Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Twice-daily, 10-day triple therapy with omeprazole, amoxicillin, and clarithromycin for Helicobacter pylori eradication in duodenal ulcer disease: results of three multicenter, double-blind, United States trials

Objective:We assessed the safety and efficacy of 10-day twice-daily triple therapy for Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) in three double-blind, controlled trials in patients with duodenal ulcer disease.Methods:H. pylori-infected patients with one or more duodenal ulcer(s) at endoscopy (studies 1, 2) or with a documented duodenal ulcer history and no duodenal ulcer or erosions at endoscopy (study 3) were randomly assigned to 10-day courses of omeprazole 20 mg b.i. d. plus amoxicillin 1 g b.i. d. plus clarithromycin 500 mg b.i. d. (OAC) or placebo plus amoxicillin 1 g b.i. d. plus clarithromycin 500 mg b.i. d. (AC). In studies 1 and 2, patients received an additional 18 days of omeprazole 20 mg q.d. (OAC group) or placebo (AC group). Endoscopy was repeated 4 wk after therapy in studies 1 and 2 and 4–6 wk after therapy in study 3. At baseline, H. pylori was diagnosed by CLOtest plus histology, or by culture. Eradication was defined as no positive biopsy test and two or more negative tests. Patients were defined as compliant if they took 75% or more of each study drug and missed ≤ 3 consecutive days of the 10-day therapy.Results:Intent-to-treat populations of the three studies combined were 241 patients for OAC and 266 for AC. Of all OAC patients combined, 2% stopped study medications due to adverse events, and 93% were compliant. Per-protocol cure rates were 78% to 90% (all studies combined, 84%) for OAC vs 33% to 45% (combined, 39%) for AC (p < 0.001, OAC vs AC); intent-to-treat eradication rates were 69% to 83% (combined, 75%) for OAC vs 32% to 37% (combined, 35%) for AC; (p < 0.001, OAC vs AC). Conclusion:Rigorously designed studies indicate that 10 days of twice-daily triple therapy with omeprazole, amoxicillin, and clarithromycin achieves per-protocol eradication rates of approximately 80% to 90% in the U.S.
Late diagnosis of cerebral folate deficiency: Fewer seizures with folinic acid in adult siblings

Cerebral folate deficiency is a genetically heterogeneous condition.1 Mutations in FOLR1 are responsible for a rare but treatable form of cerebral folate deficiency (OMIM #613068). 1 The gene codes for folate receptor alpha (FRα), a specific CNS folate transporter. Individuals with FOLR1-related folate deficiency present with ataxia, dyskinesia, spasticity, seizures, and regression in cognitive abilities and motor skills during early childhood.2 Seizures commonly observed include generalized tonic-clonic, atonic, and myoclonic.3 To date, there have been 18 individuals with FOLR1-related cerebral folate deficiency diagnosed in childhood and reported in the literature.3–5 Early diagnosis is crucial, as high-dose folinic acid (2–5 mg/kg/day) has been reported to be an effective treatment that can ameliorate or even prevent further neurodegeneration, although no long-term treatment studies have been performed.1,3,5,6 We present the late diagnosis of adult siblings with cerebral folate deficiency due to FOLR1 mutations and their subsequent treatment.
An Integrated MEMS-BiCMOS SINCGARS Transceiver

This paper reports on the design of an integrated transceiver that supports SINCGARS (Single Channel Ground-Airborne Radio System). Utilizing both transistors and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), the circuit transmits preprocessed discrete-time baseband data and receives RF passband signals that are mixed to 100kHz and sampled by a fast ADC for off-chip demodulation. By using micromechanical (μmechanical) resonators and filters a lowIF (or digital-IF) communication system architecture is realized. This design marks the advent of Very Large Scale Mechanical Integration (VLSMI) by merging 46,413 transistors in a 0. 6μm BiCMOS process with 9,286 μmechanical devices using an embedded micromachining technique [1].
Changes in Brain Network Efficiency and Working Memory Performance in Aging

