Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Open-Label Zonisamide for Refractory Migraine

Objectives:Zonisamide is a novel anticonvulsant drug with multiple mechanisms of action, many of which may confer efficacy in the treatment of migraine headaches. This study investigated the use of open-label zonisamide in treating patients with refractory migraine headaches. Methods:Thirty-four migraine patients were initiated on a 100-mg/day zonisamide dosage, which was titrated to 400 mg/day as tolerated. Mean headache severity, frequency, and duration were assessed before and 1, 2, and 3 months after initiation of zonisamide therapy. Results:Statistically significant improvements in headache severity (P < 0.01), duration (P < 0.05), and frequency (P < 0.05) were evident after 1 month of zonisamide therapy and were carried through month 3 of treatment. Zonisamide was well tolerated, with only 4 patients (11.8%) discontinuing for adverse events, including dysphoria (n = 2) and difficulty concentrating (n = 2). Other adverse events were transient and tolerable. Conclusions:These results suggest that zonisamide may be a safe and effective adjunctive agent for migraine prevention. Double-blind studies are warranted to confirm these findings.
Relationship among Serum Creatinine, Serum Gastrin, Calcium‐phosphorus Product, and Uremic Gastropathy in Cats with Chronic Kidney Disease

Background Chronic kidney disease (CKD) in cats is associated with gastrointestinal signs commonly attributed to uremic gastropathy. Consequently, patients often are treated with antacids and gastrointestinal protectants. This therapeutic regimen is based on documented gastric lesions in uremic humans and dogs, but the nature and incidence of uremic gastropathy in cats are unknown. Hypothesis/Objectives Evaluate uremic gastropathy in CKD cats to facilitate refinement of medical management for gastrointestinal signs. Animals Thirty‐seven CKD cats; 12 nonazotemic cats Methods Stomachs were evaluated for the presence of classic uremic gastropathy lesions. Histopathologic lesions were compared with serum creatinine concentrations, calcium‐phosphorus product (CPP), and serum gastrin concentrations. Results Gastric ulceration, edema, and vascular fibrinoid change were not observed. The most important gastric lesions in CKD cats were fibrosis and mineralization. Sixteen CKD cats (43%) had evidence of gastric fibrosis of varying severity and 14 CKD cats (38%) had gastric mineralization. CKD cats were more likely to have gastric fibrosis and mineralization than nonazotemic controls (P = .005 and P = .021, respectively). Only cats with moderate and severe azotemia had gastric mineralization. CPP was correlated with disease severity; severely azotemic CKD cats had significantly higher CPP when compared with nonazotemic controls, and to mildly and moderately azotemic cats (P < .05). Gastrin concentrations were significantly higher in CKD cats when compared with nonazotemic controls (P = .003), but increased concentrations were not associated with gastric ulceration. Conclusions and Clinical Importance Uremic gastropathy in CKD cats differs from that described in other species and this difference should be considered when devising medical management.
Genus and the geometry of the cut graph

