Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Natural history of kidney graft survival, hypertrophy, and vascular function in end-stage renal disease type 1 diabetic kidney-transplanted patients: beneficial impact of pancreas and successful islet cotransplantation.

OBJECTIVE Diabetes, hypertension, infections, and nephrotoxicity of certain immunosuppressive drugs (i.e., calcineurin inhibitors) can reduce functional survival of the kidney graft. Our aim was to evaluate survival, hypertrophy, and vascular function of the kidney graft in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) type 1 diabetic patients after transplant. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS The study population consisted of 234 ESRD type 1 diabetic patients who underwent kidney-pancreas (KP; 166 patients), successful kidney-islet (KI-s; 24 patients), and kidney (KD; 44 patients) transplant. Kidney size, graft survival, vascular function, and microalbuminuria were evaluated prospectively yearly for 6 years. Sixty-eight protocol kidney biopsies were performed routinely between 1993 and 1998 cross-sectionally (3.2 +/- 0.3 years from kidney transplant). RESULTS The KP and KI-s groups had better cumulative kidney graft survival at 6 years than did the KD group (KP: 73%; KI-s: 86%; KD: 42%, P < 0.01). The KP group but not the KI-s/KD groups showed a persistent kidney graft hypertrophy up to 6 years of follow-up. A significant increase in creatinine levels from baseline to year 6 was evident in the KD group (1.58 +/- 0.08 to 2.78 +/- 0.44 mg/dl, P < 0.05) but not in the KP/KI-s groups. The KP/KI-s groups only showed a reduction of renal resistance index from baseline to year 6 (KP at baseline: 0.74 +/- 0.01 to 0.68 +/- 0.01%, P < 0.01; KI-s at baseline: 0.72 +/- 0.02 to 0.69 +/- 0.02%, P < 0.05). At year 6, an increase from baseline in urinary albumin excretion was observed only in the KD group (31.4 +/- 9.0 to 82.9 +/- 33.6 mg/l, P < 0.05). Preliminary data suggested that graft nitric oxide (NO) expression was higher in the KP/KI-s groups than in the KD group (data not shown). CONCLUSIONS In ESRD type 1 diabetic patients, KP and KI-s compared with KD resulted in enhanced kidney graft survival, hypertrophy, and vascular function.
High-accuracy localization based on the dominant rays of ray-tracing over fingerprinting techniques

This paper aims to apply a novel high-accuracy localization technique in apron and stand areas in airports to increase the safety when coverage and resolution of the surveillance systems deployed is degraded. We propose a new localization method based on fingerprinting techniques using the multipath ray-profile due to effects of the ray-tracing as cost function instead of power levels measurements over the received signal strength. The precision obtained with this technique is very high, while the main contribution to the localization accuracy is provided by the dominant rays of the ray-tracing.
A comparative study of relative entropy of entanglement, concurrence and negativity

The problem of ordering of two-qubit states imposed by the relative entropy of entanglement (E )i n comparison with the concurrence (C )a ndnegativity (N )i s studied. Analytical examples of states consistently and inconsistently ordered by the entanglemen tm easures are given. In particular, the states for which any of the three measures imposes order opposite to that given by the other two measures are described. Moreover, examples are given of pairs of
Trading Speed Competition: Can the Arms Race Go Too Far?

We analyze the likelihood of arms race behavior in markets with liquidity provision by HFTs. Liquidity providers (makers) and liquidity consumers (takers) make costly investments in monitoring speed. Competition among makers and takers induces arms race behavior. However, trade success probabilities increase in monitoring speed, giving rise to complementarity externalities between makers and takers. This counters negative arms race effects. Whether arms race effects materialize crucially depends on how marginal gains from trade depend on transaction speed. With the common (often implicit) assumption of constant marginal gains from trade, complementarity effects mostly dominate and market participants tend to under-invest in technology. However, with marginal gains from trade that decline in transaction speed, arms race behavior is much more likely. We provide micro-foundations for declining marginal gains from trade by a dynamic portfolio optimization problem with random rebalancing opportunities.
Limits on the Evolution of Tail Ornamentation in Birds