Working memory is a complex psychological construct referring to the temporary storage and active processing of information. We used functional connectivity brain network metrics quantifying local and global efficiency of information transfer for predicting individual variability in working memory performance on an n-back task in both young (n = 14) and older (n = 15) adults. Individual differences in both local and global efficiency during the working memory task were significant predictors of working memory performance in addition to age (and an interaction between age and global efficiency). Decreases in local efficiency during the working memory task were associated with better working memory performance in both age cohorts. In contrast, increases in global efficiency were associated with much better working performance for young participants; however, increases in global efficiency were associated with a slight decrease in working memory performance for older participants. Individual differences in local and global efficiency during resting-state sessions were not significant predictors of working memory performance. Significant group whole-brain functional network decreases in local efficiency also were observed during the working memory task compared to rest, whereas no significant differences were observed in network global efficiency. These results are discussed in relation to recently developed models of age-related differences in working memory.
A review of climate reconstructions from terrestrial climate archives covering the first millennium AD in northwestern Europe

Abstract Large changes in landscape, vegetation, and culture in northwestern (NW) Europe during the first millennium AD seem concurrent with climatic shifts. Understanding of this relation requires high-resolution palaeoclimate reconstructions. Therefore, we compiled available climate reconstructions from sites across NW Europe (extent research area: 10°W–20°E, 45°–60°N) through review of literature and the underlying data, to identify supraregional climatic changes in this region. All reconstructions cover the period from AD 1 to 1000 and have a temporal resolution of ≤50 yr. This resulted in 22 climate reconstructions/proxy records based on different palaeoclimate archives: chironomids (1), pollen (6), Sphagnum mosses (1), stalagmites (8), testate amoebae (4), and tree rings (2). Comparing all temperature reconstructions, we conclude that summer temperatures between AD 1 and 250 were relatively high, and the period between AD 250 and 700 was characterised by colder summer conditions. The period from AD 700 to 1000 was again characterised by warmer summers. These temperature shifts occurred in the whole of NW Europe. In contrast, the compilation of precipitation reconstructions does not show a common pattern across NW Europe either as a result of a heterogeneous precipitation pattern or the lack of suitable and consistent precipitation proxies.
Quantitative material characterization from multi-energy photon counting CT.

PURPOSE To quantify the concentration of soft-tissue components of water, fat, and calcium through the decomposition of the x-ray spectral signatures in multi-energy CT images. METHODS Decomposition of dual-energy and multi-energy x-ray data into basis materials can be performed in the projection domain, image domain, or during image reconstruction. In this work, the authors present methodology for the decomposition of multi-energy x-ray data in the image domain for the application of soft-tissue characterization. To demonstrate proof-of-principle, the authors apply several previously proposed methods and a novel content-aware method to multi-energy images acquired with a prototype photon counting CT system. Data from phantom and ex vivo specimens are evaluated. RESULTS The number and type of materials in a region can be limited based on a priori knowledge or classification strategies. The proposed difference classifier successfully classified the image into air only, water+fat, water+fat+iodine, and water+calcium regions. Then, the content-aware material decomposition based on weighted least-square optimization generated quantitative maps of concentration. Bias in the estimation of the concentration of water and oil components in a phantom study was <0.10 ± 0.15 g/cc on average. Decomposition of ex vivo carotid endarterectomy specimens suggests the presence of water, lipid, and calcium deposits in the plaque walls. CONCLUSIONS Initial application of the proposed methodology suggests that it can decompose multi-energy CT images into quantitative maps of water, adipose, iodine, and calcium concentrations.
Measurement and modeling of a large-scale overlay for multimedia streaming

