Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Relationship of blood transfusion and clinical outcomes in patients with acute coronary syndromes.

CONTEXT It is unclear if blood transfusion in anemic patients with acute coronary syndromes is associated with improved survival. OBJECTIVE To determine the association between blood transfusion and mortality among patients with acute coronary syndromes who develop bleeding, anemia, or both during their hospital course. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS We analyzed 24,112 enrollees in 3 large international trials of patients with acute coronary syndromes (the GUSTO IIb, PURSUIT, and PARAGON B trials). Patients were grouped according to whether they received a blood transfusion during the hospitalization. The association between transfusion and outcome was assessed using Cox proportional hazards modeling that incorporated transfusion as a time-dependent covariate and the propensity to receive blood, and a landmark analysis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Thirty-day mortality. RESULTS Of the patients included, 2401 (10.0%) underwent at least 1 blood transfusion during their hospitalization. Patients who underwent transfusion were older and had more comorbid illness at presentation and also had a significantly higher unadjusted rate of 30-day death (8.00% vs 3.08%; P<.001), myocardial infarction (MI) (25.16% vs 8.16%; P<.001), and death/MI (29.24% vs 10.02%; P<.001) compared with patients who did not undergo transfusion. Using Cox proportional hazards modeling that incorporated transfusion as a time-dependent covariate, transfusion was associated with an increased hazard for 30-day death (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 3.94; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.26-4.75) and 30-day death/MI (HR, 2.92; 95% CI, 2.55-3.35). In the landmark analysis that included procedures and bleeding events, transfusion was associated with a trend toward increased mortality. The predicted probability of 30-day death was higher with transfusion at nadir hematocrit values above 25%. CONCLUSIONS Blood transfusion in the setting of acute coronary syndromes is associated with higher mortality, and this relationship persists after adjustment for other predictive factors and timing of events. Given the limitations of post hoc analysis of clinical trials data, a randomized trial of transfusion strategies is warranted to resolve the disparity in results between our study and other observational studies. We suggest caution regarding the routine use of blood transfusion to maintain arbitrary hematocrit levels in stable patients with ischemic heart disease.
Editorial: Recent advances on searching as learning: An introduction to the special issue

Although information searching is one of the most popular online activities people engage in for a variety of goals and tasks every day, search systems have long been viewed from a rather limited perspective. That is, search systems have been typically viewed as tools for retrieving online content to satisfy information needs. However, today’s search systems support people’s interactions with information and help people access and use information in ways that go beyond offering a set of search results for specified search tasks. Despite the fact that information search systems have evolved from information-retrieval tools to full-text information-intensive systems over the past two decades, researchers have only recently started recognizing search systems as rich online spaces in which people can learn and discover new knowledge while interacting with online content. This does not mean that searching and learning have not been seen as connected in the field of information science. In fact, there have been numerous studies on the intersection between searching and learning. However, the association between searching and learning has often been defined in terms of searching in the learning environment, having learning as a search goal or learning about searching, focusing on teaching search and evaluation skills to youth. As a result, the concept of learning has often been assumed rather than clearly being articulated in most information science studies. A new research direction we present in this special issue is ‘Searching as Learning’, which attempts to move away from rather simplistic conceptualizations either as searching to learn or learning to search. From the perspective of searching as learning, we propose to reconsider the value of search systems in supporting human learning directly while focusing on the impact, influence and outcomes of using search systems with respect to a learning process. We believe that there are great opportunities to leverage and extend current search systems to foster learning by reconfiguring search systems from information-retrieval tools to rich learning spaces in which search experiences and learning experiences are intertwined and even synergized. The idea of studying and designing search systems to foster learning during the search process and create a rich learning space has been attracting growing recognition among researchers and practitioners in recent years. This Special Issue is a follow-up to the Searching as Learning (SAL 2014) workshop ( held in conjunction with the Information Interaction in Context (IIiX) Confe
Urinary excretion of pyridinium crosslinks in healthy 4–10 year olds

Urinary pyridinoline and deoxypyridinoline, pyridinium crosslinks released during breakdown of mature collagen, might serve as useful markers of bone resorption. Before their role can be identified, reference values must be established. In this study, free pyridinoline (f-Pyr), free deoxypyridinoline (f-DPyr), and creatinine (Cr) were measured in first morning void urine samples from 250 girls and 265 boys between the ages of 4 and 10 years. Overall, there was a decrease in f-Pyr:Cr and f-DPyr:Cr ratios with increasing age in both sexes, but there was a wide range of values for individuals of similar ages. Further studies are required to assess whether urinary pyridinium crosslink excretion is sufficiently deranged in conditions affecting bone metabolism for the measurement of these compounds to be of clinical value.
Graph based pattern matching

