Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Association of urinary sodium and potassium excretion with blood pressure.

BACKGROUND Higher levels of sodium intake are reported to be associated with higher blood pressure. Whether this relationship varies according to levels of sodium or potassium intake and in different populations is unknown. METHODS We studied 102,216 adults from 18 countries. Estimates of 24-hour sodium and potassium excretion were made from a single fasting morning urine specimen and were used as surrogates for intake. We assessed the relationship between electrolyte excretion and blood pressure, as measured with an automated device. RESULTS Regression analyses showed increments of 2.11 mm Hg in systolic blood pressure and 0.78 mm Hg in diastolic blood pressure for each 1-g increment in estimated sodium excretion. The slope of this association was steeper with higher sodium intake (an increment of 2.58 mm Hg in systolic blood pressure per gram for sodium excretion >5 g per day, 1.74 mm Hg per gram for 3 to 5 g per day, and 0.74 mm Hg per gram for <3 g per day; P<0.001 for interaction). The slope of association was steeper for persons with hypertension (2.49 mm Hg per gram) than for those without hypertension (1.30 mm Hg per gram, P<0.001 for interaction) and was steeper with increased age (2.97 mm Hg per gram at >55 years of age, 2.43 mm Hg per gram at 45 to 55 years of age, and 1.96 mm Hg per gram at <45 years of age; P<0.001 for interaction). Potassium excretion was inversely associated with systolic blood pressure, with a steeper slope of association for persons with hypertension than for those without it (P<0.001) and a steeper slope with increased age (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS In this study, the association of estimated intake of sodium and potassium, as determined from measurements of excretion of these cations, with blood pressure was nonlinear and was most pronounced in persons consuming high-sodium diets, persons with hypertension, and older persons. (Funded by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario and others.).
The development of specific cellular and humoral immunity in mice infected with Rauscher leukemia virus as neonates or adults.

C57BL/6 mice were infected as neonates or as adults with Rauscher leukemia virus (RLV) and were challenged at various times thereafter with syngeneic Rauscher lymphoma cells. In addition, sera obtained prior to challenge were tested by immunofluorescence against Rauscher lymphoma cells. Mice infected as adults with a 10-1 dilution of RLV exhibited strong transplantation resistance within 1 week that persisted for the entire 16-week observation period. Lower doses of RLV induced delayed transplantation resistance. Most mice also contained detectable antibody most of the time. Mice neonatally infected with RLV also developed transplantation resistance. However, the transplantation resistance did not develop until 8 weeks after infection, persisted until the 12th to 16th week, and disappeared at 32 weeks. Concurrent with the loss of transplantation resistance by neonatally infected mice, about 40% of the newborn mice inoculated with the highest concentration of virus were developing primary Rauscher leukemia. Many mice infected as newborns exhibited detectable fluorescent antibody at 4 weeks, and the percentage of mice with detectable antibody increased by 32 weeks when transplantation resistance had disappeared. At the time when RLV-infected newborn mice demonstrated loss of resistance to transplanted Rauscher cells, they were still quite capable of developing resistance against transplanted syngeneic polyoma tumor cells after exposure to polyoma virus. The results demonstrated that C57BL/6 mice infected neonatally with RLV did not develop immunological tolerance but were strongly resistant to transplanted Rauscher lymphoma cells at about 8 weeks and that they lost the ability to reject these cells later in life at a time when a large percentage of the animals were developing primary Rauscher disease. The persistance of anti-Rauscher antibody, together with the ability to develop resistance against the polyoma tumor when transplantation resistance to Rauscher cells had disappeared, suggests that a specific depression in the immunity responsible for rejection of Rauscher lymphoma cells was operative. The most likely possibility was considered to be blocking antibody and possible enhancement.
Performance of the ATLAS Muon Trigger in Run I and Upgrades for Run II

The ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has taken data at a centre-of-mass energy between 900 GeV and 8 TeV during Run I (2009-2013). The LHC delivered an integrated luminosity of about 20 fb-1 in 2012, which required dedicated strategies to ensure the highest possible physics output while effectively reducing the event rate. The Muon High Level Trigger has successfully adapted to the changing environment from low instantaneous luminosity (1032 cm-2 s-1) in 2010 to the peak high instantaneous luminosity (1034 cm-2 s-1). The selection strategy has been optimized for the various physics analyses involving muons in the final state. We will present the excellent performance achieved during Run I. In preparation for the next data taking period (Run II) several hardware and software upgrades to the ATLAS Muon Trigger have been performed to deal with the increased trigger rate expected at higher centre-of-mass energy and increased instantaneous luminosity. We will highlight the development of novel algorithms that have been developed to maintain a highly efficient event selection while reducing the processing time by a factor of three. In addition, the two stages of the high level trigger that was deployed in Run I will be merged for Run II. We will discuss novel approaches that are being developed to further improve the trigger algorithms for Run II and beyond.
Effects of production circumstances on expected responses for growth and carcass traits to selection of bulls in Japan.

