Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nausea: the most important factor determining length of stay after ambulatory anaesthesia. A comparative study of isoflurane and/or propofol techniques

Speed of recovery and length of stay in hospital were studied in 95 ambulatory patients undergoing laparoscopy or arthroscopy. The patients were divided into three groups regarding maintenance of anaesthesia. Group A (n = 32) received isoflurane 0.7% end‐tidally, group B (n = 31) propofol infusion for 25 min and thereafter isoflurane, and group C (n = 32) received an infusion of propofol throughout the procedure. Recovery was assessed by a combination of the Maddox‐Wing, the Choice Reaction Time test and p‐deletion. The awakening period was somewhat shorter in group A, but psychomotor recovery was somewhat slower compared to groups B and C. The length of stay in hospital depended on whether the patient was nauseated or not. In group A, 44% suffered from nausea requiring medical intervention compared to 13% and 19% in groups B and C, respectively. The stay in hospital was 235 ± 90 min (mean ± standard deviation) in group A compared to 184 ± 56 min and 197 ± 55 min in groups B and C, respectively. The non‐nauseated patients in group A had a stay in hospital of 188 ± 55 min compared to 184 ± 52 and 184 ± 37 in the non‐nauseated patients in groups B and C, respectively. In total, the nauseated patients (n = 24) stayed 267 ± 95 min compared to 185 ± 47 min for the non‐nauseated patients (n = 71), P < 0.001. We found nausea to be the most important factor determining length of stay after ambulatory anaesthesia. Propofol in a dose higher than a normal induction dose decreases the incidence of nausea and thus the length of stay in hospital.
Monoclonal antibody-aided characterization of cellular p220 in uninfected and poliovirus-infected HeLa cells: subcellular distribution and identification of conformers

A monoclonal antibody directed against the Mr-220,000 subunit (p220) of the mRNA cap-binding complex has been prepared and used to analyze the sucrose gradient sedimentation and subcellular location of p220 and its poliovirus-induced cleavage products. The antibody reacted with p220 on immunoblots of cell lysates from uninfected cells, but only with several smaller polypeptides, the p220 cleavage products, in cell lysates from poliovirus-infected cells. The sedimentation of p220 antigens from uninfected or infected cells was analyzed by immunoblot and by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) of sucrose gradient fractions. The results indicate that antibody reactivity was partially influenced by antigen conformation. Major forms of intact p220 and cleaved p220 were identified by immunoblot, and these had similar sedimentation properties. ELISA analysis of the same gradient fractions detected only uncleaved p220; p220 cleavage products were not recognized. Furthermore, the antibody recognized two forms of native uncleaved p220, one of which appeared to bind antibody with greater affinity. This result suggested the existence of conformational variants of p220. The differential reactivity of the antibody for cleaved versus uncleaved p220 served as a useful control during indirect immunofluorescence analysis to determine the subcellular distribution of p220 antigens. The distribution of p220 in uninfected cells was mainly cytoplasmic, but some nuclear antigens were also apparent. After poliovirus infection only the nuclear pattern remained. Disappearance of the cytoplasmic pattern confirmed the inability of the antibody to react with native p220 cleavage products. The cytoplasmic pattern also disappeared after human rhinovirus 14 infection, but not after mengovirus infection, results which correlated with the ability of human rhinovirus 14 and the inability of mengovirus to induce the cleavage of p220. The results demonstrate that p220 is not likely to be associated with the cytoskeleton and hint at the possibility of a partially nuclear location.
Degradation of Host Heme Proteins by Lysine- and Arginine-Specific Cysteine Proteinases (Gingipains) ofPorphyromonas gingivalis

