Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Study of lupus erythematosus with particular reference to generalized discoid lupus

The classification of lupus erythematosus (LE) is difficult because of variable and multisystem involvement, occurrence of transitional forms, and overlapping with connective tissue disorders. One of the earliest attempts at classification was made by O'Leary (1934), who classified LE clinically into four main types: (1) chronic discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE), or fixed type with the typical erythematous, scaly, well‐demarcated eruption, usually showing follicular plugging and atrophy, confined to the head region; (2) generalized DLE, or chronic disseminated type differing from the localized discoid type in that the erythematous plaques are found not only on the head area but also below the neck region (O'Leary considered that constitutional systems were generally lacking in these two types); (3) subacute disseminated LE; and (4) acute disseminated LE. The last two categories reflect what we now call systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) of varying severity.
Delay in neurological attention and stroke outcome. Cerebrovascular Diseases Study Group of the Spanish Society of Neurology.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Despite efforts to reduce the delay between stroke onset and new interventional treatments, no studies have analyzed the repercussions of early neurological attention on the clinical outcome of stroke patients. METHODS Data were obtained from 721 patients admitted consecutively for a transient ischemic attack or stroke to the neurology departments of 18 Spanish hospitals that followed the same diagnostic and therapeutic guidelines in the acute phase. Factors assessed were age, sex, Canadian Stroke Scale score on admission, previous Barthel Index, and delay before attention by the first physician, by emergency services, by a neurologist, and before hospitalization. Patients' outcomes were classified as good (Barthel Index > 60) or poor (Barthel Index < or = 60 or in-hospital death) depending on patient's functional capacity on discharge. The individual contribution of each of these variables on clinical outcome was estimated with logistic regression analysis. RESULTS Patients in worse neurological condition on admission presented earlier to the first physician, emergency department, and neurologist. The mortality rate was not significantly modified by early or late presentation at the different medical stages. Logistic regression analysis revealed that the relative risk of poor outcome in patients seen by the neurologist after the first 6 hours from symptom onset was 5.6 (95% confidence interval, 3.4 to 9.2) (P < .0001). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that the delay before the patient received neurological attention correlated positively with the duration of hospitalization (P < .0001). The delays before the patient was seen by the first physician or the emergency department and before hospitalization were not independently related to clinical outcome or length of hospitalization. CONCLUSIONS Early neurological attention in acute stroke is related to better functional outcome and shorter hospitalization.
Population Pharmacokinetics with a Very Small Sample Size

The objective of this study was to evaluate whether pharmacokinetic parameters (clearance and volume of distribution of the central compartment) from a sparse sampling population pharmacokinetic study can be obtained with a very small sample size. For this study, three drugs were selected from the literature. The pharmacokinetics of all three drugs were studied in healthy adult subjects and plasma concentrations versus time data for individual subjects from extensive blood sampling were available. For population PK analysis, only five subjects were chosen and each subject gave either one or two blood samples. The estimated PK parameters from population PK analysis were compared with the PK parameters obtained from extensive sampling. The results of the study indicated that a reasonable estimate of PK parameters can be obtained with two blood samples from each subject with a sample size of five. The population PK study with sparse sampling scheme may be useful for PK studies in neonates and very young children and in subjects with rare diseases where sample size is small.
Design of iterative learning control schemes for systems with zero Markov parameters

This paper gives new results on the design of iterative learning control laws in the repetitive process setting for error convergence and regulation of the transient dynamics. Such control laws are applied to systems that repeat the same operation, known as trials, over a finite duration. The underlying approach is to specify a reference trajectory and using the recorded data from the previous trials to update the control input signal such that the sequence of trial outputs converge to this specified trajectory. For linear time-invariant dynamics, successful design requires that the first Markov parameter is non-zero, i.e., the system transfer-function is proper. The new design in this paper allows direct treatment of strictly proper dynamics by use of anticipative action based on previous trial data and the resulting design computations are linear matrix inequality based. A simulation case study based on robotic manipulator dynamics, whose model was developed from experimentally measured data, is used to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the new design procedure.
Control algorithm for a doubly fed induction generator in medium voltage wind power system under fault ride through and unbalanced grid conditions

