Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
What necessitates the conversion to open cholecystectomy? A retrospective analysis of 5164 consecutive laparoscopic operations

OBJECTIVE: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) has become the gold standard for the surgical treatment of gallbladder disease, but conversion to open cholecystectomy is still inevitable in certain cases. Knowledge of the rate and impact of the underlying reasons for conversion could help surgeons during preoperative assessment and improve the informed consent of patients. We decided to review the rate and causes of conversion from laparoscopic to open cholecystectomy. METHOD: This study included all laparoscopic cholecystectomies due to gallstone disease undertaken from May 1999 to June 2010. The exclusion criteria were malignancy and/or existence of gallbladder polyps detected pathologically. Patient demographics, indications for cholecystectomy, concomitant diseases, and histories of previous abdominal surgery were collected. The rate of conversion to open cholecystectomy, the underlying reasons for conversion, and postoperative complications were also analyzed. RESULTS: Of 5382 patients for whom LC was attempted, 5164 were included this study. The overall rate of conversion to open cholecystectomy was 3.16% (163 patients). There were 84 male and 79 female patients; the mean age was 52.04 years (range: 26–85). The conversion rates in male and female patients were 5.6% and 2.2%, respectively (p<0.001). The most common reasons for conversion were severe adhesions caused by tissue inflammation (97 patients) and fibrosis of Calot's triangle (12 patients). The overall postoperative morbidity rate was found to be 16.3% in patients who were converted to open surgery. CONCLUSION: Male gender was found to be the only statistically significant risk factor for conversion in our series. LC can be safely performed with a conversion rate of less than 5% in all patient groups.
Ancient mitochondrial DNA from the northern fringe of the Neolithic farming expansion in Europe sheds light on the dispersion process

The European Neolithization process started around 12 000 years ago in the Near East. The introduction of agriculture spread north and west throughout Europe and a key question has been if this was brought about by migrating individuals, by an exchange of ideas or a by a mixture of these. The earliest farming evidence in Scandinavia is found within the Funnel Beaker Culture complex (Trichterbecherkultur, TRB) which represents the northernmost extension of Neolithic farmers in Europe. The TRB coexisted for almost a millennium with hunter–gatherers of the Pitted Ware Cultural complex (PWC). If migration was a substantial part of the Neolithization, even the northerly TRB community would display a closer genetic affinity to other farmer populations than to hunter–gatherer populations. We deep-sequenced the mitochondrial hypervariable region 1 from seven farmers (six TRB and one Battle Axe complex, BAC) and 13 hunter–gatherers (PWC) and authenticated the sequences using postmortem DNA damage patterns. A comparison with 124 previously published sequences from prehistoric Europe shows that the TRB individuals share a close affinity to Central European farmer populations, and that they are distinct from hunter–gatherer groups, including the geographically close and partially contemporary PWC that show a close affinity to the European Mesolithic hunter–gatherers.
Effect of traditional fish processing methods on the proximate composition of red fish stored under ambient room conditions

The effects of three different traditional processing methods (smoking, frying and salting) on proximate composition of red fish stored under ambient room conditions were determined. Fresh red fish were obtained from Elmina fish market. These were used for the study to determine the proximate properties of the raw fish, smoked fish, fried fish and salted fish before and after storage. The parameters studied were moisture, crude protein, crude fat, ash, crude fibre, and nitrogen-free extract contents. The results indicated that traditional processing methods have significant effects on the proximate composition of red fish. Mean moisture, crude protein, crude fat, ash, crude fibre, and nitrogen-free extract contents of the raw fish were 80.0, 72.49, 9.99, 6.00, 1.01, and 0.51 respectively. The changes in all the parameters after processing but before storage were found to be significant at (P < 0.05) for the three traditional processing methods studied. After storage under ambient room conditions for 14 days, changes in ash, crude fibre, nitrogen-free extract, moisture, and crude fat content of the processed fish were found to be significant (P < 0.05) for the three traditional processing methods studied. Changes in the protein content were not significant at (P < 0.05) between salted and dried pre-stored and poststored red fish.
Non‐adrenergic, non‐cholinergic neural activation in guinea‐pig bronchi: powerful and frequency‐dependent stabilizing effect on tone

