Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Women awaken faster than men after electroencephalogram-monitored propofol sedation for colonoscopy: A prospective observational study

BACKGROUND Sedation for colonoscopy using intravenous propofol has become standard in many Western countries. OBJECTIVE Gender-specific differences have been shown for general anaesthesia in dentistry, but no such data existed for gastrointestinal endoscopy. DESIGN A prospective observational study. SETTING An academic teaching hospital of Hannover Medical School. PATIENTS A total of 219 patients (108 women and 111 men) scheduled for colonoscopy. INTERVENTION Propofol sedation using electroencephalogram monitoring during a constant level of sedation depth (D0 to D2) performed by trained nurses or physicians after a body-weight-adjusted loading dose. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The primary end-point was the presence of gender-specific differences in awakening time (time from end of sedation to eye-opening and complete orientation); secondary outcome parameters analysed were total dose of propofol, sedation-associated complications (bradycardia, hypotension, hypoxaemia and apnoea), patient cooperation and patient satisfaction. Multivariate analysis was performed to correct confounding factors such as age and BMI. RESULTS Women awakened significantly faster than men, with a time to eye-opening of 7.3 ± 3.7 versus 8.4 ± 3.4 min (P = 0.005) and time until complete orientation of 9.1 ± 3.9 versus 10.4 ± 13.7 min (P = 0.008). The propofol dosage was not significantly different, with some trend towards more propofol per kg body weight in women (3.98 ± 1.81 mg versus 3.72 ± 1.75 mg, P = 0.232). CONCLUSION The effect of gender aspects should be considered when propofol is used as sedation for gastrointestinal endoscopy. That includes adequate dosing for women as well as caution regarding potential overdosing of male patients. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier: NCT02687568).
Impact of RF cables on the electromagnetic environment in vehicles

As the demand for connectivity and infotainment services increases in the automotive world, the need to measure and characterize the propagation channels inside vehicles also increases. In this work, a measurement study was performed to investigate the influence of RF cables on in-vehicle channels. It was found that, for the same transmit and receive antenna positions, the routing of the measurement cables can significantly affect the channel impulse response. This result points to the need for alternative strategies or solutions to obtain accurate and repeatable in-vehicle channel measurements.
Phase I trial of weekly tigatuzumab, an agonistic humanized monoclonal antibody targeting death receptor 5 (DR5).

BACKGROUND TRA-8 is a murine agonist monoclonal antibody to death receptor 5 (DR5), which is able to trigger apoptosis in DR5 positive human tumor cells without the aid of crosslinking. It has demonstrated cytotoxicity in vitro and in vivo antitumor efficacy to a wide range of solid tumors in murine xenograft models. Tigatuzumab is a humanized IgG1 monoclonal antibody derived from TRA-8. METHODS A phase I trial of tigatuzumab in patients with relapsed/refractory carcinomas (n = 16) or lymphoma (n = 1) was designed to determine the maximal tolerated dose (MTD), pharmacokinetics, immunogenicity, and safety. Three to six (3-6) patients were enrolled in successive escalating cohorts at doses ranging from 1 to 8 mg/kg weekly. RESULTS Seventeen (17) patients enrolled, 9 in the 1-, 2-, and 4-mg/kg dose cohorts (3 in each cohort) and 8 in the 8-mg/kg dose cohort. Tigatuzumab was well tolerated with no DLTs observed, and the MTD was not reached. There were no study-drug-related grade 3 or 4, renal, hepatic, or hematologic toxicities. Plasma half-life was 6-10 days, and no anti-tigatuzumab responses were detected. Seven (7) patients had stable disease, with the duration of response ranging from 81 to 798 days. CONCLUSIONS Tigatuzumab is well tolerated, and the MTD was not reached. The high number of patients with stable disease suggests antitumor activity.
Performance Analysis of M-QAM Multihop Relaying over mmWave Weibull Fading Channels

