Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Coagulation Abnormalities Produced by Plasma Exchange on the Cell Separator with Special Reference to Fibrinogen and Platelet Levels

Summary. Five patients with immunopathologic renal disease, 12 with malignant paraproteinaemia and one with myasthenia gravis underwent a total of 179 plasma exchanges on a continuous flow cell separator. Replacement fluids devoid of coagulation factors were used in 160 exchanges while 19 exchanges were replaced with Fresh Frozen Plasma. Coagulation screening was done immediately before and 30 min after each plasma exchange. Plasma fibrinogen concentrations fell to a mean of 25% of initial levels during individual exchanges. Sequential reduction to 10.7% was observed after five consecutive daily exchanges and in one patient fell to 1.2% after 10 daily exchanges. Low levels of fibrinogen could be maintained with daily or alternate daily exchanges. Platelet counts fell to a mean of 50% of pre‐exchange levels during individual exchanges. Consecutive daily exchanges resulted in mean reductions to 20.7% after 5 d, but further reductions were not observed with longer periods of exchange. Platelet counts recovered to pre‐exchange values during exchange intervals of 2 or more days. Mild clinical bleeding episodes, probably related to low platelet counts, occurred in one exchange in each of three patients. Haemostasis was rapidly achieved in these patients by infusions of platelet concentrates. Coagulation screening, including prothrombin ratio, thrombin time, reptilase time and partial thromboplastin time with kaolin showed progressively greater abnormalities as the intervals between exchanges shortened. The low incidence of clinical haemorrhagic episodes, three of 179 exchanges (2.2%), despite markedly abnormal coagulation parameters, emphasizes the safety of the procedure even in moribund patients. We conclude that the use of FFP in intensive exchange programmes solely for the prevention of spontaneous haemorrhagic phenoma is unjustified.
Development of Daptomycin Resistance In Vivo in Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

ABSTRACT Daptomycin is a new lipopeptide antibiotic that is rapidly bactericidal against Staphylococcus aureus. We report daptomycin resistance and treatment failure in 2 patients with osteomyelitis due to methicillin-resistant S. aureus. Disk diffusion susceptibility testing failed to detect resistance. Daptomycin at high concentration retained bactericidal activity against resistant isolates.
Retrograde degeneration of the thalamus following prefrontal lobotomy

We have performed prefrontal lobotomy in more than 400 patients for the relief of mental disorders. While there hare been 12 operative deaths, the surgical lesions a re too recent to permit study of the retrograde degeneration of the thalamus and consequently these cases a re of value only for the incidental findings. Twelve other patients survived a sufficient length of time, however, so that the thalamic degenerations referable directly to the surgical interference may be studied in detail. Considerable practical interest attaches to these degenerations for they may provide a clue to the manner in which prefrontal lobotomy benefits the patients. Thus they may be of importance in indicating the minimal incision which should be made in order to relieve the patient of his neurosis or psychosis without inducing undesirable manifestations such as inertia, overactivity, or disturbances in the control of the sphincters. Preliminary anatomic studies were reported by Freeman and Watts ('42), hfeyer and Beck ('45), and Nieto and Caso ( '45). Valuable articles on thalamic degeneration have dealt with destructive lesions involving predominantly the cortex (Sheps, '45 ; Norman, '45) or with experimental animals in which the retrograde degenerations of the thalamus have been studied after ablation of various areas of the cerebral hemispheres (Walker, '38 ; Rlettler, '43 ; Clark and Boggon, ' 3 5 ) .
Lower extremity muscle morphology in young athletes: an MRI-based analysis.

