Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The NEDICES Study: Recent Advances in the Understanding of the Epidemiology of Essential Tremor

Background Essential tremor (ET) is the most common tremor disorder. ET has classically been viewed as a benign monosymptomatic condition. Yet over the past 10 years, a growing body of evidence indicates that this is a progressive condition that is clinically heterogeneous, and may be associated with a variety of different features. Large epidemiological studies such as the Neurological Disorders of Central Spain (NEDICES), a longitudinal, population-based survey, have contributed significantly to the changing view of the disease. Our aim is to review some of the main results of NEDICES within the larger framework of the epidemiology of ET. Methods Data for this review were gathered from all our articles published up to October 2011 regarding NEDICES study and “Essential Tremor”. Results We have published 18 articles up to October 2011. The prevalence, incidence, and mortality of ET were analyzed in this cohort. In addition, ET was found to be associated with increased frailty and low morale, as well as with a series of non-motor manifestations, including cognitive deficits, mild cognitive impairment, dementia, depressive symptoms, and hearing impairment. Finally, the link between ET and Parkinson's disease (PD) was formally quantified in the NEDICES study, which demonstrated that the risk of developing incident PD was 4.3 times higher in prevalent ET cases than in age-matched controls without ET. Conclusions This review highlights the contributions of NEDICES towards the advancement of current knowledge of the epidemiology and clinical features of ET, and emphasizes the importance of population-based studies towards the understanding of complex, ageing-related diseases.
Design and Analysis of a W-Band SiGe Direct-Detection-Based Passive Imaging Receiver

A W-band direct-detection-based receiver front-end for millimeter-wave passive imaging in a 0.18-μm BiCMOS process is presented. The proposed system is comprised of a direct-detection front-end architecture employing a balanced LNA with an embedded Dicke switch, power detector, and baseband circuitry. The use of a balanced LNA with an embedded Dicke switch minimizes front-end noise figure, resulting in a great imaging resolution. The receiver chip achieves a measured responsivity of 20-43 MV/W with a front-end 3-dB bandwidth of 26 GHz, while consuming 200 mW. The calculated NETD of the SiGe receiver chip is 0.4 K with a 30 ms integration time. This work demonstrates the possibility of silicon-based system-on-chip solutions as lower cost alternatives to compound semiconductor multi-chip imaging modules.
A Multiplex real-time PCR for detection of Mycoplasma gallisepticum and Mycoplasma synoviae in clinical samples from Brazilian commercial poultry flocks

Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MS) and Mycoplasma synoviae (MS) are important avian pathogens and cause economic losses to the poultry industry. Molecular biology techniques are currently used for a rapid detection of these pathogens and the adoption of control measures of the diseases. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a technique for simultaneous detection of MG and MS by multiplex real time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The complete assay (Multiplex MGMS) was designed with primers and probes specific for each pathogen and developed to be carried out in a single tube reaction. Vaccines, MG and MS isolates and DNA from other Mycoplasma species were used for the development and validation of the method. Further, 78 pooled clinical samples from different poultry flocks in Brazil were obtained and used to determine the sensitivity and specificity of the technique in comparison to 2 real time PCR assays specific for MG (MG PCR) and MS (MS PCR). The results demonstrated an agreement of 100% (23 positive and 44 negative samples) between Multiplex MGMS and MG PCR in the analysis of 67 samples from MG positive and negative poultry flocks, and an agreement of 96.9% between Multiplex MGMS and MS PCR in the analysis of 64 samples from MS positive and negative poultry flocks. Considering the single amplification tests as the gold standard, the Multiplex MGMS showed 100% of specificity and sensitivity in the MG analysis and 94.7% sensitivity and 100% specificity in the MS analysis. This new assay could be used for rapid analysis of MG and MS in the poultry industry laboratories.
Glycemic and Metabolic Effects of Two Long Bouts of Moderate-Intensity Exercise in Men with Normal Glucose Tolerance or Type 2 Diabetes

