Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Foreword of the Editor

Natriuretic peptides (NPs) were first described as cardiac biomarkers more than two decades ago. Since that time, numerous studies have confirmed NPs’ diagnostic and prognostic utilities as biomarkers of myocardial function. However, we must now admit that despite the NPs’ relatively long period of use in clinical practice, our understanding of the biochemistry and the variety of circulating forms of NPs, as well as of their potential as biomarkers, remains far from being complete and comprehensive. The highly complex nature and wide diversity of circulating forms of NPs make their accurate measurements in plasma far more complex than initially believed. A highly simplistic view of the NPs’ use is that elevated values of NPs indicate the severity of heart failure and thus reflect the prognosis. However, as shown by a variety of studies, deep understanding of how the NP system works will be required for correct interpretation of test results in routine practice of cardiovascular disease. In this review, we summarize the recent advances in understanding of the complexity of the NP system and discuss related analytical issues, which open new horizons, as well as challenges for clinical diagnostics. Corresponding author: Alexander G. Semenov HyTest Ltd. Intelligate, 6th floor Joukahaisenkatu 6 20520 Turku, Finland Phone: +358 405855037 Fax: +358 25120909 E-mail: alexander.semenov@hytest.fi
A discrete differential evolution algorithm for single machine total weighted tardiness problem with sequence dependent setup times

In this paper, a discrete differential evolution algorithm with the reference local search is presented to solve the single machine total weighted tardiness problem with sequence dependent setup times. In addition, To facilitate the greedy job insertion into a partial solution, newly designed speed-up methods are presented for the insertion move as a further and novel contribution to the single machine tardiness related scheduling with sequence dependent setup times literature. To evaluate its performance, the discrete differential evolution algorithm is tested on a set of benchmark instances from the literature. Through the analyses of experimental results, highly effective performance of the discrete differential evolution algorithm is shown against the best known solutions from the literature, especially, against the very recent newly designed particle swarm optimization algorithm and ant colony algorithm of Anghinolfi & Paolucci [European Journal of Operational Research 2007; don: 10.1016/j.ejor. 2007.10. 044, Available Online] and Anghinolfi & Paolucci [to appear in the International Journal of Operations Research 2007], respectively. Ultimately, 46 out of 120 aggregated best known solutions so far in the literature are further improved.
Tolerance of haemodialysis: a randomized cross-over trial of 5-h versus 4-h treatment time.

BACKGROUND Many factors can impair haemodialysis (HD) tolerance. Some such as age and diabetes mellitus are linked to the patient. Others, such as dialysate, machine, and membrane are linked to the treatment characteristics. The duration of the HD sessions may represent another factor in tolerance since it influences the rate of ultrafiltration. However, its influence has not been studied independently of the type of membrane or dialysate buffer. METHODS In a randomized crossover study, the incidence of intradialytic symptoms was compared during 4-h and 5-h HD sessions in 38 patients. The study period was 2 weeks for each dialysis time. The influence of age and diabetes was also analysed. Sessions requiring more than 4 litres of ultrafiltration were excluded. RESULTS During the 5-h period, the incidence of headache, nausea, chills, back pain and pruritus was significantly greater. On the contrary, the incidence of hypotension and postdialytic orthostatic hypotension was significantly less. We also demonstrated that ultrafiltration rate and orthostatic hypotension were correlated, and that age over 65 years and diabetes influenced HD tolerance. The incidence of hypotension was significantly less in patients over 65 receiving 5-h HD treatment. CONCLUSIONS Although some symptoms were more frequent during the 5-h HD sessions, the incidence of hypotension and postdialytic orthostatic hypotension was significantly less. This resulted in an improvement in acute haemodynamic HD tolerance, which could also influence long-term morbidity and mortality, especially in patients over 65 years.
Redesigning a tagless access buffer to require minimal ISA changes

