Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Non-responders to bevacizumab (Avastin) therapy of choroidal neovascular lesions

Aims: To determine the characteristics of “non-responders” to intravitreal bevacizumab treatment in choroidal neovascularisation (CNV). Methods: Forty-three patients with visual loss due to neovascular age-related macular disease (ARMD) (44 eyes) underwent intravitreal injections of 1.25 mg (0.05 ml) bevacizumab and were followed up every 4 weeks for 2, 3 or 6 months. Re-injection was performed when persistent leakage of the CNV was determined by fluorescein angiography and retinal oedema was assessed by optical coherence tomography (OCT). Non-responders were defined as those patients having reduced or stable visual acuity at the last follow-up. Results: 45% of the patients were non-responders. In this group the initial CNV size was significantly larger than in the responders. Initial reading ability was significantly lower in non-responders, but the initial foveal oedema was similar in both groups. Gains in mean visual acuity and reading ability were independent of lesion type. The proportion of non-responders to responders in the different lesion type groups was equally distributed. Only patients with the classic type of CNV seemed to respond better. Conclusions: In this study initial reasons for non-responders to intravitreal bevacizumab treatment in CNV are given. The efficiency of bevacizumab depends on initial lesion size and initial reading ability, but is independent of the amount of intraretinal and subretinal fluid. There was no general ineffectiveness of bevacizumab with any particular lesion type.
Oral progestogen-only contraceptives and cardiovascular risk: results from the Transnational Study on Oral Contraceptives and the Health of Young Women.

BACKGROUND The risk of cardiovascular disease associated with progestogen-only pills has rarely been studied so far. METHODS In the Transnational case-control study we were looking for a potential cardiovascular disease risk with oral progestogen-only pills in women aged 16-44 years. A total of 1058 cases of myocardial infarction, thromboembolic cerebrovascular accident or venous thromboembolism, and 3808 controls unaffected by these diseases, were enrolled. The group of women who had either used oral progestogen-only pills or no oral contraceptives included 394 cardiovascular disease cases (123 cases of myocardial infarction, 90 cases of thromboembolic cerebrovascular accident and 181 cases of venous thromboembolism) and 2366 controls. RESULTS The adjusted (matched) odds ratio (OR) for all cardiovascular diseases combined for women using progestogen-only pills compared with non-users of oral contraceptives was 0.84 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.45-1.58). The adjusted ORs for myocardial infarction, thromboembolic cerebrovascular accidents and venous thromboembolism for users of progestogen-only pills were 0.94 (95% CI, 0.31-2.91), 1.60 (95% CI, 0.24-0.72) and 0.68 (95% CI, 0.28-1.66), respectively. Hence, there was no significant increase in cardiovascular disease risk associated with progestogen-only pill use. The association between cardiovascular disease and established risk factors (smoking and hypertension) was confirmed. CONCLUSION Although limited by the small number of exposed cases, our data suggest that there is no convincing evidence for an increased risk of cardiovascular disease associated with progestogen-only pill use.
Intensity distribution and impact of scatter for dual-source CT

Apart from forward scatter, which is given for all CT scanners, dual-source CT (DSCT) is also affected by cross-scatter photons from the second tube–detector system arranged at 90°. We investigated the magnitude and distribution of scatter for DSCT and its impact on image quality. Simulations and measurements of homogeneous and anthropomorphic phantoms were conducted for a DSCT scanner (SOMATOM Definition, Siemens Medical Solutions, Forchheim, Germany) at tube voltages of 80 and 120 kV. The simulations of forward scatter were carried out using combined analytical and Monte Carlo simulation methods for a collimation of 19.2 mm for both tube–detector systems. Measurements of cross scatter were performed by switching one tube off, still reading out the corresponding detector. The relative scatter fractions and the distribution of cross scatter were registered for various imaging conditions. Additionally, a detailed noise analysis with respect to the correction of cross-scatter artifacts is provided to evaluate the performance of correction algorithms. The forward-scatter fraction increased with increasing phantom diameter from 0.02 up to 0.11 for PMMA phantoms of 80 to 400 mm diameter. For cross scatter, the mean intensity was equivalent to forward scatter for small phantoms but was larger for increased phantom size and resulted in severe artifacts in the reconstructed images. The outer dimensions and shape of the object are decisive for the cross-scatter intensity distribution whereas the influence of the degree of inhomogeneity of the respective phantom appears to be negligible. Scatter correction suppressed cross-scatter artifacts but increased noise as a function of the cross-scatter fraction. The magnitude of scatter is not negligible for DSCT systems and dedicated corrections are necessary for the assurance of unimpaired image quality.
A study of the pharmacokinetics and safety of recombinant activated factor VII in healthy Caucasian and Japanese subjects

