Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Role of Magnesium Sulfate in Postoperative Analgesia

Background N-methyl-D-aspartate antagonists may play a role in the prevention of pain. An assessment was made of the effect of the physiologic N-methyl-D-aspartate antagonist magnesium on analgesic requirements, pain, comfort, and quality of sleep in the postoperative period. Methods In a randomized, double-blind study, 42 patients undergoing elective abdominal hysterectomy with general anesthesia received 20% magnesium sulfate or saline (control) 15 ml intravenously before start of surgery and 2.5 ml/h for the next 20 h. Postoperative morphine requirement was assessed for 48 h using patient-controlled analgesia. Maximum expiratory flow (peak flow), pain at rest and during peak flow, and discomfort were evaluated up to the 48th postoperative hour, and 1 week and 1 month after surgery. Insomnia was evaluated after the first and second postoperative nights. Results Compared to control subjects, magnesium-treated patients consumed less morphine during the first 48 h postoperatively (P < 0.03), which was most pronounced during the first 6 h (P < 0.004), and experienced less discomfort during the first and second postoperative days (P < 0.05-0.005). The magnesium-treated group revealed no change in postoperative sleeping patterns when compared to preoperative patterns. Control patients showed an increase in insomnia during the first and second postoperative nights (P < 0.002 and P < 0.005, respectively) compared to pre-operative values. Conclusions This is the first clinical study showing that the perioperative application of magnesium sulfate is associated with smaller analgesic requirement, less discomfort, and a better quality of sleep in the postoperative period but not with adverse effects. Magnesium could be of interest as an adjuvant to postoperative analgesia.
P1E-3 Noninvasive Ultrasonic Elastography of Atherosclerotic Plaques Using Frequency-corrected Autocorrelation Method: A Preliminary Study

In recent years, ultrasonic elastography has shown promise in noninvasively estimating the elastic properties of the atherosclerotic tissue to evaluate the plaque vulnerability. The cyclic change in blood pressure during the cardiac cycle deforms the atherosclerotic tissue, and the resulting strain is frequently estimated from the phase of autocorrelation between the pre- and post-compressed ultrasonic data. Several researchers have reported that this autocorrelation method (AM) can introduce a bias in displacement estimates due to its inherent assumption of fixed ultrasound center frequency and can result in large errors in strain due to the derivative operation. Fortunately, the center frequency of the ultrasound signal could be estimated from the received ultrasonic signal, and we have previously reported that the frequency-corrected autocorrelation method (FCAM) can increase the elastographic signal-to-noise ratio (SNRe) by as much as 2 times over AM. In this paper, we evaluate the FCAM for elastography of atherosclerotic plaques. Through phantom and in vivo experiments, we show that our method can produce high quality elastograms of vascular tissues, which may aid in determining plaque vulnerability
Periodically time-modulated bistable systems: Nonstationary statistical properties.

The relaxation properties of a one-dimensional overdamped system modulated by an external periodic force are studied analytically by means of a perturbation approach. The validity of the approximations introduced is discussed in detail. The nonstationary nature of the process is illustrated by evaluating explicitly the autocorrelation function for the relaxation in a bistable potential. The predictions thus obtained are shown to compare favorably with the results of analogue simulation for the case of a quartic double-well potential. The stochastic resonance mechanism is proven to set in only when the periodic perturbation breaks the symmetry of the bistable potential.
Extreme expansion of the olfactory receptor gene repertoire in African elephants and evolutionary dynamics of orthologous gene groups in 13 placental mammals

