Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Relationship between Plasma Triglyceride Level and Severity of Hypertriglyceridemic Pancreatitis

Background Hypertriglyceridemia is the third most common cause of acute pancreatitis, but whether the level of triglyceride (TG) is related to severity of pancreatitis is unclear. Aim To evaluate the effect of TG level on the severity of hypertriglyceridemic pancreatitis (HTGP). Design Retrospective cohort study. Methods We reviewed the records of 144 patients with HTGP from 1999 to 2013 at Tri-Service General Hospital. Patients with possible etiology of pancreatitis, such as gallstones, those consuming alcohol or drugs, or those with infections were excluded. The classification of severity of pancreatitis was based on the revised Atlanta classification. We allocated the patients into high-TG and low-TG groups based on the optimal cut-off value (2648 mg/dL), which was derived from the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve between TG level and severity of HTGP. We then compared the clinical characteristics, pancreatitis severity, and mortality rates of the groups. Results There were 66 patients in the low-TG group and 78 patients in the high-TG group. There was no significant difference in the age, sex ratio, body mass index, and comorbidity between the 2 groups. The high-TG group had significantly higher levels of glucose (P = 0.022), total cholesterol (P = 0.002), and blood urea nitrogen (P = 0.037), and lower levels of sodium (P = 0.003) and bicarbonate (P = 0.002) than the low-TG group. The incidences of local complication (P = 0.002) and severe and moderate form of pancreatitis (P = 0.004) were significantly higher in the high-TG group than in the low-TG group. The mortality rate was higher in the high-TG group than in the low-TG group (P = 0.07). Conclusions Higher TG level in patients with HTGP may be associated with adverse prognosis, but randomized and prospective studies are needed in the future verify this relationship.
Diagnosis and Treatment of Vascular Air Embolism

Vascular air embolism is a potentially life-threatening event that is now encountered routinely in the operating room and other patient care areas. The circumstances under which physicians and nurses may encounter air embolism are no longer limited to neurosurgical procedures conducted in the “sitting position” and occur in such diverse areas as the interventional radiology suite or laparoscopic surgical center. Advances in monitoring devices coupled with an understanding of the pathophysiology of vascular air embolism will enable the physician to successfully manage these potentially challenging clinical scenarios. A comprehensive review of the etiology and diagnosis of vascular air embolism, including approaches to prevention and management based on experimental and clinical data, is presented. This compendium of information will permit the healthcare professional to rapidly assess the relative risk of vascular air embolism and implement monitoring and treatment strategies appropriate for the planned invasive procedure.
Fabrication of 2D protein microstructures and 3D polymer–protein hybrid microstructures by two-photon polymerization

Two-photon polymerization (TPP) offers the possibility of creating artificial cell scaffolds composed of micro- and nanostructures with spatial resolutions of less than 1 µm. For use in tissue engineering, the identification of a TPP-processable polymer that provides biocompatibility, biofunctionality and appropriate mechanical properties is a difficult task. ECM proteins such as collagen or fibronectin, which could mimic native tissues best, often lack the mechanical stability. Hence, by generating polymer–protein hybrid structures, the beneficial properties of proteins can be combined with the advantageous characteristics of polymers, such as sufficient mechanical stability. This study describes three steps toward facilitated application of TPP for biomaterial generation. (1) The efficiency of a low-cost ps-laser source is compared to a fs-laser source by testing several materials. A novel photoinitiator for polymerization with a ps-laser source is synthesized and proved to enable increased fabrication throughput. (2) The fabrication of 3D-microstructures with both systems and the fabrication of polymer–protein hybrid structures are demonstrated. (3) The tissue engineering capabilities of TPP are demonstrated by creating cross-linked gelatin microstructures, which clearly forced porcine chondrocytes to adapt their cell morphology.
Flagellum elongation is required for correct structure, orientation and function of the flagellar pocket in Trypanosoma brucei

In trypanosomes, the flagellum is rooted in the flagellar pocket, a surface micro-domain that is the sole site for endocytosis and exocytosis. By analysis of anterograde or retrograde intraflagellar transport in IFT88RNAi or IFT140RNAi mutant cells, we show that elongation of the new flagellum is not required for flagellar pocket formation but is essential for its organisation, orientation and function. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the flagellar pocket exhibited a modified shape (smaller, distorted and/or deeper) in cells with abnormally short or no flagella. Scanning electron microscopy analysis of intact and detergent-extracted cells demonstrated that the orientation of the flagellar pocket collar was more variable in trypanosomes with short flagella. The structural protein BILBO1 was present but its localisation and abundance was altered. The membrane flagellar pocket protein CRAM leaked out of the pocket and reached the short flagella. CRAM also accumulated in intracellular compartments, indicating defects in routing of resident flagellar pocket proteins. Perturbations of vesicular trafficking were obvious; vesicles were observed in the lumen of the flagellar pocket or in the short flagella, and fluid-phase endocytosis was drastically diminished in non-flagellated cells. We propose a model to explain the role of flagellum elongation in correct flagellar pocket organisation and function.
Folate Activity in Reticulocytes and the Incorporation of Tritiated Pteroylglutamic Acid into Red Cells

