Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prospective delivery of reliably dated term infants of diabetic mothers without determination of fetal lung maturity: comparison to historical control

Objective: To determine whether omitting fetal lung maturity (FLM) testing prior to delivery in term pregnancies complicated by gestational (GDM) and pregestational diabetes mellitus would increase the risk of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). Methods: In a 2-year study (1990-91), 1457 pregnant women with accurately dated pregnancies were enrolled after 37 completed weeks and prospectively followed through delivery without FLM testing (study group). The prevalence of RDS and other neonatal outcomes was compared with a historical control group (n = 713, 1988-89) who had undergone determination of lecithin/sphingomyelin ratio prior to delivery at term. Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine independent predictors of RDS. Results: The study group compared to the control group had less severe diabetes: diet-controlled GDM, 35% vs. 18%, respectively; insulin-requiring GDM, 42% vs. 42%, respectively; undiagnosed type-2 diabetes, 14% vs. 31%, respectively; and pre-existing diabetes, 9.6% vs. 8.8%, respectively, p < 0.001. RDS rates in the study group (0.8%) and control group (1.0%) were not significantly different, nor were rates of resuscitation at delivery, neonatal intensive care admission or hospitalization days. Logistic regression analysis found only Cesarean delivery to be independently predictive (adjusted OR 2.21, 95% CI 2.04-2.27) of RDS. Non-predictive variables included FLM testing, diabetic classification, insulin use, poor third-trimester glycemic control, chronic hypertension, pre-eclampsia, labor, neonatal gender, gestational age or large-for-gestational-age fetuses. Conclusions: Routine FLM testing did not change the RDS prevalence in reliably dated, term infants of diabetic mothers and should be abandoned. Delivery by Cesarean section was associated with increased RDS.
The Impact of CCR5 Polymorphism on the Clinical Outcome of Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation

The natural function of the C-C chemokine receptor type 5 (CCR5) is poorly understood. However, polymorphisms of this gene have been described to influence the outcome of allogeneic organ and stem cell transplantation. Most intensively studied is a 32 base pair deletion in the CCR5 gene (CCR5-delta32) located on chromosome 3 which leads to a non-functional protein. It is supposed that this deletion causes an alteration in T-cell response to inflammation. For example, the presence of the CCR5-delta32 allele in recipients of allografts constitutes as an independent and protective factor associated with a decreased risk of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and graft rejection. However, the mechanism of this beneficial effect of the deletion regarding GVHD is unknown. Here, we describe the biology of the chemokine receptor CCR5 and its polymorphism in the context of transplantation immunology. *Corresponding author: Gero Hütter, Institute of Transfusion Medicine and Immunology, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University; German Red Cross Blood Service Baden-Württemberg – Hessen, Germany, E-mail: gero. huetter@medma.uni-heidelberg.de Received September 13, 2011; Accepted December 16, 2011; Published December 20, 2011 Citation: Hütter G (2011) The Impact of CCR5 Polymorphism on the Clinical Outcome of Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation. J Transplant Technol Res S1:004. doi:10.4172/2161-0991.S1-004 Copyright: © 2011 Hütter G. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Biobleaching Effects of Crude Xylanase from Streptomyces griseorubens LH-3 on Eucalyptus Kraft Pulp

In this work, a xylanase-producing strain, Streptomyces griseorubens LH-3, was cultured, and the crude xylanase was prepared. Analysis of its enzymatic properties revealed that the crude xylanase possessed good thermal stability at temperatures below 60 °C, exhibited a wide pH range from 4.0 to 9.0, and was cellulase-free. This crude enzyme was used to treat eucalyptus kraft pulp, and the release of chromophores was the highest at the dosage of 20 IU g−1 dry pulp. Compared with the untreated group, biobleaching of eucalyptus kraft pulp with this enzyme increased the brightness of the pulp by 12.9% and reduced the Kappa number by 27.4%. Biobleaching of eucalyptus kraft pulp with this enzyme obtained the same final pulp brightness compared with that of the control; however, hydrogen peroxide consumption was reduced by 17% and the yield and viscosity of the pulp was increased by 1.47% and 1.53%, respectively. This crude xylanase has promising potential for industrial applications.
Age Differences in Target Detection and Interference Resolution in Working Memory: An Event-related Potential Study

