Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of a major structural change to the intensive care unit on the quality and outcome after intensive care

Background: Changes in structure may affect outcome after intensive care in various ways. Both closed (as opposed to open) units and the number of nurses have been shown to affect outcome. Objective: To study the effects of temporarily moving an intensive care unit (ICU) on various indicators of outcome and quality of care. Methods: Because of rebuilding, over a period of 8 months our ICU was moved to an adjacent postoperative area. The 12 month periods immediately before and after the rebuilding were chosen as reference periods. Routinely collected data such as length of stay, ventilator time, readmission rate, severity score (SAPS II), and observed mortality were used for comparison. Results: Using variable life adjusted display (VLAD), an increase in hospital mortality was observed during the 8 month rebuilding period. This was also found using Kaplan-Meier estimates of survival and standardised mortality ratio. Conclusion: Structural change to our ICU was probably the major cause for the observed change in mortality.
Performance of A Two-Dimensional Hydraulic Model for the Evaluation of Stranding Areas and Characterization of Rapid Fluctuations in Hydropeaking Rivers

Extreme, short-duration fluctuations caused by hydropeaking occurs when hydropower is regulated to cover demand peaks in the electricity market. Such rapid dewatering processes may have a high impact on the downstream biological conditions, particularly related to stranding of fish and other species. The present work analyzes these fluctuations using a two-dimensional unsteady hydraulic modelling approach for quantification of two important hydro-morphological factors on fish stranding risk: the variation in wetted area and the dewatering ramping rate. This approach was applied on the two-kilometer-long reach of Storåne downstream of the Hol 1 power plant, where topo bathymetric LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data was available providing a high-resolution digital elevation model. Based on this model, hydraulic conditions could be simulated in high detail allowing for an accurate assessment of the hydro morphological factors. Results show the dried area distribution at different flows and dewatering ramping rates. The attenuation of the water level fluctuation due to the damping effect along the river reach controls the dewatering rate. We recommend an alternative scenario operation which can reduce the impact of the peaking operation and estimate the operational mitigation cost. We find that the modelling based on the fine resolution grid provides new opportunities in assessing effects of hydropower regulations on the ecosystem.
Can Naphthalene Exposure Stress Alter Brain Biogenic Amine Levels Before and during Vitellogenesis in Liza klunzingeri Fish

In this study, effects of naphthalene (NAP) exposure on plasma levels of 17-β estradiol and concentrations of neurotransmitters in different brain regions of female Klunzinger's mullet, at the previtellogenic and vitellogenic stages were examined. Studied neurotransmitters were noradrenalin (NA), serotonin (5-HT), dopamine (DA), and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) and 5-hydroxy-3-indoleacetic acid (5HIAA). In the short- term stress experiment, fish were i.p. injected with 2 μl/g vegetable oil alone (control) or oil containing NAP (50 mg/kg body weight). To study the long-term effect of NAP an amount of (50 mg/kg NAP +10 μl/g coconut oil) as i.p. implant and 10 μl/g coconut oil alone for control group. After long-term exposure, 17-β estradiol level in the plasma decreased in both stages fish. Monoamines analyses showed changes induced by NAP which depended upon the type of neurotransmitter and exhibited a marked brain regional selectivity. According to the results, NAP had more disturbing effects at the previtellogenic than the vitellogenic stages. Serotonergic system responded to the NAP exposure rapidly whereas dopaminergic system changed during the chronic naphthalene stress. The mentioned disturbing effects of naphthalene on the brain monoaminergic systems may cause some endocrine disruptions especially in the hypothalamus-pituitarygonad axis and finally affect the vitellogenesis process and final oocyte maturation. Reduction in the plasma levels of 17-β estradiol during the naphthalene exposure probably are related biological feedbacks of neurotransmitters on the pituitary.
Cut-it-out technique for ocular fish-hook injury

An 11-year-old boy was involved in an injury with a fish-hook to his eye. The hook had impaled itself to the cornea and deeper structures. There was associated corneal edema and hyphema, making visualization difficult. In this case, we performed the unusual “cut-it-out” technique to remove the hook from the eye.
sTREM2 cerebrospinal fluid levels are a potential biomarker for microglia activity in early‐stage Alzheimer's disease and associate with neuronal injury markers

