Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Expanding the Donor Pool: Can the Spanish Model Work in the United States?

Since the creation of the Organizacion Nacional de Trasplantes (ONT) in 1989, the organ donation rate in Spain has doubled. Although often attributed to improved donor recruitment efforts, this increase may also represent higher utilization of marginal donors. Therefore, age‐related donor recruitment in Spain and the US was evaluated. Data from the ONT, the US Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR), the US Census Bureau, and the Tempus databank of Spain's Instituto Nacional de Estadistica (INE) were analyzed. Between 1989 and 1999, the number of donors in Spain increased from 14.3 to 33.7 per million population (pmp; 136% increase) compared with an increase in the US from 16.2 to 21.5 donors pmp (33%). The largest difference between Spain and the US in the increased number of donors was in the 45‐year‐old group, representing 30.3% of donors in Spain in 1999 (44 donors pmp). If the US increased its older donor rates to match Spain's, an incremental 1235 donors per year would be realized. The high Spanish organ donation rates are largely attributable to increased use of older donors. Utilizing similar proportions of older donors in the US would increase the donor pool by almost 40%.
How does node architecture impact reconfigurable optical networks?

Reconfigurable Optical Add/Drop Multiplexers, ROADMs, have affected the modern-day optical transport networking because of the promising facilities caused by their remote reconfiguration property. In this paper, the impacts of the ROADM node architecture on cost of the reconfigurable optical core networks are studied. Different virtual demand scenarios are investigated. We consider the optical power loss of the infrastructure and the implementation price originated from the core nodes as two cost objectives. Extensive simulations are conducted for three sets of demands in order to study also the impact of the virtual network scaling on the cost of reconfigurable optical networks.
Minimum Completion Time for Power-Aware Scheduling in Cloud Computing

Reducing power consumption has been an essential requirement for Cloud resource providers not only to decrease operating costs, but also to improve the system reliability. This paper tackles the problem of minimizing power consuming in data centers hosts and improving their load balancing simultaneously. Cloud computing based on the idea of offering services going to be executed on data centers. These data centers need huge amount of power if they are in the peak load or the tasks are not distributed efficiently in their machines. The paper presents an algorithm for task scheduling that lowering the power consuming and reducing the total data center load. An empirical study has been done to simulate the proposed algorithm, which is proved by the results.
Platelet Function and Fibrinolytic Activity in Patients with Bronchial Asthma

Platelets have the capacity to release mediators with potent inflammatory or anaphylactic properties. Platelet factor-4 (PF4) and beta-thromboglobulin (BTG) are two of these mediators. On the other hand, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) and tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) are two important mediators of fibrinolysis. Both mediators are secreted mainly by vascular endothelium. Plasma levels of PF4, BTG, PAI-1, and tPA may show changes in chronic inflammatory diseases such as asthma. This study examined the role of thrombocytes and the function of the endothelium ın asthmatic patients during an attack and during a stable phase. Eighteen patients with known allergic asthma who came to our emergency department with an asthma attack and 14 control subjects were included in the study. Blood samples were taken after starting therapy with salbutamol inhalation. Lung function tests were performed after receiving the first emergency therapy for asthma. Plasma levels of PF4, BTG, PAI-1, tPA were determined before starting steroid therapy and after receiving 1 week of steroid therapy. Plasma levels of PF4 among patients with an asthma attack were significantly higher than those of controls (150.5±8.92 IU/mL vs. 92.5±7.63 IU/mL, p<0.001). A further increase in plasma PF4 levels was detected after steroid therapy (163.5±9.16 IU/mL). Plasma BTG levels of patients on admission were not statistically different from those in the control group (140.4±6.34 IU/mL vs. 152.2±8.71 IU/mL). An increase was detected after therapy (171.6±7.27 IU/mL) and post-treatment plasma levels were statistically meaningful versus the controls. Plasma levels of tPA and PAI were statistically higher than those in controls in asthmatic patients on admission (6.01±2.72 vs. 5.4±2.3 ng/mL for tPA and 75.2±27.2 ng/mL vs. 32.7±14.3 ng/mL for PAI-1). Further increases were detected in two parameters after 1 week of therapy with steroids (tPA levels were 6.85±2.96 ng/mL and PAI-1 levels were 83.5±29.6 ng/mL). There seems to be an increased activity of platelets during an asthma attack. Elevated PAI-1 and tPA levels may also indicate the activated endothelium in asthma. Increases of plasma levels of PAI-1 and tPA after steroid therapy need further investigation because elevated PAI-1 levels enhance airway remodeling.
Asymmetric binding of the 1‐ and 4‐C=O groups of QA in Rhodobacter sphaeroides R26 reaction centres monitored by Fourier transform infra‐red spectroscopy using site‐specific isotopically labelled ubiquinone‐10.

