Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Predicting Factors of Pancreatic Infection in Acute Necrotizing Pancreatitis: A Report of 119 Cases

1 Department of General and Digestive Surgery, Sahloul Hospital, Sousse, Tunisia 2 Department of Preventive Medicine, Sahloul Hospital, Sousse, Tunisia 3 Department of anesthesiology, Sahloul Hospital, Sousse, Tunisia Abstract Introduction: acute Necrotizing pancreatitis (ANP) represents the severe form of human acute pancreatitis (15% of cases). Infection of pancreatic necrosis occurs in 40– 70 % of patients with ANP and have mortality rate about 80% of cases. Therefore, early prediction and diagnosis of infection in ANP are extremely important. So we aimed to identify the risk factors for predicting pancreatic infection in patients with ANP. Methods: One hundred and nineteen patients with ANP were included and divided into two groups based on the presence or absence of pancreatic infection. Demographic and clinical characteristics, laboratory examination results, complications and treatment modalities of these patients were collected from their medical records. Variables were initially screened by univariate analysis and those with statistical significance were then filtered by multivariate analysis to determine the independent risk factors for pancreatic infection in ANP. Results: Patients having ANP with pancreatic infection were more obese and had dyslipidemia more than patients without pancreatic infection. In addition; they had lower partial pressure of arterial CO2, as well as a higher computed tomography severity index (CTSI) and Ranson’s score than those without pancreatic infection, while their lactate dehydrogenases and CRP levels, hematocrit and glycaemia were much higher. Pancreatic infection also occurred more commonly in patients receiving delayed enteral nutrition than in those who received early enteral nutrition. Multivariate analyses revealed that only high CTSI was independent risk factor for pancreatic infection in ANP. Conclusion: many variables were initially identify by univariate analysis as predicting factors of necrosis infection but only high CTSI was independent risk factor.
Differential Clearance of Rat and Human Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells from the Brain after Intra-arterial Infusion in Rats

Intra-arterial (IA) delivery of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) has shown potential as a minimally invasive therapeutic approach for stroke. The aim of the present study was to determine the whole-body biodistribution and clearance of technetium-99m (99mTc)-labeled rat and human BM-MSCs after IA delivery in a rat model of transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) using single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Our hypothesis was that xenotransplantation has a major impact on the behavior of cells. Male RccHan: Wistar rats were subjected to sham operation or MCAO. Twenty-four hours after surgery, BM-MSCs (2×106 cells/animal) labeled with 99mTc were infused into the external carotid artery. Whole-body SPECT images were acquired 20 min, 3 h, and 6 h postinjection, after which rats were sacrificed, and organs were collected and weighed for measurement of radioactivity. The results showed that the majority of the cells were located in the brain and especially in the ipsilateral hemisphere immediately after cell infusion both in sham-operated and MCAO rats. This was followed by fast disappearance, particularly in the case of human cells. At the same time, the radioactivity signal increased in the spleen, kidney, and liver, the organs responsible for destroying cells. Further studies are needed to demonstrate whether differential cell behavior has any functional impact.
Dynamic Mobile Robot Navigation Using Potential Field Based Immune Network

This paper proposes a potential filed immune network (PFIN) for dynamic navigation of mobile robots in an unknown environment with moving obstacles and fixed/moving targets. The Velocity Obstacle method is utilized to determine imminent obstacle collision of a robot moving in the time-varying environment. The response of the overall immune network is derived by the aid of fuzzy system. Simulation results are presented to verify the effectiveness of the proposed methodology in unknown environments with single and multiple moving obstacles.
Soluble CD95 concentrations are increased in patients with severe systemic lupus erythematosus, but not in their first degree relatives

