Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impact of minimal invasive extracorporeal circulation on the need of red blood cell transfusion

Objective: Minimal invasive extracorporeal circulation may decrease the need of packed red blood cell transfusions and reduce hemodilution during cardiopulmonary bypass. However, more data are needed on the effects of minimal invasive extracorporeal circulation in more complex cardiac procedures. We compared minimal invasive extracorporeal circulation and conventional extracorporeal circulation methods of cardiopulmonary bypass. Methods: A total of 424 patients in the minimal invasive extracorporeal circulation group and 844 patients in the conventional extracorporeal circulation group undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting and more complex cardiac surgery were evaluated. Age, sex, type of surgery, and duration of perfusion were used as matching criteria. Hemoglobin <80 g/L was used as red blood cell transfusion trigger. The primary endpoint was the use of red blood cells during the day of operation and the five postoperative days. Secondary endpoints were hemodilution (hemoglobin drop after the onset of perfusion) and postoperative bleeding from the chest tubes during the first 12 hours after the operation. Results: Red blood cell transfusions were needed less often in the minimal invasive extracorporeal circulation group compared to the conventional extracorporeal circulation group (26.4% vs. 33.4%, p = 0.011, odds ratio 0.72, 95% confidence interval 0.55-0.93), especially in coronary artery bypass grafting subgroup (21.3% vs. 35.1%, p < 0.001, odds ratio 0.50, 95% confidence interval 0.35-0.73). Hemoglobin drop after onset of perfusion was also lower in the minimal invasive extracorporeal circulation group than in the conventional extracorporeal circulation group (24.2 ± 8.5% vs. 32.6 ± 12.6%, p < 0.001). Postoperative bleeding from the chest tube did not differ between the groups (p = 0.808). Conclusion: Minimal invasive extracorporeal circulation reduced the need of red blood cell transfusions and hemoglobin drop when compared to the conventional extracorporeal circulation group. This may have implications when choosing the perfusion method in cardiac surgery.
A Comparison of Two Distributed Systems: Amoeba and Sprite

This paper compares two distributed operating systems, Amoeba and Sprite. Although the systems share many goals, they diverged on two philosophical grounds: whether to emphasize a distributed computing model or traditional UNIX-style applications, and whether to use a workstation-centered model of computation or a combination of terminals and a shared processor pool. Many of the most prominent features of the systems (both positive and negative) follow from the philosophical differences. For example, Amoeba provides a high-performance user-level IPC mechanism, while Sprite's RPC mechanism is only available for kernel use; Sprite's file access performance benefits from client-level caching, while Amoeba caches files only on servers; and Sprite uses a process migration model to share compute power, while Amoeba uses a centralized server to allocate processors and distribute load automatically.
Anti‐P30 IgA antibodies as prenatal markers of congenital toxoplasma infection

This study extends a previous study and confirms that the detection of anti‐P30 IgA antibodies is very helpful in the diagnosis of acute acquired or congenital toxoplasmosis. Moreover, we demonstrate that an anti‐P30 IgA response can be mounted in the fetuses infected by Toxoplasma gondii during their inira‐utcrine life as early as week 23 of gestation. A double‐sandwich ELISA described in our previous work was used to detect anti‐P30 IgA antibodies in 1378 human serum samples collected from 551 patients, including 162 fetuses whose mothers had been infected by T. gondii during pregnancy, 46 congenitally infected and 90 uninfected newborns and 253 women suspected of having been infected during pregnancy, including the mothers of fetuses and newborns previously described. Anti‐P30 IgA antibodies were detected in all cases of acute toxoplasmosis but in no case of chronic toxoplasmosis: in the majority of cases, the IgA antibody litre fell below cut‐off in 3–9 months. Among the 46 congenitally infected newborns, anti‐P30 IgA antibodies were detected in sera of 41 infected newborns (38 at birth, two in the first months of life, one in the seventh month of life), while anti‐P30 IgM antibodies were detected in only 30 cases at birth and in one case during the first month of life. Among 162 fetuses, anti‐P30 IgA response was observed in five infected fetuses, but was not detected in either 152 uninfected fetuses or in five fetuses considered as infected. The absence or presence of anti‐P30 IgA antibodies in the fetus is discussed in relation to the date of maternal infection and collection of the fetal blood. It clearly appears from our study that the combined testing of both IgM and IgA in the fetus and the newborn is essential for a more efficient diagnosis of infection.
A nonlocal-means approach to exemplar-based inpainting

