Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Predictors of relapses in ANCA-associated small vessel vasculitis with kidney involvement

Rationale: Almost half of the patients with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) associated small vessel vasculitis relapse and their characteristics are still to be defined Objective: We aimed to evaluate the relapse rate and its determinants in a cohort of patients with ANCA associated vasculitis with severe kidney involvement. Methods and results: This is a retrospective study which included 100 patients consecutively admitted in a Nephrology Department with crescentic pauci-immune glomerulonephritis diagnosed by kidney biopsy. ANCAs were assessed by capture ELISA or indirect immunofluorescence (IFI). Patients were followed for a median period of 3.2 [0.1; 5.5] years. The median age was 61.6 years. The clinical condition at presentation was severe (median BVAS 16 and BVAS over 21 in one quarter of patients), mostly because of general, kidney and lung scores. Median creatinine was 5.7 mg/dL and 17% of the patients needed temporary dialysis. Eight patients relapsed (13.8%): one in the lung and seven in the kidney. The median time to relapse was 11.3 [9.2; 19.9] months. None of the investigated parameters allowed for differentiating patients who relapsed from those who did not, except higher hematuria in those who relapsed. Discussion: In our patients with ANCA vasculitis and severe kidney involvement, the relapse rate is low and hematuria but not ANCA specificity or clinical presentation allows the prediction of relapse.
Ancestral duplications and highly dynamic opsin gene evolution in percomorph fishes

Significance Gene and whole-genome duplications are important evolutionary forces promoting organismal diversification. Teleost fishes, for example, possess many gene duplicates responsible for photoreception (opsins), which emerged through gene duplication and allow fishes to adapt to the various light conditions of the aquatic environment. Here, we reevaluate the evolutionary history of the violet-blue–sensitive opsins [short wavelength-sensitive 2 (SWS2)] in modern teleosts using next generation genome sequencing. We uncover a gene duplication event specific to the most diverse lineage of vertebrates (the percomorphs) and show that SWS2 evolution was highly dynamic and involved gene loss, pseudogenization, and gene conversion. We, thus, clarify previous discrepancies regarding opsin annotations. Our study highlights the importance of integrative approaches to help us understand how species adapt and diversify. Single-gene and whole-genome duplications are important evolutionary mechanisms that contribute to biological diversification by launching new genetic raw material. For example, the evolution of animal vision is tightly linked to the expansion of the opsin gene family encoding light-absorbing visual pigments. In teleost fishes, the most species-rich vertebrate group, opsins are particularly diverse and key to the successful colonization of habitats ranging from the bioluminescence-biased but basically dark deep sea to clear mountain streams. In this study, we report a previously unnoticed duplication of the violet-blue short wavelength-sensitive 2 (SWS2) opsin, which coincides with the radiation of highly diverse percomorph fishes, permitting us to reinterpret the evolution of this gene family. The inspection of close to 100 fish genomes revealed that, triggered by frequent gene conversion between duplicates, the evolutionary history of SWS2 is rather complex and difficult to predict. Coincidentally, we also report potential cases of gene resurrection in vertebrate opsins, whereby pseudogenized genes were found to convert with their functional paralogs. We then identify multiple novel amino acid substitutions that are likely to have contributed to the adaptive differentiation between SWS2 copies. Finally, using the dusky dottyback Pseudochromis fuscus, we show that the newly discovered SWS2A duplicates can contribute to visual adaptation in two ways: by gaining sensitivities to different wavelengths of light and by being differentially expressed between ontogenetic stages. Thus, our study highlights the importance of comparative approaches in gaining a comprehensive view of the dynamics underlying gene family evolution and ultimately, animal diversification.
Vietnamese transition-based dependency parsing with supertag features

In recent years, dependency parsing is a fascinating research topic and has a lot of applications in natural language processing. In this paper, we present an effective approach to improve dependency parsing by utilizing supertag features. We performed experiments with the transition-based dependency parsing approach because it can take advantage of rich features. Empirical evaluation on Vietnamese Dependency Treebank showed that, we achieved an improvement of 18.92% in labeled attachment score with gold supertags and an improvement of 3.57% with automatic supertags.
Same-day administration of verteporfin and ranibizumab 0.5 mg in patients with choroidal neovascularisation due to age-related macular degeneration