ABSTRACT Porphyromonas gingivalis can use hemoglobin bound to haptoglobin and heme complexed to hemopexin as heme sources; however, the mechanism by which hemin is released from these proteins has not been defined. In the present study, using a variety of analytical methods, we demonstrate that lysine-specific cysteine proteinase of P. gingivalis (gingipain K, Kgp) can efficiently cleave hemoglobin, hemopexin, haptoglobin, and transferrin. Degradation of hemopexin and transferrin in human serum by Kgp was also detected; however, we did not observe extensive degradation of hemoglobin in serum by Kgp. Likewise the β-chain of haptoglobin was partially protected from degradation by Kgp in a haptoglobin-hemoglobin complex. Arginine-specific gingipains (gingipains R) were also found to degrade hemopexin and transferrin in serum; however, this was observed only at relatively high concentrations of these enzymes. Growth ofP. gingivalis strain A7436 in a minimal media with normal human serum as a source of heme correlated not only with the ability of the organism to degrade hemoglobin, haptoglobin, hemopexin, and transferrin but also with an increase in gingipain K and gingipain R activity. The ability of gingipain K to cleave hemoglobin, haptoglobin, and hemopexin may provide P. gingivalis with a useable source of heme for growth and may contribute to the proliferation of P. gingivaliswithin periodontal pockets in which erythrocytes are abundant.
Impact of government intervention in the housing market: evidence from the housing purchase restriction policy in China

ABSTRACT In 2010, a housing purchase restriction policy was announced by China’s central government and implemented gradually by several prefecture governments. In this article, we empirically investigate this policy’s effect on the housing market. Using a difference-in-difference framework, we show that the housing purchase restriction policy reduces housing prices and transaction amounts but does not influence the housing investment or construction markets. Moreover, upstream industry suffers more than downstream industry. The results are robust to a battery of robustness checks. Heterogeneity exists across cities. We find that first- and second-tier cities as well as highly urbanized cities experience great declines in housing prices after the policy’s implementation, especially cites that had high housing prices in 2010 and cities with high real estate investment as a proportion of fixed asset investment. However, the housing policy is less effective in curbing speculative demand.
Incidence of Crohn Disease in the Czech Republic in the Years 1990 to 2001 and Assessment of Pediatric Population with Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the pediatric population that suffered from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in the Czech Republic and to determine the incidence of Crohn disease (CD) in children up to 15 years age between 1990 and 2001. Methods: Diagnostic criteria for CD, ulcerative colitis (UC), and indeterminate colitis (IC) were defined. Medical records provided a source of basic information about the children. A standardized protocol was filled out and sent to the coordinator of the study. All protocols were checked to see whether the data corresponded to the defined criteria and then were processed further. The study was retrospective in character for the years 1990 to 1999 and prospective for the years 2000 and 2001. Results: Diagnostic criteria were met in 470 patients with IBD; 201 of them turned 18 years old during the study period. CD was diagnosed in 223 patients. The incidence of CD in children up to 15 years of age increased from 0.25/100,000 in 1990 to 1.25/100,000 in 2001. Eighty-two percent of children with CD were treated with aminosalicylates in combination with corticosteroids; 29% of patients received azathioprine. Severe growth retardation was recorded in 6.4% of adolescents with CD at the age of 18. UC was diagnosed in 202 patients. Therapy with aminosalicylates only was sufficient for control of the disease in 23% patients; 68% children were treated with corticosteroids, 15 of them (23% of the whole group) received additional azathioprine. Criteria for IC were met in 9.8% of all patients with IBD. Conclusion: This study confirmed an increase in incidence of CD in children younger than 15 years in the Czech Republic.
Pilot Study: Access to Fitness Facility and Exercise Levels in Olanzapine-Treated Patients

Background: Increasingly alarmed by the health risks (that is, weight gain, elevated lipids, and poor glucose tolerance) posed by novel antipsychotic medications, clinicians who treat schizophrenia are attempting to help patients improve lifestyle factors. Unfortunately, schizophrenia research has neglected exercise as a legitimate adjunctive treatment for schizophrenia. Objective: To assess the extent to which stable patients with schizophrenia would adhere to an exercise program if offered access to a fitness facility. Methods: Ten of 20 stable patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder who were treated with olanzapine for at least 4 weeks had the opportunity to receive access to a Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) fitness facility, based on random allocation. The intervention included a free membership to the YMCA for 6 months, with access to all the fitness amenities and equipment. The mean dosage of olanzapine was 11.5 mg daily for the YMCA group. Results: Of the 10 subjects, 2 did not attend at all. One subject met criteria for full attendance for each of the 6 months and lost 15 kg. Dropout rates were as follows: 90% at 6 months, 70% at 5 months, and 40% at 4 months. The main reason they gave for poor attendance was lack of motivation. The mean weight gain was 2 kg in the YMCA group. Conclusion: Most subjects did not regularly exercise or attend. They cited poor motivation as the main reason. The subject who exercised regularly lost a significant amount of weight.
In search of an adequate European policy response to the platform economy

