Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
One-year cardiovascular event rates in outpatients with atherothrombosis.

CONTEXT Few data document current cardiovascular (CV) event rates in stable patients with atherothrombosis in a community setting. Differential event rates for patients with documented coronary artery disease (CAD), cerebrovascular disease (CVD), or peripheral arterial disease (PAD) or those at risk of these diseases have not been previously evaluated in a single international cohort. OBJECTIVE To establish contemporary, international, 1-year CV event rates in outpatients with established arterial disease or with multiple risk factors for atherothrombosis. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS The Reduction of Atherothrombosis for Continued Health (REACH) Registry is an international, prospective cohort of 68 236 patients with either established atherosclerotic arterial disease (CAD, PAD, CVD; n = 55 814) or at least 3 risk factors for atherothrombosis (n = 12 422), who were enrolled from 5587 physician practices in 44 countries in 2003-2004. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Rates of CV death, myocardial infarction (MI), and stroke. RESULTS As of July 2006, 1-year outcomes were available for 95.22% (n = 64 977) of participants. Cardiovascular death, MI, or stroke rates were 4.24% overall: 4.69% for those with established atherosclerotic arterial disease vs 2.15% for patients with multiple risk factors only. Among patients with established disease, CV death, MI, or stroke rates were 4.52% for patients with CAD, 6.47% for patients with CVD, and 5.35% for patients with PAD. The incidences of the end point of CV death, MI, or stroke or of hospitalization for atherothrombotic event(s) were 15.20% for CAD, 14.53% for CVD, and 21.14% for PAD patients with established disease. These event rates increased with the number of symptomatic arterial disease locations, ranging from 5.31% for patients with risk factors only to 12.58% for patients with 1, 21.14% for patients with 2, and 26.27% for patients with 3 symptomatic arterial disease locations (P<.001 for trend). CONCLUSIONS In this large, contemporary, international study, outpatients with established atherosclerotic arterial disease, or at risk of atherothrombosis, experienced relatively high annual CV event rates. Multiple disease locations increased the 1-year risk of CV events.
Equivalent Generator Properties of Acute Ischemic Lesions in the Isolated Rabbit Heart

Equivalent generator properties of the electrical field produced by ischemic myocardium were studied in 25 isolated rabbit heart preparations. Electrocardiograms from 32 electrodes deployed about a spherical tank containing the isolated, perfused heart were recorded before and after suture ligation of the left anterior descending artery. The ligation was high (10 preparations) or low (10 preparations) along the interventricular septum. In a final five hearts, ligatures were placed sequentially in both positions. Signals were processed to quantitate the percentage of summed square (SSQ) potential attributable to a centric dipole (CD), to a four-element centric multipole series (CMS) and to a single moving dipole (SMD) during the S-T segment. Fifteen minutes after low ligation, 74 ± 12%, 98 ± 1%, and 96 ± 3% (mean ± 1 SD) of SSQ potential recorded 10 msec into the S-T segment could be accounted for by the CD, CMS, and SMD models, respectively. The computed SMD was determined to be fixed in location and orientation throughout the S-T segment but to increase in magnitude from early to late S-T. Dipole moment directly correlated with the area of the epicardial lesion (r = 0.82). Results were quantitatively similar after high ligation and after each of the sequential occlusions. Tank surface isopotential maps during the S-T segment uniformly demonstrated a single maximum that was spatially aligned with the ischemic lesion, and with an intensity proportional to both computed dipole moment and epicardial lesion size (r = 0.97). Thus, CMS and SMD cardiac models provide quantitatively accurate descriptions of the experimentally induced electrical fields.
Comparative Cognition & B e ha v i or Revi e w s Where Apes and Songbirds Are Left Behind: A Comparative Assessment of the Requisites for Speech

A handful of mammalian and avian species can imitate speech (i.e., sounds perceived by humans as those comprising the human communication system of language). Of those species, even fewer are capable of using speech to communicate. While there has been no empirical comparison of nonhuman speech users, parrots are presumed to be the most prolific. In this review, we identify several anatomical, neurological, and sociobiological features shared by parrots and humans that could account for why parrots might emerge as the most advanced nonhuman speech users. Apes and temperate oscine songbirds, due to their phylogenetic similarity to humans and parrots, respectively, are also included in the comparison. We argue that while all four taxa share hemispheric asymmetry of communication areas and basic sociality, humans and parrots share three additional features that are not completely present in apes and songbirds. Specifically, apes, unlike songbirds, parrots, and humans, are not considered vocal learners and do not have sufficient respiratory control to support a speech stream, while parrots, humans, and apes demonstrate complex affiliative social behavior. Along with the above anatomical, neurological, and sociobiological traits, parrots’ affiliative long-term relationships, similar to that of humans, may help explain both groups’ ability to produce and use a wide variety of sounds. Thus, this paper extends parrot–human cognitive comparisons by introducing another similarity—that of complex affiliative relationships—as a possible explanation for why parrots can produce and use speech to communicate.
Tracking : A new method for quantitative assessment and visualization of intracardiac blood flow from three-dimensional , time-resolved , three-component magnetic resonance velocity mapping