TREM2 is an innate immune receptor expressed on the surface of microglia. Loss‐of‐function mutations of TREM2 are associated with increased risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD). TREM2 is a type‐1 protein with an ectodomain that is proteolytically cleaved and released into the extracellular space as a soluble variant (sTREM2), which can be measured in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). In this cross‐sectional multicenter study, we investigated whether CSF levels of sTREM2 are changed during the clinical course of AD, and in cognitively normal individuals with suspected non‐AD pathology (SNAP). CSF sTREM2 levels were higher in mild cognitive impairment due to AD than in all other AD groups and controls. SNAP individuals also had significantly increased CSF sTREM2 compared to controls. Moreover, increased CSF sTREM2 levels were associated with higher CSF total tau and phospho‐tau181P, which are markers of neuronal degeneration and tau pathology. Our data demonstrate that CSF sTREM2 levels are increased in the early symptomatic phase of AD, probably reflecting a corresponding change of the microglia activation status in response to neuronal degeneration.
Equatorial Ionospheric Response to Different Estimated Disturbed Electric Fields as Investigated Using Sheffield University Plasmasphere Ionosphere Model at INPE

Good ionospheric modeling is important to understand anomalous effects, mainly during geomagnetic storm events. Ionospheric electric fields, thermospheric winds, and neutral composition are affected at different degrees, depending on the intensity of the magnetic disturbance which, in turns, affects the electron density distribution at all latitudes. The most important disturbed parameter for the equatorial ionosphere is the electric field, which is responsible for the equatorial ionization anomaly. Here various electric field measurements and models are analyzed: (1) measured by the Jicamarca incoherent scatter radar (ISR), (2) from Jicamarca Unattended Long‐Term studies of the Ionosphere and Atmosphere (JULIA) radar, (3) deduced from magnetometers, (4) calculated from the time variations of the F layer height (dh′F/dt), and (5) deduced from interplanetary electric field determinations. The response of ionospheric parameters foF2 and hmF2 to the electric fields simulated using the Sheffield University Plasmasphere Ionosphere Model version available at Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais is compared with observations for two locations, during the geomagnetic storm events of 17–18 April 2002 and 7–10 November 2004. Results are found to be consistent with the observations in such a way that a hierarchy among the different types of drifts used can be established. When no ISR measurements are available, the drifts deduced from magnetometers or measured by the JULIA are best when including the contribution derived from dh′F/dt for the 18–24 LT time interval. However, when none of these drifts are available, drifts inferred from the interplanetary electric field seem to be a good alternative for some purposes.
Markers of oxidative stress in erythrocytes and plasma during aging in humans

Aging is an inevitable universal biological process, which can be characterized by a general decline in physiological function with the accumulation of diverse adverse changes and increased probability of death. Among several theories, oxidative stress/free radical theory offers the best mechanistic elucidation of the aging process and other age-related phenomenon. In the present paper, we discuss the aging process and have focused on the importance of some reliable markers of oxidative stress which may be used as biomarkers of the aging process.
Nonlinear Lévy Processes and their Characteristics

We develop a general construction for nonlinear Levy processes with given characteristics. More precisely, given a set of Levy triplets, we construct a sublinear expectation on Skorohod space under which the canonical process has stationary independent increments and a nonlinear generator corresponding to the supremum of all generators of classical Levy processes with triplets in . The nonlinear Levy process yields a tractable model for Knightian uncertainty about the distribution of jumps for which expectations of Markovian functionals can be calculated by means of a partial integro-dierenti al equation.
A novel screening method to assess developability of antibody-like molecules

Monoclonal antibodies and antibody-like molecules represent a fast-growing class of bio-therapeutics that has rapidly transformed patient care in a variety of disease indications. The discovery of antibodies that bind to particular targets with high affinity is now a routine exercise and a variety of in vitro and in vivo techniques are available for this purpose. However, it is still challenging to identify antibodies that, in addition to having the desired biological effect, also express well, remain soluble at different pH levels, remain stable at high concentrations, can withstand high shear stress, and have minimal non-specific interactions. Many promising antibody programs have ultimately failed in development due to the problems associated with one of these factors. Here, we present a simple high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-based screening method to assess these developability factors earlier in discovery process. This method is robust and requires only microgram quantities of proteins. Briefly, we show that for antibodies injected on a commercially available pre-packed Zenix HPLC column, the retention times are inversely related to their colloidal stability with antibodies prone to precipitation or aggregation retained longer on the column with broader peaks. By simply varying the salt content of running buffer, we were also able to estimate the nature of interactions between the antibodies and the column. We believe this approach should generally be applicable to assessment of the developability of other classes of bio-therapeutic molecules, and that the addition of this simple tool early in the discovery process will lead to selection of molecules with improved developability characteristics.
Repair Theory: A Generative Theory of Bugs in Procedural Skills