The paper presents a comprehensive closed-form performance analysis framework of multihop cooperative communications as promising schemes in the next generation mmwave systems. As fading channel model, we adopt the advocated Weibull channel for its flexible ability to cover different channel conditions, and supported by many recent measurement campaigns in various emerging 5G scenarios. The analyzed scheme consists of multiple "Detect-and-Forward" relays with generalized high-order M-QAM transmissions. The end-to-end performance of the multihop communication is evaluated in terms of outage probability, ergodic capacity, bit error rate, and symbol error rate. For all these metrics, we present exact closed-form expressions and their asymptotic behavior, some in terms of generalized hypergeometric functions. The exactness of our study is set by numerical analysis, and Monte-Carlo simulations assess the accuracy of our obtained results for different system and channel parameters. Moreover, while Fox H and bivariate Fox H functions are not yet implemented in Matlab, we provide new codes for computing these functions in general contexts.
In vivo characterization of brain metabolism by 1H MRS, 13C MRS and 18FDG PET reveals significant glucose oxidation of invasively growing glioma cells

Glioblastoma are notorious for their highly invasive growth, diffusely infiltrating adjacent brain structures that precludes complete resection, and is a major obstacle for cure. To characterize this “invisible” tumor part, we designed a high resolution multimodal imaging approach assessing in vivo the metabolism of invasively growing glioma xenografts in the mouse brain. Animals were subjected longitudinally to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and 1H spectroscopy (MRS) at ultra high field (14.1 Tesla) that allowed the measurement of 16 metabolic biomarkers to characterize the metabolic profiles. As expected, the neuronal functionality was progressively compromised as indicated by decreasing N‐acetyl aspartate, glutamate and gamma‐aminobutyric acid and reduced neuronal TCA cycle (−58%) and neurotransmission (−50%). The dynamic metabolic changes observed, captured differences in invasive growth that was modulated by re‐expression of the tumor suppressor gene WNT inhibitory factor 1 (WIF1) in the orthotopic xenografts that attenuates invasion. At late stage mice were subjected to 13C MRS with infusion of [1,6‐13C]glucose and 18FDG positron emission tomography (PET) to quantify cell‐specific metabolic fluxes involved in glucose metabolism. Most interestingly, this provided the first in vivo evidence for significant glucose oxidation in glioma cells. This suggests that the infiltrative front of glioma does not undergo the glycolytic switch per se, but that environmental triggers may induce metabolic reprograming of tumor cells.
Oral paracetamol and/or ibuprofen for treating pain after soft tissue injuries: Single centre double-blind, randomised controlled clinical trial

Background Soft tissue injuries commonly present to the emergency department (ED), often with acute pain. They cause significant suffering and morbidity if not adequately treated. Paracetamol and ibuprofen are commonly used analgesics, but it remains unknown if either one or the combination of both is superior for pain control. Objectives To investigate the analgesic effect of paracetamol, ibuprofen and the combination of both in the treatment of soft tissue injury in an ED, and the side effect profile of these drugs. Methods Double-blind, double dummy, placebo-controlled randomised controlled trial. 782 adult patients presenting with soft tissue injury without obvious fractures attending the ED of a university hospital in the New Territories of Hong Kong were recruited. Patients were randomised using a random number table into three parallel arms of paracetamol only, ibuprofen only and a combination of paracetamol and ibuprofen in a 1:1:1 ratio. The primary outcome measure was pain score at rest and on activity in the first 2 hours and first 3 days. Data was analysed on an intention to treat basis. Results There was no statistically significant difference in pain score in the initial two hours between the three groups, and no clinically significant difference in pain score in the first three days. Conclusion There was no difference in analgesic effects or side effects observed using oral paracetamol, ibuprofen or a combination of both in patients with mild to moderate pain after soft tissue injuries attending the ED. Trial registration The study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (no. NCT00528658).
An accordion model integrating self-cleaning, strong attachment and easy detachment functionalities of gecko adhesion