OBJECTIVE Plasma concentrations of soluble CD95 (sCD95) are raised in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) before clinical relapses become manifest. Increased sCD95 concentrations may therefore be a familial characteristic that is associated with susceptibility to severe disease. To test this, sCD95 concentrations were measured in healthy first degree relatives of patients with severe and non-severe SLE. METHODS Seventy seven first degree relatives of 26 patients with severe, and 72 relatives of 25 patients with non-severe lupus were studied. Controls were 42 first degree relatives of 17 patients with chronic cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CCLE) and 63 partners of the patients with their first degree relatives. Severe lupus was defined as both multi-organ disease and cyclophosphamide treatment, non-severe lupus as neither. Organ damage was assessed with the SLICC-ACR index, disease activity with SLEDAI. RESULTS Soluble CD95 concentrations in relatives of patients with severe SLE were similar to those in relatives of patients with non-severe SLE, relatives of patients with CCLE, and controls (median (interquartile range) sCD95 concentration 0.59 (0.52–0.66) v 0.57 (0.50–0.63), 0.56 (0.51–0.71), and 0.55 (0.49–0.61) ng/ml, p=0.25, p=0.94, and p=0.17, respectively). Increased concentrations of sCD95, however, were found in patients with severe SLE compared with those in patients with non-severe SLE, patients with CCLE, and control relatives (0.77 (0.70–0.97) v 0.60 (0.54–0.67), 0.57 (0.54–0.71), and 0.57 (0.52–0.63) ng/ml, respectively, p<0.001). Concentrations of sCD95 were significantly correlated with damage index scores (r s=0.47, p<0.01). Basic and clinical characteristics of patients with SLE, including SLEDAI scores, could not explain these observations. CONCLUSION Soluble CD95 concentrations are associated with severity of the disease and not with susceptibility for severe SLE.
Effect of dietary selenium sources on growth performance, breast muscle selenium, glutathione peroxidase activity and oxidative stability in broilers

This study examined the effects of supplementation of dietary sodium selenite and sodium enriched alga Chlorella on growth performance, selenium concentration in breast meat and excreta, activity of glutathione peroxidase in meat, and oxidative stability of meat in broilers. Sexed broiler cockerels Ross 308 were allotted to 3 dietary treatments, each comprising 100 chickens. The basal diet was supplemented with 0 (control) or 0.3 mg/kg Se from sodium selenite (SS) or Se- Chlorella (SCH). Dietary supplementation with SCH increased ( P 0.05) by SS (0.49 mg/kg DM) supplementation. The concentration of Se in excreta was highest in the SS group. The activity of GSH-Px in breast meat was significant P < 0.05) in all treatments (0.16 U/g in control, 0.30 U/g in SS and 0.23 U/g in SCH group). The inclusion of SCH in the diet enhanced the oxidative stability of meat expressed as reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) values in breast meat after 0; 3 and 5 days storage in refrigerator at 3 to 5°C.
Corpus callosum abnormalities in Tourette syndrome: an MRI-DTI study of monozygotic twins

Background Tourette syndrome (TS) is a chronic neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by the presence of multiple motor and phonic tics. Recent brain imaging investigations with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) techniques found reduced measures of connectivity in the corpus callosum of children with TS compared with healthy controls, thus raising the hypothesis that the reduced interhemispherical connectivity in TS reflects neural plasticity processes. Methods We assessed corpus callosum white-matter connectivity with fractional anisotropy (FA) index from magnetic resonance-DTI in two monozygotic twins (male sex; age 20) discordant for the diagnosis of TS. Results Both conventional morphological magnetic resonance images and fibre-tracking reconstruction failed to show any difference between the two twins. On the other hand, mean corpus callosum FA values were significantly lower in the affected twin than in the unaffected twin (p<0.01). The differences in FA values were highest in the posterior portions of the corpus callosum, and lowest in the central area. Conclusions Our findings of reduced interhemispherical white-matter connectivity in the affected twin support the hypothesis that plastic remodelling in the corpus callosum possibly represents an adaptation mechanism in TS.
Bullying: what speech-language pathologists should know.