1 We examined non‐adrenergic, non‐cholinergic (NANC) stimulation for its stabilizing effect on bronchial smooth‐muscle tone with respect to its regulatory power and the effect of variations in neural impulse frequency. 2 The guinea‐pig isolated main bronchus (n = 4–12) was pretreated with indomethacin (10 μm) and incubated with atropine (1 μm) and guanethidine (10 μm). Electrical field stimulation (EFS: 1200 mA, 0.5 ms, 240 s) was applied at various levels of tone prior to EFS: first without tone, then at a moderate tone induced by histamine (0.3 μm) and, finally, at a high tone induced by histamine (6 μm). Three different stimulation frequencies (1, 3 or 10 Hz) were used in order to produce moderate to near‐maximum contractile and relaxant NANC neural responses. Both the contractile and the relaxant NANC responses were tetrodotoxin‐sensitive in the guinea‐pig isolated main bronchus (3 Hz). 3 Without tone prior to EFS, NANC activation (1, 3 or 10 Hz) induced a pronounced contractile response. At a moderate level of tone prior to EFS, NANC activation induced a less pronounced contractile response. At the highest level of tone prior to EFS, NANC activation induced a relaxant response. All these NANC responses adjusted the tone towards a similar level and this ‘stabilization level’ was 56(6)% at 1 Hz, 65(3)% at 3 Hz and 56(5)% at 10 Hz, expressed as a percentage of the maximum histamine‐induced (0.1 mm) tone in each airway preparation. 4 There was a difference of approximately 90% of maximum between the highest and the lowest tone level prior to NANC activation. This difference was reduced by the converging contractile and relaxant NANC responses and the magnitude of this ‘convergence effect’ was 40(8)% at 1 Hz, 72(4)% at 3 Hz and 90(2)% at 10 Hz. 5 These findings indicate that NANC neural activation stabilizes bronchial smooth‐muscle tone via a contraction when the tone is low prior to activation and via a relaxation when the tone is high prior to activation. The NANC stabilizing effect on tone appears to be powerful and its magnitude can be controlled by the neural impulse frequency. The level of tone towards which the NANC responses converge does not appear to be markedly altered by variations in the impulse frequency. Our findings are consistent with a regulatory role for NANC responses in the control of bronchial smooth‐muscle tone.
The Effects of Economic Crisis on the Phenomenon of Parentification

“Parentification” is the reversion of the roles between parents and children. Children undertake roles either emotionally or practically that are not appropriate for their age but for an adult [1,2]. Thus, children become parentified. The aim of this study is to examine: a) the impact of the economic crisis on adults who have experienced the phenomenon of' “parentificaton” and b) if experiencing a traumatic event such as economic crisis, the person who had been called to take the role of a parent during their childhood and now has to undertake the same role as an adult, will be able to endure this weight again without being subject to psychological disorders. Three men and three women from Cyprus and Greece, between 23 and 26 years of age participated in a qualitative research with semi-structured interviews, which were analyzed by the method of thematic analysis. The results suggest the impact of economic crisis on parentified adults within specific themes. The identified themes were: Lost Identity, Conflict, Escapism and Depression. Even though the number of participants is small to allow generalization, the results suggest that this research be used as an incentive to encourage mental health professionals to evaluate the impact of the economic crisis on adult clients, with regard to the phenomenon of “parentification”.
Early Auditory Processing in Area V5/MT+ of the Congenitally Blind Brain