This paper describes a generative theory of bugs. It claims that all bugs of a procedural skill can be derived by a highly constrained form of problem solving acting on incomplete procedures. These procedures are characterized by formal deletion operations that model incomplete learning and forgetting. The problem solver and the deletion operator have been constrained to make it impossible to derive “star-bugs”—algorithms that are so absurd that expert diagnosticians agree that the alogorithm will never be observed as a bug. Hence, the theory not only generates the observed bugs, it fails to generate star-bugs. The theory has been tested on an extensive data base of bugs for multidigit subtraction that was collected with the aid of the diagnostic systems buggy and debuggy. In addition to predicting bug occurrence, by adoption of additional hypotheses, the theory also makes predictions about the frequency and stability of bugs, as well as the occurrence of certain latencies in processing time during testing. Arguments are given that the theory can be applied to domains other than subtraction and that it can be extended to provide a theory of procedural learning that accounts for bug acquisition. Lastly, particular care has been taken to make the theory principled so that it can not be tailored to fit any possible data.
Greater Fish, Fruit, and Vegetable Intakes Are Related to Lower Incidence of Venous Thromboembolism: The Longitudinal Investigation of Thromboembolism Etiology

Background— Little is known about the role of dietary intake in the development of deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolus (venous thromboembolism [VTE]). Homocysteine, factor VIII, and von Willebrand factor levels, risk factors for VTE, are influenced by dietary intake. We tested the hypothesis that foods rich in B vitamins and &ohgr;-3 fatty acids are negatively associated and meat intake is positively associated with incidence of VTE. Methods and Results— In a prospective study over 12 years, 14 962 middle-aged adults participating in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study were followed up for incident VTE. All hospitalizations were identified, and 196 VTEs were validated by chart review. A food frequency questionnaire assessed dietary intake at baseline and year 6. In separate proportional hazards regression analyses, risk of developing VTE was computed across quintiles of selected nutrients, major food groups, and the Western diet pattern, with adjustment for demographic and lifestyle factors, body mass index, and diabetes. Hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals of VTE incidence across quintiles of fruit and vegetable intake were 1.0 (reference), 0.73 (0.48 to 1.11), 0.57 (0.37 to 0.90), 0.47 (0.29 to 0.77), and 0.59 (0.36 to 0.99) (Ptrend=0.03). Eating fish 1 or more times per week was associated with 30% to 45% lower incidence of VTE for quintiles 2 to 5 compared with quintile 1, suggestive of a threshold effect. Hazard ratios of VTE across quintiles of red and processed meat intake were 1.0, 1.24 (0.78 to 1.98), 1.21 (0.74 to 1.98), 1.09 (0.64 to 1.87), and 2.01 (1.15 to 3.53) (Ptrend=0.02). Hazard ratios were attenuated only slightly after adjustment for factors VIIc and VIIIc and von Willebrand factor. Conclusions— A diet including more plant food and fish and less red and processed meat is associated with a lower incidence of VTE.
The Effect of Water on Fe‐Mg Interdiffusion Rates in Ringwoodite and Implications for the Electrical Conductivity in the Mantle Transition Zone

We determined the kinetics of Fe‐Mg interdiffusion in ringwoodite aggregates as a function of water content (up to ~6,000 wt. ppm H2O) at 20 GPa and 1,373–1,673 K by the diffusion couple method. The dependence of Fe‐Mg interdiffusivity (DFe‐Mg) on Fe concentration was determined using the Boltzmann‐Matano method. The experimentally reported DFe‐Mg in ringwoodite within 0 ≤ XFe ≤ 0.1 could be fitted by the relation DFe‐Mgm2/s=D0XFenCH2Orexp−E*+αCH2O/RT , where E* = (1 − XFe)EMg + XFeEFe (EMg = 140 ± 5 kJ/mol, EFe = 4 ± 2 kJ/mol), D0 = 5.59−1.91+2.90 × 10−10 m2/s, n = −0.21 ± 0.10, r = 0.25 ± 0.03, and α = −24 ± 4. The water content exponent r of 0.25 suggests a nonnegligible role of water in enhancing Fe‐Mg interdiffusion in ringwoodite. The length scale over which the chemical heterogeneities are homogenized by Fe‐Mg interdiffusion in the mantle transition zone is estimated to be only a few hundred meters even assuming the whole Earth age. Comparison between the conductivities predicted from Fe‐Mg interdiffusion and those obtained from magnetotelluric surveys suggests that around 0.1 wt. % water can account for the high conductivity anomalies (~10−0.6–10−1 S/m) observed in the lower part of the mantle transition zone.
P‐glycoprotein (PGP), lung resistance‐related protein (LRP) and multidrug resistance‐associated protein (MRP) expression in acute promyelocytic leukaemia

