Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A New, Simplified and Accurate Method for Determining Ejection Fraction with Two‐dimensional Echocardiography

A new method to determine left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (EF) with wide‐angle, twodimensional echocardiography (2‐D echo) has been developed using the parasternal long‐axis, apical fourchamber and apical long‐axis views. End‐diastolic and end‐systolic measurements of LV short axes at the base and mid‐LV cavity in the parasternal long‐axis view and at the upper, middle and lower thirds of the cavity in the apical views are made, from which an averaged minor axis at end‐diastole and at end‐systole is calculated. Fractional shortening of the LV long axis (ΔL) is estimated from apical contraction. Satisfactory 2‐D echoes were obtained in 55 of 58 nonselected patients (all three views in 32 patients, two views in 22 and one view in one); 42 of 55 patients had coronary artery disease. EF by 2‐D echo was compared with EF by gated cardiac blood pool imaging in all patients (r = 0.927, SEE = 6.7%) and to EF by single‐plane cineangiography (angio) in 35 of 55 patients (r = 0.913, SEE = 7.4%). LV dyssynergy was frequently present and involved the apex in 29 of 55 patients. Using angio as the standard for evaluating wall motion at the apex, 2‐D echo was 100% sensitive and specific in detecting abnormal apical wall motion. We condude that EF can be determined accurately with 2‐D echo in a large group of patients with and without dyssynergy by a simple method that eliminates the need for planimetry or computer assistance.
Opposite regulation of inhibitory synaptic plasticity by α and β subunits of Ca2+/calmodulin‐dependent protein kinase II

At inhibitory synapses on a cerebellar Purkinje neuron, depolarization‐caused Ca2+ increase induces long‐term potentiation (known as rebound potentiation, RP). We show that the subunit composition of a Ca2+/calmodulin‐dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) holoenzyme, consisting of α‐ and βCaMKII, is critical for RP induction. βCaMKII plays an essential role in RP induction depending on the high affinity for Ca2+/CaM but not on the F‐actin‐binding property, whereas αCaMKII negatively regulates it. βCaMKII enrichment prolongs total CaMKII activation depending on Thr286/287 autophosphorylation. α‐ and βCaMKII expression ratio might play critical roles in regulation of synaptic functions in the central nervous system.
Chapter 13 Detecting Non-reference and Non-anaphoricity

In this Chapter we discuss proposals concerning the detection of nonreferentiality and non-anaphoricity, and the integration of such methods in an anaphora resolution system. We first review in brief a number of proposals on the topics, also covering literature on detecting abstract anaphora and discussing available resources; we then discuss in detail the proposals by Bergsma on expletive detection, and by Poesio et al and Kabadjov on discourse-new detection.
ROLE OF MYELOID HUMAN CYTOMEGALOVIRUS INFECTION IN CHILDREN'S IDIOPATHIC THROMBOCYTOPENIC PURPURA

This project explores the specificity of myeloid human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection in pathogenesis of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). Eighty-one subjects with ITP were observed. HCMV early antigen and related myeloid cells in bone marrow, and platelet, HCMV IgM, and IgG in blood were tested. The results presented potent evidence that myeloid HCMV infection is a specific factor in children's ITP: patients of ITP with myeloid HCMV infection had a tendency for exacerbation, refractoriness, and chronic advance. However, HCMV did not affect the quantity of megakaryocyte, which showed the complicated relationships between HCMV and ITP.
Efficient sensor placement heuristics

The first step in the deployment of wireless sensor networks for real-life applications is sensor placement. This step is of primary importance as it not only determines the network's cost, but also affects energy consumption, network lifetime, and the quality of service provided by the network. In this paper, we tackle the sensor placement problem that is NP-hard. The goal is to optimize the number of sensors and their locations in order to fulfill end-user needs while reducing the cost of the network. To this end, we propose four heuristics that wisely exploit the structure of the problem to deliver near-optimal solutions in a reasonable time. Simulation results show that our heuristics outperform previous solutions.
Politics and Tourism Destination Development: The Evolution of Power

