Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Statins: within-group comparisons, statin escape and combination therapy

The successful use of statins in major coronary prevention trials has resulted in an explosive widening of their use. In most instances, statin therapy will result in adequate and sustained lowering of lipids. Comparing equal-weight doses, simvastatin is twice as effective as pravastatin and lovastatin in LDL-cholesterol lowering, and all three are more effective than fluvastatin according to recent comparative studies. Statin monotherapy is not always effective in severe hypercholesterolemia or in mixed (combined) hyperlipidemia with marked triglyceride elevations. All statins accepted for therapeutic use can be combined with resin or fibrate. Myopathy resulting from statin-fibrate combinations is less frequent than had been thought on the basis of early reports, and these combinations can be used in longterm therapy of mixed hyperlipidemia.
ON BLOCK THRESHOLDING IN WAVELET REGRESSION: ADAPTIVITY, BLOCK SIZE, AND THRESHOLD LEVEL

In this article we investigate the asymptotic and numerical properties of a class of block thresholding estimators for wavelet regression. We consider the effect of block size on global and local adaptivity and the ch oice of thresholding constant. The optimal rate of convergence for block thresholding with a given block size is derived for both the global and local estimation. It is shown that there are conflicting requirements on the block size for achieving the global and local adaptivity. We then consider the choice of thresholding constant for a given block size by treating the block thresholding as a hypothesis testing problem. The combined results lead naturally to an optimal choice of block size and thresholding constant. We conclude with a numerical study which compares the finite-sample performance among block thresholding estimators as well as with other wavelet methods.
Telomerase- and Rad52-Independent Immortalization of Budding Yeast by an Inherited-Long-Telomere Pathway of Telomeric Repeat Amplification

ABSTRACT In the absence of telomerase, telomeres erode, provoking accumulation of DNA damage and death by senescence. Rare survivors arise, however, due to Rad52-based amplification of telomeric sequences by homologous recombination. The present study reveals that in budding yeast cells, postsenescence survival relying on amplification of the TG1-3 telomeric repeats can take place in the absence of Rad52 when overelongated telomeres are present during senescence (hence its designation ILT, for inherited-long-telomere, pathway). By growth competition, the Rad52-independent pathway was almost as efficient as the Rad51- and Rad52-dependent pathway that predominates in telomerase-negative cells. The ILT pathway could also be triggered by increased telomerase accessibility before telomerase removal, combined with loss of telomere protection, indicating that prior accumulation of recombination proteins was not required. The ILT pathway was dependent on Rad50 and Mre11 but not on the Rad51 recombinase and Rad59, thus making it distinct from both the type II (budding yeast ALT [alternative lengthening of telomeres]) and type I pathways amplifying the TG1-3 repeats and subtelomeric sequences, respectively. The ILT pathway also required the Rad1 endonuclease and Elg1, a replication factor C (RFC)-like complex subunit, but not Rad24 or Ctf18 (two subunits of two other RFC-like complexes), the Dnl4 ligase, Yku70, or Nej1. Possible mechanisms for this Rad52-independent pathway of telomeric repeat amplification are discussed. The effects of inherited long telomeres on Rad52-dependent recombination are also reported.
Customer-Focused Management by Projects

PART 1: MANAGEMENT WITH PROJECTS Management with Projects as an Expression of Customer Orientation The Basic Structure of Project Management The Definition Cycle: Selecting Projects as a Basis For Project-Oriented Corporate Management PART 2: MANAGEMENT OF PROJECTS Planning a Project Monitoring and Control of Projects Successful Completion of a Project PART 3: PROJECT ORIENTED CORPORATE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS Project-Oriented Organization Project-Oriented Planning Project-Oriented Monitoring Project-Oriented Personnel Management A Project-Oriented Information System Project-Oriented Controlling PART 4: PROJECT-ORIENTED CORPORATE CULTURE Project-Oriented Corporate Culture as a Basis for Project Management Characteristics of a Project-Oriented Corporate Culture
Differences in forage to concentrate ratios can confound results: a comment on Petit et al. (2007).

