Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sex Is Not a Risk Factor in Outcome When a Stroke Unit Treats the Patient.

See related article, p 367. There are ongoing debates on whether sex is a risk factor for stroke outcome. It is known that females tend to have worse outcomes compared with males when stroke onset is later in life.1,2 Moreover, females generally have a higher burden from atrial fibrillation translating into more thromboembolic events and more severe strokes, compared with males.3,4 Likewise, females of all ages have more hypertension, and their risk for stroke from diabetes mellitus is higher when compared with males: relative risk 2.28 (confidence interval 95% 1.93–2.69) versus 1.83 (confidence interval 95% 1.60–2.08). 5 As well, a recent systematic meta-analysis of sex-specific risk factors for stroke reported that females could have increased stroke risk because of hypertensive disorder in pregnancy for ischemic stroke, late menopause and gestational hypertension for hemorrhagic stroke, and oophorectomy, hypertensive disorder in pregnancy, preterm delivery, and stillbirth for any stroke. However, male-specific risk factors increasing stroke risk include medical androgen deprivation therapy for ischemic and any stroke and erectile dysfunction for any stroke.6 Do these sex-specific risk factors and the differing burdens …
The Dynamic Fluctuation Relationship between China’s Urbanization and the Disparity of Urban-Rural Resident Living Direct Carbon Dioxide Emissions: A SVAR Analysis

Currently, continuous China’s urbanization will emit considerable carbon dioxide emissions, so that China is facing mounting pressure from not only the international community but also domestic itself. This paper applies SVAR model to evaluate the dynamic fluctuation relationship between China’s urbanization and the disparity of urban-rural resident living direct carbon dioxide emissions. The result indicates that the urbanization has an obvious positive effect on the difference of resident living direct carbon dioxide emissions from urban and rural in the short term and it has negative impact in the long term. Moreover, the impact of urban-rural resident living direct carbon dioxide emissions disparity on the urbanization has a negative effect in the short term, gradually turns into a positive, and finally stabilizes zero level. Based on the above conclusions, the government should provide corresponding policy implications for China's carbon emission reduction.
Intravenous regional anesthesia: a review of common local anesthetic options and the use of opioids and muscle relaxants as adjuncts

Purpose To provide a review of local anesthetic (LA) agents and adjuncts, opioids and muscle relaxants, and their intraoperative effects and postoperative outcomes in intravenous regional anesthesia (IVRA). Source A search for prospective, double-blind, randomized controlled trials evaluating LA agents, opioids and muscle relaxants as adjuvants for IVRA, was conducted (MEDLINE®, Embase). Intraoperative benefits (onset/recovery of sensory and motor block, intraoperative analgesia, tourniquet pain), postoperative benefits (pain score, analgesic consumption, time to first analgesia), and side effects were recorded. A conclusion for overall benefit was made based on statistical significance and clinical relevance. Findings Thirty-one studies were evaluated, with data collected on 1523 subjects. LA agents evaluated were lidocaine, ropivacaine, and prilocaine. Adjuncts evaluated were opioids ( morphine, fentanyl, meperidine, sufentanil, tramadol) and muscle relaxants (pancuronium, atracurium, mivacurium, cisatacurium). There was good evidence that ropivacaine provided effective IVRA and improved postoperative analgesia. Lidocaine and prilocaine were effective LA agents, however they lacked postoperative benefits. Morphine, fentanyl, and meperidine as sole adjuncts did not demonstrate clinically significant benefits or result in an increased risk of side effects. Sufentanil data was limited, but appeared to provide faster onset of sensory block. Tramadol provided faster onset of sensory block and tourniquet tolerance, however postoperative benefits were not consistent and the risk of minor side effects increased. Muscle relaxants improved the quality of motor block, but at the expense of delayed motor recovery. The combination of fentanyl and muscle relaxants can achieve an equivalent quality of IVRA with 50% reduction in LA dose, but at the expense of a potentially slower onset of sensory block. Conclusion Ropivacaine is effective for IVRA and improves postoperative analgesia. Muscle relaxants enhance the motor block and when combined with fentanyl allow for an equivalent quality of IVRA with 50% reduction in LA dose.
A Day of Your Days: Estimating Individual Daily Journeys Using Mobile Data to Understand Urban Flow

Travel surveys provide rich information about urban mobility and commuting patterns. But, at the same time, they have drawbacks: they are static pictures of a dynamic phenomena, are expensive to make, and take prolonged periods of time to finish. Nowadays, the availability of mobile usage data (Call Detail Records) makes the study of urban mobility possible at spatiotemporal granularity levels that surveys do not reach. This has been done in the past with good results -- mobile data makes possible to find and understand aggregated mobility patterns. In this paper, we propose to analyze mobile data at individual level by estimating daily journeys, and use those journeys to build Origin-Destiny matrices to understand urban flow. We evaluate this approach with large anonymized CDRs from Santiago, Chile, and find that our method has a high correlation (ρ = 0.89) with the current travel survey, and that it captures external anomalies in daily travel patterns, making our method suitable for inclusion into urban computing applications.
Evaluating Abductive Hypotheses using an EM Algorithm on BDDs

