Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fractional flow reserve: a review

Coronary angiography remains far and away the most accurate morphologic assessment of the lumen of the epicardial coronary arteries. Although non-invasive imaging is rapidly advancing, the temporal and spatial resolution of coronary angiography is still unsurpassed and it will therefore remain as a roadmap for interventional cardiologists and cardiac surgeons. Most non-invasive cardiologists still consider a coronary angiogram as “invasive” (although this is a debatable classification in 2008), but welcome the high level of anatomical information. However, in contrast to its topographical precision, angiography is limited in gauging the functional repercussions of coronary stenoses. Yet, functional severity of atherosclerotic narrowings is the single most important prognostic factor in patients with documented coronary artery disease. This was recently highlighted in several large meta-analyses: the estimated annualised rate of myocardial infarction or cardiac death was approximately 0.5% per year after a normal myocardial perfusion imaging or a normal stress echocardiogram in patients with unknown coronary anatomy.1 w1 In addition, the DEFER trial showed that the annual rate of death or myocardial infarction is approximately 1% in patients with angiographically documented epicardial coronary stenoses that are not functionally significant.2 In daily practice, however, non-invasive testing is performed in a minority of patients undergoing angioplasty.w2 Since the angiographic degree of stenosis is a poor tool to establish the functional significance of a given stenosis, a large number of inappropriate decisions are taken regarding revascularisation.3 Thus, the combination of highly accurate anatomic assessment and precise functional information is indispensable to tailor the treatment of patients with suspected or known coronary artery disease. Accordingly, the combination of coronary angiography and pressure derived fractional flow reserve in the catheterisation laboratory emerges as the only true “all-in-one” approach as it combines anatomy, physiology, and the possibility of “ad hoc” treatment. The present review will …
Prediction of protein structure: The problem of fold multiplicity

Three‐dimensional (3D) models of four CASP3 targets were calculated using a simple modeling procedure that includes prediction of regular secondary structure, analysis of possible β‐sheet topologies, assembly of amphiphilic helices and β‐sheets to bury their nonpolar surfaces, and adjustment of side‐chain conformers and loops to provide close packing and saturation of the “hydrogen bond potential” (exposure of all polar groups to water or their involvement in intramolecular hydrogen bonds). It has been found that this approach allows construction of 3D models that, in some cases, properly reproduce the structural class of the protein (such as β‐barrel or β‐sandwich of definite shape and size) and details of tertiary structure (such as pairing of β‐strands), although all four models were more or less incorrect. Remarkably, some models had fewer water‐exposed nonpolar side‐chains, more hydrogen bonds, and smaller holes than the corresponding native structures (although the models had a larger water‐accessible nonpolar surface). The results obtained indicate that hydrophobicity patterns do not unequivocally determine protein folds, and that any ab initio or fold recognition methods that operate with imprecise potential energy functions, or use crude geometrical approximations of the peptide chain, will probably produce many different nonnative structures. Proteins Suppl 1999;3:199–203. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Cooperative multi-channel dissemination of safety messages in VANETs

IEEE 802.11p-based wireless access in vehicular environments (WAVE) multi-channel communication introduces communication clusters which limits on the dissemination efficiency of broadcast applications such as safety messaging. This paper proposes cooperative multi-channel information dissemination (CMD) which follows a channel coordination approach where the coordinator is selected based on the least average distance (LAD) to all service channels with the goal of relaying the emergency message to other service channels with minimum delay. On receipt of high priority emergency messages, each selected channel coordinators switches to a defined service channel and broadcasts the emergency message to it members. In the CMD approach, each vehicle assumes a single radio and the number of channel coordinators in each service channel cluster is determined based on the available service channels advertised and LAD to the advertised service channels. Computer simulations show that the proposed CMD performs well in terms of dissemination delay and dissemination rate.
Changing strategy for rectal cancer is associated with improved outcome