In a recent article, Petit et al. (2007) claim that feeding flaxseed compared with no lipids or a source of saturated fatty acids from 6 wk before calving through 4 wk postpartum could be a useful strategy to increase glycogen concentrations in the liver and decrease triglyceride concentration in the liver after calving. However, this study was confounded by an unacknowledged factor: major differences in forage to concentrate ratios among diets and resultant effect on DMI. Diets high in forage lead to distension of the reticulorumen, which limits DMI in dairy cows (Allen, 2000). Diets were CO = control with no supplemental fat; FL = unsaturated lipids supplied as whole flaxseed; and EB = saturated lipids supplied as Energy Booster (MSC, Dundee, IL). The dietary composition was less of an issue with prepartum diets, which had forage to concentrate ratios of 82:18, 86:14, and 90:10, for CO, FL, and EB, respectively. Even with these diets, daily
Multidisciplinary family-centred psychosocial care for patients with CHD: consensus recommendations from the AEPC Psychosocial Working Group

Abstract Because of the enormous advances in the medical treatment of CHD, the long-term survival of patients suffering from this disease has increased significantly. Currently, about 90% of patients reach adulthood, which entails many new challenges both for patients and their families and for healthcare professionals. The main objective of family-centred psychosocial care is to strengthen the emotional resilience of chronically ill patients and their families by adopting a holistic approach. During the biannual meeting of the psychosocial working group in 2012, participants expressed the need for general European guidelines. The present recommendations were written to support medical staff and psychosocial healthcare professionals to provide the best care for children and adolescents with CHD as well as for their families. This article describes in detail how the integrated family-centred psychological care modules work, involving different healthcare specialists, including a paediatric/congenital cardiologist or a general paediatrician. The different clinical implications and specific needs have been taken into account and recommendations have been provided on the following: structured follow-up screening; identification of stressful periods related to cardiac surgery or invasive medical procedures; evidence-based, disease-specific, and family-oriented psychosocial interventions; and interactive media links to medical and psychosocial information.
Characterization and Modeling of the Indoor Radio Channel at 868 MHz for a Mobile Bodyworn Wireless Personal Area Network

This letter reports the statistical characterization and modeling of the indoor radio channel for a mobile wireless personal area network operating at 868 MHz. Line of sight (LOS) and non-LOS conditions were considered for three environments: anechoic chamber, open office area, and hallway. Overall, the Nakagami-m cdf beast described fading for bodyworn operation in 60% of all measured channels in anechoic chamber and open office area environments. The Nakagami distribution was also found to provide a good description of Rician distributed channels which predominated in the hallway. Multipath played an important role in channel statistics with the mean recorded m value being reduced from 7.8 in the anechoic chamber to 1.3 in both the open office area and hallway
The effects of indoor air quality on performance and productivity.

UNLABELLED The main justification for ventilation has historically been to create a healthy indoor environment. Ventilation removes air pollutants originating inside the building, including bio-effluents. The outdoor air supply rate that has been found by experience to provide subjectively acceptable indoor air quality and to prevent the accumulation of moisture in the building is generally sufficient to maintain the concentration of pollutants at healthily low levels. Until 5 years ago this would have been the justification for current ventilation practices, but in 1999 the first of a series of experiments was published, revealing new mechanisms by which raised levels of indoor air pollution may reduce productivity, either in addition to or instead of having negative effects on comfort and health. It was shown in realistic experimental exposures lasting up to 5 h that the performance of simulated office work could be significantly increased by removing common indoor sources of air pollution, such as floor-coverings, used supply air filters and personal computers, or by keeping them in place and increasing the rate at which clean outdoor air was supplied from 3 to 10 to 30 l s(-1) per person. These short-term effects were demonstrated repeatedly even at pollutant levels that had no measurable effects on the perception of air quality by the occupants themselves, although there were effects on subclinical SBS symptoms such as headache. Temperature and noise distraction have since been studied in directly comparable exposures. The prediction arising from these experiments, that the performance of real office work over time would be significantly and substantially affected by the changes in indoor environmental quality that take place in the course of normal building operation, have recently been validated in 8-week field intervention experiments carried out in call-centers in northern Europe and the Tropics. These findings have far-reaching implications for the efficient use of energy in buildings. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS It has now been shown beyond reasonable doubt that poor indoor air quality in buildings can decrease productivity in addition to causing visitors to express dissatisfaction. The size of the effect on most aspects of office work performance appears to be as high as 6-9%, the higher value being obtained in field validation studies. It is usually more energy-efficient to eliminate sources of pollution than to increase outdoor air supply rates. The experiments summarized in this article have documented and quantified relationships that can be used in making cost-benefit analyses of either solution for a given building. The high cost of labor per unit floor area ensures that payback times will usually be as low as 2 years.
Malignant pleural mesothelioma: ESMO Clinical Practice Guidelines for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma: ESMO Clinical Practice Guidelines for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up R. A. Stahel, W. Weder, Y. Lievens & E. Felip On behalf of the ESMO Guidelines Working Group* Clinic and Policlinic of Oncology; Department of Thoracic Surgery, University Hospital of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland; Radiation Oncology Department, Leuven University Hospitals, Leuven, Belgium; Medical Oncology Service, Vall d’Hebron University Hospital, Barcelona, Spain
An open naltrexone treatment study in pathological gambling disorder