PURPOSE The purpose of this tutorial is to introduce speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to the broad issues surrounding the problem of school bullying in childhood and adolescence. Specifically, types of bullying and their causes are considered, as are the roles students take when bullying occurs and the effects of bullying on students with communication disorders. Strategies and suggestions to help SLPs more effectively prevent and manage bullying of students with communication disorders are discussed. METHOD A review of the scholarly literature in education, psychology, child and adolescent development, and speech-language pathology was conducted. Recommendations for how SLPs can prevent and intervene in bullying incidences were extrapolated from the reviewed literature. RESULTS Students with communication disorders are at particularly high risk for being bullied by peers. Some students with communication disorders are "provocative victims" in that they demonstrate impairments in social skills that draw the attention of bullies. Both provocative victims and typical students may react aggressively when bullied and bully others in retaliation. CONCLUSION SLPs can and should help to create an inclusive environment for all students while addressing bullying of students with communication disorders via therapeutic activities.
Gender Differences in Dominance and Affiliation During a Demanding Interaction

Evolution theory predicts that in social situations, men will show more behavioral dominance, whereas women will show more behavioral affiliation. To ensure maximum ecological validity, observation in a real-life situation that calls for uniform behavior is the strongest test. To reduce bias because of stereotyping within observers, the author used molecular behavioral observations, in which the verbal and nonverbal behavior of 10 men and 10 women was observed in an executive job selection assessment center where they were actual applicants. Men showed more dominance, especially head shaking, sitting in a closed posture, and using closed questions and directive remarks. Women showed more affiliation, especially in frequency of laughing, sitting in an open posture, and posing open questions.
Robust adaptive sliding-mode control using fuzzy modeling for an inverted-pendulum system

In this paper, a new robust adaptive control architecture is proposed for operation of an inverted-pendulum mechanical system. The architecture employs a fuzzy system to adaptively compensate for the plant nonlinearities and forces the inverted pendulum to track a prescribed reference model. When matching with the model occurs, the pendulum will be stabilized at an upright position and the cart should return to its zero position. The control scheme has a sliding control input to compensate for the modeling errors of the fuzzy system. The gain of the sliding input is automatically adjusted to a necessary level to ensure the stability of the overall system. Global asymptotic stability of the algorithm is established via Lyapunov's stability theorem. Experiments on an inverted-pendulum system are given to show the effectiveness of the proposed control structure.
The Effect of Xenon Anesthesia on the Size of Experimental Myocardial Infarction

BACKGROUND:Volatile anesthetics protect the myocardium from ischemia reperfusion damage. Our hypothesis for this study was that xenon reduces the size of myocardial infarction similar in extent to the reduction associated with ischemic preconditioning. METHODS:Thirty-six pigs weighing 30–35 kg were anesthetized with thiopental and then randomized into four groups: control (myocardial ischemia only), ischemic preconditioning (five 5-min episodes of intermittent myocardial ischemia), xenon preconditioning (three 10-min exposures to xenon 70% followed by myocardial ischemia), and xenon anesthesia (xenon 70%, continued before and after myocardial ischemia). Myocardial ischemia was induced by placing a tourniquet around the left anterior descending coronary artery for 60 min followed by 2 h of reperfusion. Myocardial infarct size and the area at risk for myocardial infarction were measured by Evans Blue and triphenyl tetrazolium chloride staining, respectively. RESULTS:Mean (sd) myocardial infarct size was reduced from 64% ± 9% of the area at risk in the control group to 19% ± 12% with ischemic preconditioning (P < 0.001), and to 50% ± 9% with xenon anesthesia (P < 0.05 versus control, P < 0.001 versus ischemic preconditioning). Myocardial infarct size was not reduced with xenon preconditioning compared with the control group (59% ± 11%, P = 0.41). CONCLUSION:Myocardial infarct size was reduced by ischemic preconditioning but less so by xenon anesthesia. Brief, intermittent exposure to xenon before myocardial ischemia did not reduce myocardial infarct size.
An efficient ASIC implementation of logarithm approximation for HDR image processing