In 1980, surgery for rectal cancer at the Department of Surgery, Uppsala University Hospital was concentrated to a colorectal unit and a more systematic use of adjuvant radiotherapy began. In 1985, total mesorectal excision was introduced. The aim of this study was to determine whether these changes had an impact on the overall treatment outcome.
Effect of Environmental Factors on the Relationship between Concentrations of Coprostanol and Fecal Indicator Bacteria in Tropical (Mekong Delta) and Temperate (Tokyo) Freshwaters

ABSTRACT A reliable assessment of microbial indicators of fecal pollution (total coliform, Escherichia coli, and fecal streptococcus) is critical in tropical environments. Therefore, we investigated the relationship between concentrations of indicator bacteria and a chemical indicator, coprostanol (5β-cholestan-3β-ol), in tropical and temperate regions. Water samples were collected from the Mekong Delta, Vietnam, during wet and dry seasons, and from Tokyo, Japan, during summer, the aftermath of a typhoon, and winter. During the wet season in the Mekong Delta, higher bacterial densities were observed in rivers, probably due to the higher bacterial inputs from soil particles with runoff. In Tokyo, higher bacterial densities were usually observed during summer, followed by those in the typhoon aftermath and winter. A strong logarithmic correlation between the concentrations of E. coli and coprostanol was demonstrated in all surveys. Distinctive seasonal fluctuations were observed, as concentrations of coprostanol corresponding to 1,000 CFU of E. coli/100 ml were at their lowest during the wet season in the Mekong Delta and the typhoon aftermath in Tokyo (30 ng/liter), followed by the dry season in the Mekong Delta and the summer in Tokyo (100 ng/liter), and they were much higher during the winter in Tokyo (400 ng/liter). These results suggested that E. coli is a specific indicator of fecal contamination in both tropical and temperate regions but that the densities are affected by elevated water temperature and input from runoff of soil particles. The concurrent determination of E. coli and coprostanol concentrations could provide a possible approach to assessing the reliability of fecal pollution monitoring data.
Characterizations, Sub and resampling, and goodness of fit

: We present a general proposal for testing for goodness of ﬁt, based on resampling and subsampling methods, and illustrate it with graphical and analytical tests for the problems of testing for univariate or multivariate nor- mality. The proposal shows promising, and in some cases dramatic, success in detecting nonnormality. Compared to common competitors, such as a Q-Q plot or a likelihood ratio test against a speciﬁed alternative, our proposal seems to be the most useful when the sample size is small, such as 10 or 12, or even very small, such as 6! We also show how our proposal provides tangible information about the nature of the true cdf from which one is sampling. Thus, our proposal also has data analytic value. Although only the normality problem is addressed here, the scope of application of the general proposal should be much broader.
Seasonal variations in the activity budget of Japanese macaques in the coniferous forest of Yakushima: Effects of food and temperature

Seasonal variations in the activity budget of Japanese macaques in the coniferous forest of Yakushima were studied over the course of 1 year. On an annual basis, they spent 38% of the daytime feeding, 16% traveling, 14% in social interactions, and 32% engaged in resting. The effects of temperature and food‐related factors (i.e., food distribution, feeding speed, and food abundance) on the seasonal variations of activity budget were examined by stepwise multiple regression analysis. When the temperature was low, the macaques decreased traveling and feeding time, in accordance with the prediction that endothermal animals save energy under severe thermoregulatory cost. When the feeding speed of available foods was slow, they spent more time feeding. When high‐quality foods were abundant, they decreased feeding time. These macaques did not respond to fluctuations in food distribution. The present results indicate the importance of temperature, in addition to food‐related factors, as a determinant of activity budgets. Am. J. Primatol. 63:165–177, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Are goal intentions or implementation intentions better predictors of health behavior? A longitudinal study in orthopedic rehabilitation.