Energy efficiency is a first-order design goal for nearly all classes of processors, but it is particularly important in mobile and embedded systems. Data caches in such systems account for a large portion of the processor's energy usage, and thus techniques to improve the energy efficiency of the cache hierarchy are likely to have high impact. Our prior work reduced data cache energy via a tagless access buffer (TAB) that sits at the top of the cache hierarchy. Strided memory references are redirected from the level-one data cache (L1D) to the smaller, more energy-efficient TAB. These references need not access the data translation lookaside buffer (DTLB), and they can avoid unnecessary transfers from lower levels of the memory hierarchy. The original TAB implementation requires changing the immediate field of load and store instructions, necessitating substantial ISA modifications. Here we present a new TAB design that requires minimal instruction set changes, gives software more explicit control over TAB resource management, and remains compatible with legacy (non-TAB) code. With a line size of 32 bytes, a four-line TAB can eliminate 31% of L1D accesses, on average. Together, the new TAB, L1D, and DTLB use 22% less energy than a TAB-less hierarchy, and the TAB system decreases execution time by 1.7%.
Myasthenia gravis with thymic epithelial tumour: a retrospective analysis of a Japanese database.

OBJECTIVES Myasthenia gravis (MG) has been reported to correlate with earlier stage and Type B thymomas by the World Health Organization classification. We analysed a large database of clinical characteristics of patients with MG and thymic epithelial tumours to elucidate whether the severity of MG affected postoperative survival of those with thymic epithelial neoplasms. METHODS We conducted a multi-institutional study on the patients who had undergone surgical treatment for thymic epithelial tumours between 1991 and 2010. We examined Masaoka stage, pathological type, serum titre of antiacetylcholine receptor antigen, severity of MG and postoperative prognosis of the patients with or without MG. RESULTS Of the 2835 registered patients at 32 institutes belonging to the Japanese Association for Research on the Thymus, 2638 were eligible for the study. MG was present in 598 patients (23%). Patients with MG had thymic epithelial tumours with significantly earlier stage (P = 0.0082) and significantly smaller tumours (P = 0.000) than those without. Type A, Type AB thymomas and thymic carcinomas were less frequently observed in patients with MG. Three of 304 patients (1%) with thymic carcinomas had MG preoperatively. Serum titres of antiacetylcholine receptor antibodies were positive in 98% of patients with MG, and 23% of those without. Patients with generalized MG had significantly higher titres of antiacetylcholine receptor antibodies than those with ocular MG (P = 0.000). The postoperative 30-day mortality rate was 0.3%. Postoperative 5- and 10-year survival rates of thymoma patients with MG and those without MG were 94 and 96, and 89 and 89%, respectively. We found no statistical difference in the postoperative survival rate or recurrence-free rate between the two groups. We found no significant statistical differences of these rates by MGFA classification or surgical approach. CONCLUSIONS We conclude that earlier stage, smaller size or Type B thymomas are more frequently associated with MG, and MG may have no impact on the overall survival of patients with thymoma. We suggest that postoperative survival time of the patients with MG and thymic epithelial tumours may be mainly affected by the tumours, not by MG.
Remote access to 3D models of cultural heritage

Stereoscopic and immersive visualisations are used in various scientific and engineering fields. We describe our experience with long-distance transmissions enabling real-time interaction with a remote 3D model of historical architecture over a long-distance transmission. We illustrate the potential of such technology for distance research, education and research using models of historical architecture and other digitized cultural heritage.
DIFFERENCES IN BASAL AND STRESS-INDUCED HPA REGULATION OF WILD HOUSE MICE SELECTED FOR HIGH AND LOW AGGRESSION

Male wild house-mice, selected for short (SAL) and long (LAL) attack latency, show distinctly different behavioural strategies in coping with environmental challenges. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that this difference in coping style is associated with a differential stress responsiveness of the hypothalamicpituitary-adrenal (HPA) system. SAL rather than LAL mice showed a clear fluctuation in circulating corticosterone concentrations around the circadian peak with significantly higher levels in the late light phase. LAL mice showed lower basal ACTH levels and higher thymic and spleen weights compared to SAL mice. Under basal conditions, glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) mRNA in the hippocampus and corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) mRNA in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus were not different between the two lines. Forced swimming for 5 min induced high immobility behaviour in LAL mice which was associated with an enhanced and prolonged corticosterone response compared to SAL mice, while absolute ACTH levels did not differ. In addition, LAL mice showed an increase in hippocampal MR mRNA (but not GR) and hypothalamic CRH mRNA at 24 h after forced swimming. In conclusion, a genetic trait in coping style of wild house-mice is associated with an idiosyncratic pattern of HPA activity, and greater responsiveness of physiological and molecular stress markers in LAL mice. In view of the profound differences in behavioural traits and stress system reactivity, these mouse lines genetically selected for attack latency present an interesting model for studying the mechanism underlying individual variation in susceptibility to stress-related psychopathology. HPA regulation in LAL and SAL mice 37
An Approach to Motion Vehicle Detection in Complex Factors over Highway Surveillance Video

