Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Life with Oxygen

The survival of all metazoan organisms is dependent on the regulation of O2 delivery and utilization to maintain a balance between the generation of energy and production of potentially toxic oxidants. Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) is a transcription factor that functions as a master regulator of oxygen homeostasis and has essential roles in metazoan development, physiology, and disease pathogenesis. Remarkable progress has been made in delineating the molecular mechanisms whereby changes in cellular oxygenation are transduced to the nucleus as changes in gene transcription through the activity of HIF-1. Pharmacologic agents that activate or inhibit the hypoxia signal transduction pathway may be useful therapies for ischemic and neoplastic disorders, respectively, which are the major causes of mortality in industrialized societies.
H∞ and H2 control of multi-agent systems with transient performance improvement

In this paper, the H∞ consensus control and H2 robust control synthesised with transient performance problems are investigated for a group of autonomous agents with linear or linearised dynamics. Based on the relative information between neighbouring agents and a subset of absolute information of the agents, distributed controllers are proposed for both H∞ and H2 cases. Compared with the existing protocols, the one presented in this article focuses on improving the transient performance of the consensus problem. By using the tools from matrix analysis and robust control theory, conditions for the existence of controllers to those problems under an undirected communication topology are provided. Then, it is shown that the H2 performance limit of uncertain systems under a distributed controller equals the minimum H∞ consensus index synthesised with transient performance of a single agent by using a state feedback controller, independent of the communication topology. Finally, a simulation example as an application in Raptor-90 helicopter is proposed to illustrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results.
Labor induction and cesarean delivery: A prospective cohort study of first births in Pennsylvania, USA

BACKGROUND Mode of delivery at first childbirth largely determines mode of delivery at subsequent births, so it is particularly important to understand risk factors for cesarean delivery at first childbirth. In this study, we investigated risk factors for cesarean delivery among nulliparous women, with focus on the association between labor induction and cesarean delivery. METHODS A prospective cohort study of 2851 nulliparous women with singleton pregnancies who attempted vaginal delivery at hospitals in Pennsylvania, 2009-2011, was conducted. We used nested logistic regression models and multiple mediational analyses to investigate the role of three groups of variables in explaining the association between labor induction and unplanned cesarean delivery-the confounders of maternal characteristics and indications for induction, and the mediating (intrapartum) factors-including cervical dilatation, labor augmentation, epidural analgesia, dysfunctional labor, dystocia, fetal intolerance of labor, and maternal request of cesarean during labor. RESULTS More than a third of the women were induced (34.3%) and 24.8% underwent cesarean delivery. Induced women were more likely to deliver by cesarean (35.9%) than women in spontaneous labor (18.9%), unadjusted OR 2.35 (95% CI 1.97-2.79). The intrapartum factors significantly mediated the association between labor induction and cesarean delivery (explaining 76.7% of this association), particularly cervical dilatation <3 cm at hospital admission, fetal intolerance of labor, and dystocia. The indications for labor induction only explained 6.2%. CONCLUSIONS Increased risk of cesarean delivery after labor induction among nulliparous women is attributable mainly to lower cervical dilatation at hospital admission and higher rates of labor complications.
Examining Consumers' Willingness to Buy in Chinese Online Market

This paper aims to examine consumers’ willingness to buy from an e-commerce vendor in Chinese online market by using empirical modeling. Initially, we hypothesize that six factors influence consumers’ willingness to buy significantly. Then we develop 5 structural equation models (SEM) integrated these factors to test our hypotheses with the data from Chinese online market. The results suggest that perceived reputation and perceived risk are significantly associated with the level of consumers’ willingness to buy, while perceived size, perceived system assurance, and perceived privacy information protection are insignificant related with the level of consumers’ willingness to buy. In addition, perceived system assurance mediates the relationship between ease of use and willingness to buy.
A Web-Based learning activity integrated with scratch tool to support programming learning

