Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Diagnosis and management of cardiovascular risk in rheumatoid arthritis: main challenges and research agenda

ABSTRACT Introduction Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) exhibit a cardiovascular (CV) risk that is 1.5–2.0 times higher compared to the general population. This CV risk excess is likely caused by the involvement of chronic inflammation and immune dysregulation. Therefore, conventional algorithms and imaging techniques fail to fully account for this risk excess and provide a suboptimal risk stratification, hence limiting clinical management in this setting. Areas covered Compelling evidence has suggested a role for adaptations of conventional algorithms (Framingham, SCORE, AHA, etc) or the development of RA-specific algorithms, as well as the use of a number of several, noninvasive imaging techniques to improve CV risk assessment in RA populations. Similarly, in-depth analyses of atherosclerosis pathogenesis in RA patients have shed new light into a plethora of soluble biomarkers (such as inflammatory cytokines, vascular remodeling mediators or autoantibodies) that may provide incremental value for CV risk stratification. Expert opinion Extensive research has demonstrated a lack of performance of chart adaptations in capturing real CV risk in RA population, as well as for RA-specific algorithms. Similarly, limitations have been detected in the use of soluble mediators. The development of a novel, RA-specific algorithm including classical and non-traditional risk factors may be advisable.
Does the severity of asthma affect exercise capacity and daily physical activity?

Abstract Objective Exercise capacity, daily physical activity, and psychological profile are crucial aspects in the management of asthmatic patients. Whether these features are expressed in a different way in mild-moderate (MMA) and severe asthma (SA) is unknown. Methods In this observational cross-sectional study, patients matching the American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society (ATS/ERS) definition for SA underwent incremental cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET), full lung function testing, and an evaluation of daily step count and physical activity. Questionnaires on quality of life, general fatigue, and presence of anxiety and depression traits (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale - HADS) were administered. Patients were compared with a cohort of age- and gender-matched MMA patients. Results We enrolled 16 SA, 17 MMA patients, and 16 healthy subjects. Compared to MMA, SA subjects showed a median (interquartile range) reduced peak oxygen consumption during CPET (20.4 (17.2-23.3) vs. 25.6 (18.5-30.3) ml/min/kg; p = 0.019), a reduced resting lung function (FEV1% of predicted 77 (67-84) vs. 96 (84-100); p < 0.001) and a pronounced anxiety trait at HADS (9.5 (3-11.7) vs. 4.0 (2.0-7.5); p = 0.023). In addition, SA patients showed a significantly higher reduction in inspiratory capacity from rest to peak (310 (160-520) vs. 110 (-65-325) ml; p = 0.031). We found no significant differences in mean daily step count or quality of life. Conclusions Compared to MMA, SA patients present a reduced exercise capacity and a more pronounced anxiety trait, but not worse daily physical activity or quality of life. These aspects should be considered in the clinical management and research development of SA.
Combined effects of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes mellitus on the presence and severity of carotid atherosclerosis in community-dwelling elders: A community-based study

Background: Hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes mellitus (DM) are common cardiovascular disease (CVD) comorbidities and well-known major determinants of atherosclerosis. However, their combined effects and relative contributions have not been well explored. This study aimed to characterize the characteristics of carotid atherosclerosis and dissect the relative effects of these common CVD comorbidities on the presence and severity of carotid atherosclerosis in community-dwelling elderly individuals. Methods: We enrolled 817 elders from communities in northern Taiwan. We evaluated their cardiovascular risk profiles and scanned their extracranial carotid arteries using high-resolution ultrasonography systems. Results: The prevalence rates for hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and DM were 45.4%, 37.1%, and 16.8%, respectively. Sixty-two (7.6%) and 188 (23.0%) elderly had all three and two of these common CVD comorbidities, respectively. The prevalent rates of carotid plaque and moderate-to-severe atherosclerosis were 62.9% and 35.5%, respectively. The percentages of one or more common CVD comorbidities in elders with carotid plaque and moderate-to-severe atherosclerosis were 78.2% and 83.1%, respectively. Multivariate analyses showed that the number of common CVD comorbidities was the most predictive determinant. Multivariable-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) per comorbidity for the presence of carotid plaque and advanced carotid atherosclerosis were 1.52 (95% CI, 1.28-1.81) and 1.57 (95% CI, 1.28-1.93), respectively. Models containing hypertension and DM were the second most predictive. Combinatory analyses showed distinct relationship patterns between carotid atherosclerosis and hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and DM. Hypertension was significantly correlated with higher ORs for the presence of carotid plaque and advanced carotid atherosclerosis but not for hyperlipidemia. Conclusion: Carotid plaques are highly prevalent in community-dwelling elders. The number of common CVD comorbidities was the most predictive determinant of carotid plaques and advanced carotid atherosclerosis. Our results indicate that to reduce the impact of atherosclerotic diseases, blood pressure controls precede the control of blood lipids and glucose in the community-dwelling elders.
Modal reflectivity of uptapered, tilted-facet, and antireflection-coated diode-laser amplifiers