We study the quantitative geometry of graphs in terms of their genus, using the structure of certain "cut graphs," i.e. subgraphs whose removal leaves a planar graph. In particular, we give optimal bounds for random partitioning schemes, as well as various types of embeddings. Using these geometric primitives, we present exponentially improved dependence on genus for a number of problems like approximate max-flow/min-cut theorems, approximations for uniform and nonuniform Sparsest Cut, treewidth approximation, Laplacian eigenvalue bounds, and Lipschitz extension theorems and related metric labeling problems. We list here a sample of these improvements. All the following statements refer to graphs of genus <i>g</i>, unless otherwise noted. • We show that such graphs admit an <i>O</i>(log <i>g</i>)-approximate multi-commodity max-flow/min-cut theorem for the case of uniform demands. This bound is optimal, and improves over the previous bound of <i>O</i>(<i>g</i>) [KPR93, FT03]. For general demands, we show that the worst possible gap is <i>O</i>(log <i>g</i> + <i>C</i><sub><i>P</i></sub>), where <i>C</i><sub><i>P</i></sub> is the gap for planar graphs. This dependence is optimal, and already yields a bound of <i>O</i>(log <i>g</i> + √log <i>n</i>), improving over the previous bound of <i>O</i>(√<i>g</i> log <i>n</i>) [KLMN04]. • We give an <i>O</i>(√log <i>g</i>)-approximation for the uniform Sparsest Cut, balanced vertex separator, and treewidth problems, improving over the previous bound of <i>O</i>(<i>g</i>) [FHL05]. • If a graph <i>G</i> has genus <i>g</i> and maximum degree <i>D</i>, we show that the <i>k</i>th Laplacian eigenvalue of <i>G</i> is (log <i>g</i>)<sup>2</sup> · <i>O</i>(<i>kgD/n</i>), improving over the previous bound of <i>g</i><sup>2</sup>·<i>O</i>(<i>kgD/n</i>) [KLPT09]. There is a lower bound of Ω(<i>kgD/n</i>), making this result almost tight. • We show that if (<i>X, d</i>) is the shortest-path metric on a graph of genus <i>g</i> and <i>S</i> ⊆ <i>X</i>, then every <i>L</i>-Lipschitz map <i>f</i>: <i>S</i> → <i>Z</i> into a Banach space <i>Z</i> admits an <i>O</i>(<i>L</i> log <i>g</i>)-Lipschitz extension <i>f</i>: <i>X</i> → <i>Z</i>. This improves over the previous bound of <i>O</i>(<i>Lg</i>) [LN05], and compares to a lower bound of Ω(<i>L</i>√log <i>g</i>). In a related way, we show that there is an <i>O</i>(log <i>g</i>)-approximation for the 0-extension problem on such graphs, improving over the previous <i>O</i>(<i>g</i>) bound. • We show that every <i>n</i>-vertex shortest-path metric on a graph of genus <i>g</i> embeds into <i>L</i><sub>2</sub> with distortion <i>O</i>(log <i>g</i> + √log <i>n</i>), improving over the previous bound of <i>O</i>(√<i>g</i> log <i>n</i>). Our result is asymptotically optimal for every dependence <i>g</i> = <i>g</i>(<i>n</i>).
Fundamental frequency estimation of musical signals using a two‐way mismatch procedure

Fundamental frequency (F0) estimation for quasiharmonic signals is an important task in music signal processing. Many previously developed techniques have suffered from unsatisfactory performance due to ambiguous spectra, noise perturbations, wide frequency range, vibrato, and other common artifacts encountered in musical signals. In this paper a new two‐way mismatch (TWM) procedure for estimating F0 is described which may lead to improved results in this area. This computer‐based method uses the quasiharmonic assumption to guide a search for F0 based on the short‐time spectra of an input signal. The estimated F0 is chosen to minimize discrepancies between measured partial frequencies and harmonic frequencies generated by trial values of F0. For each trial F0, mismatches between the harmonics generated and the measured partial frequencies are averaged over a fixed subset of the available partials. A weighting scheme is used to reduce the susceptibility of the procedure to the presence of noise or absence .
The Bowerbirds and the Bees: Miller on Art, Altruism, and Sexual Selection

Geoffrey Miller argues that we can account for the evolution of human art and altruism via the action of sexual selection. He identifies five characteristics supposedly unique to sexual adaptations: fitness indicating cost; involvement in courtship; heritability; variability; and sexual differentiation. Miller claims that art and altruism possess these characteristics. I argue that not only does he not demonstrate that art and altruism possess these characteristics, one can also explain the origins of altruism via a form of group selection and traits with the five characteristics in terms of a process I call “cultural sexual selection. ”
A Dynamic Model for Electrical Vehicles Interacting with Microgrids and Renewables

Electrical vehicles and renewable energy sources may decrease the dependence on fossil fuels. However, they need controllers to integrate intermittent renewables in the smart grid and to achieve an optimal solution that minimize costs, satisfy demands and electrical constraints. In this paper, a model that integrates electrical vehicles management and distributed energy production and storage systems is presented. The dynamic decision model, which embeds the time-varying state of charge of storage systems and electrical vehicles, is formalized and applied to the Savona District.
Excretory-Secretory Products from Hookworm L3 and Adult Worms Suppress Proinflammatory Cytokines in Infected Individuals

