Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Use of the Airtraq laryngoscope for emergency intubation in the prehospital setting: A randomized control trial*

Objectives:The optical Airtraq laryngoscope (Prodol Meditec, Vizcaya, Spain) has been shown to have advantages when compared with direct laryngoscopy in difficult airway patients. Furthermore, it has been suggested that it is easy to use and handle even for inexperienced advanced life support providers. As such, we sought to assess whether the Airtraq may be a reliable alternative to conventional intubation when used in the prehospital setting. Design, Setting, and Patients:Prospective, randomized control trial in emergency patients requiring endotracheal intubation provided by anesthesiologists or emergency physicians responding with an emergency medical service helicopter or ground unit associated with the Department of Anesthesiology, General Hospital, Wiener Neustadt, Austria. Measurements and Main Results:During the 18-month study period, 212 patients were enrolled. When the Airtraq was used as first-line airway device (n = 106) vs. direct laryngoscopy (n = 106), success rate was 47% vs. 99%, respectively (p < .001). Reasons for failed Airtraq intubation were related to the fiber-optic characteristic of this device (i.e., impaired sight due to blood and vomitus, n = 11) or to assumed handling problems (i.e., cuff damage, tube misplacement, or inappropriate visualization of the glottis, n = 24). In 54 of 56 patients where Airtraq intubation failed, direct laryngoscopy was successful on the first attempt; in the remaining two and in one additional case of failed direct laryngoscopy, the airway was finally secured employing the Fastrach laryngeal mask. There was no correlation between success rates and body mass index, age, indication for airway management, emergency medical service unit, or experience of the physicians. Conclusions:Based on these results, the use of the Airtraq laryngoscope as a primary airway device cannot be recommended in the prehospital setting without significant clinical experience obtained in the operation room. We conclude that the clinical learning process of the Airtraq laryngoscope is much longer than reported in the anesthesia literature.
Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha and Apoptosis in Helicobacter pylori Related Progressive Gastric Damage: A Possible Mechanism of Immune System Involvement in Epithelial Turnover Regulation

Helicobacter pylori (HP) related inflammation is mediated by tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), which “in vitro” increases epithelial apoptosis in response to infection. In the early stages of HP gastritis, a raised epithelial apoptosis occurs; this phenomenon becomes less evident with progression towards intestinal metaplasia. Aim of our study was to analyze “in vivo” mucosal TNFα in relation to epithelial apoptosis in the progression of HP related histological damage. Antral biopsies from 20 HP positive patients were retrospectively studied: 10 with and 10 without intestinal metaplasia (IM and CG group respectively); samples of 10 dyspeptics with normal HP negative stomach (N) were used as control. The following parameters were evaluated by immunohistochemistry: 85 kDa caspase-cleaved fragment (p85) of human poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) labelling index (LI) as marker of apoptosis and TNFα LI in stromal cells as marker of inflammatory response. Both epithelial apoptosis and mucosal TNFα expression were higher in chronic active gastritis compared to intestinal metaplasia and controls (PARP and TNFα LI: CG>IM>N; ANOVA & Student-Neumann-Keuls; p<0.05 and p<0.01, respectively). Pearson' s coefficient showed a significant correlation between PARP and TNFα LI in IM and CG groups. Our data show that mucosal TNFα, similarly to what suggested “in vitro”, may be related “in vivo” to epithelial apoptosis thus suggesting a possible mechanism for immune system involvement in the control of gastric epithelial turnover.
Risk factors for the development of hyponatremia in psychiatric inpatients.

