Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Laparoscopic Interval Appendectomy Versus Open Interval Appendectomy: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial

This was a prospective randomized controlled study designed to compare laparoscopic and open interval appendectomy and involved 100 patients of appendicular phlegmon. After initial conservative management, patients were divided into 2 groups of 50 each and interval appendectomy was performed by laparoscopy in one of the groups and by open method in the other. Mean operative time in open surgery was 33.9 minutes and that in laparoscopic surgery was 57.64 minutes (P<0.05). Concomitant pathology was observed in 16% and 2% of patients in the laparoscopic and open groups, respectively. Mean pain scores on the first postoperative day were 5.14 in the laparoscopic group and 6.01 in the open group (P<0.05). Patients in the laparoscopic group had a shorter duration of ileus, postoperative stay, and returned to work earlier (P<0.05). We conclude that laparoscopy offers a number of advantages over open interval appendectomy.
Generation of TRAIL‐receptor 1‐specific human monoclonal Ab by a combination of immunospot array assay on a chip and human Ab‐producing mice

Monoclonal antibodies have attracted attention clinically as promising therapeutic agents for immunotherapy against various malignancies because of their high specificity and low toxicity. In the clinical application of mAb, immunogenicity of mAb is one of the major concerns. We have developed immunospot array assay on a chip (ISAAC) technology using chips with an array of microwells [1], which enables direct identification of Ag-specific Ab-secreting cells (ASC) from human peripheral blood lymphocytes and rapid cloning of Ab cDNA, leading to easy, efficient and rapid production of human mAb. However, the limitation of immunizing volunteers with Ag hampers its application for the production of human mAb for desired Ag. In this study, we used the ISAAC method in combination with TransChromo (TC) mice that contain human chromosome fragments encoding the entire human immunoglobulin H-chain and kL-chain loci [2] for isolating fully human mAb specific to TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL)-receptors type 1 with the object of cancer immunotherapy. TRAIL receptors are expressed in a wide variety of tumor cell types as well as normal cell types. TRAIL induces apoptosis in a wide variety of human cancer cell lines by activating two functional receptors, TRAILFigure 1. Detection of TRAIL-R1-specific ASC and production of TRAIL-R1-specific Ab with ISAAC system. (A) Schematic diagram of rapid generation of fully human mAb from TRAIL-R1-immunized TC mice using ISAAC method. (B) Detection of single human TRAIL-R1-specific ASC using ISAAC system. (Left) Signals for Ag-specific Ab secreted from individual cells; (middle) cells stained with Oregon Green; (right) merged. (C) Ag specificities. Competitive ELISA was performed using indicated doses of recombinant human TRAIL-R1/Fc (rhTRAIL-R1) in 96-well plate that was coated with or without (uncoated) rhTRAIL-R1. PC, 100-fold diluted positive control serum from an rhTRAIL-R1/Fcimmunized mouse. (D) Competition of mAb with sTRAIL for binding to immobilized human TRAIL-R1/Fc. sTRAIL was preincubated (gray columns) or not preincubated (closed columns) with plate-coated human TRAIL-R1/Fc. TRAIL-R1-specific mAb were then added to the plate. Open columns, the binding of mAb to uncoated plate. NC, no TRAIL-R1-specific Ab; PC, 100-fold diluted mouse anti-serum to human TRAIL-R1. Data represent mean7SD of triplicate cultures and are representative of three independent experiments. po0.001, o0.05 (t-test).
The Fate of the Fixed Syndesmosis Over Time

