Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Facing the challenges of distribution systems operation with high wind power penetration

This paper addresses the challenges associated with the operation of a distribution system with high penetration of wind power. The paper presents some preliminary investigations of an ongoing Danish research work, which has as main objective to reduce the network losses by optimizing the reactive power flow in 60kV distribution networks through controlling the ability of wind power plants (WPPs) to generate or absorb reactive power. This paper aims to understand the characteristics of a distribution network with high penetration of distributed generation. A detailed analysis of the active and reactive power flows in a real distribution network under different wind and load conditions based on actual measurements is performed in order to understand the correlation between the consumption, wind power production, and the network losses. Conclusive remarks are presented, briefly expressing the track for the future work.
Primary Malignant Fibrous Histiocytoma of the Spleen-an Extremely Rare Entity

Abstract Malignant fibrous histiocytoma (MFH) is a frequently occurring soft tissue tumour with aggressive biological behaviour. Primary MFH of the spleen, however, is an exceedingly rare occurrence. Herein, we report a case of such a neoplasm in a 66-year-old female. The tumour was well localised within the spleen and the patient remains alive and well 34 months after splenectomy without any adjuvant therapy. A brief discussion and review of the few cases of primary splenic MFH previously reported in the English language literature is included.
Inhibition of lactate dehydrogenase C4 (LDH-C4) blocks capacitation of mouse sperm in vitro

Lactate dehydrogenase C4 (LDH-C4) is a tissue-specific enzyme in the mammalian testis and the only lactate dehydrogenase isozyme of sperm. Inhibitors of LDH activity were used to determine whether this enzyme plays a role in sperm capacitation, the acrosome reaction and/or fertilization. Oxamate or its derivative was used to inhibit sperm LDH activity in a medium promoting capacitation. Complete inhibition of LDH activity blocked capacitation. This effect could be reversed partially by the addition of dbcAMP or pentoxifylline to the culture medium. Western blotting showed that oxamate and N-isopropyl oxamate inhibited the tyrosine phosphorylation of proteins during the sperm capacitation process. Presumably, glycolysis is the primary energy pathway for sperm metabolism. The oxidation of reduced NAD with the conversion of pyruvate to lactate by LDH provides ATP necessary for protein kinase A (PKA) activity. Our data indicate that LDH-C4 plays an important metabolic role in sperm capacitation.
Chronic symptomatic os subfibulare in children.

BACKGROUND Some children have persistent pain and instability following inversion injuries of the ankle. Radiographs may reveal a small osseous fragment distal to the lateral malleolus, suggesting an avulsion injury of the anterior talofibular ligament and/or calcaneofibular ligament. The avulsion injury may involve an os subfibulare, causing ligamentous laxity and chronic pain resulting from nonunion. This situation must be differentiated from an asymptomatic os subfibulare, which is a normal anatomic variant in 1% of children. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the intraoperative findings and long-term outcomes of patients treated operatively for symptomatic avulsion injuries or a symptomatic os subfibulare. METHODS Twenty-three patients presented with chronic ankle pain and instability, tenderness anterior and distal to the lateral malleolus, and imaging studies (magnetic resonance imaging and/or stress radiographs) suspicious for avulsion injury of the anterior talofibular ligament and/or calcaneofibular ligament. After unsuccessful nonoperative treatment, all patients underwent excision of the osseous fragments, anatomic reconstruction of the anterior talofibular ligament with use of drill holes through the lateral malleolus, and a modified Broström procedure. RESULTS The mean age of the patients was 10.4 years (range, eight to thirteen years) at the time of injury and 13.6 years (range, eight to seventeen years) at the time of surgery, representing a mean delay in diagnosis and treatment of 3.2 years. At a mean follow-up of 4.5 years (range, 2.1 to 13.2 years), the mean Foot and Ankle Outcome Score was 91.4 (range, 87 to 98) out of 100, with all but one patient returning to the preinjury recreational level. Only one patient had a long-term complication. CONCLUSIONS In children with chronic pain and instability associated with an os subfibulare, surgical excision of the os subfibulare combined with reconstruction of the anterior talofibular ligament and a modified Broström procedure was effective in restoring ankle stability, eliminating pain, and permitting return to the preinjury functional level.
Integrated light chemical tagging analyses of seven M31 outer halo globular clusters from the Pan-Andromeda Archaeological Survey

