Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Acupuncture Conversion of Fetal Breech Presentation

Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the value of acupuncture (AP) in the conversion of fetal breech presentation into vertex presentation. Patients and Methods: A randomized prospective controlled clinical study included 67 pregnant women with fetal breech presentation: 34 women with singleton pregnancies treated with manual AP (urinary bladder 67, Zhiyin) and a control group which included 33 women with singleton pregnancies without AP treatment. The AP treatment lasted 30 min a day, and was conducted during and after 34 weeks of pregnancy with simultaneous cardiotocography. Results: The success rate of the AP correction of fetal breech presentation is 76.4% (26 women), and spontaneous conversion without AP in vertex presentation is observed in 15 women (45.4%; p < 0.001). Conclusions: We believe that AP correction of fetal malpresentation is a relatively simple, efficacious and inexpensive method associated with a lower percentage of operatively completed deliveries, which definitely reflects in improved parameters of vital and perinatal statistics.
Factors influencing eating a varied diet in old age

Abstract Objective To investigate the influences of resources and food-related goals on the variety of food choice among older people. Design A questionnaire-based survey in eight European countries: Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Italy and Spain. Subjects Participants (n 3200) were above 65 years of age and living in their own homes. The samples were quota samples, eight groups of fifty in each country, based on gender, age and living circumstances, reflecting the diversity of each of the national populations based on education, income and urbanization of living environment. Results Hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that income, health status, access to a car and living arrangement affected the level of dietary variety. The perceived level of different food-related resources impacted the consumption of a varied diet over and above actual resource levels. Food-related goals contributed to variety of food intake that was not accounted for by the amount of material resources possessed or the social and other resources perceived to be possessed. Conclusions Older people’s variety of food intake depended on material resources (e.g. monthly income, access to a car, living arrangement, physical and mental health). However, in addition to these variables, the way older people perceived other resources, such as their level of appetite, their food knowledge, their perception of the distance to the shops, access to high-quality products, having better kitchen facilities, access to good service providers and support from friends and neighbours, all contributed to how varied a diet they ate.
Lumbar epidural fentanyl: segmental spread and effect on temporal summation and muscle pain.

BACKGROUND Despite extensive use, different aspects of the pharmacological action of epidural fentanyl have not been clarified. We applied a multi-modal sensory test procedure to investigate the effect of epidural fentanyl on segmental spread, temporal summation (as a measure for short-lasting central hyperexcitability) and muscle pain. METHODS Thirty patients received either placebo, 50 or 100 micro g single dose of fentanyl epidurally (L2-3), in a randomized, double-blind fashion. Heat pain tolerance thresholds at eight dermatomes from S1 to fifth cranial nerve (assessment of segmental spread), pain threshold to transcutaneous repeated electrical stimulation of the sural nerve (assessment of temporal summation) and pain intensity after injection of hypertonic saline into the tibialis anterior muscle (assessment of muscle pain) were recorded. RESULTS Fentanyl 100 micro g, but not 50 micro g, produced analgesia to heat stimulation only at L2. Surprisingly, no effect at S1 was detected. Both fentanyl doses significantly increased temporal summation threshold and decreased muscle pain intensity. CONCLUSIONS The findings suggest that a single lumbar epidural dose of fentanyl should be injected at the spinal interspace corresponding to the dermatomal site of pain. Increased effect on L2 compared with S1 suggests that drug effect on spinal nerve roots and binding to opioid receptors on the dorsal root ganglia may be more important than traditionally believed for the segmental effect of epidurally injected fentanyl. Epidural fentanyl increases temporal summation threshold and could therefore contribute to prevention and treatment of central hypersensitivity states. I.M. injection of hypertonic saline is a sensitive technique for detecting the analgesic action of epidural opioids.
Comparison of cow-side diagnostic tests for subclinical mastitis of dairy cows in Musanze district, Rwanda

