Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reliability of Lactation Assessment Tools Applied to Overweight and Obese Women

Background: The interrater reliability of lactation assessment tools has not been evaluated in overweight/obese women. Objective: This study aimed to compare the interrater reliability of 4 lactation assessment tools in this population. Methods: A convenience sample of 45 women (body mass index > 27.0) was videotaped while breastfeeding (twice daily on days 2, 4, and 7 postpartum). Three International Board Certified Lactation Consultants independently rated each videotaped session using 4 tools (Infant Breastfeeding Assessment Tool [IBFAT], modified LATCH [mLATCH], modified Via Christi [mVC], and Riordan’s Tool [RT]). For each day and tool, we evaluated interrater reliability with 1-way repeated-measures analyses of variance, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs), and percentage absolute agreement between raters. Results: Analyses of variance showed significant differences between raters’ scores on day 2 (all scales) and day 7 (RT). Intraclass correlation coefficient values reflected good (mLATCH) to excellent reliability (IBFAT, mVC, and RT) on days 2 and 7. All day 4 ICCs reflected good reliability. The ICC for mLATCH was significantly lower than all others on day 2 and was significantly lower than IBFAT (day 7). Percentage absolute interrater agreement for scale components ranged from 31% (day 2: observable swallowing, RT) to 92% (day 7: IBFAT, fixing; and mVC, latch time). Swallowing scores on all scales had the lowest levels of interrater agreement (31%-64%). Conclusion: We demonstrated differences in the interrater reliability of 4 lactation assessment tools when applied to overweight/obese women, with the lowest values observed on day 4. Swallowing assessment was particularly unreliable. Researchers and clinicians using these scales should be aware of the differences in their psychometric behavior.
Inflammation-Induced Changes in Circulating T-Cell Subsets and Cytokine Production During Human Endotoxemia

Observational clinical studies suggest the initial phase of sepsis may involve impaired cellular immunity. In the present study, we investigated temporal changes in T-cell subsets and T-cell cytokine production during human endotoxemia. Endotoxin (Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide 4 ng/kg) was administered intravenously in 15 healthy volunteers. Peripheral blood and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were collected at baseline and after 2, 4, 6, 8, and 24 hours for flow cytometry. CD4+CD25+CD127lowFoxp3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs), CD4+CD161+ cells, and activated Human leukocyte antigen, HLA-DR+CD38+ T cells were determined. Ex vivo whole-blood cytokine production and Toll-like receptor (TLR)-4 expression on Tregs were measured. Absolute number of CD3+CD4+ (P = .026), CD3+CD8+ (P = .046), Tregs (P = .023), and CD4+CD161+ cells (P = .042) decreased after endotoxin administration. The frequency of anti-inflammatory Tregs increased (P = .033), whereas the frequency of proinflammatory CD4+CD161+ cells decreased (P = .034). Endotoxemia was associated with impaired whole-blood production of tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-10, IL-6, IL-17, IL-2, and interferon-γ in response to phytohaemagglutinin but did not affect TLR4 expression on Tregs. No changes in the absolute count or frequency of BALF T cells were observed. Systemic inflammation is associated with lymphopenia, a relative increase in the frequency of anti-inflammatory Tregs, and a functional impairment of T-cell cytokine production.
Eccentric Training for Tendon Healing After Acute Lesion: A Rat Model