In birds, elongated tails are one of the most common and most studied ornaments. However, the tail also has an aerodynamic function, playing a role in turning and slow flight. If a tail is to function as an ornament, then there will be an inevitable conflict between the aerodynamic role and the signaling role. Aerodynamic theory has developed to the point where it is possible to predict the aerodynamic and mechanical consequences of ornamental tails of different sizes and shapes. Tail elongation will influence many different mechanical and aerodynamic parameters. For at least some and possibly all of these parameters, there will be limits that are placed by the bird's anatomy, morphology, or physiology on the extent to which the effect of tail elongation could be tolerated. For example, if a particular tail morphology meant that the power required to fly exceeded the power available from the flight muscles, then the bird would obviously be unable to fly with such a tail. To examine whether these considerations could limit the development of ornamental tails, the effect of long tails of different shapes was examined on three parameters: static balance, lift‐to‐drag ratio, and the cost of flight. All three of these parameters were found to limit the range of possible tail morphologies that could be developed by birds. These limits were most acute for small birds, which may not be able to operate with a long tail of any shape. Slightly larger birds would be able to develop elongated streamers and forked tails but not pintails or wedge‐shaped tails. Medium to large birds are less constrained and could develop a much wider range of tails than small birds, but there will always be limits to the sizes of tail ornament that could be developed. Thus the physical consequences of ornamentation on ecology and behavior are likely to be responsible for some of the patterns of ornamentation observed in nature.
The Ultraviolet and Optical Continuum Emission in Active Galactic Nuclei: The Status of Accretion Disks

A fundamental component of models of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is an accretion disk around a supermassive black hole. However, the nature of this accretion disk is not well understood, and current models do not provide a satisfactory explanation of the optical/UV continuum observed in AGNs. In this paper we review the substantial theoretical and observational progress made in the field. We also try to point out future research directions that would be fruitful in trying to obtain a complete, self‐consistent model of the continuum‐emitting regions.
OPTIMIZATION OF GROWTH CONDITION FOR CHLORELLA VULGARIS USING RESPONSE SURFACE METHODOLOGY ( RSM )

The potential of microalgae as a source of renewable energy has received considerable interest now a days, but if microalgae biofuel production is to be economically viable and sustainable to mitigate the energy crises. As microalgae has group of advantages. So further optimization of growth conditions are needed to make a different sources which provide cost-effective and sustainable means of algal growth for biofuel. This study shows that the optimum environmmental condition i.e. Temperature, pH and light period for the growth of Chlorella vulgaris in respect to produce lipid for biofuel production using response surface methodology (RSM).
Quantum nondemolition measurements of photon number by atomic beam deflection.

We present a new quantum nondemolition measurement scheme in which a measure of the photon statistics of a cavity field can be achieved by monitoring the deflection of atoms interacting with the field. Repeated measurements result in the collapse of the photon distribution in the field to a number state. Quantum jumps in the photon number are observed when the cavity field is coupled to an external reservoir
Is the Nursing Work Index Measuring Up?: Moving Beyond Estimating Reliability to Testing Validity

Background: The Nursing Work Index (NWI) provided the foundation for three published instruments, each presented as a valid measure of the nursing practice environment. Aiken and Patrician [Aiken, L. H. , & Patrician, P. A. (2000). Measuring organizational traits of hospitals: The Revised Nursing Work Index. Nursing Research, 49, 146-153] revised the NWI to the Revised Nursing Work Index (NWI-R), reporting four conceptually derived subscales. Lake [Lake, E. T. (2002). Development of the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index. Research in Nursing and Health, 25,176-188] used factor analysis to empirically derive five subscales with a composite overarching practice environment factor. Estabrooks et al. [Estabrooks, C. A. , Tourangeau, A. E. , Humphrey,C. K. , Hesketh, K. L. , Giovannetti, P., Thomson, D. , et al. (2002). Measuring the hospital practice environment: A Canadian context. Research in Nursing and Health, 25, 256-268] reported a single empirically derived factor solution that represented the nursing practice environment. Objective: To examine the validity of three instruments (based on the NWI) as measures of the nursing practice environment. Methods: The measurement models underlying the three instruments were reconstructed from the information provided by each author in published manuscripts and then were estimated using structural equation modeling (SEM), the chi-square test of model fit, and data from the 1998 Canadian Nurse Survey. Results: Each of the three underlying measurement models was factor analytic in design (multiple indicators of each concept) and failed significantly when compared with the data (Aiken & Patrician; &khgr;2 = 939.12, p <.001, df = 50; Lake, &khgr;2 = 17,872.73, p <.001, df = 319; Estabrooks et al., &khgr;2 = 38,590.29, p <.001). This lack of model fit with the data raises questions about the validity of these instruments as measures of the nursing practice environment. Discussion: The nursing practice environment is complex and has been examined inadequately by factor-analytic approaches, largely because insufficient attention has been paid to implicit underlying theory. The development and testing of robust theory using powerful research methods available to examine causal relationships in complex theoretical models will advance understanding of constructs such as the nursing practice environment.
CLASSIFICATION OF RUST GRADES ON STEEL SURFACES PART 2