Four subclinical mastitis diagnostic tests (the UdderCheck® test [a lactate dehydrogenase-based test], the California Mastitis Test [CMT], the Draminski® test [a conductivity-based test] and the PortaSCC® test [a portable somatic cell count-based test]) were compared in a study comprising crossbreed dairy cows (n = 30) during September and October 2015. Sensitivity and specificity of the CMT, Draminski® and UdderCheck® tests were compared with the PortaSCC® as reference. The CMT, Draminski® and UdderCheck® test results were compared with the results of the PortaSCC® test using kappa statistics. Duplicate quarter milk samples (n = 120) were concurrently subjected to the four tests. Sensitivity and specificity were 88.46% and 86.17% (CMT), 78.5% and 81.4% (Draminski®) and 64.00% and 78.95% (UdderCheck®). The CMT showed substantial agreement (k = 0.66), the Draminski® test showed moderate agreement (k = 0.48) and the UdderCheck® test showed fair agreement (k = 0.37) with the PortaSCC® test and positive likelihood ratios were 6.40, 4.15 and 3.04, respectively. The cow-level subclinical mastitis prevalence was 70%, 60%, 60% and 56.7% for PortaSCC®, CMT, Draminski® and UdderCheck® tests, respectively. At udder quarter level, subclinical mastitis prevalence was 20%, 21.67% and 20.83% for PortaSCC®, CMT and UdderCheck®, respectively. A correlation (P < 0.05) and moderate strength of association were found between the four tests used. The study showed that compared to the PortaSCC® test, the CMT was the most preferable option, followed by the Draminski® test, while the UdderCheck® test was the least preferable option for subclinical mastitis screening.
Effects of SiH Groups on ELDRS Quantified by XPS with Combined Use of Gamma-ray and Electron-beam Irradiation

There have been no studies to date estimating the quantitative relation between the increase of interface traps and SiH groups in silicon dioxide films for the effects of total ionizing dose including enhanced low-dose-rate sensitivity (ELDRS). In this study, SiH groups densities in silicon dioxide films are measured and compared with interface trap densities developed at different dose rates to evaluate the impacts of direct proton release mechanism on ELDRS by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis with the combined use of gamma-ray and electron-beam irradiation. The measurement results in this study clearly show that ELDRS depends linearly on SiH groups densities. The linear relationship demonstrates ELDRS is caused by the direct proton release mechanism. The order of magnitude of ELDRS we observed is almost the same as the experimental results reported previously. We emphasize that our results provide the first experimental evidence that the direct proton release mechanism is a critical mechanism affecting ELDRS in addition to the space charge model and H2 cracking.
Health and Exercise-Related Medical Issues among 1,212 Ultramarathon Runners: Baseline Findings from the Ultrarunners Longitudinal TRAcking (ULTRA) Study

Regular exercise is associated with substantial health benefits; however, little is known about the health impact of extreme levels of exercise. This study examined the prevalence of chronic diseases, health-care utilization, and risk factors for exercise-related injuries among ultramarathon runners. Retrospective, self-reported enrollment data from an ongoing longitudinal observational study of 1,212 active ultramarathon runners were analyzed. The most prevalent chronic medical conditions were allergies/hay fever (25.1%) and exercise-induced asthma (13.0%), but there was a low prevalence of serious medical issues including cancers (4.5%), coronary artery disease (0.7%), seizure disorders (0.7%), diabetes (0.7%), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection (0.2%). In the year preceding enrollment, most (64.6%) reported an exercise-related injury that resulted in lost training days (median of 14 days), but little nonattendance of work or school due to illness, injury, or exercise-related medical conditions (medians of 0 days for each). The knee was the most common area of exercise-related injury. Prior year incidence of stress fractures was 5.5% with most (44.5%) involving the foot. Ultramarathon runners who sustained exercise-related injuries were younger (p<0.001) and less experienced (p<0.01) than those without injury. Stress fractures were more common (p<0.01) among women than men. We conclude that, compared with the general population, ultramarathon runners appear healthier and report fewer missed work or school days due to illness or injury. Ultramarathon runners have a higher prevalence of asthma and allergies than the general population, and the prevalence of serious medical issues was nontrivial and should be recognized by those providing medical care to these individuals. Ultramarathon runners, compared with shorter distance runners, have a similar annual incidence of exercise-related injuries but higher proportion of stress fractures involving the foot, and it is the younger and less experienced ultramarathoners who appear most at risk for injury.
Adrenocortical Response to Stress and Thyroid Hormone Status in Free-Living Nestling White Storks (Ciconia ciconia) Exposed to Heavy Metal and Arsenic Contamination

