Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
APPLICATION OF MODIFIED LARYNGEAL MASK AIRWAY IN ENDOBRONCHIAL ULTRASOUND-GUIDED TRANSBRONCHIAL NEEDLE ASPIRATION

Objective: To investigate the application of modified laryngeal mask airway in endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA). Methods 70 patients underwent bronchoscopy from March 2012 to June 2012. 46 patients under intravenous anesthesia with sufentanyl and propofol and then received modified laryngeal mask airway for EBUSTBNA, while 24 patients with local anesthesia received only 2% lidocaine for EBUS-TBNA. Systolic blood (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), heart rate (HR) and pulse oxygen saturation (SpO2) were recorded before examination (T1), at the endobronchial ultrasound probe insertion point (T2), and at 5 min (T3) and 10 min (T4) during examination, and at the end of examination (T5). Results: SpO2 was significantly higher in the general anesthesia group than in the local anesthesia group. In the general anesthesia group, SpO2 was also significantly higher in T2 than T1. There were significant differences in SBP, DBP and HR between two groups. Vital signs were more stable in the general anesthesia group than in the local anesthesia group. No patient in the general anesthesia group had memory of suffering after EBUS-TBNA. Conclusions: Modified laryngeal mask airway in EBUS-TBNA successfully solves the problem of breath management difficulties accompanying inspection and anesthesia sharing a common channel. It appears more comfortable for the patients.
Effects of Cognitive Processes and Task Complexity on Acquisition, Retention, and Transfer of Motor Skills

This experiment was designed to investigate the effect of cognitive problem-solving operations (termed contextual interference) and complexity of tasks on the acquisition retention and transfer of motor skills. Ninety-six children, ages 7.5–9.5 practised the task of throwing beanbags under either low contextual interference (blocked practice), high contextual interference (random practice) or medium contextual interference (combined practice). Half of the participants acquired a complex task and the other half a simple task. All participants performed 30 acquisition trials, 9 retention trials and 4 transfer trials. Results indicated that participants who practised in the blocked practice group did not differ in their performance whether they acquired complex or simple tasks. On the other hand, participants from the random and combined practice groups who acquired simple tasks performed better than those who acquired complex tasks. These findings support the hypothesis that there is a limit to the interference during practice that will benefit retention and transfer, thus creating the contextual interference effect. It seems that the complex-task condition combined with random or combined practice schedule increased the difficulty of acquisition, possibly impeding the cognitive processing during acquisition, thus impairing the learning process.
Response of carbon tetrachloride pretreated rats to endosulfan, carbaryl and phosphamidon.

Daily oral administration of carbon tetrachloride (0.5 ml/kg/day) for a period of 15 days, followed by endosulfan (2.0 and 4.0 mg/kg/d), carbaryl (50 and 100 mg/kg/d) and phosphamidon (0.5 and 1.0 mg/kg/d) for 15 days to different groups of male rats triggered significant enzymatic changes. Whereas treatment of CCl4 alone for a period of 15 days (group 5) elicited altered morphology of hepatocytes and a highly significant increase in the activity of serum transaminases, alkaline phosphatase, bilirubin content and severe hypoglycemia, CCl4-insecticide treatment did not suggest a synergistic efiect of the two groups of agro industrial chemicals in experimental animals. On the contrary, the values of enzymatic activity and blood sugar in CCl4-insecticide exposed animals were nearer to those of normal. A significant inhibition of acetylcholinesterase activity of brain and red blood cell was seen after phosphamidon alone (group 4) and after CCl4-phosphamidon treat-ments (groups 10 and 11) which also support lack of synergistic efiect of CCl4-phosphamidon.
The neuropsychological pattern of corticobasal degeneration

