Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Normal Echocardiographic Measurements in a Korean Population Study: Part I. Cardiac Chamber and Great Artery Evaluation

Background Measurement of the cardiac chamber is essential, and current guidelines recommend measuring and reporting values for both sides of the cardiac chamber during echocardiographic evaluation. Normal echocardiographic reference values have been suggested previously, but detailed information about right-sided chambers and values according to gender was not included. Methods This is a prospective multicenter (23 centers) study evaluating normal Korean adult subjects using comprehensive echocardiography. We included normal adult subjects (age; 20-79 years old) who had no significant cardiac disorders or illnesses, such as hypertension or diabetes, which could affect cardiac structure and function. We measured the cardiac chamber including both right and left ventricles as well as atria according to current echocardiography guidelines and compared values according to gender and age groups. Results A total of 1003 subjects were evaluated and the mean age was 48 ± 16 years. Left ventricular (LV) dimensions increased, but LV volume decreased in older subjects. Right ventricular (RV) area decreased in women and older subjects, and the RV long-axis dimension showed a similar trend. Left atrial (LA) volume increased in men but there were no differences in LA volume index between men and women. The dimension of great arteries increased in men and older subjects. Conclusion Since there were considerable differences between men and women and in the different age groups, and the trends differed significantly between different echo variables, normal echocardiographic cutoff values should be differentially applied based on age and gender.
Observation of microscopic diffusion anisotropy in the spinal cord using double‐pulsed gradient spin echo MRI

A double‐pulsed gradient spin echo (d‐PGSE) filtered MRI sequence is proposed to detect microscopic diffusion anisotropy in heterogeneous specimen. The technique was developed, in particular, to characterize local microscopic anisotropy in specimens that are macroscopically isotropic, such as gray matter. In such samples, diffusion tensor MRI (DTI) produces an isotropic or nearly isotropic diffusion tensor despite the fact that the medium may be anisotropic at a microscopic length scale. Using d‐PGSE filtered MRI, microscopic anisotropy was observed in a “gray matter” phantom consisting of randomly oriented tubes filled with water, as well as in fixed pig spinal cord, within a range of b‐values that can be readily achieved on clinical and small animal MR scanners. These findings suggest a potential use for this new contrast mechanism in clinical studies and biological research applications. Magn Reson Med 59:803–809, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Contributors to Violent Behavior Among Elementary and Middle School Children

Objective. To examine the relative contributions of exposure to violence, parental monitoring, and television-viewing habits to children's self-reported violent behaviors. The study hypothesized that: 1) children's exposure to violence would be associated positively with self-reported violent behaviors; 2) parental monitoring would be associated negatively with children's violent behaviors; and 3) the number of daily television-viewing hours and a preference for watching violent television shows would be associated positively with children's violent behaviors. Methods. The study used a survey design with an anonymous self-report questionnaire administered to students (grades 3–8) in 11 public schools. A total of 2245 students participated in the study, representing 80% of the students attending the participating schools during the survey. The subjects were from 7 to 15 years of age; 51% were male, 57% were white, 33% percent were black, and 5% were Hispanic. Results. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis of the total sample revealed that the combination of demographic variables, parental monitoring, television-viewing habits, and exposure to violence explained 45% of students' self-reported violent behaviors. Violence exposure and parental monitoring were the most influential contributors in explaining children's violent behaviors, accounting for 24% and 5% of the variance in violent behaviors, respectively. Conclusions. All three hypotheses were supported. A significant association was demonstrated linking violence exposure, lack of parental monitoring, and television-viewing habits with children's self-reported violent behaviors within a diverse sample of elementary and middle school students. Our findings support the importance of parental monitoring of children and emphasize the need to identify and to provide services to youth who are exposed to violence.
ON THE MATRIX-CUT RANK OF POLYHEDRA

