Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dark Energy and the Observable Universe

We consider ever-expanding big bang models with a cosmological constant, Λ, and investigate in detail the evolution of the observable part of the universe. We also discuss quintessence models from the same point of view. A new concept, the Λ-sphere (or Q-sphere, in the case of quintessence) is introduced. This is the surface in our visible universe that bounds the region where dark energy dominates the expansion, and within which the universe is accelerating. We follow the evolution of this surface as the universe expands, and we also investigate the evolution of the particle and event horizons as well as the Hubble surface. We calculate the extent of the observable universe and the portion of it that can be seen at different epochs. Furthermore, we trace the changes in redshift, apparent magnitude and apparent size of distant sources through cosmic history. Our approach is different from, but complementary to, most other contemporary investigations, which concentrate on the past light cone at the present epoch. When presenting numerical results we use the FRW world model with Ωm0 = 0.30 and ΩΛ0 = 0.70 as our standard cosmological model. In this model the Λ-sphere is at a redshift of 0.67, and within a few Hubble times the event horizon will be stationary at a fixed proper distance of 5.1 Gpc (assuming h0 = 0.7). All cosmological sources with present redshift larger than 1.7 have by now crossed the event horizon and are therefore completely out of causal contact.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Mini‐Sentinel program: status and direction

The Mini‐Sentinel is a pilot program that is developing methods, tools, resources, policies, and procedures to facilitate the use of routinely collected electronic healthcare data to perform active surveillance of the safety of marketed medical products, including drugs, biologics, and medical devices. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) initiated the program in 2009 as part of its Sentinel Initiative, in response to a Congressional mandate in the FDA Amendments Act of 2007.
Retinal thickness study with optical coherence tomography in patients with diabetes.

PURPOSE To quantitatively assess retinal thickness by optical coherence tomography (OCT) in normal subjects and patients with diabetes. This study was intended to determine which retinal thickness value measured with OCT best discriminates between diabetic eyes, with and without macular edema. METHODS OCT retinal thickness was measured by a manual technique in a total of 26 healthy volunteers (44 control eyes) and 85 patients with diabetes (148 eyes) with the clinical diagnosis of no diabetic retinopathy (45 eyes), nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy without clinically significant macular edema (CSME; 54 eyes), proliferative diabetic retinopathy without CSME (21 eyes), and 28 eyes with diabetic retinopathy with CSME. Independent predictors of the presence of CSME were quantified by using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were generated to evaluate and compare the predictor variables. The correlation of retinal thickness measurements and visual acuity was calculated. RESULTS There were statistically significant differences in foveal thickness between control eyes and all the other eye groups (P = 0.001). Diabetic eyes with CSME had a statistically significant greater thickness in each of the areas compared with the other groups. In a multivariate logistic regression model, foveal thickness was a strong and independent predictor of CSME (odds ratio [OR], 1.037; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.02-1.05). The area under the ROC curve of this predictor variable was 0.94 (P = 0.001). For a cutoff point of 180 microm, the sensitivity was 93%, and specificity was 75%. Foveal thickness correlated with visual acuity in a log minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) scale (Spearman's rho = 0.9, P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that foveal thickening over 180 microm measured by OCT may be useful for the early detection of macular thickening and may be an indicator for a closer follow-up of the patient with diabetes.
Ribbon tableaux, Hall–Littlewood functions, quantum affine algebras, and unipotent varieties

We introduce a new family of symmetric functions, which are q analogs of products of Schur functions, defined in terms of ribbon tableaux. These functions can be interpreted in terms of the Fock space representation Fq of Uq(sln), and are related to Hall–Littlewood functions via the geometry of flag varieties. We present a series of conjectures, and prove them in special cases. The essential step in proving that these functions are actually symmetric consists in the calculation of a basis of highest weight vectors of Fq using ribbon tableaux.
Facilitation of a structural transition in the polypurine/polypyrimidine tract within the proximal promoter region of the human VEGF gene by the presence of potassium and G-quadruplex-interactive agents

