Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dyslipidemia : The scope of the problem

C oronary artery disease is estimated to affect over 81 million adults in America, with a projected cost of $156.4 billion healthcare dollars in 2008. It remains the leading cause of death in Americans, with an average of one death per minute due to a coronary event. Ninety percent of all persons with an acute coronary event will have at least one of the following predisposing risk factors: hypertension, hyperlipidemia, cigarette smoking or diabetes. More than 106 million Americans—46% of the adult population— have a total cholesterol of 200mg/dL or greater, and this does not include the 11% of adolescents with similar levels of total cholesterol. According to data from the 3rd Report from the Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in AdultsAdult Treatment Panel III (NCEPATP III), the majority of these patients are receiving suboptimal care. Only a minority of patients (less than 50%) that qualify for treatment of their dyslipidemia as part of a cardiovascular risk reduction strategy are on any form of treatment. The same holds true for those with symptomatic coronary artery disease who are at the highest risk for future cardiovascular events.
A unified MAC layer framework for ad-hoc networks with smart antennas

Smart antennas represent a broad variety of antennas that differ in their performance and transceiver complexity. The superior capabilities of smart antennas, however, can be leveraged only through appropriately designed higher layer network protocols, including at the medium access control (MAC) layer. Although several related works have considered such tailored protocols, they do so in the context of specific antenna technologies. In this paper, we explore the possibility for a unified approach to medium access control in ad hoc networks with smart antennas. We first present a unified representation of the PHY layer capabilities of the different types of smart antennas, and their relevance to MAC layer design. We then define a unified MAC problem formulation, and derive unified MAC algorithms (both centralized and distributed) from the formulation. Finally, using the algorithms developed, we investigate the relative performance trade-offs of the different technologies under varying network conditions. We also analyze theoretically the performance bounds of the different smart antenna technologies when the available gains are exploited for rate increase and communication range increase.
Transition of Mesothelial Cell to Fibroblast in Peritoneal Dialysis: EMT, Stem Cell or Bystander?

Long-term peritoneal dialysis (PD) can lead to fibrotic changes in the peritoneum, characterized by loss of mesothelial cells (MCs) and thickening of the submesothelial area with an accumulation of collagen and myofibroblasts. The origin of myofibroblasts is a central question in peritoneal fibrosis that remains unanswered at present. Numerous clinical and experimental studies have suggested that MCs, through epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), contribute to the pool of peritoneal myofibroblasts. However, recent work has placed significant doubts on the paradigm of EMT in organ fibrogenesis (in the kidney particularly), highlighting the need to reconsider the role of EMT in the generation of myofibroblasts in peritoneal fibrosis. In particular, selective cell isolation and lineage-tracing experiments have suggested the existence of progenitor cells in the peritoneum, which are able to switch to fibroblast-like cells when stimulated by the local environment. These findings highlight the plastic nature of MCs and its contribution to peritoneal fibrogenesis. In this review, we summarize the key findings and caveats of EMT in organ fibrogenesis, with a focus on PD-related peritoneal fibrosis, and discuss the potential of peritoneal MCs as a source of myofibroblasts.
Inverting Amplifier Genetic Circuit Performance

A synthetic genetic circuit has been designed whose topology and function echo those of an electronic inverting amplifier. Several variants of this circuit have been built in our laboratory. This paper reports on the testing of one of these variants and contributes to the field both in terms of evaluating the specific amplifier performance and in terms of providing a methodology for performance evaluation of analog genetic circuits. An input source was created and partially calibrated. It was then used to test the circuit through both fluorometer measurements and flow cytometry. In the discussion, consideration is given to cellular loading by the synthetic circuits and the resulting impact on circuit performance. Models developed earlier are compared with the experimental results. The circuit does indeed perform as an inverting amplifier
imm-layer homology motif is an immunogen and confers protection to mouse model gainst anthrax