BACKGROUND When inpatients who are on psychiatry services develop hyponatremia, medical consultation is usually required for evaluation and management, thus halting or delaying psychiatric treatment. Risk factors for the development of hyponatremia in this population have not been studied. METHODS A case-control study of psychiatric inpatients in a tertiary care facility was performed. Sixty-four patients who had a serum sodium level of less than 130 mmol/L were identified; three control subjects were chosen from the inpatient psychiatry service for each case. Risk factors investigated included medications, psychiatric diagnoses, basic demographic variables, and medical comorbidities. RESULTS Univariate and logistic regression analyses revealed that, in addition to diuretic use (adjusted odds ratio, 8.2; 95% confidence intervals, 2.2 to 30.8), use of fluoxetine (adjusted odds ratio, 21.4; 95% confidence interval, 5.3 to 86.9), tricyclic antidepressants (adjusted odds ratio, 4.9; 95% confidence interval, 1.6 to 15.2), and calcium antagonists (adjusted odds ratio, 4.0; 95% confidence interval, 1.1 to 14.2) were all associated with the development of hyponatremia. Important comorbidities included elevated creatinine levels, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hypertension, systolic blood pressure, and diabetes. Although age was significantly associated with hyponatremia in univariate analyses, it was not significant in multivariate analyses. CONCLUSIONS Among psychiatric patients, hyponatremia is often associated with factors other than psychogenic polydipsia, including medications and medical comorbidities. Although elderly psychiatric inpatients seem to develop hyponatremia more often than younger patients, once drugs and comorbidities are taken into account, age does not appear to be a significant risk factor for hyponatremia in this population.
Diagnostic utility of tissue tracking echocardiography for the diagnosis of ischaemic heart disease.

INTRODUCTION Both the resting electrocardiogram and standard echocardiography have limited value in detecting ischaemic heart disease (IHD) in patients with atypical symptoms or asymptomatic subjects. Tissue tracking (TT) is a novel method based on tissue Doppler echocardiography for the assessment of longitudinal apical myocardial motion. AIM To assess diagnostic utility of TT mode in the diagnosis of IHD. METHODS The study was performed in a group of 36 patients (aged 58+/-8 years, 15 males) with good acoustic window, sinus rhythm and normal left ventricular ejection fraction on standard echocardiography who were previously selected for coronary angiography. Systolic displacement of myocardium (TT) was assessed in all patients using apical views (4, 2, and 3-chamber) and 7-colour-coded visualisation expressing various apical displacements of the myocardium during systole. Group IHD(-) consisted of 16 patients with normal coronary angiography or insignificant lesions and group IHD(+) consisted of 20 patients with significant (>70%) coronary lesions. RESULTS Despite similar prevalence of arterial hypertension and diabetes as well as similar pharmacological treatment patients from the IHD(+) group had a lower TT index (ratio of the sum of regional TT values to the number of analysed segments than the IHD(-) (patients 4.5+/-0.8 mm vs 5.9+/-0.9 mm respectively, p <0.001). CONCLUSIONS Resting echocardiography with tissue tracking enables fast, non-invasive and semiquantitative evaluation of left ventricular function. This method of assessment of longitudinal layers of the left ventricle may be useful in the diagnosis of ischaemic heart disease.
Kinesio taping or just taping in shoulder subacromial impingement syndrome? A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

ABSTRACT Objective: To verify effects of kinesio taping (KT) in shoulder subacromial impingement syndrome (SIS) when compared to sham taping applied in the same way with KT. Patients and Methods: Patients were randomized as group 1 (n = 21) KT group and group 2 (n = 20) sham-taping group. Taping was applied every three days, three times during the study period. We assessed all the patients at baseline, at the end of the taping period (12th day), and at one-month post-intervention. We assessed pain on the 100 mm visual analog scale (VAS). Shoulder range of motion (ROM), Constant Scores, and Nottingham Health Profile (NHP) scores were evaluated. Results: Of the 41 participants, 13 were males (32%) and 28 were females (68%). The mean age was 45 ± 15 years (range 20–65 years). We documented a significant decrease in VAS for nocturnal pain, and Constant Score in both groups. The KT group showed additional significant change in NHP pain and physical activity scores. Conclusion: KT and sham taping generated similar results regarding pain and Constant Scores.
Pharmacological agents for the prevention and treatment of toxic radiation exposure in spaceflight.

