Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Urethral prolapse: An often misdiagnosed cause of urogenital bleeding in girls

Urethral prolapse is an uncommon disorder in girls, usually presenting as “vaginal” bleeding. This retrospective chart review focuses on the high rate of misdiagnosis of urethral prolapse and describes treatment modalities based on 24 patients seen at a major children’s hospital during an 11-year span. Their mean age was 4.9 years. The initial diagnosis, made by the referring pediatrician or emergency physician, was correct in only five girls (21%). Twenty children presented with urogenital bleeding. Operative correction was employed as initial treatment in 16 girls, with one recurrence. The remaining eight children were treated nonoperatively. Of these, five showed no improvement and underwent surgical repair. Although most children eventually require resection of the prolapsed urethral mucosa, nonoperative treatment is appropriate for asymptomatic girls with a mild degree of urethral prolapse. Increased physician awareness of urethral prolapse is desirable to enhance early recognition and to avoid unnecessary examinations and parental concern.
Consensus guidelines for optimising antifungal drug delivery and monitoring to avoid toxicity and improve outcomes in patients with haematological malignancy, 2014

Antifungal agents may be associated with significant toxicity or drug interactions leading to sub‐therapeutic antifungal drug concentrations and poorer clinical outcomes for patients with haematological malignancy. These risks may be minimised by clinical assessment, laboratory monitoring, avoidance of particular drug combinations and dose modification. Specific measures, such as the optimal timing of oral drug administration in relation to meals, use of pre‐hydration and electrolyte supplementation may also be required. Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of antifungal agents is warranted, especially where non‐compliance, non‐linear pharmacokinetics, inadequate absorption, a narrow therapeutic window, suspected drug interaction or unexpected toxicity are encountered. Recommended indications for voriconazole and posaconazole TDM in the clinical management of haematology patients are provided. With emerging knowledge regarding the impact of pharmacogenomics upon metabolism of azole agents (particularly voriconazole), potential applications of pharmacogenomic evaluation to clinical practice are proposed.
Mitochondrial Uncoupling Attenuates Age-Dependent Neurodegeneration in C. elegans

The uncoupling protein 4 (ucp-4) gene is involved in age-dependent neurodegeneration in C. elegans. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the mechanism underlying the association between mitochondrial uncoupling and neurodegeneration by examining the effects of uncoupling agents and ucp-4 overexpression in C. elegans. Treatment with either DNP or CCCP improved neuronal defects in wild type during aging. Uncoupling agents also restored neuronal phenotypes of ucp-4 mutants to those exhibited by wild type, while ucp-4 overexpression attenuated the severity of age-dependent neurodegeneration. Neuronal improvements were further associated with reductions in mitochondrial membrane potentials. However, these age-dependent neuroprotective effects were limited in mitophagy-deficient mutant, pink-1, background. These results suggest that membrane uncoupling can attenuate age-dependent neurodegeneration by stimulating mitophagy.
Virtual machines, virtual security?

