Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fetal Intravenous Nutritional Supplementation Ameliorates the Development of Embolization-Induced Growth Retardation in Sheep

ABSTRACT: Since decreased transfer of nutrients into the fetus has been documented in many forms of intrauterine growth retardation, we evaluated whether increasing fetal nutrient availability would prevent the development of experimental growth retardation in fetal lambs. Fetuses were separated into three groups: E, animals growth retarded by repetitive uteroplacental embolization (n = 8); ES, animals treated as in E and given fetal femoral venous infusions of 5% glucose and 6.8% amino acids (n = 7); and C, controls (n = 8). The duration and density of embolization were the same in E and ES; initial physical and metabolic characteristics and gestation at delivery were similar in all groups. E birth weight was reduced 26% compared to C (2888 ± 373 SEM g versus 3880 ± 277 g, p < 0.05); fetal/maternal weight ratio was decreased 35% (p < 0.005) and ponderal index decreased 22% (p < 0.005). Asymmetric growth retardation was indicated in E by an increased brain/body weight ratio (p < 0.05). ES fetuses, in contrast, showed no differences from C in birth weight (3601 ± 190 g) or body proportions. ES were larger than E, with a greater fetal/maternal weight ratio and ponderal index (p < 0.05 for both). In E and ES, size at birth showed a positive relation to the amount of supplements received. The average daily supplementation rate correlated with the fetal/maternal weight ratio and with the ponderal index (for both r = 0.62, p < 0.02). Within the ES group alone there was a marked correlation between the average daily supplementation rate and birth weight (r = 0.97, p < 0.001). Placental weight was reduced 36% in E versus C, but was maintained in ES (p < 0.02 E versus ES, p < 0.05 E versus C). In E and ES, placental size correlated with the volume of supplements received by the mid-third trimester (r = 0.84, p < 0.001). Along with the reduction in placental size, umbilical blood flow was decreased 27% in E versus ES (p < 0.05). Nutrient availability appeared to be a major determinant of the development of fetal and placental growth retardation in this study. However, the specific nutritional or metabolic factors leading to improved growth could not be identified.
MIP: A New Hybrid Multi-Agent Architecture for the Coordination of a Robot Colony Activities

In this paper the development and the implementation of one new robotic architecture for the coordination and the planning of a robot colonies in dangerous and unknown environments are outlined. The name of this new architecture is Metaphor of Italian Politics (MIP Architecture). The structure of this architecture is dynamics. It takes inspiration from the political organizations of the democratic governments, where the leader isn't only one robot but it is constituted by a government of robots. In the MIP architecture the robots team is coordinated by a Prime Minister, a Minister of the Defence and a Minister of Communication while a second group of robots, the Robot Citizens, are the executors of each mission. The model of the agents is hybrid (reactive and deliberative), so every robot can assume every political position inside this dynamic structure. An election procedure for the government regeneration has been developed in order to avoid the collapse of a mission and improve the robot colony performances. To validate the effectiveness of the our approach we have developed a framework based on the Mission Lab software developed at the Mobile Robot Lab of the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Relationship of Sulfamethoxazole Therapeutic Drug Monitoring to Clinical Efficacy and Toxicity: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Background: Trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (TMP/SMX) is the treatment of choice for infections caused by Pneumocystis jiroveci, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, and Nocardia species, but the utility of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) is unclear. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between peak sulfamethoxazole (SMX) serum levels and clinical outcomes to determine the utility of TDM of TMP/SMX. Methods: This study was conducted in patients receiving treatment with TMP/SMX for culture-positive infection who underwent TDM from 2003 to 2013. Peak SMX levels were classified as below target (<100 mcg/mL), within target (100–150 mcg/mL), or above target (>150 mcg/mL). The effect of initial SMX levels on clinical outcomes was compared using propensity score adjusted multivariable Cox models. Results: A total of 279 patients had SMX monitoring performed. The primary infecting organisms were P. jiroveci (47%) and S. maltophilia (38%). A majority of patients (74%) had an SMX peak level outside of the target range. Using direct regression propensity score adjustment, there was no significant difference between rates of clinical failure and initial peak SMX level (<100 mcg/mL versus 100–150 mcg/mL: hazard ratio 0.92, 95% confidence interval, 0.28–3.07 and >150 mcg/mL versus 100–150 mcg/mL: hazard ratio 1.92, 95% confidence interval, 0.72–5.09). Similarly, there was no relationship between SMX level and toxicity (P = 0.42). Conclusions: Sulfamethoxazole serum levels outside the target range were not associated with increased rates of clinical failure in patients treated with TMP/SMX. There was also no association found between peak SMX levels and rates of adverse events. Although this study cannot disprove that dose adjustments after the initial SMX peak level may have affected clinical outcomes, the results suggest that the utility of SMX TDM may be limited to a subset of patients and requires further prospective investigation.
Increased urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin excretion in women with non-classical steroid 21-hydroxylase deficiency.