BACKGROUND Astronauts are exposed to toxic ionizing radiation sources, including galactic cosmic radiation and solar particle events (SPE). Exposure to these radiation sources can lead to cataracts, heritable genetic mutations, cancer, acute life-threatening physiological compromise, and death. Current countermeasures focus on spacecraft shielding and creation of heavily shielded safe havens. At issue is the extraordinarily high cost of launching these heavy structures into space and their inability to provide adequate shielding from heavy ions at a feasible shield thickness. Pharmacological enhancement of cellular radiation resistance, an alternative method to limiting radiation toxicity, has received less attention. METHODS We have conducted an extensive literature review and critical evaluation of the scientific data pertaining to this field of study. Publications for review were identified through a Medline search using relevant terms, including radiotherapeutics, galactic cosmic radiation, radiopharmacology, radioprotectants, radiation countermeasures, solar particles, solar flares, radiation toxicity, and radiotoxicity. RESULTS We identified 15 agents with significant radiation dose reduction factors, ranging from 1.1 to 2.4, in experimental models. Of these, only amifostine is FDA approved for use in treating radiation toxicity. CONCLUSIONS Current data do not support the use of radiopreventive agents in the treatment of low-level ionizing radiation exposures. However, pharmacological countermeasures should be instituted for life-threatening, high-level radiation exposures, as occur with SPE. Given the catastrophic effects of SPE, the risk of toxicity from radioprotective agents is warranted. The current data supports treatment with high-dose amifostine (at 910 mg m(-2)) 30 min prior to radiation exposure.
Consequences of Sheep Blood Used as Diluting Agent for The Magnetoviscous Effect in Biocompatible Ferrofluids

Abstract Magnetic nanoparticles suspended in suitable carrier liquids can be adopted for use in biomedicine. For this to be achieved, the biocompatibility of these ferrofluids needs to be ascertained. In cancer treatment, potential applications currently under investigation include, e. g. drug targeting by using magnetic fields and the destruction of diseased cells by applying alternating magnetic fields, which cause heating of magnetic nanoparticles. To enable the use of ferrofluids in the actual biomedical context, detailed knowledge of the flow characteristics is essential to ensure safe treatment. From ferrofluids used in the engineering context, a rise of viscosity when a magnetic field is applied - the magnetoviscous effect - is well known. This effect, which leads to an increased viscosity and profound alteration of a fluid’s rheological behavior, has also been demonstrated for biocompatible ferrofluids used in the aforementioned applications. In biomedical applications, ferrofluids will be diluted in the blood stream. Therefore, the interaction between whole blood and the ferrofluid has to be investigated. This is the focus of the current experimental study, which makes use of two different ferrofluids diluted in sheep blood to gain a deeper understanding of the fluid mixtures primarily regarding the relative change in viscosity if an external magnetic field is applied. The results demonstrate a strong interaction between blood cells and structures formed by the magnetic nanoparticles and show a high deviation of results compared to ferrofluids diluted in water. These findings have to be taken into account for future research and applications of similar biocompatible fluids to guarantee safe and effective use in living organisms.
Metabolism and Solubilization of Cellulose by Clostridium cellulolyticum H10

When Clostridium cellulolyticum was grown with cellulose MN300 as the substrate, the rates of growth and metabolite production were found to be lower than those observed with soluble sugars as the substrate. At low cellulose concentrations, the growth yields were equal to those obtained with cellobiose. The main fermentation products from cellulose and soluble sugars were the same. Up to 15 mM of consumed hexose, a change in the metabolic pathway favoring lactate production similar to that observed with soluble sugars was found to occur concomitantly with a decrease in molar growth yield. With cellulose concentrations above 5 g/liter, accumulation of soluble sugars occurred once growth had ceased. Glucose accounted for 30% of these sugars. A kinetic analysis of cellulose solubilization revealed that cellulolysis by C. cellulolyticum involved three stages whatever cellulose concentration was used. Analysis of these kinetics showed three consecutive enzymatic activity levels having the same Km (0.8 g of cellulose per liter, i.e., 5 mM hexose equivalent) but decreasing values of Vmax. The hypothesis is suggested that each step corresponds to differences in cellulose structure.
Potentiation of Acetylcholine-Mediated Facilitation of Inhibitory Synaptic Transmission by an Azaindolizione Derivative, ZSET1446 (ST101), in the Rat Hippocampus