Detailed chemical abundances are presented for seven M31 outer halo globular clusters (with projected distances from M31 greater than 30 kpc), as derived from high resolution integrated light spectra taken with the Hobby Eberly Telescope. Five of these clusters were recently discovered in the Pan-Andromeda Archaeological Survey (PAndAS)—this paper presents the first determinations of integrated Fe, Na, Mg, Ca, Ti, Ni, Ba, and Eu abundances for these clusters. Four of the target clusters (PA06, PA53, PA54, and PA56) are metal-poor ([Fe/H] < 1.5), �-enhanced (though they are possibly less �-enhanced than Milky Way stars at the 1� level), and show signs of star-to-star Na and Mg variations. The other three globular clusters (H10, H23, and PA17) are more metal rich, with metallicities ranging from [Fe/H] = 1.4 to 0.9. While H23 is chemically similar to Milky Way field stars, Milky Way globular clusters, and other M31 clusters, H10 and PA17 have moderately low [Ca/Fe], compared to Milky Way field stars and clusters. Addi tionally, PA17’s high [Mg/Ca] and [Ba/Eu] ratios are distinct from Milky Way stars, and are in better agreement with the stars and clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). None of the clusters studied here can be conclusively linked to any of the identified streams fr om PAndAS; however, based on their locations, kinematics, metallicities, and detailed abundances, the most metal-rich PAndAS clusters H23 and PA17 may be associated with the progenitor of the Giant Stellar Stream, H10 may be associated with the SW Cloud, and PA53 and PA56 may be associated with the Eastern Cloud.
How much can parentage analyses tell us about precapture dispersal?

Estimating rates of movement among populations is never simple, and where young animals cannot all be captured at their birth sites, traditional field methods potentially underestimate dispersal rates. Genetic assignment tests appear to hold promise for detecting ‘precapture’ dispersal, and recent evidence suggests that even on the scale of dispersal between populations, genetic parentage analyses can also be informative. Herein, we examine the performance of both types of analysis with data from a 17‐year study of dispersal in banner‐tailed kangaroo rats Dipodomys spectabilis. We compare estimates of precapture dispersal from (i) the commonly used parentage analysis program cervus (ii) a pedigree‐reconstruction program, MasterBayes, that combines genetic with spatial and other nongenetic information and (iii) genetic assignment procedures implemented by the program geneclass2, with (iv) rates of dispersal observed through recapture of a subset of animals initially marked shortly after weaning. geneclass2 estimates a larger proportion of precapture dispersers than MasterBayes, but both approaches as well as those based on field data alone, suggest that approximately 10% of adults in local populations are immigrants and that interpopulation dispersal is slightly female‐biassed. All genetic procedures detect precapture dispersal between populations, but dispersers identified by MasterBayes are particularly compatible with what is independently known about body mass at dispersal, dispersal distance and distance between parents. Parentage analyses have considerable potential to infer the value of this otherwise elusive demographic parameter when most candidate parents can be genotyped and when nongenetic information, especially the distance separating candidate mothers and fathers, can be incorporated into the procedure.
Can the host immune system promote multiple invasions of erythrocytes in vivo? Differential effects of medication and host sex in a wild malaria-like model

SUMMARY Multiple invasions (MIs) or infections, i.e. those by more than 1 parasite in the same erythrocyte, could be the result of parasite density or, alternatively, to parasite-related factors or host-related factors. According to the last possibility, to our knowledge, only 3 laboratory studies of malaria have found an increase in the occurrence of MIs when antibodies to parasite antigens were present. Therefore, we tested the possibility that MIs were influenced by the host immune status, using as model the malaria-like parasite Haemoproteus infecting blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus). Avian hosts infected with Haemoproteus were medicated with primaquine or injected with saline solution and the density of infection and the presence of MIs counted. Medication treatment reduced significantly the density of infection by Haemoproteus in females but not in males. For females, the presence of MIs was positively associated with both the density of infection and the immunoglobulin levels on each capture, but no association was found between the treatment and the presence of MIs. For males, the density of infection but not the immunoglobulin levels was positively associated with the presence of MIs. In addition, medicated males supported more MIs than controls. Our results represent the first line of evidence in the wild for a possible role of the host immune system promoting MIs.
Effect of Hypoxia on Laryngeal Reflex Apnea—Implications for Sudden Infant Death

