Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fast Data Parallel Radix Sort Implementation in DirectX 11 Compute Shader to Accelerate Ray Tracing Algorithms

In this paper we present a fast data parallel implementation of the radix sort on the DirectCompute software development kit (SDK). We also discuss in detail the various optimization strategies that were used to increase the performance of our radix sort, and we show how these strategies can be generalized for any video card that supports the DirectCompute model. The insights that we share in this paper should be of use to any General-Purpose Graphics Processing Unit (GPGPU) programmer regardless of the video card being used. Finally, we discuss how radix sort can be used to accelerate ray tracing and we present some results in this area as well.
Circulating VEGF Levels in the Serum of Gastric Cancer Patients: Correlation With Pathological Variables, Patient Survival, and Tumor Surgery

ObjectiveTo evaluate the clinical usefulness of serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels in gastric cancer patients. Summary Background DataVascular endothelial growth factor plays an important role in the formation of new blood vessels involved in the growth and metastatic spread of solid tumors, but there is limited information regarding the clinical significance of serum VEGF levels in cancer patients. MethodsSerum VEGF concentrations were measured by an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay in 61 healthy controls and in 58 gastric cancer patients before surgery, and then again at 7 and 30 days after surgery. The association between preoperative serum VEGF levels, clinicopathological features and patient survival, and their changes following surgery were evaluated. ResultsSerum VEGF levels in gastric cancer patients were significantly higher than those in controls. There was a significant association between serum VEGF levels and disease stage, as well as invasion depth of the tumor and the presence of distant metastases. Serum VEGF levels decreased significantly after radical resection of the primary tumor and increased in patients with unresectable tumors. Multivariate regression analysis showed that serum VEGF level is an independent prognostic factor for survival. ConclusionsSerum VEGF levels in gastric patients are significantly higher compared with normal controls and correlate with local tumor extent, disease stage, and the presence of distant metastases. Preoperative serum VEGF concentration decreases significantly after radical resection of the primary tumor and is an independent prognostic factor for patient survival suggesting that determination of serum VEGF levels may be clinically useful.
1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D Promotes Negative Feedback Regulation of TLR Signaling via Targeting MicroRNA-155–SOCS1 in Macrophages

The negative feedback mechanism is essential to maintain effective immunity and tissue homeostasis. 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25[OH]2D3) modulates innate immune response, but the mechanism remains poorly understood. In this article, we report that vitamin D receptor signaling attenuates TLR-mediated inflammation by enhancing the negative feedback inhibition. Vitamin D receptor inactivation leads to hyperinflammatory response in mice and macrophage cultures when challenged with LPS, because of microRNA-155 (miR-155) overproduction that excessively suppresses suppressor of cytokine signaling 1, a key regulator that enhances the negative feedback loop. Deletion of miR-155 attenuates vitamin D suppression of LPS-induced inflammation, confirming that 1,25(OH)2D3 stimulates suppressor of cytokine signaling 1 by downregulating miR-155. 1,25(OH)2D3 downregulates bic transcription by inhibiting NF-κB activation, which is mediated by a κB cis-DNA element located within the first intron of the bic gene. Together, these data identify a novel regulatory mechanism for vitamin D to control innate immunity.
Impact of genetic polymorphisms in ABCB1, CYP2B6, OPRM1, ANKK1 and DRD2 genes on methadone therapy in Han Chinese patients.

AIM The present study explored the integrative effect of genes encoding methadone pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic pathways on methadone maintenance doses in Han Chinese Patients. MATERIALS & METHODS Genomic DNA was extracted from 321 opioid-dependent patients and 202 healthy controls, and realtime-PCR and PCR-RFLP were conducted to determine the genotypes. RESULTS Pair-wise comparisons revealed that carriers of the variants ABCB1 3435C>T or CYP2B6 516G>T alleles were more likely to require a higher methadone dose than noncarriers (both p < 0.0001). On the other hand, carriers of the variant DRD2 -214A>G or 939C>T allele had a twofold chance of requiring a lower methadone dose than noncarriers (p = 0.001). Proportional odds regression with adjustment of cofactors demonstrated that ABCB1, CYP2B6, OPRM1, ANKK1 and DRD2 genetic variants were jointly correlated with optimal methadone dose (adjusted r(2) = 53%). CONCLUSIONS These findings provide new insight to the fact that the interindividual variability of methadone dosage requirement is polygenetic and cannot be explained by a single-gene effect.
Prevention of bacterial adherence to implant surfaces with a crosslinked albumin coating in vitro

