Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Conjugate and 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide booster vaccination in asplenic patients with thalassemia major: A randomized clinical trial study

Background: Pneumococcal vaccine provides protection against invasive pneumococcal disease in population at risk. This study was conducted to compare the antibody response to 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine and 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine in patients with thalassemia major. Methods: A randomized cross-over clinical trial was performed on 50 asplenic patients with thalassemia major who referred to thalassemia center at Bouali Sina Hospital, Sari, Iran from 2013 to 2014. Patients were divided into two equal groups. The first group received 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) injected into the deltoid muscle at first and received 23-valent polysaccharide vaccine (PPV) by the same way two months later. The second group received PPV vaccine at first and PCV13 two months later. Levels of serum antibody were checked and measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) before vaccination, and then 8 weeks after the first injection and 2 months after the second injection in all patients. Each time 0.5-ml dose of the vaccine was injected. Results: Of the 50 patients, three cases were excluded due to lack of cooperation and avoidance of vaccination. From 47 patient participants, 28 (59.6%) were males and 19 (40.4%) were females with age ranged between 20 to 44 years (average age of 29.6±1.4 years). Pneumococcal IgG levels in a group that used PCV before PPV (Group A) increased from 114.5±87.7 to 1049±720 U/ml (p=0.0001) and in another group that used PPV before PCV (Group B) increased from 115±182.2 to 1497.3±920.3 U/ml (P=0.0001). Conclusion: It can be concluded that PCV vaccine before PPV can be more effective in asplenic thalassemia major patients as a booster dose.
THE ASSESSMENT OF RHEOLOGICAL QUALITIES WITH THE MIXOLAB OF DIFFERENT WHEAT FLOURS ENRICHED WITH THEIR BRAN

The increasement range of products with high dietary value of cereals, particularly bread, takes an important place in the contemporary bread making. Bread is basic food in the Balkan region and as such it can be used efficiently to reduce the deficit of some nutrients, especially of dietary fibers. Precisely wheat bran as a milling by-product is important for the nutritional values, since they contain dietary fibers, minerals, proteins with high nutritional value, etc. Taking in consideration these reasons the addition of wheat bran in bread production will increase the nutritional value of bread, but it will also influence the technological qualities of dough, especially the rheological qualities. From the obtained results with Mixolab, we can note that the water absorption increases with the increasing addition of wheat bran, as well as the dough stability increases too, but the mixture of wheat Novosadka rana 2 has much better quality than the others. The values of C1 and C2 are increasing with the wheat bran addition, while the values of C3, C4 and C5 are reducing with the addition of wheat bran.
Using magnetic resonance imaging to accurately assess injury to the posterior ligamentous complex of the spine: a prospective comparison of the surgeon and radiologist.

OBJECT Magnetic resonance imaging has been proposed as a powerful technique for assessing the integrity of the posterior ligamentous complex (PLC) in spinal trauma. Because MR imaging is often used to determine appropriate treatment, it is important to determine the accuracy and reliability of MR imaging in diagnosing PLC disruption. The purpose of this study is to compare the ability of the radiologist and surgeon to assess disruption of the PLC in the setting of acute cervical and thoracolumbar trauma using MR imaging. METHODS The components of the PLC in 89 consecutive patients with cervical or thoracolumbar fractures following acute spinal trauma were evaluated using MR imaging by both a musculoskeletal radiologist and an independent spine surgeon and assessed intraoperatively under direct visualization by the treating surgeon. The MR imaging interpretations of the musculoskeletal radiologist and surgeon were compared with the intraoperative report for accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values. A comparison between the radiologist's and spine surgeon's accuracy of MR imaging interpretation was performed. RESULTS The agreement between both the spine surgeon's and radiologist's MR imaging interpretation and the actual intraoperative findings was moderate for most components of the PLC. Overall, the MR imaging interpretation of the surgeon was more accurate than that of the radiologist. The interpretation of MR imaging by the surgeon had negative predictive value and sensitivity of up to 100%. However, the specificity of MR imaging for both the surgeon and radiologist was lower, ranging from 51.5 to 80.5%. CONCLUSIONS Comparison of the MR imaging interpretations between surgeon and radiologist indicates that the surgeon was more accurate for some PLC components. The relatively low positive predictive value and specificity for MR imaging in assessing PLC integrity suggests that both the surgeon and radiologist tend to overdiagnose PLC injury using MR imaging. This can lead to unnecessary surgeries if only MR imaging is used for treatment decision making.
Neandertal cold adaptation: Physiological and energetic factors