This study takes a temporal perspective on the analysis of politics, power, and tourism destination development. It analyzes past and contemporary consequences of the power relationships among different stakeholders. A qualitative inquiry includes semi-structured in-depth interviews with stakeholders, from local islanders to national-level politicians, complemented by secondary material. After identification of the key tourism stakeholders in the case study area, Maldives, the study details and analyzes, through consideration of contested policy formulation and implementation, why and how stakeholders have sought to gain, hold, and cede power. Accordingly, the study develops theoretical understanding that recognizes and evaluates patterns of stakeholder power dominance, subservience, and decline.
The value of plant variety protection and the impact of exemption rules

This article attempts to assess the impact of research exemption and farmers’ exemption on the incentives provided by a plant variety protection. An econometric analysis with a duration model is used to estimate the value of plant breeders’ rights in France over the period 1973-2011 for six major crops. To infer the impact of the research exemption and the farmers’ exemption, microeconomic variables are introduced in the econometric model. A highly skewed distribution of the value of plant breeders’ rights is found. The main result suggest that the farmers’ exemption has a higher negative effect on the value of plant breeders’ rights than the research exemption.
A Neural Candidate-Selector Architecture for Automatic Structured Clinical Text Annotation

We consider the task of automatically annotating free texts describing clinical trials with concepts from a controlled, structured medical vocabulary. Specifically, we aim to build a model to infer distinct sets of (ontological) concepts describing complementary clinically salient aspects of the underlying trials: the populations enrolled, the interventions administered and the outcomes measured, i.e., the PICO elements. This important practical problem poses a few key challenges. One issue is that the output space is vast, because the vocabulary comprises many unique concepts. Compounding this problem, annotated data in this domain is expensive to collect and hence sparse. Furthermore, the outputs (sets of concepts for each PICO element) are correlated: specific populations (e.g., diabetics) will render certain intervention concepts likely (insulin therapy) while effectively precluding others (radiation therapy). Such correlations should be exploited. We propose a novel neural model that addresses these challenges. We introduce a Candidate-Selector architecture in which the model considers setes of candidate concepts for PICO elements, and assesses their plausibility conditioned on the input text to be annotated. This relies on a 'candidate set' generator, which may be learned or relies on heuristics. A conditional discriminative neural model then jointly selects candidate concepts, given the input text. We compare the predictive performance of our approach to strong baselines, and show that it outperforms them. Finally, we perform a qualitative evaluation of the generated annotations by asking domain experts to assess their quality.
The differential anti‐inflammatory effects of exercise modalities and their association with early carotid atherosclerosis progression in patients with Type 2 diabetes

Adipokines, visfatin, apelin, vaspin and ghrelin have emerged as novel cardiovascular risk factors. We aimed to evaluate the effects of different exercise modalities on the aforementioned novel adipokines and carotid intima‐media thickness in patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Notational Communication with Co-creative Systems: Studying Improvements to Musical Coordination

This research examines the impact of differences in extra-musical notational communication on a musician's co-creative experience with a music improvisation system. The method involves the development of musical improvisation agent technologies that support mixed-initiative communication and the use of mixed methods for studying the musician's co-creative engagement. The expected contributions are the findings about the impact of differences in extra-musical communication on the co-creative engagement with co-improvisation systems.
Membrane Localization and Function of Vav3 in T Cells Depend on Its Association with the Adapter SLP-76*

The Vav family of guanine exchange factors plays a critical role in lymphocyte proliferation, cytoskeletal reorganization, and gene transcription upon immunoreceptor engagement. Although the role of Vav1 in T cells is well documented, the role of Vav3 is less clear. We investigated the subcellular localization of Vav3 during T cell activation. We report here that phosphorylation of Vav3 on tyrosine residue Tyr173 is not required for T cell receptor (TCR)-induced Vav3 membrane translocation or immunological synapse (IS) recruitment, but mutation of this residue enhanced TCR-induced nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) activation. However, Vav3 mutants either containing an Src homology 2 (SH2)-disabled point mutation (R697L) or lacking its SH3-SH2-SH3 domains were unable to bind SLP-76 did not translocate to the membrane or to the IS and furthermore failed to activate NFAT. Importantly, the membrane translocation of Vav3 was abrogated in Lck, ZAP-70, LAT, and SLP-76-deficient T cells, where Vav3 binding to SLP-76 was disrupted. Finally, we confirmed and underlined the critical role of Vav3 in NFAT activation by knocking down Vav3 expression in Vav1-deficient T cells. Altogether, our data show that TCR-induced association of Vav3 with SLP-76 is required for its membrane/IS localization and function.
The Relationship between Foreign Direct Investment, Trade and Economic Growth in Vietnam