SLH proteins bear an S-layer homology motif comprised of three S-layer homology (SLH) domains. Several SLH proteins in Bacillus anthracis have been recognized as immunogenic in recent past. We hypothesized that the SLH motif, the most common moiety amongst all the SLH proteins could be responsible for their immunogenicity. To test this hypothesis, we checked the immunogenic capacity of recombinant SLH motif. The rSLH fragment on immunization in mice led to the development of a potent humoral and T Helper immune response as compared to the only adjuvant immunized group. Antibodies raised against
HeartWare-HVAD for end-stage heart failure: a review of clinical experiences with ≥50 patients

ABSTRACT Introduction: Despite the improvements in medical and surgical treatments, the incidence of end-stage heart failure (ESHF) continues to increase. Different mechanical systems have been adopted to support failing left ventricles. Among continuous-flow devices, the HeartWare-HVAD was the first to use a centrifugal pump rather than an axial one. Areas covered: In this review article, we provide an overview of the HeartWare-HVAD as a ventricular assist device for ESHF, discussing indications, echocardiographic assessment, surgical techniques, outcomes, concerns and controversies. Scientific literature was reviewed with a MEDLINE search strategy combining ‘HeartWare’ or ‘HVAD’ with ‘heart failure’. A total of 263 papers were found using the reported search. From these, 16 were identified to provide the best evidence on the subject reporting outcomes in ≥50 patients. Expert commentary: HeartWare-HVAD is a minute device that provides full circulatory support in patients with ESHF. Its main indication remains bridge to heart transplantation (HTx). Median sternotomy is the preferred technique of implantation although less invasive procedures have been described. Early outcomes are satisfactory. Nevertheless, some fearing complications still occur during the mid- and long-term follow-up. Further technical developments and optimal medical management will guarantee better outcomes.
Circular DNA forms of a bacterial sex factor.

taining 9.3 ;&g of DNA and 832 mg of cesium chloride in TE buffer (0.01 M Tris, 0.001 M EDTA, pH 8.4) was centrifuged at 33,000 rpm for 60 hr at 250. Ftactions (0.05-ml) were collected and aliquots of these fractions were counted as described above. Electron microscopy: The procedures for the preparation of the DNA for electron microscopy have been previously described.22 Essentially, the technique of Kleinschmidt and Zahn,n subse quently modified by Stoeckenius,26 was employed. The DNA specimens were rotary-shadowed with uranium and examined in a Phillips 200 electron microscope. Contour lengths were determined as previously described.22
Counteracting effects of dexamethasone and α2‐macroglobulin on inhibition of proliferation of normal and neoplastic rat hepatocytes by transforming growth factors‐β type 1 and type 2

Primary cultures of hepatocytes isolated from normal F‐344 rats or from F‐344 rats with hepatocellular carcinomas generated by a 2‐step model of chemical carcinogenesis were used to determine if dexamethasone (DEX) or α2‐macroglob‐ulin (α2M) modify the ability of transforming growth factors‐β type 1 (TGF‐β1) and type 2 (TGF‐β2) to inhibit labelling index of hepatocytes cultured continuously with or without epidermal growth factor (EGF). Both TGF‐β1 and β2 were equivalently potent inhibitors of S‐phase DNA synthesis in normal and neoplastic hepatocytes as determined by 3H‐thymidine autoradiography. Both DEX (1 to 100 μM) and α2M (50‐200 μm) partially counteracted the mito‐inhibitory effect of both TGF‐βs on the proliferation of normal and surrounding hepatocytes. In contrast, neoplastic hepatocytes cultured with DEX released much less immunoreactive α2M and were less able to overcome the inhibitory effect of TGF‐β than normal or surrounding hepatocytes. Purified bovine α2M partially counteracted the inhibition of TGF‐β1 or β2 of both surrounding and neoplastic hepatocytes. Both DEX and α2M were more effective against the mito‐inhibitory activity of TGF‐β2. Our data suggest that α2M released by DEX‐treated normal hepatocytes contributes to the counteraction of the TGF‐β effect by DEX. Our results support the hypothesis that glucocorticoids and growth‐factor‐binding proteins may have important roles in modulating the effects of TGF‐β on normal hepatocyte proliferation and suggest that under some conditions hepatocellular neoplasms can be more sensitive than normal hepatocytes to inhibition of proliferation by TGF‐β.
Can genetic algorithms help virus writers reshape their creations and avoid detection?

