Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Moyamoya Disease among Young Patients: Its Aggressive Clinical Course and the Role of Active Surgical Treatment

OBJECTIVEThe prognosis for moyamoya disease (MMD) among young patients is known to be worse than that among older patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical features and treatment outcomes of young patients with MMD. METHODSA total of 204 patients with MMD who underwent encephaloduroarteriosynangiosis, with or without bifrontal encephalogaleosynangiosis, were categorized into three groups according to their ages at the time of surgery, i.e., Group A (n = 23, <3 yr of age), Group B (n = 50, 3–6 yr of age), and Group C (n = 131, >6 yr of age). For each group, patterns of presentation and the occurrence of subsequent preoperative or surgery-related infarctions were assessed. Clinical outcomes and postoperative hemodynamic status were analyzed. RESULTSAt initial presentation, infarctions were significantly more frequent in Group A (87%) and Group B (58%) than in Group C (46%). Subsequent preoperative infarctions occurred significantly more frequently in Group A (39%) than in Group B (6%) or Group C (0.8%). The median interval between the onset of symptoms and a subsequent preoperative infarction was 3 months (range, 1–14 mo). No significant difference in the rates of surgery-related infarctions among the three groups was observed. The rate of favorable clinical outcomes was significantly lower in Group A (58%) than in Group B (84%) or Group C (86%), although the rates of postoperative hemodynamic improvements were similar among the groups. The poor clinical outcomes for Group A were caused mainly by preoperative infarctions. CONCLUSIONYoung-age MMD demonstrates rapid disease progression and results in poor clinical outcomes. These findings indicate the necessity of early surgery for young patients with MMD; however, the actual benefits should be verified with additional controlled studies, with long-term follow-up monitoring.
Turn Back the Clock: Time Reversal for Green Radio Communications

In this article, time reversal (TR) signal processing techniques are studied and evaluated over novel realistic green use cases. The principles of TR are first explained and practical use cases for green communications are designed considering long-term evolution-advanced coordinated multipoint (LTE-A CoMP) transmission/reception, fast session transfer (FST) extensions, and multiradio access technology (multi-RAT) architectures foreseen as promising green networks. Related to the FST use case, a propagation analysis of mixed indoor and outdoor channels is carried out, and dedicated TR use cases are defined to identify the limitations and advantages of TR in a green radio context: frequency selectivity and bandwidth size influence, number of antennas, Doppler effect impact, antenna mismatch alignment, and synchronization problems. Such use cases are used to provide guidelines concerning the use of TR techniques. Some performance statistics are then given to stress the advantages of TR in a green radio communications context.
On the Performance of Nyquist-WDM Terabit Superchannels Based on PM-BPSK, PM-QPSK, PM-8QAM or PM-16QAM Subcarriers

We investigated through simulations the performance of Nyquist-WDM Terabit superchannels implemented using polarization-multiplexed phase shift-keying based on 2 (PM-BPSK) and 4 (PM-QPSK) signal points or polarization-multiplexed quadrature amplitude modulation based on 8 (PM-8QAM) and 16 (PM-16QAM) signal points. Terabit superchannels are obtained through the aggregation of multiple subcarriers using the Nyquist-WDM technique, based on a tight spectral shaping of each subcarrier which allows very narrow spacing. We first studied the optimum transmitter/receiver filtering in a back-to-back configuration. Then we investigated the maximum reach for different spectral efficiencies, after nonlinear propagation over uncompensated links with lumped amplification. Performance for systems based on both standard single-mode fiber (SSMF) and large effective area non-zero dispersion-shifted fiber (NZDSF) has been analyzed. Assuming SSMF with 25-dB span loss, we found that PM-BPSK can reach 6480 km at a net capacity of 4 Tb/s across the C band. Conversely, PM-16QAM can deliver 27 Tb/s, but over 270 km only. Note that a lower span length, the use of Raman amplification and/or pure silica-core fibers (PSCFs) can significantly increase the maximum reach, but without changing the hierarchy among the performance of modulation formats. We also show that the maximum reachable distance is approximately 2/3 of the one achievable in linear propagation at the optimum launch power, regardless of the modulation format, spacing and fiber type. As additional results, we also verified that the optimum launch power per subcarrier linearly depends on the span loss, varies with the fiber type, but it is independent of the modulation format, and that the relationship between the maximum reachable distance and the span loss is almost linear.
Reduction of broad-band noise in speech by truncated QSVD