In this randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, single-centre, dose escalation study, we report the first evaluation of the pharmacokinetics and safety of recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa) in healthy Caucasian and Japanese subjects. Thirty-two healthy subjects were stratified according to sex and ethnic group to receive single bolus intravenous injections of three different doses of rFVIIa (40, 80, 160 μg/kg rFVIIa) or placebo, each separated by a 7-day wash-out period. Blood samples were taken up to 24 h after dosing. The factor VII clotting activity appeared to be dose dependent, but independent of sex and ethnic group. Statistical analyses demonstrated no significant effect of dose, sex or ethnicity on the dose-normalized mean area under the plasma concentration–time curve AUC0–t, indicating dose proportionality. No serious adverse events or thromboembolic events were reported. Analyses of coagulation parameters did not suggest induction of systemic coagulation when dosing rFVIIa up to 160 μg/kg. In conclusion, the pharmacokinetics of rFVIIa in Caucasian and Japanese subjects are similar, and no safety issues were identified.
Rib cage and diaphragm-abdomen compliance in humans: effects of age and posture.

The influence of age and posture on compliance of the rib cage (Crc) and diaphragm-abdomen (Cab) compartments of the chest wall was studied in 61 healthy adults (33 men, 28 women) aged 24-75 yr. Chest wall compliance (Cw) was measured by the weighted spirometer technique; Crc and Cab were derived from the slope of the relaxation line of the thoracoabdominal system obtained with two pairs of linearized magnetometers. While Cw was being measured, we monitored electrical activity of the abdominal external oblique muscle with a concentric needle electrode and thoracoabdominal configuration. In 52 subjects, the electromyogram did not show any abdominal muscle activity and the end-expiratory level never departed from the relaxed thoracoabdominal configuration, thus suggesting adequate respiratory muscle relaxation. Aging was associated with significant decreases in Crc and Cab. In the upright posture Crc decreased from 0.164 +/- 0.041 (mean +/- SD) l/cmH2O in the younger subjects (24-39 yr) to 0.114 +/- 0.027 l/cmH2O in the older subjects (55-75 yr). Cab concomitantly fell from 0.032 +/- 0.012 l/cmH2O to 0.020 +/- 0.007 l/cmH2O. These reductions were statistically significant (P less than 0.05-0.01) and were also present in the supine posture. Shifting from the seated to the supine posture did not cause any significant change in Cw but was invariably associated with a decrease in Crc and an increase in Cab. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
In Silico Drug Search for Better Treatment for Cancer : L-Asparaginase Mundaganur