Abstract Different attack and defence techniques have been evolved over time as actions and reactions between black-hat and white-hat communities. Encryption, polymorphism, metamorphism and obfuscation are among the techniques used by the attackers to bypass security controls. On the other hand, pattern matching, algorithmic scanning, emulation and heuristic are used by the defence team. The Antivirus (AV) is a vital security control that is used against a variety of threats. The AV mainly scans data against its database of virus signatures. Basically, it claims a virus if a match is found. This paper seeks to find the minimal possible changes that can be made on the virus so that it will appear normal when scanned by the AV. Brute-force search through all possible changes can be a computationally expensive task. Alternatively, this paper tries to apply a Genetic Algorithm in solving such a problem. Our proposed algorithm is tested on seven different malware instances. The results show that in all the tested malware instances only a small change in each instance was good enough to bypass the AV.
Role of Platelet‐Derived Growth Factor as an Adjunct to Surgery in the Management of Pressure Ulcers

&NA; Management options for pressure ulcers include local wound care, surgical repair, and, more recently, topical application of platelet‐derived growth factor (PDGF). PDGF is a glycoprotein that is mitogenic for mesenchymal cells and has been studied extensively for applicability in promoting the healing of chronic human wounds. Using data obtained from a multicenter clinical trial for the treatment of full‐thickness pressure ulcers, a subset analysis was performed to investigate the outcome of salvage surgery for pressure ulcers, after incomplete closure occurred with the topical use of either recombinant human PDGF‐BB (rhPDGF‐BB) or placebo gel. At the University of Michigan Wound Care Center, subset data from a randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled, parallel group clinical trial were reviewed to compare the effects of three concentrations of rhPDGF‐BB on full‐thickness pressure ulcers of the trunk with those of the placebo. Twenty‐eight patients were enrolled and 27 completed the trial. An intent‐to‐treat analysis was used to evaluate data. If the ulcer did not heal by the end of the 16‐week trial period, the surgeon, still blinded to the treatment group, offered salvage surgical repair of the pressure ulcer. Eleven patients underwent salvage surgical repair using myocutaneous flaps, primary closure, or skin grafts. Of three patients who received placebo followed by surgery, none progressed to full healing within 1 year. Of 12 patients in the treatment group who received rhPDGF‐BB and salvage surgery, 11 (92 percent) ultimately healed the ulcers within 1 year after the start of the clinical trial. These findings suggest that treatment with rhPDGF‐BB before surgery enhances the ability to achieve a closed wound over surgery alone. It must yet be determined to what degree rhPDGF‐BB contributed to the excellent results seen in the rhPDGF‐BB/surgery group. It is possible that rhPDGF‐BB “primes” the local wound milieu to make it more responsive to complete closure following surgical treatment. (Plast. Reconstr. Surg. 106: 1243, 2000.)
Extraction of Relevant Terms and Learning Outcomes from Online Courses

Nowadays, universities (on-site and online) have a large competition in order to attract more students. In this panorama, learning analytics can be a very useful tool since it allows instructors (and university managers) to get a more thorough view of their context, to better understand the environment, and to identify potential improvements. In order to perform analytics efficiently, it is necessary to have as much information as possible about the instructional context. The paper proposes a novel approach to gather information from different aspects within courses. In particular, the approach applies natural language processing (NLP) techniques to analyze the course’s materials and discover what concepts are taught, their relevancy in the course and their alignment with the learning outcomes of the course. The contribution of the paper is a semi-automatic system that allows obtaining a better understanding of courses. A validation experiment on a master of the Open University of Catalonia is presented in order to show the quality of the results. The system can be used to analyze the suitability of course’s materials and to enrich and contextualize other analytical processes.
The Role of Accountability Policies and Alternative Certification on Principals' Perceptions of Leadership Preparation