Background: The tendon is a dynamic entity that remodels permanently. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection has been shown to have a beneficial effect on tendon healing after lesion in rats. Furthermore, eccentric exercise seems to improve the mechanical quality of the tendon. Hypothesis: A combination of PRP injection and eccentric training might be more effective than either treatment alone. Study Design: Controlled laboratory study. Methods: Adult male rats were anesthetized, an incision was performed in the middle of their left patellar tendon and an injection of physiological fluid (PF) or homologous PRP was randomly made at the lesion level. The rats were then divided into 2 groups: the eccentric group, undergoing eccentric training 3 times a week, and the untrained group, without any training. Thus, 4 groups were compared. After 5 weeks, the tendons were removed and their ultimate tensile strength and energy were measured. Tendons were frozen for proteomic analyses when all biomechanical tests were completed. Statistical analysis was performed with linear mixed effect models. Results: No significant difference was found between the treatments using PF injection or PRP injection alone. However, the value of the ultimate tensile force at rupture was increased by 4.5 N (108% of control, P = .006) when eccentric training was performed. An intragroup analysis revealed that eccentric training significantly improved the ultimate force values for the PRP group. Proteomic analysis revealed that eccentric training led to an increase in abundance of several cytoskeletal proteins in the PF group, while a decrease in abundance of enzymes of the glycolytic pathway occurred in the PRP-treated groups, indicating that this treatment might redirect the exercise-driven metabolic plasticity of the tendon. Conclusion: Eccentric training altered the metabolic plasticity of tendon and led to an improvement of injured tendon resistance regardless of the treatment injected (PF or PRP). Clinical Relevance: This study demonstrates the necessity of eccentric rehabilitation and training in cases of tendon lesion regardless of the treatment carried out.
Study of Brain Mass Lesions by MRI-On Special Sequences

Background: The purpose of this study was to assess the role of Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values in the evaluation of different benign and malignant brain mass lesions with his to pathological correlation. Material /Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 50 MR examinations of patients who were referred to Department of Radio Diagnosis, BMC&RI, Bangalorefor intracranial mass lesion evaluation with MRI. All of them had undergone conventional MRI examination with SIEMENS AVANTO 1.5 T scanner and we determined ADC values and signal intensities on DWIs.In all patients with contrastenhanced tumors, ROIs were placed in theenhanced region. In patients with non-enhancing tumors, ROIs were placed in the solid part of thelesion. We also evaluated the correlation between ADC values and cellularity in the mass lesions. Additional clinical details and histopathological findings were correlated with the DWI and ADC findings for radiologic-pathologic concordance. Results: A positive correlation was found in the comparison of mean ADC values for high grade gliomas (1.19×10 –3 mm 2 /s ±0.2) and metastasis (0.833×10 –3 mm 2 /s ±0.2), low grade gliomas (1.34×10 –3 mm 2 /s ±0.2) and medulloblastomas (0.68×10mm2/s ±0.075), as well as for in epidermoid cyst and necrotic areas in malignant tumors. However, there is some overlap was found in the ADCs of low grade gliomas and high grade gliomas. Conclusion: ADC values cannot be used in individual cases to give specific diagnosisreliably. Although the ADCs of patients with low grade and high grade gliomas overlapped, the combination of routine image interpretation and ADC had a higher predictive value. The ADCs of glioma, metastasis and meningioma are related to tumor cellularity. We believe that DWIs and ADCs can provide information useful to diagnose brain mass lesions that cannot be obtained with conventional MR imaging.
A nurse‐driven process for timely removal of urinary catheters

Catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) comprises 30–40% of all health care-acquired infections, and 70–80% of these infections are related with use of indwelling urinary catheters. This quality improvement (QI) project was initiated to evaluate the effectiveness of a nurse-driven urinary catheter removal process in reducing the duration of urinary catheter usage in a general medical ward in Singapore. A pre- and post-study design was adopted. The pre-implementation data included urinary catheter utilization ratio and CAUTI rates. Over a 6-months period, nurses used a nurse-driven urinary catheter removal process to improve rates of timely removal of catheter. Data collected included nurses' compliance with the process and clinical outcomes, such as urinary catheter utilization ratio and CAUTI rates before and after implementation. Compliance with the use of the nurse-driven process by staff was 89%. The urinary catheter utilization ratio revealed a raise from 0·12 before implementation to 0·18 after implementation. However, CAUTI rates decreased from 4 to 0 per 1000 catheter-days, indicating a marginally significant difference between the pre and post-implementation rates (p = 0.06), using Fisher's exact test. The nurse-driven process decision support tool for optimizing appropriate catheter usage had the potential of reducing a patient's risk of acquiring CAUTI.
An Acidic Amino Acid Transmembrane Helix 10 Residue Conserved in the Neurotransmitter:Sodium:Symporters Is Essential for the Formation of the Extracellular Gate of the γ-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA) Transporter GAT-1*