Background: A prior study demonstrated statistical widening of the syndesmosis within weeks of elective screw removal. However, no information is available as to the radiographic outcomes of screw retention. The aim of this study was to evaluate radiographic syndesmotic widening and talar shift over time in patients treated with syndesmotic screws and to compare screw removal with retention along with other potential risk factors that may have led to tibia-fibula diastasis after weightbearing. Methods: One hundred sixty-six skeletally mature patients with ankle fractures and concomitant syndesmotic injuries were treated with syndesmotic reduction and screw fixation. The syndesmosis was evaluated intraoperatively either by a stress test or direct visualization. If the syndesmosis was incompetent, it was reduced and stabilized with syndesmotic screws to maintain reduction. Anteroposterior, mortise, and lateral radiographs at presentation, postoperatively, and at follow-up after weightbearing were evaluated. We measured the medial clear space (MCS), tibia-fibula overlap (OL), and tibia-fibula clear space (CS). Screws that were retained were graded as loose/broken or intact. Results: The fibula shifted an insignificant amount on postoperative mortise radiographs after elective syndesmotic screw removal at 3 months or more after initial fixation, indicated by a slightly greater CS and lower OL. The MCS did not change from preoperative to postoperative screw removal. There was no change in the radiographic markers from the postoperative to final follow-up images in those whose screws became loose or broken. Likewise, there was no radiographic difference if screws remained intact versus those that were loose or broken. Conclusion: In contradistinction to prior work, we found that only very mild widening (0.5 mm) of the tibia-fibula space occurred after weightbearing following syndesmotic fixation. The removal of syndesmotic screws at 3 months resulted in a slightly lower OL (<1 mm) and greater CS (0.5 mm) on mortise radiographs than screw retention even if the retained screws loosened or broke. This was not associated with any talar subluxation, and these differences were not statistically significant. The mortise remained intact whether the syndesmotic screws were removed, were loosened or broken, or remained solid. Level of Evidence: Level IV, retrospective case series.
Plasma pharmacokinetics and gastrointestinal transit of a new Propionyl-l-Carnitine controlled release formulation

Propionyl-l-carnitine is a naturally occurring analogue of l-carnitine (LC) produced in the body. PLC administration has shown beneficial effects in cardiovascular pathologies. In ulcerative colitis (UC), oral PLC treatment increased clinical presentation and positively influenced colon histology. In the present study, the MMX Multi Matrix System® (MMX™) was used as drug delivery strategy for targeted PLC colon delivery. A pharmacoscintigraphic study (n = 6 healthy volunteers) described release characteristics of two MMX-PLC-HCl controlled release 500 mg tablets. A pharmacokinetic (PK) parallel group study (n = 24) determined safety, plasma PLC concentrations and PK parameters after single and multiple doses. Gastrointestinal transit was slow and variable. The colon was the main site of PLC release and absorption. After single 500 or 1000 mg PLC doses plasma PLC and LC increased up to 2.6 and 1.2–1.3-fold compared to baseline. Multiple doses of 500 and 1000 mg twice a day over 7 days did not significantly increase maximum plasma concentrations of PLC or LC with respect to concentrations achieved after single dose administration. The colon is the main site of PLC release and absorption from MMX-PLC tablets. A daily dose of 500 mg to 1000 mg PLC twice a day was well tolerated, justifying further studies in patients with pathologies of the distal gastrointestinal tract to evaluate the efficacy of the MMX-PLC formulation.
The Usability of a Touchpad Active Video Game Controller for Individuals With Impaired Mobility: Observational Study

Background Video games are a popular sedentary activity among people with impaired mobility; however, active video game hardware typically lacks accessibility and customization options for individuals with mobility impairments. A touchpad video game system can elicit moderate physical activity in healthy adults; however, it is unclear if this system is usable by adults with impaired mobility. Objective The purpose of this study was to assess the usability of a touchpad video game controller system adapted for adults with impaired mobility. Additional outcomes explored were enjoyment, perceived exertion, self-efficacy, participant feedback, and researcher observations of gameplay. Methods Participants played several video game titles for 20 minutes with a touchpad video game controller as they stood or sat in a chair or their wheelchair. Usability was assessed with the System Usability Scale (SUS) and the Health Information Technology Usability Evaluation Scale (Health-ITUES) surveys after gameplay. After each video game, participants reported enjoyment using a visual analog scale (0 to 100 mm) and a rating of perceived exertion using the OMNI 0 to 10 scale. Self-efficacy was measured before and after gameplay. Participants provided feedback at the end of their session. Results In total, 21 adults (6 females and 15 males) with a mean age of 48.8 (SD 13.8) years with various mobility impairments participated in this study. The touchpads received mean usability scores on the SUS 80.1 (SD 18.5) and Health-ITUES 4.23 (SD 0.67). Conclusions The SUS scores reported suggest the touchpad system is “usable”; however, the Health-ITUES scores were slightly below a suggested benchmark. Participants reported moderate to high enjoyment but perceived the exertion as “somewhat easy. ” Self-efficacy was moderate to high and did not differ pre- to postgame play. The participants regarded the touchpads as novel, fun, and entertaining. The generalizability of our results is limited due to the heterogenous sample; however, our participants identified several areas of improvement for future iteration.
Transplanting Solid Organs from HBsAg Negative Donors Positive for Antibody to Hepatitis B Core Antigen: The Implications