Background: Functional and morphological changes of the heart influence blood flow patterns. Therefore, flow patterns may carry diagnostic and prognostic information. Three-dimensional, time-resolved, three-directional phase contrast cardiovascular magnetic resonance (4D PC-CMR) can image flow patterns with unique detail, and using new flow visualization methods may lead to new insights. The aim of this study is to present and validate a novel visualization method with a quantitative potential for blood flow from 4D PC-CMR, called Volume Tracking, and investigate if Volume Tracking complements particle tracing, the most common visualization method used today. Methods: Eight healthy volunteers and one patient with a large apical left ventricular aneurysm underwent 4D PCCMR flow imaging of the whole heart. Volume Tracking and particle tracing visualizations were compared visually side-by-side in a visualization software package. To validate Volume Tracking, the number of particle traces that agreed with the Volume Tracking visualizations was counted and expressed as a percentage of total released particles in mid-diastole and end-diastole respectively. Two independent observers described blood flow patterns in the left ventricle using Volume Tracking visualizations. Results: Volume Tracking was feasible in all eight healthy volunteers and in the patient. Visually, Volume Tracking and particle tracing are complementary methods, showing different aspects of the flow. When validated against particle tracing, on average 90.5% and 87.8% of the particles agreed with the Volume Tracking surface in middiastole and end-diastole respectively. Inflow patterns in the left ventricle varied between the subjects, with excellent agreement between observers. The left ventricular inflow pattern in the patient differed from the healthy subjects. Conclusion: Volume Tracking is a new visualization method for blood flow measured by 4D PC-CMR. Volume Tracking complements and provides incremental information compared to particle tracing that may lead to a better understanding of blood flow and may improve diagnosis and prognosis of cardiovascular diseases. * Correspondence: einar.heiberg@med.lu. se Department of Clinical Physiology, Lund University, Skåne University Hospital Lund, Lund, Sweden Full list of author information is available at the end of the article Töger et al. BMC Medical Imaging 2011, 11:10 http://www.biomedcentral. com/1471-2342/11/10 © 2011 Töger et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Draft Genome Sequences of One Methicillin-Sensitive and Seven Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Sequence Type 5 Isolates Obtained in California

ABSTRACT Staphylococcus aureus is a commensal bacterium of humans that can cause a spectrum of diseases. An isolate’s capacity to cause disease is partially attributed to the acquisition of novel mobile genetic elements. This report provides the draft genome sequence of one methicillin-susceptible and seven methicillin-resistant clinical human S. aureus isolates.
Mapping of quantitative trait loci controlling lifespan in the short-lived fish Nothobranchius furzeri – a new vertebrate model for age research

The African annual fish Nothobranchius furzeri emerged as a new model for age research over recent years. Nothobranchius furzeri show an exceptionally short lifespan, age‐dependent cognitive/behavioral decline, expression of age‐related biomarkers, and susceptibility to lifespan manipulation. In addition, laboratory strains differ largely in lifespan. Here, we set out to study the genetics of lifespan determination. We crossed a short‐ to a long‐lived strain, recorded lifespan, and established polymorphic markers. On the basis of genotypes of 411 marker loci in 404 F2 progeny, we built a genetic map comprising 355 markers at an average spacing of 5.5 cM, 22 linkage groups (LGs) and 1965 cM. By combining marker data with lifespan values, we identified one genome‐wide highly significant quantitative trait locus (QTL) on LG 9 (P < 0.01), which explained 11.3% of the F2 lifespan variance, and three suggestive QTLs on LG 11, 14, and 17. We characterized the highly significant QTL by synteny analysis, because a genome sequence of N. furzeri was not available. We located the syntenic region on medaka chromosome 5, identified candidate genes, and performed fine mapping, resulting in a c. 40% reduction of the initial 95% confidence interval. We show both that lifespan determination in N. furzeri is polygenic, and that candidate gene detection is easily feasible by cross‐species analysis. Our work provides first results on the way to identify loci controlling lifespan in N. furzeri and illustrates the potential of this vertebrate species as a genetic model for age research.
Unpacking Blockchains

The Bitcoin digital currency appeared in 2009. Since this time, researchers and practitioners have looked “under the hood” of the open source Bitcoin currency, and discovered that Bitcoin’s “Blockchain” software architecture is useful for non-monetary purposes too. By coalescing the research and practice on Blockchains, this work begins to unpack Blockchains as a general phenomenon, therein, arguing that all Blockchain phenomena can be conceived as being comprised of transaction platforms and digital ledgers, and illustrating where public key encryption plays a differential role in facilitating these features of Blockchains.
University Admission In Russia: Do the Wealthier Benefit from Standardized Exams?