Background: A conserved aspartate residue in the NSS family was suggested to participate in the formation of a “thin” extracellular gate. Results: Mutation of this residue increases the proportion of outward-facing transporters. Conclusion: This residue plays a crucial role in the gating mechanism of GAT-1. Significance: The new insights into GAT-1 gating may be relevant for other NSS transporters. GAT-1 mediates transport of GABA together with sodium and chloride in an electrogenic process enabling efficient GABAergic transmission. Biochemical and modeling studies based on the structure of the bacterial homologue LeuT are consistent with a mechanism whereby the binding pocket is alternately accessible to either side of the membrane and which predicts that the extracellular part of transmembrane domain 10 (TM10) exhibits aqueous accessibility in the outward-facing conformation only. In this study we have engineered cysteine residues in the extracellular half of TM10 of GAT-1 and probed their state-dependent accessibility to sulfhydryl reagents. In three out of four of the accessible cysteine mutants, the inhibition of transport by a membrane impermeant sulfhydryl reagent was diminished under conditions expected to increase the proportion of inward-facing transporters, such as the presence of GABA together with the cotransported ions. A conserved TM10 aspartate residue, whose LeuT counterpart participates in a “thin” extracellular gate, was found to be essential for transport and only the D451E mutant exhibited residual transport activity. D451E exhibited robust sodium-dependent transient currents with a voltage-dependence indicative of an increased apparent affinity for sodium. Moreover the accessibility of an endogenous cysteine to a membrane impermeant sulfhydryl reagent was enhanced by the D451E mutation, suggesting that sodium binding promotes an outward-facing conformation of the transporter. Our results support the idea that TM10 of GAT-1 lines an accessibility pathway from the extracellular space into the binding pocket and plays a role in the opening and closing of the extracellular transporter gate.
Qualité des eaux de boisson de forages et de ménages en milieu rural : Cas de Thion, Blédougou et Kangoura au Burkina Faso

La qualité de l’eau de boisson a été évaluée en 1998 et 1999 au nivcau de six forages et dans les ménagcs q u i s’approvisionnent en eau exclusivemcnt à partir de forages à Thion, Blédougou et Kangoura. Les paramétres physico-chimiques ont ? té détermines suivant des méthodes standardisées. Les Coliformes totaux et thermotolérants et les Streptocoques fécaux. témoins d’une pollution bactériologique ont été dénombrés par la méthode de filtration sur membrane sur des milieux de culture spécifiques.
Promoter Sequences Required for Reactivation of Epstein-Barr Virus from Latency

ABSTRACT A luciferase reporter system with stably transfected oriP plasmids in Akata Burkitt's lymphoma cells provides a quantitative assay for the BZLF1 Zp promoter in response to B-cell receptor (BCR) activation by cross-linking with anti-immunoglobulin. In this system, detailed kinetic studies of promoter activity are possible. Previously reported promoter elements upstream of −221 from the transcription start and the ZIIR sequence had little effect on the Zp promoter, but the ZI and ZIIIA elements were essential for early activation. The ZIIIB element mediates autoactivation. Mutation of the ZV repressor sequence greatly increased the induction of the promoter but did not make it constitutively active. Zp transcription in response to BCR cross-linking declined after a few hours; this decline was reduced and delayed by acyclovir or phosphonoacetic acid, indicating that viral DNA replication or a late viral gene can play a role in the switch off of the Zp promoter. Late expression of the LMP1 protein may account for this.
Antibody persistence 3 years after immunization of adolescents with quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine.

