Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
No effect of fibrin sealant on drain output or functional recovery following simultaneous bilateral total knee arthroplasty

Background and purpose Blood loss after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) may lead to anemia, blood transfusions, and increased total costs. Also, bleeding into the periarticular tissue may cause swelling and a reduction in quadriceps strength, thus impairing early functional recovery. In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, we analyzed the possible effect of fibrin sealant on blood loss and early functional recovery in a fast-track setting. Methods 24 consecutive patients undergoing bilateral simultaneous TKA were included. 10 mL of fibrin sealant (Evicel) was sprayed onto one knee whereas the contralateral knee had saline. Drain output, the primary outcome, was measured from knee drains removed exactly 24 h after surgery. Secondary outcomes (knee swelling, pain, strength of knee extension, and range of movement (ROM)) were evaluated up to 21 days after surgery. Results The drain output in knees treated with fibrin sealant and placebo was similar (582 mL and 576 mL, respectively). Likewise, no statistically significant differences were found between groups regarding swelling, pain, strength of knee extension, and ROM. Interpretation Fibrin sealant as a local hemostatic in TKA showed no benefit in reducing drain output or in facilitating early functional recovery when used with a tourniquet, tranexamic acid, and a femoral bone plug.
Transport and intracellular distribution of MHC class II molecules and associated invariant chain in normal and antigen-processing mutant cell lines

We have compared the intracellular transport and subcellular distribution of MHC class II-invariant chain complexes in a wild-type HLA-DR3 homozygous cell line and a mutant cell line, T2.DR3. The latter has a defect in antigen processing and accumulates HLA-DR3 molecules associated with an invariant chain-derived peptide (CLIP) rather than the normal complement of peptides derived from endocytosed proteins. We find that in the wild-type cells, CLIP is transiently associated with HLA-DR3 molecules, suggesting that the peptide is a normal class II- associated intermediate generated during proteolysis of the invariant chain. In the mutant cell line proteolysis of the invariant chain is less efficient, and HLA-DR3/CLIP complexes are generated much more slowly. Examination of the mutant cell line by immunoelectronmicroscopy shows that class II-invariant chain complexes accumulate intracellularly in large acidic vesicles which contain lysosomal markers, including beta-hexosaminidase, cathepsin D, and the lysosomal membrane protein CD63. The markers in these vesicles are identical to those seen in the class II-containing vesicles (MIICs) seen in the wild- type cells but the morphology is drastically different. The vesicles in the mutant cells are endocytic, as measured by the internalization of BSA-gold conjugates. The implication of these findings for antigen processing in general and the nature of the mutation in particular are discussed.
An Assessment of Vocational and Technical Higher Education Effect on Employment in Agriculture: A Case Study in The North Western Provinces, Iran

The world is moving towards an information-based economy. Vocational and technical higher education is directly concerned with acquisition of knowledge and skills required for the world of work, formal and informal, urban and rural. The purpose of this study was to assess the affects of vocational and technical higher education on the employment in the agriculture sector. The research method employed was correlative-descriptive. The population consisted vocational and technical higher education graduates (N=215) at the vocational and technical higher education institutes in the North Western Provinces in Iran. Results showed 41% of graduates were unemployed, 11.4% were employed fulltime and 32.4% of graduates were employed part time. About thirteen percent of graduates continued their education. More than two thirds (77.5%) of employed graduates held jobs in agricultural sector and 22.5% were employed in non-agricultural sector positions. Employed graduates indicated vocational and technical higher education prepared them for careers in the agricultural sector. Unemployed graduates stated that limitations in job opportunities in the agricultural sector were the main barriers to employment. According to the study findings, there was a significant positive relationship between infrastructure, teaching ability of educators and trainers, teaching methods and educational content with graduates ’ job ability.
Synergistic effects of pCO2 and iron availability on nutrient consumption ratio of the Bering Sea phytoplankton community

Little is known concerning the effect of CO 2 on phytoplankton ecophysiological processes under nutrient and trace element-limited conditions, because most CO 2 manipulation experiments have been conducted under elements-replete conditions. To investigate the effects of CO 2 and iron availability on phytoplankton ecophysiology, we conducted an experiment in September 2009 using a phytoplankton community in the iron limited, high-nutrient, low-chlorophyll (HNLC) region of the Bering Sea basin . Carbonate chemistry was controlled by the bubbling of the several levels of CO 2 concentration (180, 380, 600, and 1000 ppm) controlled air, and two iron conditions were established, one with and one without the addition of inorganic iron. We demonstrated that in the iron-limited control conditions, the specific growth rate and the maximum photochemical quantum efficiency ( F v / F m ) of photosystem (PS) II decreased with increasing CO 2 levels, suggesting a further decrease in iron bioavailability under the high-CO 2 conditions. In addition, biogenic silica to particulate nitrogen and biogenic silica to particulate organic carbon ratios increased from 2.65 to 3.75 and 0.39 to 0.50, respectively, with an increase in the CO 2 level in the iron-limited controls. By contrast, the specific growth rate, F v / F m values and elemental compositions in the iron-added treatments did not change in response to the CO 2 variations, indicating that the addition of iron canceled out the effect of the modulation of iron bioavailability due to the change in carbonate chemistry. Our results suggest that high-CO 2 conditions can alter the biogeochemical cycling of nutrients through decreasing iron bioavailability in the iron-limited HNLC regions in the future.
Robust Optimization of Order Execution

