Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Conference on 'malnutrition Matters' Nutrition Society Cuthbertson Medal Lecture Emerging Concepts: from Coeliac Disease to Non-coeliac Gluten Sensitivity

The rise in gluten consumption over time has led to the increasing recognition of coeliac disease (CD) with associated complications. However, only recently has there been an appreciation that the spectrum of gluten-related disorders is greater than just CD, which may explain the growing global popularity in gluten-free products. Current literature suggests that a newly recognised clinical entity in the form of non-coeliac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) may be the most common gluten-related disorder encountered by healthcare professionals, although its exact prevalence is as yet unknown. This article will review the historical relationship between mankind and gluten as well as the progressive recognition that it is possible for gluten to have a deleterious effect on our health. To this effect we discuss the prevalence, diagnosis and complications of CD including the benefits derived from a gluten-free diet (GFD). Finally, we discuss our current understanding of NCGS, in addition to highlighting the need for further research to determine the extent, clinicopathological features and serological biomarkers to help recognise this emerging condition in clinical practice. What effect has gluten had on mankind? Although mankind may have existed in some progressive form for 2. 5 million years it is only in the last 10 000 years that we have been exposed to wheat. Wheat was originally cultivated in the Fertile Crescent (South Western Asia) with a farming expansion that lasted from approximately 9000 to 4000 BC. Thus, it could be considered that wheat and therefore gluten is a relatively novel introduction to man's diet (1). Gluten is a high molecular weight heterogeneous compound (which occurs not only in the endo-sperm of wheat but also in rye and barley) that can be fractionated to produce a, b and g peptides. Prior to 1939 (and the outbreak of World War II) the rationing system had already been devised. This led to an imperative to try to increase agricultural production. Thus, it was agreed in 1941 that there was a need to establish a Nutrition Society. A meeting of workers interested in nutritional problems was convened by Sir John Orr and was held at the Royal Institution (2). The main objective of the new Society was to provide a common meeting place for workers in various fields of nutrition. The very roots of the Society were geared towards necessarily increasing the production of wheat (2). This goal was achieved and by the end of the twentieth century, …
Two patterns of daily hypoxic exposure and their effects on measures of chemosensitivity in humans.

The purpose of this study was to compare chemoresponses following two different intermittent hypoxia (IH) protocols in humans. Ten men underwent two 7-day courses of poikilocapnic IH. The long-duration IH (LDIH) protocol consisted of daily 60-min exposures to normobaric 12% O(2). The short-duration IH (SDIH) protocol comprised twelve 5-min bouts of 12% O(2), separated by 5-min bouts of room air, daily. Isocapnic hypoxic ventilatory response (HVR) was measured daily during the protocol and 1 and 7 days following. Hypercapnic ventilatory response (HCVR) and CO(2) threshold and sensitivity (by the modified Read rebreathing technique) were measured on days 1, 8, and 14. Following 7 days of IH, the mean HVR was significantly increased from 0.47 +/- 0.07 and 0.47 +/- 0.08 to 0.70 +/- 0.06 and 0.79 +/- 0.06 l.min(-1). %Sa(O(2))(-1) (LDIH and SDIH, respectively), where %Sa(O(2)) is percent arterial oxygen saturation. The increase in HVR reached a plateau after the third day. One week post-IH, HVR values were unchanged from baseline. HCVR increased from 3.0 +/- 0.4 to 4.0 +/- 0.5 l.min(-1). mmHg(-1). In both the hyperoxic and hypoxic modified Read rebreathing tests, the slope of the CO(2)/ventilation plot was unchanged by either intervention, but the CO(2)/ventilation curve shifted to the left following IH. There were no correlations between the changes in response to hypoxia and hypercapnia. There were no significant differences between the two IH protocols for any measures, indicating that comparable changes in chemoreflex control occur with either protocol. These results also suggest that the two methods of measuring CO(2) response are not completely concordant and that the changes in CO(2) control do not correlate with the increase in the HVR.
Overdetection in breast cancer screening: development and preliminary evaluation of a decision aid