Objective: To evaluate safety of same-day administration of verteporfin and ranibizumab. Methods: Prospective, open-label, multicentre study; patients with predominantly classic (n = 13) or occult (n = 19) choroidal neovascularisation secondary to age-related macular degeneration received standard-fluence verteporfin at baseline and months 3, 6 and 9, based on fluorescein angiography (FA). Ranibizumab 0.5 mg was administered at baseline and months 1, 2 and 3. Main outcome measure: The incidence of severe vision loss (best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) loss ⩾30 letters; primary safety assessment). Results: No severe vision loss due to ocular inflammation or uveitis occurred. One patient had moderate vision loss (BCVA loss ⩾15 letters). Three patients had mild/moderate uveitis. Two serious ocular adverse events occurred (retinal pigment epithelial tear and moderate BCVA decrease). No systemic adverse events occurred. At 9 months, all lesions were inactive with no recurrent leakage on FA and optical coherence tomography; macular oedema and subretinal fluid resolved. The mean BCVA measured at 2 m improved by 6.9 letters at 4 months and 2.4 letters at 9 months. Conclusions/application to clinical practice: Same-day verteporfin and ranibizumab was safe and not associated with severe vision loss or severe ocular inflammation. Lesions stabilized, with minimal treatment required after month 3.
Hemodynamic and perfusion variables during experimental septic shock treated with goal-directed fluid resuscitation.

OBJECTIVES Although fluid resuscitation guided by central venous oxygen saturation (SvcO2) is currently considered the gold standard in sepsis therapy, few studies have described hemodynamic and perfusion parameters during this procedure. This study aims to describe these parameters during septic shock without resuscitation and after 12 hours of goal-directed resuscitation. METHODS Thirteen anesthetized pigs (35-45 kg) had peritonitis caused by fecal inoculation (0.75 g/kg). After developing persistent hypotension, both groups were given antibiotics and randomized either to the control group (n=7) or the experimental group (n=6). In the control group, hemodynamic control was optimized to maintain a central venous pressure of 8-12 mmHg, a urinary output above 0.5 mL/kg/hour and a mean arterial blood pressure above 65 mmHg. The experimental group received the above target therapy in addition to maintaining a SvO2 above 65%. The interventions included lactated Ringer's solution and norepinephrine for both groups and dobutamine in the SvO2 group. The animals were treated for 12 hours or until death. RESULTS Untreated sepsis was associated with significant reductions in SvO2, PvO2, cardiac output and central venous pressure in addition to increased arteriovenous oxygen saturation and veno-arterial CO2 differences. Following resuscitation, these parameters were corrected in both groups. Goal-directed resuscitation was associated with a better hemodynamic profile, characterized by higher SvO2, cardiac output and central venous pressure. CONCLUSIONS Non-resuscitated sepsis showed a hemodynamic profile suggesting hypovolemia, with worsened perfusion and hemodynamics, which is reversed upon fluid resuscitation. Goal-directed resuscitation is associated with significantly improved hemodynamic and perfusion parameters.
Smooth muscle hyperplasia of the epididymis

Benign smooth muscle cell proliferation commonly involves a variety of body organs, yet is a rare finding in the spermatic cord or paratesticular tissue of the male genital tract. Here we discuss a case of smooth muscle hyperplasia of the epididymis which presented as an intrascrotal mass. This is a very rare condition and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of any paratesticular mass.
Coral reef texture classification using support vector machines

The development of tools to examine the ecological parameters of coral reefs is seriously lagging behind available computer-based technology. Until recently the use of images in environmental and ecological data gathering has been limited to terrestrial analysis because of difficulties in underwater image capture and data analysis. In this paper, we propose the application of computer vision to address the problem of monitoring and classifying coral reef colonies. More specifically, we present a method to classify coral reef images based on their textural appearance using support vector machines (SVM). Our algorithm uses raw pixel color values directly as sample vectors. We show promising results on region classification of three coral types for low quality underwater images. This will allow for more timely analysis of coral reef images and broaden the capabilities of underwater data interpretation.
Questioning Assumptions about Students' Expectations for Technology in College Classrooms

