Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cardiovascular complications of cirrhosis

Cardiovascular complications of cirrhosis include cardiac dysfunction and abnormalities in the central, splanchnic and peripheral circulation, and haemodynamic changes caused by humoral and nervous dysregulation. Cirrhotic cardiomyopathy implies systolic and diastolic dysfunction and electrophysiological abnormalities, an entity that is different from alcoholic heart muscle disease. Being clinically latent, cirrhotic cardiomyopathy can be unmasked by physical or pharmacological strain. Consequently, caution should be exercised in the case of stressful procedures, such as large volume paracentesis without adequate plasma volume expansion, transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) insertion, peritoneovenous shunting and surgery. Cardiac failure is an important cause of mortality after liver transplantation, but improved liver function has also been shown to reverse the cardiac abnormalities. No specific treatment can be recommended, and cardiac failure should be treated as in non-cirrhotic patients with sodium restriction, diuretics, and oxygen therapy when necessary. Special care should be taken with the use of ACE inhibitors and angiotensin antagonists in these patients. The clinical significance of cardiovascular complications and cirrhotic cardiomyopathy is an important topic for future research, and the initiation of new randomised studies of potential treatments for these complications is needed.
Adding the Team into T1 Translational Research: A Case Study of Multidisciplinary Team Science in the Evaluation of Biomarkers of Prostate Cancer Risk and Prognosis.

BACKGROUND Given translational research challenges, multidisciplinary team science is promoted to increase the likelihood of moving from discovery to health effect. We present a case study documenting the utility of multidisciplinary team science in prostate cancer tissue biomarker validation. METHODS We used primary data generated by a team consisting of a pathologist, cancer biologists, a biostatistician, and epidemiologists. We examined their contributions by phase of biomarker evaluation to identify when, through the practice of team science, threats to internal validity were recognized and solved. Next, we quantified the extent of bias avoided in evaluating the association of Ki67 (immunohistochemistry), stromal cell telomere length (fluorescence in situ hybridization), and microRNA (miRNA) (miR-21, miR-141, miR-221; quantitative RT-PCR) with prostate cancer risk or recurrence in nested case-control studies. RESULTS Threats to validity were tissue storage time (Ki67, miRNA) and laboratory equipment maintenance (telomeres). Solutions were all in the data analysis phase and involved using tissue storage-time specific cutpoints and/or batch-specific cutpoints. Bias in the regression coefficient for quantiles of each biomarker ranged from 24% to 423%, and the coefficient for the test for trend ranged from 15% to 910%. The interpretation of the associations changed as follows: Ki67, null to positive; stromal cell telomere length, null to positive; miR-21 and miR-141 remained null; miR-221, weak to moderate inverse. CONCLUSIONS In this case study, we documented the inferential benefits of multidisciplinary team science when the team's collaboration and coordination led to the identification of threats to validity and the implementation of appropriate solutions.
RED QUEUE'S OCCUPANCY AND PERFORMANCE A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DEVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI'I IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

Random Early Detection (RED) is a queue management algorithm used in packet routers of Internet Protocol (IP) networks. It drops/marks packets with a certain probability before packet buffers overflow with the aim of improving TCP performance. RED and other queue management algorithms that drop packets early to adjust network traffic are classified as Active Queue Management (AQM). This contrasts with traditional queue management that drops packets only when packet buffers overflow. The RED algorithm is composed of three parts: . a queue SIze averagmg mechanism, a drop probability function, and a dropping algorithm. When a packet arrives at a RED queue, RED decides to enqueue or drop/mark the packet using the three parts in its computation. In this thesis, we survey current AQM algorithms and discuss their strengths and limitations. We thoroughly investigate RED queue's occupancy and performance by testing the three parts of its algorithm separately. We derive an upper bound on RED's required buffering and investigate the effect of the queue size averaging mechanism on RED's performance through simulations. We define an extended RED model used to test the parameters of the drop probability function that affect the model's performance through simulations. Based on the simulation results, an improved AQM drop probability function is proposed. We also propose two dropping algorithms that decide how a packet is dropped. One of these two algorithms shows improvement over the original dropping algorithm ofRED in the simulations.
Multivariable Analysis of the Association between Antenatal Depressive Symptomatology and Postpartum Visit Attendance

