Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Novel oral anticoagulants. Part II: direct thrombin inhibitors

The quest for an ideal anticoagulant is ongoing. Oral agents that do not require blood level monitoring are presently undergoing taut scrutiny for efficacies and potential side effects, and could soon be ready to transform the history of coagulation medicine. The first part of this article (published in last month’s Expert Review of Hematology) embraced a comprehensive review of oral Factor Xa inhibitors, such as rivaroxaban, apixaban, eribaxaban, edoxaban, YM150. This second part of the article reviews novel oral direct thrombin inhibitors, such as dabigatran and AZD0837, and a brief description of oral Factor IXa inhibitors, such as TTP889.
Health care costs associated with venous thromboembolism in selected high-risk ambulatory patients with solid tumors undergoing chemotherapy in the United States

Background This study examines venous thromboembolism (VTE)-associated resource utilization and real-world costs in ambulatory patients initiating chemotherapy for selected common high-risk solid tumors. Methods Health care claims data (2004–2009) from the IMS/PharMetrics® Patient-Centric database were collected for propensity score-matched adult cancer (lung, colorectal, pancreatic, gastric, bladder, or ovarian) patients initiating chemotherapy with VTE (n = 912) and without VTE (n = 2736). Health care resource utilization (inpatient, outpatient, and outpatient prescription drug claims) and costs were compared between the two cohorts during the 12-month follow-up period after the index VTE event. Incremental costs were adjusted for demographic and clinical covariates. Results Cancer patients with VTE had approximately three times as many all-cause hospitalizations (mean 1.38 versus 0.55 per patient) and days in hospital (10.19 versus 3.37), and more outpatient claims (331 versus 206) than cancer patients without VTE (all P < 0.0001). Cancer patients with VTE incurred higher overall all-cause inpatient costs (mean USD 21,299 versus USD 7459 per patient), outpatient costs (USD 53,660 versus USD 34,232 per patient), and total health care costs (USD 74,959 versus USD 41,691 per patient) than cancer patients without VTE (all P < 0.0001). Total mean VTE-related health care costs were USD 9247 per patient over 12 months. Adjusted mean incremental all-cause health care costs of VTE were USD 30,538 per patient for cancer overall, ranging from USD 11,946 for gastric to USD 38,983 for pancreatic cancer. Conclusion: VTE is associated with significant inpatient and outpatient resource utilization, and increased all-cause (in addition to VTE-related) health care costs among ambulatory cancer patients. Measures to prevent outpatient cancer-associated VTE may reduce health care utilization and costs in this population.
Adapting to a Changing World: Unraveling the Role of Man-Made Habitats as Alternative Feeding Areas for Slender-Billed Gull (Chroicocephalus genei)

Current rates of wildlife habitat loss have placed increasing demands on managers to develop, validate and implement tools aimed at improving our ability to evaluate such impacts on wildlife. Here, we present a case study conducted at the Natural Area of Doñana (SW Spain) where remote sensing and stable isotope (δ13C, δ15N) analyses of individuals were combined to unravel (1) the effect of variations in availability of natural food resources (i.e. from natural marshes) on reproductive performance of a Slender-billed Gull (Chroicocephalus genei) population, and (2) the role of two adjacent, artificial systems (a fish farm and saltmines) as alternate anthropogenic feeding areas. Based on long-term (1983–2004) remote-sensing, we inferred the average extent of flooded area at the marshland (a proxy to natural resource availability) annually. Estimated flooded areas (ranging from extreme drought [ca. 151 ha, 1995] to high moisture [15,049 ha, 2004]) were positively related to reproductive success of gulls (estimated for the 1993–2004 period, and ranging from ca. 0 to 1.7 fledglings per breeding pairs), suggesting that habitat availability played a role in determining their reproductive performance. Based on blood δ13C and δ15N values of fledglings, 2001–2004, and a Bayesian isotopic mixing model, we conclude that saltmines acted as the main alternative foraging habitat for gulls, with relative contributions increasing as the extent of marshland decreased. Although adjacent, anthropogenic systems have been established as the preferred breeding sites for this gull population, dietary switches towards exploitation of alternative (anthropogenic) food resources negatively affected the reproductive output of this species, thus challenging the perception that these man-made systems are necessarily a reliable buffer against loss of natural feeding habitats. The methodology and results derived from this study could be extended to a large suite of threatened natural communities worldwide, thus providing a useful framework for management and conservation.
A Relational Model of Incomplete Data without NULLs