OBJECTIVES To determine melatonin production in hyperandrogenic women. MATERIAL AND METHODS Seventeen women with late onset adrenal hyperplasia due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency (LOCAH) and 15 control women were studied in early follicular phase of the menstrual cycle. Fasting serum levels of luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), estradiol (E(2)), testosterone, dihydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S), 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP) as well as the peak 17-OHP response to ACTH (250 microg IV) and 24h urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin (aMT6s) were determined in all participants. RESULTS All 17 hyperandrogenic women were carrying mutations of the CYP21 gene. Women with LOCAH had significantly higher serum testosterone, DHEA-S, 17-OHP and ACTH stimulated 17-OHP values compared with controls. Their aMT6s values (44.6+/-20.3 microg/24h) were significantly higher than the values in control women (31.5+/-20.3) (p<0.03). The urinary aMT6s values were positively correlated with testosterone (p<0.04), DHEA-S (p<0.02) and peak 17-OHP (p<0.04). CONCLUSIONS Women with LOCAH have increased melatonin production. There is a relationship between adrenal androgens and melatonin in these women.
Geographically Weighted Regression using a non-euclidean distance metric with simulation data

In this study, we investigate the performance of a non-Euclidean distance metric in calibrating a Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) model with a simulated data set. Random predictor variable and spatially varying coefficients are generated on a square grid of size 20*20. We respectively apply Manhattan and Euclidean distance metrics for the GWR calibrations. The preliminary findings show that Manhattan distance performs significantly better than the traditional choice for GWR - Euclidean distance. In particular, it outperforms in the accuracy of coefficient estimates.
Detection of elements beyond the Ba-peak in VLT+UVES spectra of post-AGB stars

In this letter, we report on our successful systematic search for lines of elements beyond the Ba-peak in spectra of s-process enriched post-AGB stars. Using newly released atomic data from both the VALD database and the D.R. E.A.M. project, we could derive abundances for several elements heavier than europium for three objects, on the base of high quality VLT+UVES spectra. The abundances of these elements are of particular interest since they turn out to be powerful constraints for chemical evolutionary AGB models. Their high abundances indicate that, also in only moderately metal deficient AGB stars, production of lead is expected to be significant.
Influence of Alkali Treatment and Nanoclay Content on the Properties of Rice Husk Filled Polyester Composites

The effect of alkali treatment and nanoclay addition on the mechanical properties and water absorption behavior of rice husk particle (RHP) reinforced unsaturated polyester (UP) composites was investigated. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) indicated that the alkali treatment removed most of the hemicellulose and impurities from the RHP with the tensile strength, tensile modulus, flexural strength and flexural modulus of the resulting composites being improved by alkali treatment. The results indicated that the 5% sodium hydroxide concentration had the optimum performance on mechanical strength and water absorption resistance. Furthermore, the influence of nanoclay addition (1, 3 and 5 wt%) on the properties of optimum alkali treated RHP-UP composites was investigated with the lowest content (1 wt%) of nanoclay showing the highest mechanical performance. However, further addition of nanoclay improved the moisture absorption resistance of the composites. Good interface bonding between the filler and matrix was observed from scanning electron micrographs for the optimum RHP alkali treated and nanoclay dispersed RHP-UP composites.
The explosion energy of early stellar populations: the Fe-peak element ratios in low-metallicity damped Lyα systems