Apnea was elicited by the application of chemical stimuli to the laryngeal region of 25 piglets from 1 to 70 days of age. Animals were tested under normoxic and hypoxic (Flo2 10%) conditions with water and solutions of graded acid and salt concentration. The chemoreflex was found to diminish with postnatal age. Fatal apneic episodes were confined to animals less than 3 weeks of age. Hypoxia consistently augmented the reflex, and in some cases elicited fatal apnea in animals that had survived similar stimulation under normoxic conditions. A direct relationship was also found between the strength of stimulus and respiratory response. Apnea increased with diminishing NaCl concentration or pH. The reflex was abolished by bilateral section of the superior laryngeal nerves. Fatal apnea elicited by laryngeal chemostimulation under the circumstance of hypoxia may provide further insight into the enigma of sudden infant death.
Emotions and Decisions

For centuries, decision scholars paid little attention to emotions: Decisions were modeled in normative and descriptive frameworks with little regard for affective processes. Recently, however, an “emotions revolution” has taken place, particularly in the neuroscientific study of decision making, putting emotional processes on an equal footing with cognitive ones. Yet disappointingly little theoretical progress has been made. The concepts and processes discussed often remain vague, and conclusions about the implications of emotions for rationality are contradictory and muddled. We discuss three complementary ways to move the neuroscientific study of emotion and decision making from agenda setting to theory building. The first is to use reverse inference as a hypothesis-discovery rather than a hypothesis-testing tool, unless its utility can be systematically quantified (e.g., through meta-analysis). The second is to capitalize on the conceptual inventory advanced by the behavioral science of emotions, testing those concepts and unveiling the underlying processes. The third is to model the interplay between emotions and decisions, harnessing existing cognitive frameworks of decision making and mapping emotions onto the postulated computational processes. To conclude, emotions (like cognitive strategies) are not rational or irrational per se: How (un)reasonable their influence is depends on their fit with the environment.
In-Stent Restenosis After Carotid Artery Stenting: From Diagnosis to Treatment

Although carotid artery stenting is a safe and effective treatment for preventing ischaemic stroke in significant carotid atherosclerotic disease, it can be complicated by in-stent restenosis (ISR). Factors involved in the ISR process are both mechanical and patient-related, but the most important is the neointimal thickening within stent struts, leading to lumen reduction. Overall incidence of carotid ISR is low and related embolic risk seems to be lower than native disease. Digital subtraction angiography is the gold standard for diagnosis. Nowadays, Doppler ultrasound should be considered the first-line investigation, due to its non-invasiveness and reproducibility. Computed tomography angiography remains useful when Doppler ultrasound is inconclusive. Indication and modality of treatment of ISR are still debated: both surgery (carotid endarterectomy with stent removal in most cases) or interventional procedures such as percutaneous transluminal angioplasty with simple balloon, cutting-balloon, drug-eluting balloon, and stenting, showed safety and efficacy in follow-up. Surgery is currently reserved for selected cases. Carotid ISR is an overall rare complication which can be easily identified at routine follow-up. This paper is a literature review and state-of-the-art assessment of ISR, clinical features, diagnosis, and treatment.
Transmission Performance of OOK and 4-PAM Signals Using Directly Modulated 1.5-μm VCSEL for Optical Access Network

We evaluate the possibility of realizing optical access networks using 1.5-μm vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) in the on-off keying (OOK) and four-level pulse amplitude modulation (4-PAM) formats. In order to maximize the power budget of the networks, we optimize the extinction ratio of the 10.7- and 21.4-Gb/s signals and exploit the electrical equalization at the receiver. The experimental comparison made at 10.7 Gb/s shows that the OOK format vastly outperforms the 4-PAM format in terms of tolerance to chromatic dispersion. For example, we achieve the 80-km transmission of the OOK signal over standard single-mode fiber (SSMF), but the maximum reach is halved when the 4-PAM signal is employed. Nevertheless, the 4-PAM format is still an effective way to double the data rate of the VCSEL links in optical access networks. We successfully transmit the 21.4-Gb/s 4-PAM signal generated by using the 1.5-μm VCSEL over 18-km long SSMF.
Role of computed tomography angiography in the management of Zone II penetrating neck trauma in patients with clinical hard signs

