Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Age, Gender and Load-Related Influences on Left Ventricular Geometric Remodeling, Systolic Mid-Wall Function, and NT-ProBNP in Asymptomatic Asian Population

Background Advanced age is associated with left ventricle (LV) remodeling and impaired cardiac function that may increase the risk of heart failure. Even so, studies regarding age-related cardiac remodeling in a large, asymptomatic Asian population remain limited. Materials and Methods We studied 8,410 asymptomatic participants (49.7 ±11.7 y, 38.9% women) in a health evaluation cohort (2004–2012) at a tertiary center in Northern Taiwan. We analyzed age-related alterations for all echocardiography-derived cardiac structures/functions and the associations with circulating N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP). We also explored sex-related differences in these measures. Results In our cohort of 8,410 participants, advanced age was associated with greater LV wall thickness, larger LV total mass (+5.08 g/decade), and greater LV mass index (4.41 g/m2/decade), as well as increased serum NT-proBNP level (+18.89 pg/mL/decade). An accompanying reduction of stress-corrected midwall fractional shortening (–0.1%/decade) with aging was apparent in women after multi-variate adjustment (–0.09%/decade, p = 0.001). Furthermore, women demonstrated greater overall increase in LV wall thickness, LV mass index, and NT-proBNP compared to men (p for interaction: <0.001). All blood pressure components, including systolic, diastolic, and pulse pressures were independently associated with greater wall thickness and LV mass index after adjustment for confounders (all p <0.001). The associations between age and cardiac remodeling or mid-wall functions were further confirmed in a subset of study subjects with repeated follow up by GEE model. Conclusions Significant associations of unfavorable LV remodeling and advanced age in our asymptomatic Asian population were observed, along with sex differences. These data may help explain the incidence of some diverse gender-related cardiovascular diseases, especially heart failure.
"Bystander" chest compressions and assisted ventilation independently improve outcome from piglet asphyxial pulseless "cardiac arrest".

BACKGROUND Bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) without assisted ventilation may be as effective as CPR with assisted ventilation for ventricular fibrillatory cardiac arrests. However, chest compressions alone or ventilation alone is not effective for complete asphyxial cardiac arrests (loss of aortic pulsations). The objective of this investigation was to determine whether these techniques can independently improve outcome at an earlier stage of the asphyxial process. METHODS AND RESULTS After induction of anesthesia, 40 piglets (11.5+/-0.3 kg) underwent endotracheal tube clamping (6.8+/-0.3 minutes) until simulated pulselessness, defined as aortic systolic pressure <50 mm Hg. For the 8-minute "bystander CPR" period, animals were randomly assigned to chest compressions and assisted ventilation (CC+V), chest compressions only (CC), assisted ventilation only (V), or no bystander CPR (control group). Return of spontaneous circulation occurred during the first 2 minutes of bystander CPR in 10 of 10 CC+V piglets, 6 of 10 V piglets, 4 of 10 CC piglets, and none of the controls (CC+V or V versus controls, P<0.01; CC+V versus CC and V combined, P=0.01). During the first minute of CPR, arterial and mixed venous blood gases were superior in the 3 experimental groups compared with the controls. Twenty-four-hour survival was similarly superior in the 3 experimental groups compared with the controls (8 of 10, 6 of 10, 5 of 10, and 0 of 10, P<0.05 each). CONCLUSIONS Bystander CPR with CC+V improves outcome in the early stages of apparent pulseless asphyxial cardiac arrest. In addition, this study establishes that bystander CPR with CC or V can independently improve outcome.
Uses and abuses of fractal methodology in ecology

Fractals have found widespread application in a range of scientific fields, including ecology. This rapid growth has produced substantial new insights, but has also spawned confusion and a host of methodological problems. In this paper, we review the value of fractal methods, in particular for applications to spatial ecology, and outline potential pitfalls. Methods for measuring fractals in nature and generating fractal patterns for use in modelling are surveyed. We stress the limitations and the strengths of fractal models. Strictly speaking, no ecological pattern can be truly fractal, but fractal methods may nonetheless provide the most efficient tool available for describing and predicting ecological patterns at multiple scales.
Enabling IPTV: What's Needed in the Access Network