As observers in both the popular media and academia have pointed out, institutions of higher education have increasingly begun to rethink the way in which teaching and learning occurs on their campuses in response to the matriculation of digital-age students, often referred to as the Net Gen or Millennials (Howe and Strauss 2000; Oblinger and Oblinger 2005). Computer and networked communication have become socially and culturally embedded throughout our students' lives. Students not only consume the elements of a digital lifestyle, but also play a role in the production of "social practices that are evolving beyond the school within digitally saturated milieux" (Lankshear and Knobel 2003, 175).
Edge covering problems with budget constrains

In the Maximum cost m′-subgraph problem we are given an undirected simple graph G(V,E) with weights w(v) on the vertices. The goal is to select a set U ⊆ V so that the number of edges with at least one endpoint in U is at most m′ with maximum weight W ∗. In [11] a ratio 3 approximation is given for problem. We improve this result by giving a 2 + approximation for the problem, for every constant > 0, that runs in time n ) . We give the same ratio to the Minimum edges, cost W , subgraph problem: given a weight bound on the subgraph, the goal is to choose a subset U of the vertices with sum of weights at most W and minimize the number m′ of edges touching U . The unweighted variant of Maximum weight m′-subgraph and Minimum Edges weight W subgraph admits a 2 ratio [11]. We show that if Minimum Edges weight W subgraph or Maximum weight m′-subgraph admit a better than ratio 2, a variant of the Dense ksubgraph must admit a constant approximation, while the best known approximation for that variant is O(n). This implies a 2 approximation threshold for approximating Maximum weight m′-subgraph and Minimum Edges weight W subgraph (up to low order terms) is highly likely. We break the ratio of 2 improving [11] in two special cases. If m∗ = c · k for some constant c, or if k = c · n for some constant c. The Degrees density augmentation problem we are given an undirected graph G = (V,A,B) and a set U ⊆ V . The objective is to find a set W so that (e(W ) + e(U,W ))/deg(W ) is maximum. We provide a polynomial time algorithm for this problem which is closely related to the Minimum Edges weight W subgraph problem.
Energy Policy and the Social Discount Rate

Recent debates over the economics of climate change underscore the importance of what at first blush is a narrow technical issue in welfare economics and cost-benefit analysis (CBA). Yet even before the need to study the economics of climate change, debate over both nuclear energy policy and water resource policy highlighted the fateful role that social discount rates play in policy prescriptions (Lind 1982, p. 2). In each of these spheres (and in many others as well), the social discount rate influences the degree of concern society displays about a policy’s effects on individuals in the future. This commentary aims to provide a non-technical
SwarmRob: A Toolkit for Reproducibility and Sharing of Experimental Artifacts in Robotics Research

Due to the complexity of robotics, the reproducibility of results and experiments is one of the fundamental problems in robotics research. While the problem has been identified by the community, the approaches that address the problem appropriately are limited. The toolkit proposed in this paper tries to deal with the problem of reproducibility and sharing of experimental artifacts in robotics research by a holistic approach based on operating-system-level virtualization. The experimental artifacts of an experiment are isolated in "containers" that can be distributed to other researchers. Based on this, this paper presents a novel experimental workflow to describe, execute and distribute experimental software-artifacts to heterogeneous robots dynamically. As a result, the proposed solution supports researchers in executing and reproducing experimental evaluations.
Stent thrombosis and restenosis: what have we learned and where are we going? The Andreas Grüntzig Lecture ESC 2014