Selecting most representative features among a huge feature set is considered in this paper. One feature extraction and five feature selection algorithms are tested on features obtained form steel surfaces. Two new feature selection algorithms are introduced in this paper. Performance measure for feature selection algorithms is also introduced as a new method to select the best performing feature selection algorithm. Steel surfaces are classified as rusty and clean according to selected features by each selection algorithm.
A mutation in VP4 defines a new step in the late stages of cell entry by poliovirus

During the entry of poliovirus into cells, a conformational transition occurs within the virion that is dependent upon its binding to the cell surface receptor. This conformational rearrangement generates an altered particle of 135S, results in the extrusion of capsid protein VP4 and the amino terminus of VP1 from the virion interior, and leads to the acquisition of membrane-binding properties by the 135S particle. Although the subsequent fate of VP4 is unknown, its apparent absence from purified 135S particles has long suggested that VP4 is not directly involved during virus entry. We report here the construction by site-specific mutagenesis of a nonviable VP4 mutant that upon transfection of the cDNA appears to form mature virus particles. These particles, upon interaction with the cellular receptor, undergo the 135S conformational transition but are defective at a subsequent stage in virus entry. The results demonstrate that the participation of VP4 is required during cell entry of poliovirus. In addition, these data indicate the existence of additional stages in the cell entry process beyond receptor binding and the transition to 135S particles. These post-135S stages must include the poorly understood processes by which nonenveloped viruses cross the cell membrane, uncoat, and deliver their genomes into the cytoplasm.
User association for load balancing in heterogeneous networks powered with energy harvesting sources

User association strategies for heterogeneous networks are proposed in order to balance the load among different base stations (BSs) and obtain higher downlink aggregate network utility based on per-user throughputs. The BSs are assumed to be solely powered with finite batteries and energy harvesting sources that allow them to collect energy from the environment and to recharge the batteries. Such battery limitations are considered explicitly in the proposed design. The simulations evaluate the effect of the energy harvesting capabilities on the network throughput and the comparison with other traditional strategies.
The effects of provisioning and crop‐raiding on the diet and foraging activities of human‐commensal white‐faced Capuchins (Cebus capucinus)

Non‐human primates are coming into increasingly frequent contact with humans and with human‐modified environments. The potential for monkeys to survive in such modified landscapes is questionable, and is likely related to a species' behavioral plasticity, particularly as it relates to diet. In this study, I explore the ways in which white‐faced capuchins (Cebus capucinus) adjust their diet and foraging behaviors in response to anthropogenic impact. I compare a troop of human‐commensal monkeys and a similar troop of wild‐feeding monkeys living within the Curú Wildlife Refuge in western Costa Rica for differences in overall diet composition and activity budgets to evaluate the impact of habitat change in this context. The commensal‐living white‐faced capuchins rely on raided coconut (Cocos nucifera) and oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) crops and provisioned or stolen human foods for over one‐half of their total diet. Regardless of this highly anthropogenic diet, the two study troops do not significantly differ in their activity budgets, and the human‐commensal troop maintains wild‐foraging activities consistent with those of the wild‐feeding troop. These data suggest that the white‐faced capuchins at this site are responding to anthropogenic disturbance primarily through the exploitation of human food resources, but they do not yet appear to have lost the foraging skills required to survive in this modified landscape on their own. This study adds to our growing body of knowledge on primate survival in matrix habitats, and will hopefully inform primate management plans throughout the Neotropics. Am. J. Primatol. 73:439–448, 2011. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Caspase-9 Can Be Activated without Proteolytic Processing*

The recombinant form of the proapoptotic caspase-9 purified following expression in Escherichia coliis processed at Asp315, but largely inactive; however, when added to cytosolic extracts of human 293 cells it is activated 2000-fold in the presence of cytochrome c and dATP. Thus, the characteristic activities of caspase-9 are context-dependent, and its activation may not recapitulate conventional caspase activation mechanisms. To explore this hypothesis we produced recombinant forms of procaspase-9 containing mutations that disabled one or both of the interdomain processing sites of the zymogen. These mutants were able to activate downstream caspases, but only in the presence of cytosolic factors. The mutant with both processing sites abolished had 10% of the activity of wild-type, and was able to support apoptosis, with equal vigor to wild-type, when transiently expressed in 293 cells. Thus caspase-9 has an unusually active zymogen that does not require proteolytic processing, but instead is dependent on cytosolic factors for expression of its activity.
Sublethal exposure to crude oil during embryonic development alters cardiac morphology and reduces aerobic capacity in adult fish