The theoretical study of the relational model of data is ongoing and highly developed. Yet the vast majority of real databases include incomplete data, and the incomplete data is widely modelled using special flags called nulls. As noted many times by Date and others, the inclusion of nulls is not compatible with the relational model and invalidates many of the theoretical results as well as requiring a three-valued logic for query support. In category theoretic applications to computer science, partial functions are frequently modelled by using a special value approach (the partial map classifier), or by explicit reference to the domain of definition subobject. In a former edition of the CATS conference the first author and his colleague Rosebrugh proved a Morita equivalence theorem showing that for database modelling the two approaches are equivalent, provided the domain of definition subobject is complemented. In this paper we study the uncomplemented domain of definition approach (which is not equivalent to using special values). Our main results show that using uncomplemented domains of definition to model incomplete data is entirely compatible with the relational model and so leaves the well-developed theory applicable to real databases that use this approach. Furthermore, using uncomplemented domains of definition supports in-place updating, in stark contrast to special values, and, in a wide variety of circumstances, ensures the existence of cartesian and op-cartesian models which, as shown in a recent TCS article, are important for solving view update problems.
Application of FactSage thermodynamic modeling of recycled slags (Al2O3–CaO–FeO–Fe2O3–SiO2–PbO–ZnO) in the treatment of wastes from end-of-life-vehicles

Abstract The FactSage thermochemical software and databases calculates complex, multi-component, multi-phase equilibria involving simultaneously slag, metal, ceramic, and gas phases, over wide ranges of temperature, oxygen potential and pressure. The databases are automatically accessed by the software and the outputs of the Gibbs free energy minimization calculations can be presented in ways that are convenient to engineering practice, and as functions of key process variables. The new thermodynamic databases for slag and solid oxide phases in the Al2O3 – CaO – FeO – Fe2O3 – SiO2 – PbO – ZnO system have been developed by critical evaluation/optimization of all available phase equilibrium and thermodynamic data. By means of the optimization process, model parameters are found which reproduce all thermodynamic and phase equilibrium data within experimental error limits. Furthermore, the models permit extrapolation into regions of temperature and composition where data are not available. Phase equilibrium calculations have been undertaken, that are of interest in the thermal treatment of Automobile Shredder Residue (ASR) in the Al2O3 – CaO – FeO – Fe2O3 – SiO2 – PbO – ZnO system. This 7-component system represents only the major components of ASR. There are at least a dozen other important components in ASR not to mention the organic matter. The operating conditions deviate from thermodynamic equilibrium and the oxygen potential during the treatment of wastes is not well established. Consequently, the calculated diagrams are intended only to give an idea to industrial engineers about the trends in the liquidus temperature, extent of crystallization and partial pressures of volatile components as functions of temperature, composition and oxygen potential. These diagrams may also help to identify the process variables that are most important for industrial practice significantly reducing the amount of experimental work that has to be done to optimize the operations.
Effects of Acetylcholine on Action Potential Characteristics of Atrial and Ventricular Myocardium after Bilateral Cervical Vagotomy in the Cat