This paper presents results from our measurement and modeling efforts on the large-scale peer-to-peer (p2p) overlay graphs spanned by the PPLive system which is arguably the most popular and largest multimedia streaming p2p system today. We believe that our findings can be used to understand large-scale p2p streaming systems for future planning of resource usage, and to provide useful and practical hints for future design of large-scale p2p streaming systems. Unlike other previous studies on PPLive, which focused on either network-centric or user-centric measurements of the system, our study is unique in (a) focusing on PPLive overlay-specific characteristics, and (b) being the first to derive mathematical models for its distributions of channel population size and session length. Our studies also reveal characteristics of multimedia streaming p2p overlays that are markedly different from existing file-sharing p2p overlays. Specifically, we find that: (1) Small PPLive overlays (as many as 500 nodes) are similar to random graphs in structure, (2) Average degree of a peer in the overlay (i.e., its out-degree) is independent of channel population size, (3) The availability correlation between PPLive peer pairs is bimodal, i.e., some pairs have highly correlated availability, while others have no correlation, (4) Unlike p2p file-sharing users, PPLive peers are impatient, (5) Session lengths (discretized, per channel) are typically geometrically distributed, (6) Channel Population Size variations are larger than in p2p file-sharing networks, yet they can be fitted with polynomial mathematical models. We conclude with a series of suggestions on how our findings can improve IPTV future design.
The Enhanced ECN Mechanism to Accelerate the Congestion Control Convergence in Network

To solve the network congestion problem, F.P. Kelly proposed proportional fair and classic Kelly model which can converge to proportional fair point with asymptotic stability. Based on it, many new flow control mechanisms were derived to improve its performance. However, Most of their convergence rates are linear since in classic Kelly model, link price is only positive. This paper presents an enhanced ECN mechanism to accelerate the model convergence rate. In which, the link price can be negative and the price can be conveyed by using a new ECN bit without adding extra packet or packet header. NS2 simulation results show that the enhanced ECN mechanism can keep fairness and asymptotic stability with more rapid convergence rate.
Neurometabolic Aspects of Sports-Related Concussion

Abstract Concussion is a transitory brain injury resulting from a blow to the head. Concussion is considered a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), which is self-limited. Repetitive mTBI has been associated with chronic, progressive neurologic damage. Extreme biochemical changes occur in neuron cells as a result of mTBI. These metabolic disturbances may reflect the symptoms observed in patients who had concussions. However, it has been difficult to match clinical signs and symptoms. Currently, there is no test to diagnose concussion. Further studies are needed to elucidate the biochemical details of the metabolic cascade and the associated time frame, which will help determine when an athlete can safely return to the game.
Quality processing of microarray image data through image inpainting and texture synthesis

Image inpainting techniques are usually employed to reconstruct small areas of images that may have been damaged, producing results which are often aesthetically indistinguishable from the original. In this paper these techniques are used in a more error critical manner, as the aim is to reconstruct areas of real-world noisy cDNA microarray images and, thus, help reduce variation and remove background artifacts before post processing of this data. The paper evaluates a number of existing techniques and proposes some directions to further develop them in the context of microarray image processing.
The role of biotic forces in driving macroevolution: beyond the Red Queen

A multitude of hypotheses claim that abiotic factors are the main drivers of macroevolutionary change. By contrast, Van Valen's Red Queen hypothesis is often put forward as the sole representative of the view that biotic forcing is the main evolutionary driver. This imbalance of hypotheses does not reflect our current knowledge: theoretical work demonstrates the plausibility of biotically driven long-term evolution, whereas empirical work suggests a central role for biotic forcing in macroevolution. We call for a more pluralistic view of how biotic forces may drive long-term evolution that is compatible with both phenotypic stasis in the fossil record and with non-constant extinction rates. Promising avenues of research include contrasting predictions from relevant theories within ecology and macroevolution, as well as embracing both abiotic and biotic proxies while modelling long-term evolutionary data. By fitting models describing hypotheses of biotically driven macroevolution to data, we could dissect their predictions and transcend beyond pattern description, possibly narrowing the divide between our current understanding of micro- and macroevolution.
Local Immune Responses in Children and Adults with Allergic and Nonallergic Rhinitis