Automated traffic surveillance systems are widely used in intelligent transportation systems (ITS). However, the accuracy of video-based Vehicle Detection is heavily affected by complex environmental factors such as shadows, rain, illumination and glare. This paper introduces an approach to motion vehicle detection in complex condition over highway surveillance video. The framework is composed of two parts: background estimation and multi-feature extraction. A fast constrained Delaunay triangulation (CDT) algorithm based on constrained-edge priority is presented instead of complicated segmentation algorithms. We present a background block update modeling theory based on triangulation to estimate background self-adaptively. Consequently, we can get the difference between the current frame and the background model. After extracting features in triangular candidates, multi-feature eigenvector is created for each vehicle with Principal Component Analysis (PCA). We design a classifier to classify triangular candidate as a part of a real vehicle or not by Support Vector Machine (SVM). And then, a parallelogram is used to represent the vehicle's shape robustly. Finally, experiments using real video sequence are performed to verify the method proposed for complex environmental factors.
Hypertonic saline dextran resuscitation during the initial phase of acute endotoxemia: Effect on regional blood flow

Background and MethodsSmall-volume resuscitation by means of bolus application of hypertonic saline solutions has been demonstrated to restore central hemodynamics and regional blood flow in severe hemorrhagic and traumatic shock. The aim of this study was to elucidate the potential of this new concept for treatment of profound hypovolemia and microcirculatory deterioration associated with sepsis and endotoxic shock.In a porcine model of acute hyperdynamic endotoxemia (elicited by continuous i v infusion of Salmonella abortus equi endotoxin for 3.5 hrs), small-volume resuscitation applying hypertonic-hyperoncotic solutions was analyzed for its effect on central hemodynamics, oxygen delivery (Do2), and regional blood flow. Fluid therapy was initiated when the pulmonary artery occlusion pressure (PAOP) tended to decrease (at 43 to 52 mins of endotoxemia), and consisted of 4 mL/kg bolus infusion of either 7.2% sodium chloride, 10% dextran, or 10% dextran in 7.2% sodium chloride; thereafter, PAOP was maintained by controlled infusion of 6% dextran-60. In a control group, 6% dextran-60 was given without preinjection of hypertonic-hyperoncotic solutions. ResultsOn small-volume resuscitation, cardiac index significantly increased within 5 mins in all groups, while mean arterial pressure remained unchanged. Fluid requirements were significantly reduced after small-volume resuscitation and the hyperdynamic circulatory state was maintained until the end of the observation period; Do2 as well as blood flow to heart, kidneys, and splanchnic organs remained high. ConclusionSmall-volume resuscitation by means of hypertonic saline-dextran proved the most effective, and seems to be an attractive supportive therapy to prevent microcirculatory failure in sepsis and endotoxemia.
DNA curvature and flexibility in vitro and in vivo

Abstract It has been more than 50 years since the elucidation of the structure of double-helical DNA. Despite active research and progress in DNA biology and biochemistry, much remains to be learned in the field of DNA biophysics. Predicting the sequence-dependent curvature and flexibility of DNA is difficult. Applicability of the conventional worm-like chain polymer model of DNA has been challenged. The fundamental forces responsible for the remarkable resistance of DNA to bending and twisting remain controversial. The apparent ‘softening’ of DNA measured in vivo in the presence of kinking proteins and superhelical strain is incompletely understood. New methods and insights are being applied to these problems. This review places current work on DNA biophysics in historical context and illustrates the ongoing interplay between theory and experiment in this exciting field.
Ethnic and Gender Differences in First-Year College Students’ Goal Orientation, Self-Efficacy, and Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation

ABSTRACT Critical ethnic and gender gaps exist in college retention and graduation rates. Early achievement motivation may play an important role in student persistence. A sample of undergraduates completed surveys tapping motivation at the beginning (n = 591) and end (n = 232) of their first semester in college. African American and Caucasian students were more academically self-efficacious than Asian American students. Self-efficacy increased over the semester and was higher for male than female students at both time points. African American and Asian American students were initially more extrinsically motivated than Caucasian students; however, by the end of the semester, all ethnic groups were similar on extrinsic motivation. Female students were more extrinsically motivated and mastery oriented than male students who were more performance oriented. Performance goal orientations were negatively associated with grade point average whereas mastery orientation, intrinsic, and extrinsic motivation were positively associated with academic performance. Implications for higher education are discussed.
Development of Cerebral Microbleeds in the APP23-Transgenic Mouse Model of Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy—A 9.4 Tesla MRI Study

Background: Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) is characterized by extracellular deposition of amyloid β (Aβ) around cerebral arteries and capillaries and leads to an increased risk for vascular dementia, spontaneous lobar hemorrhage, convexal subarachnoid hemorrhage, and transient focal neurological episodes, which might be an indicator of imminent spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage. In CAA cerebral microbleeds (cMBs) with a cortical/juxtacortical distribution are frequently observed in standard magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In vivo MRI of transgenic mouse models of CAA may serve as a useful tool to investigate translational aspects of the disease. Materials and Methods: APP23-transgenic mice demonstrate cerebrovascular Aβ deposition with subsequent neuropathological changes characteristic for CAA. We performed a 9.4 Tesla high field MRI study using T2, T2* and time of flight-magnetic resonance angiograpy (TOF-MRA) sequences in APP23-transgenic mice and wildtype (wt) littermates at the age of 8, 12, 16, 20 and 24 months, respectively. Numbers, size, and location of cMBs are reported. Results: T2* imaging demonstrated cMBs (diameter 50–300 μm) located in the neocortex and, to a lesser degree, in the thalamus. cMBs were detected at the earliest at 16 months of age. Numbers increased exponentially with age, with 2.5 ± 2 (median ± interquartilrange) at 16 months, 15 ± 6 at 20 months, and 31.5 ± 17 at 24 months of age, respectively. Conclusion: We report the temporal and spatial development of cMBs in the aging APP23-transgenic mouse model which develops characteristic pathological patterns known from human CAA. We expect this mouse model to serve as a useful tool to non-invasively monitor mid- and longterm translational aspects of CAA and to investigate experimental therapeutic strategies in longitudinal studies.
[Usefulness of adding antibiotic to cement in one stage exchange of chronic infection in total hip arthroplasty].

BACKGROUNDS AND OBJECTIVE Direct exchange using antibiotic-impregnated cement is a treatment option for hip prosthesis infection (HPI). Nevertheless, a local antibiotic use is not always possible. We present our experience with direct exchange with and without antibiotic-impregnated cement. PATIENTS AND METHOD Fourteen patients with a HPI were treated with direct exchange. The femoral component was cemented with an antibiotic in 7 cases and in 7 it was not cemented. The patients received antibiotic prophylaxis and antibiotic treatment for a mean of 3 months. Clinical evolution of the infection was prospectively assessed. RESULTS There were no differences with regard to the clinical and microbiologic characteristics between both groups. In the last control (minimum 2 years) all the patients were cured. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that direct exchange without local antibiotic is an option in HPI. Further studies are needed to evaluate the usefulness of antibiotic loaded cement.
Measurement of associated W + charm production in pp collisions at √ s = 7 TeV