Acetylcholine, the parasympathetic neurotransmitter, shortens the action potential duration of cat atrial muscle cells, but not ventricular muscle cells. In mammalian species, atrial tissue receives a richer cholinergic nerve supply than ventricular tissue. To determine whether chronic withdrawal of cholinergic tone might influence the subsequent response of these tissues to cholinergic stimulation, we examined the effect of acetylcholine on the action potentials of atrial and ventricular myocytes from cats with intact vagi and cats after chronic bilateral cervical vagotomy. Following bilateral cervical vagotomy, physostigmine (10−6 M) failed to alter atrial tension development or action potential duration. Acetylcholine produced shortening of the action potential duration in atrial muscle from cats with intact vagi and in cats following bilateral cervical vagotomy. However, the degree of shortening produced by acetylcholine after bilateral cervical vagotomy was significantly greater (P < 0.001). In ventricular muscle from cats with intact vagi, acetylcholine did not alter action potential duration. In ventricular muscle from cats after bilateral cervical vagotomy, acetylcholine shortened the action potential duration. Maximal effect was seen at a concentration of 10−5 M where acetylcholine shortened action potential duration at 90% repolarization from a control value of 179 ± 4 to 150 ± 7 msec. Atropine (10−6 M) reversed the effects of acetylcholine. Addition of propranolol (10−6 M) to the superfusate or pretreatment of the animals with reserpine (2 mg/kg, ip) 24 hours before sacrifice failed to alter the response of ventricular muscle cells to acetylcholine. We conclude that after bilateral cervical vagotomy, acetylcholine produces an exaggerated effect on atrial action potential duration, and produces a direct effect on the action potential duration of ventricular myocytes. These effects are mediated through muscarinic cholinergic receptors.
Supernova remnants as cosmic ray accelerators. SNR IC 443

We examine the hypothesis that some supernova remnants (SNRs) may be responsible for some unidentified gamma-ray sources detected by EGRET instrument aboard the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. If this is the case, gamma-rays are produced via pion production and decay from direct inelastic collisions of accelerated by SNR shock wave ultrarelativistic protons with target protons of the interstellar medium. We develop a 3-D hydrodynamical model of SNR IC 443 as a possible cosmic gamma-ray source 2EG J0618+2234. The derived parameters of IC 443: the explosion energy E_o=2.7*10^{50} erg, the initial hydrogen number density n(0)=0.21 cm^{-3}, the mean radius R=9.6 pc and the age t=4500 yr result in too low gamma-ray flux, mainly because of the low explosion energy. Therefore, we investigate in detail the hydrodynamics of IC 443 interaction with a nearby massive molecular cloud and show that the reverse shock wave considerably increases the cosmic ray density in the interaction region. Meantime, the Rayleigh-Taylor instability of contact discontinuity between the SNR and the cloud provides an effective mixing of the containing cosmic ray plasma and the cloud material. We show that the resulting gamma-ray flux is consistent with the observational data.
Inulin and oligofructose: impact on intestinal diseases and disorders

A large and diverse variety of bacteria have evolved and adapted to live in the human intestinal habitat in a symbiotic arrangement that influences both physiology and pathology in the host. Symbiosis between host and flora can be optimised by prebiotics. Inulin-type fructans have been shown to improve the metabolic functions of the commensal flora. Clinical and experimental data suggest that they also improve the gut mucosal barrier. Furthermore, modulation of the trophic functions of the flora by these prebiotics could help in the prevention of inflammatory bowel diseases. The anti-inflammatory effects of inulin or oligofructose have been assessed in the rat model of distal colitis induced by dextran sodium sulphate, which histologically resembles human ulcerative colitis, and in the trinitrobenzene sulphonic acid model that resembles human Crohn's disease. Both inulin and oligofructose stimulate colonic production of SCFA and favour the growth of indigenous lactobacilli and/or bifidobacteria. These effects are associated with reduced mucosal inflammation and decreased mucosal lesion scores. Inulin has also been tested in a placebo-controlled clinical trial in patients with relapsing pouchitis. Treatment reduced endoscopic and histological parameters of inflammation of the pouch mucosa. Inulin and oligofructose may offer an opportunity to prevent chronic inflammatory intestinal disorders, and this potential should be tested in further clinical studies.
Interactions among Smoking, Obesity, and Symptoms of Acid Reflux in Barrett's Esophagus