There is growing consensus that a decline in attentional control is a core aspect of cognitive aging. We used event-related potentials to examine the time course of attentional control in older and younger adults as they attempted to resolve familiarity-based and response-based interference during a working memory task. Accuracy was high for both groups but their neural response to targets and to distracters was markedly different. Young adults' early target selection was evident by 300 msec in a differentiated P3a and they responded to interference by generating a medial frontal negativity (MFN) to distracters by 450 msec that was largest when the need for interference resolution was greatest. Dipole source analyses revealed a temporal coactivation of the inferior frontal and anterior cingulate cortex in younger adults, suggesting that these regions may interact during interference resolution. Older adults did not show the early target-selective P3a effect and failed to subsequently produce the MFN in response to distracting stimuli. In fact, older adults showed a large frontal positivity in place of the MFN but, rather than serve a compensatory role, this frontal activation was associated with poorer behavioral performance. These data suggest that aging interferes with a dynamic interplay of early target selection followed by later suppression of distracter-related neural activitya process central to the efficient control of attention.
Metabonomics studies on serum and urine of patients with breast cancer using 1H-NMR spectroscopy.

The aim of this study was to describe a metabolomic study of breast cancer using 1H-NMR combined with bioinformatics analysis. 1H-NMR spectroscopy combined with multi-variate pattern recognition analysis was used to cluster the groups (serum and urine samples from breast cancer patients and healthy controls) and establish a breast-cancer-specific metabolites phenotype. Orthogonalpartial least-squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) was capable of distinguishing serum and urine samples from breast cancer patients and healthy controls and establishing a breast-cancer-specific metabolite profile. A total of 9 metabolites in serum concentration and 3 metabolites in urine concentration differed significantly between breast cancer patients and healthy controls. Serum samples from breast cancer patients were characterized by decreased concentrations of choline, glucose, histidine, valine, lysine, acetate, tyrosine and glutamic, accompanied by increased concentrations of lipid relative to healthy controls. In urine samples, the level of phenylacetylglycine and guanidoacetate was significantly lower, while the level of citrate was significantly higher in breast cancer patients relative to healthy controls. In conclusion, this study reveals the metabolic profile of serum and urine from breast cancer patients. NMR-based metabolomics has the potential to be developed into a novel clinical tool for diagnosis or therapeutic monitoring for breast cancer. However, because of limitations of methods and technique, further research and verification is needed.
Structural and functional test of IBM System z10 chips

For the first time in the history of the IBM System z™ family of mainframes, System z10™ processor chips are tested by both structural and functional means. This complementary strategy starts at wafer test and is consistent through system test. In this paper, we describe how traditional and enhanced structured patterns provide fault coverage and how functional patterns mimic real system workloads. A new operating kernel generates functional tests and expected results and it can run these tests for either a finite or an indefinite amount of time to simulate system operation. It also executes custom hand-loop patterns to stress chip temperature and power. Both structural and functional patterns are used to uniquely characterize each chip. Adaptive algorithms based on results at wafer test determine optimal system operating voltage for each chip--a strategy that delivers a chip supply with optimal characteristics for system manufacturing and product delivery. The diversity of structural and functional patterns makes it possible to increase z10™ chip quality and reduce development time. The ability to run the same tests from wafer through system test provides a consistency not previously possible.
Combined chemotherapy of cutaneous herpes simplex infection of the guinea pig

Cutaneous infection of guinea pigs with HSV1 was topically treated from 2 to 6 days post infection with 7 antiherpetic substances. Phosphonoformic acid and acyclovir were found to be highly effective; trifluorothymidine, thymine arabinoside, ethyldeoxyuridine, and adenine arabinoside monophosphate all had some therapeutic effect in decreasing order, whereas iododeoxyuridine was ineffective. The efficacy of treatment was evaluated from cutaneous lesion scores by the Wilcoxon rank test. The substances were combined in marginally effective concentrations. From the 21 combinations, acyclovir + phosphonoformic acid, acyclovir + thymine arabinoside, and phosphonoformic acid + thymine arabinoside suggested a synergistic interaction, which appeared significant for acyclovir + phosphonoformic acid.
An adaptive approach to exponential smoothing for CVE state prediction