This paper investigates control algorithms for a doubly fed induction generator with a back-to-back three-level neutral-point clamped voltage source converter in medium voltage wind power system under unbalanced grid conditions. Three different control algorithms to compensate for unbalanced conditions have been investigated with respect to four performance factors; fault ride-through capability, instantaneous active power pulsation, harmonic distortions and torque pulsation. The control algorithm having zero amplitude of torque ripple shows the most cost-effective performance concerning torque pulsation. The least active power pulsation is produced by control algorithm that nullifies the oscillating component of the instantaneous stator active and reactive power. Combination of these two control algorithms depending on the operating requirements and depth of grid unbalance presents most optimized performance factors under the generalized unbalanced operating conditions leading to high performance DFIG wind turbine system.
Hypertonic sodium resuscitation is associated with renal failure and death.

OBJECTIVE The use of hypertonic sodium solutions (HSS) and lactated Ringer's (LR) solution in the resuscitation of patients with major burns was compared. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA Hypertonic sodium solutions have been recommended for burn resuscitation to reduce the large total volumes required with isotonic LR solution and their attendant complications. METHODS To evaluate the efficacy of this therapy in our adult burn center, we resuscitated 65 consecutive patients with HSS (290 mEq/L Na) between July 1991 and June 1993 and compared them with 109 burn patients resuscitated with LR (130 mEq/L Na) between July 1986 and June 1988 (LR-1). A subsequent 39 patients were resuscitated with LR between September 1993 and August 1994 (LR-2). RESULTS Patients receiving hypertonic sodium solutions versus LR-1 were similar with respect to age (46.0 vs. 43.6 years), total burn size (39.2% vs. 39.9%), incidence of inhalation injury (41.5% vs. 47.7%), and predicted mortality (34.6% vs. 30.2%). Total resuscitation volumes during the first 24 hours were lower among patients treated with HSS than those in the LR-1 group (3.9 +/- 0.3 vs. 5.3 +/- 0.2 mL/kg/% body surface area [BSA], p < 0.05). After 48 hours, however, cumulative fluid loads were similar (6.6 +/- 0.6 vs. 7.5 +/- 0.3 mL/kg/%BSA), and total sodium load was greater with the HSS group (1.3 +/- 0.1 vs. 0.9 +/- 0.1 mEq/kg/%BSA, p < 0.002). During the first 3 days after burn, serum sodium concentrations were moderately elevated in the HSS patients (153 +/- 2 vs. 135 +/- 1 mEq/L, p < 0.001). Patients resuscitated with HSS had a fourfold increase in renal failure (40.0 vs. 10.1%, p < 0.001) and twice the mortality of LR-1 patients (53.8 vs. 26.6%, p < 0.001). In patients resuscitated with HSS, renal failure was an independent risk factor (p < 0.001, by logistic regression). Analysis of these results prompted a return to LR resuscitation (LR-2). Age (41.6 +/- 2.9 years), burn size (37.8 +/- 3.9 %BSA), and incidence of inhalation injury (51.3%) were similar to the earlier groups. Total sodium load was less among LR-2 patients than the HSS group (0.7 +/- 0.1 mEq/kg/%BSA, p < 0.01), but similar to the LR-1 patients. Renal failure developed in only 15.4%, and 33.3% died, similar to the LR-1 group and significantly lower than patients treated with HSS (p < 0.001 and p < 0.05, respectively). CONCLUSION Hypertonic sodium solution resuscitation of burn patients did not reduce the total resuscitation volume required. Furthermore, it was associated with an increased incidence of renal failure and death. The use of HSS for burn resuscitation may be ill advised.
An investigation into the enzyme histochemistry of adenocarcinomas of human large intestine and of the transitional epithelium immediately adjacent to them