Service providers around the globe have begun commercializing triple play services to better compete with cable and satellite operators. While this is helping boost average revenue per user (ARPU), it is placing unprecedented stress on the traditional high-speed Internet infrastructure. This article examines the issues of deploying triple play services - and, more specifically, the unique demands of IPTV service delivery. It illuminates the need for a transformation of the access network architecture toward Ethernet and IP technology for a solution that can bring together access, aggregation, edge, and subscriber service delivery while addressing cost, reliability, scalability, and quality of service requirements.
Tool Demo: Browsing Software Repositories

We demonstrate a tool for browsing large software repositories such as Github or Source Forge using all the facilities one normally associates with an integrated development environment. The tool integrates code search engines with the Code Bubbles development environment. It lets the user perform and compare multiple searches, investigate and explore the results that are returned, expand searches as necessary, and eventually export appropriate results.
Microbial Translocation Is Associated with Extensive Immune Activation in Dengue Virus Infected Patients with Severe Disease

Background Severe dengue virus (DENV) disease is associated with extensive immune activation, characterized by a cytokine storm. Previously, elevated lipopolysaccharide (LPS) levels in dengue were found to correlate with clinical disease severity. In the present cross-sectional study we identified markers of microbial translocation and immune activation, which are associated with severe manifestations of DENV infection. Methods Serum samples from DENV-infected patients were collected during the outbreak in 2010 in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. Levels of LPS, lipopolysaccharide binding protein (LBP), soluble CD14 (sCD14) and IgM and IgG endotoxin core antibodies were determined by ELISA. Thirty cytokines were quantified using a multiplex luminex system. Patients were classified according to the 2009 WHO classification and the occurrence of plasma leakage/shock and hemorrhage. Moreover, a (non-supervised) cluster analysis based on the expression of the quantified cytokines was applied to identify groups of patients with similar cytokine profiles. Markers of microbial translocation were linked to groups with similar clinical disease severity and clusters with similar cytokine profiles. Results Cluster analysis indicated that LPS levels were significantly increased in patients with a profound pro-inflammatory cytokine profile. LBP and sCD14 showed significantly increased levels in patients with severe disease in the clinical classification and in patients with severe inflammation in the cluster analysis. With both the clinical classification and the cluster analysis, levels of IL-6, IL-8, sIL-2R, MCP-1, RANTES, HGF, G-CSF and EGF were associated with severe disease. Conclusions The present study provides evidence that both microbial translocation and extensive immune activation occur during severe DENV infection and may play an important role in the pathogenesis.
Biologics: Targets & Therapy Dovepress

Dovepress Hepatitis B virus and Homo sapiens proteome-wide analysis: A profusion of viral peptide overlaps in neuron-specific human proteins Abstract: The primary amino acid sequence of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) proteome was searched for identity spots in the human proteome by using the Protein Information Resource database. We find that the HBV polyprotein shares sixty-five heptapeptides, one octapeptide, and one nonapeptide with the human proteins. The viral matches are disseminated among fundamental human proteins such as adhesion molecules, leukocyte differentiation antigens, enzymes, proteins associated with spermatogenesis, and transcription factors. As a datum of special interest, a number of peptide motifs are shared between the virus-and brain-specific antigens involved in neuronal protection. This study may help to evaluate the potential cross reactions and side effects of HBV antigen-based vaccines.
Repair of mitomycin C mono- and interstrand cross-linked DNA adducts by UvrABC: a new model

