Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Long-Term Clinical Outcomes of Peritoneal Dialysis Patients: Single Center Experience from Korea

Of a large body of literature reporting clinical outcomes for patients maintained on peritoneal dialysis (PD), most publications have focused on relatively short-term results. Few reports have focused on long-term survival in PD patients. Here, we present our experience with long-term patient outcomes and further analyses of the trends in demographics and clinical outcomes of 2301 end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients treated with continuous ambulatory PD (CAPD) during a 25-year period (1981 – 2005) at our institute. Outcomes were analyzed for 1656 patients, excluding those younger than 15 years of age at initiation of CAPD, those having less than 3 months’ follow-up, or those who had been on hemodialysis or who received a kidney graft before starting CAPD. In the study patients, technique survival at 5 and 10 years was 71.9% and 48.1% respectively. Patient survival was 69.8% and 51.8%. Mean age at the start of PD (50.4 ± 13.9 years vs. 44.2 ± 13.9 years, p < 0.01), ESRD incidence as a result of diabetic nephropathy (30.5% vs. 19.5%, p < 0.01), and incidence of cardiovascular comorbidities (26.6% vs. 20.5%, p < 0.01) were all significantly greater in patients who started PD during the second half of the study period (1993 – 2005) as compared with the first half (1981 – 1992). A multivariate analysis adjusting for these changes in demographics and comorbid conditions revealed that PD therapy starting in 1993 – 2005 was associated with a significant reduction in technique failure [hazard ratio (HR): 0.65; p < 0.01] and mortality (HR: 0.68; p < 0.01) as compared with the earlier period. However, in subgroup analyses, technique survival was not observed to be significantly improved in patients with diabetes. In summary, technique and patient survival have significantly improved despite increases in patient age, cardiovascular comorbidity, and ESRD caused by diabetes. Although diabetes, older age, and cardiovascular comorbidities are not factors that are easily modifiable to improve PD outcomes, results at our institution are encouraging in an era of declining PD utilization.
Analysis, Design, and Implementation of a Parallel ZVS Converter

A soft-switching converter is presented in this paper to achieve a zero-voltage-switching (ZVS) turn on for all switches. Two half-bridge converters with asymmetric pulsewidth-modulation scheme are connected in parallel to control the output voltage at the desired value and achieve load-current sharing. Based on the output capacitance of power switches and the resonant inductance, including the external inductance and the transformer leakage inductance, the resonance can be achieved at the transition interval of power switches. Therefore, the ZVS turn on of power switches can be realized. The peak voltage of the power switches is limited to input dc voltage. The center-tapped rectifier is adopted at the transformer secondary side to achieve a full-wave rectification. Operation principles, steady-state analysis, and design equations of the proposed converter are discussed in detail. Finally, experimental results based on a 240-W prototype are provided to verify the performance and the feasibility of the proposed converter.
Can Intestinal Fatty Acid Binding Protein (I-FABP) Be A Marker in the Diagnosis of Abdominal Pathology?

SUMMARY Objectives Biochemical markers play an important role in the early diagnosis of abdominal pain. This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic value of intestinal type fatty acid binding protein (I-FABP) in patients with abdominal pathology. Methods This prospective and descriptive study was performed at the University Hospital Emergency Department. Serum I-FABP levels of patients presenting with acute abdominal pain were measured at time of admission and were compared with those of healthy individuals. Results The mean I-FABP level of the 171 patients enrolled in this study was 170.1±543.4 pg/ml, while that of a healthy control group was 61.4±47.4 pg/ml. Although I-FABP levels were higher in the patient group, this difference was not statistically significant (p>0.05). However, I-FABP levels of patients with mesenteric ischemia and intra-abdominal mass were significantly higher than those of healthy individuals (p≤0.05). Conclusions I-FABP levels that are evaluated at time of admission in patients presenting with abdominal pain to the emergency department are significantly higher in patients with mesenteric ischemia and intra-abdominal mass than are those of healthy individuals.
Testing evolutionary models of senescence in a natural population: age and inbreeding effects on fitness components in song sparrows