: Trade balance improvement and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) encouragement to promote economic growth are the most crucial issues which the Vietnam government has paid much attention. The empirical analysis of relationships between FDI, trade and economic growth of Vietnam should be firstly done. Time-series data from 1990 to 2015 in Vietnam, and Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) are used to analyze the relationships both in the short and long term between FDI and , trade and economic growth. The results show that survival in the long-term relationship between FDI, trade and economic growth in Vietnam. In addition, a causal relationship is existed between FDI and economic growth in Vietnam. At the same time, in the short term, FDI also impacts the economic growth of Vietnam.
Direct liquid thermal management of 3D chip stacks

Chip stacks are a crucial building block in advanced 3D microsystem architectures and can accommodate shorter interconnect distances between devices, reduced power dissipation, and improved electrical performance. Although enhanced conduction can serve to transfer the dissipated heat to the top and sides of the package and/or down to the underlying PCB, effective thermal management of stacked chips remains a most difficult challenge. Immersion cooling techniques, which provide convective and/or ebullient heat transfer, along with buoyant fluid flow, in the narrow gaps separating adjacent chips, are a most promising alternative to conduction cooling of three-dimensional chip stacks. Application of the available theories, correlations, and experimental data are shown to reveal that passive immersion cooling-relying on natural convection and/or pool boiling — could provide the requisite thermal management capability for 3D chip stacks anticipated for use in much of the portable equipment category. Alternatively, pumped flow of dielectric liquids through the microgaps in 3D stacks, providing single phase and/or flow boiling heat absorption, could meet many of the most extreme thermal management requirements for highperformance 3D microsystems. Use of deionized water is shown to provide an order of magnitude improvement in heat dissipation relative to the available dielectric fluids.
Osteopontin predicts survival in critically ill patients with acute kidney injury.

BACKGROUND The cytokine osteopontin is involved in the pathophysiology of experimental acute kidney injury. We have tested the hypothesis that osteopontin levels might serve as a biomarker predicting outcome in critically ill patients requiring renal replacement therapy after acute kidney injury. METHODS We measured circulating plasma osteopontin levels in 109 critically ill patients with acute kidney injury at inception of renal replacement therapy and 4 weeks thereafter. Critically ill patients without acute kidney injury served as controls. Osteopontin was measured with ELISA. RESULTS Baseline osteopontin levels in patients with acute kidney injury were significantly higher compared with controls (P<0.0001). Baseline osteopontin levels in patients recovering from acute kidney injury were significantly elevated compared with patients with permanent loss of kidney function after acute kidney injury (P=0.01). In addition, in patients recovering from acute kidney injury without further need for renal replacement therapy, osteopontin levels were significantly lower 4 weeks after initiation of renal replacement therapy (P=0.0005). Moreover, multivariate Cox analysis revealed osteopontin levels at renal replacement therapy inception as an independent and powerful predictor of mortality (P<0.0001). In the ROC-curve analysis, an osteopontin cut-off value of 577 ng/mL separated survivors from non-survivors with a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 61% (AUC 0.82; 95% confidence interval: 0.74-0.89; P<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS Osteopontin may serve as a novel biomarker for both, overall survival and renal outcome in critically ill patients with acute kidney injury, that require renal replacement therapy.
Conversion of 4-Hydroxyacetophenone into 4-Phenyl Acetate by a Flavin Adenine Dinucleotide-Containing Baeyer-Villiger-Type Monooxygenase