The Graphs are very powerful and widely used tool for data representation in various fields of science and engineering. Due to their versatile representational power graphs are widely used for dealing with structural information in different domains such as pattern recognition, computer vision, networks, biochemical applications, psycho-sociology, image interpretation, and many others. In many applications, it is necessary to find the similarity between objects. When graphs are used for representation of structured objects, then the problem of measuring object similarity converts into the problem of determining the similarity of graphs, which is also known as graph matching. In order to achieve a good degree of graph matching the most usual way is to search for a graph isomorphism. A lot of work has been done in the area of graph isomorphism between two graphs or sub-graphs. Depending on the nature of the application, the problem turns to either exact or inexact graph isomorphism. In this study work, we are going to discuss the important theoretical foundations of graph matching along with the error-correcting graph matching approach.
Preconditioned Iterative Methods for Solving Linear Least Squares Problems

New preconditioning strategies for solving $m \times n$ overdetermined large and sparse linear least squares problems using the conjugate gradient for least squares (CGLS) method are described. First, direct preconditioning of the normal equations by the balanced incomplete factorization (BIF) for symmetric and positive definite matrices is studied, and a new breakdown-free strategy is proposed. Preconditioning based on the incomplete LU factors of an $n \times n$ submatrix of the system matrix is our second approach. A new way to find this submatrix based on a specific weighted transversal problem is proposed. Numerical experiments demonstrate different algebraic and implementational features of the new approaches and put them into the context of current progress in preconditioning of CGLS. It is shown, in particular, that the robustness demonstrated earlier by the BIF preconditioning strategy transfers into the linear least squares solvers and the use of the weighted transversal helps to improve the LU-.
Teaching Fourier optics through ray matrices

In this work we examine the use of ray-transfer matrices for teaching and for deriving some topics in a Fourier optics course, exploiting the mathematical simplicity of ray matrices compared to diffraction integrals. A simple analysis of the physical meaning of the elements of the ray matrix provides a fast derivation of the conditions to obtain the optical Fourier transform. We extend this derivation to fractional Fourier transform optical systems, and derive the order of the transform from the ray matrix. Some examples are provided to stress this point of view, both with classical and with graded index lenses. This formulation cannot replace the complete explanation of Fourier optics provided by the wave theory, but it is a complementary tool useful to simplify many aspects of Fourier optics and to relate them to geometrical optics.
L’invecchiamento fra natura e cultura: creatività e intergenerazionalità

Aging is a natural process, induced by the genetic program, but the way of aging is influenced by many factors, especially the environment, the experiences and the education and cultural level. Neurosciences have shown that the brain develops and continues to express its full potential, especially when it is properly engaged and stimulated. Brain plasticity neuron skills to adapt to the environment keeps into old age. Creativity is present and active in life-span. In old age, people, including those with somatic and mental limitations, are able to express their creative abilities in various fields. Creativity allows you to communicate thoughts and feelings, to live more peacefully and to realize themselves. The intergenerational relationships with the children and with the grandchildren help the elderly to remain active and creative. The grandparents’ memories expressed, but also unexpressed become the historical roots of grandchildren by transgenerationality and they often and greatly contribute to form the base affective and cognitive, more or less implicitly of growth and future knowledge of grandchildren. The interactions, including the intergenerational relationships, are the essential conditions for the development and maintenance of the brain and mental skills.
Cautious hierarchical switching control of stochastic linear systems

Standard switching control methods are based on the certainty equivalence philosophy in that, at each switching time, the supervisor selects the candidate controller that is better tuned to the currently estimated process model. In this paper, we propose a new supervisory switching logic that takes into account the uncertainty on the process description when performing the controller selection. Specifically, a probability measure describing the likelihood of the different models is computed on‐line based on the collected data and, at each switching time, the supervisor selects the candidate controller that, according to this probability measure, performs the best on the average. If the candidate controller class is hierarchically structured so that for each model one has available several controllers with distinct levels of robustness, the supervisor automatically selects the controller that suitably compromises robustness versus performance, given the current level of model uncertainty. The use of randomized algorithms makes the supervisor implementation computationally tractable. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Comprehension of personally relevant (perl) versus novel language in two globally aphasic patients

Abstract Standard, special, and tailor-made tests were given to two patients with global aphasia to test the hypothesis that such patients can recognize personally relevant language material despite deficient comprehension of novel language. Standard and special tests assessed recognition of spoken or written names of familiar-famous persons and landmarks, as well as novel objects, photographs and line drawings. Tests tailor-made for each subject presented names of familiar–intimate persons and personal belongings. Both patients recognized names for familiar–famous and familiar–intimate persons and landmarks, whatever the response mode, consistently better than non-personal words, while no advantage was found for names of personal belongings. In the patient who was retested 2 years post-onset of stroke, recovery of novel word comprehension had improved to the level originally observed for personally relevant language material. These results yield further information on the role of personal relevance (PERL.
Resolution of conflict between parental genomes in a hybrid species

