Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The bad ventricle--revascularization versus transplantation.

BACKGROUND The proportion of patients with left-ventricular dysfunction (LVD) undergoing high risk revascularization is increasing. In this patient group, the perioperative risk is elevated because of the pre-existing pathophysiology. Detailed evaluation and interdisciplinary differential therapeutic considerations on the basis of the comparative benefit rationale, with cardiac transplantation alternative, is mandatory. METHODS Among 7275 patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting between 1990 and 1998 in our institution, we found 51 patients who had had an ejection fraction <20%, and thus were candidates for transplantation (group CABG); these were compared with 163 patients who were listed for cardiac transplantation because of ischemic cardiomyopathy (group HTX). The survival analysis was performed on the basis of the intention-to-treat principle independent of subsequent transplantation. RESULTS Both groups were comparable with regard to left-ventricular ejection fraction; pulmonary capillary wedge pressure and serum creatinine, but patients in the CAGB group were older (63+/-11 vs 56+/-8; p = 0.001) and included a higher percentage of women (m/f: 42/9 vs 152/11; p = 0.03). Nevertheless, there was a similar 1-year survival in both groups (group BP 71.9% vs group HTX 66.3%; p = ns). Looking at the CABG group, the internal thoracic artery was used in 36/51 patients, an intra-aortic balloon pump was used preoperatively in 26 patients, and intraoperatively in 6. Left-ventricular assist devices had to be inserted in three patients, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation once. Perioperative (30 day) survival was 88.2 %. An elevated preoperative serum creatinine and the nonusage of the internal thoracic artery predicted an adverse outcome. In the long-term course, the NYHA functional class improved in most cases from III preoperatively to I after 26 (2-66) months. CONCLUSION We conclude that patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy, viable myocardium, and graftable vessels can be revascularized with acceptable risk. Since for these patients a standby of mechanical circulatory support must be anticipated perioperatively, this infrastructure should be established within the center.
A LiDAR based end to end controller for robot navigation using deep neural network

Navigation is a primary task for mobile robot to accomplish its tasks. Conventionally, these navigation methods require lots of parameters to be tuned artificially. In this paper, we propose a navigation method to learn the end-to-end control policy using convolution neural network, which directly outputs the velocity and angular rates using only the current observation and the target. Besides, a sliding window of past information is incorporated to add the memory to the controller, so that the hesitation is reduced when ambiguity occurs. To train the model, the data is generated from expert planner in the simulation environment, leading to a low cost for massive data. To validate the trained end-to-end controller, we compare our method with the expert global planner both in the training map and complex map in the simulation environment.
DGS-SMS Compact Fifth Order Low Pass Filter

This paper presents a slow-wave microstrip transmission lines based on a double-layer PCB substrate. The slow wave effect is obtained by inserting metallic via rows within the lower substrate layer. Based on this concept, miniaturized high rejection 5'h order low pass stepped impedance filters with a cut-off frequency of 2.45 GHz are designed, fabricated and measured. Measurement results are in good agreement with simulations. Thanks to the slow-wave transmission lines, the size of the realized filters is reduced by 54% as compared to a classical filter prototype.
“Oil above Water”

We explore economic incentives for third parties to intervene in ongoing internal wars. We develop a three-party model of the decision to intervene in conflict that highlights the role of the economic benefits accruing from the intervention and the potential costs. We present novel empirical results on the role of oil in motivating third-party military intervention. We find that the likelihood of a third-party intervention increases when (a) the country at war has large reserves of oil, (b) the relative competition in the sector is limited, and (c) the potential intervener has a higher demand for oil.
Immunopathogenesis and therapeutic approaches in pediatric celiac disease

ABSTRACT Celiac Disease is an autoimmune enteropathy with increasing incidence worldwide in both adults and children. It occurs as an inflammatory condition with destruction of the normal architecture of villi on consumption of gluten and related protein products found in wheat, barley and rye. However, the exact pathogenesis is not yet fully understood. A gluten-free diet remains the main modality of therapy to date. While some patients continue to have symptoms even on a gluten-free diet, adherence to this diet is also difficult, especially for the children. Hence, there is continued interest in novel methods of therapy and the current research focus is on the promising novel non-dietary modalities of treatment. Here, we critically reviewed the existing literature regarding the pathogenesis of celiac disease in children including the role of in-utero exposure leading to neonatal and infant sensitization and its application for the development of new therapeutic approaches for these patients.
Relaxation labeling processes for protein secondary structure prediction