Lov^sz and Schrijver (1991) described a semidcfinile operator for generating strong valid inequalities for the 0-! vectors in a prescribed polyhedron. Among their resuli.s. they showed ihai ii iterations of the operator are . sufficient to generate the convex hull ot" O-l vectors contained in a polyhedron in /i-space. We give a simple example, having Chvdtal rank 1. tliat meetii this worst case bound of ;i. We describe another example requiring « iterations even when combinini; ihe scniidefinite and Gomory-Chviltal operators. Thi.s second example is used to show ihai the standard linear programming relaxation of a A-city traveling salesman problem requires at least [k/^l iterations of the combined operaior; Lhis bound is best possible, up to a consiani factor, as A HI iterations suffice.
HOT HORIZONTAL BRANCH STARS IN ω CENTAURI: CLUES ABOUT THEIR ORIGIN FROM THE CLUSTER COLOR MAGNITUDE DIAGRAM

We investigate a peculiar feature at the hottest, blue end of the horizontal branch of Galactic globular cluster ω Centauri, using the high-precision and nearly complete catalog that has been constructed from a survey taken with the Advanced Camera for Survey on board the Hubble Space Telescope, that covers the inner 10 × 10 arcmin. It is a densely populated clump of stars with an almost vertical structure in the F435W-(F435W−F625W) plane, that we termed “blue clump. ” A comparison with theoretical models leads to the conclusion that this feature must necessarily harbor either hot flasher stars or canonical He-rich stars—progeny of the blue main sequence (MS) subpopulation observed in this cluster—or a mixture of both types, plus possibly a component from the normal-He population hosted by the cluster. A strong constraint coming from theory is that the mass of the objects in the “blue clump” has to be very finely tuned, with a spread of at most only ∼0.03 M☉. By comparing observed and theoretical star counts along both the H- and He-burning stages we find that at least 15% of the expected He-rich horizontal branch stars are missing from the color–magnitude diagram. This missing population could be the progeny of red giants that failed to ignite central He-burning and have produced He-core white dwarfs (WDs). Our conclusion supports the scenario recently suggested by Calamida et al. for explaining the observed ratio of WDs to MS stars in ω Centauri.
GETTING PAID FOR EATING ICE-CREAM

The beginnings, the Chern-Simons and η invariants. I was fortunate early in my career to have had a number of great mathematicians as teachers, one of them was I.M. Singer, when I was an undergraduate at M.I. T. , and another was S.S. Chern, when I was a graduate student at Berkeley. I mention the two of them together because I learned the same point of view from both of them. As a sophomore in the spring of 1966 I had a course in “vector calculus” from Singer. This course was in fact all about differential forms in Euclidean space and concluded with Stokes’ Theorem. Singer told us about de Rham’s theorem at the end of the course. That was one of the things that made me decide to pursue a career in mathematics . Also I spent my junior year in Paris and took Math Un from Laurent Schwartz at Jussieu. Schwartz was a remarkable teacher and his course played a critical role in my development.
Gramicidin-perforated Patch Recording Revealed the Oscillatory Nature of Secretory Cl− Movements in Salivary Acinar Cells

Elevations of cytoplasmic free calcium concentrations ([Ca2+]i) evoked by cholinergic agonists stimulate isotonic fluid secretion in salivary acinar cells. This process is driven by the apical exit of Cl− through Ca2+-activated Cl− channels, while Cl− enters the cytoplasm against its electrochemical gradient via a loop diuretic-sensitive Na+-K+-2Cl− cotransporter (NKCC) and/or parallel operations of Cl−-HCO3 − and Na+-H+ exchangers, located in the basolateral membrane. To characterize the contributions of those activities to net Cl− secretion, we analyzed carbachol (CCh)-activated Cl− currents in submandibular acinar cells using the “gramicidin-perforated patch recording configuration. ” Since the linear polypeptide antibiotic gramicidin creates monovalent cation-selective pores, CCh-activated Cl− currents in the gramicidin-perforated patch recording were carried by Cl− efflux via Cl− channels, dependent upon Cl− entry through Cl− transporters expressed in the acinar cells. CCh-evoked oscillatory Cl− currents were associated with oscillations of membrane potential. Bumetanide, a loop diuretic, decreased the CCh-activated Cl− currents and hyperpolarized the membrane potential. In contrast, neither methazolamide, a carbonic anhydrase inhibitor, nor elimination of external HCO3 − had significant effects, suggesting that the cotransporter rather than parallel operations of Cl−-HCO3 − and Na+-H+ exchangers is the primary Cl− uptake pathway. Pharmacological manipulation of the activities of the Ca2+-activated Cl− channel and the NKCC revealed that the NKCC plays a substantial role in determining the amplitude of oscillatory Cl− currents, while adjusting to the rate imposed by the Ca2+-activated Cl− channel, in the gramicidin-perforated patch configuration. By concerting with and being controlled by the cation steps, the oscillatory form of secretory Cl− movements may effectively provide a driving force for fluid secretion in intact acinar cells.
Eosinophilia in Addison's disease.

