Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
As-needed use of fluticasone propionate nasal spray reduces symptoms of seasonal allergic rhinitis.

BACKGROUND The daily use of intranasal corticosteroids is approved for the treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis. OBJECTIVE Our objective was to test the effectiveness of as-needed use of intranasal corticosteroids in the treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis. METHODS A double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, parallel-group study of the as-needed usage of fluticasone propionate nasal spray in the management of seasonal allergic rhinitis was performed. Outcome measures were symptom score, Rhinitis Quality of Life Questionnaire (RQLQ), and the number of eosinophils and the level of eosinophilic cationic protein (ECP) in nasal lavage. RESULTS Twenty-six subjects in each group completed the 4-week study. The median symptom score over the duration of the study in the placebo group was 8.5 versus 4.5 in the active group. The active group had significant improvement on the interim visit in the sleep, non-nose/eye, activities, nasal, practical, and overall domains (P <.05) of the RQLQ and on the final visit in the nasal symptom domain. The number of eosinophils was significantly lower in the active than in the placebo group at the final visit. Changes in ECP were not significant. CONCLUSION As-needed fluticasone propionate nasal spray is efficacious in the treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis.
A Decision‐Analytic Approach To Clinical Nursing

The purpose of this study was to explore the usefulness of applying decision analysis to nursing decisions about a complex, emergent patient problem. A convenience sample of 31 nurses quantified their intuitive ideas into five mutually exclusive decision alternatives. A decision-analytic process and a preference analysis of each decision alternative were conducted. Nurses' intuitive decision alternatives were compared to the decision alternatives prescribed by the decision-analytic process. Eleven nurses (35%) demonstrated agreement between their first-ranked intuitive choice and the choice prescribed by the decision-analytic model. When the relative ranking of the vector of five treatment choices derived intuitively was compared to the relative ranking prescribed by the decision-analytic model, results showed significant disagreement between nurses' intuitive and quantitative choices.
Developmental outcome of drug-exposed children through 30 months: a comparison of Bayley and Bayley-II.

This study examined the effects of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID) version on developmental outcomes among drug-exposed children, some of whom received an intervention. Developmental outcome was evaluated with the BSID at 12 and 18 months and with the BSID-II at 24 and 30 months. In the repeated measures analyses, children scored higher on the BSID Mental Developmental Index (MDI; p < .01) and Psychomotor Developmental Index (PDI; p < .01) than on the BSID-II MDI and PDI. Version x Time (p < .01) and Version x Group (p < .01) interactions were also found for the MDI but not the PDI. PDI scores decreased on both the BSID and the BSID-II (p < .01). Over the first 2 years postpartum, mean MDI and PDI scores decreased among these high-risk, drug-exposed children.
Arachidonic acid reduces the stress response of gilthead seabream Sparus aurata L.

SUMMARY In this study the influence of the dietary level of the fatty acid arachidonic acid (ArA, 20:4n-6) was determined on the acute stress response and osmoregulation of adult gilthead seabream Sparus aurata L. Seabream were fed a diet containing either 0.9% or 2.4% of total fatty acids as ArA for 18 days before being subjected to a 5 min period of net confinement. Prior to this stressor, a subgroup of fish from both dietary treatment groups was treated with acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), an irreversible blocker of cyclooxygenase (COX). This would indicate whether any effects were caused by an enhanced synthesis of prostaglandins derived from ArA. The highest ArA levels were found in the kidneys, and these were further enhanced by dietary ArA-supplementation. In gill tissues, there were significant changes in all selected fatty acid classes 24 h after confinement, except for the docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3): eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n-3) ratio. ArA feeding strongly reduced the cortisol response to confinement, which was partially counteracted by ASA treatment. ArA also attenuated the stress-associated increase in plasma osmolality and, in combination with ASA, enhanced the osmolality and plasma chloride levels, but reduced plasma sodium levels after confinement. Furthermore, ArA enhanced the branchial Na+, K+-ATPase activity both before and after confinement, whereas feeding ASA diminished this effect. It appeared that the effects of ArA-supplementation could not always be ascribed to an increase in prostaglandin synthesis. It is advisable to determine the long-term effects of replacing fish oils in commercial diets with vegetable oils that contain no long-chain fatty acids, particularly in carnivorous/marine species with low fatty acid elongation and desaturation activities. The effects of a low dietary intake of ArA (and other polyunsaturated fatty acids) should be studied over a longer term, taking into account any consequences for the health of the fish.
Effects of eccentric and concentric exercise on muscle glycogen replenishment.