PURPOSE This study was conducted to describe lower extremity muscle morphology (volume and peak cross-sectional area (CSA)) in young athletes and compare these with previously reported values. A second aim was to determine if muscle morphological values differ significantly between sides, implying that unilateral measurements cannot represent both limbs accurately. METHODS Axial spin-echo T1-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) images were obtained between the ankle mortise and iliac crest in 10 athletes (age 18.8 +/- 3.7 yr). Subsequently, each subject's three-dimensional anatomy was digitally reconstructed. Muscle volume, peak CSA, and length were calculated for 13 muscles. RESULTS The mean volumes and CSA for the current sample of athletes were larger than previously reported values (primarily from cadaver studies of nonathletes). The ratio of total quadriceps volume to total hamstrings volume averaged nearly 3:1 (2.9 +/- 0.2), whereas previous reports have been closer to 2:1 (2.1 +/- 0.2). The relative contribution of each muscle to the muscle group (hamstrings or quadriceps) volume was also different for these athletes. Significant differences in side-to-side muscle morphology were observed in several knee muscles (P < 0.03). Vastus medialis muscle volume was larger in the dominant leg (difference between sides: 59 +/- 25 cm3, representing 15.9 +/- 6.7% of its average volume), whereas vastus lateralis muscle volume was larger in the nondominant leg (difference: 54 +/- 47 cm3 representing 9.6 +/- 8.3% of its average). Despite this, total quadriceps volumes were similar between sides. CONCLUSIONS Findings suggest that the morphology data presented in this study should be used instead of data from cadavers when studying young athletic people. These data should improve the accuracy of biomechanical modeling in the athletic population.
Robust, accurate confidence intervals with a weak instrument: quarter of birth and education

Summary. An instrument or instrumental variable manipulates a treatment and affects the outcome only indirectly through its manipulation of the treatment. For instance, encouragement to exercise might increase cardiovascular fitness, but only indirectly to the extent that it increases exercise. If instrument levels are randomly assigned to individuals, then the instrument may permit consistent estimation of the effects caused by the treatment, even though the treatment assignment itself is far from random. For instance, one can conduct a randomized experiment assigning some subjects to ‘encouragement to exercise’ and others to ‘no encouragement’ but, for reasons of habit or taste, some subjects will not exercise when encouraged and others will exercise without encouragement; none‐the‐less, such an instrument aids in estimating the effect of exercise. Instruments that are weak, i.e. instruments that have only a slight effect on the treatment, present inferential problems. We evaluate a recent proposal for permutation inference with an instrumental variable in four ways: using Angrist and Krueger's data on the effects of education on earnings using quarter of birth as an instrument, following Bound, Jaeger and Baker in using simulated independent observations in place of the instrument in Angrist and Krueger's data, using entirely simulated data in which correct answers are known and finally using statistical theory to show that only permutation inferences maintain correct coverage rates. The permutation inferences perform well in both easy and hard cases, with weak instruments, as well as with long‐tailed responses.
The effects of ankle guards and taping on joint motion before, during, and after a squash match

The effects of ankle guards and taping on joint motion before, during, and after exercise were studied. Twelve league squash players played two matches, each last ing 1 hour. Two different ankle guards, and two types of tape applied by the same method, served as sup ports. A specially designed goniometer with electronic digital display (accuracy 1 °) was used to determine joint range of motion: plantar-flexion and dorsiflexion, neutral inversion and eversion, plantar-flexed inversion and eversion. The results were statistically analyzed to de termine the significance of the restriction provided by the supports. This revealed that the two ankle guards provided no significant support. The two tapes, how ever, provided significant support before exercise and after 10 minutes but not after 1 hour of exercise. Nonelastic (zinc oxide) tape proved to be the most restrictive at all times measured, especially prior to exercise, when the ankle's range of motion was de creased between 30% and 50%. However, once exer cise commenced, the tape stretched, and restriction became less effective.
Genistein and biochanin A inhibit the growth of human prostate cancer cells but not epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine autophosphorylation

The effect of the isoflavones, genistein, daidzein, and biochanin A on the growth of the LNCaP and DU‐145 human prostate cancer cell lines has been examined. Genistein and biochanin A, but not daidzein, inhibit both serum and EGF‐stimulated growth of LNCaP and DU‐145 cells (IC50 values from 8.0 to 27 μg/ml for serum and 4.3 to 15 μg/ml for EGF), but have no significant effect of the EGF receptor tyrosine autophosphorylation. In contrast, tyrphostin 25, a specific EGF receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, inhibits EGF‐stimulated growth and EGF receptor tyrosine autophosphorylation in these whole cells, but does not inhibit serum‐stimulated growth. These data suggest that the mechanism of action of genistein and biochanin A does not depend on inhibition of EGF receptor tyrosine autophosphorylation, but on a more distal event in the EGF receptor‐mediated signal transduction cascade. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Fcγ receptor signaling in primary human microglia: differential roles of PI‐3K and Ras/ERK MAPK pathways in phagocytosis and chemokine induction