The proximal promoter region of the human vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene contains a polypurine/polypyrimidine tract that serves as a multiple binding site for Sp1 and Egr-1 transcription factors. This tract contains a guanine-rich sequence consisting of four runs of three or more contiguous guanines separated by one or more bases, corresponding to a general motif for the formation of an intramolecular G-quadruplex. In this study, we observed the progressive unwinding of the oligomer duplex DNA containing this region into single-stranded forms in the presence of KCl and the G-quadruplex-interactive agents TMPyP4 and telomestatin, suggesting the dynamic nature of this tract under conditions which favor the formation of the G-quadruplex structures. Subsequent footprinting studies with DNase I and S1 nucleases using a supercoiled plasmid DNA containing the human VEGF promoter region also revealed a long protected region, including the guanine-rich sequences, in the presence of KCl and telomestatin. Significantly, a striking hypersensitivity to both nucleases was observed at the 3′-side residue of the predicted G-quadruplex-forming region in the presence of KCl and telomestatin, indicating altered conformation of the human VEGF proximal promoter region surrounding the guanine-rich sequence. In contrast, when specific point mutations were introduced into specific guanine residues within the G-quadruplex-forming region (Sp1 binding sites) to abolish G-quadruplex-forming ability, the reactivity of both nucleases toward the mutated human VEGF proximal promoter region was almost identical, even in the presence of telomestatin with KCl. This comparison of wild-type and mutant sequences strongly suggests that the formation of highly organized secondary structures such as G-quadruplexes within the G-rich region of the human VEGF promoter region is responsible for observed changes in the reactivity of both nucleases within the polypurine/polypyrimidine tract of the human VEGF gene. The formation of the G-quadruplex structures from this G-rich sequence in the human VEGF promoter is further confirmed by the CD experiments. Collectively, our results provide strong evidence that specific G-quadruplex structures can naturally be formed by the G-rich sequence within the polypurine/polypyrimidine tract of the human VEGF promoter region, raising the possibility that the transcriptional control of the VEGF gene can be modulated by G-quadruplex-interactive agents.
Contribution of individual toxin components to virulence of Bacillus anthracis

Three proteins, protective antigen (PA), lethal factor (LF), and edema factor (EF; a calmodulin-dependent adenylate cyclase), compose the lethal (PA + LF) and edema (PA + EF) toxins secreted by Bacillus anthracis. Mutant strains, each deficient in the production of one toxin component, were constructed, and their virulence was then studied. A kanamycin resistance cassette was inserted in each cya (encoding EF) and lef (encoding LF) gene, and the constructs were separately introduced into B. anthracis Sterne on a mobilizable shuttle plasmid. An EF- strain and an LF- strain were then isolated after homologous recombination with the resident toxin-encoding plasmid, pXO1. Spores from these mutants and from a previously constructed PA- mutant were used to inoculate mice, and the lethality and local edema formation were monitored. LF- or PA- mutants were not lethal even at high inocula, whereas the EF- mutant induced lethal infections. This indicates that LF in combination with PA is a key virulence factor required for lethality. Skin edema formation was observed with the LF- mutant, which produces only the combination of PA and EF. However, EF- and LF- mutants were significantly less efficient at inducing, respectively, lethality and edema than was the parental Sterne strain. These results suggest that the three toxin components might act synergistically in vivo to cause lethality and edema formation.
The Darker Side of Travel: The Theory and Practice of Dark Tourism

Contributors 1. Shedding light on dark tourism: an introduction - Richard Sharpley 2. Making absent death present - consuming dark tourism in contemporary society - Philip R. Stone 3. Dark tourism: mediating between the dead and the living - Tony Walter 4. Dark tourism: morality and new moral spaces - Philip R. Stone 5. Purposeful otherness: approaches to the management of thanatourism - Tony Seaton 6. (Re)presenting the Macabre: interpretation, kitschification and authenticity - Richard Sharpley and Philip R. Stone 7. Contested national tragedies: an ethical dimension - Craig Wight 8. Dark tourism and political ideology: towards a governance model - Richard Sharpley 9. 'It's a Bloody Guide' - Fun, fear and a lighter side of dark tourism at The Dungeon visitor attractions, UK - Philip R. Stone 10. Battlefield tourism: bringing organised violence back to life - Frank Baldwin and Richard Sharpley 11. 'Genocide tourism' - John Beech 12. Museums, memorials and plantation houses in the Black Atlantic: slavery and the development of dark tourism - Alan Rice Life, Death and Dark Tourism: future research directions and concluding comments Richard Sharpley and Philip R. Stone References Index
Reconstructing pavlopetri: Mapping the world's oldest submerged town using stereo-vision

This paper presents a vision-based underwater mapping system, which is demonstrated in an archaeological survey of the submerged ancient town of Pavlopetri. The snorkeler or diver operated system provides a low cost alternative to the use of an AUV or ROV in shallow waters. The system produces textured three-dimensional models, which contain significantly more information than traditional archaeological survey methods. The photo-realistic maps that are produced allow further archaeological research to be performed, without diving on a site during the restrictive time limitations of permits and field seasons. The hardware and software components of the mapping system and its method of operation are described, and initial results are presented and discussed.
[Role of probucol in preventing contrast induced acute kidney injury after coronary interventional procedure: a randomized trial].

