Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
American College of Surgeons audit filters: associations with patient outcome and resource utilization.

OBJECTIVE To determine if trauma patients qualifying by a 1990 American College of Surgeons (ACS) audit filter have the same outcomes and resource utilizations as similar (matching) patients not qualifying by the filter. DESIGN Retrospective, case control study. MATERIALS AND METHODS Data for 21,175 patients submitted during 1992 to the Pennsylvania Trauma Outcome Study (PTOS) were analyzed. Patients qualifying by each 1990 ACS audit filter were identified, except filters 13 and 22 that were not accommodated by the PTOS form. In addition, qualifiers by filter 21 (trauma deaths) were not analyzed. For each qualifier by a filter, matching patients who were not qualifiers by the filter were identified. Matching patients had the same cause of injury, A Severity Characterization of Trauma (ASCOT) age category, distribution of serious (Abbreviated Injury Score of > 2) injuries, intubation status, and coded Revised Trauma Score values on Emergency Department arrival. Qualifiers and matching patients were compared for their survival (z and W statistics), discharge disability (PTOS-Functional Independence Measure), and lengths of stay in the hospital (H-LOS) and in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU-LOS). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS More than 57% of the study sample qualified by one or more filters. Filters 10 and 12 did not have sufficient qualifiers for evaluation. No filter's qualifiers were associated with significantly more disability at discharge than matching patients. The most frequently occurring filters (4, 2, and 5, respec-tively) deal with documentation deficiencies, but were not associated with significant results. Qualifiers by the nine filters below were associated with significantly greater mortality or H-LOS or ICU-LOS. [table: see text] CONCLUSIONS Additional studies of the efficacy and efficiency of trauma quality assurance filters are needed. Objective criteria should be established for the definition, evaluation, modification, and adoption of trauma audit filters.
Location estimation and uncertainty analysis for mobile robots

A motion controller for the autonomous mobile vehicle commands the robot's drive mechanism to keep the robot near its desired path at all times. In order for the controller to behave properly, the controller must know the robot's position at any given time. The controller uses the information provided by the optical encoders attached to the wheels to determine vehicle position. The author analyzes the effect of measurement errors, wheel slippage, and noise on the accuracy of the estimated vehicle position obtained in this manner. Specifically the location estimator and its uncertainty covariance matrix are derived. <<ETX>>
Ocular dominance columns in the adult New World Monkey Callithrix jacchus

In the marmoset Callithrix jacchus, ocular dominance columns (ODC) have been reported to be present in young animals, but absent in adults (Spatz, 1989). We have studied in juvenile and adult animals the postnatal organization of the retino-geniculo-cortical afferents by means of transneuronal labeling. We show in the present work that ODC are present in the primary visual cortex of Callithrix jacchus, both in the adult and in the juvenile animal. The present work confirms the presence of ODC in the visual cortex of juvenile marmoset before the end of the first postnatal month. In 2-month-old animals, ODC are well demarcated in IVcα and IVcβ. In the adult marmosets, the present data clearly show that the primary visual cortex is also organized with ODC. In horizontal sections, they form a mosaic through the ventral and dorsal calcarine cortex and through the dorso-lateral occipital part of the striate cortex. In frontal sections, their presence is manifest in IVcβ within the calcarine cortex and they only faintly appear in IVcα. These new findings are important since they underline the usefulness of the adult New World Monkeys as a model in visual research.
Tyrosine kinase inhibitors in the treatment of prostate cancer: taking the next step in clinical development

Introduction: Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most frequently diagnosed, non-cutaneous malignancy in Western countries. Until recently, few therapeutic options were available for patients with advanced PCa. Although these treatments may delay progression of disease, none are curative. Therefore, research continues to investigate other treatments for advanced PCa. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) have been extensively studied as a treatment for multiple malignancies and may represent an additional strategy. In addition to limiting cellular proliferation and metastasis, there is also growing interest in using these treatments to impact the bone microenvironment and reduce associated morbidity from PCa. Areas covered: Several TKIs have been evaluated in the preclinical setting in advanced PCa. Targets reviewed include the epidermal growth factor family, VEGF receptor, c-Src family kinases, platelet-derived growth factor and c-Met. Expert opinion: Despite strong biological rationale for the use of TKIs therapy for the treatment of PCa, Phase III clinical trials have produced disappointing results. As TKI strategies move forward, the failures of past trials need to be better understood. New approaches with these treatments will also have to take into account modern anti-androgens and a treatment landscape that now includes immunotherapy.
Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada

RESUMEN: En la nanotecnologia actualmente se investiga el uso de diversos materiales biologicos como agentes reductores para la produccion de nanoparticulas metalicas (NPs), como una alternativa ecoamigable. Entre los agentes biologicos estudiados, los hongos y los extractos de plantas han sido identificados como excelentes candidatos para este proposito. Los hongos presentan una serie de ventajas sobre otros sistemas biologicos, tales como una alta tasa de crecimiento, requieren de nutrientes simples y son de facil manejo en el laboratorio. Hasta el momento, mas de 50 especies de hongos han demostrado una excelente capacidad de biorreduccion para producir NPs metalicas. El hongo Neurospora crassa se ha utilizado con exito para producir NPs de diversos metales. Hoy en dia se exploran las posibles aplicaciones de las NPs generadas mediante metodos ecoamigables, en particular las nanoparticulas de plata (AgNPs) por su excelente actividad antimicrobiana. Sin embargo, a pesar de los avances en este campo todavia hay mucho trabajo por hacer, sobre todo en la sintesis de NPs biocompatibles para su uso potencial en biomedicina.
Toll-like Receptor 2 Is Required for LPS-induced Toll-like Receptor 4 Signaling and Inhibition of Ion Transport in Renal Thick Ascending Limb*

Background: Bacterial molecules act through Toll-like receptors to impair renal tubule function. Results: Activation of ERK and inhibition of bicarbonate absorption by LPS requires both TLR4 and TLR2 in thick ascending limb. Conclusion: LPS-induced cell signaling may depend on interaction between TLR4 and TLR2. Significance: Interaction of TLR4 with TLR2 could provide new mechanisms for control and therapeutic targeting of LPS-induced immune responses. Previously we demonstrated that basolateral LPS inhibits HCO3− absorption in the renal medullary thick ascending limb (MTAL) through TLR4-dependent ERK activation. Here we report that the response of the MTAL to basolateral LPS requires TLR2 in addition to TLR4. The basolateral addition of LPS (ultrapure Escherichia coli K12) decreased HCO3− absorption in isolated, perfused MTALs from wild-type mice but had no effect in MTALs from TLR2−/− mice. In contrast, inhibition of HCO3− absorption by lumen LPS was preserved in TLR2−/− MTALs, indicating that TLR2 is involved specifically in mediating the basolateral LPS response. LPS also did not increase ERK phosphorylation in MTALs from TLR2−/− mice. TLR2 deficiency had no effect on expression of TLR4, MD-2, or MyD88. However, LPS-induced recruitment of MyD88 to the basolateral membrane was impaired in TLR2−/− MTALs. Inhibition of HCO3− absorption by LPS did not require CD14. Co-immunoprecipitation studies demonstrated an association between TLR4 and TLR2. Inhibition of HCO3− absorption by TLR2-specific ligands was preserved in MTALs from TLR4−/− mice. These results indicate that the effect of basolateral LPS to inhibit HCO3− absorption in the MTAL through MyD88-dependent ERK activation depends on a novel interaction between TLR4 and TLR2. TLR2 plays a dual role in the induction of intracellular signals that impair MTAL function, both through cooperation with TLR4 to mediate ERK signaling by LPS and through a TLR4-independent signaling pathway activated by Gram-positive bacterial ligands. Regulation of TLR2 expression and its interaction with TLR4 may provide new mechanisms for controlling and therapeutic targeting of TLR4-mediated LPS responses.
The Phagocytic Function of Macrophage-Enforcing Innate Immunity and Tissue Homeostasis