L-Asparaginase is required by normal cells for the utilization of the amino acid arginine. When the normal cell turns to cancerous, it cannot synthesis arginine, but it can extract the amino acid from external supply in the plasma and tissue. In such instance if we supply the L-asparaginase as drug it will destroy the supplied arginine and the cancer cell will die due to starvation. The source of L-asparaginase is different. It may be fungi, bacteria, plants and animals. Here we made an attempt to study the possible better source of L-asparaginase for the treatment of cancer by docking method. The docking study reveals that L-asparaginase is better as drug from 12 different sources we have studied. Erwinia carotovora’s Lasparaginase shows -62. 83 energy this is least from all the selected 12 sources of organisms. This followed by Campylobacter jejuni an all other sources shown more or less same energy level higher that these two sources. The other parameters studied like Lipinski data and other drug parameters show that asparaginase from Erwinia carotovora is better than other sources in the sense of drug candidates. We also studied physico-chemical parameters, trans-membrane sequence prediction, secondary structure prediction of the sequence extracted from the source, 3D model preparation and its validation. The conclusion drawn from the study should be validated by further study and validation in animal models and human.
Privacy Challenges in Smart Devices

The number of smart devices around us continues to increase as we enter the era of ubiquitous computing. These devices typically use various sensors, store data about the user, and connect to the Internet. They are also very personal: we bring them around with us, or have them in our homes or workplaces. As a result, these devices pose novel privacy risks. The most prominent example of such a device is the smartphone. Our research goal is to identify these privacy risks and propose solutions, focusing first on smartphones. In this proposal, we discuss three existing works and how they relate to our research. We first examine existing issues with smartphone privacy-protection mechanisms. Then we take a look at machine learning techniques which could be used to improve these mechanisms. Finally, we discuss an example of such an application: using machine learning techniques to learn user location privacy policies.
The role of GABAA and GABAB receptors in presynaptic inhibition of Ia EPSPs in cat spinal motoneurones.

1. The role of GABAA and GABAB receptors in presynaptic inhibition was studied by examining the effect of local application of antagonists by ionophoresis during intracellular recording of presynaptic inhibition of compound and unitary group Ia afferent excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) in gastrocnemius motoneurones. 2. Ionophoresis of the GABAA antagonist bicuculline methochloride (BMC) was found to block presynaptic inhibition of both compound and unitary EPSPs by up to 85%. BMC also substantially reduced, and occasionally abolished, the late part of the inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP) evoked in motoneurones by the conditioning stimulation. The early part of this IPSP was found to be sensitive to ionophoresis of strychnine hydrochloride. 3. Ionophoresis of 2‐OH‐saclofen caused a reduction in presynaptic inhibition of compound EPSPs by 5‐25% but had no effect on the IPSP evoked in motoneurones by the conditioning stimulation. 4. Ionophoresis of the GABAB antagonist (‐)‐baclofen reduced the amplitude of unconditioned EPSPs; however it had little effect on presynaptic inhibition. 5. It was concluded that at the Ia afferent‐motoneurone synapse presynaptic inhibition is mediated primarily through the activation of GABAA receptors. The activation of GABAB receptors appears to play only a minor role in presynaptic inhibition at this synapse. This contrasts with the relative ease with which (‐)‐baclofen can reduce transmitter release from Ia afferent terminals and suggests that the receptors activated by (‐)‐baclofen are predominantly extrasynaptic.
Estimation of dielectric constant of composite materials in buildings using reflected fields and PSO algorithm

This paper presents a free-space measurement technique for estimating the complex dielectric constant and loss tangent of the walls in given building. To determine propagation characteristics in buildings for wireless indoor communications, it is necessary to obtain the reflection and transmission properties of the building structures. The measurement of walls parameters need to be measured for each particular building. The free-space technique doesn't need material samples and measurement can be made in specific building space. The single layered and multilayered models are included in presented models. The both polarizations are included. The main parts of the proposed measurement setup consist of Vector Network Analyzer (VNA) and two horn antennas. The measurement has been made in the existing building on non-destructive manner. The estimation of the complex dielectric constant from reflection and transmission coefficients is basically an optimization process because it is necessary to obtain good curve fitting between measured and calculated reflection coefficients for different angles of incidence for given material. In this particular case two methods are compared non-linear least squares method and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) method. The results obtained by PSO method show lower values of mean square error then with non-linear least squares method.
Regulation's Rationale: Learning from the California Energy Crisis