The scarcity of cadaver organ donors has led to numerous initiatives for increasing the utilization of available organs including living donors and grafts from donors previously believed to be marginal or suboptimal (1-3). Organs from older donors, very young donors, non-heartbeating and hemodynamically unstable donors (4) as well as donors who may have the potential to transmit hepatitis B virus (HBV) to the recipient are now considered. Transplanted organs can transmit HBV infection in orthotopic liver (5), corneal (6), and renal transplant (RT) recipients (7-10). Acquisition of HBV infection after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) remains an important concern in liver transplant. The adverse impact of HBV infection after RT on long-term patient and graft survival is well established (11-15). Fulminant hepatic failure has occurred in HBsAg chronic carriers after RT (16, 17). HBsAg positivity is not an absolute contraindication to RT, but HBV infected patients need a rigorous pretransplantation evaluation in order to evaluate the advisability of proceeding with RT (18, 19). Although transmission of HBV infection from HBV surface antigen-positive (HBsAg positive) donors clearly occurs (5-10), there is also a risk of HBV transmission from donors who are HBsAg negative but core antibody positive, a serological profile that conventionally indicates prior resolved HBV infection. The aim of this review is to report the data available in the literature on the use of solid (heart, liver and kidneys) organs from HBsAg-negative donors with antibody to the hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc+). Further, we also comment on the management of the recipients of organs from donors with prior hepatitis B serologies. The dynamic interaction between hepatitis B virus and humans
Multinomial Naive Bayes for real-time gender recognition

Existing implementations of face recognition systems are created under controlled environments and tested using a limited amount of data. Also, these techniques have a high computational cost which forbids incremental learning that is required in real-time. We propose a gender estimation implementation based on Multinomial Naive Bayes and Local Binary Patterns. The method is tested in a modern age and gender recognition dataset with realistic examples. In order to get state-of-the-art results, Adaboost is also proposed and tested.
Ability of S-methyl-L-cysteine to annul the inhibition of yeast growth by L-ethionine and by S-ethyl-L-cysteine.

SUMMARY: The inhibition of growth of a brewer's yeast and four other yeasts by L-ethionine, and the annulment of the inhibition by L-methionine were examined. S-Methyl-L-cysteine, DL-methionine sulphoxide and DL-α-amino-n-butyric acid were also able to decrease the growth inhibition. At a fivefold molar concentration, S-methyl-cysteine annulled completely the effect of ethionine on the brewer's yeast. S-Ethyl-L-cysteine was ineffective and in certain conditions it acted as a growth inhibitor; this inhibition was annulled by methionine and by S-methylcysteine.
Choosing the right dose of tacrolimus

