Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clinical value of the metabolic syndrome for long term prediction of total and cardiovascular mortality: prospective, population based cohort study

Abstract Objectives To find out if the presence of the metabolic syndrome increases the risk of subsequent total and cardiovascular mortality, taking into account established risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting General population. Participants A community based sample of 2322 men followed since 1970 for a maximum of 32.7 years, investigated at ages 50 and 70. Main outcome measures The relations of the metabolic syndrome defined by the national cholesterol education programme (NCEP) of the US National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute or criteria of the World Health Organization (WHO) to subsequent total and cardiovascular mortality. Results When adding the metabolic syndrome to models with established risk factors for cardiovascular disease (smoking, diabetes, hypertension, and serum cholesterol) at age 50, presence of the metabolic syndrome as defined in the NCEP significantly predicted total and cardiovascular mortality (Cox proportional hazard ratios 1.36, 95% confidence interval 1.17 to 1.58; and 1.59, 1.29 to 1.95, respectively). The metabolic syndrome added prognostic information to that of the established risk factors for cardiovascular disease (likelihood ratio tests, P < 0.0001 for both outcomes). Similar results were obtained in a subsample without diabetes or manifest cardiovascular disease. Conclusions In a large, community based sample of middle aged men, the presence of the metabolic syndrome according to the definition of the NCEP gave long term prognostic information regarding total and cardiovascular mortality if the status of established risk factors for cardiovascular disease was known. If confirmed this may indicate clinical value in diagnosing the metabolic syndrome.
Depicting Medullary Thyroid Cancer Recurrence: The Past and the Future of Nuclear Medicine Imaging

Context: Inherited and sporadic medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) is an uncommon and medically challenging malignancy. Even if the extent of initial surgery is deemed adequate, the recurrence rate remains high, up to 50% in most series. Measurement of serum calcitonin is important in the follow-up of patients with MTC, and reliably reflects the existence of the disease. Evidence Acquisition: There is no single sensitive diagnostic imaging method to reveal all MTC recurrences or metastases. Conventional morphologic imaging methods (U/S, CT, and MRI) and several methods of nuclear medicine have been used for this purpose with variable accuracy. Results: The main role of nuclear medicine imaging is the detection of residual or recurrent tumor in the postoperative follow-up. In this review we present the radiopharmaceuticals used in the diagnosis of MTC recurrence, and comparison among them. Conclusions: The most used radiopharmaceuticals labelled with γ emitters are: Metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG), labelled with 131I or 123I, 111In-pentetreotide (Octreoscan), 99mTc-pentavalent dimercaptosuccinic acid (99mTc(V)-DMSA), and 99mTc-EDDA/HYNIC-Tyr3-Octreotide ( Tektrotyd). The radiopharmaceuticals labelled with a positron-emitting radionuclide (β+), suitable for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging are: 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG), 18F-fluorodihydroxyphenylalanine (18F-DOPA), and 68Ga-labelled somatostatin analogues (68Ga-DOTATATE or DOTATOC).
The Neurobiology of Virtual Reality Pain Attenuation

During the past decade, virtual reality (VR) has gained recognition as a means of attenuating pain during medical procedures. However, while investigators have examined the effects of virtual environments on level of distraction, subjective pain intensity, and brain activity, there have been only a handful of investigations into the neurobiological mechanisms associated with VR's efficacy. In an effort to explain how VR may alter pain perception and produce analgesia, as well as to guide the development of novel and improved VR pain treatments, this review aims to link the wealth of empirical data examining the neurobiology of pain to the growing field of VR. This review is separated into three main sections: (a) a brief overview of the current literature on the use of VR for the treatment of pain; (b) a review of the basic neurobiology of how pain is detected, processed, and controlled by the brain; and (c) an exploration into how current VR pain treatments may impact the pain system to produce analgesia. In addition, the future of VR for pain treatment is discussed, including how current treatments might be improved and novel ways to use VR to treat pain might be developed. Speculation on future VR interventions is based on our current understanding of how the brain processes pain and how VR appears to alter this process and produce analgesia.
Retrospective analysis of a VACM (vacuum-assisted closure and mesh-mediated fascial traction) treatment manual for temporary abdominal wall closure – results of 58 consecutive patients