V irtual machines (VMs) are once again a hot trend in system configuration, as demonstrated by the emergence of VMware, Xen, and a renewed interest in hardware assists for virtual-ization. Some uses are clearly beneficial: virtual machines are great for hosting Web sites and servers because VMs avoid the use of multiple computers to support different applications running on diverse operating systems, while at the same time providing more facile load balancing. Virtual machines are also touted as a solution to the computer security problem. At first blush, it seems obvious that they should help with security. After all, if you're running your browser on one VM and your mailer on another, a security failure by one shouldn't affect the other. There is some merit to that argument, and in some situations it's a good configuration to use. But let's look a little more closely. To simplify things, let's pretend the two are actually on physically separate machines, and ignore all issues of bugs in the virtual machine monitor, contention for (and denial of service relating to) shared resources, greater complexities resulting from diverse system administration, and so on. All of these are, in fact, real issues, but they're not the fundamental problem. Most mailers provide a handy feature: they recognize URLs in inbound email, and let the user click on them. The mailer must therefore talk to the browser, and tell it to open a window (although invoking random URLs is very dangerous! ). Similarly, some Web pages may invoke the mailer to send mail. A consequence is that the two machines can't be completely separate; some communication must exist between the two. Therein lies the trouble: What is the interface between the two virtual machines? More generally, what is the interface between those components and the rest of the user's environ-ment? After all, people save Web pages and email messages , print them, edit them, and more. A danger lurks herein. If a buggy or subverted mailer can read and write files without limit, it can commit all of the abuses that today's buggy, subverted mailers perpetrate. It can also commit mailer-only abuses, such as propagating worm-infected email messages. The desired solution is also clear: the VM's interface to the base system and to other virtual machines must be limited and dependably controlled. Some restrictions must be imposed, some of them possibly complex. Consider another scenario: suppose the mailer …
An Extended Technology Acceptance Model for Mobile Social Gaming Service Popularity Analysis

The games industry has been growing prosperously with the development of information technology. Recently, with further advances in social networks and mobile services, playing mobile social gaming has gradually changed our daily life in terms of social connection and leisure time spending. What are the determinant factors which affect users intention to play such games? Therefore in this research we present an empirical study on WeChat, China’s most popular mobile social network, and apply a technology acceptance model (TAM) to study the reasons beneath the popularity of games in mobile social networks. Furthermore, factors from social and mobile perspective are incorporated into the conventional TAM and their influence and relationships are studied. Experimental study on accumulated online survey data reveals several interesting findings and it is believed that this research offers the researchers in the community further insight in analysing the current popularity and future potential of mobile social games.
National probability samples in studies of low-prevalence diseases. Part I: Perspectives and lessons from the HIV cost and services utilization study.

OBJECTIVE To examine the trade-offs inherent in selecting a sample design for a national study of care for an uncommon disease, and the adaptations, opportunities and costs associated with the choice of national probability sampling in a study of HIV/AIDS. SETTING A consortium of public and private funders, research organizations, community advocates, and local providers assembled to design and execute the study. DESIGN Data collected by providers or collected for administrative purposes are limited by selectivity and concerns about validity. In studies based on convenience sampling, generalizability is uncertain. Multistage probability sampling through households may not produce sufficient cases of diseases that are not highly prevalent. In such cases, an attractive alternative design is multistage probability sampling through sites of care, in which all persons in the reference population have some chance of random selection through their medical providers, and in which included subjects are selected with known probability. DATA COLLECTION AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Multistage national probability sampling through providers supplies uniquely valuable information, but will not represent populations not receiving medical care and may not provide sufficient cases in subpopulations of interest. Factors contributing to the substantial cost of such a design include the need to develop a sampling frame, the problems associated with recruitment of providers and subjects through medical providers, the need for buy-in from persons affected by the disease and their medical practitioners, as well as the need for a high participation rate. Broad representation from the national community of scholars with relevant expertise is desirable. Special problems are associated with organization of the research effort, with instrument development, and with data analysis and dissemination in such a consortium. CONCLUSIONS Multistage probability sampling through providers can provide unbiased, nationally representative data on persons receiving regular medical care for uncommon diseases and can improve our ability to accurately study care and its outcomes for diseases such as HIV/AIDS. However, substantial costs and special circumstances are associated with the implementation of such efforts.
Epidemiology of methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection and empirical antibiotic therapy for MRSA infection: multicenter investigation