Macrophages are effector cells of the innate immune system that phagocytose bacteria and secrete both pro-inflammatory and antimicrobial mediators. In addition, macrophages play an important role in eliminating diseased and damaged cells through their programmed cell death. Generally, macrophages ingest and degrade dead cells, debris, tumor cells, and foreign materials. They promote homeostasis by responding to internal and external changes within the body, not only as phagocytes, but also through trophic, regulatory, and repair functions. Recent studies demonstrated that macrophages differentiate from hematopoietic stem cell-derived monocytes and embryonic yolk sac macrophages. The latter mainly give rise to tissue macrophages. Macrophages exist in all vertebrate tissues and have dual functions in host protection and tissue injury, which are maintained at a fine balance. Tissue macrophages have heterogeneous phenotypes in different tissue environments. In this review, we focused on the phagocytic function of macrophage-enforcing innate immunity and tissue homeostasis for a better understanding of the role of tissue macrophages in several pathological conditions.
Effects of Different Oil Sources and Vitamin E in Breeder Diet on Egg Quality, Hatchability and Development of the Neonatal Offspring

Effects of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) and vitamin E (VE) supplementation in the diet of breeder hens on the egg quality and hatchability, lipid peroxides of the egg yolk, and development of the newly-hatched offspring chicks were investigated. A total of 800 Avian 48, 28 wk-old broiler breeders were assigned randomly to 4 groups with 4 replicates of 45 females and 5 males. Each group was fed one of the following four diets with different oil sources and levels of VE: corn oil (CO), fish oil (FO), CO+VE and FO+VE. The results showed that: i) Addition of FO in the breeder diet reduced the whole egg weight, yolk weight, albumen weight, yolk color score and neonatal offspring chick body weight without affecting the hatchability as compared to the CO treatment. ii) Addition of VE efficiently reduced the lipid peroxides of egg yolk from hens fed diets containing FO. iii) VE in the breeder diet significantly promoted the development of liver and heart of the chick offspring.
Bone mineral apparent density in juvenile dermatomyositis: the role of lean body mass and glucocorticoid use

Objective: To analyse bone mineral density (BMD) in juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) and its possible association with body composition, disease activity, duration of disease, glucocorticoid (GC) use, and biochemical bone parameters, including osteoprotegerin (OPG) and receptor activator of nuclear factor κB (RANKL). Methods: Twenty girls with JDM and 20 controls matched for gender and age were selected. Body composition and BMD were analysed by dual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry (DXA) and bone mineral apparent density (BMAD) was calculated. Duration of disease, cumulative GC, and GC pulse therapy use were determined from medical records. Disease activity and muscle strength were measured by the Disease Activity Score (DAS), the Childhood Myositis Assessment Scale (CMAS), and the Manual Muscle Test (MMT). Inflammatory and bone metabolism parameters were also analysed. OPG and RANKL were measured in patients and controls using an enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: A lower BMAD in the femoral neck (p<0.001), total femur (p<0.001), and whole body (p = 0.005) was observed in JDM patients compared to controls. Body composition analysis showed a lower lean mass in JDM compared to controls (p = 0.015), but no difference was observed with regard to fat mass. A trend of lower serum calcium was observed in JDM (p = 0.05), whereas all other parameters analysed, including OPG and RANKL, were similar. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that, in JDM, lean mass (p<0.01) and GC pulse therapy use (p<0.05) were independent factors for BMAD in the hip region. Conclusions: This study has identified low lean mass and GC pulse therapy use as the major factors for low hip BMAD in JDM patients.
Aldose Reductase and AGE–RAGE pathways: central roles in the pathogenesis of vascular dysfunction in aging rats