Background The glycemic and insulinemic responses following 30–60 min of exercise have been extensively studied, and a dose–response has been proposed between exercise duration, or volume, and improvements in glucose tolerance or insulin sensitivity. However, few studies have examined the effects of longer bouts of exercise in type 2 diabetes (T2D). Longer bouts may have a greater potential to affect glucagon, interleukin-6 (IL-6) and incretin hormones [i.e., glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP)]. Aim To examine the effect of two bouts of long-duration, moderate-intensity exercise on incretins, glucagon, and IL-6 responses before and after exercise, as well as in response to an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) conducted the following day. Methods Twelve men, six with and six without T2D, participated in two separate conditions (i.e., exercise vs. rest) according to a randomized crossover design. On day 1, participants either rested or performed two 90 min bouts of treadmill exercise (separated by 3.5 h) at 80% of their ventilatory threshold. All participants received standardized meals on day 1. On day 2 of each condition, glucose and hormonal responses were measured during a 4-h OGTT. Results On day 1, exercise increased IL-6 at the end of the first bout of exercise (exercise by time interaction p = 0.03) and GIP overall (main effect of exercise p = 0.004). Glucose was reduced to a greater extent in T2D following exercise (exercise by T2D interaction p = 0.03). On day 2, GIP and active GLP-1 were increased in the fasting state (p = 0.05 and p = 0.03, respectively), while plasma insulin and glucagon concentrations were reduced during the OGTT (p = 0.01 and p = 0.02, respectively) in the exercise compared to the rest condition for both healthy controls and T2D. Postprandial glucose was elevated in T2D compared to healthy control (p < 0.05) but was not affected by exercise. Conclusion Long-duration, moderate-intensity aerobic exercise can increase IL-6. On the day following exercise, fasting incretins remained increased but postprandial insulin and glucagon were decreased without affecting postprandial glucose. This long duration of exercise may not be appropriate for some people, and further research should investigate why next day glucose tolerance was unchanged.
Squamous cell carcinoma arising in recurrent odontogenic keratocyst: Case report and literature review

Background. Keratinizing odontogenic cysts of the mandible commonly have an aggressive clinical course, marked by multiple recurrences. Primary intraosseus carcinoma (PIOC) of the mandible is rare, and when it occurs it is often found to be arising in or closely associated with some type of cystic structure.
Multiscale Models of Taxis-Driven Patterning in Bacterial Populations

Spatially-distributed populations of various types of bacteria often display intricate spatial patterns that are thought to result from the cellular response to gradients of nutrients or other attractants. In the past decade a great deal has been learned about signal transduction, metabolism and movement in E. coli and other bacteria, but translating the individual-level behavior into population-level dynamics is still a challenging problem. However, this is a necessary step because it is computationally impractical to use a strictly cell-based model to understand patterning in growing populations, since the total number of cells may reach 10(12) - 10(14) in some experiments. In the past phenomenological equations such as the Patlak-Keller-Segel equations have been used in modeling the cell movement that is involved in the formation of such patterns, but the question remains as to how the microscopic behavior can be correctly described by a macroscopic equation. Significant progress has been made for bacterial species that employ a "run-and-tumble" strategy of movement, in that macroscopic equations based on simplified schemes for signal transduction and turning behavior have been derived [14, 15]. Here we extend previous work in a number of directions: (i) we allow for time-dependent signals, which extends the applicability of the equations to natural environments, (ii) we use a more general turning rate function that better describes the biological behavior, and (iii) we incorporate the effect of hydrodynamic forces that arise when cells swim in close proximity to a surface. We also develop a new approach to solving the moment equations derived from the transport equation that does not involve closure assumptions. Numerical examples show that the solution of the lowest-order macroscopic equation agrees well with the solution obtained from a Monte Carlo simulation of cell movement under a variety of temporal protocols for the signal. We also apply the method to derive equations of chemotactic movement that are governed by multiple chemotactic signals.
Detection of Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Virus by Reverse Transcription–Cross-Priming Amplification Coupled with Vertical Flow Visualization

