Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Value of Chromosome 9p21 Polymorphism for Prediction of Cardiovascular Mortality in Han Chinese Without Coronary Lesions

AbstractVariants at chromosome 9p21 are associated with coronary artery disease (CAD). However, the longitudinal effects of 9p21 variants on cardiovascular mortality remain controversial and may depend on whether the patient has CAD. We tested the hypothesis that the single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs4977574 is associated longitudinally with cardiovascular death in patients without detectable coronary lesions.We enrolled patients who underwent coronary angiography for angina pectoris but had normal angiographic findings. Laboratory analyses and rs4977574 TaqMan genotyping were performed using fasting blood samples collected during hospitalization. Cardiovascular and all-cause mortality rates were acquired from a national database.Among the 679 enrolled subjects with neither myocardial infarction nor an angiographic coronary lesion, 28 (19.0%) of the 147 homozygous GG carriers suffered a cardiovascular death, compared with 63 (11.8%) of the 532 subjects with the AG or AA genotype during the median 12.3 years (interquartile range 8.6–12.7 years) of follow-up. In a recessive model, cardiovascular mortality was significantly higher in subjects with the GG genotype than in those with the other genotypes (hazard ratio, 1.69, 95% confidence interval 1.08 to 2.64; P = 0.021). In this follow-up study, rs4977574, a tag SNP at chromosome 9p21, was shown to be associated with cardiovascular mortality in Taiwanese patients with angina pectoris but no coronary lesions.
In Vitro Activities of Novel Azole Compounds ATTAF-1 and ATTAF-2 against Fluconazole-Susceptible and -Resistant Isolates of Candida Species

ABSTRACT The in vitro activities of two novel azole compounds (aryl-1,2,4-triazol-3-ylthio analogues of fluconazole [ATTAFs]) and five comparator antifungal agents against 52 clinical Candida isolates from 5 different species were determined. The novel azole compounds had the lowest geometric mean MICs, followed by fluconazole. Moreover, combinations of these compounds with fluconazole exhibited synergistic effects against fluconazole-susceptible (22 of 23 isolates), fluconazole-susceptible dose-dependent (10 of 13 isolates), and fluconazole-resistant (1 of 16 isolates) Candida isolates.
Home blood pressure and cardiovascular outcomes in very elderly patients receiving antihypertensive drug therapy: a subgroup analysis of Home blood pressure measurement with Olmesartan Naive patients to Establish Standard Target blood pressure (HONEST) study

ABSTRACT The appropriate target blood pressure (BP) in elderly patients with hypertension remains uncertain. We investigated the relationship between morning home systolic blood pressure (MHSBP) during follow-up and cardiovascular (CV) risk in outpatients receiving olmesartan-based treatment aged <75 years (n = 16799) and ≥75 years (n = 4792) in the HONEST study. In the follow-up period (mean 2.02 years), the risk for major CV events was significantly higher in patients with MHSBP ≥155 mmHg compared with <125 mmHg in both age groups in Cox proportional hazards model adjusted for other risk factors and there was no significant difference in trend between the two groups (interaction P = 0.9917 for MHSBP). Hazard ratios for CV events for 1-mmHg increase in MHSBP were similar in patients aged <75 years and in patients aged ≥75 years. The incidence of adverse drug reactions related to excessive BP lowering was lower in patients <75 years than in patients ≥75 years (0.73 vs 1.02%, P = 0.0461). In conclusion, the study suggests even in patients ≥75 years antihypertensive treatment targeting the same MHSBP levels in patients <75 years may be beneficial in reducing CV risk when treatment is tolerated.
Genetic polymorphisms of key enzymes in folate metabolism affect the efficacy of folate therapy in patients with hyperhomocysteinaemia

Abstract The aim of this study is to analyse the efficacy rate of folate for the treatment of hyperhomocysteinaemia (HHcy) and to explore how folate metabolism-related gene polymorphisms change its efficacy. This study also explored the effects of gene–gene and gene–environment interactions on the efficacy of folate. A prospective cohort study enrolling HHcy patients was performed. The subjects were treated with oral folate (5 mg/d) for 90 d. We analysed the efficacy rate of folate for the treatment of HHcy by measuring homocysteine (Hcy) levels after treatment. Unconditioned logistic regression was conducted to analyse the association between SNP and the efficacy of folic acid therapy for HHcy. The efficacy rate of folate therapy for HHcy was 56·41 %. The MTHFR rs1801133 CT genotype, TT genotype and T allele; the MTHFR rs1801131 AC genotype, CC genotype and C allele; the MTRR rs1801394 GA genotype, GG genotype and G allele; and the MTRR rs162036 AG genotype and AG+GG genotypes were associated with the efficacy of folic acid therapy for HHcy (P<0·05). No association was seen between other SNP and the efficacy of folic acid. The optimal model of gene–gene interactions was a two-factor interaction model including rs1801133 and rs1801394. The optimal model of gene–environment interaction was a three-factor interaction model including history of hypertension, history of CHD and rs1801133. Folate supplementation can effectively decrease Hcy level. However, almost half of HHcy patients failed to reach the normal range. The efficacy of folate therapy may be genetically regulated.
Ductile Cement-Based Composites with Wood Fibres - material design and experimental approach

