Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Coronary Artery Diameter is Inversely Associated with the Severity of Coronary Lesions in Patients Undergoing Coronary Angiography

Background: The diameters of the coronary arteries have been suggested to be a potential predictor of coronary artery disease (CAD). However, whether the diameters of the coronary arteries are associated with the coronary lesion severity on angiography has not been determined. Methods: One hundred sixty-seven consecutive adult patients (109 men and 58 women) aged 31–84 years who underwent coronary angiography for suspected or known CAD were enrolled. The known catheter tip diameter was used as the calibration to measure the diameters of coronary arteries, and the severity of coronary lesions was evaluated with the vessel score and Gensini score. Results: In patients with a higher vessel score and Gensini score, the diameters of the left main (LM), left anterior descending (LAD), left circumflex (LCX), and right coronary arteries (RCA) were smaller (all p<0.05) than those in patients with lower scores. Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that the average coronary artery diameter was significantly associated with the Gensini score (β=-0.444, p<0.00001). Moreover, the diameters of the coronary arteries were potential predictors of CAD, with areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves of 0.268 for average diameter (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.183–0.353, p<0.00001), 0.356 for the LM diameter (95% CI: 0.266–0.445, p=0.005), 0.214 for the LAD diameter (95% CI: 0.136–0.291, p<0.00001), 0.366 for the LCX diameter (95% CI: 0.271–0.461, p=0.009), and 0.346 for the RCA diameter (95% CI: 0.245–0.447, p=0.003). Conclusion: The diameters of coronary arteries are inversely associated with the severity of CAD.
Doppler predictors of adverse neonatal outcome in the growth restricted fetus at 34 weeks' gestation or beyond.

OBJECTIVE The study was undertaken to assess whether prenatal Doppler variables can identify cases of fetal growth restriction (FGR) approaching term who are at risk for adverse neonatal outcome. STUDY DESIGN From a cohort of FGR cases delivered at >or=34 weeks, fetal biometry and pulsatility indices (PI) of fetal arteries obtained less than 2 weeks before delivery were related to adverse neonatal outcome, defined as admission to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for indications other than low birth weight alone. RESULTS Stepwise regression analysis showed that after controlling for gestational age at delivery and fetal biometry, only the last umbilical artery (UA) PI percentile was significantly predictive of adverse neonatal outcome (odds ratio=1.02, 95% CI 1.01-1.03, P=.02). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis identified a UA PI at the 65th percentile as optimal predictor of adverse neonatal outcome (sensitivity=60%, false-positive rate=30%). CONCLUSION In FGR cases delivered at >/=34 weeks' gestation, Doppler PI at the UA independently predicts the likelihood of admission to the NICU for reasons other than low birth weight alone.
A multipath transmission scheme for the improvement of throughput over SDN

Nowadays, the demand for data transmission is ever increasing with the increase of network applications. Therefore, how to enhance the performance of data transmission is an issue worthy of in-depth discussion. The throughput of single-path transmission schemes might be throttled by a congested link of its path. In contrast, multipath transmission schemes can utilize the bandwidth resource of several disjoint paths to increase the throughput. In this paper, we proposed a multipath transmission scheme to equally balance the traffic of a flow over the disjoint paths designated by the Software Defined Network (SDN) controller, which is able to learn the topology of the network and discover multiple transmission paths. Simulations were conducted with Mininet to evaluate our proposed transmission scheme. In comparison with the traditional single-path transmission scheme, which always adopts the shortest path, experimental results show that our proposed scheme achieves a significant improvement on performance in terms of transmission throughput.
Antibiotic Use and Resistance