This paper introduces a novel approach to the problem of image inpainting through the use of nonlocal-means. In traditional inpainting techniques, only local information around the target regions are used to fill in the missing information, which is insufficient in many cases. More recent inpainting techniques based on the concept of exemplar-based synthesis utilize nonlocal information but in a very limited way. In the proposed algorithm, we use nonlocal image information from multiple samples within the image. The contribution of each sample to the reconstruction of a target pixel is determined using an weighted similarity function and aggregated to form the missing information. Experimental results show that the proposed method yields quantitative and qualitative improvements compared to the current exemplar-based approach. The proposed approach can also be integrated into existing exemplar-based inpainting techniques to provide improved visual quality.
Abstract types have existential type

Abstract data type declarations appear in typed programming languages like Ada, Alphard, CLU and ML. This form of declaration binds a list of identifiers to a type with associated operations, a composite “value” we call a data algebra. We use a second-order typed lambda calculus SOL to show how data algebras may be given types, passed as parameters, and returned as results of function calls. In the process, we discuss the semantics of abstract data type declarations and review a connection between typed programming languages and constructive logic.
Clinical Outcome of Urgent Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting

Urgent coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) has a higher mortality rate than elective CABG. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical outcome of urgent CABG. From July 1992 to May 2005, 104 patients underwent urgent CABG. All patients required an urgent surgical revascularization within 24 hr of diagnostic coronary angiography. In-hospital mortality after urgent CABG was 17.3% (18/104). We compared preoperative characteristics and postoperative clinical outcomes between the survival group (n=86) and the mortality group (n=18). The mean age was 61.7 yr (range, 35-83). The most common cause of mortality was low cardiac output. The independent preoperative risk factors of mortality included advanced age (>70 yr) (OR=3.998, p=0.046), preoperative shock status (OR=6.542, p=0.011), and low ejection fraction (<40%) (OR=4.492, p=0.034). Other risk factors of mortality included prolonged cardiopulmonary bypass time, prolonged ventilator use, and extended intensive care unit stay. The 10-yr actuarial survival rate was 61%. Although the operative mortality rate was high after urgent CABG, a favorable long-term clinical outcome can be expected if the patients survive.
A new system for the acquisition of ultrasonic multicompression strain images of the human prostate in vivo

We describe a novel recording system for the acquisition of multicompression strain images of the human prostate in vivo. The force at the tip of an ultrasonic transrectal probe is measured continuously, and ultrasonic RF-images are acquired consecutively at specified levels of compression. The acquired image sequence is processed by conventional cross-correlation techniques to obtain time shift estimates and corresponding strain images. We present phantom measurements as well as in vivo results and discuss the advantages and restrictions of the proposed system.
Electrical Resistivity of Fe‐C Alloy at High Pressure: Effects of Carbon as a Light Element on the Thermal Conductivity of the Earth's Core

We measured the electrical resistivity of iron, Fe99C1, Fe3C, and Fe7C3 up to ~80 GPa using the van der Pauw method in a diamond anvil cell. The electrical resistivity of disordered Fe99C1 at high pressure shows a strong impurity resistivity of carbon. The ferromagnetic‐paramagnetic transition in Fe3C and Fe7C3 is associated with the flattening of the resistivity pressure gradient at ~6 GPa. Fe7C3 exhibits the highest electrical resistivity among all iron‐light element alloys, and Fe3C and Fe7C3 disobey the Matthiessen's rule by showing a lower electrical resistivity than a disordered iron‐carbon alloy because of chemical ordering. A comparison of the impurity resistivity between silicon, sulfur, nickel, and carbon shows that carbon has an exceedingly stronger alloying effect than other elements. If the chemical ordering observed in Fe‐Si system is held true for the Fe‐C system, the chemical ordering in Fe7C3 possibly increases the thermal conductivity of the inner core and enlarges the thermal and electrical conductivity gap at the inner‐core boundary. Models of the thermal conductivity of liquid Fe70C30 with 8.4 wt % carbon show a low thermal conductivity of 38 Wm−1 K−1 at the pressure‐temperature conditions of the topmost outer core. The corresponding heat flow of 6 TW at the core‐mantle boundary is notably lower than previous electrical resistivity results on Fe and Fe alloys. The alloying effect of carbon on the electrical and thermal conductivity of iron can thus play a significant role in understanding the heat flux at the core‐mantle boundary and the thermal evolution of the core.
Biosynthesis and transport of cathepsin D in cultured human fibroblasts