Mutation accumulation (MA) and antagonistic pleiotropy (AP) have each been hypothesized to explain the evolution of ‘senescence’ or deteriorating fitness in old age. These hypotheses make contrasting predictions concerning age dependence in inbreeding depression in traits that show senescence. Inbreeding depression is predicted to increase with age under MA but not under AP, suggesting one empirical means by which the two can be distinguished. We use pedigree and life-history data from free-living song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) to test for additive and interactive effects of age and individual inbreeding coefficient (f) on fitness components, and thereby assess the evidence for MA. Annual reproductive success (ARS) and survival (and therefore reproductive value) declined in old age in both sexes, indicating senescence in this short-lived bird. ARS declined with f in both sexes and survival declined with f in males, indicating inbreeding depression in fitness. We observed a significant age×f interaction for male ARS (reflecting increased inbreeding depression as males aged), but not for female ARS or survival in either sex. These analyses therefore provide mixed support for MA. We discuss the strengths and limitations of such analyses and therefore the value of natural pedigreed populations in testing evolutionary models of senescence.
Self-assembled polymer MEMS sensors and actuators

This paper describes the use of Metal RubberTM, which is an electrically-conductive, low modulus, highly-flexible, and optically transparent free-standing or conformal coating nanocomposite material that is fabricated via Electrostatic Self-Assembly (ESA), as a polymer MEMS sensor for actuator materials. ESA is an environmentally-friendly layer-by-layer fabrication technique in which Metal RubberTM can be tailor designed at the molecular level to function as a sensor and/or electrode for active polymer devices. With its controllable and tailorable properties (such as mechanical modulus [from less than 0.1 MPa to greater than 500 MPa], electrical conductivity, sensitivity to flex and strain (tension and compression), thickness, transmission, glass transition, and more), Metal RubberTM exhibits massive improvements over traditional stiff electrodes and sensors (with bulky/heavy wire components) that physically constrain the actuator device motion and thus limit productivity. Metal RubberTM shows exceptional potential for use as flexible sensors, electrodes, and interconnect components for many active polymer applications. One example of such is NanoSonic's Metal RubberTM-Polymer MEMS (MRTM-PMEMS) nanocluster-based corrosion sensor for aircraft coatings that was developed for an Air Force SBIR program. MRTM-PMEMS was tailored via ESA for use as an in-situ sensor of chemical modifications and the breakdown of surface coatings via micro-strain measurements.
A 20 Bit Logarithmic Number System Processor

The architecture and performance of a 20-bit arithmetic processor based on the logarithmic number system (LNS) is described. The processor performed LNS multiplication and division rapidly and with a low hardware complexity. Addition and subtraction in the LNS require the support of a table lookup unit. A scheme is proposed to minimize this complexity using a partitioned memory (ROM) and a PLA (programmable logic array). For performance evaluation, the target technology is integrated Schottky logic. The processor is shown to compare well with, if not to outperform, existing floating point (FLP) processors of equivalent range and precision. The speed-power-product ratio of an equivalent FLP processor, compared with that of the LNS processor, is reported to be 20 to 1 in the case of the square and square-root operation and 1 to 1 in the case of addition and subtraction. For multiplication and division, this ratio is about 5 to 1. >
Design and stiffness modeling of a soft multi-fingered mechanism

This paper presents the design and stiffness modeling of a soft multi-fingered hand. First, the structure and the kinematics of one soft finger are introduced. The finger has a soft feature by using a spring as its backbone. Using five soft fingers, a multi-fingered hand is designed. Secondly, the stiffness modeling of the soft finger is conducted to measure the softness of the finger mechanism as well as estimate the actuator size. Finally, usefulness of the multi-fingered hand is demonstrated through experimental work grasping rigid and flexible objects.
Online and smartphone based cognitive behavioral therapy for bariatric surgery patients: Initial pilot study.