Abstract Objective We sought to evaluate whether antenatal depression was associated with postpartum visit nonattendance. Study Design This retrospective cohort study included women who received prenatal care at the academic outpatient offices of a single tertiary care center between March 1, 2009, and December 31, 2014. Women were screened for antenatal depression using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. Attendance at the postpartum visit was compared between women with and without antenatal depressive symptomatology using bivariate and multivariable analyses. Results Of the 2,870 women who met the inclusion criteria, 566 (19.7%) did not attend the postpartum visit. Women who did not attend a postpartum visit were younger and more likely to be a racial/ethnic minority, publicly insured, or multiparous; they were more likely to have a higher body mass index, as well as a vaginal delivery. Compared with those without antenatal depressive symptomatology, women with antenatal depressive symptomatology were significantly less likely to attend their postpartum visit (18.6 vs. 29.2%, p < 0.001). This association persisted even after controlling for potential confounders (adjusted odds ratio: 0.69, 95% confidence interval: 0.48–0.99). Conclusion Antenatal depressive symptomatology is significantly associated with nonattendance at the postpartum visit.
ABI5-BINDING PROTEIN2 Coordinates CONSTANS to Delay Flowering by Recruiting the Transcriptional Corepressor TPR21

ABI5-BINDING PROTEIN2 interacts with TPR2 and CONSTANS to delay flowering time ABI5-BINDING PROTEIN2 (AFP2) negatively regulates the abscisic acid signal by accelerating ABI5 degradation during seed germination in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). The abscisic acid signal is reported to delay flowering by up-regulating Flowering Locus C expression, but the role of AFP2 in regulating flowering time is unknown. Here, we found that flowering time was markedly delayed and CONSTANS (CO) expression was reduced in a transgenic Arabidopsis line overexpressing AFP2 under LD conditions. Conversely, the loss-of-function afp2 mutant showed slightly earlier flowering, with higher CO expression. These data suggest that AFP2 negatively regulates photoperiod-dependent flowering time by modulating the CO signal. We then found that AFP2 exhibited circadian expression rhythms that peaked during the night. Furthermore, the C-terminus of AFP2 interacted with CO, while its N-terminal ethylene response factor–associated amphiphilic repression motif interacted with the transcriptional corepressor TOPLESS-related protein2 (TPR2). Thus, AFP2 bridges CO and TPR2 to form the CO-AFP2-TPR2 complex. Biochemical and genetic analyses showed that AFP2 mediated CO degradation during the night. AFP2 also recruited histone deacetylase activity at Flowering Locus T chromatin through its interaction with TPR2. Taken together, our results reveal an elaborate mechanism by which AFP2 modulates flowering time through coordinating the activity and stability of CO.
New Self-Organized Growth Method for InGaAs Quantum Dots on GaAs(001) Using Droplet Epitaxy

Quantum dot (QD) systems for InGaAs/GaAs without a wetting layer have been fabricated on GaAs (001) surfaces by a new self-organized growth method using droplet epitaxy with highly dense Ga droplets. Droplets of InGa alloy with highly dense Ga droplets have been formed by supplying 1) Ga, 2) In and 3) Ga molecular beams, sequentially. These highly dense Ga droplets have successfully prevented the two-dimensional growth of InGaAs during crystallization under As flux supply. In the plan-view transmission electron microscope image, the InGaAs QDs with the density of 7×109 cm-2 are observed. These QDs show a very sharp photoluminescence peak (full width half maximum (FWHM): 21.6 meV) at 946 nm.
Ravulizumab (ALXN1210) vs eculizumab in C5-inhibitor-experienced adult patients with PNH: the 302 study.