Olfactory receptors (ORs) detect odors in the environment, and OR genes constitute the largest multigene family in mammals. Numbers of OR genes vary greatly among species—reflecting the respective species' lifestyles—and this variation is caused by frequent gene gains and losses during evolution. However, whether the extent of gene gains/losses varies among individual gene lineages and what might generate such variation is unknown. To answer these questions, we used a newly developed phylogeny-based method to classify >10,000 intact OR genes from 13 placental mammal species into 781 orthologous gene groups (OGGs); we then compared the OGGs. Interestingly, African elephants had a surprisingly large repertoire (∼2000) of functional OR genes encoded in enlarged gene clusters. Additionally, OR gene lineages that experienced more gene duplication had weaker purifying selection, and Class II OR genes have evolved more dynamically than those in Class I. Some OGGs were highly expanded in a lineage-specific manner, while only three OGGs showed complete one-to-one orthology among the 13 species without any gene gains/losses. These three OGGs also exhibited highly conserved amino acid sequences; therefore, ORs in these OGGs may have physiologically important functions common to every placental mammal. This study provides a basis for inferring OR functions from evolutionary trajectory.
Stroke in Sub-Saharan Africa: an Urgent Call for Prevention

We read Dr. Chin's1 article describing the current situation in Mulago Hospital in Uganda. We have also sounded the alarm on this problem.2 Recent data show a stroke prevalence of 4.6/1,000 in our country, Benin.3 With an estimated population of 9 million, there are 2 neurologic departments. In the capital, Cotonou, there are 14 beds. The second is in Parakou, with 6 beds, and 2 are allocated to strokes. There are no MRI facilities and 3 CT scanners. None of these units can conduct vascular sequences.
Over-Approximation of Fluid Models

Fluid models are a popular formalism in the quantitative modeling of biochemical systems and analytical performance models. The main idea is to approximate a large-scale Markov chain by a compact set of ordinary differential equations (ODEs). Even though it is often crucial for a fluid model under study to satisfy some given properties, a formal verification is usually challenging. This is because parameters are often not known precisely due to finite-precision measurements and stochastic noise. In this paper, we present a novel technique that allows one to efficiently compute formal bounds on the reachable set of time-varying nonlinear ODE systems that are subject to uncertainty. To this end, we, first, relate the reachable set of a nonlinear fluid model to a family of inhomogeneous continuous time Markov decision processes and, second, provide optimal and suboptimal solutions for the family by relying on optimal control theory. The proposed technique is efficient and can be expected to provide tight bounds. We demonstrate its potential by comparing it with a state-of-the-art over-approximation approach.
The Diagnosis of Silicone Breast-Implant Rupture: Clinical Findings Compared With Findings at Magnetic Resonance Imaging

The objective was to evaluate the usefulness of clinical examination in the evaluation of breast-implant integrity, using the diagnosis at magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as the “gold standard. ” Fifty-five women with 109 implants underwent a breast examination either just before or shortly after an MRI examination. Twenty-four of 109 implants were clinically diagnosed with possible rupture or rupture. Eighteen of the 24 implants were ruptured according to the MRI examination (75%). Eighty-five implants were clinically classified as intact, and 43 of these were actually ruptured at MRI (51%). The sensitivity of the clinical examination for diagnosing rupture was thus 30% and the specificity 88%. The positive predictive value of a clinical diagnosis of rupture was 75%, and the negative predictive value was 49%. In this study, we found that when a clinical examination is used as the sole diagnostic tool to identify implant rupture, neither the sensitivity nor the specificity is acceptable.
Mucosal and Systemic Immune Responses in Patients with Diarrhea Due to CS6-Expressing Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli

ABSTRACT Colonization factor CS6 expressed by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is a nonfimbrial polymeric protein. A substantial proportion of ETEC strains isolated from patients in endemic settings and in people who travel to regions where ETEC is endemic are ETEC strains expressing CS6, either alone or in combination with fimbrial colonization factor CS5 or CS4. However, relatively little is known about the natural immune responses elicited against CS6 expressed by ETEC strains causing disease. We studied patients who were hospitalized with diarrhea (n = 46) caused by CS6-expressing ETEC (ETEC expressing CS6 or CS5 plus CS6) and had a disease spectrum ranging from severe dehydration (27%) to moderate or mild dehydration (73%). Using recombinant CS6 antigen, we found that more than 90% of the patients had mucosal immune responses to CS6 expressed as immunoglobulin (IgA) antibody-secreting cells (ASC) or antibody in lymphocyte supernatant (ALS) and that about 57% responded with CS6-specific IgA antibodies in feces. More than 80% of the patients showed IgA seroconversion to CS6. Significant increases in the levels of anti-CS6 antibodies of the IgG isotype were also observed in assays for ASC (75%), ALS (100%), and serum (70%). These studies demonstrated that patients hospitalized with the noninvasive enteric pathogen CS6-expressing ETEC responded with both mucosal and systemic antibodies against CS6. Studies are needed to determine if the anti-CS6 responses protect against reinfection and if protective levels of CS6 immunity are induced by vaccination.
Anomaly of the Portal Vein With Total Ramification of the Intrahepatic Portal Branches From the Right Umbilical Portion: CT Features