ABSTRACT A virus known as severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) was recently identified as the etiological agent of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) in China. Reliable laboratory detection and identification of this virus are likely to become clinically and epidemiologically desirable. We developed a nearly instrument-free, simple molecular method which incorporates reverse transcription–cross-priming amplification (RT-CPA) coupled with a vertical flow (VF) visualization strip for rapid detection of SFTSV. The RT-CPA-VF assay targets a conserved region of the M segment of the SFTSV genome and has a limit of detection of 100 copies per reaction, with no cross-reaction with other vector-borne bunyaviruses and bacterial pathogens. The performance of the RT-CPA-VF assay was determined with 175 human plasma specimens collected from 89 clinically suspected SFTS patients and 86 healthy donors. The sensitivity and specificity of the assay were 94.1% and 100.0%, respectively, compared with a combination of virus culture and real-time RT-PCR. The entire procedure, from specimen processing to result reporting, can be completed within 2 h. The simplicity and nearly instrument-free platform of the RT-CPA-VF assay make it practical for point-of-care testing.
Long‐term outcomes after cyclosporine or mycophenolate withdrawal in kidney transplantation – results from an aborted trial

Long‐term triple immunosuppressive therapy with cyclosporine (CsA), mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) and prednisolone may be excessively powerful for many transplant recipients. We compared withdrawal of either MMF or CsA in stable kidney transplants on triple immunosuppression. The study was a prospective, randomized, controlled 12‐months trial in stable kidney transplants. The patients who withdrew CsA were given MMF 2 g/d, and CsA troughs were between 75 and 125 ng/mL in MMF withdrawal. Planned inclusion was 298 patients. The study was prematurely aborted after inclusion of 39 patients. Acute rejection rates were 6/20 (30%) in the MMF group compared with 0/19 (0%) in the CsA group (p = 0.02). Time to acute rejections was 4.0–28.7 months after withdrawal. Trough concentrations of mycophenolic acid (MPA) and CsA showed therapeutic levels. The subjects have been observed for eight yr, and of the 28 patients remaining on randomized therapy, the MMF patients preserved graft function better than CsA patients. Death‐censored graft survival was 75% and 95% (p = 0.18) and patient survival was 70% and 68% (p = 0.99) in the MMF and CsA groups, respectively, at the end of long‐term follow‐up. CsA withdrawal was associated with a high rate of acute rejections. Initially, the treatment of acute rejections was successful. However, five of six lost their grafts in the long term.
Geographic Distribution of Childbirth among Adolescents in Cameroon from 2003 to 2005

Objective. To determine the frequency and the trend of adolescents (10–19 years) in childbirth within a period of 3 years in referral maternity units in Cameroon. Method. Descriptive and retrospective study for a 3-year period (2003–2005) in referral maternity units headed by a qualified Obstetrician-Gynecologist. We analyzed the trend and geographic distribution of 8222 adolescent deliveries over 3 years. Epi Info 3.5 software was used for data analysis. Chi square test for trend was used to assess the contribution of adolescent deliveries over years. The trend was considered significant if P < . 05. Results. During the period of the study, there was a total of 8387 deliveries. We excluded 165 women because of lack of information about age. We therefore included a total of 8222 adolescent deliveries. Overall, the contribution of adolescents to deliveries ranged from 6.87% to 26.51%, depending on the region with a national mean of 14.23%. Adolescents aged 16 or less contributed to 2.82% of deliveries while those aged from 17 to 19 contributed to 11.41%. The contribution of adolescents to deliveries decreased significantly over 3 years (P < .0001). Conclusion. The study underscores the importance of Public Health programs in strengthening maternity services for adolescents in Cameroon while taking into consideration geographic differences.
Estudo de Caso de um Evento Extremo de Incursão de Ar Frio em Julho de 2013 sobre a Bacia Amazônica Brasileira