Summary. Reticulocytes produced by repeated phenylhydrazine injections in rabbits and rats showed markedly increased folate activity as compared with that of mature red cells. Reticulocytes incorporated larger amounts of tritiated pteroylglutamic acid than mature red cells of rabbits, rats, and of one human subject. Marked quantitative differences were observed between the ability of the red cells of these three species to take up folate.
Bending Test For Liquefied Stabilized Soil With Steel Rebar

Thrust force is generated at pipeline bends due to internal pressure. The thrust forces can induce joint separations of the pipelines. In Case of high internal pressure, effective methods for thrust restraint are required. Methods for thrust restraint using liquefied stabilized soil reinforced with geosynthetics are proposed in this paper. The behavior of the bens backfilled with liquefied stabilized soil is not cleared. We expect that the liquefied stabilized soil is an effective backfill material against the thrust force. In addition, the geosynthetics contributes to restrain the failure of the liquefied stabilized soil. In this paper, bending tests of the liquefied stabilized soil in order to verify the effect of the proposed methods for thrust restraint are discussed. The liquefied stabilized specimen was cured for 7 days in a mold having a length of 1000 mm, a width of 150 mm, and a depth of 150 mm. The geosynthetics were changed in various ways. After cured, the bending tests were carried out. The liquefied stabilized specimen was vertically loaded at 1 mm/min, using a jack to simulate the thrust force. The load and the vertical displacement of the loading plate were both measured. The results show that the bending stiffness in case using the liquefied stabilized soil with geosynthetics was increased. It is verified that the proposed method is extremely effective against thrust restraint.
CD4 T Cell Cytokine Differentiation: The B Cell Activation Molecule, OX40 Ligand, Instructs CD4 T Cells to Express Interleukin 4 and Upregulates Expression of the Chemokine Receptor, Blr-1

This report investigates the role of OX40 ligand (OX40L) and its receptor, OX40, expressed on activated B and T cells, respectively, in promoting the differentiation of T helper type 2 (Th2) CD4 T cells. These molecules are expressed in vivo by day 2 after priming with T cell– dependent antigens. Their expression coincides with the appearance of immunoglobulin (Ig)G switch transcripts and mRNA for interleukin (IL)-4 and interferon (IFN)-γ, suggesting that this molecular interaction plays a role in early cognate interactions between B and T cells. In vitro, we report that costimulation of naive, CD62Lhigh CD4 T cells through OX40 promotes IL-4 expression and upregulates mRNA for the chemokine receptor, blr-1, whose ligand is expressed in B follicles and attracts lymphocytes to this location. Furthermore, T cell stimulation through OX40 inhibits IFN-γ expression in both CD8 T cells and IL-12–stimulated CD4 T cells. Although this signal initiates IL-4 expression, IL-4 itself is strongly synergistic. Our data suggest that OX40L on antigen-activated B cells instructs naive T cells to differentiate into Th2 cells and migrate into B follicles, where T cell–dependent germinal centers develop.
Painterly rendering techniques: a state‐of‐the‐art review of current approaches

In this publication we will look at the different methods presented over the past few decades which attempt to recreate digital paintings. While previous surveys concentrate on the broader subject of non‐photorealistic rendering, the focus of this paper is firmly placed on painterly rendering techniques. We compare different methods used to produce different output painting styles such as abstract, colour pencil, watercolour, oriental, oil and pastel. Whereas some methods demand a high level of interaction using a skilled artist, others require simple parameters provided by a user with little or no artistic experience. Many methods attempt to provide more automation with the use of varying forms of reference data. This reference data can range from still photographs, video, 3D polygonal meshes or even 3D point clouds. The techniques presented here endeavour to provide tools and styles that are not traditionally available to an artist. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Interval Neutrosophic Muirhead mean Operators and Their Application in Multiple Attribute Group Decision Making

In recent years, neutrosophic sets (NSs) have attracted widespread attentions and been widely applied to multiple attribute decision-making (MADM). The interval neutrosophic set (INS) is an extension of NS, in which the truth-membership, indeterminacy-membership and falsity-membership degree are expressed by interval values, respectively. Obviously, INS can conveniently describe complex information.
High performance scalable image compression with EBCOT