Abductive inference is an important AI reasoning technique to find explanations of observations, and has recently been applied to scientific discovery. To find best hypotheses among many logically possible hypotheses, we need to evaluate hypotheses obtained from the process of hypothesis generation. We propose an abductive inference architecture combined with an EM algorithm working on binary decision diagrams (BDDs). This work opens a way of applying BDDs to compress multiple hypotheses and to select most probable ones from them. An implemented system has been applied to inference of inhibition in metabolic pathways in the domain of systems biology.
The Expression of VEGF-A Is Down Regulated in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells of Patients with Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis

Background Most patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) eventually enter a secondary progressive (SPMS) phase, characterized by increasing neurological disability. The mechanisms underlying transition to SPMS are unknown and effective treatments and biomarkers are lacking. Vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) is an angiogenic factor with neuroprotective effects that has been associated with neurodegenerative diseases. SPMS has a prominent neurodegenerative facet and we investigated a possible role for VEGF-A during transition from RRMS to SPMS. Methodology/Principal Findings VEGF-A mRNA expression in peripheral blood mononuclear (PBMC) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cells from RRMS (n = 128), SPMS (n = 55) and controls (n = 116) were analyzed using real time PCR. We demonstrate reduced expression of VEGF-A mRNA in MS CSF cells compared to controls (p<0.001) irrespective of disease course and expression levels are restored by natalizumab treatment(p<0.001). VEGF-A was primarily expressed in monocytes and our CSF findings in part may be explained by effects on relative monocyte proportions. However, VEGF-A mRNA expression was also down regulated in the peripheral compartment of SPMS (p<0.001), despite unchanged monocyte counts, demonstrating a particular phenotype differentiating SPMS from RRMS and controls. A possible association of allelic variability in the VEGF-A gene to risk of MS was also studied by genotyping for six single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in MS (n = 1114) and controls (n = 1234), which, however, did not demonstrate any significant association between VEGF-A alleles and risk of MS. Conclusions/Significance Expression of VEGF-A in CSF cells is reduced in MS patients compared to controls irrespective of disease course. In addition, SPMS patients display reduced VEGF-A mRNA expression in PBMC, which distinguish them from RRMS and controls. This indicates a possible role for VEGF-A in the mechanisms regulating transition to SPMS. Decreased levels of PBMC VEGF-A mRNA expression should be further evaluated as a biomarker for SPMS.
Writing and Conflict Resolution

Over 1975-2003 nearly 200 new constitutions were drawn up in countries at risk of conflict, as part of peace processes and the adoption of multiparty political systems. The process of writing constitutions is considered to be very important to the chances of sustaining peace, and The Commonwealth and the US Institute for Peace have developed good practice guidelines in this area. These emphasize consultation, openness to diverse points of view and representative ratification procedures. But assessing the impact of constitution-writing processes on violence is methodologically difficult, since there are many channels of influence in the relationship. This paper reports on preliminary findings from an ongoing research project into the effects of processes in constitution-writing. Regression analysis is used to control for important contextual features such as differences in income levels and ethnic diversity across countries. A key finding is that differences in the degree of participation in the drafting of constitutions has no major effect on post-ratification levels of violence in some parts of the world, such as Europe, but does make a difference in Africa, the Americas, and the Pacific together.
Stability of Dissipation Elements: A Case Study in Combustion

Recently, dissipation elements have been gaining popularity as a mechanism for measurement of fundamental properties of turbulent flow, such as turbulence length scales and zonal partitioning. Dissipation elements segment a domain according to the source and destination of streamlines in the gradient flow field of a scalar function f : → ℝ. They have traditionally been computed by numerically integrating streamlines from the center of each voxel in the positive and negative gradient directions, and grouping those voxels whose streamlines terminate at the same extremal pair. We show that the same structures map well to combinatorial topology concepts developed recently in the visualization community. Namely, dissipation elements correspond to sets of cells of the Morse‐Smale complex. The topology‐based formulation enables a more exploratory analysis of the nature of dissipation elements, in particular, in understanding their stability with respect to small scale variations. We present two examples from combustion science that raise significant questions about the role of small scale perturbation and indeed the definition of dissipation elements themselves.
Research on Hydrophilicity and Microstructure of Several Plant Leaves