Titanium surfaces were coated with bovine serum albumin using carbodiimide, a crosslinking agent. The durability of the coated surfaces and the inhibitory effect of the albumin coating on bacterial adherence were tested in vitro for 20 consecutive days at 37°C in phosphate buffered saline, with intermittent agitation. The results showed that only 10% of the coated bovine serum albumin decayed off the surface during the 20‐day incubation period. The inhibition rate of the albumin coating on bacterial adherence remained high (greater than 85% ) throughout the experiment. The results suggested potential use of this crosslinked albumin coating to reduce bacterial adherence and thus the subsequent possibility of prosthetic or implant infection in vivo.
Bacteraemia due to dental flossing.

AIMS The aims of this study were to (1) investigate the incidence of bacteraemia following flossing in subjects with chronic periodontitis or periodontal health; (2) identify the micro-organisms in detected bacteraemias; and (3) identify any patient or clinical factors associated with such bacteraemia. MATERIAL AND METHODS Baseline blood samples were obtained from 30 individuals with chronic periodontitis (17 M:13 F, 29-75 years) and 30 with periodontal health (17 M:13 F, 28-71 years) following a non-invasive examination. Each subject's teeth were then flossed in a standardized manner and blood samples obtained 30 s and 10 min. after flossing cessation. Blood samples were cultured in a BACTEC system and positive samples subcultured for identification. RESULTS Forty per cent of periodontitis subjects and 41% of periodontally healthy subjects tested positive for bacteraemia following flossing. Viridans streptococci, which are commonly implicated in infective endocarditis (IE), were isolated from 19% of positive subjects and accounted for 35% of microbial isolates. Twenty per cent of subjects had a detectable bacteraemia at 10 min. post-flossing. No patient or clinical factors were significantly associated with post-flossing bacteraemia. CONCLUSIONS Dental flossing can produce bacteraemia in periodontally healthy and periodontally diseased individuals at a rate comparable with that caused by some dental treatments for which antibiotic prophylaxis is given to prevent IE.
A New Family of Phosphotransferases with a P-loop Motif*

In most Gram-positive bacteria, catabolite repression is mediated by a bifunctional enzyme, the histidine-containing protein kinase/phosphatase (HprK/P). Based either on its primary sequence or on its recently solved three-dimensional structure, no straightforward homology with other known proteins was found. However, we showed here that HprK/P exhibits a restricted homology with an unrelated phosphotransferase, the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase. This includes notably two consecutive Asp residues from the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase active site, whose equivalent residues were mutated in Bacillus subtilis HprK/P. Characterization of the corresponding mutants emphasizes the crucial role of these Asp residues in the HprK/P functioning. Furthermore, superimposition of HprK/P and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase active sites supports the view that both enzymes bear significant resemblance in their overall mechanism of functioning showing that these two enzymes constitute a new family of phosphotransferases.
Zumbificação da informação: a desinformação e o caos informacional