Background The epidemiology of methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) maybe changed by strict infection control measures, and the impact of empirical antibiotic therapy on the outcomes of MRSA infection was not clear. We aimed to investigate the present epidemiological status of MRSA infection and empirical antibiotic therapy for MRSA infection in university teaching hospitals in mainland China. Methods The present study was a multicenter prospective observational study conducted in five university teaching hospitals. Patients who were consecutively admitted to the intensive care unit and signed a consent form from March 3, 2011 to May 31, 2011 were included. Patients with age <18 years or with a length of hospital stay <48 hours were excluded from this study. The following variables were collected or recorded: demographic data, general status, APACHE II score of the patient at the time of admission, infections, and the use of antibiotics during a stay. Primary outcomes and prognostic indicators included length of hospital stay and 28‐day and 90‐day mortality. The differences between the patients with appropriate empirical therapy and patients with inappropriate therapy were analyzed to detect the influences of antibiotic therapy on the prognosis of MRSA infection. Results A total of 682 cases were enrolled. Thirty (66.2%) of 88 MRSA cases were treated with effective antibiotics for MRSA infection; only 20% received appropriate empirical antibiotic treatment. The empirical therapy group compared with the target therapy group had a shorter length of stay, but there were no significant differences in mortality rates. There were no significant differences in the length of hospital stay, length of stay, and 28‐day and 90‐day mortality between MRSA‐infected patients who received or not received effective antibiotics. Two hundred and eighteen cases received sensitive antibiotics for MRSA. Conclusions The MRSA infection rates are at relatively low levels in university teaching hospitals in China. The empirical use of sensitive antibiotics for MRSA infection was at relatively high rate, and there is a tendency of overusing in patients without MRSA infection. On the other hand, the rate of appropriate empirical antibiotic therapy for patients with MRSA infection is relatively low.
Late diagnosis among our ageing HIV population: a cohort study

With the advent of combined antiretroviral therapy (cART), more people infected with HIV are living into older age; 22% of adults receiving care in the UK are aged over 50 years [ 1 ]. Age influences HIV infection; the likelihood of seroconversion illness, mean CD4 count and time from infection to development of AIDs defining illnesses decreases with increasing age. A UK study estimates that half of HIV infections in persons over 50 years are acquired at an age over 50 [ 2 ]. Studies exploring sexual practices in older persons have repeatedly shown that we cannot assume there is no risk of STI and HIV infection [ 3 , 4 ]. Physicians should be alert to risk of HIV even in the older cohort, where nearly half diagnoses are made late [ 2 ]. Local audit has demonstrated poor testing rates in the over 50's on the Acute Medical Unit. Late diagnosis (CD4<350) results in poorer outcomes and age confounds further; older late presenters are 2.4 times more likely to die within the first year of diagnosis than younger counterparts [ 2 ].
Chronic Idiopathic Urticaria and Thyroid Autoimmunity: Perplexing Association

Background: Autologous serum skin test (ASST) is the most commonly used laboratory test to differentiate chronic autoimmune urticaria patients from chronic idiopathic urticaria patients without autoantibodies. Thyroid autoimmunity is the original paradigm for autoimmune disease in general and many previous studies show increased prevalence of thyroid autoantibodies and deranged thyroid hormone profile in chronic idiopathic urticaria patients. Aim: To find the association between thyroid autoimmunity and chronic autoimmune urticaria, if any. Materials and Methods: The chronic idiopathic urticaria patients were divided into two subgroups based on autologous serum skin test. Thyroid autoantibodies were estimated in 40 patients each of ASST positive and ASST negative groups. Further, thyroid hormone profile was done in cases with significant titers of thyroid autoantibodies. Forty patients, who had never suffered from urticaria, represented the control group. Results: The prevalence of thyroid autoantibodies did not differ significantly among the ASST positive (20%) and ASST negative patients (15%). The control group had low prevalence of these autoantibodies (5%). Conclusion: The almost equal prevalence of thyroid autoantibodies in two subgroups of chronic idiopathic urticaria patients suggests possibly the same etiopathogenesis of the two subgroups. The two subgroups probably form a continuum, or even may be the same entity.
When mental fatigue maybe characterized by Event Related Potential (P300) during virtual wheelchair navigation

