Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The use of preoperative aspirin in cardiac surgery: The ruling on the field stands

In the National Football League, when the ruling of a play on the field by the officials is questioned, the play goes “under review. ” In this review process, referees on and off the field review the various replays to determine whether the correct call on the field was made. In some respects, this process is not different from a meta-analysis or a consensus guidelines report. If the review shows that the wrong call was made, the play is over-turned. If the correct call was made, then the play stands. However, if the replay does not provide any “conclusive” evidence to overturn the call made by the referees on the field, then the call on the field stands. While the antithrombotic and anti-inflammatory effects of aspirin (ASA) administered to the postoperative coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) patient has been shown to enhance graft patency, and its use in all patients who have undergone CABG surgery is universally recommended, the use of ASA prior to CABG or any other cardiac surgical procedure remains controversial. Concerns have been raised that preoperative ASA increases surgical bleeding and provides no clear benefits in the reduction of perioperative mortality or myocardial infarctions. The current “ruling” in this field by the ACC/AHA guidelines is that preoperative ASA at a dose of 100-325mg should be administered prior to CABG. This is now a Class I Recommendation. The “ruling” by the STS in its guidelines on the use of antiplatelet drugs in patients having cardiac and non-cardiac operations “suggest that” ASA be discontinued before “ELECTIVE OPERATIONS” and in high-risk patients to decrease the risk of bleeding. What is the correct ruling regarding the use of ASA prior to CABG surgery? Is there enough evidence to overturn the Level I Recommendation ruling by the ACC/AHA? In this edition of the Journal, Aboul-Hassan and colleagues have sought to address this issue by performing a meta-analysis to determine the effect of preoperative ASA administration in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Their meta-analysis compared 12 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and 28 observational studies. Their conclusions are summarized as follows:
Performance Comparison of Conventional and Inverted Organic Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cells From Optical and Electrical Aspects

The conventional and inverted organic solar cells (OSC and IOSC) based on the bulk heterojunction structure are investigated from both optical and electrical aspects. When the optical aspect is considered only, with the increase of the active layer thickness, the number of photons absorbed in the active layer and the external quantum efficiency tend to increase with the obvious interference behavior for both OSC and IOSC. However, compared to OSC, IOSC shows a better performance except for the thicknesses around which the interference maxima of OSC are obtained. When the electrical aspect is also considered, an effective area in the active layer will be induced by the charge drift length (L), and only the photons absorbed in this effective area have contribution to the photocurrent. By considering optical and electrical aspects together, OSC and IOSC show different behaviors. Compared to IOSC, OSC performs better for relatively thick active layers. Simultaneously, the optical modulation effect is also investigated by introducing an optical spacer layer. It is found that the optical spacer layer can notably enhance the performance of OSC with thin and thick active layers, while it could only degrade the performance of IOSC with relatively thick active layers.
Stress–Pollution Interactions: An Emerging Issue in Children’s Health Research

Cumulative risk assessment posits that multiple agents work together to induce disease and that multiple stressors therefore must be considered in order to gain a true understanding of why adverse health effects occur.1 Now a small but growing number of scientists are pushing the envelope by investigating whether chronic psychological stress might be one of those factors, enhancing a child’s vulnerability to certain chemical exposures and contributing to effects that later show up as asthma, neurodevelopmental disorders, cardiovascular disease, obesity, cancer, and other problems. These researchers are also starting to identify biomarkers that may shed light on the mechanisms by which psychological stress acts on a child’s developing immune system and brain to modify or enhance the response to certain pollution exposures such as traffic-related air pollutants and lead. “We really don’t know how broadly such interactions may occur across chemicals. They are much more likely to occur when the chemical itself acts directly upon stress systems,” says Deborah Cory-Slechta, a professor of environmental medicine at the University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry. “We know some chemicals that interact with stress, such as lead exposure, but we don’t know which others do. ” Observations of links between stress and disease date back to at least the twelfth century, when the philosopher Maimonides cited emotional upset as a factor in asthma.2 But proving such links poses a significant challenge, says Malcolm P. Cutchin, a professor at the School of Medicine of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “Much has been hypothesized about the linkages, but we are just now beginning to tease out relationships and understand the processes,” Cutchin says. As researchers have learned more about techniques that can identify chemical and stress exposures in the human body, they have begun to apply techniques to estimate how people respond to stress and how that response, if it goes awry, can facilitate the development of diseases.
LFC System of Multi-Area Interconnected Power Systems using TVAC-PSO based Controller

