Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Integration of Flow-Gradient Patterns Into Clinical Decision Making for Patients With Suspected Severe Aortic Stenosis and Preserved LVEF A Systematic Review of Evidence and Meta-Analysis

OBJECTIVES This study was designed to evaluate the evidence base for the 2014 American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology (AHA/ACC) guidelines for severe aortic stenosis (SAS) and preserved left ventricular ejection fraction by comparing the natural history of the disease in subgroups of low-gradient (LG) aortic stenosis patients with high-gradient (HG) patients. BACKGROUND The 2014 AHA/ACC valvular disease guidelines recommend estimation of stroke volume index by echocardiography in patients with suspected LG SAS and preserved left ventricular ejection fraction. METHODS PubMed, Embase, and Scopus databases were searched for all studies that have compared the natural history of SAS with preserved ejection fraction in ﬂ ow-gradient patterns. We studied the following 3 subgroups: HG, low- ﬂ ow low-gradient (LFLG), and normal- ﬂ ow low-gradient (NFLG). The random effects model was used to pool individual study results. The end-point was long-term all-cause mortality. RESULTS A total of 9 studies with 3,065 patients ful ﬁ lled the criteria. Compared to HG SAS, both LFLG and NFLG patients had a higher burden of comorbidities such as coronary artery disease and hypertension. Atrial ﬁ brillation was more prevalent in LFLG patients. Moreover, end-diastolic volume index was smaller for LFLG patients and indexed aortic valve area was larger for NFLG patients. All-cause mortality was similar between HG and LFLG subgroups (relative risk: 1.07; 95% con ﬁ dence interval: 0.83 to 1.38; p ¼ 0.60), whereas patients with NFLG had a signi ﬁ cantly lower all-cause mortality compared to the HG subgroup (relative risk: 0.64; 95% con ﬁ dence interval: 0.47 to 0.86; p ¼ 0.004). Patients with LFLG SAS have similar outcomes compared to HG SAS but worse compared to NFLG SAS. These ﬁ ndings support estimating stroke volume index in patients with suspected LG SAS. All analyses revealed high heterogeneity and further high-quality studies are necessary. (J Am Coll Cardiol Img 2016;9:1255 – 63) © 2016 by the American College of Cardiology Foundation.
Analysis of the Dependence of Material Properties on Temperature – Steel 1.4122

Abstract This article presents an analysis of experimental data with reference to material properties, short-time creep and relaxation phenomena of 1.4122 steel (AISI 420RM) at high temperatures. The behaviour of the material subjected to uniaxial stress is indicated by engineering stress – strain diagrams. The data referring to tensile strength, 0.2 percent offset yield strength, the modulus of elasticity and total deformation, are shown through tables and curves presenting the dependence of these quantities on temperature. Creep and relaxation curves regarding certain level of stresses at selected temperatures are also shown. In addition, modelling of both creep and relaxation phenomena is presented.
Evidence for a strong genetic influence on childhood adiposity despite the force of the obesogenic environment.

BACKGROUND Body mass index (BMI) has been shown to be highly heritable, but most studies were carried out in cohorts born before the onset of the "obesity epidemic. " OBJECTIVE We aimed to quantify genetic and environmental influences on BMI and central adiposity in children growing up during a time of dramatic rises in pediatric obesity. DESIGN We carried out twin analyses of BMI and waist circumference (WC) in a UK sample of 5092 twin pairs aged 8-11 y. Quantitative genetic model-fitting was used for the univariate analyses, and bivariate quantitative genetic model-fitting was used for the analysis of covariance between BMI and WC. RESULTS Quantitative genetic model-fitting confirmed substantial heritability for BMI and WC (77% for both). Bivariate genetic analyses showed that, although the genetic influence on WC was largely common to BMI (60%), there was also a significant independent genetic effect (40%). For both BMI and WC, there was a very modest shared-environment effect, and the remaining environmental variance was unshared. CONCLUSIONS Genetic influences on BMI and abdominal adiposity are high in children born since the onset of the pediatric obesity epidemic. Most of the genetic effect on abdominal adiposity is common to BMI, but 40% is attributable to independent genetic influences. Environmental effects are small and are divided approximately equally between shared and non-shared effects. Targeting the family may be vital for obesity prevention in the earliest years, but longer-term weight control will require a combination of individual engagement and society-wide efforts to modify the environment, especially for children at high genetic risk.
Removal of ammonium ions from digested sludge liquors using natural sorbent zeolite