The relative abundances of the Fe-peak elements (Ti–Zn) at the lowest metallicities are intimately linked to the physics of core-collapse supernova explosions. With a sample of 25 very metal poor damped Lyα systems (DLAs), we investigate the trends of the Fe-peak element ratios with metallicity. For nine of the 25 DLAs, a direct measurement (or useful upper limit) of one or more of the Ti, Cr, Co, Ni, Zn/Fe abundance ratios could be determined from detected absorption lines. For the remaining systems (without detections), we devised a new form of spectral stacking to estimate the typical Fe-peak element ratios of the DLA population in this metallicity regime. We compare these data to analogous measurements in metal-poor stars of the Galactic halo and to detailed calculations of explosive nucleosynthesis in metal-free stars. We conclude that most of the DLAs in our sample were enriched by stars that released an energy of ≲1.2 × 10^(51) erg when they exploded as core-collapse supernovae. Finally, we discuss the exciting prospect of measuring Fe-peak element ratios in DLAs with Fe/H < 1/1000 of solar when 30-m class telescopes become available. Only then will we be able to pin down the energy that was released by the supernovae of the first stars.
Disambiguating Nouns, Verbs, and Adjectives Using Automatically Acquired Selectional Preferences

Selectional preferences have been used by word sense disambiguation (WSD) systems as one source of disambiguating information. We evaluate WSD using selectional preferences acquired for English adjectivenoun, subject, and direct object grammatical relationships with respect to a standard test corpus. The selectional preferences are specific to verb or adjective classes, rather than individual word forms, so they can be used to disambiguate the co-occurring adjectives and verbs, rather than just the nominal argument heads. We also investigate use of the one-senseper-discourse heuristic to propagate a sense tag for a word to other occurrences of the same word within the current document in order to increase coverage. Although the preferences perform well in comparison with other unsupervised WSD systems on the same corpus, the results show that for many applications, further knowledge sources would be required to achieve an adequate level of accuracy and coverage. In addition to quantifying performance, we analyze the results to investigate the situations in which the selectional preferences achieve the best precision and in which the one-sense-per-discourse heuristic increases performance.
X-Rays in a Cisplatin-resistant Ovarian Tumor Cell Line Independent Pathways of p 53 Induction by Cisplatin and Updated Version

The p53 tumor suppressor gene is critical in regulating cell prolifera tion following DNA damage, and disruption of p53 protein function by mutation has been implicated as a factor responsible for resistance of tumor cells to chemotherapeutic agents. Our studies were initiated by asking whether the translational product otthepSS gene is associated with cisplatin resistance in the 2780CP human ovarian tumor model. We have demonstrated by single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis and sequencing that pS3 in parental cisplatin-sensitive A2780 cells was wild type. In 2780CP cells, however, a mutation was found in exon 5 at codon 172 (Val to Phe). Interestingly, exposure to X-rays resulted in p53 induc tion in both A2780 and 2780CP tumor models. The p53 increases by the ionizing radiation were accompanied by concomitant increases in levels of thep.i. Ã®-regulaled p21w"n/t lpl protein and led to arrest of cells in G, phase of the cell cycle. A yeast functional assay confirmed that /o. in A2780 was wild type, but, more importantly, it provided evidence that the p53 mutation in 2780CP cells was temperature sensitive and heterozygous. These experiments demonstrate that sensitive and resistant cells have normal p53 functions, despite the presence of p53 mutation in the 2780CP model. In parallel investigations using the Western technique, exposure of A2780 cells to clinically relevant concentrations of cisplatin (1-20 /IM) resulted in timeand dose-dependent increases in p53, together with coordinate increases in |>21"""'' ''''. In contrast, cisplatin did not induce these proteins in 2780CP cells to any significant degree. The results indicate that a defect exists in the signal transduction pathway for p53 induction following cisplalin-induced DNA damage in 2780CP cells, and this may represent a significant mechanism of cisplatin resistance. Fur thermore, induction of p53 in 2780CP cells by X-rays, but not cisplatin, strongly suggests that independent pathways are involved in p53 regula tion for the two DNA-damaging agents.
Improving Auditory Steady-State Response Detection Using Independent Component Analysis on Multichannel EEG Data