Objective To develop, pilot and refine a decision aid (ahead of a randomised trial evaluation) for women around age 50 facing their initial decision about whether to undergo mammography screening. Design Two-stage mixed-method pilot study including qualitative interviews (n=15) and a randomised comparison using a quantitative survey (n=34). Setting New South Wales, Australia. Participants Women aged 43–59 years with no personal history of breast cancer. Interventions The decision aid provides evidence-based information about important outcomes of mammography screening over 20 years (breast cancer mortality reduction, overdetection and false positives) compared with no screening. The information is presented in a short booklet for women, combining text and visual formats. A control version produced for the purposes of comparison omits the overdetection-related content. Outcomes Comprehension of key decision aid content and acceptability of the materials. Results Most women considered the decision aid clear and helpful and would recommend it to others. Nonetheless, the piloting process raised important issues that we tried to address in iterative revisions. Some participants found it hard to understand overdetection and why it is of concern, while there was often confusion about the distinction between overdetection and false positives. In a screening context, encountering balanced information rather than persuasion appears to be contrary to people's expectations, but women appreciated the opportunity to become better informed. Conclusions The concept of overdetection is complex and new to the public. This study highlights some key challenges for communicating about this issue. It is important to clarify that overdetection differs from false positives in terms of its more serious consequences (overtreatment and associated harms). Screening decision aids also must clearly explain their purpose of facilitating informed choice. A staged approach to development and piloting of decision aids is recommended to further improve understanding of overdetection and support informed decision-making about screening.
Factors Associated with Post-tonsillectomy Hemorrhage

Despite the otolaryngologist's most diligent efforts to prevent it, hemorrhage is the most common, albeit sporadic, significant complication of tonsillectomy. For this retrospective study of post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage rates, we examined the charts of 430 consecutive tonsillectomy patients who had been operated on by one of two general otolaryngologists at our institution. The two surgeons used the same removal technique (cold dissection and snare), but slightly different methods of hemostasis. We found that the overall bleeding rate was 4%; the primary (<24 hr) hemorrhage rate was 0.23%, and the secondary rate was 3.7%. Factors that were positively correlated with postoperative bleeding were the patient's sex, the time of year the surgery was performed, the length of the procedure, the amount of blood lost during surgery, and the use of intraoperative vasoconstrictors and steroids. However, we believe the use of steroids can probably be discounted as a causative factor. The χ2 test was used to determine statistical significance. None of the 21 patients who were operated on for peritonsillar abscess experienced any delayed postoperative bleeding. The mean decrease in hemoglobin was 2.3 grams; the lowest postoperative level was 6.6 grams. The highest incidence of delayed bleeding occurred on the eighth postoperative day. Two patients required transfusions, and both recovered without any adverse consequences. It appears that one controllable variable in preventing delayed bleeding following tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy might be related to certain details of hemostatic technique. Vasoconstrictors and “field” cauterization might be associated with an increased temporal and spatial application of coagulating current. Although this technique is very effective in preventing primary hemorrhage, it does result in a deeper and more extensive zone of necrosis and the exposure of more and larger vessels when sloughing of the eschar occurs.
Acute respiratory distress syndrome in the trauma intensive care unit: Morbid but not mortal.