A 21-year-old man was admitted to hospital because of diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. The illness had begun 3 years earlier when he first felt excessive fatigue and noticed areas of vitiligo. He had attacks of vomiting, lasting about a week, recurring every few months. He lost weight and had to give up his work. He had no history of allergies. On admission to hospital, he was dehydrated and thin, with generalized pigmentation including the palmar creases, but there was no pigmentation of mucous membranes. The tips of the fingers, skin over the hips, and nipples showed vitiligo. Systolic blood pressure was 70 mm Hg. He had no fever. A clinical diagnosis of Addison's disease was made. Hemoglobin was 14 g%, leukocyte count 7000/mm3, with 800 eosinophils/mm3, ESR 28. ECG showed flat T waves in the chest leads. Urea was initially 68 mg/100 ml, and returned to normal after he was rehydrated. Blood electrolytes were normal. Chest X ray showed a small tubular heart. Plasma cortisol levels were low, 7-9 tsg/I00 ml, with no diurnal variation or increase after injection of 0.25 mg of an adrenocorticotrophic hormone analog, Synacthen (Ciba). The serum contained "yG antibodies to human adrenal tissue at a dilution of 1/20. There was no evidence of other endocrine disorder. There were no intrinsic factor antibodies, and the stomach produced normal amounts of acid in response to gastrin stimulation. The serum protein-bound iodine and vitamin BI2 levels were normal. The Mantoux test was negative at 1/1000. The stool did not contain parasites or ova. Eosinophil production and half-life. Direct blood eosinophil counts were done by the method of Discombe (1) on venous blood before and after giving Synacthen, 0.25 mg intramuscularly, and cortisone, 25 mg orally, as shown in Fig. 1. There was no alteration in blood eosinophil counts in response to Synacthen; however, 25 mg of cortisone reduced the blood eosinophil count from 780 to 230/mm3 4 hr later. When the patient began taking cortisone, 12.5 mg orally twice daily, the blood eosinophil level remained normal. Bone marrow biopsies were done 6 hr before and 3 days after cortisone treatment was begun. The patient had given his full consent when the experimental character and nature of the biopsies had been explained. The bone marrow was taken from the sternum and put directly into a culture medium at 370C containing 8 ml of Parker 199 (Wellcome), 2 ml of isotonic phosphate buffer at pH 7.4, 1 ml of 50% glucose, and 1 ml of unheated isologous fresh serum taken 1.5 hr before sternal puncture, with 1 unit of heparin/ml. Two microcuries of [3H]thymidine 15.6 Ci/mmole (The Radiochemical Centre, Amersham) in 0.1 ml of saline was added, and the marrow cells were left at 370 C for 0.5 hr with intermittent shaking. Cells were then washed
An Open Pilot Study Exploring the Efficacy of Fluvastatin, Pegylated Interferon and Ribavirin in Patients with Hepatitis C Virus Genotype 1b in High Viral Loads

Objective: Response to pegylated (PEG) interferon (IFN) and ribavirin is achieved only in 40–50% of patients infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) of genotype 1 in high viral loads, which needs to be improved. Methods: In an open-label pilot study, fluvastatin (HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor), 20 mg daily, was given along with PEG-IFN/ribavirin to 21 patients with chronic hepatitis C. They were followed for HCV RNA in serum. Results: During treatment for 48 weeks, HCV RNA was lost from serum in 93% of the patients. In the 15 patients who received 48-week therapy, a sustained virological response (SVR) with loss of HCV RNA 24 weeks after completion was achieved in 10 (67%), including 7 of the 9 (78%) male and 3 of the 6 (50%) female patients. In the remaining 6 patients who received 72-week therapy, SVR was gained in 4 (67%), including 1 of the 2 male and 3 of the 4 female patients aged 56, 58 and 62 years, respectively. Conclusion: Fluvastatin could be used safely to increase the response to PEG-IFN and ribavirin, especially in aged women who respond poorly to combined PEG-IFN/ribavirin.
Cost-Benefit Analysis of Internet Therapeutic Intervention on Patients With Diabetes