article presents a Particle Swarm Optimization with time- varying acceleration coefficients (TVAC-PSO) technique for the design of Integral (I) controller for the Load Frequency Control (LFC) system. The LFC modeling is carried out for Multi-area interconnected power systems (MAIPS). The power system comprises non-reheat thermal unit in each control area. The controller gains have been optimized using an efficient TVAC-PSO technique. Two MAIPS models have been considered for the LFC analysis. The dynamic responses have been obtained by giving step load perturbation (SLP) in control area-1. Area frequency and tie line power deviations settle with zero steady state errors. Area frequencies and tie line powers attain their corresponding nominal values. The dynamic responses obtained are as per the LFC requirements.
Sperm Antigen 6 Is the Murine Homologue of the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Central Apparatus Protein Encoded by the PF16 Locus1

Abstract A cDNA encoding sperm antigen 6 (Spag6), the murine homologue of the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii PF16 protein—a component of the flagella central apparatus—was isolated from a mouse testis cDNA library. The cDNA sequence predicted a 55.3-kDa polypeptide containing 8 contiguous armadillo repeats with 65% amino acid sequence identity and 81% similarity to the Chlamydomonas PF1 protein. An antipeptide antibody generated against a C-terminal sequence recognized a 55-kDa protein in sperm extracts and localized Spag6 to the principal piece of permeabilized mouse sperm tails. When expressed in COS-1 cells, Spag6 colocalized with microtubules. The Spag6 gene was found to be highly expressed in testis and was mapped using the T31 radiation hybrid panel to mouse chromosome 16. Mutations in the Chlamydomonas PF16 gene cause flagellar paralysis. The presence of a highly conserved mammalian PF16 homologue (Spag6) raises the possibility that Spag6 plays an important role in sperm flagellar function.
The Effect of Various Dialysis Solutions on Peritoneal Membrane Viability

Biocompatibility can be defined as the ability of a material, device, or system to perform without a clinically significant host response in a specific situation (1). The peritoneal dialysis solutions currently in use are bioincompatible because of their low pH (5.5), their hypertonicity (osmolarity ranges from 334 486 mOsm/L), their high glucose concentrations (75 200 mmol/L), and their lactate content (35 -40 mmol/L). Owing to heat sterilization, byproducts of glucose, especially aldehydes, are formed. The effects of these solutions on the peritoneum have been studied in vitro, ex vivo, in animals, and in peritoneal dialysis patients. In vitro studies have been performed on many cell types, such as peripheral polymorphonuclear cells, peripheral monocytes, peritoneal macrophages, cultured human mesothelial cells, mouse fibroblasts, and human fibroblasts. The mesothelium is the part of the peritoneal membrane most directly exposed to dialysis solutions and therefore the cell type that will be affected most severely. Together with the macrophages present in the perito neal cavity, mesothelial cells are important in the
The usefulness of magnetic resonance imaging in the diagnosis of anterolateral impingement of the ankle.

The purpose of this study is to assess the sensitivity and specificity of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the diagnosis of anterolateral impingement of the ankle and to assess the most helpful sequence in making the diagnosis. Twenty-four patients who had undergone ankle arthroscopy were chosen. Twelve patients had arthroscopically documented anterolateral impingement, and 12 patients with no impingement on arthroscopy served as controls. Two musculoskeletal radiologists and an orthopedic surgeon, blinded to the operative diagnosis, retrospectively reviewed selective MRI images in the sagittal, axial, and coronal planes. The sensitivities and specificities were calculated for all 3 reviewers. The Kendall coefficient of concordance was calculated for overall agreement among reviewers. Sensitivities varied from 0.75 to 0.83, whereas specificities varied from 0.75 to 1.00. Using the Fisher exact test of contingency, the sensitivities and specificities showed that all reviewers' interpretations were statistically significant with P = . 039, . 001, and . 012, respectively. The axial images were felt to be most helpful in making the diagnosis. The physicians felt that the sagittal images were helpful in 67%, 83%, and 100%, respectively. MRI is a useful tool that can aid the clinician in the diagnosis of anterolateral impingement of the ankle. T1 sagittal images demonstrating displacement of the normal fat signal anterior to the fibula by scar can be useful and help to confirm the diagnosis.
FEA simulation on the MCP bottom die cracking issue

