Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Myocardial Protection by Insulin at Reperfusion Requires Early Administration and Is Mediated via Akt and p70s6 Kinase Cell-Survival Signaling

The “metabolic cocktail” comprising glucose-insulin-potassium administrated at reperfusion reduces infarct size in the in vivo rat heart. We propose that insulin is the major component mediating this protection and acts via Akt prosurvival signaling. This hypothesis was studied in isolated perfused rat hearts (measuring infarct size to area of risk [%]) subjected to 35 minutes regional myocardial ischemia and 2 hours reperfusion. Insulin administered at the onset of reperfusion attenuated infarct size by ≥45% versus control hearts (P <0.001). Insulin-mediated cardioprotection was found to be independent of the presence of glucose at reperfusion. Moreover, the cell survival benefit of insulin is temporally dependent, in that insulin administration from the onset of reperfusion and maintained for either 15 minutes or for the duration of reperfusion reduced infarct size. In contrast, protection was abrogated if insulin administration was delayed until 15 minutes into reperfusion. Pharmacological inhibition of both upstream and downstream signals in the Akt prosurvival pathway abolished the cardioprotective effects of insulin. Here coadministration of insulin with the tyrosine kinase inhibitor lavendustin A, the phosphatidylinositol3-kinase (PI3-kinase) inhibitor wortmannin, and mTOR/p70s6 kinase inhibitor rapamycin abolished cardioprotection. Steady-state levels of activated/phosphorylated Akt correlated with insulin administration. Finally, downstream prosurvival targets of Akt including p70s6 kinase and BAD were modulated by insulin. In conclusion, insulin administration at reperfusion reduces myocardial infarction, is dependent on early administration during reperfusion, and is mediated via Akt and p70s6 kinase dependent signaling pathway. Moreover, BAD is maintained in its inert phosphorylated state in response to insulin therapy.
Association of human papillomavirus type 16 integration in the E2 gene with poor disease‐free survival from cervical cancer

To determine the clinical relevance of human papillomavirus (HPV) integration and E2 function suggested by in vitro studies, we investigated 50 patients with HPV 16‐positive primary cervical carcinoma (stage Ib‐IV) diagnosed and treated at one institution. The physical state of HPV was determined by colorimetric in situ hybridization and was not found to vary by stage. Overall, 62% of tumors had integrated HPV, 16% had episomal and 22% had both integrated and episomal. The E1/E2 region was evaluated by 8 separate polymerase chain reactions, which resulted in overlapping products. There was no significant variation in ability to amplify the E1/E2 region with stage. E1/E2 amplification correlated with physical state. Nearly all tumors with episomal or mixed HPV 16 DNA amplified all 8 E1/E2 fragments. Half of the tumors with integrated HPV 16 DNA failed to amplify one or more E1/E2 fragments. Disruptions were most frequent in the E2 region. For all 46 patients receiving curative therapy, the Kaplan‐Meier estimate of disease‐free survival was determined for those whose primary tumors had amplifiable E2 compared with those lacking one or more E2 DNA fragments. Disruption of E2 was associated with significantly shortened disease‐free survival. Int. J. Cancer 74:50–56. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A Non-linear Function Approximation from Small Samples Based on Nadaraya-Watson Kernel Regression

Solving function approximation problem is to appropriately find the relationship between dependent variable and independent variable(s). Function approximation algorithms normally require sufficient amount of samples to approximate a function. However, insufficient samples may result in unsatisfactory prediction to any function approximation algorithms. It is due to the failure of the function approximation algorithms to fill the information gap between the available and very limited samples. In this study, a function approximation algorithm which is based on Nadaraya-Watson Kernel Regression (NWKR) is proposed for approximating a non-linear function with small samples. Gaussian function is chosen as a kernel function for this study. The results show that the NWKR is effective in the case where the target function is non-linear and the given training sample is small. The performance of the NWKR is compared with other existing function approximation algorithms, such as artificial neural network.
Determinants of adherence to seasonal influenza vaccination among healthcare workers from an Italian region: results from a cross-sectional study