Purpose: To describe CT findings of portal vein anomaly with total ramification of the intrahepatic portal branches from the right umbilical vein. Methods: Retrospective analysis was performed in 6 patients with portal vein anomaly with total ramification of the intrahepatic portal branches from the right umbilican vein. We analyzed the position of the umbilical portion of the portal vein and ligamentum teres, and determined the intrahepatic branching pattern of the portal vein. Results: The umbilical portion and ligamentum teres were deviated to the right and seen above the gallbladder fossa in all 6 patients. All major braches of the portal vein ramified from the right umbilical vein in all 6 patients. Conclusion: The possibility of this portal vein anomaly should be kept in mind when hepatic resection or partial liver transplantation is required.
Touched by robots: effects of physical contact and proactiveness

Even though robots' physical embodiment makes it likely humans will come into physical contact with robots, the effects of touch on attitudes in human-robot interaction are still relatively unknown. This survey and video-based, experiment (N=199) investigates the effects of touch and robots interactions. Results show that physical contact and autonomous behavior interact in their effects on perceived machine-likeness and dependability. Attitudes towards robots in general also affected the influence of touch on perceptions of a robot.
Virulence Potential of Ehrlichia chaffeensis Strains of Distinct Genome Sequences

ABSTRACT Human monocytic ehrlichiosis, one of the most frequent life-threatening tick-borne zoonoses, is caused by Ehrlichia chaffeensis that lacks endotoxin and peptidoglycan. While sequence polymorphisms in several genes in E. chaffeensis strains have been reported, global genomic divergence and biological differences among strains are unknown. The objectives of the present study were to compare the genome sequences of strains of E. chaffeensis and to examine the virulence potentials of the strains with defined genome sequences. Genomic DNA was extracted from purified E. chaffeensis strains Wakulla and Liberty, and comparative genome hybridization was performed using a densely tiled microarray of 147,027 chromosome positions of the E. chaffeensis strain Arkansas genome. The results revealed that 4,663 and 5,325 positions in the chromosomes of strains Wakulla and Liberty, respectively, were different from those in the chromosome of strain Arkansas, including three common major polymorphic chromosomal regions. Of various functional categories, the differences were most concentrated in genes predicted to encode cell envelope proteins. Of all the open reading frames (ORFs), 21 omp-1 (p28 gene) paralogs, nine genes encoding hypothetical proteins, two genes encoding ankyrin repeat proteins, and hemE contained the most differences. Several highly polymorphic ORFs were confirmed by sequencing. When the E. chaffeensis strains were inoculated into severe combined immunodeficiency mice, the order of the severity of clinical signs and the bacterial burden detected in mice was Wakulla > Liberty > Arkansas. Severe diffuse inflammation and granulomatous inflammation were evident in the livers of mice infected with strains Wakulla and Arkansas, respectively, but not in the livers of mice infected with strain Liberty. These results revealed distinct virulence phenotypes of E. chaffeensis strains with defined genome sequences.
Inhibition of tumor necrosis factor reduces the severity of virus‐specific lung immunopathology