A new image compression algorithm is proposed, based on independent embedded block coding with optimized truncation of the embedded bit-streams (EBCOT). The algorithm exhibits state-of-the-art compression performance while producing a bit-stream with a rich feature set, including resolution and SNR scalability together with a random access property. The algorithm has modest complexity and is extremely well suited to applications involving remote browsing of large compressed images. The algorithm lends itself to explicit optimization with respect to MSE as well as more realistic psychovisual metrics, capable of modeling the spatially varying visual masking phenomenon.
The Effects of Rest Interval Length on Ratings of Perceived Exertion During Dynamic Knee Extension Exercise

&NA; Woods, S. , T. Bridge, D. Nelson, K. Risse, and D.M. Pincivero. The effects of rest interval length on ratings of perceived exertion during dynamic knee extension exercise. J. Strength Cond. Res. 18(3):540–545. 2004. —The objective of this study was to examine the effects of rest interval length on perceived exertion and during 3 sets of 10 inertial knee extension repetitions. Thirty healthy men (n = 15) and women (n = 15) volunteers were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups (1‐, 2‐, or 3‐minute rest interval length) following the establishment of each subject's 1 repetition maximum (1RM) for inertial knee extension exercise. Subjects in each group performed 3 sets of 10 repetitions at 70% of a theoretical 10RM (based on each subject's 1RM), with a 1‐, 2‐, or 3‐minute rest interval between each set. Perceived exertion was recorded, via the Borg category‐ratio scale, from each subject after each repetition of each set. The results demonstrated no significant rest interval length effect on perceived exertion across the 3 sets of 10 repetitions. The results revealed a significantly higher perceived exertion value following the first repetition in set 3 as compared to sets 2 and 1 in all groups. The increase in perceived exertion within each set, as described by the slope, was found to be significantly lowest in set 1, as compared to sets 2 and 3. The major findings of this study demonstrate that perceived exertion significantly increases in a similar manner across 3 sets of 10 knee extension repetitions, despite rest interval lengths of 1–3 minutes.
Using videotaped vignettes to teach medical students to perform the neurologic examination

To the Editor:—The article in the May issue entitled ‘‘Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Influenza Vaccination among Elderly Adults’’ described decreased immunization rates among Hispanic and non-Hispanic black patients. Rangel et al. used NHIS data to investigate factors impacting access to care and found that, even after controlling for access to care and socioeconomic factors, racial/ethnic disparities remained. The authors hypothesized that there may be attitudes and perceptions specific to African Americans, which affect their willingness to be vaccinated. A recent study done at our institution had very different results. Denver Health is a vertically and horizontally integrated system of an urban public hospital and 11 community health centers. We analyzed rates of immunization for pneumococcus and influenza among our patients who are 66 years of age and older and who are regular users of our system. Hispanic and African-American patients had rates of immunization equal to or higher than our Caucasian patients. This remained true after controlling for insurance status, medical comorbidities, age and site of greatest uses. Language was also not found to be a barrier for our monolingual Spanish-Speaking Hispanic patients. There are a few possible reasons that explain why ethnic minorities have equal rates of immunization when compared to Caucasians at Denver Health. Personnel who staff our community health centers are hired from within the communities, which access care at a particular clinic site. This leads to a great deal of racial concordance between staff and patients and establishes a sense of trust in the community with regards to the medical care the center offers. Many of our providers also speak Spanish and there is a significant amount of language concordance between the provider and their patients. All immunization data sheets are in both Spanish and English and interpreter services are readily available for those providers not proficient in Spanish. Furthermore, all providers and staff undergo cultural sensitivity training. Thus, while it is clear that racial disparities continue to exist in health care, additional efforts should be focused on analytical work that helps to understand those disparities and on the implementation of interventions to reduce them. —Alicia Appel, MD, and Philip S. Mehler, MD, Denver Health Medical Center, Denver, Colo, USA.
Anthropometric study of some craniofacial parameters : head circumference , nasal height , nasal width and nasal index of adult Omoku indigenes of Nigeria

The aim of this study is to document the mean head circumference; nasal height; nasal width and nasal index of adult Omoku from Ogba/ Egbema/ Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria and to provide a comprehensive data for use by anthropologists and medical practitioners. Craniofacial anthropometry is vital in making a precise and systematic measurement of human skull. A total of eight hundred (800) adults comprising 400 males and 400 females with age ranging from 18 years and above were used for this study. All the subjects were drawn from Omoku ethnic group in Rivers State. The results showed that the omoku male and female had mean head circumference of 55.72cm and 54.89 cm respectively, mean nasal height of 4.66cm and 4.36cm respectively, mean nasal width of 4.01cm and 3.93cm respectively and mean nasal indices of 86.09 and 90.16 respectively. The z-test analysis indicates a sexual dimorphism, with significantly higher values of all the parameters in males compared to the females (p<0.05). This study is therefore recommended to forensic anthropologists, craniofacial surgeons and medical practitioners and also serves as the basis for future studies on other Nigerian ethnic group.
Multidetector computed tomography and virtual bronchoscopy: Role in bronchial obstruction in children