How to foster not only Software Programming Skill (SPS) but also Computational Thinking Ability (CTA) of students becomes more important. However, students cannot immediately understand learning problems and statuses in terms of SPS and CTA even though Scratch tool can facilitate the programming learning. Therefore, a scheme of Web-based Learning Activity Integrated with Scratch Tool (WeLaS) is proposed to assist learners. In WeLaS, students can learn the programming concepts and knowledge by sequential learning content, hands-on practice the coding skills by embedded Scratch tool, address the task by online prompts, and reflect the learning status by diagnostic report. Consequently, WeLaS can be expected to assist students in achieving the high learning performance.
IMPROVEMENT IN CONTINUOUS CROPPING OF CUT CHRYSANTHEMUM BY PHANEROCHAETE CHRYSOSPORIUM

Cut chrysanthemum is one of the most popular cut flowers in the world. However, its production tends to fall dramatically because of continuous cropping. This reduced production may be due to the accumulation of phenolic acids secreted by the plant root and deposited in the soil. In this study, the chlamydospore of Phanerochaete chrysosporium was used to test the degradation ability of four phenolic acids after being inoculated into C. morifolium rhizosphere that has been monocultured for 5 years. The degradation rate of ferulic acid, syringic acid, vanillic acid, and p-hydroxybenzoic acid increased to 94.0%, 78.8%, 84.2%, and 81.4%, respectively, in comparison with CK. At the same time, urease content in the soil was augmented, which could effectively help in stimulating the nitrogen cycle. The fungi amount in the treatment group decreased in comparison with CK, whereas the bacteria content in the treatment group increased evidently by 3.00 and 1.76 times the control group content. The physiological status of plants improved after 120 days of cultivation, thereby illustrating that P. chrysosporium exerts a positive effect on addressing the issue of continuous cropping soil.
Application of New Resin Gels for Measuring Mercury by Diffusive Gradients in a Thin-films Technique

A possible replacement of previously recommended Spheron-Thiol resin gel for measuring mercury by diffusive gradients in a thin film (DGT) was studied. Duolite GT73 resin and newly prepared 6-mercaptopurine modified Iontosorb AV as binding phases were tested. The preparation procedure of resin-embedded gels was optimized and DGT with new resin gels verified. The verified DGT containing new resin gels was used for in situ mercury measurement in Svitava River.
Post-Challenge Leakage Resilient Public-Key Cryptosystem in Split State Model

SUMMARY Leakage resilient cryptography is often considered in the presence of a very strong leakage oracle: An adversary may submit arbitrary efficiently computable function f to the leakage oracle to receive f (x), where x denotes the entire secret that a party possesses. This model is somewhat too strong in the setting of public-key encryption (PKE). It is known that no secret-key leakage resilient PKE scheme exists if the adversary may have access to the secret-key leakage oracle to receive only one bit after it was given the challenge ciphertext. Similarly, there exists no sender-randomness leakage resilient PKE scheme if one-bit leakage occurs after the target public key was given to the adversary. At TCC 2011, Halevi and Lin have broken the barrier of after-the-fact leakage, by proposing the so-called split state model, where a secret key of a party is explicitly divided into at least two pieces, and the adversary may have not access to the entire secret at once, but each divided pieces, one by one. In the split-state model, they have constructed post-challenge secret-key leakage resilient CPA secure PKEs from hash proof systems, but the construction of CCA secure post-challenge secret-key leakage PKE has remained open. They have also remained open to construct sender-randomness leakage PKE in the split state model. This paper provides a solution to the open issues. We also note that the proposal of Halevi and Lin is post-challenge secret-key leakage CPA secure against a single challenge ciphertext; not against multiple challenges. We present an efficient generic construction that converts any CCA secure PKE scheme into a multiple-challenge CCA secure PKE that simultaneously tolerates post-challenge secret-key and sender-randomness leakage in the split state model, without any additional assumption . I n addition, our leakage amount of the resulting schemes is the same as that of
Medial Patellofemoral Ligament Reconstruction Reduces Radiographic Measures of Patella Alta in Adults