Further deregulation of energy markets has been challenged by the California energy crisis of 2000-2001 and the collapse of Enron. Many observers have argued that these events are unrelated, and, therefore, deregulation itself should not be questioned. Each disaster is just a symptom, however, of something more fundamental and structural: the failure of modern American political discourse to appreciate regulation's rationale. In particular, both the California energy crisis and Enron's collapse were caused by legislative and administrative failures to design regulatory institutions that adequately constrained opportunistic behavior. This Article challenges the conventional wisdom about what happened in California and therefore challenges the conventional wisdom about what should be done to avoid similar problems. This inquiry has relevance both for other states considering deregulation (or its euphemistic cousin, "restructuring'), as well as how the federal government approaches its role in a partially-deregulated electricity market. The dominant story of what happened in California is riddled with both factual and conceptual errors, and those errors engendered a series of policy responses that exacerbated, rather than alleviated, the underlying causes of the crisis. Political discourse on the Bush Administration's National Energy Plan suffers from similar problems. Our nation, therefore, runs a serious risk of repeating the conditions that gave rise to the California energy crisis, rather than learning from them.
Comparison of Forest Canopy Structures in SRTM to LIDAR Data

Forest canopy height derived from the SRTM 30m grid DEM were compared to LVIS and ICESAT footprint data of three US sites, namely Sierra Nevada in California, Coweeta in North Carolina and Hubbard Brook in New Hampshire. It was found that in dense forest, such as the Coweeta forest, the SRTM data better estimate forest canopy height. By modeling the SRTM estimated mean canopy heights, the RMSE was found to improve significantly. In comparison to LVIS, the RMSE was reduced from 12.25m to 8.92m, 12.57m to 7.61m and 9.21m to 4.85m, respectively for the Sierra, Coweeta and Hubbard Brook sites. For the ICESAT data of the Sierra site, the RMSE was reduced from 15.49m to 8.75m.
Variational Analysis of Folded Substrate-Integrated Waveguides

An accurate numerical solution describing the propagation behavior of two types of folded substrate-integrated waveguide (FSIW) is demonstrated in this letter. The computation is based on a variational method which can be carried out efficiently by solving the stationary equation corresponding to each type of FSIW. The approach can be extended to solve various folded structures, i.e., with different gap positions, where the layers are made of substrates with different thicknesses and material properties.
Prevalence, risk factors and comorbidity of rhinitis, asthma and aspirin-intolerance in West Sweden

The prevalence of rhinitis and asthma has increased considerably over the past century. The cause of this increase remains unknown. Furthermore, rhinitis and asthma are now considered heterogeneous syndromes encompassing several clinical phenotypes. The overall aim of this thesis was to investigate the prevalence, risk factors and comorbidity of rhinitis and asthma phenotypes with a particular focus on aspirin-intolerant asthma. This thesis is mainly based on a postal questionnaire with 18 087 responders (62%) living in West Sweden. The prevalence of allergic rhinitis (AR) was 20% in those raised on a farm compared to 28% in subjects raised elsewhere. A lower prevalence of AR in subjects raised on a farm was found in all age groups. The prevalence of chronic rhinitis (CR) was 20%. Both AR and CR were more common in urban than in rural areas. Cigarette smoking was associated with a high prevalence of CR and a low prevalence of AR. Both associations were dose-dependent and were found also in two large population surveys conducted in the city of Stockholm. Skin prick testing was performed on a randomly selected subsample of the West Sweden cohort. Prevalence of skin prick test positivity was significantly lower in smokers (34%) than in non-smokers (46%). Considerable overlap was found between asthma and nasal comorbidities and different nasal comorbidities were associated with different symptom expression of asthma. Prevalence of aspirin-intolerant asthma (AIA) was 0.5%. The risk of AIA increased linearly with increasing body mass index. CR was commonly found in AIA. We conclude that AR and CR are common in the general population of West Sweden. The two rhinitis phenotypes share some, but not all, risk factors. Both conditions are associated with asthma and lower respiratory symptoms, indicating a strong relationship between the upper and lower airways. Aspirin-intolerant asthma was found in the general population as was associated with obesity and chronic rhinitis.
Re-injecting spontaneity and balance in family life: parents' perspectives on recreation in families that include children with developmental disability.

