Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Central venous catheter-associated bloodstream infections occurring in Canadian intensive care units: A six-month cohort study.

OBJECTIVE To determine the rate and risk factors associated with central venous catheter (CVC)-associated bloodstream infections (BSIs) in Canadian intensive care units (ICUs). DESIGN A prospective, active six-month cohort with a nested case-control study. SETTING Forty-one ICUs located in 19 Canadian hospitals. METHODS Data were collected using a standardized format on all CVCs and patients when a CVC was inserted for more than 48 h. Results of microbiological studies and therapeutic interventions were recorded when a BSI occurred. RESULTS There were 182 BSIs from 3696 CVC insertions in 2531 patients. Coagulase-negative staphylococci were responsible for 73% of the BSIs. Mean rates of CVC-associated BSIs per 1000 CVC days were 6.9, 6.8 and 5.0 in adult, neonatal and pediatric ICUs, respectively. Significant factors associated with BSI included duration of CVC insertion (OR=1.2, 95% CI 1.1 to 1.3), receiving total parenteral nutrition (OR=4.1, 95% CI 1.2 to 14.3) and having one or more CVCs (OR=3.1, 95% CI 1.5 to 6.5). In the case-control study, 80% of the variance in a backward elimination logistic regression analysis was explained by duration of CVC insertion (OR=1.2 per day), receiving chemotherapy (OR=6.1), more than one CVC insertion during the study (OR=3.5), insertion of a CVC with two or more lumens (OR=2.3), using the CVC to administer total parenteral nutrition (OR=1.6) and having a surgical wound other than a clean wound (OR=1.6). CONCLUSION The present study identified risk factors explaining 80% of the variance associated with BSIs and is one of the largest reports on the rate of CVC-associated BSIs occurring in the ICU setting.
Regulation of Thrombin-Induced Lung Endothelial Cell Barrier Disruption by Protein Kinase C Delta

Protein Kinase C (PKC) plays a significant role in thrombin-induced loss of endothelial cell (EC) barrier integrity; however, the existence of more than 10 isozymes of PKC and tissue–specific isoform expression has limited our understanding of this important second messenger in vascular homeostasis. In this study, we show that PKCδ isoform promotes thrombin-induced loss of human pulmonary artery EC barrier integrity, findings substantiated by PKCδ inhibitory studies (rottlerin), dominant negative PKCδ construct and PKCδ silencing (siRNA). In addition, we identified PKCδ as a signaling mediator upstream of both thrombin-induced MLC phosphorylation and Rho GTPase activation affecting stress fiber formation, cell contraction and loss of EC barrier integrity. Our inhibitor-based studies indicate that thrombin-induced PKCδ activation exerts a positive feedback on Rho GTPase activation and contributes to Rac1 GTPase inhibition. Moreover, PKD (or PKCμ) and CPI-17, two known PKCδ targets, were found to be activated by PKCδ in EC and served as modulators of cytoskeleton rearrangement. These studies clarify the role of PKCδ in EC cytoskeleton regulation, and highlight PKCδ as a therapeutic target in inflammatory lung disorders, characterized by the loss of barrier integrity, such as acute lung injury and sepsis.
Design of reduced-order H∞ filter for Markovian jumping systems with time delay

This brief is concerned with the reduced-order H/sub /spl infin// filtering problem for Markovian jumping linear systems with time delay, where the jumping parameters are modeled by a discrete-time Markov process. Sufficient conditions for the existence of the reduced-order H/sub /spl infin// filter are proposed in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMI) and a coupling nonconvex matrix rank constraint. In particular, the sufficient conditions for the existence of the zeroth-order (or static) H/sub /spl infin// filter can be expressed in terms of a set of strict LMIs. The explicit parameterization of the desired filter is also given. Finally, a numerical example is given to illustrate the proposed approach.
Role of erythrocyte deformability during capillary wetting