HYPOTHESIS The diagnosis of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) carries significant additional morbidity and mortality among critically injured patients. DESIGN Retrospective case-control study using a prospectively maintained ARDS database. SETTING Surgical intensive care unit (ICU) in an academic county hospital. PATIENTS All trauma patients admitted to the ICU from January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2003, who developed ARDS as defined by (1) acute onset, (2) a partial pressure of arterial oxygen-fraction of inspired oxygen ratio of 200 or less, (3) bilateral pulmonary infiltrates on chest radiographs, and (4) absence of left-sided heart failure. Each patient with ARDS was matched with 2 control patients without ARDS on the basis of sex, age (+/-5 years), mechanism of injury (blunt or penetrating), Injury Severity Score (+/-3), and chest Abbreviated Injury Score (+/-1). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Mortality, hospital charges, hospital and ICU lengths of stay, and complications (defined as pneumonia, deep venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, acute renal failure, and disseminated intravascular coagulopathy). RESULTS Of 2042 trauma ICU admissions, 216 patients (10.6%) met criteria for ARDS. We identified 432 similarly injured control patients. Compared with controls, trauma patients with ARDS had more complications (43.1% vs 9.5%), longer hospital (32.2 vs 17.9 days) and ICU (22.1 vs 8.4 days) lengths of stay, and higher hospital charges (267,037 dollars vs 136,680 dollars) (P < .01 for all), but mortality was similar (27.8% vs 25.0%, P = .48). CONCLUSION Although ARDS is associated with increased morbidity, hospital and ICU length of stay, and costs, it does not increase overall mortality among critically ill trauma patients.
Glucocorticoid-treated sheep as a model for osteopenic trabecular bone in biomaterials research.

The purpose of this study was to determine the alterations in ovine trabecular bone induced by a combination of ovariectomy and steroid treatment. Twenty-four female skeletally mature Merino sheep were randomly assigned to ovariectomy alone (OVX), ovariectomy combined with glucocorticoid treatment for 6 months (OVX + GC), or no treatment (control). Biopsies of trabecular bone were harvested 6 and 12 months after the beginning of the study from the proximal tibia. The biopsies were scanned for apparent bone mineral density by quantitative computed tomography and were mechanically tested. Three-dimensional bone reconstructions were obtained by micro-computed tomography. Trabecular bone from the OVX + GC animals had a markedly reduced apparent bone mineral density (27% less than control), bone volume (34%), and elastic modulus (36%) at 6 months. At 12 months, the reductions in apparent bone mineral density (33%), bone volume (37%), and elastic modulus (62%) appeared to be even more pronounced. Ovariectomy alone did not result in a perceptible reduction in any parameter. The combination of ovariectomy and glucocorticoid treatment in sheep resulted in a successful induction of substantial loss of trabecular bone and thus may serve as a large-animal model for osteopenic trabecular bone for the development and testing of orthopedic implants and techniques under osteoporotic conditions.
Optimal Portfolio Allocation among REITs, Stocks, and Long-Term Bonds: An Empirical Analysis of US Financial Markets

Using mean-variance utility function analysis with various degrees of risk aversion, this research examines the impact of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) in creating optimal portfolios. It also examines and develops a sensitivity analysis for differential risk premiums in REIT stocks and the effect in determining an optimal portfolio mix by applying mean variance analysis. When the combined risk premium of REITs and stocks is 1.5%, we find investors with risk aversion between 1 and 6 are better off investing almost entirely in REITs, short selling the bond and investing very little in stocks. Investors can benefit in the same way even when the risk premium of REITs and stock is fixed at 2.0% with risk aversion equal to between 1 and 9. However, when the risk premium of REITs and stock is fixed at 2.5%, the investor’s risk aversion factor is irrelevant, and it suggests investors should short sell the bond and invest mostly in REITs. The marginal effect of changes in (portfolio returns) rR on the optimal portfolio weights in REITs is observed to have a sharp decline when risk aversion is increased. However, the impact of that change in the REIT-Stock correlation is non-existent as the optimal weight in REITs is increased. In addition, there is little obvious change when the risk aversion is increased. Therefore, the change of weights in REITs in the optimal portfolio is more significant than the correlation between REITs and stock performance. Results also indicate that the investor should consider how to maximize their return using various levels of risk aversion and not by using the correlation between stock and REITs.
The role of inertial cavitation in acoustic droplet vaporization