Recent experiments have shown that gecko adhesion exhibits multifunctionalities including self-cleaning, strong attachment and easy detachment. Currently, there exists no theoretical framework in contact mechanics that is capable of integrating all these features in one unified model. Here we propose an accordion model of adhesion that accomplishes this integration with an adhesive pad consisting of a compliant backbone covered by a foldable hard skin containing hidden adhesives which are initially folded into the structure to avoid adhesion in the stress-free state. At the default, stress-free state, the pad is non-adhesive and self-cleaning. Under a tensile prestress large enough to expose the hidden adhesives, the pad becomes highly stiffened and strongly adhesive. We investigate the adhesion behavior of such a structure and show that strong attachment can be established spontaneously when the pad is dragged on an external surface at a low angle, with prestress trapped in the attached portion of the pad. We then investigate the orientation-dependent peel-off force of an attached accordion pad and show that it can be spontaneously detached above a critical pulling angle, leading to strongly reversible adhesion.
Near‐infrared Raman spectroscopy for optical diagnosis in the stomach: Identification of Helicobacter‐pylori infection and intestinal metaplasia

Raman spectroscopy is a unique vibrational spectroscopic technique which can be used to probe biochemicals and biomolecular structures and conformations of tissues. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of applying near‐infrared (NIR) Raman spectroscopy for identification of nonneoplastic lesions (Helicobacter‐pylori (Hp) infection, and intestinal metaplasia (IM)) highly associated with stomach cancer. A rapid‐acquisition NIR Raman spectroscopic system was used for tissue Raman measurements at 785 nm excitation, and a total of 88 gastric tissue samples (57 normal; 11 Hp‐infection; 20 IM) from 56 patients were measured. The principal components analysis (PCA) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) techniques were implemented to develop effective diagnostic algorithms for classification of Raman spectra of different gastric tissue types. High‐quality Raman spectra in the range of 800‐1800 cm−1 were acquired from gastric tissue within 5 seconds. Significant spectral differences in Raman spectra were observed among normal, Hp‐infection and IM gastric tissue, particularly in the spectral ranges of 848–917, 960–1015, 1088–1133, 1206–1213, 1277–1313, 1395–1445, 1517–1549, 1607–1690, and 1714–1767 cm−1 which contained signals related to proteins, lipids and porphyrin. PCA‐LDA algorithms developed together with leave one patient out, cross validation technique yield diagnostic sensitivities of 91.7%, 80.0%, and 80.0%, and specificities of 80.0%, 100%, and 92.7%, respectively, for classification of normal, Hp‐infection and IM gastric tissues. This work demonstrates the utility of NIR Raman spectroscopy for early diagnosis of Hp‐infection and IM lesions in the gastric at the molecular level.
Conformational dimorphism in o-nitrobenzoic acid: alternative ways to avoid the O...O clash.

Polymorphism is a challenging phenomenon and the competitive packing alternatives which are characteristic for polymorphs may be encountered for essentially rigid molecules. A second crystal form of the well known compound o-nitrobenzoic acid, C7H5NO4, an important intermediate in the production of dyes, pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals, is described. Although obtained serendipitously, its intra- and intermolecular features match expectations from database searches and theoretical calculations. O-H.O hydrogen-bonded carboxylic acid dimers represent the building blocks in both polymorphs. For steric reasons and in agreement with a calculated potential energy surface, the carboxylic acid and nitro groups cannot simultaneously be coplanar with the benzene ring but have to tilt. In the well established crystal form, this out-of-plane torsion is more pronounced for the nitro substituent. In contrast, the new polymorph is characterized by a major tilt of the carboxylic acid group. The molecules in both alternative crystal forms achieve a similar compromise with respect to acceptable intramolecular O.O contacts.
Recovering Functional Mechanical Assemblies from Raw Scans

This paper presents a method to reconstruct a functional mechanical assembly from raw scans. Given multiple input scans of a mechanical assembly, our method first extracts the functional mechanical parts using a motion-guided, patch-based hierarchical registration and labeling algorithm. The extracted functional parts are then parameterized from the segments and their internal mechanical relations are encoded by a graph. We use a joint optimization to solve for the best geometry, placement, and orientation of each part, to obtain a final workable mechanical assembly. We demonstrated our algorithm on various types of mechanical assemblies with diverse settings and validated our output using physical fabrication.
Body Composition, Muscle Quality and Scoliosis in Female Collegiate Gymnasts: A Pilot Study

