Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Visual Rays are Parallel

We show that human observers using monocular viewing treat the pencil of ‘visual rays’ that diverges from the vantage point as experientally parallel. This oddity becomes very noticeable in the case of wide-angle presentations, where the angle subtended by a pair of visual rays may be as large as the angular size of the display. In our presentations such angles subtended over 100 deg. There are various ways to demonstrate the effect; in this study we measure the attitudes of pictorial objects that appear to be situated in mutually parallel attitudes in pictorial space. Our finding is that such objects appear parallel if they are similarly oriented with respect to the local visual rays. This leads to ‘errors’ in the judgment of mutual orientations of up to 100 deg. Although this appears to be the first quantitative study of the effect, we trace it to qualitative reports by Helmholtz (late 19th century) and Kepler (early 17th century) as well as speculation by early authors (AD 500). The effect has apparently been noticed by visual artists from the late middle ages to the present day.
Throughput maximization for wave-pipelined interconnects using cascaded buffers and transistor sizing

This paper presents two new design methodologies for throughput-centric wave-pipelined interconnects: cascaded buffers insertion and transistor sizing. Experimental results show that up to 185% throughput improvement can be achieved by applying the new proposed approaches compared with conventional interconnect optimization techniques, such as buffer insertion. Moreover, with the combination of cascaded buffers insertion and adequate techniques in supply voltage scaling, up to 60% dynamic power reduction can be gained compared to the conventional design.
Growth inhibition, cell-cycle dysregulation, and induction of apoptosis by green tea constituent (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate in androgen-sensitive and androgen-insensitive human prostate carcinoma cells.

Prostate cancer (PCA) is the most prevalent cancer diagnosed and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths among men in the United States. Descriptive epidemiological data suggest that androgens and environmental exposures play a key role in prostatic carcinogenesis. Since androgen action is intimately associated with proliferation and differentiation, at the time of clinical diagnosis in humans most PCA represent themselves as a mixture of androgen-sensitive and androgen-insensitive cells. Androgen-sensitive cells undergo rapid apoptosis upon androgen withdrawal. On the other hand, the androgen-insensitive cells do not undergo apoptosis upon androgen blocking, but maintain the molecular machinery of apoptosis. Thus, agents capable of inhibiting growth and/or inducing apoptosis in both androgen-sensitive and androgen-insensitive cells will be useful for the management of PCA. In the present study, we show that (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), the major polyphenolic constituent present in green tea, imparts antiproliferative effects against both androgen-sensitive and androgen-insensitive human PCA cells, and this effect is mediated by deregulation in cell cycle and induction of apoptosis. EGCG treatment was found to result in a dose-dependent inhibition of cell growth in both androgen-insensitive DU145 and androgen-sensitive LNCaP cells. In both the cell types, EGCG treatment also resulted in a dose-dependent G(0)/G(1)-phase arrest of the cell cycle as observed by DNA cell-cycle analysis. As evident by DNA ladder assay, confocal microscopy, and flow cytometry, the treatment of both DU145 and LNCaP cells with EGCG resulted in a dose-dependent apoptosis. Western blot analysis revealed that EGCG treatment resulted in (i) a dose-dependent increase of p53 in LNCaP cells (carrying wild-type p53), but not in DU145 cells (carrying mutant p53), and (ii) induction of cyclin kinase inhibitor WAF1/p21 in both cell types. These results suggest that EGCG negatively modulates PCA cell growth, by affecting mitogenesis as well as inducing apoptosis, in cell-type-specific manner which may be mediated by WAF1/p21-caused G(0)/G(1)-phase cell-cycle arrest, irrespective of the androgen association or p53 status of the cells.
Sedation protocols versus daily sedation interruption: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective The aim of this study was to systematically review studies that compared a mild target sedation protocol with daily sedation interruption and to perform a meta-analysis with the data presented in these studies. Methods We searched Medline, Scopus and Web of Science databases to identify randomized clinical trials comparing sedation protocols with daily sedation interruption in critically ill patients requiring mechanical ventilation. The primary outcome was mortality in the intensive care unit. Results Seven studies were included, with a total of 892 patients. Mortality in the intensive care unit did not differ between the sedation protocol and daily sedation interruption groups (odds ratio [OR] = 0.81; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.60 - 1.10; I2 = 0%). Hospital mortality, duration of mechanical ventilation, intensive care unit and hospital length of stay did not differ between the groups either. Sedation protocols were associated with an increase in the number of days free of mechanical ventilation (mean difference = 6.70 days; 95%CI 1.09 - 12.31 days; I2 = 87.2%) and a shorter duration of hospital length of stay (mean difference = -5.05 days, 95%CI -9.98 - -0.11 days; I2 = 69%). There were no differences in regard to accidental extubation, extubation failure and the occurrence of delirium. Conclusion Sedation protocols and daily sedation interruption do not appear to differ in regard to the majority of analyzed outcomes. The only differences found were small and had a high degree of heterogeneity.
Bone–Patellar Tendon–Bone Versus Hamstring Tendon Autografts for Primary Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: A Systematic Review of Overlapping Meta-analyses