The pattern of cortical and subcortical neuropathologic lesions in corticobasal degeneration (CBD) should predict a specific cognitive profile in this disease.To characterize this profile and to determine its specificity by comparison with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type (SDAT), we used an extensive neuropsychological battery assessing global efficiency, executive functions, various tests of encoding and retrieval, dynamic motor organization, and upper limb praxis. We compared the performance of patients with CBD (n equals 15) with that of controls (n equals 19) matched for age and education, and with that of patients with PSP and SDAT (15 in each group), matched for severity of dementia and depression. Patients with CBD showed: (1) a moderate global deterioration; (2) a dysexecutive syndrome similar to that of patients with PSP and more severe than in SDAT; (3) explicit learning deficits, without retention difficulties and easily compensated by using the same semantic cues at encoding and retrieval as in PSP; this was in contrast with SDAT where cued recall and recognition were also impaired; (4) disorders of dynamic motor execution (temporal organization, bimanual coordination, control, and inhibition) similar to those of patients with PSP and not in SDAT; (5) asymmetric praxis disorders (posture imitation, symbolic gesture execution, and object utilization) that were not observed in PSP or SDAT. Patients with CBD show a specific neuropsychological pattern associating a dysexecutive syndrome, likely due to degeneration of the basal ganglia and prefrontal cortex, and asymmetric praxis disorders, which might be related to premotor and parietal lobe lesions. This neuropsychological profile may help to distinguish this condition clinically from other neurodegenerative diseases. NEUROLOGY 1995;45: 1477-1483
Why Do Women Stop Breastfeeding? Findings From the Pregnancy Risk Assessment and Monitoring System

Objective. We examined breastfeeding behaviors, periods of vulnerability for breastfeeding cessation, reasons for breastfeeding cessation, and the association between predelivery intentions and breastfeeding behaviors. Study Design. Using 2 years (2000 and 2001) of data from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment and Monitoring System we assessed the percentage of women who began breastfeeding, continued for <1 week, continued for 1 to 4 weeks, and continued for >4 weeks and their reasons for not initiating or stopping. Predelivery breastfeeding intentions of women and their relationship with subsequent breastfeeding behaviors were examined also. Results. We found that 32% of women did not initiate breastfeeding, 4% started but stopped within the first week, 13% stopped within the first month, and 51% continued for >4 weeks. Younger women and those with limited socioeconomic resources were more likely to stop breastfeeding within the first month. Reasons for cessation included sore nipples, inadequate milk supply, infant having difficulties, and the perception that the infant was not satiated. Women who intended to breastfeed, thought they might breastfeed, or had ambivalent feelings about breastfeeding were more likely to initiate breastfeeding and to continue through the vulnerable periods of early infancy than were those who did not plan to breastfeed. Conclusions. Our findings indicate a need to provide extensive breastfeeding support after delivery, particularly to women who may experience difficulties in breastfeeding.
Governing Identified Shadow IT by Allocating IT Task Responsibilities

The IT unit is not the only provider of information technology (IT) used in business processes. Aiming for increased performance, many business workgroups autonomously implement IT resources not covered by their organizational IT service management. This is called shadow IT. Risks and inefficiencies associated with this phenomenon challenge organizations. Organizations need to decide how to deal with identified shadow IT and if the business or the IT unit should be responsible for corresponding tasks and components. This study proposes design principles for a method to control identified shadow IT following action design research in four organizational settings. The procedure results in an allocation of IT task responsibilities between the business workgroups and the IT unit following risk considerations and transaction cost economics, leading to an IT service governance. This contributes to governance research regarding adaptive and efficient arrangements with reduced risks for business-located IT activities.
Hypoglycemic potency and metabolic clearance rate of intravenously administered human proinsulin and metabolites.