Cryptococcus neoformans monoclonal antibody immune complex (IC) induces β‐chemokines and phagocytosis in primary human microglia via activation of Fc receptor for immunoglobulin G (FcγR). In this report, we investigated microglial FcγR signal‐transduction pathways by using adenoviral‐mediated gene transfer and specific inhibitors of cell‐signaling pathways. We found that Src inhibitor PP2 and Syk inhibitor piceatannol inhibited phagocytosis, macrophage‐inflammatory protein‐1α (MIP‐1α) release, as well as phosphorylation of extracellular‐regulated kinase (ERK) and Akt, consistent with Src/Syk involvement early in FcγR signaling. Constitutively active mitogen‐activated protein kinase kinase (MEK) induced MIP‐1α, and Ras dominant‐negative (DN) inhibited IC‐induced ERK phosphorylation and MIP‐1α production. These results suggest that the Ras/MEK/ERK pathway is necessary and sufficient in IC‐induced MIP‐1α expression. Neither Ras DN nor the MEK inhibitor U0126 inhibited phagocytosis. In contrast, phosphatidylinositol‐3 kinase (PI‐3K) inhibitors Wortmannin and LY294002 inhibited phagocytosis without affecting ERK phosphorylation or MIP‐1α production. Conversely, Ras DN or U0126 did not affect Akt phosphorylation. Together, these results demonstrate distinct roles played by the PI‐3K and Ras/MEK/ERK pathways in phagocytosis and MIP‐1α induction, respectively. Our results demonstrating activation of functionally distinct pathways following microglial FcγR engagement may have implications for human central nervous system diseases.
Identification of typographically transformed words: instance-based skill acquisition.

Two hypotheses concerning the development of skill at identifying typographically transformed words were tested. One claim is that a general skill independent of specific training instances is involved, and the other is that skill is based on memory for the analysis of specific instances encountered during training. Contrary to the general skill view, a series of experiments demonstrated that transfer of word identification skill was highly specific and occurred only when training and test instances shared common letters printed in the same case (i.e., uppercase or lowercase). Transfer of skill also depended on the visual patterns formed by adjacent letters and word shape. Presentation of a word in training and test phases significantly improved test phase identification of that word even when a unique visual pattern was used. These results are compatible with an instance-based view of word identification skill in which it is assumed that subjects develop skilled analysis of the visual and conceptual characteristics of specific words, and that this skill can be used to identify repeatedly presented words as well as predictable sets of novel words.
In vitro toxicity evaluation of culture filtrates of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici on growth and physiology of tomato under chromium (VI) stress.

In vitro toxicological influence of culture filtrates of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (Sacc.) Snyder & Hans was investigated on seed germination, seedling growth and physiology of tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum Mill.) under chromium(VI) stress. Original culture filtrates of the fungus and three concentrations of Cr(VI) viz. 50, 75 and 100 mg L1 were used in laboratory bioassays either alone or in different combinations. Experiment was carried out at 25 ± 2 °C in triplicate using completely randomized design and different growth and physiological assays were recorded in 15-days old tomato seedlings. Germination, growth and biomass was declined significantly up to 40%, 85% and 70% due to original culture filtrate of the F. oxysporum and by 40-60%, 10-50%, 50-80% under combine stress of original culture filtrate of the fungus along with increasing concentration of Cr(VI), and by 10-20%, 0-25% and 30-60% due to increasing concentration of Cr(VI) alone. Chlorophyll contents was significantly declined due to original culture filtrate of the F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici alone or combined with Cr(VI), while non-significantly different due to solitary effect of Cr(VI) over control treatments. Whereas, catalase and peroxidase activities increased significantly in treatments supplemented with Cr(VI) alone or combination with fungus and decreased due to culture filtrate of fungus alone as compared to control. The present study concluded that culture filtrates of F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici are hazardous to tomato seedlings either alone or in combination with Cr(VI).
Viral load at the time of liver transplantation and risk of hepatitis B virus recurrence