O presente trabalho apresenta um panorama do atual contexto informacional, desenvolvido especialmente nas redes sociais com o intenso compartilhamento de noticias. Dentro deste contexto, a popularizacao de termos como “desinformacao”, “pos-verdade” e “fake news” sugere uma “crise” informacional na qualidade dos conteudos que sao disseminados. Com a difusao de diversas formas de desinformacao, os individuos acabam se informando com noticias falsas ou imprecisas. O comportamento de consumir e disseminar desinformacao sem saber e, assim, considerado em analogia com uma epidemia zumbi – figura folclorica da cultura pop mundial. Pretende-se discutir o contexto informacional contemporâneo utilizando desta analogia para delinear suas caracteristicas, alertar sobre seus problemas e buscar solucoes possiveis para resolver seus impasses. Este cenario parece ser resultado de algumas caracteristicas tecnicas e sociais da sociedade da informacao, como o surgimento web 2.0, a cibercultura e a pos-modernidade. A metodologia utilizada foi uma pesquisa bibliografica e exploratoria. Como possiveis solucoes, o trabalho apresenta as recentes iniciativas de fact check , o conceito de “inteligencia coletiva” e novos paradigmas envolvendo a Filosofia da Informacao e a Ciencia da Informacao. Como conclusao, o trabalho enfatiza a importância da reflexao critica e etica dentro do meio digital para possibilitar a saida desse “caos informacional”.
The Importance of Technology in the Consolidation of Hospital Markets - The Case of the United States

Over the last years, technology has become a key element of competition in the hospital market. At the same time, this market in the US has experienced an enormous merger activity. In this study, we analyze the role that technology can play in this consolidation wave by focusing on how it can affect a hospital´s selection of a particular target. We analyze the selection of targets in mergers that took place in the US hospital market between 1985 and 2000. Our results show that technology is an important element for the competition in the hospital market and, as such, it plays a relevant role also in M&A strategies. We find that hospitals are more likely to choose targets that complement their technological holding, specifically when these are complex technologies and with favorable cost/benefits ratios. With this, the merged entity tends to become closer to a one-stop-shop hospital.
Aquatic chemistry and solubility phenomena of actinide oxides/hydroxides

Abstract The present paper gives an overview of the solubility behavior of actinide oxides/hydroxides, taking into account hydrolysis reactions up to colloid formation. The analogies, systematic trends, and differences in the hydrolysis and solubility constants of actinides in the oxidation states An(III) to An(VI) correlate with the charge and size of the actinide ions. The formation of amorphous and crystalline solids and the discrepancies between the corresponding experimental solubility data may be explained as an effect of particle size. However, using thermodynamic data for the stable crystalline solids, the predicted solubilities are often significantly lower than experimental data (even in long-time experiments), indicating that the solubility is controlled by the surface properties. Typical examples are the known U(VI) solids schoepite and sodium diuranate. The most striking example is provided by the tetravalent actinides. Above the threshold of hydrolysis, the dissolution of microcrystalline or crystalline An(IV) oxides is found to be irreversible. The measured concentrations approach those of the amorphous hydroxides or hydrous oxides.
On the reconstruction of dynamic permeability of cancellous bones

This article focuses on the mathematical problem of reconstructing dynamic permeability K(! ) of two-phase composites from data at different frequencies, utilizing the analytic structure of K(! ). To numerically simulate the data by solving the unsteady Stokes equations in the 3D domain reconstructed from -CT scans of the composites, the issue of segmentation is also addressed in this paper and an efficient segmentation scheme is suggested and implemented for cancellous bone.
Density‐dependent changes in the amount of sulfated glycosaminoglycans associated with mouse 3T3 cells

The relative amount of sulfated glycosaminoglycans associated with the cell layer of parent and SV40‐transformed Swiss mouse 3T3 cells was determined from the incorporation of labeled sulfate (35SO4) into macromolecular material. In cultures of SV40‐transformed cells, the glycosaminoglycan content per cell was constant over a wide range of densities. In cultures of parent 3T3 cells, the glycosaminoglycan content per cell increased directly with density, the highest values being found in contact‐inhibited cultures. At high cell densities, the glycosaminoglycan content of 3T3 cells was several‐fold higher than that for SV40‐transformed cells. Most of the density‐dependent increase in glycosaminoglycans of 3T3 cells was accounted for by chondroitin sulfate (dermatan sulfate) which was over 6‐fold higher in confluent cultures than in low density cultures.
A PROMPT SEQUENTIAL METHOD FOR SUBSURFACE FLOW MODELING USING THE MODIFIED MULTI-SCALE FINITE VOLUME AND STREAMLINE METHODS

