Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Duration of heart failure and the risk of atrial fibrillation: different mechanisms at different times?

Chronic heart failure increases the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF), with the prevalence of AF paralleling the severity of heart failure.1 Factors that underlie this increased susceptibility to AF may include electrical, structural, and neurohumoral changes.2 In AF, it is recognized that atrial electrophysiological remodelling occurs and contributes to the perpetuation of the arrhythmia, most notably the decrease of effective refractory period (ERP) which predisposes to re-entry by shortening the wavelength. Does heart failure cause similar changes in atrial electrophysiology that predispose to the arrhythmia? An extensively studied dog model, in which heart failure was induced by rapid ventricular pacing, has suggested not: atrial electrophysiological changes were either absent, or were in the opposite direction, with prolongation of the action potential duration (APD). 3,4 Susceptibility to induced AF was increased, but this was more related to structural changes, in particular increased fibrosis,5 than electrophysiological properties. In contrast, our recent study of human right atrial isolated myocytes6 found that left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction was associated with electrophysiological changes—decreased APD and shortened refractoriness—which would predispose to AF, contrary to the findings in the dog model. Sridhar et al. 7 shed some light on this discrepancy, indicating that the key factor may be the duration of heart failure. The main methodological difference in the dog … *Corresponding author. Tel: +44 141 211 4833; fax: +44 141 552 4683; E-mail address : acr1a{at}clinmed.gla. ac.uk
No TARDBP mutations in a French Canadian population of patients with Parkinson disease.

1. Palmer MS, Dryden AJ, Hughes JT, Collinge J. Homozygous prion protein genotype predisposes to sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Nature. 1991; 352(6333):340-342. 2. Dermaut B, Croes EA, Rademakers R, et al. PRNP Val129 homozygosity increases risk for early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Ann Neurol. 2003;53(3): 409-412. 3. Golanska E, Hulas-Bigoszewska K, Rutkiewicz E, et al. Polymorphisms within the prion (PrP) and prion-like protein (Doppel) genes in AD. Neurology. 2004; 62(2):313-315. 4. Riemenschneider M, Klopp N, Xiang W, et al. Prion protein codon 129 polymorphism and risk of Alzheimer disease. Neurology. 2004;63(2):364-366. 5. Del Bo R, Comi GP, Giorda R, et al. The 129 codon polymorphism of the prion protein gene influences earlier cognitive performance in Down syndrome subjects. J Neurol. 2003;250(6):688-692. 6. Grubenbecher S, Stuve O, Hefter H, Korth C. Prion protein gene codon 129 modulates clinical course of neurological Wilson disease. Neuroreport. 2006; 17(5):549-552. 7. Papassotiropoulos A, Wollmer MA, Aguzzi A, Hock C, Nitsch RM, de Quervain DJ. The prion gene is associated with human long-term memory. Hum Mol Genet. 2005;14(15):2241-2246. 8. Berr C, Richard F, Dufouil C, Amant C, Alperovitch A, Amouyel P. Polymorphism of the prion protein is associated with cognitive impairment in the elderly: the EVA study. Neurology. 1998;51(3):734-737. 9. Croes EA, Dermaut B, Houwing-Duistermaat JJ, et al. Early cognitive decline is associated with prion protein codon 129 polymorphism. Ann Neurol. 2003;54(2):275-276. 10. O’Connell JR, Weeks DE. PedCheck: a program for identification of genotype incompatibilities in linkage analysis. Am J Hum Genet. 1998;63(1): 259-266. 11. Spielman RS, McGinnis RE, Ewens WJ. Transmission test for linkage disequilibrium: the insulin gene region and insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). Am J Hum Genet. 1993;52(3):506-516. 12. Barcellos LF, Oksenberg JR, Green AJ, et al. Genetic basis for clinical expression in multiple sclerosis. Brain. 2002;125(pt 1):150-158. 13. Roxburgh RH, Seaman SR, Masterman T, et al. Multiple Sclerosis Severity Score: using disability and disease duration to rate disease severity. Neurology. 2005;64(7):1144-1151.
The effect of vitamin D supplementation on gestational diabetes in high-risk women: Results from a randomized placebo-controlled trial