Creating an immersive experience in a collaborative virtual environment, or CVE, involves more than just high definition graphics and expensive hardware. An immersive experience requires participant's input to be translated in a timely fashion to the local environment as well as to others connected across the internet. A well designed prediction algorithm will reduce the lag caused by virtual environment hardware and communications networks. The purpose of this experiment was to test the quality of an adaptive exponential smoothing algorithm at predicting human arm movement in a CVE. The results show that adaptive exponential smoothing performs as well as or better than dead reckoning at position estimation. When applied to a CVE adaptive Holt's exponential smoothing can help to reduce the overall lag of the system without being as computationally complex as many other techniques.
Predictors of sleepiness in epilepsy patients.

Sleepiness, a common complaint of epilepsy patients, is frequently attributed to antiepileptic medications. To determine predictors of subjective sleepiness in epilepsy patients, we gave self-administered, validated surveys of sleepiness [Epworth sleepiness scale (our major outcome measure)] and sleep apnea [sleep apnea scale of the sleep disorders questionnaire (SA/SDQ)] to 158 epilepsy patients and 68 neurology patients without epilepsy (controls). An elevated Epworth score (>10) was more likely in epilepsy patients compared to controls after controlling for age and gender (p < 0.05). When Epworth scores were adjusted for SA/SDQ scores and restless legs symptoms (RLS), however, epilepsy patients showed only a nonsignificant trend toward elevated Epworth scores compared to controls (p = 0.08). SA/SDQ scores (p < 0.005) and RLS (p < 0.007) were significant predictors of elevated Epworth score in both epilepsy patients and controls. Among the epilepsy patients, the number or type of antiepileptic medication, seizure frequency, epilepsy syndrome (partial vs. generalized), and the presence of sleep-related seizures were not significant predictors (p > 0.10) of elevated Epworth score. Before attributing sleepiness in epilepsy patients to antiepileptic medications or uncontrolled seizures, clinicians should consider the possibility of a coexisting sleep disorder.
Comparison of ribonucleotide sequences from the genome of vesicular stomatitis virus and two of its defective interfering particles

RNA genomes from standard vesicular stomatitis virus and two defective interfering (DI) particles dI 0.33 (DI-T) and DI 0.52, were purified and digested with RNase T1. The resulting oligonucleotides were labeled at the 5' end with [32P]ATP and separated by two-dimensional electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gels. All of the major oligonucleotides containing 20 or more nucleotides were sequenced. Those oligonucleotides that were thought to be in common by their migration on polyacrylamide gels actually did have identical sequences. Those oligonucleotides thought to be unique to the DI RNAs either differed by only one nucleotide from oligonucleotides of the standard RNA or contained new sequences which were complementary to known sequences at the 5' end. These data indicate that RNAs from DI particles are not simple deletions but contain point mutations and additional complementary sequences.
Brief Trauma and Mental Health Assessments for Female Offenders in Addiction Treatment

Increasing numbers of women in prison raise concerns about gender-specific problems and needs severity. Female offenders report higher trauma as well as mental and medical health complications than males, but large inmate populations and limited resources create challenges in administering proper diagnostic screening and assessments. This study focuses on brief instruments that address specialized trauma and health problems, along with related psychosocial functioning. Women from two prison-based treatment programs for substance abuse were assessed (N = 1,397), including one facility for special needs and one for regular female offenders. Results affirmed that those admitted to the special-needs facility reported more posttraumatic stress symptoms, higher rates of psychological stress and previous hospitalizations, and more health issues than those in the regular treatment facility. Findings supporting use of these short forms and their applications as tools for monitoring needs, progress, and change over time are discussed.
Enhanced binding affinity, remarkable selectivity, and high capacity of CO2 by dual functionalization of a rht-type metal-organic framework.