Over the last decade, the detection of auditory steady-state responses (ASSR) has been developed for reliable hearing threshold estimation at audiometric frequencies. Unfortunately, the duration of ASSR measurement can be long, which is unpractical for wide scale clinical application. In this paper, we propose independent component analysis (ICA) as a tool to improve the ASSR detection in recorded single-channel as well as multichannel electroencephalogram (EEG) data. We conclude that ICA is able to reduce measurement duration significantly. For a multichannel implementation, near-optimal performance is obtained with five-channel recordings.
Exploring interstellar titanium and deuterium abundances and other correlations

Aims. The origin of the observed variability of the gas-phase D/H ratio in the local interstellar medium is still debated, and in particular the role of deuterium depletion onto dust grains. Here we extend the study of the relationship between deuterium and titanium, a refractory species and tracer of elemental depletion, and explore other relationships. Methods. We have acquired high resolution spectra for nine early-type stars using the VLT/UVES spectrograph, and detected the absorption lines of interstellar TiII. Using a weighted orthogonal distance regression (ODR) code and a special method to treat non symmetric errors, we compare the TiII columns with the corresponding HI, DI and also OI columns. In parallel we perform the same comparisons for available FeII data. Results. We find a significant correlation between TiII/HI and D/H in our data set, and, when combined with published results, we confirm and better constrain the previously established trends and extend the trends to low HI columns. We exclude uncertainties in HI and OI columns as the main contributor to the derived metals-deuterium correlations by showing that the TiII/HI ratio is positively correlated with DI/OI. We find a similar correlation between FeII/HI and DI/OI. The TiII gradients are similar or slightly smaller than for FeII, while one would expect larger variations on the basis of the higher condensation temperature of titanium. However we argue that ionisation effects introduce biases that affect iron and not titanium and may explain the gradient similarity. We find a less significant negative correlation between the TiII/DI ratio and the hydrogen column, possibly a sign of different evaporation of D and metals according to the cloud properties. More TiII absorption data along very low H column lines-of-sight would be useful to improve the correlation statistics.
Conantokin G Is an NR 2 B-Selective Competitive Antagonist of N-Methyl-D-aspartate Receptors

Conantokin G (Con G) is a 17-amino-acid peptide antagonist of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors isolated from the venom of the marine cone snail, Conus geographus. The mechanism of action of Con G has not been well defined; both competitive and noncompetitive interactions with the NMDAbinding site have been proposed. In this study the mechanism of action and subunit selectivity of Con G was examined in whole-cell voltage-clamp recordings from cultured neurons and in two electrode voltage-clamp recordings from Xenopus oocytes expressing recombinant NMDA receptors. Con G was a potent and selective antagonist of NMDA-evoked currents in murine cortical neurons (IC50 5 480 nM). The slow onset of Con G block could be prevented by coapplication with high concentrations of NMDA or of the competitive antagonist (RS)-3(2-carboxypiperazine-4-yl)-propyl-1-phosphonic acid. Furthermore, in oocytes expressing NR1a/NR2B receptors, Con G produced a rightward shift in the concentration-response curve for NMDA, providing support for a competitive interaction with the NMDA-binding site. Con G produced an apparent noncompetitive shift in the concentration-response curve for spermine potentiation of NMDA responses, but this was due to spermineinduced enhancement of Con G block. Spermine produced a similar enhancement of DL-2-amino-S-phosphopentanoic acid block. Finally, Con G selectively blocked NMDA receptors containing the NR2B subunit. These results demonstrate that Con G is a subunit-specific competitive antagonist of NMDA receptors. The unique subunit selectivity profile of Con G may explain its favorable in vivo profile compared with nonselective NMDA antagonists. Ionotropic glutamate receptors can be divided into three classes on the basis of their functional and pharmacological properties: N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), kainate, and a-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptors (Dingledine et al., 1999). NMDA receptors have received a great deal of interest because of their involvement in synaptic plasticity and neuronal development as well as in the pathogenesis of a variety of neurological disorders, including epilepsy, ischemic cell death, and neurodegeneration. The pharmacology of this receptor is relatively rich and a large number of modulatory sites on the NMDA receptor have been identified that are potential targets for drug discovery. This includes binding sites for the coagonists NMDA and glycine, and the channel pore that is responsible for the voltage-dependent block by Mg. In addition, there are allosteric binding sites for endogenous regulatory molecules such as protons, Zn, and polyamines, and also pharmacological probes such as ifenprodil and eliprodil (McBain and Mayer, 1994; Dingledine et al., 1999). Although these allosteric agents appear to bind to unique sites on the NMDA receptor, evidence indicates that they share a common effec-
Efficient and Privacy-Preserving Metering Protocols for Smart Grid Systems