Background/Objective Endocrine parameters have proven useful in the detection of early or low-level responses to pollutants. Although most of the studies on endocrine modulation have been focused on processes involving gonadal steroids, contaminants may target other parts of the endocrine system as well. In this study we examined the adrenocortical stress response and thyroid hormone status in free-living nestling white storks (Ciconia ciconia) in relation to heavy metals (zinc, lead, copper, cadmium) and arsenic levels in blood. Methods Fieldwork was conducted in an area polluted by the Aznalcóllar mine accident (southwestern Spain) and in a reference site. We used a standardized capture, handling, and restraint protocol to determine both baseline and maximum plasma corticosterone. Circulating levels of thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) were also measured. Results No effects of metals or As were found on baseline corticosterone, but maximum levels of corticosterone were positively related to Pb in both locations. This relationship was stronger in single nestlings than in birds from multiple-chick broods, which suggests a greater impact of Pb on more stressed individuals. Metal pollution did not affect plasma T4 or T3 levels, although thyroid status differed with location. Conclusions Because a compromised hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) function can have far-reaching consequences in terms of altered behavioral and metabolic processes necessary for survival, our results suggest that birds exposed to sublethal Pb levels may be at risk through an altered adrenocortical stress response, and further support the idea that HPA axis-related end points might be useful indicators of metal exposure and potential toxicity in wild animals.
Assessing prostate cancer risk: results from the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial.

BACKGROUND Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing is the primary method used to diagnose prostate cancer in the United States. Methods to integrate other risk factors associated with prostate cancer into individualized risk prediction are needed. We used prostate biopsy data from men who participated in the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT) to develop a predictive model of prostate cancer. METHODS We included 5519 men from the placebo group of the PCPT who underwent prostate biopsy, had at least one PSA measurement and a digital rectal examination (DRE) performed during the year before the biopsy, and had at least two PSA measurements performed during the 3 years before the prostate biopsy. Logistic regression was used to model the risk of prostate cancer and high-grade disease associated with age at biopsy, race, family history of prostate cancer, PSA level, PSA velocity, DRE result, and previous prostate biopsy. Risk equations were created from the estimated logistic regression models. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS A total of 1211 (21.9%) men were diagnosed with prostate cancer by prostate biopsy. Variables that predicted prostate cancer included higher PSA level, positive family history of prostate cancer, and abnormal DRE result, whereas a previous negative prostate biopsy was associated with reduced risk. Neither age at biopsy nor PSA velocity contributed independent prognostic information. Higher PSA level, abnormal DRE result, older age at biopsy, and African American race were predictive for high-grade disease (Gleason score > or =7) whereas a previous negative prostate biopsy reduced this risk. CONCLUSIONS This predictive model allows an individualized assessment of prostate cancer risk and risk of high-grade disease for men who undergo a prostate biopsy.
Equivalence verification of polynomial datapaths with fixed-size bit-vectors using finite ring algebra

This paper addresses the problem of equivalence verification of RTL descriptions. The focus is on datapath-oriented designs that implement polynomial computations over fixed-size bit-vectors. When the size (m) of the entire datapath is kept constant, fixed-size bit-vector arithmetic manifests itself as polynomial algebra over finite integer rings of residue classes Z/sub 2//sup m/. The verification problem then reduces to that of checking equivalence of multi-variate polynomials over Z/sub 2//sup m/. This paper exploits the concepts of polynomial reducibility over Z/sub 2//sup m/ and derives an algorithmic procedure to transform a given polynomial into a unique canonical form modulo 2/sup m/. Equivalence testing is then carried out by coefficient matching. Experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach over contemporary techniques.
Nanostructured epoxy/POSS composites: enhanced materials for high voltage insulation applications