For study of the time order of glycosylation, formation of complex oligosaccharides and proteolytic maturation as well as the site of proteolytic maturation of cathepsin D, fibroblasts were subjected to pulse-chase labeling, and cathepsin D was isolated from either total cell extracts or subcellular fractions by immune precipitation and analyzed for its molecular forms and sensitivity to endo-beta-N- acetylglucosaminidase H. After a 10-min pulse, cathepsin D was detected in its glycosylated precursor form, indicating an early, probably a cotranslational, N-glycosylation of cathepsin D. Conversion of the high- mannose oligosaccharide side chains into forms resistant to endo-beta-N- acetylglucosaminidase H started after approximately 40 min, indicating that transport of cathepsin D from the endoplasmic reticulum to the trans-Golgi apparatus requires approximately 40 min. Processing of the 53-kdalton precursor polypeptide of cathepsin D to a 47-kdalton intermediate followed about 20 min after the formation of complex oligosaccharides, and, another 30 min later, 31-kdalton mature forms of cathepsin D were detected. Processing of cathepsin D was first observed in light membranes as a partial conversion of the 53-kdalton precursor into the 47-kdalton intermediate. Both the precursor and the intermediate are transferred into the high density-class lysosomes. After 8 h, the processing to the mature 31-kdalton form of cathepsin D is mostly completed.
Benign infantile familial convulsions are not an allelic form of the benign familial neonatal convulsions gene

Benign infantile familial convulsions (BIFC) and benign familial neonatal convulsions (BFNC) are two forms of familial convulsions having an age of onset within the first year of life. The gene responsible for BFNC has been mapped to chromosome 20q in the close vicinity of D20S19 and D20S20 markers. We performed linkage analysis between BIFC and D20S19–D20S20 in eight families in order to know whether the BFNC gene is also implicated in BIFC. Several apparent obligate crossovers between affected members were detected. The data here presented demonstrate that the BFNC gene is not responsible for BIFC.
Flood Risk Impact Factor for Comparatively Evaluating the Main Causes that Contribute to Flood Risk in Urban Drainage Areas

Among the various factors that contribute to flood risk, heavy storms, inadequate storm drainage systems, and the concentration of population and assets have usually been considered to be fundamental factors affecting flood damage. Climate change is also a real threat, bringing heavier and more frequent storms. This study presents a methodology for comparatively evaluating the impact of the flood risk factors using a GIS-based flood damage prediction model (FDPM). The FDPM calculates flood inundation depths using the XP-SWMM routine and monetary flood damages using a flood damage estimation model for various storms and catchment conditions. The concept of flood risk in this context is defined as the product of flood damage and the probability of its occurrence. This study produces a flood risk structure in a risk assessment framework. The method is applied to the Kiba drainage area in Tokyo, Japan. The study gives a quantitative evaluation of the changes in flood risk due to risk factors such as increase in asset values, flood control, and climate change using a flood risk impact factor (FRIF). The FRIF is introduced as an index to evaluate the impact of various sources of increased or reduced flood risk to society.
Sequence dependence of post‐tetanic potentiation after sequential heterosynaptic stimulation in the rat auditory cortex