Previous imaging studies of congenital blindness have studied individuals with heterogeneous causes of blindness, which may influence the nature and extent of cross-modal plasticity. Here, we scanned a homogeneous group of blind people with bilateral congenital anophthalmia, a condition in which both eyes fail to develop, and, as a result, the visual pathway is not stimulated by either light or retinal waves. This model of congenital blindness presents an opportunity to investigate the effects of very early visual deafferentation on the functional organization of the brain. In anophthalmic animals, the occipital cortex receives direct subcortical auditory input. We hypothesized that this pattern of subcortical reorganization ought to result in a topographic mapping of auditory frequency information in the occipital cortex of anophthalmic people. Using functional MRI, we examined auditory-evoked activity to pure tones of high, medium, and low frequencies. Activity in the superior temporal cortex was significantly reduced in anophthalmic compared with sighted participants. In the occipital cortex, a region corresponding to the cytoarchitectural area V5/MT+ was activated in the anophthalmic participants but not in sighted controls. Whereas previous studies in the blind indicate that this cortical area is activated to auditory motion, our data show it is also active for trains of pure tone stimuli and in some anophthalmic participants shows a topographic mapping (tonotopy). Therefore, this region appears to be performing early sensory processing, possibly served by direct subcortical input from the pulvinar to V5/MT+.
Parasitism by Virulent Treponema pallidum of Host Cell Surfaces

The interaction between virulent Treponema pallidum extracted from infected rabbit testes and animal cells in culture was examined. The extent of treponemal attachment to monolayers of normal rabbit testicular and HEp-2 cells was dependent upon the incubation temperature and retained motility of the spirochetes. The specific orientation of treponemes to host cell surfaces was demonstrated by dark-field microscopic examination of wet-mount preparations and scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Once attached, T. pallidum organisms remained actively motile yet anchored in place by their terminal tapered structures. After several hours of co-incubation, maximal attachment was attained, and the degree of parasitism seemed regulated not only by available surface sites on individual host cells but also by the proposed membrane response of parasitized cells to continued exposure to treponemes. The avirulent strain, Treponema phagedenis biotype Reiter, did not adhere to monolayer cultures. Characterization of host cell determinants that permitted surface colonization by T. pallidum was attempted. Also, properties of virulent treponemes that enabled surface parasitism were monitored by measuring the effects of enzymes, detergents, and metabolic inhibitors on the host-parasite interaction. Results reinforced the specific nature of the treponemal attachment mechanism. Furthermore, the ability of convalescent rabbit sera to reduce attachment of treponemes to host cells suggested that surface structures on T. pallidum could be masked or inactivated by host components, thus providing a potentially effective research approach for investigating the pathogenesis of syphilis and screening appropriate vaccine candidates.
Inductive and capacitive excitation of the characteristic modes of small terminals

In this paper we present concepts for the selective excitation of orthogonal modes of small terminals by inductive and capacitive coupling elements. The concepts can be used to implement an efficient MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) antenna system based on the TCM (Theory of Characteristic Modes). Both coupling concepts are discussed with respect to their ability to excite specific modes separately. An important result obtained is that inductive couplers offer advantages over capacitive couplers in exciting the desired modes purely even when they are not close to their modal resonance.
Ferric Citrate Transport of Escherichia coli: Functional Regions of the FecR Transmembrane Regulatory Protein

ABSTRACT Transcription of the ferric citrate transport genes ofEscherichia coli is induced by ferric citrate bound to the outer membrane receptor FecA. Additional ferric citrate-specific regulatory proteins are FecR in the cytoplasmic membrane and the FecI sigma factor in the cytoplasm. To further understand the assumed FecR-mediated signal transduction across the cytoplasmic membrane, the transmembrane topology of FecR (317 amino acids) was determined with hybrid proteins containing portions of FecR and mature BlaM β-lactamase. BlaM fused to FecR regions extending from residues 107 to 149 and residues 230 to 259 conferred high ampicillin resistance to cells, while BlaM fused to sites between residues 159 and 210 and between residues 265 and 301 conferred low resistance. Cells that synthesized FecR′-BlaM with fusion joints between residues 8 and 81 of FecR were fully sensitive to ampicillin. The ampicillin resistance of the low-resistance FecR′-BlaM hybrids was increased 2- to 10-fold by cosynthesis of plasmid-encoded GroEL GroES and SecB chaperones and indegP and ompT protease mutants, which suggested that the decreased ampicillin resistance level of these hybrids was caused by the formation of inclusion bodies and proteolytic degradation. Replacement of glycine by aspartate residues in the only hydrophobic FecR sequence (residues 85 to 100) abolished the β-lactamase activity of high-resistance FecR′-BlaM proteins, indicating that there are no other transmembrane regions in FecR that translocate BlaM into the periplasm independent of the hydrophobic sequence. All FecR′-BlaM proteins with at least 61 FecR residues complemented a fecR mutant such that it could grow on ferric citrate as the sole iron source and inducedfecA-lacZ transcription independent of ferric citrate. The low resistance mediated by two FecR′-BlaM proteins in afecA deletion mutant was increased 20-fold by transformation with a fecA-encoding plasmid. We propose that FecR spans the cytoplasmic membrane once, interacts in the periplasm with its C-terminal region with FecA occupied by ferric citrate, and transmits the information through the cytoplasmic membrane into the cytoplasm, where it converts FecI into an active sigma factor.
Development of a Checklist for the Assessment of Pragmatic Language Impairment