Mitomycin C induces both MC-mono-dG and cross-linked dG-adducts in vivo. Interstrand cross-linked (ICL) dG-MC-dG-DNA adducts can prevent strand separation. In Escherichia coli cells, UvrABC repairs ICL lesions that cause DNA bending. The mechanisms and consequences of NER of ICL dG-MC-dG lesions that do not induce DNA bending remain unclear. Using DNA fragments containing a MC-mono-dG or an ICL dG-MC-dG adduct, we found (i) UvrABC incises only at the strand containing MC-mono-dG adducts; (ii) UvrABC makes three types of incisions on an ICL dG-MC-dG adduct: type 1, a single 5′ incision on 1 strand and a 3′ incision on the other; type 2, dual incisions on 1 strand and a single incision on the other; and type 3, dual incisions on both strands; and (iii) the cutting kinetics of type 3 is significantly faster than type 1 and type 2, and all of 3 types of cutting result in producing DSB. We found that UvrA, UvrA + UvrB and UvrA + UvrB + UvrC bind to MC-modified DNA specifically, and we did not detect any UvrB- and UvrB + UvrC–DNA complexes. Our findings challenge the current UvrABC incision model. We propose that DSBs resulted from NER of ICL dG-MC-dG adducts contribute to MC antitumor activity and mutations.
ANN Model for Slabs in Reheating Furnace

The slab reheating in furnace can be modeled in the form of a partial differential equation. Artificial Neural Network based solutions are suggested as alternatives to numerical techniques. A trial solution of the differential equation is formed by embedding into it the boundary conditions. Then the network is trained to satisfy the differential equation. Simulated results are provided.
Role of CT colonography in colorectal cancer screening: risks and benefits

The purpose of this article is to review recent developments in the role of CT colonography with an emphasis on colorectal cancer screening. An introduction to the concept and method of CT colonography is given as well as a summary of the data on performance of CT colonography. Furthermore, details on side effects, efficacy and cost-effectiveness and the possible role of extracolonic findings are provided. The impact CTC could have on colonoscopy and other possible indications of the method are also mentioned.
The Deadbeat Paternal Effect of Uncapped Sperm Telomeres on Cell Cycle Progression and Chromosome Behavior in Drosophila melanogaster

Telomere-capping complexes (TCCs) protect the ends of linear chromosomes from illegitimate repair and end-to-end fusions and are required for genome stability. The identity and assembly of TCC components have been extensively studied, but whether TCCs require active maintenance in nondividing cells remains an open question. Here we show that Drosophila melanogaster requires Deadbeat (Ddbt), a sperm nuclear basic protein (SNBP) that is recruited to the telomere by the TCC and is required for TCC maintenance during genome-wide chromatin remodeling, which transforms spermatids to mature sperm. Ddbt-deficient males produce sperm lacking TCCs. Their offspring delay the initiation of anaphase as early as cycle 1 but progress through the first two cycles. Persistence of uncapped paternal chromosomes induces arrest at or around cycle 3. This early arrest can be rescued by selective elimination of paternal chromosomes and production of gynogenetic haploid or haploid mosaics. Progression past cycle 3 can also occur if embryos have reduced levels of the maternally provided checkpoint kinase Chk2. The findings provide insights into how telomere integrity affects the regulation of the earliest embryonic cell cycles. They also suggest that other SNBPs, including those in humans, may have analogous roles and manifest as paternal effects on embryo quality.
Salzburg Skiing for the Elderly Study: study design and intervention – health benefit of alpine skiing for elderly

The aim of this study was to monitor the long‐term effects of skiing on the health‐related parameters of older individuals. This paper describes the overall study design and the intervention phase. The study utilized a randomized control group design consisting of an intervention group (n=27; age: 67.5 ± 2.8 years) and a control group (n=20; age: 67.3 ± 4.4 years). Parameters of interest were measured during pre‐, post‐ and retention‐test sessions. The intervention phase lasted for 12 weeks, with an average of 28.5 days of guided skiing. Daily heart rate (HR) profiles and global positioning system data throughout the ski day were recorded. Perceived exertion levels as well as mood status of the subjects were recorded regularly. The intervention group completed an average of 4885 vertical meters of downhill skiing, with a total skiing distance of 40.5 km/day. In the skiing phase, the average physiological load was 72.4 ± 8.9% of HRmax. The dimension “positive mood” referred to skiing (on scale of 0–10), with an average value of 7.6 ± 1.7 after skiing. The dimension of “negative mood” was much less pronounced, having a mean of 1.1 ± 1.5 after skiing. Two subjects suffered injuries while falling during skiing. The effects of the 12‐week skiing intervention on the tested parameters will be reported in the following papers of this supplementum.
The Use of Latent Semantic Analysis in Operations Management Research