The prediction of protein secondary structure is a classical problem in bioinformatics, and in the past few years several machine learning techniques have been proposed to attack it. From an abstract pattern recognition viewpoint, the problem can be formulated as a (continuous) consistent labeling problem, whereby one has to assign symbolic labels to a set of objects by taking into account potential constraints between nearby objects. Motivated by this observation, in this paper we propose a new approach to the problem based on (optimally trained) relaxation labeling algorithms, a well-known class of iterative procedures that aim at reducing labeling ambiguities and achieving global consistency through a parallel exploitation of local information. Preliminary experiments performed on standard benchmark data confirm the effectiveness of the approach as compared to standard state-of-the-art machine learning predictors.
Testing HER2 in Breast Cancer: A Comparative Study on BRISH, FISH, and IHC

&NA;New brightfield in-situ hybridization (BRISH) methods based on the cohybridization of probes to the HER2 gene and chromosome 17 centromere have been developed and provide a promising alternative to fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH). The aim of this correlation study was to test HER2 status in primary breast carcinomas with 2 BRISH methods, FISH, and 2 immunohistochemical assays using tissue microarray technology. Materials and MethodsTissue cores (1.5 mm) were collected from 218 consecutive, archival formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded primary breast carcinomas into 4 duplicate tissue microarrays. Tumor tissue samples from 201 patients were successfully prepared in all 5 investigated methods comprising DuoCISH (Dako), Dual ISH (Ventana), HER-2 pharmDxFISH (Dako), HercepTest (Dako), and PATHWAY (4B5; Ventana). ResultsIn this study the overall agreement between Dual ISH and FISH was 98.5% with a specificity of 99% and a sensitivity of 96%. DuoCISH had an equivalent high-positive agreement with FISH (sensitivity of 96%), but a lower specificity of 93% and an overall agreement of 93% with FISH. The overall agreement between the 2 immunohistochemical methods and FISH was almost perfect (Dako HercepTest 97% and Ventana PATHWAY (4B5) 98%). With regard to specificity the 2 methods performed equally (99.4%). ConclusionsBRISH methods provide an alternative to FISH in evaluating HER2/CEN17 ratio in primary breast carcinomas. Dual ISH showed an almost perfect agreement with FISH and is a fast track method realistic to perform on all breast carcinomas. BRISH provide a permanent result that makes the method eligible for use in internal and external quality assurance.
AT1 receptor antagonists: a challenge for ACE inhibitors in diabetic nephropathy

Due to its hemodynamic, metabolic and growth promoting effects, angiotensin II (AII) may play an important role in the pathogenesis of diabetic kidney disease. Consequently, decreasing the production or cellular action of AII is a rational target for therapeutic attempts aimed at slowing the progression of diabetic nephropathy. Based on their superior renoprotective performance in recent landmark studies, currently ACE inhibitors are the drugs of choice in diabetic patients with microalbuminuria or overt proteinuria. A new class of antihypertensive medications, the AT1 receptor antagonists may represent an alternative to ACE inhibitors in the treatment of diabetic nephropathy. They provide a more complete blockade of the renal renin‐angiotensin system and are generally better tolerated than ACE inhibitors. On the other hand, AT1 receptor antagonists do not increase bradykinin levels, an effect that may contribute to the high level of renoprotection achieved by ACE inhibitors. Although human data are not available at this point, ACE inhibitors and AT1 receptor antagonists have similar beneficial effects on proteinuria, renal hypertrophy and glomerulosclerosis in animal models of diabetic kidney disease. Currently several prospective studies are being conducted to compare the efficacy of ACE inhibitors and AT1 receptor antagonists in the treatment of human diabetic nephropathy. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Morphological Changes and Expression of Cytokine After Local Endometrial Injury in a Mouse Model

Objective: To establish a mouse model for endometrial injury and determine the underlying mechanism regarding its favorable effect on embryo implantation. Study Design: Female Kunming mice were randomly allocated into 4 groups: group I, normal control; group II, injury procedure control; and group III and group IV, the mice being scratched with a blunt syringe on the right uterine horn or both, respectively. All the mice were mated with the males during the next estrus phase. The number of implanted embryos on each side of uterus was calculated on day 8 of pregnancy. The endometrial samples were taken on day 4 of pregnancy, and the local morphological changes and cytokine expressions were examined. Results: Compared to group II, our results showed that in group IV (1) there were significantly higher numbers of implanted embryos, (2) the endometrial glands and vasculatures in stroma were obviously increased and the pinopodes were abundant and well developed, and (3) the local levels of cytokines leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) and oncostatin M (OSM) messenger RNA and protein expression were significantly increased. Conclusions: Local mechanical injury on mouse uteri enhanced endometrial receptivity and improved embryo implantation, which were correlated with the characteristic changes in endometrial morphology and the upregulation of LIF and OSM gene and protein expression.
Dynamics of Elliptical Galaxies

