Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Risk factors for death and the 3-year survival of patients with systemic sclerosis: the French ItinérAIR-Sclérodermie study

Objectives. This longitudinal study investigated survival, risk factors and causes of death in the multicentre ItinérAIR-Sclérodermie cohort of patients with SSc without severe pulmonary fibrosis or severe left heart disease at baseline. Methods. At 3-year follow-up, vital status was obtained from investigators or French national death records. Causes of death were classified as SSc-related or otherwise. Data were censored at 37 months, time of death or loss to follow-up, whichever was earlier. Survival was estimated using the Kaplan–Meier method. Multivariate survival analyses were conducted using the Cox model. Results. In total, 546 patients were followed for a median duration of 37 months, representing 1547 patient-years. At baseline, the majority of patients were female, with lcSSc, mean age 54.9 ± 13.0 years and mean duration of SSc of 8.8 ± 8.1 years. In total, 47 patients died, giving a 3-year survival of 91.1% and cumulative mortality of 3.04 deaths per 100 patient-years; 17 deaths (32.2%) resulted from pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and eight (17.1%) from cancer. Of the 47 patients with PAH at baseline, 20 died during follow-up, giving a 3-year survival of 56.3%. In a multivariate analysis, PAH [hazard ratio (HR) 7.246], age at first symptom (HR 1.052), duration of SSc (HR 1.047 per year) and Rodnan skin score (per one point) (HR 1.045) were associated with increased mortality. Conclusion. This 3-year study observed survival and mortality estimates that were comparable with previous reports. PAH increased the HR for mortality in patients with SSc, justifying yearly echocardiographic screening.
Analytical solutions for efficient interpretation of single‐well push‐pull tracer tests

Single‐well push‐pull tracer tests have been used to characterize the extent, fate, and transport of subsurface contamination. Analytical solutions provide one alternative for interpreting test results. In this work, an exact analytical solution to two‐dimensional equations describing the governing processes acting on a dissolved compound during a modified push‐pull test (advection, longitudinal and transverse dispersion, first‐order decay, and rate‐limited sorption/partitioning in steady, divergent, and convergent flow fields) is developed. The coupling of this solution with inverse modeling to estimate aquifer parameters provides an efficient methodology for subsurface characterization. Synthetic data for single‐well push‐pull tests are employed to demonstrate the utility of the solution for determining (1) estimates of aquifer longitudinal and transverse dispersivities, (2) sorption distribution coefficients and rate constants, and (3) non‐aqueous phase liquid (NAPL) saturations. Employment of the solution to estimate NAPL saturations based on partitioning and non‐partitioning tracers is designed to overcome limitations of previous efforts by including rate‐limited mass transfer. This solution provides a new tool for use by practitioners when interpreting single‐well push‐pull test results.
The Condition‐Dependent Transcriptional Network in Escherichia coli

Thanks to the availability of high‐throughput omics data, bioinformatics approaches are able to hypothesize thus‐far undocumented genetic interactions. However, due to the amount of noise in these data, inferences based on a single data source are often unreliable. A popular approach to overcome this problem is to integrate different data sources. In this study, we describe DISTILLER, a novel framework for data integration that simultaneously analyzes microarray and motif information to find modules that consist of genes that are co‐expressed in a subset of conditions, and their corresponding regulators. By applying our method on publicly available data, we evaluated the condition‐specific transcriptional network of Escherichia coli. DISTILLER confirmed 62% of 736 interactions described in RegulonDB, and 278 novel interactions were predicted.
Route Guidance for Satisfying Temporal Logic Specifications on Aircraft Motion