The development of reproductive barriers against parent species is crucial during hybrid speciation, and post-zygotic isolation can be important in this process. Genetic incompatibilities that normally isolate the parent species can become sorted in hybrids to form reproductive barriers towards either parent. However, the extent to which this sorting process is systematically biased and therefore predictable in which loci are involved and which alleles are favored is largely unknown. Theoretically, reduced fitness in hybrids due to the mixing of differentiated genomes can be resolved through rapid evolution towards allelic combinations ancestral to lineage-splitting of the parent species, as these alleles have successfully coexisted in the past. However, for each locus, this effect may be influenced by its chromosomal location, function, and interactions with other loci. We use the Italian sparrow, a homoploid hybrid species that has developed post-zygotic barriers against its parent species, to investigate this prediction. We show significant bias towards fixation of the ancestral allele among 57 nuclear intragenic SNPs, particularly those with a mitochondrial function whose ancestral allele came from the same parent species as the mitochondria. Consistent with increased pleiotropy leading to stronger fitness effects, genes with more protein-protein interactions were more biased in favor of the ancestral allele. Furthermore, the number of protein-protein interactions was especially low among candidate incompatibilities still segregating within Italian sparrows, suggesting that low pleiotropy allows steep intraspecific clines in allele frequencies to form. Finally, we report evidence for pervasive epistatic interactions within one Italian sparrow population, particularly involving loci isolating the two parent species but not hybrid and parent. However there was a lack of classic incompatibilities and no admixture linkage disequilibrium. This suggests that parental genome admixture can continue to constrain evolution and prevent genome stabilization long after incompatibilities have been purged.
Impact of advanced process modules and device architectures on the matching performance of (sub-)45nm CMOS

We report for the first time a comprehensive comparison of the intra-die matching performance of most advanced multiple gate (MuGFETs) and planar bulk MOSFET technologies in terms of architectures and process modules like the gate stack and source/drain engineering. The impact of Ni-based fully silicided (FUSI) and metal (TiN and TaN) gates for bulk devices, selective epitaxial growth (SEG) and thickness of the Ni salicidation layer for MuGFETs on both threshold voltage (VT) and current factor (beta) mismatch is investigated. Taking into account the device DC and matching performances, our measurements show that FUSI planar devices and MuGFETs combining selective epitaxial growth (SEG) and thin Ni salicidation are interesting candidates for applications at the 45 nm node and beyond, with VT mismatch of 3.1 and 2.3 mV.mum for n-type devices, respectively.
Habilidades psicológicas de coping em atletas brasileiros Psychological coping skills in brazilian athletes

The aim of the present study was to analyze the coping skills in Brazilian athletes. Specifically, verify the differences between the genders (male and female), sports (individual and collective), at different levels (regional, national and international). The sample was 375, mean age 16.8 ± 2.1, mostly male (74.7%) and sports collective (68.3%). Concerning level, 124 athletes were rated regional level, 72 national level and 171 international level. The instrument used was the Coping Skills Inventory-28 (ACSI-28), Brazilian Portuguese version (ACSI-28BR) with items specific coping skills in the sport. Significant difference for main effect in the interaction between gender, sport and competitive level for: Coping with adversity and peak under pressure. The study found that different contexts directly influence the acquisition of coping skills.
Cyclo-oxygenase-2 inhibition and endothelium-dependent vasodilation in younger vs. older healthy adults.

AIM A major feature of endothelial dysfunction is reduced endothelium-dependent vasodilation, which in ageing may be due to decreased production of endothelial prostacyclin, or nitric oxide (NO), or both. METHOD We tested this hypothesis in 12 younger (age 18-38 years, six women) and 12 older healthy adults (age 55-73 years, six post-menopausal women). Endothelium-dependent vasodilation was assessed by the forearm vascular conductance (FVC) response to intra-arterial acetylcholine (ACh) (0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0 μg dl(-1) forearm tissue min(-1) ) before and 90 min after inhibition of the enzyme cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2) with oral celecoxib (400 mg), followed by the addition of endothelial NO synthase inhibition with intra-arterial N(G) -monomethyl-l arginine acetate (L-NMMA). RESULTS Ageing was associated with a significantly reduced FVC response to ACh (P = 0.009, age-by-dose interaction; highest dose FVC ± SEM in ageing: 11.2 ± 1.4 vs. younger: 17.7 ± 2.4 units, P = 0.02). Celecoxib did not reduce resting FVC or the responses to ACh in any group. L-NMMA significantly reduced resting FVC and the responses to ACh in all groups, and absolute FVC values following L-NMMA were similar between groups. CONCLUSION In healthy normotensive younger and older adults, there is minimal contribution of prostacyclin to ACh-mediated vasodilation, yet the NO component of vasodilation is reduced with ageing. In the clinical context, these findings suggest that acute administration of medications that inhibit prostacyclin (i.e. COX-2 inhibitors) evoke modest vascular consequences in healthy persons. Additional studies are necessary to test whether chronic use of COX-2 medications reduces endothelium dependent vasodilation in older persons with or without cardiovascular risk factors.
The relationship among development skills, design quality, and centrality in open source projects