METHODS Grounded in the naturalistic paradigm, a mixed-method research design (survey questionnaire, n = 65; and interview, n = 16) was used to explore the nature and benefits of, and constraints to, family recreation in families that included children with developmental disability. Statistical analyses were conducted on the quantitative data, while key theme and constant comparative methods were used to analyse the qualitative data. RESULTS These analyses revealed that family recreation most often involved small combinations of family members - usually mothers and their children - in physical recreation activities (e.g. swimming, walking, bike riding). Parents viewed these interactions as beneficial for enhancing family relationships and providing children, particularly those with a disability, opportunities for skill and self development within an accepting and supportive environment. Difficulties in coordinating family members schedules, finding activities to accommodate wide age and skill ranges, planning demands, and limitations in marketing and promotional materials were among the constraints most commonly identified in relation to the family as a whole and the children with developmental disability. Links to existing family and leisure research, family systems theory, and considerations for future research also are discussed.
Update on Arthropod-Inducible Proteins Arthropod-Inducible Proteins : Broad Spectrum Defenses against Multiple Herbivores 1

Our understanding of the role of plant proteins in defense against herbivores lags behind that of proteins involved in defense against pathogens. However, recent microarray and proteomic approaches have revealed that a broader array of proteins may be involved with defense against herbivores than previously appreciated (Felton, 2005). Here, we discuss defense proteins that function postingestively, some of which are directly toxic while others exert their defense by impairing nutrient utilization. Our purpose is not to provide an extensive review of the topic but to highlight recent findings and suggest new avenues for research. We refer the reader to reviews that provide more extensive coverage (for review, see Carlini and Grossi-de-Sa, 2002; Kehr, 2006; Shindo and Van Der Hoorn, 2008). Because arthropods possess a diverse range of feeding habits and styles, including chewing as well as phloemor xylem-feeding species, arthropod-inducible proteins (AIPs) may be regulated by multiple signaling hormones, including jasmonic acid (JA), salicylic acid, and/or ethylene.
Students at the heart of the system

The White Paper does not commit any of the devolved administrations of the United Kingdom to any UK-wide actions or policy positions. Where the stated actions have implications for UK-wide delivery bodies, this is without prejudice to the individual policies of the Governments of the United Kingdom. As we deliver these reforms, we will work closely with the devolved administrations on our areas of shared interest, particularly where this involves delivery bodies and other organisations with a remit that goes wider than just England. All facts, figures, policies and actions refer to England only, except where stated otherwise. " National " should be taken to mean England-wide except where the context indicates otherwise. You may re-use this information (excluding logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned. 1 2 Foreword Our university sector has a proud history and a world-class reputation, attracting students from across the world. Higher education is a successful public-private partnership: Government funding and institutional autonomy. This White Paper builds on that record, while doing more than ever to put students in the driving seat. We want to see more investment, greater diversity and less centralised control. But, in return, we want the sector to become more accountable to students, as well as to the taxpayer. Our student finance reforms will deliver savings to help address the large Budget deficit we were left, without cutting the quality of higher education or student numbers and bringing more cash into universities. They balance the financial demands of universities with the interests of current students and future graduates. Students from lower-income households will receive more support than now and, although many graduates will pay back for longer, their monthly outgoings will be less and the graduate repayment system will be more progressive. No first-time undergraduate student will have to pay upfront fees. We are also extending tuition loans to part-time students, increasing maintenance support and introducing a new National Scholarship Programme. But our reforms are not just financial. We want there to be a renewed focus on high-quality teaching in universities so that it has the same prestige as research. So we will empower prospective students by ensuring much better information on different courses. We will …