Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Choice of fluid for resuscitation of septic shock

Objectives: To determine current practice in choice of fluid resuscitation in children following publication of a systematic review that demonstrated a higher mortality in patients treated with human albumin solution. Methods: A descriptive telephone and postal questionnaire survey directed at the on call paediatric registrar, lead clinician for paediatrics and the paediatric pharmacist at each of 33 hospitals within the Greater London area. The study was coordinated by the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit at St Mary's Hospital, London. The questionnaire was designed to assess whether a protocol/guidelines existed for resuscitation fluid in children with septic shock; whether the participants were aware of the systematic review and if so, had it changed clinical practice. The word “protocol” was used in its broadest sense to include guideline and policy. Results: 11 hospitals had guidelines for fluid resuscitation of septic shock in children. These varied greatly: only three gave clear instructions of which fluid to use and how to use it. Choice of fluid varied widely and there was wide discrepancy between consultant's and registrar's choice of fluid. The systematic review had lead to a change in policy in two thirds of respondents. Conclusion: It is apparent that few paediatric departments have a written protocol or guidelines for the management of septic shock that is accessible to all those concerned in the acute treatment of seriously ill children. The systematic review into choice of fluid has had an impact on clinical practice with no data regarding whether this is in the patient's best interests.
Image Quality Assessment by Comparing CNN Features between Images

Finding an objective image quality metric that matches the subjective quality has always been a challenging task. We propose a new full reference image quality metric based on features extracted from Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs). Using a pre-trained AlexNet model, we extract feature maps of the test and reference images at multiple layers, and compare their feature similarity at each layer. Such similarity scores are then pooled across layers to obtain an overall quality value. Experimental results on four state-of-the-art databases show that our metric is either on par or outperforms 10 other state-of-the-art metrics, demonstrating that CNN features at multiple levels are superior to handcrafted features used in most image quality metrics in capturing aspects that matter for discriminative perception. c © 2016 Society for Imaging Science
Differential Regulation of Th1 and Th2 Functions of NKT Cells by CD28 and CD40 Costimulatory Pathways1

Vα14 NKT cells produce large amounts of IFN-γ and IL-4 upon recognition of their specific ligand α-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer) by their invariant TCR. We show here that NKT cells constitutively express CD28, and that blockade of CD28-CD80/CD86 interactions by anti-CD80 and anti-CD86 mAbs inhibits the α-GalCer-induced IFN-γ and IL-4 production by splenic Vα14 NKT cells. On the other, the blockade of CD40-CD154 interactions by anti-CD154 mAb inhibited α-GalCer-induced IFN-γ production, but not IL-4 production. Consistent with these findings, CD28-deficient mice showed impaired IFN-γ and IL-4 production in response to α-GalCer stimulation in vitro and in vivo, whereas production of IFN-γ but not IL-4 was impaired in CD40-deficient mice. Moreover, α-GalCer-induced Th1-type responses, represented by enhanced cytotoxic activity of splenic or hepatic mononuclear cells and antimetastatic effect, were impaired in both CD28-deficient mice and CD40-deficient mice. In contrast, α-GalCer-induced Th2-type responses, represented by serum IgE and IgG1 elevation, were impaired in the absence of the CD28 costimulatory pathway but not in the absence of the CD40 costimulatory pathway. These results indicate that CD28-CD80/CD86 and CD40-CD154 costimulatory pathways differentially contribute to the regulation of Th1 and Th2 functions of Vα14 NKT cells in vivo.
A Novel Model of Demyelinating Encephalomyelitis Induced by Monocytes and Dendritic Cells1

Local inflammation may be a precipitating event in autoimmune processes. In this study, we demonstrate that regulated influx of monocytes and dendritic cells (DC) into the CNS causes an acute neurological syndrome that results in a demyelinating encephalomyelitis. Expansion of monocytes and DC by conditional expression of Flt3 ligand in animals expressing CCL2 in the CNS promoted parenchymal cell infiltration and ascending paralysis in 100% of the mice within 9 days of Flt3 ligand induction. Depletion of circulating monocytes and DC reduced disease incidence and severity. Unlike the classical models of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, depletion of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells did not affect disease induction. T cells and demyelinating lesions were observed in the CNS at a later stage as a result of organ-specific inflammation. We propose that alterations in the numbers or function of monocytes and DC coupled to dysregulated expression of chemokines in the neural tissues, favors development of CNS autoimmune disease.
Detection of integrons and Staphylococcal Cassette Chromosome (SCCmec) types in Staphylococcus aureus isolated from burn and non-burn patients.