In this study, the dielectric and thermal properties of nanostructured epoxy/POSS (Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxanes) composites were investigated, using a reactive Triglycidylisobutyl-POSS (TGIB-POSS) additive from 1 up to 10 wt%. POSS has been successfully dispersed at a molecular level for low content composites, which show a remarkably improved resistance to corona discharges, with up to 60% less eroded sample volume, along with significantly increased dielectric breakdown strengths and thermal conductivities. Epoxy/POSS composites containing 5 wt% and more of the POSS additive exhibit agglomerations, which have been observed by SEM. Furthermore, dielectric spectroscopy revealed additional interfacial loss peaks for such composites containing 5 wt% POSS and more, in addition to the α- and β-peaks known for epoxy.
Plasma fibrinolysis during and after normal childbirth

A detailed sequential study of plasma fibrinolytic components in 42 healthy women during and after childbirth showed that striking changes occurred within minutes of placental separation. Significant increases in overall fibrinolytic activity were detected 1 5 min after delivery. During this period statistically significant increases in tissue plasminogen activator levels were noted but were overshadowed by a dramatic decrease in the level of plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI). A 10‐fold fall in PAI was noted by days 3‐5 post‐partum, suggesting that the placenta is the major source of PAI detectable at the end of pregnancy and during labour. Persisting slightly elevated levels of PAI were detected for the first few days post partum. This may be due to increased production of normal‘endothelial’PAI in response to the vascular trauma incurred by placental separation, and in response to uterine vascular changes immediately post‐partum.
Cross-Validation Optimization for Large Scale Structured Classification Kernel Methods

We propose a highly efficient framework for penalized likelihood kernel methods applied to multi-class models with a large, structured set of classes. As opposed to many previous approaches which try to decompose the fitting problem into many smaller ones, we focus on a Newton optimization of the complete model, making use of model structure and linear conjugate gradients in order to approximate Newton search directions. Crucially, our learning method is based entirely on matrix-vector multiplication primitives with the kernel matrices and their derivatives, allowing straightforward specialization to new kernels, and focusing code optimization efforts to these primitives only. Kernel parameters are learned automatically, by maximizing the cross-validation log likelihood in a gradient-based way, and predictive probabilities are estimated. We demonstrate our approach on large scale text classification tasks with hierarchical structure on thousands of classes, achieving state-of-the-art results in an order of magnitude less time than previous work. Parts of this work appeared in the conference paper Seeger (2007).
Auranofin Protects against Anthrax Lethal Toxin-Induced Activation of the Nlrp1b Inflammasome

ABSTRACT Anthrax lethal toxin (LT) is the major virulence factor for Bacillus anthracis. The lethal factor (LF) component of this bipartite toxin is a protease which, when transported into the cellular cytoplasm, cleaves mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK) family proteins and induces rapid toxicity in mouse macrophages through activation of the Nlrp1b inflammasome. A high-throughput screen was performed to identify synergistic LT-inhibitory drug combinations from within a library of approved drugs and molecular probes. From this screen we discovered that auranofin, an organogold compound with anti-inflammatory activity, strongly inhibited LT-mediated toxicity in mouse macrophages. Auranofin did not inhibit toxin transport into cells or MEK cleavage but inhibited both LT-mediated caspase-1 activation and caspase-1 catalytic activity. Thus, auranofin inhibited LT-mediated toxicity by preventing activation of the Nlrp1b inflammasome and the downstream actions that occur in response to the toxin. Idebenone, an analog of coenzyme Q, synergized with auranofin to increase its protective effect. We found that idebenone functions as an inhibitor of voltage-gated potassium channels and thus likely mediates synergy through inhibition of the potassium fluxes which have been shown to be required for Nlrp1b inflammasome activation.
Novel universal approach for preimplantation genetic diagnosis of beta-thalassaemia in combination with HLA matching of embryos.