This study reports on findings from a survey of Massachusetts' school principals that examined their perceptions of the nature and quality of certification programs. Results indicate that when participants were certified (pre or post NCLB) and where they were certified (public, private, alternative programs) has a significant influence on the perceived content and quality of their preparation. These findings reveal that accountability measures may have led to changes in the content and structure of principal preparation programs over time and suggest a need for state standards that influence the development, delivery, and evaluation of principal preparation programs to reflect the requisite skills principals need and want in the 21st century.
Reproductive performance of layer chickens reared on deep litter system with or without access to grass or legume pasture.

Despite several studies carried out to investigate the effects of access to pasture on poultry performance, there is a dearth of information on the comparative benefit of grass and legumes. This study investigated the effects of rearing systems [deep litter system (DL), deep litter with access to legumes (LP) or grass (GP) pastures] on the performance of ISA Brown layers. Two hundred and forty 12-week-old pullets were housed for this study. They were reared until 60 weeks of age. Eighty birds were assigned to each treatment; each treatment had four replicates of 20 birds each. Two birds per replicate were slaughtered at weeks 20, 35 and 58 for determination of the weights of liver, ovary, oviduct and the number of follicles. Daily egg production records were kept from the day of first egg to 42 weeks in lay. Body weights were recorded weekly. Results indicated that at 20 weeks of age, the hens kept in the LP had higher (p < 0.05) ovary weight (g) (34.98 ± 1.4), oviduct weight (52.55 ± 2.28) and oviduct length (cm) (49.73 ± 11.34), and higher number of large yellow follicles (3.75 ± 1.31) and small yellow follicles (12.75 ± 5.17) than those in the GP (0.83 ± 0.02, 1.68 ± 0.19, 16.38 ± 1.14, 0.00 and 0.00), and DL (1.03 ± 0.11, 1.48 ± 0.48, 14.43 ± 0.58, 0.00 and 0.00) respectively. The age (days) at first oviposition was earlier (p < 0.05) in the LP (139.25 ± 0.85) than that in the GP (146.75 ± 0.48) and DL (146.75 ± 0.48). The hen-day egg production was lower (p < 0.05) in GP (74.19 ± 1.25) than that in the DL (78.82 ± 0.78) and LP (79.93 ± 1.13) at mid-laying phase. Concentrate feed intake was lower (p < 0.05) in LP and GP than DL suggesting economic benefit. It was concluded that access to LP enhanced the performance of layers than DL and GP as indicated by the parameters measured.
Parallelism in Ada: general model and ravenscar

Parallel programming is expected to become more the norm as multi-core and many-core processors gain more widespread use. Ada has always had excellent concurrency support, but could be improved in the area of parallel programming. Specifically, divide and conquer parallelism via parallel loops and subprograms are difficult to write without some sort of library support. In this paper we describe a proposal that combines the use of task pools and parallelism managers to provide parallelism capabilities to real-time Ada applications, including Ravenscar applications. This work complements the syntax enhancements that we previously proposed, so that together they facilitate the writing of parallel applications.
Cord Blood Leptin and IGF-I in Relation to Birth Weight Differences and Head Circumference in Monozygotic Twins