Modern-day stenting procedures leverage advances in pharmacotherapy and device innovation. Patients treated with contemporary antiplatelet agents, peri-procedural antithrombin therapy and new-generation drug-eluting stents (DES) have excellent outcomes over the short to medium term. Indeed, coupled with the reducing costs of these devices in most countries there remain very few indications where patients should be denied treatment with standard-of-care DES therapy. The two major causes of stent failure are stent thrombosis (ST) and in-stent restenosis (ISR). The incidence of both has reduced considerably in recent years. Current clinical registries and randomized trials with broad inclusion criteria show rates of ST at or <1% after 1 year and ∼0.2–0.4% per year thereafter; rates of clinical ISR are 5% respectively. Angiographic surveillance studies in large cohorts show rates of angiographic ISR of ∼10% with new-generation DES. The advent of high-resolution intracoronary imaging has shown that in many cases of late stent failure neoatherosclerotic change within the stented segment represents a final common pathway for both thrombotic and restenotic events. In future, a better understanding of the pathogenesis of this process may translate into improved late outcomes. Moreover, the predominance of non-stent-related disease as a cause of subsequent myocardial infarction during follow-up highlights the importance of lifestyle and pharmacological interventions targeted at modification of the underlying disease process. Finally, although recent developments focus on strategies which circumvent the need for chronically indwelling stents—such as drug-coated balloons or fully bioresorbable stents—more data are needed before the wider use of these therapies can be advocated.
Chap - a SIMD graphics processor

Special purpose processing systems designed for specific applications can provide extremely high performance at moderate cost. One such processor is presented for executing graphics and image processing algorithms as the basis of a digital film printer. Pixels in the system contain four parallel components: RGB for full color and an alpha channel for retaining transparency information. The data path of the processor contains four arithmetic elements connected through a crossbar network to a tessellated scratchpad memory. The single instruction, multiple data stream (SIMD) processor executes instructions on four pixel components in parallel. The instruction control unit (ICU) maintains an activity stack for tracking block-structured code, using data-dependent activity flags for conditional disabling subsets of the ALUs. Nested loops and if-then-else constructs can be programmed directly, with the ICU disabling and reenabling ALUs on the basis of their individual status bits.
Design of FIR filter using constrained L1 minimization method

In this paper, the design of digital FIR filter is investigated. First, filter design problem is described by considering various requirements except frequency response error. Then, the constrained L1 minimization method in compressed sensing is applied to design FIR filter. As a result, dynamic range of filter coefficients, upper bound of filtering output, sparsity of filter coefficients, and error of frequency response can be controlled by suitably choosing the prescribed design parameter. Finally, some numerical comparisons with conventional least-squares design method are made to demonstrate the flexibility of this new design approach.
The Rts1 Regulatory Subunit of PP2A Phosphatase Controls Expression of the HO Endonuclease via Localization of the Ace2 Transcription Factor*

Background: The yeast HO gene is tightly repressed and expressed only in mother cells. Results: Mutation of the PP2ARts1 phosphatase results in decreased HO expression due to altered localization of the Ace2 transcription factor. Conclusion: Altered Ace2 localization results in inappropriate Ash1 repressor expression in mothers. Significance: Changes in transcription factor phosphorylation can affect localization and cause inappropriate expression of a repressor. The RTS1 gene encodes a subunit of the PP2A phosphatase that regulates cell cycle progression. Ace2 and Swi5 are cell cycle-regulated transcription factors, and we recently showed that phosphorylation of Ace2 and Swi5 is altered in an rts1 mutant. Here we examine expression of Ace2 and Swi5 target genes and find that an rts1 mutation markedly reduces expression of the HO gene. The decreased HO expression in an rts1 mutant is significantly restored by an additional ace2 mutation, a surprising result because HO is normally activated by Swi5 but not by Ace2. Ace2 normally accumulates only in daughter cells, and only activates transcription in daughters. However, in an rts1 mutant, Ace2 is present in both mother and daughter cells. One of the genes activated by Ace2 is ASH1, a protein that normally accumulates mostly in daughter cells; Ash1 is a transcriptional repressor, and it blocks HO expression in daughters. We show that in the rts1 mutant, Ace2 accumulation in mother cells results in Ash1 expression in mothers, and the Ash1 can now repress HO expression in mothers.
¿Qué es la violencia obstétrica? Algunos aspectos sociales, éticos y jurídicos