Introduction: The optimal treatment concept for temporary abdominal closure (TAC) in critically ill visceral surgery patients with open abdomen (OA) continues to be unclear. The VACM (vacuum-assisted closure and mesh-mediated fascial traction) therapy seems to permit higher delayed primary fascial closure rates (FCR) than other TAC procedures. Material and methods: Patients of our clinic (n=58) who were treated by application of a VAC/VACM treatment manual in the period from 2005 to 2008 were retrospectively analysed. Results: The overall FCR of all patients was 48.3% (95% confidence interval: 34.95–61.78). An FCR of 61.3% was achieved in patients who had a vicryl mesh implanted at the fascial level (VACM therapy) in the course of treatment. Mortality among patients treated with VACM therapy was 45.2% (95% CI: 27.32–63.97). Conclusions: The results of our own study confirm the results of previous studies which showed an acceptable FCR among non-trauma patients who were treated with VACM therapy. VACM therapy currently appears to be the treatment regime of choice for patients with OA requiring TAC.
A Varactor-Tunable High Impedance Surface for Active Metamaterial Absorber

One varactor-tunable High Impedance Surface (HIS) is proposed and used in design of an active metamaterial absorber. The proposed HIS structure is based on mushroom-type HIS, in which varactors are introduced to adjust the efiective capacitance and tune the resonance frequency. The primary ground plane is etched as the bias network for these loaded varactors, and another ultra-thin grounded sheet is attached to the bottom. In addition, the absorbing characteristics are introduced for dielectric loss to construct an active metamaterial absorber. Numerical simulations show that a wide tuning range can be achieved by adjusting the varactor capacitance, and efiective absorption is realized at difierent states. Two identical absorbers, which are loaded with flxed-value chap capacitors of difierent capacitances, are fabricated and measured using a waveguide measurement setup. Excellent agreement between the simulated and measured results is demonstrated.
Psychological Care, Patient Education, Orthotics, Ergonomics and Prevention Strategies for Neck Pain: An Systematic Overview Update as Part of the ICON Project

Objectives: To conduct an overview on psychological interventions, orthoses, patient education, ergonomics, and 1⁰/2⁰ neck pain prevention for adults with acute-chronic neck pain. Search Strategy: Computerized databases and grey literature were searched (2006-2012). Selection Criteria: Systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on pain, function/disability, global perceived effect, quality-of-life and patient satisfaction were retrieved. Data Collection & Analysis: Two independent authors selected articles, assessed risk of bias using AMSTAR tool and extracted data. The GRADE tool was used to evaluate the body of evidence and an external panel to provide critical review. Main Results: We retrieved 30 reviews (5-9 AMSTAR score) reporting on 75 RCTs with the following moderate GRADE evidence. For acute whiplash associated disorder (WAD), an education video in emergency rooms (1RCT, 405participants] favoured pain reduction at long-term follow-up thus helping 1 in 23 people [Standard Mean Difference: -0.44(95%CI: -0.66 to -0.23)). Use of a soft collar (2RCTs, 1278participants) was not beneficial in the long-term. For chronic neck pain, a mind-body intervention (2RCTs, 1 meta-analysis, 191participants) improved short-term pain/function in 1 of 4 or 6 participants. In workers, 2-minutes of daily scapula-thoracic endurance training (1RCT, 127participants) over 10 weeks was beneficial in 1 of 4 participants. A number of psychosocial interventions, workplace interventions, collar use and self-management educational strategies were not beneficial. Reviewers' Conclusions: Moderate evidence exists for quantifying beneficial and non-beneficial effects of a limited number of interventions for acute WAD and chronic neck pain. Larger trials with more rigorous controls need to target promising interventions
EVALUATION ON LEARNABILITY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF DNA MOTIF VISUALIZATION USING SEQUENCE LOGO