Sludge liquors arising from dewatering of digested sludge by centrifuges or alternative dewatering measures referred to as side-streams. These are recycled back to the head of the works and, depending on their source, can markedly increase the ammonium loading on the wastewater treatment plants. Although forming only a small proportion of the overall volumetric flow, the high concentration of recycled sludge liquors (typically >500 mg/L NH 4 + -N) results in a disproportionate impact. This article is dealing with the use of naturally obtained sorbent – zeolite – as an ion exchange in batch tests procedure for ammonium removal from sludge liquor . The novelty of the research was concentrated on rejected sludge liquor from the centrifugation of digested sludge related to high ammonium nitrogen concentrations. The sludge liquor taken at Vilnius sludge treatment plant after centrifugation of digested sludge. Research study carried out with different zeolite particle sizes of 0.3–0.8 mm; 0.8–1.6 mm; 1.6–2.5 mm; 2.5–3.2 mm in laboratory scaled batch test. Comparison of the results showed that the highest removal of ammonium nitrogen from digested sludge liquor obtained by using 0.3–0.8 mm particle size of zeolite.
Retention Time Variability as a Mechanism for Animal Mediated Long-Distance Dispersal

Long-distance dispersal (LDD) events, although rare for most plant species, can strongly influence population and community dynamics. Animals function as a key biotic vector of seeds and thus, a mechanistic and quantitative understanding of how individual animal behaviors scale to dispersal patterns at different spatial scales is a question of critical importance from both basic and applied perspectives. Using a diffusion-theory based analytical approach for a wide range of animal movement and seed transportation patterns, we show that the scale (a measure of local dispersal) of the seed dispersal kernel increases with the organisms' rate of movement and mean seed retention time. We reveal that variations in seed retention time is a key determinant of various measures of LDD such as kurtosis (or shape) of the kernel, thinkness of tails and the absolute number of seeds falling beyond a threshold distance. Using empirical data sets of frugivores, we illustrate the importance of variability in retention times for predicting the key disperser species that influence LDD. Our study makes testable predictions linking animal movement behaviors and gut retention times to dispersal patterns and, more generally, highlights the potential importance of animal behavioral variability for the LDD of seeds.
Topic structure modeling

In this paper, we present a method based on document probes to quantify and diagnose topic structure, distinguishing topics as monolithic, structured, or diffuse. The method also yields a structure analysis that can be used directly to optimize filter (classifier) creation. Preliminary results illustrate the predictive value of the approach on TREC/Reuters-96 topics.
Seasonal Reproduction in Vertebrates: Melatonin Synthesis, Binding, and Functionality Using Tinbergen’s Four Questions

One of the many functions of melatonin in vertebrates is seasonal reproductive timing. Longer nights in winter correspond to an extended duration of melatonin secretion. The purpose of this review is to discuss melatonin synthesis, receptor subtypes, and function in the context of seasonality across vertebrates. We conclude with Tinbergen’s Four Questions to create a comparative framework for future melatonin research in the context of seasonal reproduction.
Bon Appetit! Robot Persuasion for Food Recommendation

The integration of social robots within service industries requires social robots to be persuasive. We conducted a vignette experiment to investigate the persuasiveness of a human, robot, and an information kiosk when offering consumers a restaurant recommendation. We found that embodiment type significantly affects the persuasiveness of the agent, but only when using a specific recommendation sentence. These preliminary results suggest that human-like features of an agent may serve to boost persuasion in recommendation systems. However, the extent of the effect is determined by the nature of the given recommendation.
Fast and Reliable Parameter Estimation from Nonlinear Observations