Pregnancy and childbirth are moments of great vulnerability for women and, as in other scenarios in which we find ourselves in a position of weakness and there is impunity, violence against women arises. Judges, public prosecutors, and legal actors in general tend to exclude pregnant women, conscious or unconsciously, from the protection of Human Rights laws in respect of medical practice. The implicit –and false argument – is that if women are subjected to doctor’s authority their sons will be safer. This article is intended to argue that obstetric violence is another category of violence against women.
Comparative Genomics of Natural Killer Cell Receptor Gene Clusters

Many receptors on natural killer (NK) cells recognize major histocompatibility complex class I molecules in order to monitor unhealthy tissues, such as cells infected with viruses, and some tumors. Genes encoding families of NK receptors and related sequences are organized into two main clusters in humans: the natural killer complex on Chromosome 12p13.1, which encodes C-type lectin molecules, and the leukocyte receptor complex on Chromosome 19q13.4, which encodes immunoglobulin superfamily molecules. The composition of these gene clusters differs markedly between closely related species, providing evidence for rapid, lineage-specific expansions or contractions of sets of loci. The choice of NK receptor genes is polarized in the two species most studied, mouse and human. In mouse, the C-type lectin-related Ly49 gene family predominates. Conversely, the single Ly49 sequence is a pseudogene in humans, and the immunoglobulin superfamily KIR gene family is extensive. These different gene sets encode proteins that are comparable in function and genetic diversity, even though they have undergone species-specific expansions. Understanding the biological significance of this curious situation may be aided by studying which NK receptor genes are used in other vertebrates, especially in relation to species-specific differences in genes for major histocompatibility complex class I molecules.
Large components of bipartite random mappings

A bipartite random mapping TK, L of a finite set V=V1∪V2, |V1|=K and |V2|=L, into itself assigns independently to each i∈V1 its unique image j∈V2 with probability 1/L and to each i∈V2 its unique image j∈V1 with probability 1/K. We study the connected component structure of a random digraph G(TK, L), representing TK, L, as K∞ and L∞. We show that, no matter how K and L tend to infinity relative to each other, the joint distribution of the normalized order statistics for the component sizes converges in distribution to the Poisson-Dirichlet distribution on the simplex ∇={{xi}: ∑ xi≤1, xi≥xi+1≥0 for every i≥1}. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Random Struct. Alg. , 17: 317–342, 2000
The Anatomy of Clickbot.A

This paper provides a detailed case study of the architecture of the Clickbot. A botnet that attempted a low-noise click fraud attack against syndicated search engines. The botnet of over 100,000 machines was controlled using a HTTP-based botmaster. Google identified all clicks on its ads exhibiting Clickbot. Alike patterns and marked them as invalid. We disclose the results of our investigation of this botnet to educate the security research community and provide information regarding the novelties of the attack.
Indicators for quality of life and working life in Germany and Japan : a culture-psychological perspective

Dealing with these questions opens the perspective to several further questions. which obviously cannot be answered without some knowledge on social , cultural, political, economic and psychological theories and empirical findings. That is one of the main reasons, why German and Japanese social scienti sts from different disciplines come together. In the following, some suggest ions to deal wi th these questions are presented from a culture-psychological perspective.
Elaborating the “New Institutionalism”

To sketch an institutional approach, this paper elaborates ideas presented over 20 years ago in The New Institutionalism: Organizational Factors in Political Life (March and Olsen 1984). Institutionalism, as that term is used here, connotes a general approach to the study of political institutions, a set of theoretical ideas and hypotheses concerning the relations between institutional characteristics and political agency, performance and change. Institutionalism emphasizes the endogenous nature and social construction of political institutions. Institutions are not simply equilibrium contracts among self-seeking, calculating individual actors or arenas for contending social forces. They are collections of structures, rules and standard operating procedures that have a partly autonomous role in political life. The paper ends with raising some research questions at the frontier of institutional studies.