Eccentric contractions appear to reduce muscle glycogen replenishment during the 1- to 10-day period after exercise. The main purpose of this study was to determine whether consuming a large amount of carbohydrate (1.6 g.kg-1.h-1) during the 4 h after glycogen-reducing exercise would produce different patterns of glycogen replenishment in human muscle that had undergone either eccentric or concentric contractions approximately 2 or 48 h earlier. Subjects cycled for 75 min and undertook interval exercise to deplete glycogen on days 1 and 3. After cycling exercise on day 1 only, subjects performed 10 sets of 10 repetitions of either concentric or eccentric contractions in opposite legs. During the 4 h after exercise, subjects consumed 0.4 g carbohydrate/kg body wt every 15 min. Biopsies were obtained immediately before the feedings and 4 h later, and blood was sampled every 15 min. For days 1 and 3 combined, total integrated areas for the glucose and insulin response curves averaged 1,683 mumol.ml-1.240 min-1 and 21,450 microU.ml-1.240 min-1, respectively. For days 1 and 3 combined, muscle glycogen replenishment after concentric exercise averaged 10 mmol.kg-1.h-1. On day 1 glycogen replenishment was similar for subjects performing either concentric or eccentric contractions. On day 3, however, glycogen replenishment was 25% lower (P < 0.05) in muscle that had undertaken eccentric contractions 48 h earlier than in concentrically exercised muscle. In conclusion, glycogen replenishment can be stimulated to a high rate when a large amount of carbohydrate is consumed after glycogen-depleting concentric exercise. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Natural durability of Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii [Mirb.] Franco) heartwood grown in southern Germany

Abstract The natural durability of timber is an important property in order to assess its performance in service. For numerous species grown in primary forests, this property has already been determined. As plantation-grown timber becomes more and more important, detailed information on its properties is needed, because increasing amounts of this material are coming to the market. The majority of planted Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii [Mirb.] Franco) in Germany is around 40 years old. In the present study, representative material of totally ten trees from two different sites in the south of Germany was investigated with regard to natural durability. In laboratory tests based on European standard DIN EN 350-1, inner and outer heartwood zones were exposed to basidiomycetes. Density measurements were additionally used for further characterisation of this material. Results showed a lower durability of the plantation-grown Douglas fir wood as compared with wood from natural sites. Significant differences for both durability and density were found between inner and outer heartwood, even though no correlation between the parameters was recognised. Data illustrate that for a better understanding of durability variations, chemical, topochemical and electron microscopic studies are needed.
Binary energy harvesting channel with finite energy storage

We consider the capacity of an energy harvesting communication channel with a finite-sized battery. As an abstraction of this problem, we consider a system where energy arrives at the encoder in multiples of a fixed quantity, and the physical layer is modeled accordingly as a finite discrete alphabet channel based on this fixed quantity. Further, for tractability, we consider the case of binary energy arrivals into a unit-capacity battery over a noiseless binary channel. Viewing the available energy as state, this is a state-dependent channel with causal state information available only at the transmitter. Further, the state is correlated over time and the channel inputs modify the future states. We show that this channel is equivalent to an additive geometric-noise timing channel with causal information of the noise available at the transmitter. We provide a single-letter capacity expression involving an auxiliary random variable, and evaluate this expression with certain auxiliary random variable selection, which resembles noise concentration and lattice-type coding in the timing channel. We evaluate the achievable rates by the proposed auxiliary selection and extend our results to noiseless ternary channels.
It Takes Two to Tango -- An Experience Report on Industry -- Academia Collaboration