Order execution for algorithmic trading has been studied in the literature to determine the optimal strategy by minimizing a trade-off between expected execution cost and risk. Usually, the variance of the execution cost is taken as a proxy of risk due to mathematical tractability. However, the variance has been recognized not to be practical since it is a symmetric measure of risk and, hence, penalizes the low-cost events. In this paper, we propose the use of the conditional value-at-risk (CVaR) of the execution cost as risk measure, which allows to take into consideration only the unfavorable part of the return distribution, or, equivalently, unwanted high cost. In addition, due to the parameter estimation errors in the price model, the naive strategies given by the nominal problem may perform badly in the real market, and hence it is extremely important to take such parameters estimation errors into consideration. To deal with this, we extend both the traditional mean-variance approach and our proposed CVaR approach to their robust design counterparts.
Drosophila in the Heart of Understanding Cardiac Diseases: Modeling Channelopathies and Cardiomyopathies in the Fruitfly

Cardiovascular diseases and, among them, channelopathies and cardiomyopathies are a major cause of death worldwide. The molecular and genetic defects underlying these cardiac disorders are complex, leading to a large range of structural and functional heart phenotypes. Identification of molecular and functional mechanisms disrupted by mutations causing channelopathies and cardiomyopathies is essential to understanding the link between an altered gene and clinical phenotype. The development of animal models has been proven to be efficient for functional studies in channelopathies and cardiomyopathies. In particular, the Drosophila model has been largely applied for deciphering the molecular and cellular pathways affected in these inherited cardiac disorders and for identifying their genetic modifiers. Here we review the utility and the main contributions of the fruitfly models for the better understanding of channelopathies and cardiomyopathies. We also discuss the investigated pathological mechanisms and the discoveries of evolutionarily conserved pathways which reinforce the value of Drosophila in modeling human cardiac diseases.
Process model and implementation the multivariable model predictive control to ventilation system

Predictive control seems to be a promising approach that can help to improve properties of existing ventilation systems applied in road tunnels. Advantages of predictive control result mainly from its ability to solve both SISO and MIMO tasks, to have regard for dynamics of process changes in a broad extent, to compensate effect of measurable and non-measurable failures and to formulate the task as an optimization control task considering limiting conditions of control actions, changes of control actions and output variables. Data characterizing the existing ventilation system can be used to analyze and identify the system and create its models. Thereafter the predictive control of ventilation can be designed enabling to predict concentrations of pollutants and optimize system operation.
Anal Human Papillomavirus Genotyping among HIV-Positive Men Who Have Sex with Men in Xi’an, China

Background Anal human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and its related diseases are relatively common in men who have sex with men (MSM), especially in those HIV positive. In China, molecular epidemiology of anal HPV infection among HIV-positive MSM has been sparsely studied. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among HIV-positive MSM in Xi’an, China between April and July 2014. Anal swabs were collected for HPV genotyping. Results A total of 195 HIV-positive MSM were included in this study. HPV genotyping showed that 99.0% (191/193) of participants were positive for at least one of the targeted 37 HPV genotypes. 183 (94.8%) of them were infected with multiple high-risk types and 154 (79.8%) of them with low-risk HPV types. HPV 18 was the most frequently identified high-risk type, followed by HPV 16 and HPV 51. As for low-risk types, HPV11, HPV 6 and HPV 81 were most commonly observe. High-risk HPV infection was found to be associated with the status of antiretroviral therapy (ART), the distribution of low-risk types was observed to be varied by CD4+ T cell level. Conclusion Almost all HIV-positive MSM were anal HPV infected in our study. It is highly recommended to consider regular active screening and preventive intervention of HPV infection among this high risk population.
Seasonal climate summary southern hemisphere ( winter 2001 ) : near-normal conditions in the tropical Pacific continue

The positive phase of the Southern Oscillation which developed during spring 2000 (Watkins 2001) and persisted through summer 2000/01 (Fawcett 2002), returned to a neutral phase by autumn 2001 (Pahalad 2002). This was the third successive positive phase of the Southern Oscillation in as many years, however the oceanic indicators failed to reflect the atmospheric activity to any great extent. Hence this positive phase could not be called a La Niña event. The neutral conditions which became established during autumn 2001 persisted into winter. This summary reviews the southern hemisphere and equatorial climate patterns for winter 2001, with particular attention given to the Australasian and Pacific Regions. The main sources of information for this report are the Climate Monitoring Bulletin (Bureau of Meteorology, Australia) and the Climate Diagnostics Bulletin (Climate Prediction Center, Washington). Further details regarding sources of data are given in the Appendix.
A Machine Learning Approach for Identifying and Classifying Faults in Wireless Sensor Network

Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) deployment experiences show that collected data is prone to be faulty. Faults are due to internal and external influences, such as calibration, low battery, environmental interference and sensor aging. However, only few solutions exist to deal with faulty sensory data in WSN. We develop a statistical approach to detect and identify faults in a WSN. In particular, we focus on the identification and classification of data and system fault types as it is essential to perform accurate recovery actions. Our method uses Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) to capture the fault-free dynamics of an environment and dynamics of faulty data. It then performs a structural analysis of these HMMs to determine the type of data and system faults affecting sensor measurements. The approach is validated using real data obtained from over one month of samples from motes deployed in an actual living lab.
Natural hazards and education : the impact of floods on primary school education in Zambia

The study has been designed to investigate how floods affect primary education in the flood plains in Zambia. Both qualitative phenomenological and quantitative comparative methods were used for the study. Two communities with primary school going children (those affected by floods and those not affected by floods within a 5 years period) were investigated and compared. It was found out that children in the flood plains compared to those in the upper land have low net school enrolment, the rate of repeating classes is high, dropout rate is high and performance in national examination is low. This will affect human capital and development in the flood plain environment in the long run.
User-Directed Sketch Interpretation

I present a novel approach to creating structured diagrams (such as flow charts and object diagrams) by combining an off-line sketch recognition system with the user interface of a traditional structured graphics editor. The system, called UDSI (userdirected sketch interpretation), aims to provide drawing freedom by allowing the user to sketch entirely off-line using a pure pen-and-paper interface. The results of the drawing can then be presented to UDSI, which recognizes shapes and lines and text areas that the user can then polish as desired. The system can infer multiple interpretations for a given sketch, to aid during the user's polishing stage. The UDSI program offers three novel features. First, it implements a greedy algorithm for determing alternative interpretations of the user's original pen drawing. Second, it introduces a user interface for selecting from these multiple candidate interpretations. Third, it implements a circle recognizer using a novel circle-detection algorithm and combines it with other hand-coded recognizers to provide a robust sketch recognition system. Thesis Supervisor: Robert C. Miller Title: Assistant Professor
A Utility-Theory-Consistem System-of-Demand-Equations Approach to Household Travel Choice

Modeling personal travel behavior is complex, particularly when one tries to adhere closely to actual causal mechanisms while predicting human response to changes in the transport environment. There has long been a need for explicitly modeling the underlying determinant of travel - the demand for participation in out-of-home activities; and progress is being made in this area, primarily through discrete-choice models coupled with continuous-duration choices. However, these models tend to be restricted in size and conditional on a wide variety of other choices that could be modeled more endogenously. This dissertation derives a system of demands for activity participation and other travel-related goods that is rigorously linked to theories of utility maximization. Two difficulties inherent in the modeling of travel - the discrete nature of many travel-related demands and the formal recognition of a time budget, not just a financial one - are dealt with explicitly. The dissertation then empirically evaluates several such demand systems, based on flexible specifications of indirect utility. The results provide estimates of activity generation and distribution and of economic parameters such as demand elasticities. Several hypotheses regarding travel behavior are tested, and estimates are made of welfare effects generated by changes in the travel environment. The models presented here can be extended to encompass more disaggregate consumption bundles and stronger linkages between consumption of out-of-home activities and other goods. The flexibility and strong behavioral basis of the approach make it a promising new direction for travel demand modeling.
Reputation rating system based on past behavior of evaluators

Many existing rating systems for goods or services simply total the number of good and bad evaluations reported by the consumers when generating the ratings. These systems, however, make it difficult to create really reliable reports since there is no incentive for the evaluators to provide accurate or truthful reports. This paper proposes to introduce an index that represents the trust we can place on the evaluator. This index increases if the evaluator's past estimation of the reputation of goods or service is subsequently found to be true. An evaluator who earns a higher index score has more impact on the rating system. This mechanism generates fairer and more objective ratings.
EM.P.5.04 Genetic ablation of cyclophilin D rescues mitochondrial defects and prevents muscle apoptosis in collagen VI myopathic mice