TNF antagonists are effective treatments for rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn′s disease, and have been tried with variable success in other diseases caused by immune damage. To test the hypothesis that viral lung diseases caused by respiratory syncytial virus or influenza virus are partly due to overproduction of TNF, we used anti‐TNF antibody to treat mice with lung disease caused by these viruses. TNF depletion reduced pulmonary recruitment of inflammatory cells, cytokine production by T cells and the severity of illness without preventing virus clearance. These broad beneficial effects suggest that TNF antagonists might be tested as treatments of human viral lung diseases.
1H MRS in the human spinal cord at 7 T using a dielectric waveguide transmitter, RF shimming and a high density receive array

Multimodal MRI is the state of the art method for clinical diagnostics and therapy monitoring of the spinal cord, with MRS being an emerging modality that has the potential to detect relevant changes of the spinal cord tissue at an earlier stage and to enhance specificity. Methodological challenges related to the small dimensions and deep location of the human spinal cord inside the human body, field fluctuations due to respiratory motion, susceptibility differences to adjacent tissue such as vertebras and pulsatile flow of the cerebrospinal fluid hinder the clinical application of 1H MRS to the human spinal cord. Complementary to previous studies that partly addressed these problems, this work aims at enhancing the signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) of 1H MRS in the human spinal cord. To this end a flexible tight fit high density receiver array and ultra‐high field strength (7 T) were combined. A dielectric waveguide and dipole antenna transmission coil allowed for dual channel RF shimming, focusing the RF field in the spinal cord, and an inner‐volume saturated semi‐LASER sequence was used for robust localization in the presence of B1+ inhomogeneity. Herein we report the first 7 T spinal cord 1H MR spectra, which were obtained in seven independent measurements of 128 averages each in three healthy volunteers. The spectra exhibit high quality (full width at half maximum 0.09 ppm, SNR 7.6) and absence of artifacts and allow for reliable quantification of N‐acetyl aspartate (NAA) (NAA/Cr (creatine) 1.31 ± 0.20; Cramér–Rao lower bound (CRLB) 5), total choline containing compounds (Cho) (Cho/Cr 0.32 ± 0.07; CRLB 7), Cr (CRLB 5) and myo‐inositol (mI) (mI/Cr 1.08 ± 0.22; CRLB 6) in 7.5 min in the human cervical spinal cord. Thus metabolic information from the spinal cord can be obtained in clinically feasible scan times at 7 T, and its benefit for clinical decision making in spinal cord disorders will be investigated in the future using the presented methodology. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Situated learning: The feasibility of an experimental learning of information technology for academic nursing students

Abstract As part of the Bachelor’s degree of nursing education, nursing students are exposed to the increasingly complex world of Information Technology. Aim: To evaluate the feasibility of a situated learning approach for Information Technology course by assessing students’ perceptions at the end of the course. Methods: Course participants completed a pre and post-course survey describing their knowledge and perceptions of the course. Results and discussion: Results demonstrated increased knowledge and satisfaction with this new learning strategy, which was also apparent in their good final course grades. Students had considerably more knowledge after the course (comparing to pre course survey), with a positive correlation between students’ perception of the usefulness of the course and their knowledge after completion of the course. Therefore, enhancing learning using a simulated learning curriculum may allow students to be more aware of the challenges that nurses face in actual practice, and may provide a more contextualized understanding of the issues relating to Information Technology.
Magnitude of muscle wasting early after on‐pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery and exploration of aetiology

What is the central question of this study? It remains uncertain whether significant fat‐free mass wasting occurs early after coronary artery bypass graft surgery, and the aetiology of this wasting in these particular conditions is unexplored. What is the main finding and its importance? Significant fat‐free mass wasting is present after coronary artery bypass graft surgery, and this wasting effect is greater in younger patients and in patients with greater increments in blood cortisol‐to‐testosterone ratios after surgery.
GDP Dissociation Inhibitor Domain II Required for Rab GTPase Recycling*