In this article, we introduce the use of Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA) as a technique for uncovering the intellectual structure of a discipline. LSA is an emerging quantitative method for content analysis that combines rigorous statistical techniques and scholarly judgment as it proceeds to extract and decipher key latent factors. We provide a stepwise explanation and illustration for implementing LSA. To demonstrate LSA's ability to uncover the intellectual structure of a discipline, we present a study of the field of Operations Management. We also discuss a number of potential applications of LSA to show how it can be used in empirical Operations Management research, specifically in areas that can benefit from analyzing large volumes of unstructured textual data.
Impact of Climate Change on Runoff in the Gilgel Abbay Watershed, the Upper Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia

Hydrological assessment is critical to the successful implementation of adaption measures. In this study, projections of seven global circulation models (GCMs) associated with high and medium–low Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP 8.5 and RCP 4.5) for the period 2021–2040 and 2081–2100 were adopted to assess changes on runoffs in the Gilgel Abbay watershed, the upper Blue Nile basin. A weather generator was employed to generate daily temperature and precipitation to drive a hydrological model for impact assessment. Despite the projected magnitude of changes varied among different GCMs and RCPs, increasing runoffs in wet-season and decreasing in dry-season are observed in both periods, mainly attributed to the change in projected precipitation. Such changes are profound in cases of RCP 8.5 with respect to those of RCP 4.5 and in cases of 2081–2100 with respect to those of 2021–2040. Although the increasing runoffs would provide greater inflow to Lake Tana, the increase of precipitation in wet-season would imply a higher possibility of flash floods. On the other hand, decrease runoffs in dry-season further intensify existing shortage of irrigation water demand. These changes will have deleterious consequences on the economic wellbeing of the country and require successful implementation of adaption measures to reduce vulnerability.
Permanent genetic memory with >-byte capacity

nAture methods | ADVANCE ONLINE PUBLICATION | Genetic memory enables the recording of information in the dnA of living cells. memory can record a transient environmental signal or cell state that is then recalled at a later time. Permanent memory is implemented using irreversible recombinases that invert the orientation of a unit of dnA, corresponding to the [0, ] state of a bit. to expand the memory capacity, we have applied bioinformatics to identify 34 phage integrases (and their cognate attB and attP recognition sites), from which we build memory switches that are perfectly orthogonal to each other and the Fime and hbiF bacterial invertases. using these switches, a memory array is constructed in Escherichia coli that can record . 375 bytes of information. it is demonstrated that the recombinases can be layered and used to permanently record the transient state of a transcriptional logic gate.
Prevention of Behavioral and Conduct Disorders: Trends and Research Issues

This paper discusses prevention of behavioral disorders through early intervention efforts. Recurrent themes in the area of prevention include (a) early intervention and family-focused prevention services, including assistance in parenting skills and accessing community-based services; (b) school-based prevention programs, including effective teaching practices, peer mediation, social skills intervention, self-management, and classroom management; and (c) within- and across-setting collaboration. Key areas for prevention research include universal prevention programs for at-risk groups, continued investigations of teacher and parent support systems, evaluation of prevention programs, and commitments for funding.
Secure Degrees of Freedom of One-Hop Wireless Networks With No Eavesdropper CSIT