Industry - academia collaboration is critical for empirical research to exist. However, there are many obstacles in the collaboration process. This paper reports on the experiences gained by the author, in a 2-year collaboration project on software testing which involved on-site work by the researcher in the industry premises. Based on notes, minutes of meetings, and progress reports, the project history is outlined. The project is analyzed, using collaboration models as a frame of reference. We conclude that there must be a balance between company 'pull' and academia 'push' in the collaboration Management support is inevitably a key factor to success, while other factors like cross-cultural skills and interfaces towards key resources also contribute.
Structural Changes of Amyloid Beta in Hippocampus of Rats Exposed to Ozone: A Raman Spectroscopy Study

The aim of this work was to study the effect of oxidative stress on the structural changes of the secondary peptide structure of amyloid beta 1–42 (Aβ 1–42), in the dentate gyrus of hippocampus of rats exposed to low doses of ozone. The animals were exposed to ozone-free air (control group) and 0.25 ppm ozone during 7, 15, 30, 60, and 90 days, respectively. The samples were studied by: (1) Raman spectroscopy to detect the global conformational changes in peptides with α-helix and β-sheet secondary structure, following the deconvolution profile of the amide I band; and (2) immunohistochemistry against Aβ 1–42. The results of the deconvolutions of the amide I band indicate that, ozone exposure causes a progressively decrease in the abundance percentage of α-helix secondary structure. Furthermore, the β-sheet secondary structure increases its abundance percentage. After 60 days of ozone exposure, the β-sheet band is identified in a similar wavenumber of the Aβ 1–42 peptide standard. Immunohistochemistry assays show an increase of Aβ 1–42 immunoreactivity, coinciding with the conformational changes observed in the Raman spectroscopy of Aβ 1–42 at 60 and 90 days. In conclusion, oxidative stress produces changes in the folding process of amyloid beta peptide structure in the dentate gyrus, leading to its conformational change in a final β-sheet structure. This is associated to an increase in Aβ 1–42 expression, similar to the one that happens in the brain of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) patients.
The Potential of Spectrodirectional Chris/proba Data for Biochemistry Estimation

Sun and sensor geometry cause directional effects in remotely sensed reflectance data which can influence the estimation of biophysical and biochemical variables. Previous studies have indicated that bidirectional measurements contain added information with which the accuracy of derived plant structural parameters can be increased. Because accurate biochemistry mapping is linked to vegetation structure, estimates of nitrogen concentration (C N) and water content (C W) might be indirectly improved with multiangular information. We analyzed data of the spaceborne ESA-mission CHRIS on-board PROBA-1, which provides hyperspectral and directional data. The images were acquired in July 2006 over a forest study site in Switzerland. From each of the five CHRIS images (five different viewing zenith angles) we extracted 60 crown spectra, which correspond to field-sampled trees. Then we developed four-term models by regressing lab-measured C N and C W on two datasets either consisting of original reflectance values (SPEC) or continuum-removed data (BNC). The wavebands used in the regression models were determined with a subset selection algorithm. For the data of all view angle combinations particular models were generated, in total 31 equations were evaluated per spectral dataset by comparing the coefficients of determination (R 2) and cross-validated root mean square errors. The results showed that directional information contained in multiangular data improved regression models for C N and C W estimation and lowered RMS errors. Considerable contribution can be achieved with data of a second and third viewing zenith angle. Monodirectional models developed on data of backward scattering angles performed in general better than models based on forward scattering data. Multidirectional models based on combinations of off-nadir data performed best for C N but not for C W. These findings support the potential of multiangular Earth observations for ecological monitoring and modeling studies.
Heterogeneous susceptibility of GABAA receptor‐mediated IPSCs to depolarization‐induced suppression of inhibition in rat hippocampus