Economic values of growth and carcass traits in Japanese beef cattle for production systems with various types of integration of levels/ stages (cow-calf and feedlot segments and the integrated system) and production circumstances (including 20% higher genetic levels of the traits, management, and economic alternatives) were used to examine responses to selection. Discounted economic values with interest rates of 0, 4.2 (Japanese average), and 8.4% were obtained to investigate the effect of discounting on selection efficiency. Traits considered were daily gain in the feedlot, marbling score, birth weight, weaning weight, and mature weight. The effects of discounting were small. Correlated responses to selection were not always economically favorable for all situations. Selecting bulls for the base situation (i.e., the typical biological and economic conditions for the production of Japanese Black cattle) resulted in negative genetic changes in weaning weight and mature weight in the feedlot segment. Higher genetic levels of daily gain and weaning weight affected efficiency of selection. Although effects of management and economic alternatives on responses to selection were generally small, lighter market weight influenced responses to selection. The results indicate that predicted correlated responses to selection are sensitive to production systems and some production circumstances.
Ein kurzer Abriß der Geschichte der fehlertoleranten Systeme

Prof. Algirdas Avizienis erlangte den B.S., M.S., und Ph.D. Grad in Elektrotechnik an der Universität von Illinois, UrbanaChampaign . Von 1956 bis 1960 war er mit dem Digital Computer Laboratory der Universität von Illinois assoziiert, wo er an der Entwicklung des Illiac II Rechners beteiligt war. Am Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Cal ifornia Institute of Technology initiierte und leitete er das JPL STAR Forschungsprojekt . Seit 1962 lehrt Dr. Avizienis an der Universität von Kalifornien, Los Angeles (UCLA). Er ist zur Zeit Professor am Compute r Science Departement, wo er seit 1972 als . Principal Investigator' für ,Reliable Comput ing and Fault Tolerance ' und ,Distributed Processing' tätig ist. Für seine Pionierarbeiten auf dem Gebiet der Fehlertoleranz erhielt Prof. Avizienis viele Ehrungen und Preise.
Capturing L2 accuracy developmental patterns: Insights from an error-tagged EFL learner corpus

The present article addresses the issue of second language accuracy developmental trajectories and shows how they can be captured via an error-tagged version of an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learner corpus. The data used in this study were extracted from the International Corpus of Learner English (Granger et al., 2009) and consist of a total of 223 learner essays. Each composition was (a) manually and exhaustively annotated for errors following the Louvain error-tagging taxonomy (Dagneaux, Denness, & Granger, 1998) and (b) individually rated by two (sometimes three) testing experts according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (Council of Europe, 2001) descriptors for linguistic competence. As a result, each text was assigned a B1 (lower intermediate), B2 (upper intermediate), C1 (advanced), or C2 (near-native) score. A refined counting method, potential occasion analysis, which relies on both an error-tagged and a part-of-speech-tagged version of the learner data, was used to quantify the errors. This allowed the analysis to trace the type of development displayed by more than 40 error types along the B1–C2 proficiency range. The results indicate that the EFL error developmental patterns tend to be dominated by progress and stabilization trends and that progress is often located between B1 and B2.
EDF Schedulability Analysis on Mixed-Criticality Systems with Permitted Failure Probability

Many safety critical real-time systems are considered certified when they meet failure probability requirements with respect to the maximum permitted incidences of failure per hour. In this paper, the mixed-criticality task model with multiple worst case execution time (WCET) estimations is extended to incorporate such system-level certification restrictions. A new parameter is added to each task, characterizing the distribution of the WCET estimations -- the likelihood of all jobs of a task finishing their executions within the less pessimistic WCET estimate. An efficient algorithm named LFF-Clustering is derived for scheduling mixed-criticality systems represented by this model. Experimental analyses show our new model and algorithm out-perform current state-of-the-art mixed-criticality scheduling algorithms.
Cryotherapy in the treatment of keloids.