BACKGROUND Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains have been recognized as an important reason of infections in health care units. Integrons role in antibiotic resistance box gene transfer has been well recognized which are found in Gram positive bacteria. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was analyzed of SCCmec typing and determine of integron classes in burn and non-burn specimens. METHODOLOGY A total of 110 S. aureus strains were isolated from burn and non-burn patients. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing, detection of mecA gene, various SCCmec types and integrons classes were analyzed. RESULTS In antimicrobial susceptibility test in burn patients, resistant to both gentamicin and oxacilin and in non-burn patients resistance to oxacilin and cefepime showed the highest ratio In PCR molecular test (80%) and (52.7%) of strains harbored the mecA gene. Therefore five different SCCmec types were recognized among our studied strains. Subsequently, integron class I was evaluated as (94.5%) in burn and (12.7%) in non-burn isolates by the multiplex PCR method. CONCLUSION Albeit MRSA strains have the hospital reservoir so may cause serious treats for hospitalized and non-hospitalized patients, hence clinical decision for prevention and treatment may develop due to, mecA gene, SCCmec elements and integrons detection in health care units.
TRAMADOL INDUCED SEIZURE: REPORT OF 106 PATIENTS

Background: Seizure is one of the possible adverse effects of tramadol hydrochloride, a synthetic, centrallyacting analgesic, prescribed for the treatment of moderate to severe pain. In this study, we describe 106 patients with tramadol induced seizures. Methods: The patients, who were referred to Nemazee Hospital, Shiraz, Iran, from March 2006 to March 2008, were examined in this cross-sectional study. All of the patients had experienced seizure(s) after ingesting tramadol. Each patient was interviewed for demographic data, history of epilepsy, family history of epilepsy, duration of tramadol use, total dose and the last dose of ingested tramadol. Neurological examinations, routine laboratory tests, electroencephalography, and brain computed tomography were performed for each patient. Results: One hundred and six patients were studied (102 males and 4 females, mean age: 26.7±6.9 years). Among them, 92 (86.8%) had new-onset provoked seizure(s) induced by tramadol and in 14 patients (13.2%), tramadol ingestion was considered as a precipitating factor in the setting of previously-known epilepsy. Tramadol was prescribed by the physicians for alleviation of pain in 20 patients (18.9%) and abused in the remainder (86 patients, 81.1%). The dose of ingested tramadol before the seizure(s) was 50 to 1500 mg. Conclusion: Tramadol may provoke seizures in patients with epilepsy and also in previously healthy people even within the recommended dose ranges. Because most of the cases had occurred in young abusers, strategies to prevent tramadol addiction should be sought.
Intensity of Gadolinium Enhancement on MRI Is Useful in Differentiation of Intracochlear Inflammation From Tumor

Objective Magnetic resonance imaging is the gold standard in retrocochlear imaging; however, its role in management of inner ear diseases remains poorly defined. In this study, we investigate the utility of MRI in defining the nature of intracochlear pathology. Study Design A retrospective review of 11 patients with inner ear abnormalities on MRI between 2010 and 2013. Patients’ diagnosis included cholesteatoma, labyrinthitis, meningitis, and intralabyrinthine schwannoma. Setting Tertiary care hospital. Main Outcome Measures T1, T2, and postcontrast signal intensities were measured within the lesion and normalized in reference to the contralateral normal cochlea. The following ratios were calculated: T1 postgadolinium lesion/contralateral cochlea, T2 lesion/contralateral cochlea and T1 lesion/contralateral cochlea. Statistical analysis was conducted using the unpaired Student’s t test using IBM SPSS Statistics version 20.0. 0. Results The relative intensity ratios were useful in defining the nature of inner ear lesion. Normalized T1 postgadolinium lesion intensities were significantly higher in the tumor group (3.98 ± 0.880 versus 1.71 ± 0.370, p < 0.0002). Normalized T1 precontrast signal intensities were higher in tumors (1.33 ± 0.200 versus 0.842 ± 0.426, p < 0.0626), and T2 values were lower in tumors (0.838 ± 0.491 versus 1.10 ± 0.305, p < 0.317); however, these did not reach significance. Conclusion Intensity of gadolinium enhancement on MRI is useful in differentiation of inflammation from tumors; normalized T1 postgadolinium intensity ratio greater than 3 is strongly suggestive of intralabyrinthine tumor.
Power Allocation for Quasi-Orthogonal Space-Time Block Codes with 1 or 2 Bits Feedback