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) recurrence after liver transplantation is significantly reduced by prophylaxis with hepatitis B immune globulins (HBIG) or antiviral drugs in nonreplicating patients and by the combination of both drugs in replicating patients. However, the load of HBV DNA, which defines replicating status in patients undergoing liver transplantation, remains unclear. This study analyzes the correlation between the viral load, tested with a single amplified assay, at the time of liver transplantation, and the risk of hepatitis B recurrence in 177 HBV carriers who underwent transplantation in a single center from 1990 to 2002. Overall, HBV relapsed after surgery in 15 patients (8.5%) with a 5‐ and 8‐year actuarial rate of recurrence of 8% and 21%, respectively. After liver transplantation hepatitis B recurred in 9% of 98 selected subjects treated only with immune globulins and in 8% of 79 viremic patients who received immune globulins and lamivudine (P = NS). A linear correlation was observed between recurrence and viral load at the time of surgery. In transplant patients with HBV DNA higher than 100,000 copies/mL, 200–99,999 copies/mL, and DNA undetectable by amplified assay, hepatitis B recurred in 50%, 7.5%, and 0% of patients, respectively. Overall, a viral load higher than 100,000 copies/mL at the time of liver transplantation was significantly associated with hepatitis B recurrence (P = .0003). In conclusion, spontaneous or antiviral‐induced HBV DNA viral load at the time of surgery classifies the risk of HBV recurrence after liver transplantation and indicates the best prophylaxis strategy. (Liver Transpl 2005;11:402–409.)
Modelling structure and predicting dynamics of discussion threads in online boards

Internet boards are platforms for online discussions about a variety of topics. On these boards, individuals may start a new thread on a specific matter, or leave comments in an existing discussion. The resulting collective process leads to the formation of `discussion trees', where nodes represent a post and comments, and an edge represents a `reply-to' relation. The structure of discussion trees has been analysed in previous works, but only from a static perspective. In this paper, we focus on their structural and dynamical properties by modelling their formation as a self-exciting Hawkes process. We first study a Reddit dataset to show that the structure of the trees resemble those produced by a Galton-Watson process with a special root offspring distribution. The dynamical aspect of the model is then used to predict future commenting activity and the final size of a discussion tree. We compare the efficiency of our approach with previous works and show its superiority for the prediction of the dynamics of discussions.
Protein nutrition and liver disease after jejunoileal bypass for morbid obesity.

Abstract A role for protein malnutrition in the pathogenesis of liver dysfunction after jejunoileal bypass was sought in 18 patients undergoing bypass surgery for obesity. Four months after operation, when weight loss was rapid, serum glutamic oxalacetic transaminase was elevated in 12 patients, and most had marked hepatic steatosis. Of the essential amino acids plasma valine, isoleucine, leucine, phenylalanine, threonine and lysine declined, as did the nonessential amino acids, alanine, citrulline, cystine, tyrosine, ornithine and arginine. Glycine and serine were elevated. This profile is typical of protein-calorie malnutrition. Twelve to 36 months after operation weight stabilized, transaminase was normal, and hepatic fat diminished. Concentrations of many amino acids returned toward normal though moderate depression of valine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, tyrosine, ornithine and arginine persisted. Glycine remained elevated. Oral amino acid tolerance tests suggested that improved absorption accounted .
Effects of donor oocytes and culture conditions on development of cloned mice embryos