Deformability of erythrocyte was found to fundamentally alter the wetting dynamics of red blood cell (RBC) suspensions during their invasion into capillaries. Normal RBC suspensions failed to penetrate more than 1 cm into a glass capillary when the capillary radius was smaller than a critical value that is dependent on the erythrocyte concentration (about 50 µm for whole blood). In contrast, suspensions of rigidified RBCs, after cross‐linking with different concentrations of glutaraldehyde or incubating with 100 ng/mL of an endotoxin, could penetrate any capillary larger than the erythrocyte dimension. The effect of RBC deformability on penetration was attributed to the enhanced shear‐induced migration of normal deformable RBCs toward the capillary centreline, which imparted a higher average velocity to the RBCs than the average plasma velocity. As a result, the erythrocytes advanced into the capillary faster than the wetting meniscus, packing behind it to form a concentrated slug. This tightly packed slug had a high hydrodynamic resistance that could arrest the penetrating flow of concentrated suspensions into the small capillaries. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Least Upper Bounds on Minimal Terminal State Experiments for Two Classes of Sequential Machines

In this paper is considered the problem, first introduced in [1], of determining the state of a sequential machine. I t is assumed that information about the state of a machine can be obtained only by applying an input and observing the machine's response (output) . The application of an input generally causes a machine to change state; this terminal state may be known even if the initial state remains unknown. To deduce the terminal state after applying a sequence of inputs and observing the resulting outputs is to learn the state of the machine. A procedure for so learning the state of a machine will be called a terminal state experiment, or simply experiment. 1 In [1] it was shown that , given any machine with n distinguishable states, an experiment can be designed which requires not more than n ( n -1) /2 inputs in the worst case. Although [1] was restricted to input-independent machines (defined below, Section I) , the result and the method of obtaining it are applicable with only minor changes [5] to the whole class of complete machines. In Theorem 1, below, it is shown that n ( n 1)/2 is the best bound possible. In Theorem 2, below, it is shown that the bound can be lowered slightly for input-independent machines . 2 The uni form experiment problem was first formulated in [2]. In a uniform experiment the experimenter must choose his entire sequence of inputs before beginning the experiment and may not change this choice during the performance of the experiment. Theorem 1 shows that the best bound, over all complete machines, for uniform experiments is the same as that for experiments. Theorem 2 shows the same result for complete input-independent machines. Section I is given to defining terms and explaining the notation. In the main the notation used in [3] will be followed. Sections II and I I I are given to proving Theorems 1 and 2, respectively. The author is indebted to Seymour Ginsburg of the System Development Corporation for an introduction to the subject of sequential machines and for many valuable criticisms of the present work.
ANNSTLF-a neural-network-based electric load forecasting system

A key component of the daily operation and planning activities of an electric utility is short-term load forecasting, i.e., the prediction of hourly loads (demand) for the next hour to several days out. The accuracy of such forecasts has significant economic impact for the utility. This paper describes a load forecasting system known as ANNSTLF (artificial neural-network short-term load forecaster) which has received wide acceptance by the electric utility industry and presently is being used by 32 utilities across the USA and Canada. ANNSTLF can consider the effect of temperature and relative humidity on the load. Besides its load forecasting engine, ANNSTLF contains forecasters that can generate the hourly temperature and relative humidity forecasts needed by the system. ANNSTLF is based on a multiple ANN strategy that captures various trends in the data. Both the first and the second generation of the load forecasting engine are discussed and compared. The building block of the forecasters is a multilayer perceptron trained with the error backpropagation learning rule. An adaptive scheme is employed to adjust the ANN weights during online forecasting. The forecasting models are site independent and only the number of hidden layer nodes of ANN's need to be adjusted for a new database. The results of testing the system on data from ten different utilities are reported.
The effect of gradient sampling schemes on measures derived from diffusion tensor MRI: A Monte Carlo study †

