Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Efficacy of felbamate in childhood epileptic encephalopathy (Lennox-Gastaut syndrome).

BACKGROUND The Lennox-Gastaut syndrome is a childhood disorder characterized by multiple types of seizures, mental retardation, characteristic electroencephalographic abnormalities, and resistance to standard antiepileptic drugs. Felbamate is an investigational antiepileptic drug with a preclinical profile that suggests it would be effective in patients with multiple types of seizures. In controlled clinical trials, felbamate was superior to placebo in reducing the frequency of refractory partial-onset seizures. METHODS We studied the efficacy of felbamate in 73 patients ranging in age from 4 to 36 years who had the Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. During a 28-day base-line phase, the patients received their usual antiepileptic therapies. At the end of this phase, felbamate or placebo was administered for 70 days in addition to the current antiepileptic medications. The dosage of felbamate was titrated during the first 14 days of the treatment phase to a maximum of 45 mg per kilogram of body weight per day or 3600 mg per day, whichever was less. The primary efficacy variables were the total number of seizures counted during a four-hour period of video recording, parents' or guardians' global evaluations of the patients' quality of life, and the total number of atonic seizures, as reported by parents or guardians. RESULTS The patients treated with felbamate had a 34 percent decrease in the frequency of atonic seizures, as compared with a 9 percent decrease in the patients who received placebo (P = 0.01). The felbamate-treated patients had a 19 percent decrease in the total frequency of seizures, as compared with a 4 percent increase in the placebo group (P = 0.002). The global-evaluation scores were significantly higher in the felbamate group than in the placebo group from day 49 to the end of the study. There were no significant differences in the frequency of seizures occurring during video monitoring, but there was a significant reduction (P = 0.017) in the number of tonic-clonic seizures during the maintenance period in the felbamate group. The types and frequency of side effects were similar in the two treatment groups. CONCLUSIONS Felbamate is beneficial in patients with the Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.
Using time use with mobile sensor data: a road to practical mobile activity recognition?

Having mobile devices that are capable of finding out what activity the user is doing, has been suggested as an attractive way to alleviate interaction with these platforms, and has been identified as a promising instrument in for instance medical monitoring. Although results of preliminary studies are promising, researchers tend to use high sampling rates in order to obtain adequate recognition rates with a variety of sensors. What is not fully examined yet, are ways to integrate into this the information that does not come from sensors, but lies in vast data bases such as time use surveys. We examine using such statistical information combined with mobile acceleration data to determine 11 activities. We show how sensor and time survey information can be merged, and we evaluate our approach on continuous day-and-night activity data from 17 different users over 14 days each, resulting in a data set of 228 days. We conclude with a series of observations, including the types of activities for which the use of statistical data has particular benefits.
A Comparison of Machine Learning Techniques for Predicting Insemination Outcome in Irish Dairy Cows

Reproductive performance has an important effect on economic efficiency in dairy farms with short yearly periods of breeding. The individual factors affecting the outcome of an artificial insemination have been extensively researched in many univariate models. In this study, these factors are analysed in combination to create a comprehensive multivariate model of conception in Irish dairy cows. Logistic regression, Naive Bayes, Decision Tree learning and Random Forests are trained using 2,723 artificial insemination records from Irish research farms. An additional 4,205 breeding events from commercial dairy farms are used to evaluate and compare the performance of each data mining technique. The models are assessed in terms of both discrimination and calibration ability. The logistic regression model was found to be the most useful model for predicting insemination outcome. This model is proposed as being appropriate for use in decision support and in general simulation of Irish dairy cows.
Effectiveness of empowerment-based self-management interventions on patients with chronic metabolic diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND Management of chronic metabolic diseases has recently become an important global health issue. Extensive research on empowerment-based self-management interventions (EBSMIs) for patients with chronic metabolic diseases has been conducted, but no systematic review has evaluated their effects. AIM To evaluate the effects of EBSMIs on patients with chronic metabolic diseases. METHODS A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted. Five electronic databases (Airiti Library, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, PubMed/ MEDLINE, and Index of Taiwan Periodical Literature System) were searched from the earliest year available to October 2012. Controlled trials about the effectiveness of interventions on patients with chronic metabolic diseases were included. Each study was appraised by three reviewers and assigned a level of evidence based on the modified Jadad scale. Extracted data were entered and analyzed using Review Manager 5.2. FINDINGS Nineteen studies were reviewed. Most studies showed that EBSMIs improved patients' hemoglobin A1c test (HbA1c) (p < .00001), waist circumference (p = .02), and empowerment level (p = .004). Four studies compared the effect on body weight and body mass index, but the overall effect was not significant (p = .33 and .73, respectively). Five studies compared the effect on self-efficacy, four of which indicated significant increase. However, the overall effect on self-efficacy was not compared because studies used different scales. LINKING EVIDENCE TO ACTION EBSMIs improved HbA1c test results, waist circumference, self-efficacy, and empowerment level in patients with chronic metabolic diseases. When implementing the EBSMIs, healthcare institutions need to provide training programs related to empowerment from which health professionals can acquire competence in patient empowerment. Moreover, healthcare leaders should assess and overcome barriers (e.g., time, manpower, cost, etc.) to implementing EBSMIs in clinical settings.
Decreased Slow Wave Sleep Increases Risk of Developing Hypertension in Elderly Men