The vaporization of a superheated droplet emulsion into gas bubbles using ultrasound-termed acoustic droplet vaporization (ADV)-has potential therapeutic applications in embolotherapy and drug delivery. The optimization of ADV for therapeutic applications can be enhanced by understanding the physical mechanisms underlying ADV, which are currently not clearly elucidated. Acoustic cavitation is one possible mechanism. This paper investigates the relationship between ADV and inertial cavitation (IC) thresholds (measured as peak rarefactional pressures) by studying parameters that are known to influence the IC threshold. These parameters include bulk fluid properties such as gas saturation, temperature, viscosity, and surface tension; droplet parameters such as degree of superheat, surfactant type, and size; and acoustic properties such as pulse repetition frequency and pulse width. In all cases the ADV threshold occurred at a lower rarefactional pressure than the IC threshold, indicating that the phase transition occurs before IC events. The viscosity and temperature of the bulk fluid are shown to influence both thresholds directly and inversely, respectively. An inverse trend is observed between threshold and diameter for droplets in the 1 to 2.5 mum range. Based on a choice of experimental parameters, it is possible to achieve ADV with or without IC.
Circle-Marker Detection Method for Omnidirectional Images and its Application to Robot Positioning

Introduction In this paper, we develop an algorithm for the detection of circles from an image captured by a monocular omnidirectional camera system. We assume that an image captured by an omnidirectional camera system is normalised to a spherical image, the image on the unit sphere. Using this geometrical property of the omnidirectional images, we introduce a method for marker-based positioning and navigation of autonomous mobile robots which mounts a monocular omnidirectional camera system. We first clarify the geometric properties of the spherical image of a circle marker placed on the ground plane, and we show that, for the detection of a plane from circle markers, we are required to capture at least two coplanar circle markers. We prove that the image of a circle on the spherical image is a fourth-order algebraic curve, which is the intersection of a sphere and an oblique elliptic cone. For the detection of marker images on the spherical images, we introduce a method for transforming the detection of this fourth-order algebraic curve to the detection of a spatial conic, which is quadric. Second, we develop a voting method for the extraction of images of planar circle markers on a spherical image, using the spatial-quadric detection strategy. Finally, using the assumption for the geometrical configuration of the camera system and the circle markers on the plane on which the robot moves, we derive a positioning algorithm. This positioning method for the robot mounting a monocular omnidirectional camera system allows us to navigate a robot using our circle-detection algorithm. We show some numerical examples both for synthetic and real images.
Hardware Architecture for a Message Hiding Algorithm with Novel Randomizers

Steganography is the art of hiding information in a cover medium such that the existence of information is concealed. An image is a suitable cover medium for steganography because of its great amount of redundant spaces. One simple method of image steganography is the replacement of the least significant bit (LSB) of a cover image with a message bit. This represents a high embedding capacity but it is detectable by statistical analysis methods such as Regular-Singular (RS) and Chi-square analyses. Therefore, a new LSB algorithm is proposed here which can effectively resist statistical analysis. In this novel algorithm, every two sample’s LSB bits are combined using addition modulo 2 which is compared to the secret message. If these two values are not equal, their difference is added to the second sample. Otherwise, no change is made. This paper proposes a hardware realization of this new algorithm. Furthermore, two scalable pixel interleaver and novel message bit randomizer with two different stego-keys are designed. Pixel interleaver can improve resistance against visual analysis by random selection of pixels.
Arthropathic Properties Related to the Molecular Weight of Peptidoglycan-Polysaccharide Polymers of Streptococcal Cell Walls