BACKGROUND A quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV-4) is recommended for United States teenagers. The duration of protective immunity is unknown. We investigated serum antibody persistence 3 years after vaccination of adolescents. METHODS Serum samples from participants of a randomized trial who had received MCV-4 (n=52) or polysaccharide vaccine (MPSV-4; n=48) and from unvaccinated controls (n=60) were assayed for serogroups C, W-135, and Y anticapsular antibody concentrations by use of a radioantigen binding assay and for bactericidal activity (in a human complement assay) and passive protection against serogroup C bacteremia in an infant rat model. RESULTS A higher proportion of participants in the vaccine groups had protective bactericidal titers (> or =1 : 4), compared with that in the control group (for MCV-4 recipients vs. controls, P<.01; for MPSV-4 recipients vs. controls, P< or =.06). More MCV-4 recipients had W-135 bactericidal titers > or =1 : 4 than did MPSV-4 recipients (P=.01). More MCV-4 recipients had passive protective activity against serogroup C bacteremia than did MPSV-4 recipients (76% vs. 49%; P<.01). The differences in protective activity were largest between participants in the vaccine groups with bactericidal titers <1 : 4 (63% protective in MCV-4 recipients vs. 31% protective in MPSV-4 recipients; P=.01). CONCLUSIONS Compared with MPSV-4, MCV-4 elicited greater persistence of antibody activity against serogroups C and W-135 at 3 years after vaccination in adolescents. On the basis of passive protection data in an infant rat model, bactericidal titers > or =1 : 4 underestimate protective immunity.
Resource Sharing in Hierarchical Fixed Priority Pre-Emptive Systems

This paper focuses on resource sharing in hierarchical fixed priority pre-emptive systems where a number of separate applications, each with its own server, reside on a single processor. It defines the hierarchical stack resource policy, an appropriate global resource access policy that bounds priority inversion and also limits interference due to overruns during resource access. The paper provides detailed response time analysis enabling the schedulability of application servers and tasks to be determined for systems with local and global resource access. This analysis is applicable to real-world systems where server-based applications need mutually exclusive access to shared resources such as communications buffers, peripheral devices, operating system calls and data structures shared with interrupt handlers
Early Deterioration in Bell's Palsy: Prognosis and Effect of Prednisolone

Objective: To assess if early deterioration is a negative prognostic factor in Bell's palsy and if prednisolone treatment reduces early progression and enhances recovery. Study Design: Data extracted from the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled multicenter, Scandinavian Bell's palsy study. Setting: Sixteen tertiary referral centers in Sweden and one in Finland. Patients: A total of 829 patients aged 18 to 75 years with Bell's palsy. Intervention: The study design was factorial; 416 patients were given prednisolone, whereas 413 did not receive the drug. Data were analyzed with a modified intention-to-treat principle and the last-observation-carried-forward method. Main Outcome Measures: Facial function was assessed within 72 hours before treatment start, at Days 11 to 17, and at 12 months. Sunnybrook was used as the main facial grading system with complete recovery defined as Sunnybrook 100. Results: In 236 (28%) of 829 patients, the palsy deteriorated from baseline to the first follow-up at Days 11 to 17. Complete recovery at 12 months was 45% among subjects with early deterioration compared with 73% in patients with no initial deterioration (p < 0.0001). In the early deterioration group, complete recovery at 12 months was 62% in patients treated with prednisolone and 31% in those not treated (p < 0.0001). Conclusion: Early deterioration in Bell's palsy is a negative prognostic factor for complete recovery at 12 months. Prednisolone given within 72 hours may reduce early progression and improve the outcome of palsy.
Relación entre la reacción al tizón común y el rendimiento y peso de la semilla de frijol en riego y temporal