Background: Previous meta-analyses have compared bone–patellar tendon–bone (BPTB) with hamstring tendon (HT) autografts for primary anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). Purpose: To conduct a systematic review of overlapping meta-analyses comparing BPTB with HT autografts for ACLR to determine which meta-analyses provide the best available evidence. Study Design: Systematic review; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: A systematic review was performed by searching the PubMed and Cochrane Library databases. Search words included “anterior cruciate ligament” AND “patellar tendon” AND “hamstring tendon” AND “meta-analysis. ” Results were reviewed to determine study eligibility. Patient outcomes and postoperative complications were extracted from the included meta-analyses. Meta-analysis quality was assessed using the Oxman-Guyatt and Quality of Reporting of Meta-analyses (QUOROM) scores. The Jadad decision algorithm was then utilized to determine which meta-analyses provided the best level of evidence. Results: Sixteen meta-analyses containing an average of 1396 patients met the eligibility criteria. Most studies found BPTB autografts to provide superior stability but more postoperative complications, such as anterior knee pain and kneeling pain. Studies by Gabler et al (2016), Mohtadi et al (2011), and Xie et al (2015) received the highest Oxman-Guyatt and QUOROM scores, and therefore, these meta-analyses proved to provide the highest level of evidence. Additionally, Xie et al was selected as the highest-quality study in this systematic review based on the Jadad decision algorithm. Conclusion: The current best evidence suggests that ACLR with BPTB autografts provides superior static knee stability and that there are fewer postoperative complications in ACLR with HT autografts.
Measuring “goodness” in individuals and healthcare systems

All agree that we need to measure the quality of health care, including the care given by individual doctors. Measuring “goodness” requires accurate data used appropriately, and it must be done without demoralising and demotivating staff. Do current measures fulfil these requirements, and if not, what measures should be used? In the recent Reith lectures (broadcast annually by BBC radio on issues of contemporary interest), Onora O'Neill explored the new age of accountability. She concluded that increasing reliance on measurement reduced trust in health (and other public) services and that professionals and public servants should be free to serve the public. '1 This will ring true with many. However, patients, funders, commissioners, provider organisations, and health professionals legitimately want to know just how “good” are individual doctors, teams, and healthcare providing organisations. The traditionally qualitative, anecdotal approach, supplemented by trust, is being increasingly replaced by data on effectiveness, safety, acceptability, and efficiency. Measurement is crucial for a range of purposes—learning, quality improvement, accountability, and regulation—but must be used appropriately. We contend that measurement can be used to reinforce the natural desire of healthcare staff to improve care at the same time as understanding the quality of the service delivered. However, creating meaningful information from accurate data to facilitate rational choices is a real challenge. It must be done without distorting staff behaviour or demoralising and demotivating health professionals (including managers), and it must offer true comparisons. #### Summary points
Lower Bounds to the Performance of Bit Synchronization for Bandwidth Efficient Pulse-Shaping