European Neandertals employed a complex set of physiological cold defenses, homologous to those seen in contemporary humans and nonhuman primates. While Neandertal morphological patterns, such as foreshortened extremities and low relative surface‐area, may have explained some of the variance in cold resistance, it is suggested the adaptive package was strongly dependent on a rich array of physiological defenses. A summary of the environmental cold conditions in which the Neandertals lived is presented, and a comparative ethnographic model from Tierra del Fuego is used. Muscle and subcutaneous fat are excellent “passive” insulators. Neandertals were quite muscular, but it is unlikely that they could maintain enough superficial body fat to offer much cold protection. A major, high‐energy metabolic adaptation facilitated by modest amounts of highly thermogenic brown adipose tissue (BAT) is proposed. In addition, Neandertals would have been protected by general mammalian cold defenses based on systemic vasoconstriction and intensified by acclimatization, aerobic fitness, and localized cold‐induced vasodilation. However, these defenses are energetically expensive. Based on contemporary data from circumpolar peoples, it is estimated that Neandertals required 3,360 to 4,480 kcal per day to support strenuous winter foraging and cold resistance costs. Several specific genetic cold adaptations are also proposed—heat shock protein (actually, stress shock protein), an ACP*1 locus somatic growth factor, and a specialized calcium metabolism not as yet understood. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 14:566–583, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Monitoring tissue oxygen availability with near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in health and disease

Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is becoming a widely used research instrument to measure tissue oxygen (O2) status non‐invasively. Continuous‐wave spectrometers are the most commonly used devices, which provide semi‐quantitative changes in oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin in small blood vessels (arterioles, capillaries and venules). Refinement of NIRS hardware and the algorithms used to deconvolute the light absorption signal have improved the resolution and validity of cytochrome oxidase measurements. NIRS has been applied to measure oxygenation in a variety of tissues including muscle, brain and connective tissue, and more recently it has been used in the clinical setting to assess circulatory and metabolic abnormalities. Quantitative measures of blood flow are also possible using NIRS and a light‐absorbing tracer, which can be applied to evaluate circulatory responses to exercise along with the assessment of tissue O2 saturation. The venular O2 saturation can be estimated with NIRS by applying venous occlusion and measuring changes in oxygenated vs. total hemoglobin. These various measurements provide the opportunity to evaluate several important metabolic and circulatory patterns in very localized regions of tissue and may be fruitful in the study of occupational syndromes and a variety of diseases.
A concept for QoS integration in Web services

With the growing popularity of Web services, a general QoS support for Web services plays an important role for the success of this emerging technology. Unfortunately, current Web service environments do not offer comprehensive QoS support. In this paper, we present an approach that does not only enable the QoS integration in Web services, but also the selection of appropriate services based on QoS requirements regarding server and network performance. Furthermore, we present how application requirements regarding communication QoS are mapped onto the underlying QoS aware network at runtime, as well as how users can obtain real-time information about server performance in order to monitor the accomplishment of assured services, giving the user an instant QoS feedback.
Effects of the genotoxic compounds, benzo[a]pyrene and cyclophosphamide on phase 1 and 2 activities in EpiDerm™ models