Rab GTPases are localized to distinct subsets of organelles within the cell, where they regulate SNARE-mediated membrane trafficking between organelles. One factor required for Rab localization and function is Rab GDP dissociation inhibitor (GDI), which is proposed to recycle Rab after vesicle fusion by extracting Rab from the membrane and loading Rab onto newly formed transport intermediates. GDI is composed of two domains; Rab binding is mediated by Domain I, and the function of Domain II is not known. In this study, Domain II of yeast GDI, encoded by the essential GDI1/SEC19gene, was targeted in a genetic screen to obtain mutants that might lend insight into the function of this domain. In onegdi1 mutant, the cytosolic pools of all Rabs tested were depleted, and Rab accumulated on membranes, suggesting that this mutant Gdi1 protein has a general defect in extraction of Rab from membranes. In a second gdi1 mutant, the endosomal/vacuolar Rabs Vps21/Ypt51p and Ypt7p accumulated in the cytosol bound to Gdi1p, but localization of Ypt1p and Sec4p were not significantly affected. Using an in vitro assay which reconstitutes Gdi1p-mediated membrane loading of Rab, this mutant Gdi1p was found to be defective in loading of Vps21p but not Ypt1p. Loading of Vps21p by loading-defective Gdi1p was restored when acceptor membranes prepared from a deletion strain lacking Vps21p were used. These results suggest that membrane-associated Rab may regulate recruitment of GDI-Rab from the cytosol, possibly by regulating a GDI-Rab receptor. We conclude that Domain II of Gdi1p is essential for Rab loading and Rab extraction, and confirm that each of these activities is required for Gdi1p functionin vivo.
Reciprocal Control of Drinking Behavior by Median Preoptic Neurons in Mice

Stimulation of glutamatergic neurons in the subfornical organ drives drinking behavior, but the brain targets that mediate this response are not known. The densest target of subfornical axons is the anterior tip of the third ventricle, containing the median preoptic nucleus (MnPO) and organum vasculosum of the lamina terminalis (OVLT), a region that has also been implicated in fluid and electrolyte management. The neurochemical composition of this region is complex, containing both GABAergic and glutamatergic neurons, but the possible roles of these neurons in drinking responses have not been addressed. In mice, we show that optogenetic stimulation of glutamatergic neurons in MnPO/OVLT drives voracious water consumption, and that optogenetic stimulation of GABAergic neurons in the same region selectively reduces water consumption. Both populations of neurons have extensive projections to overlapping regions of the thalamus, hypothalamus, and hindbrain that are much more extensive than those from the subfornical organ, suggesting that the MnPO/OVLT serves as a key link in regulating drinking responses. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Neurons in the median preoptic nucleus (MnPO) and organum vasculosum of the lamina terminalis (OVLT) are known to regulate fluid/electrolyte homeostasis, but few studies have examined this issue with an appreciation for the neurochemical heterogeneity of these nuclei. Using Cre-Lox genetic targeting of Channelrhodospin-2 in transgenic mice, we demonstrate that glutamate and GABA neurons in the MnPO/OVLT reciprocally regulate water consumption. Stimulating glutamatergic MnPO/OVLT neurons induced water consumption, whereas stimulating GABAergic MnPO neurons caused a sustained and specific reduction in water consumption in dehydrated mice, the latter highlighting a heretofore unappreciated role of GABAergic MnPO neurons in thirst regulation. These observations represent an important advance in our understanding of the neural circuits involved in the regulation of fluid/electrolyte homeostasis.
The importance of identification for the acceptance of consumer electronics on the example of the Wii

Research on information technology has focused mainly on the acceptance of work-related technology. During the last few years, the importance of information technology in private life has tremendously increased and therefore, the fit of models developed especially for working environments is decreasing. This article stresses two main points. First, important key constructs such as technology acceptance are defined, because a clear definition is still absent in literature. Second, a model integration of the Technology Acceptance Model and the need-based approach from user experience research is presented, which focuses on the explanation of technology acceptance of hedonic systems. A first empirical investigation of the integrated model on the example of the Nintendo Wii™ closes this article. The results show that identification adds great explanatory strength to the model in case of hedonic systems and that a differentiation between usage modes is valuable for a better understanding of technology acceptance.