In this work, an innovative numerical algorithm accompanied by considerable accuracy is presented to reduce the computational cost of subsurface flow modeling. This method combines a modified multi-scale finite volume method (MMsFV) and streamline method based on the sequential approach. First, the modified multi-scale finite volume method, which includes a physical adaptation on the localization assumption, is employed to obtain a conservative velocity field with a similar cost to traditional upscaling methods. Then, the swift streamline method is utilized to solve the transport equation using the computed, conservative velocity field. The physical modification on the multi-scale framework imposes the nature of the actual flow moving from the multi-dimensional into 1-D local problems, which are constructed for calculating the boundary conditions in localization procedures. This physical modification is known as the modified variable boundary conditions (VBC) approach. The more accurate boundary conditions are generated for calculating basis and correction functions applied in multi-scale finite volume method. Here, the formulation and algorithm of the proposed and combined method, called the Modified Multi-scale Finite Volume Streamline (MMsFVSL) method, are presented for 2-D problems. Several test cases, including both incompressible single-phase and two-phase flow are investigated in which the obtained results show that the MMsFVSL method has a good accuracy with a high speed-up factor to reduce the total CPU time in the simulation process. Consequently, the MMsFVSL method offers a significantly efficient simulation algorithm capable of direct simulation for high resolution geological models.
Estimation embarquée des efforts latéraux et de la dérive d'un véhicule : validation expérimentale

Les principales preoccupations de la securite de conduite sont la comprehension et la prevention des situations critiques. Un examen attentif du nombre d'accidents revele que la perte du controle du vehicule est l'une des causes principales des accidents routiers. L'amelioration de la stabilisation du vehicule est possible lorsque ses parametres dynamiques sont connus. Certains parametres fondamentaux de la dynamique, tels que les efforts de contact pneumatiques/chaussee, l'angle de derive et l'adherence, ne sont pas disponibles sur les vehicules de serie ; par consequence, ces variables doivent etre estimees. L'observateur propose dans cette etude est de type filtre de Kalman, il est base sur la reponse dynamique d'un vehicule equipe par des capteurs standards. Cet article decrit le procede d'estimation et presente des evaluations experimentales. Les resultats experimentaux acquis avec le vehicule du laboratoire INRETS-MA prouvent l'exactitude et le potentiel de cette approche.
Cancer drugs, survival and ethics: a critical look from the inside

The recently published article by Dr Peter Wise in the British Medical Journal ( BMJ ) is a very strong criticism of the cancer community at large, including governments, pharmaceutical industry, regulatory agencies, cancer trialists and medical oncologists in relation to cancer drug development and the cost, approval process and, ultimately, prescription to patients.1 In short, the view of this well-respected endocrinologist is that patients with cancer have a poor understanding of their benefits and risks as clinical trial participants, that they are provided with unrealistic expectations regarding drug efficacy, which he purports are marginal at best, and that the world of cancer research is dominated by market interests rather than true health benefits. A plea is made for raising the efficacy bar in trial design and drug approval criteria and for giving more weight to research in prevention, early diagnosis and supportive care, as the latter, in Dr Wise’s opinion, has likely contributed more than drugs to improve the 5-year survival rates of many solid tumours. In this editorial we will examine these criticisms, evaluate their pertinence and, when applicable, discuss current attempts at repositioning the needs of patients with cancer at the heart of innovation efforts. For a new cancer drug to reach the market, it has to demonstrate an improved therapeutic index when compared with 'standard of care' in a well-conducted randomised clinical trial. This involves a succession of critical, complex steps and multiple stakeholders. The responsibility for designing, conducting, analysing and reporting pivotal cancer clinical trials has progressively moved away from academia and is mostly today in the hands of pharma, with very little, if any, governmental support. The history behind this worrisome evolution …
Determinants of Bilingualism Among Children