Aging is inevitably accompanied by gradual and irreversible innate endothelial dysfunction. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that accentuation of glucose metabolism via the aldose reductase (AR) pathway contributes to age‐related vascular dysfunction. AR protein and activity levels were significantly increased in aged vs. young aortic homogenates from Fischer 344 rats. Immunostaining revealed that the principal site of increased AR protein was the aortic endothelium as well as smooth muscle cells. Studies revealed that endothelial‐dependent relaxation (EDR) in response to acetylcholine was impaired in aged rats compared to young rats and that treatment with the AR inhibitor (ARI) zopolrestat significantly improved EDR in aged rats. Methylglyoxal (MG), a key precursor of advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs), was significantly increased in the aortas of aged rats vs. young rats. Consistent with central roles for AR in generation of MG in aging, ARI treatment significantly reduced MG levels in aged rat aorta to those in young rats. Treatment of aged rats with soluble(s) RAGE, a soluble form of the chief signal transduction receptor for AGEs, RAGE, significantly improved EDR in aged rats, thus establishing the contribution of age‐related increases in AGEs to endothelial dysfunction. These findings reveal that significant increases in AR expression and activity in aged rat vasculature linked to endothelial dysfunction may be mitigated, at least in part, via ARI and that aging‐linked increased flux via AR generates AGEs; species which transduce endothelial injury consequent to their interaction with RAGE. These data demonstrate for the first time that AR mediates aging‐related vascular dysfunction, at least in part, via RAGE.
PolSAR Mosaic Normalization for Improved Land-Cover Mapping

This letter describes an algorithm development for the production of a large-scale fully polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) (PolSAR) mosaic using multitemporal Advanced Land Observing Satellite Phased Array type L-band SAR acquisitions. The PolSAR data were collected during the snow-melting season in 2007 over Finnish Lapland, resulting in considerable radiometric differences between mosaiced scenes originating at different dates. Several variants of polarimetric seam hiding between the original PolSAR images were proposed and evaluated in order to effectively eliminate stripes in the mosaic. The impact of such seam-hiding procedure on PolSAR classification performance was studied, along with the technical aspects of producing the PolSAR mosaic. The obtained results indicate the advantages of the considered seam-hiding procedures for producing homogeneous mosaics and obtaining consistent classification results in a single classification step.
The Latin American Inner City: Differences of Degree or of Kind?

It is often assumed that the globalization of the world economy will drive societies and societal change in a broadly similar direction, leading to convergence in the process of urbanization. The observed diversity between places is the result of the engagement of the macroeconomic process with local social and political structures. Inner-city decline in many older metropolitan centers of the USA and the United Kingdom has occurred through economic restructuring and job loss, with smaller urban centers and amenity-rich areas benefiting concomitantly. Demographic processes have accentuated this decline: most notably suburbanization, counterurbanization, inner-city renewal programs, and urban resettlement to new towns. Since the early 1980s, however, selected inner cities have been the focus of reinvestment, and a return of population through so-called ‘gentrification’. In the United Kingdom, in particular, public policy has played an important role in the reinvigoration of inner cities. The substantial literature on UK and US cities is reviewed insofar as it might shed light on convergent processes in Latin American inner cities. In fact, the evidence suggests little convergence. The demography is different, with relatively low levels of visible population decline; and the economy of the inner city remains vibrant, focusing upon services and small-scale artisan activities, with no corresponding decline in heavy industry. Although large-scale redevelopment projects in and around the downtown were common during the 1940s to the 1960s, the demise of authoritarian and dirigiste-type leaders, 1980s austerity, and a growing democratic base, have imposed severe limitations on the extent of large-scale urban redevelopment and reinvestment. Cultural and aesthetic influences also militate against a demand from the middle-income and upper-income groups to gentrify the inner city; nor is the ‘rent-gap’ sufficient to stimulate private-sector supply of new or refurbished homes a likely option in the city center. Policy prescriptions in Latin America should take account of this divergence and fundamental differences in kind, and should aim to develop existing opportunities and land uses for an incumbent working-class population, rather than seeking to attract new uses and better-off populations into the core.
Measuring Up? Persistence and Change in Analysts' Evaluative Schemas Following Technological Change