This article contributes to the debate on labour platforms (e.g. TaskRabbit, CoContest, ListMinut) by analysing the potential of such platforms. Although we see potential in online platforms in terms of job creation and providing opportunities to discouraged and disadvantaged people, we also address some of the challenges related to such work. Presenting empirical data, we argue that the current labour market and working conditions created by online platforms resemble 19th century laissez-faire. We thus call for the urgent creation of a regulatory framework taking into consideration the suggestions presented in our article.
Automatic 3D facial expression recognition using geometric scattering representation

Facial Expression Recognition (FER) is one of the most active topics in the domain of computer vision and pattern recognition, and it has received increasing attention for its wide application potentials as well as attractive scientific challenges. In this paper, we present a novel method to automatic 3D FER based on geometric scattering representation. A set of maps of shape features in terms of multiple order differential quantities, i.e. the Normal Maps (NOM) and the Shape Index Maps (SIM), are first jointly adopted to comprehensively describe geometry attributes of the facial surface. The scattering operator is then introduced to further highlight expression related cues on these maps, thereby constructing geometric scattering representations of 3D faces for classification. The scattering descriptor not only encodes distinct local shape changes of various expressions as by several milestone descriptors, such as SIFT, HOG, etc., but also captures subtle information hidden in high frequencies, which is quite crucial to better distinguish expressions that are easily confused. We evaluate the proposed approach on the BU-3DFE database, and the performance is up to 84.8% and 82.7% with two commonly used protocols respectively which is superior to the state of the art ones.
Work Life Benefit Needs for the City of Lafayette, Colorado

Successful organizations create great people places. They focus on both human and financial assets by placing a heavy emphasis on meeting the needs of employees. Work and personal life are often viewed as competing priorities, yet some organizations are realizing the complimentary nature of the two. Results are a more collaborative approach to achieving work and personal objectives, with benefits to both the organization and the employee. Utilizing an action research methodology of diagnosing, action planning, implementing, and evaluating, this paper will evaluate work life benefit issues at the City of Lafayette. Action research is a cyclical inquiry process that involves diagnosing a problem situation, planning action steps, implementing, and evaluating the intervention.
Pentoxifylline attenuates neutrophil activation in experimental endotoxemia in chimpanzees.

Costimulation of neutrophils and cytokines may play an important role in organ injury in sepsis. Pentoxifylline inhibits various neutrophil functions in vitro, and attenuates endotoxin-induced production of TNF in both in vitro and in vivo models. To assess the effect of pentoxifylline on neutrophil activation in endotoxemia, nine adult chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) were i.v. injected with saline (n = 2), Escherichia coli endotoxin (4 ng/kg; n = 4), or E. coli endotoxin (4 ng/kg) in combination with pentoxifylline (500 mg/3 h, starting 30 min before the endotoxin injection; n = 3). Serial blood samples were obtained for measurements of leukocyte counts and the granulocytic proteinases elastase complexed with alpha 1-antitrypsin and lactoferrin, and cytokines during the next 5 h. No changes were observed in the saline-treated chimpanzees. Endotoxin induced a marked leukocytosis and neutrophilia, which were slightly reduced by pentoxifylline. In contrast, pentoxifylline almost completely prevented endotoxin-induced neutrophil degranulation: peak elastase-alpha 1-antitrypsin was 164 +/- 21 ng/ml (mean +/- SE) after endotoxin alone, vs 71 +/- 7 ng/ml after endotoxin with pentoxifylline (t = 3 h; p < 0.05); peak lactoferrin was 329 +/- 15 and 182 +/- 5 ng/ml, respectively (t = 5 h; p < 0.05). Pentoxifylline also inhibited the endotoxin-induced release of TNF (271 +/- 26 vs 55 +/- 23 pg/ml at t = 1.5 h; p < 0.05) and IL-6 (225 +/- 42 vs 73 +/- 25 pg/ml at t = 2 h; p < 0.05). IL-8 release was not significantly inhibited by pentoxifylline. In none of the animals activation of the C system could be detected. We conclude that pentoxifylline attenuates neutrophil activation in endotoxemia in chimpanzees, probably in part by inhibiting the release of TNF.
Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Youth Leadership Class in the Prevention of Depression in Adolescents

