Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cardiovascular outcomes in patients with primary aldosteronism after treatment.

BACKGROUND Experimental and human studies demonstrate that long-term exposure to elevated aldosterone levels results in cardiac and vascular damage. METHODS We investigated long-term cardiovascular outcomes in patients with primary aldosteronism after surgical or medical treatment. Fifty-four patients with or without evidence of adrenal adenomas were prospectively followed up for a mean of 7.4 years after treatment with adrenalectomy or spironolactone. Patients with primary aldosteronism were compared with patients with essential hypertension and were treated to reach a blood pressure of less than 140/90 mm Hg. The main outcome measure was a combined cardiovascular end point comprising myocardial infarction, stroke, any type of revascularization procedure, and sustained arrhythmias. RESULTS At baseline, the prevalence of cardiovascular events was greater in primary aldosteronism (35%) than in essential hypertension (11%) (odds ratio, 4.61; 95% confidence interval, 2.38-8.95; P< .001), with odds ratios of 4.93, 4.36, and 2.80 for sustained arrhythmias, cerebrovascular events, and coronary heart disease, respectively. Blood pressure during follow-up was comparable in the primary aldosteronism and essential hypertension groups. Ten patients in the primary aldosteronism group and 19 in the essential hypertension group reached the primary end point (P= .85). Cox analysis indicated that older age and longer duration of hypertension were factors independently associated with the cardiovascular end point. Cardiovascular outcome was comparable in patients with aldosteronism treated with adrenalectomy vs aldosterone antagonists (P= .71). CONCLUSION Primary aldosteronism is associated with a cardiovascular complication rate out of proportion to blood pressure levels that benefits substantially from surgical and medical treatment in the long term.
A-803467, a potent and selective Nav1.8 sodium channel blocker, attenuates neuropathic and inflammatory pain in the rat

Activation of tetrodotoxin-resistant sodium channels contributes to action potential electrogenesis in neurons. Antisense oligonucleotide studies directed against Nav1.8 have shown that this channel contributes to experimental inflammatory and neuropathic pain. We report here the discovery of A-803467, a sodium channel blocker that potently blocks tetrodotoxin-resistant currents (IC50 = 140 nM) and the generation of spontaneous and electrically evoked action potentials in vitro in rat dorsal root ganglion neurons. In recombinant cell lines, A-803467 potently blocked human Nav1.8 (IC50 = 8 nM) and was >100-fold selective vs. human Nav1.2, Nav1.3, Nav1.5, and Nav1.7 (IC50 values ≥1 μM). A-803467 (20 mg/kg, i.v.) blocked mechanically evoked firing of wide dynamic range neurons in the rat spinal dorsal horn. A-803467 also dose-dependently reduced mechanical allodynia in a variety of rat pain models including: spinal nerve ligation (ED50 = 47 mg/kg, i.p.), sciatic nerve injury (ED50 = 85 mg/kg, i.p.), capsaicin-induced secondary mechanical allodynia (ED50 ≈ 100 mg/kg, i.p.), and thermal hyperalgesia after intraplantar complete Freund's adjuvant injection (ED50 = 41 mg/kg, i.p.). A-803467 was inactive against formalin-induced nociception and acute thermal and postoperative pain. These data demonstrate that acute and selective pharmacological blockade of Nav1.8 sodium channels in vivo produces significant antinociception in animal models of neuropathic and inflammatory pain.
Misconceptions about real-time computing: a serious problem for next-generation systems

The author defines real-time computing and states and dispels the most common misconceptions about it. He discusses the fundamental technical issues of real-time computing. He examines specification and verification, scheduling theory, operating systems, programming languages and design methodology, distributed databases, artificial intelligence, fault tolerance, architectures, and communication. <<ETX>>
Are you overpaying your academic executive team? A method for detecting unmerited academic executive compensation