The goal of this study is to investigate the influence of mental fatigue on the event related potential P300 features (maximum pick, minimum amplitude, latency and period) during virtual wheelchair navigation. For this purpose, an experimental environment was set up based on customizable environmental parameters (luminosity, number of obstacles and obstacles velocities). A correlation study between P300 and fatigue ratings was conducted. Finally, the best correlated features supplied three classification algorithms which are MLP (Multi Layer Perceptron), Linear Discriminate Analysis and Support Vector Machine. The results showed that the maximum feature over visual and temporal regions as well as period feature over frontal, fronto-central and visual regions were correlated with mental fatigue levels. In the other hand, minimum amplitude and latency features didn’t show any correlation. Among classification techniques, MLP showed the best performance although the differences between classification techniques are minimal. Those findings can help us in order to design suitable mental fatigue based wheelchair control.
Logical foundations for question answering

Dit proefschrift poogt een theoretische onderbouwing te geven aan enkele belangrijke aspecten van zg. "vraag-antwoordsystemen- " computerprogramma's die in natuurlijke taal gestelde vragen over een bepaald onderwerpgebied kunnen beantwoorden. Bij het ontwerp van zo'n vraag-antwoordsysteem moeten impliciete of expliciete beslissingen worden genomen over enkele fundamentele problemen: hoe representeert het programma de inhoud van de vragen die het beantwoordt en van de antwoorden die het geeft; en hoe wordt de "kennis" gerepresenteerd die het programma gebruikt om de vragen te beantwoorden. Zie: Samenvatting
Energetics of side-chain partitioning of β-signal residues in unassisted folding of a transmembrane β-barrel protein

The free energy of water-to-interface amino acid partitioning is a major contributing factor in membrane protein folding and stability. The interface residues at the C terminus of transmembrane β-barrels form the β-signal motif required for assisted β-barrel assembly in vivo but are believed to be less important for β-barrel assembly in vitro. Here, we experimentally measured the thermodynamic contribution of all 20 amino acids at the β-signal motif to the unassisted folding of the model β-barrel protein PagP. We obtained the partitioning free energy for all 20 amino acids at the lipid-facing interface (ΔΔG0w,i(φ)) and the protein-facing interface (ΔΔG0w,i(π)) residues and found that hydrophobic amino acids are most favorably transferred to the lipid-facing interface, whereas charged and polar groups display the highest partitioning energy. Furthermore, the change in non-polar surface area correlated directly with the partitioning free energy for the lipid-facing residue and inversely with the protein-facing residue. We also demonstrate that the interface residues of the β-signal motif are vital for in vitro barrel assembly, because they exhibit a side chain–specific energetic contribution determined by the change in nonpolar accessible surface. We further establish that folding cooperativity and hydrophobic collapse are balanced at the membrane interface for optimal stability of the PagP β-barrel scaffold. We conclude that the PagP C-terminal β-signal motif influences the folding cooperativity and stability of the folded β-barrel and that the thermodynamic contributions of the lipid- and protein-facing residues in the transmembrane protein β-signal motif depend on the nature of the amino acid side chain.
HIV-1 subtype G and BG recombinant viruses in Spanish natives: evidence of characteristic mutations in reverse transcriptase and protease.

Studies in Spain have described the presence of non-B subtype HIV-1 strains in immigrants and in natives of African countries. It is noted that drug resistance mutations have been reported in subtype B non-B subtypes and recombinant forms of HIV-1 in infected individuals. Thus in order to describe the patterns of reverse transcriptase (RT) and protease-associated mutations in non-B subtypes and recombinant forms of HIV-1 an analysis of all the different RT and protease amino acid substitutions in HIV-1 was conducted among Spanish patients. Overall the analysis of secondary mutations and polymorphisms showed that all subtype G viruses of the monophyletic group and one G subtype clone of the dually infected individual had the same RT and protease mutations. In determining the clinical relevance of these findings phenotypic resistance testing and biological characterization of G subtype viruses are needed. These data could reveal differences between B and G subtypes and their impact on the use of antiretroviral drugs.
Le transistor MOSFET en Commutation : Application aux Associations Série et Parallèle de Composants à grille isolée.