OBJECTIVE Contrast induced acute kidney injury (CIAKI) is a significant clinical problem. We, therefore, performed a prospective, randomized trial to investigate the role of probucol in the prevention of CIAKI in patients with unstable angina pectoris (UAP) undergoing percutaneous coronary angiography (CAG) and interventions (PCI). METHODS We studied 205 patients with UAP, who underwent CAG or PCI prospectively. Patients were randomly assigned to probucol group (n = 102) and control group (n = 103). In the probucol group, the patients received probucol tablets 500 mg b.i. d for 3 days before and after intervention. All the patients, after intervention, underwent hydration with intravenous saline at a rate of 1 ml per kilogram of body weight per hour for 12 hours. RESULTS Patients were well-matched with no significant difference at baseline in majority measured parameters between two groups. CIAKI occurred in 23 of the 205 (11.22%) patients. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify correlates of CIAKI and clinical data. CIAKI was most strongly associated with Scr > or = 132.6 micromol/L (OR = 21.11, 95%CI 1.95 - 56.06, P < 0.001), Ccr < 60 ml/min (OR = 4.19, 95%CI 1.94 - 9.05, P < 0.001), heart function > class II (OR = 6.23, 95%CI 2.73 - 14.21, P < 0.001), Diabetes (OR = 2.049, 95%CI 1.19 - 5.25, P < 0.001), age > or = 70 yrs (OR = 3.52, 95%CI 1.66 - 7.43, P < 0.001), coronary artery calcification shown by CAG (OR = 4.29, 95%CI 1.99 - 9.24, P < 0.001). The rate of CIAKI in probucol groups was slightly lower compared with control group (7.84% vs. 14.56%), without significant difference. The post-procedure mean peak of Scr [(101.62 +/- 42.98) micromol/L vs. (117.67 +/- 68.77) micromol/L, P = 0.047] and the post-procedure increasing Scr from baseline (DeltaScr) [(13.49 +/- 19.61) micromol/L vs. (22.50 +/- 18.31) micromol/L, P = 0.001] in the probucol group decreased significantly compared with that of control group. CONCLUSION Prophylactic treatment with probucol 500 mg b.i. d during periprocedural stage in patients with UAP has preventing role against CIAKI after cardiac catheterization.
Unique germ-line organelle, nuage, functions to repress selfish genetic elements in Drosophila melanogaster

The nuage is an electron-dense perinuclear structure that is known to be a hallmark of animal germ-line cells. Although the conservation of the nuage throughout evolution accentuates its essentiality, its role(s) and the exact mechanism(s) by which it functions in the germ line still remain unknown. Here, we report a nuage component, Krimper (KRIMP), in Drosophila melanogaster and show that it ensures the repression of the selfish genetic elements in the female germ line. The Krimp loss-of-function allele exhibited female sterility, defects in karyosome formation and oocyte polarity, and precocious osk translation. These phenotypes are commonly observed in the other nuage component mutants, vasa (vas) and maelstrom (mael), and the RNA-silencing component mutants, spindle-E (spn-E) and aubergine (aub), suggesting a shared underlying defect that uses RNA silencing. Moreover, we demonstrated that the localization of the nuage components depends on both SPN-E and AUB and that the selfish genetic elements were derepressed to different extents in the nuage component mutants, as well as in aub and armitage (armi) mutants. In the nuage component mutants, vas, krimp, and mael, the levels of roo, I-element, and HeT-A repeat-associated small interfering RNAs were greatly reduced. Hence, our data suggest that the nuage functions as a specialized center that protects the genome in the germ-line cells via gene regulation mediated by repeat-associated small interfering RNAs.
Finite support 2-D FIR QMF PR filter bank design by spectral factorization using Gröbner basis

In this paper, the application of spectral factorization by using Grobner basis approach to the problem of 2-D finite support QMF filter bank design is proposed along with illustrative example. Earlier, it has been shown that the Grobner basis can be applied to solve the problem of 2-D factorization and its effectiveness in dealing with polynomial equation system are demonstrated. Despite the fact that there exist many good techniques for designing one dimensional QMF synthesis and analysis filter banks, the two-dimensional counterpart has a major bottleneck due to the generalization of 2-D spectral factorization. The proposed algorithm is the direct generalization of the 1-D QMF filter bank design by spectral factorization. Furthermore, the filter coefficients can be computed in symbolic forms and thus provide a good opportunity for further optimization if additional criteria are given.
Consistency maintenance in multiresolution simulation

Simulations that run at multiple levels of resolution often encounter consistency problems because of insufficient correlation between the attributes at multiple levels of the same entity. Inconsistency may occur despite the existence of valid models at each resolution level. Cross-Resolution Modeling (CRM) attempts to build effective multiresolution simulations. The traditional approach to CRM—aggregation-disaggregation—causes chain disaggregation and puts an unacceptable burden on resources. We present four fundamental observations that would help guide future approaches to CRM. These observations form the basis of an approach we propose that involves the design of Multiple Resolution Entities (MREs). MREs are the foundation of a design that incorporates maintaining internal consistency. We also propose maintenance of core attributes as an approach to maintaining internal consistency within an MRE.
Establishing connections between Formal Concept Analysis and Relational Databases