The micronucleus assay in the 3D human reconstructed EpiDerm™ skin model (RSMN) is a promising new assay for evaluating genotoxicity of dermally applied chemicals. To complement the testing of metabolically activated chemicals, such as cyclophosphamide (CPA) and benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), we measured phase 1 (ethoxyresorufin O-deethylation (EROD) and testosterone metabolism) and 2 activities (UGTs and GSTs) in non-treated and genotoxin treated EpiDerm™ models in a study design which mimics the RSMN assay. The assay involved a three-dose dosing regimen over 72 h to take into account effects e.g. enzyme induction, which requires longer than the standard 2 dose 48-h assay. These studies demonstrated the presence of basal phase 1 and 2 activities of EpiDerm™ models. With the exception of GST, all of the activities measured did not reproducibly change over time. It was possible to measure enzyme induction using this assay design. EROD activity was significantly induced by B[a]P but not by CPA. CPA and B[a]P had little or no reproducible effects on GST and UGT activities. In conclusion, a number of metabolic enzyme activities were present in the EpiDerm™ skin model and at least the CYP1 family was inducible.
Cell‐cycle deregulation in BALB/c 3T3 cells transformed by 1,2‐dibromoethane and folpet pesticides

The cell‐transforming potential of 1,2‐dibromoethane and folpet, two widely used agricultural pesticides that are potential sources of environmental pollution, has been previously ascribed to their promoting activity. In this study, we investigated whether BALB/c 3T3 transformation by these chemicals was associated with the deregulation of signals involved in cell‐cycle progression and in cell‐cycle checkpoint induction. We found that two BALB/c 3T3 cell clones transformed by in vitro medium‐term (8‐week) exposure to the carcinogens had a constitutive acceleration of cell transition from G1 to S phase and an abrogation of the radiation‐induced G1/S checkpoint. These events involved multiple signals; in particular, the inhibitors of cyclin/cyclin‐dependent kinase complexes p21 and p27 were significantly down‐modulated and the positive regulators of cell‐cycle progression cyclin D3 and E were up‐modulated. As anticipated for cells where the G1/S checkpoint was abrogated, the transformed cells exhibited a significant reinforcement of the radiation‐induced G2/M checkpoint, the only checkpoint remaining to protect genomic integrity. However, cyclin A1 and B1 coexpression and cyclin A1 overexpression were found despite the G2 arrest in irradiated cells and these signals likely attenuate the G2/M checkpoint. These alterations to normal cell cycling may promote the emergence of both numerical and structural chromosomal abnormalities and their tolerance. Such a condition could play a key role in neoplastic transformation and be crucial in tumor progression. Furthermore, cyclin A1 overexpression may play an autonomous role in the neoplastic transformation of BALB/c 3T3 cells, as it does in other cell types of mesenchymal origin. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 41:315–321, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the European Heart Failure Self-Care Behavior Scale for Brazilian Portuguese.

OBJECTIVE To adapt and validate a Brazilian Portuguese version of the European Heart Failure Self-Care Behavior Scale. METHODS The cross-cultural adaptation (translation, synthesis, back-translation, expert committee review, and pretesting) and validation (assessment of face validity, content validity, and internal consistency reliability) were carried out in accordance with the literature. The European Heart Failure Self-Care Behavior Scale assesses key components of self-care: recognition of the signs and symptoms of decompensated heart failure (HF) and decision-making when these signs and symptoms arise. It comprises 12 items (range 12-60, where lower scores indicate better self-care). RESULTS The sample comprised 124 HF patients with a mean age of 62.3 ± 12 years. The Cronbach's Alpha internal consistency was 0.70 and the intraclass correlation coefficient for reproducibility was 0.87. CONCLUSION Face and content validity, internal consistency and reproducibility have lended validity and reliability for the use of the instrument in Brazil.
Should Patients With Frozen Shoulder Be Screened for Diabetes Mellitus?