We consider an algorithm for reduction of broadband noise in speech based on signal subspaces. The algorithm is formulated by means of the quotient singular value decomposition (QSVD). With this formulation, a prewhitening operation becomes an integral part of the algorithm. We demonstrate that this is essential in connection with updating issues in real-time recursive applications. We also illustrate by examples that we are able to achieve a satisfactory quality of the reconstructed signal.
Structural Maintenance of Chromosomes Protein of Bacillussubtilis Affects Supercoiling In Vivo

ABSTRACT Structural maintenance of chromosomes (SMC) proteins are found in nearly all organisms. Members of this protein family are involved in chromosome condensation and sister chromatid cohesion. Bacillussubtilis SMC protein (BsSMC) plays a role in chromosome organization and partitioning. To better understand the function of BsSMC, we studied the effects of an smc null mutation on DNA supercoiling in vivo. We found that an smc null mutant was hypersensitive to the DNA gyrase inhibitors coumermycin A1 and norfloxacin. Furthermore, depleting cells of topoisomerase I substantially suppressed the partitioning defect of an smc null mutant. Plasmid DNA isolated from an smc null mutant was more negatively supercoiled than that from wild-type cells. In vivo cross-linking experiments indicated that BsSMC was bound to the plasmid. Our results indicate that BsSMC affects supercoiling in vivo, most likely by constraining positive supercoils, an activity which contributes to chromosome compaction and organization.
Instantaneous Microwave Transmission Imaging of Aqueous Samples

We report on instantaneous microwave transmission imaging experiments using a photonic technique. A high-resolution electro-optic (EO) camera we developed was used as a microwave image sensor under near-field conditions. Microwave transmission images of water capsules could be depicted with 10,000 pixels in less than one second. The images using a combination of the observed microwave intensity and phase showed higher contrast. The spatial resolution was as fine as one tenth of the microwave wavelength. Our system is potentially applicable to microwave transmission imaging of aqueous objects and their diagnoses.
Code Reviews Do Not Find Bugs. How the Current Code Review Best Practice Slows Us Down

Because of its many uses and benefits, code reviews are a standard part of the modern software engineering workflow. Since they require involvement of people, code reviewing is often the longest part of the code integration activities. Using experience gained at Microsoft and with support of data, we posit (1) that code reviews often do not find functionality issues that should block a code submission; (2) that effective code reviews should be performed by people with specific set of skills; and (3) that the social aspect of code reviews cannot be ignored. We find that we need to be more sophisticated with our guidelines for the code review workflow. We show how our findings from code reviewing practice influence our code review tools at Microsoft. Finally, we assert that, due to its costs, code reviewing practice is a topic deserving to be better understood, systematized and applied to software engineering workflow with more precision than the best practice currently prescribes.
Regional and time‐dependent neuroprotective effect of hypothermia following oxygen‐glucose deprivation

The neuroprotective effect of hypothermia has been demonstrated in in vivo and in vitro models of cerebral ischemia. In regard to the hippocampus, previous studies have mainly focused on CA1 pyramidal neurons, which are very vulnerable to ischemia. But the dentate gyrus (DG), in which neuronal proliferation occurs, can also be damaged by ischemia. In this study, we explored the neuroprotective effect of postischemic hypothermia in different areas of the hippocampus after mild or severe ischemia. Organotypic hippocampal slice cultures were prepared from 6‐ to 8‐day‐old rats and maintained for 12 days. Cultures were exposed to 25 or 35 min of oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD). Neuronal damage was quantified after 6, 24, 48, and 72 h by propidium iodide fluorescence. Mild hypothermia (33°C) was induced 1 h after the end of OGD and was maintained for a period of 24 h. Short OGD produced delayed neuronal damage in the CA1 area and in the DG and to a lesser extend in the CA3 area. Damage in CA1 pyramidal cells was totally prevented by hypothermia whereas neuroprotection was limited in the DG. Thirty‐five‐minute OGD induced more rapid and more severe cell death in the three regions. In this case, hypothermia induced 1 h after OGD was unable to protect CA1 pyramidal cells whereas hypothermia induced during OGD was able to prevent cell loss. This study provides evidence that neuroprotection by hypothermia is limited to specific areas and depends on the severity of the ischemia. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Modulation by Trace Amine-Associated Receptor 1 of Experimental Parkinsonism, l-DOPA Responsivity, and Glutamatergic Neurotransmission