Using 1‐, 2‐, 3‐ and 4‐13C site‐specifically labelled ubiquinone‐10, reconstituted at the QA site of Rhodobacter sphaeroides R26 reaction centres, the infra‐red bands dominated by the 1‐ and 4‐C = O vibration of QA are assigned in the QA(‐)‐QA difference spectra. The mode dominated by the 4‐C = O vibration is drastically downshifted in the reaction centres as compared with its absorption frequency in free ubiquinone‐10. In contrast, the mode dominated by the 1‐C = O vibration absorbs at similar frequencies in the free and the bound forms. The frequency shift of the 4‐C = O vibration is due to a large decrease in bond order and indicates a strong interaction with the protein microenvironment in the ground state. In the charge‐separated state the mode dominated by the semiquinone 4‐C = O vibration is characteristic of strong hydrogen bonding to the microenvironment, whereas the mode dominated by the 1‐C = O vibration indicates a weaker interaction. The asymmetric binding of the 1‐ and 4‐C = O groups to the protein might contribute to the factors governing different redox reactions of ubiquinone‐10 at the QA site as compared with its reactions at the QB site.
Sequence‐based prediction of pathological mutations

The development of methods to assess the impact of amino acid mutations on human health has become an important goal in biomedical research, due to the growing number of nonsynonymous SNPs identified. Within this context, computational methods constitute a valuable tool, because they can easily process large amounts of mutations and give useful, almost cost‐free, information on their pathological character. In this paper we present a computational approach to the prediction of disease‐associated amino acid mutations, using only sequence‐based information (amino acid properties, evolutionary information, secondary structure and accessibility predictions, and database annotations) and neural networks, as a model building tool. Mutations are predicted to be either pathological or neutral. Our results show that the method has a good overall success rate, 83%, that can reach 95% when trained for specific proteins. The methodology is fast and flexible enough to provide good estimates of the pathological character of large sets of nonsynonymous SNPs, but can also be easily adapted to give more precise predictions for proteins of special biomedical interest. Proteins 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Correlation of symptoms with vitamin D deficiency and symptom response to cholecalciferol treatment: a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE To examine the association of symptoms with vitamin D deficiency and symptom response to cholecalciferol treatment in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. METHODS Adult primary care patients in Duluth, Minnesota, were screened for vitamin D deficiency in February 2007. Participants completed questionnaires pertaining to a variety of symptoms, vitamin D intake, and selected medical conditions. Patients with mild to moderate vitamin D deficiency (25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], 10-25 ng/mL) participated in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of vitamin D replacement and its effect on symptoms. Participants were randomly assigned to receive 50 000 units of cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) weekly or placebo for 8 weeks. Patients with severe vitamin D deficiency (25[OH]D <10 ng/mL) were treated in an unblinded fashion, and symptoms were reevaluated post treatment. RESULTS A total of 610 patients underwent initial screening, and 100 patients with mild to moderate vitamin D deficiency participated in the RCT. Thirty-eight severely deficient patients were treated in an unblinded fashion. On initial screening, 46.2% of participants were deficient in vitamin D. Self-reported vitamin D supplementation, milk intake, celiac disease, gastric bypass, and chronic pancreatitis were predictive of vitamin D status. Severely deficient participants reported increased musculoskeletal symptoms, depression (including seasonal), and higher (worse) scores on a fibromyalgia assessment questionnaire. In the RCT, the treated group showed significant improvement in fibromyalgia assessment scores (P = 0.03), whereas the placebo-treated participants did not. Severely deficient patients did not show symptom improvement over the 8-week trial period or when followed up 1 year later. CONCLUSIONS Compared with participants in the placebo group, patients in the treatment group showed mild short-term improvement in the overall fibromyalgia impact score, but did not show significant improvement in most musculoskeletal symptoms or in activities of daily living.
Immunohistochemical Demonstration of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor in Vestibular Schwannomas Correlates to Tumor Growth Rate