The present study was designed to test the short-term efficacy and safety of naltrexone in the treatment of pathological gambling disorder. Seventeen subjects (seven men, 10 women) who fulfilled DSM-IV criteria for pathological gambling disorder, and were free from other Axis I diagnoses by Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R screening, participated in a 6-week open naltrexone flexible dose trial. Gambling symptom change was assessed with the patient-rated Clinical Global Impression (CGI) Scale, the clinician-rated CGI and the Gambling Symptom Assessment Scale. Side-effects were monitored weekly and liver function tests biweekly. Naltrexone reduced urges to gamble and gambling behaviour. The mean change in gambling frequency per week was 1.40 ± 0.28 episodes per week; the mean change in dollars lost per week was $66.95 ± 13.77; and the mean change in clinician-rated CGI Improvement was 0.40 ± 0.04. Of those who responded to the medication, the majority had done so by the end of the fourth week. Men responded to naltrexone as well as women. The average naltrexone dose required for effective symptom control was 157 mg/day. Nausea was common during the first week (47%). The present findings provide evidence that naltrexone may be effective in the treatment of pathological gambling disorder. The present report is preliminary and controlled trials are needed to confirm these findings.
Viscosity Measurement Using Microcantilever Sensor

A fluid viscosity micro cantilever sensor is presented. Such sensors can detect properties of even small volumes of fluids and therefore are often considered to be the prospective micro viscometers. By measuring the frequency response of the vibrating optical fiber, the viscosity can be determined from maximum vibrational amplitude and bandwidth. The sensor prototype and mathematical model of micro cantilever oscillation have been put forward.
Tropical Pacific SST Drivers of Recent Antarctic Sea Ice Trends

AbstractA strengthening of the Amundsen Sea low from 1979 to 2013 has been shown to largely explain the observed increase in Antarctic sea ice concentration in the eastern Ross Sea and decrease in the Bellingshausen Sea. Here it is shown that while these changes are not generally seen in freely running coupled climate model simulations, they are reproduced in simulations of two independent coupled climate models: one constrained by observed sea surface temperature anomalies in the tropical Pacific and the other by observed surface wind stress in the tropics. This analysis confirms previous results and strengthens the conclusion that the phase change in the interdecadal Pacific oscillation from positive to negative over 1979–2013 contributed to the observed strengthening of the Amundsen Sea low and the associated pattern of Antarctic sea ice change during this period. New support for this conclusion is provided by simulated trends in spatial patterns of sea ice concentrations that are similar to those obse.
Application of MADM in Identifying the Transmission Rate of Dengue fever: A Case Study of Shah Alam, Malaysia

Identifying parameters in an epidemic model is one of the important aspect of modeling. In this paper, we suggest a method to identify the transmission rate by using the multistage Adomian decomposition method. As a case study, we use the data of the reported dengue fever cases in the city of Shah Alam, Malaysia. The result obtained fairly represents the actual situation. However, in the SIR model, this method serves as an alternative in parameter identification and enables us to make necessary analysis for a smaller interval. Keywords—dengue fever, multistage Adomian decomposition method, Shah Alam, SIR model
Low dose dehydroepiandrosterone affects behavior in hypopituitary androgen-deficient women: a placebo-controlled trial.

Thirty-eight women, aged 25-65 yr, with androgen deficiency due to hypopituitarism were treated with oral dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA; 30 mg/d if <45 yr of age and 20 mg if > or =45 yr of age) for 6 months in a randomized, placebo-controlled, double blind study, followed by a 6-month open treatment period. The administration of DHEA raised the serum levels of DHEAS to normal age-related reference ranges and increased androstenedione and T to subnormal levels. Androgen effects on skin and/or pubic and/or axillary hair were observed in 84% (32 of 38) of the women after all received 6 months of DHEA treatment. No such effects were observed after the placebo treatment. These effects after 6 months were correlated with the serum levels of DHEAS (r = 0.37; P = 0.03), androstenedione (r = 0.42; P = 0.01), and T (r = 0.37; P = 0.03). The percentages of partners who reported improved alertness, stamina, and initiative by their spouses were 70%, 64%, and 55%, respectively, in the DHEA group and 11%, 6%, and 11%, respectively, in the placebo group (P < 0.05). According to the partners, sexual relations tended to improve compared with placebo (P = 0.06). After 6 months of treatment, increased sexual interest or activity was reported by 50% of the women taking 30 mg DHEA, by none taking 20 mg DHEA, and by two women taking placebo (P = NS). Compared with levels after placebo administration, high density lipoprotein cholesterol and apolipoprotein A-1 levels decreased after DHEA. Serum concentrations of IGF-I, serum markers of bone metabolism, and bone density did not change. In conclusion, oral administration of a low dose of DHEA to adult hypopituitary women induced androgen effects on skin and axillary and pubic hair as well as changes in behavior, with only minor effects on metabolism.
Bachelor Project : The effect of an inhomogeneous medium on the ram pressure stripping of dwarf galaxies