Sequence logo is an important tool to visualize DNA sequence motifs obtained from transcriptional analysis. In this paper, we aim to investigate its design features that could affect users’ performance. We focus our analysis on the learnability of the sequence logo for performing motif evaluation tasks. In addition, its effectiveness as a motif evaluation metric is also evaluated. Our study was conducted on a sample of 34 science final year students who have background knowledge in biological sequence analysis. Our results found that there are mixed correlation between the learnability and the sequence logo’s layout elements. In addition, when use as an evaluation metric for evaluating computational motif discovery tools, the sequence logo can cause serious inaccuracies.
Cluster Headache: Epidemiology, Pathophysiology, Clinical Features, and Diagnosis

Cluster headache is a primary headache disorder affecting up to 0.1% of the population. Patients suffer from cluster headache attacks lasting from 15 to 180 min up to 8 times a day. The attacks are characterized by the severe unilateral pain mainly in the first division of the trigeminal nerve, with associated prominent unilateral cranial autonomic symptoms and a sense of agitation and restlessness during the attacks. The male-to-female ratio is approximately 2.5:1. Experimental, clinical, and neuroimaging studies have advanced our understanding of the pathogenesis of cluster headache. The pathophysiology involves activation of the trigeminovascular complex and the trigeminal-autonomic reflex and accounts for the unilateral severe headache, the prominent ipsilateral cranial autonomic symptoms. In addition, the circadian and circannual rhythmicity unique to this condition is postulated to involve the hypothalamus and suprachiasmatic nucleus. Although the clinical features are distinct, it may be misdiagnosed, with patients often presenting to the otolaryngologist or dentist with symptoms. The prognosis of cluster headache remains difficult to predict. Patients with episodic cluster headache can shift to chronic cluster headache and vice versa. Longitudinally, cluster headache tends to remit with age with less frequent bouts and more prolonged periods of remission in between bouts.
T-Regulatory Cells and Inflammatory and Inhibitory Cytokines in Malawian Children Residing in an Area of High and an Area of Low Malaria Transmission During Acute Uncomplicated Malaria and in Convalescence

Background Malaria still infects many Malawian children, and it is a cause of death in some of them. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) help in negating immune-related pathology, it but can also favor multiplication of malaria parasites. The question remains whether children recovering from uncomplicated malaria (UCM) have higher Tregs and interleukin (IL)-10 levels in convalescence. Methods We recruited children between the ages of 6 and 60 months presenting with acute UCM in Blantyre (low transmission area) and Chikwawa (high transmission area). We observed the children after 1 month and 3 months and analyzed their blood samples for parasitemia, lymphocyte subsets, and levels of the cytokines interferon (IFN)-γ, IL-10, and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β. Blood samples from age-matched controls were also analyzed for the same parameters. Results Compared with controls, acute UCM was associated with mild lymphopenia, splenomegaly, and high levels of IFN-γ, tumor necrosis factor-α, and IL-10, which normalized in convalescence. In Chikwawa, Treg counts were significantly (P < .0001) higher in convalescence compared with acute disease, whereas in Blantyre, these were as low as in healthy controls both during acute disease and in convalescence. Blantyre had a higher percentage of parasiteamic children (15% versus 12%) in convalescence compared with Chikwawa, but none of these developed symptomatic malaria during the study duration. Concentrations of TGF-β were higher at time points for the study participants and in controls from Blantyre compared with those recruited in Chikwawa. Conclusions The high transmission area was associated with high Tregs counts and IL-10 concentrations in convalescence, which could have an effect on parasite clearance. We recommend that children recovering from UCM, especially those from high transmission area, should sleep under insecticide-treated nets, be screened for parasitemia, and a provision of antimalarial prophylaxis should be considered.
A NOVEL METHOD FOR IMPOSSIBLE DIFFERENTIAL CRYPTANALYSIS OF 9-ROUND AES-256