This paper examines the impact of family income on the results of the Unified State Examination (the USE) and university choice in Russia. We argue that, even under the USE, which was introduced instead of high school exit exams and university-specific entrance exams, entrants from wealthy households still have an advantage in terms of access to higher education, since income positively affects USE scores through the channel of a higher level of investment in pre-entry coaching. Moreover, richer households make more effective decisions about university. We have found positive and significant relationships between the level of income and USE results for high school graduates, with an equal achievement before coaching. We subsequently propose that students from the most affluent households do invest more in additional types of preparation (pre-entry courses and individual lessons with tutors), and those extra classes provide a higher return for children from this particular income group. Finally, we show that holding the result of the USE equal, students with good and fair marks from wealthy families are admitted to universities with higher average USE score than those from poorer families. As a result, we can observe that income status is a factor that significantly influences enrollment to university.
The Nonlinearity of the Phillips Curve and European Monetary Policy

This paper deals with the question of whether the euro area Phillips curve is nonlinear. There has recently been a great deal of discussion and studies concerning the same question in the US context. The data set includes most of the euro area countries, namely Austria, Germany, Finland, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain. Estimation is made both with pooled data and with country-specific models. The results give a clear indication of nonlinearity of the Phillips curve in many euro countries. The curve is asymmetric in the sense that, with a positive output gap (actual output is greater than potential output), its impact on inflation is positive, but, with a negative output gap, the deflationary impact is very small and not significant as a rule. The Phillips curve has been especially asymmetric in Germany, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain. An important result of the study is the strong negative influence of inflation uncertainty on GDP in the euro countries during the estimation period, 1976-1997. This effect was very strong in pooled data but also at country level. This result is new in the sense that a Lucas-type supply function and especially nonlinear versions of it have not been estimated very often. Another interesting result is that Phillips curves can be estimated with good success using OECD Secretariat forecast data for inflation expectations. A very important result for monetary policy are the large differences between countries as regards the slope and shape of the Phillips curve. The policy implication of nonlinearity is clear. The costs of unduly expansive monetary policy could be high in the euro area in the medium term. Nonlinearity also means that inflation pressure in the euro area is dependent not only on the average demand situation but also on how economic activity is distributed across the region.
Adipose Tissue-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Exert In Vitro Immunomodulatory and Beta Cell Protective Functions in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Mice Model

Regenerative and immunomodulatory properties of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) might be applied for type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) treatment. Thus, we proposed in vitro assessment of adipose tissue-derived MSCs (AT-MSCs) immunomodulation on autoimmune response along with beta cell protection in streptozotocin- (STZ-) induced diabetic C57BL/6 mice model. MSCs were extracted from abdominal adipose tissue of normal mice and cultured to proliferate. Diabetic mice were prepared by administration of multiple low-doses of streptozotocin. Pancreatic islets were isolated from normal mice and splenocytes prepared from normal and diabetic mice. Proliferation, cytokine production, and insulin secretion assays were performed in coculture experiments. AT-MSCs inhibited splenocytes proliferative response to specific (islet lysate) and nonspecific (PHA) triggers in a dose-dependent manner (P < 0.05). Decreased production of proinflammatory cytokines, such as IFN-γ, IL-2, and IL-17, and increased secretion of regulatory cytokines such as TGF-β, IL-4, IL-10, and IL-13 by stimulated splenocytes were also shown in response to islet lysate or PHA stimulants (P < 0.05). Finally, we demonstrated that AT-MSCs could effectively sustain viability as well as insulin secretion potential of pancreatic islets in the presence of reactive splenocytes (P < 0.05). In conclusion, it seems that MSCs may provide a new horizon for T1DM cell therapy and islet transplantation in the future.
Fast Incremental Probabilistic Surface Reconstruction for Robot Scene Understanding