A new technique for aircraft route guidance subject to linear temporal logic specifications is presented. The proposed approach is based on workspace partitioning, and it relies on the idea of so-called lifted graphs. Briefly, edges in a lifted graph are successions of adjacent edges in the topological graph associated with the workspace partition. Edges of the lifted graph are associated with certain reachability properties of the aircraft model. The main result of this paper is the precise characterization of acceptable routes (namely, sequences of cells) that are guaranteed to be traversable by admissible state trajectories of the aircraft model while satisfying the given linear temporal logic specifications. The proposed approach incorporates nonholonomic kinematic constraints, does not require complete controllability in the presence of workspace constraints, and does not require linearization of the aircraft model. Numerical methods to implement the proposed route-planning algorithm are discussed. T.
Web Spam Detection by Learning from Small Labeled Samples

Web spamming tries to deceive search engines to rank some pages higher than they deserve. Many methods have been proposed to combat web spamming and to detect spam pages. One basic method is using classification, i.e., learning a classification model from previously labeled training data and using this model for classifying web pages to spam or nonspam. A drawback of this method is that manually labeling a large number of web pages to generate the training data can be biased, non-accurate, labor intensive and time consuming. In this paper, we are going to propose a new method to resolve this drawback by using semi-supervised learning to automatically label the training data. To do this, we incorporate Expectation-Maximization algorithm that is an efficient and an important algorithm of semi-supervised learning. Experiments are carried out on the real web spam data, which show the new method, performs very well in practice. General Terms Information Retrieval, Search Engine, Machine Learning.
CO2 Emissions from Fuel Combustion 2015

In recognition of fundamental changes in the way governments approach energy related environmental issues, the IEA has prepared this publication on CO2 emissions from fuel combustion. This annual publication was first published in 1997 and has become an essential tool for analysts and policy makers in many international for a such as the Conference of the Parties, which will be meeting in Paris, France from 30 November to 11 December 2015. The data in this book are designed to assist in understanding the evolution of the emissions of CO2 from 1971 to 2013 for more than 140 countries and regions by sector and by fuel. Emissions were calculated using IEA energy databases and the default methods and emission factors from the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories.
Protective Effects of Membrane-Anchored and Secreted DNA Vaccines Encoding Fatty Acid-Binding Protein and Glutathione S-Transferase against Schistosoma japonicum

In order to explore the high performance bivalent DNA-based vaccine against schistosomes, SjFABP and Sj26GST were selected and used to construct a vaccine. Two strategies were used to construct the bivalent DNA vaccine. In the first strategy, a plasmid encoding antigen in the secreted form was used, while in the other, a plasmid encoding a truncated form of SjFABP and Sj26GST targeted to the cell surface was used. Various parameters, including antibody and cytokine response, proliferation, histopathological examination, and characterization of T cell subsets were used to evaluate the type of immune response and the level of protection against challenge infection. Injection with secreted pIRES-sjFABP-sj26GST significantly increased the levels of antibody, splenocyte proliferation, and production of IFN-γ, compared with membrane-anchored groups. Analysis of splenic T cell subsets showed that the secreted vaccine significantly increased the percentage of CD3+CD4+ and CD3+CD8+ T cells. Liver immunopathology (size of liver granulomas) was significantly reduced in the secreted group compared with the membrane-anchored groups. Moreover, challenge experiments showed that the worm and egg burdens were significantly reduced in animals immunized with recombinant vaccines. Most importantly, secreted Sj26GST-SjFABP markedly enhanced protection, by reducing worm and egg burdens by 31.8% and 24.78%, respectively, while the membrane-anchored group decreased worm and egg burdens by 24.80% and 18.80%, respectively. Taken together, these findings suggest that the secretory vaccine is more promising than the membrane-anchored vaccine, and provides support for the development and application of this vaccine.
First-arrival tomography with fast sweeping method solving the factored eikonal equation