En la region centro de Mexico diversas enfermedades danan el cultivo del frijol, sobre todo bajo condiciones de temporal. El objetivo fue identificar genotipos de frijol tolerantes al tizon comun (Xanthomonas campestris pv. phaseoli), determinar la asociacion entre la reaccion a esa enfermedad y el rendimiento y peso de la semilla en 36 genotipos establecidos bajo condiciones de riego y temporal. De 2004 a 2006, se establecio en Celaya, Guanajuato, en cinco ocasiones, un ensayo con 36 genotipos de diferente procedencia y tipo de grano, dos se condujeron bajo condiciones de riego en siembras de febrero y tres bajo temporal en siembras de julio. Se determino la reaccion de los genotipos a la incidencia de tizon comun, el rendimiento y peso de 100 semillas. En general, en ambos sistemas de siembra la incidencia de tizon comun se observo al inicio de la etapa reproductiva acentuandose, con diferencias entre genotipos (p< 0.05), hacia el llenado de grano; la incidencia fue mayor en temporal que en riego. Todos los genotipos mostraron, en diferente grado, sintomas de la enfermedad en hojas y pocos en las vainas. No se observaron genotipos inmunes, los de menor incidencia de la enfermedad a traves de los ensayos fueron: Afn, FEB 190, A 321 (reaccion 2.3), Flor de Mayo Anita, PT 98001 (2.6), Alteno 2000, A 339, EMP507 y Flor de Mayo M38 (2.7). No hubo relacion entre la incidencia de la enfermedad y el rendimiento y si entre su incidencia y el peso de 100 semillas; esto debido a la susceptibilidad de genotipos de los tipos pinto y bayo con semilla de tamano intermedio a grande de raza Durango.
3. Advances in the medical treatment of nasal polyps

The objectives of the medical management of nasal polyposis are to eliminate or reduce the size of polyps, re‐establish nasal breathing, reduce symptoms of rhinitis, restore the sense of smell and prevent the recurrence of nasal polyps. Corticosteroids have a proven therapeutic effect on the symptoms of nasal polyposis and may reduce one of the underlying causes of polyps, inflammation. The efficacy of topical corticosteroids such as beclomethasone dipropionate nasal spray and betamethasone nasal drops in reducing polyp size and rhinitis symptoms has been demonstrated in several randomized, placebo‐controlled trials. Flunisolide and budesonide have also been shown to delay the recurrence of polyps after surgery. Topical corticosteroids can be used as long‐term therapy either alone in mild cases, or combined with systemic corticosteroids and/or surgery in severe cases. Most patients will respond well to topical corticosteroid treatment of their nasal polyposis; consequently, the requirement for repetitive nasal surgery will be reduced.
Axonal Processes and Neural Plasticity: A Reply

We examine the claim that a class of sprouting-and-retraction models is mathematically equivalent to a fixed-anatomy model. We accept, subject to important caveats, a narrow mathematical equivalence of the energy functions in both classes of model. We argue that this narrow equivalence of energy functions does not, however, entail equivalence of the models. Indeed, the claim of complete model equivalence hides significant dynamical differences between the approaches, which we discuss. We also disagree that our work demonstrates that subtractive constraint enforcement is natural in fixed-anatomy models.
Vector evaluated particle swarm optimization exploration behavior part II: Quantitative analysis

A quantitative analysis in low dimensional objective space of the exploration behavior of the vector evaluated particle swarm optimization (VEPSO) algorithm is presented. A previous study showed that the VEPSO algorithm continues to explore the objective space, and does not focus enough on exploitation. To improve exploitation, the multi guided VEPSO with random archive selection was introduced. In this paper a new quantitive measurement, that tracks the particles' movement diversity in decision space, is developed. The results reinforce the conclusions drawn in earlier research. Additionally, the movement diversity measurement provides additional insight into why one of the two MGVEPSOa swarms continue to explore more of the objective space when tested on the problems in the Zitzler, Deb and Thiele (ZDT) test set.
Virulence-Associated Enzymes of Cryptococcus neoformans

ABSTRACT Enzymes play key roles in fungal pathogenesis. Manipulation of enzyme expression or activity can significantly alter the infection process, and enzyme expression profiles can be a hallmark of disease. Hence, enzymes are worthy targets for better understanding pathogenesis and identifying new options for combatting fungal infections. Advances in genomics, proteomics, transcriptomics, and mass spectrometry have enabled the identification and characterization of new fungal enzymes. This review focuses on recent developments in the virulence-associated enzymes from Cryptococcus neoformans. The enzymatic suite of C. neoformans has evolved for environmental survival, but several of these enzymes play a dual role in colonizing the mammalian host. We also discuss new therapeutic and diagnostic strategies that could be based on the underlying enzymology.