Background: Patellar height has long been considered a risk factor for patellofemoral instability. However, recent pediatric literature demonstrated a reduction in patellar height measurements following medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) reconstruction. Purpose: To assess the mean change in patellar height and the percentage of skeletally mature patients with patellar height ratios reduced to within-normal limits following MPFL reconstruction. Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: Adult patients undergoing primary MPFL reconstruction for recurrent lateral patellar instability between 2005 and 2013 were identified. Pre- and postoperative (within 1 year of surgery) lateral knee radiographs were assessed for patellar height indices, including Caton-Deschamps, Blackburne-Peel, and Insall-Salvati ratios. The change in patellar height and the number of patients reduced from abnormal to normal patellar height ratios following MPFL reconstruction were assessed. Results: Overall, 32 adult patients were included in the study, with a mean age of 25.7 years (range, 18-55 years). There were 21 women (66%) and 11 men (34%). Insall-Salvati, Blackburne-Peel, and Caton-Deschamps ratios all demonstrated significant reductions in patellar height between pre- and postoperative lateral knee radiographs (P < .001). All 3 indices showed a reduction in the number of patients meeting the criteria for patella alta following MPFL reconstruction. A total of 64% of patients had an abnormal preoperative Caton-Deschamps ratio reduced to within normal limits postoperatively. Conclusion: MPFL reconstruction provides a consistent reduction in patellar height measurements. The Caton-Deschamps ratio was reduced to the reference range following MPFL reconstruction in 64% of patients with preoperative patella alta. Surgeons treating patellofemoral instability should expect a reduction in patellar height after ligament reconstruction, which may affect the need for more invasive distalization procedures.
Validity of Ultrasound Lung Comets for Assessment of the Severity of Interstitial Pneumonia

Ultrasound (US) lung comets are often observed in patients with interstitial lung disease or congestive heart failure, but few studies have explored the clinical importance of US lung comets in patients with the former condition. We explored whether the US lung comet number could be used to assess the severity of interstitial pneumonia.
Activation of Prostaglandin FP and EP2 Receptors Differently Modulates Myofibroblast Transition in a Model of Adult Primary Human Trabecular Meshwork Cells.

PURPOSE Prostaglandin F2α analogues are the first-line medication for the treatment of ocular hypertension (OHT), and prostanoid EP2 receptor agonists are under clinical development for this indication. The goal of this study was to investigate the effects of F prostanoid (FP) and EP2 receptor activation on the myofibroblast transition of primary trabecular meshwork (TM) cells, which could be a causal mechanism of TM dysfunction in glaucoma. METHODS Human primary TM cells were treated with either latanoprost or butaprost and TGF-β2. Trabecular meshwork contraction was measured in a three-dimensional (3D) TM cell-populated collagen gel (CPCG) model. Expression of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and phosphorylation of myosin light chain (MLC) were determined by Western blot. Assembly of actin stress fibers and collagen deposition were evaluated by immunocytochemistry. Involvement of p38, extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), and Rho-associated kinase (ROCK) pathways as well as matrix metalloproteinase activation was tested with specific inhibitors. RESULTS In one source of validated adult TM cells, latanoprost induced cell contraction as observed by CPCG surface reduction and increased actin polymerization, α-SMA expression, and MLC phosphorylation, whereas butaprost inhibited TGF-β2-induced CPCG contraction, actin polymerization, and MLC phosphorylation. Both agonists inhibited TGF-β2-dependent collagen deposition. The latanoprost effects were mediated by p38 pathway. CONCLUSIONS Latanoprost decreased TM collagen accumulation but promoted a contractile phenotype in a source of adult TM cells that could modulate the conventional outflow pathway. In contrast, butaprost attenuated both TM contraction and collagen deposition induced by TGF-β2, thereby inhibiting myofibroblast transition of TM cells. These results open new perspectives for the management of OHT.
Observability issues in networked clocks with applications to epilepsy

Inspired by the epileptic seizure prediction problem, this paper investigates what we can expect to be able to observe from electroencephalography (EEG) measurements of brain dynamics. Earlier research efforts have unsuccessfully attempted to track synchrony from EEG, viewing the brain matter as a coupled oscillator with the seizure state resulting from global synchronization. Using a model of networked pendulum clocks, we find that observing sufficient information to track the build up of synchrony is an ill-posed problem unless measurements are taken from a very localized region of brain tissue.
Local disorder studied in SrTiO3 at low temperature by EXAFS spectroscopy.