In this paper we study the problem of recovering a structured but unknown parameter ${\bf{\theta}}^*$ from $n$ nonlinear observations of the form $y_i=f(\langle {\bf{x}}_i,{\bf{\theta}}^*\rangle)$ for $i=1,2,\ldots,n$. We develop a framework for characterizing time-data tradeoffs for a variety of parameter estimation algorithms when the nonlinear function $f$ is unknown. This framework includes many popular heuristics such as projected/proximal gradient descent and stochastic schemes. For example, we show that a projected gradient descent scheme converges at a linear rate to a reliable solution with a near minimal number of samples. We provide a sharp characterization of the convergence rate of such algorithms as a function of sample size, amount of a-prior knowledge available about the parameter and a measure of the nonlinearity of the function $f$. These results provide a precise understanding of the various tradeoffs involved between statistical and computational resources as well as a-prior side information available for such nonlinear parameter estimation problems.
Functional imaging of the nonhuman primate Placenta with endogenous blood oxygen level–dependent contrast

To characterize spatial patterns of T2* in the placenta of the rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta), to correlate these patterns with placental perfusion determined using dynamic contrast‐enhanced MRI (DCE‐MRI), and to evaluate the potential for using the blood oxygen level–dependent effect to quantify placental perfusion without the use of exogenous contrast reagent.
Inter-operating grids through delegated matchmaking

The grid vision of a single computing utility has yet to materíalize: while many grids with thousands of processors each exist, most work in isolation. An important obstacle for the effective and efficient inter-operation of grids is the problem of resource selection. In this paper we propose a solution to this problem that combines the hierarchical and decentralized approaches for interconnecting grids. In our solution, a hierarchy of grid sites is augmented with peer-to-peer connections between sites under the same administrative control. To operate this architecture, we employ the key concept of delegated matchmaking, which temporarily binds resources from remote sites to the local environment. With trace-based simulations we evaluate our solution under various infrastructural and load conditions, and we show that it outperforms other approaches to inter-operating grids. Specifically, we show that delegated matchmaking achieves up to 60% more goodput and completes 26% more jobs than its best alternative.
A study of superharmonic injection locking in multiband frequency dividers

A superharmonic voltage‐controlled injection‐locked frequency divider, implemented using a modified Colpitts oscillator operating at 2.5, 5 and 10 GHz and a cross‐coupled LC oscillator operating at 1.25, 2.5 and 5 GHz, is demonstrated. The proposed triple‐band operation is achieved by employing a novel technique that uses pin‐diodes and negative power supply. The discrete dividers, built with low noise hetero‐junction FETs and high‐frequency SiGe BJTs, are described theoretically while their functionality is proven experimentally. Additionally, a short phase noise analysis, which is missing in the literature, is given. Phase noise, frequency range of operation, and locking range measurement results are presented. Finally, post‐layout simulation results of a 5 GHz fully differential injection‐locked frequency divider, implemented in a 0. 25µm SiGe process are provided. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Late-life depression in Peru, Mexico and Venezuela: the 10/66 population-based study

Background The proportion of the global population aged 60 and over is increasing, more so in Latin America than any other region. Depression is common among elderly people and an important cause of disability worldwide. Aims To estimate the prevalence and correlates of late-life depression, associated disability and access to treatment in five locations in Latin America. Method A one-phase cross-sectional survey of 5886 people aged 65 and over from urban and rural locations in Peru and Mexico and an urban site in Venezuela. Depression was identified according to DSM–IV and ICD–10 criteria, Geriatric Mental State–Automated Geriatric Examination for Computer Assisted Taxonomy (GMS–AGECAT) algorithm and EURO–D cut-off point. Poisson regression was used to estimate the independent associations of sociodemographic characteristics, economic circumstances and health status with ICD–10 depression. Results For DSM–IV major depression overall prevalence varied between 1.3% and 2.8% by site, for ICD–10 depressive episode between 4.5% and 5.1%, for GMS–AGECAT depression between 30.0% and 35.9% and for EURO–D depression between 26.1% and 31.2%; therefore, there was a considerable prevalence of clinically significant depression beyond that identified by ICD–10 and DSM–IV diagnostic criteria. Most older people with depression had never received treatment. Limiting physical impairments and a past history of depression were the two most consistent correlates of the ICD–10 depressive episode. Conclusions The treatment gap poses a significant challenge for Latin American health systems, with their relatively weak primary care services and reliance on private specialists; local treatment trials could establish the cost-effectiveness of mental health investment in the government sector.
A Survey on CPG-Inspired Control Models and System Implementation