Smart grids have attracted increasing interest in the field of industrial research. These systems allow electricity consumers to communicate with electrical systems using bidirectional communications. However, these bidirectional channels may introduce privacy threats to consumers. Considerable research has been conducted with the aim of resolving these threats. Unfortunately, a practical smart grid design with adequate efficiency and security functionalities has not yet been produced. In this paper, we propose lightweight privacy preserving metering protocols by designing a distributed authentication method to further increase the speed of the message authentication process. We confirmed the efficiency and security of our method by performing a detailed analysis.
Drug-related deaths: Statistics based on death certificates miss one-third of cases

Aims: Statistics on drug-related deaths (DRD) provide crucial information on the drug situation. The European Monitoring Centre for Drug and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) has published a specification for extracting DRD from national mortality registers to be used in international comparisons. However, surprisingly little is known of the accuracy of DRD statistics derived from national mortality registers. This study assesses the accuracy of Swedish data derived from national mortality registers by comparing it with other sources of data. Methods: We compared five Swedish datasets. Three were derived from national mortality registers, two according to a Swedish specification and one according to the EMCDDA specification. A fourth dataset was based on toxicological analyses. We used a fifth dataset, an inventory of DRD in Stockholm, to assess the completeness and coverage of the Swedish datasets. Results: All datasets were extracted from high-quality registers, but still did not capture all DRD, and both the numbers and demographic characteristics varied considerably. However, the time trends were consistent between the selections. In international comparisons, data completeness and investigation procedures may impact even more on stated numbers. Conclusions: Basing international comparisons on numbers or rates of DRDs gives misleading results, but comparing trends is still meaningful.
Improvement in health-related quality of life in MPO-ANCA-associated vasculitis patients treated with cyclophosphamide plus prednisolone: an analysis of 18 months of follow-up data from the JMAAV study

ObjectivesTo examine the improvement in health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in association with disease activity in myeloperoxidase (MPO)-antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis patients treated with cyclophosphamide plus prednisolone.MethodsAccording to the Japanese Patients with MPO-ANCA-Associated Vasculitis (JMAAV) study protocol, a total of 48 patients with newly diagnosed MPO-ANCA-associated vasculitis received a standardized cyclophosphamide plus prednisolone regimen, and their clinical courses were followed for 18 months following their entry into the study. Disease activity was assessed using the Birmingham Vasculitis Activity Score (BVAS) 2003. HRQOL was assessed using MOS Short-Form 36 (SF-36) v2. BVAS new/worse, BVAS persistent, and SF-36 domain scores (norm-based) were calculated for the 32 eligible patients.ResultsThe mean SF-36 domain scores were significantly lower than the Japanese general population norm. Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis showed that the presence of new or worsening features of the nervous system was significantly associated with a deterioration in physical function. During the 18 months of follow-up, there were significant improvements in BVAS new/worse and all SF-36 domains except for general health and role emotional.ConclusionMPO-ANCA-associated vasculitis patients experienced a considerable deterioration in HRQOL. The standardized cyclophosphamide plus prednisolone regimen of the JMAAV study induced remission in the majority of patients, and the induction of remission accompanied a recovery in HRQOL.