There are conflicting opinions in the literature as to whether it is more beneficial to use a large number of gradient sampling orientations in diffusion tensor MRI (DT‐MRI) experiments than to use a smaller number of carefully chosen orientations. In this study, Monte Carlo simulations were used to study the effect of using different gradient sampling schemes on estimates of tensor‐derived quantities assuming a b‐value of 1000 smm–2. The study focused in particular on the effect that the number of unique gradient orientations has on uncertainty in estimates of tensor‐orientation, and on estimates of the trace and anisotropy of the diffusion tensor. The results challenge the recently proposed notion that a set of six icosahedrally‐arranged orientations is optimal for DT‐MRI. It is shown that at least 20 unique sampling orientations are necessary for a robust estimation of anisotropy, whereas at least 30 unique sampling orientations are required for a robust estimation of tensor‐orientation and mean diffusivity. Finally, the performance of sampling schemes that use low numbers of sampling orientations, but make efficient use of available gradient power, are compared to less efficient schemes with larger numbers of sampling orientations, and the relevant scenarios in which each type of scheme should be used are discussed. Magn Reson Med 51:807–815, 2004. Published 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Application of Adoptive T-Cell Therapy Using Tumor Antigen-Specific T-Cell Receptor Gene Transfer for the Treatment of Human Leukemia

The last decade has seen great strides in the field of cancer immunotherapy, especially the treatment of melanoma. Beginning with the identification of cancer antigens, followed by the clinical application of anti-cancer peptide vaccination, it has now been proven that adoptive T-cell therapy (ACT) using cancer antigen-specific T cells is the most effective option. Despite the apparent clinical efficacy of ACT, the timely preparation of a sufficient number of cancer antigen-specific T cells for each patient has been recognized as its biggest limitation. Currently, therefore, attention is being focused on ACT with engineered T cells produced using cancer antigen-specific T-cell receptor (TCR) gene transfer. With regard to human leukemia, ACT using engineered T cells bearing the leukemia antigen-specific TCR gene still remains in its infancy. However, several reports have provided preclinical data on TCR gene transfer using Wilms' tumor gene product 1 (WT1), and also preclinical and clinical data on TCR gene transfer involving minor histocompatibility antigen, both of which have been suggested to provide additional clinical benefit. In this review, we examine the current status of anti-leukemia ACT with engineered T cells carrying the leukemia antigen-specific TCR gene, and discuss the existing barriers to progress in this area.
THE ECOLOGY AND GENETICS OF FITNESS IN CHLAMYDOMONAS. IX. THE RATE OF ACCUMULATION OF VARIATION OF FITNESS UNDER SELECTION

Abstract Populations of Chlamydomonas founded by single cells were cultured in chemostats for 50 days, representing about 125 generations. The mean and variance of division rate was measured daily by withdrawing cells from the effluent and culturing them for 24 h on filtered effluent medium solidified with agar. Mean fitness did not change during the period of culture, and the behavior of neutral markers indicated that no substitutions of novel beneficial mutations occurred. However, the variance of fitness increased markedly at about the same rate in two replicate populations. The standardized rate, or mutational heritability, was Vm/VE = 4 ;ms 5 x 10;ms3 per generation. This is substantially greater than most other estimates for characters closely correlated with fitness. Moreover, it seems difficult to reconcile with the absence of any change in mean fitness. We investigated the possibility that frequency-dependent selection was created by spatial heterogeneity within the culture vessel by testing cell populations with different phenotypes from the top, bottom, and surface of the chemostats. However, the differentiation of these populations seemed to be attributable to phenotypic plasticity, with no evidence that their characteristics were heritable. Finally, we report an experiment in which lines were selected for about 100 generations on solid or liquid medium. These lines became specifically adapted to the medium on which they were cultured, showing that liquid and solid media, even when chemically identical, provide different conditions of growth for Chlamydomonas. The genetic variance appearing in the cultures was therefore attributed to conditionally neutral mutations that were not expressed in the chemostat. This implies that rates of accumulation of mutational variance measured in the culture environment itself (where this can be done) may greatly underestimate the variation available for a response through selection to environmental change. Moreover, it suggests that chemostat populations may be more dynamic and more diverse than is usually thought. Corresponding Editor: C. Lively
Long‐term schisandrin B treatment mitigates age‐related impairments in mitochondrial antioxidant status and functional ability in various tissues, and improves the survival of aging C57BL/6J mice