In a two-die stacked multi-chip package (MCP), cracking was found on the bottom die. Optical and SEM images show that the cracking initiates from the backside of the bottom die, underneath the leading edge of the top die. A model of the package was built using FEA. Thermal loading or mechanical force was applied to the package to simulate the failure situation conditions. The results suggest that the cracking at the bottom die was caused by mishandling mechanical stress and, not by thermo-mechanical stress.
Risks for Early Childhood Caries Analyzed by Negative Binomial Models

Because of the high incidence of early childhood caries (ECC), a longitudinal study to identify risk factors from the prenatal period to the child’s first birthday among 9- to 18-month-old children was conducted with negative binomial modeling. Overall, 495 children had dental examinations at ages 9, 12, and 18 months. Mothers were interviewed during the 2nd trimester of pregnancy and when the children had dental examinations. The highest incidence of caries was found among children who were born to mothers with ≥ 10 decayed teeth and who never received calcium supplements during pregnancy, and children who were not fed supplementary foods at age 3 months, had sweet-tasting foods at 5 months, started snacking at 5 months, had sugary snacks, had soft drinks, and did not have their teeth brushed daily at 9 months. Thus, prenatal care and child-rearing-practices during and after birth are important risk factors for the incidence and incremental rate of ECC.
VLSI architecture for block-matching motion estimation algorithm

The block-matching motion estimation is the most popular method for motion-compensated coding of image sequence. A VLSI architecture for implementing a full-search block-matching algorithm is presented. Based on a systolic array processor and shift register arrays with programmable length, the proposed architecture has the following advantages: it allows serial data input to save the pin counts but performs parallel processing; it is flexible in adaptation to the dimensional change of the search area via simple control; it can operate in real time for videoconference applications; and it is simple and modular in design, and thus is suitable for VLSI implementation. >
BIPARENTAL INBREEDING AND INTERREMNANT MATING IN A PERENNIAL PRAIRIE PLANT: FITNESS CONSEQUENCES FOR PROGENY IN THEIR FIRST EIGHT YEARS

Despite fundamental importance to population dynamics, mating system evolution, and conservation management, the fitness consequences of breeding patterns in natural settings are rarely directly and rigorously evaluated. We experimentally crossed Echinacea angustifolia, a widespread, perennial prairie plant undergoing radical changes in distribution and abundance due to habitat fragmentation. We quantified the effects of both biparental inbreeding and crossing between remnant populations on progeny survival and reproduction in the field over the first eight years. Lifetime fitness is notoriously difficult to assess particularly for iteroparous species because of the long sequence and episodic nature of selection events. Even with fitness data in hand, analysis is typically plagued by nonnormal distributions of overall fitness that violate the assumptions of the usual parametric statistical approaches. We applied aster modeling, which integrates the measurements of separate, sequential, nonnormally distributed annual fitness components, and estimated current biparental inbreeding depression at 68% in progeny of sibling‐mating. The effect of between‐remnant crossing on fitness was negligible. Given that relatedness among individuals in remnant populations is already high and dispersal very limited, inbreeding depression may profoundly affect future dynamics and persistence of these populations, as well as their genetic composition.
Factors associated with virological rebound in HIV-infected patients receiving protease inhibitor monotherapy