Background Allergic rhinitis (AR) is the most common allergic disease but little is known about the difference of local immune responses in children and adults with AR. Objective To compare local immune responses between children and adults with AR and nonallergic rhinitis (NAR), and to investigate whether the association of local and systemic immune responses is different between the two age groups. Methods Fifty-one patients with chronic rhinitis were enrolled and grouped into children (N = 27, mean age 7.2 years) and adults (N = 24, mean age 29.9 years). Diagnosis of AR was based on symptoms, skin prick tests and serum specific IgEs. Nasal lavage (NAL) fluids were collected from all subjects and used to measure the levels of total IgE, specific IgEs to house dust mites (Dp and Df), and cytokines (TNF-α, IL-4, IL-10, IL-17A and IFN-γ). Flow cytometry was used to measure inflammatory cell types in NAL fluids. Results AR had significantly increased local levels of total IgE and specific IgEs to Dp and Df compared with NAR in both age groups (P < 0.05). Nasal eosinophils % (P = 0.01) was significantly increased only in children with AR. Local-systemic correlations of total IgE (r = 0.662, P = 0.000) and eosinophil % (r = 0.461, P = 0.015) between the peripheral blood and NAL fluids were found only in children. Moreover, children had correlations between total IgE and eosinophil % in the peripheral blood (r = 0.629, P = 0.001) and in NAL fluids (r = 0.373, P = 0.061). Conclusion Elevated local IgE is a common feature of AR in children and adults. Local measures in NAR showed naïve state of immune response which disagree with the hypothesis of local allergic rhinitis. Children showed intense local inflammation and close local-systemic interactions compared to adults supporting pediatric AR as a distinct feature.
Closely Coupled Array Processing and Model-Based Compensation for Microphone Array Speech Recognition

In conventional microphone array speech recognition, the array processor and the speech recognizer are loosely coupled. The only connection between the two modules is the enhanced target signal output from the array processor, which then gets treated as a single input to the recognizer. In this approach, useful environmental information, which can be provided by the array processor and also needs to be exploited by the recognizer, is ignored. Inherently, the array processor can generate multiple outputs of spatially filtered signals, as a multi-input-multi-output (MIMO) module. In this paper, a closely coupled approach is proposed, in which a recognizer with model-based noise compensation exploits the reference noise outputs from a MIMO array processor. Specifically, a multichannel model-based noise compensation is presented, including the compensation procedure using the vector Taylor series (VTS) expansion and parameter estimation using the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm. It is also shown how to construct MIMO array processors from conventional beamformers. A number of practical implementations of the conventional loosely coupled approach and the proposed closely coupled approach were tested on a publicly available database, the Multichannel Overlapping Number Corpus (MONC). Experimental results showed that the proposed closely coupled approach significantly improved the speech recognition performance in the overlapping speech situations
Low insulin-like growth factor-1 level predicts survival in humans with exceptional longevity

Attenuated growth hormone and insulin‐like growth factor‐1 (GH/IGF‐1) signaling is associated with extended lifespan in several animal models. However, the effect of diminished GH/IGF‐1 activity on survival in humans has not been confirmed. We tested the hypothesis that IGF‐1 levels in nonagenarians (n = 184), measured at study enrollment, predict the duration of their incremental survival. In the Kaplan–Meier analysis, females with IGF‐1 levels below the median (≤ 96 ng mL−1) had significantly longer survival compared with females with levels above the median, P < 0.01. However, this survival advantage was not observed in males (P = 0.83). On the other hand, in both males and females with a history of cancer, lower IGF‐1 levels predicted longer survival (P < 0.01). IGF‐1 level remained a significant predictor of survival duration in linear regression models after multivariable adjustment in females (P = 0.01) and individuals with a history of cancer (P < 0.01). We show for the first time that low IGF‐1 levels predict life expectancy in exceptionally long‐lived individuals.
VPQ: a spoken language interface to large scale directory information