Mitochondrial decay is a major cause of aging, leading to the subsequent death of aerobic organisms including humans. In the present study, we examined the effects of supplementation with schisandrin B (Sch B, a dibenzocyclooctadiene derivative isolated from the fruit of Schisandra chinensis), administered at 0.012% (w/w) of diet, starting from the age of 36 weeks, on age‐dependent changes in mouse mitochondrial antioxidant status and functional ability in various tissues (brain, heart, liver, and kidney) up to the age of 120 weeks. We also monitored survival of male and female C57BL/6J mice. Aging caused progressive impairment in mitochondrial antioxidant status in various tissues, as evidenced by decreases in reduced glutathione and α‐tocopherol levels, and Mn‐superoxide dismutase activity. Impairments in mitochondrial antioxidant status were invariably associated with increases in mitochondria‐driven reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in tissue homogenates, as well as decreased mitochondrial ATP‐generation capacities (ATP‐GCs), in all tested tissues. Diet supplementation with Sch B ameliorated impairment in mitochondrial antioxidant status during aging. The effects were more pronounced in younger than in older mice, when compared to age‐matched non‐supplemented controls. Sch B supplementation also suppressed mitochondria‐driven ROS production and enhanced mitochondrial ATP‐GC in various tissues during aging. The beneficial effects of Sch B supplementation on mitochondrial antioxidant status and functional ability were paralleled by survival improvement in aging male mice, when compared with controls. Sch B supplementation also improved the survival in female mice. In conclusion, long‐term Sch B supplementation mitigated age‐dependent impairments in mitochondrial antioxidant capacity and functional ability, thereby retarding the aging process in mice, particularly during early aging.
Impact of Interprofessional Education on Collaboration Attitudes, Skills, and Behavior Among Primary Care Professionals

Introduction: Care for the frail elderly is often provided by several professionals. Collaboration between them is essential, but remains difficult to achieve. Interprofessional education (IPE) can improve this collaboration. We developed a 9‐hour IPE program for primary care professionals from 7 disciplines caring for the frail elderly, and aimed to establish whether the program improved professionals' interprofessional attitudes and attitudes toward collaboration, collaboration skills, and collaborative behavior. We also evaluated learners' reactions to the program. Methods: Before‐after study, using the Interprofessional Attitudes Questionnaire (IAQ, score: 1 to 7); Attitudes Toward Health Care Teams Scale (ATHCTS, score: 0 to 105); and Team Skills Scale (TSS, score:17 to 85). Additionally, semistructured interviews were conducted with 10 selected participants. Results: Participants' (N = 80) overall interprofessional attitudes improved (IAQ baseline: 5.49; follow‐up: 5.67, p = 0.001); attitudes toward geriatric teams did not change (ATHCTS baseline: 69.9; follow‐up: 69.1, p = 0.32). Participants' self‐reported team skills improved (TSS baseline: 45.7; follow‐up: 48.1, p = 0.001). In the interviews, many interviewees reported increased collaboration with professionals of other disciplines due to the program. Interviewees considered the program's interprofessional nature and attending the program with local professionals important contributing factors to the experienced improvements in collaboration. However, they also noted that not all parts of the program had met the needs of all participating disciplines, due to differences in professional background and knowledge. Discussion: A brief IPE program can improve interprofessional attitudes, collaboration skills, and collaborative behavior. That such a program allows professionals to get acquainted with each other and each other's viewpoints appears to be as important as the educational content.
Contrast-Based 3D/2D Registration of the Left Atrium: Fast versus Consistent

For augmented fluoroscopy during cardiac ablation, a preoperatively acquired 3D model of a patient's left atrium (LA) can be registered to X-ray images recorded during a contrast agent (CA) injection. An automatic registration method that works also for small amounts of CA is desired. We propose two similarity measures: The first focuses on edges of the patient anatomy. The second computes a contrast agent distribution estimate (CADE) inside the 3D model and rates its consistency with the CA as seen in biplane fluoroscopic images. Moreover, temporal filtering on the obtained registration results of a sequence is applied using a Markov chain framework. Evaluation was performed on 11 well-contrasted clinical angiographic sequences and 10 additional sequences with less CA. For well-contrasted sequences, the error for all 73 frames was 7.9 ± 6.3 mm and it dropped to 4.6 ± 4.0 mm when registering to an automatically selected, well enhanced frame in each sequence. Temporal filtering reduced the error for all frames from 7.9 ± 6.3 mm to 5.7 ± 4.6 mm. The error was typically higher if less CA was used. A combination of both similarity measures outperforms a previously proposed similarity measure. The mean accuracy for well contrasted sequences is in the range of other proposed manual registration methods.
Probabilistic detection of volcanic ash using a Bayesian approach