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a movement disorder characterized by a progressive loss of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons. Restoration of dopamine transmission by l-DOPA relieves symptoms of PD but causes dyskinesia. Trace Amine-Associated Receptor 1 (TAAR1) modulates dopaminergic transmission, but its role in experimental Parkinsonism and l-DOPA responses has been neglected. Here, we report that TAAR1 knock-out (KO) mice show a reduced loss of dopaminergic markers in response to intrastriatal 6-OHDA administration compared with wild-type (WT) littermates. In contrast, the TAAR1 agonist RO5166017 aggravated degeneration induced by intrastriatal 6-OHDA in WT mice. Subchronic l-DOPA treatment of TAAR1 KO mice unilaterally lesioned with 6-OHDA in the medial forebrain bundle resulted in more pronounced rotational behavior and dyskinesia than in their WT counterparts. The enhanced behavioral sensitization to l-DOPA in TAAR1 KO mice was paralleled by increased phosphorylation of striatal GluA1 subunits of AMPA receptors. Conversely, RO5166017 counteracted both l-DOPA-induced rotation and dyskinesia as well as AMPA receptor phosphorylation. Underpinning a role for TAAR1 receptors in modulating glutamate neurotransmission, intrastriatal application of RO5166017 prevented the increase of evoked corticostriatal glutamate release provoked by dopamine deficiency after 6-OHDA-lesions or conditional KO of Nurr1. Finally, inhibition of corticostriatal glutamate release by TAAR1 showed mechanistic similarities to that effected by activation of dopamine D2 receptors. These data unveil a role for TAAR1 in modulating the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons, the behavioral response to l-DOPA, and presynaptic and postsynaptic glutamate neurotransmission in the striatum, supporting their relevance to the pathophysiology and, potentially, management of PD. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by a progressive loss of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons. Restoration of dopamine transmission by l-DOPA relieves symptoms of PD but causes severe side effects. Trace Amine-Associated Receptor 1 (TAAR1) modulates dopaminergic transmission, but its role in PD and l-DOPA responses has been neglected. Here, we report that TAAR1 potentiates the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons and attenuates the behavioral response to l-DOPA and presynaptic and postsynaptic glutamate neurotransmission in the striatum, supporting the relevance of TAAR1 to the pathophysiology and, potentially, management of PD.
Fast frequency domain tools for system analysis of EMI/EMC topologies

With the increased use of wireless devices and applications, coupling and interference in electronic devices due to either intentional or un-intentional electromagnetic sources is of increased concern. Such sources can cause sufficient disruption to the circuit or chip logic to the point where the functionality and logic state of the electronic device can be altered due to such extraneous sources. In this paper, we employ fast EM algorithms such as the multilevel fast multipole moment method (MLFMM) and the hybrid finite-element boundary-integral (FE-BI) method for the analysis of coupling from external sources into realistic geometries. Specifically, the MLFMM is employed to analyze large-scale problems such as vehicular structures whereas the FE-BI method is used to analyze volumetric structures with dielectric media such as printed circuit boards. In this paper, the method of moments (MoM) accelerated by MLFMM is employed to analyze for the fields within an automobile chassis in the presence or absence of a wire harness and for different aperture sizes. The employed FE-BI method focuses on the analysis of plane wave illumination onto passive circuit geometries such as the microstrip interdigital filter and active circuit topologies like an active microstrip low noise amplifier.
Inherited erythermalgia