A numerical analysis of the modal reflectivity of tilted-facet laser-diode amplifiers is presented. It is shown that, with slightly angled facets, a large reduction of the reflectivity in a monomode diode should be achievable for TE and TM modes simultaneously either by applying a single-layer antireflection coating and optimizing the thickness and the width of the diode waveguide or by adiabatically uptapering the waveguide ends. A further significant reduction can be obtained by combining an antireflection coating with an uptapered waveguide. The characteristics of the dependence of the reflectivity on tilt angle and waveguide width and thickness are explained in terms of spectral overlaps between incident and reflected modes. The characteristic minima of the reflectivity are attributed to the oscillatory behavior of the spectra.
Focusing on the Emerging Role of Kainate Receptors in the Dorsal Cochlear Nucleus (DCN) and Cerebellum

Mammals have a dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN), which is thought to be a cerebellum-like structure with similar features in terms of structure and microcircuitry to the cerebellum. Both the DCN and cerebellum perform their functions depending on synaptic and neuronal networks mediated by various glutamate receptors. Kainate receptors (KARs) are one class of the glutamate receptor family and are strongly expressed in the hippocampus, the cerebellum, and cerebellum-like structures. The cellular distribution and the potential role of KARs in the hippocampus have been extensively investigated. However, the cellular distribution and the potential role of KARs in cerebellum-like structures, including the DCN and cerebellum, are poorly understood. In this review, we summarize the similarity between the DCN and cerebellum at the levels of structure, circuitry, and cell type as well as the investigations referring to the expression patterns of KARs in the DCN and cerebellum according to previous studies. Recent studies on the role of KARs have shown that KARs mediate a bidirectional modulatory effect at parallel fiber (PF)–Purkinje cell (PC) synapses in the cerebellum, implying insights into their roles in cerebellum-like structures, including the DCN, that remain to be explored in the coming years.
Integration of active thermography into the assessment of cultural heritage buildings

Applications of infrared thermography in civil engineering are not limited to the identification of heat losses in building envelopes. Active infrared thermography methods enable structural investigations of building elements with one-sided access up to a depth of about 10 cm. Masonry and especially historical masonry has a very heterogeneous structure containing several different materials (brick, stone, mortar, plaster, wood, metal, etc.) with various thermal properties. As many classes of damage originate from defects that are close to the surface, active thermography is in general very well suited to assessing different test problems in cultural heritage buildings. In this paper, the physical background, equipment, environmental influences and material properties are discussed. Several application results are presented. It is shown how active thermography can be integrated into a holistic approach for the assessment of historical structures.
Software Defined AIS Receiver Implementation Based on RTL-SDR and GNU Radio

Automatic Identification System (AIS) is a radio data system on board ships with an objectif to exchange different kind of informations (static, dynamic and trip related informations). This exchange could happen between ships themselves or between ship and ground stations. while receiving these informations, AIS devices on board or ashore present in the reception area can automatically locate, identify and track AISequipped vessels. There are many types of AIS devices such as class A mobile stations (161.975 MHz) mandated for vessels 300GT and above, and class B mobile stations (162.025 MHz) with limited functionality and primarily used for vessels such as pleasure crafts. This paper presents the reception and decoding of AIS class A mobile station signal using RTL-SDR device with VHF antenna, GNU Radio and AIS decoder to decode the frame.
New inequalities for polynomials

Using a recently developed method to determine bound-preserving convolution operators in the unit disk, we derive various refinements and generalizations of the well-known inequalities of S. Bernstein and M. Ricsz for polynomials. Many of these results take into account the size of one or more of the coefficients of the polynomial in question. Other results of similar nature are obtained from a new interpolation formula.
Reorganization of turbulence structure in magnetic Rayleigh-Benard convection: a T-RANS study

Effects of a uniform, vertically oriented, magnetic field on the reorganization of coherent structure in Rayleigh–Benard convection of electrically conductive fluid were studied using a time-dependent Reynolds-average-Navier-Stokes (T-RANS) approach. This method can be regarded as a very large eddy simulation (VLES) in which the unresolved random motion is modelled using a low-Re-number k–ϵ–θ2 algebraic stress/flux single-point closure model. The large-scale deterministic motion, which is the major mode of heat and momentum transfer in the bulk central region, is fully resolved by the time solution. In contrast to LESs, the contribution of both modes to the turbulent fluctuations are of the same order of magnitude. The approach was first assessed by comparison with the available direct numerical simulations (DNSs) and experimental data for non-magnetic Rayleigh–Benard convection for Rayleigh (Ra) numbers 6.5 × 105 and 109, as well as with our own LES for Ra = 6.5 × 105, using several criteria: visual obse.
Understanding the moisture sensitivity of warm mix asphalt binders based on bond strength