This work was supported by the Foundation of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant numbers 20971054 and 90922034) and the Key Project of the Chinese Ministry of Education. The RU and UTD teams would like to acknowledge support from DOE (grant number DE-FG02-08ER46491). We thank Prof. Xianhe Bu and Dr. Ze Chang (Nankai University, China) and Dr. Ruiping Chen (Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences) for part of the gas adsorption measurements.
Plasmid transfer in Streptomyces lividans: identification of a kil-kor system associated with the transfer region of pIJ101

The 8.9-kilobase Streptomyces plasmid pIJ101 is self-transmissible at high frequency into recipient strains. By genetic analysis of the transfer region of the plasmid, we identified six plasmid-encoded loci involved in gene transfer and the associated pocking phenomenon. Two loci, kilA and kilB, could not be cloned into Streptomyces lividans on a minimal pIJ101-based replicon unless suitable kil-override (kor) genes were present, either in cis or in trans. korA could control the lethal effects of both kilA and kilB, whereas korB could control only the effects of kilB. KilB mutants were defective in their pocking reaction; kilA mutants produced no visible pocks whatsoever. Mutations in two other loci, tra and spd, produced no pocks and defective pocks, respectively. These results suggest that kilA, kilB, tra, and spd are intimately involved in plasmid transfer and that the actions of kilA and kilB are regulated by the products of the korA and korB genes.
The Propeller Flap Version of the Adductor Muscle Perforator Flap for Coverage of Ischial or Trochanteric Pressure Sores

Recidivism after flap coverage of ischial and trochanteric pressure sores is predictably common. Available local flap options are limited in number and must be cautiously preserved as long as possible for these patients who are destined to have a lifelong vulnerability for recurrence. Muscle perforator flaps have been introduced as another set of alternatives to solve this conundrum. Since the posteromedial thigh often has been previously unviolated by the usual workhorse flaps selected for this problem, the adductor perforator flap will then usually still be available as an important “backup” option. If designed as a propeller flap, this version after rotation will cover the defect and simultaneously allow direct donor-site closure to avoid the need for a skin graft.
Secondary School Students' Motivation and Achievement in Combined Science

This study investigated students’ motivation and achievement in combined science. A sample of 324 Year 11 students from eight government secondary schools in Brunei Darussalam participated in the study. Of the sample, 141 were boys and 183 were girls and their average age was 16.4 years. The motivation instrument used was adapted from the science motivation questionnaire (Glynn, Taasoobshirazi, & Brickman, 2009) and consisted of 24 items. Results show that this group of students displayed a moderate level of intrinsic motivation, personal relevance, self-determination and self-efficacy and a high level of extrinsic motivation and assessment anxiety in learning-combined science. Results also demonstrate significant differences in motivational orientations towards learning-combined science between boys and girls and between high ability and low ability students. Furthermore, correlation analyses show that there were significant positive associations between students’ motivational orientations and science achievement.
A multicenter, randomized, double‐blind trial of somatostatin in the management of acute hemorrhage from esophageal varices

A prospective, randomized, placebo‐controlled, double‐blind, multicenter clinical trial of intravenous somatostatin (Stilamin®; Serono Laboratories, Inc., Randolph, MA) was performed in 102 patients with actively bleeding esophageal varices from August, 1985, to November, 1986. Patients had major hemorrhage indicated by hematemesis or melena and evidence of significant blood loss. For entry, patients had to have endoscopic demonstration of active bleeding from esophageal varices or stigmata of recent hemorrhage and bright red blood in the gastric aspirate with no other source of bleeding found. Randomized patients received identical appearing somatostatin or placebo for a 30‐hr study period. Those given somatostatin received a 250‐μg bolus and a 250‐μg per hr infusion with repeat bolus and doubling of the infusion if the bleeding was not controlled. In retrospect, 18 patients could not be evaluated.
Protection against inflammation- and autoantibody-caused fetal loss by the chemokine decoy receptor D6