Histochemical enzymatic studies were performed on 30 freshly resected large bowel carcinomas, 30 samples of normal colonic epithelium, and six samples of the histologically normal epithelium (so-called transitional epithelium) immediately adjacent to a carcinoma. Five enzymes were studied: nicotine adenine dinucleotide tetrazolium reductase (NADH-TR), glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, succinate dehydrogenase, monoamine oxidase, and acid phosphatase. Quantitative and qualitative differences in enzyme activity were observed between normal, transitional, and carcinomatous mucosa as follows: monoamine oxidase activity was moderate in normal mucosa, high in transitional mucosa, and low in carcinoma. Succinate dehydrogenase activity was high in transitional mucosa and low or moderate in normal and carcinomatous mucosa. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity showed a gradation from low in normal mucosa to high in carcinoma while acid phosphatase showed the reverse of this pattern. The tetrazolium reductase activity was low or moderate in normal and transitional mucosa and high in carcinoma. These differences in enzyme activity and their possible clinical and metabolic significance are discussed.
Cash Holdings and Financing Decisions Under Ambiguity

This paper addresses the following unresolved questions: Why do some firms issue equity instead of debt? Why did most firms retain their cash holdings instead of distributing them as dividends in recent times? How do firms change their financing policies during a period of severe financial constraints and ambiguity, or when facing the threat of an unpredictable financial crisis? We analyze how the values of the firm’s equity and debt are affected by ambiguity. We also show that cash holdings are retained longer if the investors’ ambiguity aversion bias is sufficiently large, while cash holdings become less attractive when the combined impact of ambiguity and ambiguity aversion is relatively low.
Disturbance of minimal self (ipseity) in schizophrenia: clarification and current status.

The assessment of psychopathology in most contemporary research is based squarely on signs and symptoms of disorder, often measured in fairly crude checklist-type fashion. This approach has tended to indicate significant overlap in psychotic and other symptoms across disorders, eg, between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder1 and between psychotic disorders and borderline personality disorder.2 This may partly be the result of the assessment tools and conceptual frameworks being used. By contrast, insights from phenomenological psychiatry and philosophy, focused on disturbed subjectivity,3 indicate that disturbed self-experience or selfhood may underlie and generate many “surface-level” psychotic symptoms, particularly in schizophrenia spectrum disorders.
Risk factors of childhood leukemia at Tripoli medical center in Libya

This study was conducted to investigate the risk factors of leukemia childhood at Tripoli medical center department of Pediatric Oncology; Forty one patients participate in this study their ages between 2-13 years (26 Males and 15 Females). Based on questionnaire to the patients family about the risk factors 17% of the families have no idea about the type of the leukemia 68% of the participated patient suffering from acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) and 15% from acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Our results show that the paternal age may increase the risk factor of child leukemia as 37% of the parent ages more than 40 years old. Arranging of the child in their family can also affect the development of the leukemia as about 29% of leukemic child was first or only one child in their family. Also our data shows that 25% of the risk factors due to smoking, housing location near benzene station, industrial regions, weapon stores and the high electric pressure. Other factors like fast food represent about 22% and the house hold solvent represent 9% and soda drink represent 8%. The risk factors play an important role in increasing the incidence of leukemia however the contribution of these factor participating as complementary to each other instead of each factor alone. Doctors, nurses and pharmacists should working together around the world to continue to improve outcome for children diagnosed with pediatric cancer.
Arabidopsis Ethylene-Responsive Element Binding Factors Act as Transcriptional Activators or Repressors of GCC Box–Mediated Gene Expression