Background: Inherited erythermalgia (also termed “erythromelalgia”), characterized by episodic burning pain in the distal extremities evoked by warmth, has been causally linked with mutations of the Nav1.7 sodium channel, which is preferentially expressed in nociceptors. Thus far, Nav1.7 mutations within intracellular linker parts of the channel have been physiologically characterized. Objective: To investigate a Nav1.7 erythermalgia mutation that substitutes one uncharged amino acid for another within an S4 segment. Methods: Whole-cell patch-clamp analysis was used to study biophysical properties of wild-type and mutant (F216S) Nav1.7 channels in mammalian cells. Results: The F216S mutation hyperpolarizes the voltage dependence of activation by 11 mV, accelerates activation, slows deactivation, and enhances the response to slow, small depolarizations. Conclusion: These results provide a physiologic basis for the linkage to erythermalgia of an Nav1.7 mutation that substitutes one uncharged residue for another within an S4 segment of the channel. These changes should increase excitability of nociceptive dorsal root ganglion neurons in which the mutant channel is present, thus contributing to pain.
Twin‐track studies of ifosfamide and mitoxantrone (I‐M) in recurrent high grade non‐hodgkin's lymphoma and hodgkin's disease

Fifty‐seven patients, initially diagnosed as having advanced high grade non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) or Hodgkin's disease (HD) refractory to first‐line treatment or in relapse, were treated with ifosfamide 6 g/m2, infused over 48 h, followed by mitoxantrone 12 mg/m2. The regimen repeated at three‐weekly intervals. Of 33 patients with NHL evaluable for response, 10 (30 per cent) achieved complete remission and six partial remission, giving an overall response rate of 48 per cent. Two patients subsequently went on to bone marrow transplant (BMT)—one allogeneic and the other autologous. Of 18 patients with HD evaluable for response, seven (39 per cent) achieved complete remission and six partial remission, giving an overall response rate of 72 per cent. Two of this group also went on to BMT (both autografts). The principal toxicity was neutropenia, though central nervous system changes were observed in 10 patients. The possibility of increasing the safety of the regimen by increasing the time of infusion to 72 h is discussed. Given the need to offer alternative treatment to patients in these categories, this combination (I‐M) is of value in relapsed patients, especially where options are limited because of previous multi‐drug treatment. Remissions may not be prolonged but allow the effective application of additional intensive treatment including bone marrow transplantation.
Superradiant emission from Bloch oscillations in semiconductor superlattices.

The superradiant character of submillimeter-wave emission from optically excited electronic Bloch oscillations in a GaAs/AlxGa12xAs superlattice is investigated by time-resolved terahertz emission spectroscopy. The intensity of the radiation and its decay time are studied as a function of the density of excited charge carriers. From the measured emission efficiency, the spatial amplitude of the charge oscillations is estimated. @S0163-1829~96! 52144-2#
Chronic orofacial pain in southern Chinese people: experience, associated disability, and help-seeking response.

AIMS To investigate chronic orofacial pain experience, psychosocial impact, and help-seeking response in adult Chinese people in Hong Kong. METHODS A cross-sectional population-based telephone interview survey identified 1352 randomly selected people aged > or =18 years. Standard questions were asked about current or episodic and prior (> or = 6 months) experience of 7 orofacial pain symptoms. Pain intensity and psychosocial impact were assessed through the Graded Chronic Pain Scale, and the help-seeking response was assessed using the 4-item Level of Expressed Need (LEN) measure. RESULTS Current or episodic symptoms of orofacial pain were reported by 57.0% of respondents, and 13.2% of this group reported symptoms that had lasted for a 6 months (chronic subgroup). In the chronic subgroup, toothache was the most common symptom (42.2%) and oral sores the least common (7.8%). The mean pain intensity in the chronic pain subgroup was 46.6 (SD 21.7) with no age or gender differences (P > .05); 88.2% had low disability levels and 11.8% had high levels. 81.4% had low LEN scores and 18.6% had high scores, with no age/gender differences (P > .05). CONCLUSION The prevalence of current/episodic orofacial pain was relatively high, whereas chronic orofacial pain was much less common. Although the intensity of chronic orofacial pain was significant, associated psychosocial disability was low, as was the level of perceived need for treatment. These findings may be related to more effective pain-coping strategies and greater acceptance of pain in this ethnic group compared to other ethnic groups.
Evolutionary relationships among extradiol dioxygenases