The importance of sleep to health and cardiovascular disease has become increasingly apparent. Sleep-disordered breathing, sleep duration, and sleep architecture may all influence metabolism and neurohormonal systems, yet no previous study has evaluated these sleep characteristics concurrently in relation to incident hypertension. Our objective was to determine whether incident hypertension is associated with polysomnography measures of sleep-disordered breathing, sleep duration, and sleep architecture in older men. Participants were 784 community-dwelling, ambulatory men ≥65 years of age (mean age: 75.1±4.9 years) from the Outcomes of Sleep Disorders in Older Men Study who did not have hypertension at the time of their in-home polysomnography sleep studies (2003–2005) and who returned for follow-up (2007–2009). Of 784 older men included in this report, 243 met criteria for incident hypertension after a mean follow-up of 3.4 years. In unadjusted analyses, incident hypertension was associated with increased hypoxemia, increased sleep stages N1 and N2, and decreased stage N3 (slow wave sleep [SWS]). After adjustment for age, nonwhite race, study site, and body mass index, the only sleep index to remain significantly associated with incident hypertension was SWS percentage (odds ratio for lowest to highest quartile of SWS: 1.83 [95% CI: 1.18 to 2.85]). No attenuation of this association was seen after accounting for sleep duration, sleep fragmentation, and indices of sleep-disordered breathing. Percentage time in SWS was inversely associated with incident hypertension, independent of sleep duration and fragmentation, and sleep-disordered breathing. Selective deprivation of SWS may contribute to adverse blood pressure in older men.
Exercise Capacity and Blood Pressure Associations With Left Ventricular Mass in Prehypertensive Individuals

Prehypertensive individuals are at increased risk for developing hypertension and cardiovascular disease compared with those with normal blood pressure. Early compromises in left ventricular structure may explain part of the increased risk. We assessed echocardiographic and exercise parameters in prehypertensive individuals (n=790) to determine associations between exercise blood pressure and left ventricular structure. The exercise systolic blood pressure at 5 metabolic equivalents (METs) and the change in blood pressure from rest to 5 METs were the strongest predictors of left ventricular hypertrophy. We identified the systolic blood pressure of 150 mm Hg at the exercise levels of 5 METs as the threshold for left ventricular hypertrophy. There was a 4-fold increase in the likelihood for left ventricular hypertrophy for every 10-mm Hg increment in systolic blood pressure beyond this threshold (OR: 1.15; 95% CI: 1.12 to 1.18). There was also a 42% reduction in the risk for left ventricular hypertrophy for every 1 MET increase in the workload (OR: 0.58; P<0.001). When compared with low-fit, moderate, and high-fit individuals exhibited significantly lower systolic blood pressure at an exercise workload of 5 METs (155±14 versus 146±10 versus 144±10; P<0.05), lower left ventricular mass index (48±12 versus 41±10 versus 41±9; P<0.05), and prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy (48.3% versus 18.7% versus 21.6%; P<0.001). This suggests that moderate improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness achieved by moderate intensity physical activity can improve hemodynamics and cardiac performance in prehypertensive individuals and reduce the work of the left ventricle, ultimately resulting in lower left ventricular mass.
A networking solution on uplink channel of co-frequency and co-time system

Co-frequency and co-time full duplex (CCFD) is an attractive technology for the future wireless communication because of its high spectral efficiency. However, applications of CCFD to mobile network can suffer from strong base station to base station (B2B) interference. In this paper, the authors proposed a design that uses centralized base station (BS) transmit antenna and distributed BS receive antennas, each of which consists of an antennary to perform beamforming that can nullify the B2B interference. In addition, we proposed a combination algorithm that uses the zero forcing method to cascade the recursive least square (RLS) method for reducing the necessary number of the bits taken to the digital processor. This enables the faster convergence and, thus, allows the transmission of more information bits, compared to the conventional method, for mobile communication. The simulation results confirm this approach for practical application.
A metagenomics-based approach to the top-down effect on the detritivore food web: a salamanders influence on fungal communities within a deciduous forest