University tuition fees and student debt have risen in part due to rapid expansion of university administration compensation. This study provides a novel methodology for detecting inappropriate executive compensation within universities. The usefulness of academic ideas is openly ranked using the h-index. By comparing the ratio of academic executive pay to their h-index a dollar per value of academic impact can be found. If the university compensation system is appropriately calibrated, the impact/$ increases with faculty rank and continues to improve into the executive team. Analysis is provided for vice presidents of research of the ten largest state universities in America. The results suggest that 50% of these public universities are overcompensating their executives. A case study is presented of the most egregious discrepancy around compensation of >$3.1 million/year. The methodology was shown to be a quick and inexpensive way to ascertain if further investigation is necessary at an individual university.
cmpSCTP: An Extension of SCTP to Support Concurrent Multi-Path Transfer

This paper introduced cmpSCTP, a transport layer solution for concurrent multi-path transfer that modifies the standard Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP). The cmpSCTP aims at exploiting SCTP's multi-homing capability by selecting several best paths among multiple available network interfaces to improve data transfer rate to the same multi-homed device. Through the use of path monitoring and packet allotment techniques, cmpSCTP tries to transmit given amount of packets at corresponding path as its ability. At the same time, cmpSCTP updates the transmission strategy based on the real-time information of all of paths. Using cmpSCTP's flexible path management capability, we may switch the flow between multiple paths automatically to realize seamless path handover. Extensive simulations under different scenarios using OPNET verified that cmpSCTP can effectively enhance transmission efficiency and highlighted the superiority of cmpSCTP against the other SCTP's extension implementations under performance indexes such as throughput, handover latency, packet delay, and packet loss.
Grouping Curved Lines

This paper examines the problem of automatically grouping image curves. In contrast, most previous work has been restricted to points and straight lines. Some of the computational aspects of the groupings of continuation, parallelism, and proximity are analysed, and the issues of neighbourhoods, combinatorix, and multiple scales are discussed.
The central engines of radio-quiet quasars

Two rival hypotheses have been proposed for the origin of the compact radio flux observed in radio-quiet quasars (RQQs). It has been suggested that the radio emission in these objects, typically some two or three orders of magnitude less powerful than in radio-loud quasars (RLQs), represents either emission from a circumnuclear starburst or is produced by radio jets with bulk kinetic powers 10^3 times lower than those of RLQs with similar luminosity ratios in other wavebands. We describe the results of high resolution (parsec-scale) radio-imaging observations of a sample of 12 RQQs using the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA). We find strong evidence for jet-producing central engines in 8 members of our sample.
On State-Space Neural Networks for Systems Identification: Stability and Complexity

The problem of order estimation and global stability in affine three-layered state-space neural networks is here addressed. An upper bound for the number of neurons to be inserted in the hidden layer is computed using a subspace technique. Some sufficient conditions for the global asymptotic stability are presented using the Lyapunov stability theory and the contraction mapping theorem
DELAYED RADIATION INJURIES ( SOFT TISSUE AND BONY NECROSIS )