We examine shifts in how analysts assess the strategies of incumbent firms following a radical technological change. Specifically, we use an inductive study of earnings conference call transcripts and analyst reports to study how analysts’ evaluative schemas change with technological change in the wireline telecommunications industry. We find three temporal themes. At first, analysts pressure firms to reverse strategic changes that are at odds with the existing “income”-focused metrics and logic that constitute the evaluative schema. Next, schema change unfolds with the ongoing technological change, as firm performance declines when measured with traditional metrics, and as managers frame strategic changes using new “growth”-focused metrics and logic. Finally, a distinct shift in the schema is apparent as analysts’ increasing attention to growth spurs a more positive view of strategic changes that they previously opposed, a less positive view of previously supported strategies that conformed to an income .
Sleep Apnea and Total Joint Arthroplasty under Various Types of Anesthesia: A Population-Based Study of Perioperative Outcomes

Background and Objectives The presence of sleep apnea (SA) among surgical patients has been associated with significantly increased risk of perioperative complications. Although regional anesthesia has been suggested as a means to reduce complication rates among SA patients undergoing surgery, no data are available to support this association. We studied the association of the type of anesthesia and perioperative outcomes in patients with SA undergoing joint arthroplasty. Methods Drawing on a large administrative database (Premier Inc), we analyzed data from approximately 400 hospitals in the United States. Patients with a diagnosis of SA who underwent primary hip or knee arthroplasty between 2006 and 2010 were identified. Perioperative outcomes were compared between patients receiving general, neuraxial, or combined neuraxial-general anesthesia. Results We identified 40,316 entries for unique patients with a diagnosis for SA undergoing primary hip or knee arthroplasty. Of those, 30,024 (74%) had anesthesia-type information available. Approximately 11% of cases were performed under neuraxial, 15% under combined neuraxial and general, and 74% under general anesthesia. Patients undergoing their procedure under neuraxial anesthesia had significantly lower rates of major complications than did patients who received combined neuraxial and general or general anesthesia (16.0%, 17.2%, and 18.1%, respectively; P = 0.0177). Adjusted risk of major complications for those undergoing surgery under neuraxial or combined neuraxial-general anesthesia compared with general anesthesia was also lower (odds ratio, 0.83 [95% confidence interval, 0.74–0.93; P = 0.001] vs odds ratio, 0.90 [95% confidence interval, 0.82–0.99; P = 0.03]). Conclusions Barring contraindications, neuraxial anesthesia may convey benefits in the perioperative outcome of SA patients undergoing joint arthroplasty. Further research is needed to enhance an understanding of the mechanisms by which neuraxial anesthesia may exert comparatively beneficial effects.
Frailty is an independent predictor of survival in older patients with colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND Colorectal cancer (CRC) is prevalent in the older population. Geriatric assessment (GA) has previously been found to predict treatment tolerance and postoperative complications in older cancer patients. The aim of this study was to explore whether GA also predicts 1-year and 5-year survival after CRC surgery in older patients and to compare the predictive power of GA with that of established prognostic factors such as TNM classification of malignant tumors (TNM) stage and age. MATERIALS AND METHODS A cohort of 178 CRC patients aged 70 and older were followed prospectively. All patients went through elective surgery, and GA was performed presurgery. The GA resulted in patients being divided into two groups: frail or nonfrail. All patients were followed for 5 years or until death. Data were analyzed by Kaplan-Meier plots and the Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS Seventy-six patients (43%) were frail, and one hundred and two (57%) were nonfrail. Twenty-three patients (13%) died during the first year after surgery. One-year survival was 80% in the frail group and 92% in the nonfrail group. Five-year survival was significantly lower in frail (24%) than nonfrail patients (66%), and this difference was apparent both within the stratums of TNM stages 0-II and TNM stage III. In multivariable analysis adjusting for TNM stage, age, and sex, frailty was an independent prognostic factor for survival. CONCLUSION A GA-based frailty assessment predicts 1-year and 5-year survival in older patients after surgery for CRC. In localized and regional disease, the impact of frailty upon 5-year survival is comparable with that of TNM stage.