Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension: time for research in pathophysiology to catch up with developments in treatment

The modern treatment era in chronic thromboembolic disease has seen significant advances in both surgical and medical treatment. One such treatment, the pulmonary endarterectomy (where established chronic organized thrombus is removed), has dramatically affected morbidity and mortality. These advances have outstripped basic research into the causes and pathophysiology of disease, which remain largely poorly understood. In this review, we will set out to explain some of the historical reasons for this, including the difficulties inherent in human studies and the lack of good animal models. We will review some of the recent advances in pathophysiology from registries and translational research, and we will summarize the treatment options, with some discussion of very recently published work, including medical and surgical treatments, both traditional and more experimental work in non-invasive techniques.
Comparative Therapeutic Effects of Plant-Extract Synthesized and Traditionally Synthesized Gold Nanoparticles on Alcohol-Induced Inflammatory Activity in SH-SY5Y Cells In Vitro

The present study describes potential beneficial and adverse effects of plant-extract synthesized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) on ethanol toxicity in SH-SY5Y cells. Although kudzu root extract (K), edible-gum extract (G), alone or in combination (KG), reduced Au3+ into AuNPs, the extract’s composition and the reaction temperature determined their size (AuNPKG(90<50<37) << AuNPK (90,50<37) < AuNPG (90<50); the subscript KG, K, or G is extract identification and numerical vales are reaction temperature in Celsius) and biological properties (AuNPKG (90,50>37) << AuNPK (90,50>37) < AuNPG (90,50)). The surface of each AuNP contained the extract’s active ingredients, that were analyzed and confirmed using laser desorption ionization (LDI)) and low-matrix laser desorption-ionization (LMALDI). AuNPKG-50 was (i) least toxic to SH-SY5Y cells, but most effective in suppressing the adverse effects of ethanol on SH-SY5Y cells, and (ii) more effective than a combination of free kudzu and gum extracts. The beneficial and adverse effects of AuNPs may have been modified by the formation of proteins corona. This study provides a proof of concept for possible application of plant-extract synthesized AuNPs in mitigating ethanol toxicity.
A Randomly Embedded Random Graph is Not a Spanner

Select n points uniformly at random from a unit square, and then form a random graph on these points by adding an edge joining each pair independently with probability p. We show that for every xed > 0, if p < 1 , then with probability approaching 1 as n becomes large, the resulting embedded graph has unbounded stretch factor.
Management of lung nodules detected by volume CT scanning.

BACKGROUND The use of multidetector computed tomography (CT) in lung-cancer screening trials involving subjects with an increased risk of lung cancer has highlighted the problem for the clinician of deciding on the best course of action when noncalcified pulmonary nodules are detected by CT. METHODS A total of 7557 participants underwent CT screening in years 1, 2, and 4 of a randomized trial of lung-cancer screening. We used software to evaluate a noncalcified nodule according to its volume or volume-doubling time. Growth was defined as an increase in volume of at least 25% between two scans. The first-round screening test was considered to be negative if the volume of a nodule was less than 50 mm(3), if it was 50 to 500 mm(3) but had not grown by the time of the 3-month follow-up CT, or if, in the case of those that had grown, the volume-doubling time was 400 days or more. RESULTS In the first and second rounds of screening, 2.6% and 1.8% of the participants, respectively, had a positive test result. In round one, the sensitivity of the screen was 94.6% (95% confidence interval [CI], 86.5 to 98.0) and the negative predictive value 99.9% (95% CI, 99.9 to 100.0). In the 7361 subjects with a negative screening result in round one, 20 lung cancers were detected after 2 years of follow-up. CONCLUSIONS Among subjects at high risk for lung cancer who were screened in three rounds of CT scanning and in whom noncalcified pulmonary nodules were evaluated according to volume and volume-doubling time, the chances of finding lung cancer 1 and 2 years after a negative first-round test were 1 in 1000 and 3 in 1000, respectively. (Current Controlled Trials number, ISRCTN63545820.)
Homocysteine level and other biochemical parameters in cardiovascular disease patients with diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND Atherosclerosis is the main cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in many countries. It is believed that hyperhomocysteinemia is a risk factor for premature atherosclerosis and other cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in both men and women. MATERIAL/METHODS Plasma samples from 31 non-CVD and 51 CVD patients with diabetes were studied. Informed consent was obtained from all subjects. Blood samples were collected after overnight fasting. Total homocysteine (H [e]), the levels of high and low density lipoproteins (HDL, LDL), total cholesterol, urea and creatinine were determined with commercial kits. RESULTS The levels of homocysteine, vitamin B12, creatinine, and urea in CVD patients were significantly higher than those found in the normal subjects. On the other hand, the levels of folic acid, HDL and LDL were lower in CVD patients than in normal subjects. Interestingly, a linear relationship was found between the levels of homocysteine and total cholesterol in CVD samples, whereas no such linear relationship was present in normal subjects. CONCLUSIONS The level of homocysteine in plasma is known to be mainly dependent on the levels of folic acid and vitamin B12. However, in the present study the level of homocysteine in the plasma of CVD patients is dependent on the level of folic acid and not on the level of vitamin B12. Subjects with high homocysteine levels should be advised to consume a folic acid-fortified diet in order to reduce the homocysteine level in patients at high risk for cardiovascular disease.
Multilevel Suspended Thin-Film Inductors on Silicon Wafers