The Amazon basin is located in the tropical region whose main characteristics are the high values of temperature and humidity of the air. However, cold and dry air incursions also penetrate the region, as occurred in July 2013. This fourth cold wave that affected the South American continent caused snow in cities of the South region, characterizing an intense polar mass with displacement to the North. The present work analyzed the behavior of meteorological variables in order to investigate the intensity of this effect. The dataset used were observations and reanalyses. The negative anomaly of the maximum temperature in Rio Branco was 15.9 °C, in Manicoré of 6.7 °C and Manaus of 2,0 °C. In this event, the most expressive values occurred at the maximum temperature. Also worth mentioning is a monthly contribution in precipitation rates, whose values were higher than 13.0 mm.day. Thus, it is concluded that the event of July 2013 was a case of intense cold, due to the fact that it moved to the central region of Amazonia and caused abrupt drops, mainly in maximum temperature, favoring rainfall in the tropical regions, as well as changes in surface pressure, humidity and
Echocardiographic Parameters as Cardiovascular Mortality Predictors in Chronic Hemodialysis Patients

Background: Hemodialysis (HD) patients have high rates of cardiovascular (CV) mortality. Although structural and functional echocardiographic alterations in HD patients have been the subject of several survival analysis studies, the prognostic value of these alterations is not well established. The aim of this study was to determine the prognostic value of echocardiographic parameters in chronic HD patients. Objectives: One hundred eighteen HD patients were clinically evaluated and underwent Doppler echocardiography, being followed for 45.7 ± 13.6 months. The outcome measures were CV mortality. The predictive value of echocardiographic variables was evaluated by Cox regression model and survival curves were constructed using the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test to compare them. Results: CV diseases accounted for 46.4% of all deaths during the follow-up period. We found that the event-free survival rates in one and two years were 96.5% and 83.0%, respectively. Diabetes and E/e' ratio were predictors of CV outcome by multivariate analyses. Conclusion: Diabetes and diastolic dysfunction are independent predictors of CV mortality in chronic HD patients.
Managing Water Table Management Systems for Water Quality

The purpose of this paper is to briefly summarize the results of water quality studies related to water table management conducted in North Carolina over the past 15 years. Results of these studies have provided the basis for designating water table management as a Best Management Practice for poorly drained soils; and as such, it qualifies for cost share assistance under the North Carolina Agricultural Cost Share Program. More than 2000 control structures have been installed in North Carolina since 1983 to provide controlled drainage on over 50,000 ha. This paper also describes management guidelines to enhance water quality benefits of water table management.
Plat_Forms

Introduction Software developers during their work face several fundamental choices with a multitude of options. There are methodological choices, where one selects among possible development processes, and technological choices regarding for instance development tools or base technologies for the software product. While a number of solid research results are available on some methodological topics (such as review or testing techniques), there is hardly any high-quality information on how specific technologies influence development success. There are narrow benchmarking studies comparing the execution performance of, for example, dababase management systems or application servers, there are feature lists comparing the functionality of base technology products, but there are essentially no holistic studies that compare directly how competing technologies shape a realistic product and how that may influence the project. Those few such studies that exist are very small-scale in terms of the system considered, a good example being jccpprt, and despite their small scale some also lack the methodological rigor required for high credibility, a popular example being Kelly's entertaining, yet visibly biased video.
Computer-supported cooperative work: history and focus

CSCW and groupware emerged in the 1980s from shared interests among product developers and researchers in diverse fields. Today, it must overcome the difficulties of multidisciplinary interaction. This article describes the people and the work found under the CSCW umbrella. Issues considered include: research and design areas, software development, office automation, small-group versus systems approach, US and European differences; and the history of groupware. <<ETX>>
Energy-Efficient Coding with Discrete Stochastic Events