Since circulating proinsulin has been suggested to be important in the pathogenesis of noninsulin-dependent diabetes, and biosynthetic human proinsulin (HPI) may have a therapeutic role in patients with diabetes mellitus, the biological activity of proinsulin metabolites is of potential significance. Moreover, recent studies have suggested that the majority of circulating proinsulin immunoreactivity consists of metabolites. We, therefore, compared the blood glucose-lowering ability and MCR of the two proinsulin metabolites des-(31,32)HPI and des-(64,65)HPI with intact HPI in seven anesthetized dogs after an overnight fast. Intravenous bolus injections of 12.5 micrograms HPI/kg BW and equimolar amounts of des-(31,32)HPI and des-(64,65)HPI were given on three separate occasions. In addition to blood glucose, des-(31,33)HPI, des-(64,65)HPI, and HPI were measured using an insulin RIA and peptide-specific standard curves. Kinetic parameters were derived by fitting two exponentials to the respective decay curves. The MCR of HPI (3.3 +/- 0.1 ml/kg.min) was significantly lower (P less than 0.05) than that of des-(64,65)HPI (6.4 +/- 0.6 ml/kg.min), but was not significantly different from that of des-(31,32)HPI (3.8 +/- 0.4 ml/kg.min). The MCR of biosynthetic insulin (17.2 +/- 1.8 ml/kg.min), as measured in three of the dogs, was higher than that of HPI or the two metabolites. The blood glucose-lowering ability (defined as nadir glucose/fasting glucose, expressed as a percentage) of des-(64,65)HPI (49.3 +/- 5.0%) was significantly greater (P less than 0.05) than that of intact HPI (87 +/- 2.2%), and the glucose-lowering ability of des-(31,32)HPI (75.2 +/- 3.8%) was intermediate. In conclusion, HPI metabolites are more biologically active than intact HPI. The extent of in vivo conversion of proinsulin to metabolites may enhance the biological activity of proinsulin and, thus, have physiological, pathophysiological, and therapeutic significance.
THE ROLE OF NIOBIUM IN WROUGHT PRECIPITATION-HARDENED NICKEL-BASE ALLOYS

Niobium is recognized as an important alloying element in a number of wrought precipitation-hardened nickel-base alloys. It is the purpose of this paper to examine the role that niobium plays in these alloys and describe the properties that are achieved as a result of its inclusion in wrought superalloys. In addition to the general alloying characteristics of niobium as described in the technical literature, the specific contribution of niobium in the alloys X-750, 740, 706, 725 and 718 will be examined. Niobium is examined for the role it plays microstructurally and the impact of the resulting microstructure on certain properties.
DIFFERENCE IN RENAL HANDLING OF CEFSULODIN BETWEEN PATIENTS WITH CYSTIC FIBROSIS AND NORMAL SUBJECTS

Increased active tubular secretion of methicillin and dicloxacillin in CF patients resulting in lower plasma concentrations has been reported and increased and more frequent dosage were recommended in the treatment (1 , 2). However, there are still few data on pharmacokinetics of cephalosporins in patients with CF, as these antibiotics have not been the drug of choice. This study was performed to assess the renal excretion of cefsulodin, a new antipseudomonal cephalosporin, in CF patients and to compare these data with the results in healthy volunteers.
The effects of seven carbamide peroxide bleaching agents on enamel microhardness over time.

BACKGROUND Different concentrations of carbamide peroxide (10 to 22 percent) have been used successfully as bleaching agents, but the adverse effects on enamel microhardness at different times are unknown. METHODS The authors analyzed seven bleaching agents and a placebo. The agents were applied on the surface of human dental fragments for eight hours per day for 42 days and stored in vials containing artificial saliva. Microhardness measurements were performed at baseline, eight hours and seven, 14, 21, 28, 35 and 42 days, as well as at seven and 14 days after treatment had ended. RESULTS Enamel treated with different bleaching agents or a placebo experienced a similar decrease in microhardness values over time, with the exception of fragments exposed to Opalescence PF 20 percent (Ultradent Products, South Jordan, Utah), or OPA20. Until the 49th day, the enamel exposed to OPA20 exhibited the lowest differences from baseline values. After 14 posttreatment days, enamel treated with placebo, Nite White 10 percent Excel (Discus Dental, Los Angeles), Nite White 16 percent Excel and Opalescence 10 percent exhibited the greatest differences from baseline values. An increase in enamel microhardness occurred at the end of the posttreatment period, although baseline values were not reached. CONCLUSIONS Different concentrations of carbamide peroxide agents result in decreases in enamel microhardness. A post-bleaching period in artificial saliva resulted in recovery of baseline microhardness values (one agent) or an increase in values, although baseline values were not reached for these products. Clinical Implications. Higher concentrations of carbamide peroxide containing 0.11 percent ion fluoride can bleach teeth in a shorter period, with fewer hazardous effects on the enamel mineral content.
Robust stability results for nonlinear Markovian jump systems with mode-dependent time-varying delays and randomly occurring uncertainties