Background: With the emergence of IBGMS for allowing for patients to communicate their self-monitored blood glucose (SMBG) readings with their health care providers, their impact on the management of diabetes is becoming well-supported with regards to clinical benefits. Their impact on healthcare costs, however, has yet to be investigated. This study aims to determine the cost-benefits of such interventions in comparison to routine care. Objectives: To analyze the cost-benefit of an Internet Blood Glucose Monitoring Service (IBGMS) in comparison to routine diabetes care. Patients and Methods: 200 patients were surveyed to assess the cost associated with doctor appointments in the past 12 months. Annual number of visits to medical services for diabetes and costs of transportation, parking, and time taken off work for visits were surveyed. Self-reported frequency of SMBG and most recent A1C were also surveyed. We compared 100 patients who used the IBGMS with 100 patients who only used routine care. Results: There is a trend of lowered total cost in the intervention group compared to the control group. The control group spent $210.89 per year on visits to physicians; the intervention group spent $131.26 (P = 0.128). Patients in control group visited their endocrinologist 1.76 times per year, those in intervention group visited their endocrinologist 1.36 times per year, significantly less frequently than the control group (P = 0.014). Number of visits to other medical services is similar between the groups. Average A1C in intervention group is 7.57%, in control group is 7.69% (P = 0.309). Conclusions: We have demonstrated that IBGMS, while not reaching statistical significance, may be associated with slightly reduced A1C and cost due to visiting physicians.
Integrating Shape Analysis into the Model Checker BLAST

Many software model checkers are based on predicate abstraction. Values of variables in branching conditions are represented abstractly using predicates. The strength of this approach is its path-sensitive nature. However, if the control flow depends heavily on the values of memory cells on the heap, the approach does not work well, because it is difficult to find `good' predicate abstractions to represent the heap. In contrast, shape analysis can lead to a very compact representation of data structures stored on the heap. In this thesis, we combine shape analysis with predicate abstraction, and integrate it into the software model checker BLAST. Because shape analysis is expensive, we do not apply it globally. Instead, we ensure that shapes are computed and stored locally, only where necessary for proving the verification goal. To achieve this, we extend lazy abstraction refinement, which so far has been used only for predicate abstractions, to shapes. This approach does not only increase the precision of model checking and shape analysis taken individually, but also increases the efficiency of shape analysis (we do not compute shapes where not necessary). We implemented the technique by extending BLAST with calls to TVLA, and evaluated it on several C programs manipulating data structures, with the result that the combined tool can now automatically verify programs that are not verifiable using either shape analysis or predicate abstraction on its own.
TCP-R : A Protocol for Handling Out of Order Packets in Satellite Networks

Studies have shown that packet reordering is common, especially in satellite networks where there are link level retransmissions and multipath routing. Moreover, satellite networks exhibit high corruption rates causing packet losses. Reordering and corruption of packets decrease the TCP performance of a network, mainly because it leads to overestimation of the congestion in the network. We consider satellite networks and analyze the performance of such networks when reordering and corruption of packets occurs. We propose a solution that could significantly improve the performance of the network when reordering and corruption of packets occur in a satellite network. We report results of our simulation experiments, which support this claim.
How to Win the War for Talent? Case Study in Biotech Related Industries of UK