Depression in adolescence is a common and potentially life-threatening health problem. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of prevention strategies on decreasing the rate of depression in adolescents. A class addressing specific skills identified as having an impact on adolescent depression was taught to youth participating in the program. The non-equivalent control group design was used. The sample consisted of 7th- and 8th-grade students in either the Youth Leadership class or a computer class of a California middle school. The Childhood Depression Inventory was the instrument used. Nine control group subjects and 11 experimental group subjects completed both the pretest and the posttest. The analysis of the data revealed no statistically significant differences between the control and experimental groups. This study should be repeated with larger sample sizes and with greater attention to the timing of pretests and posttests.
Tariffs and non-tariff measures: substitutes or complements. A cross-country analysis

Alongside the global tariff liberalization, a growing body of evidence demonstrates the rise in the use of non-tariff measures (NTMs), which suggests a substitution effect between these two import policy instruments. Yet, detailed economic data reveals that in countries with lower tariff rates (developed countries), the use of NTMs is significantly lower compared to developing countries, which implies a possible complementary effect between tariffs and NTMs across nations. Using a dataset of Kee, Nicita and Olarreaga (2009) on ad valorem tariff equivalents of NTMs, at a very disaggregated product level, this paper explores the determinants of NTMs and their substitutability/complementarity relations with tariff barriers. While exploiting the country variation, it demonstrates the decreasing trend of substitutability between the two import policy instruments with the rise in economic development. In particular, a significant complementarity correlation exists between the two trade measures among the wealthiest nations, implying a stronger commitment to freer trade.
Changes in Private Alcohol Importation after Alcohol Tax Reductions and Import Allowance Increases in Denmark

Aims This paper examines changes in alcohol import in Denmark between 2003 and 2006, after the excise tax on spirits in Denmark was lowered by 45% on October 1, 2003, and travellers' allowances for alcohol import were increased on January 1, 2004. Additionally, the paper seeks to develop a profile of alcohol importers and analyse the relation between the distance to the German border and import behaviour, as Germany is the main alcohol import country for Denmark. Data Cross-sectional and panel data from Denmark, from 2003 to 2006, were analyzed. Samples were collected by telephone interviews, using random digit dialing. Results While the percentage of people who imported alcohol fell over time, the amount of alcohol purchased rose for those who did import. Distance to the German border was inversely related to the likelihood of importing and the level of imported amounts. Heavy drinkers and those with higher incomes were more likely to import, and heavy drinkers imported higher amounts than moderate drinkers or abstainers. Conclusion Distance of residence from the German border, socio-economic status and drinking behaviour are related to private alcohol import in Denmark. Policy changes resulted in a shift to fewer people importing higher amounts of alcohol so that the overall import level did not change substantially.
Dynamics of small-scale deforestation in Indonesia: examining the effects of poverty and socio-economic development.

is a Research Partner of the Poverty Environment Network (PEN) of the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). Forest-dense areas are frequently associated with high levels of poverty (Chomitz et al. The areas are often remote from markets and services and lack infrastructure. Opportunity costs of labour are low. The population also often lacks the finance necessary for investments to maintain the quality of soil or increase yields on
Assessment of planimetric mitral valve area using 16-row multidetector computed tomography in patients with rheumatic mitral stenosis.