This article is concerned with the robust stability analysis for Markovian jump systems with mode-dependent time-varying delays and randomly occurring uncertainties. Sufficient delay-dependent stability results are derived with the help of stability theory and linear matrix inequality technique using direct delay-decomposition approach. Here, the delay interval is decomposed into two subintervals using the tuning parameter η such that , and the sufficient stability conditions are derived for each subintervals. Further, the parameter uncertainties are assumed to be occurring in a random manner. Numerical examples are given to validate the derived theoretical results. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity, 2015
Assessing the Welfare Effects of Unemployment Benefits Using the Regression Kink Design

I investigate in this paper partial equilibrium labor supply responses to unemployment insurance (UI) in the US. I use administrative data on the universe of unemployment spells in five states from the late 1970s to 1984, and non-parametrically identify the effect of both benefit level and potential duration in the regression kink (RK) design using kinks in the schedule of UI benefits. I provide many tests for the robustness of the RK design, and demonstrate its validity to overcome the traditional issue of endogeneity in UI benefit variations on US data. I also show how, in the tradition of the dynamic labor supply literature, one can identify the purely distortionary effects of UI using variations along the returns-to-employment profile brought about by exogenous variations in the benefit level as well as in the benefit duration. I then use these estimates to calibrate the welfare effects of an increase in UI benefit level and in UI potential duration.
Effects of certain vasoactive agents on the long-term pattern of blood pressure, heart rate, and motor activity in cats.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether a diurnal pattern exists in cardiovascular variables and motor activity, and whether pharmacologic agents that decrease (angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor) or increase (N omega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester [L-NAME]) blood pressure alter the pattern. ANIMALS 6 clinically normal cats. PROCEDURE Radiotelemetric implants were used to measure systemic arterial pressure, heart rate, and motor activity in conscious cats maintained in cages. Measurements were obtained during absence of treatment (control), treatment with dietary salt restriction plus an inhibitor of angiotensin converting enzyme (2.5 mg of lisinopril, PO, daily) and treatment with an inhibitor of nitric oxide production (0.1% L-NAME in the drinking water). RESULTS A diurnal pattern in arterial pressure and motor activity was observed, with highest values obtained during presence of laboratory personnel. Mean values of arterial pressure obtained during light hours varied from those obtained during darkness (P < 0.05), but by < 3 mm of Hg. Dietary sodium restriction did not have an appreciable effect on arterial pressure, but the combined administration of a low sodium diet plus lisinopril decreased (P < 0.05) measured indices of arterial pressure. Administration of L-NAME increased arterial pressure (P < 0.05) and altered its diurnal pattern. CONCLUSIONS Although a diurnal pattern of arterial pressure was observed, variations were mostly associated with presence of human beings. Administration of L-NAME, but not lisinopril, altered this diurnal pattern. CLINICAL RELEVANCE Factors that modify arterial pressure may alter the diurnal pattern of cardiovascular variables. In measuring arterial pressure in cats, the effects of human contact may artifactually increase such variables.
The metabolic cost of backpack and shoulder load carriage.