This paper analyzes the determinants of bilingualism (i.e., speaks a language other than English at home) among children age 5 to 18 years in the American Community Survey, 2005-2011. Two groups of children are considered: those born in the US (native born) and foreign-born children who immigrated prior to age 14 (the 1.5 generation). The analyses are conducted overall, within genders, and within racial and ethnic groups. Bilingualism is more prevalent if the parents are foreign born, less proficient in English, of the same ancestry (linguistic) group, and if the child lives in an ethnic (linguistic) concentration area. Although the effects are relatively smaller, a foreign-born grandparent living in the household increases child bilingualism, while a higher level of parental education tends to decrease it. Children of Asian and especially of Hispanic origin are more likely to be bilingual than their white, non-Hispanic counterparts. Native-born Indigenous children are more likely to be bilingual.
EFFECT OF SEX HORMONES ON LIPID PEROXIDATION IN WOMEN WITH POLYCYSTIC OVARY SYNDROME, HEALTHY WOMEN, AND MEN

Recently, the influence of free radicals and lipid peroxides on many diseases, the effect of sex hormones on lipid peroxidation and antioxidant effects of estrogens have received considerable interest. In the present study we aimed to investigate the relationship between sex hormones and both lipid peroxidation and glutathione content in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (POS), in healthy women and in healthy men. We measured levels of lipid peroxides and sex hormones in plasma and levels of glutathione in erythrocytes of all cases. We evaluated the level of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) as an index of lipid peroxides and erythrocyte glutathione level as an index of antioxidant. We found that plasma levels of free testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) and estradiol significantly higher in the women with POS group than in the healthy women group. There was no significant difference in the levels of both plasma TBARS and erythrocyte glutathione, between women with POS group and healthy women group. Plasma DHEAS levels of healthy men and women with POS were similar. Plasma TBARS level was higher and erythrocyte glutathione level was lower in the healthy men group than in both the healthy women group and in the women with POS group. These data imply that testosterone has an oxidant effect. DHEAS which is an antioxidant, has a protective role in females with POS. Estrogens have an antioxidant effect but this action changes according to its dominant degradation pathway.
Assessment of comorbidities in surgical oncology outcomes

The impact of comorbidities on treatment, postoperative complications, survival, prognosis, and quality of life, makes comorbidities' assessment essential in surgically managed cancer patients. Multiple indices exist to measure the presence and severity of comorbidities, of which the Charlson Comorbidity Index and the Adult Comorbidity Evaluation‐27 are the most widely employed. Incorporation of comorbidity data in cancer registries facilitates surgical oncology research conduct with an objective to improve cancer care through better‐informed patient counseling and treatment planning. J. Surg. Oncol. 2014 110:629–635. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
An implementation of a particle detective mobile device to solve the problem of collecting PM2.5 data without Internet-connection

The particle pollution around China & Taiwan has become an increasing fatal problem at recent years. Facing such critical issues, the governance of both must give priority to dealing with their people health crisis as soon as possible. In spite that the more and more particle detective devices are developed and delivered into market to people recently. But the fundamental solutions should be focused on those industrial pollutions all over the country. That is a big problem with extensive and unlimited territory concerned with collecting sensor data and sending data to administrative center.
Extracellular Signal-Regulated Protein Kinase 2 Is Required for Efficient Generation of B Cells Bearing Antigen-Specific Immunoglobulin G

ABSTRACT Activation of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK) has been implicated in proliferation as well as differentiation in a wide variety of cell types. Using B-cell-specific gene-targeted mice, we report here that in T-cell-dependent immune responses, ERK2 is required to generate efficient immunoglobulin G (IgG) production. In its absence, the proportion of antigen-specific surface IgG1-bearing cells and the subsequent number of IgG1 antibody-secreting cells were decreased, despite apparently unimpaired class switch recombination. Notably, this defect was countered by overexpression of the antiapoptotic factor Bcl-2. Together, our results suggest that ERK2 plays a key role in efficient generation of antigen-specific IgG-bearing B cells by promoting their survival.