This paper presents an efficient ASIC implementation for the hardware approximation of the logarithm function which can be used for emerging high dynamic range image processing applications. By employing a new logarithm approximation method, the modified barrel shifter circuit and optimized leading one detector and encoder, the proposed approach can reduce the hardware area and improve the logarithm computation speed significantly while achieve the similar accuracy compared with other methods. The implementation results in 0.18-μm CMOS technology are also presented and discussed.
The Cumulative Effect of Multiple Critical Care Protocols on Length of Stay in a Geriatric Trauma Population

The elderly individuals are the most rapidly growing cohort within the US population, and a corresponding increase is being seen in elderly trauma patients. Elderly patients are more likely to have a hospital length of stay (LOS) in excess of 10 days. They account for 60% of total ICU days. Length of stay is frequently used as a proxy measure for improvement in injury outcomes, changes in quality of care, and hospital outcomes. Patient care protocols are typically created from evidence-based guidelines that serve to reduce variation in care from patient to patient. Patient care protocols have been found to positively impact patient care with reduced duration of mechanical ventilation, shorter LOS in the ICU and shorter overall hospitalization time, reduced mortality, and reduced health care costs. The following study was designed to assess the impact of the implementation of 4 patient care protocols within an elderly trauma population. We hypothesized that the implementation of these protocols would have a beneficial impact on patient care that could be measured by a decrease in hospital LOS. An archival, retrospective pretest/posttest study was performed on elderly trauma patients. The new protocols helped guide practical changes in care that resulted in a 32% decrease in LOS for our elderly trauma patients which exceeds the 25% decrease found in other studies. Additionally, the “Other” category for each variable was less frequently used in the post-protocol phase than in the pre-protocol phase, suggesting a spillover effect on the level of detail recorded in the patient chart. With less variation in practices in the post-protocol phase, Injury Severity score, and admission systolic blood pressure emerged as significant predictors of LOS.
Assessment of functional and behavioral changes sensitive to painful disc degeneration

The development of an in vivo rodent discogenic pain model can provide insight into mechanisms for painful disc degeneration. Painful disc degeneration in rodents can be inferred by examining responses to external stimuli, observing pain‐related behaviors, and measuring functional performance. This study compared the sensitivity of multiple pain and functional assessment methods to disc disruption for identifying the parameters sensitive to painful disc degeneration in rats. Disc degeneration was induced in rats by annular injury with saline injection. The severity of disc degeneration, pain sensitivity, and functional performance were compared to sham and naïve control rats. Saline injection induced disc degeneration with decreased disc height and MRI signal intensity as well as more fibrous nucleus pulposus, disorganized annular lamellae and decreased proteoglycan. Rats also demonstrated increased painful behaviors including decreased hindpaw mechanical and thermal sensitivities, increased grooming, and altered gait patterns with hindpaw mechanical hyperalgesia and duration of grooming tests being most sensitive. This is the first study to compare sensitivities of different pain assessment methods in an in vivo rat model of disc degeneration. Hindpaw mechanical sensitivity and duration of grooming were the most sensitive parameters to surgically induced degenerative changes and overall results were suggestive of disc degeneration associated pain. © 2015 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 33:755–764, 2015.
Glutamate receptor regulation of rat nucleus accumbens neurons in vivo