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE STUDY Transthoracic two-dimensional echocardiography (TTE) is currently the 'gold standard' for the evaluation of rheumatic mitral valve disease. Multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) is a promising technique for the evaluation of heart valves. The study aim was to evaluate the planimetry of the mitral valve area (MVA) with 16-row MDCT in comparison with TTE, in patients with rheumatic mitral stenosis. METHODS Twenty-six patients (18 females, eight males; mean age 41.7 +/- 8.7 years) with rheumatic mitral valve disease, who had been referred for 16-row MDCT for various indications, such as evaluation of the coronary arteries, assessment of pulmonary vein anatomy before catheter ablation of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, suspicion of aortic dissection or pulmonary embolism, were recruited. All patients were in sinus rhythm. The MDCT acquisition was performed using a 16-row scanner. Echocardiographic planimetry of MVA was performed in the standard parasternal short-axis view within one week. RESULTS Planimetry of the MVA with MDCT did not differ from that with TTE (1.88 +/- 0.46 cm2 versus 1.83 +/- 0.50 cm2, p = 0.242), and there was an excellent correlation between two techniques (r = 0.923, p < 0.0001). Seven patients had calcific mitral valves (mean calcium score 216.8 +/- 783.8 Agatston units). In these patients, MVA measured by MDCT was 1.73 +/- 0.39 cm2 and by TTE planimetry was 1.72 +/- 0.54 cm2 (p = 0.866; r = 0.963, p = 0.0005). When using the pressure half-time (PHT) method, the MVA was obtained in 24 of the 26 patients. MVA by PHT did not differ from the MVA calculated by TTE planimetry, nor from that obtained with MDCT planimetry (1.79 +/- 0.46 cm2 versus 1.81 +/- 0.51 cm2, p = 0.427 and 1.79 +/- 0.46 cm2 versus 1.86 +/- 0.48 cm2, p = 0.101, respectively). The correlation coefficient for the MDCT-derived MVA and PHT-derived MVA was 0.8969 (p < 0.0001). Although not statistically significant, in nine patients with moderate to severe mitral stenosis (MVA < 1.5 cm2), the MDCT tended to overestimate MVA compared to echo planimetry (1.35 +/- 0.19 cm2 versus 1.28 +/- 0.21 cm2, p = 0.059). CONCLUSION MDCT enabled accurate planimetry of the MVA in patients with rheumatic mitral stenosis, in comparison with TTE.
Towards a system-paced near-infrared spectroscopy brain–computer interface: differentiating prefrontal activity due to mental arithmetic and mental singing from the no-control state

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) has recently been investigated as a non-invasive brain–computer interface (BCI) for individuals with severe motor impairments. For the most part, previous research has investigated the development of NIRS-BCIs operating under synchronous control paradigms, which require the user to exert conscious control over their mental activity whenever the system is vigilant. Though functional, this is mentally demanding and an unnatural way to communicate. An attractive alternative to the synchronous control paradigm is system-paced control, in which users are required to consciously modify their brain activity only when they wish to affect the BCI output, and can remain in a more natural, ‘no-control’ state at all other times. In this study, we investigated the feasibility of a system-paced NIRS-BCI with one intentional control (IC) state corresponding to the performance of either mental arithmetic or mental singing. In particular, this involved determining if these tasks could be distinguished, individually, from the unconstrained ‘no-control’ state. Deploying a dual-wavelength frequency domain near-infrared spectrometer, we interrogated nine sites around the frontopolar locations (International 10–20 System) while eight able-bodied adults performed mental arithmetic and mental singing to answer multiple-choice questions within a system-paced paradigm. With a linear classifier trained on a six-dimensional feature set, an overall classification accuracy of 71.2% across participants was achieved for the mental arithmetic versus no-control classification problem. While the mental singing versus no-control classification was less successful across participants (62.7% on average), four participants did attain accuracies well in excess of chance, three of which were above 70%. Analyses were performed offline. Collectively, these results are encouraging, and demonstrate the potential of a system-paced NIRS-BCI with one IC state corresponding to either mental arithmetic or mental singing.