Single-level and double-level (DL) suspended inductors on low-resistivity silicon wafers were successfully fabricated and characterized in the multigigahertz frequency range. Three-dimensional suspended inductor structures were realized by a sacrificial molding and electroplating technique. The multilevel suspended inductor structure can reduce the capacitive coupling with the silicon substrate effectively and achieve a large inductance-to-area ratio. It is found that the DL suspended inductor was able to achieve a peak quality factor of 27.7 with an inductance of 8.35 nH, leading to a rather high figure-of-merit of 841 nH/mm2 by considering the inductor lateral dimensions. The DL suspended inductor was also encapsulated by a polyimide layer to investigate the influence of interlayer dielectric on the inductor properties
Aging modifies the effect of cardiac output on middle cerebral artery blood flow velocity

An association between cerebral blood flow (CBF) and cardiac output (CO) has been established in young healthy subjects. As of yet it is unclear how this association evolves over the life span. To that purpose, we continuously recorded mean arterial pressure (MAP; finger plethysmography), CO (pulse contour; CO‐trek), mean blood flow velocity in the middle cerebral artery (MCAV; transcranial Doppler ultrasonography), and end‐tidal CO2 partial pressure (PetCO2) in healthy young (19–27 years), middle‐aged (51–61 years), and elderly subjects (70–79 years). Decreases and increases in CO were accomplished using lower body negative pressure and dynamic handgrip exercise, respectively. Aging in itself did not alter dynamic cerebral autoregulation or cerebrovascular CO2 reactivity. A linear relation between changes in CO and MCAVmean was observed in middle‐aged (P < 0.01) and elderly (P = 0.04) subjects but not in young (P = 0.45) subjects, taking concurrent changes in MAP and PetCO2 into account. These data imply that with aging, brain perfusion becomes increasingly dependent on CO.
Uncertain Multi-Task Learning and Its Applications in Index Forecasting

When monitoring, controlling or optimizing complex processes, people try to forecast some concerned key indices, such as product quality. However, in practical applications, small sample size problem and data uncertainty affect the accuracy of forecasting. In this paper, a novel Index Forecasting algorithm is proposed called Uncertain Multi-Task Learning (UMTL), in which similar forecasting problems are modeled cooperatively so as to overcome the small sample size problem. Data uncertainty is estimated based on experiences or prior knowledge and is handled through chance constraints. Specifically, in UMTL, the differences among model parameters are limited to be sparse through the non-convex L_0 norm. For the purpose of computation, according to the Markov inequality, the designed chance constraints are converted into second order cone constraints. The entire non-convex constraint optimization problem of UMTL is solved through the Difference of Convex function Algorithm. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated via numerical simulations.
Modified Cp Criterion for Optimizing Ridge and Smooth Parameters in the MGR Estimator for the Nonparametric GMANOVA Model

Longitudinal trends of observations can be estimated using the generalized multivariate analysis of variance (GMANOVA) model proposed by [10]. In the present paper, we consider estimating the trends nonparametrically using known basis functions. Then, as in nonparametric regression, an overfitting problem occurs. [13] showed that the GMANOVA model is equivalent to the varying coefficient model with non-longitudinal covariates. Hence, as in the case of the ordinary linear regression model, when the number of covariates becomes large, the estimator of the varying coefficient becomes unstable. In the present paper, we avoid the overfitting problem and the instability problem by applying the concept behind penalized smoothing spline regression and multivariate generalized ridge regression. In addition, we propose two criteria to optimize hyper parameters, namely, a smoothing parameter and ridge parameters. Finally, we compare the ordinary least square estimator and the new estimator.
Radiative forcing and climate response