OBJECTIVES To investigate a potential role of leptin and insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I on fetal growth and metabolic function we determined plasma leptin and IGF-I concentrations in twins in relation to discordant fetal growth. STUDY DESIGN In studying monochorionic twins with inter-twin birth weight difference, we investigated the relative contribution of genetic (fetus) versus environmental (maternal/placental) factors on growth. Thirty-six sets of twins (14 with discordant growth, birth weight difference >15%) who had been treated for severe twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) by laser coagulation were studied. Cord blood samples were collected at birth and analyzed for IGF-I and leptin. Inter-twin differences (delta) of birth weight and head circumference were correlated to delta hormone levels. RESULTS An inter-twin correlation for leptin (r = 0.69; p <0.0001) and delta IGF-I (r = 0.49; p <0.0001) was found. delta birth weight correlated significantly with delta IGF-I (r = 0.67; p <0.0001) but not with delta leptin (r = 0.23; p = 0.19). delta IGF-I concentrations did not correlate with delta leptin (r = 0.18). delta head circumference correlated significantly with delta leptin (r = 0.47; p <0.01) and with delta IGF-I (r = 0.46; p <0.01). Using a multiple regression model with head circumference as dependent variable, adjusted for gestational age, head circumference remained significantly associated with higher leptin concentrations in all patients (p = 0.03). CONCLUSION IGF-I is a good indicator for fetal growth and brain development. Leptin seems to be mainly genetically determined but may play a role in fetal brain development and is not only an index for fetal fat mass.
Government IT and T Insourcing/Outsourcing: A Model and Guidelines

This paper describes collaborative research commenced early in 1998 and being pursued in cooperation with the Queensland Government. It extends prior work by Hirschheim, R. and Lacity, M. (Beyond the information systems outsourcing bandwagon: the insourcing response, 1995; Information systems outsourcing: myths, metaphors and realities, J. Wiley, Chichester 1993) in the private sector, identifying government specific contingencies, with emphasis on the outsourcing relationship and related contract structures. Comparison will be possible between the prior study and findings in the public sector. Preliminary findings will be available for presentation at ACIS'98.
An Empirical Study of the Impact of US Stock and Currency Market on the Stock and Currency Markets of India, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore

This paper investigates the financial market interlinkages between the United States and four Asian countries; India, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore; focusing on the impact of shocks in the US currency and stock markets on the corresponding Asian market. A simple bi-variate vector autoregressive framework has been used to model the linkages between the financial markets of the US and the Asian countries. On the basis of impulse responses and decomposition of forecast error variance, we found that the financial markets reacted instantaneously to shocks in the corresponding US market, though the quantum of the impact was small. The markets were also found to stabilize rapidly. Variance decomposition of the shocks showed that, in general, US shocks had a greater impact on the currency markets of the Asian economies than on the stock markets.
Survival and prognostic factors in patients with severe alcoholic hepatitis treated with prednisolone.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Corticosteroids have been shown to significantly decrease short-term mortality in patients with severe alcoholic hepatitis. However, independent factors associated with a favorable outcome and long-term survival are unknown. The aim of this study was to examine prognostic factors and long-term survival in patients with biopsy-proven severe alcoholic hepatitis. METHODS Of 183 patients studied, 61 had been randomized in a previous trial; 32 of them were treated with prednisolone (group I) and 29 were not treated (group II); 61 were treated from the end of this randomized trial (group III); and 61 were simulated (group IV). RESULTS At 1 year, survival in group I (69%; confidence interval [CI], 57%-81%) and group III (71%; CI, 55%-87%) was better than in the nontreated groups (group II, 41%; CI, 23%-59%; P = 0.01) (group IV, 50%; CI, 37%-63%; P = 0.05). At 2 years, survival was not significantly different. Treated patients with marked liver polymorphonuclear infiltrate had better 1-year survival (76%; CI, 64%-88%) than the others (53%; CI, 35%-71%; P = 0.05). Treated patients with polymorphonuclear counts of > 5500/mm3 had better 1-year survival (77%; CI, 65%-89%) than the others (40%; CI, 14%-66%; P = 0.003). In the 93 treated patients, liver polymorphonuclear infiltrate (P < 0.03) and polymorphonuclear count (P < 0.001) were independently correlated with 1-year survival. CONCLUSIONS Prednisolone reduced mortality by at least 1 year. Liver polymorphonuclear infiltrate and polymorphonuclear count were independent prognostic factors.