To investigate the mechanisms for the coding stimulus sequence in the auditory cortex (AC), post‐tetanic potentiation (PTP) was recorded after sequentially combined heterosynaptic stimulation was applied in rat AC slices. Brief tetanic stimulation (TS) was applied at two sites on AC slices at intervals of 0.5–10 s. PTP of field potentials was induced by the earlier TS, rather than the later TS. PTP was followed by sequence‐dependent long‐term potentiation (LTP). Using Ca2+ imaging in the slices loaded with rhod‐2, a Ca2+ indicator, a sequence‐dependent distribution of PTP was found in AC slices. The sequence‐dependent PTP in excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) was observed in supragranular pyramidal neurons. The sequence dependence of PTP was not significantly affected by 1 μm bicuculline, an antagonist of GABAA receptors, or 100 μm 2‐hydroxysaclofen, an antagonist of GABAB receptors. Depolarization and firing recorded in pyramidal neurons during the later TS were less vigorous than when the slices were incubated in the control medium. However, this suppression of the responses during the later TS was not observed in the presence of 50 μm atropine, an antagonist of muscarinic receptors. PTP was induced by the earlier and later TS in the presence of 50 μm atropine, so that the sequence dependence of PTP was abolished. Pirenzepine (50 μm), an antagonist of muscarinic M1 receptors, but not methoctramine (30 μm), an antagonist of M2 receptors, eliminated the sequence dependence of PTP. These findings suggest that the sequence dependence of PTP in AC might have a role in the temporal processing of auditory information on the scale of seconds.
Myocardial Ischemic Memory Imaging With Molecular Echocardiography

Background— Diagnosing acute coronary syndrome in patients presenting with chest discomfort is a challenge. Because acute myocardial ischemia/reperfusion is associated with endothelial upregulation of leukocyte adhesion molecules, which persist even after ischemia has resolved, we hypothesized that microbubbles designed to adhere to endothelial selectins would permit echocardiographic identification of recently ischemic myocardium. Methods and Results— Lipid microbubbles (diameter, 3.3±1.7 &mgr;m) were synthesized. The selectin ligand sialyl Lewisx was conjugated to the microbubble surface (MBsLex). Control bubbles (MBCTL) bore surface Lewisx or sialyl Lewisc. Intravital microscopy of mouse cremaster muscle was performed after intravenous injection of MBsLex (n=11) or MBCTL (n=9) with or without prior intrascrotal tumor necrosis factor–&agr;. There was greater adhesion of MBsLex to inflamed versus noninflamed endothelium (P=0.0081). Rats (n=12) underwent 15 minutes of anterior descending coronary artery occlusion. After 30 minutes and 1 hour of reperfusion, high-mechanical-index nonlinear echocardiographic imaging was performed in which single frames were acquired at 3.5 and 4 minutes after intravenous injection of MBsLex or MBCTL. Video intensity at 4 minutes was subtracted from that at 3.5 minutes to derive target-specific acoustic signal. MBsLex caused greater opacification in postischemic versus nonischemic myocardium at both time points (P≤0.002). Immunostaining confirmed endothelial P-selectin expression in the ischemic bed. Conclusions— Echocardiographic identification of recently ischemic myocardium is possible using ultrasound contrast agents targeted to selectins. This may offer a new approach to the more timely and precise diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome in patients presenting with chest pain of uncertain cardiac origin.
Temporal characteristics of vesicular fusion in astrocytes: examination of synaptobrevin 2‐laden vesicles at single vesicle resolution

Non‐technical summary Astrocytes have been shown to release transmitters by vesicle fusion, in a manner similar to that of neuronal exocytosis. The details of this process in astrocytes are not well understood, so we used a fluorescently labelled vesicle protein, synapto‐pHluorin (spH), to track how these fusions occurred. When astrocytes were mechanically stimulated we saw a slow burst of fusions, while other stimuli caused a relatively even sustained rate of fusion. We observed two distinct types of events, transient and full fusions, the proportion of which was stimulus dependent. Similarly, stability of the vesicle fusion pore with the plasma membrane varied with the stimulus. We describe the effects on fusion events resulting from expressing variants of exocytotic proteins, synaptotagmin 1 and SNAP25B. Studying the characteristics of astrocytic exocytosis will aid in the general understanding of this process and also events at the tripartite synapse, both in health and disease.
Effect of Talbinah food consumption on depressive symptoms among elderly individuals in long term care facilities, randomized clinical trial