ABSTRACT An arylketone monooxygenase was purified from Pseudomonas putida JD1 by ion exchange and affinity chromatography. It had the characteristics of a Baeyer-Villiger-type monooxygenase and converted its substrate, 4-hydroxyacetophenone, into 4-hydroxyphenyl acetate with the consumption of one molecule of oxygen and oxidation of one molecule of NADPH per molecule of substrate. The enzyme was a monomer with an Mr of about 70,000 and contained one molecule of flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD). The enzyme was specific for NADPH as the electron donor, and spectral studies showed rapid reduction of the FAD by NADPH but not by NADH. Other arylketones were substrates, including acetophenone and 4-hydroxypropiophenone, which were converted into phenyl acetate and 4-hydroxyphenyl propionate, respectively. The enzyme displayed Michaelis-Menten kinetics with apparent Kmvalues of 47 μM for 4-hydroxyacetophenone, 384 μM for acetophenone, and 23 μM for 4-hydroxypropiophenone. The apparentKm value for NADPH with 4-hydroxyacetophenone as substrate was 17.5 μM. The N-terminal sequence did not show any similarity to other proteins, but an internal sequence was very similar to part of the proposed NADPH binding site in the Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenase cyclohexanone monooxygenase from anAcinetobacter sp.
DC-Bus Voltage Regulation for a DC Distribution System With a Single-Phase Bidirectional Inverter

Unlike a dc distribution system with a three-phase inverter, the one with a single-phase inverter to regulate the dc-bus voltage will result in high voltage ripple. This paper presents dc-bus voltage regulation for a dc distribution system integrated with a single-phase bidirectional inverter. In a dc distribution system, a bidirectional inverter controls its inductor current to balance power flow and to regulate the dc-bus voltage. To reduce the line current distortion and the influence of dc-bus ripple voltage on regulation control, one line-cycle regulation approach (OLCRA) and quarter line-cycle regulation approach (QLCRA) are proposed. The OLCRA can regulate the dc-bus voltage with low ac current distortion, and the QLCRA can regulate the voltage under a fast load variation and with voltage ripple. Moreover, for enhancing the operational reliability and availability of the dc distribution system, the bidirectional inverter shifts the dc-bus voltage to different levels according to the load conditions. This shift mechanism can also reduce the possibility of entering under or over voltage protection without increasing dc-bus capacitance. In addition, the design of dc-bus capacitance for the system and the online estimation of the capacitance at the system startup and under the aging effect are proposed, which can help regulate the dc-bus voltage tightly in the long-term operation. The stability analysis of the dc-bus voltage regulation under capacitance variation is also addressed. Experimental results measured from a 5-kW system with a single-phase bidirectional inverter have verified the analysis and discussion.
Comparison of computer tomographic volumetry versus nuclear split renal function to determine residual renal function after living kidney donation

Background Living-donor kidney transplantation is an established practice. Traditionally a combination of renal scintigram and computed tomography (CT) is used to select the kidney that is to be harvested in each donor. Purpose To evaluate the ability of split renal volume (SRV) calculated from volumetric examination of CT images compared to nuclear split renal function (nSRF) derived from gamma camera scintigram to predict donor residual single kidney function after donor nephrectomy. Material and Methods This pilot study comprised a retrospective analysis of CT images and renal scintigrams from 12 subsequent live kidney donors who had at least 12 months post-donation renal function follow-up. Results nSRF derived from the renal scintigram, expressed as the right kidney’s function in percent of the total, was 50.2 ± 3.3 (range, 44.1–54.0%) and SRV estimated following analysis of CT imaging was 49.0 ± 2.9 (range, 46.4–52.3%). Although the correlation between nSRF and SRV was moderate (R = 0.46), there was 92% agreement on the dominant kidney if a difference of <2% in nSRF versus SRV was considered. Post-donation glomerular filtration rate (GFR) by CKD-EPI formula was 92 ± 10 mL/min/1.73m2 at 1 year and the correlation between estimated GFR (eGFR) at 1 year and extrapolated single kidney eGFR adjusted by nSRF (R2 = 0.69, P = 0.0007) or SRV (R2 = 0.74, P = 0.0003) was similar. Conclusion Calculation of SRV from pre-donation CT examination is a valid method to estimate nSRF with good concordance with nSRF determined by renal scintigram and could replace the latter in the assessment of potential kidney donors.
A DDH-based group key agreement protocol for mobile environment