In this paper, a closed-loop wireless communication system employing Quasi-Orthogonal Space-Time Block Codes (QOSTBCs) is presented, where the total available power can be suitably allocated to the four transmit antennas, considering a very low-complexity decoding scheme at the receiver side. After deriving a particular optimization problem concerning the optimal choice of the power weights, we prove that the best strategy in terms of error probability is to switch-off three out of the four transmit antennas under the requirement of symbol-by-symbol maximum-likelihood decoding (MLD). Our proposed scheme requires a very low-data rate dedicated feedback link, since just one or two bits per block are sufficient for outperforming other existing closed-loop systems. The technique applies to all the well-known QOSTBCs with arbitrary number of receive antennas, while some special cases are taken indicatively for illustration purposes.
Widely tunable long-period waveguide grating filters

This paper presents a review of the development of long-period waveguide gratings (LPWGs) with focus on the realization of various kinds of tunable devices, such as band-rejection filters, variable attenuators, band-pass filters, and add/drop multiplexers. A number of specific examples are given to demonstrate how the geometry and material flexibility of the optical waveguide technology facilitates the design of widely tunable LPWG-based devices. LPWG is evolving into a versatile waveguide structure for the implementation of a wide range of optical functions.
Antibacterial activity of garlic extract on streptomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli solely and in synergism with streptomycin

This study focuses the significant antibacterial activity of Garlic (Allium sativum Linn.) extract on streptomycin-resistant strains solely and in synergism with streptomycin. Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus ATCC BAA 1026 and gram-negative Escherichia coli ATCC 10536 were made resistant to standard antibiotic streptomycin used as a control in the experiment. Zones of inhibition of different treatment groups were measured by agar-well-diffusion assay and compared with control. Statistical comparison of sole extract and streptomycin synergism with streptomycin control had proved it significant.
The consensus building handbook : a comprehensive guide to reaching agreement

Introduction PART ONE: A SHORT GUIDE TO CONSENSUS BUILDING An Alternative to Robert's Rules of Order for Groups, Organizations and Ad Hoc Assemblies that Want to Operate by Consensus - Lawrence Susskind PART TWO: HOW TO BULID CONSENSUS Choosing Appropriate Consensus Building Techniques and Strategies - Susan Carpenter Conducting a Conflict Assessment - Lawrence Susskind and Jennifer Thomas-Larmer Designing a Consensus Building Process using a Graphic Road Map - David A Straus Convening - Chris Carlson The Role of Facilitators, Mediators, and Other Consensus Building Practitioners - Michael Elliot Representation of Stakeholding Interests - David Laws Managing Meetings to Build Consensus - David A Straus Producing Consensus - Sarah McKearnan and David Fairman Joint Fact-Finding and the Use of Technical Experts - John R Ehrmann and Barbara L Stinson Making the Best Use of Technology - Connie P Ozawa Dealing with the Press - James E Kunde Dealing with Deep Value Differences - John Forester Legal Issues in Consensus Building - Dwight Golann and Eric E Van Loon Implementing Consenus-Based Agreements - William R Potapchuk and Jarle Crocker Visioning - Carl M Moore, Gianni Longo and Patsy Palmer Collaborative Problem Solving within Organizations - Christopher W Moore and Peter Woodrow Evaluating Consensus Building - Judith E Innes PART THREE: CASES AND COMMENTARIES Introduction to the Cases and Commentaries - Michele Ferenz Activating a Policy Network - Peter Driessen The Case of Mainport Schipol The Northern Oxford County Coalition - Sarah McKearnan and Patrick Field Four Maine Towns Tackle a Public Health Mystery The Chelsea Charter Consensus Process - Susan L Podziba Affordable Housing Mediation - Lawrence Susskind and Susan L Podziba Building Consensus for Regional Agreements in the Hartford Area San Francisco Estuary Project - Judith E Innes and Sarah Connick Resolving Science-Intensive Public Policy Disputes - Scott McCreary Reflections on the New York Bight Initiative Negotiating Superfund Cleanup at the Massachusetts Military Reservation - Edward Scher RuleNet - Michele Ferenz and Colin Rule An Experiment in On-Line Consensus Building Regulatory Negotiations - Jan Jung-Min Sunoo and Juliette A Falkner The Native American Experience Cross-Cultural Community-Based Planning - Norman Dale Negotiating the Future of the Haida Gwaii (British Columbia) The Chattanooga Process - John Parr A City's Vision is Realized From City Hall to the Streets - Catherine Connolly A Community Plan Meets the Real World The Catron County Citizens' Group - Melinda Smith A Case Study in Community Collaboration Facilitating Statewide HIV/AIDS Policies and Priorities in Colorado - Michael A Hughes with John Forester and Irene Weiser Finding Common Ground on Abortion - Michelle LeBaron and Nike Carstarphen Organizational Trauma Recovery - David Brubaker The "God's Fellowship Community Church" Reconciliation Process Building Consensus for Change within a Major Corporation - Judy Mares-Dixon, Julie A McKay and Scott Peppett The Case of Levi Strauss & Co
Sequestration and activation of plant toxins protect the western corn rootworm from enemies at multiple trophic levels