Elliptical galaxies were once thought to be similar in their structure and dynamics to rotationally flattened bodies like stars. The discovery that elliptical galaxies rotate much more slowly than a fluid body with the same shape has led to a qualitative change in our understanding of the dynamics of these systems. It is now believed that elliptical galaxies are fully triaxial in shape. Self-consistent triaxial equilibria have been constructed and appear to be long-lived; they are made possible by the existence of conserved quantities, or integrals of motion, for galactic potentials without rotational symmetry. Many self-consistent equilibria are unstable; the nonexistence of elliptical galaxies with axis ratios more extreme than 3:1 is probably the result of such an instability. There is evidence for strong central mass concentrations, perhaps massive black holes, at the centers of some nearby galaxies. Recent observations suggest that many elliptical galaxies formed through the merger of two or more spiral galaxies.
Specific activation of the glucocorticoid receptor and modulation of signal transduction pathways in human lens epithelial cells.

PURPOSE Prolonged use of glucocorticoids (GCs) can lead to cataract formation. Lens GC responses have been difficult to elucidate. A previous study showed the presence of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) in immortalized and primary human lens epithelial cells (hLECs) and GC-induced changes in gene expression. This study demonstrates specific GR activation and identifies the biological effect of GC-induced changes in gene expression in hLECs. METHODS HLE B-3 (B-3) and primary cultures of hLECs were transfected with pGRE.Luc and treated with or without dexamethasone (Dex), RU-486, spironolactone, or vehicle. mRNA and protein expression were examined by real-time PCR and Western blot analysis, respectively. Cell proliferation and apoptosis were examined by WST-1 and flow cytometry, respectively. RESULTS Dex treatment of B-3 and primary cultures demonstrated specific GR, but not mineralocorticoid receptor (MR), activation and phosphorylation. Pathway analysis revealed GC-induced changes in expression of MAPK regulators. Increased expression of GILZ mRNA and MKP-1 mRNA and protein was observed in immortalized and donor hLECs. This corresponded with a decrease in the phosphorylated forms of RAF, ERK, p38, and AKT, but not in JNK. No net change in LEC proliferation or apoptosis was observed with Dex treatment. CONCLUSIONS GC treatment of hLECs activates the GR to modulate the expression of MAPK and PI3K/AKT regulators. This is the first demonstration of GC signaling in hLECs. GCs, MAPK, and PI3K/AKT are involved in cell processes implicated in steroid-induced cataractogenesis. The absence of a net change in cell activity with acute steroid treatment is consistent with the possibility that chronic treatment leads to prolonged modulation of these pathways and steroid-induced cataract.
Effects of trait anxiety and situational stress on attentional shifting are buffered by working memory capacity

Background and Objectives: Attentional Control Theory (ACT) predicts that trait anxiety and situation stress combine to reduce performance efficiency on tasks requiring rapid shifts in attention. Recent evidence has also suggested that working memory capacity (WMC) might moderate this relationship. We controlled for methodological difficulties in the existing literature to investigate the relationships between trait anxiety, situational stress, and WMC on attentional shifting. Design and Method: Seventy undergraduate students participated in the study. Trait anxiety was operationalized using questionnaire scores, situational stress was manipulated through a pressured counting task, and WMC was based on performance on the Automated Operation Span Task (AOSPAN). The shifting task involved a modified version of the Sternberg paradigm as the primary task and an oddball tone-discrimination task as the secondary task. Dependent variables were performance effectiveness (accuracy) and processing efficiency (accuracy divided by response time) on the secondary task. Results: There was no effect of anxiety, stress, or WMC in predicting performance effectiveness; however, a significant three-way interaction on processing efficiency was observed. At higher WMC, anxiety and situational stress were not associated with processing efficiency. Conversely, at lower WMC, higher trait anxiety was associated with poorer efficiency but only for those who reported higher situational stress; for those who reported lower situational stress higher trait anxiety predicted facilitated efficiency. Conclusions: Results are interpreted with respect to ACT and directions for future research are discussed.
IMF conditionality and development policy space, 1985–2014

ABSTRACT In recent years, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has re-emerged as a central actor in global economic governance. Its rhetoric and policies suggest that the organization has radically changed the ways in which it offers financial assistance to countries in economic trouble. We revisit two long-standing controversies: Has the policy content of IMF programmes evolved to allow for more policy space? Do these programmes now allow for the protection of labour and social policies? We collected relevant archival material on the IMF's lending operations and identified all policy conditionality in IMF loan agreements between 1985 and 2014, extracting 55,465 individual conditions across 131 countries in total. We find little evidence of a fundamental transformation of IMF conditionality. The organization's post-2008 programmes reincorporated many of the mandated reforms that the organization claims to no longer advocate and the number of conditions has been increasing. We also find that policies introduced to ameliorate the social consequences of IMF macroeconomic advice have been inadequately incorporated into programme design. Drawing on this evidence, we argue that multiple layers of rhetoric and ceremonial reforms have been designed to obscure the actual practice of adjustment programmes, revealing an escalating commitment to hypocrisy.
Rapid Detection of Human Fecal Eubacterium Species and Related Genera by Nested PCR Method

