same period (p<0.0005). Forwards suffered a disproportionately high percentage of concussions (p<0.0001). Conclusions: Possibly related to injury reduction efforts, the number of concussions reported per season in the NHL has trended downward in recent years. However, the incidence of concussion remains high and the average time lost from play per concussion has increased. This may reflect increased injury severity in recent years or, alternatively, increased adherence to modern management guidelines preventing premature return to play.
Networks-on-Chips: Theory and Practice

This book addresses many challenging topics related to the NoC research area. It starts by studying 3D NoC architectures and progresses to a discussion of NoC resource allocation, processor traffic modeling, and formal verification. NoC protocols are examined at different layers of abstraction. Also, several emerging research issues in NoC are highlighted in this book, such as NoC Quality of Service (QoS), testing and verification methodologies, NoC security requirements, and real-time monitoring. The book also tackles power and energy issues in NoC-based designs, as power constraints are currently considered among the bottlenecks that limit embedding more processing elements on a single chip.