Bandwidth efficient signaling requires using pulse-shaping that inherently has intersymbol interference (ISI) except when the timing is perfect. Several lower bounds to the mean-square-error (MSE) of non-data-aided bit-synchronizers are derived for this case. The optimal lower bound is derived using the maximum likelihood (ML) criterion for a sequence of binary pulse amplitude modulated pulses in the presence of ISI and Gaussian noise. This lower bound is used as a benchmark to evaluate the performance of other synchronizers in a practical scenario. It is shown that a previous lower bound based on the ISI-free ML synchronizer cannot be used to lower bound the MSE of bit-synchronizers. A detection theory bound (DTB) (also called Ziv-Zakai bound) is applied to the symbol timing recovery problem in the presence of ISI and it is shown that this bound is a tight lower bound on the MSE of the ML synchronizer. A simple lower bound on this DTB is derived and it is shown that the simple bound is almost as tight as the well known modified Cramer-Rao bound (MCRB) at moderate values of SNR, while it does not suffer from the shortcomings of the MCRB at small values of SNR.
Cytomegalovirus evasion of natural killer cell responses

Summary: Natural killer (NK) cells are an important component of the innate cellular immune system. They are particularly important during the early immune responses following virus infection, prior to the induction of cytotoxic T cells (CTL). Unlike CTL, which recognize specific peptides displayed on the surface of cells by class I MHC, NK cells respond to aberrant expression of cell surface molecules, in particular class I MHC, in a non‐specific manner. Thus, cells expressing low levels of surface dass I MHC are susceptible to recognition by NK cells, with concomitant triggering of cytolytic and cytokine‐mediated responses. Many viruses, including the cytomegaloviruses, downregulate cell surface MHC class I: this is likely to provide protection against CTL‐mediated clearance of infected cells, but may also render infected cells sensitive to NK‐cell attack. This review focuses upon cytomegalovirus‐encoded proteins that are believed to promote evasion of NK‐cell‐mediated immunity. The class I MHC homologues, encoded by all cytomegaloviruses characterised to date, have been implicated as molecular ‘decoys’, which may mimic the ability of cellular MHC class I to inhibit NK‐cell functions. Results from studies in vitro are not uniform, but in general they support the proposal that the class I homologues engage inhibitory receptors from NK cells and other cell types that normally interact with cellular class I. Consistent with this, in vivo studies of murine cytomegalovirus indicate that the class I homologue is required for efficient evasion of NK‐cell‐mediated clearance. Recently a second murine cytomegalovirus protein, a C‐C chemokine homologue, has been implicated as promoting evasion of NK and T‐cell‐mediated clearance in vivo.
Unequal homologous recombination between LINE-1 elements as a mutational mechanism in human genetic disease.

Unequal homologous recombination between repetitive genetic elements is one mechanism that mediates genome instability. We have characterized a homologous recombination event between two neighboring LINE-1 sequences in the human gene encoding the beta subunit of phosphorylase kinase (PHKB). It has lead to the deletion of 7574 nucleotides of genomic DNA including exon 8 of this gene, giving rise to glycogen storage disease through phosphorylase kinase deficiency. To our knowledge, this is the first example of a mutation due to unequal homologous recombination between LINE-1 elements. The sequence features of the recombining LINE-1 elements and of the recombination junction site, and possible reasons for the more frequent occurrence of unequal homologous recombination between Alu elements are discussed.
Initiation of chromosome replication in Escherichia coli after induction of dnaA gene expression from a lac promoter