Fetal loss in animals and humans is frequently associated with inflammatory conditions. D6 is a promiscuous chemokine receptor with decoy function, expressed in lymphatic endothelium, that recognizes and targets to degradation most inflammatory CC chemokines. Here, we report that D6 is expressed in placenta on invading extravillous trophoblasts and on the apical side of syncytiotrophoblast cells, at the very interface between maternal blood and fetus. Exposure of D6−/− pregnant mice to LPS or antiphospholipid autoantibodies results in higher levels of inflammatory CC chemokines and increased leukocyte infiltrate in placenta, causing an increased rate of fetal loss, which is prevented by blocking inflammatory chemokines. Thus, the promiscuous decoy receptor for inflammatory CC chemokines D6 plays a nonredundant role in the protection against fetal loss caused by systemic inflammation and antiphospholipid antibodies.
Nebivolol Reduces Experimentally Induced Warm Renal Ischemia Reperfusion Injury in Rats

Ischemia/reperfusion injury, which is commonly seen in the field of renal surgery or transplantation, is a major cause of acute renal failure. The objective of the present study was to examine the role of nebivolol in modulating peroxynitrite species-induced inflammation and apoptosis after renal warm ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats. The present study was designed to investigate the effects of nebivolol on the renal warm ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats treated with the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, Nω-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester. After right nephrectomy, nebivolol was administered for 15 days. On the 16th day, ischemia was induced in contra lateral kidney for 45 min, followed by reperfusion for 24 hr. Renal function, inflammation, and apoptosis were estimated at the end of 24 hr reperfusion. Nebivolol improved the renal dysfunction and reduced inflammation and apoptosis after renal ischemia/reperfusion injury. In conclusion, nebivolol shows potent anti-apoptotic and anti-inflammatory properties due to its NO-releasing property. These findings may have major implications in the treatment of human ischemic acute renal failure.
Immune‐mediated thrombocytopenia resulting from sensitivity to oxaliplatin

Thrombocytopenia developing in the course of chemotherapy for malignant disease is usually attributed to drug‐induced marrow suppression and/or marrow replacement by tumor. We describe two patients who developed severe thrombocytopenia and hemorrhagic symptoms while being treated with oxaliplatin, 5‐fluorouracil, and leukovorin for metastatic colon cancer in whom platelet destruction appears to have been caused by oxaliplatin‐dependent antibodies specific for the platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa complex (αIIb/β3 integrin). Drug‐induced immune thrombocytopenia (DITP) should be considered in patients who experience a sudden, isolated drop in platelet levels while being treated with chemotherapeutic agents, especially when adequate numbers of megakaryocytes are present in the bone marrow. Am. J. Hematol. 81:193–198, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
HYPERICIN AND ITS PHOTODYNAMIC ACTION

Hypericin, 7,14-dione-1,3,4,6,8,13-hexahydroxy10,ll-dimethyl-phenanthrol[ 1 , l O ,9,8opgralperylene, derives its name from Hypericum, a genus of plants which biosynthesize the pigment and its related derivatives and stored in minute glands located in different organs. Hypericin constitutes up to 0.05% of the plant substances in some species of the genus (Netien and Lebreton, 1964). St. John’s wort, H. perforatum, is probably the richest source of hypericin (Giese, 1980a; Georgiev et al., 1983; Vanhaelen and Vanhaelen-Fastre, 1983). Hypericum hirsutum also contains a large amount of hypericin (Kitanov et al., 1978; Know and Dodge, 1985). Hypericin and closely related pigments have also been found in some Australian insects (Banks et al., 1976). Hypericin-like pigments are present in the protozoa Blepharisma and Stentor (Giese, 1980a,b; 1981) and in Fagopyrum esculentum (Wender et al., 1943; Wender, 1946). Hypericism, a state of skin sensitivity to the visible light in animals, is apparently caused by the ingestion of hypericin-containing plants and feed. The photosensitizing effects of skin by hypericin result in severe skin irritation, high body temperature and sometimes death of the animal. Hypericin subcutaneously injected in rats or mice induces the typical photodynamic effect on body temperature when incandescent light is applied (Brockmann et a/., 1939; Chick and Ellinger, 1941; Brockmann et al., 1942; Pace 1942; Brockmann, 1947,1952; Metzner, 1958; Bwangamol, 1967; Giese, 1972).