The covalently bound polymers of peptidoglycan and group-specific polysaccharide (PG-APS) were isolated from the cell walls of group A streptococci. Arthritis was induced in rats with a single intraperitoneal injection of an aqueous suspension of PG-APS fragments derived by sonication. The joint lesions induced with this polydisperse suspension followed a bimodal pattern consisting of an acute phase, which reached a peak 5 days after injection and then receded, followed by a chronic, remittent, erosive arthritis lasting several months. The relative severities of the acute and chronic phases could be manipulated by selection of the size of PG-APS fragments. The fragments of PG-APS obtained by sonic treatment were resolved on the basis of size into three major populations by sucrose gradient or differential centrifugation. Based upon light scattering and gel filtration, the average molecular weight of the largest family of fragments was estimated to be about 500 × 106, the intermediate fragments were 50 × 106 daltons, and the predominant size in the smallest population was 5.3 × 106 daltons. The larger fragments induced negligible acute inflammation, but chronic disease became apparent 5 to 9 weeks after injection. The smallest fragments induced the most severe acute inflammation, with relatively little late, chronic joint disease. The particles of intermediate size induced moderate acute inflammation and the most severe chronic, erosive joint lesions. A single injection of fragments of the isolated peptidoglycan moiety of the PG-APS induced only a moderate acute inflammation of joints, with no apparent capacity to maintain the injury and induce chronic disease.
Systematic Design of Large-Scale Multiport Decoupling Networks

In radio-frequency systems that drive coupled dissipative loads, the matching network between the amplifiers and their loads needs to account for the coupling. With N amplifiers driving N loads, a favorite choice is a “decoupling” network, which is a lossless reciprocal network that has N input ports connected to the sources and N output ports connected to the loads. The decoupling network transforms the coupled impedance of the loads into the uncoupled characteristic impedance of the sources. Any incident signal at the input ports of the network is transferred, without reflection, to the loads. Decoupling networks can be realized by generalized Π-networks of lumped and distributed impedances, depending on the design frequency. Although the impedance requirements of the network are unique, its realization is not, and networks that involve many impedances can be difficult to lay out on circuit boards. In this paper, we establish that a decoupling network requires a minimum of N2+N impedances for N arbitrarily coupled loads, and provide a systematic method for realizing this lower bound. We also provide methods for selectively eliminating impedances. We give an example where only 4N impedances are needed for loads that have coupling symmetry. Applications of the methods are presented.
Forensic Wildlife Parts and their Product Identification and Individualization Using DNA Barcoding

Despite very strict wildlife protection acts in several countries and trading laws such as CITES, illegal trading and poaching of wildlife is still active mostly because of the use of their parts in Chinese medicinal products and ornaments. For successfully identifying wildlife and their parts, mitochondrial DNA sequencing is being used now-a-days. DNA bar coding using fragments of cytochrome b and cytochrome oxidase I genes are frequently utilized for mammalian species identification. This mini review describes some of the mtDNA sequences and STR markers used for mammalian species identification in the field of forensic wildlife along with the problems associated and their possible solutions.
Droplet-routing-aware module placement for cross-referencing biochips

Digital Microfluidic Biochip (DMFB) is a revolutionary technology for performing lab-on-a-chip experiments. Comparing to traditional direct-addressing design of DMFB, Cross-Referencing Biochip is a flexible design which not only helps to reduce pin number on chip but also brings down manufacturing cost. Following the generally accepted DMFB top-down design methodology, namely task scheduling, resource binding, module placement, droplet routing, previous works that focus on cross-referencing biochip routing are all based on the placement result generated for direct-addressing biochip. In this paper, we present an ILP-based placement method that first utilizes the property of cross-referencing for the purpose of optimizing routing. Furthermore, one previously ignored electrode interference problem on modules (blocks) is addressed in this paper. Real-life bioassay protocol based benchmarks are used to evaluate the proposed method. Experimental results show that the placement result generated by our placer yields better routing result comparing with those from placer for direct-addressing DMFB.
Path loss modeling for Indian cities — Some observations

This paper interprets drive test based signal measurements in both urban and semi-urban Indian scenario using high-end smart phones with open source applications and high-end spectrum analyzers integrated with planning and optimization tool provided by Tata Tele Services, a major Indian telecom operator. From the drive test results, we observe that the existing path loss models such as Hata, Okumura, COST-231-Hata and COST-231-Walfisch-Ikegami models are not accurate for Indian terrain conditions and a fresh study is required in this direction.