Dear Editor, I recently read the study of Malo et al. [1], ‘High Antibiotic Consumption: The Characterisation of Heavy Users in Spain’. The study is very good and shows an interesting way to evaluate the intake of medications, especially antibiotics, using the Lorenz curve. The study indicates that children and the elderly are heavy users of antibiotics (January–December 2010). The Lorenz curve is constructed from the number of antibiotics packages purchased per patient per year. The results are surprising. Of the 1,327,827 people evaluated in the study, 433,231 received antibiotics. Therefore, 32.62% of the population of the city, that is, fully one-third of people, received at least one antibiotic treatment during that year. It is important to emphasize that in the case of children classified as ‘heavy users’, the data show that each child consumed on average six packages per year of broad-spectrum antibiotics. These data are very worrying because there is a practice of using antibiotics every 2 months for Spanish children. The data related to antibiotic consumption in this age group reveal that consumption of antibiotics is far higher than what the literature states [2–4]. Inappropriate use and overuse of antibiotics has led to an increase in indicators of antimicrobial resistance [5]. Therefore, therapeutic failures and repeated courses are manifested. The data reported in the study (six uses per year per child) tend to show us repeated courses because of therapeutic failures and not because of new infections. The problem is even more serious because Spain’s use of antibiotics is above the continental average, as well their indicators of antimicrobial resistance [6]. It is essential to have very clear criteria pertaining to the use of antibiotics in children. Adhering to guidelines [7], restricting the sale of antibiotics in Spain [8] and adopting further actions to prevent the use of antibiotics (such as supplementation with vitamin D and antipneumococcal vaccines) is critical [9,10]. Fighting antimicrobial resistance must rely on multiple approaches, for example knowledge of the mechanisms of bacterial resistance, development of new drugs and, most fundamentally, the rational use of antibiotics.
Residual Antimalarial Levels in Plasmodium Falciparum Malaria Patients from Selected Sites in India: An indication of Drug Pressure

: Irrational treatment practices and self-medication of antimalarials are common in malaria-endemic areas. Such types of practices may affect the treatment outcome as well as could promote the spread of drug resistance in the community. The aim of the study was to monitor residual antimalarials level in Plasmodium falciparum infected patients belonging to Bilaspur and Betul districts in India. A total of 139 patients were enrolled for the treatment of antimalarials as per national treatment policy, and their clinical follow-up was done as per WHO guidelines (2009). Heparinised blood was taken on 31ET filter paper for monitoring residual antimalarials on day 0 and post-treatment sulphadoxine levels on day 7 using High Performance Liquid Chromatography, 27.3% of the patients showed residual antimalarials on day 0. Surprisingly, the residual levels did not correlated well with the information collected on case record forms . A significantly lower parasite density/µl of blood was observed in samples having residual antimalarials than the samples without residual antimalarials ( P<0.05) . The residual antimalarials detected in the blood might be due to previous drug episodes, self drug intake, and irrational treatment practices. Awareness towards rational treatment practices are the need of hour.
Effects of OSA treatment on BP in patients with resistant hypertension: a randomized trial.

BACKGROUND OSA is extremely common among patients with resistant hypertension (HTN). However, the impact of the treatment of OSA with CPAP on BP in patients with resistant HTN is not well established. METHODS In the current study, 40 patients with confirmed resistant HTN and moderate to severe OSA confirmed by full polysomnography were randomized to medical therapy or to medical treatment plus CPAP for 6 months. Patients were evaluated at study baseline and after 6 months by 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM). RESULTS Thirty-five patients (77% men; age, 56 ± 1 years; BMI, median 32 kg/m² [25%-75%, 28-39 kg/m²]; apnea-hypopnea index, 29 events/h [24-48 events/h]; Epworth Sleepiness Scale, 10 ± 1; systolic/diastolic office BP, 162 ± 4/97 ± 2 mm Hg; taking four [four to five] antihypertensive drugs) completed the study. CPAP was used for 6:01 ± 0:20 h/night (3:42-7:44 h/night). Compared with the control group, awake systolic/diastolic ABPM decreased significantly in the CPAP group (Δ: +3.1 ± 3.3 /+2.1 ± 2.7 mm Hg vs -6.5 ± 3.3/-4.5 ± 1.9 mm Hg, respectively, P < .05). Interestingly, the BP changes were observed only while patients were awake, but not during nocturnal ABPM (Δ: +2.8 ± 4.5/+1.8 ± 3.5 mm Hg vs +1.6 ± 3.5/+0.8 ± 2.9 mm Hg, P = NS). CONCLUSIONS The treatment of OSA with CPAP significantly reduces daytime BP in patients with resistant HTN. Therefore, our study reinforces the importance of recognizing and treating OSA in patients with resistant HTN. TRIAL REGISTRY ClinicalTrials.gov; No.: NCT00812695; URL: www.clinicaltrials. gov.
Harvard Business Review on Culture and Change