PCR procedures based on 16S rDNA gene sequence specific for seven Eubacterium spp. and Eggerthella lenta that predominate in the human intestinal tract were developed, and used for direct detection of these species in seven human feces samples. Three species of Eggerthella lenta, Eubacterium rectale, and Eubacterium eligens were detected from seven fecal samples. Eubacterium biforme was detected from six samples. It was reported that E. rectale, E. eligens, and E. biforme were difficult to detect by traditional culture method, but the nested PCR method is available for the detection of these species. This result shows that the nested PCR method utilizing a universal primer pair, followed by amplification with species‐specific primers, would allow rapid detection of Eubacterium species in human feces.
Simulating the structure and dynamics of human hair: Modelling, rendering and animation

We develop and present a new approach to modelling the characteristics of human hair, considering not only its structure, but also the control of its motion and a technique for rendering it in a realistic form. The approach includes a system for interactively defining the global positioning of the strands of hair on the head. Special attention is paid to the self shadowing of the hair. A mass/spring/hinge system is used to control a single strand's position and orientation. We demonstrate that this approach results in a believable rendition of the hair and its dynamics.
Acid-Sensing Ion Channels Contribute to the Effect of Acidosis on the Function of Dendritic Cells

As an H+-gated subgroup of the degenerin/epithelial Na+ channel family, acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs) were reported to be involved in various physiological and pathological processes in neurons. However, little is known about the role of ASICs in the function of dendritic cells (DCs). In this study, we investigated the expression of ASICs in mouse bone marrow-derived DCs and their possible role in the function of DCs. We found that ASIC1, ASIC2, and ASIC3 are expressed in DCs at the mRNA and protein levels, and extracellular acid can evoke ASIC-like currents in DCs. We also demonstrated that acidosis upregulated the expression of CD11c, MHC class II, CD80, and CD86 and enhanced the Ag-presenting ability of DCs via ASICs. Moreover, the effect of acidosis on DCs can be abolished by the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs ibuprofen and diclofenac. These results suggest that ASICs are involved in the acidosis-mediated effect on DC function.
Fast wavelet-based pansharpening of multi-spectral images

Remote Sensing systems enhance the spatial quality of low-resolution Multi-Spectral (MS) images using information from Pan-chromatic (PAN) images under the pansharpening framework. Most decimated multi-resolution pansharpening approaches upsample the low-resolution MS image to match the resolution of the PAN image. Consequently, a multi-level wavelet decomposition is performed, where the edge information from the PAN image is injected in the MS image. In this paper, the authors propose a pansharpening framework that eliminates the need of upsampling of the MS image, using a B-Spline biorthogonal wavelet decomposition scheme. The proposed method features similar performance to the state-of-the-art pansharpening methods without the extra computational cost induced by upsampling.
Child Feeding Practices in Families of Working and Nonworking Mothers of Indonesian Middle Class Urban Families: What Are the Problems?

This study aims to explore the feeding practices in families of working and nonworking mothers with children (aged 12–36 months) of different nutritional status and types of domestic caregiver in Indonesian urban middle class families. It was designed as a qualitative multiple case study. Mothers and caregivers from 26 families were interviewed in depth, and caregivers were categorized as family and domestic-paid caregivers. The result suggested that offering formula milk to young children was a common practice, and there was a high recognition and familiarity toward a range of formula milk brands. Mothers reported challenges in encouraging their children to eat, and in some cases they appeared to lack knowledge on overcoming their child's feeding problem. The findings suggested the need to address the child feeding problems experienced by mothers in order to overcome the double burden of child nutrition in Indonesia.
Collaborative data collection with hybrid vehicular crowd sensing in smart cities

Vehicular crowd sensing (VCS) is an emerging data collection paradigm in smart cities, where vehicles are incentivized to perform complex urban sensing tasks. Original VCS is difficult in supporting large-scale and fine-grained urban data collection. In this paper, we propose a hybrid VCS paradigm, where VCS network and wireless sensor network (WSN) cooperate to provide urban data collection service and gain rewards responding. The cooperation of VCS network and WSN can significantly expand the sensing range and improve the sensing quality as well. In this hybrid paradigm, data center, VCS network, and WSN all aim to maximize their revenues, individually. We utilize the methodology of Stackelberg game to design an optimal collaborative strategy based on a three-party model, where both VCS network and WSN act as the leaders while the data center acts as the follower. We theoretically prove that the three-party game can converge to a unique Nash equilibrium. At the Nash equilibrium, three players choose their best response to obtain their maximum revenues, respectively. The simulation results validate the effectiveness of the optimal collaborative strategy.