Robots need a rich, multi-modal representation of the world from which to learn in a generalized manner. Indeed, we now have at our disposal methods for sensing geometric, visual and auditory information, all spatialized in the same global reference frame and bound together through techniques such as SLAM [1]. For humans, those modalities are the dominant forms of information. Robots should also take advantage of these tools for moving around in and interacting with the physical world (geometry), recognizing common objects (vision), and communicating with humans (audition). All of these sources of information need to be linked together in space and in time. In this paper, we describe a geometric mesh which can be used as the base layer onto which we can attach other information, such as color, texture, and sound. Our ultimate goal is to use this multi-modal scene representation as a new primitive data type, replacing raw video images or range scans as a basis for recognition. Our main source of information is the relatively new technology of Time-of-Flight (ToF) cameras. These optical cameras measure the depth of each pixel, and combined with a traditional color camera, this type of sensor provides Red-Green-Blue-Depth (RGBD) images at high frequencies. With the mass-produced Microsoft Kinect introduced in late 2010, 30Hz 640∗480 RGB images are available for less than $200. This source of information, while not exempt of problems, is what the stereo vision community has been striving to obtain for years. As a sensor itself, time-of-flight technology has several advantages and disadvantages. At around 10 frames per second, it is possible to collect 3D data of a scene much faster than a pan-tilt laser scan (such as used in [2]). This increase in speed is significant especially for scene reconstruction for mobile robots, which cannot wait the 5-10s required to obtain one 3D scan from a laser, or the long processing time of more elaborate batch reconstruction methods such as the Poisson reconstruction algorithm introduced by Kazhan and Hoppe [3]. The major drawback of TOF technology is its high frame-to-frame noise, especially off reflective surfaces. It is this unreliability that we attack in this paper, to improve the TOF sensor’s utility for robotics, vision, and other fields. In the following sections, we describe a new method to transform TOF data into a probabilis! "#$"%&'()$ '*+,*-$ . /01&+2$334$ 5*6)7$0+1*-,*8$ 9*(1:-*9*+,1$ 4*(1:-*9*+,1$ ,"$:%8(,*$334$
Comparison of Brain Networks with Unknown Correspondences

Graph theory has drawn a lot of attention in the field of Neuroscience during the last decade, mainly due to the abundance of tools that it provides to explore the interactions of elements in a complex network like the brain. The local and global organization of a brain network can shed light on mechanisms of complex cognitive functions, while disruptions within the network can be linked to neurodevelopmental disorders. In this effort, the construction of a representative brain network for each individual is critical for further analysis. Additionally, graph comparison is an essential step for inference and classification analyses on brain graphs. In this work we explore a method based on graph edit distance for evaluating graph similarity, when correspondences between network elements are unknown due to different underlying subdivisions of the brain. We test this method on 30 unrelated subjects as well as 40 twin pairs and show that this method can accurately reflect the higher similarity between two related networks compared to unrelated ones, while identifying node correspondences.
How do farmers make use of developmental intervention

Many studies have dealt with developmental intervention in agriculture; most of them do not pay attention to the way farmers use such intervention to develop their activity or themselves. The review of existing approaches of farming activity and their translation into developmental approach leads us to propose the renewal of such approaches by understanding the way farmers mobilize informational resources in order to cope with their situation but also to develop their activity and themselves. We firstly qualify the notion of informational resources, and then display the diversity of livestock farmers’ logics for mobilizing external immaterial resources as it emerges from our inquiry amongst 30 livestock farmers. Based on longitudinal follow-up in 9 farms, we then propose some tracks to understand how farmers link internal and external resources to develop their activity. We draw some perspectives from this work which can serve to propose new developmental intervention in agriculture.
Efficacy and feasibility of a combination of body awareness therapy and qigong in patients with fibromyalgia: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effects of body awareness therapy combined with qigong for patients with fibromyalgia. DESIGN A controlled randomized pilot study. SUBJECTS Thirty-six female patients with fibromyalgia were randomized to either qigong plus body awareness therapy (n = 19) or a control group (n = 17). METHODS The programme was conducted once a week over a period of 3 months. The outcome measures were an observational method called the Body Awareness Rating Scale, the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire and 2 tests of physical function. An interview was conducted with the patients in the treatment group. RESULTS Seven patients in each group (39%) were lost to the post-test examination. The inter-group analysis revealed a significant improvement in movement harmony for the treatment group (p = 0.03), while no differences were found in the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire or the functional tests. The intra-group analysis revealed an improvement in movement harmony for the treatment group (p = 0.01), while the total score of the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire deteriorated (p = 0.04) in the control group. The interviews indicated that several patients had experienced exacerbation of symptoms while standing still, and/or difficulty in concentrating on the movements. CONCLUSIONS Although improvement in movement harmony occurred in the patients completing the treatment programme, no improvement was found for fibromyalgia symptoms or physical function.