Objectives Notwithstanding decades of efforts to increase the uptake of seasonal influenza (flu) vaccination among European healthcare workers (HCWs), the immunisation rates are still unsatisfactory. In order to understand the reasons for the low adherence to flu vaccination, a study was carried out among HCWs of two healthcare organisations in Liguria, a region in northwest Italy. Methods A cross-sectional study based on anonymous self-administered web questionnaires was carried out between October 2013 and February 2014. Through univariate and multivariate regression analysis, the study investigated the association between demographic and professional characteristics, knowledge, beliefs and attitudes of the study participants and (i) the seasonal flu vaccination uptake in the 2013/2014 season and (ii) the self-reported number of flu vaccination uptakes in the six consecutive seasons from 2008/2009 to 2013/2014. Results A total of 830 HCWs completed the survey. Factors statistically associated with flu vaccination uptake in the 2013/2014 season were: being a medical doctor and agreeing with the statements ‘flu vaccine is safe’, ‘HCWs have a higher risk of getting flu’ and ‘HCWs should receive flu vaccination every year’. A barrier to vaccination was the belief that pharmaceutical companies influence decisions about vaccination strategies. Discussion All the above-mentioned factors, except the last one, were (significantly) associated with the number of flu vaccination uptakes self-reported by the respondents between season 2008/2009 and season 2013/2014. Other significantly associated factors appeared to be level of education, being affected by at least one chronic disease, and agreeing with mandatory flu vaccination in healthcare settings. Conclusions This survey allows us to better understand the determinants of adherence to vaccination as a fundamental preventive strategy against flu among Italian HCWs. These findings should be used to improve and customise any future promotion campaigns to overcome identified barriers to immunisation.
Automatic Tonal and Non-Tonal Language Classification and Language Identification Using Prosodic Information

In this paper, an innovative method for tonal and non-tonal language classification using prosodic information is reported. The normalized feature parameters that measure pitch changing speed and pitch changing level are used to train a 3-layer feedforward neural network for the classification. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method, the recognition rate and the processing time of the novel system are compared with a PPRLM system on a 2-language identification task. For the evaluation results of identifying English/Mandarin, the novel system can achieve a recognition rate of 83.3%, compared with 91.7% of the PPRLM system. However, the processing time of the novel system is only half of that of the PPRLM system. In another extended tonal and non-tonal language classification task with 6 languages, the novel system can achieve a classification rate of 80.6%. Possible applications of the new method to perform pre-classification in language identification are also discussed.
Field‐induced resonant tunneling between parallel two‐dimensional electron systems

Resonant tunneling between two high‐mobility two‐dimensional (2D) electron systems in a double quantum well structure has been induced by the action of an external Schottky gate field. Using one 2D electron gas as source and the other as drain, the tunnel conductance between them shows a strong resonance when the gate field aligns the ground subband edges of the two quantum wells.
Left Atrial Volumes and Function by Three-Dimensional Echocardiography: Reference Values, Accuracy, Reproducibility, and Comparison With Two-Dimensional Echocardiographic Measurements.

BACKGROUND Our study sought to (1) identify reference values for left atrial (LA) volumes and phasic function indices by 3-dimensional echocardiography (3DE) and compare them with those measured by 2-dimensional echocardiography (2DE) and (2) analyze their relationship with age, sex, body size, and left ventricular function. Accuracy and reproducibility of 3DE and 2DE have been also tested to evaluate the robustness of our data. METHODS AND RESULTS We obtained maximal, minimal, and preA LA volumes by 3DE and 2DE in 276 healthy volunteers (18-79 years; 57% women). Limits of normality for LA volumes and total LA emptying fraction were larger with 3DE than with 2DE (maximal LA volume: 43 versus 35 mL/m(2); preA LA volume: 31 versus 25 mL/m(2); minimal LA volume: 18 versus 14 mL/m(2); 53 versus 48%, respectively; P<0.001). 3DE LA volumes indexed by body surface area were similar in men and women and increased with age. On multivariable analysis, age, weight, and left ventricular systolic and diastolic function indices resulted as correlates of LA 3DE indices. LA volumes were tightly correlated with cardiac magnetic resonance measurements, yet more underestimated by 2DE versus 3DE (bias±SD: -17±16 versus -7±15 mL, respectively). Among all LA parameters, maximal LA volume and total emptying fraction were the most reproducible, including at test-retest and at expert versus trainee comparisons. CONCLUSIONS This study provides reference values for LA 3DE volumes and function from a relatively large cohort of healthy subjects with a wide age range. Our data may help clinicians to identify LA remodeling and dysfunction.
Comparison of Abdominal Visceral Adipose Tissue Area Measured by Computed Tomography with That Estimated by Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis Method in Korean Subjects