The recruitment and retention of highly talented scientists has become a significant concern for many companies, especially for those whose principal assets consist of talented employees and their knowledge, rather than the tangible assets of cash, buildings or materials. The competition for good professionals has become more intense as companies have become aware that other companies may be wooing their valuable scientists. This research stemmed from a problem with one of the interviewed firms, which highlighted that it was getting more difficult to attract and retain highly talented scientists with Ph.D. degrees and a few years of experience. Thus, this research considers the scientists' labor market in the first instance and identifies whether there is a shortage of highly talented scientists in UK. Then secondly the recruitment and retention practices in companies are examined carefully. The author interviewed five companies in biotech related industry: Smith & Nephew、Nycomed-Amersham、Amgen、Murex Biotech、Alkermes Europe. It was found that there is no shortage in the numbers of scientists who are freshly graduated from higher education and with two or three years of working experience in the labor markets. However, as the better and more experienced scientists become fewer in numbers, firms find it difficult to fill senior positions. This phenomenon is partly due to the fact that all the interviewed firms wanted to recruit the 'best' postgraduate scientists, with the academic background and social skills to assist in the firms' growth and to contribute to their success.
Newcastle Disease Virus Vector Producing Human Norovirus-Like Particles Induces Serum, Cellular, and Mucosal Immune Responses in Mice

ABSTRACT Human norovirus infection is the most common cause of viral gastroenteritis worldwide. Development of an effective vaccine is required for reducing norovirus outbreaks. The inability to grow human norovirus in cell culture has hindered the development of live-attenuated vaccines. To overcome this obstacle, we generated a recombinant Newcastle disease virus (rNDV)-vectored experimental norovirus vaccine by expressing the capsid protein (VP1) of norovirus strain VA387. We compared two different NDV vectors, a conventional rNDV vector and a modified rNDV vector, for their efficiencies in expressing VP1 protein. Our results showed that the modified vector replicated to higher titers and expressed higher levels of VP1 protein in DF1 cells and in allantoic fluid of embryonated chicken eggs than did the conventional vector. We further demonstrated that the VP1 protein produced by rNDVs was able to self-assemble into virus-like particles (VLPs) that are morphologically similar to baculovirus-expressed VLPs. Evaluation of their immunogenicity in mice showed that the modified rNDV vector induced a higher level of IgG response than those induced by the conventional vector and by the baculovirus-expressed VLPs. The rNDV vectors predominantly induced IgG2a subclass antibody for the Th1 response, and specifically, high levels of gamma interferon (IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and interleukin-2 (IL-2) were detected in splenocytes. In addition, the modified rNDV vector induced a higher level of fecal IgA response in mice than did baculovirus-expressed VLPs. Our findings suggest that the rNDV vector is an efficient system to produce cost-effective VLPs in embryonated chicken eggs and has the potential to be used as a live-attenuated vaccine in humans. IMPORTANCE Noroviruses are the major cause of viral gastroenteritis worldwide. Currently, effective vaccines against norovirus infection are not available. In this study, we have evaluated Newcastle disease virus (NDV) as a vaccine vector for norovirus. Our results suggest that NDV can be used not only as a cost-effective method for large-scale production of norovirus-like particle vaccines but also as a live-attenuated vectored vaccine.
WACL: supporting telecommunications using - wearable active camera with laser pointer

We propose a wearable active camera with laser pointer(WACL) as a human interface device for use intelecommunications. The WACL laser pointer is attached tothe active camera-head and it can point a laser spot whileelevating and panning the camera-head. In our system, aremote instructor can observe around the worker, who iswearing the WACL, independently of the worker's motion,and can clearly and naturally instruct the worker in tasksby pointing the laser spot at real objects. This paperdescribes the outline of a telecommunication supportsystem using the WACL and a method to stabilize thecamera and laser pointer independently of the wearer'smotion. We have implemented and demonstrated anexample of an application using our system.
Modular Image Principal Component Analysis for face recognition

One of the most successful process to accomplish human face recognition are the methods based on the Principal Component Analysis (PCA), also known as Eigenfaces. Recently, novel PCA approaches have been proposed: modular (MPCA) and two-dimensional (IMPCA). These approaches have achieved outstanding result in feature extraction and recognition. IMPCA is used for feature extraction based on 2D matrix representation and MPCA is based on image division to improve face recognition with variations like facial expressions, light and head pose. In this work we use some aspects of these methods to build a new technique called Modular Image PCA (MIMPCA). The results achieved with the proposed method are superior in all experiments compared with the original techniques under different conditions of head pose angle, illumination and facial expression.