Background: Vitamin D deficiency is common in pregnancy, leading to increase in the frequency of preeclampsia, cesarean delivery, neonatal bacterial vaginosis, and gestational diabetes. The current study was designed and implemented to investigate the effect of vitamin D during the first and second trimesters of pregnancy in reducing the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in women who are at high risk [history of GDM, birth macrosomia, family history, and high body mass index (BMI)]. Materials and Methods: In a randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled trial, 90 pregnant women who had at least one risk factor for GDM were randomized into intervention (46 participants) and control (44 participants) groups. Participants in the intervention group took 5000 units of vitamin D daily and the control group took placebo until the 26th week of pregnancy. Then the glucose challenge test (GCT) and the glucose tolerance test (GTT) were performed to evaluate GDM. Results: Mean ± standard deviation (SD) age was 31.28 ± 6.38 years and 29 ± 6.24 years for the intervention group and the placebo group, respectively, (P > 0.05). In addition, there were no significant differences between two groups in terms of vitamin D levels and GCT (P > 0.05), and the difference was not significant. The incidence of diabetes in the intervention groups was statistically lower than in control group (11.4% vs 34.8; P < 0.01). The results showed that abnormal GCT in the placebo group was statistically higher than in intervention group (35.9% vs 10.9 P < 0.005). Conclusion: The results of the current study showed that the prescription of vitamin D supplementation in the first and second trimesters of pregnancy was effective in reducing GDM and controlling GTT and GTC.
Design and Implementation of an On-Chip Patient-Specific Closed-Loop Seizure Onset and Termination Detection System

This paper presents the design of an area- and energy-efficient closed-loop machine learning-based patient-specific seizure onset and termination detection algorithm, and its on-chip hardware implementation. Application- and scenario-based tradeoffs are compared and reviewed for seizure detection and suppression algorithm and system which comprises electroencephalography (EEG) data acquisition, feature extraction, classification, and stimulation. Support vector machine achieves a good tradeoff among power, area, patient specificity, latency, and classification accuracy for long-term monitoring of patients with limited training seizure patterns. Design challenges of EEG data acquisition on a multichannel wearable environment for a patch-type sensor are also discussed in detail. Dual-detector architecture incorporates two area-efficient linear support vector machine classifiers along with a weight-and-average algorithm to target high sensitivity and good specificity at once. On-chip implementation issues for a patient-specific transcranial electrical stimulation are also discussed. The system design is verified using CHB-MIT EEG database [1] with a comprehensive measurement criteria which achieves high sensitivity and specificity of 95.1% and 96.2%, respectively, with a small latency of 1 s. It also achieves seizure onset and termination detection delay of 2.98 and 3.82 s, respectively, with seizure length estimation error of 4.07 s.
Dysarthria impact profile: development of a scale to measure psychosocial effects.

BACKGROUND The psychosocial impact of acquired dysarthria on the speaker is well recognized. To date, speech-and-language therapists have no instrument available to measure this construct. This has implications for outcome measurement and for planning intervention. This paper describes the Dysarthria Impact Profile (DIP), an instrument that has the potential to meet this need in clinical practice. AIMS To describe the development of the DIP, which was devised as part of a larger study to measure psychosocial impact of acquired dysarthria from the speaker's perspective. METHODS & PROCEDURES The current psychometric properties of the DIP are examined. The scale was administered to 31 participants with acquired dysarthria. The internal consistency of the scale items and their intra-rater reliability were investigated. Concurrent validity was assessed for the portion of the scale (Section A) assessing impact of acquired dysarthria on self-perception, self-concept and self-esteem by comparing the results with changes in self-concept as determined by the Head Injury Semantic Differential Scale (HISD II). OUTCOMES & RESULTS The DIP shows good internal consistency and strong intra-rater reliability overall. There was a strong, statistically significant, correlation between results on Section A of the DIP and the results of the HISD II suggesting convergent validity for this portion of the scale. There are some limitations to the scale in its current format and these are highlighted. CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS The scale is now ready for further refinement and development. Once validated, it should act as a robust outcome measure for clinicians.
The Design of an Electronic Voting System