Highly adapted herbivores can phenocopy two-component systems by stabilizing, sequestering and reactivating plant toxins. However, whether these traits protect herbivores against their enemies is poorly understood. We demonstrate that the western corn rootworm Diabrotica virgifera virgifera, the most damaging maize pest on the planet, specifically accumulates the root-derived benzoxazinoid glucosides HDMBOA-Glc and MBOA-Glc. MBOA-Glc is produced by D. virgifera through stabilization of the benzoxazinoid breakdown product MBOA by N-glycosylation. The larvae can hydrolyze HDMBOA-Glc, but not MBOA-Glc, to produce toxic MBOA upon predator attack. Accumulation of benzoxazinoids renders D. virgifera highly resistant to nematodes which inject and feed on entomopathogenic symbiotic bacteria. While HDMBOA-Glc and MBOA reduce the growth and infectivity of both the nematodes and the bacteria, MBOA-Glc repels infective juvenile nematodes. Our results illustrate how herbivores combine stabilized and reactivated plant toxins to defend themselves against a deadly symbiosis between the third and the fourth trophic level enemies.
Complementation Analysis Demonstrates That Insulin Cross-links Both α Subunits in a Truncated Insulin Receptor Dimer*

The insulin receptor is a homodimer composed of two αβ half receptors. Scanning mutagenesis studies have identified key residues important for insulin binding in the L1 domain (amino acids 1-150) and C-terminal region (amino acids 704-719) of the α subunit. However, it has not been shown whether insulin interacts with these two sites within the same α chain or whether it cross-links a site from each α subunit in the dimer to achieve high affinity binding. Here we have tested the contralateral binding mechanism by analyzing truncated insulin receptor dimers (midi-hIRs) that contain complementary mutations in each α subunit. Midi-hIRs containing Ala14, Ala64, or Gly714 mutations were fused with Myc or FLAG epitopes at the C terminus and were expressed separately by transient transfection. Immunoblots showed that R14A+FLAG, F64A+FLAG, and F714G+Myc mutant midi-hIRs were expressed in the medium but insulin binding activity was not detected. However, after co-transfection with R14A+FLAG/F714G+Myc or F64A+FLAG/F714G+Myc, hybrid dimers were obtained with a marked increase in insulin binding activity. Competitive displacement assays revealed that the hybrid mutant receptors bound insulin with the same affinity as wild type and also displayed curvilinear Scatchard plots. In addition, when hybrid mutant midi-hIR was covalently cross-linked with 125I(A14)-insulin and reduced, radiolabeled monomer was immunoprecipitated only with anti-FLAG, demonstrating that insulin was bound asymmetrically. These results demonstrate that a single insulin molecule can contact both α subunits in the insulin receptor dimer during high affinity binding and this property may be an important feature for receptor signaling.
Validity of hospital discharge diagnoses for the assessment of the prevalence and incidence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