Extracellular single cell recording and microiontophoretic techniques were used to characterize the roles of ionotropic and metabotropic glutamate receptors (iGluRs and mGluRs) in glutamate‐induced excitation of rat nucleus accumbens (NAc) neurons in vivo. Pulse‐ejected glutamate (16–128 nA) induced a current‐dependent increase in the firing of quiescent NAc neurons. A stronger excitatory response to α‐amino‐3‐hydroxy‐5‐methyl‐4‐iosoxazole‐proprionic acid (AMPA) was observed at much lower ejection currents (0.1–6.4 nA). Compared to AMPA and glutamate, N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate (NMDA) induced a much less potent excitation in a narrow current range (1–4 nA) and only when neurons were previously “primed” with other excitatory amino acids (EAAs). Higher ejection currents of all three EAA agonists drove NAc neurons into a state of apparent depolarization block. AMPA‐evoked firing was selectively blocked by the AMPA receptor antagonist 6,7‐dinitroquinoxaline‐2,3‐dione (DNQX) whereas NMDA‐induced activity was selectively prevented by the NMDA receptor antagonist 2‐amino‐5‐phosphonovalerate (D‐AP5). DNQX, but not D‐AP5, significantly attenuated glutamate‐evoked activity. The mGluR receptor agonist (1S,3R)‐1‐aminocyclopentane‐1,3‐dicarboxylic acid (1S,3R‐t‐ACPD) failed to evoke activity of NAc neurons, but significantly reduced the excitatory effects of other EAAs. This modulatory effect of 1S,3R‐t‐ACPD was consistently blocked by the selective mGluR antagonist L(+)‐2‐amino‐3‐phosphonopropionic acid (L‐AP3) whereas another mGluR antagonist (RS)‐4‐carboxy‐3‐hydroxy phenylglycine (4C3HPG) was inconsistent in this regard. These results indicate that the excitatory effects of glutamate on rat NAc neurons in vivo are primarily mediated by non‐NMDA iGluRs and that mGluRs function to dampen excessive glutamate transmission through iGluRs. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Brief psychosocial screening at health supervision and acute care visits.

OBJECTIVE To identify factors associated with positive scores on a brief psychosocial screening tool with subscales for internalizing, externalizing, and attention problems. METHODS Parents of 2028 children between the ages of 7 and 15 years seen in a sample of 8 primary care practices in the Minneapolis-St Paul metropolitan area completed a brief questionnaire that included the 17-item Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC), demographic information, and the reason for the child's visit to the clinic. RESULTS Overall, 22% of the youth had at least 1 positive PSC-17 subscale or a positive PSC-17 total score. Twelve percent scored positive on the internalizing subscale, 10% on the externalizing subscale, 7% on the attention subscale, and 11% had a positive PSC-17 total score. Although boys were more likely than girls to score positive on the attention and aggression subscales, boys and girls were equally likely to have a positive score on the depression subscale. Children not living with both biological parents and those with a household member receiving public assistance were significantly more likely to show psychosocial dysfunction. Controlling for demographic characteristics, patients presenting for an illness-related or injury visit were more likely to score positive on the screen than those presenting for a routine well-child visit (odds ratio: 1.46; 95% confidence interval: 1.07-1.98). CONCLUSIONS Clinicians will miss opportunities to identify emotional and behavioral disorders among children and adolescents who may be at a higher risk if they limit psychosocial screening to health supervision visits. Further research is needed to identify effective strategies for using primary care for recognizing, diagnosing, and treating mental health disorders in children and adolescents.
Influences of Excitation on Dynamic Characteristics of Piezoelectric Micro-Jets

Piezoelectric micro-jets are based on piezoelectric ink-jet technology and can achieve the drop-on demand requirements. A piezoelectric micro-jet which is designed for bearing lubrication is presented in this paper. In order to analyze the fluid dynamic characteristics of the piezoelectric micro-jet so as to obtain good injection performance, a direct coupling simulation method is proposed in this paper. The effects of inlet and viscous losses in the cavity are taken into account, which are close to the actual conditions in the direct coupling method. The effects of the pulse excitation parameters on the pinch-off time, tail length, velocity, and volume of the droplet are analyzed by the proposed direct coupling method. The pressure distribution inside the cavity of the micro-jet and the status of the droplet formation at different times are also given. In addition, the method is proved to be effective in predicting and analyzing the fluid dynamic characteristics of piezoelectric micro-jets by comparing the simulation results with the experimental results.