Objective:The Protease Inhibitor Monotherapy Versus Ongoing Triple Therapy (PIVOT) trial found that protease inhibitor monotherapy as a simplification strategy is well tolerated in terms of drug resistance but less effective than combination therapy in suppressing HIV viral load. We sought to identify factors associated with the risk of viral load rebound in this trial. Methods:PIVOT was a randomized controlled trial in HIV-positive adults with suppressed viral load for at least 24 weeks on combination therapy comparing a strategy of physician-selected ritonavir-boosted protease inhibitor monotherapy versus ongoing triple therapy. In participants receiving monotherapy, we analysed time to confirmed viral load rebound and its predictors using flexible parametric survival models. Results:Of 290 participants initiating protease inhibitor monotherapy (80% darunavir, 14% lopinavir, and 6% other), 93 developed viral load rebound on monotherapy. The risk of viral load rebound peaked at 9 months after starting monotherapy and then declined to approximately 5 per 100 person-years from 18 months onwards. Independent predictors of viral load rebound were duration of viral load suppression before starting monotherapy (hazard ratio 0.81 per additional year <50 copies/ml; P < 0.001), CD4+ cell count (hazard ratio 0.73 per additional 100 cells/&mgr;l for CD4+ nadir; P = 0.008); ethnicity (hazard ratio 1.87 for nonwhite versus white, P = 0.025) but not the protease inhibitor agent used (P = 0.27). Patients whose viral load was analysed with the Roche TaqMan-2 assay had a 1.87-fold risk for viral load rebound compared with Abbott RealTime assay (P = 0.012). Conclusion:A number of factors can identify patients at low risk of rebound with protease inhibitor monotherapy, and this may help to better target those who may benefit from this management strategy.
Genotyping microarray (gene chip) for the ABCR (ABCA4) gene

Genetic variation in the ABCR (ABCA4) gene has been associated with five distinct retinal phenotypes, including Stargardt disease/fundus flavimaculatus (STGD/FFM), cone‐rod dystrophy (CRD), and age‐related macular degeneration (AMD). Comparative genetic analyses of ABCR variation and diagnostics have been complicated by substantial allelic heterogeneity and by differences in screening methods. To overcome these limitations, we designed a genotyping microarray (gene chip) for ABCR that includes all ∼400 disease‐associated and other variants currently described, enabling simultaneous detection of all known ABCR variants. The ABCR genotyping microarray (the ABCR400 chip) was constructed by the arrayed primer extension (APEX) technology. Each sequence change in ABCR was included on the chip by synthesis and application of sequence‐specific oligonucleotides. We validated the chip by screening 136 confirmed STGD patients and 96 healthy controls, each of whom we had analyzed previously by single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) technology and/or heteroduplex analysis. The microarray was >98% effective in determining the existing genetic variation and was comparable to direct sequencing in that it yielded many sequence changes undetected by SSCP. In STGD patient cohorts, the efficiency of the array to detect disease‐associated alleles was between 54% and 78%, depending on the ethnic composition and degree of clinical and molecular characterization of a cohort. In addition, chip analysis suggested a high carrier frequency (up to 1:10) of ABCR variants in the general population. The ABCR genotyping microarray is a robust, cost‐effective, and comprehensive screening tool for variation in one gene in which mutations are responsible for a substantial fraction of retinal disease. The ABCR chip is a prototype for the next generation of screening and diagnostic tools in ophthalmic genetics, bridging clinical and scientific research. Hum Mutat 22:395–403, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Clinical Comparison of an Enhanced-Sensitivity Branched-DNA Assay and Reverse Transcription-PCR for Quantitation of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 RNA in Plasma