In a previous paper, we have found empirical evidence supporting a positive relationship between network centrality and success. However, we have also found that more successful projects have a lower technical quality. A first, straightforward argument explaining previous findings is that more central contributors are also highly skilled developers who are well known for their ability to manage the complexity of code with a lower attention to the software structure. The consolidated metrics of software quality used by the authors in their previous research represent measures of code structure. This paper provides empirical evidence supporting the idea that the negative impact of success on quality is caused by the careless behaviour of skilled developers, who are also hubs within the social network. Research hypotheses are tested on a sample of 56 OS applications from the SourceForge.net repository, with a total of 378 developers. The sample includes some of the most successful and large OS projects, as well as a cross-section of less famous active projects evenly distributed among SourceForge.net’s project categories.
Integrated electro-mechanical transmission systems in hybrid electric vehicles

Hybrid electric vehicles are emerging as a practical solution for meeting increasingly more stringent governmental standards for fuel economy and emissions. In order to improve performance, increase efficiency, and reduce costs, there is a trend toward more integrated electro-mechanical transmission systems for advanced hybrid powertrains. This paper primarily focuses on the state-of-the-art electro-mechanical integration of hybrid transmission systems and presents a comprehensive review of various integrated powertrains including the power-split, two-mode hybrid transmission systems, and the electric variable transmission. Fundamental principles and mechanisms of operation for these integrated electro-mechanical transmission systems are presented as well.
The influence of substrate lens design in terahertz time-domain spectroscopy

Summary from only given. The dramatic influence of the substrate lens design on the achievable bandwidth in THz-time domain spectroscopy (TDS) system has not been generally appreciated. We have measured the angular emission pattern of radiation emitted from a bow-tie antenna coupled to each of the two lens designs. The measurements have been performed using a fiber-coupled THz receiver, mounted on a pivoting rail.
Genetic variation in fatness and fatty acid composition of crossbred cattle.

Mature Hereford cows (766) were mated to 97 sires from seven breeds (Jersey, Wagyu, Angus, Hereford, South Devon, Limousin, and Belgian Blue), resulting in 1,215 calves born over 4 yr (1994 to 1997). These cattle comprised Australia's 'Southern Crossbreeding Project. " Heifers were slaughtered at an average of 16 mo with hot standard carcass weight of 219 kg and 9 mm fat over the rump. Steers were slaughtered at an average of 23 mo with carcass weight of 319 kg and 13 mm fat over the rump. Meat and fat samples were taken from the carcass on the day after slaughter for subsequent laboratory analysis of i.m. fat content and fatty acid composition. Data were analyzed using uni- and bivariate animal models containing fixed effects of cohort, management group, birth month, and sire breed. March-born calves had fat with a 0.5 degrees C lower melting point, 0.6% higher total monounsaturated fatty acids, and 0.7% higher fatty acid desaturation index than calves born in April. Steers born in 1997 were the only cohort finished on pasture, and they had much more yellow fat than the other cohorts. Four heavy breed crosses (Angus, South Devon, Limousin, and Belgian Blue) averaged 284 kg carcass weight, followed by purebred Hereford (268 kg), Wagyu (244 kg) and Jersey (236 kg). Angus had the greatest fat depth (14.3 mm), ahead of Hereford and Wagyu (11.9 mm), Jersey (10.7 mm), South Devon and Limousin (9.9 mm) and Belgian Blue (8.0 mm). Jersey, Wagyu, and Angus had themost i.m. fat (4.6%), followed by Hereford and South Devon (3.8%), and Limousin and Belgian Blue (3.1%). The highly marbled Jersey and Wagyu had softer fat (6% lower fat melting point) than the other breeds. Angus were more highly marbled, similar to Jersey and Wagyu, but had harder fat similar to the leaner breeds. Heritabilities for all traits were low to moderate (16 to 36%). Genetic correlations between fatty add composition and carcass traits were not significant, indicating little evidence of antagonisms between traits that would prevent genetic progress in both production and quality.