INTRODUCTION As amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a rare neurological disorder, many sources must be investigated for complete case ascertainment. Hospital discharge diagnoses (HDDs) are a source of administrative data for patients hospitalized for a given disease. The accuracy of HDDs was tested, to assess whether they could be used to trace patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). METHODS All the HDDs referring to patients with motor neuron disease (MND) (ICD-9 code 335.2) were identified from primary hospital discharge diagnoses made during the years 1994-95 in six target provinces of the Lombardy region in Northern Italy (total population 2922920). The medical records of the patients were reviewed and each patient was then accepted or rejected according to whether he/she did or did not satisfy the El Escorial criteria for the diagnosis of ALS. The ALS discharge diagnoses filed in the study period in the neurology departments of all the regional hospitals were the 'gold standard'. Newly diagnosed patients registered during the year 1998 in the same provinces served for the calculation of the incidence of the disease. Sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value were calculated. Data were presented separately for all the patients and those who were indicated as first hospital admissions. RESULTS During the study period a total of 1012122 hospital discharge records were coded in the six index provinces. The ICD-9 code 335.2 was reported in 408 of these (0.04%). These discharge diagnoses were made in 267 patients, 245 of whom were resident in Lombardy at the time of hospital admission. The hospital records of 237 cases were examined. In 95 of these the medical records showed a diagnosis other than ALS. Other motor neuron diseases were listed for 50 patients. Thirteen additional cases were traced through neurology department files. The sensitivity of the HDDs was 91.6%, the specificity 99.9%, the positive predictive value 65.4%. The corresponding values for first-hospitalized patients were 97.7, 99.9, and 37.3. The overall ALS incidence rate obtained from the HDDs was 2.1 per 100000 (95% CI 1.3-3.3). he corresponding rate calculated after exclusion of the false positives and inclusion of the false negatives was 0.8 (95% CI 0.1-2.1) and that obtained using the 1998 cases registered in the same areas was 1.6 (95% CI 0.7-2.7). CONCLUSIONS The incidence of ALS is overestimated when HDDs are used for the estimate. Nevertheless, with improved quality, administrative data could be useful for the estimate of prevalence and incidence.
Differences in responses to X-ray exposure between osteoclast and osteoblast cells

Abstract Radiation-induced bone loss is a potential health concern for cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy. Enhanced bone resorption by osteoclasts and decreased bone formation by osteoblasts were thought to be the main reasons. In this study, we showed that both pre-differentiating and differentiating osteoclasts were relatively sensitive to X-rays compared with osteoblasts. X-rays decreased cell viability to a greater degree in RAW264.7 cells and in differentiating cells than than in osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells. X-rays at up to 8 Gy had little effects on osteoblast mineralization. In contrast, X-rays at 1 Gy induced enhanced osteoclastogenesis by enhanced cell fusion, but had no effects on bone resorption. A higher dose of X-rays at 8 Gy, however, had an inhibitory effect on bone resorption. In addition, actin ring formation was disrupted by 8 Gy of X-rays and reorganized into clusters. An increased activity of Caspase 3 was found after X-ray exposure. Actin disorganization and increased apoptosis may be the potential effects of X-rays at high doses, by inhibiting osteoclast differentiation. Taken together, our data indicate high radiosensitivity of osteoclasts. X-ray irradiation at relatively low doses can activate osteoclastogenesis, but not osteogenic differentiation. The radiosensitive osteoclasts are the potentially responsive cells for X-ray-induced bone loss.
Taming the Monster: Need for Africa-initiated, Africa-led HIV Vaccine Research and Development Advocacy in Africa

Scientific advancement has led to tremendous improvements in the life expectancy of people living with HIV. In addition, there is renewed hope that with combination prevention which includes early initiation of ART and ARVbased PrEP, we may have begun to see the end of the deadly epidemic. However, it is also widely acknowledged that we cannot end AIDS without an effective vaccine. While strenuous efforts are being made in different parts of the world to advance the HIV vaccine R&D agenda, Africa has been largely playing a spectator role. Considering that Africa with less than 20% of the global population hosts approximately 70% of people living with HIV, one would expect Africa to be in the fore-front for the search of an HIV vaccine. Getting African governments to key into the HIV vaccine research and development agenda will require strong advocacy. This paper reviews the status of HIV epidemic with particular reference to Africa, highlights the continued need for an effective HIV vaccine and advocates for the development of a focused Africa-initiated, Africa-driven HIV vaccine advocacy strategy for Africa.