Objective Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is one of the most potent mediators of angiogenesis, which is a mandatory process during tumor growth. The present objectives were to determine expression of VEGF in vestibular schwannomas by immunohistochemistry and to examine a possible correlation with symptom duration, tumor size, or growth rate.
A COMPARATIVE RANDOMISED CONTROLLED PARALLEL GROUP STUDY OF EFFICACY AND TOLERABILITY OF LABETALOL VERSUS METHYLDOPA IN THE TREATMENT OF NEW ONSET HYPERTENSION DURING PREGNANCY

Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy remain one of the major causes of maternal and perinatal mortality in developing as well as developed countries and can result in hospital admission, preeclampsia and poss ible premature delivery. Antihypertensive drugs are often used to lower blood pressure to prevent this progression to adverse outcomes for the mother and the fetus. Methyldopa has often been used as control while comparing the effects of different dugs. Labetalol has also been successfully used for treatment of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy. Hence, we wanted to compare the efficacy and tolerability of labetalol versus methyldopa in pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) in an Indian population. We carried out a prospective randomised controlled parallel group study on 90 outpatients as well as inpatients of the antenatal ward of Obstetrics and Gynaecology department of our tertiary care teaching hospital. Pregnant patients (20�40 weeks gestational age) newly diagno sed with blood pressure of ≥140/90mmHg and singleton with vertex presentation were included in the study. All patients with a history of hypertension, diabetes, Rh isoimmunisation, depression, congestive heart fail ure, heart block or bronchial asthma, patients at risk of major obstetric complicationsantepartum haemorrh age, malnutrition, twins and hydramnios during the current pregnancy and patients who had already received antihypertensive drugs were excluded. 45 patients each were randomised to either of the two treatment arms - oral methyldopa or oral/IV labetalol. Difference in BP measurements preand posttreatments (on 8 th day) were analysed by applying paired't' test for the difference in preand posttreatment values. For i nter group analysis, we applied chisquare test, us ing Epi Info statistical software version 3.3. A Pvalue < 0.05 was regarded as significant with 95% confidence limits. Adverse events were documented and subjected to causality analysis by Naranjo's scale. There was no statistically significant difference in antihypertensive efficacy between the methyldopa and labetalol groups. Adverse drug reactions were possible to probable and occurred less with labetalol. However, despite equal efficacy and better tolerability, effect on fetal and maternal outcomes determines whether labetalol is better than methyldopa in PIH.
Experiments in Computational Metaphysics: Gödel’s Proof of God’s Existence

“Computer scientists prove the existence of God” --variants of this headline appeared in the international press in autumn 2013. Unfortunately, many media reports had only moderate success in communicating to the wider public what had actually been achieved and what not. This article outlines the main findings of the authors’ joint work in computational metaphysics. More precisely, the article focuses on their computer-supported analysis of variants and recent emendations of Kurt Gödel’s modern ontological argument for the existence of God. In the conducted experiments, automated theorem provers discovered some interesting and relevant facts.
Sepsis attenuates the intensity of the neuromuscular blocking effect of d‐tubocurarine and the antagonistic actions of neostigmine and edrophonium accompanying depression of muscle contractility of the diaphragm

Background: Prolonged effects of non‐depolarizing muscle relaxants in septic patients have been reported, although the influence of sepsis on neuromuscular transmission has not yet been clarified satisfactorily. These studies were intended to elucidate the influence of sepsis on neuromuscular transmission and on the action of drugs being utilized for regulation of muscle tone (a neuromuscular blocker and anti‐cholinesterase (anti‐ChE) drugs).
Kinetics of thyrotrophs and somatotrophs during development of hypothyroidism and L-triiodothyronine treatment of hypothyroid rats.