L'augmentation des puissances commutees en electronique de puissance passe par l'association de composants elementaires en serie et en parallele. Cette association se retrouve a differentes echelles: au sein des modules du commerce ou au niveau de l'association de modules dans un convertisseur statique. Les travaux dans ce domaine ne sont pas nouveaux, puisque de nombreux problemes nuisant a l'association serie ou parallele ont ete rencontres dans le passe. Le but de cette these n'est pas de redecouvrir ces problemes, ni leurs solutions, mais plutot, par une etude systematique de la' commutation, de mieux comprendre les phenomenes intervenant dans une association de composants a grille isolee. L'originalite de cette etude est qu'elle s'interesse aux semiconducteurs dans leur environnement. Des regles ont ainsi pu etre degagees permettant une meilleure repartition des contraintes electriques entre les composants. Pour la mise en parallele, le role du câblage a ete mis en evidence, et pour la mise en serie, un circuit d'equilibrage actif a ete propose, se basant sur les acteurs principaux de la commutation
Evidence for the geographic spread of a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clone between Portugal and Spain

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates collected during a 7-month period in 1992 and 1993 at Hospital Pulido Valente (340 beds), Lisbon, Portugal, were characterized by a combination of genotypic and phenotypic methods. Clonal identities were determined by probing ClaI digests (i) with a mecA probe and (ii) with a Tn554 probe and (iii) by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns of chromosomal SmaI digests. mecA-ClaI type I was predominant among these isolates (38 of 43). Most of these (37 of 38 [97.4%]) were associated with a single Tn554 pattern, pattern E, and the majority (23 of 38 [61%]) also showed a relatively uniform chromosomal background, as indicated by PFGE (PFGE pattern A). The major clone (mecA-ClaI type I::Tn554 type E and PFGE pattern A) at Hospital Pulido Valente was indistinguishable by these molecular typing criteria from the dominant clone that had been identified in two major current outbreaks of MRSA disease in Spain (Barcelona and Madrid). The Portuguese and Spanish clones also had a common heterogeneous class 3 phenotype and identical multidrug resistance patterns. The data presented in this work support the notion that MRSA clones can spread across considerable geographic distances.
Endothelial Function in Pediatric Patients on Peritoneal Dialysis: The Need for Data

Cardiovascular complications are emerging as the primary cause of death for patients with childhood end-stage renal disease. Children with end-stage renal failure are subjected to many of the risk factors for cardiovascular disease identified in adult patients. Dysfunction of the endothelium is presently regarded as a first but reversible step in the development of atherosclerosis. Noninvasive techniques to assess endothelial function have been recently developed and have been proven to predict future mortality in adult patients. These techniques are readily applicable to pediatric patients. Endothelial dysfunction has been demonstrated in children in all stages of renal failure. Data on pediatric patients treated with peritoneal dialysis are currently lacking, however. Considering the abundance of cardiovascular risk factors specific to treatment with peritoneal dialysis, such studies should be initiated.
Suicide attempts in substance abusers: effects of major depression in relation to substance use disorders.

OBJECTIVE The authors' goal was to investigate whether subtypes of DSM-IV depression predict suicidal behavior among patients with substance dependence. METHOD Major depression among 602 patients with substance dependence was classified as occurring before dependence, during abstinence, or exclusively during periods of substance use. Analyses of patients with the three types of depression included logistic and linear regression. RESULTS All three types of depression increased the risk for making a suicide attempt. Major depression that occurred before the patient became substance dependent predicted severity of suicidal intent. Major depression that occurred during abstinence predicted number of attempts. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest the importance of establishing DSM-IV subtypes of depression based on the timing of the occurrence of depression in relation to substance dependence in evaluating suicidal risk among substance-dependent patients.