Choosing the right dose of tacrolimus ‘adapted to each individual patient’ is a central question after transplantation. The pharmacokinetic behaviour of tacrolimus in paediatric patients is significantly influenced by clinical factors growth and maturation, as well as genetic factors. Large interindividual variability and narrow therapeutic index make dosage individualisation mandatory in children. CYP3A5 expressers require a 1.8-fold higher tacrolimus dose than non-expressers. A visual patient-tailored dosing chart, taking into consideration the child's weight, recent haematocrit level and CYP3A5 genotype, was developed based on a population pharmacokinetic–pharmacogenetic model, and can be used routinely to individualise tacrolimus starting dose. Area under the concentration-time curve-based dosage adaptation through limited sampling strategy and Bayesian estimation is more reliable than trough concentration. Therapeutic drug monitoring and dosage adaptation can be included in routine post-transplantation consultation and should be considered in the urgent situations (eg, rejection, adverse event, lack of compliance, change of coadministration drug with potential drug–drug interaction and other situations).
Links Between the Mother–Adolescent and Father–Adolescent Relationships and Adolescent Depression: A Genetically Informed Study

This study examined the unique roles of support and conflict in the relationship with the mother and the father in predicting changes in adolescents’ depressive symptoms over a 1-year period. Potential moderating effects of genetic factors (Gene × Environment interaction) and sex were also investigated. This study utilized a design of twins raised in the same family, based on a sample of 121 monozygotic and 88 dizygotic same-sex twin pairs (418 individuals; 52.2% girls) assessed in Grade 8 (M = 14.09, SD = .29) and in Grade 9 (M = 15.07, SD = .26). Depressive symptoms and the parent–adolescent relationship quality were measured with self-report questionnaires. Multilevel regressions revealed that a lack of support in the father–adolescent relationship predicted increased depressive symptoms among all adolescents, whereas conflict in the father–adolescent relationship predicted increased depressive symptoms more strongly as adolescents’ genetic vulnerability for depressive symptoms increased. Moreover, a high level of support in the relationship with the mother predicted increased depressive symptoms in boys—but not girls—with a high genetic risk for such problems. In line with a diathesis-stress model of psychopathology, these findings suggest that relationship quality with both parents might impact girls’ and boys’ depressive symptoms but that these associations depend to some extent on adolescents’ genetic vulnerabilities.
Radial flux high temperature superconductor motor using bulk trapped field magnets

This team has designed, built, and successfully run a radial flux high temperature superconductor (HTS) trapped field magnet (TFM) motor. The motor was run in a zero field cooled mode. This paper conveys several lessons learned about the use of TFMs in motor and generator applications. The state of the art of bulk TFM material is reviewed. Attention is given to the difficulties of activating TFMs in a practical machine design. The difficulties are based upon (i) the cooling time needed to field-cool the TFMs; (ii) the maximum field which can be produced at the rotor using only MMF on the stator; and (iii) the maximum time for which the stator current can be high without sustaining insulation damage. This is followed by a prediction of improvements that can be expected using two significant departures from a conventional three-phase permanent magnet design. Both departures involve the addition of MMF on the rotor using a hybrid wound rotor design. Finally attention is given to predicting performance when no special activation is employed.
Inattention Symptoms Are Associated With Academic Achievement Mostly Through Variance Shared With Intrinsic Motivation and Behavioral Engagement

Objective: The main goal of the current study is to investigate whether intrinsic motivation and behavioral engagement mediate the association between inattention symptoms and academic achievement (reading, writing, and mathematics), as well as to document the extent to which inattention symptoms contribute to academic achievement due to variance overlapping with intrinsic motivation and behavioral engagement. Method: Participants were 92 children (Grades 1-4). Data were gathered using a combination of parent and teacher reports as well as objective assessments. Results: Results did not support the mediating role of intrinsic motivation and behavioral engagement. A commonality analysis showed that 77.44% to 82.10% of the variance explained in each academic achievement domains was due to variance shared by inattention symptoms, intrinsic motivation, and behavioral engagement. Conclusion: These results suggest more commonality than differences between inattention symptoms, intrinsic motivation, and behavioral engagement with regard to their association with academic achievement. The implications of these findings are discussed.
Central nervous system medication use in older adults with intellectual disability: Results from the successful ageing in intellectual disability study