The Nut Island Effect by Paul F. Levy "Changing a Culture of Face Time" by Bill Munck "The Real Reason People Don't Change" by Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey "Radical Change, The Quiet Way" by Debra E. Meyerson "Why Good Companies Go Bad" by Donald Sull "Transforming a Conservative Company-One Laugh at a Time" by Katherine M. Hudson "When Your Culture Needs a Makeover" by Carol Lavin Bernick "Conquering a Culture of Indecision" by Ram Charan
Constraints on the Development of Enduring Inequalities in Late Holocene Australia

Conditions in Late Holocene Australia, including variable and unpredictable environments, reliance on a wide array of food resources, relatively low population densities, some degree of mobility, and shared access to land and waters, contrast sharply with those posited as conditions for the emergence of complexity among huntergatherer societies such as those of the Northwest Coast of North America. Nevertheless, Aboriginal societies varied considerably in a number of ways, including resources of male power. In particular, the article contrasts features of reproductive power in the high and veryhighpolygyny societies of the north coast of Australia with those of other regions of the continent. High to very high polygyny developed in areas with relatively high population density and certain forms of kin classification and engendered considerable inequality among patrigroups, but various social and environmental conditions imposed constraints on the development of enduring hierarchy.
Evolución del turismo náutico en España en los últimos treinta años: recreación o status social, una aproximación a la sociología del turismo náutico

El Objeto sociologico de la investigacion con relacion a los nuevos comportamientos sociales del turismo y las actividades deportivas de los espanoles en tiempo de ocio es conocer? Por que no se ha desarrollado el turismo nautico en Espana? La investigacion que presentamos a continuacion, se ha estructurado en dos principales partes: una primera correspondiente a los Capitulos I al IV, que define el Marco Teorico de la tesis sobre los conceptos del Turismo, Ocio y Deporte en las sociedades industrializadas. Apoyado por el diseno de un objetivo descriptivo para conocer las caracteristicas del Turismo y el Deporte de los espanoles en los ultimos treinta anos. Y, la Evolucion y Etapas de la actividad Nautica-Recreativa y el Turismo Nautico; desde su inicio en el Siglo XIX hasta nuestros dias. Concluyendo esta primera parte con un analisis descriptivo y comparativo de las actividades del Deporte y el Turismo Nautico en los paises competidores del litoral espanol, principalmente, Francia como paradigma de la nautica recreativa. La segunda parte corresponde a los Capitulos V al VIII, estructurada mediante el diseno de un analisis sociologico explicativo de la situacion del Turismo Nautico en los ultimos treinta anos en Espana, que nos permita observar si se ha producido un cambio social en la actividad recreativa y turistica de los espanoles: la Significacion Social de la Nautica Deportiva y turistica; la actividad nautico-deportiva de los espanoles, y la Definicion de las Tipologias de los usuarios del Turismo Nautico. Concluyendo la investigacion, con unas recomendaciones sobre como debe ser el Futuro de turismo Nautico en Espana. La tesis realizada pone de manifiesto que no todos los segmentos resultantes tienen unas caracteristicas relativamente homogeneas respecto al status de los usuarios de embarcaciones que les componen, preferentemente, en el mayor porcentaje de las titulaciones nauticas de los espanoles, y no podemos considerar una dominacion principal de status social en la nautica espanola, anulando nuestra principal hipotesis. Por el contrario, si podemos observar claramente la utilizacion de las instalaciones nauticas deportivas segun la relacion de status social y la condicion socioeconomica de los usuarios.
Los usos de los programas sociales y culturales: el caso de dos orquestas juveniles de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires

Las orquestas juveniles con objetivos de “integracion social” se han multiplicado durante la ultima decada tanto en Argentina como en America Latina. Inspiradas en el Sistema de Orquestas venezolano, se proponen acercar la musica academica y la experiencia orquestal a grupos sociales que, salvo excepciones, no tenian acceso a ellas. En este trabajo presento algunos resultados de una investigacion cualitativa realizada durante 2007 y 2008 en dos proyectos de orquestas juveniles de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. En el analisis muestro, primero, que existen distancias entre aquello que los programas se proponen y aquello que los jovenes y sus familias perciben como consecuencia de participar en las orquestas. En segundo lugar, muestro que existen diferentes modos de recibir/actuar la participacion en cada uno de estos programas. Esto me permite abrir una discusion sobre aquello que media entre el diseno de proyectos y programas socio-culturales y los modos en que son utilizados o recibidos por sus destinatarios, argumentando que es preciso desarmar las expectativas de linealidad desde las cuales en general se piensan dichos programas. Asimismo, apunto a cuestionar el supuesto de que toda politica cultural que se proponga extender elementos de la alta cultura en sectores populares es necesariamente una intervencion reproductivista de posiciones desiguales de poder.
Ganglioside biosynthesis in Golgi apparatus: New perspectives on its mechanism

The synthesis of gangliosides GM1 and GM2 in intact rat liver Golgi vesicles is stimulated by phosphatidylglycerol as much as or even more than by detergents (Triton X‐100 and octyglucoside, respectively). The antibiotic tunicamycin, known as an inhibitor of the N‐glycosylation of proteins, strongly inhibits the synthesis of the above gangliosides, in the presence as well as in the absence of the phospholipid. Both phosphatidylglycerol dependence and tunicamycin inhibition disappear when the Golgi vesicles are solubilized by addition of detergents or disrupted by ultrasonication or pretreated with pronase.
Transferencias e Interferencias en el Aprendizaje de una Segunda Lengua

El presente articulo pretende reflexionar sobre la necesidad de desarrollar metodologias que intenten evitar el gran numero de interferencias que los aprendices de una segunda lengua cometen cuando tienen que utilizarla para interactuar linguisticamente. Un mayor numero de interferencias aparece cuando en aquellas situaciones en las que se tiene que usar la segunda lengua de forma creativa. En nuestro trabajo proponemos una solucion cognitivista a este problema mediante la utilizacion de las equivalencias entre la lengua de origen y la lengua destino como herramienta metodologicamente adecuada para fomentar el uso de la segunda lengua de manera creativa y sin verse afectado por las interferencias producidas por la primera lengua.
Hacia una conciencia de competitividad

Los constantes cambios que suceden en el entorno, a consecuencia del surgimiento de nuevas necesidades de relacion de los paises y sus empresas, han venido a plantear un nuevo desafio para los directivos. Quierase o no, la conduccion de los negocios ha cambiado dramaticamente desde la crisis energetica ocurrida a mediados de los 70, y mas aceleradamente desde la aparicion del libre comercio entre las naciones. Los criterios de autosuficiencia y autonomia para las naciones no pasaron de ser un idealismo insostenible, como muchos otros que han venido derrumbandose y otros mas que estan por caer estrepitosamente. Pareciera que el mundo se mueve hacia un ambito de realismo que favorece la manifestacion de hechos mas apegados a la naturaleza de los seres humanos, que a las ideas de estos. Como si se hubiese dado una desregulacion de la conducta del hombre y sus organizaciones.
Born to compute

Sudoku-also known as number place-is a logic-based placement puzzle. The aim of the puzzle is to enter a numerical digit from 1 through 9 in each cell of a 9 X 9 grid made up of 3 X 3 sub-grids (called "regions"), starting with various digits given in some cells (the "givens"); each row, column, and region must contain only one instance of each numeral. Completing the puzzle requires patience and logical ability. Although the puzzle was first published in a US puzzle magazine in 1979, it initially caught on in Japan in 1986 and attained international popularity in 2005. Sudoku is known to be NP-complete, so if you feel very confident about doing 9x9 problems, then you can move up to 25x25 or 36x36 and start suffering all over again. All the supposedly "different" solution strategies seem to reduce to different ways of handling the data for backtracking-called "what if in Sudoku lore.
An out-of-plane grating coupler for efficient butt-coupling between compact planar waveguides and single-mode fibers