The flow of energy within an ecosystem can be considered either top-down, where predators influence consumers, or bottom-up, where producers influence consumers. Plethodon cinereus (Red-backed Salamander) is a terrestrial keystone predator who feeds on invertebrates within the ecosystem. We investigated the impact of the removal of P. cinereus on the detritivore food web in an upland deciduous forest in northwest Ohio, U.S.A. A total of eight aluminum enclosures, each containing a single P. cinereus under a small log, were constructed in the deciduous forest. On Day 1 of the experiment, four salamanders were evicted from four of the eight enclosures. Organic matter and soil were collected from the center of each enclosure at Day 1 and Day 21. From each sample, DNA was extracted, fungal-specific amplification performed, and 454 pyrosequencing was used to sequence the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS2) region and partial ribosomal large subunit (LSU). Changes in overall fungal community composition or species diversity were not statistically significant between treatments. Statistically significant shifts in the most abundant taxonomic groups of fungi were documented in presence but not absence enclosures. We concluded that P. cinereus does not affect the overall composition or diversity of fungal communities, but does have an impact on specific groups of fungi. This study used a metagenomics-based approach to investigate a missing link among a keystone predator, P. cinereus, invertebrates, and fungal communities, all of which are critical in the detritivore food web.
Cellular basis of ventricular arrhythmias and abnormal automaticity in heart failure.

The high incidence of sudden death in heart failure may reflect an increased propensity to abnormal repolarization and long Q-T interval-related arrhythmias. If so, cells from failing hearts would logically be expected to exhibit a heightened susceptibility to early afterdepolarizations (EAD). We found that midmyocardial ventricular cells isolated from dogs with pacing-induced heart failure exhibited an increased action potential duration and many more EAD than cells from nonpaced controls; this was the case both under basal conditions ( P < 0.01) and after lowering external K+concentration ([K+]o) to 2 mM and exposing cells to cesium (3 mM; P < 0.05). An unexpected finding was the occurrence of spontaneous depolarizations (SD, >5 mV) from the resting potential that were not coupled to prior action potentials. These SD were observed in 20% of failing cells ( n = 5 of 25) under basal ionic conditions but in none of the normal cells ( n = 0 of 27, P < 0.05). The net inward current that underlies SD is not triggered by Ca2+ oscillations and thus differs fundamentally from the currents that underlie delayed afterdepolarizations. We conclude that cardiomyopathic canine ventricular cells are intrinsically predisposed to EAD and SD. Because EAD have been linked to the pathogenesis of torsade de pointes, our results support the hypothesis that sudden death in heart failure often arises from abnormalities of repolarization. The frequent occurrence of SD points to a novel cellular mechanism for abnormal automaticity in heart failure.
Effect of the Holiday Season in Patients With Diabetes: Glycemia and Lipids Increase Postholiday, but the Effect Is Small and Transient

January diabetes clinics can leave both patients and clinicians facing a dilemma: Should high HbA1c and lipids be treated, or should we blame the holiday festivities and defer any decision to later in the year, when New Year resolutions have had a chance to be effective? This is an important question: If raised risk factors are not transient, delaying treatment could increase future complications; if these celebrations do have a marked transient effect, clinicians treating diabetes may be best reviewing patients after the effects of holiday festivities have subsided. We assessed the impact of the holiday season on glycemia and lipid profile in 3,212 adults with diabetes recruited to the Diabetes Alliance for Research in England (DARE) study (http://www.exeter.crf.nihr.ac.uk/node/132) (89% type 2 diabetes, 96% white British, 60% male). Biochemistry results from January 2000 to January 2012 were exported from local laboratory records (Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, Exeter, U.K.). We compared the results of …
Influence of stocking density on growth performance of family chicks reared up to 18 weeks of age in under an intensive system

A B S T R A C T densities D1, D2, D3 and D4 being 10 birds/m 2 , 13 birds/m 2 , 16 birds/m 2 and 19 birds/m 2 in the first phase (0-6 weeks); 8 birds/m 2 , 11 birds/m 2 , 14 birds/m 2 and 17 birds/m 2 in the second phase (7-12 weeks) and lastly 6 birds/m 2 , 9 birds/m 2 , 12 birds/m 2 and 15 birds/m 2 in the third phase (13-18 weeks) due to slaughtering which occurred at the end of each phase in a completely randomized design. The number of replicates per treatment was four. Parameters recorded included feed intake, body weight (BW), body weight gain (BWG), feed conversion ratio (FCR), mortality, final live weight, dressed weight and dressing percentage. Data were analysed using the General Linear Model Procedures in Statistical Analysis System. The growth parameters of family chickens reared in three phases under intensive system were not significantly (P<0.05) affected by different stocking densities probably because of slaughtering that occurred at six weekly intervals. A significant stocking density and age interaction occurred for feed intake (P<0.0002) and (P<0.0001) in the first and third phases, respectively. These results indicate that the optimum stocking density for family chickens under intensive system of management may be 10 birds/m 2 for first phase, 8 birds/m 2 for second phase and 9 birds/m 2 for third phase.
Who Is Behaving? Consequences for Energy Policy of Concept Confusion