Background: Barrett's esophagus, a metaplastic precursor to esophageal adenocarcinoma, is becoming increasingly prevalent in many populations. Clinical studies suggest acid reflux causes Barrett's esophagus; however, no population-based estimates of risk have been reported, and the role of other health factors in modifying risk is unclear. Methods: We conducted a population-based case-control study in Brisbane, Australia. Cases were 167 patients with histologically confirmed Barrett's esophagus diagnosed between February and December 2003. Age-matched and sex-matched controls (n = 261) were randomly selected from a population register. Data on exposure to self-reported symptoms of acid reflux, smoking, obesity, and other factors were collected through self-completed questionnaires followed by telephone interview. Risks of Barrett's esophagus and Barrett's esophagus with dysplasia associated with these exposures were estimated by the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI), both crude and adjusted for other factors. Results: Self-reported weekly episodes of acid reflux were associated with greatly increased risks of Barrett's esophagus (adjusted OR, 29.7; 95% CI, 12.2-72.6) and Barrett's esophagus with dysplasia (OR, 59.7; 95% CI, 18.5-193). Smoking was also associated with risk of Barrett's esophagus. We found evidence of interactions between symptoms of acid reflux and smoking and obesity. Obese people with self-reported symptoms of acid reflux had markedly higher risks of Barrett's esophagus (OR, 34.4; 95% CI, 6.3-188) than people with reflux alone (OR, 9.3; 95% CI, 1.4-62.2) or obesity alone (OR, 0.7; 95% CI, 0.2-2.4). Similarly, those reporting both acid reflux symptoms and smoking were at substantially higher risks of Barrett's esophagus (OR, 51.4; 95% CI, 14.1-188) than those reporting acid reflux or smoking alone. Conclusions: Although history of symptoms of acid reflux is the principle factor associated with Barrett's esophagus, risks are substantially increased by obesity and smoking.
Software Language Evolution

By abstraction and factoring out domain specific knowledge, model driven engineering addresses the problem of increasing software complexity. Both models and meta models are generally subject to evolution, yet evolution of a meta model can cause conforming models to no longer conform and thereby no longer be usable. Therefore, models need to be migrated to reflect changes to their meta models. As evolution is typically frequent and reoccurring, manual migration of models is cumbersome and holds back the development process, yet automatic support is generally lacking. In this research we identify the problems caused by meta model evolution and develop methodologies and tools to solve these by supporting meta model evolution generically and automatically.
Effects of air void size distribution, pore pressure, and bond energy on moisture damage

The relationship between hot mix asphalt moisture damage, air void structure, pore pressure, and cohesive and adhesive bond energies was investigated in this study using mixes with two different aggregate types (limestone and granite). Each of the mixes was designed with varying gradations to obtain different air void distributions among specimens. Moisture damage was evaluated using parameters derived based on the principles of fracture mechanics. Air void distribution was analyzed using a probabilistic approach with the assistance of X-ray computed tomography and image analysis techniques. The cohesive and adhesive bond energies of the mix were calculated using experimental measurements of aggregate and asphalt surface energies. Permeability, which controls the ability of the water to infiltrate into and drain out of the mix, was expressed as a function of statistical parameters of the air void distribution. Ranges of air void distributions and permeability were identified for each of the limestone and granite mixes at which moisture damage was maximum. The difference in moisture damage between the granite and limestone mixes was explained based on air void distribution and cohesive and adhesive bond energies.
Expression of cancer‐testis antigens MAGE‐A4 and MAGE‐C1 in oral squamous cell carcinoma

Tumor markers are genes or their products expressed exclusively or preferentially in tumor cells and cancer‐testis antigens (CTAs) form a group of genes with a typical expression pattern expressed in a variety of malignant neoplasms. CTAs are considered potential targets for cancer vaccines. It is possible that the CTA MAGE‐A4 (melanoma antigen) and MAGE‐C1 are expressed in carcinoma of the oral cavity and are related with survival.
A New Universal Hash Function and Other Cryptographic Algorithms Suitable for Resource Constrained Devices