Abstract Research has demonstrated an elevated prevalence of body weight concerns and scoliosis among female gymnasts. The purpose of the current pilot study was to evaluate the utility of ultrasonography and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) as practical imaging modalities to measure body composition and spinal curvature variables that may correlate with performance in female collegiate gymnasts (n=15). DXA was used to evaluate body composition and lateral spinal curvature, utilizing a modified Ferguson method. Echo intensity (EI) and cross-sectional area (CSA) of the vastus lateralis were determined from a panoramic cross-sectional ultrasound image. For returning athletes (n=9), performance scores from the previous season were averaged to quantify performance. The average performance score was correlated with lean mass of the arms (R=0.714; P=0.03) and right leg (R=0.680; P=0.04). Performance was not correlated with total mass, fat mass or body fat percentage (P>0.10). Scoliosis was identified in 3 of 15 scans (20%). Echo intensity and CSA of the vastus lateralis were inversely correlated with each other (R=−0.637, P=0.01), but not with other measures of body composition or performance. Results suggest that limb LBM may be a determinant of gymnastics performance, and DXA may provide important health and performance-related information for female collegiate gymnasts.
Myeloperoxidase: a leukocyte-derived protagonist of inflammation and cardiovascular disease.

SIGNIFICANCE The heme-enzyme myeloperoxidase (MPO) is one of the major neutrophil bactericidal proteins and is stored in large amounts inside azurophilic granules of neutrophils. Upon cell activation, MPO is released and extracellular MPO has been detected in a wide range of acute and chronic inflammatory conditions. Recent ADVANCES AND CRITICAL ISSUES: Apart from its role during infection, MPO has emerged as a critical modulator of inflammation throughout the last decade and is currently discussed in the initiation and propagation of cardiovascular diseases. MPO-derived oxidants (e.g., hypochlorous acid) interfere with various cell functions and contribute to tissue injury. Recent data also suggest that MPO itself exerts proinflammatory properties independent of its catalytic activity. Despite advances in unraveling the complex action of MPO and MPO-derived oxidants, further research is warranted to determine the precise nature and biological role of MPO in inflammation. FUTURE DIRECTIONS The identification of MPO as a central player in inflammation renders this enzyme an attractive prognostic biomarker and a potential target for therapeutic interventions. A better understanding of the (patho-) physiology of MPO is essential for the development of successful treatment strategies in acute and chronic inflammatory diseases.
Application-specific processor for local-binary-patterns generation

Early detection of polyps could result in better prevention against colorectal cancer (CRC). The classical method adopted for this purpose is the clinical inspection. However, this type of detection suffer from several limitations such as the medical level of expertise and the nature and appearance of the polyp itself. Therefore, there is an essential need for support systems which help in the detection process. In this work, Local-Binary-Pattern (LBP) is utilized as a feature extractor for the purpose of real-time detection of polyps. LBP is known for its rich texture analysis and simple computation of the detection tasks. In order to take into account the low power requirement of LBP, an Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC) flow is implemented which turned out to be essential for the considered detection. Synthesis results demonstrate that the proposed detection method achieves a considerable reduction in the power consumption as compared to other literature works. Additionally, the results confirm that the proposed method is capable of running under ultra-low power requirements.
The Divisive-Normalization Model of V1 Neurons: A Comprehensive Comparison of Physiological Data and Model Predictions

The physiological responses of simple and complex cells in the primary visual cortex (V1) have been studied extensively and modeled at different levels. At the functional level, the divisive normalization model (DNM, Heeger, 1992) has accounted for a wide range of single-cell recordings in terms of a combination of linear filtering, nonlinear rectification, and divisive normalization. We propose standardizing the formulation of the DNM and implementing it in software that takes static grayscale images as inputs and produces firing-rate responses as outputs. We also review a comprehensive suite of 30 empirical phenomena and report a series of simulation experiments that qualitatively replicate dozens of key experiments with a standard parameter set consistent with physiological measurements. This systematic approach identifies novel falsifiable predictions of the DNM. We show how the model simultaneously satisfies the conflicting desiderata of flexibility and falsifiability. Our key idea is that, while adjustable parameters are needed to accommodate the diversity across neurons, they must be fixed for a given individual neuron. This requirement introduces falsifiable constraints when this single neuron is probed with multiple stimuli. We also present mathematical analyses and simulation experiments that explicate some of these constraints.
14-year case series of eyelid sebaceous gland carcinoma in Chinese patients and review of management