1 Depolarization‐induced suppression of inhibition (DSI) in central neurons is mediated by a transient reduction of γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) release from interneurons. DSI is induced by a retrograde signal emitted from principal cells. We used electrophysiological recordings from CA1 neurons of the rat hippocampal slice to test the hypothesis that only certain classes of interneurons are susceptible to DSI. 2 DSI of action potential‐dependent, spontaneous, inhibitory postsynaptic currents (sIPSCs) in hippocampus is facilitated by carbachol (3 μm), which increases the occurrence of large sIPSCs. Besides carbachol, noradrenaline (norepinephrine; 10 μm), or elevated extracellular potassium (8 mm), could abruptly increase the occurrence of large sIPSCs and DSI in many cases. DSI appeared and disappeared concomitantly with the onset and offset of these large sIPSCs. In contrast, application of AP‐5 and CNQX often markedly increased baseline sIPSC activity without enhancing DSI. 3 A brief train of extracellular electrical stimulation could trigger the onset of prolonged, repetitive IPSC activity that was susceptible to DSI. The magnitude of DSI of single evoked IPSCs (eIPSCs) in a given pyramidal cell could be altered by changes in stimulus strength, but there was no simple relationship between stimulus strength and DSI. 4 Baclofen (0.5‐5 μm) eliminated the increase in sIPSC activity and DSI induced by carbachol. A GABAB receptor antagonist, CGP 35348, reversed the effects of baclofen. 5 Carbachol‐induced sIPSCs had relatively rapid rise and decay phases. There was no marked distinction between DSI‐susceptible and non‐susceptible sIPSCs. Nevertheless, two kinetically distinct components of the eIPSC could be distinguished by their decay times. DSI reduced GABAA,fast without affecting GABAA,slow. Furosemide (frusemide), which blocks only GABAA,fast, reduced the eIPSC and occluded DSI. 6 The data suggest that, with respect to DSI, there are at least three functionally distinct types of IPSCs. Two types (one susceptible to DSI and one not) have relatively rapid kinetics are probably made by perisomatic synapses. A third, slow IPSC, which is insensitive to DSI, may be produced by distal dendritic synapses.
Uptake of CCR7 by KIR2DS4+ NK Cells Is Induced upon Recognition of Certain HLA-C Alleles

The KIR2DS4 receptor is the oldest KIR2DS expressed by human NK lymphocytes. The specificity of recognition of this receptor for various HLA class I alleles has been demonstrated; however it remains poorly understood whether these interactions may result in the activation of some specific functions in NK cells. Here, we examined the functional outcome of the KIR2DS4/HLA class I interaction by the use of an alternative functional system based on the ability of KIR2DS4 to regulate the mechanism of trogocytosis by NK cells. We demonstrate that KIR2DS4 can induce the uptake of CCR7 by KIR2DS4+ NKG2A+ NK cell clones after interacting with CCR7+ target cells expressing HLA-Cw4 and HLA-Cw6 alleles. However this interaction is not always sufficient to override the inhibition generated by NKG2A expressed on the same NK cells. The recognition of HLA-Cw4 was confirmed by experiments of cytotoxicity against HLA-C-transfected cells. We also show that, different from resting NK cells, the acquisition of CCR7 in response to IL-18 cannot occur in IL2-activated NK cells because of a marked downregulation in their IL-18Rα expression. As a consequence trogocytosis represents the major mechanism by which KIR2DS4+ activated NK cells acquire the expression of this chemokine receptor.
Effect of Cutting Parameters on Ignition of AM50A Mg Alloy during Face Milling