The aim of this study is to design an electronic voting system based upon the electoral process adopted in Ghana. In recent years, information technology has greatly affected all aspects of life, and to a large extent, this includes politics. In order to choose people to various positions different methods have been set up, with researchers continually trying to find improvement to the existing methods. The most recent method to be devised is electronic voting (e-voting). It is meant to phase out outdated paper ballot, punched cards and other mechanical voting systems with paperless electronic or online voting systems. E-voting systems endeavour to make elections simple while reducing the total cost of the election. Designing an air-tight and reliable e-voting system is therefore a great task, in that, the system that must be developed must protect the privacy of the voter, be easily understood and used by the entire voting populace - no matter who they are or where they come from. Based on this, OVIS, an On-line Voting System, has been developed. It came about as a result of the findings of a study of the electoral process of the Electoral Commission of Ghana.
Effect of age on the occurrence of muscle fiber degeneration associated with myopathies in broiler chickens submitted to feed restriction

&NA; To evaluate muscle fiber degeneration (MFD) associated with white striping and wooden breast, pectoralis major of 192 broilers differing for genotype (standard vs. high breast yield), gender, and feeding regime (ad libitum vs. restricted rate 80% from 13 to 21 d of age) were sampled at 14, 21, 28, 35, and 46 d of age for histological analyses by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining to evaluate tissue morphology, Masson's trichrome to identify collagen presence, and Oil red and Nile blue for lipid presence. Microvessels (diameter ≤15 &mgr;m), nuclei positive to anti‐cleaved lamin A and monoclonal proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) antisera were counted to assess apoptotic and regenerative processes, respectively. Significant differences were found according to feeding system, age, and their interactions. The frequency of chickens with MFD was higher with ad libitum than restricted feeding (75.0% vs. 62.5%; P = 0.01) and increased with age (18.8%, 28.1%, 75.1%, 96.9%, and 96.9% at 14, 21, 28, 35, and 46 d). However, at 14 d a similar frequency (18.8%) was found in all broilers; at 21 d, MFD occurred more in broilers fed ad libitum than in those under restriction (50.0% vs. 6.3%; P < 0.01); at 28 d differences were reduced (87.5% vs. 62.5%; P = 0.10) to disappear by 35 (100% and 93.8%) and 46 d (96.9% and 96.9%). The number of microvessels decreased with age (20.7 to 9.46; P < 0.001) and the number of nuclei positive to the anti‐cleaved lamin A antibody increased. At histology, MFD at 46 d corresponded to loss of typical cross striations, massive necrotic process, degenerating fibers surrounded by inflammatory cells, scattered fibers in an abundant collagen‐rich connective tissue, numerous adipose cells; necrotic fibers showed a high percentage of apoptotic nuclei, and regenerating fibers appeared positive to anti‐PCNA antibody. In conclusion, MFD soon occurred after 2 wk of growth and increased dramatically within 28 d. Early feed restriction reduced MFD as long as animals were restricted, but no residual effect was recorded after re‐alimentation.
Effect of the Y402H variant in the complement factor H gene on the incidence and progression of age-related macular degeneration: results from multistate models applied to the Beaver Dam Eye Study.

OBJECTIVES To investigate the effect of age, sex, and the Y402H variant in the complement factor H (CFH) gene on the incidence, progression, and regression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) as well as the effect of these factors and AMD on mortality, using multistate models. METHODS Analyses included 4379 persons aged 43 to 84 years at the time of the census. The status of AMD on a 5-level severity scale was graded from retinal photographs taken at up to 5 study visits between 1988 and 2010. Multistate models in continuous time were used to model the effects of age, sex, and CFH genotype on the incidence, progression, and regression of AMD and mortality. RESULTS The CFH Y402H genotype CC was associated, relative to genotype TT (reported as hazard ratio; 95% CI), with increased incidence of AMD (no to minimally severe early AMD, 1.98; 1.57-2.49), progression of AMD (minimally severe early to moderately severe early AMD, 1.73; 1.29-2.33; moderately severe early to severe early AMD, 1.30; 0.86-1.94; and severe early to late AMD, 1.72; 1.01-2.91) but not with regression of AMD or mortality. Late AMD was associated with increased mortality (1.37; 1.15-1.62) relative to no AMD, but earlier stages of AMD were not. CONCLUSIONS Using the multistate models, we show that the Y402H risk variant is associated with lifetime incidence of early AMD and progression of early to late AMD and that late AMD is associated with mortality risk.
A Gβ protein and the TupA Co-Regulator Bind to Protein Kinase A Tpk2 to Act as Antagonistic Molecular Switches of Fungal Morphological Changes