Objective: To compare the predictive power of goal intentions and implementation intentions. Design: Both constructs were expected to explain physical exercise at 3 points in time (with follow-ups at 6 and 12 months) in a sample of 368 persons participating in orthopedic rehabilitation. Results: Goal intentions and implementation intentions predicted exercise during rehabilitation. In contrast, goal intentions failed to predict exercise at later points in time, whereas implementation intentions continued to be associated with exercise 12 months later. Conclusions: Implementation intentions rather than goal intentions predict behavior as it becomes routine. As automatic processes such as behavior elicited by planning are largely age invariant, strengthening those processes might help to overcome volitional problems across all age groups represented in rehabilitation settings.
A recessive C‐terminal Jervell and Lange‐Nielsen mutation of the KCNQ1 channel impairs subunit assembly

The LQT1 locus (KCNQ1) has been correlated with the most common form of inherited long QT (LQT) syndrome. LQT patients suffer from syncopal episodes and high risk of sudden death. The KCNQ1 gene encodes KvLQT1 α‐subunits, which together with auxiliary IsK (KCNE1, minK) subunits form IKs K+ channels. Mutant KvLQT1 subunits may be associated either with an autosomal dominant form of inherited LQT, Romano–Ward syndrome, or an autosomal recessive form, Jervell and Lange‐Nielsen syndrome (JLNS). We have identified a small domain between residues 589 and 620 in the KvLQT1 C‐terminus, which may function as an assembly domain for KvLQT1 subunits. KvLQT1 C‐termini do not assemble and KvLQT1 subunits do not express functional K+ channels without this domain. We showed that a JLN deletion–insertion mutation at KvLQT1 residue 544 eliminates important parts of the C‐terminal assembly domain. Therefore, JLN mutants may be defective in KvLQT1 subunit assembly. The results provide a molecular basis for the clinical observation that heterozygous JLN carriers show slight cardiac dysfunctions and that the severe JLNS phenotype is characterized by the absence of KvLQT1 channel.
Antioxidant Therapies in the Prevention and Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained arrhythmia encountered in clinical practice, representing a major public health problem. Accumulating evidence suggests oxidative stress may play an important role in the pathogenesis and perpetuation of AF [1-5]. There are several redox signaling pathways that are possibly related to increased oxidative stress in the setting of AF, including mitochondrial DNA damage, increased activity of enzymes such as NADPH oxidase and xanthine oxidase, nitric oxide synthase uncoupling, activation of pro-arrhythmic transcription factors such as peroxi-some proliferator-activated receptor, c-fos and NF-κB. In the past few years experimental data and clinical evidence have tested the concept of antioxidant interventions to prevent AF. Besides statins, ACEIs and/or ARBs, several other interventions with antioxidant properties, such as Vitamin C and E, thiazolidinediones, N-acetylcysteine, probucol, nitric oxide donors or precursors, NADPH oxidase inhibitors, Xanthine oxidase inhibitors have emerged as novel strategies in the prevention and treatment of AF [6-10]. In this chapter, we aim to summarize recent evidence regarding antioxidant therapies in the prevention and treatment of atrial fibrillation
Testicular luteinizing hormone receptor content and in vitro stimulation of cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate and steroid production: a comparison between man and rat.

LH recepto rs, cAMP production and steroidogenesiswere compared in the human and rat testis in vitro,using whole tissue preparations and interstitial cell suspensions.Human testis tissue was obtained from prostatic cancer patientsundergoing orchiectomy (mean age, 71.6 yr); rat testis tissue wasfrom 80- to 90-day-old animals. The amount of [125I]iodohCGbinding in human testis homogenates averaged 0.57 ± 0.14 nmol⁄g wet wt (SE; n = 13), and the number of binding sites per Leydigcell was 1630 ± 220 (n = 5). In the rat, a similar calculation gave23,500 ± 2,500 (n = 4) binding sites per Leydig cell. The equilibriumassociation constants (Kas) of hCG binding to the humanand rat Leydig cell suspensions were 1.4 and 2.9 X 1010 M-1,respectively. Basal cAMP production in the human testis tissuewas 729 ± 225 pmol⁄g 4 h (n= 4), and maximal hCG stimulation(2 X 10-9 M) increased it on average by 590%. The basal rate ofcAMP production in the rat testis tissue was 59 ± 4.0 pmol⁄g 4h (n = 5), and hCG stimulated this rate b.
The presence of persistent high‐risk hpv genotypes in dysplastic cervical lesions is associated with progressive disease: Natural history up to 36 months