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Observer-Based Consensus Tracking of Nonlinear Agents in Hybrid Varying Directed Topology

The problem of leader-following consensus of nonlinear agents in hybrid varying directed topology is considering not only the agent but also that the directed edges can have a time-varying nonlinear dynamics with jump discontinuity, which contains the switching topology as its special case. This paper has the following contributions toward this problem. The leader-following consensus problem in hybrid varying directed topology is first addressed, and an online leader switching method is proposed, which reduces the dependence on some global conditions and the connectivity assumptions on the selection of leaders. Second, we generalize the Lipschitz condition and the combined condition of one-sided Lipschitz and quadratically inner-boundedness conditions to a new generalized linear incremental condition, which gives us a more generalized result in the Lyapunov proof and better performance in simulation. Third, an observer-based consensus protocol is constructed with two sufficient observability and controllability conditions and two optimal control design algorithms. Finally, an example of teleoperating multirobotic manipulator joint network is provided to illustrate the performance improvement by comparing with the existing results.
Direct Imaging of Human SWI/SNF-Remodeled Mono- and Polynucleosomes by Atomic Force Microscopy Employing Carbon Nanotube Tips

ABSTRACT Chromatin-remodeling complexes alter chromatin structure to facilitate, or in some cases repress, gene expression. Recent studies have suggested two potential pathways by which such regulation might occur. In the first, the remodeling complex repositions nucleosomes along DNA to open or occlude regulatory sites. In the second, the remodeling complex creates an altered dimeric form of the nucleosome that has altered accessibility to transcription factors. The extent of translational repositioning, the structure of the remodeled dimer, and the presence of dimers on remodeled polynucleosomes have been difficult to gauge by biochemical assays. To address these questions, ultrahigh-resolution carbon nanotube tip atomic force microscopy was used to examine the products of remodeling reactions carried out by the human SWI/SNF (hSWI/SNF) complex. We found that mononucleosome remodeling by hSWI/SNF resulted in a dimer of mononucleosomes in which ∼60 bp of DNA is more weakly bound than in control nucleosomes. Arrays of evenly spaced nucleosomes that were positioned by 5S rRNA gene sequences were disorganized by hSWI/SNF, and this resulted in long stretches of bare DNA, as well as clusters of nucleosomes. The formation of structurally altered nucleosomes on the array is suggested by a significant increase in the fraction of closely abutting nucleosome pairs and by a general destabilization of nucleosomes on the array. These results suggest that both the repositioning and structural alteration of nucleosomes are important aspects of hSWI/SNF action on polynucleosomes.
Validation of the telephone and in-person interview versions of the 7-day PAR.

PURPOSE To validate the 7-d Physical Activity Recall (PAR) telephone interview version and its activity intensity categories. METHODS Seventy-four adults (47 women, 27 men), ranging in age (18-67) and activity levels, were interviewed by phone and in-person using the same PAR protocol. Each participant wore a TriTrac-R3D accelerometer for 10 d. Validity was assessed by comparing the phone and in-person PAR interviews with the TriTrac-R3D data. RESULTS Sixty-nine adults (44 women, 25 men) were used for all statistical analyses. Intraclass correlations between the two PAR interviews for total minutes per week of activity were r = 0.96, and r = 0.94 for moderate, r = 0.97 for hard, and r = 0.97 for very hard intensity activities. Pearson product moment correlations between the phone PAR and TriTrac-R3D for total minutes per week of physical activity were r = 0.43, and r = 0.31 for moderate, r = 0.39 for hard, and r = 0.78 for very hard intensity activities. Pearson correlations between the in-person PAR and TriTrac-R3D for total minutes per week of physical activity were r = 0.41, and r = 0.33 for moderate, r = 0.43 for hard, and r = 0.74 for very hard intensity activities. Participants overestimated the amount of physical activity in both interviews as compared with the TriTrac-R3D. CONCLUSION The phone and in-person versions of the PAR are equivalent measures for self-reported physical activity. Regardless of age, body mass index, or physical activity level both interview methods had similar estimates for total minutes per week of moderate, hard, and very hard activity. Correlations between each interview method and the TriTrac-R3D were lower for moderate and hard activities as compared with very hard activities.