Ullrich congenital muscular dystrophy (UCMD) and Bethlem myopathy are inherited muscle disorders caused by mutations of genes encoding the extracellular matrix protein collagen VI (ColVI). Mice lacking ColVI (Col6a1(-/-)) display a myopathic phenotype associated with ultrastructural alterations of mitochondria and sarcoplasmic reticulum, mitochondrial dysfunction with abnormal opening of the permeability transition pore (PTP) and increased apoptosis of muscle fibers. Treatment with cyclosporin (Cs) A, a drug that desensitizes the PTP by binding to cyclophilin (Cyp)-D, was shown to rescue myofiber alterations in Col6a1(-/-) mice and in UCMD patients, suggesting a correlation between PTP opening and pathogenesis of ColVI muscular dystrophies. Here, we show that inactivation of the gene encoding for Cyp-D rescues the disease phenotype of ColVI deficiency. In the absence of Cyp-D, Col6a1(-/-) mice show negligible myofiber degeneration, rescue from mitochondrial dysfunction and ultrastructural defects, and normalized incidence of apoptosis. These findings (i) demonstrate that lack of Cyp-D is equivalent to its inhibition with CsA at curing the mouse dystrophic phenotype; (ii) establish a cause-effect relationship between Cyp-D-dependent PTP regulation and pathogenesis of the ColVI muscular dystrophy and (iii) validate Cyp-D and the PTP as pharmacological targets for the therapy of human ColVI myopathies.
Diffusion Model Based Research of Clustering Algorithm

Aiming at the various distribute clustering problems in diffusion model for all data points, providing a new clustering algorithm (CDD) based on the change of density. CDD searches the core point using a typical clustering algorithm (DBSCAN) which based on the density, then calculate the direction, speed and acceleration of density diffused which through analyze the Diffusion Rule of data sample and around the point density, then complete the sample point’s clustering. The experimental results show that: compared with DBSCAN, CDD clustering the diffusion model accurately, and have strong anti-noiseinterference ability for the nondiffusion model which make it easier to determine the merits of the parameters.
Declining coral calcification in massive Porites in two nearshore regions of the northern Great Barrier Reef

Temporal and spatial variation in the growth parameters skeletal density, linear extension and calcification rate in massive Porites from two nearshore regions of the northern Great Barrier Reef (GBR) were examined over a 16‐year study period. Calcification rates in massive Porites have declined by approximately 21% in two regions on the GBR ∼450 km apart. This is a function primarily of a decrease in linear extension (∼16%) with a smaller decline in skeletal density (∼6%) and contrasts with previous studies on the environmental controls on growth of massive Porites on the GBR. Changes in the growth parameters were linear over time. Averaged across colonies, skeletal density declined over time from 1.32 g cm−3 (SE = 0.017) in 1988 to 1.25 g cm−3 (0.013) in 2003, equivalent to 0.36% yr−1 (0.13). Annual extension declined from 1.52 cm yr−1 (0.035) to 1.28 cm yr−1 (0.026), equivalent to 1.02% yr−1 (0.39). Calcification rates (the product of skeletal density and annual extension) declined from 1.96 g cm−2 yr−1 (0.049) to 1.59 g cm−2 yr−1 (0.041), equivalent to 1.29% yr−1 (0.30). Mean annual seawater temperatures had no effect on skeletal density, but a modal effect on annual extension and calcification with maxima at ∼26.7 °C. There were minor differences in the growth parameters between regions. A decline in coral calcification of this magnitude with increasing seawater temperatures is unprecedented in recent centuries based on analysis of growth records from long cores of massive Porites. We discuss the decline in calcification within the context of known environmental controls on coral growth. Although our findings are consistent with studies of the synergistic effect of elevated seawater temperatures and pCO2 on coral calcification, we conclude that further data on seawater chemistry of the GBR are required to better understand the links between environmental change and effects on coral growth.
Forecasting surgical groups' total hours of elective cases for allocation of block time: application of time series analysis to operating room management.

BACKGROUND Allocation of the correct amount of operating room (OR) "block time" can provide surgeons with access to sufficient OR time to complete their elective cases while optimally matching staffing with the elective case workload (to maximize labor productivity). To evaluate how to predict accurately total hours of elective cases performed by a surgical group using data from surgical services information systems, the authors addressed the following questions: (1) How many previous 4-week periods of data should be used to minimize error in forecasting a surgical group's total hours of elective cases? (2) Using the number of 4-week periods from question #1, can we detect trends or correlations between successive periods that could be used to improve forecasting accuracy? (3) How can results from questions #1 and #2 be used to calculate an upper prediction bound (upper limit) for the total hours of elective cases that will be completed in a future period? Prediction bounds can be used to budget staffing accurately. METHODS Time series analysis was performed on total hours of elective cases over 39 consecutive 4-week periods from 17 surgical groups. RESULTS The average of 12 consecutive periods' total hours of elective cases had an appropriate error profile. The observations within each series of 12 consecutive 4-week periods followed a normal distribution, with each observation of total hours of elective cases not correlated with the subsequent observation. CONCLUSIONS The average of the most recent 12 4-week periods can be used to predict surgical groups' future use of block time.