Ravulizumab, a new complement component C5 inhibitor administered every 8 weeks, was noninferior to eculizumab administered every 2 weeks in complement-inhibitor-naive patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH). This study assessed noninferiority of ravulizumab to eculizumab in clinically stable PNH patients during previous eculizumab therapy. In this phase 3, open-label, multicenter study, 195 PNH patients on labeled-dose (900 mg every 2 weeks) eculizumab for >6 months were randomly assigned 1:1 to switch to ravulizumab (n = 97) or continue eculizumab (n = 98). Primary efficacy end point was percentage change in lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) from baseline to day 183. Key secondary end points included proportion of patients with breakthrough hemolysis, change in Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy (FACIT)-Fatigue score, transfusion avoidance, and stabilized hemoglobin. In 191 patients completing 183 days of treatment, ravulizumab was noninferior to eculizumab (P inf < .0006 for all end points), including percentage change in LDH (difference, 9.21% [95% confidence interval (CI), -0.42 to 18.84], P = . 058 for superiority), breakthrough hemolysis (difference, 5.1 [95% CI, -8.89 to 18.99]), change in FACIT-Fatigue score (difference, 1.47 [95% CI, -0.21 to 3.15]), transfusion avoidance (difference, 5.5 [95% CI, -4.27 to 15.68]), and stabilized hemoglobin (difference, 1.4 [95% CI, -10.41 to 13.31]). The most frequently reported adverse event was headache (26.8%, ravulizumab; 17.3%, eculizumab). No meningococcal infections or discontinuations due to adverse events occurred. Patients with PNH may be safely and effectively switched from labeled-dose eculizumab administered every 2 weeks to ravulizumab administered every 8 weeks. This trial was funded by Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and is registered at www.clinicaltrials. gov as #NCT03056040.
Call for Submissions

You are invited to submit a proposal for consideration for publication in a Special Issue of the Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management. This Special Issue aims to explore collaborative approaches to leadership in higher education. Approaches that engage all relevant stakeholders in decision-making through distributed/shared approach to leadership are increasingly recognised as offering a good fit with, and multiple benefits to, the academy. Contributions to the Special Issue may include:
Specificity of plant-plant communication for Baccharis salicifolia sexes but not genotypes.

Plants are able to adjust their anti-herbivore defenses in response to the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by herbivore-damaged neighbors, and some of these changes increase resistance against subsequent herbivory. This phenomenon of plant-plant communication is thought to be widespread, but recent investigations have cautioned that it can be context dependent, including variation in the strength of communication based on the identity of plants and their associated herbivores. Here, we performed three greenhouse experiments using multiple male and female genotypes of the dioecious woody shrub Baccharis salicifolia and its specialist aphid Uroleucon macolai to test for specificity of plant-plant communication with respect to plant sex and genotype. Moreover, we evaluated plant sexual dimorphism and genotypic variation in VOC emissions (i.e., the "speaking" side of the interaction) and response of plants to VOC exposure (i.e., the "listening" side of the interaction) in order to identify the chemical mechanisms underlying such specificity. We did not find genotypic specificity of communication; emitter plants damaged by U. macolai significantly reduced subsequent U. macolai performance on receivers, but these effects were indistinguishable for communication within vs. among genotypes. In contrast, we found sex specificity of communication; male emitter plants reduced subsequent U. macolai performance on male and female receiver plants equally, while female emitter plants only did so for female receivers. We found sexual (but not genotypic) dimorphism in speaking but not listening; of the seven compounds induced by U. macolai feeding (speaking), pinocarvone was approximately fivefold greater in female than in male plants, while exposure of plants to pinocarvone emissions (listening) reduced U. macolai performance equally in both male and female plants. Together, our study demonstrates novel evidence for sexually dimorphic specificity of plant-plant communication and the chemical mechanism underlying this effect.
Heart Rate Variability as an Indicator of Chronic Stress Caused by Lameness in Dairy Cows