This paper surveys the developments of the last 20 years in the field of central pattern generator (CPG) inspired locomotion control, with particular emphasis on the fast emerging robotics-related applications. Functioning as a biological neural network, CPGs can be considered as a group of coupled neurons that generate rhythmic signals without sensory feedback; however, sensory feedback is needed to shape the CPG signals. The basic idea in engineering endeavors is to replicate this intrinsic, computationally efficient, distributed control mechanism for multiple articulated joints, or multi-DOF control cases. In terms of various abstraction levels, existing CPG control models and their extensions are reviewed with a focus on the relative advantages and disadvantages of the models, including ease of design and implementation. The main issues arising from design, optimization, and implementation of the CPG-based control as well as possible alternatives are further discussed, with an attempt to shed more light on locomotion control-oriented theories and applications. The design challenges and trends associated with the further advancement of this area are also summarized.
Monitoring Live Fuel Moisture Using Soil Moisture and Remote Sensing Proxies

Live fuel moisture (LFM) is an important fuel property controlling fuel ignition and fire propagation. LFM varies seasonally, and is controlled by precipitation, soil moisture, evapotranspiration, and plant physiology. LFM is typically sampled manually in the field, which leads to sparse measurements in space and time. Use of LFM proxies could reduce the need for field sampling while potentially improving spatial and temporal sampling density. This study compares soil moisture and remote sensing data to field-sampled LFM for Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii Nutt) and big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt) in northern Utah. Bivariate linear regression models were constructed between LFM and four independent variables. Soil moisture was more strongly correlated with LFM than remote sensing measurements, and produced the lowest mean absolute error (MAE) in predicted LFM values at most of the sites. When sites were pooled, canopy water content (CWC) had stronger correlations with LFM than normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) or normalized difference water index (NDWI). MAE values for all proxies were frequently above 20 % LFM at individual sites. Despite this relatively large error, remote sensing and soil moisture data may still be useful for improving understanding of spatial and temporal trends in LFM.
Sexual orientation, bullying for being labeled gay or bisexual, and steroid use among US adolescent boys

Use of anabolic-androgenic steroids is a public health concern for adolescent boys. This study examined bullying based on being labeled gay/bisexual and steroid use among US adolescent boys, including sexual orientation disparities. Data from 2660 boys from the 2015 Youth Behavior Risk Survey were used. Among heterosexual boys, steroid use was higher among those who reported being bullied due to being labeled gay or bisexual. No such relationship existed among non-heterosexual boys. The results speak to the need to address issues of masculinity in clinical work with boys and young men.
ualitative and quantitative analysis of furofuran lignans , iridoid lycosides , and phenolic acids in Radix Dipsaci by UHPLC-Q-TOF / MS nd UHPLC-PDA

Radix Dipsaci (RD), the dried root of Dipsacus asper, is used in traditional Chinese medicine as a remedy for bone fractures, traumatic hematoma, threatened abortion, and uterine bleeding. A novel ultra high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole-time-of-flight tanderm mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-TOF/MS) approach was performed to rapidly characterize the chemical constituents of RD. Consequently, 21 compounds, including 12 iridoid glycosides (IGs), 4 furofuran lignans (FLs), and 5 phenolic acids (PAs) were discovered and identified from RD. Among these compounds, 3 IGs were previously unreported. Furthermore, a rapid and reliable UHPLC-DAD-based method was developed. The linearity (R2 > 0.999), repeatability (RSDs < 3.0%), intra-day and inter-day precision (RSDs < 1.6%), recovery (98.9%–102.5%), limits of detection (0.2–2.75 ng), and limits of quantification (0.75–8.5 ng) of the method urofuran lignans henolic acids HPLC-PDA-Q-TOF/MS was validated. The method was successfully applied for the simultaneous determination of 11 compounds in 20 batches of RD collected from various geographical regions in China. Different RD samples exhibited significantly varied contents of 11 analytes, among which IGs and PAs are abundant compounds that could be used as suitable quality markers for RD. The present study provided a useful approach for comprehensively evaluating the chemical composition and quality of RD. © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
A Phosphoproteomic Approach towards the Understanding of the Role of TGF-β in Trypanosoma cruzi Biology

Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) plays a pivotal role in Chagas disease, not only in the development of chagasic cardiomyopathy, but also in many stages of the T. cruzi life cycle and survival in the host cell environment. The intracellular signaling pathways utilized by T. cruzi to regulate these mechanisms remain unknown. To identify parasite proteins involved in the TGF-β response, we utilized a combined approach of two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE) analysis and mass spectrometry (MS) protein identification. Signaling via TGF-β is dependent on events of phosphorylation, which is one of the most relevant and ubiquitous post-translational modifications for the regulation of gene expression, and especially in trypanosomatids, since they lack several transcriptional control mechanisms. Here we show a kinetic view of T. cruzi epimastigotes (Y strain) incubated with TGF-β for 1, 5, 30 and 60 minutes, which promoted a remodeling of the parasite phosphorylation network and protein expression pattern. The altered molecules are involved in a variety of cellular processes, such as proteolysis, metabolism, heat shock response, cytoskeleton arrangement, oxidative stress regulation, translation and signal transduction. A total of 75 protein spots were up- or down-regulated more than twofold after TGF-β treatment, and from these, 42 were identified by mass spectrometry, including cruzipain–the major T. cruzi papain-like cysteine proteinase that plays an important role in invasion and participates in the escape mechanisms used by the parasite to evade the host immune system. In our study, we observed that TGF-β addition favored epimastigote proliferation, corroborating 2DE data in which proteins previously described to be involved in this process were positively stimulated by TGF-β.
A 9.52 dB NCG FEC Scheme and 162 b/Cycle Low-Complexity Product Decoder Architecture

Powerful forward error correction (FEC) schemes are used in optical communications to achieve bit-error rates (BERs) below <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$10^{-15}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>. These FECs follow one of two approaches: the concatenation of simpler hard-decision codes or the usage of inherently powerful soft-decision codes. The first approach yields lower net coding gains (NCGs), but can usually work at higher code rates and have lower complexity decoders. In this paper, we propose a novel FEC scheme based on a product code and a post-processing technique. It can achieve an NCG of 9.52 dB at a BER of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$10^{-15}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and 9.96 dB at a BER of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$10^{-18}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, an error-correction performance that sits between that of current hard-decision and soft-decision FECs. A decoder architecture is designed, tested on field programmable gate array and synthesized in 65-nm CMOS technology: its 162 b/cycle worst-case information throughput can reach 100 Gb/s at the achieved frequency of 616 MHz. Its complexity is shown to be lower than that of hard-decision decoders in literature, and an order of magnitude lower than the estimated complexity of soft-decision decoders.
Effect of Wall Thickness Transitions on Texture and Grain Structure in Additive Layer Manufacture (ALM) of Ti-6Al-4V

In titanium alloys it is known that in bulk sections the solidification conditions in ALM commonly lead to undesirable, coarse, columnar β grain structures. Here, we have investigated the effect of build geometry on the grain structure and associated texture in Ti-6Al-4V ALM components produced by Selective Electron Beam Melting (SEBM). Through reconstruction of the primary β-phase, it has been confirmed that in thick sections large columnar β grains grow with a strong <001>β fibre texture, although there is a significant skin effect. In contrast, in thin walls nucleation off the surrounding powder and growth inwards dominates. Local heterogeneities are also observed within section transitions. It is shown that the weaker α transformation texture arises from a random distribution across the possible habit variants.