In order to turn a brittle cement matrix into a ductile composite different types of man-made fibres such as steel, glass and polyvinyl alcohol are currently used as reinforcement, as well as some natural fibres. Compared to synthetic fibres, natural fibres are more easily available worldwide and they are friendlier to the environment since less energy is needed to produce them. They are also a renewable resource. In this project natural fibres from wood were chosen as reinforcement for cement-based materials. Three softwood species: larch, spruce and pine were studied. In the matrix, cement was partially replaced with other binders to achieve a low environmental-impact matrix as well as a matrix with a tensile strength compatible with the chosen wood fibre’s strength. The wood fibre-cement matrix interface was studied. This thesis contributes to a better understanding of its properties. A lightweight cement-based composite reinforced with pine fibres was designed to exhibit deflection-hardening behaviour. This material developed multiple cracking prior to failure under bending stress. Due to this improved behaviour it can be considered for applications such as low-budget housing in countries subject to seismic risk, where ductility and low weight are desirable characteristics of the building material.
The complete mitochondrial genome and phylogenetic analysis of Lateolabrax maculatus (Perciformes, Moronidae)

Abstract The complete mitogenome of Lateolabrax maculatus was determined through high-throughput DNA sequencing technology. The circular mtDNA molecule was 16 723 bp in size and comprised 37 genes and two non-coding regions, with the gene arrangement and content identical to other typical vertebrate mitogenomes. The identity analysis revealed that the mitogenome sequence of L. maculatus shared the highest identity with that of L. japonicus (91.3%) among 12 species. The neighbor-joining tree indicated that 13 species clustered into three distinct clades strongly supported. Within Moronidae clade, L. maculatus first clustered together with L. japonicus, and then gathered with two Dicentrarchus species and Morone saxatilis. Finally, Moronidae clade grouped with Percichthyidae clade and Serranidae clade. This finding agreed with the opinion classifying Lateolabrax into the family Moronidae but not Serranidae or its own family, Lateolabracidae. These results provided useful molecular information for phylogenetic relationships and further studies on the population genetic of L. maculatus.
Joint Interference Coordination and Load Balancing for OFDMA Multihop Cellular Networks

Multihop cellular networks (MCNs) have drawn tremendous attention due to its high throughput and extensive coverage. However, there are still three issues not well addressed. With the existence of relay stations (RSs), how to efficiently allocate frequency resource to relay links becomes a challenging design issue. For mobile stations (MSs) near the cell edge, cochannel interference (CCI) become severe, which significantly affects the network performance. Furthermore, the unbalanced user distribution will result in traffic congestion and inability to guarantee quality of service (QoS). To address these problems, we propose a quantitative study on adaptive resource allocation schemes by jointly considering interference coordination (IC) and load balancing (LB) in MCNs. In this paper, we focus on the downlink of OFDMA-based MCNs with time division duplex (TDD) mode, and analyze the characteristics of resource allocation according to IEEE 802.16j/m specification. We also design a novel frequency reuse scheme to mitigate interference and maintain high spectral efficiency, and provide practical LB-based handover mechanisms which can evenly distribute the traffic and guarantee users' QoS. Our study shows that our scheme not only meets the requirement on coverage, but also improves the throughput while accommodating more users in MCNs.
Oral Interventions for Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

BACKGROUND The effectiveness of intraoral appliances (IOA), maxillary expansion (ME), and maxillomandibular advancement (MMA) in the treatment of children and adults with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has not yet been adequately assessed. METHODS An umbrella review was performed based on established guidelines for evidence-based medicine. Data synthesis was performed only from randomized controlled trials with Paule-Mandel random-effects meta-analyses / meta-regressions using mean differences (MDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and was followed by the qualitative evaluation of the meta-evidence. RESULTS 29 systematic reviews were included, 7 of which provided quantitative data. IOA were effective in improving apnea hypopnea index (AHI) compared to both, placebo appliances (12 trials; 525 patients; MD = -11.70; 95% CI: [-15.38; -8.01]; p<0.001) and no treatment (1 trial; 24 patients; MD = -14.30; [-21.59; -7.01]; p<0.001). Only the former comparison was supported by robust meta-evidence. Effectiveness of IOA as measured by the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, on the other hand, was not supported by robust meta-evidence. No randomized or prospective controlled trials were found on the effectiveness of ME (conventional or surgically assisted) and MMA. CONCLUSION Intraoral appliances are effective in reducing AHI and their use is substantiated by robust evidence. There is no evidence from high-quality research to support treatment with ME (conventional or surgically assisted) or MMA in patients with OSA.
The use of microfibrillated cellulose produced from kraft pulp as strength enhancer in TMP paper