Rationale Radiation injuries should be differentiated as acute, sub-acute or delayed complications (1). Acute injuries are due to direct cellular toxicity caused by free radical-mediated damage to cellular DNA and are usually self-limited and treated symptomatically. However, they can be very debilitating during their duration. Subacute injuries are typically identifiable in only a few organ systems, e.g. radiation pneumonitis following the treatment of lung cancer with an onset typically 2 to 3 months after completion of irradiation. These, too, are generally self-limited but occasionally evolve to become delayed injuries. Delayed radiation complications are typically seen after a latent period of six months or more and may develop many years after the radiation exposure. Often, they are precipitated by an additional tissue insult such as surgery within the radiation field. Although the etiology of delayed injuries may vary somewhat among organ systems, the hallmark of delayed radiation injury is endarteritis with tissue hypoxia and secondary fibrosis (2). Recently, it has become apparent that the evolution of radiation injury is a continuum of events rather than several discrete occurrences (3-5). The elaboration of fibrogenic cytokines begins at the time of irradiation. This recognition may permit the development of predictive assays to identify those patients at high risk for radiation injury prior to its manifestation and permit prophylactic intervention prior to its expression. Such intervention might include hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO2) has been utilized effectively for manifest chronic radiation injuries for many years. The site to which it has been applied for the longest period of time and with the most publications supporting its application is the mandible (6-24). The success in treating mandibular osteoradionecrosis has led researchers to apply HBO2 to radiation injuries at other sites involving other organ systems. Hyperbaric oxygen has been shown to induce neovascularization and increased cellularity in irradiated and other hypoxic tissues. Marx and co-workers have shown in both an animal experimental model and with serial transcutaneous oxygen measurements in clinical subjects that HBO2 does increase vascular density and resultant tissue oxygen content (16,20,25). Feldmeier and colleagues have shown with several assays in an animal model that tissue fibrosis can also be reduced with the application of HBO2 given in a prophylactic mode (26,27). Marx had previously established the principle of prophylactic intervention in the setting of tooth extractions and alveoloplasty from heavily irradiated mandibles (28). Dental extractions or other surgical procedures are fraught with high complication rates when done in heavily irradiated tissues without the benefit of preoperative HBO2 therapy (29-33). In the sections that follow, the application of HBO2 treatment to injuries of several organ systems will be discussed.
Real-world experiences with an interactive ad hoc sensor network

While it is often suggested that moderate-scale ad hoc sensor networks are a promising approach to solving real-world problems, most evaluations of sensor network protocols have focused on simulation, rather than realworld, experiments. In addition, most experimental results have been obtained in limited scale. This paper describes a practical application of moderate-scale ad hoc sensor networks. We explore several techniques for reducing packet loss, including quality-based routing and passive acknowledgment, and present an empirical evaluation of the effect of these techniques on packet loss and data freshness.
Aggregation Mechanism for Reducing Schedule Length in Tree Based Wireless Sensor Networks

To Explore and evaluate different techniques using real simulation models under multilevel communication paradigm. Data packets are time scheduled on single frequency channel by minimizing the time slots to complete a CONVERGECAST. Scheduling with transmission power control will diminish the effects of interference. The power control helps in reducing the schedule length under single frequency. Scheduling transmissions using multiple frequencies is more efficient than the single frequency. By providing power bounds in the schedule length interference is eliminated. The proposed algorithm can achieve these bounds. The use of multi frequency scheduling is sufficient to eliminate the interference. The data collection is no longer limited by the interference. To provide a proper solution degree-constrained spanning trees and minimal spanning trees are created. This will provide a significant improvement in scheduling performance. Finally, in a schedule length, the collisions in different interference over different channel models have been evaluated. Keywords-Degree-Constrained Routing Trees,Data Centric Approach, Greedy Aggregation, contention-based vs. contention free protocols, DAC tree construction algorithms, Unit Disk Graphs (UDG)
Using P2P Networks to Repair Packet Losses in Digital Video Broadcasting Systems

Digital multimedia broadcasting services require resiliency against signal fading due to signal encounters with bad weather, terrain obstructions, such as tree, building, etc. There are several solutions that use peer-to-peer network to repair packet losses. But they have some shortcomings such as long lookup latency, control message overhead, flash crowd problem and low chunk availability. In this paper we propose a novel solution that considers load distribution in structured peer-to-peer networks and repairing packet losses in short lookup latency. Our proposed solution doesn't need to modify the codec technology for multimedia stream. Our proposed solution can achieve load evenly distributed, high chunk availability, short lookup latency and low control message overhead by using peer-to-peer network to repair packet losses in digital multimedia broadcasting systems.
Inverse relationship between plasma adiponectin and leptin concentrations in normal-weight and obese women.