BACKGROUND The respective rates of obesity in Canada and the United states are estimated to be 24.1% and 34.1%. Due to the increased incidence of obesity, Bariatric surgery has been recognized as one of the treatment options. Despite the success of Bariatric surgery, studies have proposed that it has neglected the contributions of other factors, such as psychological factors in the causation as well as the maintenance of obesity amongst individuals. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is largely a psychosocial intervention that has been shown to be efficacious, as studies have demonstrated that even brief CBT interventions could help in the reduction of binge eating and maintenance of weight loss. Previously identified problems with regards to the integration and the provision of such interventions include that of geographical barriers. In order to overcome the geographical barriers, telephone-based CBT has been conceptualized. Over the past decade, there has been massive advancement and development in Internet, Web-based and smartphone technologies, but there is still a paucity of applications in this area. OBJECTIVE Our current research objective is to determine if bariatric surgery patients will be receptive towards an online and smartphone based CBT intervention. METHODOLOGY The Bariatric Surgery Online CBT portal and Smartphone companion application was developed between July 2013 and December 2013. A low-cost methodology of developing the online portal was adopted. In terms of development, 4 core development phases were adopted. These included that of: a) Formulation of users' requirements, b) System design and development, c) System evaluation and d) System deployment and pilot application. The bariatric surgery workgroup from the Toronto Western Hospital helped with the recruitment of the subjects from the outpatient specialist service. Links to the web-portal was provided to each of the participants recruited. RESULTS Since the inception of the online portal to date, in terms of usage rates, there have been a total of 2408 visitors to the online portal. The majority of the visitors are from Canada (n= 1879). From the analytics, a total of 8 users have participated in the pre-assessment questionnaire and have attempted and tried to use the individual modules. Since the inception of the pilot study from January 2014 till October 2014, 4 individuals have completed at least 3 modules available on the online portal. CONCLUSIONS This is one of the first few studies that have demonstrated the potential feasibility of having an online and smartphone cognitive behavioral portal to serve the psychological needs of bariatric surgery patients.
WiGEM: a learning-based approach for indoor localization

We consider the problem of localizing a wireless client in an indoor environment based on the signal strength of its transmitted packets as received on stationary sniffers or access points. Several state-of-the-art indoor localization techniques have the drawback that they rely extensively on a labor-intensive 'training' phase that does not scale well. Use of unmodeled hardware with heterogeneous power levels further reduces the accuracy of these techniques. We propose a 'learning-based' approach, WiGEM, where the received signal strength is modeled as a Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM). Expectation Maximization (EM) is used to learn the maximum likelihood estimates of the model parameters. This approach enables us to localize a transmitting device based on the maximum a posteriori estimate. The key insight is to use the physics of wireless propagation, and exploit the signal strength constraints that exist for different transmit power levels. The learning approach not only avoids the labor-intensive training, but also makes the location estimates considerably robust in the face of heterogeneity and various time varying phenomena. We present evaluations on two different indoor testbeds with multiple WiFi devices. We demonstrate that WiGEM's accuracy is at par with or better than state-of-the-art techniques but without requiring any training.
Combined Cytological and Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals a Nitric Oxide Signaling Pathway Involved in Cold-Inhibited Camellia sinensis Pollen Tube Growth