ABSTRACT This paper presents a first-arrival tomography incorporating a fast sweeping method (FSM) solving the factored eikonal equation (factored FSM). The traveltime calculation method plays a significant role in velocity inversion. However, for a point source condition, all finite-difference based eikonal solvers suffer from the source singularity problem. Numerical error caused by source singularity will propagate from the source to all computational domains, and makes traveltimes inaccurate. A FSM solving the factored eikonal equation can deal with the source singularity problem very well. Therefore, a first-arrival tomography is developed by incorporating 2D and 3D factored FSMs to provide more accurate traveltimes in velocity inversion. For comparison, an open source package PStomo_eq is used to invert the same data set. It incorporates the traveltime calculation algorithms fdtime2d.c and fdtime3d.c. Traveltime accuracy tests show that factored FSM can generate more accurate traveltimes than FSM, fdtime2d.c and fdtime3d.c. Numerical and field data tests show that inversion with factored FSM can acquire much better tomograms than inversion with fdtime2d.c and fdtime3d.c. Therefore, it is worthwhile using a more accurate traveltime computation method in velocity inversion.
Evaluation of the Antioxidant Capacity of Different Extracts of Astragalus glaucacanthus

The issue of free radicals and their effects on biological systems is an important subject in Medicine. Antioxidants can protect against free radicals in biological systems. In recent years the use of synthetic antioxidants, like other chemical additives, due to potential toxicity and carcinogenicity is limited. Nowadays, most of studies in this field are use of new and safe antioxidants from plants, animals and microbes. The reserve supply of antioxidants to reduce oxidation stress effects is important. In this study, antioxidant activity of the Astragalus glaucacanthus extracts was determined by using free radical scavenging assay and regenerative properties of Fe 3+ capacity and the synthetic antioxidant such as BHT and vitamin C were positive control. The
Decreased Plasma Fibrinolytic Potential As a Risk for Venous and Arterial Thrombosis

Abstract It has been well established that inherited or acquired hypercoagulability is a risk factor for venous thrombosis. In addition, hypercoagulability may contribute to the risk of arterial events. Much less is known regarding the role of the fibrinolytic system in the risk of thrombotic disease, which partly relates to the lack of validated assays. A plasma-based global fibrinolysis assay, which is sensitive to plasma levels of plasminogen, regulators of fibrinolysis, and proteins involved in coagulation, has been used in large epidemiological studies to assess the role of fibrinolysis in thrombosis. It has been demonstrated that a hypofibrinolytic state increases the risk of a first venous thrombosis, but not of a recurrence. This increased risk of venous thrombosis associated with plasma hypofibrinolysis appears primarily driven by elevated plasma levels of thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor and plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1. The combination of hypercoagulability and hypofibrinolysis synergistically enhances the risk of a first venous event. Plasma hypofibrinolysis may constitute a risk factor for the postthrombotic syndrome. Decreased fibrinolytic potential is also associated with an increased risk of arterial thrombosis, but only in individuals younger than 55 years. The association between hypofibrinolysis and myocardial infarction appears primarily driven by elevated levels of α2-antiplasmin. Although recent studies have clearly demonstrated a role of the fibrinolytic system in thrombotic disease, the clinical utility of plasma-based clot lysis assays is probably limited.
Cohort profile: the Copenhagen School Health Records Register.

The Copenhagen School Health Records Register(CSHRR) is a database of health examination infor-mation on more than 350000 schoolchildren who everattended school in the central municipality of thecapital city of Denmark. For longer than 100 years,school-based health care has been provided to chil-dren in Copenhagen,
Morphological Awareness Assessment and Intervention to Improve Language and Literacy

Abstract Morphological awareness positively influences language and literacy development and may be an ideal intervention focus for improving vocabulary, sight word reading, reading decoding, and reading comprehension in students with and without language and literacy deficits. This article will provide supporting theory, research, and strategies for implementing morphological awareness intervention with students with language and literacy deficits. Additionally, functional connections are explored through the incorporation and application of morphological awareness intervention in academic literacy contexts linked to Common Core State Standards.
A Short Review on Supervised Machine Learning and Deep Learning Techniques in Computer Vision