To evaluate the clinical significance of HPV genotyping for the prediction of progressive cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) in women with cytomorphologically abnormal smears, a prospective, blind, non‐intervention study was performed. A total of 342 patients screened with cytomorphologically abnormal cervical smears were monitored every 3–4 months by cervical cytology, colposcopy and HPV testing using PCR. Women with progressive CIN disease were defined as patients developing lesions with a colposcopic impression of CIN III over more than 2 quadrants or resulting in a cytological smear equivalent to Pap 5. These patients were subsequently treated according to standard procedures. If any doubt arose about the true status of the patients (n = 75) these patients were censored and biop‐sied. The mean follow‐up time was 16.5 months (range 3–36 months). Nineteen women showed progressive CIN disease and all appeared to be continuously HPV‐positive from the start of the study. At biopsy, all these patients were histologically classified as CIN III. Seventeen of these women were positive for high‐risk HPV types. Two cases were classified as still unidentified HPV. No progression was seen in the absence of HPV DNA or in the presence of low‐risk HPV types. In life‐table analysis the cumulative rate of progressive, histologically verified CIN disease was 17% after 36 months. Further analyses showed that other risk factors such as age, sexarche, number of sexual partners or smoking hardly influenced the effect of HPV on progression. The results show that the continuous presence of high‐risk HPV types in women with cytomorphologically abnormal smears is a strong marker for progressive CIN disease. © 1995 Wiley Liss. Inc.
Creating a Chemistry of Sciences with Big Data: Building the Data Science Institute at Imperial College London

The Data Science Institute at Imperial College London launched in April 2014, and will provide a hub for data-driven research and education. Its mission is to provide a focal point for the College's capabilities in multidisciplinary data-driven research by coordinating advanced data science research for college scientists and partners, and educating the next generation of data scientists. We surveyed the data-driven research needs at Imperial College London to gain an understanding across all disciplines offered by the College, and analysed the responses to gain insights into scientific and engineering needs for data science research. A clear message is that multidisciplinarity is essential for Big Data and data science research to enable a "chemistry of sciences": connecting all disciplines by integrating data. This paper presents our efforts to best understand data-driven research needs in a highly multidisciplinary research-intensive institution and describes our vision for the future of the Data Science Institute at Imperial College London.
Every Cloud Has a Push Data Lining: Incorporating Cloud Services in a Context-Aware Application

We investigated context-awareness by utilising multiple sources of context in a mobile device setting. In our experiment we developed a system consisting of a mobile client, running on the Android platform, integrated with a cloud-based service. These components were integrated using push messaging technology. One of the key features was the automatic adaptation of smartphones in accordance with implicit user needs. The novelty of our approach consists in the use of multiple sources of context input to the system, which included the use of calendar data and web based user configuration tool, as well as that of an external, cloud-based, configuration file storing user interface preferences which, pushed at log-on time irrespective of access device, frees the user from having to manually configure its interface. The system was evaluated via two rounds of user evaluations (n = 50 users), the feedback of which was generally positive and demonstrated the viability of using cloud-based services to provide an enhanced context-aware user experience.
Differential Assembly of Inwardly Rectifying K+ Channel Subunits, Kir4.1 and Kir5.1, in Brain Astrocytes*