We compared the effects of larval and adult worm excretory-secretory (ES) products from hookworm on the proliferative responses and cytokine secretion in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from hookwormpatients and egg-negative, nonendemic controls. When compared with negative controls, mitogen-stimulated PBMC from hookworm-infected individuals showed a significantly reduced proliferative response when adult worm ES antigen was added to the cultures. Furthermore, in hookworm-infected individuals a significant downmodulation of inflammatory interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α secretion resulted when PBMCs were stimulated with mitogen in combination with larval or adult worm ES. Both, interferon (IFN)-γ and IL-10 secretion were significantly lower in stimulated PBMC from infected individuals; however the IFN-γ/IL-10 ratio was much lower in hookworm-infected patients. Comparable effects, although at lower concentrations, were achieved when PBMCs from both groups were incubated with living hookworm third-stage larvae. We suggest that hookworm ES products downmodulate proliferative responses and inflammation during the chronic phase of the disease and facilitate early larval survival or adult worm persistence in the gut.
Immersive peer-to-peer audio streaming platform for massive online games

Massive Multiplayer Online Games (MMOG) have widely become a successful online business model. Current MMOG games lack the ability to stream dynamic user created audio signals, which places the ultimate immersive experience beyond reach. In this paper, we propose a scalable immersive audio streaming platform which adds directional and spatial information to the audio service of MMOG games. Our design focuses on providing a scalable platform that can stream dynamic audio content to a game involving millions of concurrent users.
Seeing through protein complexes by high‐throughput FRET

ﬂuorescence resonance energy transfer (alsoknown as F€orster-type resonance energy transfer, FRET) wasdescribed as a physical phenomenon in the middle of the20th century (1), it was an unrecognized tool in biology tillthe 1970s, when Stryer coined the term ‘‘spectroscopic ruler’’to describe the unique capability of FRET to be used as adistance measuring method (2). Despite these initial ad-vances, FRET was regarded as a research method forcomputer and engineering geeks until the 1990s. The intro-duction of ﬂuorescent monoclonal antibodies, green ﬂuores-cent protein derivatives, the development of FRET applica-tions for ﬂow cytometry (3,4), digital imaging microscopy(5,6), and the wide-spread availability of fast computers andﬂexible evaluation softwares turned FRET into a fashionabletechnique.In FRET, a ﬂuorescent donor interacts with an acceptormolecule which is separated by 2–10 nm from the donor.The interaction results in the transfer of the donor excita-tion energy to the acceptor manifested in, among others,quenching of donor ﬂuorescence and enhancement, or sen-sitization of acceptor ﬂuorescence (7). FRET efﬁciency issupposed to be dependent only on the donor–acceptor dis-tance, a property one expects from a ‘‘spectroscopic ruler. ’’Although in most cases this approximation is acceptable,the validity of the underlying assumption of dynamic aver-aging has to be veriﬁed, because if not fulﬁlled, FRET alsocorrelates with the relative orientation of the donor and theacceptor (8). Early approaches of FRET directly measured the donor-sensitized emission of the acceptor by using special narrowband-pass ﬁlter sets to eliminate spectral overspill between thedonor, FRET, and acceptor channels (9). Even today, the litera-ture abounds with methods using FRET intensity (ﬂuores-cence measured in the FRET channel) or uncalibrated FRETparameters. It is highly advisable to use the calibrated FRETef-ﬁciency instead of enigmatic and dubious parameters to pre-vent drawing false conclusions. As the development in thisarea accelerates, new methods have been described for theaccurate calculation of FRET efﬁciency between GFP variants(10), to account for the presence of free donors and acceptors(11) and to describe the proximity relationship of more thantwo epitopes (12,13). The fact that FRET reports the distancebetween the donor- and the acceptor-tagged epitopes, i.e., theconformation of the protein, in real-time in living cells madeit possible to solve the three-dimensional structure of mem-brane receptor complexes in intact cells (14). FRET is oftenused as a read-out parameter in assays in which the conforma-tion of a sensor is affected by a protease, ligand, or ion. Thecombination of three ﬂuorophores in a single FRET-basedsensor makes simultaneous measurement of two parameterspossible (15). In the post-genomic era, the protein interactome is gain-ing more importance. Techniques used for the realization ofhigh-throughput mapping of protein interactions (e.g., yeasttwo-hybrid, ﬂuorescence complementation) are now supple-mented by FRET-based sorting of cells in which certain pro-
Macrophages in intestinal homeostasis and inflammation