Background: Idiopathic frozen shoulder (nontraumatic) is commonly encountered in patients between the ages of 35 and 60 years in general orthopaedic practice. While the prevalence of frozen shoulder among the general population is estimated to be between 2% and 4%, a significantly higher prevalence of 10% to 22% has been reported in patients with diabetes mellitus. Since diabetic patients are more prone to develop frozen shoulder than nondiabetics, the question arises as to whether patients diagnosed as having idiopathic frozen shoulder are at greater risk to develop diabetes mellitus and should be routinely screened for this condition. Purpose: To compare the prevalence of diabetes mellitus and prediabetes among patients diagnosed with idiopathic frozen shoulder who are not known to have either diabetes mellitus or prediabetic conditions with that of an age-matched group from the general population. Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: Patients at a shoulder clinic with a diagnosis of idiopathic frozen shoulder were asked to participate in the study if they were aged between 35 to 60 years and had no known previous diagnosis of diabetes mellitus or prediabetic conditions. These patients underwent a 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test. According to their fasting and 2-hour plasma glucose levels, patients were diagnosed as normal glucose tolerance, prediabetic, or diabetic. Findings were matched with the prevalence in an age-matched general population. Results: Fifty patients completed the test. Four patients with idiopathic frozen shoulder (8%) were found to be prediabetic. No patient was found to be diabetic. All 4 patients reported a history of diabetes in their parents or siblings. Conclusion: Patients diagnosed with idiopathic frozen shoulder who are 60 years or younger and are not known diabetics have a similar probability of having diabetes or prediabetes to an age-matched population. No routine diabetic workup is warranted specifically for these patients.
Overview of ResPubliQA 2010: Question Answering Evaluation over European Legislation

This paper describes the second round of ResPubliQA, a Question Answering (QA) evaluation task over European legislation, a LAB of CLEF 2010. Two tasks have been proposed this year: Paragraph Selection (PS) and Answer Selection (AS). The PS task consisted of extracting a relevant paragraph of text that satisfies completely the information need expressed by a natural language question. In the AS task, the exercise was to demarcate the shorter string of text corresponding to the exact answer supported by the entire paragraph. The general aims of this exercise are (i) to move towards a domain of potential users; (ii) to propose a setting which allows the direct comparison of performance across languages; (iii) to allow QA technologies to be evaluated against IR approaches; (iv) to promote validation technologies to reduce the amount of incorrect answers by leaving some questions unanswered. These goals are achieved through the use of parallel aligned document collections (JRC-Acquis and EUROPARL) and the possibility to return two different types of answers, either passages or exact strings. The paper describes the task in more detail, presenting the different types of questions, the methodology for the creation of the test sets and the evaluation measure, and analyzing the results obtained by systems and the more successful approaches. Thirteen groups participated in both PS and AS tasks submitting 49 runs in total.
VPS27 controls vacuolar and endocytic traffic through a prevacuolar compartment in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Newly synthesized vacuolar hydrolases such as carboxypeptidase Y (CPY) are sorted from the secretory pathway in the late-Golgi compartment and reach the vacuole after a distinct set of membrane-trafficking steps. Endocytosed proteins are also delivered to the vacuole. It has been proposed that these pathways converge at a "prevacuolar" step before delivery to the vacuole. One group of genes has been described that appears to control both of these pathways. Cells carrying mutations in any one of the class E VPS (vacuolar protein sorting) genes accumulate vacuolar, Golgi, and endocytosed proteins in a novel compartment adjacent to the vacuole termed the "class E" compartment, which may represent an exaggerated version of the physiological prevacuolar compartment. We have characterized one of the class E VPS genes, VPS27, in detail to address this question. Using a temperature-sensitive allele of VPS27, we find that upon rapid inactivation of Vps27p function, the Golgi protein Vps10p (the CPY-sorting receptor) and endocytosed Ste3p rapidly accumulate in a class E compartment. Upon restoration of Vps27p function, the Vps10p that had accumulated in the class E compartment could return to the Golgi apparatus and restore correct sorting of CPY. Likewise, Ste3p that had accumulated in the class E compartment en route to the vacuole could progress to the vacuole upon restoration of Vps27p function indicating that the class E compartment can act as a functional intermediate. Because both recycling Golgi proteins and endocytosed proteins rapidly accumulate in a class E compartment upon inactivation of Vps27p, we propose that Vps27p controls membrane traffic through the prevacuolar/endosomal compartment in wild-type cells.
Laboratory and Field Testing of an Automated Atmospheric Particle-Bound Reactive Oxygen Species Sampling-Analysis System