Introduction: Pragmatic Language Impairment is a language disorder characterized by unimpaired structural aspects but marked deficits in the use of language. Objective: The objective of the study was to develop a checklist for the assessment of Pragmatic Language Impairment (PLI). Material and Methods: This study was carried on, in a time period of 3 months. A sample of 27 patients was studied with an age range of 5–16 years. Data was collected from the outpatient department of The Children’s Hospital, Mayo Hospital and Sheikh Zaid Hospital Lahore. The frequency of non-verbal, verbal and social communication behavior was calculated by using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences). Results: The Checklist was applied on 27 individuals. Results found that children with PLI show deficit in all three categories, with marked deficit shown by 15 children (58%) in understanding conversational cues and 10 children (37 %) in understanding change in tone of voice. In the category of verbal communication 18 (66%) children used inappropriate initiation, lack of coherence 19 (67%), insufficient information 16 (59%), lack of context based conversation 22 (81%), problem in understanding figurative language 26 (96%) and absence of presupposition was in 24 (88%) of these children. In social communication section of the checklist 23 out of 27 (85%) exhibited deficit in expressing feelings and 24 (88%) children never used or understood humor. Conclusion: The checklist identified symptoms of pragmatic language impairment and can be used to screen children with PLI.
Spontaneous Cytokine Production in Children According to Biological Characteristics and Environmental Exposures

Background Environmental factors are likely to have profound effects on the development of host immune responses, with serious implications for infectious diseases and inflammatory disorders such as asthma. Objective This study was designed to investigate the effects of environmental exposures on the cytokine profile of children. Methods The study involved measurement of T helper (Th) 1 (interferon-gamma), 2 [interleukin (IL)-5 and IL-13], and the regulatory cytokine IL-10 in unstimulated peripheral blood leukocytes from 1,376 children 4–11 years of age living in a poor urban area of the tropics. We also assessed the impact of environmental exposures in addition to biological characteristics recorded at the time of blood collection and earlier in childhood (0–3 years before blood collection). Results The proportion of children producing IL-10 was greater among those without access to drinking water [p < 0.05, chi-square test, odds ratio (OR) = 1.67]. The proportion of children producing IL-5 and IL-10 (OR = 10.76) was significantly greater in households that had never had a sewage system (p < 0.05, trend test). Conclusions These data provide evidence for the profound effects of environmental exposures in early life as well as immune homeostasis in later childhood. Decreased hygiene (lack of access to clean drinking water and sanitation) in the first 3 years of life is associated with higher spontaneous IL-10 production up to 8 years later in life.
Counter-arguing an online peer: the influence of distrust and message content on accepting online recommendations