Ethylene-responsive element binding factors (ERFs) are members of a novel family of transcription factors that are specific to plants. A highly conserved DNA binding domain known as the ERF domain is the unique feature of this protein family. To characterize in detail this family of transcription factors, we isolated Arabidopsis cDNAs encoding five different ERF proteins (AtERF1 to AtERF5) and analyzed their structure, DNA binding preference, transactivation ability, and mRNA expression profiles. The isolated AtERFs were placed into three classes based on amino acid identity within the ERF domain, although all five displayed GCC box–specific binding activity. AtERF1, AtERF2, and AtERF5 functioned as activators of GCC box–dependent transcription in Arabidopsis leaves. By contrast, AtERF3 and AtERF4 acted as repressors that downregulated not only basal transcription levels of a reporter gene but also the transactivation activity of other transcription factors. The AtERF genes were differentially regulated by ethylene and by abiotic stress conditions, such as wounding, cold, high salinity, or drought, via ETHYLENE-INSENSITIVE2 (EIN2)–dependent or –independent pathways. Cycloheximide, a protein synthesis inhibitor, also induced marked accumulation of AtERF mRNAs. Thus, we conclude that AtERFs are factors that respond to extracellular signals to modulate GCC box–mediated gene expression positively or negatively.
Effect of GnRH antagonists in FSH mildly stimulated intrauterine insemination cycles: a multicentre randomized trial.

Sir, We read with interest the paper by Crosignani et al. (2007) on effect of GnRH antagonists in mildly stimulated intrauterine insemination (IUI) cycles and agree with the authors that, further large studies and meta-analyses are required to determine the effects of GnRH antagonist in mild controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH). We have the following comments: (i) The authors in their study used single IUI. Double IUI increases the pregnancy rate significantly compared with single IUI in COH (Matilsky et al., 1998; Ragni et al., 1999; Liu et al., 2006). Perhaps when estradiol (E2) levels are at threshold for multiple pregnancies (MP), one-day IUI cycles can be considered to reduce the risk of MP instead of cancelling the cycle. (ii) ‘Soft’ stimulation protocols for COH are gaining in popularity these days to prevent MP. COH with clomiphene citrate and gonadotropins (Ragni et al., 1999) is another option for COH, which is cost effective also. (iii) We would ask the authors to kindly comment on what the other possibilities are if E2 levels are beyond the stated threshold level for MP, apart from cancelling the cycle to achieve single pregnancy? We hope further discussion and suggestions will contribute to the advancement and popularity of the author’s findings.
Signal transduction in Alzheimer disease: p21‐activated kinase signaling requires C‐terminal cleavage of APP at Asp664

The deficits in Alzheimer disease (AD) stem at least partly from neurotoxic β‐amyloid peptides generated from the amyloid precursor protein (APP). APP may also be cleaved intracellularly at Asp664 to yield a second neurotoxic peptide, C31. Previously, we showed that cleavage of APP at the C‐terminus is required for the impairments seen in APP transgenic mice, by comparing elements of the disease in animals modeling AD, with (platelet‐derived growth factor B‐chain promoter‐driven APP transgenic mice; PDAPP) versus without (PDAPP D664A) a functional Asp664 caspase cleavage site. However, the signaling mechanism(s) by which Asp664 contributes to these deficits remains to be elucidated. In this study, we identify a kinase protein, recently shown to bind APP at the C‐terminus and to contribute to AD, whose activity is modified in PDAPP mice, but normalized in PDAPP D664A mice. Specifically, we observed a significant increase in nuclear p21‐activated kinase (isoforms 1, 2, and or 3; PAK‐1/2/3) activation in hippocampus of 3 month old PDAPP mice compared with non‐transgenic littermates, an effect completely prevented in PDAPP D664A mice. In contrast, 13 month old PDAPP mice displayed a significant decrease in PAK‐1/2/3 activity, which was once again absent in PDAPP D664A mice. Similarly, in hippocampus of early and severe AD subjects, there was a progressive and subcellular‐specific reduction in active PAK‐1/2/3 compared with normal controls. Interestingly, total PAK‐1/2/3 protein was increased in early AD subjects, but declined in moderate AD and declined further, to significantly below that of control levels, in severe AD. These findings are compatible with previous suggestions that PAK may be involved in the pathophysiology of AD, and demonstrate that both early activation and late inactivation in the murine AD model require the cleavage of APP at Asp664.
Localization of TLR2 and MyD88 to Chlamydia trachomatis Inclusions