Two experiments were performed to assess the kinetics of changes in somatotroph (St) and thyrotrdph (Tt) populations in the rat anterior pituitary after thyroidectomy and during T3 treatment (10 μtg/100 g BW) of thyroidectomized rats. St and Tt numbers were determined by a method combining cell counting and determination of DNA in dispersed cells as well as the percentage distribution of cells at the electron microscopic level. During development of hypothyroidism, the mean maximal increase in pituitary wet weight was reached 15 days after thyroidectomy. Pituitary weight remained relatively constant thereafter. Both pituitary DNA content and total pituitary cell number increased 30–40% above euthyroid values after 15 days. Thyroidectomy cells (TE) appeared within 4 days and progressively increased in number for 64 days. An initial decline in the normal appearing Tt was probably due to a shift to the TE form. After 64 days, Tt and TE comprised 38% of all pituitary cells, a net gain of 1.24 × 106 cells/pitu.
European Proficiency Testing Program for Molecular Detection and Quantitation of Hepatitis B Virus DNA

ABSTRACT External quality control of hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA detection remains an important issue. This study reports and compares the results obtained from two different proficiency panels for both the qualitative and quantitative assessment of HBV DNA. The panels were designed by the European Union Quality Control Concerted Action, prepared by Boston Biomedica, Inc., and distributed in May 1999 (panel 1) and February 2000 (panel 2). Each contained two negative samples and six positive samples with 103 to 107 copies/ml (panel 1) or 103 to 2 × 106 copies of HBV DNA per ml (panel 2). For panel 1, 42 laboratories submitted 20 qualitative (all in-house PCRs) and 37 quantitative (87% commercial assays) data sets. For panel 2, 51 laboratories submitted 25 qualitative (all in-house PCRs) and 47 quantitative (94% commercial assays) data sets. Five data sets (8.8%) in panel 1 and two data sets (2.8%) in panel 2 contained totals of six and two false-positives, respectively, corresponding to false-positive result rates of 5.3% for panel 1 and 1.4% for panel 2. The false-negative result rates of 10.5% for panel 1 and 17.4% for panel 2 were dependent on the detection levels of the assays employed as well as panel composition. In the qualitative analysis of all data sets, 47.4% (panel 1) and 51.4% (panel 2) had all samples correct. An adequate or better score (all correct or only the weak-positive sample missed) was obtained with 77.2% of the panel 1 samples and 68.1% of the panel 2 samples. In the quantitative analysis, 57.1% (panel 1) and 42.6% (panel 2) of the data sets achieved an adequate or better score (positive results within the acceptable range of the geometric mean ± 0.5 log10 of all positive results). These results demonstrate that while the qualitative performance of HBV detection has considerably improved compared to that of a previously published HBV proficiency study, the detection levels of many commercial quantitative assays are still too high to allow adequate quantitation of all relevant clinical samples.
Effects of endogenous nitric oxide in activation of group IV muscle afferents