BACKGROUND Despite their benign nature, keloids may constitute a severe aesthetic and, in some cases, functional problem with important repercussions on patients' quality of life. There is no consensus on keloid treatment and no wholly satisfactory therapy has yet emerged. OBJECTIVE To assess the efficacy of cryotherapy in the treatment of keloids. METHODS 135 patients with 166 keloids received cryosurgical treatment between 1990 and 2004. Freeze times and number of sessions varied. Scar volume was measured before and after treatment. Median follow-up was 48.6 months (range 12.4-72.6 months). RESULTS Of the 166 lesions treated, 79.5% responded very well with a volume reduction of the initial mass of greater than 80% after a median of 3 treatments (range: 1-9). A good result was obtained in 14.5% of lesions, while results were unsatisfactory in 6% of cases. The main adverse effects reported were atrophic depressed scars and residual hypopigmentation (75% of cases). No recurrences arose during the follow-up period (12-72 months). CONCLUSIONS To date, cryotherapy appears to be the most effective, safe, economic, and easy-to-perform monotherapy to treat keloid lesions and hypertrophic scars.
Investigating the Relationship between Students’ Views of Scientific Models and Their Development of Models

Understanding the nature of models and engaging in modeling practice have been emphasized in science education. However, few studies discuss the relationships between students’ views of scientific models and their ability to develop those models. Hence, this study explores the relationship between students’ views of scientific models and their self-generated models, and also whether views of models and modeling practice may be influenced by other factors, such as science learning performance and interest. The participants were 402 ninth-grade students in Taiwan. Data were collected using the Students’ Understanding of Models in Science (SUMS) survey and students’ self-evaluations of their own science learning interests and performance on a Likert-scale. The students’ self-developed models explaining why three different magnetic phenomena occur were also evaluated on a schema of five levels, from lower (observational and fragmented models) to higher (microscopic and coherent models). The results reveal that most students’ models remained only at the level of description of observable magnetic phenomena. A small number of the students were able to visualize unseen mechanisms, but these models were fragmented. However, several students with better science learning performance were able to develop coherent microscopic models to explain the three magnetic phenomena. The analyses indicated that most sub-factors of the SUMS survey were positively correlated with students’ self-developed models, science learning performance and science learning interest. This study provides implications for teaching the nature of models and modeling practice.
DNA damage induced p53 downregulates Cdc20 by direct binding to its promoter causing chromatin remodeling

CDC20 is a critical molecule in the Spindle Assembly Checkpoint (SAC). It activates the Anaphase promoting complex and helps a dividing cell to proceed towards Anaphase. CDC20 is overexpressed in many tumor cells which cause chromosomal instability. There have been limited reports on the mechanism of SAC's response to genotoxic stress. We show that ectopically expressed p53 or DNA damage induced endogenous p53 can downregulate Cdc20 transcriptionally. We have identified a consensus p53-binding site on the Cdc20 promoter and have shown that it is being used by p53 to bind the promoter and bring about chromatin remodeling thereby repressing Cdc20. Additionally, p53 also downregulates Cdc20 promoter through CDE/CHR element, but in a p21 independent manner. This CDE/CHR element-mediated downregulation occurs only under p53 overexpressed condition but not in the context of DNA damage. The present results suggest that the two CCAAT elements in the Cdc20 promoter are not used by p53 to downregulate its activity, as reported earlier.
Temporal lobe morphology in childhood-onset schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE Neurodevelopmental models of schizophrenia imply that a more severe early brain lesion may produce earlier onset of psychotic symptoms. The medial temporal lobes have been proposed as possible locations for such a lesion. The authors tested this hypothesis in a group of children and adolescents with childhood-onset schizophrenia who had severe, chronic symptoms and who were refractory to treatment with typical neuroleptics. METHOD Anatomic brain magnetic resonance imaging scans were acquired with a 1.5-T scanner for 21 patients (mean age=14.6 years, SD=2.1) who had onset of schizophrenia by age 12 (mean age at onset=10.2, SD=1.5) and 41 normal children. Volumes of the temporal lobe, superior temporal gyrus, amygdala, and hippocampus were measured by manually outlining these structures on contiguous 2-mm thick coronal slices. RESULTS Patients with childhood-onset schizophrenia had significantly smaller cerebral volumes. With no adjustment for brain volume, no diagnostic differences were observed for any temporal lobe structure. Unexpectedly, with adjustment for total cerebral volume, larger volumes of the superior temporal gyrus and its posterior segment and a trend toward larger temporal lobe volume emerged for the patients with schizophrenia. These patients lacked the normal (right-greater-than-left) hippocampal asymmetry. CONCLUSIONS These findings do not indicate a more severe medial temporal lobe lesion as the basis of very early onset schizophrenia.
The association between oxidative stress and bone mineral density according to menopausal status of Korean women