BACKGROUND Adiponectin, a novel adipocyte-derived collagen-like protein, is the gene product of the adipose most-abundant gene transcript 1 (apM1), which has been considered to have anti-inflammatory and anti-atherogenic effects. OBJECTIVE To characterize the relationship between adiponectin and leptin, the ob gene product, in normal-weight and obese women. DESIGN AND METHODS In this cross-sectional study, we measured fasting plasma adiponectin by ELISA, leptin concentrations by RIA, and related parameters such as blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), body fat mass, lipids, fasting blood glucose and insulin in 353 non-diabetic adult women with a wide range of BMI values. RESULTS Plasma adiponectin concentrations in women with the highest tertile of BMI (at least 25.0 kg/m(2)) were decreased compared with those in the middle (22.0-25.0 kg/m(2)) or lowest (<or=22.0 kg/m(2)) tertile of BMI (means+/-s.e.m.: 6.7+/-0.3 microg/ml compared with 8.6+/-0.4 microg/ml and 9.2+/-0.3 microg/ml; both P<0.0001). Serum leptin concentrations in women with the highest tertile of BMI were increased compared with those in women in the middle or lowest tertile of BMI (13.2+/-0.4 ng/ml compared with 8.1+/-0.2 ng/ml and 5.2+/-0.2 ng/ml; both P<0.0001). These relationships were similar after adjustment for BMI or body fat mass. Adiponectin was negatively correlated with serum leptin concentration, fasting immunoreactive insulin, calculated insulin resistance (homeostasis model assessment), BMI and body fat mass. These negative relationships became stronger after adjustment for BMI or body fat mass. In stepwise regression analyses, leptin was the significant independent variable for adiponectin, and adiponectin was also the significant independent variable for leptin before and after adjustment for BMI or body fat mass. CONCLUSIONS In this study, we found an inverse correlation between adiponectin and leptin in vivo.
Midlife vascular risk factors and Alzheimer's disease in later life: longitudinal, population based study

Abstract Objective: To examine the relation of midlife raised blood pressure and serum cholesterol concentrations to Alzheimer's disease in later life. Design: Prospective, population based study. Setting: Populations of Kuopio and Joensuu, eastern Finland. Participants: Participants were derived from random, population based samples previously studied in a survey carried out in 1972, 1977, 1982, or 1987. After an average of 21 years' follow up, a total of 1449 (73%) participants aged 65–79 took part in the re-examination in 1998. Main outcome measures: Midlife blood pressure and cholesterol concentrations and development of Alzheimer's disease in later life. Results: People with raised systolic blood pressure (≥160 mm Hg) or high serum cholesterol concentration (≥6.5 mmol/l) in midlife had a significantly higher risk of Alzheimer's disease in later life, even after adjustment for age, body mass index, education, vascular events, smoking status, and alcohol consumption, than those with normal systolic blood pressure (odds ratio 2.3, 95% confidence interval 1.0 to 5.5) or serum cholesterol (odds ratio 2.1, 1.0 to 4.4). Participants with both of these risk factors in midlife had a significantly higher risk of developing Alzheimer's disease than those with either of the risk factors alone (odds ratio 3.5, 1.6 to 7.9). Diastolic blood pressure in midlife had no significant effect on the risk of Alzheimer's disease. Conclusion: Raised systolic blood pressure and high serum cholesterol concentration, and in particular the combination of these risks, in midlife increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease in later life. What is already known on this topic Vascular risk factors may play an important part as risk factors for Alzheimer's disease No population based studies have evaluated prospectively the impact of both midlife blood pressure and cholesterol concentration in both men and women on the subsequent development of Alzheimer's disease What this study adds Raised systolic blood pressure and high serum cholesterol concentration, and in particular the combination of these risks, in midlife increased the risk of Alzheimer's disease in later life Raised systolic blood pressure and hypercholesterolaemia may have a role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease; more emphasis should be placed on identification and appropriate treatment of these conditions
Integrating Customer Knowledge in the Early Innovation Phase