This paper studied wettability of several typical plant leaves such as abutilon, Jerusalem artichoke and sunflower, contact angle of several leaves were measured through the contact angle measuring instrument, which were 41.5°, 46.3°and 43.6°respectively. Microstructure of abutilon, Jerusalem artichoke and sunflower leaves were observed by scanning electron microscopy, It found that several typical plant leaves are composite structure of micron scale and nanoscale, covered some long needle-like spikes, this feature has an important influence on hydrophilicity. According to wenzel model, the paper analyzed the relationship between hydrophilicity and microstructures of several plant leaves.
OF DIABETIC NEPHROPATHY

The clinical manifestations of diabetic nephropathy, proteinuria, increasing blood pressure, decreased glomerular filtration rate and are similar in type 1 and type 2 diabetes; however the renal lesions underlying renal dysfunction in the two conditions may differ. Indeed, although tubular, interstitial and arteriolar lesions are ultimately present in type 1 diabetes, as the disease progresses, the most important structural changes involve the glomerulus. In contrast, a substantial subset of type 2 diabetic patients, despite the presence of microalbuminuria or proteinuria, have normal glomerular structure with or without tubulo-interstitial and/or arteriolar abnormalities. The clinical manifestations of diabetic nephropathy are strongly related to the structural changes, especially with the degree of mesangial expansion in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. However, several other important structural changes are involved. Previous studies using light and electron microscopic morphometric analysis have described the renal structural changes and the structural-functional relationships of diabetic nephropathy. This review focuses on these topics, emphasizing the contribution of research kidney biopsy studies to the understanding of the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy and the identification of patients with higher risk of progression to end stage renal disease. Finally, the evidence is presented that reversal of the established lesions of diabetic nephropathy is possible.
Connecting OKI And SQI: One Small Piece Of Code, A Giant Leap For Reusing Learning Objects.

Learning object repositories are infrastructures for storing learning resources. If they offer a critical mass of materials, they have the potential to facilitate teaching and learning by offering means to reuse and integrate existing materials. This paper discusses search interoperability efforts. By bridging the OKI Open Service Interface Definition (OSIDs) for repositories and Simple Query Interface (SQI), a CEN/ISSS standard for interconnecting search engines, two worlds of repositories are consolidated. The results of this work have already been implemented in two systems: ARIADNE and the LionShare Peer-to-Peer (P2P) environment
Applying Case-based Reasoning for Identifying the Negotiation Profile of Electronic Negotiation System Users

In this paper we analyze the problem of identifying the negotiation profile of the electronic negotiation system users. Usually such a profile is identified by means of the specific questionnaire (e.g. the ThomasKilmann questionnaire), however it requires from the negotiator answering many troublesome questions which is tiring and may lead to unreliable results. On the other hand many behavioural and psychological studies confirm that there is a set of demographical and sociological characteristics that influence the human general behaviour. Deriving from these studies we try to determine such a profile by analyzing the general information provided by the pre-negotiation questionnaire the users fill while creating their negotiation accounts. Having the historical data of Inspire negotiation system we try to find links between a set of the data that describes the negotiators demographical features and their final negotiation profile using the notion of Gilboa and Schmeidler case-based reasoning (CBR). To determine all the parameters required for the case-based reasoning the statistical correspondence analysis on the set of the historical data is conducted in advance. The results of CBR-based profile identification are also presented and discussed.
Multiple Movement Representations in the Human Brain: An Event-Related fMRI Study

Neurovascular correlates of response preparation have been investigated in human neuroimaging studies. However, conventional neuroimaging cannot distinguish, within the same trial, between areas involved in response selection and/ or response execution and areas specifically involved in response preparation. The specific contribution of parietal and frontal areas to motor preparation has been explored in electrophysiological studies in monkey. However, the associative nature of sensorimotor tasks calls for the additional contributions of other cortical regions. In this article, we have investigated the functional anatomy of movement representations in the context of an associative visuomotor task with instructed delays. Neural correlates of movement representations have been assessed by isolating preparatory activity that is independent from the performance of an actual motor act, or from the presence of a response's target. Movement instruction (specified by visual cues) and motor performance (specified by an auditory cue) were separated by a variable delay period. We have used whole-brain event-related fMRI to measure human brain activity during the performance of such a task. We have focused our analysis on specific preparatory activity, defined as a sustained response over variable delay periods between a transient visual instruction cue and a brief motor response, temporally independent from the transient events. Behavioral and electrophysiological controls ensured that preparatory activity was not contaminated by overt motor responses or working memory processes. We report suggestive evidence for multiple movement representations in the human brain. Specific sustained activity in preparation for an action was found not only in parieto-frontal regions but also in extrastriate areas and in the posterior portion of the superior temporal sulcus. We suggest that goal-directed preparatory activity relies on both visuo-motor and visuoperceptual areas. These findings point to a functional anatomical basis for the integration of perceptual and executive processes.
A micromechanical thermal displacement sensor with nanometre resolution