Escherichia coli HB282 carries a dnaA46(Ts) allele on the chromosome, a wild-type dnaA allele under the control of the lacUV5 promoter on the multicopy plasmid pBC32, and an overproducing lac repressor allele on an F' factor. When the plasmid dnaA gene is repressed, the strain is thermosensitive. After a temporary deficiency in active dnaA protein at nonpermissive temperature, the addition of isopropyl-beta-D-thiogalactopyranoside to the culture was found to produce a burst of initiations within 5 to 10 min at 30% of the origins in 90% of the cells. Initiations then continued at a rate slightly faster than the mass-doubling time such that after 2 h the origin-to-mass ratio of the control culture was restored.
Asymptomatic significant patent foramen ovale: Giving patent foramen ovale management back to the cardiologist

Percutaneous closure of patent foramen ovale (PFO) is still a much debated issue. Although many questions remain open, patients are finding out about PFO management and are beginning to ask for the most rapid and complete solution to their potential problems in spite of the warnings from the medical profession about off‐label indications for transcatheter closure. As a result, asymptomatic patients with PFO are coming into medical offices to be assured about stroke risk or treated for any degree of migraine. The cardiologist should be the preferred interlocutor in asymptomatic significant PFO: he is competent in assessing the associated anatomical and functional risk factors, and he is the only specialist who can evaluate on the basis of the anatomo‐functional picture the potential risk of paradoxical embolism and discuss with patients eventual off‐label indications to closure. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
An Integration Model of the Impact of IT Investment Announcements on Firm Market Value

Large amounts of resources have been, and will continue to be, invested in information technology (IT). The current paper establishes an integrative model of the impact of IT investment announcements on firm market valueby reviewing and analyzing several papers of empirical research. The impact factors are divided into four parts:IT investment characteristics, firm characteristics, competitive environment (including industry characteristics and partner characteristics), and country characteristics. In addition, the current article applies the integrative model to guide future research by proposingcorresponding hypotheses. The objective of the paper is to help scholars further understand the status and limitations of relative studies to facilitate further research. The proposed hypotheses providefirms with scenarios that can get the most benefit out of IT investment, thus guiding scholars on empirical research as well as strategic decision makers in organizations.
Apolipoprotein E and neurocognitive function.

prior to the 24-hour magnetic resonance angiography and we assumed this would best represent the BP change in relation to recanalization status at that time. There may be some methodological differences between our study and the study by Yeo and colleagues such as calculation of the difference in BP at 24 hours after IV tPA. Yeo and colleagues did not note a significant association between a decline in systolic BP and recanalization, a finding that confirms our results. We did not evaluate for the association between the decline in BP and neurological improvement in NIHSS score by 4 or more points. We also excluded the patients with internal carotid artery occlusion because such patients were less likely to recanalize with IV tPA and we wanted to have a uniform cohort with only middle cerebral artery occlusion. It is interesting to know that in patients with internal carotid artery occlusion, there was no significant association between a drop in BP by 20 mm Hg or more with a reduction of NIHSS score by 4 or more points and recanalization. We agree with the authors that the serial measurements of BP and NIHSS score in the first 24 hours and correlating with middle cerebral artery occlusion status with noninvasive methods, such as transcranial Doppler, performed at the same points may further help in understanding the relationship between BP, neurological changes, and recanalization. This could shed light on the timing of recanalization more precisely and the BP and neurological changes at that time.
A passive 3D scanner - acquiring high-quality textured 3D-models using a consumer digital-camera

We present a low-cost, passive 3d scanning system using an off-the-shelf consumer digital camera for image acquisition. We have developed a state of the art structure from motion algorithm for camera pose estimation and a fast shape from stereo approach for shape reconstruction. We use a volumetric approach to fuse partial shape reconstructions and a texture mapping technique for appearance recovery. We extend the state of the art by applying modifications of standard computer vision techniques to images of very high resolution to generate high quality textured 3d models. Our reconstruction results are robust and visually convincing.
Cooks and recipes §