The present paper investigates the influence of distrust on message processing. Notions of trust and distrust are powerful influences on the persuasiveness of messages. It was expected that the way of presenting the message source (trustworthy or untrustworthy) would alter not only acceptance but also how the message is processed. Processing can differ in its complexity, hence in its amount of thoughts about the message. A specific part of this complexity is counterarguing. Here, incongruent thoughts are added to the processing, which reflect the opposite of what the message source has claimed. Complexity of processing and specifically counter-arguing were expected to reduce acceptance of the message, especially when thoughts on the message are related to relevant outcomes. Two experiments were carried out to investigate this mechanism. The first one was conducted in a laboratory setting and the second one online. Both experiments used peer recommendations as messages wherein notions of trust and type of message content were manipulated. Other than effects of trust on counter-arguing and acceptance, moderating roles of message content were investigated. Study 1 found that distrust increases complexity of processing and subsequently resistance to the message, if message content is relevant to the reader’s goal. Counter-arguing was found to explain part of this mechanism. Study 2 showed that distrust leads to counter-arguing if message content is ambiguous. Counter-arguing then leads to less favorable product attitudes, which is moderated by perceived relevance of the arguments. Analyses of moderated mediation however did not show entirely satisfying results, which prove the need for future research about the mechanism of counter-arguing.
A Local Density Based Spatial Clustering Algorithm with Noise

Density-based clustering algorithms are attractive for the task of class identification in spatial database. However, in many cases, very different local-density clusters exist in different regions of data space, therefore, DBSCAN [Ester, M. et al., A Density-Based Algorithm for Discovering Clusters in Large Spatial Databases with Noise. In E. Simoudis, J. Han, & U. M. Fayyad (Eds.), Proc. 2nd Int. Conf. on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining (pp. 226-231). Portland, OR: AAAI. ] using a global density parameter is not suitable. As an improvement, OPTICS [Ankerst, M. et al,(1999). OPTICS: Ordering Points To Identify the Clustering Structure. In A. Delis, C. Faloutsos, & S. Ghandeharizadeh (Eds.), Proc. ACM SIGMOD Int. Conf. on Management of Data (pp. 49-60). Philadelphia, PA: ACM. ] creates an augmented ordering of the database representing its density-based clustering structure, but it only generates the clusters whose local-density exceeds some threshold instead of similar local-density clusters and doesn't produce a clustering of a data set explicitly. Furthermore the parameters required by almost all the well-known clustering algorithms are hard to determine but have a significant influence on the clustering result. In this paper, a new clustering algorithm LDBSCAN relying on a local-density-based notion of clusters is proposed to solve those problems and, what is more, it is very easy for us to pick the appropriate parameters and takes the advantage of the LOF [Breunig, M. M. , et al.,(2000). LOF: Identifying Density-Based Local Outliers. In W. Chen, J. F. Naughton, & P. A. Bernstein (Eds.), Proc. ACM SIGMOD Int. Conf. on Management of Data (pp. 93-104). Dalles, TX: ACM. ] to detect the noises comparing with other density-based clustering algorithms. The proposed algorithm has potential applications in business intelligence and enterprise information systems.
Progenitors in the adult cerebral cortex: Cell cycle properties and regulation by physiological stimuli and injury

The adult brain parenchyma contains a widespread population of progenitors generating different cells of the oligodendrocyte lineage such as NG2+ cells and some mature oligodendrocytes. However, it is still largely unknown how proliferation and lineage decisions of these progenitors are regulated. Here, we first characterized the cell cycle length, proliferative fraction, and progeny of dividing cells in the adult cerebral cortex and then compared these proliferation characteristics after two distinct stimuli, invasive acute brain injury and increased physiological activity by voluntary physical exercise. Our data show that adult parenchymal progenitors have a very long cell cycle due to an extended G1 phase, many of them can divide at least twice and only a limited proportion of the progeny differentiates into mature oligodendrocytes. After stab wound injury, however, many of these progenitors re‐enter the cell cycle very fast, suggesting that the normally long G1 phase is subject to regulation and can be abruptly shortened. In striking contrast, voluntary physical exercise shows the opposite effect with increased exit of the cell cycle followed by an enhanced and fast differentiation into mature oligodendrocytes. Taken together, our data demonstrate that the endogenous population of adult brain parenchymal progenitors is subject to profound modulation by environmental stimuli in both directions, either faster proliferation or faster differentiation. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.