Airborne volcanic ash can pose a hazard to aviation, agriculture, and both human and animal health. It is therefore important that ash clouds are monitored both day and night, even when they travel far from their source. Infrared satellite data provide perhaps the only means of doing this, and since the hugely expensive ash crisis that followed the 2010 Eyjafjalljökull eruption, much research has been carried out into techniques for discriminating ash in such data and for deriving key properties. Such techniques are generally specific to data from particular sensors, and most approaches result in a binary classification of pixels into “ash” and “ash free” classes with no indication of the classification certainty for individual pixels. Furthermore, almost all operational methods rely on expert‐set thresholds to determine what constitutes “ash” and can therefore be criticized for being subjective and dependent on expertise that may not remain with an institution. Very few existing methods exploit available contemporaneous atmospheric data to inform the detection, despite the sensitivity of most techniques to atmospheric parameters. The Bayesian method proposed here does exploit such data and gives a probabilistic, physically based classification. We provide an example of the method's implementation for a scene containing both land and sea observations, and a large area of desert dust (often misidentified as ash by other methods). The technique has already been successfully applied to other detection problems in remote sensing, and this work shows that it will be a useful and effective tool for ash detection.
A Novel Live-Attenuated Vaccine Candidate for Mayaro Fever

Mayaro virus (MAYV) is an emerging, mosquito-borne alphavirus that causes a dengue-like illness in many regions of South America, and which has the potential to urbanize. Because no specific treatment or vaccine is available for MAYV infection, we capitalized on an IRES-based approach to develop a live-attenuated MAYV vaccine candidate. Testing in infant, immunocompetent as well as interferon receptor-deficient mice demonstrated a high degree of attenuation, strong induction of neutralizing antibodies, and efficacy against lethal challenge. This vaccine strain was also unable to infect mosquito cells, a major safety feature for a live vaccine derived from a mosquito-borne virus. Further preclinical development of this vaccine candidate is warranted to protect against this important emerging disease.
The prevalence of family childhood adversities and their association with first onset of DSM-IV disorders in metropolitan China

Background The prevalence of family childhood adversities (FCAs) and their joint effects on the first onset of subsequent mental disorders throughout the life course are rarely examined, especially in Asian communities. Method Face-to-face household interviews of 5201 people aged 18–70 years in Beijing and Shanghai were conducted by a multi-stage household probability sampling method. The first onsets of four broad groups of mental disorders and six categories of FCAs were assessed using The World Mental Health Composite International Diagnostic Interview (WMH-CIDI). Joint effects of FCAs were analyzed by the best fitting of several competitive multivariate models. Results FCAs were highly prevalent and inter-correlated. Half of them were in a family-dysfunction cluster. The best-fitting model included each of six types of FCA (with family-dysfunction FCAs being the strongest predictors), number of family-dysfunction FCAs, and number of other FCAs. Family-dysfunction FCAs had a significant subadditive association with subsequent disorders. Little specificity was found for the effects of particular FCAs with particular disorders. Predictive effects of FCAs reached the highest in ages 13–24 compared to ages 4–12 and ⩾25. Estimates of population-attributable risk proportions indicated that all FCAs together explained 38.5% of all first-onset disorders. Conclusions Chinese children were exposed to a broad spectrum of inter-related FCAs, as found in Western countries. FCAs related to family dysfunction were especially associated with subsequent mental disorders. Biological and/or environmental factors that mediate these long-term effects should be studied in prospective research on broad groups of FCAs.