The intestine contains the largest pool of macrophages in the body which are essential for maintaining mucosal homeostasis in the face of the microbiota and the constant need for epithelial renewal but are also important components of protective immunity and are involved in the pathology of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, defining the biological roles of intestinal macrophages has been impeded by problems in defining the phenotype and origins of different populations of myeloid cells in the mucosa. Here, we discuss how multiple parameters can be used in combination to discriminate between functionally distinct myeloid cells and discuss the roles of macrophages during homeostasis and how these may change when inflammation ensues. We also discuss the evidence that intestinal macrophages do not fit the current paradigm that tissue‐resident macrophages are derived from embryonic precursors that self‐renew in situ, but require constant replenishment by blood monocytes. We describe our recent work demonstrating that classical monocytes constantly enter the intestinal mucosa and how the environment dictates their subsequent fate. We believe that understanding the factors that drive intestinal macrophage development in the steady state and how these may change in response to pathogens or inflammation could provide important insights into the treatment of IBD.
Community roundtables for tourism-related conflicts: the dialectics of consensus and process structures.

The article discusses research on a community-based round table process to address conflict over tourism-related development in the rapidly growing mountain town of Canmore, adjacent to Banff National Park, Canada. Business, political, environmental and resident/community stakeholders convened as the Canmore Growth Management Committee (GMC) to develop a growth management strategy, though the planners and local government stayed at arm's-length from decision-making. This interpretive study demonstrates that the collaboration space can be a contested terrain where power and legitimation interrelate with process structures and activities, influencing meaning constructions and outcomes. Process structures are paradoxical in terms of shaping, constraining or enabling meaningful stakeholder participation. 'Consensus' is a problematic construct that can be shaped through the enactment of certain process rules, structures and activities, commencing in the convening stage. Local government initiators, destination.
Contactless Liquid Level Sensing using Wave Damping Phenomena in Free-Space

This paper presents a unique approach for contactless liquid level measurement via the free-space electromagnetic damping phenomenon. By measuring the attenuation and phase shift of a wave reflected from the liquid surface, the liquid level in the tank can be determined. This research project has been undertaken because of a rising demand in the automotive industry for low-cost contactless level detection of fluids in the engine compartment.
PERIODICITY DETECTION OF LOCAL MOTION (WedPmPO1)

: In this paper, we present an automatic motion periodicity detection approach based on local motion analysis under complex condition. Periodicity is a significant characteriza−tion for compact representation and a proper temporal scale for periodic motion analysis. We concern local motion on interesting region rather than global motion. The task is challenging for local motion is usually buried in clutters with global motion and noises. Unlike most existing methods that assume the moving object region has been labeled or the camera is static, we apply robust local motion estimation technology and object localization method to extract object motion. The object motion is characterized by both local motion probability based confidence and motion vectors after global motion compensation. Then, we compute the autocorrelation serial of object motion energy and find local maximum points in it. With the set of indices of local maxi−mum points, we can estimate the basic periodicity through least−square fitting.
Rising Rates of Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae in Community Hospitals: A Mixed-Methods Review of Epidemiology and Microbiology Practices in a Network of Community Hospitals in the Southeastern United States