Objective: Information on the rates and predictors of polypharmacy of central nervous system medication in older people with intellectual disability is limited, despite the increased life expectancy of this group. This study examined central nervous system medication use in an older sample of people with intellectual disability. Methods: Data regarding demographics, psychiatric diagnoses and current medications were collected as part of a larger survey completed by carers of people with intellectual disability over the age of 40 years. Recruitment occurred predominantly via disability services across different urban and rural locations in New South Wales and Victoria. Medications were coded according to the Monthly Index of Medical Specialties central nervous system medication categories, including sedatives/hypnotics, anti-anxiety agents, antipsychotics, antidepressants, central nervous system stimulants, movement disorder medications and anticonvulsants. The Developmental Behaviour Checklist for Adults was used to assess behaviour. Results: Data were available for 114 people with intellectual disability. In all, 62.3% of the sample was prescribed a central nervous system medication, with 47.4% taking more than one. Of those who were medicated, 46.5% had a neurological diagnosis (a seizure disorder or Parkinson’s disease) and 45.1% had a psychiatric diagnosis (an affective or psychotic disorder). Linear regression revealed that polypharmacy was predicted by the presence of neurological and psychiatric diagnosis, higher Developmental Behaviour Checklist for Adults scores and male gender. Conclusion: This study is the first to focus on central nervous system medication in an older sample with intellectual disability. The findings are in line with the wider literature in younger people, showing a high degree of prescription and polypharmacy. Within the sample, there seems to be adequate rationale for central nervous system medication prescription. Although these data do not indicate non-adherence to guidelines for prescribing in intellectual disability, the high rate of polypharmacy and its relationship to Developmental Behaviour Checklist for Adults scores reiterate the importance of continued medication review in older people with intellectual disability.
Plant Seed Peroxygenase Is an Original Heme-oxygenase with an EF-hand Calcium Binding Motif*

A growing body of evidence indicates that phytooxylipins play important roles in plant defense responses. However, many enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of these metabolites are still elusive. We have purified one of these enzymes, the peroxygenase (PXG), from oat microsomes and lipid droplets. It is an integral membrane protein requiring detergent for its solubilization. Proteinase K digestion showed that PXG is probably deeply buried in lipid droplets or microsomes with only about 2 kDa at the C-terminal region accessible to proteolytic digestion. Sequencing of the N terminus of the purified protein showed that PXG had no sequence similarity with either a peroxidase or a cytochrome P450 but, rather, with caleosins, i.e. calcium-binding proteins. In agreement with this finding, we demonstrated that recombinant thale cress and rice caleosins, expressed in yeast, catalyze hydroperoxide-dependent mono-oxygenation reactions that are characteristic of PXG. Calcium was also found to be crucial for peroxygenase activity, whereas phosphorylation of the protein had no impact on catalysis. Site-directed mutagenesis studies revealed that PXG catalytic activity is dependent on two highly conserved histidines, the 9 GHz EPR spectrum being consistent with a high spin pentacoordinated ferric heme.
A 109.5mW 1.2V 600M texels/s 3-D graphics engine

A 3D graphics engine consists of a programmable floating-point geometry engine and a rasterization engine to adapt to various memory-based set associative cache mechanism. The IC achieves 4.7M vertex/s and 600M texel /s systems, the rasterization engine has a coordinate I and dissipates 109.5mW. A 0.18 /spl mu/m 5M CMOS process is used to implement the 25.4mm/sup 2/ IC operating at 1.2V.
Common stress and serum cortisol and IL-12 levels in missed abortion

To investigate stress levels, serum cortisol levels, and changes in IL-12 concentration in patients with missed abortion. Patients with missed abortion (n = 48) were age and gestational age-matched with normal early pregnancy cases (n = 48). All subjects completed a stress evaluation survey questionnaire about common stressors. Venous blood samples were collected at 07.00 hours, and serum cortisol and IL-12 concentrations were measured by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay and ELISA methods, respectively. Missed abortion patients demonstrated a significantly higher number of common stressors and higher serum cortisol levels compared to controls (both p < 0.05). Dilation and curettage did not lead to significant differences in serum cortisol and IL-12 levels (p > 0.05). Stress and immunity alterations of the immune system may contribute to the aetiology of missed abortion.