The relationship between relational databases and formal concept analysis (FCA) has been the topic of several papers in the past. This paper intends to extend some of the ideas presented in the previous papers by analysing the relationship between FCA and two central notions of relational databases: database schemata and normalforms. An object-relational algebra is suggested in this paper as a possible future replacement of relational algebra.
Diarrhea caused by Escherichia coli that produce only heat-stable enterotoxin

To determine the role of Escherichia coli heat-stable enterotoxin (ST) as a virulence factor in human diarrhea, a strain that elaborates only ST (E. coli 214-4) was fed to free-living volunteers in doses of 10(6), 10(8), and 10(10) organisms. Short-lived (1 day) mild illness consisting of abdominal cramps with vomiting or diarrhea occurred in three of five individuals fed 10(8). Typical travelers' diarrhea (loose stools, abdominal cramps, and low-grade fever for 2 to 3 days) was seen in four of five volunteers given 10(10); two had brief cholera-like purging of rice-water stools. Despite fever, there was no evidence of mucosal invasion. E. coli 214-4 became the predominant coliform in stools; coproculture isolates were uniformly negative for heat-labile enterotoxin (LT), whereas most produced ST. Ten of 13 individuals developed rises in antibody to somatic E. coli antigen, and none had rises in LT antitoxin. E. coli that elaborate only ST can cause diarrheal disease in adults.
Progress and challenges to the recognition and reward of the Scholarship of Teaching in higher education

For more than 20 years there have been growing and widely expressed concerns that teaching is not sufficiently rewarded and recognized in universities, particularly in comparison to research. Individuals, institutions and governments have each responded in different ways to promote changes in institutional systems and practices. Two of the major initiatives to raise the status of teaching have been the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning and Teaching Quality movements. These share similar goals and many concepts, but began with a different impetus. This paper reviews initiatives to increase the status of teaching through better recognition and reward of teaching in universities. Current practices and evidence of change are reviewed. The paper concludes that while there has been significant progress made to date, the ultimate symbols of recognition and reward – promotion and tenure – are proving to be elusive but not unattainable for those who focus on the Scholarship of Teaching.
Most salient region tracking

In this paper, we introduce a cognitive approach for object tracking from a mobile platform. The approach is based on a biologically motivated attention system which is able to detect regions of interest in images based on concepts of the human visual system. A top-down guided visual search module of the system enables to especially favor features which fit to a previously learned target object. Here, the appearance of an object is learned online within the first image in which it is detected. In subsequent images, the attention system searches for the target features and builds a top-down, target-related saliency map. This enables to focus on the most relevant features of especially this object in especially this scene without knowing anything about a particular object model or scene in advance. The system is able to operate in real-time and to cope with the requirements of real-world tasks such as illumination variations and other moving objects.
Effects of guided breath exercise on complex behaviour of heart rate dynamics

Cardiac autonomic regulation is influenced by changes in respiratory rate, which has been demonstrated by linear analysis of heart rate variability (HRV). Conversely, the complex behaviour is not well defined for HRV during this physiological state. In this sense, Higuchi Fractal Dimension is applied directly to the time series. It analyses the fractal dimension of discrete time sequences and is simpler and faster than correlation dimension and many other classical measures derived from chaos theory. We investigated chaotic behaviour of heart rate dynamics during guided breath exercises.
SAFE combinations fail to open the door to atrial fibrillation prevention.

The prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) in the entire US population is ≈1%. 1 The prevalence of AF increases substantially with age, with ≤9% of patients over the age of 80 years developing AF. The population presenting with permanent pacing requirements also increases with age, and the cumulative lifetime risk of developing paroxysmal AF in pacemaker patients may be as high as 40%. 2 Article see p 687 Mechanisms for AF initiation and maintenance are multiple but are widely accepted to be a result of triggered initiation by atrial premature beats, and maintenance within the atrial substrate on the basis of multiple wavelets of reentry and rotors that depend on inhomogeneous atrial refractory periods and atrial conduction velocities. Atrial pacing may prevent both AF triggers and atrial substrate changes by suppressing atrial premature beats and inducing a more homogenous atrial landscape of refractory periods and conduction velocities. Atrial-based pacing is clearly superior to ventricular pacing alone in preventing atrial fibrillation with an 18% relative risk reduction with atrial-based pacing over a 3-year follow-up.3 This treatment effect has been postulated to be the result of atrial premature beat suppression and changes in atrial refractory periods and atrial conduction velocities as a result of atrial stretch attributed to higher atrial pressure from AV dyssynchronous pacing. The atrial changes associated with atrial-based pacing could possibly be enhanced by atrial overdrive pacing algorithms or by alternative site atrial pacing, such as the atrial septum. The role of alternative-site atrial pacing …