Customer input has become a valuable component of the innovation process. The integration of customer knowledge into the early innovation phase requires special types of customers and methods and entails specific risks according to each stage. This article describes when and how customers can be integrated and how possible negative side effects can be avoided. Relying on intensive desk research, in-depth case studies, and workshops with nine companies that are experienced in customer integration, the authors explain in detail the theoretical and practical aspects of knowledge integration and give advice on minimizing unwelcome side effects.
Data allocation for multi-class distributed storage systems

Distributed storage systems (DSSs) are vastly used for reliably storing large amounts of data generated by current and future wireless networks, e.g. social mobile networks or Internet of things. Depending on the features of the data source, various data files may require different levels of quality of service (QoS), e.g. in terms of the probability of successful recovery or data recovery delay. This means that data files can be divided into different classes in terms of their QoS requirements. To address the requirements of each class of data, efficient data (storage) allocation methods, meaning how data is spread over the storage nodes, should be devised. In this paper, we study the optimal data allocation for maximizing the weighted sum of the probability of successful recovery of the data of different classes. Finding such optimal allocations is intractable in general. Therefore, we focus on finding the optimal minimal spreading allocation (MSA) where the data of each class is spread minimally over the storage nodes. MSA possesses several benefits including minimum expected recovery delay and maximum average service rate. Simulation results show that our proposed MSA is indeed the optimal storage allocation in many cases.
First Records of Yuma Myotis (Myotis yumanensis) in Alaska

Abstract A review of bat specimens housed at the University of Alaska Museum confirms the occurrence of the Yuma Myotis (Myotis yumanensis) in Southeast Alaska. This represents only the 7th bat species known from the state and its 1st new bat in >40 y. All known specimens of the Yuma Myotis were collected in the early 1990s. Reasons why this species escaped detection until now are discussed and include its close morphological resemblence to the more common and widespread Little Brown Myotis (Myotis lucifugus), the general inaccessibility of much of Southeast Alaska, and a historical paucity of field and specimen-based studies of bats from this region. The presence of the Yuma Myotis in Alaska, while not surprising, suggests that we still have much to learn about the basic biology, ecology, and biogeography of this and other bat species in and around Alaska. Such information is critical if we are to monitor the effects of climate change and other anthropogenic factors on organisms at the limits of their geographic distributions.
Development workers as agents of cultural change

The history of social change tracks the engagement between the forces competing for moral power and legitimacy in any given society. This volume is primarily concerned with religion as a moral force; however, this chapter shifts the focus to consider international development as one of many forces contributing to the shape of religion, power and moral order in contemporary Cambodia. By considering the role and attitudes of development workers, it is possible to gain a broader understanding of the way development may influence Cambodian culture. Interviews with practitioners in Cambodia reveal a critical openness to cultural change and a deliberate approach to shaping culture by means of development. Their attitudes to cultural change are consistent with Bhabha's (1994) notion of hybridity, whereby cultures are constantly negotiated and recreated in the face of different influences. Development workers also label culture and cultural change in ways that support their selective approach to cultural change through development.
Skinning Characters using Surface Oriented Free-Form Deformations

Skinning geometry effectively continues to be one of the more challenging and time consuming aspects of character setup. While anatomic and physically based approaches to skinning have been investigated, many skinned objects have no physical equivalents. Geometric approaches, which are more general and provide finer control, are thus predominantly used in the animation industry. Free-form deformations (FFD) are a powerful paradigm for the manipulation of deformable objects. Skinning objects indirectly using an FFD lattice reduces the geometric complexity that needs to be controlled by a skeleton. Many techniques have extended the original box-shaped FFD lattices to more general control lattice shapes and topologies, while preserving the notion of embedding objects within a lattice volume. This paper in contrast, proposes a surface-oriented FFD, where the space deformed by the control surface is defined by a distance function around the surface. Surface-oriented control structures bear a strong visual semblance to the geometry they deform and can be constructed from the deformable geometry automatically. They also allow localization of control lattice complexity and deformation detail, making them ideally suited to the automated skinning of characters. This approach has been successfully implemented within the Maya2.0 animation system.