The inwardly rectifying K+ channel subunit Kir5.1 is expressed abundantly in the brain, but its precise distribution and function are still largely unknown. Because Kir5.1 is co-expressed with Kir4.1 in retinal glial Müller cells, we have compared the biochemical and immunological properties of Kir5.1 and Kir4.1 in the mouse brain. Immunoprecipitation experiments suggested that brain expressed at least two subsets of Kir channels, heteromeric Kir4.1/5.1 and homomeric Kir4.1. Immunolabeling using specific antibodies showed that channels comprising Kir4.1 and Kir5.1 subunits were assembled in a region-specific fashion. Heteromeric Kir4.1/5.1 was identified in the neocortex and in the glomeruli of the olfactory bulb. Homomeric Kir4.1 was confined to the hippocampus and the thalamus. Homomeric Kir5.1 was not identified. Kir4.1/5.1 and Kir4.1 expression appeared to occur only in astrocytes, specifically in the membrane domains facing the pia mater and blood vessels or in the processes surrounding synapses. Both Kir4.1/5.1 and Kir4.1 could be associated with PDZ domain-containing syntrophins, which might be involved in the subcellular targeting of these astrocyte Kir channels. Because heteromeric Kir4.1/5.1 and homomeric Kir4.1 have distinct ion channel properties (Tanemoto, M., Kittaka, N., Inanobe, A., and Kurachi, Y. (2000) J. Physiol. (Lond.) 525, 587-592 and Tucker, S. J., Imbrici, P., Salvatore, L. , D'Adamo, M. C. , and Pessia, M. (2000) J. Biol. Chem. 275, 16404-16407), it is plausible that these channels play differential physiological roles in the K+-buffering action of brain astrocytes in a region-specific manner.
Regulation of the G1 phase of the cell cycle by periodic stabilization and degradation of the p25rum1 CDK inhibitor

In fission yeast, the cyclin‐dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitor p25rum1 is a key regulator of progression through the G1 phase of the cell cycle. We show here that p25rum1 protein levels are sharply periodic. p25rum1 begins to accumulate at anaphase, persists in G1 and is destroyed during S phase. p25rum1 is stabilized and polyubiquitinated in a mutant defective in the 26S proteasome, suggesting that its degradation normally occurs through the ubiquitin‐dependent 26S proteasome pathway. Phosphorylation of p25rum1 by cdc2–cyclin complexes at residues T58 and T62 is important to target the protein for degradation. Mutation of one or both of these residues to alanine causes stabilization of p25rum1 and induces a cell cycle delay in G1 and polyploidization due to occasional re‐initiation of DNA replication before mitosis. The CDK–cyclin complex cdc2–cig1, which is insensitive to p25rum1 inhibition, seems to be the main kinase that phosphorylates p25rum1. Phosphorylation of p25rum1 in S phase and G2 serves as the trigger for p25rum1 proteolysis. Thus, periodic accumulation and degradation of the CDK inhibitor p25rum1 in G1 plays a role in setting a threshold of cyclin levels important in determining the length of the pre‐Start G1 phase and in ensuring the correct order of cell cycle events.
Longitudinal study of serum carotenoid, retinol, and tocopherol concentrations in relation to breast cancer risk among postmenopausal women.

BACKGROUND Prospective studies have examined the association of serum and plasma carotenoids and micronutrients and breast cancer; however, to date, studies have only assessed exposure at one point in time. OBJECTIVE This study analyzed baseline and repeated serum measurements of carotenoids, retinol, and tocopherols to assess their associations with postmenopausal breast cancer risk. DESIGN Serum concentrations of alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, lycopene, lutein + zeaxanthin, retinol, alpha-tocopherol, and gamma-tocopherol were measured in a 6% sample of women in the Women's Health Initiative clinical trials at baseline and at years 1, 3, and 6 and in a 1% sample of women in the observational study at baseline and at year 3. The association of baseline compounds and breast cancer risk was estimated by Cox proportional hazards models. In addition, repeated measurements were analyzed as time-dependent covariates. Of 5450 women with baseline measurements, 190 incident cases of breast cancer were ascertained over a median of 8.0 y of follow-up. RESULTS After multivariable adjustment, risk of invasive breast cancer was inversely associated with baseline serum alpha-carotene concentrations (hazard ratio for highest compared with the lowest tertile: 0.55; 95% CI: 0.34, 0.90; P = 0.02) and positively associated with baseline lycopene (hazard ratio: 1.47; 95% CI: 0.98, 2.22; P = 0.06). Analysis of repeated measurements indicated that alpha-carotene and beta-carotene were inversely associated with breast cancer and that gamma-tocopherol was associated with increased risk. CONCLUSIONS The present study, which was the first to assess repeated measurements of serum carotenoids and micronutrients in relation to breast cancer, adds to the evidence of an inverse association of specific carotenoids with breast cancer. The positive associations observed for lycopene and gamma-tocopherol require confirmation. This trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov as NCT00000611.