BACKGROUND The Western Trauma Association (WTA) describes the management of Zone 2 penetrating neck trauma (PNT) and recommends neck exploration (NE) for patients with clinical hard signs (HS). We hypothesize that in stable patients with HS, the management of PNT augmented by computed tomography angiography (CTA) results in fewer negative NE results. METHODS This was a 4-year retrospective review of adult patients with Zone 2 PNT at a Level I trauma center. Stable patients with WTA-defined HS (airway compromise, massive subcutaneous emphysema/air bubbling through wound, expanding/pulsatile hematoma, active bleeding, shock, focal neurologic deficit, and hematemesis) who underwent CTA instead of emergent exploration were identified. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value for CTA were calculated. A comparison was made between the rates of negative NE results in patients with HS who received a CTA versus the rate that would have occurred in the same patients if the WTA algorithm had been followed. Missed injury rates were also compared. RESULTS Of 183 PNT patients, 23 had HS and underwent CTA. Of the 23, 5 had a positive CTA findings and underwent NE, while 17 had a negative CTA findings and did not require NE. There was one false-negative in a patient who developed an expanding hematoma following negative neck CTA finding. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value for CTA in the presence of HS were found to be 83%, 100%, 100%, and 94%, respectively. The addition of CTA to the WTA algorithm for this patient group significantly decreased the rate of negative NE (0 of 23 vs. 18 of 23, p < 0.001) without a significant increase in the rate of missed injury (1 of 23 vs. 0 of 23, p = 0.323). The use of CTA prevented 17 unnecessary NEs. CONCLUSION CTA addition to the management of hemodynamically stable patients with HS in PNT significantly decreased the rate of negative NE result without increasing missed injury rate. Prospective study of CTA addition to the WTA algorithm is needed. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Care management/therapeutic study, level IV.
Epidemiology of Bacteriuria during the First Year of Life

ABSTRACT. Bacteriuria was studied in an unselected population of 3581 infants. Screening was performed at three time intervals during the infants’first year of life. The public Child Health Centers cooperated in the screening and bag samples were obtained from the infants with the parents help. Bacteriuria was verified by suprapubic aspiration. 94 % of the infants took part in the screening and bacteriuria was confirmed in 14 girls (0.9%) and 36 boys (2.5%). An additional 20 girls (1.1 %) and 20 boys (1.2 %) in the study population presented with symptomatic urinary tract infection before 12 months of age. Bacteriuria in boys was predominantly found early in infancy both with screening techniques and through symptomatic urinary tract infections.
Intestinal IgA: novel views on its function in the defence of the largest mucosal surface

The intestine is undoubtedly the most misunderstood and under-appreciated lymphoid organ in the body. Yet, in the eyes of mucosal immunologists, the gut exemplifies finely tuned, extensively interacting populations of cells and their products involved in innate and specific defence of the body’s largest surface area, a surface exposed to the heaviest burden of environmental antigens. As the largest lymphoepithelial organ, it contains cells that absorb, process, and present antigen, B and T cells of various types, and antibody producing cells.1 Every day intestinal plasma cells produce more antibodies than do all other lymphoid organs (spleen, lymph nodes, and the bone marrow) combined.2 Although the remarkable dominance of IgA producing cells in the intestine and of IgA in the intestinal fluid has been known for decades, fine details of the migration or “homing” of IgA plasma cell precursors, their terminal differentiation, the mechanisms mediating and regulating the selective transepithelial transport of IgA, and the functional advantages of this molecule in the gut continue to emerge with impressive rapidity. One feature unique to the mucosal immune system is the crucial role of epithelial cells of various morphological forms and phenotypes in mucosal defences.3 Functional interdependence of epithelial and lymphoid cells in the intestine has been amply documented. In addition to production of inflammatory cytokines (e.g. interleukin (IL) 8 and macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP) 1α and anti-inflammatory cytokines (e.g. transforming growth factor (TGF) β and IL-10), epithelial cells are also a source of cytokines that regulate the terminal differentiation of arriving lymphocytes into IgA producing plasma cells (e.g. TGF-β, IL-6, IL-10). 3Lymphocytes resident in the lamina propria and in the intraepithelial compartment, mostly of T cell lineage, participate directly and indirectly in the protection of the mucosa,4 and provide stimuli (e.g. interferon (IFN) γ) for the maintenance …
Identification and characterization of E. coli CRISPR‐cas promoters and their silencing by H‐NS