The temperature dependence of the local distortions in ${\mathrm{SrTiO}}_{3}$ has been studied by EXAFS spectroscopy at the titanium K edge (4982 eV). The oxygen-ion Debye-Waller factor ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\sigma}}}_{0}^{2}$ has been determined from 4.5 to 240 K. The antiferrodistortive transition at 105 K is evidenced by a step in this Debye-Waller factor. At about 31 K, a maximum of ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\sigma}}}_{0}^{2}$ is detected and the EXAFS oscillations due to the first oxygen shell increase. This is the signature of a maximum disorder in the lattice vibrations in this temperature range. A quasiharmonic model with a sinusoidal modulation of the Ti-O distance cannot account for these observations. The lattice and electronic excitations which could support our data are qualitatively described.
Early Diagnosis Is Key in Vancomycin-Induced Linear IgA Bullous Dermatosis and Stevens-Johnson Syndrome

Abstract Background: With the emergence of highly resistant betalactam gram-positive organisms, vancomycin hydrochloride usage has increased considerably. Consequently, adverse drug reactions, including unfavorable cutaneous events, have also increased. Important adverse skin reactions are linear IgA bullous dermatosis (LABD) and Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS). These blistering disorders can have clinical manifestations that are difficult to distinguish; however, it is important to make the distinction because treatment and prognosis are different. Objective: The purpose of this study is to review the literature on LABD and SJS and compare important differentiating characteristics to assist physicians in making the correct diagnosis. Methods: The authors used MEDLINE to search for all published studies on vancomycin adverse events, and combined LABD, SJS, exanthema, and skin rashes each separately with vancomycin adverse events. Furthermore, the authors searched PubMed for all meta-analyses and randomized controlled clinical trials relating to treatment of patients with SJS. Results: Clinically, LABD and SJS both present similarly with bullae. Diagnosis is made by use of perilesional skin biopsy and direct immunofluorescence. Direct immunofluorescence shows linear IgA deposition along the basement membrane zone in LABD, whereas this is absent in SJS. The treatment for both vancomycin-induced SJS and vancomycin-induced LABD is prompt discontinuation of the drug. However, if SJS is diagnosed early, systemic corticosteroids appear to decrease morbidity. Conclusions: In cases of SJS or LABD that are difficult to distinguish clinically, the authors recommend performing a skin biopsy and direct immunofluorescence early to confirm the diagnosis so that effective treatment can be instituted.
Transmit/Receive beamformer design and resource allocation in multiuser MIMO-OFDM systems

This paper studies the transmit/receive beamformers design and resources allocation problem for downlink multiuser MIMO-OFDM systems. We propose an algorithm for jointly optimizing the transmit and receive beamformers and resources allocation to minimize the transmission power and at the same time satisfying userspsila quality of service (QoS) in terms of bit error rate (BER) and minimum data rate. In the proposed algorithm, userspsila transmit/receive beamformers are first designed to maximize the sum-rate of each tone. Based on this tone capacity information, an iterative algorithm is developed to allocate the tones to the users. After the tone allocation, the bit rate allocation of each user at the tones allocated is then determined to minimize the total transmission power under the constraint of minimum data rate. This last problem is formulated as a geometric programming (GP) problem. Compared to the traditional algorithms, the proposed approach can make efficient use of the spatial diversity and the frequency diversity of MIMO-OFDM systems, resulting in improved performance. Numerical examples are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Which Factors Predict Success After Discontinuation of Inhaled Budesonide Therapy in Children with Asthma?