Policies to reduce household energy use usually target the individual customer. This is probably one explanation to the limited effect of many information policies, because two concepts with different meanings are confused: individual and household. In most contexts, an individual stands for what s/he does, but in the policy context, an individual is taken to represent the entire household. This is not problematic for a single-person household, but, in a multi-person household, activities performed by different household members influence the whole household’s energy use. This paper illuminates problems arising from confusing the concepts of household and individual when developing policies to reduce household energy use. Examples relate to indoor space heating and energy-intensive home-based activities. The results indicate that it is analytically simple to consider individuals at home, as well as their activities using electrical appliances contributing to heating, but much more complicated to take the whole household into consideration. Our model provides a basis for better-targeted information actions to reduce energy use. Also, empirically based models capturing variations between households with different activity patterns are important for developing policies resulting in reduced energy use for space heating in multi-person households.
Labor Standards and the World Trade Organization

This policy brief takes the position that international labor standards should not be incorporated into the WTO and other trade agreements as we argue that this will not achieve either of the two professed goals: a) improving the wages and working conditions of workers in poor countries and b) keeping more jobs in the industrialized countries. In fact, empirical evidence shows that such mandates can reduce the number of workers with better working conditions and increase the number in poorer conditions, hence creating further inequality. The literature also shows that low labor standards do not provide developing countries with an unfair advantage in their export trade nor do they drive FDI. We recommend alternative policies be deployed through existing institutions. For the poor countries, sustainable improvement of the wages and working conditions of workers can only be achieved through solid economic and social development policies, deployed with the assistance of international organizations (regional banks, NGOs, etc). For the industrialized countries, we recommend that more effort be focused on preparing workers to be able to adapt to the evolving global economy. The process of economic change is complex and cannot be managed by mandates. The alternative policies we propose will be far more effective in making workers and the economies better off.
Single-center experience with primary orthotopic liver transplantation with FK 506 immunosuppression.

OBJECTIVE The efficacy for primary orthotopic liver transplantation of a new immunosuppressive agent, FK 506 (tacrolimus, Prograf, Fujisawa USA, Deerfield, IL), was determined. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA After 3 years of preclinical research, a clinical trial of FK 506 for orthotopic liver transplantation was begun in February 1989, first as a rescue therapy for patients with intractable rejection with conventional immunosuppression, then as a primary drug. METHODS Between August 1989 and December 1993, 1391 recipients (1188 adult and 203 pediatric) of primary liver allografts were treated with FK 506 from the outset. Results from these patients were analyzed and compared with those of 1212 historical control patients (971 adult and 241 pediatric) given cyclosporine-based immunosuppression. RESULTS Actuarial survival at 4 years was 86.2% with FK 506 versus 65.5% with cyclosporine in the pediatric patients (p < 0.0000) and 71.4% versus 65.5% in the adults (p < 0.0005). The need for retransplantation was reduced significantly for FK 506 patients. Four-year graft survival was 77.0% with FK 506 versus 48.4% with cyclosporine in the pediatric patients (p < 0.0000), and 61.9% with FK 506 versus 51.4% with cyclosporine in the adult recipients (p < 0.0000). Regression analysis revealed that reduction in mortality or graft loss from uncontrollable rejection, sepsis, technical failure, and recurrent original liver disease were responsible for the improved results with FK 506 therapy. CONCLUSIONS FK 506 is a potent and superior immunosuppressive agent for orthotopic liver transplantation.
Phylogenetic affinities of the sequestrate genus Rhodactina (Boletaceae), with a new species, R. rostratispora from Thailand

Abstract Rhodactina is a small sequestrate genus in Boletaceae with two described species, R. himalayensis and R. incarnata. Phylogenetic analyses of a three-gene dataset including atp6, tef1 and rpb2 of Rhodactina species along with selected Boletaceae species showed that all Rhodactina species formed a monophyletic clade, sister to the genera Spongiforma and Borofutus in subfamily Leccinoideae with high support. All of the taxa in the clade have a similar chemical reaction in which basidiospores turn purplish, purplish red to violet or violet grey when in contact with potassium hydroxide. The molecular analyses also showed that all Rhodactina specimens collected from Ubon Ratchathani province, northeastern Thailand, belong to a new species. Morphologically, the new species is different from others by having a markedly prominent hilar appendage and a terminal hilum on its basidiospores. Thus, the new species, Rhodactina rostratispora, is introduced with detailed macroscopic and microscopic descriptions and illustrations.