Aims Sebaceous gland carcinoma (SGC) of the eyelid is a rare but potentially deadly cancer. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) 7th Edition T category for SGC correlated with metastasis and survival in the Chinese population. Methods This was a retrospective, single-centre cohort study. Patients with surgically resected eyelid SGC between January 2001 and May 2015 at the Hong Kong Eye Hospital were reviewed. Tumours were staged using the AJCC criteria. The main outcome measures included local recurrence, metastasis and death. Disease-free survival (DFS) was measured from the completion of treatment; overall survival was measured from the date of initial diagnosis. Results The study included 22 Chinese patients with a mean age of 65.4 years. The majority presented as a nodular lesion (91%) with 12 eyes (54.5%) initially misdiagnosed and a mean presentation time of 1 year. It was found that those with AJCC stage T2b or higher were significantly associated with lymph node metastasis (P=0.002) when compared with those with stage T2a. Older age at diagnosis (P=0.035) and no misdiagnosis (P=0.025) were associated with shorter DFS. Those with stage 3a or higher were associated with shorter DFS (P=0.007) and overall survival (P=0.024). Conclusion Similar to previous reports, in this Chinese cohort, AJCC staging for SGC correlated with lymph node metastasis, DFS and overall survival. Those with stage 2b or higher on presentation will need closer surveillance for lymph node metastasis and may benefit from sentinel lymph node biopsy.
AGC of Two Area Power System Based on Different Power Output Control Strategies of Thermal Power Generation

In this paper, dynamic performance of automatic generation control (AGC) of two area thermal–thermal power system is determined through the steam chest and reheater constant trajectories. In earlier AGC studies, steam chest and reheater time constants denoted as <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${T_{\text{SC}}}$</tex-math> </inline-formula> and <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${T_{\text{RH}}}$</tex-math></inline-formula> are considered to be constant, irrespective of plant generation schedules. However, it is discovered that <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${T_{\text{SC}}}$</tex-math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX"> ${T_{\text{RH}}}$</tex-math></inline-formula> follow the specific trajectories with the plant generation schedules. These time constant trajectories are determined by the power output control strategies being employed to change the plant generation schedules. These control strategies are the different combinations of steam pressure versus flow rate curves used to operate the plant at different generation schedules. In this paper, time constant versus generation schedule trajectories of <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${T_{\text{SC}}}$</tex-math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${T_{\text{RH}}}$</tex-math></inline-formula> have been derived for different power output control strategies. Furthermore, these time constant trajectories have been utilized to investigate the dynamic performance of two area reheat thermal power system.
Nanoscale density variations induced by high energy heavy ions in amorphous silicon nitride and silicon dioxide

The cylindrical nanoscale density variations resulting from the interaction of 185 MeV and 2.2 GeV Au ions with 1.0 μm thick amorphous SiNx:H and SiOx:H layers are determined using small angle x-ray scattering measurements. The resulting density profiles resembles an under-dense core surrounded by an over-dense shell with a smooth transition between the two regions, consistent with molecular-dynamics simulations. For amorphous SiNx:H, the density variations show a radius of 4.2 nm with a relative density change three times larger than the value determined for amorphous SiOx:H, with a radius of 5.5 nm. Complementary infrared spectroscopy measurements exhibit a damage cross-section comparable to the core dimensions. The morphology of the density variations results from freezing in the local viscous flow arising from the non-uniform temperature profile in the radial direction of the ion path. The concomitant drop in viscosity mediated by the thermal conductivity appears to be the main driving force rather than the presence of a density anomaly.