In last years, computer vision has shown important advances, mainly using the application of supervised machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) techniques. The objective of this review is to show a brief review of the current state of the field of supervised ML and DL techniques, especially on computer vision tasks. This study focuses on the main ideas, advantages, and applications of DL in computer vision and highlights their main concepts and advantages. This study showed the strengths, limitations, and effects of computer vision supervised ML and DL techniques.
Using Employer Hiring Behavior to Test the Educational Signaling Hypothesis

This Paper presents a test of the educational signalling hypothesis. If employers use education as a signal in the hiring process, they will rely more on education when less is otherwise known about applicants. We find that employers are more likely to lower educational standards when an informal, more informative recruitment channel is used, so we conclude that education is used as a signal in the hiring process.
Risk of Occult Uterine Sarcoma in Presumed Uterine Fibroids

Symptomatic fibroids are a common indication for hysterectomy or myomectomy. Although rare, unexpected gynecologic malignancies in presumed fibroids have been documented. In cases where tissue retrieval is performed through morcellation, there is increasing concern that intra-abdominal dispersion of occult uterine malignancies may lead to peritoneal dissemination and worse outcomes. We examined the available literature to determine the prevalence of all uterine cancers in women undergoing hysterectomy or myomectomy for benign uterine disease, with attention to the risk of morcellating occult uterine sarcomas. We also reviewed the available tools for preoperative discrimination between benign and malignant uterine disease.
Stupid computer! Abuse and social identities

This paper presents a preliminary analysis of verbal abuse in spontaneous human-chatterbot conversations. An ethnographic study suggested that abuse is pervasive and may reflect an asymmetrical power distribution, where the user is the master, and the chatterbot the slave. We propose that verbal aggression in this setting may be a social norm applied by users to differentiate themselves from the machine in what can be regarded as a form of interspecies conflict. The findings stress the importance of naturalistic, ethnographic studies to uncover social dynamics of virtual relationships.
Linking the recruitment and survivorship of a freshwater stream-specialist fish species to flow metrics in Mediterranean climate temporary streams

ABSTRACT Novel modelling was utilised in the present study to reveal significant relationships between the abundance of the Australian freshwater stream-specialist fish Galaxias olidus and metrics defining flow regimes across a region dominated by temporary streams. It was revealed that increases in total abundance were linked to metrics (both 1- and 3-year periods) that indicate greater water availability and the persistence of water in pools across the year, namely the average duration of zero-flow days over the low-flow season (negatively) and total duration of bankfull flows across the year (positively). The analysis identified 3-year metrics as being more important to the abundance of 0+ fish rather than annual ones. Taken together, these findings describing the flow requirements of a stream specialist will help to guide implementation of environmental flows, but will also highlight the need for continued exploration of flow–ecology relationships.
Genetic Modulation of Tau Phosphorylation in the Mouse

The axonal microtubule stabilizing protein tau is hyperphosphorylated in several neurodegenerative conditions, including Alzheimer's disease, yet the genes that regulate tau phosphorylation are largely unknown. Disabled-1 (Dab1) is a cytoplasmic adapter protein that interacts with apolipoprotein E (ApoE) receptors and controls neuronal positioning during embryonic brain development. We have investigated the role of Dab1 in tau phosphorylation. We found that wild-type Dab1, but not a mutant lacking tyrosine phosphorylation sites, protects mice from the hyperphosphorylation of tau. However, the absence of Dab1 is not sufficient to cause tau hyperphosphorylation, because hyperphosphorylation is manifested only when Dab1 is mutated in specific mouse strain backgrounds. Tau hyperphosphorylation correlates with early death in susceptible mouse strains, and it occurs in the neurons of the hippocampus and dentate gyrus. By quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis of Dab1-deficient mice on a hybrid strain background, we uncovered one significant and three suggestive chromosomal loci that modulate tau phosphorylation. Two of these QTL regions contain genes that are defective in early onset Alzheimer's disease. Our findings suggest that Dab1 gene disruption sensitizes mice to tau hyperphosphorylation contingent on specific haplotypes that are linked to Alzheimer's disease loci. Dab1 mutant mice provide an animal model for studying the relationships between ApoE receptors, tau hyperphosphorylation, and Alzheimer's disease.
Balloon Kyphoplasty and Vertebroplasty for Vertebral Compression Fractures: A Comparative Systematic Review of Efficacy and Safety