Through in-depth study of the 4-round encryption characteristics of advanced encryption standard (AES), a new 4-round differential path with a probability of existence at 2 -30 has been derived. Based on this path, a novel method was proposed for impossible differential cryptanalysis of 8-round AES-256. The analysis method requires 2 95 pairs of chosen plaintexts, approximately 2 163 units of memory space and 2 193 encryption/decryption computations. According to the analysis process, it is found that the MixColumns transformation in AES algorithm provides insufficient confusion, which may serve as a theoretical basis for the improvement of AES.
Evaluating a vehicle auditory display: comparing a designer's expectations with listeners' experiences

This paper illustrates a method for the early evaluation of auditory displays in context. A designer was questioned about his expectations of an auditory display for Heavy Goods Vehicles, and the results were compared to the experiences of 10 listeners. Sound design is essentially an isolated practice and by involving listeners the process can become collaborative. A review of the level of agreement allowed the identification of attributes that might be meaningful for the design of future auditory displays. Results suggest that traditional auditory display design guidelines that focus on the acoustical properties of sound might not be suitable.
Multi-objective fuzzy particle swarm optimization in PEM fuel cell systems

This paper proposed multi-objective fuzzy particle swarm optimization (MOFPSO) for the Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC) generation system. The PEM fuel cell generation system efficiency decreases as its output power increases. Thus, an optimum efficiency should exist and should result in a cost-effective PEM fuel cell generation system. In the optimization approach, the efficient and economic aspects are considered simultaneously. MOFPSO algorithm is used to find a set of Pareto optimal solutions with respect to the aforementioned objective functions. The performance of the proposed optimizer is demonstrated under various operating conditions. Both experimental and simulation results show the optimizer works well.
Theories and Methods in Mediated

Computer mediated communication 2. 1. Theories and Methods Technology mediated communication is a fact of life. The human communication apparatus is constrained in several ways. There are limits to the distance at which speech is audible, and visible behaviours such as gesture, gaze or facial expressions are perceivable. Furthermore, these natural communication behaviours are ephemeral and do not persist over time. Given these limitations, we must rely on some form of mediation, if we are to communicate at distance and across time. People have therefore invented technologies that attempt to circumvent these limits to allow remote synchronous communication Understanding the principles that govern mediated communication has important practical implications. Because of the pervasiveness of mediated communication, we need to determine whether, how and why, it differs from face to face communication. If there are differences between mediated and face to face communication, we need to provide guidelines to inform decisions about the circumstances in which it is appropriate to use mediated communication, and the effects of using it in those situations. Systematic insights into mediated communication should also enable us to improve the designs of current and future technologies supporting mediated communication. An understanding of mediated communication should also inform more general theorizing about the psychology of communication. Most current communication theories regard face to face communication as an integrated set of speech, gaze, and gestural behaviours. As we shall see, studies of mediated communication allow us to isolate the individual contribution of different nonverbal behaviours, such as gaze and gesture to communication. They also help to clarify the overall influence of visual information in communication, and the effects of communication interactive processes such as feedback on communication. The structure of the review is as follows. The main part of the review is organized around 3 main theoretical approaches to mediated communication. We first talk about the general characteristics of mediated communication theories, and methods in this area. We then characterize each theory in detail and evaluate the evidence for it. We conclude with a discussion of outstanding practical and theoretical issues. Computer mediated communication 3. Theories of mediated communication The current section outlines: (a) mediated communication theories; (b) the technologies used to support communication in the various situations; (c) the methods used to study mediated communication. There are many different theories of mediated communication. Rather than describing each in detail, we restrict ourselves here to an exposition …
The bi-pyramidal nature, the Lucas series in the genetic code and their relation to aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases

New analyses of the organization of the genetic code system together with their relation to the two classes of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases are reported in this work. A closer inspection revealed how the enzymes and the 20 amino acids of the genetic code are intertwined on a polyhedron model. Complimentarily and cooperative symmetry between class I and class II aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases displayed by a 28-gon model are discussed, and we found that the two previously suggested evolutionary axes of the genetic code overlap the three two-fold symmetry axes within the two classes of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases. Moreover, it is identified that the amino-acid side-chain carbon-atom numbers (1, 3, 4 and 7) in the overwhelming majority of the amino acids recognized by each of the two classes of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases meet a mathematical relationship, the Lucas series.
DBpedia Viewer - An Integrative Interface for DBpedia leveraging the DBpedia Service Eco System

With the growing interest in publishing data according to the Linked Data principles, it becomes more important to provide intuitive tools for users to view and interact with resources. The characteristics of Linked Data pose several challenges for user-friendly presentation of the information. In this work, we present the DBpedia Viewer as one method to address this problem. The DBpedia Viewer is the new DBpedia Linked Data user interface, which makes DBpedia data more accessible to non-experts while integrating the DBpedia service eco system as well as external Linked Data services.
Expression of the psl Operon in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 Biofilms: PslA Performs an Essential Function in Biofilm Formation

ABSTRACT The psl gene cluster, comprising 15 cotranscribed genes from Pseudomonas aeruginosa, was recently identified as being involved in exopolysaccharide biosynthesis and biofilm formation. In this study, we investigated the regulation of the psl gene cluster and the function of the first gene in this cluster, the pslA gene. PslA shows strong similarities to UDP-glucose lipid carriers. An isogenic marker-free pslA deletion mutant of P. aeruginosa PAO1 deficient in attachment and biofilm formation was used for complementation studies. The expression of only the pslA gene, comprising a coding region of 1,437 bp, restored the biofilm-forming phenotype of the wild type, indicating that PslA is required for biofilm formation by nonmucoid P. aeruginosa. The promoter region of the psl gene cluster, which encodes PslA-PslO, was identified by rapid amplification of cDNA 5′ ends. Promoter assays using transcriptional fusions to lacZ and gfp indicated a constitutive expression of the psl cluster in planktonic cells and a highly regulated and localized expression in biofilms, respectively. Expression of the psl cluster in biofilms was almost exclusively found in the centers of microcolonies, as revealed by confocal laser scanning microscopy. These data suggest that constitutive expression of the psl operon enables efficient attachment to surfaces and that regulated localized psl operon expression is required for biofilm differentiation.
Detection of Roads in SAR Images using Particle Filter

A novel method is presented to detect roads in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images. A multi-segmented poly-line model is introduced to provide a more accurate description of the road as well as to ensure the road curve's smoothness in the model level. We then solve the road detection problem using the Bayesian tracking theory, where the particle filtering algorithm is adopted to provide a simple and consistent framework. The effectiveness and robustness of the proposed method is demonstrated by experimental results.
An Inter-cloud Outsourcing Model to Scale Performance, Availability and Security

This paper presents a model of a horizontal cloud federation and studies the optimal resource selection and allocation policy a service provider should put in place to scale the performance, availability and security guarantees offered to customers. The proposed model considers: (i) resources located in different zones, characterized by different hourly costs and specific performance, availability, and security properties, (ii) service provider customers, dispersed in various zones(characterized by different latencies), and demanding services with different QoS levels defined in Service Level Agreements(SLAs). From this model we define an optimization problem allowing to determine the optimal distribution of the incoming load and the proper allocation of outsourced resources that satisfies the SLAs and that minimizes the outsourcing costs, thus allowing the maximization of the SP revenue. Experiments show how the optimal policy scales the service provider capabilities when the workload grows 10 times and more.