We evaluated the concordance between visceral fat area (VFA) estimated by bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) or computed tomography (CT) in Korean subjects with a wide range in age and body mass index (BMI). In 1006 individuals (mean age 55.2 ± 11.8 (19–87) years, mean BMI 26.0 ± 3.5 (17–46) kg/m2, 48.9% men), VFA quantified by CT was compared with VFA using multifrequency BIA machines within 15 days. Concordance rates were compared by age or BMI using correlation analysis, Bland-Altman plots, and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Using BIA data, we established a regression formula to reflect CT-VFA. The mean VFAs by CT and BIA were 131.9 ± 57.3 cm2 and 110.5 ± 33.9 cm2, respectively (r = 0.605, p < 0.001). The mean difference was 21.4 ± 45.6 cm2, tending to increase with BMI. In women with BMI <25 kg/m2 or age <50 years, the VFAs by BIA were similar to those by CT (ICC = 0.496 in BMI <25 kg/m2 and ICC = 0.638 in age <50 years). However, the difference was greater in men with BMI ≥25 kg/m2 or age ≥50 years. Applying our formula, the difference between estimations decreased to 0.2 ± 38.2cm2. VFA estimated by BIA correlated well with that by CT, but a more accurate formula is needed to match CT data, particularly in older men or subjects with a high BMI.
One Class Support Vector Machines for audio abnormal events detection

This paper proposes an unsupervised method for real time detection of abnormal events in the context of audio surveillance. Based on training a One-Class Support Vector Machine (OC-SVM) to model the distribution of the normality (ambience), we propose to construct sets of decision functions. This allows controlling the trade-off between false-alarm and miss probabilities without modifying the trained OC-SVM that best capture the ambience boundaries, or its hyperparameters. Then we present an adaptive online scheme of temporal integration of the decision function output in order to increase performance and robustness. We also introduce a framework to generate databasesbased on real signals for the evaluation of audio surveillance systems. Finally, we present the performances obtained on the databases.
Political rage: terrorism and the politics of emotion

Recently there has been a renewed interest in the role of emotion as both a site of political knowledge and as a contributing dynamic in the stability or upheaval of political institutions. While it is widely recognised that emotion is directly implicated in terrorist behaviour, terrorism studies has not critically engaged in this revitalised theorising. As a small step towards addressing this analytical gap we argue that there is a need to see terrorism as a political act grounded in a particular set of human emotions triggered in certain social circumstances. We begin with a brief discussion of the treatment of emotion within terrorism studies before examining how modernity might contribute to an intensification of emotion within political behaviour. We posit that one outcome of this intensification is the adoption of violent forms of political agency by individuals seeking to address real or perceived grievances.
Local Theories of Teacher Change: The Pedagogy of District Policies and Programs

This paper examines district officials’ theories about teacher learning and change, identifying and elaborating three perspectives—behaviorist, situated, and cognitive— based on a study of 9 school districts. The behaviorist perspective on teacher learning dominated among the district officials in the study. The author also considers whether the prominence of the behaviorist perspective on teacher learning among district officials may be cause for concern when it comes to the classroom implementation of the fundamental changes in instruction pressed by state and national standards.
Batch reinforcement learning for optimizing longitudinal driving assistance strategies