The integrity of the hippocampal network depends on the coordination of excitatory and inhibitory signaling, which are under dynamic control by various regulatory influences such as the cholinergic systems. ZSET1446 (ST101; spiro[imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine-3,2-indan]-2(3H)-one) is a newly synthesized azaindolizinone derivative that significantly improves learning deficits in various types of Alzheimer disease (AD) models in rats. We examined the effect of ZSET1446 on the nicotinic acetylcholine (ACh) receptor (nAChR)-mediated regulation of synaptic transmission in hippocampal slices of rats. ZSET1446 significantly potentiated the facilitatory effect of nicotine and ACh on the frequency of spontaneous postsynaptic currents (sPSCs) recorded in CA1 pyramidal neurons with a maximum effect at 100 pM (tested range, 10 pM–1000 pM). The basal sPSC frequency without ACh was not affected. Such potentiation by ZSET1446 was observed in both the pharmacologic isolations of inhibitory and excitatory sPSCs and markedly reduced by blockade of either α7 or α4β2 nAChRs. ZSET1446 did not affect ACh-activated inward currents or depolarization of interneurons in the stratum radiatum and the lacunosum moleculare. These results indicate that ZSET1446 potentiates the nicotine-mediated enhancement of synaptic transmission in the hippocampal neurons without affecting nAChRs themselves, providing a novel possible mechanism of procognitive action that might improve learning deficits in clinical therapy.
An incremental decision tree learning methodology regarding attributes in medical data mining

Decision tree is one kind of inductive learning algorithms that offers an efficient and practical method for generalizing classification rules from previous concrete cases that already solved by domain experts. It is considered attractive for many real-life applications, mostly due to its interpretability. Recently, many researches have been reported to endow decision trees with incremental learning ability, which is able to address the learning task with a stream of training instances. However, there are few literatures discussing the algorithms with incremental learning ability regarding the new attributes. In this paper, i+Learning (Intelligent, Incremental and Interactive Learning) theory is proposed to complement the traditional incremental decision tree learning algorithms by concerning new available attributes in addition to the new incoming instances. The experimental results reveal that i+Learning method offers the promise of making decision trees a more powerful, flexible, accurate and valuable paradigm, especially in medical data mining community.
Immunological responses of the mammalian host against tapeworm infections. IV. Species specificity of hexacanth embryos in protecting sheep against Echinococcus granulosus.

Eighty lambs were divided into four groups, each comprising twenty animals. Half the lambs in each group were vaccinated with viable eggs and half with the activated embryos of Echinococcus granulosus, Taenia hydatigena, T. ovis or T. pisiformis. These lambs together with ten control animals were subsequently challenged with eggs of E. granulosus. Only a few hydatid cysts were established from the challenge infection in the lambs immunized with the homologous eggs or embryos. Only one acephalocyst in one animal survived. The metabolism of this cyst was of a low order compared with that of most of those in the controls. Hydatid cysts were established from the challenge infection almost as frequently in the animals vaccinated with eggs or embryos of the sheep metacestodes T. hydatigena and T. ovis, as in the controls. Fluid accumulated in only a few hydatid cysts from the challenge infection in those sheep vaccinated with the activated embryos of these heterologous species. The injection of viable eggs or activated embryos of the rabbit metacestode T. pisiformis induced no resistance to the establishment or to the survival of the challenge infection of E. granulosus.
Effect of long‐acting beta‐agonists on the frequency of COPD exacerbations: a meta‐analysis

What is Known and Objective: Inhaled long‐acting beta‐agonists have been licensed for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) since the late 1990s, and they improve lung function and symptoms of dyspnoea. However, the evidence that long‐acting beta‐agonists alone can reduce the rate of COPD exacerbations is not conclusive. This meta‐analysis was performed to evaluate their effect on the frequency of exacerbations.
Fatty acid modification and membrane lipids

This review focuses on the role of fatty acids and their effects on some of the physicochemical properties and biological functions of membranes. The consequences of the incorporation of structurally modified fatty acids of both endogenous and exogenous origin into such membranes are also discussed. Those who wish to gain a deeper insight into lipids and membranes are referred to the excellent reviews used as the reference basis for most of the background material.
A Low Cost System for Computer Based Cephalometric Analysis