We analysed the expression of three drug transporter proteins [p‐glycoprotein (PGP), lung resistance‐related protein (LRP) and multidrug resistance‐associated protein (MRP1)] involved in anthracycline resistance that are frequently overexpressed in poor‐risk adult acute non‐lymphocytic leukaemia (ANLL), in 23 acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL) patients at onset managed at a single institution. Cellular daunorubicin accumulation was also evaluated. At onset, no case had PGP or MRP1 expression that exceeded that of non‐multidrug‐resistant (MDR) cell lines. Only one case showed LRP overexpression. No peculiar MDR features distinguished the seven patients who relapsed from those who maintained complete remission. In the onset vs. first relapse, only one patient showed an increased (threefold) PGP expression at relapse. At second relapse, three out of four patients showed a PGP expression two‐ to threefold higher than baseline values. These results are consistent with the view that low PGP, LRP and MRP1 expression and the absence of defects in intracellular drug accumulation may account for the peculiarly high sensitivity of APLs to anthracycline. It does not support the screening of MDR markers in APL patients at onset as predicting factors of early relapse. The results suggest that no significant changes in PGP, LRP or MRP1 expression are likely to occur at first relapse. In contrast, PGP expression is likely to increase later in the patient history as a result of additional chemotherapy courses.
Automatic Article Restoration

One common mistake made by non-native speakers of English is to drop the articles a, an, or the. We apply the log-linear model to automatically restore missing articles based on features of the noun phrase. We first show that the model yields competitive results in article generation. Further, we describe methods to adjust the model with respect to the initial quality of the sentence. Our best results are 20.5% article error rate (insertions, deletions and substitutions) for sentences where 30% of the articles have been dropped, and 38.5% for those where 70% of the articles have been dropped.
Sodium and Potassium Intake of Urban Dwellers: Nothing Changed in Yazd, Iran

To assess the daily salt intake of people aged 20-74 years based on the 24-hour urinary sodium excretion in urban population of Yazd, a population-based cross-sectional study was conducted. This is a substudy of Yazd Healthy Heart Project in Iran. From 2004 to 2005, two thousand people of the urban population of Yazd city, aged 20-74 years, were enrolled in the main study. Overall, 219 volunteer participants of 20-70 years were enrolled in this substudy. Sample frame was the household numbers according to the database of Yazd City Health Services. Calcium, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, and creatinine were measured in the urine samples collected from the participants over a 24-hour period. Sodium content in urine over 24 hours was 171.7±82.9 mmol/day in males and 127.8±56.1 mmol/day in females (p<0.0001) while potassium content was 49.4±23.2 mmol/day in males and 41.5±25.1 mmol/day in females (p=0.2). Estimated average daily salt (NaCl) intake was 10.0±4.8 g/day in males and 7.5±3.3 g/day in females (p<0.0001). Only one participant had the ideal Na/K ratio of less than one. Na/K ratios greater than one and less than two were seen in 11.3% (n=24), and a ratio equal to or greater than 2 was observed in 82.3% (n=118) of the participants. The average Na/K ratio was 3.69±1.58. Unlike many developed countries where sodium intake declined over the past few decades, the daily sodium intake in Yazd is high, and daily potassium intake is low. This is similar to what was observed four decades ago in an area not far from Yazd. Efforts must be directed towards health promotion interventions to increase public awareness to reduce sodium intake and increase potassium intake.
DIANA-TarBase v8: a decade-long collection of experimentally supported miRNA–gene interactions

Abstract DIANA-TarBase v8 (http://www.microrna.gr/tarbase) is a reference database devoted to the indexing of experimentally supported microRNA (miRNA) targets. Its eighth version is the first database indexing >1 million entries, corresponding to ∼670 000 unique miRNA-target pairs. The interactions are supported by >33 experimental methodologies, applied to ∼600 cell types/tissues under ∼451 experimental conditions. It integrates information on cell-type specific miRNA–gene regulation, while hundreds of thousands of miRNA-binding locations are reported. TarBase is coming of age, with more than a decade of continuous support in the non-coding RNA field. A new module has been implemented that enables the browsing of interactions through different filtering combinations. It permits easy retrieval of positive and negative miRNA targets per species, methodology, cell type and tissue. An incorporated ranking system is utilized for the display of interactions based on the robustness of their supporting methodologies. Statistics, pie-charts and interactive bar-plots depicting the database content are available through a dedicated result page. An intuitive interface is introduced, providing a user-friendly application with flexible options to different queries.
On the capacity of Wi-Fi System in TV white space with aggregate interference constraint

In this paper, we present a quantitative assessment of the performance of a Wi-Fi like system in TV white space and compare it with the traditional Wi-Fi system in the ISM band. Particular emphasis is given to the constraint on the aggregate secondary interference on TV reception, which is regarded as the premise of the link throughput analysis that followed. Numerical evaluation is performed over different scenarios where the TV receive signal strength, number of unoccupied TV channels, user density are varied. Our results show that the primary interference constraint has only significant impact on the secondary system performance in rural scenario with low TV receive signal strength. In other cases, where higher transmit power does not guarantee better performance, the capacity of the system is limited by the secondary self-interference or collisions rather than the interference constraint. Therefore, efficient TV White Space utilization can be achieved by properly setting the secondary transmit power adaptive to different environments.