There are mysterious interactions happening in our neighbourhood between orbiting dwarf galaxies and their surroundings. Theories about the influence of the environments of progenitor halos on their orbiting satellites have been developed and ram pressure stripping is one of them. Ram pressure stripping is a process of removing the cold gas component from the disks of satellites due to a hotter and less dense background media. The ram pressure forces come from the hot medium surrounding the progenitor galaxy according to a model developed from the early work of Gunn & Gott [11]. A clear example of such formalism applied to an orbiting galaxy within a cluster halo can be found in Abadi et al.[1]. Dressler [6] did a study of the galaxy populations in 55 rich clusters and examined the morphology and the distance from the cluster core. He found a well-defined relationship between the galaxies morphological type and the density of its surroundings, the so-called morphology-distance relation. In the dense environments near the clusters core, galaxy morphologies are mostly dominated by elliptical and S0, while on the less dense outskirts regions of the clusters the presence of spiral galaxies is larger. The difference in populations of spirals and ellipticals can be explained in terms of evolution: meaning that gasrich spirals in the outskirts turn into S0’s when falling into denser environments and lose their gas due to physical processes (Gunn & Gott [11]). On smaller scales, the same evolutionary process seems to take place. The orbiting dwarf galaxies bound to the Milky Way (MW) can roughly be divided in two groups. According to a recent paper by Grcevich and Putman [9] who examined the HI content and environment of many dwarf galaxies including many newly discovered satellites in the MW and M31, most dwarf galaxies within ∼ 270 h−1kpc are gas-poor pressure supported dwarf galaxies, dSphs. The dSphs are the least luminous dwarfs (Mb ∼ −9), show very little or no rotation and consist of old stellar populations (Grebel, Gallagher and Harbeck [10]). Outside ∼ 270 h−1kpc, most dwarf galaxies have a detectable HI content, consist of young stars and are rotational supported by their disk, dIrr’s. Besides the environments where they are found, there are other signs for evolution in morphology from dIrrs to dSphs:
Near field targets localization using bistatic MIMO system with spherical wavefront based model

This paper proposes a subspace based near field targets localization method with bistatic MIMO system consisting of uniform linear transmitting and receiving arrays. The proposed method uses the spherical wavefront based exact model to avoid the systematic error introduced by the Fresnel approximation, which is usually made on the wavefront to simplify the signal model for a near field source in the existing literature on near field sources localization. By avoiding this approximation, we have significantly improved the estimation accuracy. Additionally, unlike most of the existing near field sources localization techniques, the proposed method works for the array with interelement spacing greater than a quarter of the carrier wavelength.
The Hybridisation of Higher Education in Canada

Canada's postsecondary institutions are becoming increasingly involved with technology enhanced learning, generally under the rubric of distance education. Growth and activity in distance education stems from rapid developments in communication and information technologies such as videoconferencing and the Internet. This case study focuses on the use of new technologies, primarily within the context of higher education institutions operating in Canada's English speaking provinces. Capitalising on the interactive capabilities of "new" learning technologies, some distance education providers are starting to behave more like conventional educational institutions in terms of forming study groups and student cohorts. Conversely, new telecommunications technologies are having a reverse impact on traditional classroom settings, and as a result conventional universities are beginning to establish administrative structures reflective of those used by distance education providers. When viewed in tandem, these trends reflect growing convergence between conventional and distance learning modes, leading to the hybridisation of higher education in Canada.
Supporting clinical evaluation of upper limb spasticity with quantitative data measurement in accordance to the Modified Ashworth Scale

Rehabilitation process for patients with spasticity must go through experienced physicians and therapists to avoid injuries and to maximize the rehabilitation session for the sake of the patients' improvement. To have experience and good skills, therapist trainees need to learn from the experienced clinicians. However, it becomes crucial to transfer the knowledge from the professional clinicians to the therapist trainees. Therefore it is important to be able to visualize the characteristics of spasticity quantitatively in order to support the learning process of therapist trainees. Four patients with varying spasticity levels were involved in this clinical data collection of upper limb spasticity. The clinical procedure involved repeated movements of arm extension and flexion, performed by an experienced clinician. The clinician evaluated the spasticity levels through the conventional manual methods of clinical skills and judgment. The clinical data was also collected via a digital goniometer and manual muscle tester (MMT), connected to a DAQ (product of National Instruments) and recorded using LabVIEW. The data was analyzed to investigate the pattern of each spasticity level according to the Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS). The result of this research will help the therapist trainees to better understand and obtain a clear image of the spasticity stiffness pattern based on the Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) level.