We examine the sensitivity of a climate model to a wide range of radiative forcings, including changes of solar irradiance, atmospheric CO2, O3, CFCs, clouds, aerosols, surface albedo, and a “ghost” forcing introduced at arbitrary heights, latitudes, longitudes, seasons, and times of day. We show that, in general, the climate response, specifically the global mean temperature change, is sensitive to the altitude, latitude, and nature of the forcing; that is, the response to a given forcing can vary by 50% or more depending upon characteristics of the forcing other than its magnitude measured in watts per square meter. The consistency of the response among different forcings is higher, within 20% or better, for most of the globally distributed forcings suspected of influencing global mean temperature in the past century, but exceptions occur for certain changes of ozone or absorbing aerosols, for which the climate response is less well behaved. In all cases the physical basis for the variations of the response can be understood. The principal mechanisms involve alterations of lapse rate and decrease (increase) of large-scale cloud cover in layers that are preferentially heated (cooled). Although the magnitude of these effects must be model-dependent, the existence and sense of the mechanisms appear to be reasonable. Overall, we reaffirm the value of the radiative forcing concept for predicting climate response and for comparative studies of different forcings; indeed, the present results can help improve the accuracy of such analyses and define error estimates. Our results also emphasize the need for measurements having the specificity and precision needed to define poorly known forcings such as absorbing aerosols and ozone change. Available data on aerosol single scatter albedo imply that anthropogenic aerosols cause less cooling than has commonly been assumed. However, negative forcing due to the net ozone change since 1979 appears to have counterbalanced 30–50% of the positive forcing due to the increase of well-mixed greenhouse gases in the same period. As the net ozone change includes halogen-driven ozone depletion with negative radiative forcing and a tropospheric ozone increase with positive radiative forcing, it is possible that the halogen-driven ozone depletion has counterbalanced more than half of the radiative forcing due to well-mixed greenhouse gases since 1979.
Calibration of Non-overlapping Cameras Using an External SLAM System

We present a simple method for calibrating a set of cameras that may not have overlapping field of views. We reduce the problem of calibrating the non-overlapping cameras to the problem of localizing the cameras with respect to a global 3D model reconstructed with a simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) system. Specifically, we first reconstruct such a global 3D model by using a SLAM system using an RGB-D sensor. We then perform localization and intrinsic parameter estimation for each camera by using 2D-3D correspondences between the camera and the 3D model. Our method locates the cameras within the 3D model, which is useful for visually inspecting camera poses and provides a model-guided browsing interface of the images. We demonstrate the advantages of our method using several indoor scenes.
Fatal Case of West Nile Neuroinvasive Disease in Bulgaria

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New Algorithms for Designing Unimodular Sequences With Good Correlation Properties

Unimodular (i.e., constant modulus) sequences with good autocorrelation properties are useful in several areas, including communications and radar. The integrated sidelobe level (ISL) of the correlation function is often used to express the goodness of the correlation properties of a given sequence. In this paper, we present several cyclic algorithms for the local minimization of ISL-related metrics. These cyclic algorithms can be initialized with a good existing sequence such as a Golomb sequence, a Frank sequence, or even a (pseudo)random sequence. To illustrate the performance of the proposed algorithms, we present a number of examples, including the design of sequences that have virtually zero autocorrelation sidelobes in a specified lag interval and of long sequences that could hardly be handled by means of other algorithms previously suggested in the literature.
Frafall i videregående skole og lokale arbeidsmarkedsforhold

Denne artikkelen ser på forholdet mellom frafall i videregående skole og situasjonen på det lokale arbeidsmarkedet. Er det slik at ungdom i større grad dropper ut av videregående skole i gode tider, når det er lett å få seg jobb, enn i dårlige tider, når det er vanskelig å få seg jobb? Situasjonen på arbeidsmarkedet måles ved hjelp av andelen ledige som går ut fra ledighet og inn i jobb – et mål som er konsistent med den kortsiktige tidshorisonten som kjennetegner ungdom. Resultatene bekrefter en positiv sammenheng mellom sysselsettingsmuligheter og frafall: Når andelen ledige som går ut i jobb øker med én prosent, øker sannsynligheten for å droppe ut med mellom 0,1–0,4 prosent. Effekten er størst for elever som starter en allmennfaglig studieretning, men mye tyder på at effekten for yrkesfag motvirkes av at det er færre lærlingplasser i dårlige tider.
When does Strategic Debt-service Matter?