Measurements are presented of the associated production of a W boson and a charmquark jet (W + c) in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV. The analysis is conducted with a data sample corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 5 fb−1, collected by the CMS detector at the LHC. W boson candidates are identified by their decay into a charged lepton (muon or electron) and a neutrino. The W + c measurements are performed for charm-quark jets in the kinematic region p T > 25 GeV, |ηjet| < 2.5, for two different thresholds for the transverse momentum of the lepton from the W-boson decay, and in the pseudorapidity range |η`| < 2.1. Hadronic and inclusive semileptonic decays of charm hadrons are used to measure the following total cross sections: σ(pp → W + c + X) × B(W → `ν) = 107.7 ± 3.3 (stat.) ± 6.9 (syst.) pb (p` T > 25 GeV) and σ(pp → W + c + X) × B(W → `ν) = 84.1 ± 2.0 (stat.) ± 4.9 (syst.) pb (p` T > 35 GeV), and the cross section ratios σ(pp → W+ + c + X)/σ(pp → W− + c + X) = 0.954 ± 0.025 (stat.) ± 0.004 (syst.) (p` T > 25 GeV) and σ(pp → W+ + c + X)/σ(pp → W− + c + X) = 0.938 ± 0.019 (stat.) ± 0.006 (syst.) (p` T > 35 GeV). Cross sections and cross section ratios are also measured differentially with respect to the absolute value of the pseudorapidity of the lepton from the W-boson decay. These are the first measurements from the LHC directly sensitive to the strange quark and antiquark content of the proton. Results are compared with theoretical predictions and are consistent with the predictions based on global fits of parton distribution functions. Submitted to the Journal of High Energy Physics c © 2013 CERN for the benefit of the CMS Collaboration. CC-BY-3.0 license ∗See Appendix B for the list of collaboration members ar X iv :1 31 0. 11 38 v1 [ he pex ] 4 O ct 2 01 3
Inhibition of Lon‐dependent degradation of the Escherichia coli transcription activator SoxS by interaction with ‘soxbox’ DNA or RNA polymerase

Escherichia coli SoxS, the direct transcription activator of the SoxRS (superoxide) regulon, is intrinsically unstable with an in vivo half‐life of ∼2 min. Overexpression of SoxS is lethal, but mutations interfering with DNA binding relieve the toxicity. Here, we determined the effects on the half‐life of SoxS of alanine substitutions that confer defects in positive control, i.e. transcription activation, or in specific DNA binding. We found that both types of mutations render SoxS more unstable than the wild‐type protein, as if ‘soxbox’ DNA and RNA polymerase serve as stabilizing ligands in vivo that protect SoxS from degradation by Lon, the protease shown previously to be primarily responsible for its turnover. Indeed, we found that the addition of soxbox DNA or RNA polymerase to an in vitro degradation system decreases the rate of SoxS proteolysis by Lon protease. To the best of our knowledge, these are the first examples of target DNA and RNA polymerase serving as ligands that inhibit the turnover of an unstable transcription activator.
Assessing the quality of academic websites: A case study

Abstract In this paper, a quantitative evaluation approach to assess the quality of sites called Website Quality Evaluation Method (QEM) is proposed. This prescriptive and descriptive approach might be useful to evaluate and compare quality characteristics and attributes in different phases of a Web product lifecycle. Particularly, to discuss this methodology, we evaluate the level of accomplishment of required quality characteristics (like usability, functionality, reliability, efficiency, and derived subcharacteristics) in six typical academic sites. At the end of the evaluation process, a ranking for each selected site is obtained. Specifically, the evaluation process generates elemental, partial, and global indicators or quality preferences that can be easily analyzed, backward and forward traced, justified, and efficiently employed in decision-making activities. Hence, conclusions about the state-of-the-art of the quality in the operative phase of these sites can be drawn. In addition, recommendation.
Optimal Debt Structure and the Number of Creditors

Within an optimal contracting framework, we analyze the optimal number of creditors a company borrows from. We also analyze the optimal allocation of security interests among creditors and intercreditor voting rules that govern renegotiation of debt contracts. The key to our analysis is the idea that these aspects of the debt structure affect the outcome of debt renegotiation following a default. Debt structures that lead to inefficient renegotiation are beneficial in that they deter default, but they are also costly if default is beyond a manager's control. The optimal debt structure balances these effects. We characterize how the optimal debt structure depends on firm characteristics such as its technology, its credit rating, and the market for its assets.