Most experimental studies on animal stress physiology have focused on acute stress, while chronic stress, which is also encountered in intensive dairy cattle farming–e.g. in case of lameness–, has received little attention. We investigated heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) as indicators of the autonomic nervous system activity and fecal glucocorticoid concentrations as the indicator of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis activity in lame (with locomotion scores 4 and 5; n = 51) and non-lame (with locomotion scores 1 and 2; n = 52) Holstein-Friesian cows. Data recorded during the periods of undisturbed lying–representing baseline cardiac activity–were involved in the analysis. Besides linear analysis methods of the cardiac inter-beat interval (time-domain geometric, frequency domain and Poincaré analyses) non-linear HRV parameters were also evaluated. With the exception of standard deviation 1 (SD1), all HRV indices were affected by lameness. Heart rate was lower in lame cows than in non-lame ones. Vagal tone parameters were higher in lame cows than in non-lame animals, while indices of the sympathovagal balance reflected on a decreased sympathetic activity in lame cows. All geometric and non-linear HRV measures were lower in lame cows compared to non-lame ones suggesting that chronic stress influenced linear and non-linear characteristics of cardiac function. Lameness had no effect on fecal glucocorticoid concentrations. Our results demonstrate that HRV analysis is a reliable method in the assessment of chronic stress, however, it requires further studies to fully understand the elevated parasympathetic and decreased sympathetic tone in lame animals.
The influence of short-term sedentary behavior on circadian rhythm of heart rate and heart rate variability

ABSTRACT The notion that sedentary behavior is harmful to human health is widespread. Little is known about the short term influence of sedentary behavior on heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) circadian rhythms. Therefore the purpose of the present study was to examine the influence of short term sedentary behavior on the circadian rhythms of HR and HRV using cosine periodic regression analysis. Sixteen healthy young students were included in a randomized crossover study. All subjects underwent 24-h ECG Holter monitoring in two different states of physical activity, an active condition (more than 15,000 steps per day) and a sedentary condition (less than 1,000 steps per day). Hourly mean values were calculated for HR and HRV, and then were evaluated using cosine periodic regression analysis. The circadian rhythm parameters, amplitude, mesor, and acrophase for HR and HRV variables were obtained. As a result, the significance of the circadian rhythm was confirmed for all variables in each condition. The measure of fit R2 value was decreased in sedentary condition. The amplitude of the sedentary condition was significantly smaller than that of the active condition with respect to HR (7.94 ± 1.91 bpm vs. 15.4 ± 3.93 bpm, p < 0.001), natural log of the high frequency measurement (lnHF) (0.38 ± 0.21 ms2 vs. 0.80 ± 0.28 ms2, p < 0.001), and low frequency/high frequency ratio (LF/HF) (0.75 ± 0.54 vs. 1.24 ± 0.69, p = 0.008). We found that sedentary behavior not only significantly lowered the amplitude of HR and HRV variables, but also might have led to weakness of the circadian rhythm of the HR and HRV variables.
Ciprofloxacin in critically ill subjects: considering hepatic function, age and sex to choose the optimal dose

BACKGROUND Pathophysiological changes often result in altered pharmacokinetics of ciprofloxacin in critically ill patients. Although ciprofloxacin clearance (CLCIP) substantially depends on kidney function in healthy volunteers, its relationship to measured creatinine clearance (CLCRM) is weak in critically ill patients. OBJECTIVES To assess the need for dose reductions in isolated or combined kidney and liver dysfunction in critically ill patients and to re-evaluate relationships between kidney parameters, demographics and ciprofloxacin pharmacokinetics. METHODS A population pharmacokinetic model was developed based on 444 ciprofloxacin serum concentrations from 15 critically ill patients with severe infections. CLCIP relationships to parameters reflecting hepatic function, CLCRM, Cockcroft-Gault creatinine clearance (CLCRCG), serum creatinine, sex, weight and age were explored. A simulation study was conducted to integrate knowledge from the new and previously published models. RESULTS Total bilirubin was identified as a hepatic parameter with a clear relationship to CLCIP. A significant relationship between CLCIP and CLCRCG could be attributed to age and sex only. CLCIP was not associated with CLCRM. The predicted risk of potential overexposure (AUC > 250 mg·h/L) was low even with 1200 mg/day ciprofloxacin daily for patients with reduced CLCRCG (<30 mL/min: risk of 0.7%), while the risk was remarkably higher in elderly female patients with elevated bilirubin (risk of about 20% for 65-year-old women with total bilirubin of 4 mg/dL). CONCLUSIONS Bilirubin, age and sex should be considered to assess the need for dose reductions. For MICs ≤0.25 mg/L, it might be appropriate to reduce the dose to 400 mg/day for elderly female subjects with high bilirubin.
Multi-Sensory Weights Depend on Contextual Noise in Reference Frame Transformations