We consider three channel models: the wiretap channel with <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$M$ </tex-math></inline-formula> helpers, the <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$K$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-user multiple access wiretap channel, and the <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$K$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-user interference channel with an external eavesdropper, when no eavesdropper’s channel state information (CSI) is available at the transmitters. In each case, we establish the optimal sum secure degrees of freedom (s.d.o.f.) by providing achievable schemes and matching converses. We show that the unavailability of the eavesdropper’s channel state information at the transmitter (CSIT) does not reduce the s.d. o.f. of the wiretap channel with helpers. However, there is loss in s.d. o.f. for both the multiple access wiretap channel and the interference channel with an external eavesdropper. In particular, we show that in the absence of eavesdropper’s CSIT, the <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$K$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-user multiple access wiretap channel reduces to a wiretap channel with <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$(K-1)$ </tex-math></inline-formula> helpers from a sum s.d. o.f. perspective, and the optimal sum s.d. o.f. reduces from <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\frac {K(K-1)}{K(K-1)+1}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> to <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\frac {K-1}{K}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>. For the interference channel with an external eavesdropper, the optimal sum s.d. o.f. decreases from <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\frac {K(K-1)}{2K-1}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> to <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\frac {K-1}{2}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> in the absence of the eavesdropper’s CSIT. Our results show that the lack of eavesdropper’s CSIT does not have a significant impact on the optimal s.d. o.f. for any of the three channel models, especially when the number of users is large. This implies that physical layer security can be made robust to the unavailability of eavesdropper CSIT at high signal-to-noise ratio regimes by the careful modification of the achievable schemes as demonstrated in this paper.
A note on the equivalence of the traceability properties of Reed-Solomon codes for certain coalition sizes

Fingerprinting codes are used to prevent dishonest users from redistributing copyrighted material. In this context, codes with the traceability (TA) property are of remarkable significance, since they provide an efficient way to identify traitors. Codes with the identifiable parent property (IPP) are also capable of identifying traitors, requiring less restrictive conditions than the TA codes at the expense of not having an efficient decoding algorithm, in the general case. Other codes that have been widely studied but possess a weaker traitor-tracing capability are the secure frameproof codes (SFP). It is a well-known result that TA implies IPP and IPP implies SFP. The converse is in general false. However, it has been conjectured that for Reed-Solomon codes all three properties are equivalent. In this paper we investigate this equivalence, and provide a positive answer for families of Reed-Solomon codes when the number of traitors divides the size of the code field.
System and method for baseband nearfield magentic stripe data transmitter

The present invention describes a system and a method for a baseband near-field magnetic stripe data transmitter (MST) device that transmits payment card data from a smart-phone, or other electronic device, into a Point of Sale (POS) transaction terminal. The MST device includes a driver and an inductor. The MST receives magnetic stripe data comprising payment card data, processes the received magnetic stripe data and emits high energy magnetic pulses comprising the processed magnetic stripe data that are then received remotely by the magnetic stripe reader of the POS.
Alterations of Peroxisome Proliferator-activated Receptor δ Activity Affect Fatty Acid-controlled Adipose Differentiation*

Fatty acids have been postulated to regulate adaptation of adipose mass to nutritional changes by controlling expression of genes implicated in lipid metabolism via activation of nuclear receptors. Ectopic expression of the nuclear receptors PPARγ or PPARδ promotes adipogenesis in fibroblastic cells exposed to thiazolidinediones or long-chain fatty acids. To investigate the role of PPARδ in fatty acid regulation of gene expression and adipogenesis in a preadipose cellular context, we studied the effects of overexpressing the native receptor or the dominant-negative PPARδ mutant in Ob1771 and 3T3-F442A cells. Overexpression of PPARδ enhanced fatty acid induction of the adipose-related genes for fatty acid translocase, adipocyte lipid binding protein, and PPARγ and fatty acid effects on terminal differentiation. A transactivation-deficient form of PPARδ mutated in the AF2 domain severely reduced these effects. Findings are similar in Ob1771 or 3T3-F442A preadipose cells. These data demonstrate that PPARδ plays a central role in fatty acid-controlled differentiation of preadipose cells. Furthermore, they suggest that modulation of PPARδ expression or activity could affect adaptive responses of white adipose tissue to nutritional changes.