(See the commentary by Pfeiffer and Beldavs, on pages 984–986.) Objective Describe the epidemiology of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) and examine the effect of lower carbapenem breakpoints on CRE detection. Design Retrospective cohort. Setting Inpatient care at community hospitals. Patients All patients with CRE-positive cultures were included. Methods CRE isolated from 25 community hospitals were prospectively entered into a centralized database from January 2008 through December 2012. Microbiology laboratory practices were assessed using questionnaires. Results A total of 305 CRE isolates were detected at 16 hospitals (64%). Patients with CRE had symptomatic infection in 180 cases (59%) and asymptomatic colonization in the remainder (125 cases; 41%). Klebsiella pneumoniae (277 isolates; 91%) was the most prevalent species. The majority of cases were healthcare associated (288 cases; 94%). The rate of CRE detection increased more than fivefold from 2008 (0.26 cases per 100,000 patient-days) to 2012 (1.4 cases per 100,000 patient-days; incidence rate ratio (IRR), 5.3 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.22–22.7]; P = . 01). Only 5 hospitals (20%) had adopted the 2010 Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) carbapenem breakpoints. The 5 hospitals that adopted the lower carbapenem breakpoints were more likely to detect CRE after implementation of breakpoints than before (4.1 vs 0.5 cases per 100,000 patient-days; P < .001; IRR, 8.1 [95% CI, 2.7–24.6]). Hospitals that implemented the lower carbapenem breakpoints were more likely to detect CRE than were hospitals that did not (3.3 vs 1.1 cases per 100,000 patient-days; P = .01). Conclusions The rate of CRE detection increased fivefold in community hospitals in the southeastern United States from 2008 to 2012. Despite this, our estimates are likely underestimates of the true rate of CRE detection, given the low adoption of the carbapenem breakpoints recommended in the 2010 CLSI guidelines.
Deletion of WNK1 First Intron Results in Misregulation of Both Isoforms in Renal and Extrarenal Tissues

Large deletions in intron 1 of the with-no-lysine kinase type 1 (WNK1) gene cause familial hyperkalemic hypertension. Alternative promoters generate functionally different isoforms: long ubiquitous isoforms (L-WNK1) and a kidney-specific isoform (KS-WNK1) lacking kinase activity. It remains unclear whether the disease-causing mutations selectively modify the synthesis of 1 or both types of isoforms. Using a transgenic mouse model, we found that intron 1 deletion resulted in the overexpression of L- and KS-WNK1 in the distal convoluted tubule and ubiquitous ectopic KS-WNK1 expression. Phylogenetic and functional analysis of the minimal 22-kb intron 1 deletion identified 1 repressor and 1 insulator, potentially preventing interactions between the regulatory elements of L-WNK1 and KS-WNK1. These results provide the first insight into the molecular mechanisms of WNK1-induced familial hyperkalemic hypertension.
A Hybrid Sampling Scheme for Triangle Counting

We study the problem of estimating the number of triangles in a graph stream. No streaming algorithm can get sublinear space on all graphs, so methods in this area bound the space in terms of parameters of the input graph such as the maximum number of triangles sharing a single edge. We give a sampling algorithm that is additionally parameterized by the maximum number of triangles sharing a single vertex. Our bound matches the best known turnstile results in all graphs, and gets better performance on simple graphs like G(n, p) or a set of independent triangles. We complement the upper bound with a lower bound showing that no sampling algorithm can do better on those graphs by more than a log factor. In particular, any insertion stream algorithm must use [EQUATION] space when all the triangles share a common vertex, and any sampling algorithm must take T1/3 samples when all the triangles are independent. We add another lower bound, also matching our algorithm's performance, which applies to all graph classes. This lower bound covers "triangle-dependent" sampling algorithms, a subclass that includes our algorithm and all previous sampling algorithms for the problem.
A Pilot Study of Students' Perceptions and Attitudes Toward Multicultural Concepts: A Pre- and Post-Course Analysis

Diversity issues have been the cause of both pain and inspiration within the United States. One environment that has aided diversity movements are institutions of higher learning. The purpose of this pilot study was to examine characteristics of a survey used to measure students' perceptions toward various diversity issues pre- and post-course on multicultural/diversity issues in hospitality management. One hundred students were solicited for this study. The instrument measured perceptions toward 23 statements in four sections using a 5-point Likert-type scale. The statistical procedures employed for this study were descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, and multivariate analysis of variance. It was found that the survey used for this study contained areas of concern, and adjustments to the survey may be needed to improve reliability. It was also found that students' post-course self-assessments of their diversity awareness differed significantly from their pre-course assessments. The results of this pilot study could be used by various hospitality organizations looking to obtain a competitive advantage through their understanding and embracing of diversity issues as part of their corporate culture.