Chlamydia trachomatis is an obligate intracellular Gram-negative pathogen and the etiologic agent of significant ocular and genital tract diseases. Chlamydiae primarily infect epithelial cells, and the inflammatory response of these cells to the infection directs both the innate and adaptive immune response. This study focused on determining the cellular immune receptors involved in the early events following infection with the L2 serovar of C. trachomatis.We found that dominant negative MyD88 inhibited interleukin-8 (IL-8) secretion during a productive infection with chlamydia. Furthermore, expression of Toll-like receptor (TLR)-2 was required for IL-8 secretion from infected cells, whereas the effect of TLR4/MD-2 expression was minimal. Cell activation was dependent on infection with live, replicating bacteria, because infection with UV-irradiated bacteria and treatment of infected cells with chloramphenicol, but not ampicillin, abrogated the induction of IL-8 secretion. Finally, we show that both TLR2 and MyD88 co-localize with the intracellular chlamydial inclusion, suggesting that TLR2 is actively engaged in signaling from this intracellular location. These data support the role of TLR2 in the host response to infection with C. trachomatis. Our data further demonstrate that TLR2 and the adaptor MyD88 are specifically recruited to the bacterial or inclusion membrane during a productive infection with chlamydia and provide the first evidence that intracellular TLR2 is responsible for signal transduction during infection with an intracellular bacterium.
Mechanism of porcine pancreatic -amylase: inhibition of amylose and maltopentaose hydrolysis by various inhibitors

The effect of the pseudotetrasaccharide inhibitor acarbose, α-, βand γcyclodextrins and the Phaseolus protein inhibitor α-AI on amylose and maltopentaose porcine pancreatic α-amylase (PPA)-catalysed hydrolysis was studied. Statistical analysis of the kinetic data was performed. Acarbose is a strong inhibitor (K1i = 1.6 μM for amylose and 3 μM for maltopentaose). The inhibition is of the mixed noncompetitive type involving abortive complexes. α-, βand γ-cyclodextrins are much weaker inhibitors (K1i = 7, 1.2 and 3 mM, respectively with amylose and 7, 2.5 and 3.1 mM, respectively for maltopentaose). The inhibition of amylose hydrolysis is competitive while the inhibition of maltopentaose hydrolysis is, as above, mixed noncompetitive. The Phaseolus protein α-AI is a strong inhibitor of both amylose and maltopentaose hydrolysis. However, the inhibition differs from the ones described above, in that a preincubation period of the inhibitor with PPA is required. However the same general equation applies and the inhibition is mixed noncompetitive. Aside from the inhibition of amylose hydrolysis by cyclodextrins, the other examples of inhibition, whatever the inhibitor used, are of the mixed noncompetitive type indicating that one (or two) secondary carbohydrate binding site(s) in addition to the active site participate(s) in the amylolytic process. X-ray studies of the crystallized amylase-inhibitor/substrate complex show secondary (accessory) carbohydrate binding sites in addition to the active site. These binding sites are very likely the same as those kinetically determined; they might play a role either at the substrate entrance or at the product exit and they might also participate in displacement of the amylose chain in the multiple attack mechanism.
Cloning and nucleotide sequences of cDNAs spanning the splice junctions of Rous sarcoma virus mRNAs

The cDNAs corresponding to the 5' ends of the mRNAs coding for the envelope protein precursor (gPr92env) of the B77 strain and the transforming protein (pp60src) of the Prague B strain of Rous sarcoma virus were cloned into pBR322, and the nucleotide sequences surrounding the splice junctions were determined. Both mRNAs are products of single splicing events from a common donor splice site at nucleotide 398 from the 5' end of the RNA to acceptor splice sites at nucleotides 5078 and 7054 for the env and src mRNAs, respectively. These results confirm and extend previous conclusions based on peptide mapping and single-strand nuclease mapping. Compared with the sequence of the Prague C genome RNA, the B77 strain contains a 6-nucleotide deletion in the sequence corresponding to the hydrophobic portion of the signal peptide of the envelope protein precursor.