Mice have been successfully cloned from somatic and embryonic stem (ES) cells using the “Honolulu method. ” In the present study, different donor oocytes and different culture conditions were compared to evaluate the developmental potential of nuclear transfer embryos reconstructed with an inbred ES cell line HM‐1. Oocytes were recovered from two different F1 donors B6D2F1 (C57BL/6 × DBA/2) and B6CBAF1 (C57BL/6 × CBA). There was no effect of oocyte origin on development of cloned embryos to the morulae/blastocyst stage (B6D2F1 44.1% vs. B6CBAF1 45.0%), and the transferred embryos could develop to term. Two culture conditions were compared to show their ability to support development to the morulae/blastocyst stage of reconstructed embryos with B6D2F1 oocytes. The total cell number in the cloned blastocysts cultured in M16 with 20% oxygen was much higher than that observed in CZB with 20% oxygen. Low oxygen concentration during culture of nuclear transfer embryos in CZB medium showed no beneficial effect on pre‐implantation development, no embryos developed to term after transfer to surrogate mothers. Our results demonstrated that not only B6D2F1, but B6CBAF1 oocytes, can be used for nuclear transfer. M16 medium is superior for culture of nuclear transfer embryos and low oxygen concentration with CZB medium during culture shows no benefit on development of cloned embryos. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 66: 126–133, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Fine structure of the outer enamel epithelium in the cervical loop of the rat incisor.

Introduction There have been only a few morphological studies on the cervical loop (CL) of the enamel organ. It was originally reported on the basis of light microscopic observations that the CL of the rat incisor was difficult to discriminate into the four cell layers, i.e., the inner enamel epithelium, the stellate reticulum, the stratum intermedium and the outer enamel epithelium[1]. Later, however, it was shown by WARSHAWSKY et al.[2] that in the CL of the rat incisor, both the inner and outer enamel epithelia consisted of multilayers. Previous electron microscopic studies have focused mainly on the morphological changes occurring in the process of inner enamel epithelial differentiation into secretory ameloblasts[3-11]. Only a few investigations have been made on the outer enamel epithelium using electron microscopy; PANNESE[12], DECKER[13], REITH[14], MOE[15] and KALLENBACH[16] all briefly reported the fine structure of the outer enamel epithelium. These studies showed that the outer enamel epithelium is lined by an outer basal lamina, and that the cells in the outer enamel epithelium have microvilli on their lateral membranes and are connected with adjacent cells by desmosomes. However, no ultrastructural details of the outer enamel epithelium have yet been clarified. It was also shown by DECKER[3] that lipid granules are often seen within cells, while details of their distrubution in the CL have not been revealed. The author therefore studied these various points in detail using the growing end of the rat incisor, and observed, mainly by electron microscopy, the fine structure of the outer enamel epithelium in the CL during the process of tooth formation.
Early Cochlear Implantation in Children Allows Normal Development of Central Auditory Pathways

The goal of this study was to determine whether there is a sensitive period during early development when a cochlear implantation can occur into a minimally degenerate and/or highly plastic central auditory system. Our measure of central auditory deprivation was latency of the P1 auditory evoked potential, whose generators include auditory thalamocortical areas. Auditory evoked potentials were recorded in 18 congenitally deaf children who were fitted with cochlear implants by 3.5 years of age. The P1 latencies of the children with implants were compared with the P1 latencies of their age-matched peers with normal hearing. There was no significant difference between the P1 latencies of the children with implants and the children with normal hearing. The present results suggest that early implantation occurs in a central auditory system that is minimally degenerate and/or highly plastic. Studies are ongoing to assess the consequences to the developing central auditory system of initiating electrical stimulation at later ages.
Production , Manufacturing and Logistics A model for heuristic coordination of real life distribution inventory systems with lumpy demand

This paper presents an approximation model for optimizing reorder points in one-warehouse N-retailer inventory systems subject to highly variable lumpy demand. The motivation for this work stems from close cooperation with a supply chain management software company, Syncron International, and one of their customers, a global spare parts provider. The model heuristically coordinates the inventory system using a near optimal induced backorder cost at the central warehouse. This induced backorder cost captures the impact that a reorder point decision at the warehouse has on the retailers’ costs, and decomposes the multi-echelon problem into solving N + 1 single-echelon problems. The decomposition framework renders a flexible model that is computationally and conceptually simple enough to be implemented in practice. A numerical study, including real data from the case company, shows that the new model performs very well in comparison to existing methods in the literature, and offers significant improvements to the case company. With regards to the latter, the new model in general obtains realized service levels much closer to target while reducing total inventory. 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.