Exposure to high concentrations of crude oil produces a lethal syndrome of heart failure in fish embryos. Mortality is caused by cardiotoxic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), ubiquitous components of petroleum. Here, we show that transient embryonic exposure to very low concentrations of oil causes toxicity that is sublethal, delayed, and not counteracted by the protective effects of cytochrome P450 induction. Nearly a year after embryonic oil exposure, adult zebrafish showed subtle changes in heart shape and a significant reduction in swimming performance, indicative of reduced cardiac output. These delayed physiological impacts on cardiovascular performance at later life stages provide a potential mechanism linking reduced individual survival to population-level ecosystem responses of fish species to chronic, low-level oil pollution.
A Novel Method for Training an Echo State Network with Feedback-Error Learning

Echo state networks are a relatively new type of recurrent neural networks that have shown great potentials for solving nonlinear, temporal problems. The basic idea is to transform the low dimensional temporal input into a higher dimensional state, and then train the output connection weights to make the system output the target information. Because only the output weights are altered, training is typically quick and computationally efficient compared to training of other recurrent neural networks. This paper investigates using an echo state network to learn the inverse kinematics model of a robot simulator with feedback-errorlearning. In this scheme teacher forcing is not perfect, and joint constraints on the simulator makes the feedback error inaccurate. A novel trainingmethod which is less influenced by the noise in the training data is proposed and compared to the traditional ESN training method.
Complement factor B allotypes in the susceptibility and severity of coeliac disease in patients and relatives

The alternative pathway of complement plays an important role in the pathogenesis of coeliac disease (CD), where factor B (BF) is central to its activation. CD is a gluten‐sensitive enteropathy that results from a complex interplay between genetic, immunologic, and environmental factors. In this study we evaluated the association of BF allotypes with the susceptibility and severity of CD, and with the presence of autoantibodies. Seventy‐six non‐related patients (56 female; 20 male; 2–77 years) and 150 first‐degree relatives (87 female, 63 male; 2–75 years) were investigated. As controls, 97 healthy individuals were included (67 female;, 30 male; 1–71 years). The BF allotypes were determined by high‐voltage agarose gel electrophoresis, followed by specific immunofixation. Disease severity was evaluated by anti‐endomisial antibody (IgA‐EmA) titres and histological findings of intestinal mucosa, which showed a high correlation (r = 0.8; P < 0.00001) in samples collected simultaneously. IgA‐EmA was detected in all CD patients ingesting gluten, and in 13.3% of the relatives. The IgA‐EmA, smooth muscle, mitochondrial, liver‐kidney microsomal, nuclear, gastric parietal cells, and thyroid microsome antibodies were tested by indirect immunofluorescence. A significant decrease in BF S (P = 0.026) and an increasing tendency in BF SF allotype (P = 0.06) were observed in CD patients when compared to their relatives. On the other hand, BF S frequency was increased (P = 0.001 RR = 2.32) and BF SF (P = 0.002) decreased in the relatives when compared to the controls. No differences were observed in the distribution of BF phenotypes amongst the CD patients and the control group, and no association was found with CD severity or with the presence of autoantibodies. These results suggest BF SF as a CD susceptibility marker, and BF S as a protection marker of the disease amongst CD families in the Brazilian population.
Increased serum heme oxygenase-1 levels as a diagnostic marker of oxidative stress in preeclampsia

Objective: To evaluate the utility of serum biomarkers in the diagnosis of preeclampsia (PE) and also investigate possible correlation with pathogenesis of PE. Methods: Maternal serum concentrations of heme oxygenase-1 (HO1) and N-myc downstream-regulated gene 1 (NDRG1) were measured at 27–34 weeks of gestation in a case–control study of 33 pregnant women diagnosed with PE and in 43 normotensive pregnant women without proteinuria. The Mann–Whitney U test and Spearman's correlation were used for statistical analysis. Results: The median serum HO1 level was found to be significantly higher in the PE group [76.7 ng/ml (23.4–445.7)] than control group [55.9 ng/ml (3.7–354.3)] (p = 0.006). Positive correlation was found between HO1 levels with presence of PE (r = 0.316, p = 0.005). There was no significant difference in NDRG1 values between the two groups (p = 0.226). Conclusions: Serum HO1 levels were found to be increased in patients with PE compared with normotensive pregnant women.
A real-time hypervisor for embedded systems with hardware virtualization support

Embedded systems are becoming more and more complex. In addition, they also have requirements for security and real-time behavior. The virtualization technology has emerged as one of the solutions to satisfy these requirements. Recently, some embedded processors have extensions for hardware virtualization and hypervisors began to use these extensions. But most of existing hypervisors are designed for general purpose systems and rely on large stacks. Thus, they cause security problems and heavy overhead. In order to overcome these problems, we propose a thin full-virtualization Type-1 hypervisor for real-time embedded systems using ARM processors. We discuss how this implementation affects real-time property of systems. Our implementation demonstrated multiple guest operating systems (OS) can be run in independent environments with distinct real-time scheduling policies.