A simple, versatile TV-based measuring system is described which is applicable for cephalometrics and other purposes. It is suitable for large or microscopic objects, and can be used for measuring two-dimensional objects, or three-dimensional objects in two planes. Reproducibility of the system in cephalometrics is assessed and compared with that obtained with the reflex metrograph.
Complete structure determination of the A chain of mistletoe lectin III from Viscum album L. ssp. album

The complete primary structure of the A chain of mistletoe lectin III (ML3A), a type II ribosome‐inactivating protein, was determined using proteolytic digests of ML3A, HPLC separation of the peptides, Edman degration and MALDI‐MS. Based on our results, ML3A consists of 254 amino acid residues, showing a high homology to the A chain of isolectin ML1 with only 24 amino acid residue exchanges. A striking important structural difference compared with ML1A is the lack of the single N‐glycosylation site in ML3A due to an amino acid exchange at position 112 (ML1A: N112GS↠ML3A: T112GS). The alignment of ML3A with the A chains of ML1, isoabrins, ricin D, Ricinus communis agglutinin and three lectins, identified from the Korean mistletoe Viscum album ssp. coloratum, demonstrates the rigid conservation of all amino acid residues, responsible for the RNA‐N‐glycosidase activity as reported for ricin D. In addition, the fully determined primary structure of ML3A will give further information about the biological mechanism of mistletoe lectin therapy. Copyright © 2003 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The maximum derivatives of left ventricular pressure and transverse internal diameter as indices of the inotropic state of the left ventricle in conscious dogs

1. In normal, conscious dogs, I.V. infusion of isoprenaline caused inases in heart rate and the maximal derivatives of left ventricular pressure (dP/dt max) and left ventricular internal diameter (dD/dt max). The changes in both derivatives were linearly related to the increase in heart rate.
Low-Noise Active Decoupling Circuit and its Application to 13C Cryogenic RF Coils at 3 T

We analyze the loss contributions in a small, 50-mm-diameter receive-only coil for carbon-13 (13C) magnetic resonance imaging at 3 T for 3 different circuits, which, including active decoupling, are compared in terms of their Q-factors and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The results show that a circuit using unsegmented tuning and split matching capacitors can provide >20% SNR enhancement at room temperature compared with that using more traditional designs. The performance of the proposed circuit was also measured when cryogenically cooled to 105 K, and an additional 1.6-fold SNR enhancement was achieved on a phantom. The enhanced circuit performance is based on the low capacitance needed to match to 50 Ω when coil losses are low, which significantly reduces the proportion of the current flowing through the matching network and therefore minimizes this loss contribution. This effect makes this circuit particularly suitable for receive-only cryogenic coils and/or small coils for low-gamma nuclei.
Power point tracking in photovoltaic systems by sliding mode control

This research details how to design a grid-connected photovoltaic system, including modeling of photovoltaic cells, DC-DC Ćuk design, sliding mode control, etc. It is shown that in the case of embedding coils in input-output structure of Ćuk converter, application of sliding mode control for maximum power point tracking is superior over the other techniques. Maximum power point tracking is implemented in grid-connected photovoltaic system based on Perturb and Observation (P&O) algorithm and sliding mode closed loop control. Due to non-linear nature of the system, the use of sliding mode method can sustain the stability of the converter in wide range of variations in radiation, load, etc. In the proposed sliding mode method, only input voltage and capacitive filter current are utilized as a feedback and the design process is completed without the converter model inclusion. The effectiveness of the proposed photovoltaic system is evaluated by simulations conducted on MATLAB/SIMULINK.
Site‐specific genetic recombination: hops, flips, and flops

Genetic recombination plays a key role in the life of organisms as diverse as bacteriophages and humans. Contrary to our idea that chromosomes are stable structures, studies of recombination over the past few decades have shown that in fact DNA replicons are remarkably plastic, undergoing frequent recombination‐induced rearrangements. This review summarizes our recent knowledge of the biochemistry of the two major classes of site‐specific recombination: 1) transpositional recombination, and 2) conservative site‐specific recombination. —Sadowski, P. D. Site‐specific genetic recombination: hops, flips, and flops. FASEB J. 7: 760‐767; 1993.