Partially Autonomous Driver's Assistance Systems (PADAS) are systems aiming at providing a safer driving experience to people. Especially, one application of such systems is to assist the drivers in reacting optimally so as to prevent collisions with a leading vehicle. Several means can be used by a PADAS to reach this goal. For instance, warning signals can be sent to the driver or the PADAS can actually modify the speed of the car by braking automatically. An optimal combination of different warning signals together with assistive braking is expected to reduce the probability of collision. How to associate the right combination of PADAS actions to a given situation so as to achieve this aim remains an open problem. In this paper, the use of a statistical machine learning method, namely the reinforcement learning paradigm, is proposed to automatically derive an optimal PADAS action selection strategy from a database of driving experiments. Experimental results conducted on actual car simulators with human drivers show that this method achieves a significant reduction of the risk of collision.
Pregnancy in women after successful acromegaly treatment, including surgical removal of pituitary adenoma and postoperative therapy using lanreotide acetate

Abstract Acromegaly is one of the most common syndromes in pituitary adenomas. Naturally, women with this condition have trouble with their reproductive function. The difficulty in diagnosing acromegaly progression in pregnancy is that there is also production of placental growth hormone observed, making it impossible to differentiate from neoplastic growth hormone production using conventional methods of investigation. This article is about a clinical case of acromegaly in a 22 years old woman who was operated on using transnasal transsphenoidal approach and received postoperative treatment with somatostatin analog – lanreotide acetate autogel – for six months. The woman became pregnant in the course of the treatment. During pregnancy, the GH and IGF-I levels in serum remained within normal limits. Lanreotide acetate therapy was discontinued. The woman successfully gave birth to a healthy baby. There was a remission of the disease after pregnancy.
Overview of 3D surface digitization technologies in Europe

This paper presents an overview of the different 3D surface digitization technologies commercially available in the European market. The solutions for 3D surface measurement offered by major European companies can be divided into different groups depending on various characteristics, such as technology (e.g. laser scanning, white light projection), system construction (e.g. fix, on CMM/robot/arm) or measurement type (e.g. surface scanning, profile scanning). Crossing between the categories is possible, however, the majority of commercial products can be divided into the following groups: (a) laser profilers mounted on CMM, (b) portable coded light projection systems, (c) desktop solutions with laser profiler or coded light projectin system and multi-axes platform, (d) laser point measurement systems where both sensor and object move, (e) hand operated laser profilers, hand held laser profiler or point measurement systems, (f) dedicated systems. This paper presents the different 3D surface digitization technologies and describes them with their advantages and disadvantages. Various examples of their use are shown for different application fields. A special interest is given to applications regarding the 3D surface measurement of the human body.
The dark side of creativity

Abstract: Robert McLaren's article emphasizes the harm that scientific and technological creativity can do. He makes use of unusual literary and historical material as well as well‐known works such as Mary Shelley's Frankenstein image. The article ends on a upbeat note, indicating how science and technology must be directed toward human ends and planetary survival. —Editors
Predominance of Blastocystis sp. Infection among School Children in Peninsular Malaysia

Background One of the largest cross-sectional study in recent years was carried out to investigate the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections among urban and rural school children from five states namely Selangor, Perak, Pahang, Kedah and Johor in Peninsula Malaysia. This information would be vital for school authorities to influence strategies for providing better health especially in terms of reducing intestinal parasitism. Methods and Principal Findings A total of 3776 stool cups was distributed to 26 schools throughout the country. 1760 (46.61%) responded. The overall prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection in both rural and urban areas was 13.3%, with Blastocystis sp (10.6%) being the most predominant, followed by Trichuris trichiura (3.4%), Ascaris lumbricoides (1.5%) and hook worm infection (0.9%). Only rural school children had helminthic infection. In general Perak had the highest infection (37.2%, total, n = 317), followed by Selangor (10.4%, total, n = 729), Pahang (8.6%, total, n = 221), Kedah (6.2%, total, n = 195) and Johor (3.4%, total, n = 298). School children from rural schools had higher infection (13.7%, total, n = 922) than urban school children (7.2%, total, n = 838). Subtype (ST) 3 (54.3%) is the most predominant ST with persons infected with only ST1 and ST3 showing symptoms. Blastocystis sp infection significantly associated with low household income, low parent’s education and presence of symptoms (p<0.05). Conclusion It is critical that we institute deworming and treatment to eradicate the parasite especially in rural school children.
Caffeine, Energy Drinks, and Strength-Power Performance