ABSTRACT The performance characteristics of an enhanced-sensitivity branched-DNA assay (bDNA) (Quantiplex HIV-1 version 2.0; Chiron Corp., Emeryville, Calif.) and a reverse transcription (RT)-PCR assay (AMPLICOR HIV-1 Monitor; Roche Diagnostic Systems, Inc., Branchburg, N.J.) were compared in a molecular diagnostic laboratory. Samples used in this evaluation included linearity and reproducibility panels made by dilution of a human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) stock culture of known virus particle count in HIV-1-negative plasma, a subtype panel consisting of HIV-1 subtypes A through F at a standardized level, and 64 baseline plasma specimens from HIV-1-infected individuals. Plots of log10 HIV RNA copies per milliliter versus log10 nominal virus particles per milliliter demonstrated that both assays were linear over the stated dynamic ranges (bDNA, r = 0.98; RT-PCR,r = 0.99), but comparison of the slopes of the regression lines (bDNA, m = 0.96; RT-PCR,m = 0.83) suggested that RT-PCR had greater proportional systematic error. The between-run coefficients of variation for bDNA and RT-PCR were 24.3 and 34.3%, respectively, for a sample containing 1,650 nominal virus particles/ml and 44.0 and 42.7%, respectively, for a sample containing 165 nominal virus particles/ml. Subtypes B, C, and D were quantitated with similar efficiencies by bDNA and RT-PCR; however, RT-PCR was less efficient in quantitating subtypes A, E, and F. One non-B subtype was recognized in our clinical specimens based on the ratio of values obtained with the two methods. HIV-1 RNA was quantitated in 53 (83%) baseline plasma specimens by bDNA and in 55 (86%) specimens by RT-PCR. RT-PCR values were consistently greater than bDNA values, with population means of 142,419 and 67,580 copies/ml, respectively (P < 0.01). The results were highly correlated (r = 0.91), but the agreement was poor (mean difference in log10 copies per milliliter ± 2 standard deviations, 0.45 ± 0.61) for the 50 clinical specimens that gave discrete values with both methods.
[The occurrence of helminth parasites in Vimba (Vimba vimba L. 1758) of Golbasi (Bursa) Dam Lake, Turkey].

In this study, the occurrence of helminth parasites in Vimba of Golbasi Dam Lake was investigated monthly from May 2003 to April 2004. During the study, a total of 62 Vimba specimens were examined for helminth parasites. A total of 4 species of helminth parasites were found on 43 fish examined as follows: (Dactylogyrus sphyrna (Monogenea), Diplostomum sp. (Digenea), Caryophyllaeus laticeps (Cestoda), Contracaecum sp. (Nematoda). D. sphyrna seen on gills of host fish was the dominant parasite species found in Vimba. A total of 308 parasites were recorded on 30 of the 62 fish examined (48.39%). The second dominant species was Diplostomum sp. of which 233 were found in the eye lens of 29 of the 62 hosts examined (46.77%). C. laticeps was the third dominant parasite in this study and a total of 37 parasites were recorded in 8 of 62 fish (12.90%). As to Contracaecum sp. , only 4 specimens were found in 3 fish (4.84%).
Multiple lupus-associated ITGAM variants alter Mac-1 functions on neutrophils.

OBJECTIVE Multiple studies have demonstrated that single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the ITGAM locus (including the nonsynonymous SNPs rs1143679, rs1143678, and rs1143683) are associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). ITGAM encodes the protein CD11b, a subunit of the β2 integrin Mac-1. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of ITGAM genetic variation on the biologic functions of neutrophil Mac-1. METHODS Neutrophils from ITGAM-genotyped and -sequenced healthy donors were isolated for functional studies. The phagocytic capacity of neutrophil ITGAM variants was probed with complement-coated erythrocytes, serum-treated zymosan, heat-treated zymosan, and IgG-coated erythrocytes. The adhesion capacity of ITGAM variants, in adhering to either purified intercellular adhesion molecule 1 or tumor necrosis factor α-stimulated endothelial cells, was assessed in a flow chamber. Expression levels of total CD11b and activation of CD11b were assessed by flow cytometry. RESULTS Mac-1-mediated neutrophil phagocytosis, determined in cultures with 2 different complement-coated particles, was significantly reduced in individuals with nonsynonymous variant alleles of ITGAM. This reduction in phagocytosis was related to variation at either rs1143679 (in the β-propeller region) or rs1143678/rs1143683 (highly linked SNPs in the cytoplasmic/calf-1 regions). Phagocytosis mediated by Fcγ receptors was also significantly reduced in donors with variant ITGAM alleles. Similarly, firm adhesion of neutrophils was significantly reduced in individuals with variant ITGAM alleles. These functional alterations were not attributable to differences in total receptor expression or activation. CONCLUSION The nonsynonymous ITGAM variants rs1143679 and rs1143678/rs113683 contribute to altered Mac-1 function on neutrophils. These results underscore the need to consider multiple nonsynonymous SNPs when assessing the functional consequences of ITGAM variation on immune cell processes and the risk of SLE.