Talbinah is a barley syrup cooked with milk and sweetened by honey. In his famous Hadith on Talbinah, the Prophet Mohammad (SAW) recommended it when sad events happen for its effect on soothing hearts and relieving sadness. This 3-week crossover designed, randomized clinical trial was conducted to determine the effect of Talbinah on mood and depression among institutionalized elderly people in Seremban. A sample of 30 depressed elderly subjects (21 men and 9 women) was selected from the long term care facility. Three different interview-based validated scales (Geriatric Depression Scale, Depression Anxiety Stress Scales, and Profile of Mood States) were used to determine mood, depression, stress, and anxiety at week 0, 3, 4, and 7. The nutritional value of Talbinah was examined using proximate food analysis, minerals content analysis, and differential amino acid analysis. The results indicated that Talbinah is a high carbohydrate food (86.4%) and has a high tryptophan: branch chain amino acids ratio (1:2). A Wilcoxon nonparametric test showed that there was a statistically significant decrease on depression, stress, and mood disturbances scores among the intervention group (P < 0.05) for all parameters. In conclusion, Talbinah has the potential to reduce depression and enhance mood among the subjects. Ingestion of functional foods such as Talbinah may provide a mental health benefit to elderly people.
Efficient Differentiation of Human Embryonic Stem Cells into Oligodendrocyte Progenitors for Application in a Rat Contusion Model of Spinal Cord Injury

ABSTRACT This study utilized a contusion model of spinal cord injury (SCI) in rats using the standardized NYU-MASCIS impactor, after which oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) derived from human embryonic stem cell (ESC) were transplanted into the spinal cord to study their survival and migration route toward the areas of injury. One critical aspect of successful cell-based SCI therapy is the time of injection following injury. OPCs were injected at two clinically relevant times when most damage occurs to the surrounding tissue, 3 and 24 hours following injury. Migration and survivability after eight days was measured postmortem. In-vitro immunofluorescence revealed that most ESC-derived OPCs expressed oligodendrocyte markers, including CNPase, GalC, Olig1, O4, and O1. Results showed that OPCs survived when injected at the center of injury and migrated away from the injection sites after one week. Histological sections revealed integration of ESC-derived OPCs into the spinal cord with contusion injury without disruption to the parenchyma. Cells survived for a minimum of eight days after injury, without tumor or cyst formation. The extent of injury and effect of early cell transplant was measured using behavioral and electrophysiological assessments which demonstrated increased neurological responses in rats transplanted with OPCs compared to controls.
Relationships Between Cranial Base Synchondroses and Craniofacial Development: A Review~!2009-09-25~!2010-01-03~!2010-04-22~!

Synchondrosis is defined as the development of a union between two bones by the formation of either hyaline cartilage or fibro-cartilage. This paper reviews the relationship between cranial base synchondroses and craniofacial development. The cranial base synchondroses are important growth centers of the craniofacial skeleton. Their abnormalities lead to numerous growth and developmental conditions in the craniofacial region. In dentofacial orthopedics, mechanical forces are commonly applied to cranial bones for growth modification to treat such conditions. Molecular biology and genetics provide tools to investigate the molecular mechanisms, genes and transcription factors responsible for synchondrosis and craniofacial development.
Existence results for second order convex sweeping processes in p-uniformly smooth and q-uniformly convex Banach spaces

In a previous work the authors proved under a complex assumption on the set-valued mapping, the existence of Lipschitz solutions for second order convex sweeping processes in p-uniformly smooth and q-uniformly convex Banach spaces. In the present work we prove the same result, under a condition on the distance function to the images of the set-valued mapping. Our assumption is much simpler than the one used in the former paper.
Challenges to delivery of isoniazid preventive therapy in a cohort of children exposed to tuberculosis in Timor‐Leste

To evaluate the number and geographic location of children aged <5 years exposed to sputum smear‐positive tuberculosis (TB) in Timor‐Leste, to determine the proportion evaluated for isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT) and to review the programmatic challenges present in delivering IPT to this cohort.