Urinary eosinophil protein X (UEPX) concentration, lung function, and nonspecific bronchial hyperreactivity were determined in 40 asthmatic children (asymptomatic for 6.4 ± 3.0 months) (mean age 9.8 ± 2.9 years) receiving inhaled budesonide, in order to establish whether measurement of these parameters is useful in determining discontinuation of inhaled corticosteroid therapy. After the discontinuation of therapy, patients were asked to come to the Outpatient Clinic if symptoms recurred and did not respond to β2 mimetic usage in 24 hr. Otherwise they were to be seen 2–3 months later for a follow-up visit. UEPX concentration was determined and spirometry was performed on this visit. While UEPX concentrations had increased (p < 0.000l), FEV1, FEF 25–75 and PEF had decreased significantly 2.3 ± 0.53 months after the cessation of inhaled budesonide therapy in all children (p = 0.004, p = 0.02, p = 0.02, respectively). Due to clinical deterioration, inhaled corticosteroid therapy had to be restarted in 19 (48%) of the children (Group I), while the remaining 21 (52%) (Group II) continued to be asymptomatic during the 2.3 ± 0.5 months follow-up period. Although the initial UEPX concentrations, spirometer variables, and methacholine PC20 values of these two groups were not statistically different, the duration of clinical remission before discontinuation of budesonide prophylaxis was significantly longer in group II (p = 0.0037). We concluded that, in determining discontinuation of inhaled corticosteroid prophylaxis, duration of clinical remission seems to be a more useful criterion than measurement of UEPX levels, lung function test, and assessment of bronchial hyperreactivity.
Report from the third workshop on Algorithms and Systems for MapReduce and Beyond (BeyondMR'16)

This report summarizes the presentations and discussions of the third workshop on Algorithms and Systems for MapReduce and Beyond (BeyondMR'16). The BeyondMR workshop was held in conjunction with the 2016 SIGMOD conference in San Francisco, California, USA on July 1, 2016. The goal of the workshop was to bring together researchers and practitioners to explore algorithms, computational models, architectures, languages and interfaces for systems that need largescale parallelization and systems designed to support efficient parallelization and fault tolerance. These include specialized programming and data-management systems based on MapReduce and extensions, graph processing systems, data-intensive workflow and dataflow systems. The program featured two very well attended invited talks by Ion Stoica from AMPLab, University of California Berkeley and Carlos Guestrin from the University of Washington.
Association of Chronic Kidney Disease With Atrial Fibrillation Among Adults in the United States: REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) Study

Background—Atrial fibrillation (AF) is common among patients with end-stage renal disease, but few data are available on its prevalence among adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD) of lesser severity. Methods and Results—We evaluated the association of CKD with ECG-detected AF among 26 917 participants in the REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study, a population-based cohort of African-American and white US adults ≥45 years of age. Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was calculated using the abbreviated Modification of Diet in Renal Disease study equation and albuminuria was defined as a urinary albumin to creatinine ratio ≥30 mg/g. Participants were categorized by renal function: no CKD (eGFR ≥60 mL/min/1.73 m2 without albuminuria, n=21 081), stage 1 to 2 CKD (eGFR ≥60 mL/min/1.73 m2 with albuminuria n=2938), stage 3 CKD (eGFR 30 to 59 mL/min/1.73 m2, n=2683) and stage 4 to 5 CKD (eGFR <30 mL/min/1.73 m2, n=215). The prevalence of AF among participants without CKD, and with stage 1 to 2, stage 3, and stage 4 to 5 CKD was 1.0%, 2.8%, 2.7% and 4.2%, respectively. Compared with participants without CKD, the age-, race-, and sex-adjusted odds ratios for prevalent AF were 2.67 (95% confidence interval, 2.04 to 3.48), 1.68 (95% confidence interval, 1.26 to 2.24) and 3.52 (95% confidence interval, 1.73 to 7.15) among those with stage 1 to 2, stage 3, and stage 4 to 5 CKD. The association between CKD and prevalent AF remained statistically significant after further multivariable adjustment and was consistent across numerous subgroups. Conclusions—Regardless of severity, CKD is associated with an increased prevalence of AF among US adults.