A structure-validated alignment of 35 extradiol dioxygenase sequences including two-domain and one-domain enzymes was derived. Strictly conserved residues include the metal ion ligands and several catalytically essential active site residues, as well as a number of structurally important residues that are remote from the active site. Phylogenetic analyses based on this alignment indicate that the ancestral extradiol dioxygenase was a one-domain enzyme and that the two-domain enzymes arose from a single genetic duplication event. Subsequent divergence among the two-domain dioxygenases has resulted in several families, two of which are based on substrate preference. In several cases, the two domains of a given enzyme express different phylogenies, suggesting the possibility that such enzymes arose from the recombination of genes encoding different dioxygenases. A phylogeny-based classification system for extradiol dioxygenases is proposed.
HC-MOEA: A hierarchical clustering approach for increasing the solution's diversity in multiobjective evolutionary algorithms

Recently, Indicator-based Evolutionary Algorithms are considered the main issue for researchers in the evolutionary multi-objective frameworks. Due to the capability of the Indicator-based approaches in obtaining a finest non-dominated solutions and the potential of these approaches on achieving the well-distributed solutions, these approaches become popular among modern Multi-Objective Evolutionary Algorithms (MOEAs). Most modern MOEAs are intended to converge to the Pareto optimal front through preserving the population diversity in the objective space. In this regard, the intention of this work is presenting a novel MOEA to enhance the population diversity among the non-dominated vectors in the solution space. The idea of this method is inspired by the Hierarchical clustering. In this attitude, an adept approach is planned to present a new indicator as a selection method during the optimization cycle. The gain of this technique is a desirable set with more diverse solutions in the solution space during the environmental selection operator. In the last part, this work also improved the rate of the convergence by introducing a parent selection mechanism. The selection method is simple and effective, which is worked base on the selection of proper members of parents’ population instead of a random mechanism. This bright parent selection is adopted to accelerate the convergence of the proposed method. This work is applied to a wide range of well-established test problems. The obtained results validate the motivation on the basis of diversity and performance measures in comparison with the state of the art algorithms.
Body mass index is not associated with cytokine induction during experimental human endotoxemia

A higher body mass index (BMI) appears to be associated with lower mortality in critically ill patients, possibly explained by an altered innate immune response. However, the precise relationship between BMI and the innate immune response in humans in vivo is unknown. We investigated the relationship between BMI and the systemic cytokine response during experimental human endotoxemia. Endotoxemia was induced in 112 healthy male volunteers by intravenous administration of 2 ng/kg Escherichia coli endotoxin. Plasma concentrations of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-10 and IL-1RA were serially determined. The relationship between BMI and the cytokine response, as well as body temperature, was investigated. The BMIs of the participants ranged from 18.3 to 33.6 kg/m2, (median: 22.7 kg/m2). All participants showed a marked increase in plasma cytokine levels [median (interquartile range)] peak levels: TNF-α 509 (353–673) pg/ml; IL-6 757 (522–1098) pg/ml; IL-10 271 (159–401) pg/ml; IL-1RA 4882 (3927–6025) pg/ml; and an increase in body temperature [1.8(1.4–2.2)℃] during endotoxemia. No significant correlations were found between BMI and levels of any of the cytokines or body temperature. No relationship between BMI and the cytokine response was found in healthy volunteers subjected to experimental endotoxemia. These data question the relationship between BMI and cytokine responses in critical illness.
A consolidated methodology for business process reengineering

Business process reengineering (BPR) advocates the redesign of business processes using enabling information systems (IS) to achieve dramatic improvement in business performance. The great interest in BPR has resulted in a rapid explosion of BPR models, methodologies, tools and techniques. The plethora of published literature is huge and potentially confusing to both researchers and practitioners. This paper proposes a framework to organise the published literature. It then consolidates the various BPR methodologies, tools, techniques, and critical success factors into a generic BPR methodology that will be useful to managers interested in reengineering their firms. The consolidated BPR methodology presents a more complete approach to BPR.