Objective The aim of this study is to investigate the association between oxidative stress and bone mineral density (BMD) according to menopausal status of Korean women. Methods A total of 2,232 women who visited to the health promotion center at Pusan National University Hospital between 2010 and 2014 were included in this cross-sectional study. Laboratory tests, such as uric acid, albumin, total bilirubin, which were evaluated as a natural antioxidants. Homocysteine also was evaluated as a factor associated with oxidative stress. Correlation analyses and partial correlation coefficient between BMD scores and laboratory parameters associated with oxidative stress according to menopausal status were performed with Pearson test. Results By correlation analysis, uric acid had only positive correlation with femur and lumbar BMD in premenopausal and postmenopausal group. But albumin and bilirubin, which were the other natural antioxidants, had no correlation with BMD except total bilirubin with femur BMD in postmenopausal group. Homocysteine had negative correlation with femur BMD in postmenopausal group. But there were different results in partial correlation coefficient adjusted by age and BMI. In premenopausal group, uric acid was still positive correlation with femur and lumbar BMD, whereas in postmenopausal group homocysteine had no correlation with femur BMD, total bilirubin and uric acid had no correlation with lumbar BMD. At the multiple logistic regressions, only age and menopause status, uric acid had correlation with BMD. Conclusion In this study, homocysteine had no correlation with BMD. But in natural antioxidant, uric acid had only positive correlation with BMD.
National Culture and Entrepreneurship : A Review of Behavioral Research

Conceptual arguments for the association between cultural characteristics and entrepreneurship have existed for decades but only in the last 10 years has this relationship been the focus of empirical scrutiny. In this article, we review and synthesize the findings of 21 empirical studies that examine the association between national cultural characteristics and aggregate measures of entrepreneurship, individual characteristics of entrepreneurs, and aspects of corporate entrepreneurship. The study concedes that a predominant number of empirical studies have used Hofstede's conceptualization of national culture and that other domains have been underdeveloped. A preliminary model that integrates past findings is extended. The review highlights fruitful avenues for future research.
Rho-Kinase Phosphorylates COOH-terminal Threonines of Ezrin/Radixin/Moesin (ERM) Proteins and Regulates Their Head-to-Tail Association

The ezrin/radixin/moesin (ERM) proteins are involved in actin filament/plasma membrane interaction that is regulated by Rho. We examined whether ERM proteins are directly phosphorylated by Rho- associated kinase (Rho-kinase), a direct target of Rho. Recombinant full-length and COOH-terminal half radixin were incubated with constitutively active catalytic domain of Rho-kinase, and ∼30 and ∼100% of these molecules, respectively, were phosphorylated mainly at the COOH-terminal threonine (T564). Next, to detect Rho-kinase–dependent phosphorylation of ERM proteins in vivo, we raised a mAb that recognized the T564-phosphorylated radixin as well as ezrin and moesin phosphorylated at the corresponding threonine residue (T567 and T558, respectively). Immunoblotting of serum-starved Swiss 3T3 cells with this mAb revealed that after LPA stimulation ERM proteins were rapidly phosphorylated at T567 (ezrin), T564 (radixin), and T558 (moesin) in a Rho-dependent manner and then dephosphorylated within 2 min. Furthermore, the T564 phosphorylation of recombinant COOH-terminal half radixin did not affect its ability to bind to actin filaments in vitro but significantly suppressed its direct interaction with the NH2-terminal half of radixin. These observations indicate that the Rho-kinase–dependent phosphorylation interferes with the intramolecular and/ or intermolecular head-to-tail association of ERM proteins, which is an important mechanism of regulation of their activity as actin filament/plasma membrane cross-linkers.
The synthesis of robust polynomial arithmetic with stochastic logic

As integrated circuit technology plumbs ever greater depths in the scaling of feature sizes, maintaining the paradigm of deterministic Boolean computation is increasingly challenging. Indeed, mounting concerns over noise and uncertainty in signal values motivate a new approach: the design of stochastic logic, that is to say, digital circuitry that processes signals probabilistically, and so can cope with errors and uncertainty. In this paper, we present a general methodology for synthesizing stochastic logic for the computation of polynomial arithmetic functions, a category that is important for applications such as digital signal processing. The method is based on converting polynomials into a particular mathematical form - Bernstein polynomials - and then implementing the computation with stochastic logic. The resulting logic processes serial or parallel streams that are random at the bit level. In the aggregate, the computation becomes accurate, since the results depend only on the precision of the statistics. Experiments show that our method produces circuits that are highly tolerant of errors in the input stream, while the area-delay product of the circuit is comparable to that of deterministic implementations.