Study Design. Systematic review and meta-regression. Objectives. To compare the efficacy and safety of balloon kyphoplasty and vertebroplasty for the treatment of vertebral compression fractures, and to examine the prognostic factors that predict outcome. Summary of Background Data. A previous systematic review of vertebroplasty by Levine et al in 2000 identified seven case series studies and no controlled studies. Methods. A number of electronic databases were searched through March 1, 2004. Citation searches of included studies were undertaken and contact was made with experts in the field. No language restrictions were applied. All controlled and uncontrolled studies were included with the exception of case reports. Prognostic factors responsible for pain relief and cement leakage were examined using meta-regression. Results. The following studies were included: balloon kyphoplasty (three nonrandomized comparative studies against conventional medical therapy and 13 case series), vertebroplasty (one nonrandomized comparative study against conventional medical care and 57 cases series), balloon kyphoplasty versus vertebroplasty (one nonrandomized comparative study). The majority of studies were undertaken in older women with osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures with long-term pain that was refractory to medical treatment. At this time, there is no good quality direct comparative evidence of balloon kyphoplasty versus vertebroplasty. From indirect comparison of case series evidence, the procedures appear to provide similar gains in pain relief while for balloon kyphoplasty there is better documentation of gains in patient functionality and quality of life. The level of cement leakage and number of reported adverse events (pulmonary emboli and neurologic injury) in balloon kyphoplasty was significantly lower than for vertebroplasty. These findings were confirmed by meta-regression analysis. Conclusions. There is Level III evidence to support balloon kyphoplasty and vertebroplasty as effective therapies in the management of patients with symptomatic osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures refractory to conventional medical therapy. Although there was a good ratio of benefit to harm for both procedures, balloon kyphoplasty appears to offer the better adverse event profile. These conclusions need to be updated on the basis of the findings of ongoing randomized controlled trials.
Fucoidan Derived from Undaria pinnatifida Induces Apoptosis in Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma SMMC-7721 Cells via the ROS-Mediated Mitochondrial Pathway

Fucoidans, fucose-enriched sulfated polysaccharides isolated from brown algae and marine invertebrates, have been shown to exert anticancer activity in several types of human cancer, including leukemia and breast cancer and in lung adenocarcinoma cells. In the present study, the anticancer activity of the fucoidan extracted from the brown seaweed Undaria pinnatifida was investigated in human hepatocellular carcinoma SMMC-7721 cells, and the underlying mechanisms of action were investigated. SMMC-7721 cells exposed to fucoidan displayed growth inhibition and several typical features of apoptotic cells, such as chromatin condensation and marginalization, a decrease in the number of mitochondria, and in mitochondrial swelling and vacuolation. Fucoidan-induced cell death was associated with depletion of reduced glutathione (GSH), accumulation of high intracellular levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and accompanied by damage to the mitochondrial ultrastructure, depolarization of the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP, Δψm) and caspase activation. Moreover, fucoidan led to altered expression of factors related to apoptosis, including downregulating Livin and XIAP mRNA, which are members of the inhibitor of apoptotic protein (IAP) family, and increased the Bax-to-Bcl-2 ratio. These findings suggest that fucoidan isolated from U. pinnatifida induced apoptosis in SMMC-7721 cells via the ROS-mediated mitochondrial pathway.
An improved gate capacitance for two dimensional junctionless transistor

The junctionless transistor is one of the device structures which found tremendous potential in terms of reduction of short channel effects, scaling factors, capacitance & fabrication. In this paper we observed an improved gate capacitance (Cgg) in depletion and inversion regions of a T-shape double gate junctionless transistor with comparison to the single gate junctionless transistor for different oxide thickness (tox), doping concentration (ND) and Gate lengths (Lg).