Eleven healthy male volunteer soldiers (mean [SD] age 24.0 [2.8] years, stature 174.1 [5.2] cm, body weight 73.2 [10.8] kg, body fat 14.2 [5.0]% and maximal oxygen uptake 4.1 [0.4] 1 min-1) walked at 4.8 km h-1 on a motor driven treadmill for 5 min at each of three gradients (0, 2.5 and 5%) whilst carrying a two-part 26 kg load either on each shoulder or strapped to a backpack frame. The load was made up of two cylinders, one weighing 18.4 kg and the other weighing 7.6 kg. For all treadmill gradients the mean (SD) backpacking heart rates and oxygen uptakes (0% gradient, 122 [10] beats min-1, 1.51 [0.11] 1 min-1; 2.5% gradient, 135 [10] beats min-1, 1.81 [0.13] 1 min-1; 5% gradient, 155 [7] beats min-1, 2.21 [0.11] 1 min-1) were significantly (p less than 0.001) lower than for shoulder load carriage (0% gradient, 130 [9] beats min-1, 1.70 [0.12] 1 min-1, 2.5% gradient, 147 [8] beats min-1; 2.01 [0.10] 1 min-1; 5% gradient 164 [9] beats min-1, 2.39 [0.11] 1 min-1). The relative oxygen cost of backpacking was 4.3-4.7% VO2 max lower than for shoulder load carriage. It is concluded that the metabolic cost of backpacking an asymmetric two part 26 kg load was significantly less than for shoulder load carriage when walking at 4.8 km h-1 on a treadmill over gradients of 0-5%. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Structure-Function Analysis of the Yeast Mitochondrial Rho GTPase, Gem1p

Mitochondria undergo continuous cycles of homotypic fusion and fission, which play an important role in controlling organelle morphology, copy number, and mitochondrial DNA maintenance. Because mitochondria cannot be generated de novo, the motility and distribution of these organelles are essential for their inheritance by daughter cells during division. Mitochondrial Rho (Miro) GTPases are outer mitochondrial membrane proteins with two GTPase domains and two EF-hand motifs, which act as receptors to regulate mitochondrial motility and inheritance. Here we report that although all of these domains are biochemically active, only the GTPase domains are required for the mitochondrial inheritance function of Gem1p (the yeast Miro ortholog). Mutations in either of the Gem1p GTPase domains completely abrogated mitochondrial inheritance, although the mutant proteins retained half the GTPase activity of the wild-type protein. Although mitochondrial inheritance was not dependent upon Ca2+ binding by the two EF-hands of Gem1p, a functional N-terminal EF-hand I motif was critical for stable expression of Gem1p in vivo. Our results suggest that basic features of Miro protein function are conserved from yeast to humans, despite differences in the cellular machinery mediating mitochondrial distribution in these organisms.
Approximate analysis of nonlinear operation of a distributed feedback laser.

An approximate method for the analysis of distributed feedback lasers is presented. An expression for the small signal gain coefficient αoN as a function of the output power PNout normalized to the saturation power Ps, loss coefficient αNL, coupling coefficient κ, and length of the laser L is obtained. The result is found to be in good agreement for |κ|L > 0.1 and qualitative agreement for 0.01 4, is derived.
Cellular responses to DNA damage in the absence of Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase.

Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) is a nuclear enzyme which is catalytically activated by DNA strand interruptions. The involvement of PARP has been implicated in different cellular responses to genotoxic damage, including cell survival, DNA repair, transformation, and cell death. However, the exact contribution of PARP polypeptide or its enzymatic product has remained ill defined. Recent studies with two different PARP knock out mice have demonstrated the beneficial role of PARP in maintaining genomic integrity and in survival responses after exposure to whole body gamma-irradiation. Other studies have demonstrated the instrumental role of PARP in death of the neuronal cells after ischemia-reperfusion injury. The recombination inhibiting function of PARP at DNA strand breaks was more evident in a model system deficient in activities of two major DNA strand break binding proteins, PARP and DNA-dependent protein kinase. The present review summarizes similarities and differences obtained with the two PARP knock out mice and reanalyzes the role of PARP in various cellular responses to DNA damage.
Comparison of Four Teaching Methodologies for Large Lecture Classes

60 college students taking introductory psychology were randomly divided into four groups. The first three groups attended a lecture and received either outlines of the lecture material, examples of the concepts in the lecture, or no supplementary materials. The fourth group did not attend the lecture but instead received a typed transcript of it. Students receiving outlines or lists of examples scored significantly higher on follow-up objective examinations than either students receiving transcripts or no supplementary materials; students receiving transcripts did not differ significantly in scoring from students who attended the lecture but did not receive supplementary materials. Groups also differed in time spent preparing for the exams.