Based on previous observations that acute hypoxemia, which enhances nitric oxide (NO) production, depresses the activation of group IV afferents after repetitive low‐frequency muscle stimulation (MS), we hypothesized that endogenous NO modulates the response of these nerve endings to their specific stimuli. The present study in rabbits examined the effects of a blocker of NO synthase (NG‐nitro‐L‐arginine methyl ester L, L‐NAME) and an exogenous NO donor (3‐morpholinosydnonimine, SIN‐1) on the group IV afferents of tibialis anterior. The efficacy of the two test agents was judged by their effects on systemic blood pressure. L‐NAME markedly elevated (+46%) the resting discharge rate of group IV afferents but abolished their activation after repetitive MS. After SIN‐1 injection, there was a transient decrease in blood pressure, which correlated well with a lowered resting discharge rate of group IV afferents. SIN‐1 infusion caused a stable reduction of blood pressure; the resting afferent nerve discharge rate began first to decrease but then recovered control mean values. SIN‐1 infusion abolished the activation of group IV afferents after MS. This study indicates that endogenous NO production in a resting or contracting muscle attenuates the baseline activity of group IV muscle afferents and their activation after repetitive muscle contractions. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Muscle Nerve 24: 247–253, 2001
Reconsidering “Inattention” in Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Implications for Neuropsychological Assessment and Intervention

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) does not exist. This explicit statement needs elucidation of course given ADHD is a common neurodevelopmental disorder, but it provides the reader with the impetus to reconsider long-held beliefs about this condition and its treatment. Surely, there is a disorder called ADHD from which this thesis is framed, but primary attention and hyperactivity-impulsivity problems are mediated by different albeit interrelated brain systems. Like many neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorder), the medical and psychological professions have used a single, large inclusive ADHD diagnostic category to represent children with different etiologies for their overt symptoms. Despite neurobiological differences among children diagnosed with ADHD, the clinical position that attention-deficit or primary attention problems are sufficient for ADHD identification undermines clinical practice. This commonly accepted dubious position not only undermines the diagnostic utility of our neuropsychological measures, but it attenuates treatment effects as well. Supported with evidence from our ongoing ADHD research program, this data-based review will support these contentions and provide implications for diagnosis and treatment of children with attention problems.
Thyroid cancer: pathogenesis and targeted therapy

Therapeutic options for advanced, unresectable radioiodine-resistant thyroid cancers have historically been limited. Recent progress in understanding the pathogenesis of the various subtypes of thyroid cancer has led to increased interest in the development of targeted therapies, with potential strategies including angiogenesis inhibition, inhibition of aberrant intracellular signaling in the MAPK and PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathways, radioimmunotherapy, and redifferentiation agents. On the basis of a recent positive phase III clinical trial, the RET, vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR), and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor vandetanib has received FDA approval as of April 2011 for use in the treatment of advanced medullary thyroid cancer. Several other recent phase II clinical trials in advanced thyroid cancer have demonstrated significant activity, and multiple other promising therapeutic strategies are in earlier phases of clinical development. The recent progress in targeted therapy is already revolutionizing management paradigms for advanced thyroid cancer, and will likely continue to dramatically expand treatment options in the coming years.
E-cadherin Regulates Anchorage-independent Growth and Survival in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cells*

Integrin-basement membrane interactions provide essential signals that promote survival and growth of epithelial cells, whereas loss of such adhesions triggers programmed cell death. We found that HSC-3 human squamous carcinoma cells survived and grew readily as monolayers, but when they were suspended as single cells, they ceased proliferating and entered into the apoptotic death pathway, characterized by DNA fragmentation. In contrast, if the suspended carcinoma cells were permitted to form E-cadherin-mediated multicellular aggregates, they not only survived but proliferated. However, aggregated normal keratinocytes were unable to survive in suspension culture and rapidly became apoptotic. Anchorage independence and resistance to apoptosis of HSC-3 cell aggregates required high levels of extracellular Ca2+ and was inhibited with function-perturbing anti-E-cadherin antibody. Resistance to suspension-induced apoptosis in cell aggregates paralleled the up-regulation of Bcl-2 but occurred in the absence of focal adhesion kinase activation. Analysis of suspension-induced death in a set of cloned squamous epithelial cell lines with different levels of E-cadherin expression revealed that receptor-positive cell clones evaded apoptosis and proliferated in three-dimensional aggregate culture, whereas cadherin-negative clones failed to survive. Collectively, these observations indicate that cadherin-mediated intercellular adhesions generate a compensatory mechanism that promotes anchorage-independent growth and suppresses apoptosis.