The human pathogenic fungus Paracoccidioides brasiliensis (Pb) undergoes a morphological transition from a saprobic mycelium to pathogenic yeast that is controlled by the cAMP-signaling pathway. There is a change in the expression of the Gβ-protein PbGpb1, which interacts with adenylate cyclase, during this morphological transition. We exploited the fact that the cAMP-signaling pathway of Saccharomyces cerevisiae does not include a Gβ-protein to probe the functional role of PbGpb1. We present data that indicates that PbGpb1 and the transcriptional regulator PbTupA both bind to the PKA protein PbTpk2. PbTPK2 was able to complement a TPK2Δ strain of S. cerevisiae, XPY5a/α, which was defective in pseudohyphal growth. Whilst PbGPB1 had no effect on the parent S. cerevisiae strain, MLY61a/α, it repressed the filamentous growth of XPY5a/α transformed with PbTPK2, behaviour that correlated with a reduced expression of the floculin FLO11. In vitro, PbGpb1 reduced the kinase activity of PbTpk2, suggesting that inhibition of PbTpk2 by PbGpb1 reduces the level of expression of Flo11, antagonizing the filamentous growth of the cells. In contrast, expressing the co-regulator PbTUPA in XPY5a/α cells transformed with PbTPK2, but not untransformed cells, induced hyperfilamentous growth, which could be antagonized by co-transforming the cells with PbGPB1. PbTUPA was unable to induce the hyperfilamentous growth of a FLO8Δ strain, suggesting that PbTupA functions in conjunction with the transcription factor Flo8 to control Flo11 expression. Our data indicates that P. brasiliensis PbGpb1 and PbTupA, both of which have WD/β-propeller structures, bind to PbTpk2 to act as antagonistic molecular switches of cell morphology, with PbTupA and PbGpb1 inducing and repressing filamentous growth, respectively. Our findings define a potential mechanism for controlling the morphological switch that underpins the virulence of dimorphic fungi.
Embedded quadtree-based image compression in DCT domain

The success in discrete cosine transform(DCT) image coding is mainly attributed to recognition of the importance of data organization and representation. In this paper, we proposed an embedded image coder based on quadtree set partition in DCT domain (EZDCT) which is suitable for many kinds of DCT coefficients reorganization schemes. The experimental results show that it is among the state-of-the-art DCT-based image coders when compared with the famous DCT-based image coders, such as EZDCT and MRDCT. For example, for the Barbara image, EQDCT outperforms JPEG EZDCT and MRDCT by 3.3,1.71,1.70 dB in peak-signal-to-noise ratio at 0.25 bpp, respectively.
Operating Humanoid Robots in Human Environments

Depending on the autonomous capability of the robot and the familiarity of the robot system with the task and environment, the level of human intervention differs. This paper introduces a methodology which allows a human operator to seamlessly switch between the continuous control of motion using an analog input device and the discrete behavior control cooperating with the robot using symbolic commands. Using the proposed methods, a human operator is able to operate humanoid robots with high flexibility by only using a simple operation interface. Successful experiments operating humanoid robot HRP-2 in executing everyday tasks proved the high reliability of the proposed operation system.
A Local Optimization Algorithm for Logical Topology Design and Traffic Grooming in IP over WDM Networks

Abstract : In this paper, the authors investigate logical topology design algorithms using local optimization techniques. Since the problem of the optimal logical topology design for all traffic demands is NP-complete, they design a logical topology by sequentially constructing the shortest path for one source-destination pair at a time. The path is a locally optimized path in the sense that there are no other paths with less hop count that may be constructed from existing links and newly created links. For this they define an Estimated Logical Hop Count (ELH), which is the shortest logical hop count for a given source and destination when it is applied. Also, they propose two heuristic logical topology design algorithms making use of ELH: ELH with Maximum Traffic Demands (MTD) and with Resource Efficiency Factor (REF). Finally, they evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithms using a GLASS/SSF simulator. The simulation results show that ELH with REF outperforms other well-known algorithms in terms of the weighted hop count and network throughput.
Understanding strategies for seed dispersal by wind under contrasting atmospheric conditions