In recent times, the popularity of group oriented applications such as electronic conferences and collaboration works has increased manifold. Thus, secure group communication has become one important research issue for network security. For secure group communication, the first and important step is to design a group key establishment protocol. A group key is a common secret key which can be used to achieve confidentiality and authentication services for different group applications. The focus of the current work is on the design of secure group key agreement protocols suitable for such mobile environment where a node with high computational ability is connected to a number of (mobile) nodes with low computational efficiency. The contribution of this work is to provide a truly contributory group key agreement protocol with dynamic user join and leave facility. The security of the protocol is based on decisional Diffie-Hellman (DDH) assumption.
Socioeconomic status as a moderator of ADHD treatment outcomes.

OBJECTIVE To explore whether socioeconomic status (SES) variables moderate treatment response of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to medication management (MedMgt), behavioral treatment (Beh), combined intervention (Comb), and routine community care (CC). METHOD The MTA Cooperative Group's intent-to-treat (ITT) analyses were repeated, covarying for composite Hollingshead SES, education, occupation, income, and marital status. RESULTS Individual SES variables were more informative than the composite Hollingshead Index. Treatment response of children from less educated households paralleled ITT outcomes: no significant difference was found between Comb and MedMgt (both better than Beh and CC) for core ADHD symptoms. However, children from more educated families showed superior reduction of ADHD symptoms with Comb. For oppositional-aggressive symptoms, children from blue-collar, lower SES households benefited most from Comb, whereas those from white-collar, higher SES homes generally showed no differential treatment response. Household income and marital status failed to influence outcomes. Controlling for treatment attendance attenuated the moderating effects of the SES variables only for MedMgt. CONCLUSIONS Investigators are encouraged to use independent SES variables for maximal explanation of SES effects. Clinicians should prioritize target symptoms and consider the mediating role of treatment adherence when determining an ADHD patient's optimal intervention plan.
Effect of glycerol concentration , Equex STM ® supplementation and liquid storage prior to freezing on the motility and acrosome integrity of frozen-thawed epididymal alpaca ( Vicugna pacos ) sperm

Two experiments were conducted to determine the effects of glycerol concentration and Equex STM® paste on the post-thaw otility and acrosome integrity of epididymal alpaca sperm. In Experiment 1, epididymal sperm were harvested from male alpacas, iluted, and cooled to 4 °C in a Lactose cooling extender, and pellet-frozen in a Lactose cryodiluent containing final glycerol oncentrations of 2, 3, or 4%. In Experiment 2, epididymal sperm were diluted in Biladyl®, cooled to 4 °C, stored at that temperature or 18–24 h, and further diluted with Biladyl® without or with Equex STM® paste (final concentration 1% v:v) before pellet freezing. n Experiment 1, sperm motility was not affected by glycerol concentration immediately (2%: 16.1 4.6%; 3%: 20.5 5.9% and 4%: 8.5 6.6%; P 0.05) or 3h post thaw ( 5% for all groups; P 0.05). Post-thaw acrosome integrity was similar for sperm frozen n 2% (83.6 1.6%), 3% (81.3 2.0%) and 4% glycerol (84.8 2.0%; P 0.05) but was higher 3h post-thaw for sperm frozen in % (75.7 3.8%) and 4% (77.2 4.1%) than 2% glycerol (66.9 2.7%; P 0.05). In Experiment 2, sperm motility was higher mmediately after thawing for sperm frozen in the presence of Equex STM® (Equex®: 21.5 3.5%; control: 14.4 2.1%; P 0.05) ut was similar at 3h post-thaw (P 0.05). Acrosome integrity was similar for sperm frozen with or without Equex STM® paste mmediately (control: 89.6 1.2%; Equex®: 91.1 1.4%; P 0.05) and 3 h post-thaw (control: 69.3 3.7%; Equex®: 59.9 5.8%; 0.05). Sperm cryopreserved in medium containing 3–4% glycerol and 1% Equex STM® retained the best motility and acrosome ntegrity, even after liquid storage for 18–24 h at 4 °C prior to cryopreservation. 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.