A novel micromachined silicon displacement sensor based on the conduction of heat between two surfaces through the ambient air is described. A displacement resolution of less than 1 nm and a dynamic range of more than 100 µm was achieved in a 10 kHz bandwidth. To minimize drift, the sensors are operated in pairs, using a differential measurement configuration. The power consumption of these devices is on the order of 10 mW per sensor, and the measured time response is described by a simple exponential with a time constant of approximately 100 µs.
Influence of (Ar  +  O2) atmosphere and CdCl2 coating heat treatment on physical properties of CdS thin film for solar cell applications

Cadmium sulphide (CdS) thin films have been grown on corning glass substrate by thermal evaporation technique under base pressure 2 × 105 mbar. In this study we investigate the influence of Cadmium chloride (CdCl2) heat treatment and argon and oxygen (Ar + O2) annealing on the structural, morphological optical and electrical properties of CdS thin films to achieve high quality thin films for solar cells applications. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Field Emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) and UV–Vis-NIR spectrophotometer were used to confirm and investigate the different physical properties of CdS films. The quality of CdS thin films crystallinity including the average grain size (Davg), the average lattice strain (εls) and the dislocation density (ρD) were extracted via XRD line broadening analysis. XRD analysis revealed that the samples are polycrystalline in nature with a mixed (hexagonal + cubic) structure and the crystallinity of the films increases with both (Ar + O2) annealing and CdCl2 heat treatment. After (Ar + O2) annealing and CdCl2 heat treatment processes the mean values of the grain size indicating the grain growth of CdS films. The surface morphology of the CdS films was examined by (FE-SEM) analysis; which confirmed the nano-crystalline nature of the CdS films with uniform coverage of the substrate surface; The optical properties of as-deposited, (Ar + O2) annealed and CdCl2 treated CdS films were discussed in detail. The optical energy gap was calculated using Tauc plot extrapolation. It was found to be increased from 2.43 eV for as-deposited film to 2.45 for CdCl2 treated CdS film. Swanepoel method was employed to estimate the thicknesses and extract the refractive index of the CdS films. The Room temperature resistivity decreased from 13.4 Ω cm for as-deposited CdS film to 2 and 0.8 Ω cm for (Ar + O2) annealed and CdCl2 treated CdS films respectively. The CdCl2 treated CdS film has the highest figure of merit value of 29 × 10−4 Ω−1. The obtained results confirm that the CdCl2 heat treatment process in (Ar + O2) atmosphere can enhance the physical properties of CdS thin films as a promising window layer or buffer layer material for CdS/CdTe and Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells.
Monocular 3D Tracking of Deformable Surfaces Using Linear Programming

We present a method for 3D shape reconstruction of inextensible deformable surfaces from monocular image sequences. The key of our approach is to represent the surface as 3D triangulated mesh and formulate the reconstruction problem as a sequence of Linear Programming (LP) problems which can be effectively solved. The LP problem consists of data constraints which are 3D-to-2D keypoint correspondences and shape constraints which prevent large changes of the edge orientation between consecutive frames. Furthermore, we use a refined bisection algorithm to accelerate the computing speed. The robustness and efficiency of our approach are validated on both synthetic and real data.
The Epidemiological, Clinical, and Laboratory Features of Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Patients in China: Surveillance Data from 2006 to 2010

Background Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a rare, rapidly progressive fatal central nervous system disorder, which consists of three main catalogues: sporadic, familial, and iatrogenic CJD. Methodology/Principal Findings In China, the surveillance for CJD started in 2006, covering 12 provincial Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCs) and 15 hospitals. From 2006 to 2010, 624 suspected patients were referred to China CJD surveillance. The epidemiological, clinical and laboratory features of sporadic CJD (sCJD) were analysed. Both groups of probable and possible sCJD showed highest incidences in the population of 60 to 69 year-olds. The most common presenting symptoms were progressive dementia and mental-related symptoms (neurological symptoms including sleeping turbulence, depression, anxiety and stress). Among the four main clinical manifestations, myoclonus was more frequently observed in the probable sCJD patients. About 2/3 of probable sCJD cases showed positive 14-3-3 in CSF and/or periodic sharp wave complexes (PSWC) in electroencephalography (EEG). The presence of myoclonus was significantly closely related with the appearance of PSWC in EEG. Polymorphisms of codon 129 in PRNP of the notified cases revealed a highly predominant M129M genotype in Han Chinese. Among 23 genetic human prion diseases, ten were D178N/M129M Fatal familial insomnia (FFI) and five were T188K genetic CJD (gCJD), possibly indicating a special distribution of gCJD-related mutations in Han Chinese. Conclusion From the period of 2006 to 2010, 261 patients were diagnosed as sCJD and 23 patients were diagnosed as genetic human prion diseases in China. The epidemiological, clinical and laboratory analysis data were consistent with the characteristics of sporadic CJD, which provide insight into the features of CJD in China.