The effect on the physical properties of TMP handsheets by adding microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) is investigated. 26 TMP handsheet series were made with 4% addition of MFC produced by grinding or homogenization. Analysis of particle size distribution of the MFC showed that homogenization yields a bimodal distribution curve, while grinding gives a log normal distribution. The produced MFC had hydrodynamic particle sizes in the range 30–150 μm, and homogenization produced MFC with the largest particles. Addition of MFC to handsheets increased the tensile index and air resistance. MFC made by homogenization had a larger effect on the tensile index than MFC made by grinding (7–21% and 11–34% strength increase respectively), suggesting that the strengthening mechanisms of the two MFC qualities are different. The addition of MFC reduced the light scattering coefficient (a loss of 8% for the worst case), opacity and brightness of the sheets. Theoretical consideration regarding addition of fillers to maintain the optical properties showed that one still may get a 10% increase in tensile index. The use of MFC as strength enhancer in commercially produced paper is discussed.
Learning to Evaluate Chess Positions with Deep Neural Networks and Limited Lookahead

In this paper we propose a novel supervised learning approach for training Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) to evaluate chess positions. The method that we present aims to train different ANN architectures to understand chess positions similarly to how highly rated human players do. We investigate the capabilities that ANNs have when it comes to pattern recognition, an ability that distinguishes chess grandmasters from more amateur players. We collect around 3,000,000 different chess positions played by highly skilled chess players and label them with the evaluation function of Stockfish, one of the strongest existing chess engines. We create 4 different datasets from scratch that are used for different classification and regression experiments. The results show how relatively simple Multilayer Perceptrons (MLPs) outperform Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) in all the experiments that we have performed. We also investigate two different board representations, the first one representing if a piece is present on the board or not, and the second one in which we assign a numerical value to the piece according to its strength. Our results show how the latter input representation influences the performances of the ANNs negatively in almost all experiments.
Autocorrelation Analysis of Financial Botnet Traffic

A botnet consists of a network of infected computers that can be controlled remotely via a command and control (C&C) server. Typically, a botnet requires frequent communication between its C&C server and the infected nodes. Previous approaches to detecting botnets have included various machine learning techniques based on features extracted from network traffic. In this research, we conduct autocorrelation analysis of traffic generated by several financial botnets, and we show that periodicity in the network traces can be used to distinguish these botnets from each other.
Apathy is associated with lower mental and physical quality of life in persons infected with HIV

Abstract HIV infection is associated with lower health-related quality of life (HRQoL), which is influenced by immunovirological factors, negative affect, neurocognitive impairment, and functional dependence. Although apathy is a common neuropsychiatric sequela of HIV infection, emerging findings regarding its unique role in lower HRQoL have been mixed. The present study was guided by Wilson and Cleary's (1995), model in examining the association between apathy and physical and mental HRQoL in 80 HIV+ individuals who completed a neuromedical examination, neuropsychological assessment, structured psychiatric interview, and a series of questionnaires including the SF-36. Apathy was measured using a composite of the apathy subscale of the Frontal Systems Behavioral Scale and the vigor-activation subscale of the Profile of Mood States. Independent of major depressive disorder, neurocognitive impairment, functional status, and current CD4 count, apathy was strongly associated with HRQoL. Specifically, apathy and CD4 count were significant predictors of physical HRQoL, whereas apathy and depression were the only predictors of mental HRQoL. All told, these findings suggest that apathy plays a unique role in HRQoL and support the importance of assessing and managing apathy in an effort to maximize health outcomes among individuals with HIV disease.
Adaptive Beamforming in an Impulsive Noise Environment Using Matrix Completion

In this letter, a new approach is presented for robust adaptive beamforming in an impulsive noise environment. In the proposed method, the Hampel identifier is first applied to identify and trim the entries contaminated by impulsive noise in the data matrix. Then, the trimmed data matrix is utilized to estimate the noise-free data matrix by exploiting its low-rank structure with the matrix completion technology. In order to cope with the errors introduced during the matrix completion process, the beamformer weight vector is obtained by optimizing the worst-case performance. Comparing with existing methods, the proposed approach does not require the priori information of the impulsive noise. Moreover, it recovers the contaminated data rather than simply discarding or normalizing them. In addition, errors caused by imperfect recovery are taken into account. By enjoying these advantages simultaneously, the proposed approach is capable of achieving a higher signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio. Numerical examples are carried out to demonstrate its performance in different scenarios.
Synthesis of two-dimensional β-Ga2O3 nanosheets for high-performance solar blind photodetectors

Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors are limited to graphene analogues of layered materials, so it is extremely challenging to fabricate 2D non-layered materials with thicknesses of only a few atomic layers. Here, we report the successful fabrication of 2D Ga2O3 from the corresponding GaSe nanosheets and a solar blind photodetector based on 2D Ga2O3. The as-prepared 2D β-Ga2O3 is polycrystalline and has a thickness of less than 10 nm. Furthermore, we demonstrate a photodetector based on 2D β-Ga2O3, which show a sensitive, fast and stable photoresponse to ultraviolet radiation (254 nm). The responsivity, detectivity and external quantum efficiency of the photodetector are 3.3 A W−1, 4.0 × 1012 Jones and 1600%, respectively, indicating that the 2D Ga2O3 has great potential for application for solar-blind photodetectors.
Vitamin Status among Breastfed Infants in Bhaktapur, Nepal

Vitamin deficiencies are known to be common among infants residing in low- and middle-income countries but relatively few studies have assessed several biochemical parameters simultaneously. The objective of the study was to describe the status of vitamins (A, D, E, B6, B12 and folate) in breastfed infants. We measured the plasma concentrations of trans retinol, 25 hydroxy vitamin D, α-tocopherol, pyridoxal 5′-phosphate, cobalamin, folate, methylmalonic acid, homocysteine, hemoglobin and C-reactive protein from 467 randomly selected infants. One in five (22%) was deficient in at least one vitamin. Mean (SD) plasma folate concentration was 73 (35) nmol/L, and no infant in the sample was folate deficient. Vitamin B6 deficiency and vitamin B12 deficiency was found in 22% and 17% of the infants, respectively. Elevated plasma methylmalonic acid or total homocysteine concentration was found in 82% and 62% of infants, respectively. Fifteen percent of infants were vitamin A deficient and 65% were marginally deficient in vitamin A. Fewer than 5% of infants had low plasma vitamin D concentration or vitamin E concentration (α-tocopherol <9.3 µmol/L). Our results illustrate the importance of continued supplementation campaigns and support the expansion of food fortification and dietary diversification programs that target children and women in Nepal.
Multi-Scale Generalized Plane Match for Optical Flow

Despite recent advances, estimating optical flow remains a challenging problem in the presence of illumination change, large occlusions or fast movement. In this paper, we propose a novel optical flow estimation framework which can provide accurate dense correspondence and occlusion localization through a multi-scale generalized plane matching approach. In our method, we regard the scene as a collection of planes at multiple scales, and for each such plane, compensate motion in consensus to improve match quality. We estimate the square patch plane distortion using a robust plane model detection method and iteratively apply a plane matching scheme within a multi-scale framework. During the flow estimation process, our enhanced plane matching method also clearly localizes the occluded regions. In experiments on MPI-Sintel datasets, our method robustly estimated optical flow from given noisy correspondences, and also revealed the occluded regions accurately. Compared to other state-of-the-art optical flow methods, our method shows accurate occlusion localization, comparable optical flow quality, and better thin object detection.
Kinematics of burrowing by peristalsis in granular sands

ABSTRACT Peristaltic burrowing in muds applies normal forces to burrow walls, which extend by fracture, but the kinematics and mechanics of peristaltic burrowing in sands has not been explored. The opheliid polychaete Thoracophelia mucronata uses direct peristalsis to burrow in beach sands, with kinematics consistent with the ‘dual anchor system’ of burrowing described for diverse organisms. In addition to expansions associated with a constrictive direct peristaltic wave, worms alternately expand the head region, which is separated by septa from the open body cavity, and expansible lateral ridges that protrude from the 10th setiger. Tracking of chaetae with fluorescent dye showed that the body wall advances while segments are thin, then stationary segments expand, applying normal forces to burrow walls. These normal forces likely compact burrow walls and serve as anchors. Perhaps more importantly, peristaltic movements minimize friction with the burrow wall, which would expand dilatant sands. Considerable slipping of worms burrowing in a lower-density sand analog suggests that this dual-anchor peristaltic burrowing may be limited to a narrow range of mechanical properties of substrata, consistent with the limited habitat of T. mucronata in a narrow swash zone on dissipative beaches. Summary: Peristalsis by Thoracophelia mucronata involves body expansions that apply normal forces to burrow walls in beach sands, similar to burrowers in muds; differences explain unusual morphological features of these worms.