Traits associated with seed dispersal vary tremendously among sympatric wind-dispersed plants. We used two contrasting tropical tree species, seed traps, micrometeorology, and a mechanistic model to evaluate how variation in four key traits affects seed dispersal by wind. The conceptual framework of movement ecology, wherein external factors (wind) interact with internal factors (plant traits) that enable movement and determine when and where movement occurs, fully captures the variable inputs and outputs of wind dispersal models and informs their interpretation. We used model calculations to evaluate the spatial pattern of dispersed seeds for the 16 factorial combinations of four traits. The study species differed dramatically in traits related to the timing of seed release, and a strong species by season interaction affected most aspects of the spatial pattern of dispersed seeds. A rich interplay among plant traits and seasonal differences in atmospheric conditions caused this interaction. Several of the same plant traits are crucial for both seed dispersal and other aspects of life history variation. Observed traits that limit dispersal are likely to be constrained by their life history consequences.
Risk of congenital heart disease in relatives of probands with conotruncal cardiac defects: An evaluation of 1,620 families

Current recurrence risk counseling for conotruncal cardiac defects (CTD) is based on empiric estimates from multiple studies. We examined the risk of congenital heart disease (CHD) in relatives of probands with CTDs to assist in counseling practices in the current era. One thousand six‐twenty probands with CTDs and no reported chromosomal or genetic abnormalities were recruited sequentially. A three‐generation pedigree was obtained for each proband by a genetic counselor detailing the presence and type of CHD in each family member. Risks and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated for sub‐groups of relatives based on degree of relationship for all probands and by individual lesion of the proband. For pairs of affected relatives, concordance rates were calculated. Severity of CHD in the affected relative was assessed. The risk of CHD was higher in siblings (4.4%, 95% CI 3.4–5.4) than in parents (1.5%, 95% CI 1.1–1.9). Risk varied by the cardiac lesion of the proband with the highest risk in first‐degree relatives of probands with tetralogy of Fallot and the lowest in D‐transposition of the great arteries. 39% of affected parents and 69% of affected siblings had a concordant lesion (i.e., CTD). Most affected siblings of probands with severe CTDs had complex defects (58%), whereas very few affected parents had complex defects (20%). These data suggest that recurrence risk varies by lesion and relationship, with substantial concordance observed by cardiac lesion and complexity of disease, particularly among siblings. These findings contribute to risk counseling in the current era. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
TNF-alpha and shear stress-induced large artery adaptations.

BACKGROUND Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) up-regulation has been associated with both low and high shear-induced arterial remodeling. To address this apparent paradox and to define the biology of TNF-alpha signaling in large arteries, we tested the hypotheses that differential temporal expression of TNF-alpha drives shear-regulated arterial remodeling. MATERIALS AND METHODS Both low- and high-shear environments in the same rabbit were surgically created for common carotid arteries. Common carotid arteries (n = 60 total) were harvested after d0, d1, d3, d7, and d14 and analyses included morphology, TNF-alpha, and IL-10 mRNA quantitation. In separate experiments, animals received pegylated soluble TNF-alpha Type 1 receptor (PEG sTNF-RI) or vehicle via either short- or long-term dosing to define the effect of TNF-alpha blockade. RESULTS The model yielded a 14-fold shear differential (P < 0.001) with medial thickening under low shear (P = 0.025), and evidence of outward remodeling with high shear (P = 0.007). Low shear immediately up-regulated TNF-alpha expression approximately 50 fold (P < 0.001) at d1. Conversely, high shear-induced delayed and sustained TNF-alpha expression (22-fold at d7, P = 0.012; 23-fold at d14, P = 0.007). Both low and high shear gradually induced IL-10 expression (P = 0.002 and P = 0.004, respectively). Neither short-term (5-day) nor long-term (14-day) blockage of TNF-alpha signaling resulted in treatment-induced changes in the remodeling of low- or high-shear arteries. CONCLUSIONS Shear stress differentially and temporally regulates TNF-alpha expression in remodeling large arteries. However, TNF-alpha blockage did not substantially impact the final shear-induced morphology, suggesting that large arteries can remodel in response to flow perturbations independent of TNF-alpha signaling.