We have designed and fabricated an out-of-plane coupler for butt-coupling from fiber to compact planar waveguides. The coupler is based on a short second-order grating or photonic crystal, etched in a waveguide with a low-index oxide cladding. The coupler is optimized using mode expansion-based simulations. Simulations using a 2-D model show that up to 74% coupling efficiency between single-mode fiber and a 240-nm-thick GaAs-AlO/sub x/ waveguide is possible. We have measured 19% coupling efficiency on test structures.
Structure of minimum-time control law for robotic manipulators with constrained paths

The authors address the problem of the structure of minimum-time control (MTC) of robotic manipulators along a specified geometric path subject to hard control constraints. By using the extended Pontryagin minimum principle (EPMP) and a set of parameterized robot dynamic equations, it is shown that the structure of the minimum-time control law requires that one and only one control torque is always in saturation on every finite time interval along its time-optimal trajectory, while the rest of the torques are adjusted so that the path constraint on the motion is not violated. This is in contrast to the point-to-point minimum-time control law, which requires that at least one of the control torques is always in saturation. Simulation results are presented to verify the structure of the MTC law. <<ETX>>
Technology overview and drug delivery application of proniosome

Abstract Rapid advancement in the field of colloidal science has shown a great progress in the development of proniosome technology (PT) as an impending drug delivery system. PT is a valuable carrier system for delivery of hydrophobic as well as hydrophilic drugs. It is a liquid crystalline compact niosomal hybrid, which upon hydration gives niosomes. They can augment the bioavailability of encapsulated drug and provide better therapeutic activity in a controlled manner. Non-toxicity, penetration enhancing the effect of surfactant and modified drug release from the proniosomal transdermal gel has attracted a greater attention of formulation scientist toward PT. Free flowing dry proniosomal powder are suitable for unit dosage forms such as tablet and capsules. Proniosomes are auspicious drug delivery system for the future. Proniosomes-derived niosomes are a better alternative to the other vesicular system due to their superior physicochemical stability and effective drug delivery capability. The focus of this review is to bring out all the aspects of proniosomes including their different compositions, various methods of preparation, characterization and recent development in their therapeutic applications.
Lonely hearts or sex in the city? Density-dependent effects in mating systems

Two very basic ideas in sexual selection are heavily influenced by numbers of potential mates: the evolution of anisogamy, leading to sex role differentiation, and the frequency dependence of reproductive success that tends to equalize primary sex ratios. However, being explicit about the numbers of potential mates is not typical to most evolutionary theory of sexual selection. Here, we argue that this may prevent us from finding the appropriate ecological equilibria that determine the evolutionary endpoints of selection. We review both theoretical and empirical advances on how population density may influence aspects of mating systems such as intrasexual competition, female choice or resistance, and parental care. Density can have strong effects on selective pressures, whether or not there is phenotypic plasticity in individual strategies with respect to density. Mating skew may either increase or decrease with density, which may be aided or counteracted by changes in female behaviour. Switchpoints between alternative mating strategies can be density dependent, and mate encounter rates may influence mate choice (including mutual mate choice), multiple mating, female resistance to male mating attempts, mate searching, mate guarding, parental care, and the probability of divorce. Considering density-dependent selection may be essential for understanding how populations can persist at all despite sexual conflict, but simple models seem to fail to predict the diversity of observed responses in nature. This highlights the importance of considering the interaction between mating systems and population dynamics, and we strongly encourage further work in this area.
Molecular Cloning and Expression of a Chloride Ion Channel of Cell Nuclei*

Ion channels are known to be present on the plasma membrane of virtually all cells and have been found on the membranes of various intracellular organelles. However, until recently they were believed not to occur at the nuclear membrane. In this study we describe the molecular cloning and characterization of a nuclear ion channel protein, designated nuclear chloride channel-27 (NCC27), from the human myelomonocytic cell line, U937. NCC27 is a novel chloride ion channel protein that was found to localize principally to the cell nucleus. Its only known homologue is a bovine chloride ion channel protein (p64) believed to localize to internal organelles. NCC27 therefore represents the first human member of a new class of organellar chloride ion channel proteins.