In this study, various laboratory and field tests were performed to develop an effective automated particle-bound ROS sampling-analysis system. The system uses 2′ 7′-dichlorofluorescin (DCFH) fluorescence method as a nonspecific, general indicator of the particle-bound ROS. A sharp-cut cyclone and a particle-into-liquid sampler (PILS) were used to collect PM2.5 atmospheric particles into slurry produced by a DCFH-HRP solution. The laboratory results show that the DCFH and H2O2 standard solutions could be kept at room temperature for at least three and eight days, respectively. The field test in Rochester, NY, shows that the average ROS concentration was 8.3 ± 2.2 nmol of equivalent H2O2 m−3 of air. The ROS concentrations were observed to be greater after foggy conditions. This study demonstrates the first practical automated sampling-analysis system to measure this ambient particle component.
Seroprotection status of hepatitis B and measles vaccines in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus

Abstract Background: Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is speculated to have an impaired immunological response to vaccines. This paper aimed to investigate the presence of specific antibodies against hepatitis B virus (HBV) and measles in diabetic children who had been immunized according to the standard national calendar of immunization. Methods: Two hundred and one diabetic children and 140 healthy controls were prospectively evaluated. Antibodies against hepatitis B (anti-HBs) and measles were detected in all individuals who completed the vaccination schedule. We noted onset of T1DM, duration of the disease, diabetes-related autoantibodies and mean HbA1c levels. Results: Some 72.6% of diabetics and 82.1% of controls had anti-HBs (+) (p=0.04). We found a reduced efficacy of measles vaccination in anti-HBs (–) diabetic children (p=0.009), even though there was no significant difference between the study and control groups. Onset of the disease was earlier in anti-HBs (–) diabetics than in controls (p=0.038). No difference with respect to other parameters was found. Conclusions: Our data showed a reduced seroprotection rate for HBV vaccination in diabetic children and for measles with anti-HBs (–) diabetics. Larger studies should be encouraged to confirm the vaccine efficacy in diabetic children and to elucidate possible pathogenic mechanisms.
Power‐Bounded Operators and Related Norm Estimates

It is considered whether L=limsupn→∞n‖Tn+1−Tn‖<∞ implies that the operator T is power‐bounded. It is shown that this is so if L<1/e, but it does not necessarily hold if L=1/e. As part of the methods, a result of Esterle is improved, showing that if σ(T)={1} and T{≠}I, then liminfn→∞n‖Tn+1−Tn‖⩾1/e. The constant 1/e is sharp. Finally, a way to create many generalizations of Esterle's result is described, and also many conditions are given on an operator which imply that its norm is equal to its spectral radius.
Effect of galvanic corrosion on durability of aluminium/steel self-piercing rivet joints

Galvanic corrosion of steel/aluminium hybrid joints, obtained by self-piercing riveting technique, was investigated. Potentiodynamic polarisation tests, performed in 3·5 wt-% NaCl solution, evidenced the anodic and cathodic behaviour of metal constituent of the joints. Furthermore, long term aging tests were performed to evaluate the relationship among failure mechanism, joint configuration and corrosion damage in salt spray environment. The experimental results evidenced that the degradation phenomena influenced significantly performances and failure mechanisms of the joints, inducing premature failure of the joint at lower stress level at increasing aging time. Furthermore a theoretical model was proposed to forecast failure modes. Based on this model a simplified map of failure mechanisms promoted by corrosion phenomena has been drawn.