During reach planning, we integrate multiple senses to estimate the location of the hand and the target, which is used to generate a movement. Visual and proprioceptive information are combined to determine the location of the hand. The goal of this study was to investigate whether multi-sensory integration is affected by extraretinal signals, such as head roll. It is believed that a coordinate matching transformation is required before vision and proprioception can be combined because proprioceptive and visual sensory reference frames do not generally align. This transformation utilizes extraretinal signals about current head roll position, i.e., to rotate proprioceptive signals into visual coordinates. Since head roll is an estimated sensory signal with noise, this head roll dependency of the reference frame transformation should introduce additional noise to the transformed signal, reducing its reliability and thus its weight in the multi-sensory integration. To investigate the role of noisy reference frame transformations on multi-sensory weighting, we developed a novel probabilistic (Bayesian) multi-sensory integration model (based on Sober and Sabes, 2003) that included explicit (noisy) reference frame transformations. We then performed a reaching experiment to test the model's predictions. To test for head roll dependent multi-sensory integration, we introduced conflicts between viewed and actual hand position and measured reach errors. Reach analysis revealed that eccentric head roll orientations led to an increase of movement variability, consistent with our model. We further found that the weighting of vision and proprioception depended on head roll, which we interpret as being a result of signal dependant noise. Thus, the brain has online knowledge of the statistics of its internal sensory representations. In summary, we show that sensory reliability is used in a context-dependent way to adjust multi-sensory integration weights for reaching.
A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Molecular Biomarkers Associated with Early Neurological Deterioration Following Acute Stroke

Background: Early neurological deterioration (END) following acute stroke is associated with poorer long-term outcomes. Identification of patients at risk could assist early monitoring and treatment decisions. This review summarised the evidence describing non-radiological biomarkers for END. Summary: Electronic searches from January 1990 to March 2017 identified studies reporting a blood/cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)/urine biomarker measurement within 24 h of acute stroke and at least 2 serial assessments of clinical neurological status (< 24 h and < 7 days). Out of 12,895 citations, 82 studies were included, mostly focusing on ischaemic stroke. Using higher neurological thresholds, the n-weighted END incidence for ischaemic stroke was 11.9% (95% CI 11.4–12.4%) and 18.6% (17.9–19.2%) for lower thresholds. Incidence decreased with advancing study publication year (Pearson r-squared 0.23 and 0.15 for higher and lower threshold studies). After classification into 3 broad categories, meta-analysis showed that biomarkers associated with increased END risk (n; fixed-effects mean difference; 95% CI) were “metabolic” (glucose [n = 9,481; 0.90 mmol/L; 0.74–1.06], glycosylated haemoglobin [n = 3,146; 0.33%; 0.19–0.46], low-density lipoprotein [n = 4,839; 0.13 mmol/L; 0.06–0.21], total cholesterol [n = 4,762; 0.21 mmol/L; 0.11–0.31], triglycerides [n = 4,820; 0.11 mmol/L; 0.06–0.17], urea [n = 1,351; 0.55 mmol/L; 0.14–0.96], decreasing albumin [n = 513; 0.33 g/dL; 0.05–0.61]); “inflammatory and excitotoxic” (plasma glutamate [n = 688; 60.13 µmol/L; 50.04–70.22], CSF glutamate [n = 369; 7.50 µmol/L; 6.76–8.23], homocysteine [n = 824; 2.15 µmol/L; 0.68–3.61], leucocytes [n = 3,766; 0.54 × 109/L; 0.34–0.74], high-sensitivity C-reactive protein [n = 1,707; 3.79 mg/L; 1.23–6.35]); and “coagulation/haematological” (fibrinogen [n = 3,132; 0.32 g/L; 0.25–0.40]; decreasing haemoglobin [n = 3,586; 2.38 g/L; 0.15–4.60]). Key Messages: Declining incidence of END may represent improving care standards; however, it remains a frequent occurrence. Although statistical associations exist between biomarkers and an increased risk of END, the most promising still need prospective evaluation to determine their additional value relative to baseline radiological and clinical characteristics.