The paper from Ranucci et al. [1] presents a new system of recalibration of the logistic EuroSCORE to be used in high-risk cardiac patients. It has a great merit of highlighting the importance of regularly updating the predictive models and validating them at a local level. To keep up with the pace of new technologies and proposed therapies and in order to avoid misinterpretations of the results achieved in ongoing clinical trials, we should evaluate if the models available today are still valid. In addition, a localisation of a riskassessment model makes it more valuable for actual decision makers who face real-life clinical situations in various environments. As both a medical doctor and a CMO of a medical device company, I recognise the value of customising a predictive model, especially when participating in the design of clinical studies. In addition to these points highlighted by Ranucci, an additional comment pertaining to the use of predictive models can be made. There might be a risk associated with inappropriately combining and analysing together discordant data when implementing different available predictive score models for different subsets of patients and diseases. This practice has sparked the current controversy regarding the appropriate models for patient selection and the associated patient outcome evaluation. Ranucci’s article, therefore, represents an opportunity for discussion about these and other aspects among all stakeholders. According to the users’ perspective, there are several reasons to have and implement a predictive risk score [2]. Patients need objective criteria with which they can make their own judgement on a proposed therapy. Health professionals wish to compare their results to the standard of care taking into account the different case-mix, so as to improve the standards of quality within the health institutions [3]. Local administrations base their rank list on adjusted results before possibly taking a necessary corrective action. The reimbursement authorities, in order to validate the incremental benefit offered by different therapeutic options, should be presented with comparable data. Finally, medical device companies, when applying to the regulatory bodies for marketing approval of a new product, need to define the targeted patient population. Historically, pre-
Tretinoin induces bone marrow collagenous fibrosis in acute promyelocytic leukaemia: new adverse, but reversible effect

In 11/13 acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL) cases treated with tretinoin (RA) we observed RA‐induced inaspirable collagenous fibrosis of the bone marrow. To study the mechanism of RA on collagen production, we cultured a human bone marrow derived stromal cell line and an osteoblastic cell line with RA in vitro. 10−7 and 10−6 M of RA stimulated collagen production. Clinical and experimental observation may be important to understand this adverse effect of RA as it is useful in cancer chemoprevention as well as treatment for APL. This adverse effect is spontaneously reversible after stopping RA or following chemotherapy.
A rice ABC transporter, OsABCC1, reduces arsenic accumulation in the grain

Significance Contamination of water and foods with arsenic (As) poses a threat to millions of people worldwide. Because the rice grain is the major source of As intake, reducing the transfer of As from soil to the grain is a pressing public health issue. We found that a member of the Oryza sativa C-type ATP-binding cassette transporter (OsABCC) family, OsABCC1, detoxifies As and reduces the amount of As in the rice grain. OsABCC1 in the upper nodes of rice plants restricts the distribution of As to the grain by sequestering it in the vacuoles of the phloem companion cells of diffuse vascular bundles directly connected to the grain. Our work suggests a strategy for limiting As accumulation in rice grains and thereby reducing human As exposure. Arsenic (As) is a chronic poison that causes severe skin lesions and cancer. Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a major dietary source of As; therefore, reducing As accumulation in the rice grain and thereby diminishing the amount of As that enters the food chain is of critical importance. Here, we report that a member of the Oryza sativa C-type ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter (OsABCC) family, OsABCC1, is involved in the detoxification and reduction of As in rice grains. We found that OsABCC1 was expressed in many organs, including the roots, leaves, nodes, peduncle, and rachis. Expression was not affected when plants were exposed to low levels of As but was up-regulated in response to high levels of As. In both the basal nodes and upper nodes, which are connected to the panicle, OsABCC1 was localized to the phloem region of vascular bundles. Furthermore, OsABCC1 was localized to the tonoplast and conferred phytochelatin-dependent As resistance in yeast. Knockout of OsABCC1 in rice resulted in decreased tolerance to As, but did not affect cadmium toxicity. At the reproductive growth stage, the As content was higher in the nodes and in other tissues of wild-type rice than in those of OsABCC1 knockout mutants, but was significantly lower in the grain. Taken together, our results indicate that OsABCC1 limits As transport to the grains by sequestering As in the vacuoles of the phloem companion cells of the nodes in rice.