SUMMARY CAFFEINE AND ENERGY DRINKS ARE POPULAR SUPPLEMENTS THAT HAVE VARIABLE USES IN BOTH ATHLETIC AND NONATHLETIC POPULATIONS. EVIDENCE HAS BEEN RELATIVELY CONSISTENT IN SHOWING THE EFFICACY OF THESE “HIGH-ENERGY” COMPOUNDS IN ENHANCING ENDURANCE PERFORMANCE, BUT LESS IS UNDERSTOOD REGARDING ITS ERGOGENIC POTENTIAL IN STRENGTH/POWER ACTIVITIES. THIS REVIEW FOCUSES ON THE EFFICACY ON THESE PRODUCTS (CAFFEINE BY ITSELF OR IN COMBINATION WITH OTHER INGREDIENTS) ON STRENGTH/POWER PERFORMANCE AND REACTION TIME. IN ADDITION, DISCUSSION ON THE EFFICACY OF CAFFEINE DURING PROLONGED ACTIVITY AND ITS ROLE DURING TACTICAL PERFORMANCE IS ADDRESSED.
Power-law revisited: large scale measurement study of P2P content popularity

The popularity of contents on the Internet is often said to follow a Zipf-like distribution. Different measurement studies showed, however, significantly different distributions depending on the measurement methodology they followed. We performed a large-scale measurement of the most popular peer-to-peer (P2P) content distribution system, BitTorrent, over eleven months. We collected data on a daily to weekly basis from 500 to 800 trackers, with information about 40 to 60 million peers that participated in the distribution of over 10 million torrents. Based on these measurements we show how fundamental characteristics of the observed distribution of content popularity change depending on the measurement methodology and the length of the observation interval. We show that while short-term or small-scale measurements can conclude that the popularity of contents exhibits a power-law tail, the tail is likely exponentially decreasing, especially over long time intervals.
The Effects of Interactive Screen Media and Desirable Difficulty on Word Learning in Young Children

Screen media usage has greatly increased in recent years, even for children. Screen media can be very useful, and has been shown to be an effective tool for learning in children older than two years of age (Kirkorian, Wartella, & Anderson, 2008). However, children under the age of two experience what is called the video deficit effect; that is, they do not learn from screen media (Linebarger & Vaala, 2010). The majority of past research looking at the video deficit effect has focused on viewing videos as screen media. Yet, as technologies have advanced more and more children have gained access to increased amounts of interactive screen media. This study aims to look at learning with interactive screen media through a word-learning iPad application. The application utilizes the idea of desirable difficulty, the theory that there is a certain level of difficulty at which learning is enhanced, to maximize word learning by examining the role of semantic similarity and previous knowledge when selecting words for learning by the application. This study finds that the video deficit holds true even for interactive screen media. Furthermore, desirable difficulty design within the application does not impact performance on testing. These results indicate that a word-learning application, even an interactive one, may not be the best platform for increasing young children’s vocabularies. EFFECT OF INTERACTIVE SCREEN MEDIA AND DESIRABLE DIFFICULTY 3 The Effects of Interactive Screen Media and Desirable Difficulty on Word Learning in Young Children The use of mobile devices is rapidly becoming ubiquitous as these technologies advance. This is especially true for usage among children. In a recent review by Common Sense Media (Fall 2013), it was found that 72% of children aged 0-8 had ever used a mobile device for some type of media activity, up from 38% in 2011. This increase is seen in even the youngest children as it was found that 38% of children under the age of two had ever used a smartphone, tablet, or similar device for playing games, watching videos, or engaging in related activities. This is up from 10% in 2011. Because there has been such a dramatic increase in screen media usage for children, it is important to understand how media usage affects learning.