Moisture damage in asphalt mixtures is typically attributed to the loss of bond strength at the interface of the asphalt binder and aggregate matrix. Therefore, selecting an appropriate combination of materials that resist moisture-induced damage is critical. This concern is of utmost importance when asphalt mixtures are prepared at lower production temperatures, i.e., warm mix asphalt (WMA) mixtures. This paper attempts to quantify the impact of moisture on asphalt mixtures prepared using four different warm mix additives and two aggregates through a bond strength (BS) test. Results showed that WMA binders impart similar or even higher BS than base asphalt binder, regardless of aggregate source and moisture exposure (wet or dry). Moisture sensitivity, evaluated through bond strength ratio (BSR), indicated that the application of WMA additives improves the moisture sensitivity, despite lower production temperatures, compared to the base asphalt binder. Statistical analysis showed that asphalt binder type significantly affects the bonding mechanism and moisture sensitivity. Based on the ranking protocol used in this study, it can be stated that the application of Rediset, a chemical-based WMA additive, unveils the best performance among other WMA additives in VG30, which is the most commonly used asphalt binder for paving applications.
The nature of Becklin's star.

The IR point source in the Orion Nebula commonly known as Becklin's star appears to be exceptional because of its extreme colors and the lack of any associated optical object. Characteristics of the spectrum of Becklin's object are examined. It is found that the spectrum is consistent with that of a highly reddened early-type supergiant, in which weak absorption has been masked by low resolution.
Immunology of Giant Cell Arteritis

Giant cell arteritis is an autoimmune disease of medium and large arteries, characterized by granulomatous inflammation of the three-layered vessel wall that results in vaso-occlusion, wall dissection, and aneurysm formation. The immunopathogenesis of giant cell arteritis is an accumulative process in which a prolonged asymptomatic period is followed by uncontrolled innate immunity, a breakdown in self-tolerance, the transition of autoimmunity from the periphery into the vessel wall and, eventually, the progressive evolution of vessel wall inflammation. Each of the steps in pathogenesis corresponds to specific immuno-phenotypes that provide mechanistic insights into how the immune system attacks and damages blood vessels. Clinically evident disease begins with inappropriate activation of myeloid cells triggering the release of hepatic acute phase proteins and inducing extravascular manifestations, such as muscle pains and stiffness diagnosed as polymyalgia rheumatica. Loss of self-tolerance in the adaptive immune system is linked to aberrant signaling in the NOTCH pathway, leading to expansion of NOTCH1+CD4+ T cells and the functional decline of NOTCH4+ T regulatory cells (Checkpoint 1). A defect in the endothelial cell barrier of adventitial vasa vasorum networks marks Checkpoint 2; the invasion of monocytes, macrophages and T cells into the arterial wall. Due to the failure of the immuno-inhibitory PD-1 (programmed cell death protein 1)/PD-L1 (programmed cell death ligand 1) pathway, wall-infiltrating immune cells arrive in a permissive tissues microenvironment, where multiple T cell effector lineages thrive, shift toward high glycolytic activity, and support the development of tissue-damaging macrophages, including multinucleated giant cells (Checkpoint 3). Eventually, the vascular lesions are occupied by self-renewing T cells that provide autonomy to the disease process and limit the therapeutic effectiveness of currently used immunosuppressants. The multi-step process deviating protective to pathogenic immunity offers an array of interception points that provide opportunities for the prevention and therapeutic management of this devastating autoimmune disease.
Factors Associated with Quality of Life Among People Living with HIV In India by Roopa

Background: HIV/AIDS remains a primary global public health concern. However, Background: HIV/AIDS remains a primary global public health concern. However, antiretroviral therapy (ART) has transformed HIV from a fatal to a chronic health condition for those with consistent access to medication. Therefore, improving the quality of life (QoL) among people living with HIV in India (PLWH) is an important goal of HIV treatment and care. The primary aim of this study is to examine factors associated with QoL and different QoL domains among PLWH in India. Materials and Methods: Data was obtained from a cross-sectional survey of 200 PLWH at a hospital-based government ART center in rural Bhimavaram, India. Data was collected through face-to-face interviews from July 2019 to December 2019. This study used sociodemographic characteristics, including age, gender, education, marital status, and other factors, including alcohol use, smoking, CD4 counts, current ART medication adherence, and quality of life (QoL). Multivariable logistic regression was conducted to examine the factors associated with the overall QoL and four QoL domains. The Institutional Ethics Committee at Shri Vishnu College of Pharmacy, Bhimavaram, approved the study protocol (IRB #SVCP/IEC/2021/4).
Experimental and theoretical study of energy dissipation profiles of keV electrons in polymethylmethacrylate