BACKGROUND Beta-Thalassaemia results from co-inheritance of two mutant beta-globin alleles. Allogeneic cord blood cell transplantation (CBT) from an HLA-identical sibling donor is an excellent treatment option for beta-thalassaemia. In families with an affected child and willing to have another child, IVF followed by preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) can be applied to exclude affected embryos. Furthermore, healthy embryos could be HLA matched with the affected child so that cord blood from the future newborn can be used to transplant the affected sibling. METHODS We developed an indirect single-cell HLA typing technique based on the use of a bank of seven microsatellite markers within the HLA locus from which four informative and evenly distributed markers were selected. RESULTS The methodology was validated in three beta-thalassaemia families having six ovarian stimulation cycles in view of IVF and PGD. Six PGD cycles were performed in two families. On 58 embryos tested, the combined PCR was successful in 54 (93%). Two transfers were done and one clinical pregnancy was obtained. Using confirmatory analysis on 50 embryos, the accuracy for HLA typing was 100%. CONCLUSION This strategy offers a new therapeutic option for patients with beta-thalassaemia and other monogenic diseases that can be cured with CBT.
Collaborative Multi-Layer Network Coding in Hybrid Cellular Cognitive Radio Networks

In this paper, as an extension to [1], we propose a prioritized multi-layer network coding scheme for collaborative packet recovery in hybrid (interweave and underlay) cellular cognitive radio networks. This scheme allows the uncoordinated collaboration between the collocated primary and cognitive radio base-stations in order to minimize their own as well as each other's packet recovery overheads, thus by improving their throughput. The proposed scheme ensures that each network's performance is not degraded by its help to the other network. Moreover, it guarantees that the primary network's interference threshold is not violated in the same and adjacent cells. Yet, the scheme allows the reduction of the recovery overhead in the collocated primary and cognitive radio networks. The reduction in the cognitive radio network is further amplified due to the perfect detection of spectrum holes which allows the cognitive radio base station to transmit at higher power without fear of violating the interference threshold of the primary network. For the secondary network, simulation results show reductions of 20% and 34% in the packet recovery overhead, compared to the non-collaborative scheme, for low and high probabilities of primary packet arrivals, respectively. For the primary network, this reduction was found to be 12%.
Parenteral and enteral metabolism of anaplerotic triheptanoin in normal rats . II . Effects on lipolysis , glucose production , and liver acyl-CoA profile

Gu L, Zhang GF, Kombu RS, Allen F, Kutz G, Brewer WU, Roe CR, Brunengraber H. Parenteral and enteral metabolism of anaplerotic triheptanoin in normal rats. II. Effects on lipolysis, glucose production, and liver acyl-CoA profile. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 298: E362–E371, 2010. First published November 10, 2009; doi:10.1152/ajpendo.00384. 2009. —The anaplerotic odd-mediumchain triglyceride triheptanoin is used in clinical trials for the chronic dietary treatment of patients with long-chain fatty acid oxidation disorders. We previously showed (Kinman RP, Kasumov T, Jobbins KA, Thomas KR, Adams JE, Brunengraber LN, Kutz G, Brewer WU, Roe CR, Brunengraber H. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 291: E860–E866, 2006) that the intravenous infusion of triheptanoin increases lipolysis traced by the turnover of glycerol. In this study, we tested whether lipolysis induced by triheptanoin infusion is accompanied by the potentially harmful release of long-chain fatty acids. Rats were infused with heptanoate glycerol or triheptanoin. Intravenous infusion of triheptanoin at 40% of caloric requirement markedly increased glycerol endogenous Ra but not oleate endogenous Ra. Thus, the activation of lipolysis was balanced by fatty acid reesterification in the same cells. The liver acyl-CoA profile showed the accumulation of intermediates of heptanoate -oxidation and C5-ketogenesis and a decrease in free CoA but no evidence of metabolic perturbation of liver metabolism such as propionyl overload. Our data suggest that triheptanoin, administered either intravenously or intraduodenally, could be used for intensive care and nutritional support of metabolically decompensated long-chain fatty acid oxidation disorders.