We investigate the energy efficiency of signaling mechanisms that transfer information by means of discrete stochastic events, such as the opening or closing of an ion channel. Using a simple model for the generation of graded electrical signals by sodium and potassium channels, we find optimum numbers of channels that maximize energy efficiency. The optima depend on several factors: the relative magnitudes of the signaling cost (current flow through channels), the fixed cost of maintaining the system, the reliability of the input, additional sources of noise, and the relative costs of upstream and downstream mechanisms. We also analyze how the statistics of input signals influence energy efficiency. We find that energy-efficient signal ensembles favor a bimodal distribution of channel activations and contain only a very small fraction of large inputs when energy is scarce. We conclude that when energy use is a significant constraint, trade-offs between information transfer and energy can strongly influence the number of signaling molecules and synapses used by neurons and the manner in which these mechanisms represent information.
Gender-Related Long-term Outcome of Primary Femoropopliteal Stent Placement for Peripheral Artery Disease

Purpose: To evaluate gender-related long-term outcomes in patients undergoing stent treatment of femoropopliteal peripheral artery disease. Methods: Between September 2006 and August 2010, all 517 patients (333 men and 184 women; mean age 70.6 years) undergoing primary stent placement in femoropopliteal atherosclerotic lesions at 2 European vascular centers were prospectively enrolled in the study. The main study outcome was primary stent patency. Secondary outcomes included secondary patency, limb salvage, and all-cause mortality. Results: Women had a higher incidence of critical limb ischemia (32.1% vs. 16.9%, p<0.001). Lesion characteristics according to the TransAtlantic Inter-Society Consensus (TASC) classification were comparable in both genders (p=0.52), although total occlusions and popliteal involvement were observed more frequently in female patients (p=0.043 and p=0.001, respectively). Both genders showed similar 5-year primary patency rates (64.3% men vs. 58.1% women, p=0.11). A statistically significant difference was observed concerning the secondary patency rates in favor of men (71.9% vs. 66.8% at 5 years, p=0.005). Limb salvage rates did not vary between the groups (p=0.83). Survival rates were comparable at 5 years (83.3% and 82.6% for men and women, respectively; p=0.63), although female patients were older at their presentation (68.5 vs. 74.3 years, p<0.001). Female gender was an independent risk factor for restenosis for TASC C/D lesions (primary patency rate 39.8% in women vs. 62.0% in men; p=0.002). Finally, critical limb ischemia was an independent risk factor for restenosis in women (odds ratio 1.5). Conclusion: Female gender was associated with a higher prevalence of critical limb ischemia, poorer secondary patency, and more frequent restenosis in TASC C/D lesions. Endovascular treatment of femoropopliteal lesions provides equal results between genders in terms of primary stent patency in the long term.
Comorbidity and its change predict survival in incident dialysis patients.

BACKGROUND Few studies have performed a comprehensive comparison of the prognostic importance of comorbidity to that of other case-mix factors influencing incident dialysis patients' survival. Longitudinal change in the comorbid illness burden of incident dialysis patients has not been measured. Comorbidity severity and its change may serve as important prognostic markers of survival, independent of other case-mix factors. METHODS The Choices for Healthy Outcomes in Caring for End-Stage Renal Disease Cohort Study used the Index of Coexistent Disease (ICED) to assess comorbidity at the initiation of chronic dialysis treatment (1,039 incident patients) and during follow-up (733 patients). Using proportional hazards regression analyses, the relationship to survival of baseline ICED level and change in ICED level was examined. RESULTS At the initiation of chronic dialysis treatment, 36% of patients were at ICED level 0 to 1 (least comorbidity severity); 35%, level 2; and 29%, level 3. After multivariable adjustment, baseline ICED level was the strongest predictor of subsequent mortality. Compared with ICED level 0 to 1, relative risks for mortality were 1.9 (95% confidence interval, 1.3 to 2.6) for ICED level 2 and 2.8 (95% confidence interval, 2.0 to 3.9) for ICED level 3. The prevalence and severity of most comorbid conditions increased during follow-up. After controlling for baseline ICED level and other factors, change in ICED level over time was significantly associated with mortality (P = 0.01). CONCLUSION Indexing comorbidity when patients begin chronic dialysis therapy and recording the evolution of index scores yields a predictor of mortality risk that is independent of other case-mix factors.