A new multi-linear universal hash family is described. Messages are sequences over a finite field IFq while keys are sequences over an extension field IFqn . A linear map ψ from IFqn to itself is used to compute the output digest. Of special interest is the case q = 2. For this case, we show that there is an efficient way to implement ψ using a tower field representation of IFqn . Such a ψ corresponds to a word oriented LFSR. We describe a method of combining the new universal hash function and a stream cipher with IV to obtain a MAC algorithm. Further, we extend the basic universal hash function to an invertible blockwise universal hash function. Following the Naor-Reingold approach, this is used to construct a tweakable enciphering scheme which uses a single layer of encryption and no finite field multiplications. From an efficiency viewpoint, the focus of all our constructions is small hardware and other resource constrained applications. For such platforms, our constructions compare favourably to previous work.
A relay handoff algorithm in cooperative diversity system

Cooperative communication can significantly improve the performance of wireless network through the help of relay nodes. Choosing a good relay is very important in cooperation. However, for user mobility, both inter-user channel and channel between relay and destination will vary quickly. So relay will not be used all the time. It will be changed when it is no longer suitable to be a relay. A relay handoff algorithm based on energy gain and direction information is proposed in this paper. In this algorithm, handoff is performed when the energy gain of the working relay falls below the threshold and the energy gain of the best relay exceeds the energy gain of the working relay by a variable hysteresis level assisted by direction information. The simulation and analytical results show that this algorithm can reduce the average number of handoffs while keeping the energy gain at a good level .
Tunable optical properties of photonic crystals and semiconductor microdisks using liquid crystals

μThe combination of semiconductors and liquid crystals is extremely useful in order to fabricate integrated optical devices with tunable properties. The difference between the dielectric constants of the semiconductor and the liquid crystal ('dielectric contrast') is sufficiently high to obtain photonic band gap structures or resonant microcavities with high quality factor. At the same time, the characteristic frequencies can be controlled by temperature changes or external fields due to the thermo-, electro- or magneto-optic sensitivity of the liquid crystal. Here, previous investigations on microcavities embedded in silicon-based photonic crystals are reviewed and new results on integrated GaAs microdisks containing a light emitting layer of InAs quantum dots are presented. The latter show resonant modes with a typical width below 0.4 nm in the near infrared spectral range around 1.24 μm, which indicates a quality factor of 3500 and larger. By embedding a microdisk in a well-aligned liquid crystal and subsequent heating to the isotropic phase, a spectral shift of about 7 nm was observed. The results indicate a possible way of developing tunable light sources.
Exploring an open WiFi detection vulnerability as a malware attack vector on iOS devices

This paper presents a vulnerability on devices running Apple iOS, and can be traced back to iOS 3. First discovered in 2009 on iOS, and again in 2011 on Mac OS X, the vulnerability exists in a feature which seeks to help the device user maintain internet connectivity when attached to open WiFi networks protected by a captive portal. Since many modern applications rely on an internet connection, to alert a user when the connection requires user input to proceed, vulnerable OSs periodically check for a connection to the Apple URL http://www.apple. com/library/test/success.html. When the response returned from the connection check is abnormal, a UIWebView instance is opened, allowing the user to accept a terms of service, or otherwise satisfy the Captive Portal or Paywall terms. This behavior allows an adversary a small window of opportunity to launch an attack, which can manifest as an ARP Poisoning Attack, DNS Poisoning Attack, or a Man-in-the-Middle Attack redirecting the requesting iOS device to a malicious location. We have confirmed this vulnerability continues to exist in both iOS 4 and iOS 5. Further we have compared both native as well as jailbroken devices, and successfully launched a BeEF hook to both with equal results. The danger of this vulnerability lies in the fact that no user intervention is requiredfor exploitation beyond initially joining the network, which is a common and generally accepted user activity.
Classifications of motor imagery tasks using k-nearest neighbors

We address a classification method for motor imagery tasks-based brain computer interface (BCI). The wavelet coefficients are used to extract the features from the motor imagery electroencephalographic (EEG) signals and the k-nearest neighbor classifier is applied to classify the pattern of left or right hand imagery movement and rest. The performance of the proposed method is evaluated using EEG data recorded with 8 g.tec active electrodes by means of g.MOBIlab+ module. The maximum classification accuracy is 91%.