Nitric oxide (NO) as a signaling molecule plays crucial roles in many abiotic stresses in plant development processes, including pollen tube growth. Here, the signaling networks dominated by NO during cold stress that inhibited Camellia sinensis pollen tube growth are investigated in vitro. Cytological analysis show that cold-induced NO is involved in the inhibition of pollen tube growth along with disruption of the cytoplasmic Ca2+ gradient, increase in ROS content, acidification of cytoplasmic pH and abnormalities in organelle ultrastructure and cell wall component distribution in the pollen tube tip. Furthermore, differentially expressed genes (DEGs)-related to signaling pathway, such as NO synthesis, cGMP, Ca2+, ROS, pH, actin, cell wall, and MAPK cascade signal pathways, are identified and quantified using transcriptomic analyses and qRT-PCR, which indicate a potential molecular mechanism for the above cytological results. Taken together, these findings suggest that a complex signaling network dominated by NO, including Ca2+, ROS, pH, RACs signaling and the crosstalk among them, is stimulated in the C. sinensis pollen tube in response to cold stress, which further causes secondary and tertiary alterations, such as ultrastructural abnormalities in organelles and cell wall construction, ultimately resulting in perturbed pollen tube extension.
Investigating the nature of the $\mathsf {\vec z}\simeq\mathsf {2.8}$ submillimeter selected galaxy SMM J02399-0136 with VLT spectropolarimetry

We present deep optical spectropolarimetry of SMM J02399-0136 ($z=2.8$) done with the VLT Antu 8.2 m telescope equipped with FORS1. Moderate continuum and emission line polarization are measured ($P\sim5\%$). We do not detect broad lines in scattered flux as would be expected for a type-2 object but rather a polarization behaviour similar to BAL quasars. This classification is confirmed by the detection of both high and low ionization broad absorption troughs and a very red continuum. We argue that this object shares several properties with local ULIGs such as Mrk 231 and other ultraluminous infrared Lo-BAL quasars. However, the fact that the ultraviolet spectrum is dominated by non-stellar radiation does not prove that the dust that is thermally radiating in the far infrared is predominantly heated by the AGN. Since the energy that we get in the far-infrared is precisely that which is removed from the ultraviolet spectrum, this could mean that the starburst is more dust-enshrouded than the AGN due to a peculiar dust distribution. The limits we place on the putative starburst contribution to the restframe ultraviolet continuum together with constraints on the amount of extinction provide an upper limit to the star formation rate of about 2000 $M_{\odot} $yr -1 , consistent with previously claimed high star formation rates level in this object.
IL-21 regulates germinal center B cell differentiation and proliferation through a B cell–intrinsic mechanism

Germinal centers (GCs) are sites of B cell proliferation, somatic hypermutation, and selection of variants with improved affinity for antigen. Long-lived memory B cells and plasma cells are also generated in GCs, although how B cell differentiation in GCs is regulated is unclear. IL-21, secreted by T follicular helper cells, is important for adaptive immune responses, although there are conflicting reports on its target cells and mode of action in vivo. We show that the absence of IL-21 signaling profoundly affects the B cell response to protein antigen, reducing splenic and bone marrow plasma cell formation and GC persistence and function, influencing their proliferation, transition into memory B cells, and affinity maturation. Using bone marrow chimeras, we show that these activities are primarily a result of CD3-expressing cells producing IL-21 that acts directly on B cells. Molecularly, IL-21 maintains expression of Bcl-6 in GC B cells. The absence of IL-21 or IL-21 receptor does not abrogate the appearance of T cells in GCs or the appearance of CD4 T cells with a follicular helper phenotype. IL-21 thus controls fate choices of GC B cells directly.
Female butterflies prefer males bearing bright iridescent ornamentation

Butterflies are among nature's most colourful animals, and provide a living showcase for how extremely bright, chromatic and iridescent coloration can be generated by complex optical mechanisms. The gross characteristics of male butterfly colour patterns are understood to function for species and/or sex recognition, but it is not known whether female mate choice promotes visual exaggeration of this coloration. Here I show that females of the sexually dichromatic species Hypolimnas bolina prefer conspecific males that possess bright iridescent blue/ultraviolet dorsal ornamentation. In separate field and enclosure experiments, using both dramatic and graded wing colour manipulations, I demonstrate that a moderate qualitative reduction in signal brightness and chromaticity has the same consequences as removing the signal entirely. These findings validate a long-held hypothesis, and argue for the importance of intra- versus interspecific selection as the driving force behind the exaggeration of bright, iridescent butterfly colour patterns.
Correctness Analysis and Optimality Bounds of Multi-spacecraft Formation Initialization Algorithms