This paper describes VPQ (Voice Post Query), a dialog system that provides spoken access to the information in the AT&T corporate personnel database (>120,000 entries). An explicit design goal is to have the user’s initial interaction with the system be rather unconstrained and to rely on tighter, prompt constrained, dialog only when absolutely necessary. The purpose of VPQ is both a) to explore and exploit the capabilities of “state of the art” speech recognition systems for this highperplexity task, and b) to develop the natural language understanding and dialog control components necessary for effective and efficient user interactions. The VPQ task spans a wide range of possible dialog scenarios. They range from simple “one-shot” to complex multi-turn interactions. The former correspond to interactions where the initial utterance is unambiguous and the system’s response appropriately terminates the interaction either by providing the desired information or completing a call to the requested person. The more complex interactions occur primarily whenever ambiguities or errors require resolution. Current speech recognition accuracy of 80% is adequate to pursue such an ambitious task. This paper highlights the inherent challenges in such a task, the major components of the system, the rationale for their design, and how they perform. The VPQ project targets a variety of access devices, including telephony, desktop and handheld devices offering multi-modal user interfaces. In this paper we focus on describing the telephony interface.
Flavonoid Biosynthesis Genes Putatively Identified in the Aromatic Plant Polygonum minus via Expressed Sequences Tag (EST) Analysis

P. minus is an aromatic plant, the leaf of which is widely used as a food additive and in the perfume industry. The leaf also accumulates secondary metabolites that act as active ingredients such as flavonoid. Due to limited genomic and transcriptomic data, the biosynthetic pathway of flavonoids is currently unclear. Identification of candidate genes involved in the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway will significantly contribute to understanding the biosynthesis of active compounds. We have constructed a standard cDNA library from P. minus leaves, and two normalized full-length enriched cDNA libraries were constructed from stem and root organs in order to create a gene resource for the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, especially flavonoid biosynthesis. Thus, large-scale sequencing of P. minus cDNA libraries identified 4196 expressed sequences tags (ESTs) which were deposited in dbEST in the National Center of Biotechnology Information (NCBI). From the three constructed cDNA libraries, 11 ESTs encoding seven genes were mapped to the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway. Finally, three flavonoid biosynthetic pathway-related ESTs chalcone synthase, CHS (JG745304), flavonol synthase, FLS (JG705819) and leucoanthocyanidin dioxygenase, LDOX (JG745247) were selected for further examination by quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) in different P. minus organs. Expression was detected in leaf, stem and root. Gene expression studies have been initiated in order to better understand the underlying physiological processes.
Heterozygosity in apomictic organisms.

Pamilo, P. 1987. Heterozygosity in apomictic organisms. —Hereditus 207: 95–101. Lund, Sweden. ISSN 0018–0661. Received November 19, 1986 New mutations generally occur as heterozygotes. In the absence of recombination. e.g., in apomictic organisms, the affected loci remain heterozygous and the number of heterozygous loci per individual increases. Temporal changes of such multilocus heterozygosity are here examined in a diploid model in which mutation occurs at a rate u per gene per generation between two functional alleles and at a rate v from a functional to a non-functional (recessive lethal) allele. The main emphasis is in examining the expected temporal changes of functional heterozygosity. i.e., of the proportion of loci heterozygous for two functional alleles. This proportion crucially depends on the ratio u/v and on selection against the heterozygotes with one non-functional allele. If the non-functional alleles are completely recessive, the frequency of functional heterozygotes reaches a maximum value and later declines. However, if the non-functional alleles slightly reduce the fitness when heterozygous, their frequency is kept low by selection and the functional heterozygosity increases. Similar conclusions hold for polyploid apomictic organisms, but the poly-ploid models are here examined only under the assumption of complete recessiveness of the non-functional alleles. The single-locus stochastic model of selectively neutral variation shows that a monophyletic apomictic line can retain the ancestral genotype with a high frequency for quite a long time. This challenges the interpretation that such genotypic monomorphism is maintained by selection.