Energy dissipation profiles of keV electron beams in polymethylmethacrylate (PMM) were investigated both in theory and experiment. The results measured using a scanning electron microscope as a source of the electron beam were followed by the Monte Carlo calculations which were performed for the same conditions as the experiment. Good agreement was obtained not only for equidissipation profiles but also for absolute values of the energy dissipation between the experiment and the calculation. This encourages us to apply the Monte Carlo calculations to problems of electron resist exposure important for microelectronics.
Resonance characteristics on a dielectric disk resonator coupled with a straight waveguide

Resonance characteristics of whispering gallery modes on a dielectric disk coupled with a straight waveguide are investigated theoretically and experimentally. Taking account of a phase perturbation caused by a coupling phenomenon, we analyze the resonance characteristics of the disk resonator with the straight waveguide. The straight waveguide is placed near the disk to excite the whispering gallery modes or to detect an output power from the disk. In a region where a gap between the straight waveguide and the disk is small, a phase distribution of an electromagnetic field is perturbed by the coupling phenomenon. The coupling phenomenon is analyzed by a coupled mode equation for nonparallel dielectric waveguides. As the result, a discrepancy of resonance frequency intervals (free spectral range) between the analytical results and experimental ones is several megahertz in a 24-GHz band. It is also found that a relative error between the analytical and experimental resonance frequencies is about 1.3%. The analytical method and the results will be applied to the precise design of a high Q resonator with an external circuit in millimeter to optical range.
Breaking the diffraction limit using entanglement based microscopy

The resolution of optical scanning microscopes is limited by the spot size of the scanning beam. It has been proposed by Boto1 et al. and Nasr2 et al. that momentum entangled photons can be focused more tightly than classical light. Thus they should enable one to break the di ractive resolution limit. We report experiments measuring the spatial distribution of strong focussed momentum entangled photon pairs at a center wavelength of 812 nm from a spontaneous parametric down conversion source. Using a single gold stripe deposited on a glass surface as test object we observe a two-photon spot size as small as 194 nm, thereby beating the di raction limit even for conventional two-photon microscopy.
Numerical simulation of compressible homogeneous flows in the turbulent regime

Compressible flows with r.m.s. velocities of the order of the speed of sound are studied with direct numerical simulations using a pseudospectral method. We concentrate on turbulent homogeneous flows in the two-dimensional case. The fluid obeys the Navier-Stokes equations for a perfect gas, and viscous terms are included explicitly. No modelling of small scales is used. We show that the behaviour of the flow differs sharply at low compared with high r.m.s. Mach number Ma, with a transition at Ma = 0.3. In the large scales, temporal exchanges between longitudinal and solenoidal modes of energy retain an acoustical character; they lead to a slowing down of the decrease of the Mach number with time, which occurs with interspersed plateaux corresponding to quiescent periods. When the flow is initially supersonic, the small scales are dominated by shocks behind which vortices form. This vortex production is particularly prominent when two strong shocks collide, with the onset of shear turbulence in the region downstream of the collision. However, at the resolutions reached by our code on a 256 × 256 uniform grid, this mechanism proves insufficient to bring vortices into equipartition with shocks in the small-scale tail of the energy spectrum.
Some observations of the vortex breakdown phenomenon

This paper describes an experiment in which a cylindrical vortex, formed in a long tube, was used to study the ‘vortex breakdown’ that has been previously reported in investigations of the flow over slender delta wings. By varying the amount of swirl that was imparted to the fluid before it entered the tube, it was found that the breakdown was the intermediate stage between the two basic types of rotating flows, that is, those that do and those that do not exhibit axial velocity reversal. In addition, it was shown that an unusual flow pattern was established after the breakdown and that certain features of this pointed to it being a ‘critical’ phenomenon. The tests were concluded by measuring the swirl angle distribution a short distance ahead of the breakdown and comparing these results with the prediction of Squire's theory (1960).
Recognition of topological features of graphs and images in neural networks

The authors extend the architecture of the Hopfield network, such that it can recognise transformed versions of a set of learnt prototypes. As an example they construct a network which can generalise over all topologically equivalent representations of graphs or images. The construction is based on two coupled networks: a Hopfield network to store and retrieve patterns and a preprocessor to transform the input data.