This paper considers formation initialization for a class of autonomous spacecraft operating in deep space with arbitrary initial positions and velocities. Formation initialization is the task of getting a group of autonomous agents to obtain the relative and/or global dynamic state information necessary to begin formation control. We associate a "worst-case total angle traversed" optimality notion with the execution of any formation initialization algorithm, and present performance bounds valid for any correct algorithm. We design the spatial spacecraft localization algorithm and the wait and check algorithm, analyze their correctness properties and characterize their performance in terms of worst-case optimality and execution time
Influence of Cell Opener in High Resilience Molded Polyurethane Foam

In a chemical method for cell opening of high resilience (HR) molded polyurethane (PU) foam, two types of cell openers, the poly(ester-ether) type, PESE, having ester linkage and hydrophilic polyether segment in the molecule and the conventional polyether type, poly(propylene oxide-ethylene oxide), PPEO, were employed. The influence of structure and concentration of cell opener on the kinetics, stability, open cell content and mechanical properties of molded foam were investigated. The PESE-based formulation exhibited delayed reaction times and good stability compared to the PPEO-based formulation. The open cell content increased with cell opener amount and was independent of the cell opener structure. The mechanical properties clearly depend on the structure of cell opener. The PESE-based formulation had improved mechanical properties such as indentation hardness, tensile strength and tear strength. The increase of PPEO concentration significantly deteriorated the molded foam’s mechanical properties, while the foam with PESE gave less deterioration of mechanical properties up to a specific concentration of the PESE. With the above observations, PESE was found to be a useful cell opener for preparation of HR molded PU foam which has acceptable mechanical properties.
Sex Differences in Sudden Cardiac Death

Ischemic heart disease continues to be the leading cause of death in most countries and a major health burden, with approximately 50% of deaths due to sudden cardiac death (SCD) [Zipes & Wellens, 1998; Wong et al. 2001; Mazeika 2001]. The increasing prevalence of diabetes will also impact on SCD incidence. Patients with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes have significantly higher mortality and morbidity following acute myocardial infarction (AMI) than do the rest of the population. Other conditions such as hypertension, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, aortic stenosis and aging may also increase the risk of SCD. Sex differences in prevalence and clinical outcomes are recognised [Bairey et al. 2006; Wake et al. 2007], although many random‐ ized clinical trials do not have adequate numbers of women to allow sex-specific analyses [Xhyheri & Bugiardini 2010; Melloni et al. 2010]. Ischemic heart disease is the primary cause of death for women at all ages, with annual mortality rates for women 35-55 years greater than breast cancer [Bell et al. 2000] and approximately 81% of deaths in lowand middle-income countries [Mosca et al. 2011]. The incidence of SCD differs according to geographical region depending on the prevalence of coronary or ischemic heart disease [Priori et al. 2001]. In the United States, during 1989 to 1998, there was markedly less of a decline in SCD rates among women than for men women aged 35 to 44 years had a 21% increased SCD rate compared with a 2.8% decline for men of the same age group [Zheng et al. 2001]. During the same period, women were dying of a cardiac arrest before hospital arrival (52%) compared with 42% for men [Shaw et al. 2006]. Compared to males women are generally older when presenting with AMI [Canto et al. 2012] and with women’s longer life expectancy, the estimates are expected to rise even further in future decades. Although risk factors for IHD and SCD are often assumed to be similar in women and men, there are also differences. For instance, SCD will occur before any other signs of coronary heart disease in women [de Vreede-Swagemakers et al. 1997; Kannel et al. 1998; Albert et al. 2003] whereas ventricular dysrhythmias following AMI,