The ignition of magnesium alloy chips is an important problem during dry machining. In this paper, the influence of cutting speed, feed rate, and depth of cut on ignition of AM50A magnesium alloy during high-speed face milling was investigated. It was found that ignition could easily be caused under some cutting speed and feed rate when the depth of cut was fixed and ignition was rarely observed when the depth of cut was 80 µm. Moreover, the relationship between morphology of chip and frequency of ignition was explored. We found that intertwined chips easily produced ring of fire.
Discovering Stock Price Prediction Rules Using Rough Sets

The use of computational intelligence systems such as neural networks, fuzzy set, genetic algorithms, etc. for stock market predictions has been widely established. This paper presents a generic stock pricing prediction model based on rough set approach. To increase the efficiency of the prediction process, rough sets with Boolean reasoning discretization algorithm is used to discretize the data. Rough set reduction technique is applied to find all the reducts of the data, which contains the minimal subset of attributes that are associated with a class label for prediction. Finally, rough sets dependency rules are generated directly from all generated reducts. Rough confusion matrix is used to evaluate the performance of the predicted reducts and classes. Using a data set consisting of daily movements of a stock traded in Kuwait Stock Exchange, a preliminary assessment indicates that rough sets is shown to be applicable and is an effective tool to achieve this goal. For comparison, the results obtained using rough set approach were compared to that of neural networks algorithm and it was shown that Rough set approach have a higher overall accuracy rate and generates more compact and fewer rules than neural networks.
Chemotherapy for diffuse large-cell lymphoma--rapidly responding patients have more durable remissions.

Fifty-one patients with diffuse large-cell lymphoma (DLCL) were treated with a six-drug combination chemotherapy regimen including cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, procarbazine, bleomycin, vincristine, and prednisone. The patients were restaged after three cycles of therapy, and restaging was repeated at 2-month intervals in patients who had persistent disease. Responding patients received two cycles of therapy after documentation of complete remission (CR). With all patients considered evaluable, 73% of the patients achieved a CR. Twenty-six of the 37 CRs (70%) achieved remission in the first three treatment cycles. The durability of remission in the rapidly responding patients was significantly better than for patients who required five cycles to achieve CR (80% v 40% at 2 years, P = .02) despite the latter patients having received two more cycles of therapy. Rapidly responding patients with DLCL do not require prolonged therapy and have a better prognosis than patients achieving a CR more slowly.
Soil Does Not Explain Monodominance in a Central African Tropical Forest

Background Soil characteristics have been hypothesised as one of the possible mechanisms leading to monodominance of Gilbertiodendron dewerei in some areas of Central Africa where higher-diversity forest would be expected. However, the differences in soil characteristics between the G. dewevrei-dominated forest and its adjacent mixed forest are still poorly understood. Here we present the soil characteristics of the G. dewevrei forest and quantify whether soil physical and chemical properties in this monodominant forest are significantly different from the adjacent mixed forest. Methodology/Principal Findings We sampled top soil (0–5, 5–10, 10–20, 20–30 cm) and subsoil (150–200 cm) using an augur in 6 × 1 ha areas of intact central Africa forest in SE Cameroon, three independent patches of G. dewevrei-dominated forest and three adjacent areas (450–800 m apart), all chosen to be topographically homogeneous. Analysis – subjected to Bonferroni correction procedure – revealed no significant differences between the monodominant and mixed forests in terms of soil texture, median particle size, bulk density, pH, carbon (C) content, nitrogen (N) content, C:N ratio, C:total NaOH-extractable P ratio and concentrations of labile phosphorous (P), inorganic NaOH-extractable P, total NaOH-extractable P, aluminium, barium, calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, potassium, selenium, silicon, sodium and zinc. Prior to Bonferroni correction procedure, there was a significant lower level of silicon concentration found in the monodominant than mixed forest deep soil; and a significant lower level of nickel concentration in the monodominant than mixed forest top soil. Nevertheless, these were likely to be the results of multiple tests of significance. Conclusions/Significance Our results do not provide clear evidence of soil mediation for the location of monodominant forests in relation to adjacent mixed forests. It is also likely that G. dewevrei does not influence soil chemistry in the monodominant forests.