Recent work in corporate finance has suggested that strategic debt-service by equity-holders works to lower debt values and raise yield spreads substantially. We show that this is not quite correct. With optimal cash management, defaults occassioned by deliberate underperformance (strategic defaults) and those forced by inadequate cash (liquidity defaults) work as substitutes: allowing for strategic debt-service leads to a decline in the equilibrium likelihood of liquidity defaults. In some cases, this decline is sufficiently sharp that equilibrium debt values actually increase and yield spreads decline. We provide an intuitive explanation for these results in terms of an interaction of optionalities
Pre-fledgling oxidative damage predicts recruitment in a long-lived bird

Empirical evidence has shown that stressful conditions experienced during development may exert long-term negative effects on life-history traits. Although it has been suggested that oxidative stress has long-term effects, little is known about delayed consequences of oxidative stress experienced early in life in fitness-related traits. Here, we tested whether oxidative stress during development has long-term effects on a life-history trait directly related to fitness in three colonies of European shags Phalacrocorax aristotelis. Our results revealed that recruitment probability decreased with oxidative damage during the nestling period; oxidative damage, in turn, was related to the level of antioxidant capacity. Our results suggest a link between oxidative stress during development and survival to adulthood, a key element of population dynamics.
Epithelial-mesenchymal transition in breast cancer relates to the basal-like phenotype.

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is defined by the loss of epithelial characteristics and the acquisition of a mesenchymal phenotype. In carcinoma cells, EMT can be associated with increased aggressiveness, and invasive and metastatic potential. To assess the occurrence of EMT in human breast tumors, we conducted a tissue microarray-based immunohistochemical study in 479 invasive breast carcinomas and 12 carcinosarcomas using 28 different markers. Unsupervised hierarchical clustering of the tumors and statistical analysis showed that up-regulation of EMT markers (vimentin, smooth-muscle-actin, N-cadherin, and cadherin-11) and overexpression of proteins involved in extracellular matrix remodeling and invasion (SPARC, laminin, and fascin), together with reduction of characteristic epithelial markers (E-cadherin and cytokeratins), preferentially occur in breast tumors with the "basal-like phenotype. " Moreover, most breast carcinosarcomas also had a basal-like phenotype and showed expression of mesenchymal markers in their sarcomatous and epithelial components. To assess whether basal-like cells have intrinsic phenotypic plasticity for mesenchymal transition, we performed in vitro studies with the MCF10A cell line. In response to low cell density, MCF10A cells suffer spontaneous morphologic and phenotypic EMT-like changes, including cytoskeleton reorganization, vimentin and Slug up-regulation, cadherin switching, and diffuse cytosolic relocalization of the catenins. Moreover, these phenotypic changes are associated with modifications in the global genetic differentiation program characteristic of the EMT process. In summary, our data indicate that in breast tumors, EMT likely occurs within a specific genetic context, the basal phenotype, and suggests that this proclivity to mesenchymal transition may be related to the high aggressiveness and the characteristic metastatic spread of these tumors.
Actual use of a front-of-pack nutrition logo in the supermarket: consumers’ motives in food choice

Abstract Objective A front-of-pack nutrition logo on products with relatively favourable product compositions might help consumers to make more healthful choices. Studies investigating actual nutrition label use in point-of-purchase settings are scarce. The present study investigates the use of the ‘Choices’ nutrition logo in Dutch supermarkets. Design Adults were asked to complete a validated questionnaire about motivation for food choice and their purchased products were scored for the Choices logo after they had done their shopping. Setting Nine supermarkets in The Netherlands. Subjects A total of 404 respondents participated. Results Of the respondents, 62 % reported familiarity with the logo. The motivations for food choice that were positively associated with actually purchasing products with the logo were attention to ‘weight control’ and ‘product information’. The food choice motive ‘hedonism’ was negatively associated with purchasing products with the logo. Conclusions This is the first study to investigate actual use of the Choices logo. In order to stimulate consumers to purchase more products with a favourable product composition, extra attention should be paid to hedonistic aspects such as the tastefulness and the image of healthy products.