Inheritable bacterial defence systems against phage infection and foreign DNA, termed CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats), consist of cas protein genes and repeat arrays interspaced with sequences originating from invaders. The Cas proteins together with processed small spacer‐repeat transcripts (crRNAs) cause degradation of penetrated foreign DNA by unknown mechanisms. Here, we have characterized previously unidentified promoters of the Escherichia coli CRISPR arrays and cas protein genes. Transcription of precursor crRNA is directed by a promoter located within the CRISPR leader. A second promoter, directing cas gene transcription, is located upstream of the genes encoding proteins of the Cascade complex. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the DNA‐binding protein H‐NS is involved in silencing the CRISPR‐cas promoters, resulting in cryptic Cas protein expression. Our results demonstrate an active involvement of H‐NS in the induction of the CRISPR‐cas system and suggest a potential link between two prokaryotic defence systems against foreign DNA.
Reversibility of unawareness of hypoglycemia in patients with insulinomas.

BACKGROUND A lack of appropriate autonomic warning symptoms before the development of neuroglycopenia occurs frequently in patients with diabetes mellitus. The pathogenesis of this phenomenon is unclear, but it is associated with intensive insulin therapy, prolonged duration of diabetes, frequent episodes of hypoglycemia, and impaired glucose counterregulation. Recently, it has been proposed that repeated episodes of hypoglycemia may themselves induce the phenomenon. METHODS To test this hypothesis and to determine whether the phenomenon is reversible, we assessed autonomic and neuroglycopenic symptoms, counterregulatory hormonal responses, and cognitive function during stepped hypoglycemic-clamp studies in 6 patients with insulinomas before and approximately six months after curative surgery and in 14 normal subjects matched for age, weight, and sex. RESULTS Before surgery, the patients with insulinomas had lower scores than the normal subjects for autonomic symptoms (mean [+/- SD], 3.5 +/- 0.8 vs. 9.6 +/- 4.5) and neuroglycopenic symptoms (2.8 +/- 1.5 vs. 8.9 +/- 5.3). The patients also had impaired counterregulatory hormonal responses (their plasma epinephrine, norepinephrine, glucagon, growth hormone, and cortisol responses before surgery were 187 +/- 227 pg per milliliter [1.03 +/- 1.25 nmol per liter], 223 +/- 85 pg per milliliter [1.32 +/- 0.50 nmol per liter], 86 +/- 21 ng per liter, 7.4 +/- 5.2 micrograms per liter, and 12.1 +/- 1.5 micrograms per deciliter [334 +/- 41 nmol per liter], respectively, as compared with 842 +/- 439 pg per milliliter [4.63 +/- 2.41 nmol per liter], 519 +/- 150 pg per milliliter [3.07 +/- 0.89 nmol per liter], 201 +/- 58 ng per liter, 25.3 +/- 13.7 micrograms per liter, and 26.3 +/- 1.2 micrograms per deciliter [726 +/- 33 nmol per liter] in the normal subjects) and less deterioration in cognitive function than the normal subjects during hypoglycemia (sum of z scores for seven tests of cognitive function, 1.7 +/- 1.9 vs. 8.9 +/- 3.5) (P < 0.02 for all comparisons). Surgical cure reversed all these abnormalities (P not significant for all comparisons with the normal subjects). CONCLUSIONS Hypoglycemia itself can induce unawareness of the autonomic and neuroglycopenic symptoms of hypoglycemia and decrease the counterregulatory hormonal responses to hypoglycemia.